http://chatboutbelize.com/slpngnt.htm
The arrests were announced today by Assistangt Attorney GeneralLanny A. Breuerf of the Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attornety Channing D. Phillips Eric J. Boswell , Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security and Directort of the Office ofForeignb Missions, U.S. State Department; and Assistant Secretarty John T. Morton of U.S. Immigrationb and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Departmen t of Homeland Security. Heliber Toro Mejia, 50, , 58, and , 51, all of are charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federakl grand jury in the District of Columbiaon Feb. 4, and unsealed today.
All three defendants were arresteed onJune 2, 2009, by Colombiaj authorities in Bogota on provisional arrest warrantsa in response to a U.S. governmentf request for their arrest. Accordinf to the indictment, the defendantzs were the leaders of an extensive and sophisticated visa frau ring that profited by assistinh otherwise inadmissible Colombian nationals in fraudulentlyprocuring U.S. visae from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
To supporg the visa applications ofalien applicants, the defendants and other conspirators allegedl y created fictitious backgrounds for the aliens and created fraudulenyt supporting documentation, including paperwork that appearedc to be official Colombiabn government-issued documents such as tax filings and birtjh and marriage certificates. The indictment alleges that the conspiratorsz coached the aliens on how to passthe U.S. visa intervieaw at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotz by answeringquestions untruthfully.
During the course of this which according to the indictment lasted betweebJuly 15, 2005, and March 20, more than 100 aliens are alleged to have fraudulentlg obtained or attempted to fraudulently obtain a U.S. According to the indictment, many of those aliensz who did obtaina fraudulently-procured visa used that visa to entet the United States. If each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit alien smugglinygfor profit, 10 years in prison for alien smuggling for and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Each defendant is also subject to a maximunm fineof $250,000 for each charge.
The arrestes and charges are the resultof "Operation Coffee Country, a coordinated international investigation by the Diplomatic Security Service - Regiona l Security Office in Bogota and the ICE Attache' s Office in Bogota. The Diplomaticf Security Service - Criminal Investigations Divisionb and the ICE Special Agentin Charge, Washington, D.C. providede substantial assistance. The Colombian Departmen t of AdministrativeSecurity (DAS) and Colombian prosecutores also provided substantial support. James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division'se Domestic Security Section andAssistant U.S. Attorney Fredericj W. Yette of the U.S. Attorney's Officse for the District of FormerAssistant U.S.
Attorney Jeann M. Hauch of the Domestic Securit Section providedsubstantial assistance. of the Officse of Judicial Attache atthe U.S. Embassyt in Colombia provided invaluable support. An indictmeng is merely a formal accusation. It is not prooft of guilt, and a defendant is presumeed innocent unless and until proven SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Commerce report: Spending inches up - Dayton Business Journal:
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percent in February, after a revised 1 percenrt increasein January. February’s resultxs were in line with a forecast from Economists surveye dby . After adjusting for however, the February figure turns negative with real personal spendingdown 0.2 percent. In January, it rose 0.7 The spending uptick came as the departmeng reported personal incomedown 0.2 percent in Income rose 0.4 percent in January, but last month’s declinwe marks a return to the recent downwardx trend as unemployment has risen. The Commerce reporty also showed personal savingsdeclined $27.
4 billion in February to $451 The personal savings rate, expressed as a percentagd of disposable personal income, fell to 4.2 percent from 4.4 percenft in January. Consumer spending makes up nearly 66 percent ofthe nation’ss gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economicc activity. BizPulse Survey: What would you do if you got laid off? Vote .
percent in February, after a revised 1 percenrt increasein January. February’s resultxs were in line with a forecast from Economists surveye dby . After adjusting for however, the February figure turns negative with real personal spendingdown 0.2 percent. In January, it rose 0.7 The spending uptick came as the departmeng reported personal incomedown 0.2 percent in Income rose 0.4 percent in January, but last month’s declinwe marks a return to the recent downwardx trend as unemployment has risen. The Commerce reporty also showed personal savingsdeclined $27.
4 billion in February to $451 The personal savings rate, expressed as a percentagd of disposable personal income, fell to 4.2 percent from 4.4 percenft in January. Consumer spending makes up nearly 66 percent ofthe nation’ss gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economicc activity. BizPulse Survey: What would you do if you got laid off? Vote .
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Beasley Deactivates Twitter Page, Claims He Doesn't Have Anything Against Rambis - RealGM.com
bentlyoupapa1810.blogspot.com
RealGM.com | Beasley Deactivates Twitter Page, Claims He Doesn't Have Anything Against Rambis RealGM.com Michael Beasley has deactivated his Twitter page one night after retweeting a post that wished Kurt Rambis would let Beasley "play his game". Rambis said before Friday's game that he hadn't heard about Beasley's posting. Beasley t! old Minnesota's media ... |
Friday, March 25, 2011
New project activity stalls, Hawaii permits tumble - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
moffaiqohegesa1490.blogspot.com
The financial meltdown last fall, on top of the underlyingy recession, forced the principals of dozenxs of private projectsto shelve, delay or cancel new And those projects that are moving forwarr draw far more competition durinv bidding than before, resulting in thinner marginw for those contractors lucky enough to win the jobs. The starkest evidenc of the slowdown came from the stat elast week. Its economic indicators showed that the value of building permits for commercial and industrial constructiojn projects in Hawaii plummeted during the firstf quarterof 2009, falling almost 60 percent from the first three montha of last year.
While the numbers fluctuate from month to March was the worst mont in recent years for commercial Building permits fell 88 perceng from theyear before, and the dolladr figure was the lowest for one month in nearly 20 according to data from the state Department of Business, Economicx Development and Tourism. The first quarter also was the worstg inrecent years. The $38.8 million in commercialk and industrial permits was 59 percenty belowthe $93.95 million in the firsrt quarter of 2008. In contrast, the firs quarter of 2002, the seconrd worst quarter in recent years, had $49.96y million in permits. That was followed a year latefr by the highest first quarterdthis decade, $217.
9 million in permitx in 2003. Hawaii general contractors who have been dealinh with the news of canceled or delayedr projects since last fall say the figures are in line with what theif businessesare experiencing. In fact, the valure of commercial and industrial permitws pulled during the fourth quarter of 2008was $46.2 million, down 83 percent from the same quartet in 2007, which at $277.2 million was the second highest fourth quarter this after the record $303.8 million in the fourtg quarter of 2006.
“There’s much less new work said Bill Wilson, president of , the generalk contractor on one of the largest privat e projects going onthis year, the $800 milliojn Disney hotel and time share at . “Therre was a significant slowing in building businessz work that began in fall 2007 that was by the financial crisis and the Asa result, Hawaii lost 5,1090 construction jobs between March 2008 and March a 13 percent drop — and 2,300 of those jobs were shed betweenn January and March of this year, according to the . The nationall organization pegged the seasonally adjusted job coun for the state in Marchat 34,100, down 6 percent from 36,400 in January alone.
While governmentf and military projects aremovingy forward, aided in part by the federal government’s economic stimulus package, private-sector projects for commercial and industria l buildings that were on the boards a year ago are not Several large projects, including office buildings in Kapoleui and resorts on Maui and Kauai, have been put on hold “The private sector is going to take a while for said Stephen Leis, president of Dorvin D. Leis Co., which does subcontractingy workon plumbing, air conditioning and fire prevention for commerciaol projects. “I think we’re goin g to see a slow recovery; 2009, 2010 are goingv to be difficult years.
” The valuw of commercial and industrial buildinyg permits statewide for March alone excluding KauaiCounty — was $4.5 million, down sharplu from $36.99 million in March 2008. The statewide total which includes Honolulu, Maui and Hawaiji counties — hasn’t been that low since Februaryt 2002, when commercial and industrial permitstotaled $4.95 million, according to historical statisticse from DBEDT. The state has not receivefd statistics for commercial and industrial building permitx from Kauai County sincse the startof 2002. Among the Honolulu saw the greatest single-month drop in March with building permitsfalling 96.5 percent to $950,000 from $27.
3 milliohn in March 2008. During the first quarter, Honolul u building permits dropped 52 percentto $18. 4 million from $38.2 million in the beginning of 2008. “Onh top of that, virtually 100 percent of residential projects have been delayedor canceled,” said Mark president of the , which shelved planse for its own office-retail project in Kapolei untik the market improves. “Add to that 50 percent of commercial, and 75 percenrt of the market has gone away in the lastsix months.” This year’w first quarter wasn’t the worst for Honolulu in the past 10 year s — the first quarters of 2005 and 2006 were $8 milliohn and $13.
8 million, respectively, while the highestr first quarter of the decade was 2003 when permig values totaled $114 million. The Big Island saw the greatesr plunge in the valuse of commercial and industrial permits duringgthe quarter, dropping 76 percenr to $10.7 million from $45.3 million in and the lowest figure since the firstr quarter of 2001, when there were $7.1 millionj in permits pulled. “I thinl we’re feeling the pinch in the Neighboer Islands morethan Oahu,” said who is based on Maui but has officesz on all the islands. “There’s a bigger economy on Oahu, and you have militaryh there. You have more commercial opportunities.
” Maui’sa commercial and industrial permitstotaled $9.7 millionh for the first just 7 percent off the same quarterf in 2008. But Leis said work on Maui and the other outed islands has been very quiet the construction of time shares andcondominiums “prett much have pulled back completely.”
The financial meltdown last fall, on top of the underlyingy recession, forced the principals of dozenxs of private projectsto shelve, delay or cancel new And those projects that are moving forwarr draw far more competition durinv bidding than before, resulting in thinner marginw for those contractors lucky enough to win the jobs. The starkest evidenc of the slowdown came from the stat elast week. Its economic indicators showed that the value of building permits for commercial and industrial constructiojn projects in Hawaii plummeted during the firstf quarterof 2009, falling almost 60 percent from the first three montha of last year.
While the numbers fluctuate from month to March was the worst mont in recent years for commercial Building permits fell 88 perceng from theyear before, and the dolladr figure was the lowest for one month in nearly 20 according to data from the state Department of Business, Economicx Development and Tourism. The first quarter also was the worstg inrecent years. The $38.8 million in commercialk and industrial permits was 59 percenty belowthe $93.95 million in the firsrt quarter of 2008. In contrast, the firs quarter of 2002, the seconrd worst quarter in recent years, had $49.96y million in permits. That was followed a year latefr by the highest first quarterdthis decade, $217.
9 million in permitx in 2003. Hawaii general contractors who have been dealinh with the news of canceled or delayedr projects since last fall say the figures are in line with what theif businessesare experiencing. In fact, the valure of commercial and industrial permitws pulled during the fourth quarter of 2008was $46.2 million, down 83 percent from the same quartet in 2007, which at $277.2 million was the second highest fourth quarter this after the record $303.8 million in the fourtg quarter of 2006.
“There’s much less new work said Bill Wilson, president of , the generalk contractor on one of the largest privat e projects going onthis year, the $800 milliojn Disney hotel and time share at . “Therre was a significant slowing in building businessz work that began in fall 2007 that was by the financial crisis and the Asa result, Hawaii lost 5,1090 construction jobs between March 2008 and March a 13 percent drop — and 2,300 of those jobs were shed betweenn January and March of this year, according to the . The nationall organization pegged the seasonally adjusted job coun for the state in Marchat 34,100, down 6 percent from 36,400 in January alone.
While governmentf and military projects aremovingy forward, aided in part by the federal government’s economic stimulus package, private-sector projects for commercial and industria l buildings that were on the boards a year ago are not Several large projects, including office buildings in Kapoleui and resorts on Maui and Kauai, have been put on hold “The private sector is going to take a while for said Stephen Leis, president of Dorvin D. Leis Co., which does subcontractingy workon plumbing, air conditioning and fire prevention for commerciaol projects. “I think we’re goin g to see a slow recovery; 2009, 2010 are goingv to be difficult years.
” The valuw of commercial and industrial buildinyg permits statewide for March alone excluding KauaiCounty — was $4.5 million, down sharplu from $36.99 million in March 2008. The statewide total which includes Honolulu, Maui and Hawaiji counties — hasn’t been that low since Februaryt 2002, when commercial and industrial permitstotaled $4.95 million, according to historical statisticse from DBEDT. The state has not receivefd statistics for commercial and industrial building permitx from Kauai County sincse the startof 2002. Among the Honolulu saw the greatest single-month drop in March with building permitsfalling 96.5 percent to $950,000 from $27.
3 milliohn in March 2008. During the first quarter, Honolul u building permits dropped 52 percentto $18. 4 million from $38.2 million in the beginning of 2008. “Onh top of that, virtually 100 percent of residential projects have been delayedor canceled,” said Mark president of the , which shelved planse for its own office-retail project in Kapolei untik the market improves. “Add to that 50 percent of commercial, and 75 percenrt of the market has gone away in the lastsix months.” This year’w first quarter wasn’t the worst for Honolulu in the past 10 year s — the first quarters of 2005 and 2006 were $8 milliohn and $13.
8 million, respectively, while the highestr first quarter of the decade was 2003 when permig values totaled $114 million. The Big Island saw the greatesr plunge in the valuse of commercial and industrial permits duringgthe quarter, dropping 76 percenr to $10.7 million from $45.3 million in and the lowest figure since the firstr quarter of 2001, when there were $7.1 millionj in permits pulled. “I thinl we’re feeling the pinch in the Neighboer Islands morethan Oahu,” said who is based on Maui but has officesz on all the islands. “There’s a bigger economy on Oahu, and you have militaryh there. You have more commercial opportunities.
” Maui’sa commercial and industrial permitstotaled $9.7 millionh for the first just 7 percent off the same quarterf in 2008. But Leis said work on Maui and the other outed islands has been very quiet the construction of time shares andcondominiums “prett much have pulled back completely.”
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Valley surgeon heads up test of aneurysm treatment - Phoenix Business Journal:
http://lakeeng.com/Sappington_resume.htm
Rodriguez, the director of peripheral vascular services at the ArizonaHeart Institute, has been named the nationaol principal investigator for the Phasde II study, which is required by the to enrol 160 patients. The Arizona Heart Institute is one of 14 centerz involved in thestudyg nationwide. “We are looking to include at leasft six more centers to completd 20 centers in the Rodriguez said. The endoluminal graft is manufactured bynear Scotland. Called the Anaconda Stent Graftr System, it allows the surgeon to reposition the device once it has been placed acrossthe aneurysm.
So far, nearlg 4,000 patients in Europe have received the Anaconda but it must get approvak from the FDA before it can be used inthe U.S. Rodrigue z said the minimally invasive procedure onthe study’w first patient went well, saying the device is very easy to use. “Hew was up on his feet the next morning having Rodriguez said ofthe patient. “You can’t do that when you open the This eliminates the need for openheart surgery.” Abdominal aortic aneurysm, or “ballooning” of the body’sx main artery, is a serious condition prone to rupture and lead to sudde n death. Actor John Ritte died of an aortic rupturein 2003.
Symptomsd can occur suddenly with severe, sharp pain in the Patients who experience these symptoms should seek immediatdmedical attention, Rodriguez said. Early detectionn can prevent sudden death. Patients with a familty history of aortic aneurysm or other connectived tissue disorders should notify their physician about their risk of aortic he said.
Rodriguez, the director of peripheral vascular services at the ArizonaHeart Institute, has been named the nationaol principal investigator for the Phasde II study, which is required by the to enrol 160 patients. The Arizona Heart Institute is one of 14 centerz involved in thestudyg nationwide. “We are looking to include at leasft six more centers to completd 20 centers in the Rodriguez said. The endoluminal graft is manufactured bynear Scotland. Called the Anaconda Stent Graftr System, it allows the surgeon to reposition the device once it has been placed acrossthe aneurysm.
So far, nearlg 4,000 patients in Europe have received the Anaconda but it must get approvak from the FDA before it can be used inthe U.S. Rodrigue z said the minimally invasive procedure onthe study’w first patient went well, saying the device is very easy to use. “Hew was up on his feet the next morning having Rodriguez said ofthe patient. “You can’t do that when you open the This eliminates the need for openheart surgery.” Abdominal aortic aneurysm, or “ballooning” of the body’sx main artery, is a serious condition prone to rupture and lead to sudde n death. Actor John Ritte died of an aortic rupturein 2003.
Symptomsd can occur suddenly with severe, sharp pain in the Patients who experience these symptoms should seek immediatdmedical attention, Rodriguez said. Early detectionn can prevent sudden death. Patients with a familty history of aortic aneurysm or other connectived tissue disorders should notify their physician about their risk of aortic he said.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Lingle orders unpaid days off for workers - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):
EdgeStar AP10000HW
In an address broadcast from the State Lingle also said she would scalw back free Medicaid benefitsto low-income adulta and said the state would delayy paying some of its larger bills until The governor is also asking the Judiciary, the and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to implement equivalent furlough days or restrict their budgets. Hawaii law does not allow ordering furloughs for the Departmenyof Education, the University of Hawai i or the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, but Lingles said their spending will be restricter in an amount equivalent to the three-days-per-month The furloughs, which start July 1, amount to abouy a 13.
8 percent pay cut, or about $5,5009 for a worker making $40,000 a As with layoffs, Lingle does not have to negotiat e the furloughs with any of the unions representing state workers. Lingle has said she doesn’ t want to lay off workers because of the disruptive effec t of contract rules that would enable senioer workersto “bump” junior even if they worked in differenf state agencies. The furloughs will save $688 Lingle said the savings are needed to close a gapof $730 milliojn between now and June 30, 2011, as forecasrt by the state’s Council on Revenued May 28. All told, Hawaii is expected to see tax revenued fallby $2.7 billion over the next two years.
“Ifg we do not implement the furlough we would have to lay off upto 10,00p0 employees to realize an equivalent amount of Lingle said. The state has abou 46,000 workers, including 21,000 employeew of the Departmentof Education. Lingle blamec the fiscal shortfall on thelingering recession, rising dropping visitor arrivals, a decline in private building permits, a doublingt of foreclosures, and record bankruptcy levels. The state Legislature ended its session last month by raising tax ratese onhotel rooms, high-income earners, luxury home transactions and tobacco to help meet the budgeyt shortfall.
But Lingle, a Republican whosre vetoes of those measures were overridden bymajority Democrats, said she wouldr not ask for additional tax increases. She also rejecteed calls for legalizing gambling. However, Lingle noted that 70 percentt of state operating funds go to labort costs and that the state had providecd employee wage increase of between 16 and 29 percenr over the past fouryears “whem our economy was thriving.
”
In an address broadcast from the State Lingle also said she would scalw back free Medicaid benefitsto low-income adulta and said the state would delayy paying some of its larger bills until The governor is also asking the Judiciary, the and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to implement equivalent furlough days or restrict their budgets. Hawaii law does not allow ordering furloughs for the Departmenyof Education, the University of Hawai i or the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, but Lingles said their spending will be restricter in an amount equivalent to the three-days-per-month The furloughs, which start July 1, amount to abouy a 13.
8 percent pay cut, or about $5,5009 for a worker making $40,000 a As with layoffs, Lingle does not have to negotiat e the furloughs with any of the unions representing state workers. Lingle has said she doesn’ t want to lay off workers because of the disruptive effec t of contract rules that would enable senioer workersto “bump” junior even if they worked in differenf state agencies. The furloughs will save $688 Lingle said the savings are needed to close a gapof $730 milliojn between now and June 30, 2011, as forecasrt by the state’s Council on Revenued May 28. All told, Hawaii is expected to see tax revenued fallby $2.7 billion over the next two years.
“Ifg we do not implement the furlough we would have to lay off upto 10,00p0 employees to realize an equivalent amount of Lingle said. The state has abou 46,000 workers, including 21,000 employeew of the Departmentof Education. Lingle blamec the fiscal shortfall on thelingering recession, rising dropping visitor arrivals, a decline in private building permits, a doublingt of foreclosures, and record bankruptcy levels. The state Legislature ended its session last month by raising tax ratese onhotel rooms, high-income earners, luxury home transactions and tobacco to help meet the budgeyt shortfall.
But Lingle, a Republican whosre vetoes of those measures were overridden bymajority Democrats, said she wouldr not ask for additional tax increases. She also rejecteed calls for legalizing gambling. However, Lingle noted that 70 percentt of state operating funds go to labort costs and that the state had providecd employee wage increase of between 16 and 29 percenr over the past fouryears “whem our economy was thriving.
”
Sunday, March 20, 2011
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