— WebWireID152346 —

The FDA's prolonged, covert monitoring of the whistleblowers continued even after the HHS Office of Inspector General denied the FDA's request to take any criminal and/or administrative action against the whistleblowers. In their letter of refusal, the OIG explicitly informed the FDA that the whistleblowers' communications to Congress were protected under law.
 
The NWC issued an Action Alert strongly encouraging the public to send email to the President, FDA officials, and members of Congress demanding that the six whistleblowers be protected and targeted surveillance be halted throughout the government.
 
 
Links:  
 
Senator Grassley's Letter to FDA Commissioner
(http://www.whistleblowers.org/storage/whistleblowers/documents/FDAComplaint/grassleyletter.fdaspying.pdf)
 
FDA Whistleblower Complaint
(http://www.whistleblowers.org/storage/whistleblowers/documents/FDAComplaint/fdacomplaint.redacted.pdf)
 
Intercepted Emails from FDA Whistleblowers
(http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1332) 
 
Letter from the HHS OIG
(http://www.whistleblowers.org/storage/whistleblowers/documents/FDAComplaint/oigletter.fdawbdisclosuresprotected.pdf)
   
NWC Action Alert
(http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1333)
 

***
 
 

— WebWireID152286 —

iomart Group's stance follows the announcement today (2nd February 2012) by the Science and Technology Select Committee, that the UK Government should consider imposing safety standards on software sold  if self-regulation isn't adopted by the IT industry.

iomart's web security software Netintelligence, which provides internet protection for 100,000s of school children and families in the UK, is the first and only such software to carry the BSI Kitemark for Child Online Safety. Netintelligence was awarded the Kitemark by Children and Families Minister Tim Loughton in January 2011. So far, no other UK software company has taken up the accreditation and the Government has not supported the Kitemark publicly.

The BSI Kitemark for Child Online Safety is a certification scheme for internet website filtering software produced by software manufacturers. These products can be bought as stand-alone products from computer retailers or come as part of an operating system or ISP package. The software's ease of use, reliability, and performance must meet the scheme's strict criteria.

Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: 'Back in 2007, iomart along with the British Standards Institute, OFCOM, the Home Office, several major UK child safety organisations and other private sector companies spent a considerable amount of time working on the specifications required for PAS 74 (Access control systems for the protection of children online), which ultimately became the BSI Kitemark for Online Child Safety.

Rather than yet another clarion call for more action, the UK Government could make a bold stance now. It should insist that all public sector organisations with a duty of care towards protecting children online, for example schools and local authorities, should only purchase products that have been awarded the Kitemark. That way other commercial companies will have to follow the lead of Netintelligence and iomart Group to provide software and services that the public can trust.'

iomart Group plc is ranked as one of the top web hosting companies in the world by HostReview and is Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year 2011. 

CTO Bill Strain was recently named IT Leader of the Year 2011 by IT Pro.
 

— WebWireID152289 —

When posed this question, 'Would more women vote for Newt Gingrich or Barack Obama?' a majority of the respondents, 53.87%, said they thought more women would vote for Obama than Gingrich. 33.33% thought Gingrich would win, while 12.8% thought it would be equal or were unsure.

'I'm really not surprised by these poll results', said Peter J. Bryson, founder of The Wealth & Freedom Foundation.  'With recent allegations of sexual impropriety and a history of infidelity it's clear to see why he would rate poorly amongst women.  And let's just be honest about it, he's not really a likable candidate compared to Obama.'

The poll also found that a majority of people felt that Gingrich would not be able to defeat Obama if the general election were held today.  While 53% of the respondents said that Gingrich could not beat Obama in the 2012 election, 36% thought that he could, and 11% were undecided.

The Wealth & Freedom Foundation, America's #1 advocate for the wealth and freedom of the average citizen, frequently conducts surveys and political opinion polls.  It also publishes a weekly e-newsletter discussing political and financial issues.

— WebWireID152268 —

Compete advertisement campaign management by MJS Communications includes many elements. The most important of these elements is that clients get their ads placed in authorized military newspapers. These newspapers are the most read publications nationwide. Newspaper readership on military bases is more than triple the circulation of the average daily newspaper. They are read by more than 90 percent of the active duty percent and two out of every three soldiers read more than three-quarters of the newspaper paper each day.

Military marketing campaigns also provide access to Mobile billboards that travel in the adjacent communities and are not allowed on base. Framed posters are available for posting in common areas on base and recreational areas to offer daily visual reminders to potential clients and give them a chance to make a personal connection to a particular service or product.

MJS Communications works with client businesses to keep them informed and involved in all marketing to military campaigns. This includes offering proof of placement for ads, flyers and posters. It also includes providing regular detailed invoices on the entire campaign.

— WebWireID152261 —

— WebWireID152177 —

For more information, please visit: hhttp://www.seh-technology.com/products/usb-device-servers/myutn-150.html
 
About SEH Technology Inc.
SEH Technology, Inc. (www.SEH-Technology.com) is a leading supplier of professional network printing solutions for enterprise, government, and military customers in North America . SEH Technology's product portfolio includes internal and external print servers and spooling appliances for all common network and cabling types utilizing the latest technologies. In 2008 SEH introduced the USB device server product line myUTN, broadening the company's solution portfolio to include intelligent solutions for network access of USB devices.
 
SEH Technology, Inc. was founded in 2002 as the US sales office of SEH Computertechnik GmbH in Bielefeld, Germany, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of network printing solutions for over 20 years. SEH develops and manufactures every product in Germany  in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2000.

— WebWireID152141 —

With the average family electricity bill rising $300 in the last five years and the consumer price index growing 3% in 2011, students are certainly feeling the pinch. Campus fees for living space is rising, tuition fees are rising; so why the continuous growth in enrolment?

One theory would be that during a recession period, unemployment levels typically hit all time highs and many people seek to improve their potential job security by pursuing further education. In 2010 10% of the US workforce was unemployed. Although this number has dropped to 8.5% in December 2011, that's still above the
pre-recession level of 5% in 2007.

Lindsey Hawkins from technicalschool.org tells us about her experiences in the sector:

'Generally speaking, when people can't find work then they tend to think about ways they can improve themselves and increase the likelihood of finding work. This often means more education and in some case means taking job specific training courses to obtain necessary certifications and degrees. By doing so, people believe they will not only stand out amongst stiff competition, but be better prepared for the next time the economy takes a turn for the worse.'

— WebWireID152137 —

Linked here are key documents related to this lawsuit and the FDA's spying program.

The complaint details how the FDA targeted its employees with a covert spying campaign that lasted for two years. The FDA began the program after learning that the employees wrote a letter to President-Elect Obama and his transition team in early 2009 detailing government misconduct in approving unsafe medical devices.  The Agency installed (or activated) spyware on their workplace computers and used other technology that to monitor their password-protected Gmail-to-Gmail communications.

In addition to reading the whistleblowers' emails, the FDA took contemporaneous screen shots of the employees' computer screens. Managers used the collected information to learn the identities of confidential whistleblowers and to obtain the details of the public health and safety concerns the whistleblowers intended to disclose to the Office of Special Counsel, Congress and the Agency's own Inspector General.

The FDA also intercepted email communications to and from staff members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee.  These Congressional intercepts are linked here.

The FDA's prolonged covert monitoring of the whistleblowers continued even after the HHS Office of Inspector General denied the FDA's request to take any criminal and/or administrative action against the whistleblowers. In their letter of refusal, the OIG explicitly informed the FDA that the whistleblowers' communications to Congress were protected under law.

The managers who spearheaded the surveillance efforts were the same managers involved with the wrongdoing and corruption that the whistleblowers were seeking to report. Lawyers at the FDA and HHS Offices of General Counsel, who should have understood that the program breached the employees' confidentiality, helped FDA managers with their obstruction and retaliation.

In their lawsuit, six FDA whistleblowers who were fired by the agency (including two highly respected medical doctors, a Branch Chief, a former Health and Safety Officer employed by the Public Health Service and a 23-year FDA career M.D./Ph.D Scientist) are requesting a nationwide injunction prohibiting the federal government from targeting whistleblowers with selected surveillance and monitoring.

The lawsuit alleges that such targeted monitoring of whistleblowers violates their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association.

Stephen M. Kohn, NWC Executive Director and attorney for six FDA whistleblowers, issued the following statement:

The FDA declared war on employees who were trying to warn Americans about threats to public health and safety.The federal government cannot---and should not---spy on whistleblowers. The First Amendment prohibits targeting whistleblowers and selectively monitoring them using highly intrusive electronic surveillance without a warrant.

Targeting the employees who raise health and safety concerns---or who try to report waste, fraud and abuse to the proper authorities---will have a massive chilling effect on employees.

The FDA's illegal spying program is not just a problem for the six victims in this case. The day we allow the government to spy on employees based on their lawful whistleblower activities is the day we give up privacy for every honest public servant in America.

If permitted to stand, the FDA's whistleblower surveillance program will be used by government agencies throughout the United States to silence employees who want to report misconduct.  Those who are not silenced will be subjected to years of intrusive covert spying designed to dredge up embarrassing information that the agencies can use to destroy the whistleblowers' reputations and careers.

Today, the NWC issued an Action Alert seeking public support for the FDA whistleblowers and demanding an end to the federal government's targeted and selective surveillance of whistleblowers.
The NWC obtained the intercepted emails as a result of a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act and from documents produced by the FDA as a result of administrative actions taken against three of the whistleblowers.

Links:  FDA Whistleblower Complaint
Intercepted Emails from FDA Whistleblowers
Letter from the HHS OIG
Support FDA Whistleblowers
PageNWC Action Alert

***

— WebWireID152126 —

A spokesperson for the DH said: 'The procurement was conducted against the ASCC framework using an in-house team and has delivered a flexible contract that will result in savings of around 40% on the current cost of service across the life of the contract.'

The contract draws together the desktop solution for the Department and some of its Arms Length Bodies, such as, the Care Quality Commission, into a common, high-quality, integrated, shared service. It supports the aims of the Government Strategy for ICT, both in reducing costs and ensuring the necessary ICT is in place to deliver DH reforms and modernisation in 2012 and beyond.

Wayne Gibson, Senior Vice President Government and Health at Atos said: 'Our new solution makes the Government's ICT Strategy, Sustainability and Open Source initiatives a reality. We will work with SMEs and use Open Source software to deliver a service that offers value for money.'

'ICT Shared Services is a core business for Atos and, as a company committed to service excellence, we will ensure that migration to the new solution is as seamless and easy as possible. We will deliver a scalable, robust and cost-effective service for people working in the Department and those Arms Length Bodies who will also use our service.'

The Atos solution is built using existing good practices together with modern desktop solutions to provide a people-centric service that enables flexible and collaborative working. To ensure a minimum impact on people and to help drive continuous service improvement, Atos will deliver a comprehensive internal communication programme and people training. It will also deliver a new data centre infrastructure, enabling maximised applications performance, reliability and availability on the desktop, with the flexibility to scale cost effectively.

About Atos
Atos is an international information technology services company with annual revenues of €8.6 billion and 74,000 employees in 42 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers hi-tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services. Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting & Technology Services, Atos Worldline and Atos Worldgrid. For more information visit Atos UK.

— WebWireID152140 —

Many of Marlene's paintings and sculptures are owned by private collectors and are in corporate collections around the world.

Marlene Couri's work can be viewed on her website at  marlenecarrollcouri.com and marlenecarroll.com.

— WebWireID152079 —

'EVOC-101 Web's success is measured by its ability to change behavior of emergency drivers by giving them a heightened awareness of the hazards encountered when running lights and siren.  Its popularity induced requests from customers for modifications and gave us the opportunity to create the four versions of the basic program,' said Reginald Welles, President & CEO of AST. 'Our instructional design strategy allows us to take advantage of the interactive properties available for online programs making EVOC-101 Web one of the most compelling low cost solutions to quickly reduce risk of crashes for emergency vehicle operators.'
 
About Applied Simulation Technologies, Inc.
AST develops online, simulator-based, and custom driver training solutions for police, emergency response, commercial truck, fleet, and teen drivers. AST combines extensive experience in instructional and simulator systems design with knowledgeable subject matter experts to create training solutions that have been proven to train safer drivers and reduce accidents. Further information may be obtained at AST's website: www.appliedsimtech.com. 

— WebWireID152029 —

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today renewed its commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, the Gates Foundation is giving US$ 750 million through a promissory note – a new and innovative funding mechanism.

'These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world's poorest,' said Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Gates Foundation. 'The Global Fund is one of the most effective ways we invest our money in every year.'

Providing funding through a promissory note gives the Global Fund the flexibility and authority to distribute funds efficiently based on immediate needs, leading to greater impact.

'By supporting the Global Fund, we can help to change the fortunes of the poorest countries in the world,' said Gates. 'I can't think of more important work.'

Global Fund financing helps developing countries fighting against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This public-private partnership creates economic opportunity and makes those living in poverty less dependent on aid.

Since 2002, investments in the Global Fund have financed innovative prevention and treatment programmes in 150 countries with high burdens of disease. The Global Fund continues to save 100,000 lives a month. The Fund has provided antiretroviral treatment to 3.3 million people, detected and treated 8.2 million people with tuberculosis, and provided 230 million bed nets to families to prevent malaria.

The new commitment is in addition to the US$ 650 million the Gates Foundation has already contributed since the Global Fund was launched 10 years ago at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which convenes the world's top business and political leaders.

The Foundation commends the recent political and financial commitments to the Global Fund by donor governments. All donors – rich, middle-income and poor countries, as well as the private sector – must continue to invest in the lifesaving work of the Global Fund.

On the heels of releasing his fourth annual letter yesterday in London, Gates continued to challenge global leaders to invest in innovations that are accelerating progress against poverty or risk a future where millions needlessly die. While there has been tremendous progress against AIDS, TB and malaria, more must be done. Through unique partnerships and new financing mechanisms, the global community has the opportunity to have an even greater impact and save more lives.

With record participation of over 2,600 leaders from government, academia, business and civil society, the theme of this year's Annual Meeting is The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models.

The Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 are: Yasuchika Hasegawa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan; Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citi, USA; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; Alejandro Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer, Cinepolis, Mexico; Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, USA; and Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell, Netherlands.

Notes to Editors

Find more information about the Annual Meeting 2012 at http://wef.ch/Davos
View the best photographs from the Annual Meeting on Flickr at http://wef.ch/pix
Watch live webcasts of the sessions on Livestream at http://wef.ch/live
Watch the sessions on YouTube at http://wef.ch/youtube or Youku at http://wef.ch/youku
Ask a World Leader on YouTube: http://wef.ch/askaleader
Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook
Follow the Forum on Twitter at http://wef.ch/twitter and http://wef.ch/livetweet
Listen to the Forum Podcast at http://wef.ch/podcast
Read the Forum Blog at http://wef.ch/blog
Read Forum reports on Scribd at http://wef.ch/scribd
Follow the Meeting on the iPhone at http://wef.ch/app
Upcoming Forum events at http://wef.ch/events
Subscribe to Forum News Releases at http://wef.ch/news
Connect with the Forum at http://wef.ch/connect

— WebWireID152027 —

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – Despite the uncertainty sweeping across the European Union, British Prime Minister David Cameron was bullish about the prospects for resolving the current Eurozone crisis. 'Europe could recover its dynamism. I still believe we can. But only if we are bold. Only if we fight for our prosperity ... [and if we] get to grips with the debt,' he said.

The Prime Minister called for bold decisions on deregulation, on opening up the Single Market, on innovation and trade, and to address the 'fundamental issues' at the heart of the Eurozone crisis. 'All of these decisions lie in our own hands. They are the test of Europe's leaders in the months ahead. ... The problems we face are man-made and with bold action and real political will we can fix them,' the Prime Minister urged.

Short-term issues must be dealt with. 'Greece, banks and the firewall. If you do all those three things together quickly, you would ease the sense of the crisis. For 2012, that would make a clear difference,' he advised. Cameron's remarks came on the heels of pressure from the International Monetary Fund on Monday 23 January to 'bolster the firewall' around Italy and Spain as talks between Greece and its creditors have been mired in deadlock for a third week.

Cameron outlined the features common to all successful currency unions:

- A central bank that can comprehensively stand behind the currency and the financial system
- The deepest possible economic integration with the flexibility to deal with economic shocks
- A system of fiscal transfers and collective debt issuance that can deal with the tensions and imbalances between different countries and regions within the union.

'Currently it's not that the Eurozone doesn't have all of these…it's that it doesn't really have any of these,' he declared.

The Eurozone crisis calls for 'tough fiscal discipline', but the Prime Minister pointed out that this is a problem of trade deficits, not just budget deficits. 'It means countries with those deficits making painful decisions to raise productivity and drive down costs year after year to regain their competitiveness,' he said. 'That does not happen overnight and it can have painful economic and even political consequences. Nor is it sufficient. You need the support of single currency partners and ... a system of fiscal integration and risk sharing, perhaps through the creation of Euro area bonds to make that support work.'

Despite Britain's refusal last December to sign an EU treaty that would change the way the single market is regulated, Cameron said Britain is not walking away from Europe. 'Britain is part of the European Union. Not by default, but by choice. It fundamentally reflects our national interest to be part of the single market on our doorstep and we have no intention of walking away from it. We want Europe to be a success. … When that political will is there, we can make a decisive difference.'

The Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 are: Yasuchika Hasegawa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan; Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citi, USA; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; Alejandro Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer, Cinepolis, Mexico; Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, USA; and Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell, Netherlands.

Notes to Editors

Find more information about the Annual Meeting 2012 at http://wef.ch/Davos
View the best photographs from the Annual Meeting on Flickr at http://wef.ch/pix
Watch live webcasts of the sessions on Livestream at http://wef.ch/live
Watch the sessions on YouTube at http://wef.ch/youtube or Youku at http://wef.ch/youku
Ask a World Leader on YouTube: http://wef.ch/askaleader
Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook
Follow the Forum on Twitter at http://wef.ch/twitter and http://wef.ch/livetweet
Listen to the Forum Podcast at http://wef.ch/podcast
Read the Forum Blog at http://wef.ch/blog
Read Forum reports on Scribd at http://wef.ch/scribd
Follow the Meeting on the iPhone at http://wef.ch/app
Upcoming Forum events at http://wef.ch/events
Subscribe to Forum News Releases at http://wef.ch/news
Connect with the Forum at http://wef.ch/connect

— WebWireID152021 —

'The rescue of the euro is currently the decisive topic, not just for us Europeans, but for many regions with close economic ties to us,' emphasizes Stadler. The Audi chairman does not consider solving the crisis to be the responsibility of politics alone. What is needed now more than ever is responsible, future-oriented and sustainable business activity to bolster mutual trust within Europe and to consolidate the European national economies. 'We need a strong European economic region if we are to be competitive from a global perspective. There is no alternative to the euro,' says Stadler.

Audi established the Audi Urban Future Initiative in 2011 to identify and promote pathways to a sustainable and responsible future. At the World Economic Forum, the company is therefore presenting new ideas that architects, urban planners, politicians and energy suppliers have developed for the urban mobility of the future at this interdisciplinary exchange in the Audi Lounge – CO2-neutral, networked with the surroundings and driverless, if necessary.

The Audi A2 concept technology study on display in the Audi Pavilion at Lake Davos also offers a tangible peek at the electric mobility in the megacities of the future. Participants in the Forum can also experience the new driving feeling for themselves. The Audi A6 Avant hybrid and the Audi A3 e-tron, for example, are available for test drives at the Audi Pavilion. Under the watchful eye of instructors from the Audi driving experience, they will also have the opportunity to test and improve their driving skills on snow and ice in, among other vehicles, one of six Audi Q5 hybrid quattro models provided by Audi.

Audi has been the exclusive shuttle partner of the World Economic Forum since 1987. This year's fleet once again fulfills the strict guidelines of the 'Towards a Greener Davos' initiative. With emissions of 171 g CO2/km, the Audi sedans are well below the limit of 200 g CO2/km set for Davos. The company is providing a total of 86 Audi A8 L and 13 armored high-security vehicles for the shuttle service in Davos.

— WebWireID152020 —

Mac is walking to bring awareness to the plight of our veterans and to raise money to help homeless veterans and military families through Project Foot. He is also gathering signatures for the Veterans Bill of Rights. http://www.Veterans-Bill-of-Rights.org

This week his walk will take him through the following towns:

• Dinwiddie, Virginia
• McKenney, Virginia
• Alberta, Virginia
• South Hill, Virginia
• Bracey,Virginia
• Norlina, North Carolina

• Henderson, North Carolina
• Kittrell, North Carolina
• Franklinton, North Carolina
• Wake Forest, North Carolina
• Raleigh , North Carolina

Project Foot is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity approved by the Internal Revenue Service. Donations or gifts received by Project Foot are tax deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

— WebWireID152006 —

In a study published on Monday, the GAO estimated that the number of female homeless veterans has doubled from 1,380 in 2006 to 3,328 in 2010. 'Absent more complete data, VA does not have the information needed to plan services effectively, allocate grants to providers and track progress toward its overall goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015,' the report said.

According to the VA budget summary, In 2012 the VA plans to spend $940 million on homelessness prevention programs. With a total budget of over $132 billion, that equates to 7/10th of one percent of the total VA Budget.

Project Foot is recommending a different approach. Rather than working on better ways to count homeless veterans, Project Foot would like to eliminate veteran homelessness altogether through its Veterans Bill of Rights. The Veterans Bill of Rights states, 'No Veteran should ever be left homeless. Any homeless veteran who has served 180 days or more of active duty should be entitled to transitional housing accommodations that are equivalent to the base housing that would be afforded to an E-1 on active duty with the same family status.'

About Project Foot

Project Foot is a charity to benefit military families and homeless veterans. The mission of Project Foot is to strengthen military families and assist homeless and unemployed veterans. Project Foot believes that the only time the words 'Veteran' and 'Homeless' should ever be used in the same sentence is: 'Veterans Helping the Homeless.' Project Foot achieves this mission through providing a wide variety of programs that include:

•     Housing and Food for Homeless Veterans
•     Communication Assistance for Military Families
•     Travel Assistance for Military Families
•     Resume Writing and Job Search Services for Unemployed Veterans
•     Providing Business Attire for Unemployed Veterans

The Veterans Bill of Rights can be found at http://www.projectfoot.org/veteransbillofrights.htm

— WebWireID151995 —

• No-touch installation for enterprise-wide software deployment.
• Enhancement of OnePager Pro's processing performance when accessing multi-project Microsoft Project files (integrated master schedules).
• Automatic data backup for added security and redundancy.
• Support for 64-bit Microsoft Project and Excel.
• Ability to create scalable vector graphic outputs (EMF files) so project timelines can be better shared using Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, or Outlook.
• Functionality and user-interface enhancements.

— WebWireID151985 —

At a speech in Central London, David Cameron spoke of responsible capitalism, criticising the former Labour government for making a Faustian pact with the city. He went on to speak of how he admired "the bravery of those who turn their back on the security of a regular wage to follow their dreams and start a company", adding that he believed the UK was "fizzing with business potential".

"When people take risks, with their own ideas, energy and money, when they succeed in a competitive market where anyone can come and knock them off their perch at any time, we should celebrate entrepreneurs," he said.
 
Figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics revealed an increase in the number of people prepared to start their own business and become entrepreneurs, while also showing a figure of over 100,000 people registered as independent workers in the three months to November 2011, taking the total number of self-employed workers in the UK to 4.2 million.

The determination of entrepreneurs to start up their own companies has provided a welcome boost to the economy during this challenging economic environment. In addition to the new business entrepreneurs, an increasing number of self employed freelancers have emerged from wide spread redundancies, helping to combat unemployment figures. With many unemployed skilled individuals choosing to work in the freelance market, small businesses have been able to benefit as they can easily access a diverse talent pool of freelance workers capable of providing the necessary skills and service to help successfully launch their business.
 
Research carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 27% of start up companies struggle to find staff, with there being a particular problem with school leavers who fail to have basic qualifications in literacy and numeracy. This, of course, presents problems for businesses, as candidates applying for jobs are simply not employable – which is where outsourcing to freelancers has proved useful.
 
OutsourceMyProject is an example of a freelance outsourcing website that offers such a service. It provides a platform where entrepreneurs can advertise their requirements and gain access to skilled freelance labour at competitive prices.
 
OutsourceMyProject is also popular as a result of opening up the global marketplace for professional services across a wide range of sectors, and therefore helping businesses and self-employed individuals to decrease their costs significantly by outsourcing. These savings are made possible by outsourcing work to low cost economies with a highly talented skill base (e.g. India for IT services and back office support).
 
Through OutsourceMyProject, there is complete freedom and flexibility for entrepreneurs to appoint their preferred professional and work on agreed terms to suit both parties. Connecting not only entrepreneurs and professionals from around the globe, but also providing a payment platform, associated project management facility and messaging system, OutsourceMyProject prides itself on open and clear communications.
 
About OutsourceMyProject:
Established in January 2011, OutsourceMyProject aims to bring together companies looking to outsource business functions or projects with freelance providers of professional services. Following the website launch, more than 10,000 providers, including freelance web designers, freelance graphic designers and freelance copywriters have registered with OutsourceMyProject.com to bid on over £1 million worth of freelance work.

OutsourceMyProject.com is a member of the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), which is the UK's outsourcing centre of excellence.

For press enquiries please contact:
Loren Holland
Managing Director
Email: lholland@outsourcemyproject.com
Tel: 07999 799 799
 

— WebWireID151967 —

The NWC has called upon its grassroots network to oppose the bill, calling it an act of war on whistleblowers. The NWC objects to the following measures of the bill, which systematically dismantle the current, effective whistleblower process from beginning to end:

• Gag orders legalized -- The bill permits companies to enforce, "any established employment agreements, workplace policies, or codes of conduct," regardless of the impact on the right of an employee to report corporate crimes. This means that companies can force employees to sign agreements forfeiting their whistleblower rights.
• Retaliation legalized -- "Any adverse action taken against a whistleblower for any violation of such agreements, policies, or codes shall not constitute retaliation" (emphasis added).
• Law enforcement crippled -- The Grimm Act requires the SEC to, "promptly notify any entity that is to be subject to [an investigation]" before beginning an investigation. Tipping off companies suspected of violating the law allows the corporations to intimidate witnesses and tamper with evidence before the investigation begins.
• Anonymity destroyed -- The Grimm Act allows, and in most cases requires, the SEC to, "disclose to the employer's audit committee such information provided by the whistleblower." This means that the SEC would not only be unable to guarantee confidentiality, but it would be required to turn whistleblowers over to the very corporations accused of wrongdoing.
• Accountability minimized -- The Dodd-Frank Act provides incentives for companies to self-report violations, including reduced fines and penalties. The Grimm Act creates a gaping loophole, allowing companies to claim they self-reported even when a whistleblower makes a report to the SEC. This applies even if the company initially covered up problems and retaliated against the whistleblower.
• Whistleblowers disqualified -- The Dodd-Frank Act reasonably excludes persons found guilty of fraud from obtaining the benefits of the new SEC whistleblower program. However, the Grimm Act disqualifies employees who in any way "participated in" the violation. This means that low- and mid-level employees¬, such as a secretary who took a phone call or a clerk who made a photocopy, are excluded from the whistleblower program. This subtle-but-deliberate language would cut out the vast majority of whistleblowers from protection, as almost every whistleblower "participates" in the violations they uncover.
• Awards program broken -- The Grimm Act makes whistleblower awards discretionary, returning the SEC whistleblower program to its pre-Dodd Frank Act status. The old program was completely discredited by a 2010 report by the SEC Inspector General. This document reported that the SEC helped only five people and awarded only $159,537 during 20 years of operating a discretionary program. The report lamented that the discretionary program was, "not fundamentally well-designed to be successful," and made recommendations that were implemented by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Grimm Act turns back the clock.

Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, issued the following statement about the Grimm Act:
The Grimm Act is a license to steal. It undermines every major whistleblower protection achieved for corporate employees in the past 20 years. Employees witness fraud every single day, and they are going to stay silent if this bill is passed. It stacks the deck in favor of those who are accused of waste, fraud, and abuse, and it removes the only incentive David has to fight Goliath. This is a green light for corporate fraud. It must be stopped.
Today on Honesty Without Fear, Stephen Kohn will discuss the Grimm Act with Eugene Ross, a financial analyst who exposed millions of dollars in corporate fraud committed by Bear Stearns under the SEC's pre-Dodd Frank whistleblower program. Tune in today at 1pm ET or download the episode at whistleblowersradio.org.

Links:

Grimm Act (H.R. 2483)
2010 SEC Inspector General Report
Honesty Without Fear
Dodd-Frank Rulemaking webpage

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