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Brocade Convenes Federal Agencies, Partners and Luminaries to Discuss the Most Critical IT Challenges

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Brocade Convenes Federal Agencies, Partners and Luminaries to Discuss the Most Critical IT Challenges

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Cloud Computing, Data Center Consolidation and Alternative Acquisition Models Top Discussion Topics at the First Brocade Federal Forum

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Aug 21, 2012) - Today marks the first day of the 2012 Brocade Federal Forum, which will provide an opportunity for Federal IT professionals, technology partners, systems integrators and industry luminaries to further explore and discuss key IT challenges and opportunities for the US Federal government. The two-day event is being hosted by Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD), a leading provider of innovative solutions for the world's most demanding service provider, data center and campus networks. 

The forum is designed to help Federal agencies that are facing significant IT challenges and opportunities, including new mandates to increase efficiencies, maximize existing resources, modernize infrastructure and adopt cloud computing while simultaneously eliminating redundant technologies and processes.

In response to these challenges top-level Brocade executives will share their perspectives on how the government can navigate this new era in networking and leverage the many benefits that result from the changing IT infrastructure.

Specific topics of discussion will include:

• Network transformation
• Cloud mandates
• Data center consolidation
• Evolving acquisition models

"With uncertain budgets, a CIO office focused on modernization and unfunded mandates, US Federal IT professionals are facing one of the most complex IT environments ever," said Anthony Robbins, vice president of federal sales, Brocade. "They need as much support as possible to help make the best decisions for their agency."

The objective of the 2012 Brocade Federal Forum is to extend the discussion from stated challenges to specific implementation examples, complete with common pitfalls and projected cost models. During the forum, speakers will outline state-of-the-art solutions and how they complement the legacy environments in which most Federal IT professionals currently work.

immixGroup is the Platinum Sponsor of the 2012 Brocade Federal Forum. Since 1997, immixGroup has helped hundreds of large and emerging companies grow and manage their public sector business while providing its government customers with reliable access to leading commercial technologies through the contract vehicles and partners they prefer.

Other sponsors include: Arrow, Avnet, Tech Data, Westcon, HDS, NetApp, PacStar and CDW-G.

Speakers at this forum will include:

• Ron Broersma, Chief Engineer, Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN)
• Shawn McCarthy, Government Insights Research Director, IDC
• Charles McClam, Deputy CIO, USDA
• Jason Miller, Executive Editor, WFED Federal News Radio
• Tim Schmidt, CIO, Department of Transportation
• Rick Howard, Research Director, Gartner
• Simon Szykman, CIO, Department of Commerce

Additional Resources and Forum Content

• http://brocadefederalforum.com
• Visit the Agenda page for a full list of sessions.
• Follow Brocade on Twitter at @BRCDcomm or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/brocade or join the LinkedIn Group: Brocade Federal.
• Follow the conversation at #BrocadeFederal

Social Media Tags: Brocade, Federal Forum, #BrocadeFederal, cloud computing, virtualization, data center

About BrocadeBrocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)

How a Financial Products Agency Could Protect Investors

Agree or not, a couple of professers at the University of Chicago have put forth an interesting idea.  The following is an excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Sunday, April 01, 2012

How a Financial Products Agency Could Protect Investors

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

THE Food and Drug Administration vets new drugs before they reach the market. But imagine if there were a Wall Street version of the F.D.A. — an agency that examined new financial instruments and ensured that they were safe and benefited society, not just bankers.

How different our economy might look today, given the damage done by complex instruments during the financial crisis.

And yet, four years after the collapse of Bear Stearns, regulation of these products remains a battleground. As federal officials struggle to write rules required by the Dodd-Frank law, some in Congress are trying to circumvent them. Last week, for instance, the House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would let big financial institutions with foreign subsidiaries conduct trades that evade rules intended to make the vast market in derivatives more transparent.

Which brings us back to the F.D.A. Against the discouraging backdrop in financial oversight, two professors at the University of Chicago have raised an intriguing idea. In a paper published in February, Eric A. Posner, a law professor, and E. Glen Weyl, an assistant professor in economics, argue that regulators should approach financial products the way the F.D.A. approaches new drugs.

The potential dangers of financial instruments, they argue, “seem at least as extreme as the dangers of medicines.”

They contend that new instruments should be approved by a “financial products agency” that would test them for social utility. Ideally, products deemed too costly to society over all — those that serve only to increase speculation, for example — would be rejected, the two professors say.

==========

Columbia N.H. Sand & Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

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News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
March 27, 2012

Contacts: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Columbia N.H. Sand and Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

(Boston, Mass. – March 27, 2012) – CSG Holdings, Inc. of Columbia, N.H. faces a possible fine of up to $532,500 from EPA for allowing polluted stormwater and process water from its Columbia facility to flow into nearby waters, in violation of the Clean Water Act.  CSG Holdings is the former operator of Columbia Sand and Gravel, a mining facility on the banks of the Connecticut River.

According to allegations in the complaint, CSG Holdings discharged process waste waters and stormwater from the facility without proper permits and violated the federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations by failing to prepare and implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan. The recent complaint against CSG Holdings states that the violations were discovered by EPA’s New England office in 2010.

Stormwater monitoring by CSG Holdings confirmed that stormwater discharges from its sand and gravel mining and aggregate processing operations contain total suspended solids at levels that exceed permit benchmarks for their industrial sector.  When a facility's stormwater discharges exceed benchmark levels, the facility must review its stormwater control measures to determine if changes are necessary and make these changes as needed.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of process waste waters without a permit. The law also requires that industrial facilities, such as sand and gravel facilities, have controls in place to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that sets guidelines and best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants. Without on-site controls, runoff from sand and gravel facilities can flow directly to the nearest waterway and can cause water quality impairments such as siltation of rivers, beach closings, fishing restrictions, and habitat degradation. As stormwater flows over these sites, it can pick up pollutants, including sediment, used oil, and other debris. Polluted process water discharges or stormwater runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality.

Every year, thousands of gallons of oil are spilled from oil storage facilities, polluting New England waters. Even the effects of smaller spills add up and damage aquatic life, as well as public and private property. Spill prevention plans are critical to prevent such spills or, if they do occur, adequately address them.

In May 2011, CSG Holdings sold its Columbia, N.H. facility to another owner/operator. The new owner maintains the facility’s stormwater management system and is authorized to discharge stormwater under a general permit covering discharges from industrial facilities.


More information: Stormwater control for Industrial facilities (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/indust.cfm)

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EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - EPA has issued a notice of violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc. (GPC), alleging the company has violated the Iowa State Implementation Plan and the federal Clean Air Act for issues related to construction and operating permits issued for its facility at Muscatine, Iowa.

EPA Region 7 has coordinated with the State of Iowa on the notice of violation, which is separate from a civil lawsuit filed December 1, 2011, by the Iowa attorney general, which alleges that GPC's facility violated the state's air pollution laws.

GPC’s plant at 1600 Oregon Street in Muscatine processes corn into ethanol, corn sweeteners and beverage alcohol.

EPA’s notice of violation to GPC specifically alleges that between 2007 and 2011, its facility repeatedly violated limits on air emissions opacity that were set forth in the company’s 1995 amended construction permit and 2003 operating permit. The notice further alleges GPC failed to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources of the opacity exceedances, and failed to address the exceedances in its annual compliance certifications for the years 2007 through 2011.

EPA’s notice to GPC does not address penalties, but indicates the Agency will consider additional enforcement action, which could include penalties, to ensure the facility complies with applicable laws and regulations. The notice can be viewed online at www.epa.gov/region7/newsevents/legal.

The notice was accompanied by an official request for information, which seeks details of GPC’s compliance with the Facility Response Plan requirements and Spill Prevention and Countermeasures Control requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. Information provided by the company in response to EPA’s request will be used by the Agency in evaluating GPC’s compliance. GPC’s response to EPA’s information request is due within 15 days.

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National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - The National Cooperative Refinery Association (NCRA) has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties to the United States and the State of Kansas, and perform a series of injunctive relief actions, to settle violations of federal environmental laws and the Kansas State Implementation Plan at its petroleum refinery and underground storage facility in McPherson County, Kan.

As part of a consent decree lodged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., NCRA will pay $475,000 in penalties to the United States and $225,000 to the State of Kansas. As a part of the settlement, NCRA has agreed to spend approximately $745,000 on supplemental environmental projects involving the purchase of emergency response equipment and services for the benefit of citizens and emergency response agencies in McPherson County.

NCRA owns and operates an 85,000-barrel-per-day petroleum refinery on Iron Horse Road in the city of McPherson, Kan., and an associated underground product storage facility in the nearby unincorporated community of Conway, Kan.

According to a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, NCRA:

• Violated the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to maintain and operate the refinery’s Unicracker Unit and associated air pollution control equipment in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practices, resulting in a 20-day flaring event that caused significant emissions of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere.
• Violated the CAA and the Kansas State Implementation Plan by exceeding emission limits contained in a construction permit for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit heater and Hydrogen Unit heater.
• Violated the CAA by failing to fully implement a Risk Management Program at the refinery and the underground product storage facility.
• Violated the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) by failing to make timely reports of releases of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide during four separate flaring events at the refinery, including the previously mentioned 20-day flaring event.
• Violated the EPCRA by submitting incomplete Tier II reports, which are supposed to include the identity and inventory of on-site chemicals, to emergency responders.
• Violated the EPCRA by failing to submit an accurate and complete Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) form to EPA.

The consent decree requires NCRA to perform a series of injunctive relief actions to address its non-compliance issues and enhance future compliance through greater emphasis on the Risk Management Program. These include performing an applicability study at the refinery and underground storage facility, providing detailed tank inspection timelines and information, and documenting the resolution of process hazard analyses and compliance audit findings.

For the CAA violations, the relief involves training for start-up procedures and revision to applicable limits for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit Heater.

Relief associated with the EPCRA and CERCLA violations includes completion of a compliance review for Tier II, TRI and episodic release reports. It also includes the submission of an associated report to EPA, retroactive release reporting, and release report training.

NCRA’s supplemental environmental projects, totaling at least $745,000, are designed to further the goals of EPCRA and the Risk Management Program, which seek to prevent accidental chemical releases, minimize the consequences of accidents that do occur, and enable local emergency responders to plan and respond effectively to chemical accidents.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final approval by the court.

# # #

F.T.C. Seeks Privacy Legislation

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

F.T.C. Seeks Privacy Legislation

By TANZINA VEGA and EDWARD WYATT

The government’s chief consumer protection agency said on Monday that it intended to take direct aim at the vast industry that has grown up around the buying and selling of information about American consumers.

The agency, the Federal Trade Commission, called on Congress to enact legislation regulating so-called data brokers, which compile and trade a wide range of personal and financial data about millions of consumers from online and offline sources. The legislation would give consumers access to information collected about them and allow them to correct and update such data.

The agency also sent a cautionary signal to technology and advertising companies regarding a “Do Not Track” mechanism that allows consumers to opt out of having their online behavior monitored and shared. It warned that if companies did not voluntarily provide a satisfactory Do Not Track option, it would support additional laws that mandate it.

The recommendations, part of a sweeping set of guidelines in an F.T.C. report on Monday, represent the government’s latest move to address the issue of consumer privacy.

On one side of the debate are data brokers like Experian and Acxiom, which collect and sell information, and the huge ecosystem of technology and online advertising companies — including Google, Microsoft and Facebook — that target consumers based on their personal preferences.

On the other side are consumer groups and privacy advocates that are concerned about the volume of data being collected and how little control consumers have over that information.

The government’s Do Not Track efforts are likely to collide with the desire of companies to continue the lucrative business of collecting, using and sharing information about the people who use their services. Although these businesses say they support limits on using this information, they generally still want to be able to collect it.

CGI looks south for IT expansion

Governments everywhere must automate faster to boost productivity as budget deficits are pared, and CGI Group Inc., Canada's biggest independent IT services firm, says recent U.S. acquisitions, including Stanley Inc., will pay off handsomely down the road.

CGI paid almost $1 billion in 2010 for Stanley, a big IT services firm, to expand its work with U.S. government agencies in defence, cyber-security and health care. Analysts called it "the deal we've been waiting for," but some wanted CGI to expand in the commercial sector.

"Roughly half our total revenue now comes from the U.S. and margins there are rapidly catching up with Canada's," CEO Michael Roach said after Wednesday's annual shareholders' meeting.

He said CGI has started off fiscal 2012 with $1.4 billion in new contracts, extensions and renewals, equal to 135 per cent of revenue, and an order backlog of $13.6 billion, up $578 million from a year earlier.
"The outlook is strong for the back half this year as many contracts signed last year kick in," he said, "and we're focused primarily on organic growth, debt reduction and holding the pace of share buybacks."


Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/looks+south+expansion/6088279/story.html#ixzz1pVHdseaD

CGI looks south for IT expansion

Rental Co. Faces Fine for Failing to Inform Residents of Lead Paint

Rome, New York Rental Company Faces Fine for

Failing to Inform Residents about the Presence of

Lead-based Paint and its Dangers

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. - March 16, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a complaint against CRM Rental Management, Inc. of Rome, N.Y. for not informing residents of its buildings about potential lead-based paint in their apartments. It is estimated that three-quarters of U.S. residential dwellings built before 1978 contain some lead-based paint. Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to lead-based paint exposure, which can cause IQ deficiencies, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention spans, hyperactivity and behavioral problems. CRM Rental Management faces over $140,000 in potential fines for 43 instances in which the company failed to properly inform residents of four buildings in New Hartford and Rome, New York about the potential presence of lead-based paint.

“Lead paint is a serious threat to children’s health and disclosure can arm families with information they need to protect their kids,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. "Rental agents, property managers and building owners are required to follow EPA lead paint disclosure requirements and make sure people are aware of potential lead hazards in homes.”

Lead poisoning remains one of the most prevalent threats to children's well-being but it is also one of the most preventable. Under federal law, families have the right to know whether there are any potential lead-paint hazards in a prospective home, and must be informed about the harm lead can inflict on small children. Pregnant women and children younger than age six are among the most vulnerable to adverse health risks from lead-based paint.

EPA regulations require real estate management companies and property owners that sell or rent housing built before 1978 to provide renters or buyers with a form that contains a warning about the dangers of lead-based paint and discloses information about its presence. People renting or buying an apartment or home must verify that they received the required warning and disclosure information, including the EPA pamphlet, Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home. Prospective purchasers have a 10-day opportunity to assess the property for risks for the presence of lead-based paint.

The complaint against CRM Rental Management alleges that the company failed to provide residents with lead-based paint warning and disclosure statements, making them aware of records or reports that would alert them to potential lead-based paint hazards, and secure required signatures verifying that the required information was received.

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Centers for Disease Control, EPA operates the National Lead Information Center, including a toll-free hotline that can be reached at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).

For more information on lead and the risks posed by lead paint, visit: http://www.epa.gov/lead.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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Private Businesses Fight Federal Prisons for Contracts

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Private Businesses Fight Federal Prisons for Contracts

By DIANE CARDWELL

As chief financial officer of a military clothing manufacturer, Steven W. Eisen was accustomed to winning contracts to make garments for the Defense Department.

But in December, Mr. Eisen received surprising news. His company, Tennier Industries, which is in a depressed corner of Tennessee, would not receive a new $45 million contract.

Tennier lost the deal not to a private sector competitor, but to a corporation owned by the federal government, Federal Prison Industries.

Federal Prison Industries, also known as Unicor, does not have to worry much about its overhead. It uses prisoners for labor, paying them 23 cents to $1.15 an hour. Although the company is not allowed to sell to the private sector, the law generally requires federal agencies to buy its products, even if they are not the cheapest.

Mr. Eisen, who laid off about 100 workers after losing out on the new contract, said the system took sorely needed jobs from law-abiding citizens. “Our government screams, howls and yells how the rest of the world is using prisoners or slave labor to manufacture items, and here we take the items right out of the mouths of people who need it,” he said.

Although Federal Prison Industries has been around for decades, its critics are gaining more sympathy this year as jobs, competition and the role of government have become potent political issues. Recently, a clothing company complained that the government company had expressed interest in making Air Force windbreakers like one worn by the president. Last month, amid negative news reports and pressure from the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, F.P.I. said it would stop competing for the contract because it could damage the private company that makes the jackets, Ashland Sales and Service.

In addition, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is resuscitating a bill to overhaul the way the prison manufacturing company does business, proposing to eliminate its preferential status.

Under current practice — governed by intricate laws, regulations and policies — an agency must buy prisoner-made goods if the company offers an item that is comparable in price, quality and time of delivery to that of the private sector, with certain exceptions. The company’s prices are not always the lowest, but it frequently has been able to underbid private companies, Congressional aides say.

The bill seeks to limit those advantages by putting a limit on F.P.I.’s sales to the federal government, opening more product areas to private companies and strengthening requirements that the prices for prisoner-made products be competitive. The legislation would also impose federal work-safety standards and higher wages, starting at $2.50 an hour.

News Release from EPA Region 7 - Cedar Valley Electroplating

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA Region 7 Orders Cedar Valley Electroplating in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Take Immediate Action to Address Hazardous Wastes

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 9, 2012) - EPA Region 7 is ordering Cedar Valley Electroplating L.L.C., a metal electroplating business, to take a series of immediate actions to address multiple issues with leaking tanks and containers of hazardous waste at its facility in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Under a unilateral administrative order issued by EPA in Kansas City, Kan., Cedar Valley Electroplating – and R Squared Properties, L.L.C., which owns the property at 5611 Westminster Drive in Cedar Falls where the business is located – are ordered to: 

• Immediately comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and its implementing regulations.
• Immediately identify and contain any leaking tanks, containers or other vessels on the property.
• Identify all solid and hazardous wastes currently being treated, stored or disposed at the facility.
• Restrict access to solid and hazardous wastes that have been stored and/or disposed at the facility and to areas on the property where hazardous material has been released.
• Develop a plan for the immediate cleanup of releases, an investigation to determine if wastes have migrated off the property, and the cleanup of the building and any surrounding areas that may have been contaminated by the releases. 

Cedar Valley Electroplating is located in an industrial park area of southwest Cedar Falls, approximately 700 feet southeast of a child care facility, approximately 1,000 feet east of a stream, and approximately 1,300 feet east and southwest of the nearest residences.

EPA’s order notes that the business, which ceased operating in 2011, was inspected by EPA representatives in September 2005 and again in September 2010. The 2005 inspection resulted in the business being cited for failure to make a hazardous waste determination on 28 55-gallon containers of waste material. The 2010 inspection cited those same issues, and issues with additional containers.

EPA representatives visited the facility again last week and noted numerous totes, tanks, drums and other containers and materials stored in an unsafe manner throughout the facility, including numerous containers that were open and several that were leaking. Some of the hazardous wastes identified during the limited visit included chromium, ferric sulfate, ferric chloride, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide. During the visit, an EPA representative noted that the containers of chemicals cited in the 2005 and 2010 inspections were still present at the facility, but that some of the containers had since deteriorated to the point of leaking their contents.

Violations of EPA’s order could subject the respondents to civil penalties of at least $7,500 per violation per day. Violations could also trigger unilateral actions by EPA to carry out the terms of the order, under its legal authority. The Agency could also seek judicial enforcement of the order.

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Seedco, New York Job Agency, Is Accused of Filing False Job Claims

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Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Seedco, New York Job Agency, Is Accused of Filing False Job Claims

By MICHAEL POWELL

City investigators have discovered evidence of large-scale fraud in one of the agencies leading Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s signature initiative to find jobs for unemployed New Yorkers.

The Department of Investigation found that Seedco, a nonprofit organization that frequently works with the Bloomberg administration, falsely claimed to have helped at least 1,400 people — out of about 6,500 — find jobs; those people are in fact jobless or found employment on their own.

Seedco “developed systematic practices to report false placements” to the city’s Department of Small Business Services, according to a report on the investigation that was released on Friday.

The Department of Investigation noted that the number of fraudulent claims could be much higher, because Seedco, with permission from the city, shredded job placement documents between 2008 and February 2011.

Federal prosecutors have begun their own inquiry and have interviewed several former Seedco employees. Seedco is cooperating with that inquiry, the agency president, Barbara Dwyer Gunn, said through a spokesman.

The reports of fraud come as a blow to Mr. Bloomberg, who sought a third term based on his ability to lead the city in a tough economy and has heralded his administration’s success in finding jobs for unemployed New Yorkers.

News Release from Cisco - Virtual Hosting 2.0

PRESS RELEASE

Telefónica Launches "Virtual Hosting 2.0" for Corporations and Public Agencies in Latin America

This service – which allows big companies and government institutions to increase their flexibility and efficiency thanks to the transition to the cloud computing – is available in all Latin American countries where Telefónica operates

This advanced solution is supported by the VCE Vblock infrastructure platform, offering a strong cloud environment in terms of security, scalability and end-to-end support

Madrid and Miami, March 8, 2012 - Telefónica, in collaboration with Cisco and VCE, has launched a regional advanced cloud hosting service in Latin America for the corporate market segment (large companies and public agencies). The service is called Virtual Hosting 2.0, the first tailored cloud computing service offered regionally supported by the VCETm Vblock platform, the strongest in the market in terms of integrated virtualization, server, storage, networking and security technologies with end-to-end support.

The service will be offered from five interconnected data centers in Latin America, with integrated management and provision. These data centers are in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and from there they can also provide service to the rest of Latin American countries where Telefónica operates.

The Virtual Hosting 2.0 service offers IT resources as a tailored service in the cloud and on-site to companies and governmental entities. It provides an easy transition to cloud computing, which allows customers to gain flexibility in their infrastructure, be more efficient in costs, and optimize their business management with the use of the most innovative technology. In addition, Virtual Hosting 2.0 offers the benefits of an advanced virtual service, such as elasticity, fast provision in case of new company needs, private access to the network, and end-to-end management.

Initially, Virtual Hosting 2.0 includes services such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), virtual data centers, private cloud services and business continuity services in case of incidents and disasters. Under the cloud computing model, it seeks to provide the latest technologies, without the need for investment in equipment and maintenance. Not having to implement their own cloud computing infrastructure means that companies can enjoy fast service implementation and expansion, continuous evolution of the solution, and timely assistance to meet the demands of business, whether seasonal or immediate.

The strongest cloud platform of the market

An important difference of the new Telefónica Virtual Hosting 2.0 regional service is that it is based on the VCE Vblock platform, the industry's leading converged infrastructure solution. The Vblock platform enables cloud services that are highly secure and scalable and that offer consistent, predicable performance to meet strict client service-level requirements.

With this architecture Telefónica implements a single global architecture for the cloud that can scale and evolve the service evenly throughout the region. This is extremely useful for corporations with a presence in Latin America, because it meets their need for uniform services in the countries where they operate.

For Daniel Jiménez, director of the corporate segment, Telefónica Latin America, "this solution, in collaboration with Cisco and VCE, allows the strengthening of the pillars of the Telefónica regional and global offer in the corporate segment, based on communication, mobility, cloud services and information security solutions. With Virtual Hosting 2.0, we advance in a solid and definite way to provide a robust service of infrastructure as a service, adapted to the needs of big corporations and government institutions, with the possibility of offering them both full and hybrid solutions with the highest levels of security and providing an end-to-end service unique in the market."

"Cloud computing is the business model for the delivery of services to customers. Companies, service providers and government agencies are looking for cloud solutions to reduce costs, increase profitability and create innovative business models. Cisco enables customers to take advantage of network intelligence, the power of data centers and business applications. The result is an attractive and safe cloud experience with applications and services supplied from any place, at anytime and from any device. We want to thank Telefónica Empresas Latinoamérica for trusting Cisco as the technological partner for its cloud computing solution in Latin America," said Jaime Vallés, Cisco senior vice president for Latin America.

"With this new 2.0 Virtual Hosting service many more customers in the region will join cloud computing, ensuring their technological and competitivenes in the market. As part of th eVCE coalition, EMC is always seeking new opportunities to support Latin American companies, and this new joint effort between EMC, Cisco, Telefonica and VMware facilitates the adoption of cloud projects in companies seeking growth and certainly find in the cloud the opportunity to be more successful. We are pleased to form this new front with our strategic partners for the benefit of Latin America," said Octavio Osorio, EMC's vice president for Latin America. "With VCE technology, Telefónica will be in a privileged position at the regional level to offer cloud services with resilience, security and performance."

"The Vblock infrastructure platform integrates innovative technologies of computing, network, storage, security and virtualization, which will help Telefónica to deliver solutions and services to their customers. The VCE coalition and Telefónica are working together in the deployment of an agile, scalable and safe IT infrastructure that will allow them to provide the highest levels of services to their customers in the region and the world," said  Leon J. Taiman, vice president, VCE, responsible for the Latin America and Caribbean markets.

About Telefónica

Telefónica is one of the largest companies in the world in market capitalization and number of customers. From its consolidated position in this sector, and with telephony and fixed and mobile broad band as key supports to its growth, the company orients its strategy to secure its leadership in the digital world. Present in 25 countries and with a customer base of more than 306 million of accesses, Telefónica has a strong presence in Europe and Latin America, important industrial alliances and a leading global escalation which positions the Company in the capture of growth. Telefónica is a fully private company with more than 1.5 million direct stockholders. Its social capital is currently divided into 4.563.996.485 ordinary stocks listed in the continuous market of the Spanish stock market and in the stock markets of London, New York, Lima and Buenos Aires. (www.telefonica.com)

About VCE

VCE, or Virtual Computing Environment, formed by Cisco, EMC, and VMware with investment by Intel, accelerates the adoption and convergence of infrastructure based on cloud computing models, which will reduce IT costs while improving the time to market of our customers. VCE, through the Vblock platform, delivers the industry an integrated IT offer with end-to-end responsibility by the vendor. The VCE solutions are available through an extensive network of partners, and covers applications horizontally, vertical offers of the industry and the development of applications in different environments, allowing the customer to focus in the innovation of the business instead of the integration, validation and management of the IT infrastructures. For further information, please visit www.vce.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

About  Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go tohttp://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in emerging markets is provided by Cisco Systems International B.V. and Cisco International Limited, wholly owned subsidiaries of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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New Release from DOE: ARPA-E

ARPA-E Issues Open Call for Transformational Energy Technologies

March 2, 2012 - 2:31pm

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) issued a $150 million funding opportunity open to all transformational energy technologies to support the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to solving our nation’s most pressing energy challenges. This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement is a call to our country’s brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to propose early-stage research projects that would not otherwise be able to attract private investment, but could lead to breakthrough energy technologies. This is the second open funding opportunity released under ARPA-E.  The first was in 2009.

“Today we are calling on our nation’s best and brightest to catalyze energy breakthroughs in all areas imaginable through this Open Funding Opportunity Announcement, which illustrates the true purpose of ARPA-E,” said Director Majumdar.  “Innovation is our nation’s sweet spot, and it is critically important that we look at every possible energy solution in order to ensure America’s future prosperity and security.”

This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) joins ARPA-E’s other recently issued FOA – Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy (MOVE) – which will make $30 million available to find ways to harness our abundant supplies of domestic natural gas for vehicles and was announced by President Obama last week at the University of Miami.

More details on all of ARPA-E’s Funding Opportunities and Requests For Information are available HERE. Individual awards under the Open FOA will range between $250,000 and $10 million.

President Obama launched the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in 2009 to seek out transformational, breakthrough technologies that are too risky for private sector investment but have the potential to translate science into quantum leaps in energy technology, form the foundation for entirely new industries, and in the future have large commercial impact.

Including its most recent round of selections, ARPA-E has funded a total of more than 180 projects, for $521.7 million in awards across 12 program areas. Demonstrating the success ARPA-E has already seen, the Agency announced last year that eleven of its projects that received $40 million from ARPA-E for innovative research, were able to use this funding to demonstrate results, which allowed these teams to secure more than $200 million in outside private capital investment.

ARPA-E’s third annual Energy Innovation Summit featured 107 speakers, including: President Bill Clinton; Microsoft Founder and Chairman, Bill Gates; Xerox CEO, Ursula Burns; FedEx CEO, Fred Smith; BDT Capital Chairman, Lee Scott; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter; MIT President, Susan Hockfield; U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu; and ARPA-E Director, Arun Majumdar.  The Summit attracted 2,440 attendees from 49 states and 26 countries and featured a Technology Showcase displaying over 240 breakthrough energy developments from ARPA-E’s awardees, finalists and other teams.

Neither Admit Nor Deny

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Saturday, February 25, 2012

‘Neither Admit Nor Deny’ Settlements Draw Judges’ Scrutiny 

By EDWARD WYATT

WASHINGTON — The entrenched practice of allowing companies and individuals to settle federal regulatory charges without admitting that they actually did anything wrong is coming under growing scrutiny by the courts.

Two federal judges have questioned such settlements proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and this week a third judge held up a settlement offered by the Federal Trade Commission.

Judge Renee Marie Bumb of United States District Court in Camden, N.J., blocked a proposed settlement on Wednesday between the Federal Trade Commission and a marketing company based in New Jersey on charges that the company and its chief executive made false and unsubstantiated claims that the use of açaí berry-based products, which they promoted, would result in rapid and substantial weight loss.

Judge Bumb ordered both the commission and the company to justify why she should approve the proposed $11.5 million settlement when the lack of an admission by the company and the executive of any wrongdoing left her with no facts with which to judge whether the negotiated deal was fair, adequate and in the public interest.

In doing so, she cited a much-discussed case involving the S.E.C. and Citigroup. Last November, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court in New York rejected a proposed $285 million settlement of securities fraud charges for the same reason: without an admission of guilt or agreed-upon facts there was no basis for an approval.

And on Friday, an S.E.C. commissioner, Luis A. Aguilar, told a group of securities lawyers that a recent attempt to tighten the agency’s policy of allowing a company to settle a fraud case while neither admitting nor denying any wrongdoing “applies in so few situations, it needs to be revised to be more useful and effective.”

While another S.E.C. case in Wisconsin, where a federal district judge in December challenged an S.E.C. settlement, was subsequently approved, the cases demonstrate that Judge Rakoff’s challenge of the “neither admit nor deny” settlement is reverberating beyond Wall Street and New York.

That is not what securities law experts expected last November, when Judge Rakoff issued the ruling.

At the time, the consensus was that the decision was unlikely to affect cases involving other regulatory agencies or in other jurisdictions.

Because the proposed settlements included a permanent injunction against further wrongdoing by the defendants, they are subject to approval from a federal judge. But Judge Rakoff argued that the judiciary should not be considered a rubber stamp to approve executive-branch enforcement cases.

Lawyers both inside and outside the S.E.C. argued that the “neither admit nor deny” settlements were perhaps the only way to get companies to settle fraud cases, because to admit wrongdoing would open them to civil damages. (Emphasis added by me.)

An appeal of Judge Rakoff’s decision by the S.E.C. is pending at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.