NewzIntel.com

Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI Security: CISA and FBI Warn of Iranian-Backed Cyber Activity to Undermine U.S. Democratic Institutions

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    Fact sheet provides information on actors’ techniques and recommended mitigations for individuals and organizations associated with national political campaigns

    WASHINGTON – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a fact sheet today, How to Protect against Iranian Targeting of Accounts Associated with National Political Organizations. Actors affiliated with the Iranian Government’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are using social engineering techniques across email and chat applications probably to stoke discord and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions. This fact sheet provides recommended actions to protect against this malicious activity.

    IRGC actors target and compromise the personal and business accounts of Americans, in particular. individuals associated with national political organizations. They also target individuals and organizations working or have worked on issues related to Iranian and Middle Eastern affairs.

    CISA and the FBI recommend mitigations and best practices that will help organizations and individuals strengthen their security and resilience, including keeping applications and operating systems updated, training staff to only use official accounts for business, and implementing phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA).  

    “With FBI, CISA works to provide timely, actionable information that helps our partners reduce their risk from myriad threats,” said CISA Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, Jeff Greene. “IRGC cyber actors pose an ongoing and escalating risk. We urge individuals and organizations associated with national political organizations or campaigns to review and implement actions in this joint fact sheet.”

    The FBI and CISA continue to work closely to provide services and information to safeguard public and private sector and individuals.

    For more information, please visit CISA’s Iran Cyber Threat and #Protect2024 webpages.

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    About CISA 

    As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.

    Visit CISA.gov for more information and follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Randolph Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Schemes Involving Sober Home Client, Mass Save Program, and Mortgage Fraud

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    BOSTON – A Randolph man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his involvement in numerous fraud schemes involving sober homes in the Greater Boston area, the Mass Save Program and mortgage fraud. 

    Nicholas Espinosa, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy; one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a mortgage lending business (mortgage fraud conspiracy); 16 counts of wire fraud; six counts of unlawful monetary transactions (money laundering); and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for March 11, 2025. Espinosa was arrested and charged in March 2023 along with alleged co-conspirator Daniel Cleggett.

    According to the charging documents, Cleggett was the founder of the sober home business, A Vision From God LLC (AVFG), with locations in in Boston, Wakefield, Quincy and Weymouth under trade names including Brady’s Place, Lakeshore Retreat and Lambert House. Espinosa managed the day-to-day affairs of Cleggett’s business. 

    Espinosa, and allegedly Cleggett, along with a sober home client entered into a conspiracy to defraud a New York-based family trust that was paying for the client’s room and board at Brady’s Place in Quincy. Specifically, Espinosa, and allegedly Cleggett, overcharged the family trust for room and board by up to $12,500 per month by submitting false and fraudulent invoices to the family trust. Espinosa, and allegedly Cleggett, would then issue “refund” checks to the client in furtherance of the fraud scheme. 

    According to the charging documents, from approximately October 2019 to December 2021, Cleggett personally, and through straw purchasers including Espinosa, purchased the three residential properties in Weymouth and Boston to use as sober homes. Espinosa falsely represented that one of these properties was intended to be purchased as a primary residence for himself when, in reality, it was intended to be a sober home. 

    In addition to the sober home business, Cleggett operated numerous insulation contracting companies that participated in the Mass Save Program: Green Save Energy Corporation; Environmental Construction Objective Inc. (ECO); Green Giants, LLC; and Insulation Situation, LLC. Mass Save is a Massachusetts public/private partnership sponsored by gas and electric utility companies that funds energy conservation projects and improvements via energy efficiency funds charged to Massachusetts residents’ utility bills. 

    Specifically, Green Save and ECO received millions of dollars for residential insulation work from a lead vendor company under the Mass Save program. It is alleged that, from 2018 through mid-2021, Green Save and ECO fraudulently billed the vendor company for required permits that were not actually obtained. Green Save and ECO were ultimately terminated from participating in the company’s program in June 2021, and Cleggett was banned from participating in the Mass Save program. In response to this, Espinosa, and allegedly Cleggett and others, formed Green Giants as a new lead vendor with the same company under a straw owner. As a result, Espinosa, and allegedly Cleggett, obtained a total of $509,326 in payments from the company to Green Giants, despite a ban from participating in the Mass Save program.

    The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of making false statements to a mortgage lending business provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of unlawful monetary transactions provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Kingston, Randolph and Quincy Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Dustin Chao of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: BNZ launches new anti-scam tool to lock scammers out of online banking

    Source: BNZ statements

    BNZ is rolling out its latest anti-scam and fraud measure, launching an ‘online banking lock’ feature which gives customers the ability to disable all online banking activity and lock access to their online banking if they suspect a scammer has gained access to their accounts.

    “BNZ is continually looking for new ways to enhance protection for customers and combat criminal scammers,” says BNZ’s Head of Financial Crime Ashley Kai Fong.

    “While anyone who thinks they’re being scammed should call their bank straight away, this new tool – available in the BNZ app – gives customers the ability to lock their online banking while they’re making the call, potentially speeding up the process to lock their accounts and shut scammers out,” says Kai Fong.

    Once the online account lock is activated, it disables all current internet banking and BNZ mobile account activity and locks all access.

    To prevent scammers from regaining access, customers will need to verify their identity at a BNZ branch to regain access to their accounts.

    Customers will still be able to use their cards online, instore and at ATMs while their account is locked, unless they have also chosen to block their card. To minimise disruption, scheduled payments, like rent or mortgage payments, will still go out as scheduled.

    Kai Fong says BNZ invests tens of millions of dollars every year in scam and fraud protection measures.

    “While there is no silver bullet in the fight against scammers, this is another tool in the anti-scam and fraud toolbox to help protect our customers. It’s just one of a number of new features, BNZ has introduced, including:

    • introducing a way for customers to verify their identity through the BNZ app when prompted by a BNZ staff member to confirm it is the bank calling
    • introducing additional two-factor authentication (2FA) within internet banking for high-risk actions such as changing personal contact details, creating a new payee, editing an existing payee, or making payments to unsaved payees. This is required regardless of whether a customer has already completed 2FA in their current session.
    • deploying ID readers in branch to help identify fraudulent documents

    Kai Fong says customers also have a role to play in keeping themselves safe from scams and fraud:

    • keeping account details, passwords and pin numbers safe
    • never clicking on links or attachments sent by someone you don’t know or that seem out of character for someone you do know
    • keeping your computer and phone security software up to date
    • contacting your bank as soon as possible if you think you’ve been scammed

    Top tips to stay scam savvy – BNZ will never:

    • email or text you links to online banking and ask you to log in
    • send you a text message with a link to a website, or link to call us
    • ask you for information about your PIN number, bank account number, or password
    • ask you to verbally share the authentication codes sent to you by text or email, even with a BNZ staff member
    • ask you to transfer money to help catch a scammer or a bank employee who is scamming customers
    • send you a text message about account issues with a link to log in
    • ask you to download software to access your Internet Banking remotely
    • use international phone numbers to call or send you notifications.

    The post BNZ launches new anti-scam tool to lock scammers out of online banking appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Germany: Deutsche Bundesbank updates impact of Basel III reform package

    Source: Deutsche Bundesbank in English

    Implementation in the EU of the Basel III reform package will lead to a 3.3% increase in minimum required capital (MRC) by 2030 for a sample of 36 German financial institutions. The Bundesbank calculated this result in a study based on data from large institutions in particular. Once the transitional arrangements cease to apply in 2033, the institutions in the sample are expected to see a 10.9% increase in MRC. The study published today[1] thus broadly confirms the results of the previous year. It corroborates the finding that the German banking sector will be well able to handle the impact of the revised Basel III reform package.
    It should be noted that the sample is dominated by large banks which use internal models and that small and medium-sized institutions are extremely underrepresented. A rough extrapolation for Germany’s banking sector as a whole shows that increases in the range of 8% can be expected by 2033 (see the chart). Specifically, this translates to an aggregate increase in tier 1 MRC of €30 billion up to 2033. By way of comparison, the banking system currently holds around €165 billion in common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital above the required amount.

    © Deutsche Bundesbank
    (only in German) 
    Since 2011, the Bundesbank has been examining the impact of the Basel III reform package in conjunction with the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The 25th such exercise was carried out for the reporting date of 31 December 2023, with a total of 36 institutions from Germany participating.
    The study reports that full phase-in of the Basel III reform package would lead to an 8.7% increase in MRC.[2] This calculation is based on the BCBS methodology, which solely includes the internationally standardised G-SII buffer and the capital conservation buffer. In contrast to this, the aforementioned results relating to EU implementation include the national O-SII buffers and the Pillar 2 requirements.
    Notes to editors: In parallel with the Bundesbank, the EBA and the BCBS published their Basel III monitoring reports on 7 October 2024. The quantitative impact study for the EU (EBA) covers 159 institutions from 30 countries and the report at the international level (BCBS) encompasses 180 institutions from 26 countries.
    Footnotes:
    The final amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR III, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1623/oj) and Capital Requirements Directive (CRD VI, http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1619/oj) were published in the Official Journal of the European Union in June 2024. CRR III becomes binding as of 2025.
    The increase is down 4.8 percentage points from the previous year’s impact analysis. One reason for these changes as against the previous year is the 2023 introduction of the G-SII buffer for the leverage ratio in the EU.

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI German News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pallone Announces Over $44 Million in Federal Funding to Replace Lead Pipes in New Jersey

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank Pallone (6th District of New Jersey)

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced today that New Jersey will receive more than $44 million in federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to replace lead pipes. This funding, which Pallone secured through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help modernize aging water systems and tackle the critical issue of lead contamination in the state.

    Lead exposure, particularly for children, has been linked to developmental delays and cognitive issues. This new federal funding will prioritize the removal of hazardous lead service lines, supporting ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of families in schools, homes, and communities throughout New Jersey.

    “As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I led the charge to include substantial investments in clean water infrastructure, like the funding being announced today,” said Pallone. “Safe drinking water is a basic human right, yet right now, millions of American families cannot trust the water coming out of their taps. This funding is a major win for New Jersey and a crucial step toward ensuring every community has access to clean, safe drinking water. We’re delivering real results to protect families and improve water quality across the state.”

    As part of this initiative, the EPA also announced today the new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) rule, which requires water systems across the country to identify and replace all lead service lines within 10 years. Additionally, the EPA announced $2.6 billion in funding for drinking water infrastructure projects nationwide. The $44 million investment for New Jersey will strengthen the state’s ability to remove lead service lines, ensuring that communities statewide—especially those most affected by outdated infrastructure—can rely on safe, clean drinking water.

    For more information on the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements and funding opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit www.epa.gov/lead-copper-rule.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Physician Staffing Firm Expands to Wake County with 155 New Jobs and $7 Million Investment in Raleigh

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Physician Staffing Firm Expands to Wake County with 155 New Jobs and $7 Million Investment in Raleigh

    Physician Staffing Firm Expands to Wake County with 155 New Jobs and $7 Million Investment in Raleigh
    mseets

    Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced Weatherby Healthcare, Inc. a medical staffing company, will add 155 jobs to Wake County. The company will invest more than $7.6 million to expand its operations in the City of Raleigh.

    “Weatherby has made a great decision to reinvest in North Carolina,” said Governor Cooper. “Wake County sits in the heart of our state and is the home of an international airport and a highly educated workforce, making it an ideal location for corporate businesses.”

    A subsidiary of CHG Healthcare, Weatherby has provided staffing solutions for physicians in rural communities for 45 years. The full-service staffing agency works with medical practices, hospitals, and healthcare facilities to coordinate and execute short-term contracts for healthcare professionals to cover for temporary absences for training, vacation, or medical leave. From housing and travel to licensing and credential requirements, Weatherby covers all aspects of physician placement to ensure complete, uninterrupted care for patients. Weatherby has become one of the largest physician staffing firms in the nation.

    “We’re thrilled to partner with the governor’s office on this project, which will not only give our current employees a vibrant, new, state-of-the-art workspace, but also allow us to continue to grow and bring more high-paying jobs to the great state of North Carolina,” said Michael Depaolis, Senior Vice President of Sales for Weatherby. “We pride ourselves on being a great place to work, and we’re excited to share our award-winning, people-centric culture with the state’s top talent.”

    “We are delighted to see another company expand its presence in our state,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “From manufacturers to corporate headquarters, North Carolina continues to be a top choice for companies that want a low-cost to do business, great quality of life, and access to top tier talent as they continue to grow and expand.”

    Although salaries will vary by position and could create a potential payroll impact of more than $31.7 million each year for the region.

    Weatherby’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG), which was approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $433.5 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $1,812,000, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

    The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 134 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $2.34 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

    Because Weatherby chose a site in Wake County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving $604,000 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Wake, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state.

    “This project is an outstanding win for Wake County,” said N.C. Senator Lisa Grafstein. “We have an incredible and diverse talent base that is ready to help the company meet the needs of the demanding healthcare industry, and we look forward to welcoming Weatherby to our community.”

    “It gives us a great vote of confidence to know that the City of Raleigh was selected for Weatherby’s new home,” said N.C. Representative Tim Longest. “We appreciate the diligent work of our state and local partners that helped the company choose our strong economy for their next phase of growth.”  

    Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, N.C. Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions, Wake County, the City of Raleigh, Capital Area Workforce Development, Raleigh Economic Development and Wake County Economic Development, programs of the Raleigh Chamber.

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    Oct 8, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin and Patrushev opened the new exhibition complex “Timiryazev Center”

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    From October 4 to 13, 2024, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture is holding the Week of the Agro-Industrial Complex. One of the main events will be the XXVI Russian agro-industrial exhibition “Golden Autumn”, which will be held on October 9-12. On the eve of the opening, on October 8, the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyaninand Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev inspected the exhibition. It was held in the new educational and exhibition complex “Timiryazev Center”, created on the basis of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.

    “I think that this is the beginning of a new development of Timiryazevka, a new style of its work, a new style of campus development. Moscow universities are developing. We recently completed a huge project of Baumanka. Now, together with the Government of the Russian Federation, on the instructions of the President, we are starting to develop the campus of Stankin. A number of other universities are actively developing, not only Moscow State University. I am very glad that here, in Timiryazevka, such a center has emerged. Moreover, it is very symbolic that the central site of the “Golden Autumn” will be deployed here, which will probably find its permanent residence here,” said Sergei Sobyanin.

    The Mayor of Moscow also congratulated those present on the opening of the Timiryazev Center and thanked Dmitry Patrushev, the team of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and the PhosAgro company, which invested in the project.

    Vladimir Trukhachev, Rector of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, in turn thanked Sergei Sobyanin and the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and noted that the building of the Timiryazev Center fits organically into the architectural ensemble of the educational institution.

    Dmitry Patrushev emphasized that the Timiryazev Center was the result of joint work by the Moscow team, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, and representatives of the university over the course of a year. Exhibitions will be held here, and students will be able to practice their practical skills.

    “This has never happened before at the Timiryazev Academy. This was possible thanks to the support of Moscow, thanks to the goodwill of the PhosAgro company, which helped us with the financing of the construction of this complex. I really hope that the guys will be comfortable studying here, they will do their practical training, gain that important experience that they will then need in the fields, while working in agriculture,” said Dmitry Patrushev.

    He also noted that it is necessary to further develop the Timiryazev Academy, and Moscow is ready to support these plans.

    Traditionally, in October Moscow becomes the venue for the largest gastronomic festival, Golden Autumn. In addition to the Timiryazev Center, this year it will cover 154 sites, two of which will be located in the city center, and 25 in the districts, two fish markets, Moscow on the Wave, and the Moskino cinema park, as well as weekend fairs and interregional fairs.

    The main thing at the Golden Autumn is tasty and high-quality food. Guests are offered the best seasonal farm products. Participants from 65 regions of Russia — more than 150 large and small farms — brought vegetables, handmade cheeses, meat delicacies, honey, fish, mushrooms and berries to the festival.

    The festival’s cultural program includes about one and a half thousand hours of master classes, over two thousand hours of sports activities and 260 hours of stage programs.

    There are also special programs:

    — a gastrofestival that will take place from October 12 to 13 in the Moskino cinema park. Its participants will be 30 farmers and more than 10 restaurants that will present dishes from the autumn menu. Everyone is welcome to tastings, culinary and creative master classes. Children will be invited to ride carousels and mini-tractors. In addition, craft and art classes, as well as a grill show are planned. The event is prepared jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.

    — a gastronomic route in Kamergersky Lane, which offers Muscovites and guests of the capital the opportunity to get acquainted with the dishes of the seasonal set menu in the best restaurants of the city.

    — an exhibition of art pumpkins in Stoleshnikov Lane, where works by contemporary graffiti artists are presented.

    — an entertainment program at the Moscow — on the Wave markets. Master classes and performances by cover bands will create a special atmosphere. On the weekend, there will be “battles of chefs” who will compete in preparing dishes from the autumn menu.

    Guests of the district sites will be offered to take part in numerous sports activities and active games. They will be able to try hot drinks and seasonal sweets: pumpkin, cranberry and apple jam, carrot jam and apple marmalade.

    The main decoration of the Golden Autumn sites, as in previous years, were orange pumpkins – a symbol of the autumn season and harvest festival. Visitors will be able to take bright photos as a souvenir of the festival.

    Detailed information about the festival events and venues can be found on the website.

    “Golden Autumn” is the main agricultural exhibition in Russia

    The agro-industrial exhibition “Golden Autumn” has been held in Moscow since 1999 on the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. Over the past quarter century, it has become the leading platform for demonstrating the achievements of the domestic agro-industrial complex and discussing key issues in the development of the industry.

    In 2023, the exhibition was held at the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. It was visited by more than 31 thousand people, and 136 organizations and representatives of 87 regions of Russia took part in the exhibition exposition and business events.

    In 2024, the Golden Autumn exhibition will be held for the first time in the new Timiryazev Center educational and exhibition complex. Its construction began in September 2023 and took exactly one year, ending in September 2024. The project was implemented using extra-budgetary funds.

    As a result, a three-story building with an area of about 40 thousand square meters was erected on the territory of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy at the address: Verkhnyaya Alley, Building 8. It is planned that it will become one of the largest exhibition and business sites in Moscow.

    “Its exhibition halls were named after outstanding agricultural scientists: Nikolai Vavilov, Alexander Chayanov and Vasily Nemchinov. In addition, there is a plenary session hall, meeting rooms, a diplomatic sector, a press center and a business space,” wrote Sergei Sobyanin.

    in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin 

    If necessary, exhibition halls can be transformed for various event formats, including lecture halls, master class areas and seminars with multimedia support. The use of advanced engineering solutions guarantees a high level of events, as well as the comfort and safety of participants.

    The Timiryazev Center has a high-tech plenary hall designed for 450 people, and meeting rooms of various capacities and configurations.

    The adjacent area contains sports and leisure facilities, including a renovated equestrian arena.

    Good transport accessibility to the Timiryazev Center is provided by the nearby (about 15 minutes’ walk) Petrovsko-Razumovskaya transport hub, which includes two metro stations on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya and Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya lines and one station on the third Moscow Central Diameter.

    The Golden Autumn 2024 exhibition traditionally presents the main achievements of the agro-industrial complex of Russian regions, modern agricultural machinery, products and services for agribusiness, as well as the best breeds of farm animals.

    The Timiryazev Center plans to hold more than 60 congress and exhibition events in 2024–2026, including:

    — 12th International Fair of Contemporary Art Cosmoscow;

    — 28th International Exhibition of Means of Ensuring National Security “Interpolitex-2024”;

    — 5th International Exhibition of Digital Technologies “CipherTech”;

    — Forum of security technologies Say Future: Security;

    — 22nd International Specialized Exhibition “Borders of Russia”;

    — The 8th International Consumer Goods Exhibition / National China Quality Consumer Goods Exhibition;

    — The 5th National Exhibition of Industrial Equipment and Innovations from China.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.mos.ru/major/themes/11873050/

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy – An Update on Our Interim Committee Work

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA (October 8, 2024)— We’ve moved forward in our efforts to strengthen Georgia’s forestry industry with our second meeting of the Senate Advancing Forest Innovation in Georgia Study Committee at the Georgia State Capitol. Building on the groundwork established in our initial meeting, where we identified key challenges facing the sector, we are now focused on exploring solutions and emerging markets that have the potential to revitalize our state’s forestry landscape

    Unfortunately, the timing of our meeting coincided with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which brought significant hardship to many regions of our state, including those heavily reliant on the forestry industry. Our thoughts remain with all those affected, and we will continue to support our impacted communities and first responders in the days ahead.

    At this meeting, we shifted our focus from problems to possibilities. The shrinking markets for traditional forestry products that we discussed in our first meeting are not the whole story—there are emerging markets and new technologies that could represent the future of Georgia’s forestry industry. As chair of this committee, I’ve had the privilege of working with a wide range of experts to explore these opportunities, and the insights they shared during our meeting were nothing short of inspiring.

    We first heard from Dr. Andreas Bommarius and Dr. Carson Meredith from the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at Georgia Tech, who introduced us to their groundbreaking ReWOOD initiative. This project focuses on “Xylochemistry,” a rapidly growing field that uses sustainable wood-based materials to develop products ranging from industrial solvents to jet fuel. What’s particularly exciting about ReWOOD is its potential to create new demand for Georgia’s vast forestry resources in environmentally sustainable and economically viable ways.

    Next, we welcomed Troy Harris of Jamestown LLP, a real estate investment firm with a strong track record in sustainable timberland management. He spoke about Jamestown’s use of innovative practices to boost timberland productivity while ensuring sustainable growth. These practices not only increase the value of timber but also ensure the long-term health and resilience of our forests—an important consideration given the growing threat of natural disasters like Hurricane Helene.

    Finally, Smitha Hariharan, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Gulfstream, shared the company’s cutting-edge work in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Gulfstream recently made history with the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight powered by 100% SAF, a major breakthrough that could have significant implications for Georgia’s forestry industry. As demand for SAF grows worldwide, Georgia’s timber could become a key resource in meeting that demand, creating jobs and driving investment in rural communities across the state.

    Our meeting made it clear that the future of forestry in Georgia lies in traditional markets and these emerging fields. Exciting opportunities are on the horizon, whether it’s sustainable aviation fuel, wood-based construction materials or innovative new uses for timber byproducts. With Georgia being the #1 state to do business and the #1 forestry producing state in the country, I believe our state is uniquely positioned to lead on this emerging market.

    As we continue to work through the challenges and opportunities ahead, I am grateful for the valuable contributions of the experts and industry leaders helping us explore these new possibilities. I’m confident that by embracing innovation and working together, we can create a more sustainable and prosperous future for Georgia’s forestry industry. I look forward to sharing more updates as our committee’s work progresses.

    You can find more information about the committee’s work and upcoming meetings here.

    # # # #

    Sen. John F. Kennedy serves as the President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate. He represents the 18th Senate District which includes Upson, Monroe, Peach, Crawford, as well as portions of Bibb and Houston County. He may be reached at 404.656.6578 or by email at john.kennedy@senate.ga.gov.

    For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: As an ethical hacker, I can’t believe the risks people routinely take when they access the internet in public

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Christopher Patrick Hawkins, Lecturer in Cyber Security and Computer Science, University of Staffordshire

    In the modern world we are all constantly connected, but this comes with risks. As most cybersecurity specialists will tell you, the biggest vulnerability in any system is the user – whether at home or work.

    The most common ways in which hackers break into systems are via attacks on users such as phishing, rather than by breaching technical infrastructure. As much as 94% of all malware is delivered via email, while phishing is the primary means of attack in 41% of all incidents. This risk is also increasing, with 75% of security experts reporting an overall rise in cyberattacks year on year in 2023.

    Many corporate IT teams have been spending heavily on training users to be more wary of such attacks. However, this has tended to focus on best practice in the workplace. In public areas, where people’s guards might be lowered, it’s quite a different story.

    I’ve recently seen several examples of this for myself. As a certified ethical hacker with years of experience in cybersecurity and contributing to cybercriminal investigations, I can’t tell you how easy it is for these kinds of situations to be exploited by bad actors.

    In the first incident, I was in a shop buying some household items. While I queued, staff were asking customers for email addresses to send them e-receipts for their items.

    This might sound innocent, and it’s surely better for the environment than paper receipts, but it could easily be exploited by a savvy hacker who might be listening. Combined with contextual information such as location, item and cost, they could craft a phishing email that would probably fool most people. It could be an invite to complete a feedback survey, for instance, or a discount code for their next visit to the same store.

    On another occasion I was at a live concert. While we waited for the show to begin, an individual in front of me was browsing his phone. From observing for just a short time, I ascertained his name, job, address, vehicle, phone number and even bank balance. Again, this could have been used by a hacker in a number of malicious ways, including posing as the individual to steal their identity or even coercing them to act against their employer, say by threatening to reveal sensitive information.

    We therefore all need to be mindful of the information that we are exposing to strangers when we are in public. Equally, we need to think about what devices we are using, and what we are connecting them to.

    Unsecured network risks

    While at the same concert, I saw numerous people connecting to the stadium wifi, which was totally unprotected and required no authentication. When you log in to an unsecured network, it exposes your device to risks such as evil twin attacks.

    Evil twin attacks involve the attacker creating a wifi hotspot, which can be set to any name they choose, such as “stadium wifi 2” or whatever. When an unprotected device connects to this network, the attacker can potentially steal the data they are transmitting.

    It can also be used for other nefarious purposes such as snooping on confidential networks, injecting malware into downloads or “man-in-the-middle” attacks in which the hacker poses as the other person in a communication, again usually to steal information.

    People can be exposed to similar threats on unsecured networks through another hacking ruse known as packet sniffing. This is where a hacker uses a program to monitor the data moving over the network and steal information.

    Connecting now …
    Alexander Supertramp

    You can avoid these risks by logging in from a virtual private network (VPN), not that I saw anyone doing that at the concert. More generally, people can protect themselves from identity theft by, for instance, having anti-phishing systems in their inboxes.

    However, the easiest defence of all is to be alert to the risks and take sensible precautions in public. By protecting your data and devices, no matter where you are, you can avoid becoming one of the victims.

    Christopher Patrick Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. As an ethical hacker, I can’t believe the risks people routinely take when they access the internet in public – https://theconversation.com/as-an-ethical-hacker-i-cant-believe-the-risks-people-routinely-take-when-they-access-the-internet-in-public-240599

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Tackling the UK’s housing crisis means addressing one key problem: affordability

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Anand, Professor of Economics, The Open University

    Jevanto Productions/Shutterstock

    The UK government has serious ambition when it comes to solving England’s housing crisis. Shortly after the 2024 general election, it pledged to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

    It’s a big plan which could help improve the quality of life of millions of people. But is such an ambitious target plausible? Or has the government created a rod for its own back, and embarked on an economic mission that is doomed to failure?

    For, at the heart of this mission is a political desire to shape the direction of the economy. And to succeed, this desire needs to be matched with a clear understanding of the economic reality at the heart of the UK’s housing crisis – a reality that is all about affordability.

    To be successful, housing policies aimed at helping those on lower incomes need to address this head on. But the government’s emphasis so far has been on “zoning” (allowing houses to be built on land which was previously protected), or speeding up the planning process and tackling nimbyism. All of these factors are distractions from the main and simple point – that too many people simply cannot afford to buy, or even rent, a decent home.

    And while there has been some suggestion that a bigger proportion of new housing projects need to be affordable, details have been scant.

    Instead, most of the talk has been about “greybelt zones”, where planning permission will be granted more easily and quickly to create new opportunities for house building. But it is far from clear this will help to bring down – or even stabilise – the costs of housing.

    Obtaining planning permission is a small fraction of that total cost. And when these permissions are granted, the value of land rises. The landowner makes money, but the hopeful future house buyer or tenant gains nothing, other than the fact there are extra houses on the market.

    Imposing a requirement for higher proportions of affordable housing from building companies might be the single most effective thing the government can do. However, those companies may then increase their margins on the larger houses they plan to sell. And higher prices for bigger homes raises demand – and then prices – for smaller ones.

    If the government wants to tackle the affordability issue by increasing supply, it should note that just over half the costs of new housing are down to expensive construction. The use of modern pre-fabricated methods to help reduce those costs is still relatively low in the UK.

    Sweden uses this approach for over 80% of its new house building, and a faster switch (with government persuasion) to more affordable building methods in the UK could be beneficial.

    An expensive business.
    Clare Louise Jackson/Shutterstock

    More new towns have also been promised. They’re not a bad idea, but building them takes a very long time, so any contribution they make to the housing crisis will take years (decades even) to be seen.

    Local knowledge

    The government has already announced a series of house-building targets for local areas as part of its five-year plan. But this adds a further complication, in a classic example of regional planning being done from Westminster instead of locally. How do they know that these houses will be built where people actually want to live?

    For a good sense of where people do want to live, the government could immediately turn to housing associations – private, non-profit making organisations that already provide low-cost housing to millions. There might be some mileage in seeking to boost their stock by encouraging – and even underwriting – further borrowing by them.

    Typically, housing associations charge significantly lower rents as they are not focused on making a return for shareholders, and their long-term stability attracts lower borrowing costs. If the government’s promised increase in the UK’s housing stock leads to an expansion in the housing association sector, this could make a meaningful contribution to limiting the rents paid by those on lower incomes – and enhancing the potential for them to eventually buy a genuinely affordable home.

    But for many others, the biggest hurdle over the coming years will be mortgage rates. Even if interest rates come down gradually over the next five years, this is unlikely to make much difference to those who cannot afford a mortgage. And it won’t happen quickly enough to conjure up 1.5 million new homeowners in five years.

    It seems doubtful then, that the government will reach its target, however laudible. But if it is to stand a chance, it needs to be thoughtful in its economics. Merely setting targets and expressing frustration when they are not met – as they are unlikely to be – is not enough.

    Paul Anand owns shares in Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Development and Rathbones Global Opportunity Fund.
    He is a professor at the Open University and research associate at Oxford University.

    – ref. Tackling the UK’s housing crisis means addressing one key problem: affordability – https://theconversation.com/tackling-the-uks-housing-crisis-means-addressing-one-key-problem-affordability-239051

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: AG Ferguson files lawsuit against TikTok for harming youth mental health

    Source: Washington State News

    Social media giant accused of designing app to be addictive to young users

    SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that he is suing TikTok for putting profits before the well-being of millions of its most vulnerable users by creating a platform that is addictive to youth. Ferguson’s lawsuit is part of a nationwide bipartisan effort, with 13 other attorneys general filing their own similar lawsuits.

    Specifically, Ferguson’s lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court accuses TikTok of violating the state Consumer Protection Act by targeting youth with features that encourage compulsive and excessive use to get them hooked on the platform. It asserts the social media giant deployed misleading public statements about TikTok’s safety and content moderation practices despite internal research showing the risks to young users.

    A significant portion of the complaint relies on material that TikTok asserts is confidential and has not yet been disclosed. Ferguson is requesting the court unseal that information.

    Research shows that excessive social media use by children and adolescents correlates with increased poor mental health outcomes. That’s especially true for young girls.

    Ferguson asserts that TikTok’s protections for young users are inadequate, despite its public claims of providing a safe, well-moderated experience for them.

    “I am one of the millions of parents across Washington who knows firsthand the hold TikTok and other social media apps have on kids,” Ferguson said. “TikTok is deceiving young people and their parents when it claims to look out for the safety of young users. Platforms like TikTok must be reformed and we know they are unwilling to do so on their own. I will not stop fighting to protect our kids and their mental health.”

    The latest lawsuit against TikTok comes nearly a year after Ferguson filed another, similar lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, along with a bipartisan group of attorneys general. The federal lawsuit accuses Meta of intentionally targeting youth with harmful features designed to get them hooked for life all while publicly downplaying the risks to maximize profits. 

    Like Meta, TikTok’s business model relies on maximizing user engagement. To keep young users coming back to the platform, TikTok designs its algorithms to figure out what types of videos they like and push more of those types of videos to them. TikTok’s “infinite scroll” and autoplay features increase the likelihood that users will stay on the app for an excessive amount of time, which is harmful to youth.

    In short, TikTok intentionally targets youth to keep them on the platform as long as possible without regard for their safety. At the same time, TikTok downplays the risks for its young users. These tactics contradict the company’s public-facing claims that it puts user safety first.

    TikTok intentionally created an addictive platform

    TikTok — one of the most widely used social media apps among teens — created a platform that is addictive to youth. At the same time, TikTok misrepresents to parents and kids that its platform has sufficient safeguards to protect them when it does not.

    TikTok employs an arsenal of harmful, addictive-by-design features specifically targeted and tailored to exploiting, manipulating and capitalizing on young users’ still developing brains, the lawsuit asserts.

    One of those features is “endless” or “infinite” scrolling. Endless scrolling compels young users to spend more time on TikTok by making it difficult for them to disengage, stripping away any natural stopping point or opportunity to turn to a new activity. TikTok claims that its screen time limit for teens mitigates the effects of features like endless scroll, but the limit is not a hard stop. Teens can click through TikTok’s take-a-break reminders and even disable them entirely.

    TikTok also employs push notifications to prolong the time youth spend on the app. The notifications create a sense that youth are missing out on new activity on TikTok.

    TikTok allowed under-13 users to bypass age gate

    Starting in 2019, TikTok split its platform into two levels, a “Kids Mode” and a “full” experience. “Kids Mode” restricts content young users can access, and bars them from uploading content. They also have no access to direct messages and cannot comment on other posts, in addition to other restrictions.

    TikTok uses “age gating” — or screening a user based on their birth date — to prevent underage users from accessing the platform’s full experience.

    However, TikTok knows that many children bypass the age gate, if it’s used at all. TikTok’s age gate depends on children reporting their age. While the age gate may sometimes effectively filter some users under age 13 into “Kids Mode,” TikTok knows that under-13 users are incentivized to and routinely supply a false date of birth to access the full TikTok experience.

    The Pew Research Center reported last year that 63% of all Americans age 13 to 17 used TikTok, and most teenagers in the U.S. report using TikTok daily. According to the research, 17% of teens say that they are on TikTok “almost constantly.”

    In 2020, The New York Times reported that more than one-third of TikTok’s 49 million daily users in the United States were 14 or younger.

    Investigation background

    This lawsuit is the result of a bipartisan, nationwide investigation by state attorneys general that began in 2021. Ferguson joined a bipartisan multistate lawsuit against Meta last year that came out of the same investigation.

    Other attorneys general filing their own individual lawsuits this week include: California, New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Eight other states filed individual lawsuits earlier in the investigation. Those include: Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Utah. 

    The attorneys general are seeking to stop TikTok’s unlawful practices and to force TikTok to implement reforms. Those reforms include strengthening its screen time limiting features for youth, eliminating or placing limits on endless scrolling and improving its “age gating,” or age verification, practices.

    Ferguson is also seeking civil penalties of up to $12,500 per violation, after enhancements, under the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

    Assistant Attorneys General Joe Kanada, Kelsey Burazin, Daniel Allen and Will O’Connor, Paralegals Allison Cleveland, Matt Hehemann, Keri Snider, Jen Killoren and Anne Wallig are handling the case for Washington.

    Social media impacts on youth mental health

    Experts, including the U.S. Surgeon General, agree that excessive social media use by children and adolescents correlates with physical and psychological harms such as higher rates of depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorders. It can also lead to eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and body dysmorphia.

    Social media use can disrupt activities that are essential for health, like sleep and physical activity, depending on the amount of time children spend online.

    According to the Surgeon General, recent research shows that adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety.

    Social media may perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls. One-third or more of girls aged 11-15 say they feel “addicted” to certain social media platforms and over half of teenagers report that it would be hard to give up social media.

    Ferguson’s lawsuit against Meta

    In October 2023, Ferguson and a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general  filed lawsuits accusing Meta, the parent company of the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, of knowingly targeting youth — calling them a “valuable, but untapped” market — with harmful features designed to get them hooked for life to maximize profits.

    The federal lawsuit also alleges that Meta knew young users, including those under 13, were active on the platforms and knowingly collected data from those users without parental consent.   

    The states’ case against Meta is currently being litigated in the Northern District of California.

    -30-

    Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit http://www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

    Media Contact:

    Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; Brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov

    General contacts: Click here

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: KraneShares Man Buyout Beta Index ETF (BUYO) Lists on NYSE: Applying Private Equity Selection Criteria To Public Equities

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Oct. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Krane Funds Advisors, LLC (“KraneShares”), a global asset management firm known for its innovative exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the launch of the KraneShares Man Buyout Beta Index ETF (Ticker: BUYO) on the New York Stock Exchange.

    BUYO seeks to track the performance of the Man Buyout Beta Index, which is designed to apply the key return drivers of PE/buyout funds to public equities. The fund employs a systematic approach to select a portfolio of small to mid-cap stocks from the Russell 2500 Index, targeting industries favored by PE firms and companies that are similar in size and display similar company-specific characteristics as those in traditional PE funds. The BUYO ETF targets companies with the following characteristics:

    1. Belong to sectors favored by PE funds, including Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, and Health Care
    2. Filters for companies with characteristics favored by PE funds, including strong free cash flow yield, higher operating margins, cash discipline (lower CapEx, ability to repay debt), and top-line growth among dozens of other signals

    As a starting point, the Russell 2500 Index without filtering holdings for PE-like return drivers is already highly correlated to the Preqin Private Equity ex-Venture Capital Index, with a 75.3% historical total return correlation since 2008.1 BUYO is designed to potentially have an even greater correlation and deliver a return profile similar to that of traditional buyout funds longer term.

    “BUYO offers investors a unique way to access companies with characteristics that private equity firms find attractive, but with the liquidity and transparency of an ETF,” said Kevin Orr, Managing Director and Head of Strategic Partnerships at KraneShares. “By leveraging Man Group’s research and expertise on buyout target attributes, BUYO aims to capture the potential value creation associated with private equity strategies while remaining fully invested in public equities.”

    “Our research indicates that many of the same methodologies that buyout funds use to target private takeover candidates can be applied to the public equity market to achieve similar results,” said John Lidington, who is a Co-Portfolio Manager covering liquid private equity at Man Numeric, which is acting as sub-advisor to BUYO. “We developed the approach underlying the Man Buyout Beta Index to provide an opportunity to harness the key return drivers powering PE funds, which are typically expensive and have historically been difficult to access for many investors. The approach helps identify potentially undervalued companies that in many cases may become public to private takeout targets in the future.”

    Major endowments typically allocate 20-40% of their portfolios to private equity, with some top institutions like Ivy League Universities reaching as high as 36.7% of their total investment.2 However, historically, there have been high barriers to entry to traditional PE funds, such as long placement and lockup periods and high investment minimums and fees.

    “We believe BUYO offers a compelling solution for various investor profiles,” said Jonathan Shelon, Chief Operating Officer of KraneShares. “BUYO may be appropriate for institutional investors seeking potential liquid beta to the PE buyout asset class while awaiting placement in traditional PE funds. It may also be attractive to investors seeking highly correlated liquid alternative exposure to the PE market or investors looking to diversify their portfolios by implementing a more endowment-like asset allocation that includes a healthy weighting to PE-like strategies.”

    “We are excited to combine Man Numeric’s investment expertise – by acting as a sub-advisor to BUYO – with KraneShares’ ETF product development, marketing, and distribution capabilities,” said Gregory Bond, CEO of Man Numeric.

    KraneShares will host a webinar with John Lidington introducing the KraneShares Man Buyout Beta ETF (Ticker: BUYO) on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. Investors interested in attending the webinar can register here.

    About Man Group

    Man Group is a global alternative investment management firm focused on pursuing outperformance for sophisticated clients via our Systematic, Discretionary and Solutions offerings. Powered by talent and advanced technology, our single and multi-manager investment strategies are underpinned by deep research and span public and private markets, across all major asset classes, with a significant focus on alternatives. Man Group takes a partnership approach to working with clients, establishing deep connections and creating tailored solutions to meet their investment goals and those of the millions of retirees and savers they represent. Headquartered in London, we manage $178.2 billion* and operate across multiple offices globally. Man Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker EMG.LN and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Further information can be found at http://www.man.com.

    *As of 30 June 2024

    About KraneShares

    KraneShares is a specialist investment manager focused on China, Climate, and Alternatives. KraneShares seeks to provide innovative, high-conviction, and first-to-market strategies based on the firm and its partners’ deep investing knowledge. KraneShares identifies and delivers groundbreaking capital market opportunities and believes investors should have cost-effective and transparent tools for attaining exposure to various asset classes. The firm was founded in 2013 and serves institutions and financial professionals globally. The firm is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

    Citations:

    1. Source: Preqin Ltd and analysis by Man Group as of 8/31/2024, correlation calculated from 1/1/2008 to 3/31/2024.
    2. Data from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, “What a Tough Private Equity Environment Could Mean for University Endowments,” as of 7/17/2024.

    Definitions:

    Beta: Beta measures an investment’s volatility relative to the market and is used to quantify its risk. It’s calculated as the slope of a security’s returns regressed against a benchmark market index.

    Index Definitions:

    Preqin Private Equity ex-Venture Capital Index: The Preqin Private Equity ex-Venture Capital Index represents the returns on committed capital in private equity partnerships. It includes the amount of money invested in these partnerships and the returns that outstanding commitments would generate if invested risk-free.

    Carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds’ full and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting: https://kraneshares.com/buyo/. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

    Risk Disclosures: 

    Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that a Fund will achieve its stated objectives. Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.

    This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Certain content represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results; material is as of the dates noted and is subject to change without notice.

    The Underlying Index uses Numeric models in its methodology, which depend on various data sources that may be inaccurate or incomplete, rendering the models potentially unreliable. Historical market data may not predict future price movements, and unusual market events can lead to unexpected outcomes. Models may also have hidden biases and could incur losses if actual events diverge from their assumptions. Additionally, performance may be affected by software issues or programming errors. While the Underlying Index aims to reflect private equity performance and risk like private equity buyout funds, there is no guarantee that public equities will achieve this exposure or that the models will effectively provide it.

    The Fund may invest in derivatives, which are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. A derivative (i.e., futures/forward contracts, swaps, and options) is a contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying asset. The primary risk of derivatives is that changes in the asset’s market value and the derivative may not be proportionate, and some derivatives can have the potential for unlimited losses. Derivatives are also subject to liquidity and counterparty risk. The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, meaning that certain investments may become difficult to purchase or sell at a reasonable time and price. If a transaction for these securities is large, it may not be possible to initiate, which may cause the Fund to suffer losses. Counterparty risk is the risk of loss in the event that the counterparty to an agreement fails to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the derivative.

    The Fund is new and does not yet have a significant number of shares outstanding. If the Fund does not grow in size, it will be at greater risk than larger funds of wider bid-ask spreads for its shares, trading at a greater premium or discount to NAV, liquidation and/or a trading halt. Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. The Fund’s assets are expected to be concentrated in a sector, industry, market, or group of concentrations to the extent that the Underlying Index has such concentrations. The securities or futures in that concentration could react similarly to market developments. Thus, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that affect that concentration. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, investments in smaller companies typically exhibit higher volatility. BUYO is non-diversified.

    ETF shares are bought and sold on an exchange at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. However, shares may be redeemed at NAV directly by certain authorized broker-dealers (Authorized Participants) in very large creation/redemption units. The returns shown do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Beginning 12/23/2020, market price returns are based on the official closing price of an ETF share or, if the official closing price isn’t available, the midpoint between the national best bid and national best offer (“NBBO”) as of the time the ETF calculates the current NAV per share. Prior to that date, market price returns were based on the midpoint between the Bid and Ask price. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

    The KraneShares ETFs and KFA Funds ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Company (SIDCO), 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, which is not affiliated with Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, the Investment Adviser for the Funds, or any sub-advisers for the Funds.

    For media inquiries, please contact: info@kraneshares.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Video: FORGE ON! | U.S. Army

    Source: US Army (video statements)

    : AEMO

    About the U.S. Army:

    The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt & sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.

    Interested in joining the U.S. Army?
    Visit: spr.ly/6001igl5L

    Connect with the U.S. Army online:
    Web: https://www.army.mil
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/
    X: https://www.twitter.com/USArmy
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army
    #USArmy #Soldiers #Military #BCT #Forge #FTX

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_jumS9IfOU

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: 4 foundational ways that AI is transforming government

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: 4 foundational ways that AI is transforming government

    Of the many ways you might measure the potential value of AI on governments, one statistic jumps out. According to Gartner®, 2027 spend on AI software by use case, digital government services, is projected to reach USD41.8 billion in 2027. That tops all other industry sectors, with banking coming in second at USD28.2 billion.1 This represents a significant shift in priorities, as governments recognize the potential of AI to enhance public sector efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement.

    As Microsoft’s global government lead, I am inspired that so many agencies and organizations are not hedging their bets with AI, as was sometimes the case with prior waves (cloud computing and the rise of mobility come to mind). Instead, many governments are taking thoughtful early steps to explore AI and invest in early innovation.

    Microsoft for Government

    Achieve your mission with Microsoft.

    How AI is transforming government IT

    At Microsoft for Government, our job is to help governments make the most of their AI investments with best-in-class solutions that are tailored to their unique needs and brought to life through our global network of technology partners. Since the advent of generative AI in late 2022, we have worked closely with a wide array of agencies and organizations to develop targeted use cases designed to improve everything from citizen services to cybersecurity.

    This level of innovation is even more impressive considering the unique pressures facing governments. Leaders must deliver results within constrained budgets and limited resources, respond to shifts in societies and workforces, and protect some of the most heavily cyber-attacked data and systems in the world.

    Here’s a brief look at four essential areas where AI is helping to empower customers and reshape the impact of government around the world.

    1. Delivering personalized experiences

    Unproductive interactions with automated call centers and outdated websites are the bane of many constituents’ relationships with their government agencies. Well-intended at the core, too many of these services fail to connect with constituents, recognize their needs, and deliver useful information in a timely way.

    Generative AI is revolutionizing these resources with self-service portals and contact centers that provide modern, user-friendly digital experiences. The combination of natural language processing (which enables machines to understand and generate human language), and semantic search (which goes beyond simple keyword matching to comprehend the meaning of a query) makes it possible to readily create chatbots and agents that interact smoothly with people and reason over vast amounts of data to instantly provide solutions.

    An amazing example is a chatbot in India called Jugalbandi, built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Jugalbandi has bridged the nation’s vast linguistic divide by understanding spoken and typed questions, then responding in the user’s local language, all on widely used mobile devices. By covering 10 of India’s 22 official languages and 171 government programs (so far), it makes important information more accessible and reduces cost and friction for constituents and employees alike.

    2. Empowering the government workforce

    Ensuring that employees can focus on meaningful work is key to government success. In public service, many people are motivated by the opportunity to help others and solve important societal challenges. When subpar technology solutions create inefficiencies and cause unintended problems, productivity and morale suffer.

    Government workers, like employees everywhere, welcome services and solutions that reduce friction, keep them connected, and make them more productive. Solutions that use generative AI’s unique predictive analytics and forecasting capabilities can help employees improve their decision-making and overall efficiency.

    In the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) DWEA) built a new Business Requirement Document Generator using Microsoft Azure AI Services that enables employees to enter minimal information and easily generate important documents. Trained on 500 billion parameters, it proactively suggests required information and fills in gaps and other important information. What used to take one week can now be done in one day, including reviews. Complementing the solution, the Authority also boosted productivity by adopting Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is proving invaluable in helping employees to work faster and effectively, notably on research tasks.

    3. Modernizing government operations

    In many organizations and agencies, the journey to cloud computing has been hindered by important considerations unique to government, including cost, security, and a reliance on legacy systems which are often regarded as so critical that they can’t be modernized, despite being slow, complex, and vulnerable. As cloud and AI solutions become more mature and available, however, the barriers to modernization are dropping, while the price of inaction only rises.

    Generative AI’s code generation capabilities (which empower non-developers to readily create AI applications) make it possible to manage critical workloads in the cloud, while gaining new benefits in flexibility, scalability, and resilience across agencies. This can unlock critical data stuck in silos and drive better decision-making for officials who, for example, can make more informed decisions on proposed legislation. Likewise, for citizens, it can turn the process of obtaining a building permit into a productive interaction with a helpful virtual agent, rather than a gauntlet of arcane rules and regulatory snags.

    When Gamle Oslo realized that a district manager needed to log into 25 different systems to find relevant data for the city’s kindergarten services, they decided to build a unified data platform using Microsoft Fabric. The solution collects and analyzes all of the district’s data on housing, employment, health care, and public services, which had formerly been disconnected. Unified data with Fabric has improved many processes and opened the door to new benefits and insights, including setting the stage for new AI innovation.

    4. Securing data and protecting resources

    More than any other industry sector, governments are prime targets for cyberattacks. According to Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report for 2023, 53% of attacks worldwide focused on government organizations and critical infrastructure2. Over the last 18 months, public sector organizations have seen a 150% increase in cyberattacks3 due to the combination of escalating geo-political conflicts and increasing financial motivations.

    This dangerous threat landscape urgently requires governments to improve their ability to safeguard critical systems, enhance data protection, and maintain compliance with a host of regulations. Making the challenge even more difficult for governments is the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity staff. Worldwide, there is a shortage of 4 million cybersecurity professionals4, and the problem can be worse for governments, who often struggle to attract and retain talent.

    Cloud and AI technology can help level the cybersecurity playing field in a number of important ways. First, the Microsoft Cloud platform provides built-in security and resilience, reflecting our commitment to making security and compliance our top priority. Also, our comprehensive security offerings help an organization craft its own strategy using end-to-end products and tools. And finally, Microsoft Copilot for Security uses generative AI to empower security analysts to rapidly assess an organization’s security posture and create actionable insights and solutions at much greater speed than current approaches.

    When the Dominican Republic’s National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) recognized increases in both frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks, they responded by modernizing the government’s information system and in national critical infrastructure. Their comprehensive approach included adopting a variety of Microsoft solutions to monitor, analyze, manage, and respond to cyber threat cases across the country. The benefits of modern cybersecurity were soon evident, as the event correlation system running on Microsoft Sentinel established relationships between indicators of compromise four times faster than earlier approaches.

    See AI in government for yourself

    Beyond these transformational benefits, the explosion of AI innovation in government is also advancing the move to modern cloud and data platforms, which is not only essential for enabling AI but also delivers broader benefits in efficiency, productivity, and security.

    The insights and examples shared here only just scratch the surface of what our customers are creating and learning. We’re discovering new and amazing things on a daily basis, and we invite you to become engaged.

    To see for yourself and learn more:

    • Attend the Microsoft AI Tour—a free, one-day event with experts, industry leaders, and peers to explore how AI can drive growth and create lasting value. Events are happening worldwide through March 2025.
    • Visit us at Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, November 5–7, 2024. I will present on the topic of “Next-Gen Tech Leading the New Urban Era​,” and other Microsoft for Government sessions will be presented by Kathleen Mitford, Kirk Arthur, Jeremy Goldberg, Doug Priest, and Hannah Prior.
    • To discover how the city of Madrid is innovating to become a smarter, more sustainable city, download the new SmartCitiesWorld City Profile. And for a discussion of the new profile, including a new AI-driven virtual assistant, register for a SmartCitiesWorld webinar on October 22, 2024.

    Sources:

    1Gartner, Compare AI Software Spending in the Government Industry, 2023-2027, By Daniel Snyder, James Ingham, Inna Agamirzian, 27 March 2024. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

    2Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023

    3Statista, December 2023

    4ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, November, 2023

    Didier Ongena

    Global Government Lead, Microsoft

    Didier Ongena leads Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector Government team, focused on helping customers realize transformational impact through technology. He and his team help customers address global challenges such as sustainability, mobility, the energy crisis, healthcare, education, and more. They are eager to add value to government agencies worldwide.

    See more articles from this author

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israeli forces are pushing people from north to south Gaza Palestine

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    • In northern Gaza, Palestine, Israeli evacuation orders and strikes are forcing people to flee south.
    • The bombing and evacuations of neighbourhoods in the north are making the area unliveable, with no supplies entering the area for a week.
    • We call on Israel to stop issuing evacuation orders and immediately allow in humanitarian aid.

    Israeli evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza, Palestine, issued on 7 October, are pushing tens of thousands of people to immediately flee south as the area is targeted by airstrikes and a ground offensive. In this latest forced mass displacement, residents of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahia have been urged to move south to the overcrowded, so-called humanitarian zone between Al-Mawasi and Deir Al-Balah, where one million people are already living in inhumane conditions. The zone also remains unsafe for civilians and aid workers, as Israeli forces continue to repeatedly strike the area.

    These forced mass evacuations of homes and bombing of neighbourhoods by the Israeli forces are turning the north of Gaza into an unliveable wasteland, effectively emptying out the whole north of the Strip of Palestinian life. To make matters worse, no humanitarian supplies have been allowed to enter the area since 1 October.

    Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on the Israeli forces to halt evacuation orders, which are causing the forced displacement of people, and to ensure the protection of civilians. They must also allow desperately needed humanitarian supplies to enter the north as a matter of extreme urgency.

    “All of a sudden, I was told that we had to move from the north,” says Mahmoud, an MSF watchman, who left Jabalia at night to find refuge at the MSF guest house in Gaza City. “We left our home in despair, under bombs, missiles and artillery. It was very, very difficult. I would prefer to die than to be displaced to the south; my home is here, and I do not want to leave.”

    Israeli forces also called for the evacuation of the three main hospitals in northern Gaza, namely Indonesian, Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals. These are operating at minimal capacity and have a total of 317 patients still hospitalised, with around 80 people in intensive care and unable to move, according to the Ministry of Health. These three medical facilities, as well as those that remain partially functional across the Strip, must be protected at all costs.  

    The MSF clinic in Gaza City received 255 patients on Sunday and Monday alone, as options for people to access medical care shrink by the day. For some people, accessing the few existing health facilities is impossible; our teams have received reports of wounded people who have died as they were unable to seek medical care.

    Among those facing evacuation orders in the north are seven MSF staff who managed to find shelter in Gaza City. Five others remain blocked in Jabalia, where the Israeli forces are on the ground carrying out attacks.

    “The latest move to forcefully and violently push thousands of people from northern Gaza to the south is turning the north into a lifeless desert, while aggravating the situation in the south, where more than one million people have already been squeezed into a small portion of the Gaza Strip and live in deplorable conditions,” says Sarah Vuylsteke, MSF project coordinator in Gaza.

    “Access to water, healthcare, and safety is already almost non-existent, and the thought of more people fitting into this space is impossible to imagine,” says Vuylsteke. “People have been subjected to endless displacement and relentless bombing for the past 12 months. Enough is enough, this must stop now.”

    While the Israeli authorities have recently declared a minimal expansion of the so-called humanitarian zone, the area remains subject to evacuation orders and is unsafe due to regular Israeli bombardment. Many people living in the zone are suffering from skin diseases and respiratory infections because of the dire conditions. The situation is even more worrying with the approach of winter and the cold temperatures that people will be exposed to.

    Israeli forces must urgently halt evacuation orders in the north of Gaza. The relentless killing of people in Gaza must stop now, and an immediate and sustained ceasefire must be implemented.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Will the Earth warm by 2°C or 5.5°C? Either way it’s bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonny Williams, Climate Scientist, University of Reading

    Getty Images

    Climate change is usually discussed in terms of rising temperatures.

    But scientists often use a different measure, known as “equilibrium climate sensitivity”. This is defined as the global mean warming caused by a doubling of pre-industrial carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere.

    We use this measure to describe the range of potential temperature increases on longer timescales, and to compare how well climate models reproduce observed warming.

    But the predicted range of rising temperature has remained stubbornly wide, somewhere between 2°C and 5.5°C of warming, as assessed in several generations of reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is despite concerted efforts to narrow it down.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has assessed Earth’s climate sensitivity in each of its reports.
    IPCC, CC BY-SA

    Measuring long-term climate sensitivity is central to future predictions, but we are already seeing the effects of warming across the world with extremes in weather, even at the low end of the range. We argue efforts to boil down Earth’s response to climate change to one number may be unhelpful.

    The continued uncertainty could be seen as a failure of climate models to converge on the correct value. Using equilibrium climate sensitivity as a metric for “precisely” predicting the amount of warming expected from a given amount of greenhouse gases is, at best, ambiguous.

    History of climate sensitivity

    About a century before the first computational estimates of Earth’s climate sensitivity were published in 1967, the Swedish physicist and 1903 Nobel laureate Svante August Arrhenius was the first to estimate values at 4-6°C.

    Since the early efforts to model Earth systems, computer simulations have steadily increased in complexity. The first models only simulated the atmosphere, but they have evolved to include vegetation, processes in the ocean and sea ice.

    While undoubtedly beneficial to the understanding of fundamental science, each of these added processes has introduced uncertainties in the models’ warming response.

    Indeed, given the level of complexity (which differs between models) and resolution of some current models, it is not surprising the estimates of climate sensitivity differ so much.

    Self-enforcing feedbacks

    Climate feedbacks are central to our argument that equilibrium climate sensitivity is poorly defined. An example of this is the relationship between ice volume and reflectivity.

    As highly reflective ice melts on land or sea, the underlying surface is exposed and less sunlight reflected back into space. This increases the amount of warming for a given amount of greenhouse gases. It’s what scientists refer to as a positive feedback loop.

    Another such self-enforcing feedback concerns potentially large climate impacts from the release of methane from tropical wetlands and permafrost melt.

    Atmosphere models can’t account for this alone, and when they are coupled with an ice-sheet or sea-ice model, the estimate of climate sensitivity changes.

    Melting permafrost, such as seen here on Svalbard, represents a climate feedback loop, increasing the amount of warming for a given amount of greenhouse gases.
    Getty Images

    Overheated arguments

    It quickly became apparent when studying some recent climate model results that some simulations are producing equilibrium climate sensitivity ranges noticeably higher than before.

    In some models, this has been linked to larger self-enhancing cloud feedbacks and how aerosols are represented.

    There has been some hesitancy to trust the results produced by these models. They are considered “too hot”.

    But we feel these high equilibrium simulations still have value. While we are not arguing they are correct, they force us to consider the what-if situation of very high climate sensitivity, where a doubling of CO₂ would result in warming of 5°C or higher. We know the impact on our environment would be devastating.

    Some view high equilibrium climate sensitivity as more consistent with warmer climates in the past, but others have questioned this.

    There are several reasons why past climate sensitivity may differ from modern conditions. We may be in a different phase of Earth’s orbital cycles or the balance between volcanism and weathering.

    Of course, we should treat all scientific results with caution, but the potential insights gained for uncertain futures are of particular importance when climate change is already being felt across the globe.

    Where to from here?

    We are continually improving our understanding of the climate – how it has changed in the past and how we think it may change in the future. Equilibrium climate sensitivity has consequently become the single solution we are seeking from climate models, even though the precise value will arguably never be known.

    Equilibrium climate sensitivity is undoubtedly a convenient way of distilling future projections. However, it is important not to over-rely on an idealised quantity, because its utility as a useful comparative measure of climate models can give the false impression of a lack of progress in understanding.

    There is similarity with the common misconception of a 50% probability of rainfall in a weather forecast, which is often misinterpreted as forecasters not knowing whether it will rain or not.

    Communicating uncertainty in projections of future climate conditions is a “wicked” problem. But we risk losing perspective of Earth’s system response by focusing on the effort to make climate models agree on one measure. This is not the answer future generations need.

    Jonny Williams receives funding from the Deep South National Science Challenge.

    Georgia Rose Grant receives funding from MBIE Strategic Science Investment Fund.

    – ref. Will the Earth warm by 2°C or 5.5°C? Either way it’s bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction – https://theconversation.com/will-the-earth-warm-by-2-c-or-5-5-c-either-way-its-bad-and-trying-to-narrow-it-down-may-be-a-distraction-229497

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Derivio Launches “Play-to-Earn” Telegram DApp, Integrating Social Engagement and Gameplay

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Community-driven Deeno game released on October 8th

    KINGSTOWN, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Oct. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Derivio, a trading-centric consumer blockchain backed by Binance Labs, officially launched its Telegram game on October 8, 2024. The game introduces Deeno, a character designed to drive user interaction through social media and community tasks.

    Players start by claiming an egg that will eventually hatch into Deeno. To progress, players complete tasks such as sharing social media content and engaging with the Derivio community. These activities earn players the “Power of Faith,” which strengthens the egg and accelerates the hatching process. Once hatched, Deeno can be leveled up through additional quests, with users unlocking more rewards through mini-games, including a gold miner challenge.

    Derivio’s Telegram game incorporates both gameplay and community interaction with the satisfaction of achieving rewards. By participating, players unlock resources and level up their character, with further opportunities for bonuses and exclusive rewards provided by Derivio and its partners.

    Game Launch Details

    Derivio’s Telegram game launched on Oct. 8. The game aims to foster interaction within the community through a blend of simple tasks and mini-games, encouraging continued engagement.

    About Derivio

    Derivio is a trading-centric blockchain focused on consumer-facing products, offering tools designed to enhance accessibility for everyday users. The platform’s products, including its Perpetual Exchange and Prediction Markets, aim to provide a secure, high-performance, and user-friendly experience. Derivio also uses cryptographic techniques like Fully Homomorphic Encryption to enhance security in its decentralized trading ecosystem.

    Game Access: @DerivioBot

    Website: https://derivio.xyz/
    X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/derivio_xyz
    Discord: https://discord.gg/xDVqEAXPwj

    Contact:
    Michel ho
    m@derivio.xyz

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Derivio. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/61c28de8-2e4d-4b19-9578-f58bc676832b

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Jackery Offers Exclusive Amazon Prime Day Special on the E2000v2 Solar Generator – the Lightest, Smallest 2kWh LFP Battery Backup Power of its Class

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FREMONT, Calif., Oct. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Jackery, the global leader in solar generators and portable energy solutions, is gearing up for Amazon Prime Day with an unbeatable offer on its latest innovation, the Jackery Explorer 2000v2, starting October 8. This compact, next-generation solar generator is now available for a special low price, with exclusive bundles and a free gift opportunity for early shoppers.

    During Amazon’s Prime Day from October 8 to October 9, those in the market for reliable and green backup power can take advantage of the following exclusive deals on Jackery’s E2000v2 series:

    • E2000v2: $999 (down from $1,499), delivering incredible value for home essential backup or outdoor use.
    • E2000v2 with two 200W Solar Panels: Bundle available for just $1599, providing a complete renewable power solution for emergency preparedness or off-grid adventures.

    With the winter season fast approaching, the E2000v2 solar generator is an ideal choice for anyone looking to safeguard against potential power outages. No installation is required, making it a hassle-free backup power solution that can be deployed instantly during emergencies.

    The Jackery Explorer 2000v2 Highlights:

    • Lightest, Smallest LFP 2kWh Power Station: the E2000v2 is the most compact solution of its class, featuring a robust 2200W output and a 4400W surge capacity, perfect for high-demand appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, or power tools.
    • Enhanced Charging Speed: With the capability to recharge in just two hours, the E2000v2 offers convenience and reliability, ensuring you stay powered during emergencies or on the go.
    • Versatile Power Options: Featuring multiple outlets and USB-A/USB-C ports, the E2000v2 can power everything from vital home electronics to smaller devices, making it a flexible solution for any situation.
    • Eco-Friendly: Unlike traditional gas generators, the E2000v2 can be paired with solar panels to harness clean, renewable energy, perfect for both outdoor use and indoor backup power needs.

    Don’t miss out on Jackery’s best deals of the year. For more details, visit Jackery.com and be on the lookout for additional deals on Jackery’s Amazon Storefront from October 8-9, 2024.

    About Jackery
    Founded in California in 2012, Jackery is the world’s leading provider of innovative solar generators and off-grid green energy solutions. As a global top-selling solar generator brand, Jackery is driven by its mission to “Bring Green Energy to All.” By integrating with Geneverse in 2024, Jackery has expanded its product offerings and is able to deliver a comprehensive range of energy solutions, from portable solar generators for outdoor use to whole-home backup systems, furthering its commitment to making green energy accessible for all. Jackery has consistently fulfilled its social responsibility on a global scale, maintaining long-term partnerships with global public welfare organizations such as WWF, NFF, and IRC. Through these collaborations, Jackery continues to contribute to global sustainable development and other public welfare initiatives, reinforcing its dedication to creating a greener, more sustainable future.

    Jackery@icrinc.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f058dae-9741-49d1-ba73-89e1bed05246

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Security News: Bob Dean Jr. and Affiliated Corporate Entities Agree to $8.2M Consent Judgment to Resolve Allegations of Financial Misconduct Stemming from Evacuation of Nursing Homes During Hurricane Ida

    Source: United States Department of Justice 2

    Bob Dean Jr. and several companies that he owned and operated have agreed to an $8.2 million consent judgment to resolve allegations that they violated the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA), by misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), are Maison De’Ville Nursing Home in Houma; Maison De’Ville Nursing Home in Harvey; Maison Orleans Healthcare in New Orleans; and West Jefferson Health Care Center in Harvey.

    The FHA, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides mortgage insurance on loans that cover residential care facilities, such as nursing homes, pursuant to the NHA. To encourage lenders to make loans to such facilities, FHA mortgage insurance provides lenders with protection against losses that result from borrowers defaulting on their mortgage loans. To obtain such FHA-insured loans, loan recipients must enter into regulatory agreements with the FHA that provide, among other requirements, that the assets and income of an FHA-insured nursing home may only be spent on goods and services that are reasonable and necessary to the operation of the nursing home. The NHA permits the United States to recover twice the amount of any assets and income of FHA-insured nursing homes that were improperly distributed or misspent.

    In 2023, the government filed a complaint against Dean and his corporate entities alleging that they misspent the nursing homes’ assets and income. The United States alleged that in the five years leading up to Hurricane Ida, Dean funneled money that should have been used to prepare an evacuation site for nursing home residents to his personal bank accounts, leaving his nursing homes — and, more importantly, the nursing homes’ residents — unprepared for a hurricane. As a result, when Hurricane Ida made landfall in August 2021, the residents of Dean’s nursing homes had to ride out the storm in an overcrowded and ill-prepared industrial warehouse Dean owned through a corporate entity. The United States alleged that at Dean’s evacuation center, his nursing homes’ residents languished in squalor and did not receive adequate care, leading to the Louisiana Department of Health evacuating the nursing home residents from Dean’s warehouse and revoking Dean’s nursing homes’ licenses. The United States further alleged that, following the hurricane, Dean did not use the homes’ income and assets solely to operate or maintain the nursing homes, but instead to purchase personal goods and services, including antiques, firearms and cars.

    “This settlement demonstrates the department’s continuing commitment to holding accountable those who put their own financial gain over the needs of our nation’s seniors,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to take action to protect the integrity of federal programs designed to ensure that nursing home residents, who are among our most vulnerable citizens, receive appropriate care.”

    “As the residents of Louisiana well know, hurricanes and natural disasters can devastate people’s lives,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr for the Middle District of Louisiana. “Nursing home operators like Mr. Dean have an obligation to protect their residents during such events, particularly if they are going to rely on federal programs to support or sustain their businesses. This settlement will ensure that those individuals charged with caring for our community’s most vulnerable residents take seriously their duty to have proper safeguards and plans in place to avoid tragedies like the one we saw in Independence, Louisiana, after Hurricane Ida.”

    “Nursing home providers have obligations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents entrusted to their care,” said HUD General Counsel Damon Smith. “Owners of FHA-insured nursing homes should be on notice that we will hold them accountable when we learn of allegations that they have failed to meet those obligations.”

    “By the time Hurricane Ida bore down on the vulnerable nursing home residents at properties operated by Mr. Dean, he illegally skimmed funding from those facilities and failed to maintain sanitation and adequately equip the warehouse he designated as the evacuation site,” said HUD Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis. “He unfairly enriched himself while residents under his charge endured horrid conditions including insufficient food and medical care. HUD OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold accountable those who misappropriate funds at the expense of vulnerable populations.”

    The Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana handled the case, with substantial assistance from HUD and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. Trial Attorneys Christopher Reimer and Samuel Robins of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Davis Rhorer Jr. and Chase Zachary for the Middle District of Louisiana handled the matter.

    The United States’ complaint stemmed from an investigation that the Justice Department initiated as part of its Elder Justice Initiative, which supports the efforts of state and local prosecutors, law enforcement and other elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, with the development of training, resources and information. Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

    The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Republicans once championed immigration in the US. Now, under Trump, an ugly nativism has been normalised

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prudence Flowers, Senior Lecturer in US History, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University

    It might seem surprising today in the era of Donald Trump, but Republicans in the United States once championed immigration and supported pathways to citizenship for undocumented Americans.

    In January 1989, Ronald Reagan’s final speech as president was an impassioned ode to the immigrants who made America “a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas”.

    Contrast this with Trump, who has normalised dehumanising rhetoric and policies against immigrants. In this year’s presidential campaign, for instance, he has referred to undocumented immigrants as “animals” who are “poisoning the blood of our country”.

    Both Trump and his vice presidential running mate, JD Vance, also repeated a false story about Haitian “illegal aliens” eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

    Perhaps most troubling, Trump has pledged to launch “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country”, if he’s elected.

    Immigration policies throughout history

    Nativism, or anti-immigrant sentiment, has a long history in American politics.

    In 1924, a highly restrictive immigration quota system based on racial and national origins was introduced. This law envisaged America as a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant nation.

    However, there was no restriction on immigrants from the Western Hemisphere. The agricultural and railroad sectors relied heavily on workers from Mexico.

    In 1965, the quota system was replaced by visa preference categories for family and employment-based migrants, along with refugee and asylum slots.

    Then, as violence and economic instability spread across Central America in the 1970s, there was a surge in undocumented immigration to the US.

    Scholar Leo Chavez argues that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, an alarmist “Latino threat narrative” became the dominant motif in media discussions of immigration.

    This narrative was frequently driven by Republican politicians in states on the US-Mexico border, who derived electoral advantage from amplifying voter anxieties.

    The growing popularity of this negative discourse coincided with a significant increase in income inequality – a byproduct of neo-liberal policies championed by Reagan and other Republicans.



    Read more:
    Before Trump, there was a long history of race-baiting, fear-mongering and building walls on the US-Mexico border

    A dramatic shift in Republican rhetoric

    In the early-to-mid 20th century, Democrats were often the party that supported restrictive immigration and border policies.

    However, most Republicans at the national level – strongly supported by business – tended to endorse policies that encouraged the easy flow of workers across the border and increased levels of legal immigration.

    Prominent conservative Republicans also rejected vilifying rhetoric towards undocumented Americans. They presented all immigrants as pursuing opportunities for their families, a framing that emphasised a shared vision of the American dream. In this telling, their labour contributed to the economy and America’s growth and prosperity.

    George H. W. Bush And Ronald Reagan debate immigration in a Republican primary debate in 1980.

    Reagan, the most influential conservative of the late 20th century, opposed erecting a border wall and supported amnesty over deportation.

    Reagan also strongly supported bipartisan immigration reform. In 1986, Congress passed an immigration act that increased border security funding, but also ensured 2.7 million undocumented immigrants, primarily of Latino background, were able to gain legal status.

    Twenty years later, President George W. Bush and Republican Senator John McCain lobbied for a bipartisan bill that would have tightened border enforcement while simultaneously “legalising” an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. It was narrowly defeated.

    This vocal support for immigrants by leading Republicans was striking because for much of the period between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, a majority of Americans actually wanted immigration levels reduced.

    Then, around 2009, a dramatic shift in political rhetoric took place. The Tea Party movement brought border security and “racial resentment” towards immigrants centre stage, challenging conservative Republicans from the populist right.

    As a result, more and more Republicans began to voice restrictionist and xenophobic rhetoric and support legislation aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.

    What’s surprising, though, is the number of undocumented immigrants in the US was actually declining at this time, from 12.2 million in 2007 to 10.7 million in 2016.

    Donald Trump and the new nativism

    In this worsening anti-immigrant climate, Trump descended a golden escalator in mid-2015 to launch his presidential campaign.

    In his speech that day, immigration was front and centre. Trump vowed to “build a great wall” and accused Mexico of sending “rapists” and “criminals” to America.

    His speeches during the presidential campaign were marked by frequent anti-Mexican assertions and calls for Islamophobic visa policies. This hostile stance on immigration was central to his victory in both the Republican primaries and the general election against Hillary Clinton.

    Once in office, Trump then adopted a “zero tolerance” stance towards undocumented immigration. His administration pursued a heartrending family separation policy that split children and their undocumented parents at the border. This approach was celebrated on conservative media outlets such as Fox News.

    During his presidency, he also reduced legal immigration by almost half, drastically cut America’s refugee intake, and introduced bans on people from Muslim-majority countries.

    Policy expert David Bier concluded the goal of Republican lawmakers had shifted:

    It really looks like the entire debate about illegality is not the main issue anymore for Republicans in both chambers of Congress. The main goal seems to be to reduce the number of foreigners in the United States to the greatest extent possible.

    Indeed, Trump’s vision of the nation had overtly racial overtones.

    In one 2018 meeting, he asked why America should accept immigrants from “shithole countries” like Haiti, El Salvador or the African continent. His preference was for Norwegian migrants.

    Immigration as a major election theme

    From 2021–2023, undocumented US-Mexico border crossings surged due to natural disasters, economic downturns and violence in many Latin American and Caribbean nations. Many of the recent arrivals are asylum seekers.

    Though the numbers have fallen sharply in 2024, immigration and the border are still one of the top issues for voters across the political spectrum. The issue is particularly important in the key swing state of Arizona.

    In 2024, Trump’s central immigration promise was encapsulated by the beaming delegates waving signs calling for “Mass Deportations Now” at the Republican National Convention.

    The Trump-Vance ticket has blamed undocumented immigrants for almost every economic and social problem imaginable. The two candidates present them as a dangerous and subversive “other” that cannot be assimilated into mainstream American culture.

    Yet Trump, as both president and candidate, has worked to prevent the passage of border security legislation. Turmoil on the border benefits him.

    And his nativism now encompasses all forms of immigration – he has pledged to curb legal channels for people to enter the country, as well.

    All of this rhetoric has had a dramatic impact on public opinion. Between 2016 and 2024, the number of people supporting the deportation of undocumented immigrants jumped from 32% to 47%.

    In July 2024, 55% of Americans also said they wanted to see immigration levels decrease, a 14-point increase in one year.

    Many Americans do not perceive immigration as a source of vitality and renewal as they had in the past. Instead, reflecting Trump’s language, they are viewing immigrants as an existential threat to the country’s future.

    Prudence Flowers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Republicans once championed immigration in the US. Now, under Trump, an ugly nativism has been normalised – https://theconversation.com/republicans-once-championed-immigration-in-the-us-now-under-trump-an-ugly-nativism-has-been-normalised-239836

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bob Dean Jr. and Affiliated Corporate Entities Agree to $8.2M Consent Judgment to Resolve Allegations of Financial Misconduct Stemming from Evacuation of Nursing Homes During Hurricane Ida

    Source: US State of California

    Bob Dean Jr. and several companies that he owned and operated have agreed to an $8.2 million consent judgment to resolve allegations that they violated the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA), by misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), are Maison De’Ville Nursing Home in Houma; Maison De’Ville Nursing Home in Harvey; Maison Orleans Healthcare in New Orleans; and West Jefferson Health Care Center in Harvey.

    The FHA, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides mortgage insurance on loans that cover residential care facilities, such as nursing homes, pursuant to the NHA. To encourage lenders to make loans to such facilities, FHA mortgage insurance provides lenders with protection against losses that result from borrowers defaulting on their mortgage loans. To obtain such FHA-insured loans, loan recipients must enter into regulatory agreements with the FHA that provide, among other requirements, that the assets and income of an FHA-insured nursing home may only be spent on goods and services that are reasonable and necessary to the operation of the nursing home. The NHA permits the United States to recover twice the amount of any assets and income of FHA-insured nursing homes that were improperly distributed or misspent.

    In 2023, the government filed a complaint against Dean and his corporate entities alleging that they misspent the nursing homes’ assets and income. The United States alleged that in the five years leading up to Hurricane Ida, Dean funneled money that should have been used to prepare an evacuation site for nursing home residents to his personal bank accounts, leaving his nursing homes — and, more importantly, the nursing homes’ residents — unprepared for a hurricane. As a result, when Hurricane Ida made landfall in August 2021, the residents of Dean’s nursing homes had to ride out the storm in an overcrowded and ill-prepared industrial warehouse Dean owned through a corporate entity. The United States alleged that at Dean’s evacuation center, his nursing homes’ residents languished in squalor and did not receive adequate care, leading to the Louisiana Department of Health evacuating the nursing home residents from Dean’s warehouse and revoking Dean’s nursing homes’ licenses. The United States further alleged that, following the hurricane, Dean did not use the homes’ income and assets solely to operate or maintain the nursing homes, but instead to purchase personal goods and services, including antiques, firearms and cars.

    “This settlement demonstrates the department’s continuing commitment to holding accountable those who put their own financial gain over the needs of our nation’s seniors,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to take action to protect the integrity of federal programs designed to ensure that nursing home residents, who are among our most vulnerable citizens, receive appropriate care.”

    “As the residents of Louisiana well know, hurricanes and natural disasters can devastate people’s lives,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr for the Middle District of Louisiana. “Nursing home operators like Mr. Dean have an obligation to protect their residents during such events, particularly if they are going to rely on federal programs to support or sustain their businesses. This settlement will ensure that those individuals charged with caring for our community’s most vulnerable residents take seriously their duty to have proper safeguards and plans in place to avoid tragedies like the one we saw in Independence, Louisiana, after Hurricane Ida.”

    “Nursing home providers have obligations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents entrusted to their care,” said HUD General Counsel Damon Smith. “Owners of FHA-insured nursing homes should be on notice that we will hold them accountable when we learn of allegations that they have failed to meet those obligations.”

    “By the time Hurricane Ida bore down on the vulnerable nursing home residents at properties operated by Mr. Dean, he illegally skimmed funding from those facilities and failed to maintain sanitation and adequately equip the warehouse he designated as the evacuation site,” said HUD Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis. “He unfairly enriched himself while residents under his charge endured horrid conditions including insufficient food and medical care. HUD OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold accountable those who misappropriate funds at the expense of vulnerable populations.”

    The Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana handled the case, with substantial assistance from HUD and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. Trial Attorneys Christopher Reimer and Samuel Robins of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Davis Rhorer Jr. and Chase Zachary for the Middle District of Louisiana handled the matter.

    The United States’ complaint stemmed from an investigation that the Justice Department initiated as part of its Elder Justice Initiative, which supports the efforts of state and local prosecutors, law enforcement and other elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, with the development of training, resources and information. Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

    The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Alert 24-8 – Dropped Object – Mud Hose Lifting Collar Insert

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: Alert 24-8 – Dropped Object – Mud Hose Lifting Collar Insert

    A new mud (Kelly, Rotary) hose assembly was installed in the derrick during Special Periodic Survey (SPS). During the yard stay multiple Dropped Object Prevention Scheme (DROPS) inspections were performed in the derrick by rig crew & a 3rd Party rope access team. The rig sailed to location and completed three off 17-1/2” top hole sections. During drilling of the top hole sections, multiple DROPS inspections were performed by the rig crew. On commencement of casing running in the first hole, one half of the hose lifting collar insert (ref Fig 2) detached from the hose assembly end connected to the top drive and fell to drill floor landing within the red zone….

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: BATVN publishes an overview of the Canadian repo market

    Source: Bank of Canada

    Today, the Bankers’ Acceptance Transition Virtual Network (BATVN), established by the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum (CFIF) to support the transition away from BAs, published an overview of the Canadian repo market. This informational paper provides background information on the Canadian repo market and highlights that repos could be a viable BA replacement for some investors and that the disappearance of BAs could potentially be an important catalyst to help develop a tri-party repo market in Canada.

    This paper does not, and is not intended to, constitute investment or legal advice. It is provided for general information purposes only.

    To further help with this effort and bring more transparency to a core Canadian funding market, the Bank of Canada, in collaboration with the Collateral Infrastructure and Market Practices Advisory Group (CIMPA) published the Canadian Repo Market Fact Sheet. This report provides statistics on trading activity in the Canadian repo market.

    About CFIF

    The Canadian Fixed-Income Forum (Forum) is a senior level industry-wide committee established by the Bank of Canada to discuss developments in fixed-income market structure and functioning, market practices, and related policy issues. The goals of the Forum are to:

    • enhance the efficiency and resilience of the Canadian fixed-income market;
    • improve the quality, clarity and market-wide understanding of Canadian fixed-income trading practices;
    • evaluate and propose changes to market infrastructure;
    • communicate any recommendations and analysis to oversight authorities, regulators, industry groups and other market participants as needed.

    The Forum will not discuss monetary policy or policy issues directly relating to the size and distribution of the federal government’s debt programme which are covered through other fora.

    About the BATVN

    The BA Transition Virtual Network consists of members from close to 30 institutions, primarily representing the major buy-side investors active in BAs. Members include insurance companies, pension funds, money market funds, the major BA issuing banks and their dealers, as well as other relevant stakeholders. Member institutions account for approximately 60% of end-investor BA purchases.

    About CIMPA

    The Collateral Infrastructure and Market Practices Advisory Group (CIMPA) is an industry-wide working group created under CFIF to promote the well-functioning of the Canadian securities and financing markets through improved operational efficiency, reduced market segmentation and industry coordination on related issues and initiatives. The goals of the working group are to:

    • improve interconnectedness, standardization, and automation of securities flows;
    • support market functioning through promotion of best practices for clearing, settlement, margining and risk management;
    • facilitate broad adoption of the recently introduced Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS), Canada’s first tri-party service launched by TMX and Clearstream;
    • provide an information hub on Canadian collateral developments;
    • build consensus on relevant issues.

    Market inquiries:

    CFIF Secretariat
    Financial Markets Department
    Bank of Canada
    613‑782‑7913

    Media Relations
    Bank of Canada

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Alert 24-7 – Lifting Incident on Pipe Deck

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: Alert 24-7 – Lifting Incident on Pipe Deck

    Whilst the deck crew were engaged in heli-deck operations, a 3rd Party Inspector disembarked from the chopper and received an onboarding induction. The 3rd Party Inspector was shown to the pipe deck where completion tools were located awaiting function testing and thread inspection. Several minutes later the deck crew returned to the pipe deck to continue transferring 7” joints of casing from the pipe deck to the catwalk machine using the knuckle boom crane and gripper yoke….

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Longtime Department of Veterans Affairs Supervising Engineer Convicted at Trial of Defrauding the Agency of Nearly $1 Million

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    For Years, Defendant Directed Projects, Contracts to Shell Company Set Up With His Paramour

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Ahmed Hassan, 70, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, was convicted today by a federal jury on 22 counts of wire fraud arising from Hassan’s misuse of his position as a federal employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“the VA”) to defraud the agency of nearly $1 million over a seven-year period.

    As proven at trial, Hassan was a trusted supervisory engineer at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (“VAMC”) in Philadelphia. In that position, Hassan was responsible for all mechanical and large HVAC systems at VAMC and was further charged with overseeing and implementing contracts in his area of responsibility.

    From approximately 2013 through October 2017, Hassan schemed to defraud the VA by drafting and submitting for payment, false invoices of a company called HT Mechanical. Unbeknownst to VAMC management, and in violation of Hassan’s duties to the VA, HT Mechanical was nothing but a shell that Hassan had secretly set up with his paramour, Lynn Hanrahan[1] — a social worker with no knowledge of, or expertise in, HVAC or mechanical systems — in order to carry out the scheme.

    For years, the defendant made up fake work, drafted false invoices on HT Mechanical letterhead, submitted them for payment to the VA under the VA purchase card program and lied to the VA, claiming that the work had been done, when the so-called jobs did not exist. and no work was done. After the VA made payment to HT Mechanical on the defendant’s say so, Hanrahan returned money to the defendant, either by check or by giving the defendant envelopes of cash.

    Hassan is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2025. He faces a maximum possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each count on which he was convicted.

    “For the better part of a decade, for his own benefit, Ahmed Hassan siphoned almost a million dollars from Philadelphia’s VA Medical Center,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “In misusing his position to do so, he betrayed his colleagues, U.S. taxpayers, and, most egregiously, the veterans the VA serves. My office and our partners will bring to justice anyone padding their pockets like this at the federal government’s expense.”

    The case was investigated by Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Megan Curran and Assistant United States Attorney Mary Crawley.

    [1] Hanrahan was charged in a related scheme, pleaded guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King Urges Thorough Review of Department of Defense Reserve Suicide Prevention Efforts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), has written a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro urging the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to begin work on a report that reviews suicide prevention matters of the reserve component of the Department of Defense (DOD). The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the GAO to conduct a review of suicide prevention and response policies for reserve personnel, and the extent to which the DOD and military services have coordinated these policies at the federal, state and local levels. Senator King’s letter comes just weeks ahead of the first anniversary of the Lewiston shooting that was carried out by an Army reservist, who failed to receive adequate mental health care.
    Over one-third of U.S. military service members serve in the reserve component, which provides trained units and qualified personnel in times of war or national emergency, or to fill the needs of the Armed Forces whenever more units and personnel are needed. In 2023, the DOD reported that the suicide rate among reserve component personnel was generally similar to that of the U.S. population. However, reserve component personnel offices often have limited access to military suicide prevention resources.
    “It has been nearly a year since Sergeant First Class (SFC) Robert Card II committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history, killing 18 and wounding 13 on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Since the tragedy, multiple press reports, investigations by the Army, and the Governor of Maine’s special commission have revealed troubling matters. I urge you to consider these investigations and to meet with all stakeholders as you conduct your review,” wrote Senator King.
    “Service members in reserve status are critical to our Armed Forces and represent nearly one-third of the total force. I am concerned that they experience limited access to military-supported suicide prevention resources. Authorities can be confusing and blurred for service members including commanders at all echelons. Effective coordination between unit commanders and local authorities is misunderstood, yet it is critical to ensuring public safety and that service members receive the care that is needed,” continued Senator King.
    Representing one of the states with the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. He has been among the Senate’s most prominent voices on the need to address veterans suicide, and has repeatedly pressed for action from top Department of Defense officials on this issue. Most recently, at the request of Senator King, the Department of Defense (DoD) released a new report breaking down suicide rates in the Armed Service by job function. Additionally, he recently wrote a letter urging further investments in traumatic brain injury research, the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that has unfortunately led to a high number of veteran suicides. This past August, he introduced legislation to provide safe firearm storage for veterans in an effort to reduce suicides.
    The full text of the letter can be found here or below.
    +++
    Dear Mr. Dodaro:
    I am writing to bring to your attention my interest regarding a requirement for you to conduct a review of suicide prevention matters for the Department of Defense. Senate Report 118-188 accompanying the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4368) requires you to review suicide prevention and response for the reserve component of the United States military. I worked closely with Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Wicker to include this requirement. I request to be updated regarding your work and appreciate you treating it with the utmost urgency.
    It has been nearly a year since Sergeant First Class (SFC) Robert Card II committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history, killing 18 and wounding 13 on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Since the tragedy, multiple press reports, investigations by the Army, and the Governor of Maine’s special commission have revealed troubling matters. I urge you to consider these investigations and to meet with all stakeholders as you conduct your review. I applaud Governor Mills’ leadership in establishing the “Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston”. I request you review the findings from the Commission and Army investigations as you formulate recommendations. I further request that, if there are additional authorities or resources needed, you identify those in your report and consider including legislative proposals to address those gaps.
    Service members in reserve status are critical to our Armed Forces and represent nearly one-third of the total force. I am concerned that they experience limited access to military-supported suicide prevention resources. Authorities can be confusing and blurred for service members including commanders at all echelons. Effective coordination between unit commanders and local authorities is misunderstood, yet it is critical to ensuring public safety and that service members receive the care that is needed.
    Thank you for the significant work you and your team conduct, and for your continued efforts to inform Congress and assist me in oversight and legislative changes. Please let me know how my staff and I may be of assistance in this matter.  
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Press Release: FDIC Extends Comment Period on Request for Information on Deposits

    Source: US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC

    CategoriesBusiness, Commerce, MIL-OSI, United States Federal Government, United States Government, United States of America, US Commerce, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC, US Federal Government, US Insurance Sector, USA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Highlights Stamford’s Kibu As “Innovator Of The Month”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    October 08, 2024

    HARTFORD–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Tuesday that Kibu, a disability provider platform based in Stamford, was named “Innovator of the Month.” Kibu provides high-impact online content to support and empower people with disabilities, including classes in fitness, life skills, community engagement and professional development. The company also connects disability providers with tools for data management, note taking, and attendance.

    “Our communities are strongest when every person has the resources to achieve their full potential. Kibu’s online platform is transforming lives by breaking down barriers for people with disabilities, helping people become more independent, and giving service providers the tools they need to make a real impact. I’m proud to recognize Kibu’s important contributions to fostering a more inclusive future for our state, and I look forward to seeing all that they accomplish,” said Murphy.

    “Kibu is built on the belief that innovation starts with understanding the unique challenges that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face every day. By providing tools that empower both individuals and organizations, we’re helping to create a future where technology closes gaps, rather than creating them. It’s exciting to be innovating right here in Connecticut, where the community and ecosystem truly support the growth of businesses that make an impact,” said Daniel Caridi, CEO of Kibu.

    Daniel Caridi began volunteering for this community shortly after graduating college in 2019, formally launching the Kibu platform in 2022. Today, Kibu works with disability providers across 26 states.

    Murphy believes entrepreneurship and innovation are the building blocks for a strong economy. In the U.S. Senate, he has introduced legislation to incentivize angel investors to put more money into startup companies—the Angel Tax Credit Act and the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act. Startup companies create an average of 2 million jobs each year.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Introduces New Bill to Examine Risks of AI in National Defense Systems, Strengthen U.S. Ethical Tech Leadership 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Commerce Committee,introduced the Artificial Intelligence Weapons Accountability and Risk Evaluation (AWARE) Act, legislation to bolster the U.S. Department of Defense’s ethical technology leadership and transparency regarding AI-enabled defense systems. The legislation requires the Pentagon to report to Congress on risk assessments of the use of AI in our defense systems, including the accuracy, cybersecurity and privacy risks, and potential for civilian harm. These risk assessments must also include what AI systems have been exported to, or used by, foreign entities. 
    “We know that AI-enabled weapons are exacerbating harm to civilians in warzones, and without effective oversight these systems could dangerously reshape our future. The United States has an obligation as a leader in AI innovation to also lead in AI ethics. We must be ready to answer questions about accuracy, security, privacy, and harm when we use AI-enabled weapons—and we need better data to do that,” said Sen. Welch. 
    The AWARE Act will: 

    Create a risk assessment process that minimally evaluates the following criteria: bias, bias towards escalation, dependability, cybersecurity, privacy, and risk of civilian harm; 
    Apply the aforementioned risk assessment to any AI-enabled weapons, targeting, or decision support systems (that directly support weapons or targeting systems); 
    Require the Department of Defense to conduct an annual risk assessment of all covered systems, and conduct a new risk assessment when there are technology procurements, the weapons review process is initiated, or there is an update to an underlying AI model;  
    Catalogue the covered technologies and assessment outcomes in a risk ledger that is unclassified to the extent possible but may include a classified appendix; 
    Annotate which of these technologies have been exported, shared, or used by a foreign person or government; and 
    Report to Congress annually on the progress of implementing this Act, the ledger itself, and a report on the findings. 

    The AWARE Act is endorsed by Access Now, Brennan Center for Justice, and Public Citizen. 
    “The lack of transparency in the military’s use of AI poses significant risks to human rights,” said Willmary Escoto, U.S. Policy Counsel at Access Now. “The AWARE Act addresses this by establishing risk assessments for AI-enabled systems, ensuring that factors like bias and the potential for civilian harm are evaluated before and after deployment. Access Now fully supports its passage and commend Senator Welch for prioritizing this issue.” 
    “The Department of Defense has committed billions of dollars to military applications of AI that implicate who or what the government targets with lethal force, and Congress and the public have the right to know basic facts about how these technologies work, whether they are effective, and what safeguards are in place,” said Amos Toh, senior counsel of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “The AWARE Act is an important first step towards dismantling excessive secrecy about military grade AI that has grievous consequences for life and liberty.” 
    “A reckless rush to develop and deploy autonomous weapons—with the capacity to deliver lethal force without any specific human approval—risks sparking a new global arms race for a dangerous and untested set of technologies that could inflict enormous harm on civilians. Sen. Welch’s legislation is a common sense and much needed measure to ensure the Pentagon gives Congress the basic information it needs to oversee AI weapons policy,” said Rob Weissman, Co-President of Public Citizen. 
    Learn more about the AWARE Act. 
    Read the full text of the bill. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Bhutan’s king is set to visit Australia for the first time. Here’s why thousands will line the streets to see him

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tashi Dema, PhD Candidate in Language and Politics, University of New England

    Deki, a 23-year-old resident of the remote town of Armidale, NSW, has been sleepless with excitement since the Bhutanese embassy in Canberra announced an upcoming visit from Bhutan’s fifth monarch, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

    King Jigme Khesar will be visiting from October 10 to 16. It will be his first time in Australia, as well as the first ever visit from a Bhutanese head of state.

    According to Bhutan’s ministry of foreign affairs and external trade, the king will meet with Australian government officials, business leaders and the Bhutanese community during his trip. Audiences with the king are scheduled in Sydney on October 12, Canberra on October 13, and Perth on October 16.

    Deki will be travelling to Sydney by train on October 11 with about 60 people from Armidale’s Bhutanese community. The journey will take more than eight hours. Some residents will fly on the morning of October 12.

    The Armidale residents have practised dances to present to the royal entourage. Their enthusiasm is palpable. With more than 35,000 Bhutanese people living in Australia, the embassy received an overwhelming number of registrations for the royal audience.

    Chhimi Dorji, president of the Association of Bhutanese in Perth, said many Bhutanese residents applied for leave the moment the royal visit was announced. He said the community’s overwhelming excitement signifies a deep love and respect for the king.

    A deep reverence for the king

    Devotion to the king is ingrained in Bhutanese society; he is even considered a sacred figure. This love and respect stems from a view of the monarchy as a symbol of pride and unity.

    My ongoing research on language and politics in Bhutan – as well as the many years I spent working there as a journalist – has revealed a genuine admiration for the king among the public. Research participants in rural Bhutan told me politicians should learn from the king in order to serve their people.

    In 2008, King Jigme Khesar facilitated Bhutan’s transition from an absolute monarchy to a democratic constitutional monarchy. As party politics fragmented the small nation and divided people along party lines, the monarchy was seen as a beacon of hope.

    The Bhutanese public’s devotion to its king defies theories which claim that the concept of the monarchy more broadly is becoming obsolete.

    Serving the people

    One reason King Jigme Khesar is so revered is because of his role in helping to build and advance Bhutan. During the pandemic, he was hailed for implementing pandemic response strategies and for visiting every nook and corner of the country to comfort citizens.

    He has also implemented programs that provide important public services. For instance, Desuung, a volunteer training program that started in 2011, delivers volunteers for a variety of projects such as disaster operations and charity events. Another national service program, Gyalsung, was started this year.

    Currently, the king is planning to develop the world’s first mindfulness city in Gelephu – a southern plain in Bhutan spanning more than 1,000 square kilometres – with hopes to attract foreign investment and encourage emigrated Bhutanese people to return.

    Ahead of the royal visit, Sydney resident Tshering Palden said he and his children were clearly excited to greet King Jigme Khesar.

    Besides other things, I am excited to hear about the developments around Gelephu Mindfulness City and how Bhutanese living abroad like me can be part of His Majesty’s brain child and the long-term nation building […]

    Foreigners are also intrigued and very interested to know about the project and ask us a lot about it.

    The Australian dream

    As a landlocked country that really only made itself known to the world in 1999 (after internet and television were finally introduced), Bhutan is something of an enigma.

    It is touted as the world’s happiest country, largely due to its uptake of a unique metric called “gross national happiness” in the 1970s. In 1972, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (King Jigme Khesar’s father) proclaimed the country’s gross national happiness was an even more important measure of progress than gross domestic product (GDP).

    Today, however, the tiny Himalayan country of about 800,000 people faces an existential crisis due to widespread unemployment and huge numbers of youth and young professionals moving overseas for a better future.

    Australia remains a top destination for Bhutanese residents – and currently has more Bhutanese diaspora than any country in the world. Bhutan is also said to be Australia’s 14th largest source country for international students.

    But despite living so far away, Bhutanese diaspora in Australia remain deeply rooted to their identity, culture and devotion to the monarchy. Most of them still celebrate the king’s birthday on February 21 each year, as well as Bhutan’s National Day on December 17.

    Meanwhile, Deki – who has portraits of Jigme Khesar in her home in central Bhutan – says being able to meet the king will be a “dream come true”.

    Tashi Dema does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Bhutan’s king is set to visit Australia for the first time. Here’s why thousands will line the streets to see him – https://theconversation.com/bhutans-king-is-set-to-visit-australia-for-the-first-time-heres-why-thousands-will-line-the-streets-to-see-him-239932

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –