Friday, January 29, 2016

La FTC realiza una importante actualización del sitio IdentityTheft.gov

La Comisión Federal de Comercio

Por primera vez, las víctimas del robo de identidad pueden planes de acción personalizados

Como resultado de una importante actualización del sitio web de la Comisión Federal de Comercio (FTC) IdentityTheft.gov y su contraparte en español RobodeIdentidad.gov, por primera vez en la historia, las víctimas del robo de identidad pueden conseguir en internet un plan de acción personalizado y gratuito para recuperarse de este delito.

El nuevo sitio está integrado al sistema de quejas de consumidores de la FTC, permitiendo que los consumidores que son víctimas de un robo de identidad puedan presentar una queja ante la FTC y luego conseguir una guía de recuperación personalizada que automatiza varios de los pasos a seguir.

La Chairwoman de la FTC, Edith Ramirez, dijo al respecto: “Millones de consumidores han sido víctimas del robo de identidad, y hasta ahora, no ha habido ni un solo sitio donde pudieran presentar una queja oficial y conseguir verdadera ayuda personalizada. El nuevo sitio RobodeIdentidad.gov, representa un cambio masivo en la forma en que los consumidores pueden recuperarse del robo de identidad, haciendo que el proceso sea más fácil de comprender y más eficiente.”

"Identitytheft.gov y RobodeIdentidad.gov son unos recursos vitales ya que robo de identidad ha llegado a niveles epidémicos”, dijo la Abogada Principal del estado de Illinois Lisa Madigan.  “Tal y como saben la mayoría de los ciudadanos americanos, vivimos en una época donde la pregunta no es si, si no cuando será usted víctima del robo de identidad.  El sitio web de la FTC es muy buen lugar para los consumidores encontrar información práctica y personalizada que los ayudará a recuperarse del revolú creado por el robo de identidad”.

“A menudo la estación de policía local es el primer sitio donde van las víctimas de robo de identidad buscando ayuda”, dijo Mary Gavin, Jefa del Departamento de Policía de Falls Church, VA, y miembro del Comité Ejecutivo de la Asociación Internacional de Jefes de Policía (IACP, por sus siglas en inglés). "IdentityTheft.gov y RobodeIdentidad.gov serán unas herramientas poderosas para ayudar a la policía a asistir a víctimas, y la información que reportan al FTC puede ayudar a los oficiales de la ley a desarrollar casos legales”.

En 2015, la FTC recibió más de 490,000 quejas de consumidores sobre robo de identidad, un aumento del 47 por ciento con respecto al año anterior, y el Departamento de Justicia calcula que en 2014 la cantidad de consumidores estadounidenses que fueron víctimas del robo de identidad asciende a 17.6 millones.

La actualización del sitio incluye una serie de nuevas funciones diseñadas para que el proceso de recuperación de los consumidores sea lo más fácil posible. Ahora el sitio va guiando a los consumidores a lo largo de una lista de verificación paso-a-paso que está adaptada al tipo específico de robo de identidad que están enfrentando. El asesoramiento que reciben los consumidores no es genérico sino que está especialmente adaptado a sus necesidades.

A medida que un consumidor va siguiendo cada uno de los pasos de RobodeIdentidad.gov, el sitio web va generando automáticamente las declaraciones juradas y las cartas y formularios previamente completados que tiene que enviar a las compañías de informes crediticios, negocios, cobradores de deudas y al IRS. En caso de que surjan problemas en el proceso de recuperación de un consumidor, el sitio le sugerirá enfoques alternativos. Cuando un consumidor completa su reporte inicial en el sitio, recibirá e-mails de seguimiento y podrá volver a acceder a su plan personalizado en internet para continuar con el proceso de recuperación.

IdentityTheft.gov también está disponible en español en RobodeIdentidad.gov, y los consumidores hispanohablantes pueden ver las cartas generadas automáticamente y otros documentos en español pero pueden imprimirlos en inglés para enviarlos a los destinatarios correspondientes.

El sitio de la FTC fue creado en respuesta a un Decreto Ejecutivo expedido por el Presidente Obama en octubre de 2014 ordenando a las agencias la creación de un sitio consolidado con información para consumidores. En mayo de 2015 se publicó una versión inicial con listas de verificación para consumidores basadas en ciertos tipos de robo de identidad.

Además de IdentityTheft.gov y las nuevas funciones de plan de acción personal, la FTC también ofrece una amplia variedad de materiales educativos para consumidores, negocios y autoridades a cargo del cumplimiento de la ley con información sobre cómo prevenir el robo de identidad y estar atento a otras estafas.

La Comisión Federal de Comercio trabaja para promover la competencia y proteger y educar a los consumidores. Usted puede aprender más sobre los temas de interés de los consumidores y presentar una queja de consumidor en internet o llamando al 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Haga clic en la opción “me gusta” la FTC en Facebook, “síganos” en Twitter, lea los artículos de nuestro blog y suscríbase a los comunicados de prensa para acceder a las noticias y recursos más recientes.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

La FTC entabla una acción de cumplimiento contra DeVry University

La FTC alega que DeVry engañó a los estudiantes respecto de las perspectivas de empleo e ingresos, elementos centrales de la publicidad y marketing de la escuela


La Comisión Federal de Comercio (FTC, por su sigla en inglés) ha presentado una demanda contra los operadores de DeVry University alegando que los anuncios de DeVry engañaron a los consumidores respecto de la probabilidad de que los estudiantes pudieran encontrar trabajo en sus respectivos campos de estudio y ganar más que los estudiantes con diplomas de licenciatura de otras escuelas superiores o universidades.
La Chairwoman de la FTC, Edith Ramirez, dijo al respecto: “Millones de estadounidenses recurren a la educación superior para capacitarse como un camino que los conduzca hacia buenos empleos y salarios. Las instituciones educativas como DeVry le deben decir la verdad a sus potenciales estudiantes respecto del éxito obtenido por sus graduados para conseguir empleos en sus respectivos campos de estudio y acerca de los salarios que pueden ganar.” 
En su demanda contra DeVry, la FTC alega que la declaración de los demandados referida a que el 90 por ciento de los graduados de DeVry que estaban buscando empleo activamente consiguieron empleos en sus respectivos campos de estudio dentro de los seis meses posteriores a la fecha de graduación era engañosa. En la demanda también se indica que otra declaración clave efectuada por DeVry, referida a que un año después de la graduación sus graduados percibían en promedio un ingreso 15 por ciento superior al de los graduados de todas las demás escuelas superiores o universidades, también era engañosa.  
En la demanda se señala que estas declaraciones aparecían en las publicidades de los demandados difundidas por radio, televisión e internet y en publicaciones impresas y otros medios. La declaración referida al 90 por ciento era un elemento central de sus campañas de marketing por lo menos desde 2008, y la declaración referida a mayores ingresos comenzó en 2013. Por ejemplo, en un anuncio emitido por televisión en todo el país, como así también en  YouTube, aparecían personas vestidas como gente de negocios colgando en una pared cientos de “cartas de ofrecimientos” con una voz en off que relataba la importancia que tienen los ofrecimientos de empleo para los estudiantes terciarios y universitarios. La voz en off decía que todas las cartas de ofrecimiento de empleo habían llegado solo durante el último año – y luego seguía la declaración referida al 90 por ciento. En otro anuncio se presentaba a un estudiante que decía “Y cuando termine mi diploma en negocios, un nuevo empleo en una gran compañía – ese es el regalo que quiero para mi graduación”, y luego seguía la declaración referida al 90 por ciento.
En la demanda se alega que DeVry contabilizó numerosos graduados como personas que estaban trabajando “en su campo de estudio” cuando en realidad no era cierto, en ese grupo se pueden incluir los siguientes ejemplos de la promoción graduada en 2012:
  • Un graduado licenciado en administración de empresas con una especialización en administración de servicios de salud que estaba trabajando como camarero en un restaurante.
  • Múltiples graduados licenciados en gestión técnica cuyos empleos estaban listados como puestos voluntarios sin remuneración en centros médicos; un graduado licenciado en gestión técnica con especialización en recursos humanos que estaba trabajando como cartero en una zona rural y otro que trabajaba como conductor de reparto de canaletas de desagüe pluvial para una compañía de construcción.
  • Un graduado licenciado en administración de empresas con especialización en administración de atención de la salud que estaba trabajando como vendedor de carros.
En la demanda también se alega que en sus cálculos, DeVry incluía a graduados que estaban trabajando en empleos relacionados con sus respectivos campos de estudio que habían conseguido antes de inscribirse en DeVry, en contraposición con aquellos que consiguieron después de graduarse.  
Además de contabilizar estos y otros graduados como personas que estaban trabajando “en su campo”, en la demanda de la FTC también se alega que DeVry excluyó de sus cuentas a aquellos que “estaban buscando empleo” como inactivos cuando en realidad estaban buscando empleo activamente. Eso incluye, por ejemplo, un graduado que había revisado más de 175 de puestos de trabajo en la base de datos de empleos de DeVry, realizó seis entrevistas de empleo en los dos meses previos a ser clasificado como inactivo, envió reiterados emails al departamento de servicios de carreras profesionales de DeVry y asistió a una feria de carreras profesionales de DeVry.
La demanda de la FTC alega que los demandados tenían motivo para cuestionar la fiabilidad de las conclusiones e información contenida en una encuesta y reporte de una compañía externa que DeVry University usó como base para su declaración referida a la superioridad de ingresos. Asimismo, según se alega en la demanda, al comparar la información que los demandados obtuvieron directamente de sus graduados con los datos de disposición pública se demostró que los graduados de DeVry University en realidad no ganan considerablemente más que los graduados de todas las otras escuelas en su conjunto un año después de su graduación.
En una acción relacionada, el Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. (ED) también está tomando medidas contra DeVry por sus prácticas de marketing. El Departamento de Educación está notificando a DeVry que le requerirá a la institución que cese con determinadas publicidades relacionadas con los resultados laborales para sus estudiantes luego de la graduación y que tome medidas adicionales para garantizar que DeVry pueda fundamentar la veracidad de los resultados laborales posteriores a la graduación.
El Subsecretario de Educación, Ted Mitchell, dijo al respecto: “Tal como lo exige la ley, y lo espera el público, las instituciones tienen que ser precisas en sus esfuerzos de marketing y reclutamiento de sus potenciales estudiantes. Y confirmamos esta veracidad de los anuncios a través de la información comprobatoria que las escuelas suministran bajo petición. Los anuncios efectuados hoy por el Departamento y la FTC son el resultado de mucha colaboración y cooperación. Estamos agradecidos a nuestros colegas de la FTC por su arduo trabajo y dedicación en este asunto.”
El caso de la FTC alega que estas declaraciones engañosas efectuadas por DeVry Education Group, DeVry University, Inc. y DeVry/New York Inc. infringieron la Ley de la FTC. La demanda de la FTC le solicita a la corte que disponga un resarcimiento para los consumidores afectados y que le prohíba a DeVry futuras infracciones de la Ley de la FTC.
El resultado de la votación de la Comisión para autorizar a su personal a presentar la demanda fue 4-0. La Comisionada  Maureen Ohlhausen emitió una declaración por separado. La demanda fue presentada ante la Corte Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Central de California.
NOTA: La Comisión presenta una demanda cuando existe una “razón para creer” que la ley ha sido o está siendo violada, y cuando la Comisión considera que el procedimiento es de interés público. El caso será decidido por la corte.  
La Comisión Federal de Comercio trabaja para promover la competencia y proteger y educar a los consumidores. Usted puede aprender más sobre los temas de interés de los consumidores y presentar una queja de consumidor en internet o llamando al 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Haga clic en la opción “me gusta” la FTC en Facebook

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Father of AI, Marvin Minsky, dies at 88, leaves legacy of challenges to tackle and broad thinking to emulate

Visionary scientist and pioneer of artificial intelligence provided an example of intellectual exploration, paving way to discoveries in computer science, robotics, drones, and more.

minsky
On Sunday, January 24, esteemed scientist, mathematician, and father of artificial intelligence, Marvin Minsky, died in Boston. Best known for his role in the development of AI, Minsky began studying the relationship between man and machine—how machines could become intelligent—back in the 1950's, long before the widespread use of computers.

Significant contributions

Minsky studied at Harvard, Princeton, and MIT. He created a wired neural network learning machine, called "Snarc," while at Princeton in 1951. Minsky also co-founded the MIT Artificial Intelligence Project—now the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)—in 1959.

But, he may be most famous for The Society of Mind, published in 1985, a seminal and wide-ranging book exploring the role of thought in machines.

Minsky's explorations into mental processes continued with his last book, The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind, published in 2006 as an attempt to break down the natural workings of the mind.

SEE: Educate yourself on AI: Seven books to get you started

What he meant to research

Minsky had ties to Harvard and MIT, becoming a professor at the MIT Lab (where he was a founding member) and CSAIL. "Marvin Minsky helped create the vision of artificial intelligence as we know it today," said CSAIL Director Daniela Rus. "The challenges he defined are still driving our quest for intelligent machines and inspiring researchers to push the boundaries in computer science."

According to Carnegie Mellon University professor Siddhartha Srinivasa, Minsky made "the first connection between computational intelligence (thinking smart) and physical intelligence (acting smart), which led to much of robotics research."

Minsky's impact

It is hard to understate Minsky's impact on the world of AI. His influence touched both his friends and colleagues, as well as almost any computer scientist, engineer, philosopher, or mathematician entering the field.

Of course, not everyone in robotics agreed with Minsky. Joe Jones, original founder of the Roomba, believed that "building robots that work in the real world is an important component of advancing AI," whereas "by some accounts, Marvin saw robots as more of a distraction." Still, said Jones, "he and his deep insight into the field will be missed."

SEE: 10 artificial intelligence insiders to follow on Twitter

And while Minsky is known for AI, he was also seen as a "universal genius who made contributions to our understanding of humor, aliens, music, meaning, education and many other subjects," said Roman Yampolskiy, director of the Cybersecurity Lab at the University of Louisville. "He joins Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, John von Neumann and other polymaths as a role model, demonstrating that all knowledge is interconnected."

Professor Srinivasa thinks of Minksy as his "academic great-grandfather."

"The word 'visionary' has lost some of its credibility lately," said Srinivasa, "but he is one of the few who truly deserves that accolade."

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Even the Super Rich Want Free Wi-Fi in Hotels (BusinessWeek)

When is the travel industry going to catch on?

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Check into any middling U.S. hotel and chances are good that the Wi-Fi is free. Have a white-gloved butler escort you to the Penthouse suite, however, and your lavish lodgment may well bill you for Internet access.

The wealthiest among us have noticed this disconnect, and they are not pleased.

A report on the habits and preferences of the wealthiest 1 percent and 5 percent of travelers finds that complimentary Wi-Fi is the top “desirable amenity” for more than half this demographic. Fifty-one percent called it “extremely important,” while 66 percent said it was at least "very important” to have at a hotel.

The research is drawn from a survey of 2,391 travelers by Resonance Consultancy. The top 1 percent was defined as those with annual income of $400,000 or more or a net worth above $8 million. The 5 percent were classified as earning at least $200,000 per year or having $2 million or more. (The former group represented 724 of those surveyed.)

Many of the priciest hotels charge extra for the Wi-Fi simply because they can—guests are traveling for business and expensing the cost or are wealthy clients who don’t care about paying a bit more, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel consultant with Atmosphere Research Group in San Francisco.

“It’s a glaring inconsistency in the hotel business, and frankly it’s just a flat-out stupid approach to doing business,” he said.


Un-Standard Amenity

The issue is likely to continue roiling many upscale lodging chains that are weighing where and how to offer Wi-Fi and whether it will need to become complimentary. For now, many luxury brands, including Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group, offer free Internet access to guests who join their loyalty programs.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, for example, offers free Wi-Fi in public spaces and to members of its loyalty program, provided the rooms were booked through the hotelier’s website or mobile app. That helps reduce the company’s distribution costs. Its lower-cost chains—Aloft, Element, and Four Points—offer free in-room access, while guests at its luxury St. Regis properties have complimentary Wi-Fi, period. Yet in the middle of Starwood's hotel-room price pack, the W and Westin brands charge guests additional fees to access Wi-Fi in their rooms.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts offers free Wi-Fi to all members of its loyalty program. Even if you don't join it, Internet is free at seven of the company's lower-cost brands, including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. No such luck at the luxury InterContinental chain, though.

It's not clear why a $500 (or more) hotel room doesn't offer some level of free Internet when countless Starbucks, airports, and coffee shops have figured out the economics of doing so. It could be that most hotels consider the road to free Wi-Fi easy enough and see it as a critical way to drive greater participation in loyalty programs and direct bookings.

Bowing to Demand

Others have capitulated to demand. Nearly a year ago, on Valentine’s Day, Hyatt Hotels made Wi-Fi free in rooms and public spaces at its more than 500 properties worldwide. (Meeting rooms are not covered by the policy.) “Wi-Fi had quickly become a basic expectation for travelers, as essential as a comfortable bed or clean room,” Hyatt Hotels spokeswoman Stephanie Sheppard said via e-mail.

Such hotel operators as Hilton Worldwide Holdings offer free basic Internet access but levy fees for greater bandwidth use, including video streaming. This trend partly reflects the growing inventory of Wi-Fi gadgets travelers now pack: typically, a laptop, tablet, and smartphone per person, Harteveldt said. Lodge a couple with two teens in a hotel, and  bandwidth needs multiply rapidly.

Still, the apparent gap between room prices and free Wi-Fi is not lost on many travelers. It also helps explain why so many trendy hotel lobbies are clogged with guests pecking at phones and laptops.

“It’s just a jarring inconsistency and a black mark on what is otherwise a wonderful guest experience,” Harteveldt said.

After free Wi-Fi, privacy was the second-most requested hotel amenity for affluent travelers, according to the report. Tennis was the least attractive hotel option, just below kids' programs.


Monday, January 25, 2016

A Scary New Superbug Gene Has Reached at Least 19 Countries

Bacteria that resist last-resort drugs were identified two months ago in China. Now scientists are finding them all over.

Just two months ago, researchers in China identified a gene that can make bacteria resistant to a last-resort antibiotic called colistin. It was a bombshell discovery for people who follow superbugs. Now that gene has been detected in at least 19 countries, and scientists are alarmed.

Colistin is what doctors give you in the U.S. when nothing else works. Because it’s toxic, it can have some harmful side effects, but colistin can help defeat infections that shrug off every other antibiotic in their arsenal. If bacteria resist everything, including colistin, you're out of luck.

A map detailing where colistin-resistant bacteria have been detected.
A map detailing where colistin-resistant bacteria have been detected. 

Since the paper identifying colistin-resistant E. Coli in China was published in the the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Nov. 18, the gene has been detected in 19 countries in bacteria from farm animals, retail meat, or humans, according to a new tally by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which advocates for reducing the use of antibiotics in farm animals. It is in Southeast Asia, Europe, Canada, and Japan.

That doesn't mean the gene, known as MCR-1, has spread to all those places in two months. Scientists are finding it retrospectively in older samples of bacteria now that they know what to look for. In Denmark, for example, the gene was found in bacteria from food inspections as far back as 2012, when the current system of monitoring was started.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria  sicken 2 million Americans each year and kill 23,000, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. These are such bugs as CRE (Carbapenum-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) or MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). It’s not clear how many people are affected by colistin-resistant strains. The gene hasn’t been identified in samples from the U.S. yet.

But scientists fear that colistin-resistant bugs will become more widespread. The bacteria themselves can travel on people, live animals, and food. The gene that makes a bug resistant to colistin is particularly slippery because it can jump easily from one type of bacteria to another.

"I say it’s shopping for a home,” said Lance Price, a professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University. "The thing that really frightens a lot of us is that it’s going to find its way into a bacterium that’s resistant to everything but colistin,” he said.

That’s a dark scenario. Colistin is used to treat the kind of infections that the CDC calls “nightmare bacteria,” which kill half the people who get them. These bugs typically spread in health-care settings whose patients are already vulnerable, though healthy people can carry the bacteria in their gut without knowing it. Add to the mix colistin-resistance, conferred by a gene that’s easy to spread, and the nightmare gets worse. “We have the fuel to set off a fire,” Price said.

I asked him how worried we should be. "I don’t want to be a fearmonger,” he said, but the November paper "sort of ruined my Thanksgiving."

Drugmakers used the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to call for more investment to develop new antibiotics. The NRDC says widening resistance to a last-resort medicine is the latest urgent warning that the world needs to use the medicines we have more carefully, particularly in raising livestock. The drugs are widely deployed on industrial-scale farms, not just to treat sick animals but to prevent disease and promote faster growth.

Price agrees. "When you misuse antibiotics in food animal production, there are major potential risks to human health,” he said. Colistin isn’t used in farm animals in the U.S., but it is used in China and elsewhere.

The U.S. government and food companies responding to pressure from consumers have taken some halting steps to curbing antibiotic use in American livestock. The challenge of drug-resistance, though, is similar to climate change: It requires big, coordinated actions on a global scale. A superbug fostered by one country’s loose practices can arrive in another in a shipping container of beef or in the gut of a traveler getting off a plane.

Friday, January 22, 2016

LA COMISIÓN FEDERAL DE COMERCIO:INFORMACIÓN PARA CONSUMIDORES


Es la temporada de impuestos, y tú sabes lo que significa: los ladrones de identidad que quieren robarte tu reembolso de Impuestos están manos a la obra. Averigua cómo frenarlos durante la Semana de Concientización sobre Robo de Identidad Relacionado con Impuestos del 25 al 29 de enero.

La FTC y sus agencias colegas están patrocinando una serie de eventos para ayudarte a comprender qué es el robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos, cómo minimizar los riesgos de convertirte en una víctima y qué hacer si los ladrones te han robado tu reembolso de impuestos. Échale un vistazo a la lista de eventos:


  • 26 de enero a las 2 p.m. – Un seminario web de la FTC para consumidores, copatrocinado por la Red Fraud Watch y el Programa Tax Aide de AARP. Entérate de cómo se produce el robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos y aprende lo que tienes que hacer si te sucede a ti.
  • 27 de enero a las 11 a.m. – La FTC y la Administración de Veteranos (VA) realizarán chat en Twitter con información sobre el robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos para los veteranos de guerra. Súmate a la conversación en #VeteranIDTheft.
  • 27 de enero a las 2 p.m. – La FTC, la Oficina del Inspector General del Tesoro para la Administración del Contribuyente (TIGTA) y la Administración de Veteranos (VA) realizarán un seminario web con información sobre robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos para los veteranos de guerra.
  • 28 de enero a la 1 p.m.: La FTC, y el IRS copatrocinarán un seminario web  con información para ayudar a las víctimas del robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos.
  • 29 de enero a las 2 p.m. – La FTC y el Centro de Recursos para Víctimas del Robo de Identidad (ITRC) copatrocinarán un chat en Twitter sobre el robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos. Súmate a la conversación en #IDTheftChat.


Ayuda a promover la concientización sobre el robo de identidad relacionado con impuestos. Tenemos recursos gratuitos para compartir con los miembros de tu comunidad. ¿Quiere saber más sobre el robo de identidad en general? Visita www.RobodeIdentidad, el recurso centralizado del gobierno para ayudar a las víctimas del robo de identidad a recuperarse de este delito.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

New Navy Ships Have Trouble Surviving the High Seas

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The Military Sealift Command joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) - designed for rapid intra-theater transport of troops and military equipment. Source: U.S. Navy
  • Austal's Expeditionary Fast Transport ships need bow repairs
  • U.S. Navy adopted a flawed design to save weight, report finds

The U.S. Navy is spending millions of dollars to repair new high-speed transport ships built by Austal Ltd. because their weak bows can’t stand buffeting from high seas, according to the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester.

“The entire ship class requires reinforcing structure” to bridge the twin hulls of the all-aluminum catamarans because of a design change that the Navy adopted at Austal’s recommendation for the $2.1 billion fleet of Expeditionary Fast Transports, Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, said in a report to Congress.

USNS Spearhead
USNS Spearhead 

“The Navy accepted compromises in the bow structure, presumably to save weight, during the building of these ships,” Gilmore wrote lawmakers, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, in a September letter that wasn’t previously disclosed.

 “Multiple ships of the class have suffered damage to the bow structure.”

The speedy catamarans are designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo and as many as 312 troops for 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. They’ve been deployed to Africa and the Middle East as well as to Singapore as part of the U.S.’s Pacific rebalance and are being considered by military officials for expanded use there by the Marines. The vessels fill a transport gap between larger, slower vessels and cargo aircraft.
Meets Criteria

Michelle Bowden, a spokeswoman for Henderson, Australia-based Austal, deferred comment to the Navy. Captain Thurraya Kent, a Navy spokeswoman, said the service accepted Austal’s recommendation because the company’s analysis showed the lighter-weight bow met criteria of the American Bureau of Shipping and Pentagon requirements. She said in an e-mail that Gilmore’s report confirms that the vessel “meets and in certain area exceeds” key performance parameters.

The Navy bought 10 of the shallow-draft vessels, at about $217 million each. Five have been delivered and are in operation, while the other five are under construction at Austal’s Mobile, Alabama, shipyard. Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which added $225 million for an 11th vessel to the fiscal 2016 defense spending bill last month.

So far, the Navy has spent almost $2.4 million strengthening the bow of the first four vessels delivered since late 2012.

Repair costs include $511,000 on the initial vessel, the USNS Spearhead, which was damaged during deployment by waves slamming into the superstructure, according to test data cited by Gilmore and the Military Sealift Command.

The second, third and fourth vessels cost as much as $1.2 million each to repair and a fifth vessel, the USNS Trenton, awaits its bow reinforcement during its next scheduled shipyard visit, Tom Van Leunen, a spokesman for the Military Sealift Command, which owns the vessels, said in an e-mail.

Added Weight

The retrofits have added 1,736 pounds to the ship’s weight, displacing 250 gallons of fuel but having a minimal impact on the vessel’s range when fully loaded, Gilmore said. His concern about the vessel is likely to be highlighted in his annual report on weapons testing that’s scheduled to be released by Feb. 1.

“Since the repairs are still in progress, there has been no heavy weather testing yet to verify if the fixes are sufficient,” Marine Corps Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a spokesman for Gilmore, said in an e-mail.

Even with reinforced structures, the fast transport ships operate under sailing restrictions because “encountering a rogue wave” can “result in sea-slam events that causes structural damage to the bow structure,” Gilmore wrote. The operating restrictions include requiring vessels to wait out the highest seas or travel at speeds much lower than their maximum, according to Gilmore’s report.

Van Leunen, the Military Sealift Command spokesman, said that “the Navy routinely diverts ships during transits to avoid heavy weather” and this ship is no exception. Its primary missions will often be in coastal waters that offer “some protection from weather and sea state when compared to open ocean transits,” he said.

Generator Reliability

The vessel’s latest sea tests also were marred by the poor reliability of generators made by Fincantieri SpA that supply electrical power, according to Gilmore. The generators failed “at a much greater rate than predicted.”

Required to operate 8,369 hours between major failures, the generators failed as soon as 208 hours at some points, improving to 1,563 hours in the most recent tests.

Fincantieri spokesman Antonio Autorino said in an e-mail that “the concerns described in the report have been resolved and this information was provided to the Navy, yet was not included in the report.”



Thursday, January 14, 2016

The White House's Genius Plan to Treat the State of the Union Like Rap Lyrics

A startup known for annotated pop songs and bawdy executives enlists President Obama and Spotify in its vision for the Web.

For much of its young life, the startup Genius didn’t seem to be headed in a direction leading to the White House. The website launched with a focus on annotated music lyrics, and its founders were pilloried for immature behavior, racial insensitivity, and a general aura of non-seriousness. When the Obama administration laid out its plans for this year’s State of the Union, however, it included an online presentation of past speech texts that were annotated, using Genius’s technology.

Genius originally focused on rap lyrics, with a platform that allowed users to explain or interpret each line in, say, Ten Crack Commandments by The Notorious B.I.G. Click on a highlighted line in the text and the annotations left by other users pop up. On Tuesday, in a move unrelated to the evening's big presidential speech, Genius announced a partnership with Spotify that turns user-submitted comments into something that feels very similar to VH1’s Behind the Music. That's exactly the sort of pact that fits with the musical legacy of the website.

But the company has also expanded to many other types of text as it tries to turn itself into a tool that can be used elsewhere, with online publishers and authors embracing the annotation tool. For the last several months Genius has focused particularly in politics. A partnership with the Washington Post last year produced annotations for political debates, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign used the service to promote her kickoff speech. Getting a small role in the State of the Union is a culmination of the startups push into politics.

Neither the White House nor Spotify are directing their audiences to Genius.com. Instead, Genius will help annotate texts hosted by the U.S. president and the popular streaming-music service. Genius supplies little more than the technology and in some cases, the people looking to post annotations. A post on Medium about the State of the Union by Jason Goldman, the White House’s chief digital officer, didn’t even mention Genius’s name.

The idea for Genius is a broader vision, both in terms of subject matter and the way it reaches people. Tom Lehman, one of the company’s co-founders and its chief executive, has been talking about a way to annotate anything on the Internet since its inception. Mark Andresseen, the co-founder of Netscape whose venture capital firm invested in Genius in 2012, wanted to include such a feature directly into his Web browser.

Genius has been slowly trying to divorce its service from a single website over the course of this year, but Lehman says that the plan is still in early stages. He would like the service to be a part of the Web’s infrastructure, just the way a Facebook “like” button shows up on pretty much any website you visit. “It doesn’t make sense to put the State of the Union on Genius.com,” he said. “Genius should follow you and live in the natural place for you to experience content.”

Getting a presidential endorsement is a good step in that direction, but ubiquity is pretty difficult to achieve. Lehman says dozens of publishers are making it possible for their users to annotate with Genius's tools.

Spotify, which use apps rather than websites, makes the the technical challenge even harder. For now, Spotify users can’t annotate songs as they listen to them; instead, the two companies are selecting a few songs and hand-crafting a way to read comments that have been left on Genius.com in advance. 

Presumably the way to turn such a service into a business will involve advertising. But Genius hasn’t firmed up how it plans to make money off either its website or its distributed annotation service. Lehman’s plan, for now, is to find as many publications as he can that are willing to use Genius as a way to annotate their sites. It’s not the only place to come up with this idea; Medium.com allows in-text commenting, and the New York Times has experimented with it as well.

Opening up content to annotations from the public will probably make some websites nervous, especially if it means working with an outside company. But Lehman thinks Genius can persuade publishers that they’ll have to loosen their grip. “They want editorial control,” he said. “But they they don’t want to do the work.”

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

TRADE MIAMI-DADE (Miami-Dade County)



TRADE MIAMI-DADE


MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Welcome to Trade Miami-Dade, the newsletter highlighting the activities of the International Trade Consortium (ITC) Board of Directors and the Economic Development and International Trade Unit (EDIT) of Miami-Dade County.  As the Chair of the ITC, I have the responsibility of engaging our local partners and making new commercial connections around the world.  The advantages of using Miami-Dade County and its superb international trade resources for moving product to and from anywhere in the world are formidable.  Our message is clear, Come Trade With Us, and together we can make Miami-Dade prosper.   We hope you enjoy Trade Miami-Dade, and that you will join us in promoting Miami-Dade as the Global Gateway.


Latin Mayors Visit Miami-Dade County
An inbound delegation from Fundacion Lideres Globales, a non-profit organization based in San Jose, Costa Rica, visited Miami from December 1 to the 6, 2015. The delegation of 39 people included 10 mayors from various cities from Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Honduras. The group met with Manny Gonzalez, Chief of the Economic Development and International Trade Unit, who welcomed and briefed the group about Miami-Dade County. The delegation visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Plant, where they were greeted and briefed by Luis Aguiar, Assistant Director of Water Operations, and Adriana P. Lamar, Chief, Public and Governmental Affairs of Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. Fundacion Lideres Globales Executive Director Jose Antonio Arce thanked Miami-Dade County for sharing best practices with the delegation and mentioned that he will come back to Miami with another delegation in 2016. 

German Officials Sign Sister Seaport Agreement with PortMiami 
An official delegation from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany, visited Miami-Dade from December 2 to 5. The delegation of 32 people was led by the Honorable Frank Horch, Senator for Economic, Transportation and Innovation of Hamburg. The delegation also included Mr. Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg’s Port Authority, as well as representatives of Hamburg’s Tourism Board, Ministry of Economy, Transportation and Innovation, and various service providers from their cruise industry. 

The objectives of the visit were to strengthen the political and economic relations between Hamburg and South Florida and to draw lessons learned from Miami’s role as the Cruise Capital of the world.  Therefore, on December 3, the German delegation met with Kevin Lynskey, Deputy Director of PortMiami, Commissioner Jose Pepe Diaz, ITC Chair and Chair of Miami-Dade County’s Trade and Tourism Committee, to sign a Sister Seaport Agreement between Port of Hamburg and PortMiami (see picture). The delegation was also briefed about Miami as a global tourism destination by Gisela Marti, ITC Board member and Vice President of Marketing of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB).  

According to the Honorable Jürgen Borsch, Consul General of Germany in Miami, the four-day visit by the German delegation was a success and the whole delegation was impressed with the program organized by EDIT in close collaboration with the Consulate of Germany in Florida. Consul General Borsch stated, “The signing of the Sister Port Agreement between Miami and Hamburg, the first one of Florida with a German port, illustrates the success of this visit and the strong support on both sides for deepening our close relations.” 


Top:  ITC Chair Jose "Pepe" Diaz signs the Sister Port agreement between PortMiami and the Hamburg Port Authority. Behind Commissioner Diaz are Mr. Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg's Port Authority (L), and the Honorable Frank Horch, Senator from Hamburg (R). Middle: Deputy Mayor Jack Osterholt meets with delegation. Bottom: 32-member delegation visits PortMiami.



  Miami International Airport  Surpasses Annual Passenger Record,
Surges Toward 44 Million in 2015


On December 10, Miami International Airport eclipsed its 2014 total of 40.9 million passengers, and with 3.2 million more passengers than at the same point last year, the airport now has its sights set on a new record-breaking milestone: 44 million annual passengers. With December being MIA’s busiest month for passengers, yielding more than four million in 2014, the last 21 days of the year could take MIA over the 44 million passenger threshold.   
“MIA continues to exceed even our own expectations and draw more and more passengers and airlines to our community from across the globe,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Congratulations to Director González and the MIA team on another record-breaking year. With MIA forcefully driving our local economy forward, we have much to be thankful for this holiday season.” 
“I can think of no better way to ring in the New Year than by setting a new annual record of 44 million passengers,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “Regardless of the final tally, MIA has already had its best year ever for passenger growth, and we expect our upward trend to continue with more new international routes and carriers slated for 2016.”


Japanese Company Looking To Open Office in Miami


    Pictured L-R: Elliot Lee, Andre Brown, Angie Ki, Edson Kodama, Takeo Hojo, Pamela Fuertes, Desmond Alufohai and Stephen M. Beatus.

Mr. Takeo Hojo, General Manager, Sales and Marketing Department, Global Operations Division and Mr. Edson Kodama, Counselor, International Development, Saraya Company Ltd., based in Osaka, Japan, visited Miami-Dade on December 15, 2015. The purpose of their visit was to explore establishing a subsidiary of Saraya Company in the County. Mr. Hojo and Mr. Kodama met with Desmond Alufohai, International Trade Coordinator, Economic Development & International Trade Unit, Miami-Dade County, and Ms. Pamela Fuertes, Vice President, International Economic Development, The Beacon Council, at The Beacon Council office in Downtown Miami. Ms. Angie Ki, Chief Business Development Officer, American Da Tang Group and her two associates, Andre Brown, Real Estate & Market Research Advisor and Elliot Lee, Global Real Estate Advisor and Immigration Consultant, were also invited to join the meeting.

Mr. Alufohai welcomed the delegation to Miami-Dade County and talked about the unique assets of Miami-Dade as a Global Gateway and Logistics Hub of the Americas. Ms. Ki and her associates made presentations about South Florida’s real estate market. Finally, Ms. Fuertes gave an overview about investment opportunities and business tax incentives available in Miami-Dade County. At the end of the presentations, Mr. Takeo expressed his appreciation for the briefings. He stated that the information presented will be reviewed and evaluated upon his return to Japan.



Miami Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources Economic Development and International Trade