Friday, March 14, 2014

“So You Want to Work for FEMA”. Webinar: March 27, 2014

Webinar Session 1
“So You Want to Work for FEMA”

March 27, 2014                     11:00 am – 12:30 pm EDT

So you want to work for the world’s finest emergency management agency but are not quite sure how to go about it.  You checked USAJobs.com but did not find what you were looking for or even applied without success.  How do you go about getting your resume in front of the “right” person?
Join the Emergency Management Higher Education Program and Mr. Corey J. Coleman, FEMA Chief Component Human Capital Officer, for a webinar on FEMA’s recruiting activities.  Mr. Coleman and his staff will discuss:
·       FEMA locations,
·       Authorities available to hire students and recent graduates,
·       The Student Volunteer Program,
·       Upcoming hiring needs, and
·       Tips for the Federal hiring process. 

There will be time for questions and answers, so come ready to participate and learn about FEMA’s recruiting authorities and activities.

Point your browser to


Questions?  Contact Dr. Houston Polson, Director FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program at Houston.polson@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1262.

African Union. U.S. Representative Her Excellency Amina Salum Ali

 The Washington Diplomat
http://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=2435:her-excellency-amina-salum-ali&Itemid=229
Ambassador Profiles 

Her Excellency Amina Salum Ali

Ambassador Amina Salum Ali became the permanent representative of the African Union to the United States on April 13, 2007.


Ambassador Ali speaks on behalf of the African Union and its member states to accelerate socio-economic integration of the continent, promote peace and stability, and build partnerships between African governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women and youth, as well as the private sector.

One of the major functions of her office is to support the African diplomatic corps in its efforts to consolidate and strengthen partnerships with both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, as well as other federal agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions and the Organization of American States.

A veteran Tanzanian civil servant and politician, Ambassador Ali was born and raised on the island of Zanzibar and educated in India, where in 1979 she earned a bachelor's degree in economics, and two years later a master's in business administration in marketing. She was a long-serving member of Parliament and has held various ministerial positions in the Tanzanian government, the most recent of which was minister of state in the office of the chief minister in Zanzibar.

Ambassador Ali also served as a board member of various institutions such as the Tanzania Telecommunication Company and Mzumbe University in Morogoro. In addition, she established various capacity-building institutions including the Institution of Finance Administration and the Presidential Fund for Self- Reliance.

As the African Union's first woman ambassador, Ambassador Ali is committed to promoting women's rights and children's issues. She is also the founder of Zanzibar Women Welfare Trust, an NGO that supports the development of women and children to combat devastating health issues like HIV/AIDS. Ambassador Ali is also is a member of IDB Bank eminent women panel to mainstream women development policies in the bank.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

2014. 25th Annual Black College Tour

25th Annual Black College Tour

April 12 – April 19, 2014


(Tentative list of colleges to be visited)

Texas Southern University, Dillard University, Southern University, Wiley College,   Huston-Tillotson College,   Xavier University, Paul Quinn College, Southwestern Christian College,   Prairie View A & M University and more!

Cost: $900

More Information:

Monday, March 3, 2014

US slams Caribbean human rights practices

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/1107173.html?utm_source=Caribbean360+Newsletters&utm_campaign=f6f7839184-Vol_9_Issue_044_News3_3_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-f6f7839184-39414761#axzz2uuuNpd9x


US slams Caribbean human rights practices


image
                                                Washington was particularly scathing                                                    in its criticism of Haiti, Jamaica,                                                            Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and                                          Tobago, and the Bahamas.

Nelson A. King

WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Monday March 3, 2014, CMC – While  noting that governments that protect human rights and are accountable to their citizens are more secure, bolster international peace and security, and enjoy shared prosperity with stable democratic countries around the world, the United States continues to assail human rights practices in the Caribbean.

In its “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013,” released here earlier this week, Washington was particularly scathing in its criticism of Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Bahamas.
The US Department of State said the most serious impediments to human rights in Haiti involved weak democratic governance in the earthquake-ravaged, French-speaking Caribbean country; “insufficient respect for the rule of law, exacerbated by a deficient judicial system; and chronic corruption in all branches of government.”

It said basic human rights problems included “isolated allegations of arbitrary and unlawful killings by government officials; allegations of use of force against suspects and protesters; overcrowding and poor sanitation in prisons; prolonged pre-trial detention; an inefficient, unreliable, and inconsistent judiciary; rape, other violence, and societal discrimination against women; child abuse; allegations of social marginalization of vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons; and trafficking in persons.”

The report also said that allegations “persisted of sexual exploitation and abuse by members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH).”

In addition, it said violence, crime and forced evictions within the remaining internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Haiti, which contained about 172,000 IDPs as of November, “remained a problem.”

Although the Michel Martelly administration took some steps to prosecute or punish government and law enforcement officials accused of committing abuses, the State Department said “credible reports persisted of officials engaging in corrupt practices,” and that civil society groups allege that impunity was a problem.

The report said there were isolated allegations of police and other government officials’ involvement in arbitrary or unlawful killings, some of which resulted in arrests. However, none resulted in convictions, it said.
Washington  said prisoners at times were subject to “degrading treatment, in large part due to overcrowded facilities”, adding that correction officers used physical punishment and psychological abuse to mistreat prisoners.

The State Department said prisons and detention centres throughout Haiti remained overcrowded, poorly maintained and unsanitary.

In Jamaica, the most serious human rights issues were alleged unlawful security force killings; cases involving the violation of rights that were not resolved in a timely way; and poor prison and jail conditions, including abuse of detainees and prisoners and severe overcrowding.

The report said other human rights issues included an “overburdened, under resourced, and ineffective judicial system, and frequent lengthy delays in trials, violence against and sexual abuse of children, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, violence against persons based on their suspected sexual orientation or gender identity, and mob violence.

“The government took steps to investigate and punish members of the security forces who committed abuses, but in many instances a lack of witnesses and insufficient forensics equipment precluded arrests or prosecutions, thus providing the appearance of impunity for police who committed crimes.

“While the government or its agents did not commit politically motivated killings, there were numerous occurrences where citizens accused the government’s security forces or its agents of committing arbitrary or unlawful killings,” the State Department said.

The report said there were 211 killings involving Jamaican police through October, and that six police officers also were killed in the line of duty during that time.

It said human rights monitors indicated that some killings by police went unreported, with police allegedly meting out the justice they believed was unavailable through the judicial system.

The State Department said violent crime remained a “serious concern” in Jamaica, adding that, on many occasions, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) “employed lethal force in apprehending criminal suspects”.
Prisons and detention centres were also “severely overcrowded and presented serious threats to life and health,” the report said.

In Guyana, it said the most serious human rights abuses involved suspects and detainees’ complaints of mistreatment by security forces, unlawful killings by police, and poor prison and jail conditions.

Other human rights problems included lengthy pre-trial detention; allegations of government corruption, including among police officials; excessive government influence over the content of the national television network and continued restrictions on radio licensing; sexual and domestic violence against women; abuse of minors; and laws that discriminate against LGBT persons.

The report said there were no independent and transparent procedures for handling allegations of killings and other abuses by security force members.

“Prosecutions when pursued were extremely lengthy, and convictions were rare, leading to a widespread perception that security force members and government officials enjoyed impunity,” it said.

The State Department said there were alleged mistreatment of inmates by prison officials, as well as allegations of police abuse of suspects and detainees.

It said prison and jail conditions were “poor and deteriorating, particularly in police holding cells,” and that overcrowding was a “severe problem”.

The report said lengthy pre-trial detention, “due primarily to judicial inefficiency, staff shortages, and cumbersome legal procedures, remained a problem,” adding that “delays and inefficiencies undermined judicial due process.”
While the law provides for criminal penalties for corruption by officials, the State Department said the Guyana government did not implement the law effectively.

“There remained a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the police and the judiciary,” it said, pointing to the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators that assessed that government corruption was “a serious problem”.

The most serious human rights problems in Suriname, according to the State Department, were “widespread government corruption, reports of press intimidation, and lengthy pre-trial detention”.

Other human rights problems, it said, included self-censorship by some media organizations and journalists; societal discrimination against women, Maroons, descendants of escaped slaves who fled to the interior of the country to avoid recapture, Amerindians, and other minorities; domestic violence against women; trafficking in persons; and child labour in the informal sector.

The report said while the government continued to take steps to prosecute abusers in the security forces, in certain cases, “there was a perception of impunity among the public”.

It said human rights groups, defence attorneys and the media continued to report various instances of mistreatment by police including unnecessary use of gun violence at time of arrest and beatings while in detention, as well as isolated incidents of abuse of prisoners by prison officials.

The report said prisoners continued to express concern over conditions in Santo Boma Prison, where they complained of inadequate food provisions, mistreatment by prison guards, and limited ventilation.?

The State Department identified police killings during apprehension or while in custody, and poor treatment of suspects, detainees and prisoners as the most serious human rights problems in Trinidad and Tobago.

It said other human rights problems involved inmate illnesses and injuries due to poor prison conditions, a slow judicial system, high-profile cases of alleged bribery, violence and discrimination against women, and inadequate services for vulnerable children.

The report noted that, while the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration took some steps to punish security force members and other officials charged with killings or other abuse, “there continued to be a perception of impunity based on the open-ended nature of many investigations and the generally slow pace of criminal judicial proceedings”.

It said the People’s Partnership government or its agents did not commit any politically-motivated killings; but, according to official figures, police shot and killed 21 persons through November 1, compared with 21 in all of 2012.

The State Department said there were “credible reports” that police officers and prison guards mistreated individuals under arrest or in detention, stating that, from 2005 through 2012, “the government paid or was found liable to pay more than 10 million Trinidad and Tobago dollars (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) in compensation to prisoners on claims of excessive use of force by prison officers”.

The report said conditions in some of the prison system’s eight facilities continued to be harsh.
Police abuse, detainee abuse, compounded by problems in processing them, a poorly functioning judicial system leading to delays in trial, and witness intimidation, were the most serious human rights problems in the Bahamas, according to the report.

It said other human rights problems included poor detention conditions; corruption; violence and discrimination against women; sexual abuse of children; and discrimination based on ethnic descent, sexual orientation, or HIV status.

The State Department said prison and detention centre conditions “generally failed to meet international standards,” noting that conditions at the Fox Hill Prison, the country’s only prison, “remained harsh and unsanitary for many prisoners”.
The report said Bahamian authorities detained irregular immigrants, primarily Haitians, until arrangements could be made for them to leave the country or they obtained legal status.

It said the average length of detention varied significantly by nationality, willingness of governments to accept their nationals back in a timely manner, and availability of funds to pay for repatriation.

The report said authorities usually repatriated Haitians within one to two weeks, while they held Cubans for much longer periods.

It said the Bahamian government has “not effectively implemented laws and policies to provide certain habitual residents the opportunity to gain nationality in a timely manner and on a non-discriminatory basis,” adding that some commentators believed that these restrictions particularly targeted Haitians resident in the country.

In an immediate response, Nassau said that the report was now being reviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“From what has been seen so far, there is no need for any alarm or undue concern. In a free and open society like ours, anyone is free to comment and investigate the human rights record of our country and we do not fear such an examination,” the government said in a statement.

It said it would “take note of any errors or overreaches in the report and it will have to be determined to what extent we address those issues”.

In St Lucia, the State Department said the most serious human rights problems included long delays in investigating reports of unlawful police killings, abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police, and continued postponements of trials and sentencing.

Other human rights problems included violence against women, child abuse, and discrimination against persons based on their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Although the government took some steps to prosecute officials and employees who committed abuses, the procedure for investigating police officers was lengthy, cumbersome, and often inconclusive,” the State Department said.
“When the rare cases reached trial years later, juries often acquitted, leaving an appearance of de facto impunity,” it added.

The State Department said the Dean Barrow administration in Belize “failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces,” stating that security forces allegedly committed human rights abuses.

It said the most important human rights abuses included the use of excessive force by security forces, lengthy pre-trial detention, and harassment and threats based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Other human rights problems comprised domestic violence, discrimination against women, sexual abuse of children, trafficking in persons, and child labour.

In Antigua and Barbuda, the State Department said the most serious human rights problems involved poor prison conditions and violence against women.

Other human rights problems included trial delays resulting from court backlogs and reports of mental, physical, and sexual abuse of children. There were also laws that discriminate against LGBT persons.

The report said the Baldwin Spencer administration took steps to prosecute and punish those who committed human rights abuses, and that impunity was not a widespread problem.

Poor prison conditions, politicization of the police force, discrimination and violence against women, and child abuse topped the list for human rights abuses in St. Kitts and Nevis, according to the report.
Discrimination against the LGBT community was the other human rights problem, it claimed.

Occasional police use of excessive force and gender- based violence were the most serious human rights problems in St Vincent and the Grenadines, according to the State Department.

It said other human rights problems included official corruption, lack of government transparency, discrimination, and child abuse.

“The government took steps to punish officials who committed abuses, and there was not a widespread perception of impunity for security force members,” the report said.

The most serious human rights problems in Barbados were “unprofessional conduct” by police, violence against women, and discrimination against LGBT individuals, according to the report, adding that other human rights problems included child abuse.

The State Department said domestic violence against women and children were the most serious human rights problem in Dominica.

It said other human rights problems included adverse conditions experienced by the indigenous Kalinago (Carib) population and laws that discriminate against LGBT persons.

Human rights problems in Grenada included poor prison conditions, violence against women, instances of child abuse, and laws that discriminate against LGBT persons, the report said.


Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/1107173.html?utm_source=Caribbean360+Newsletters&utm_campaign=f6f7839184-Vol_9_Issue_044_News3_3_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-f6f7839184-39414761#ixzz2uuvH1lll

BEMA's March 12, 2014 Meet & Greet at Busboys & Poets. NEMA Policy and Leadership Forum

Enough of the snow already!

9 Days Left before our next meeting.   For those members needing an extra incentive Busboys & Poets will also be having the following event that evening:


Wednesday, March 12, 2014
ZAMI presents author Melinda Chateauvert to sign and discuss
"Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk" 6:30pm @ 5th & K
Wed Night Open Mic Poetry 9pm @ 5th & K, $5


Before you really start to get into your pre-Spring workout come out to BEMA’s Wednesday, March 12, 2014 ‘Meet & Greet’ at Busboys and Poets 5th & K-Street N.W. location to meet members visiting the area to attend the 2014 NEMA Mid-Year Policy & Leadership Forum March 9-14th  by the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA).  See registration information listed below.

The Winter Season is just about over.  So come on out and enjoy.  Let’s talk about BEMA, the snow storm, laugh a little about your snow shoveling horror, or share a little pain. 

“Did your car really do a 360-degree spinout”?

Date:    Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Time:   5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location:
              Busboys & Poets
              5th and K Street, N.W.
              Washington, D.C.
Parking:
a.      On Street
b.     Off Street Parking
  -Parking lot
  -Basement of neighboring Safeway Store
Public Transportation:
a.      Gallery Place\Chinatown
b.      Mt.Vernon Square\7th Street Convention Center

See you there! 


Black Emergency Managers Association  
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097 
bEMA 

Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.   Tom Peters
…….The search is on.



National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)

Registration is now open for the Registration is now open for the 2014 NEMA Mid-Year Policy & Leadership Forum March 9-14th at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia. 


Register on or before January 12th, 2014 to receive a $50.00 discount

Exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are still available.  Please contact Karen Cobuluis for additional information or to secure your space.

Please visit our website for additional information and conference materials.
at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia. 


b in BEMA is still non-negotiable.


BUSBOYS AND POETS TRIBAL STATEMENT...

Busboys and Poets is a community where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted...
a place to take a deliberate pause and feed your mind, body and soul...a space for art, culture and
politics to intentionally collide...

we believe that by creating such a space we can inspire social change and begin to transform our community and the world.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Middle Eastern Virus More Widespread Than Thought 28 February 2014

http://news.sciencemag.org/africa/2014/02/middle-eastern-virus-more-widespread-thought


Middle Eastern Virus More Widespread Than Thought

28 February 2014 12:45 pm
Trail of infection. Scientists have found MERS virus in camels from Sudan and Ethiopia, suggesting the virus is more widespread than previously thought.
Bernard Gagnon/Wikimedia Commons
Trail of infection. Scientists have found MERS virus in camels from Sudan and Ethiopia, suggesting the virus is more widespread than previously thought.
It's called Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, after the region where almost all the patients have been reported. But the name may turn out to be a misnomer. A new study has found the virus in camels from Sudan and Ethiopia, suggesting that Africa, too, harbors the pathogen. That means MERS may sicken more humans than previously thought—and perhaps be more likely to trigger a pandemic.
MERS has sickened 183 people and killed 80, most of them in Saudi Arabia. A couple of cases have occurred in countries outside the region, such as France and the United Kingdom, but those clusters all started with a patient who had traveled to the Middle East before falling ill.
Scientists have uncovered more and more evidence implicating camels in the spread of the disease. They found that a large percentage of camels in the Middle East have antibodies against MERS in their blood, while other animals, such as goats and sheep, do not. Researchers have also isolated MERS virus RNA from nose swabs of camels in Qatar, and earlier this week, they showed that the virus has circulated in Saudi Arabian camels for at least 2 decades.
Malik Peiris, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues expanded the search to Africa. In a paper published last year, they showed that camels in Egypt carried antibodies against MERS. For the new study, they took samples from four abattoirs around Egypt; again they found antibodies against MERS in the blood of 48 out of 52 camels they tested. But the most interesting results came from taking nose swabs from 110 camels: They foundMERS RNA in four animals that had been shipped in from Sudan and Ethiopia.
Peiris cautions that it is unclear whether the infected camels picked up the virus in Sudan and Ethiopia or on their final journey in Egypt. Abattoirs could help spread MERS just like live poultry markets do for influenza, he says. "You cannot point the finger exactly at where those viruses came from," he says. "But I would be very surprised if you do not find the virus in large parts of Africa."
If so, that changes the picture of MERS considerably. No human MERS cases have been reported from Egypt or anywhere else in Africa, but if camels are infected, they may well occur, says Marion Koopmans, an infectious disease researcher at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. "It would be important to look systematically into that," she writes in an e-mail. "Health authorities really need to test patients with severe pneumonia all across Africa for MERS," Peiris says.
The researchers were able to sequence the virus of one of the camels almost completely, and it is more than 99% identical with viruses found in people. "I would be very surprised if this virus cannot infect humans," says Christian Drosten, a virologist at the University of Bonn in Germany. But the virus also shows a few intriguing differences from known camel samples, he says. "We have to analyze this carefully in the next few days, but it looks like this sequence broadens the viral repertoire found in camels," he says. If the viruses found in camels show more genetic variation than those isolated from humans, that is further strong evidence that camels are infecting humans and not the other way around.
Anthony Mounts, the point person for MERS at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, says that it is very likely that human MERS cases occur in Africa. "Wherever we find [infected] camels, there is a good chance we'll find [human] cases if we look closely," he says. And humans may be exposed to camels in Africa much more often than in the Middle East: There were about 260,000 camels in Saudi Arabia in 2012, but almost a million in Ethiopia and 4.8 million in Sudan, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The more human cases there are, the higher the risk that the virus will one day learn how to become easily transmissible between people, which could set off a pandemic.
The researchers also looked at the blood of 179 people working at the camel abattoirs for antibodies against MERS virus, but found none. That shows that the virus is only rarely successful in infecting human beings, Peiris says. "What we need to find out now is the reason for these rare transmissions."

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Community Need to Know: LEPC and TRI Pollution Prevention Search Tool in your area.

Check your community emergency management office\agency for their Local Emergency Planning Committee or LEPC for hazards in your community.  If no LEPC in your jurisdiction, 'WHY NOT?'

Try the Enhanced TRI Pollution Prevention Search Tool!


Do you know what industrial facilities in your area are doing to reduce toxic chemical pollution? 

Do you know how they measure up against other facilities across the country? We've expanded our TRI Pollution Prevention (P2) Search Tool, and its new interactive graphics show how facilities in your neighborhood compare to similar facilities across the country when it comes to pollution prevention progress.

You can also use the TRI P2 Search Tool to:
  • Track individual facility performance with respect to P2 and waste management;
  • Identify facilities that reported the largest reductions in toxic chemical releases;
  • Identify the P2 measures that were most effective for a given industry or chemical;
  • Compare waste management practices and trends for facilities within a sector; and
  • Overlay TRI charts with data from the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) to get a more holistic picture of sustainability.
To learn more about TRI's P2 information, visit our P2 webpage
Screenshot of TRI P2 Search Tool Facility Comparison Report



EPA Seal
TRI - it's your right to know. For more information about EPA's Toxics Release Inventory:  http://www.epa.gov/tri




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