Friday, September 30, 2011
NEWT GINGRICH UNVEILS HIS NEW "21ST CENTURY CONTRACT" WITH AMERICA!
A Note from Newt Gingrich
America’s exceptional nature is based on the self-evident truths contained in the Declaration of Independence. Our rights are endowed by our Creator and they are unalienable.
If we are to solve our jobs crisis and meet the challenges of the 21st century, we need a plan for national renewal based on these timeless American values.
That plan is the 21st Century Contract with America.
The 21st Century Contract with America will be much larger than the original, and will consist of four parts.
1.A set of legislative proposals to shift America back to job creation, prosperity, freedom, and safety.
2.A “First Day” project of Executive Orders to be signed on inauguration day to immediately transform the way the executive branch works.
3.A training program for the transition teams and the appointees who will lead the shift back to Constitutional, limited government (coming soon);
4.A system of citizen involvement to help us sustain grassroots support for change and help implement the change through 2021 (coming soon).
The 21st Century Contract with America is so large and covers so many changes necessary to get America back on the right track that it can't possibly be developed by a small group.
Instead, it will be developed with the help and support of the American people.
The entire next year will be devoted to harnessing the wisdom and perspective of the American people to improving, developing and clarifying all four phases of the Contract. This website, Newt.org, will be the central hub where citizens can participate in this development. It will be released in final form on September 27, 2012. (Read "Why We Need a 21st Century Contract with America.")
In an age where massive pieces of legislation are written in secret and passed before anyone has time to understand their contents, it is my hope that this open proces of developing the 21st Century Contract with America will help restore the bonds of trust between the American people and their elected representatives.
This is a larger and more complex developmental challenge than any Presidential campaign has undertaken in modern times. The scale will seem impossible to some and grandiose to others. However, I believe it is the minimum necessary to mobilize the American people, change the entrenched elites and their system, and get America back on the right track.
That's why I’m asking Americans to be with me, not just for me, because it will take all of us, working together, to change Washington and to save our country.
I hope you will be with me for the next year as we develop the 21st Century Contract with America together.
Your friend
WATCH NEWT GINGRICH UNVEIL HIS NEW CONTRACT WITH AMERICA HERE:
http://www.c-span.org/flvPop.aspx?src=archive/c12/c12_092911_gingrich.flv&msg=You+are+watching+the+C-SPAN+Networks&start=5.538&end=-1
NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER EDITORIAL PRAISES NEWT GINGRICH JOINING THE TEA PARTY NATION FOUNDER!
New Hampshire Union Leader Editorial Praises Newt
Gingrich wins: ID's the real Social Security scarer
EDITORIAL PUBLISHED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER
Published Sep 16, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated Sep 15, 2011)
In last Monday’s CNN-Tea Party candidates’ encounter, Republican presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich made an excellent point regarding who may be scaring whom the most on the subject of Social Security. He was not very concerned about the verbal tussle going on between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, Gingrich said, not when President Barack Obama is telling the country he couldn’t guarantee that Social Security checks would go out last month.
“Now, why should young people who are 16 to 25 years old have politicians have the power for the rest of their life to threaten to take away their Social Security?’’ Gingrich asked.
Obama partisans defended their man’s outrageous claim, made twice, by saying if the debt-ceiling issue hadn’t been resolved, the government wouldn’t have enough money to pay all its bills. That is debatable, but it is without question that Social Security would have been a top priority.
Democrats are now gleeful that Gov. Perry of Texas has dared to call Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” Former Gov. Romney, sensing an opening with that inartful language, is challenging Perry on the issue.
Liberal news media, which have already decided the GOP battle is a two-man contest, are all for making as much of the Social Security issue as possible. But it was Gingrich who scored best on the subject by turning it back on the Democrats, who are intent on demagoguing this one until next November. The Republican Party and its contenders may want to look to former Speaker Gingrich for the best strategy on Social Security questions and perhaps on many others.
Gingrich wins: ID's the real Social Security scarer
EDITORIAL PUBLISHED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER
Published Sep 16, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated Sep 15, 2011)
In last Monday’s CNN-Tea Party candidates’ encounter, Republican presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich made an excellent point regarding who may be scaring whom the most on the subject of Social Security. He was not very concerned about the verbal tussle going on between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, Gingrich said, not when President Barack Obama is telling the country he couldn’t guarantee that Social Security checks would go out last month.
“Now, why should young people who are 16 to 25 years old have politicians have the power for the rest of their life to threaten to take away their Social Security?’’ Gingrich asked.
Obama partisans defended their man’s outrageous claim, made twice, by saying if the debt-ceiling issue hadn’t been resolved, the government wouldn’t have enough money to pay all its bills. That is debatable, but it is without question that Social Security would have been a top priority.
Democrats are now gleeful that Gov. Perry of Texas has dared to call Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” Former Gov. Romney, sensing an opening with that inartful language, is challenging Perry on the issue.
Liberal news media, which have already decided the GOP battle is a two-man contest, are all for making as much of the Social Security issue as possible. But it was Gingrich who scored best on the subject by turning it back on the Democrats, who are intent on demagoguing this one until next November. The Republican Party and its contenders may want to look to former Speaker Gingrich for the best strategy on Social Security questions and perhaps on many others.
US SENATORS SAY LIBYANS EXPRESS GRATITUDE - CBS NEWS!
US senators say Libyans express gratitude - CBS NEWS
September 29, 2011
(AP) TRIPOLI, Libya — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday that Libyans who met a team of visiting senators had expressed gratitude and want to repay the international community that rallied around Moammar Gadhafi's opponents and played a key role in the dictator's defeat.
The South Carolina senator traveled to Tripoli with three other Republican senators as part of the highest-profile American delegation since rebels, backed by NATO airstrikes that decimated Gadhafi's military forces, battled their way into the capital late last month and forced Gadhafi into hiding.
"There is a desire here by the Libyan people to make sure that those who helped will get paid back," Graham told journalists in the capital after he and the other senators — John McCain of Arizona, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Marco Rubio of Florida — toured Martyrs' Square, formerly named Green Square and the site of frequent Gadhafi speeches.
The four U.S. lawmakers also met with the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and other high-ranking officials of the group that is now governing Libya.
The senators said American companies are hoping to tap into the wealth of oil and natural resources in Libya, which under Gadhafi long faced sanctions that prohibited much business.
"I think that American investors are more than eager to come invest here in Libya and we hope and believe that they will be given an opportunity to do so," McCain said.
He acknowledged, however, that it would be difficult for companies to get started until the country is completely secure. Gadhafi loyalists continue to put up a fierce resistance in three strongholds in central and southern Libya.
McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was thrilled to be in Tripoli. In April, he traveled to the then-opposition's eastern stronghold of Benghazi, where he called the rebels "patriots" and "heroes."
"I've dreamed of returning to a liberated capital of a free Libya ever since I visited Benghazi in April and our visit to Tripoli today has been exhilarating and hopeful," McCain said
He called the Libyans an inspiration for people in other countries who are suffering under authoritarian regimes, singling out Iran, Syria, China and Russia, but warned of a "rocky road" ahead amid concerns about the proliferation of weapons and the inability of the new leadership to form a government that could pave the way for elections.
"The people of Libya today are inspiring the people in Tehran, in Damascus and even in Beijing and Moscow," he said. "They continue to inspire the world and let people know that even the worst dictators can be overthrown and be replaced by freedom and democracy."
He expressed confidence in the National Transitional Council, which is acting as Libya's government, and urged them to bring armed groups under the control of a central authority.
U.S. relations with Gadhafi's regime had undergone a seismic shift in recent years after the longtime Libyan leader renounced weapons of mass destruction in 2003 and agreed to pay compensation to the families of victims of 1980s terror attacks, including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, blamed on Libyan agents.
The senators talked to the country's new rulers about the need for justice in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 270 people, many of them Americans.
Scotland has asked the new transitional leaders of Libya for help tracking down those responsible now that Gadhafi is no longer in power.
McCain said he is confident the new Libyan government will help. "We'd like to know who else was connected with this," he said.
Kirk, of Illinois, said there were conflicting reports about the severity of the illness of the only suspect convicted in the attack, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was freed on compassionate grounds in 2009.
He said it's up to the Libyan people, but he believes al-Megrahi should face further justice.
Libya's acting justice minister, Mohammed al-Alagi, said earlier this week that there was no reason to drag al-Megrahi back to court but he was willing to probe the possible involvement of others in the attack.
The trip contrasted sharply to the last visit by McCain and Graham to Tripoli in August 2009, when they met with Gadhafi and his son Muatassim to discuss the possible delivery of non-lethal defense equipment as the erratic Libyan leader was moving to normalize his relations with the international community.
According to a classified document released by WikiLeaks, the delegation, which included McCain, Graham and two other senators, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, held back-to-back meetings with Muatassim.
During that visit, McCain characterized the overall pace of the bilateral relationship as excellent during and noted the drastic changes over the previous five years. He also assured Muatassim that the United States wanted to provide Libya with the equipment it needs for its security, the WikiLeaks cable said.
___
Associated Press writer Donna Cassata in Washington contributed to this report.
September 29, 2011
(AP) TRIPOLI, Libya — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday that Libyans who met a team of visiting senators had expressed gratitude and want to repay the international community that rallied around Moammar Gadhafi's opponents and played a key role in the dictator's defeat.
The South Carolina senator traveled to Tripoli with three other Republican senators as part of the highest-profile American delegation since rebels, backed by NATO airstrikes that decimated Gadhafi's military forces, battled their way into the capital late last month and forced Gadhafi into hiding.
"There is a desire here by the Libyan people to make sure that those who helped will get paid back," Graham told journalists in the capital after he and the other senators — John McCain of Arizona, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Marco Rubio of Florida — toured Martyrs' Square, formerly named Green Square and the site of frequent Gadhafi speeches.
The four U.S. lawmakers also met with the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and other high-ranking officials of the group that is now governing Libya.
The senators said American companies are hoping to tap into the wealth of oil and natural resources in Libya, which under Gadhafi long faced sanctions that prohibited much business.
"I think that American investors are more than eager to come invest here in Libya and we hope and believe that they will be given an opportunity to do so," McCain said.
He acknowledged, however, that it would be difficult for companies to get started until the country is completely secure. Gadhafi loyalists continue to put up a fierce resistance in three strongholds in central and southern Libya.
McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was thrilled to be in Tripoli. In April, he traveled to the then-opposition's eastern stronghold of Benghazi, where he called the rebels "patriots" and "heroes."
"I've dreamed of returning to a liberated capital of a free Libya ever since I visited Benghazi in April and our visit to Tripoli today has been exhilarating and hopeful," McCain said
He called the Libyans an inspiration for people in other countries who are suffering under authoritarian regimes, singling out Iran, Syria, China and Russia, but warned of a "rocky road" ahead amid concerns about the proliferation of weapons and the inability of the new leadership to form a government that could pave the way for elections.
"The people of Libya today are inspiring the people in Tehran, in Damascus and even in Beijing and Moscow," he said. "They continue to inspire the world and let people know that even the worst dictators can be overthrown and be replaced by freedom and democracy."
He expressed confidence in the National Transitional Council, which is acting as Libya's government, and urged them to bring armed groups under the control of a central authority.
U.S. relations with Gadhafi's regime had undergone a seismic shift in recent years after the longtime Libyan leader renounced weapons of mass destruction in 2003 and agreed to pay compensation to the families of victims of 1980s terror attacks, including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, blamed on Libyan agents.
The senators talked to the country's new rulers about the need for justice in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 270 people, many of them Americans.
Scotland has asked the new transitional leaders of Libya for help tracking down those responsible now that Gadhafi is no longer in power.
McCain said he is confident the new Libyan government will help. "We'd like to know who else was connected with this," he said.
Kirk, of Illinois, said there were conflicting reports about the severity of the illness of the only suspect convicted in the attack, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was freed on compassionate grounds in 2009.
He said it's up to the Libyan people, but he believes al-Megrahi should face further justice.
Libya's acting justice minister, Mohammed al-Alagi, said earlier this week that there was no reason to drag al-Megrahi back to court but he was willing to probe the possible involvement of others in the attack.
The trip contrasted sharply to the last visit by McCain and Graham to Tripoli in August 2009, when they met with Gadhafi and his son Muatassim to discuss the possible delivery of non-lethal defense equipment as the erratic Libyan leader was moving to normalize his relations with the international community.
According to a classified document released by WikiLeaks, the delegation, which included McCain, Graham and two other senators, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, held back-to-back meetings with Muatassim.
During that visit, McCain characterized the overall pace of the bilateral relationship as excellent during and noted the drastic changes over the previous five years. He also assured Muatassim that the United States wanted to provide Libya with the equipment it needs for its security, the WikiLeaks cable said.
___
Associated Press writer Donna Cassata in Washington contributed to this report.
TWO-U.S.-BORN TERRORISTS KILLED IN CIA-LED DRONE STRIKE!
Two U.S.-Born Terrorists Killed in CIA-Led Drone Strike
By Jennifer Griffin & Justin Fishel
September 30, 2011 + FoxNews.com
CIA-led drone attack kills terror leader Anwar al-Awlaki and Al Qaeda magazine editor Samir Kahn in Yemen, in a strike that used two Predator drones and Hellfire missiles.
Senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and another America-born militant were killed in Yemen early Friday morning by a CIA-led U.S. drone strike, marking the highest-profile takedown of terror leaders since the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound.
Fox News has learned that two Predator drones hovering above al-Awlaki's convoy fired the Hellfire missiles which killed the terror leader. According to a senior U.S. official, the operation was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA.
In the past few months, the U.S. has had some major success in the global fight against terrorism, taking down some top targets. Here's a look:
President Obama called the strike a major "milestone" in the fight against Al Qaeda and its affiliates.
"The death of Awlaki is a major blow to Al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate," Obama said Friday. "He took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans ... and he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda."
He said the strike is "further proof that Al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world."
Al-Awlaki was a U.S.-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's most active branch. He was involved in several terror plots in the United States in recent years, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits to carry out attacks. President Obama signed an order in early 2010 making him the first American to be placed on the "kill or capture" list.
The Yemeni government and Defense Ministry announced al-Awlaki's death, without giving details. But American sources confirmed the CIA and U.S. military were behind the strike on al-Awlaki, whom one official described as a "big fish."
The strike hit a vehicle with three or four suspected Al Qaeda members inside, in addition to al-Awlaki. According to a U.S. senior official, the other American militant killed in the strike was Samir Khan, the co-editor of an English-language Al Qaeda web magazine called "Inspire."
Kahn, in his 20s, was an American of Pakistani heritage from North Carolina. His magazine promoted attacks against U.S. targets, even running articles on how to put together explosives. In one issue, Khan wrote that he had moved to Yemen and joined Al Qaeda's fighters, pledging to "wage jihad for the rest of our lives."
The strike comes after a heavy presence of U.S. drones was spotted in the skies over the region over the last couple weeks, one source told Fox News.
The strike underscores the expanding nature of the drone program, which has migrated beyond the borders of Pakistan into Yemen, Somalia and other countries.
Yemeni security officials and local tribal leaders also said al-Awlaki was killed in an air strike on his convoy that they believed was carried out by the Americans.
Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May. In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Yemeni-American was a priority target alongside Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by President Obama in April 2010 -- making him the first American placed on the CIA "kill or capture" list. At least twice, airstrikes were called in on locations in Yemen where al-Awlaki was suspected of being, but he wasn't harmed. In May, U.S. forces were able to track his truck but were unable to take him out.
Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, was believed to be key in turning Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen into what American officials have called the most significant and immediate threat to the United States. The branch, led by a Yemeni militant named Nasser al-Wahishi, plotted several failed attacks on U.S. soil -- the botched Christmas 2009 attempt to blow up an American airliner heading to Detroit and a foiled 2010 attempt to send explosives to Chicago.
A former intelligence official said that with al-Awlaki gone, the branch "still retains a lot of capability."
But Richard Miniter, author of "Losing bin Laden," told Fox News that al-Awlaki's role will be "hard to replace."
"He understood American society very well. He understood American idioms and pop culture and how to appeal to Americans," he told Fox News. "It's very hard for them to replicate this."
Known as an eloquent preacher who spread English-language sermons on the Internet calling for "holy war" against the United States, al-Awlaki's role was to inspire and -- it is believed -- even directly recruit militants to carry out attacks.
He was not believed to be a key operational leader, but as a spokesman. His English skills gave him reach among second and third generation Muslims who may not speak Arabic.
Yemeni officials have said al-Awlaki had contacts with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused would-be Christmas plane bomber, who was in Yemen in 2009. They say the believe al-Awlaki met with the 23-year-old Nigerian, along with other Al Qaeda leaders, in Al Qaeda strongholds in the country in the weeks before the failed bombing.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt told interrogators he was "inspired" by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.
Al-Awlaki also exchanged up to 20 emails with U.S. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, alleged killer of 13 people in the Nov. 5, 2009, rampage at Fort Hood. Hasan initiated the contacts, drawn by al-Awlaki's Internet sermons, and approached him for religious advice.
Al-Awlaki has said he didn't tell Hasan to carry out the shootings, but he later praised Hasan as a "hero" on his Web site for killing American soldiers who would be heading for Afghanistan or Iraq to fight Muslims. The cleric similarly said Abdulmutallab was his "student" but said he never told him to carry out the airline attack.
In a statement, the Yemeni government said al-Awlaki was "targeted and killed" 5 miles from the town of Khashef in the Province of al-Jawf. The town is located 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa.
The statement says the operation was launched on Friday around 9:55 a.m. It gave no other details.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry also reported the death, without elaborating, in a mobile phone SMS message.
Top U.S. counter terrorism adviser John Brennan says such cooperation with Yemen has improved since the political unrest there. Brennan said the Yemenis have been more willing to share information about the location of Al Qaeda targets, as a way to fight the Yemeni branch challenging them for power. Other U.S. officials say the Yemenis have also allowed the U.S. to fly more armed drone and aircraft missions over its territory than ever previously, trying to use U.S. military power to stay in power.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge and Mike Levine and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/30/us-born-terror-boss-anwar-al-awlaki-killed/#ixzz1ZSBTkEeN
By Jennifer Griffin & Justin Fishel
September 30, 2011 + FoxNews.com
CIA-led drone attack kills terror leader Anwar al-Awlaki and Al Qaeda magazine editor Samir Kahn in Yemen, in a strike that used two Predator drones and Hellfire missiles.
Senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and another America-born militant were killed in Yemen early Friday morning by a CIA-led U.S. drone strike, marking the highest-profile takedown of terror leaders since the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound.
Fox News has learned that two Predator drones hovering above al-Awlaki's convoy fired the Hellfire missiles which killed the terror leader. According to a senior U.S. official, the operation was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA.
In the past few months, the U.S. has had some major success in the global fight against terrorism, taking down some top targets. Here's a look:
President Obama called the strike a major "milestone" in the fight against Al Qaeda and its affiliates.
"The death of Awlaki is a major blow to Al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate," Obama said Friday. "He took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans ... and he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda."
He said the strike is "further proof that Al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world."
Al-Awlaki was a U.S.-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's most active branch. He was involved in several terror plots in the United States in recent years, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits to carry out attacks. President Obama signed an order in early 2010 making him the first American to be placed on the "kill or capture" list.
The Yemeni government and Defense Ministry announced al-Awlaki's death, without giving details. But American sources confirmed the CIA and U.S. military were behind the strike on al-Awlaki, whom one official described as a "big fish."
The strike hit a vehicle with three or four suspected Al Qaeda members inside, in addition to al-Awlaki. According to a U.S. senior official, the other American militant killed in the strike was Samir Khan, the co-editor of an English-language Al Qaeda web magazine called "Inspire."
Kahn, in his 20s, was an American of Pakistani heritage from North Carolina. His magazine promoted attacks against U.S. targets, even running articles on how to put together explosives. In one issue, Khan wrote that he had moved to Yemen and joined Al Qaeda's fighters, pledging to "wage jihad for the rest of our lives."
The strike comes after a heavy presence of U.S. drones was spotted in the skies over the region over the last couple weeks, one source told Fox News.
The strike underscores the expanding nature of the drone program, which has migrated beyond the borders of Pakistan into Yemen, Somalia and other countries.
Yemeni security officials and local tribal leaders also said al-Awlaki was killed in an air strike on his convoy that they believed was carried out by the Americans.
Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May. In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Yemeni-American was a priority target alongside Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by President Obama in April 2010 -- making him the first American placed on the CIA "kill or capture" list. At least twice, airstrikes were called in on locations in Yemen where al-Awlaki was suspected of being, but he wasn't harmed. In May, U.S. forces were able to track his truck but were unable to take him out.
Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, was believed to be key in turning Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen into what American officials have called the most significant and immediate threat to the United States. The branch, led by a Yemeni militant named Nasser al-Wahishi, plotted several failed attacks on U.S. soil -- the botched Christmas 2009 attempt to blow up an American airliner heading to Detroit and a foiled 2010 attempt to send explosives to Chicago.
A former intelligence official said that with al-Awlaki gone, the branch "still retains a lot of capability."
But Richard Miniter, author of "Losing bin Laden," told Fox News that al-Awlaki's role will be "hard to replace."
"He understood American society very well. He understood American idioms and pop culture and how to appeal to Americans," he told Fox News. "It's very hard for them to replicate this."
Known as an eloquent preacher who spread English-language sermons on the Internet calling for "holy war" against the United States, al-Awlaki's role was to inspire and -- it is believed -- even directly recruit militants to carry out attacks.
He was not believed to be a key operational leader, but as a spokesman. His English skills gave him reach among second and third generation Muslims who may not speak Arabic.
Yemeni officials have said al-Awlaki had contacts with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused would-be Christmas plane bomber, who was in Yemen in 2009. They say the believe al-Awlaki met with the 23-year-old Nigerian, along with other Al Qaeda leaders, in Al Qaeda strongholds in the country in the weeks before the failed bombing.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt told interrogators he was "inspired" by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.
Al-Awlaki also exchanged up to 20 emails with U.S. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, alleged killer of 13 people in the Nov. 5, 2009, rampage at Fort Hood. Hasan initiated the contacts, drawn by al-Awlaki's Internet sermons, and approached him for religious advice.
Al-Awlaki has said he didn't tell Hasan to carry out the shootings, but he later praised Hasan as a "hero" on his Web site for killing American soldiers who would be heading for Afghanistan or Iraq to fight Muslims. The cleric similarly said Abdulmutallab was his "student" but said he never told him to carry out the airline attack.
In a statement, the Yemeni government said al-Awlaki was "targeted and killed" 5 miles from the town of Khashef in the Province of al-Jawf. The town is located 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa.
The statement says the operation was launched on Friday around 9:55 a.m. It gave no other details.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry also reported the death, without elaborating, in a mobile phone SMS message.
Top U.S. counter terrorism adviser John Brennan says such cooperation with Yemen has improved since the political unrest there. Brennan said the Yemenis have been more willing to share information about the location of Al Qaeda targets, as a way to fight the Yemeni branch challenging them for power. Other U.S. officials say the Yemenis have also allowed the U.S. to fly more armed drone and aircraft missions over its territory than ever previously, trying to use U.S. military power to stay in power.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge and Mike Levine and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/30/us-born-terror-boss-anwar-al-awlaki-killed/#ixzz1ZSBTkEeN
GOP SENATOR PORTMAN: OBAMA'S ENERGY DEPT. & CHU DRAGGING FEET ON AN AMERICAN URANIUM PLANT LOAN GUARANTEE!
GOP senator: Energy Dept. dragging feet on uranium plant loan guarantee
By Ben Geman - 09/30/11 11:47 AM ET
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is pressing the Energy Department to approve a long-sought loan guarantee for an Ohio uranium-enrichment plant amid planned layoffs and “demobilization” of the project if the financing agreement isn’t forthcoming.
“It should not have come to this,” Portman said Friday in a news release. “These workers have waited long enough. I hope that the Obama Administration will realize the impact demobilization will have on Southern Ohio and on our national security and energy security needs and find a path to move forward with a conditional commitment as soon as possible.”
USEC Inc. is seeking a conditional approval of its $2 billion loan-guarantee application to the Energy Department for the American Centrifuge Plant.
Portman’s comments come as Republicans are attacking the White House over the $535 million loan guarantee granted in 2009 to solar panel maker Solyndra, which collapsed and filed for bankruptcy several weeks ago.
But while the DOE loan-guarantee program is now under attack from many Republicans who say it exposes the folly of “green jobs” efforts, multiple GOP lawmakers have pushed DOE to provide financing for projects in their states through its various loan programs.
USEC said Friday that it’s informing 450 workers of potential layoffs (including 264 in Ohio), cutting spending on the project by 30 percent in October and might be forced to “demobilize” the project absent a DOE commitment.
“USEC is immediately suspending a number of contracts with suppliers and contractors and advising them that USEC may demobilize the project in November,” the company said in a news release. “As a result of these actions, approximately 800 current direct jobs associated with the American Centrifuge project could be affected.”
USEC is seeking financing under the advanced-energy loan-guarantee program authorized in a major 2005 energy law.
The 2009 stimulus bill expanded the loan-guarantee program with a specific renewable energy funding initiative under which Solyndra ultimately won financing, although the solar company had applied during the George W. Bush administration. DOE also has a separate program that provides loans for advanced vehicle technology projects.
USEC CEO John Welch said in a release that the company remains hopeful and that its two major investors — Toshiba Corp. and The Babcock & Wilcox Co. — remain supportive as well.
“Working with our strategic investors, we expect October to be a month of intense interaction with the DOE so we can continue to deploy this innovative American technology — one that is critical to the nuclear fuel cycle and to our energy and national security,” he said. “Absent a conditional commitment by the end of October, layoffs of employees and further actions with suppliers are likely to occur.”
Portman said the USEC project has been vetted well. The company first applied for the loan guarantee in 2008.
“USEC and its strategic partners, Babcock & Wilcox and Toshiba, have gone through round after round of review, answering the questions asked of them by the Office of Management and Budget, DOE and outside analysts,” Portman said, accusing the Obama administration of dragging its feet. “They have answered requests from DOE including: shoring up additional private investment, improving the management of the project and demonstrating the reliability of the technology through additional run time.”
THE "ILL-LUCID DAM" PROJECT UPDATE: FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRWOMAN PREDICTS U.S. HOUSE WILL CUT ALL AID TO PAKISTAN!
Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman predicts House will cut all aid to Pakistan
By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/30/11 09:07 AM ET
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) predicted the lower chamber would withhold all U.S. assistance to Pakistan at some point.
Such a move reflects ongoing questions about the strength of U.S.-Pakistani relations, given the discovery of Osama bin Laden deep in Pakistan's territory earlier this year.
"We're all skeptical of the aid that we've given to Pakistan, that it's been used in the right way," Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill this week. "We look at Pakistan in a way that says, what have we done with all of that money? Everything that we've sold to Pakistan, all the intelligence we shared with Pakistan, it's all been called into question.
"So it's a brand new day for Pakistan funding, and it's a brand new day for U.S.-Pakistani relations," she added.
In July, the Obama administration withheld $800 million in aid to Pakistan's military as a way of showing its displeasure with the discovery of bin Laden in Pakistan, and so close to a major military training school. However, Ros-Lehtinen said she expects the House to ultimately approve language withholding nearly $2 billion in assistance.
Ros-Lehtinen's committee has already approved a State Department authorization bill, H.R. 2583, that would withhold funding to Pakistan until State submits a report confirming the Pakistani government is making progress toward certain security goals and is fully assisting the U.S. in investigating bin Laden's support network in Pakistan.
This bill has yet to be approved by the House and the fall schedule is unclear for various reasons, including ongoing talks over FY 2012 spending levels. Nonetheless, Ros-Lehtinen said that "when the final vote comes, those conditions [on Pakistan] will be incorporated, and they are pretty tough conditions."
Pakistan is one of the major issues on which Ros-Lehtinen has been looking to hold oversight hearings, along with ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She said her committee still has an outstanding request to hear testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on these "big ticket items," after Clinton's planned testimony over the summer had to be postponed.
"It remains an extremely important topic for the American people and for members of our committee, so I greatly hope and am optimistic that the secretary will be able to come and testify on these issues before our committee," she said. She added that it has been hard for her committee to get Obama administration witnesses in general.
"If we could only get administration witnesses, that would surely be helpful," she said. "They're scattering to the winds. I don't know where they are. Do we have an administration? If so, they don't like to come too often to our hearings, and I sure would like for them to be there."
She noted her committee is hoping to hear testimony from Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns on Oct. 14 on Iran and Syria, which would set the table for consideration of new sanctions legislation against those countries. However, she said Burns's scheduled appearance is still "tentative."
"We hope that Secretary Burns will be there, and that's just my nudge," she quipped.
Regardless of whether Burns participates in that hearing, Ros-Lehtinen said her committee is planning an Oct. 26 markup of three sanctions bills — the Iran Threat Reduction Act (H.R. 1905), the Syria Freedom Support Act (H.R. 2106), and the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act (H.R. 2015).
Each of these bills would tighten sanctions against the named countries; the chairwoman predicted easy House passage of the Iran bill in particular, which has 285 House co-sponsors and follows quick passage of an Iran sanctions bill in 2010, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act.
"The issue has only gotten worse," she said of Iran. The new Iran bill builds on last year's sanctions bill by including new sanctions against entities that support Iran's ability to develop its petroleum resources, and broadens the type of sanctions that can be used against these entities.
Ros-Lehtinen also repeated a call that many supporters of sanctions legislation make — that existing sanctions laws are fully implemented. The lack of implementation of various sanctions laws over several administrations is partly what has driven Congress to strengthen these laws.
"Yes, we're going to push sanctions legislation, but it's only effective if the Obama administration implements it, and if it's enforced," she said.
By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/30/11 09:07 AM ET
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) predicted the lower chamber would withhold all U.S. assistance to Pakistan at some point.
Such a move reflects ongoing questions about the strength of U.S.-Pakistani relations, given the discovery of Osama bin Laden deep in Pakistan's territory earlier this year.
"We're all skeptical of the aid that we've given to Pakistan, that it's been used in the right way," Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill this week. "We look at Pakistan in a way that says, what have we done with all of that money? Everything that we've sold to Pakistan, all the intelligence we shared with Pakistan, it's all been called into question.
"So it's a brand new day for Pakistan funding, and it's a brand new day for U.S.-Pakistani relations," she added.
In July, the Obama administration withheld $800 million in aid to Pakistan's military as a way of showing its displeasure with the discovery of bin Laden in Pakistan, and so close to a major military training school. However, Ros-Lehtinen said she expects the House to ultimately approve language withholding nearly $2 billion in assistance.
Ros-Lehtinen's committee has already approved a State Department authorization bill, H.R. 2583, that would withhold funding to Pakistan until State submits a report confirming the Pakistani government is making progress toward certain security goals and is fully assisting the U.S. in investigating bin Laden's support network in Pakistan.
This bill has yet to be approved by the House and the fall schedule is unclear for various reasons, including ongoing talks over FY 2012 spending levels. Nonetheless, Ros-Lehtinen said that "when the final vote comes, those conditions [on Pakistan] will be incorporated, and they are pretty tough conditions."
Pakistan is one of the major issues on which Ros-Lehtinen has been looking to hold oversight hearings, along with ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She said her committee still has an outstanding request to hear testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on these "big ticket items," after Clinton's planned testimony over the summer had to be postponed.
"It remains an extremely important topic for the American people and for members of our committee, so I greatly hope and am optimistic that the secretary will be able to come and testify on these issues before our committee," she said. She added that it has been hard for her committee to get Obama administration witnesses in general.
"If we could only get administration witnesses, that would surely be helpful," she said. "They're scattering to the winds. I don't know where they are. Do we have an administration? If so, they don't like to come too often to our hearings, and I sure would like for them to be there."
She noted her committee is hoping to hear testimony from Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns on Oct. 14 on Iran and Syria, which would set the table for consideration of new sanctions legislation against those countries. However, she said Burns's scheduled appearance is still "tentative."
"We hope that Secretary Burns will be there, and that's just my nudge," she quipped.
Regardless of whether Burns participates in that hearing, Ros-Lehtinen said her committee is planning an Oct. 26 markup of three sanctions bills — the Iran Threat Reduction Act (H.R. 1905), the Syria Freedom Support Act (H.R. 2106), and the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act (H.R. 2015).
Each of these bills would tighten sanctions against the named countries; the chairwoman predicted easy House passage of the Iran bill in particular, which has 285 House co-sponsors and follows quick passage of an Iran sanctions bill in 2010, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act.
"The issue has only gotten worse," she said of Iran. The new Iran bill builds on last year's sanctions bill by including new sanctions against entities that support Iran's ability to develop its petroleum resources, and broadens the type of sanctions that can be used against these entities.
Ros-Lehtinen also repeated a call that many supporters of sanctions legislation make — that existing sanctions laws are fully implemented. The lack of implementation of various sanctions laws over several administrations is partly what has driven Congress to strengthen these laws.
"Yes, we're going to push sanctions legislation, but it's only effective if the Obama administration implements it, and if it's enforced," she said.
SOROS SURFACES ON THE EDGE OF WHITE HOUSE CONTROVERSY INVOLVING LIGHTSQUARED!
Soros Surfaces on the Edge of White House Controversy Involving LightSquared
September 23, 2011 + FoxNews.com
Billionaire financier George Soros speaks at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York on Sept. 15, 2010.
Billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros has been financially linked to LightSquared, which is at the center of allegations that the White House pressured a Pentagon commander to change his prepared congressional testimony to benefit the Virginia-based telecom company that once received a $90,000 investment from President Obama.
LightSquared is seeking to establish a new wireless broadband network that many, including Air Force Gen. William Shelton, believe could interfere with critical GPS systems used by the U.S. military. But Shelton, head of Space Command, confided to lawmakers that he thought his testimony had been leaked to LightSquared, and that he had rejected requests from the White House to downplay his concerns.
The company is being funded by private equity titan Philip Falcone, the founder of Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has counted Soros as a "significant" investor since 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Soros also funds four groups that have lobbied on behalf of LightSquared in regulatory and policy fights.
The Washington Examiner first reported this week that the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, which includes the Soros-funded groups Free Press, Media Access Project, the New America Foundation and Public Knowledge, filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission in April 2010 supporting Harbinger's attempt to become a national player in the wireless industry over the objections of AT&T and Verizon.
Those four groups also met with an FCC commissioner that month on the issue.
From 2000 to 2009, Soros donated millions of dollars to those four groups through his foundation, according to the Media Research Center. Soros' Open Society Foundation gave $1.4 million to Free Press, $1.7 million to Media Access Project, $3.8 million to New America Foundation and $855,500 to Public Knowledge.
But it remains unclear whether Soros has played any role in the LightSquared controversy.
A spokeswoman for Open Society Foundations said the foundation's activities "are entirely separate from the investments of George Soros."
The White House has denied any wrongdoing. And Falcone has rejected allegations that LightSquared obtained in advance Shelton's testimony or that he is a major Democratic donor.
LightSquared executives and the company's political action committee have donated to both political parties, but the PAC tilted Democratic over the last two election cycles.
Falcone says he is a registered Republican and has never met Obama. In 2005, then-Sen. Barack Obama invested nearly $90,000 in Skyterra, the company that later changed its name to LightSquared, along with $9,000 in a biotech company. Obama sold the stocks eight months later for a net loss of $13,000, according to The New York Times.
Obama made the investment after he retained a UBS broker recommended by a wealthy contributor named George Haywood.
Obama has had a relationship with Soros dating back at least to 2004, when Soros held a fundraiser for Obama's Senate campaign. Soros also supported Obama over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
LightSquared executives and the company's lawyers say a broad and powerful coalition of entrenched interests has targeted the firm in an effort to prevent LightSquared from revolutionizing the wireless industry by enabling smaller carriers to compete on a national level.
Rep. Thomas Petri, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation and Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the FCC on Thursday urging the agency to resist any political pressure to grant LightSquared an authorization that could interfere with GPS.
"In our decades of public service, we have never seen the entire federal government and so many private companies directed to expend such considerable financial resources and man hours to accommodate one company's desires," they wrote.
"Never have we seen a company's business model threaten critical transportation safety infrastructure and yet be assisted by its federal regulator. It is odd that the FCC has pegged the hopes of expanding broadband access on such a controversial proposal by a single applicant."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/23/soros-surfaces-on-edge-white-house-controversy/#ixzz1ZS5dLzwm
September 23, 2011 + FoxNews.com
Billionaire financier George Soros speaks at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York on Sept. 15, 2010.
Billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros has been financially linked to LightSquared, which is at the center of allegations that the White House pressured a Pentagon commander to change his prepared congressional testimony to benefit the Virginia-based telecom company that once received a $90,000 investment from President Obama.
LightSquared is seeking to establish a new wireless broadband network that many, including Air Force Gen. William Shelton, believe could interfere with critical GPS systems used by the U.S. military. But Shelton, head of Space Command, confided to lawmakers that he thought his testimony had been leaked to LightSquared, and that he had rejected requests from the White House to downplay his concerns.
The company is being funded by private equity titan Philip Falcone, the founder of Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has counted Soros as a "significant" investor since 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Soros also funds four groups that have lobbied on behalf of LightSquared in regulatory and policy fights.
The Washington Examiner first reported this week that the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, which includes the Soros-funded groups Free Press, Media Access Project, the New America Foundation and Public Knowledge, filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission in April 2010 supporting Harbinger's attempt to become a national player in the wireless industry over the objections of AT&T and Verizon.
Those four groups also met with an FCC commissioner that month on the issue.
From 2000 to 2009, Soros donated millions of dollars to those four groups through his foundation, according to the Media Research Center. Soros' Open Society Foundation gave $1.4 million to Free Press, $1.7 million to Media Access Project, $3.8 million to New America Foundation and $855,500 to Public Knowledge.
But it remains unclear whether Soros has played any role in the LightSquared controversy.
A spokeswoman for Open Society Foundations said the foundation's activities "are entirely separate from the investments of George Soros."
The White House has denied any wrongdoing. And Falcone has rejected allegations that LightSquared obtained in advance Shelton's testimony or that he is a major Democratic donor.
LightSquared executives and the company's political action committee have donated to both political parties, but the PAC tilted Democratic over the last two election cycles.
Falcone says he is a registered Republican and has never met Obama. In 2005, then-Sen. Barack Obama invested nearly $90,000 in Skyterra, the company that later changed its name to LightSquared, along with $9,000 in a biotech company. Obama sold the stocks eight months later for a net loss of $13,000, according to The New York Times.
Obama made the investment after he retained a UBS broker recommended by a wealthy contributor named George Haywood.
Obama has had a relationship with Soros dating back at least to 2004, when Soros held a fundraiser for Obama's Senate campaign. Soros also supported Obama over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
LightSquared executives and the company's lawyers say a broad and powerful coalition of entrenched interests has targeted the firm in an effort to prevent LightSquared from revolutionizing the wireless industry by enabling smaller carriers to compete on a national level.
Rep. Thomas Petri, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation and Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the FCC on Thursday urging the agency to resist any political pressure to grant LightSquared an authorization that could interfere with GPS.
"In our decades of public service, we have never seen the entire federal government and so many private companies directed to expend such considerable financial resources and man hours to accommodate one company's desires," they wrote.
"Never have we seen a company's business model threaten critical transportation safety infrastructure and yet be assisted by its federal regulator. It is odd that the FCC has pegged the hopes of expanding broadband access on such a controversial proposal by a single applicant."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/23/soros-surfaces-on-edge-white-house-controversy/#ixzz1ZS5dLzwm
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR VETOES SMART-GRID PLAN AFTER SENDING U.S. JOBS TO CHINA WITH ILLINOIS TAX PAYERS' DOLLARS!
Capitol Commentary: September 16, 2011
GOVERNOR VETOES SMART-GRID PLAN
Legislation that is needed to improve and modernize Illinois’ electric utility system was vetoed September 12 by Governor Pat Quinn.
The Governor sided with opponents of the proposed “smart-grid” electric utility upgrade legislation, contending the plan allowed for excessive and burdensome cost increases for consumers, while giving Commonwealth Edison and Ameren too much autonomy when it comes to state oversight of utility regulation and rate increases.
I supported this legislation and am disappointed that the Governor vetoed it.
Most lawmakers understand the importance of modernizing the state’s electrical grid, which includes replacing cables, installing new circuitry and utility poles, and burying electric lines. Opponents of the measure said the bill was overly generous to the utilities and that the legislation would have relaxed state oversight of utilities, while allowing for billions in rate hikes. However, supporters argue that it does not guarantee automatic rate increases, and retains the authority of state regulators over electric rates.
In Governor's Quinn veto message of Senate Bill 1652, the Governor said the “bill grants unprecedented advantages to Illinois utilities that have a less than stellar record for providing reliable service,” citing the recent storms in the Chicagoland area that resulted in persistent power outages for more than 1.5 million residents. Additionally, Governor Quinn asserted ComEd and Ameren would have benefited from “advantages,” particularly a new formula rate that would have allowed for rate increases the Governor indicated were vastly out-of-step with services available to consumers.
However, proponents continue to push the smart-grid system, saying that embracing the new technology will distinguish Illinois as a leader in electric delivery systems. The new system would reportedly reduce power outages, leading to better quality and more reliable electric service. The smart-grid system also gives consumers greater ability to monitor their electric usage, which translates to money-savings and promotes conservation by consumers.
The new system is also reportedly thought to be a draw for both new and relocating businesses, in addition to the 2,450 jobs Ameren and ComEd would be required to create. Senate Bill 1652 requires Ameren to create 450 jobs, while ComEd must create 2,000. Each company faces a $3,000 fine for each job not created.
Lawmakers will consider the Governor’s veto during the upcoming fall legislative session, but legislators are expected to continue working with ComEd and Ameren in the interim to negotiate a compromise. ComEd has already expressing a willingness to reduce the rate formula criticized by Quinn to make it more fair to consumers, and is being pushed to resume consideration of a fund that will reduce the impact of a rate hike on elderly and poor consumers.
TEXAS POWER OUTAGES LEAD TO ROW BETWEEN VALERO, PNM!
Energy - INDUSTRIES
Texas Power Outages Lead To Row Between Valero, PNM
By Cassandra Sweet and Ben Lefevbre
September 29, 2011
As Texas grinds through one of its worst droughts in recent memory, the lack of rain has caused problems with the electric grid that has led to a dispute between Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) and PNM Resources Inc. (PNM) over power disruptions.
Valero has implored PNM unit Texas-New Mexico Power to improve its service after a series of outages this year caused substantial production problems at the company's refinery in Texas City, Texas. PNM says that it has already taken steps to fix the problems that caused most of the outages and suggested that the problems were primarily weather-related and took the utility by surprise.
In a letter sent Tuesday to PNM, Valero Chief Executive Bill Klesse said the company's oil refineries and similar facilities owned and operated by Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) have been disrupted by repeated electrical outages. Valero's 225,000 barrel-a-day refinery has experienced power outages four times in the past year, with the cost for two outages "in the millions," Klesse wrote.
PNM says most of the outages were caused by a buildup of salt and other material on the utility's transmission lines, which ordinarily would be washed away by rain, but which accumulated amid the drought. The residue caused interruptions on TNMP's transmission lines, which triggered the outages, said Frederick Bermudez, a spokesman for Albuquerque-based PNM.
"The drought played an enormous part in some of these outages. It wasn't unique to TNMP" Bermudez said.
TNMP has fixed the problem by washing off all its Texas transmission lines, using trucks on the ground and helicopters above, and has sealed the lines with silicone to protect them from the elements, Bermudez said. The utility also has placed infrared and ultraviolet monitoring systems on its transmission lines that can detect when conditions that could lead to more accumulation of material might occur, he said.
"We've taken extraordinary measures to clean that up," Bermudez said.
Bermudez added that PNM officials met Thursday with an attorney from Valero to discuss the issue and that the company plans to send a reply letter to Valero.
An outage in Texas City earlier this month was caused by the failure of a TNMP transformer, and not tied to the drought or transmission line issues, Bermudez said.
Refineries in Texas City have a combined capacity of more than 700,000 barrels a day, or 4% of the U.S. total.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
Texas Power Outages Lead To Row Between Valero, PNM
By Cassandra Sweet and Ben Lefevbre
September 29, 2011
As Texas grinds through one of its worst droughts in recent memory, the lack of rain has caused problems with the electric grid that has led to a dispute between Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) and PNM Resources Inc. (PNM) over power disruptions.
Valero has implored PNM unit Texas-New Mexico Power to improve its service after a series of outages this year caused substantial production problems at the company's refinery in Texas City, Texas. PNM says that it has already taken steps to fix the problems that caused most of the outages and suggested that the problems were primarily weather-related and took the utility by surprise.
In a letter sent Tuesday to PNM, Valero Chief Executive Bill Klesse said the company's oil refineries and similar facilities owned and operated by Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) have been disrupted by repeated electrical outages. Valero's 225,000 barrel-a-day refinery has experienced power outages four times in the past year, with the cost for two outages "in the millions," Klesse wrote.
PNM says most of the outages were caused by a buildup of salt and other material on the utility's transmission lines, which ordinarily would be washed away by rain, but which accumulated amid the drought. The residue caused interruptions on TNMP's transmission lines, which triggered the outages, said Frederick Bermudez, a spokesman for Albuquerque-based PNM.
"The drought played an enormous part in some of these outages. It wasn't unique to TNMP" Bermudez said.
TNMP has fixed the problem by washing off all its Texas transmission lines, using trucks on the ground and helicopters above, and has sealed the lines with silicone to protect them from the elements, Bermudez said. The utility also has placed infrared and ultraviolet monitoring systems on its transmission lines that can detect when conditions that could lead to more accumulation of material might occur, he said.
"We've taken extraordinary measures to clean that up," Bermudez said.
Bermudez added that PNM officials met Thursday with an attorney from Valero to discuss the issue and that the company plans to send a reply letter to Valero.
An outage in Texas City earlier this month was caused by the failure of a TNMP transformer, and not tied to the drought or transmission line issues, Bermudez said.
Refineries in Texas City have a combined capacity of more than 700,000 barrels a day, or 4% of the U.S. total.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
TAR SANDS ACTION RETURNS TO D.C. AS HILLARY ATTEMPTS TO FIX THE SCR-HUBBLE!
November 6th: Tar Sands Action Returns to DC
One year from the next election, we will return to DC to try to encircle the White House to ask President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
Click here to join us in DC on the 6th: www.tarsandsaction.org/sign-up
An Invitation to Join the Tar Sands Action in DC, Nov. 6th
This call to action was issued by a diverse group of movement leaders to bring together a massive rally on November 6th in Washington DC. To join the rally, sign up here: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/sign-up
Dear friends—
Once again, we’re sending you another long letter to ask for your help.
It’s been several weeks since the last people got out of jail in Washington DC, at the end of two weeks of civil disobedience that led to 1253 brave people ending up in handcuffs to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. It was the largest such action in decades, and because of their leadership lots has begun to happen.
Continue reading “An Invitation to Join the Tar Sands Action in DC, Nov. 6th”
Cornell Global Labor Institute Study Finds Keystone XL Pipeline Will Create Few Jobs
September 29, 2011
This post was written by Brad, one of the lead organizers of the Denver event. To join the growing movement to stop the Keystone XL pipeline in DC on November 6th, sign up here: www.tarsandsaction.org/sign-up
On September 27, 2011, twenty opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline greeted attendees at President Obama’s speech in.
We circulated a petition to the President to deny the pipeline, and we got 100 signatures, which we will forward to the White House, and will also use for future organizing at events by Denver Tar Sands Action. We also circulated and explained a Canadian Indigenous Network poster of the tar sands that helped people understand what the pipeline is, and what those crazy people across the street with the bullhorn and the big banner were yelling about.
Many people had never heard of it, and our pre-event planning should have taken that more into account. Although we were unable to catch the President’s eye, we did make it so that the next time any of the 6,000 attendees hear the words “Keystone XL Pipeline”, they’ll go, “Oh yeah, that’s what the protesters at the Obama speech were talking about.”
We were honored to be part of the Tar Sands Action movement and look forward to defying conventional wisdom and getting this affront to sensible environmental stewardship killed once and for all. Continue reading “Denver Tar Sands Action Visits Obama Speech”
++++++++++++
Funding available to conserve water in Ogallala Aquifer
Nebraska
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Nebraska will provide approximately $2.5 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to fund the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative. Funding will go toward applications NRCS currently has on-hand.
The Ogallala Aquifer Initiative is a voluntary program to provide technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to improve water conservation on their agricultural land. The Ogallala Aquifer Initiative will promote water conservation by helping farmers and ranchers implement agricultural water enhancement activities.
Nebraska NRCS State Conservationist Craig Derickson said, "This Initiative will help Nebraska's farmers and ranchers apply conservation practices that can make their operations more profitable and sustainable while conserving our precious groundwater."
The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. It is one of the world's largest aquifers and covers about 174,000 square miles in portions of eight states, which include South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The Ogallala Aquifer covers a majority of the state of Nebraska.
"Natural Resources Districts and other conservation partners will have an interest in participating in this program to help conserve water to maximize the potential benefit to Nebraska through this Initiative," Derickson said.
For more information about NRCS and their programs and services, visit your local USDA Service Center or www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov.
++++++++++++++++++++
The Associated Press - September 29, 2011
2nd oil pipeline hearing to be held in Nebraska
Nebraskans will have another chance to comment on the proposed pipeline that would carry Canadian oil across the Great Plains to refineries in Texas.
The U.S. State Department is planning to hold a second hearing on the $7 billion Keystone XL project in Nebraska's Sandhills on Thursday.
The event from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. is likely to significantly increase Atkinson's population because the first hearing in Lincoln earlier this week attracted several hundred people.
TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL project would cross Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada also has proposed connecting it to the Bakken oil field in Montana and North Dakota.
The pipeline's proposed route crosses the massive underground Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water for irrigation and drinking to people in eight U.S. states.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
OSAMA'S JOBS PLAN COSTS $1.6 MILLION PER JOB!
Guy Benson
Pass This Bill: Obama Jobs Plan Could Cost $1.6 Million Per Job
9/29/2011
Despite monotonous demands from the president to immediately pass a new "jobs" bill that bears a striking resemblance to his failed "stimulus" plan, Congress hasn't exactly sprung into action.
This, in theory, is what the president hoped would happen. He'd propose a bad plan, Congress would say no, which would allow him to run around the country waging a Truman-style campaign against a "do-nothing Congress." The trouble for Barack Obama is that his plan isn't just stalled in the Republican-controlled House; the Democratic Senate is also sitting on its hands because a number of vulnerable Democrats aren't willing to support the unpaid-for legislation. Quoth Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Obama's American Jobs Act: "We'll get to that." Eventually. Maybe.
Several weeks ago, supportive Democrats were eagerly pointing to an estimate by their go-to Keynesian economist, Mark Zandi of Moody's. Zandi estimated that Obama's plan would create 1.9 million new jobs. (We still await Zandi's projection of the number of rainbow-colored unicorns that would also be saved or created). As I wrote at the time, even if you bought this figure hook, line, and sinker, the math would work out to well over $200,000 of borrowed taxpayer money per job. Treasury Secretary called this ratio a "bargain." With momentum for the president's plan stalled -- assuming there was any to begin with -- the White House has seized on a new survey of economists that says passage of the bill would stave off a double-dip recession. These economists' bottom-line finding has generated some positive headlines for Obama, but as National Review's Andrew Stiles notes, Team Obama is hoping nobody reads the actual data they're promoting:
But while the White House team evidently stands by this Bloomberg survey, they are probably hoping you won’t read past the headline. In fact, according to the median estimate of the 34 economists surveyed, the president’s jobs bill would “add or keep” 275,000 jobs in 2012, and just 13,000 in 2013. That comes out to a total of 288,000 jobs ‘kept or added’ over the next two years...Obama’s bill, meanwhile, carries a $447 billion price tag, which works out to a little more than $1.6 million for every job ‘kept or added.’ Simple math, as the president would say.
$1.6 million per job saved or created. Let that number marinate for a moment: If passed, Obama's jobs plan would cost $1.6 million taxpayer dollars for every job it would save or create -- according to the very economists Team Obama is touting. This is insane. Slogan idea -- Obama 2012: Because We Can Trust Him With Our Money.
NEWT GINGRICH TO AMERICA: "I'LL SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER AGAINST UN AGENDA 21 ON THE FIRST DAY I TAKE OFFICE"!
Gingrich tells crowd he’ll cut funding to eco-friendly UN program as president
By Ashley Lopez | 09.28.11
Here is a video of Gingrich talking to the East Orlando Tea Party about Agenda 21:
More from The Florida Independent Comments Share Feeding into right-wing hysteria, GOP presidential hopeful Newt Ginigrich told a tea party audience in Orlando this month that if he were elected president, one of his very first executive orders would be cutting funding to the United Nations’ Agenda 21.
Agenda 21 is a 19-year-old initiative launched by the United Nations to promote sustainable development in communities all over the world. The initiative is a non-binding program that provides local communities that seek to grow in a manner that is kind to the environment with resources such as grant and conference announcements. An organization called the International Council for Local and Environmental Initiatives (known as ICLEI) provides members with the information. Almost 600 cities all over the United States are “global members” of ICLEI, including more than 30 cities, municipalities and counties in Florida.
However, right-wing advocates and tea party members, including GOP Senate candidates, are convinced that the effort is actually a plot by the U.N. to steal the United States’ sovereignty and the individual property rights of its citizens.
Actual members of ICLEI dismiss these fears. The organization has no binding power over its members. One member, South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard, told The Florida Independent that ICLEI is an “information service, not command and control from Geneva.” He called the people up in arms about ICLEI “raging loons.”
“These are the guys that wear aluminum foil hats,” he said. “They have completely lost touch with reality.”
Now there is a GOP presidential candidate that is convinced of the same right-wing fears concerning Agenda 21.
In a town hall meeting sponsored by East Orlando Tea Party earlier this month in Orlando, former House Speaker Gingrich described his efforts to fight Agenda 21 if he were elected president.
“One of the things that is popping up, for example, is Agenda 21,” he told the tea party audience, “which is not something I even knew about until we did a couple of conference calls. It’s probably going to be one of the very first executive orders — is to seize all federal funding of any kind of activity that relates to the United Nations’ Agenda 21.”
By Ashley Lopez | 09.28.11
Here is a video of Gingrich talking to the East Orlando Tea Party about Agenda 21:
More from The Florida Independent Comments Share Feeding into right-wing hysteria, GOP presidential hopeful Newt Ginigrich told a tea party audience in Orlando this month that if he were elected president, one of his very first executive orders would be cutting funding to the United Nations’ Agenda 21.
Agenda 21 is a 19-year-old initiative launched by the United Nations to promote sustainable development in communities all over the world. The initiative is a non-binding program that provides local communities that seek to grow in a manner that is kind to the environment with resources such as grant and conference announcements. An organization called the International Council for Local and Environmental Initiatives (known as ICLEI) provides members with the information. Almost 600 cities all over the United States are “global members” of ICLEI, including more than 30 cities, municipalities and counties in Florida.
However, right-wing advocates and tea party members, including GOP Senate candidates, are convinced that the effort is actually a plot by the U.N. to steal the United States’ sovereignty and the individual property rights of its citizens.
Actual members of ICLEI dismiss these fears. The organization has no binding power over its members. One member, South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard, told The Florida Independent that ICLEI is an “information service, not command and control from Geneva.” He called the people up in arms about ICLEI “raging loons.”
“These are the guys that wear aluminum foil hats,” he said. “They have completely lost touch with reality.”
Now there is a GOP presidential candidate that is convinced of the same right-wing fears concerning Agenda 21.
In a town hall meeting sponsored by East Orlando Tea Party earlier this month in Orlando, former House Speaker Gingrich described his efforts to fight Agenda 21 if he were elected president.
“One of the things that is popping up, for example, is Agenda 21,” he told the tea party audience, “which is not something I even knew about until we did a couple of conference calls. It’s probably going to be one of the very first executive orders — is to seize all federal funding of any kind of activity that relates to the United Nations’ Agenda 21.”
MULTISTATE "OBAMACARE" CHALLENGE HEADS TO THE UNITED STATES' SUPREME COURT & BUSINESS GROUP JOINS HIGH COURT APPEAL!
Business Group Appeals Obamacare to High Court
Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 10:42 AM
A small business group said Wednesday it has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in its legal challenge seeking to strike down all of President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law.
The National Federation of Independent Business said in the appeal that the entire law should be invalidated because Congress exceeded its powers in adopting a key provision that requires Americans to buy health insurance or face a penalty.
It asked for a quick resolution in the Supreme Court's upcoming term, which begins next week and lasts through June 2012. The Obama administration also is expected to ask the Supreme Court to decide the healthcare law.
The National Federation of Independent Business, a Tennessee-based group representing 350,000 U.S. small businesses, had joined 26 states, led by Florida, in challenging the law.
A U.S. appeals court in Atlanta in August declared unconstitutional the individual insurance requirement, but refused to strike down the entire law.
While the business group appealed the case to the Supreme Court, Florida and the other states have yet to say whether they would bring their own separate appeal to the highest U.S. court.
The ruling by the appeals court in Atlanta conflicted with rulings by other appeals courts that have upheld the law or have rejected legal challenges, including a lawsuit by the state of Virginia that was dismissed earlier this month on procedural grounds.
The law, passed by Congress and signed by Obama in 2010 after a bruising political battle, is expected to be a major issue in the 2012 elections as Obama seeks another four-year term. The major Republican presidential candidates oppose it.
EXPANDING COVERAGE
Obama, a Democrat, has championed the law as a major accomplishment of his presidency and as a way to try to slow soaring healthcare costs while expanding health insurance coverage to the more than 30 million Americans without it.
The Supreme Court long has been expected to have the final word on the law's constitutionality. The dispute has important legal, political and financial implications for companies in the healthcare field.
"It is now imperative that the Supreme Court rule on whether the entire law can stand without the mandate," said Karen Harned, executive director of the Small Business Legal Center of the National Federation of Independent Business.
"The sooner the court takes up this case, the sooner small businesses and individuals will know whether they will have to bear the full weight, financially and economically, of this bad law," she said in a statement.
Legal experts have said the Supreme Court most likely will be closely divided on whether the individual mandate requiring insurance purchases exceeded the power of Congress.
They said the ruling on the nine-member court, closely divided with a conservative majority and four liberals, could come down to Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The Obama administration earlier this week said it decided against asking the full U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit to review the August ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that found the insurance requirement unconstitutional.
That decision cleared the way for the administration to go to the Supreme Court. The administration has said it believes the law will be upheld in court while opponents say it represents an unconstitutional encroachment of federal power.
© 2011 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
Read more: Business Group Appeals Obamacare to High Court
U.S. STATE'S HAVE A RIGHT TO ENFORCE ANTI-IMMIGRATION LAWS AGAINST ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS!
Ala. police to enforce America's 'strongest' immigration law!
Beginning Thursday, authorities can question people suspected of being in the country illegally and hold them without bond!
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Police in Alabama are getting ready to enforce what is considered by many as the toughest immigration law in the United States.
Beginning Thursday, authorities can question people suspected of being in the country illegally and hold them without bond, and officials can check the immigration status of students in public schools, Gov. Robert Bentley said.
Those two key aspects of Alabama's new law were upheld by a federal judge on Wednesday.
The governor said parts of the law take effect immediately.
"Today Judge Blackburn upheld the majority of our law," Gov. Robert Bentley said in a brief statement he delivered outside the State Capitol in Montgomery, The New York Times reported. "With those parts that were upheld, we have the strongest immigration law in the country."
However, he also said that the law "was never designed to hurt fellow human beings," according to the Montgomery Advertiser. "As a physician, I would never ask a sick person if she was legal or illegal. But as governor of this state, it is my sworn duty to uphold this state's laws, and that is what I intend to do," Bentley said.
Left standing were several key elements that help make the Alabama law stricter than similar laws passed in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia. Other federal judges have blocked all or parts of those.
There are three separate lawsuits against the Alabama law, including a challenge from President Barack Obama's administration. Blackburn's ruling is expected to be appealed.
Students sit in the gym at Crossville Elmentary School in Crossville, Ala., on Aug. 17. Despite being in an almost all-white town, the school's enrollment is about 65 percent Hispanic. John Carroll, a former U.S. magistrate judge who is now dean of Samford University's law school in suburban Birmingham, said Blackburn's ruling was mostly consistent with decisions from other states with the exception of her allowing Alabama's "stop and ask" provision, which lets police request people's immigration papers.
"I think down the line there are other arguments that can be made as the case goes forward," said Carroll.
Agricultural leaders fear the law could cost farmers money this autumn by scaring away Hispanic workers who are vital to harvesting crops statewide.
"There are some sweet potato farmers in this state it's really going to hurt. I don't know how they're going to get their crops out," said Jeremy Calvert, a farmer in rural Bremen.
Zan Green, a Tea Party activist in metro Birmingham, said she was happy with the decision, saying citizens of foreign countries have benefited for years through welfare, entitlements, education, medical care and child tax credits.
"Judge Blackburn's ruling is the beginning of removing the enormous financial burden of illegal immigration from the backs of Alabama citizens," she said in a statement.
Video: Civil Rights groups fight to block immigration law (on this page)
"We're really disappointed," Andre Segura of the American Civil Liberties Union, a plaintiff in one of the suits, told The New York Times. "We already know that this is going to cause a lot of problems in Alabama."
Pam Long, an Auburn University Montgomery professor who was also a plaintiff in the suit, told the Montgomery Advertiser that she was concerned that undocumented immigrants might be denied basic services.
"If people are paying for services like water and electricity, why would anybody care what their status is when you're connecting electricity and water?" she told the Advertiser.
Schools to verify citizenship
The judge refused to block a section of the law that requires public schools to verify students' citizenship and report overall statistics to the state, but the immediate effect isn't clear since schools have already started. Alabama was the first state to include such a provision, so Blackburn's decision could set a blueprint should others adopt similar laws.
Immigration became a hot issue in Alabama over the past decade as the state's Hispanic population grew by 145 percent to about 185,600. While the group still represents only about 4 percent of the population, some counties in north Alabama have large Spanish-speaking communities and schools where most of the students are Hispanic.
Video: Alabama's immigration law under fire (on this page)
Advertise | AdChoicesAdvertise | AdChoices
Advertise | AdChoices
.Alabama Republicans have long sought to clamp down on illegal immigration and passed the law earlier this year after gaining control of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. Bentley signed it, saying it was vital to protect jobs of legal residents.
Republican Sen. Scott Beason, one of the sponsors of the bill, was happy with Blackburn's decision and hopes, like the governor, that the entire law takes effect after appeals.
"There are still legal questions and there's still work to be done," he said.
Blackburn's orders temporarily blocked several parts of the law until she can issue a final ruling. Those measures would:
•Make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to solicit work.
•Make it a crime to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.
•Allow discrimination lawsuits against companies that dismiss legal workers while hiring illegal immigrants.
•Forbid businesses from taking tax deductions for wages paid to workers who are in the country illegally.
•Bar illegal immigrants from attending public colleges.
•Bar drivers from stopping along a road to hire temporary workers.
•Make federal verification the only way in court to determine if someone is here legally.
Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University, told the Times that the decision "really gives the anti-immigration folks more of a victory than they've been getting in other courts."
"There's a lot for them to be happy about," he said, but he added that, "this is not the last word on the constitutionality of this statute."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Beginning Thursday, authorities can question people suspected of being in the country illegally and hold them without bond!
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Police in Alabama are getting ready to enforce what is considered by many as the toughest immigration law in the United States.
Beginning Thursday, authorities can question people suspected of being in the country illegally and hold them without bond, and officials can check the immigration status of students in public schools, Gov. Robert Bentley said.
Those two key aspects of Alabama's new law were upheld by a federal judge on Wednesday.
The governor said parts of the law take effect immediately.
"Today Judge Blackburn upheld the majority of our law," Gov. Robert Bentley said in a brief statement he delivered outside the State Capitol in Montgomery, The New York Times reported. "With those parts that were upheld, we have the strongest immigration law in the country."
However, he also said that the law "was never designed to hurt fellow human beings," according to the Montgomery Advertiser. "As a physician, I would never ask a sick person if she was legal or illegal. But as governor of this state, it is my sworn duty to uphold this state's laws, and that is what I intend to do," Bentley said.
Left standing were several key elements that help make the Alabama law stricter than similar laws passed in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia. Other federal judges have blocked all or parts of those.
There are three separate lawsuits against the Alabama law, including a challenge from President Barack Obama's administration. Blackburn's ruling is expected to be appealed.
Students sit in the gym at Crossville Elmentary School in Crossville, Ala., on Aug. 17. Despite being in an almost all-white town, the school's enrollment is about 65 percent Hispanic. John Carroll, a former U.S. magistrate judge who is now dean of Samford University's law school in suburban Birmingham, said Blackburn's ruling was mostly consistent with decisions from other states with the exception of her allowing Alabama's "stop and ask" provision, which lets police request people's immigration papers.
"I think down the line there are other arguments that can be made as the case goes forward," said Carroll.
Agricultural leaders fear the law could cost farmers money this autumn by scaring away Hispanic workers who are vital to harvesting crops statewide.
"There are some sweet potato farmers in this state it's really going to hurt. I don't know how they're going to get their crops out," said Jeremy Calvert, a farmer in rural Bremen.
Zan Green, a Tea Party activist in metro Birmingham, said she was happy with the decision, saying citizens of foreign countries have benefited for years through welfare, entitlements, education, medical care and child tax credits.
"Judge Blackburn's ruling is the beginning of removing the enormous financial burden of illegal immigration from the backs of Alabama citizens," she said in a statement.
Video: Civil Rights groups fight to block immigration law (on this page)
"We're really disappointed," Andre Segura of the American Civil Liberties Union, a plaintiff in one of the suits, told The New York Times. "We already know that this is going to cause a lot of problems in Alabama."
Pam Long, an Auburn University Montgomery professor who was also a plaintiff in the suit, told the Montgomery Advertiser that she was concerned that undocumented immigrants might be denied basic services.
"If people are paying for services like water and electricity, why would anybody care what their status is when you're connecting electricity and water?" she told the Advertiser.
Schools to verify citizenship
The judge refused to block a section of the law that requires public schools to verify students' citizenship and report overall statistics to the state, but the immediate effect isn't clear since schools have already started. Alabama was the first state to include such a provision, so Blackburn's decision could set a blueprint should others adopt similar laws.
Immigration became a hot issue in Alabama over the past decade as the state's Hispanic population grew by 145 percent to about 185,600. While the group still represents only about 4 percent of the population, some counties in north Alabama have large Spanish-speaking communities and schools where most of the students are Hispanic.
Video: Alabama's immigration law under fire (on this page)
Advertise | AdChoicesAdvertise | AdChoices
Advertise | AdChoices
.Alabama Republicans have long sought to clamp down on illegal immigration and passed the law earlier this year after gaining control of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. Bentley signed it, saying it was vital to protect jobs of legal residents.
Republican Sen. Scott Beason, one of the sponsors of the bill, was happy with Blackburn's decision and hopes, like the governor, that the entire law takes effect after appeals.
"There are still legal questions and there's still work to be done," he said.
Blackburn's orders temporarily blocked several parts of the law until she can issue a final ruling. Those measures would:
•Make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to solicit work.
•Make it a crime to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.
•Allow discrimination lawsuits against companies that dismiss legal workers while hiring illegal immigrants.
•Forbid businesses from taking tax deductions for wages paid to workers who are in the country illegally.
•Bar illegal immigrants from attending public colleges.
•Bar drivers from stopping along a road to hire temporary workers.
•Make federal verification the only way in court to determine if someone is here legally.
Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University, told the Times that the decision "really gives the anti-immigration folks more of a victory than they've been getting in other courts."
"There's a lot for them to be happy about," he said, but he added that, "this is not the last word on the constitutionality of this statute."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. SENATOR HATCH SENDS LETTER TO U.S. DEPT. OF TREASURY DEMANDING ANSWERS ON CHINA!
White House says reviewing China bill, shares goal
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 9:56 a.m. EDT
U.S. Senator Orin Hatch announces the "Service America Act," which he is co-sponsoring with Senator Ted Kennedy, during the Service Nation S
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday said it was "reviewing" a Senate bill to crack down on China's currency practices after a senior Republican senator demanded the administration lay out its position on the legislation.
"We are reviewing the bill," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "We share the goal of achieving further appreciation of China's currency."
"China has moved some in terms of appreciating its currency ... But it's substantially undervalued and we need to see continued progress. And we've made that clear publicly and privately," Carney said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to take up the bipartisan legislation, which is aimed in part at pressuring Beijing to let its yuan currency rise faster, and has told reporters he felt "very confident" it would be approved.
Many U.S. lawmakers believe the yuan is undervalued by as much as 25 percent to 40 percent, giving Chinese companies an unfair price advantage in trade and costing American jobs.
A key provision would instruct the Commerce Department to treat undervalued currencies as a subsidy under U.S. trade law, allowing companies to ask for countervailing duties against imports on a case-by-case basis.
In order to become law, the bill would have to be passed also by the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Barack Obama.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated a similar measure passed last year by the House would collect about $125 million in new tariff revenues over ten years, based on its conclusion that only a "small share" of imports from China and other countries would qualify for the relief.
That legislation died in the Senate, but concern about continued high U.S. unemployment and slow economic growth has prompted lawmakers to focus again on the issue, which is resonating on the campaign trail.
In an interview on MSNBC, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Wednesday that he saw China as an "economic threat" to the United States. Under a Romney administration, "We're going to clamp down on China when they cheat," he said.
DON'T 'POLITICIZE' ISSUE, CHINA SAYS
House Republican leaders have not signaled any desire to consider the legislation, although many rank-and-file Republicans support taking action on the currency front.
The Obama administration so far has been silent on the measure, following a pattern it displayed last year when the then Democrat-controlled House passed a similar bill.
With Senate action approaching, a senior Republican called on the administration to break its silence on the legislation, which is opposed by a large swath of business groups but supported by labor and domestic manufacturers that compete directly with lower-price imports from China.
"Before the Senate moves forward, it's imperative that the 100 members of this body have a full understanding of the administration's views on this legislation," Senator Orrin Hatch said in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, asked for a written reply by late Monday afternoon, just before the Senate is scheduled to vote on taking up the bill.
China's yuan, also known as the renminbi, has risen about 3 percent against the dollar this year and about 6.7 percent since its peg to the dollar was loosened in June 2010. It closed slightly higher on Wednesday.
"The renminbi's exchange rate is not the cause of the trade imbalance between China and the U.S.," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in Beijing. "We hope the U.S. will maintain the overall interests of bilateral trade and economic relations and refrain from politicizing this issue."
In his letter, Hatch asked Geithner to "please provide any constitutional, legal, or other policy concerns the administration has with the currency provisions included in the bill." He also pressed Kirk to explain whether the administration believes the legislation complies with World Trade Organization rules.
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and John O'Callaghan; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jackie Frank)
SENATES RUSH FOR PATENT LEGISLATION GIVES GE CARD BLANCHE TO ASSIST CHINA & PAKISTAN IN NUCLEAR HYDROELECTRICITY WITH U.S. TAXPAYER EXEMPT STATUS!
http://www.clipperwind.com/pdf/WPM_0410_biznews_Clipper.pdf
September 13, 2011
CLEAN ENERGY PATENT GROWTH INDEX 2nd Quarter 2011
The CLEAN ENERGY PATENT GROWTH INDEX (CEPGI), published quarterly by the Cleantech Group at Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. provides an indication of the trend of innovative activity in the Clean Energy sector. Results from the second quarter of 2011 reveal the CEPGI to have a value of 537 granted U.S. patents which is the third highest quarter since tracking of the CEPGI began, lagging only the immediate two preceding quarters by 3 and 35 patents respectively, along with being up 100 over the second quarter of 2010.
The granting of patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is often cited as a measure of the inventive activity and evidence of the effectiveness of research & development investments. Patents are considered to be such an indicator because to be awarded a patent it requires not only the efforts of inventors to develop new and non-obvious innovations but also successful handling by patent counsel to shepherd a patent application through the PTO. Thus, the granting of a patent is an indicator that efforts at innovation have been successful and that an innovation had enough perceived value to justify the time and expense in procuring the patent.
The CEPGI tracks the granting of U.S. patents for the following sub-components: Solar, Wind, Hybrid/electric vehicles, Fuel Cells, Hydroelectric, Tidal/wave, Geothermal, Biomass/biofuels and other clean renewable energy.
The components breakdown of the CEPGI shows fuel cells to be down 45 relative to the 1st quarter at 205 and down 43 relative to the year before. Granted solar patents (122) continued to top the remaining components of the CEPGI, and in particular its closest competitor, wind (113), by 9. Solar patents were down 16 compared to the 1st quarter while up 46 relative to a year prior. Wind was up 27 over the first quarter and up 58 over the second quarter of 2010. Hybrid/electric vehicle patents (47) were up 9 relative to the 1st quarter and up 14 compared to the second quarter of the year before. Biofuel patents (27) were up 10 from the 1st quarter and up 15 relative to the 2d quarter of 2010. Hydroelectric patents were at four patents topping by three patents the first quarter and the same period of the year prior. Tidal patents were up 6 at 15 from the 1st quarter and up 5 over the year before.
General Electric took the quarterly Clean Energy Patent crown with 44 granted clean energy patents in the second quarter of 2011, ending General Motors’ streak of two quarterly wins and having won the annual contest in 2010. GE’s win was based primarily on its wind patents (37) along with small numbers of patents in Fuel cells (1), Hybrid/Electric vehicles (2), solar and a pair of others. GM fell to fourth place while Toyota climbed back up into second place with 33 granted clean energy patents followed by Samsung with 28. Toyota’s patents were in fuel cells (21) and Hybrid/Electric vehicles (12). Samsung coupled a large fuel cell (23) turnout with an assist from solar (5). GM’s patents were primarily in Fuel Cells at 24 and GM led all others in this category in the second quarter. Also, Hybrid/Electric vehicles (3), as one would expect from a car company, added to GM’s tally. Vestas had 22 wind patents and trailed GE by 15 in this category while taking fifth place. Honda followed with an uncharacteristically low 14 clean energy patents in fuel cells (12), hybrid/electric vehicles (2) and solar (1). Panasonic had 9 fuel cell patents in seventh place while five entities tied with 5 granted clean energy patents. Applied Materials was second in solar patents to Samsung, having 4 solar patents and one fuel cell patent. Car companies Nissan and Ford had patents in fuel cells (4 and 3, respectively) and hybrid/electric vehicles (2 each). Canon had patents exclusively in fuel cells (5) while Siemens scored wind (3) and fuel cell (2) patents.
As depicted below in the geographic charts, Japan was the first quarter leader among non-U.S. holders of U.S. clean energy patents and the individual U.S. states with 114, down 17 from the 1st quarter and down 7 from the same period in 2010, to again claim the geographical clean energy patent crown. California was in second place for the third consecutive quarter at 65 clean energy patents, up 6 over the second quarter and up 16 compared to a year prior, leading new third place finisher New York which leapfrogged Michigan due to its largest quarterly finish ever at 52 granted clean energy patents, up 17 over the 1st quarter and up 30 over a year prior. Korea followed with 41 patents matching last quarter’s total and up 4 over the same quarter in 2010. Longtime second place holder (and longtime US states leader ) Michigan fell to 5th place, down 14 from the previous result and up two over last year’s. Denmark (26) and Germany (29) trailed with Germany up 5 over last quarter and tieing the results of a year ago while Denmark was up 9 over last quarter and 17 over last year’s second quarter. (Others having significant clean energy patent totals were Massachusetts (13) with a total identical to that of the first quarter, while Canada and Colorado had 9 and Connecticut had 7 (identical to the last quarter).
http://www.clipperwind.com/pdf/WPM_0410_biznews_Clipper.pdf
+++++++++
GE Settles Iraq Corruption Charges
New Statesman
Published 28 July 2010
Energy group pays $23.4 million over accusations of kickbacks.
GE has been accused of bribing officials of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
General Electric of US has agreed to pay $23.4m to settle corruption charges under the United Nation's "oil-for-food" programme without admitting or denying that it had bribed Iraqi officials for contracts.
The move has closed a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice, which had begun amid accusations by America's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that GE was involved in a $3.6m kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies to win contracts to supply medical equipment and water purification equipment.
According to the SEC, the bribery - said to have taken place between 2000 and 2003 - involved not just divisions of GE but also two healthcare companies it has since acquired.
These include Ionics and a British company, Nycomed Amersham. GE's European subsidiaries, Marquette-Hellige and OEC-Medical Systems, were also involved in the scheme, which is reported to have earned them altogether $18.4m.
GE's case is said to be the fourth largest among corporations charged with bribery in the UN's "oil-for-food" programme, which aimed to ease the humanitarian burden of sanctions on the Saddam Hussein regime.
Get the full magazine for just £1 a week with a trial subscription. PLUS get a free copy of Slavoj Žižek: A Graphic Guide
September 13, 2011
CLEAN ENERGY PATENT GROWTH INDEX 2nd Quarter 2011
The CLEAN ENERGY PATENT GROWTH INDEX (CEPGI), published quarterly by the Cleantech Group at Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. provides an indication of the trend of innovative activity in the Clean Energy sector. Results from the second quarter of 2011 reveal the CEPGI to have a value of 537 granted U.S. patents which is the third highest quarter since tracking of the CEPGI began, lagging only the immediate two preceding quarters by 3 and 35 patents respectively, along with being up 100 over the second quarter of 2010.
The granting of patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is often cited as a measure of the inventive activity and evidence of the effectiveness of research & development investments. Patents are considered to be such an indicator because to be awarded a patent it requires not only the efforts of inventors to develop new and non-obvious innovations but also successful handling by patent counsel to shepherd a patent application through the PTO. Thus, the granting of a patent is an indicator that efforts at innovation have been successful and that an innovation had enough perceived value to justify the time and expense in procuring the patent.
The CEPGI tracks the granting of U.S. patents for the following sub-components: Solar, Wind, Hybrid/electric vehicles, Fuel Cells, Hydroelectric, Tidal/wave, Geothermal, Biomass/biofuels and other clean renewable energy.
The components breakdown of the CEPGI shows fuel cells to be down 45 relative to the 1st quarter at 205 and down 43 relative to the year before. Granted solar patents (122) continued to top the remaining components of the CEPGI, and in particular its closest competitor, wind (113), by 9. Solar patents were down 16 compared to the 1st quarter while up 46 relative to a year prior. Wind was up 27 over the first quarter and up 58 over the second quarter of 2010. Hybrid/electric vehicle patents (47) were up 9 relative to the 1st quarter and up 14 compared to the second quarter of the year before. Biofuel patents (27) were up 10 from the 1st quarter and up 15 relative to the 2d quarter of 2010. Hydroelectric patents were at four patents topping by three patents the first quarter and the same period of the year prior. Tidal patents were up 6 at 15 from the 1st quarter and up 5 over the year before.
General Electric took the quarterly Clean Energy Patent crown with 44 granted clean energy patents in the second quarter of 2011, ending General Motors’ streak of two quarterly wins and having won the annual contest in 2010. GE’s win was based primarily on its wind patents (37) along with small numbers of patents in Fuel cells (1), Hybrid/Electric vehicles (2), solar and a pair of others. GM fell to fourth place while Toyota climbed back up into second place with 33 granted clean energy patents followed by Samsung with 28. Toyota’s patents were in fuel cells (21) and Hybrid/Electric vehicles (12). Samsung coupled a large fuel cell (23) turnout with an assist from solar (5). GM’s patents were primarily in Fuel Cells at 24 and GM led all others in this category in the second quarter. Also, Hybrid/Electric vehicles (3), as one would expect from a car company, added to GM’s tally. Vestas had 22 wind patents and trailed GE by 15 in this category while taking fifth place. Honda followed with an uncharacteristically low 14 clean energy patents in fuel cells (12), hybrid/electric vehicles (2) and solar (1). Panasonic had 9 fuel cell patents in seventh place while five entities tied with 5 granted clean energy patents. Applied Materials was second in solar patents to Samsung, having 4 solar patents and one fuel cell patent. Car companies Nissan and Ford had patents in fuel cells (4 and 3, respectively) and hybrid/electric vehicles (2 each). Canon had patents exclusively in fuel cells (5) while Siemens scored wind (3) and fuel cell (2) patents.
As depicted below in the geographic charts, Japan was the first quarter leader among non-U.S. holders of U.S. clean energy patents and the individual U.S. states with 114, down 17 from the 1st quarter and down 7 from the same period in 2010, to again claim the geographical clean energy patent crown. California was in second place for the third consecutive quarter at 65 clean energy patents, up 6 over the second quarter and up 16 compared to a year prior, leading new third place finisher New York which leapfrogged Michigan due to its largest quarterly finish ever at 52 granted clean energy patents, up 17 over the 1st quarter and up 30 over a year prior. Korea followed with 41 patents matching last quarter’s total and up 4 over the same quarter in 2010. Longtime second place holder (and longtime US states leader ) Michigan fell to 5th place, down 14 from the previous result and up two over last year’s. Denmark (26) and Germany (29) trailed with Germany up 5 over last quarter and tieing the results of a year ago while Denmark was up 9 over last quarter and 17 over last year’s second quarter. (Others having significant clean energy patent totals were Massachusetts (13) with a total identical to that of the first quarter, while Canada and Colorado had 9 and Connecticut had 7 (identical to the last quarter).
http://www.clipperwind.com/pdf/WPM_0410_biznews_Clipper.pdf
+++++++++
GE Settles Iraq Corruption Charges
New Statesman
Published 28 July 2010
Energy group pays $23.4 million over accusations of kickbacks.
GE has been accused of bribing officials of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
General Electric of US has agreed to pay $23.4m to settle corruption charges under the United Nation's "oil-for-food" programme without admitting or denying that it had bribed Iraqi officials for contracts.
The move has closed a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice, which had begun amid accusations by America's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that GE was involved in a $3.6m kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies to win contracts to supply medical equipment and water purification equipment.
According to the SEC, the bribery - said to have taken place between 2000 and 2003 - involved not just divisions of GE but also two healthcare companies it has since acquired.
These include Ionics and a British company, Nycomed Amersham. GE's European subsidiaries, Marquette-Hellige and OEC-Medical Systems, were also involved in the scheme, which is reported to have earned them altogether $18.4m.
GE's case is said to be the fourth largest among corporations charged with bribery in the UN's "oil-for-food" programme, which aimed to ease the humanitarian burden of sanctions on the Saddam Hussein regime.
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US SENATE WILL TAKE UP CHINESE CURRENCY MEASURE BEFORE JOBS BILL!
Senate will take up Chinese currency measure before jobs bill
By Rosalind S. Helderman
With a bipartisan agreement in place to keep the government open into November, Senate Democrats will now move immediately to take up President Obama’s jobs bill, right?
Not exactly.
“We’ll get to that,” Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday night, when asked if the likely passage of the temporary spending bill meant the Senate could now consider the president’s package.
Obama visits a Denver high school Tuesday to again urge immediate Congressional action on his package of tax cuts and incentive spending designed to spur job growth, part of a barnstorming tour of the country designed to raise pressure on lawmakers.
But Republicans have been chortling that Congressional Democrats don’t appear to be itching to put the plan to a vote.
Reid, who is sponsoring the package in the Senate, said the Senate will first take up debate next week on a bill to punish Chinese and other nations for currency manipulation.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important for a jobs measure than China trade, and that’s what we’re going to work on next week,” he said.
Work on the Chinese trade manipulation measure has been on the back burner for months, and it enjoys strong bipartisan support in the Senate, where leaders see it as a jobs-protection bill that has a good chance of passage.
The Chinese currency measure has been championed particularly by Democratic Senators whose states have been hard hit by overseas outsourcing--and who will face tough reelection battles next year, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
“We understand that there’s conversations going on about the president’s jobs bill--which I support. I’m in agreement with that,” Reid said. “But let’s get some of these things done that we have to get done first.”
Consideration of the president’s jobs plan, on the other hand, will likely be blocked by Senate Republicans. Once the whole package is put aside, Congress may move to consider separate pieces of the package-- such as a payroll tax cut and new school construction dollars, as Republicans have urged.
A senior Senate Democratic aide insisted the decision to complete the Chinese currency measure simply means the chamber is taking up a bill that will pass before holding what will likely be a symbolic vote on the jobs plan.
“There is a lot of interest in taking up the president’s plan. It’s seen as a bold, serious proposal that would make a serious dent in our unemployment problem,” the aide said. “There is broad support in the Democratic caucus to take it up in the very near future.”
The aide predicted the Senate will debate the jobs plan sometime in October. The slight delay, he said, also fulfills a request from the White House that they be given time to sell the public on the package before it faces its first Congressional vote.
“It was at the White House’s request that they be allowed an opportunity for the president to explain the details of the plan to the public,” the aide said.
White House senior advisor David Plouffe Sr. said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that officials expect a Senate vote on the whole jobs package “at some point in October.”
“We’re going to keep making the case,” he said.
But some Republicans believe the Senate’s failure to fast-track the president’s plan to the top of the agenda is a sign the bill does not have full Democratic support. Several Senators have criticized elements of the plan, including Obama’s proposal to pay for it by limiting deductions for upper-income families.
“While we continue to hope that we can work with the president on policies that will help create jobs, his much touted proposal at this point faces bipartisan resistance,“ said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
By Rosalind S. Helderman | 02:24 PM ET, 09/27/2011
By Rosalind S. Helderman
With a bipartisan agreement in place to keep the government open into November, Senate Democrats will now move immediately to take up President Obama’s jobs bill, right?
Not exactly.
“We’ll get to that,” Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday night, when asked if the likely passage of the temporary spending bill meant the Senate could now consider the president’s package.
Obama visits a Denver high school Tuesday to again urge immediate Congressional action on his package of tax cuts and incentive spending designed to spur job growth, part of a barnstorming tour of the country designed to raise pressure on lawmakers.
But Republicans have been chortling that Congressional Democrats don’t appear to be itching to put the plan to a vote.
Reid, who is sponsoring the package in the Senate, said the Senate will first take up debate next week on a bill to punish Chinese and other nations for currency manipulation.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important for a jobs measure than China trade, and that’s what we’re going to work on next week,” he said.
Work on the Chinese trade manipulation measure has been on the back burner for months, and it enjoys strong bipartisan support in the Senate, where leaders see it as a jobs-protection bill that has a good chance of passage.
The Chinese currency measure has been championed particularly by Democratic Senators whose states have been hard hit by overseas outsourcing--and who will face tough reelection battles next year, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
“We understand that there’s conversations going on about the president’s jobs bill--which I support. I’m in agreement with that,” Reid said. “But let’s get some of these things done that we have to get done first.”
Consideration of the president’s jobs plan, on the other hand, will likely be blocked by Senate Republicans. Once the whole package is put aside, Congress may move to consider separate pieces of the package-- such as a payroll tax cut and new school construction dollars, as Republicans have urged.
A senior Senate Democratic aide insisted the decision to complete the Chinese currency measure simply means the chamber is taking up a bill that will pass before holding what will likely be a symbolic vote on the jobs plan.
“There is a lot of interest in taking up the president’s plan. It’s seen as a bold, serious proposal that would make a serious dent in our unemployment problem,” the aide said. “There is broad support in the Democratic caucus to take it up in the very near future.”
The aide predicted the Senate will debate the jobs plan sometime in October. The slight delay, he said, also fulfills a request from the White House that they be given time to sell the public on the package before it faces its first Congressional vote.
“It was at the White House’s request that they be allowed an opportunity for the president to explain the details of the plan to the public,” the aide said.
White House senior advisor David Plouffe Sr. said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that officials expect a Senate vote on the whole jobs package “at some point in October.”
“We’re going to keep making the case,” he said.
But some Republicans believe the Senate’s failure to fast-track the president’s plan to the top of the agenda is a sign the bill does not have full Democratic support. Several Senators have criticized elements of the plan, including Obama’s proposal to pay for it by limiting deductions for upper-income families.
“While we continue to hope that we can work with the president on policies that will help create jobs, his much touted proposal at this point faces bipartisan resistance,“ said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
By Rosalind S. Helderman | 02:24 PM ET, 09/27/2011
GOV. PAT QUINN & THE COOK COUNTY CHICAGO TREASURERS OFFICES EMBROILED IN CHINESE TRADE SECRETS SCANDAL ROBBING TAXPAYERS FOR ENERGY GRANTS!
GE's China Ideas Bank
Conglomerate Launches $100 Million Contest to Spur Gas-Energy Innovation
By AARON BACK
BEIJING—General Electric Co. Wednesday opened a $100 million contest in China to fund innovative gas-energy projects, similar to the company's previous innovation programs in the U.S.
GE is launching its "Ecomagination Challenge" in China along with seven venture-capital partners, together providing $100 million to back innovations in gas power, including natural gas, biogas, shale gas and coal-bed methane gas.
CEO Jeffrey Immelt, in Beijing Wednesday, said GE's energy sales in China will rise 25% to 30% annually.
.Speaking at a news briefing, Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said GE expects revenue from its energy business in China to grow by 25% to 30% a year "as time goes on," without giving a more specific timeframe.
The U.S. conglomerate sells various energy-related technologies in China and has installed more than 300 heavy-duty gas turbines in the country to date. China wants natural gas to account for 8% of its total energy by 2015 compared with 4% now.
GE's China sales revenue totaled around $5 billion in 2010. Energy revenue in China wasn't available.
Mr. Immelt said the company's global "ecomagination" revenue, from a range of green technologies, including wind turbines and efficient jet engines, will likely be around $21 billion this year, up from $5 billion in 2005.
Venture-capital partners for the fund include Citic Capital Partners, an affiliate of Chinese financial conglomerate Citic Group, and Sequoia Capital China, GE said.
Winners of the contest could receive cash awards, opportunities to work at GE's research and development facilities in China and possible equity investments in their ventures.
In a similar two-stage contest that GE launched in the U.S. last year, it offered $200 million in funding for ideas in fields such as renewable energy and smart-grid technology in partnership with various venture-capital firms.
Earlier this month, GE also launched a $100 million "healthymagination" challenge for ideas to treat and detect breast cancer.
"We very much believe that we are never going to invent everything inside the company, and that we need to have the spirit of open innovation to be as good a technical company as we want to be," Mr. Immelt said.
Asked about the state of the global economy amid sovereign-debt woes in Europe and other risks, Mr. Immelt said, "global businesspeople are seeing better business prospects than the mood seems to be."
In India on Tuesday, Mr. Immelt said he didn't expect a second global recession. Developed economies in the U.S., Europe and Japan will be slow, but "the emerging world is still quite strong," he said.
Write to Aaron Back at aaron.back@dowjones.com
Conglomerate Launches $100 Million Contest to Spur Gas-Energy Innovation
By AARON BACK
BEIJING—General Electric Co. Wednesday opened a $100 million contest in China to fund innovative gas-energy projects, similar to the company's previous innovation programs in the U.S.
GE is launching its "Ecomagination Challenge" in China along with seven venture-capital partners, together providing $100 million to back innovations in gas power, including natural gas, biogas, shale gas and coal-bed methane gas.
CEO Jeffrey Immelt, in Beijing Wednesday, said GE's energy sales in China will rise 25% to 30% annually.
.Speaking at a news briefing, Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said GE expects revenue from its energy business in China to grow by 25% to 30% a year "as time goes on," without giving a more specific timeframe.
The U.S. conglomerate sells various energy-related technologies in China and has installed more than 300 heavy-duty gas turbines in the country to date. China wants natural gas to account for 8% of its total energy by 2015 compared with 4% now.
GE's China sales revenue totaled around $5 billion in 2010. Energy revenue in China wasn't available.
Mr. Immelt said the company's global "ecomagination" revenue, from a range of green technologies, including wind turbines and efficient jet engines, will likely be around $21 billion this year, up from $5 billion in 2005.
Venture-capital partners for the fund include Citic Capital Partners, an affiliate of Chinese financial conglomerate Citic Group, and Sequoia Capital China, GE said.
Winners of the contest could receive cash awards, opportunities to work at GE's research and development facilities in China and possible equity investments in their ventures.
In a similar two-stage contest that GE launched in the U.S. last year, it offered $200 million in funding for ideas in fields such as renewable energy and smart-grid technology in partnership with various venture-capital firms.
Earlier this month, GE also launched a $100 million "healthymagination" challenge for ideas to treat and detect breast cancer.
"We very much believe that we are never going to invent everything inside the company, and that we need to have the spirit of open innovation to be as good a technical company as we want to be," Mr. Immelt said.
Asked about the state of the global economy amid sovereign-debt woes in Europe and other risks, Mr. Immelt said, "global businesspeople are seeing better business prospects than the mood seems to be."
In India on Tuesday, Mr. Immelt said he didn't expect a second global recession. Developed economies in the U.S., Europe and Japan will be slow, but "the emerging world is still quite strong," he said.
Write to Aaron Back at aaron.back@dowjones.com
GOV. PAT QUINN CAN'T SELL ENOUGH TRADE SECRETS TO CHINA TO STAY OUT OF PRISON!
WEAREILLINOIS.ORG
Quinn can't cut enough China deals to make up for damage by his tax hike
9/19/2011
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said that a new survey of corporate executives released by Development Counsellors International showing that Illinois is ranked as one of the worst states to do business shows that the tax hike passed by Illinois Democrats is hurting Illinois and that Governor Pat Quinn’s high publicity jobs “deals” in places like China are not the long-term solution to the state’s economic problems.
“Whether he travels to Beijing or to Peoria, Governor Quinn won’t be able to rack up enough frequent flyer miles to cut headline-making deals to make up for the jobs that his tax hike has cost this state,” said Brady. “Governor Quinn - along with Speaker (Mike) Madigan, Senate President (John) Cullerton and most of the Democrats in Springfield - has put this state in a terrible position that is costing Illinois jobs at a time when we really need them.”
Brady noted that Illinois has lost over 100,000 jobs since the tax hike was adopted in January while Quinn’s deal with Goldwind of China that he announced today will only create about 100 temporary construction jobs and only about a dozen permanent jobs.
Nearly one quarter of the survey's respondents said Illinois had one of the least favorable business climates. Taxes and high costs were among the factors that contributed to the state's poor showing in the survey.
The tax hike passed both chambers of the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly in January with every Republican member opposing it before it was signed into law by Quinn.
Quinn can't cut enough China deals to make up for damage by his tax hike
9/19/2011
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said that a new survey of corporate executives released by Development Counsellors International showing that Illinois is ranked as one of the worst states to do business shows that the tax hike passed by Illinois Democrats is hurting Illinois and that Governor Pat Quinn’s high publicity jobs “deals” in places like China are not the long-term solution to the state’s economic problems.
“Whether he travels to Beijing or to Peoria, Governor Quinn won’t be able to rack up enough frequent flyer miles to cut headline-making deals to make up for the jobs that his tax hike has cost this state,” said Brady. “Governor Quinn - along with Speaker (Mike) Madigan, Senate President (John) Cullerton and most of the Democrats in Springfield - has put this state in a terrible position that is costing Illinois jobs at a time when we really need them.”
Brady noted that Illinois has lost over 100,000 jobs since the tax hike was adopted in January while Quinn’s deal with Goldwind of China that he announced today will only create about 100 temporary construction jobs and only about a dozen permanent jobs.
Nearly one quarter of the survey's respondents said Illinois had one of the least favorable business climates. Taxes and high costs were among the factors that contributed to the state's poor showing in the survey.
The tax hike passed both chambers of the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly in January with every Republican member opposing it before it was signed into law by Quinn.
74 GOP TRAITORS DEFECT TO CHINA AS U.S. CONGRESSIONAL HOUSE PASSES CHINESE ANTI-CURRENCY MANIPULATION BILL WITH SANCTIONS!
THEHILL.COM
74 GOP members defect as China bill passes the House
By Jordan Fabian - 09/29/10
In a vote that divided House Republicans, the chamber on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation meant to hammer China for its currency policy.
The legislation, meant to pressure China into boosting the value of its currency, passed in a 348-79 vote.
Ninety-nine Republicans voted for the measure while 74 opposed it, and the vote split GOP leaders from Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.), who could become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee if the GOP takes back the House this fall.
Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) opposed the legislation, but GOP Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) supported it.
Labor unions and manufacturers have been pressing for action for years. They argue China’s currency manipulation lowers the cost of China’s exports, hurting U.S. workers and businesses. The U.S. trade deficit with China stands at $145 billion.
Democrats believe the bill could boost turnout for their party at the polls, and approval of the China bill was one of the last acts the House took before adjourning. Only five Democrats voted against the bill.
“We believe that passing this legislation here today gives the president leverage in his conversation with the Chinese,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a floor statement.
Pelosi, who has often been criticized by China’s government, gaveled the final vote closed. Pelosi unfurled a banner in 1991 in Tiananmen Square that honored “those who died for Democracy in China.”
Republicans who opposed the bill sided with business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied against the legislation. They argued it could damage the U.S.-China trade relationship.
Those Republicans voting aye largely hailed from states that have sizable manufacturing sectors, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.“Despite my disappointment about the lack of a broader trade agenda and the lack of action on these other concerns with respect to China, it would be an enormous mistake to give up completely on addressing China’s currency policy,” Camp said during the floor debate.
“I will vote for this bill because it sends a clear signal to China that Congress’s patience is running out but does not give China an excuse to retaliate against U.S. companies and their workers,” he continued.
Sponsored by Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), the bill would allow the Commerce Department to consider currency manipulation when calculating anti-subsidy duties. That could lead to higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
It is unclear whether the legislation will make it to President Obama’s desk, though Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to push for a vote in the Senate’s lame-duck session after the election.
The White House has tried to keep the legislation locked up this year, but in recent weeks Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has suggested the administration’s patience with China is wearing thin.
The House vote is likely to anger China’s government, which blames the U.S. trade deficit on other factors. This is the first time legislation hitting China on the issue has been approved by the House.
China announced over the summer it would allow its currency to follow market trends, but the yuan has barely increased in value.
One business source opposed to the legislation earlier this week said how China responds to the vote could determine whether the Senate takes action. If China’s currency rises significantly between now and the lame-duck session, the source said, a Senate vote on the legislation would be less likely.
The vote Tuesday was a rare example of division within the House GOP conference, which has largely voted in lockstep against Democratic legislation this Congress.
Most Republican opponents of the bill acknowledged that China undervalues its currency, but echoed the concerns of business groups that say passing the measure would spark a trade war with China that could destabilize the U.S. economy.
“We are starting to see the makings of a currency war out there where others are devaluing their currencies at our expense,” said Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.), who voted against the bill.
“We’re simply pandering instead of considering what will actually open new markets,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), another opponent.
Other Republicans argued that the U.S. needs to develop a comprehensive trade agenda in order to fully resolve its issues with China.
Some Democrats looked to attack Republicans who voted against the measure, saying they were siding with U.S. corporations with investments in China over U.S. workers.
“They always find an excuse to side with their foreign benefactors,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said of the GOP. “They’re worried about a trade war. We’re at war at China ... They are supporting capitulation; we are finally starting to fight back on this side of the aisle.”
Other Republicans said China’s currency policies had devastated U.S. manufacturers, and complained that both the Bush and Obama administrations had been slow to act.
“Chinese currency manipulation is the driving force behind this destruction” of the manufacturing sector, said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). He said the two White Houses had “refused to do anything but talk on the issue of Chinese currency manipulation.”
Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), a frequent critic of China’s human-rights policies, said: “[Chinese leaders] have not only mistreated their own people, because they are the worst kind of tyrants that one can imagine, they have mistreated the American people as well.”
74 GOP members defect as China bill passes the House
By Jordan Fabian - 09/29/10
In a vote that divided House Republicans, the chamber on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation meant to hammer China for its currency policy.
The legislation, meant to pressure China into boosting the value of its currency, passed in a 348-79 vote.
Ninety-nine Republicans voted for the measure while 74 opposed it, and the vote split GOP leaders from Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.), who could become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee if the GOP takes back the House this fall.
Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) opposed the legislation, but GOP Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) supported it.
Labor unions and manufacturers have been pressing for action for years. They argue China’s currency manipulation lowers the cost of China’s exports, hurting U.S. workers and businesses. The U.S. trade deficit with China stands at $145 billion.
Democrats believe the bill could boost turnout for their party at the polls, and approval of the China bill was one of the last acts the House took before adjourning. Only five Democrats voted against the bill.
“We believe that passing this legislation here today gives the president leverage in his conversation with the Chinese,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a floor statement.
Pelosi, who has often been criticized by China’s government, gaveled the final vote closed. Pelosi unfurled a banner in 1991 in Tiananmen Square that honored “those who died for Democracy in China.”
Republicans who opposed the bill sided with business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied against the legislation. They argued it could damage the U.S.-China trade relationship.
Those Republicans voting aye largely hailed from states that have sizable manufacturing sectors, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.“Despite my disappointment about the lack of a broader trade agenda and the lack of action on these other concerns with respect to China, it would be an enormous mistake to give up completely on addressing China’s currency policy,” Camp said during the floor debate.
“I will vote for this bill because it sends a clear signal to China that Congress’s patience is running out but does not give China an excuse to retaliate against U.S. companies and their workers,” he continued.
Sponsored by Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), the bill would allow the Commerce Department to consider currency manipulation when calculating anti-subsidy duties. That could lead to higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
It is unclear whether the legislation will make it to President Obama’s desk, though Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to push for a vote in the Senate’s lame-duck session after the election.
The White House has tried to keep the legislation locked up this year, but in recent weeks Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has suggested the administration’s patience with China is wearing thin.
The House vote is likely to anger China’s government, which blames the U.S. trade deficit on other factors. This is the first time legislation hitting China on the issue has been approved by the House.
China announced over the summer it would allow its currency to follow market trends, but the yuan has barely increased in value.
One business source opposed to the legislation earlier this week said how China responds to the vote could determine whether the Senate takes action. If China’s currency rises significantly between now and the lame-duck session, the source said, a Senate vote on the legislation would be less likely.
The vote Tuesday was a rare example of division within the House GOP conference, which has largely voted in lockstep against Democratic legislation this Congress.
Most Republican opponents of the bill acknowledged that China undervalues its currency, but echoed the concerns of business groups that say passing the measure would spark a trade war with China that could destabilize the U.S. economy.
“We are starting to see the makings of a currency war out there where others are devaluing their currencies at our expense,” said Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.), who voted against the bill.
“We’re simply pandering instead of considering what will actually open new markets,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), another opponent.
Other Republicans argued that the U.S. needs to develop a comprehensive trade agenda in order to fully resolve its issues with China.
Some Democrats looked to attack Republicans who voted against the measure, saying they were siding with U.S. corporations with investments in China over U.S. workers.
“They always find an excuse to side with their foreign benefactors,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said of the GOP. “They’re worried about a trade war. We’re at war at China ... They are supporting capitulation; we are finally starting to fight back on this side of the aisle.”
Other Republicans said China’s currency policies had devastated U.S. manufacturers, and complained that both the Bush and Obama administrations had been slow to act.
“Chinese currency manipulation is the driving force behind this destruction” of the manufacturing sector, said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). He said the two White Houses had “refused to do anything but talk on the issue of Chinese currency manipulation.”
Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), a frequent critic of China’s human-rights policies, said: “[Chinese leaders] have not only mistreated their own people, because they are the worst kind of tyrants that one can imagine, they have mistreated the American people as well.”
U.S. CONGRESS SUBPOENAS "PLANNED PARENTHOOD" THE LARGEST ORGANIZATION OF BABY KILLERS FUNDED WITH U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS!
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/09/congressional-investigation-of-planned-parenthood-what-to-expect/
Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood: What to expect
Yesterday came the welcome news that a congressional committee has launched an investigation of Planned Parenthood.
Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns (pictured right), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (under the Energy & Commerce Committee), had been threatening a probe for months, particularly after Americans United for Life released a damning report in July documenting decades of malfeasance by the United States’ largest abortion provider.
Stearns followed through and on September 15 issued a letter to Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards requesting 12 years’ worth of financial records, state audits, and policies from both Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its 83 affiliates, to be handed over “within two weeks of the date of this letter,” or by tomorrow, September 29.
According to the letter, Stearns’ committee will investigate improper billing and overbilling by PP affiliates to the government; comingling of government funds intended for Titles X and XIX with PP’s abortion operations, which would be illegal; and PP’s policies and procedures for reporting sex abuse and trafficking to authorities.
AUL’s report documented that PP affiliates have indeed been caught overbilling, failing to report minor sex abuse, and failing to comply with parental involvement laws, to name just three infractions of many.
PP took almost the entire two weeks after receiving Stearns’ letter to get its PR ducks in a row before announcing news of the investigation yesterday, obviously alerting Washington Post pro-abort go-to reporter Sarah Kliff and readying Democrat pro-abort Congressman Henry Waxman’s protest letter for simultaneous release with its own press statement. Note the timing of the tweets…
I spoke with Charmaine Yoest, president of AUL, and asked what to expect next. She said PP could take one of four actions: 1) provide only undamaging, incomplete information; 2) provide massive amounts of material that would take years to wade through and hope no one finds any ugly details; 3) stonewall; 4) provide accurate information.
#3, stonewalling, appears unlikely, because it would make the organization look like it has something to hide and risk incurring the wrath of Stearns. In fact, PP wrote in its statement it “is responding to the request in a timely manner.”
#2, providing TMI, would also seem unlikely, because even if handing over needles in a haystack to the government, PP would still be handing them over.
#1 or #4 are most likely. Planned Parenthood is legally obligated to respond to Stearns’ subpoenas.
Then what?
Stearns’ staff will investigate PP’s paperwork and issue a public report. They can put all of PP’s submitted information in the report, making it public. If they find a smoking gun or guns, they can follow up with hearings.
Examining subpoenaed documents is precisely how Solyndra was exposed – by this same committee. From ABC News, September 13:
The emails were uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will hold hearings on the Solyndra loan Wednesday. The Republican-led House has been investigating the Obama administration’s green energy loan program for months…. Last week, the FBI raided the factory….
Finding damaging information that PP’s top-notch attorneys may attempt to hide will depend on how good Stearns’ staff is. I asked Charmaine if Stearns can ask outside organizations that are PP-savvy to examine PP’s documents, such as AUL or American Life League’s STOPP. She said it is totally legal and acceptable for a congressional committee to request investigatory help from outside experts.
I hope Congressman Stearns does so. I think he will. He was brave going into this, knowing the other side would malign him with both barrels. I expect he will want to do all he can to find as much evidence as possible of PP’s wrong-doing.
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/09/congressional-investigation-of-planned-parenthood-what-to-expect/
Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood: What to expect
Yesterday came the welcome news that a congressional committee has launched an investigation of Planned Parenthood.
Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns (pictured right), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (under the Energy & Commerce Committee), had been threatening a probe for months, particularly after Americans United for Life released a damning report in July documenting decades of malfeasance by the United States’ largest abortion provider.
Stearns followed through and on September 15 issued a letter to Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards requesting 12 years’ worth of financial records, state audits, and policies from both Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its 83 affiliates, to be handed over “within two weeks of the date of this letter,” or by tomorrow, September 29.
According to the letter, Stearns’ committee will investigate improper billing and overbilling by PP affiliates to the government; comingling of government funds intended for Titles X and XIX with PP’s abortion operations, which would be illegal; and PP’s policies and procedures for reporting sex abuse and trafficking to authorities.
AUL’s report documented that PP affiliates have indeed been caught overbilling, failing to report minor sex abuse, and failing to comply with parental involvement laws, to name just three infractions of many.
PP took almost the entire two weeks after receiving Stearns’ letter to get its PR ducks in a row before announcing news of the investigation yesterday, obviously alerting Washington Post pro-abort go-to reporter Sarah Kliff and readying Democrat pro-abort Congressman Henry Waxman’s protest letter for simultaneous release with its own press statement. Note the timing of the tweets…
I spoke with Charmaine Yoest, president of AUL, and asked what to expect next. She said PP could take one of four actions: 1) provide only undamaging, incomplete information; 2) provide massive amounts of material that would take years to wade through and hope no one finds any ugly details; 3) stonewall; 4) provide accurate information.
#3, stonewalling, appears unlikely, because it would make the organization look like it has something to hide and risk incurring the wrath of Stearns. In fact, PP wrote in its statement it “is responding to the request in a timely manner.”
#2, providing TMI, would also seem unlikely, because even if handing over needles in a haystack to the government, PP would still be handing them over.
#1 or #4 are most likely. Planned Parenthood is legally obligated to respond to Stearns’ subpoenas.
Then what?
Stearns’ staff will investigate PP’s paperwork and issue a public report. They can put all of PP’s submitted information in the report, making it public. If they find a smoking gun or guns, they can follow up with hearings.
Examining subpoenaed documents is precisely how Solyndra was exposed – by this same committee. From ABC News, September 13:
The emails were uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will hold hearings on the Solyndra loan Wednesday. The Republican-led House has been investigating the Obama administration’s green energy loan program for months…. Last week, the FBI raided the factory….
Finding damaging information that PP’s top-notch attorneys may attempt to hide will depend on how good Stearns’ staff is. I asked Charmaine if Stearns can ask outside organizations that are PP-savvy to examine PP’s documents, such as AUL or American Life League’s STOPP. She said it is totally legal and acceptable for a congressional committee to request investigatory help from outside experts.
I hope Congressman Stearns does so. I think he will. He was brave going into this, knowing the other side would malign him with both barrels. I expect he will want to do all he can to find as much evidence as possible of PP’s wrong-doing.
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/09/congressional-investigation-of-planned-parenthood-what-to-expect/
FORMER CHICAGO CME EMPLOYEE INDICTED IN SOFTWARE ENGINEER THEFT AND TRADE SECRETS TO CHINA!
PRESS RELEASE: DOJ Says Former CME Group Employee Indicted For Theft Of Trade Secrets
PRESS CONTACTS:
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
AUSA Barry Jonas
312-886-8027
www.justice.gov/usao/iln
AUSA Paul Tzur
312-697-4032
Randall Samborn
312-353-5318
FORMER CME GROUP SOFTWARE ENGINEER INDICTED FOR THEFT OF GLOBEX COMPUTER TRADE SECRETS WHILE ALLEGEDLY PLANNING BUSINESS TO IMPROVE ELECTRONIC TRADING EXCHANGE IN CHINA
CHICAGO - A former senior software engineer for Chicago-based CME Group, Inc., was indicted today for allegedly downloading and removing computer source code and other proprietary information while at the same time pursuing business plans to improve an electronic trading exchange in China. The defendant, Chunlai Yang, who was arrested in July, was charged with two counts of theft of trade secrets in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury, announced Patrick
J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Yang, 48, of Libertyville, was released on a $500,000 secured bond following his arrest on July 1 after being charged in a criminal complaint. He will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court. The indictment seeks forfeiture of computers and related equipment that were seized from Yang.
"This case is an excellent example of how law enforcement and corporations can work together to protect trade secrets. CME Group brought this matter to the attention of federal authorities and fully cooperated with the investigation. Economic espionage is a crime that effects both the interests of corporations and our national interest in protecting intellectual property. We will continue to working collaboratively with the private sector to investigate and prosecute trade secret theft," Mr. Fitzgerald said.
According to the indictment, Yang began working for CME Group in 2000 and was a senior software engineer at the time of his arrest. His responsibilities included writing computer code and, because of his position, he had access to the software programs that supported CME Group's Globex electronic trading platform. Globex allowed market participants to buy and sell exchange products from any place at any time. The source code and algorithms that made up the supporting programs were proprietary and confidential business property of CME Group, which instituted internal measures to safeguard and protect its trade secrets.
Between Dec. 8, 2010, and June 30, 2011, Yang allegedly downloaded more than 1,000 computer files containing CME computer source code from CME's secure internal computer system to his CME-issued work computer; he then transferred many of these files from his work computer to his personal USB flash drives; and then transferred many of these computer files from his USB flash drives to his personal computer located at his home. During the same time, Yang also downloaded and printed numerous CME internal manuals and guidelines describing how many of the computer files that comprise Globex operate and how these computer files interact with each other, the indictment alleges.
Yang and two unnamed business partners, identified as Individuals A and B, allegedly developed business plans to form a business referred to as the Tongmei (Gateway to America) Futures Exchange Software Technology Company (Gateway), with the purpose of increasing the trading volume at the Zhangjiagang, China, chemical electronic trading exchange (the Zhangjiagang Exchange). The indictment alleges that Yang was to become Gateway's president, and he allegedly engaged in contract negotiations on behalf of Gateway with the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Board for Gateway to provide computer source code to the Zhangjiagang Exchange.
Yang allegedly expected that Gateway would provide the Zhangjiagang Exchange with technology to allow for high trading volume, high trading speeds, and multiple trading functions. To help the Chinese exchange attract more customers and generate higher profits, Gateway proposed to expand the capabilities of Zhangjiagang's software by providing customers with more ways of placing orders; connecting the exchange's database storage system and matching systems; rewriting the trading system software in the JAVA computer programming language; raising the system's capacity and speed by modifying communication lines and structures; and developing trading software based on the FIX computer coding language, the indictment alleges.
CME Group has fully cooperated with the investigation.
Each count of theft of trade secrets carries maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Barry Jonas and Paul Tzur.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/09/28/press-release-doj-says-former-cme-group-employee-indicted-for-theft-trade/#ixzz1ZMJ8b1Vf
PRESS CONTACTS:
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
AUSA Barry Jonas
312-886-8027
www.justice.gov/usao/iln
AUSA Paul Tzur
312-697-4032
Randall Samborn
312-353-5318
FORMER CME GROUP SOFTWARE ENGINEER INDICTED FOR THEFT OF GLOBEX COMPUTER TRADE SECRETS WHILE ALLEGEDLY PLANNING BUSINESS TO IMPROVE ELECTRONIC TRADING EXCHANGE IN CHINA
CHICAGO - A former senior software engineer for Chicago-based CME Group, Inc., was indicted today for allegedly downloading and removing computer source code and other proprietary information while at the same time pursuing business plans to improve an electronic trading exchange in China. The defendant, Chunlai Yang, who was arrested in July, was charged with two counts of theft of trade secrets in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury, announced Patrick
J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Yang, 48, of Libertyville, was released on a $500,000 secured bond following his arrest on July 1 after being charged in a criminal complaint. He will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court. The indictment seeks forfeiture of computers and related equipment that were seized from Yang.
"This case is an excellent example of how law enforcement and corporations can work together to protect trade secrets. CME Group brought this matter to the attention of federal authorities and fully cooperated with the investigation. Economic espionage is a crime that effects both the interests of corporations and our national interest in protecting intellectual property. We will continue to working collaboratively with the private sector to investigate and prosecute trade secret theft," Mr. Fitzgerald said.
According to the indictment, Yang began working for CME Group in 2000 and was a senior software engineer at the time of his arrest. His responsibilities included writing computer code and, because of his position, he had access to the software programs that supported CME Group's Globex electronic trading platform. Globex allowed market participants to buy and sell exchange products from any place at any time. The source code and algorithms that made up the supporting programs were proprietary and confidential business property of CME Group, which instituted internal measures to safeguard and protect its trade secrets.
Between Dec. 8, 2010, and June 30, 2011, Yang allegedly downloaded more than 1,000 computer files containing CME computer source code from CME's secure internal computer system to his CME-issued work computer; he then transferred many of these files from his work computer to his personal USB flash drives; and then transferred many of these computer files from his USB flash drives to his personal computer located at his home. During the same time, Yang also downloaded and printed numerous CME internal manuals and guidelines describing how many of the computer files that comprise Globex operate and how these computer files interact with each other, the indictment alleges.
Yang and two unnamed business partners, identified as Individuals A and B, allegedly developed business plans to form a business referred to as the Tongmei (Gateway to America) Futures Exchange Software Technology Company (Gateway), with the purpose of increasing the trading volume at the Zhangjiagang, China, chemical electronic trading exchange (the Zhangjiagang Exchange). The indictment alleges that Yang was to become Gateway's president, and he allegedly engaged in contract negotiations on behalf of Gateway with the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Board for Gateway to provide computer source code to the Zhangjiagang Exchange.
Yang allegedly expected that Gateway would provide the Zhangjiagang Exchange with technology to allow for high trading volume, high trading speeds, and multiple trading functions. To help the Chinese exchange attract more customers and generate higher profits, Gateway proposed to expand the capabilities of Zhangjiagang's software by providing customers with more ways of placing orders; connecting the exchange's database storage system and matching systems; rewriting the trading system software in the JAVA computer programming language; raising the system's capacity and speed by modifying communication lines and structures; and developing trading software based on the FIX computer coding language, the indictment alleges.
CME Group has fully cooperated with the investigation.
Each count of theft of trade secrets carries maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Barry Jonas and Paul Tzur.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/09/28/press-release-doj-says-former-cme-group-employee-indicted-for-theft-trade/#ixzz1ZMJ8b1Vf
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