Thursday, May 24, 2012

U.S. Humanitarian Assistance: Honduras.


Honduras: Missouri Army Guard Soldiers celebrate building a schoolhouse for Hondurans

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Walter Van Ochten
U.S. Army South

Click photo for screen-resolution imageArmy South's Task Force Tropic, commanded by Army Lt. Col. Robert L. Jones, Missouri Army National Guard, and Leonidas Matamoros, a community leader who had been instrumental in getting this project for his community, thanked each for their mutual help in building a school, in Micheletti, Honduras, May 8, 2012. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Walter Van Ochten)(Released)open link in new window download hi-res photo




NACO CORTES, Honduras (5/23/12) - The oppressive Central American heat and humidity did not dissuade a crowd of more than 200 Honduran citizens from Micheletti in joining in the festivities May 9.

U.S. Army South’s Task Force Tropic, commanded by Army Lt. Col. Robert L. Jones, Missouri Army National Guard joined with Micheletti key community leaders and San Pedro Sula officials for a “First Stone” ceremony at the site of a two-room school that is under construction as part of U.S. Southern Command’s Beyond the Horizon 2012.

Beyond the Horizon 2012 is a U.S. Army South planned exercise that deploys military engineers and medical professionals to Honduras for training, while providing services to rural communities. BTHs are conducted annually in the U.S Southern Command area of responsibility and are part of its humanitarian and civic assistance program.

The local leaders got a tour of the partially finished schoolhouse and bathroom.

Jones along with project manager, Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Vitale, 294th Engineer Company, 203rd Engineering Battalion, 35th Engineering Brigade; San Pedro Sulas’ vice-mayor Dr. Reiner A. Laitano; project manager for all villages at San Pedro de Sula, Dunia Jimenez, Preecidente de Patronatos, San Pedrd Sula, and Col. Calixto Tejada Honduran 14th Infantry Battalion executive officer, grabbed some shovels and dug into the earth symbolically displaying the commitment they have to the people living in this community.

Jones then stood in the midst of the large crowd as the Honduran officials gave speeches showing their gratitude to the Americans for their effort in building the school.

Once they finished, Jones stepped forward from the crowd to return the favor, his words echoed those of the Honduran speakers by stating he was “to the local community for their support of his Soldiers' training and commitment to the schoolhouse under construction.”

Before he said those words, on his way to the microphone, he encountered Leonidas Matamoros, a community leader who all day long had been leading his community in cheering and applauding and had been instrumental in getting this project for his community.

Jones stopped and with a hardy handshake and a bear hug the two thanked each for their mutual help in building the school.

The day, however, wasn’t just for the dignitaries and the commanders; it was for all those standing out in the heat, humidity and sun whose partnership is bringing a new school to this community.

http://www.nationalguard.mil/news/archives/2012/05/052312-Honduras.aspx?src=rss

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

USDA: Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships



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http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FBCI
 USDA has a long history of working with faith-based and community organizations to help those
in need, by providing federal assistance through domestic nutrition assistance programs, international
food aid, rural development opportunities, and natural resource conservation. As we continue strengthening USDA's existing relationships and build new ones, the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships will be instrumental in working with our community partners, faith-based and secular,
to reach even more people in need throughout our country. On behalf of everyone at USDA,
Secretary Tom Vilsack would like to thank each and every partner for their dedication to this
important work.

Please let us know how we can support your efforts.

I Want To...

Help End Hunger
Ending Hunger
The USDA nutrition assistance programs help one in every five Americans get the nutrition
assistance they need. We rely on local organizations and various partners to help get food to
those in need.


Revitalize Rural Communities
Rural Communities
Rural communities are a vital asset to our nation's economic and social well-being. USDA has
various grant and loan programs to help develop housing, community facilities and businesses
in our small towns.


Conserve Natural Resources
Natural Resources
USDA has a leadership role in developing partnerships to help America's private land owners
conserve their soil, water and other natural resources. Additionally, USDA is the steward of
our national forests.



Feed a Neighbor
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Gleaning Guide
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Let's Move Faith and Communities
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Know Your Farmer
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High School Students Engage Environment Management Program


DOE Office of Environmental Management

EM News Flash | May 22

High School Students Engage EM Program, Teach Classmates about Nuclear Cleanup 

LAS VEGAS – Two high school students are aspiring to educate their classmates on the Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) environmental cleanup program after surveying them to gauge their knowledge of it.

   After West Career and Technical Academy (WCTA) juniors Justine Leavitt and Cielo Gumabon analyze the survey results, they will develop an educational tool to boost students’ familiarity with NNSS’s work to clean up the environmental legacy of historic nuclear weapons related activities. Leavitt and Gumabon are considering several ideas for the tool, from a short documentary and audience-interactive school assembly to a rap song or comic book.

  Leavitt and Gumabon are undertaking the project as part of their roles as the first-ever student liaisons to the Nevada Site-Specific Advisory Board (NSSAB). Representing Nevada stakeholders, members of the board review and comment on environmental restoration and waste management activities at NNSS and provide recommendations to the EM program on issues of concern to the region surrounding NNSS.

   The board hopes to obtain a fresh perspective on environmental issues from the pioneering student liaisons, who are encouraged to raise environmental concerns on behalf of their classmates and the greater community. In turn, the students learn about environmental and technical issues impacting the region, build their portfolios and gain insight into potential college studies and career tracks. 

   The liaisons' year-long project is a first of a kind for WCTA, NNSS and NSSAB as they come together for WCTA’s inaugural Student Liaison Project. Similar partnerships exist at other DOE EM sites as well, including Oak Ridge in Tennessee.

    “Cielo and Justine have put a tremendous amount of work into this project, and all the while they are juggling coursework and other activities,” said NSSAB member Michael Moore, a mentor to the liaisons who helped coordinate the project. “They are succeeding in creating a path for other student liaisons who want to become involved with the environmental work at NNSS and its impact on the community.”

Cielo and JustineNSSAB student liaisons Gumabon, left, and Leavitt discuss their project involving a student survey and educational tool to members of the NSSAB.

Liaison Program Draws Together School, NNSS and Community
   Moore said the project integrates the school with NNSS and the community, providing the students leadership and educational opportunities outside the classroom.

   “The students already have had an introduction to environmental management, and this project provides them with a real-world educational opportunity. Hopefully this project will encourage and inspire the students to continue forward on this path to college and later a career in environmental management,” Moore said.

   He said the project’s goal of increasing the surveyed students’ NNSS knowledge is important since the site is an integral part of the Las Vegas community. He recalled his school days in the 1980s when he saw workers stand in line for buses to transport them to the site. Many people in the community also remember the nuclear testing viewing parties held decades ago.

   “Las Vegas has always been hand in hand with the site in one way or another,” Moore said.

   Gumabon said that the research she and Leavitt perform to try to educate the WCTA community will be a great skill to apply in her college and post-college careers.
   “I hope to become an environmental and materials engineer, and research will play an integral role,” she said.

Liaison: Students Should Know about Environmental Cleanup  

   Leavitt believes it’s important for WCTA students to have knowledge of the NNSS EM program.

   “Students at WCTA are always trying to connect with their surroundings, and this is a great way to do so,” she said of the liaison project. “It will help increase their knowledge and awareness by us telling them what is happening. They should be aware because they are living with the changes the site makes.”

   Leavitt and Gumabon worked with their high school and NNSS to craft the survey questions. The surveys are emailed to the estimated 980 WCTA students for completion during English classes. Once all surveys are received, the liaisons will analyze the results and begin work on the educational tool this fall.

   This month, Leavitt and Gumabon briefed NSSAB on their progress. Board members responded positively, Moore said. The liaisons will update the board later this year with the complete survey results.

   Among the survey questions:
  • Do you want to learn more about the EM program at NNSS and/or its history?
  • Do you think the community’s concerns would be diminished by increasing their knowledge of the environmental cleanup projects being conducted at the NNSS?
  • Are you interested in any environmental management issues and solving them, in regards to the site?
  • Are there any issues or concerns you’d like to have your WCTA student liaison representatives bring to the Board?
Oak Ridge Students Reflect on Advisory Board Experience

   At Oak Ridge, two non-voting student representatives from area high schools sit on the Oak Ridge Site-Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) and participate in the board’s working committees. ORSSAB’s outgoing student representatives, Kasey McMaster and Amira Sakalla, were recently recognized for their service at the board’s April meeting. 


Oak Ridge studentsMcMaster, left, and Sakalla were presented plaques by Dave Adler, DOE-EM liason to ORSSAB, in recognition for their service to ORSSAB.

   “I’ve really enjoyed my time on ORSSAB. It gave me a taste of how decisions and planning are carried out in the real world,” said Sakalla, a senior at Hardin Valley Academy. “It’s a gradual process that requires patience, but results in great progress. I plan on going into health care as a pediatrician, and the ORSSAB has helped me make connections between two seemingly unrelated fields. People often focus on how environmental issues affect the earth and overlook how these issues affect humans and their health.”

   McMaster, a senior, said she found her experience on the board interesting and enriching.

   “I learned about so many new things involving the environmental well-being of the Oak Ridge Reservation I probably would never have known about had I not taken the opportunity to be a student representative. I am thankful that I was given the chance to participate,” McMaster said.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

SBA: Small Business Help


Get the Small Business Help You Need, For Free!

Have a great idea for a new business, but don’t know where to get started? 


Try the government. Whether you’re looking for an app to help you get advice on the go, or reading material on how to get started, USA.gov has the information you need:
  • Federal and state governments offer a large variety of free resources to people looking for small business help. USA.gov’s small business section helps you find government resources to start, operate and expand a business and much more.
  • The Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you with management, technical, and training issues, or help you find your loan and funding options from multiple government organizations. The SBA app helps you find local advisers who can give you free one-on-one help for growing your business. Use the calculator to figure out costs of starting a new business, and catch up on all the news through SBA’s social media channels.
  • Visit the newly created Business.USA.gov to find the small business tools available to you from across the government. Partner agencies such as the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor share all their business resources in one spot, plus you can find out about state and local business outreach and development events.
  • If you’re looking for information on specific business related topics, Publications.USA.gov features important information on patents and copyrights, current business scams, workplace health and safety and much more.
  • The Consumer Action Handbook is a great resource to have on hand when you need to look up local, state and federal agencies for your business questions. You can also find trade associations and hot consumer topics like insurance questions, employment options, scams and more.

Haiti: Former Haitian telecom official gets 9 years in prison for bribery


MIAMI — A federal judge Monday sentenced a former top official of Haiti's state-owned telephone company to nine years in prison, after describing as "ludicrous" his testimony that the bribes he took from two Miami businesses were gifts for doing such a good job for them.

"It's perjurious," U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez said of Jean Rene Duperval's trial testimony in March. Duperval testified that the nearly $500,000 in bribes he received from two local telecom contractors were "tokens of appreciation."

The judge's finding of obstruction of justice, with other factors such as the amount of the kickbacks, doubled Duperval's sentencing under federal guidelines. Martinez ordered Duperval, 45, to pay the kickback amount to the U.S. government. The defendant used some of the money to buy his Miramar home and finance his three children's Florida Prepaid College Plans, prosecutors said.

Duperval's wife, Ingrid, tried to impress upon the judge that her husband was a U.S.-educated engineer from a prominent Haitian family headed by two doctors, and she wished Martinez had met him "under better circumstances."

Justice Department prosecutor James Koukios offered a different portrayal, saying Duperval "was born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

"And what did he do? He exploited that benefit" to obtain a high-ranking management job with Haiti Teleco and loot the country and line his pockets, Koukios said.

In March, a Miami federal jury found that the two telecommunications companies, Cinergy and Terra, secured discounted long-distance phone rates with Haiti Teleco due to the payoffs to Duperval. He was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy related to accepting the bribes.

Duperval, who was hired as Haiti Teleco's director of international relations by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2003, is the first Haitian government official to be convicted at trial by the Justice Department under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law prohibits American businesses from paying bribes to foreign businesses and government officials.

Duperval's former boss at Haiti Teleco, Patrick Joseph, pleaded guilty to similar charges earlier this year. Joseph, 50, is the Justice Department's main witness in a long-running investigation into Aristide's alleged role in the Haiti Teleco bribery case.

In March, Joseph's father was shot to death in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Venel Joseph, 80, the former governor of Haiti's Central Bank during the Aristide administration from 2001-04, was killed outside his home by gunmen on motorcycles in a residential area. Joseph's driver survived the ambush.

Because of security concerns, Venel Joseph's body was brought to South Florida for burial.

The shooting occurred two days after The Miami Herald reported that the son, Patrick Joseph, had cut a cooperation deal with the Justice Department.

Patrick Joseph pleaded guilty in February to a money-laundering conspiracy charge, and agreed to testify about millions of dollars in bribes he claims to have shared with Aristide and other senior officials, according to legal sources familiar with the probe.

Aristide's lawyer, Ira Kurzban, has denied the allegation.

The country's central bank owned Haiti Teleco and was used to distribute the kickbacks paid by the Miami businesses, according to an indictment.

Since the first Haiti Teleco indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in 2009, a dozen South Florida business people and Haitian officials have been charged in the case.

Profits from the lower long-distance phone rates were pocketed by the Haitian officials, not the government's phone company. So far, seven of those defendants - including Patrick Joseph - have been convicted of corruption or money laundering.

Joseph is expected to be sentenced this summer.

A key witness at Duperval's trial was Robert Antoine, who was Haiti Teleco's director of international relations before Duperval. In 2010, Antoine pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering, admitting he took $1 million in bribes from Terra and Cinergy in exchange for lower phone rates, discounted costs and contract renewals.

At Duperval's trial, Antoine testified after he left the government job, he worked as a consultant for Cinergy and facilitated payments from that business to the defendant. Antoine, who was sentenced to four years in prison, is expected to see his term slashed in half by the judge next week at the recommendation of the Justice Department.

Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jay Weaver | McClatchy Newspapers

©2012 The Miami Herald

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/21/149617/former-haitian-telecom-official.html#storylink=cpy

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