Luke_Wilbur

Student loan borrowers who commit to a decade of public service may see the remaining balance on their federal student loans forgiven under the government's new public-service loan forgiveness program. Borrowers who enter public-service fields such as law enforcement, public education, or certain nonprofit work could have their remaining federal student loan debt forgiven, provided they work full-time for 10 years in an eligible public-service field and make 120 monthly payments on their college loans during that time. To be eligible for the loan forgiveness program, borrowers must have taken out student loans, parent PLUS loans, or a federal consolidation loan through the Department of Education's federal Direct Loan Program. Borrowers who took out their federal student loans from a private lender through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (rather than directly from the government through the Direct Loan Program) will have to consolidate their FFELP student loans into the Direct Loan Program in order to qualify for the loan forgiveness benefit. The public-service loan forgiveness program is a provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which also increased federal grant aid to needy students and was intended to provide student loan borrowers with the incentive to consider and continue working in often low-paying public-service fields. Borrowers will only be able to count payments made on their federal Direct student loans after October 1, 2007, toward the 120-payment requirement. FFELP borrowers who consolidate their FFELP college loans into a federal Direct Consolidation Loan will only be able to count the payments they make on their Direct Consolidation Loan toward their payment requirement. Any payments made prior to October 1, 2007, or to any lender other than the federal government won't count. The first batch of loan forgiveness payments, to be issued in 2017, will cover any federal student loan balance, including principal and interest, that remains after a borrower has made 10 years of payments, while working full-time in a public-service field, under one of three possible student loan repayment plans: the standard 10-year repayment plan, the income-contingent repayment plan, or the income-based repayment plan, which becomes available July 1, 2009, as another provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Both the income-contingent and income-based repayment options allow borrowers to make smaller monthly payments than what is typically required under the standard repayment plan. For borrowers in other Direct Loan repayment plans, only those payments they make that are at least equal to the monthly payment amount that would be required under the standard repayment plan will count toward the 120-payment requirement. Because the standard repayment plan positions borrowers to pay off their student loan balance in 10 years -- the same period of public service required before any student loan balance can be forgiven -- financial aid experts are encouraging borrowers in low-paying public-service jobs who are interested in the loan forgiveness program to look into their eligibility for the income-contingent or income-based repayment plans. Borrowers enrolled in the standard repayment plan throughout their required 10-year service period may not have any student loan debt left to be forgiven after 10 years. The fact that borrowers may have already paid off their student loans before the loan forgiveness program can even go into effect is a flaw of the program that could prove misleading to students, say government opponents. Diane Auer Jones, assistant secretary for postsecondary education for the U.S. Department of Education, says students taking the program's benefits into consideration as they plan their college financing strategy may end up being disappointed. "Some students will see the program and take on more debt than they would have otherwise," Auer Jones explains, "not realizing it is unlikely that most of it will be forgiven." About NextStudent NextStudent, Federal Lender Code 834051, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education finance products and services, including a free online scholarship search engine, private student loans, and information on federally guaranteed parent and student loans, student loan consolidation programs, and college savings plans. For more information about NextStudent and its student loan programs, please visit our website at NextStudent.com.

Here is a list of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia Starbucks stores that will be closing: 14073 21ST & L STREET 2101 L ST WASHINGTON DC 11265 PARK PLACE 2 PARK PLACE ANNAPOLIS MD 7588 HARBORPLACE 301 S LIGHT ST BALTIMORE MD 10600 BELVEDERE 5911 YORK RD BALTIMORE MD 11799 COLLINGTON PLAZA 3524 NCRAIN HWY BOWIE MD 11727 BELTSVILLE I-495 10240 BALTIMORE AVE COLLEGE PARK MD 13379 EASTON DUDROW FARM 28601 MARLBORO AVE EASTON MD 11850 MONTGOMERY VILLAGE PLAZA 18314 CONTOUR RD GAITHERSBURG MD 11963 CLOPPERS MILL SHOPPING CENTER 18066 MATENY RD GERMANTOWN MD 11516 FAIRWOOD GREEN VILLAGE CENTER 12530 FAIRWOOD PKWY GLENN DALE MD 10640 PIKESVILLE 1433 REISTERSTOWN RD PIKESVILLE MD 9795 SAINT CHARLES TOWNE CENTER 11110 MALL CIRCLE WALDORF MD 9953 WESTFIELD 11160 VEIRS MILL RD WHEATON MD 11772 SPOTSYLVANIA TOWNE CENTRE 137 SPOTSYLVANIA TOWNE CTR FREDERICKSBURG VA 10761 MADISON CRESCENT 8006 CRESCENT PARK DR GAINESVILLE VA 2957 POWER PLANT 1984 POWER PLANT PKWY HAMPTON VA 10986 PATRICK HENRY MALL 12300 JEFFERSON AVE NEWPORT NEWS VA 11154 STONEWALL PLAZA 240 RIVENDELL CT WINCHESTER VA The one in DC is near my son's doctor office. Bummer.

I am going to the Hazy Center IMAX 14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway Chantilly, VA 20151 (877) 932-4629 Here are showtimes 12:01 5:30 8:15 11:00 I think the 11:00 pm will be an appropriate viewing time.

For the Record... H.R. 6377: To direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its authority to direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities. Passed 402-19 Our government works

I just purchased the book.

I really like this discussion. Thanks for all the input Ex Enron. The CFTC just sent out a letter to ICE on June 17 I just transcribed: Ms. Dee Blake Director of Regulation ICE Futures Europe International House 1 St. Katherine's Way London E1W 1UY, UK Re: Amendment to No-Action Letter Issued to the International Petroleum Exchange of London (now ICE Futures Europe) Dear Ms. Blake: On November 12, 1999, the Division of Trading and Markets of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) granted to the International Petroleum Exchange of London (IPE) permission to make its electronic trading and order matching system, known as Energy Trading System II (ETS), available to IPE members in the United States. Specifically, the Division of Trading and Markets stated that it will not solely based upon IPE's failure to obtain contract market designation under Sections 5 and 5a of the Commodity Exchange Act (ACT), if: ( 1 ) IPE members who are registered with the Commission as futures commission merchants (FCM) or who are exempt from such registration pursuant to Rule 30.10 (Rule 30.10 Firms) submit orders from the United States customers for submission to ETS; and/or ( 3 ) IPE members who are registered with the Commission as FCMs or who are Rule 30.10 Firms accept orders through United States automated order routing systems from United States customers for submission to ETS. The November 12, 1999 IPE no-action letter was amended by the Division four times between July 26, 2002 and April 14, 2003 as trading contracts was transitioned from the ETS to the ICE Platform operated by Intercontinental Exhange, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia and trading hours were extended (the November 12, 1999 Letter, together with its amendments, being hereinafter referred to as the "Prior No-Action Letters"). On January 17, 2006, ICE Futures Europe notified the Division of its intent to launch a West Texas Intermediate Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures Contract (WTI Contract) on February 3, 2006 that cash-settled on the price of a physically-settled Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) a U.S. designated contract market (DCM). The notification was provided pursuant to the Commission's Statement of Policy regarding the listing of new futures and option contracts by foreign exhanges that are operating electronic trading devices in the U.S. pursuant to a foreign terminal no-action letter. Subsequent to that notification, the Commission and the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), ICE Futures Europe's regulatory authority, entered into a memorandum of understanding to share information with the goal of providing information to help detect and deter any attempts to manipulate the market. On April 12, 2006 ICE Futures Europe notified the Division of its intent to launch ICE Futures New York Harbour Heating Oil Futures Contract and the ICE Futures New York Harbour Unleaded Gasoline Blendstock (RBOB) Futures Contract on April 21, 2006 each of which is cash-settled on the price of physically-settled contracts traded on the NYMEX. A foreign board of trade listing for trading a contract which settles on the price of a contract traded on a CFTC-regulated exchange raises very serious concerns for the Commission. Such linkages can create a single market for the subject contracts consisting of both the underlying contract at the CFTC-regulated exchange and the cash-settled "look-alike" contract traded on the foreign board of trade. In the absence of certain preventative measures at the foreign board of trade, the circumstance could compromise the Commission's ability to carry out its market surveillance responsibilities, as well as the integrity of prices established on CFTC-regulated exchanges. As you are also aware, and as stated in IPE November 12, 1999 noaction letter, "the Division retains the authority to condition further, modify, suspend, terminate, or otherwise restrict the terms of the no-action relief provided herein, in its discretion." Accordingly, the Division is amending ICE Futures Europe;s no-action relief as described in the Prior No Action Letters by adding certain conditions with respect to any ICE Futures Europe contract which settles against any price, including the daily or final settlement price, of ( 1 ) a contract listed for trading on a DCM or derivatives transaction execution facility (DTEF), or ( 2 ) a contract listed for trading on an exempt commercial market (ECM) that has been determined to be a significant price discovery contract (collectively, "IFE Linked Contracts"). The purpose of these conditions is to ensure that ICE Futures Europe applies to any IFE Linked Contract comparable principles or requirements regarding the daily publication of trading information and the imposition of position limits or accountability levels for speculators as apply to the DCM, DTEF or ECM contract against which the IFE Linked Contract settles. The conditions will ensure that ICE Futures Europe provides the Commission with information regarding the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in IFE Linked Contracts that is comparable to the information provided to the Commission by DCMs, DTEFs or ECMs for publication of the Commitments of Traders Reports. Those conditions are: 1. ICE Futures Europe will impose on IFE Linked Contracts, by rule or otherwise, position limits or position accountability levels (including related hedge exemption provisions) that are comparable to the existing position limits or position accountability levels (including related hedge exemption provisions) as adopted by ( i ) the DCM, DTEF or ECM for the contract against which the IFE Linked Contract settles or ( ii ) the DCM, DTEF, or ECM for a financially-settled equivalent of such contract; 2. ICE Futures Europe will inform the Commission in a quarterly report of any member that had positions in an IFE Linked Contract above the applicable ICE Futures position limit, whether a hedge exemption was granted, and if not, whether a disciplinary action was taken; 3. ICE Futures Europe will publish daily trading information (e.g., settlement prices, volume, open interest, and opening and closing ranges) that is comparable to the daily trading information published by the DCM, DTEF or ECM for the contract against which ICE Futures Europe contract settles; and 4. ICE Futures Europe will provide to the CTFC, through FSA, a daily report of larger trader positions in each IFE Linked Contract for all contract months in a form and manner that; can be fully integrated into the CFTC's market serveillance systems, including full identification of each position's beneficial owner comparable to the reporting that is provided by the DCM, DTEF, or ECM; can, subject to the Memorandum of Understanding between CFTC and FSA, be fully integrated into the CFTC's Commitments of Traders Report, including appropriate categorization of traders and their postions. The Commision recognizes the need for ICE Futures Europe to adopt rules and implement system changes to implement the foregoing, and to take such actions in consultation with the FSA; in addition, the Commission understands that future rule and system changes are subject to approval by the FSA. Subject to ICE Futures Europe's satisfaction of these conditions within 120 days of the date of this letter and continuing to satisfy the other terms and conditions included in the Prior No-Action Letters, the Division hereby confirms that it will not recommend that the Commission institute enforcement action against ICE Futures Europe or its members solely based upon ICE Futures Europe's failure to seek contract market designation or registration as a DTEF under Sections 5 and 5a of the Act. The Division's no-action position does not extend to any other provision of the Act, any other Commission regulations or orders, or to any futures assocation rules and does not excuse ICE Futures Europe or its members from compliance with any applicable requirements thereunder. The no-action position taken herein is taken by the Division only and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or any other unit or member of the Commission's staff. Finally, as with all no-action letters, the Division retains the authority to condition further, modify, suspend, terminate, or otherwise restrict the terms of the no-action relief provided herein, in its discretion. If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please contact David Van Wagner, Chief Counsel, at (202) 418-5481, or Duane C. Andresen, Senior Special Counsel, at (202) 418-5492 Very truly yours, Richard A. Shilts, Director

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) is an American financial company that operates Internet-based marketplaces which trade futures and over-the-counter (OTC) energy and commodity contracts as well as derivative financial products. In June of 2001, ICE expanded its business into futures trading by acquiring the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), now ICE Futures Europe, which operated Europe’s leading open-outcry energy futures exchange. Since 2003, ICE has partnered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to host its electronic marketplace. In April of 2005, the entire ICE portfolio of energy futures became fully electronic. http://www.theice.com ICE Gasoil Futures ICE Gasoil Futures is designed to provide users with an effective hedging instrument and trading opportunities. Its underlying physical market is heating oil barges delivered in ARA (Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam). It is used as the pricing reference for all distillate trading in Europe and beyond. Contracts are for the future delivery of gas oil into barge or coaster or by in-tank transfer from Customs and Excise bonded storage installations or refineries in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp (ARA) area (including Vlissingen and Ghent) between the 16th and the last calendar day of the delivery month. Price transparency Real-time prices are available via the ICE Platform and major data vendors. As a result, the price at which a particular contract is trading can be known instantly by all participants. Trading shall cease at 12:00 hours, 2 business days prior to the 14th calendar day of the delivery month. This is also the tender day (see Related Documents - 'Gas Oil Delivery Mechanism'). Contract security LCH.Clearnet Ltd (LCH.Clearnet) acts as the central counterparty for trades conducted on the London exchanges. This enables it to guarantee the financial performance of every contract registered with it by its members (the clearing members of the exchanges) up to and including delivery, exercise and/or settlement. LCH.Clearnet has no obligation or contractual relationship with its members' clients who are non-member users of the exchange markets, or non-clearing members of the exchanges. Delivery mechanism ICE Gasoil Futures offers users the opportunity to make or take physical delivery of gasoil. This can be achieved upon expiry of the contract through the Standard Delivery Mechanism or Alternative Delivery Procedure. Prior to contract maturity, physical delivery can be achieved through the Exchange of Futures for Physical (EFP). Unit of trading One or more lots of 100 metric tonnes of gasoil, with delivery by volume namely 118.35 cubic metres per lot being the equivalent of 100 tonnes of gasoil at a density of 0.845 kg/litre in vacuum at 15°C. Property and risk Risk passes to the Buyer when the product passes the vessel’s flange and the property passes to the Buyer upon payment. Seller's obligations In respect of contracts still open at the cessation of trading in the current month the Seller shall: a) Deliver to LCH.Clearnet all tender documents stipulated in the Administrative Procedures and Certificate(s) of Availability of Product to the Exchange Accept the Buyer or Buyers to whom LCH.Clearnet passes tenders c) Subject to any default on the part of the Buyer, make delivery of gas oil d) Ensure that such gas oil is of the required quality and quantity e) In accordance with good industry practice pay any additional storage charges, delivery fees and demurrage if delivery is not completed in the time allowed at the installation f) Pass to LCH.Clearnet promptly all documents relating to payment Buyer's obligations In respect of contracts still open at the cessation of trading in the current month the Buyer shall: a) Accept any tender passed to him by LCH.Clearnet. Exchange of Futures for Physical (EFP) and Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) EFPs and EFSs may be reported to the Exchange during trading hours and registered by LCH.Clearnet up to one hour after cessation of trading in the delivery month in which the EFP or EFS is traded. These allow more effective hedging opportunities for market participants with over-the-counter positions. Law The contract is governed by English law and includes provisions for force majeure and embargoes. Clearing LCH.Clearnet guarantees financial performance of all ICE Futures contracts registered with it by its clearing Members. All ICE Futures Member companies are either members of LCH.Clearnet, or have a clearing agreement with a Floor Member who is a member of LCH.Clearnet. Regulation ICE Futures is regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a recognised investment exchange (RIE) under Part XVIII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). Further, ICE Futures has secured the relevant regulatory approvals or secured a statement of no objection, or has satisfied itself that it does not require regulatory approvals to allow direct access to the ICE Platform in a number of other overseas jurisdictions, such as US and Singapore. The complete list of jurisdictions can be found at: http://www.theice.com/regulation.jhtml. In accordance with the FSMA, all ICE Futures General Participants based in the UK will be authorised and regulated by the FSA. Where General Participants are incorporated overseas, they will be regulated by the relevant regulatory authority in that jurisdiction.

Joe, You had a rough week. Do not worry. Family is more important. Just do your best and make your mother proud.

Chinese National Sentenced for Economic Espionage Xiaodong Sheldon Meng, 44, a software engineer born in China and currently a resident of Cupertino, Calif., was sentenced today to a term of 24 months by the Honorable Jeremy Fogel, U.S. District Court Judge in San Jose and was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his prison term; pay a fine of $10,000, and forfeit computer equipment seized in the case. The sentence, the first handed down for a violation of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 USC Section 1831), was announced by Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Joseph P. Russoniello, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California; Arthur Cummings, Executive Assistant Director for the FBI’s National Security Branch; and Julie L. Myers, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On August 1, 2007, Meng pleaded guilty to two national security violations: one count of violating the Economic Espionage Act and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Meng’s conviction was the first involving military source code under the Arms Export Control Act and marked the second case in which there was a conviction under the Economic Espionage Act for misappropriating a trade secret with the intent to benefit a foreign government. According to court records, Meng committed economic espionage by misappropriating a trade secret, known as "Mantis 1.5.5," from his former employer, Quantum3D Inc., with the intent to benefit a foreign government, specifically the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Navy Research Center in Beijing. He did so by using the Mantis 1.5.5 trade secret as part of a demonstration project in attempting to sell products of his new employer, Orad, Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., which was a direct competitor of Quantum3D. The trade secret at issue, known as "Mantis," is a Quantum3D product used to simulate real world motion for military training and other purposes. In addition, Meng violated the Arms Export Control Act by knowingly and willfully exporting to the PRC a defense article on the United States Munitions List (defense article viXsen) without authorization from the United States. The product viXsen is a Quantum3D visual simulation software program used for training military fighter pilots who use night visual sensor equipment, including thermal imaging. According to court documents, the investigation established that Meng had, in fact, misappropriated two defense articles (specifically nVSensor, in addition to viXsen described above), at least six source code products which were also trade secrets, and more than one hundred materials and utilities belonging to his former employer, Quantum3D. Many of these misappropriated Quantum3D products were intended primarily for military purposes. For example, nVSensor is a Quantum3D product used to provide night vision simulation and is exclusively used in military applications for precision training and simulation applications. The investigation also established that defendant Meng was assisting in developing two separate military proposals for two separate Air Forces in Southeast Asia involving visual simulation equipment and source code. Copies of two F-16 Full Mission Simulator proposals involving two different countries were found on Meng’s laptop. "Today’s case demonstrates the importance of safeguarding sensitive U.S. military technology as well as trade secrets. It should also serve as a warning to others who would compromise our national security for profit," said Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Mr. Rowan commended the teamwork of several agencies that worked on the case for nearly four years, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit in the Northern District of California; the National Security Division and Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice; the FBI, and ICE, as well Customs & Border Protection. The Department of State and the Department of Defense also provided assistance on the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Northern District of Alabama, District of Minnesota, and Middle District of Florida also joined the plea agreement as some conduct in the case occurred in those jurisdictions. Joseph P. Russoniello, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, stated, "In this case, a Silicon Valley trade secret was used in a demonstration project in Beijing with the intent to benefit the PRC Naval Research Center. Source code for military visual simulation programs to train military fighter pilots and restricted defense articles were also willfully exported outside the United States. We will continue to enforce the criminal laws against those who violate export restrictions and misappropriate our trade secrets. Many of the systems we protect are designed to safeguard our men and women in harm’s way and compromising them significantly adds to the perils that they face in defending us. It is imperative that we vigilantly protect the intellectual property developed in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the country so as to maintain as our nation’s military defense advantages, and to deter acts of aggression against vital American interests." "ICE is committed to shutting down those who are willing to put America’s national security on sale for a profit," said Julie L. Myers, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE. "The export of U.S. military products and sensitive technology is controlled for good reason – in the wrong hands, these items could be used to harm America or its allies. Enforcing U.S. export laws is one of ICE’s top priorities, and we will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement and industry to ensure that those who put our country at risk are brought to justice." FBI Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch, Arthur Cummings stated, "Protecting our nation’s most sensitive trade secrets and critical technology is at the core of the FBI mission. The FBI is committed to safeguard our country’s economic well-being and national security." Quantum3D, Inc., based in San Jose, California, has cooperated fully in the government’s investigation. Quantum3D produces hardware and software components for simulation systems for commercial and military customers. Some of the products include high-end visual simulation systems, and interactive, open-architecture visual computing solutions, image generators, and embedded graphics subsystems. Defendant Meng was ordered to surrender for this prison term on August 18, 2008. He has been out of custody after a $500,000 bond, secured by cash and real property, was posted at the beginning of the case. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark L. Krotoski, presently on assignment at the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with the assistance of Paralegal Lauri Gomez. Thomas P. Reilly, a Trial Attorney in the National Security Division’s Counterespionage Section, also assisted on the case. The case was investigated by a team of agents from the FBI and ICE. Prior Economic Espionage Prosecutions: The five cases charging violations of Section 1831 under the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) to date include: The first EEA Section 1831 indictment was returned on May 8, 2001, in the Northern District of Ohio in United States v. Okamoto and Serizawa. One defendant pleaded guilty to false statements and the other remains a fugitive. See: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/O...izawaIndict.htm. The second EEA Section 1831 indictment was filed on December 4, 2002, by the Northern District of California CHIP Unit in United States v. Fei Ye and Ming Zhong, CR 02-20145-JW. The first EEA convictions, involving defendants Ye and Zhong, were obtained on December 14, 2006. Sentencing in this case is pending. See: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/yeIndict.htm, and http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/2006/2...plea.press.html The Meng case was the third indictment under Section 1831 of the EEA, when charges were filed on December 13, 2006. It was also the first case to be sentenced under the EEA and the second case resulting in an EEA conviction. See: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/mengCharge.htm ; and http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/mengPlea.htm) The fourth indictment under Section 1831 of the EEA was filed on Sept. 26, 2007, by the Northern District of California CHIP Unit in United States v. Lan Lee and Yuefei Ge, CR 06-00424-JW. For more information, please view the following: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/liIndict.htm The fifth indictment under EEA Section 1831 was filed on February 6, 2008, by the Central District of California in United States v. Dongfan "Greg" Chung, No. SA CR 08-00024. For more information, please view the following: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/February/08_nsd_106.html

The Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a national takedown of mortgage fraud schemes, the culmination of substantial coordinated efforts during the last three and a half months to identify, arrest and prosecute mortgage fraud violators through the United States. Operation Malicious Mortgage highlights the strong enforcement response undertaken by the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners to combat the threat mortgage fraud poses to the U.S. housing industry and worldwide credit markets. From March 1 to June 18, 2008, Operation Malicious Mortgage resulted in 144 mortgage fraud cases in which 406 defendants were charged. Yesterday, 60 arrests were made in mortgage fraud-related cases in 15 districts. Charges in Operation Malicious Mortgage cases were brought in every region of the United States and in more than 50 judicial districts by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices based upon the law enforcement and investigative efforts of participating law enforcement agencies. The FBI estimates that approximately $1 billion in losses were inflicted by the mortgage fraud schemes employed in these cases. In addition to fraud directly related to individual mortgages, the Department is committed to investigating and prosecuting cases of mortgage-related securities fraud. Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced an indictment against two senior managers of failed Bear Stearns hedge funds, charging Ralph Cioffi and Mathew Tannin with conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud. Cioffi was also charged with insider trading. The indictment alleges that the managers marketed the two funds as a low risk strategy, backed by a pool of debt securities such as mortgages. The indictment alleges that by March 2007, the managers believed the funds were in grave condition and at risk of collapse, but made misrepresentations to stave off investor withdrawal. The funds subsequently collapsed in the summer of 2007 resulting in approximately $1.4 billion in losses to investors. "Mortgage fraud and related securities fraud pose a significant threat to our economy, to the stability of our nation’s housing market and to the peace of mind of millions of American homeowners," said Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip. "Operation Malicious Mortgage and our other mortgage-related enforcement actions demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment and determination to combat these criminal schemes, hold their perpetrators accountable and help restore stability and confidence in our housing and credit markets." "Operation Malicious Mortgage is a concerted, joint law enforcement and prosecutorial effort aimed at disrupting individuals and groups engaged in mortgage fraud," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. "This operation is an example of our unified commitment to address this significant crime problem. The FBI will continue to direct investigative and analytic resources towards mortgage fraud and corporate securities fraud that threaten our nation’s economy." Operation Malicious Mortgage represents the joint collaborative efforts of the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Trustee Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General. Operation Malicious Mortgage is the most recent coordinated sweep in an ongoing law enforcement effort to combat mortgage fraud, which also included Operation Continued Action in 2004 and Operation Quick Flip in 2005. Mortgage frauds employ a variety of tactics including misrepresentations, deceit and other criminal abuses to fund, purchase or insure mortgage loans. Operation Malicious Mortgage addresses primarily three types of mortgage fraud schemes: lending fraud, foreclosure rescue scams and mortgage-related bankruptcy schemes. Lending fraud frequently involves multiple loan transactions in which industry professionals construct mortgage transactions based on gross fraudulent misrepresentations about the borrower’s financial status, such as overstating the borrower’s income or assets, using false or fictitious employment records or inflating property values. Foreclosure rescue scams involve criminals who target legitimate homeowners in dire financial circumstances and fraudulently collect fees for foreclosure prevention services or obtain ownership interests in residential properties. Both of these fraudulent mortgage schemes may be furthered by filing bankruptcy petitions that automatically stay foreclosure. The President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, chaired by Deputy Attorney General Filip, is also responding to issues raised by mortgage fraud in the corporate sector. Created in 2002 to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, the Task Force includes representatives from ten federal departments, commissions and agencies, in addition to seven U.S. Attorney’s Offices and two Divisions within the Department of Justice, combining the experience of thousands of investigators, attorneys, accountants and regulatory experts. Since July 2002, the Department of Justice has obtained nearly 1,300 corporate fraud convictions, including the convictions of more than 200 chief executive officers and corporate presidents, more than 120 corporate vice presidents and more than 50 chief financial officers.

Maybe there is a compromise that can be made. The companies that have existing leases should not be allowed to bid on new areas until they either revoke their lease or begin producing oil and/or natural gas from their existing lease. Companies that have no affiliation to these lease holders be allowed conditional leases to explore and produce oil and/or natural gas in federal lands adjacent to competing foreign exploration areas.

Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth's surface. Findings from the project, based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., will be used by researchers worldwide to improve computer models of global climate in preparation for the next report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The project, which continues through this month, is known as START 08 (Stratosphere-Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport). It focuses on a remote part of the atmosphere called the tropopause, which ranges in altitude from approximately 32,000 to 56,000 feet. Scientists are increasingly interested in the tropopause because of both its importance in the global climate system and the buildup of greenhouse gases has altered this atmospheric region in ways that are not yet understood. "This region of the atmosphere is the weak link in climate research," explains NCAR scientist Laura Pan, a principal investigator on the project. "In order to understand climate change, you need to have accurate computer models of the planet. In order to have accurate models, you need to understand what's going on in the tropopause." START is a collaborative effort involving the University of Miami, Texas A&M University, the University of Colorado, Harvard University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Funding for the project comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's primary sponsor, and from NOAA. START deploys the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream-V, also known as HIAPER, the High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research, a cutting-edge aircraft that will fly about a dozen missions above much of North America at altitudes ranging up to about 47,000 feet. "No other research aircraft could obtain samples of this critically important region of the atmosphere as effectively," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. "START is the first major study to use that capability." The flight paths will take the aircraft through the top of the troposphere, which is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, and into the stratosphere. Focusing on the tropopause, the boundary between these two layers, scientists will take samples of air to determine the movements and concentrations of a number of gases. One of their goals is to learn more about water vapor and ozone, which act as potent greenhouse gases by trapping solar radiation in the atmosphere, thereby warming the planet. "Understanding the tropopause region is particularly challenging because it involves interactions of winds and atmospheric motion with chemistry, clouds, and solar radiation," says Kenneth Bowman, a principal investigator on the project and an atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University. "Properly representing this part of the atmosphere in global climate models requires getting all of these complex components correct. The aircraft allows us to directly observe many of these processes in place, providing a level of detail that cannot be matched by ground-based or satellite observations." The tropopause is challenging territory for scientists: it is too high to observe with most ground-based instruments or aircraft, and too low for satellites to view with great detail. Also, its altitude has changed in recent years because of global warming. As Earth's tropical regions have grown, the highest part of the tropopause, which lies above the tropics, has expanded. This movement is related to the jet stream, which has also shifted toward higher latitudes. These changes are setting off a chain reaction that affects both weather patterns and long-term global climate. The research team wants to determine how weather patterns stir up chemicals in the tropopause and, in turn, how its changing chemical composition influences global climate, including the location of the jet stream. "We want to collect data that will help map out the chemical composition of this dynamic boundary region," says Elliot Atlas, also a principal investigator on the project, and a marine and atmospheric chemist at the University of Miami. "This is a complex area, where naturally occurring gases and particles mix with pollutants from human activities in ways that can ultimately affect the weather and climate of our planet." Over the next two years, climate scientists will use observations from START and other sources to adjust computer models that simulate Earth's climate. These models will be used for the next round of IPCC reports, which are likely to be issued about 2012.

If you are curious about Earth's periodic mass extinction events such as the sudden demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, you might consider crashing asteroids and sky-darkening super volcanoes as culprits. But a new study, published June 15, 2008, in the journal Nature, suggests that it is the ocean, and in particular the epic ebbs and flows of sea level and sediment over the course of geologic time, that is the primary cause of the world's periodic mass extinctions over the past 500 million years. "The expansions and contractions of those environments have pretty profound effects on life on Earth," says Shanan Peters, a University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor of geology and geophysics and the author of the new Nature report. In short, according to Peters, changes in ocean environments related to sea level exert a driving influence on rates of extinction, which animals and plants survive or vanish, and generally determine the composition of life in the oceans. Since the advent of life on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, scientists think there may have been as many as 23 mass extinction events, many involving simple forms of life such as single-celled microorganisms. Over the past 540 million years, there have been five well-documented mass extinctions, primarily of marine plants and animals, with as many as 75-95 percent of species lost. For the most part, scientists have been unable to pin down the causes of such dramatic events. In the case of the demise of the dinosaurs, scientists have a smoking gun, an impact crater that suggests dinosaurs were wiped out as the result of a large asteroid crashing into the planet. But the causes of other mass extinction events have been murky, at best. "No matter what the ultimate driving extinction mechanisms might be at any one time, Professor Peters brings the repeated and resultant extinction on oceanic shelves front and forward where it belongs," says National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Manager Rich Lane. "This breakthrough speaks loudly to the future impending modern shelf extinction due to climate change on Earth." Paleontologists have been chipping away at the causes of mass extinctions for almost 60 years, according to Peters, whose work was supported by NSF. "Impacts, for the most part, aren't associated with most extinctions. There have also been studies of volcanism, and some eruptions correspond to extinction, but many do not." Arnold I. Miller, a paleobiologist and professor of geology at the University of Cincinnati, says the new study is striking because it establishes a clear relationship between the tempo of mass extinction events and changes in sea level and sediment: "Over the years, researchers have become fairly dismissive of the idea that marine mass extinctions like the great extinction of the Late Permian might be linked to sea-level declines, even though these declines are known to have occurred many times throughout the history of life. The clear relationship this study documents will motivate many to rethink their previous views." Peters measured two principal types of marine shelf environments preserved in the rock record, one where sediments are derived from erosion of land and the other composed primarily of calcium carbonate, which is produced in-place by shelled organisms and by chemical processes. "The physical differences between these two types of marine environments have important biological consequences," Peters explains noting differences in sediment stability, temperature and the availability of nutrients and sunlight. In the course of hundreds of millions of years the world's oceans have expanded and contracted in response to the shifting of the Earth's tectonic plates and to changes in climate. There were periods of the planet's history when vast areas of the continents were flooded by shallow seas such as the shark and mosasaur infested seaway that neatly split North America during the age of the dinosaurs. As those epicontinental seas drained, animals like mosasaurs and giant sharks went extinct, and conditions on the marine shelves where life exhibited its greatest diversity in the form of things like clams and snails changed as well. The new Wisconsin study, Peters says, does not preclude other influences on extinction such as physical events like volcanic eruptions or killer asteroids, or biological influences such as disease and competition among species. But what it does do, he argues, is provide a common link to mass extinction events over a significant stretch of Earth history. "The major mass extinctions tend to be treated in isolation by scientists," Peters says. "This work links them and smaller events in terms of a forcing mechanism, and it also tells us something about who survives and who doesn't across these boundaries. These results argue for a substantial fraction of change in extinction rates being controlled by just one environmental parameter."

The team of Australian and US climate researchers found the world’s oceans warmed and rose at a rate 50 per cent faster in the last four decades of the 20th century than documented in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (IPCC AR4). The research gives significantly greater credibility to the way climate models simulate the degree of warming in the world’s oceans – a key indicator of sea-level rise and climate change. The results were added to other recent estimates of contributions to sea-level rise, including glaciers, ice caps, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and thermal expansion changes in the deep ocean. The sum of all contributions is more consistent with observed sea-level rise than earlier studies. “For the first time, we can provide a reasonable account of the processes causing the rate of global sea-level rise over the past four decades – a puzzle that has led to a lot of scientific discussion since the 2001 IPCC report but with no significant advances until now,” says CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship scientist, Dr Catia Domingues, from the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research. “Following the review of millions of ocean measurements, predominantly from expendable instruments probing the upper 700 metres of the ocean, we were able to more accurately estimate upper-ocean warming, and the related thermal expansion and sea-level rise. “We show that the rate of ocean warming from 1961 to 2003 is about 50 per cent larger than previously reported,” Dr Domingues says., The new estimates also more closely agree with the models used in the IPCC 2007 report. “Our results are important for the climate modelling community because they boost confidence in the climate models used for projections of global sea-level rise resulting from the accumulation of heat in the oceans. These projections will, in turn, assist in planning to minimise the impacts and in developing adaptation strategies.” Central to unlocking more accurate estimates of upper-ocean warming and sea-level rise was research completed earlier this year by CSIRO’s Dr Susan Wijffels and NASA’s Dr Josh Willis, among others, and soon to be published in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate. This study provided ways of correcting small but systematic biases recently discovered in 70 per cent of measurements in the global ocean observing system. Dr Wijffels says the results also indicate an ongoing need for careful quality control of observational data and continuous monitoring of the oceans using diverse observations that can be checked against each other. Dr Domingues says the oceans store more than 90 per cent of the heat in the Earth’s climate system and act as a temporary buffer against the effects of climate change. “Detailed comparisons of these new observational estimates with climate models will be required to refine our current understanding and improve projections of the regional distribution of sea-level rise,” she says. The science team included researchers from the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California USA. Co-authors were John Church, Neil White, Peter Gleckler; Susan Wijffels, Paul Barker and Jeff Dunn. Dr Domingues is one of 16 early-career scientists presenting their research to the public for the first time through Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Federal and Victorian Governments. Dr Catia Domingues OCE Post Doctoral Fellow CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research Phone: 61 3 6232 5038 Alt Phone: 61 4 1156 5163 Fax: 61 3 6232 5123 Email: Catia.Domingues@csiro.au Dr John Church (BSc(Hons) PHD) CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research Phone: 61 3 6232 5207 Alt Phone: 61 3 6232 5217 Fax: 61 3 6232 5123 Email: John.Church@csiro.au Ms Susan Wijffels (BSc PhD ) CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research Climate Change Temp; Variability Phone: 61 3 6232 5450 Alt Phone: 61 3 6228 7587 Fax: 61 3 6232 5123 Email: Susan.Wijffels@csiro.au

Joe, The Mothman says hi. He wants to know when you plan to visit West Virginia again. He has a special present for you.

I agree with you. It looks like DC is starting to finally put more bike trails for commuters. I just hope more people bike to work if at all possible.

Joe, I am so sorry that your mom got hurt. She is in my prayers. If your family needs anything, please let me know.

Here is one good thing about the increase of gas prices The rising cost of shipping everything from industrial-pump parts to lawn-mower batteries to living-room sofas is forcing some manufacturers to bring production back to North America and freeze plans to send even more work overseas. "My cost of getting a shipping container here from China just keeps going up -- and I don't see any end in sight," says Claude Hayes, president of the retail heating division at DESA LLC. He says that cost has jumped about 15%, to about $5,300, since January and is set to increase again next month to $5,600. The cost of shipping a standard, 40-foot container from Asia to the East Coast has already tripled since 2000 and will double again as oil prices head toward $200 a barrel, says Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto. He estimates transportation costs are now the equivalent of a 9% tariff on goods coming into U.S. ports, compared with the equivalent of only 3% when oil was selling for $20 a barrel in 2000. "In a world of triple-digit oil prices, distance costs money," Mr. Rubin wrote in a recent report. He figures that for every 10% increase in the distance of a trip, energy costs rise 4.5%. Transportation costs are just part of a larger wave of inflation sweeping global manufacturing, which has also been pounded by higher costs for basic materials, such as steel and resins. The cost of doing business in China in particular has grown steadily as workers there demand higher wages and the government enforces tougher environmental and other controls. China's currency has also appreciated against the dollar -- though not as much as some critics contend it should -- increasing the cost of its products in the U.S. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121331934552070357.htm

Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, California and New Jersey Lead in Generating FTZ Economic Activity U.S.-based companies operating in foreign-trade zones (FTZs) across the United States received $491 billion in domestic and foreign merchandise in FY 2006 while employing more than 360,000 American workers, according to an annual report published by the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ). The report showed that there are 2,650 companies operating in FTZs in more than 200 communities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. “For more than five decades, the Foreign-Trade Zone program has promoted American competitiveness by encouraging companies to keep – and expand – their businesses here in the United States,” said Willard M. Berry, President of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ). “Foreign-Trade Zones are one of the best pro-manufacturing job programs available in the U.S. today.” The annual NAFTZ report, The Impact of Foreign-Trade Zones on the 50 States & Puerto Rico, tracks the economic impact of U.S. foreign-trade zones in each of the 50 states. The report showed that economic activity by companies located in FTZs increased by 20% in 2006, and found that exports from U.S. FTZs totaled $30 billion in 2006, a 30% increase from the previous year, compared to only a 16% increase for exports of manufactured commodities from the U.S. in general. The top 15 states in terms of merchandise receipts by FTZs are: Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Carolina, Mississippi, Indiana, Alabama, Michigan, and Washington. The sectors benefiting most from FTZs were companies in the pharmaceutical, electronics, automotive, and petroleum industries. “The report underscores the fact that, by eliminating disincentives to manufacture in the U.S., FTZs help level the playing field and encourage companies to establish or keep their operations in the U.S.,” said Berry. Companies operating within an FTZ can import components and products into the zone for manufacturing without immediately paying prevailing U.S. Customs duties. Under the program, the manufacturers may never pay a duty – if the finished product is exported to another country – or pay a lower duty if the product leaves the FTZ and enters U.S. territory as a product subject to lower duty rates. To view an interactive map of Foreign-Trade Zones in the U.S., please visit http://www.naftz.org/index_categories.php/ftzs/6. The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones works to inform on and expand the opportunities that the Foreign-Trade Zones program offers to companies doing business in or with the United States. NAFTZ supports over 800 members in every state who support the American economy and maintain operations in foreign-trade zones across the United States. For more information on NAFTZ, contact Willard Berry at (202) 331-1950 or media@naftz.org or visit www.naftz.org.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing recommendations to those affected by severe storms and tornadoes in the Mid-Atlantic region. USDA is hopeful that this information will help minimize the potential for foodborne illnesses due to power outages and other problems that are often associated with severe weather events. "Power outages can occur at any time of the year and it often takes from a few hours to several days for electricity to be restored to residential areas," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. "Without electricity or a cold source, foods stored in refrigerators and freezers can become unsafe. Bacteria in food grow rapidly at temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, and if these foods are consumed, people can become very sick." Steps to follow to prepare for a possible weather emergency: Keep an appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer. An appliance thermometer will indicate the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer in case of a power outage and help determine the safety of the food. Make sure the freezer is at 0 °F or below and the refrigerator is at 40 °F or below. Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator or coolers after the power is out. Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately — this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer. Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased. Store food on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water in case of flooding. Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than 4 hours. Purchase or make ice cubes and store in the freezer for use in the refrigerator or in a cooler. Freeze gel packs ahead of time for use in coolers. Group food together in the freezer — this helps the food stay cold longer. Steps to follow after the weather emergency: Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) and the door remains closed. Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after 4 hours without power. Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below when checked with a food thermometer. Never taste a food to determine its safety! Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days. If the power has been out for several days, check the temperature of the freezer with an appliance thermometer. If the appliance thermometer reads 40 °F or below, the food is safe to refreeze. If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. If the food still contains ice crystals, the food is safe. Drink only bottled water if flooding has occurred. Discard any food that is not in a waterproof container if there is any chance that it has come into contact with flood water. Discard wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers. Undamaged, commercially prepared foods in all-metal cans and retort pouches (for example, flexible, shelf-stable juice or seafood pouches) can be saved. Follow the Steps to Salvage All-Metal Cans and Retort Pouches in the publication "Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency" at: 0 www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/ keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp Thoroughly wash all metal pans, ceramic dishes and utensils that came in contact with flood water with hot soapy water and sanitize by boiling them in clean water or by immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water. When in Doubt, Throw it Out! FSIS has available a Public Service Announcement (PSA), available in 30- and 60-second versions, illustrating practical food safety recommendations for handling and consuming foods stored in refrigerators and freezers during, and after, a power outage. Consumers are encouraged to view the PSA at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/ Food_Safety_PSA/index.asp. News organizations and power companies can obtain hard copy (Beta and DVD) versions of the PSA by contacting the Food Safety Education Staff in FSIS' Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education by calling (301) 344-4757. Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day

DCpages runs this web site and this discussion is getting way off topic. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Edward T. Schafer sent a letter on June 11, 2008 to Senator Jeff Bingaman addressing a number of questions related to biofuels, food, and gasoline and diesel prices. The letter is available at http://www.energy.gov Without Biofuels, Gas Prices Would Increase $.20 to $.35 per Gallon. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that gasoline prices would be between 20 cents to 35 cents per gallon higher without ethanol1, a first-generation biofuel. For a typical household, that means saving about $150 to $300 per year. For the U.S. overall, this saves gas expenditures of $28 billion to $49 billion based on annual gasoline consumption of roughly 140 billion gallons. Ethanol use has exceeded the requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, demonstrating that refiners and gasoline marketers have an economic advantage to use more ethanol than is required by law. Biofuels are Reducing America's Dependence on Oil. Without biofuels, DOE estimates that the United States would have to use 7.2 billion more gallons of gasoline in 2008 in order to maintain current levels of travel (a 5 percent increase). This increased demand for gasoline would drive up the price Americans pay at the pump due to basic supply and demand. Biofuels are Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. DOE scientists found that corn ethanol from the U.S. reduced greenhouse gas emission 19 percent compared with gasoline, when the full "life cycle" of the fuel is considered – from growing it to producing the fuel and burning it. DOE scientists estimate that 13 million tons of greenhouse gases were avoided in 2007 due to biofuels production and use. The next generation of biofuels—cellulosic—made from switchgrass, corn stover, wood chips and other non-food sources promises even more significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than corn-based ethanol – reductions of more than 86 percent compared with gasoline. This estimate relies on data on the current price difference between ethanol and gasoline and the elasticity of supply for petroleum. Consequently, a range is presented. Today's Biofuels Account for Only a Small Percentage of the Increase in Global Food Prices. Other factors are responsible for the majority of the increase in global food prices: Higher oil and gas prices leading to increased costs of fertilizer, harvest, and transportation; Increased demand as developing countries grow and people improve their diets; Two years of bad weather and drought leading to poor harvests in parts of the world; Export restrictions imposed by some countries. Future Biofuels Will Alleviate Much of the Concern about Competition Between Food and Fuel. Cellulosic biofuel feedstocks can be produced on land not suitable for crops or it can be collected from forest residues. The Administration has announced more than $1 billion for the research, development, and demonstration of new biofuels technology, with a special focus on cellulosic biofuels. Funding supports: Bioenergy Research Centers where scientists work together to make the conversion of plant fiber to fuel more cost-effective and efficient. Commercial-scale and small-scale biorefineries, to chart the course toward commercialization of these technologies and test breakthroughs and novel processes.

On Friday, June 13, NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert died. Sunday mornings will never be the same. Tim Russert was the Managing Editor and Moderator of Meet the Press, aired on Sundays at 12noon ET with rebroadcasts at 3PM ET and 6PM ET. Since joining Meet The Press in December 1991, the program has become the most watched Sunday morning interview program in America and the most quoted news program in the world. Russert has interviewed every major figure on the American political scene. Russert also served as the political analyst for NBC Nightly News and the Today Program and anchored The Tim Russert Show, a weekly interview program on CNBC. He was also a contributing anchor for MSNBC and served as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News. NBC News' Tom Brokaw Carl Bernstein, journalist Tim Russert was a man I trusted to find the truth to a story. He will be greatly missed by all those that followed his career. The Washington DC Online Community will greatly miss, but never forget him. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.

I think our government can handle the situation

Money for College. Complete a DC OneApp today to get financial assistance for higher education. One form is all you need to apply for all four of the District’s scholarship programs, including the popular DC Tuition Assistance Grant, but the deadline is June 30. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education's (OSSE) Higher Education Financial Services (HEFS) administers the District of Columbia's four higher education grants: DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG), DC Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (DCLEAP), DC Adoption Scholarship (DCAS) and DC Adult Scholarship Program (DCASP). District residents may apply for all four grants using one streamlined application called the DC OneApp. Eligibility varies for each program. Select the link below for more grant details and to apply online. The DC OneApp deadline is June 30, 2008. The online application is available beginning January 1, 2008 51 N Street NE, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20002 (202) 727-2824, HEFS Toll-free: 1 (877) 485-6751 Closest Metro Station: Red Line - New York Avenue/Florida Avenue/Gallaudet University

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Councilmember-At-Large David Catania, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department Chief Dennis Rubin, Director of the Department of Health, Dr. Pierre Vigilance and the chief executive officers of the District’s busiest hospitals announced two initiatives that will continue the Administration’s reforms of EMS and access to health care in the District. Both initiatives announced today respond directly to Recommendation 5 of the EMS Task Force to reduce misuse of EMS and delays in patient transfers. “To make the District’s EMS the best in the nation, we need to reform the entire system,” said Fenty. “I am pleased that our partners in the hospital community are working with us to meet that challenge.” New Fire EMS Closure and Diversion Policy As part of the Hospital CEO Working Group recommended by the Task Force and established by the city administrator in November, District hospitals with the city’s Fire & EMS and Health departments have agreed on a new policy that will govern temporary closure and diversion of hospital emergency departments (ED), as well as the delivery of patients to hospitals by EMS transport units. The new policy seeks to ensure that no single aspect of the District’s emergency medical care system is unduly burdened by the high demand for ambulance services, while also striving to achieve the highest possible quality of patient care. Research by the task force found that the District has some of the highest closure and diversion rates, and among the longest “patient drop times,” in the country. Currently, Fire & EMS has an average patient drop time of 40 minutes, which impacts the ability of District ambulances to get back on the streets and respond quickly to emergencies. The new policy includes a goal of dropping off patients within 25 minutes, a change that, if realized on a regular basis, will have the effect of adding five additional ambulances to District streets. The policy also facilitates improved District management of transport unit flow to hospitals, as well as more seamless information sharing between hospitals and the Fire & EMS Department. “We appreciate the efforts by the Mayor's team to improve the EMS by enhancing coordination with the city's hospital emergency departments and strengthening the response to patient needs,” said James F. Caldas, president of Washington Hospital Center. Emergency Care Reform Initiative High rates of closure and diversion and long patient drop off times are symptoms of unnecessary stress on EMS due, in part, to overuse of hospital Emergency Departments. The Emergency Care Reform Initiative (ECRI) will address this challenge through a collaboration of city agencies, health care providers, and community partners that serve residents at risk for seeking emergency care services. Mayor Fenty’s FY 2009 budget dedicates $1 million to support the initiative, the goals of which are to develop high-impact strategies that reduce avoidable hospitalizations, preventable ED visits, and non-emergent EMS transports. “Turning to EDs for everyday health care use is a national phenomenon,” said Mayor Fenty. “But here in the District, we are committed to reversing this trend and making sure that every resident is linked to an accessible medical home in their community.” The Emergency Care Reform Initiative will include a series of projects ranging from a $10 million chronic disease management and prevention grant program, to the development of a non-emergent transport system to serve as an alternative to EMS transport for residents in urgent but not life-threatening conditions, to street outreach connecting high risk homeless residents to preventive care and a medical home.