Sunday, September 23, 2012

TRAC: The Global Standard for Baseline Due Diligence

TRAC is a new global online due diligence platform for supply and marketing chain compliance that captures, assesses and shares baseline due diligence information on organizations and individuals and issues universal ID numbers to approved applicants. It is designed to streamline compliance, procurement and contracting operations while ensuring that basic due diligence is met. TRAC is entirely free for companies to access – whether or not they are TRACE member companies.

To learn more about TRAC, view our 90 second video, or visit www.tracnumber.com.


TRACE International, Inc. is a non-profit membership association that pools resources to provide practical and cost-effective anti-bribery compliance solutions for multinational companies and their commercial intermediaries (sales agents and representatives, consultants, distributors, suppliers, etc.).
TRACE provides several core services and products, including: due diligence reports on commercial intermediaries; model compliance policies; an online Resource Center with foreign local law summaries, including guidelines on gifts and hospitality; in-person and online anti-bribery training; and research on corporate best practices.

For multinational companies, TRACE provides a practical and cost-effective alternative to increasingly expensive and time-consuming corporate compliance. For commercial intermediaries, TRACE offers a marketing advantage by creating a bridge between them and companies doing business internationally.

Companies cannot afford to ignore the realities of doing business in today's increasingly complex compliance environment. Over the past 15 years, an increasing number of countries have enacted anti-bribery laws to implement international anti-corruption conventions criminalizing the bribery of foreign public officials. The new laws typically state that a business will be liable for the corrupt acts and/or the improper payments made by an intermediary if management "knew or should have known" that a particular intermediary was likely to make an inappropriate payment. Thus, companies are required to conduct sufficient due diligence on prospective intermediaries to ensure that they are committed to transparent business practices regardless of business pressure, local law or custom. Anti-bribery laws, however, are deliberately vague on the issue of "sufficient due diligence."

TRACE was founded to achieve economies of scale and set a common standard for two shared elements of anti-bribery compliance: due diligence reviews and anti-bribery training for business intermediaries and company employees based around the world.

TRACE is a 501(c)(6) non-profit membership association, organized under the laws of the District of Columbia and, as such, does not pay tax on its net revenue. TRACE was founded in 2001.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit October 31 – November 2, 2012








2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit
October 31 – November 2, 2012


Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center
National Harbor, MD

The 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit promises to be a stimulating learning experience, and a chance to develop new partnerships with others committed to the quest to eliminate health disparities.  It will bring together national and international leaders in the field of health disparities representing multiple disciplines and sectors to share cutting-edge science, policy, practice, and various results-oriented approaches to address health disparities.  

Come and learn about the progress that communities across the United States and around the world are making to improve the health of underserved populations, the challenges they face, and opportunities to foster collaborative alliances to build a healthier global society.

Sessions are now open for registration http://www.nimhd.nih.gov/summit_site/programAgenda.html
 

To register for the sessions, you must first complete the general registration http://citfm.cit.nih.gov/registration/register.php and use the password you to receive to access the sessions registration page.

Hotel Reservations Deadline: Monday, October 1, 2012
If you have questions, please contact 2012summit@mail.nih.gov or call 240-395-0549.

Friday, September 21, 2012

3 Ways to Make Your Vote Count in a Money-Soaked Election

 
  Your favored candidates may be outspent, but if they out-organize, they may be able to prevail. 
 
 
 
 I Voted Sticker photo by Melissa Baldwin
 
Recently, a respected friend sent me an outraged email. His subject line: "BOYCOTT VOTING!" He was at wit's end over the vast sums of money that wealthy individuals and corporations are pouring into our elections: $400 million from the Koch Brothers; $100 million from Sheldon Adelson. If big money is going to buy the election, he said, then he will “withdraw his consent” by not voting.
I, too, am apoplectic at the money flooding our elections. It speaks of a level of corruption that undermines my hopes for solving the big problems of our time. That’s why I’m promoting the passage of a constitutional amendment to curtail unlimited election spending. 

But is boycotting the vote the right response? Here’s how I see it: the big money doesn’t buy votes. It mostly buys television ads to influence our votes or discourage us from voting at all. So why would I fall into the trap of doing what the big money wants? As I wrote to my friend, after the election, no one will notice your boycott. They will only notice who won. Think of your vote as an act of protest and vote for candidates who vow to change the system. Here's what you can do:



1. Vote the Whole Ballot

 Vote the whole ballot. When we reach the bottom of the ballot, many of us find a bunch of names and initiatives we don’t know 
  and skip them. Judicial positions are notorious for low vote tallies. So a few voters can determine who wins positions that can have
How Voter Suppression Could Swing the Election             a huge impact on our lives. I prepare by reading the
It won’t be easy to protect our votes from being                     
voter pamphlet with care, especially watching for partisan
sidelined and stolen this year, but here are a                             buzzwords. Then I check with friends for additional
 few simple things we can do.                                   information. I also sign up for emails from organizations that  
                                                               recommend candidates who match my values. 
                                                               So when I go to vote, I make my choices with confidence.

2. Contribute to Campaigns ...

Another conundrum in this money-soaked election season is whether to give money to candidates. Does our measly $25, $50, or even $500 mean anything when the 1 percent can so far outspend us? My husband is pretty cynical about political contributions. But do we want to force candidates to get their funds only from the wealthy? One candidate told me, “I need to raise at least one-fifth of what my deep-pocketed opponent raises. Otherwise, I’m just not a player.” I like this candidate. I think she has smarts and integrity. She wants to overturn Citizens United and other laws that make campaigns so expensive. So I (yes, together with my husband) made a contribution to her campaign, as well as to several other candidates we believe in.

3. ... But Not Just Money

Fortunately, money is not the only way to influence an election. Giving time can be even more valuable. One respectful conversation with a potential voter can reverse the effects of thousands of dollars of ads. Going door to door, phoning, helping people get registered and to the polls can all make a difference. Your favored candidates may be outspent, but if they out-organize, they may be able to prevail. Organizing, of course, means getting people like you and me to volunteer.
It’s easy to be discouraged about a political system that seems so out of reach. I take heart from history. In the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, income inequality was similar to today’s. There was widespread political corruption. Then people rose up and ushered in the Progressive Era. They voted in candidates who instituted the estate tax and progressive income taxes, changed election laws, and made many other reforms.

By the 1950s through the 1970s we had an expanding middle class and a fairer election system. We can make those changes again. But only if we get engaged and informed, and vote.

Fran Korten wrote this article for It's Your Body, the Fall 2012 issue of YES! Magazine. Fran is publisher of YES

 http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/its-your-body/is-your-vote-for-sale?utm_source=wkly20120921&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mrKorten

Webinar: Homelessness Issues and Behavioral Health




United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - A Life in the Community for Everyone: Behavioral Health is Essential to Health, Prevention Works, Treatment is Effective, People Recover

Register Now: Two Webinars on Homelessness Issues
The following webinars will be of interest to behavioral health providers and administrators, primary health care providers and administrators, consumers and people in recovery, peer providers, providers of other health and human services (housing, employment, etc.), policymakers, and researchers.

Rethinking National Solutions: Addressing Homelessness on the Frontier and in Rural America
September 25, 2012 | 2–3:30 p.m. ET | Register Now
One of the most common concerns among providers who serve people who are experiencing homelessness in rural and frontier environments is that evidence-based practices and other solutions are not only urban-centric, they are not effective in sparsely populated areas. For many frontier and rural communities, gathering accurate data that can drive change seems an almost insurmountable challenge. A recent expert panel on homelessness in rural and frontier America highlighted strategies and solutions that are working well in rural and frontier areas of the country. Building off that expert panel, this webinar will provide insight into making national strategies work in these areas.
Registration is free, but space is limited. Registration will close at 1 p.m. ET on September 25.

Housing-Focused Outreach: An Emerging Model
September 26, 2012 | 3–4:30 p.m. ET | Register Now
Homeless outreach has typically focused on engagement and meeting people's immediate and short-term needs: food, clothing and blankets, transportation to shelter, and linkages to services. With the advent of Housing First and rapid rehousing approaches, homeless service agencies are shifting away from the idea of outreach as a mechanism for serving clients on the streets to outreach as a tool for moving clients off the streets directly into housing. This webinar will describe the evolution of outreach over the past three decades, highlight the principles and practices of housing-focused outreach, and provide examples of this approach from around the United States.
Registration is free, but space is limited. Registration will close at 2 p.m. ET on September 26.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Adam Kirkman at (518) 729-1265 or akirkman@ahpnet.com.

Food Safety: Recall of Fresh-Cut Mango Products

 U.S. Food & Drug Administration

 Safety

Recall -- Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc, Recalls Limited Quantity of Fresh-Cut Mango Products Due to Possible Health Risk – This Recall is Associated with FoodSource's recall of Mangoes Sourced from Agricola Daniella In Mexico

Contact

Consumer:
800-659-6500
or email Del Monte Fresh at
Contact-US-Executive-Office@freshdelmonte.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 20, 2012 - In cooperation with the FDA's warning to not consume mangoes from Agricola Daniella in Mexico, Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc, is initiating a voluntary recall of 1,600 bowls of fresh-cut mangoes distributed to retail outlets due to the potential risk that the mangoes may contain Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. This recall is associated with FoodSource's (Edinburg, TX) recall of mangoes sourced from Agricola Daniella in Mexico.

Product was distributed between September 8-12, 2012 by retailers in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. Product is packaged in clear plastic 32 oz bowls with a Del Monte® label on the top. The affected product will have printed Best By date 9/18/12 and lot code 05252101 below, and Best By date 9/22/12 and lot code 03256100 below. These dates and codes are clearly printed on the top label of each individual package. The UPC is 7-62357-07532-1.

There have been no reported illnesses attributed to the items listed in this recall. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc has notified the retailers who have received the recalled product and directed them to remove it from their store shelves. Consumers who purchased affected products with the listed Best By dates and lot codes should not consume them and should destroy or discard them. Consumers with questions may contact the company’s consumer hotline at 1-800-659-6500 or email Del Monte Fresh at Contact-US-Executive-Office@freshdelmonte.com

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