NewzIntel.com

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Choi Yuk-lin leads pupils to Jiangxi

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin and participants of the first Mainland study tour of the senior secondary subject of Citizenship & Social Development (CS) to Jiangxi today attended the tour’s kick-off ceremony and visited several spots in Jiangxi.
     
    More than 100 students and teachers from Kowloon True Light School participated in the study tour.
     
    While addressing those gathered at the ceremony held at Ganzhou Middle School, Ms Choi said that Mainland study tours form an integral part of the CS curriculum that enables students to understand the latest developments and achievements of the country in person.
     
    She added that the Education Bureau has received very positive comments from students and teachers after it arranged for over 90,000 students to visit different places on the Mainland since last year. 

    To provide students with a more diversified learning experience, the number of routes has increased to 28 in this academic year, with 10 routes outside Guangdong Province for four to five days.
     
    The education chief thanked the Fourth Bureau of the State Council Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office, the Office of Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Educational, Scientific & Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the Department of Education of Jiangxi Province for their care for Hong Kong students, and the Ganzhou Municipal Education Bureau for its thoughtful arrangements, facilitating the smooth implementation of the study tour.
     
    She stressed that the Education Bureau will continue leading students to undertake study tours on themes such as history and culture, aerospace technology, rural revitalisation, economic development and environmental conservation to further enrich their learning experience.
     
    Ms Choi also said she hopes that students will treasure the opportunities to integrate reading with travelling, delve into the history, culture and national affairs of the country, and strengthen their affection for and sense of belonging to the nation.
     
    Following the ceremony, Ms Choi signed a memorandum of understanding on education co-operation between Jiangxi and Hong Kong with a representative from the Department of Education of Jiangxi Province.
     
    She also witnessed the pairing up of Kowloon True Light School and Ganzhou Middle School as sister schools.
     
    Subsequently, she and the delegation visited the memorial garden for the Long March Starting Point of the Central Red Army and the departure place of the first ferry of the Long March to learn about the Long March Spirit.
     
    The four-day study tour began yesterday, in which Ms Choi led members of the tour to visit Sanbai Mountain in Anyuan County, where the origin of Dongjiang is located.
     
    They attended an activity in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong to pay tribute to the country for its effort in protecting the source of drinking water.
     
    After that, the delegation visited the national education base for Hong Kong youths and the museum on the origin of Dongjiang water to learn about the history of Dongjiang’s water supply to Hong Kong.
     
    Ms Choi will depart for Beijing tomorrow to continue her visit, while the delegation will press on with touring locations in Jiangxi to learn about the local history, culture and enterprise development.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “I would be interested in talking to Chinese farmers”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    Veronika Smirnova studies the Chinese approach to global food security and spent a year at the Renmin University of China in Beijing. In an interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, she spoke about Xi Jinping’s flagship initiatives, her interest in FAO’s John Boyd Orr, and her love of malatan and xiao long bao.

    How I got started in science

    It wasn’t a strategic plan. Science chose me, like many future scientists who enjoyed studying many subjects at school. Surprisingly, math and physics were the easiest for me, but I ended up choosing the humanities.

    Around the 9th grade, I thought about what direction I would like to choose in the future, and the topic of international relations seemed interesting to me. At that time, I was not yet interested in Chinese culture, I only heard in the news that Russian-Chinese relations were developing at a rapid pace. When it was time to choose a second language (internationalists always learn two), I spent a long time choosing between German and French. But then something sank in my heart, and I began to study Chinese, not yet knowing what awaited me in the future. This is how my love for China began, I gradually began to take an interest in culture and politics.

    In my undergraduate studies at Nizhny Novgorod State University, we had amazing courses on analytics for government bodies. I really liked this subject, and I became interested in working in this field. When I went to the master’s program at HSE, I saw that CCEMI, where I now work, was recruiting interns, and I applied. That’s how my path in science began. Then I went to graduate school and continued scientific research.

    What am I studying?

    China’s participation in the global food security system. Interest in this topic did not develop immediately. In my bachelor’s degree, I studied more about culture and soft power. But in my master’s degree, I thought: I would like to study something more practice-oriented, which could contribute to the improvement of Russian-Chinese relations. The food topic found me itself.

    The HSE education system involves earning several credits for projects during the course of study. In my Master’s program, I chose a project that was conducted by the School of Oriental Studies together with Azbuka Vkusa. Against the backdrop of Covid, we studied how retail is developing in Asian countries. I was doing research on China. And then one of the teachers said that there was an opportunity to do an internship at the UN.

    At first I wasn’t interested, but my friend, who had this experience, explained that it was a very interesting track where you act as a manager of an educational course.

    I applied for the next intake and was accepted to this project. The internship was online. I helped organize a course for UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) and FAO (FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). The course was designed for officials from the post-Soviet space on the topic of agriculture in international trade agreements.

    I thought it was an interesting topic because China and Russia were developing relations in the agricultural sector, so I decided to take it up more seriously and continued to study it in graduate school.

    What was my master’s thesis about?

    I studied Chinese concepts in global governance. This topic is close to my PhD thesis, where I examine how China promotes its approaches to food security co-operation internationally.

    In my master’s degree, I was interested to see how China’s policy ambitions are growing in practical terms, what approaches it offers – whether it is trying to take the place of the United States or is offering something unique.

    I decided to look at the theoretical approaches of Chinese scholars and compare them with the statements of Chinese leaders Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. And I saw that, in principle, the same thing happened to the concept of global governance developed in the West as to many other Western concepts in China – from complete rejection to active participation.

    At first, China came out with sharp criticism, claiming that the concept was aimed at Western countries controlling global development. Then with interest – how to apply it with Chinese specifics. Then, gradual testing began in specific areas. For example, Chinese scientists separately studied issues of sovereignty, participation of non-profit organizations. And already at the next stage, they proposed their own approaches.

    At the same time, Chinese leader Xi Jinping put forward the concept of a Community of Shared Future for Humanity and the flagship Belt and Road Initiative, and Chinese scholars were studying how to develop global governance together with other countries through these projects.

    What is the Community of Shared Destiny for Humanity?

    Xi Jinping put forward this concept in 2013 — by the way, he first spoke about it in Moscow, at MGIMO. At the first stage, it was quite simple, it could be characterized by his words: “In me there is you, in you there is me.” The world is interconnected, and we need to manage things together, because if one participant starts having problems (as we saw during the pandemic), they arise for others as well.

    A more correct translation of the name is “the concept of a common destiny.” “A common destiny” implies unification. And China insists that everyone has the right to follow their own path of development, and this community is expressed in the fact that we develop together, but in different ways.

    Why China Believes the World Needs Food Security

    China is primarily interested in ensuring internal security. It relies on the concept of self-sufficiency. This issue is particularly sensitive for it. In the past, periods of famine were associated with political instability.

    During the Cold War, when China suffered famine, the country also faced a food embargo from the United States. And now China believes that “it must hold the rice bowl firmly in its own hands,” as Xi Jinping says.

    But having joined the WTO and participated in world trade, one cannot be completely autonomous. If there are problems in the food security sphere somewhere, it affects everyone. China is interested in maintaining general world stability. It is also developing cooperation in the “south-south” direction. This is cooperation between a developing country and a similar country, where it acts not as a donor, but as a partner, sharing its experience in solving problems.

    In the area of food security, China’s experience is a strong case: the country was able to defeat hunger with very few resources, land and water. Therefore, this is one of the key areas for cooperation with developing countries. China focuses on them, and mainly seeks to develop partnerships with them.

    Russian-Chinese relations

    Our relations are now at the peak of prosperity. During the Cold War, Sinologists had a hard time. Relations were tense, we had different views on what communism should be. The Chinese reacted quite sharply to the debunking of Stalin’s personality cult. We had border conflicts. China then, especially against the backdrop of rapprochement with the United States, diverged even more from the USSR.

    I remember my first academic supervisor in my bachelor’s degree told me that he was criticized in his close circle for studying the language of a country where he would never go, with which we are at odds. But he said that he was right. The prerequisites for normalizing relations began to emerge in the Brezhnev era, later the issues of demarcation and delimitation of the border were resolved, economic relations also developed, and now our relations have become the best.

    What results and achievements I am proud of

    I spent the last year in China, and returned in July. I was accepted to the New Sinology program for postgraduate students. It is designed to develop new approaches to China studies, building connections so that scholars can see their subject up close. I chose Renmin University of China, one of the largest in Beijing. I was able to work on my topic with a Chinese supervisor, Professor Song Wei, who is developing the theoretical framework I used in my work.

    My other achievements are not really in the scientific sphere. Within my center, I am actively involved in the implementation of joint humanitarian projects between Russia and China.

    We organized a Russian-Chinese summer school for students, and we had a project called “China Perspective,” where students from our department met with China experts and learned how to build a career in cooperation with the PRC.

    Basically, my journey of getting to know HSE and CCEIS began with me being a participant in the Russian-Chinese summer school — the 9th intake. And the next time, I was already on the organizing committee. The school was held online because of COVID, but there were many participants, some even joined from Brazil.

    What I dream about

    I am very interested in getting more field experience. For example, going to Chinese villages and talking to farmers. In China, most agricultural products are still produced on small farmsteads.

    Where I was in China

    I traveled a lot around China, visited ten cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Xi’an, Luoyang, Tianjin, Chengdu and Chongqing. In Shanghai, colleagues from my center organized a conference of the Valdai Club together with the East China Normal University. I was included in the delegation.

    There was also a trip to a conference in Shenzhen, to MSU-PPI – a joint university of Moscow State University and Beijing Polytechnic University. I already went to other cities with friends, to immerse myself in Chinese culture. A guy from India studied with me on the program, we became friends, he was more advanced in studying Chinese culture, and I went on my first trip with him.

    Science for me is a way of life, a space of connections. You are constantly looking for something to talk about, something to study.

    If I hadn’t become a scientist, I could have become a manager or producer of educational courses in the humanities. I still combine this with my scientific career, but I would have concentrated on it.

    Who would I like to meet?

    For my dissertation, I would like to meet the first FAO Secretary-General, John Boyd Orr, and talk more about his failed initiatives. My research is more in the area of international cooperation, while his research is specifically looking at how certain policies reduce malnutrition in the world.

    I was very inspired by the history of the creation of FAO. Boyd Orr was the first Secretary-General, he stood at its origins. He advocated a comprehensive approach to food security. At that time, food security was considered to be only access to products and their availability. He suggested looking at the problem more broadly and advocated that the newly formed organization should control not only development issues and information collection, but also trade, production, and food delivery.

    For example, during World War II, scientists discovered that if you increase the rations for pregnant women, then infant mortality drops sharply. They made several such discoveries, were inspired, and thought that this new knowledge would allow them to significantly reduce hunger within the organization.

    But due to the onset of the Cold War, due to the importance and criticality of this topic for the world’s major powers, there was not enough space for trust to be created so that a common supranational structure in the form of a UN institution could control all these processes.

    What my typical day looks like

    Now my typical day is loaded with work: the last year of graduate school, finishing my dissertation, going to the pre-defense. So I wake up, have breakfast, go to work and sit here for a long time. I solve work issues, and when I have a free minute, I finish the text of the dissertation.

    What will I do after my defense?

    I will continue working at CCEMI. I think that there will be more time for scientific work. I would like to study the topic of Russian-Chinese agricultural cooperation in more detail. It is also interesting to look at the development of the foodtech sphere in China, startups in this area. I would also try to publish in Chinese journals. They are not taken into account in our systems, which is critical for a postgraduate student, and after the defense this issue will no longer be so acute.

    Do I get burnout?

    I think it was at the beginning, when I didn’t understand how to combine work and study, but here my colleagues helped. We have a friendly atmosphere in the team, everyone supports each other. I adhere to the approach that there are always many interesting projects, but it is important to refuse most of them and concentrate on the most important, otherwise burnout can occur.

    What are my interests besides science?

    I love yoga. It helps me maintain a sports regimen during periods of intense work. I also like digital drawing, sometimes I even do something design-related. At the launch stage of our project “Chinese Perspective”, I made posters for the VKontakte group.

    Where do I recommend starting your acquaintance with China?

    I would recommend looking at VK groups dedicated to China. In our Russian-speaking community, for example, there is a group called “Grey Mocha” that publishes cultural notes about China. The Vyshka Chinese Club also provides a lot of useful information.

    China has its own social networks. If you want to watch Chinese videos, you should go not to YouTube, but to Bilibili and Kuaishou. WeChat is a must to communicate with Chinese colleagues. They have an interesting service called “Little Red Book” — something like a combination of Instagram and Telegram, it helped me a lot while traveling around China. You can type in “Tasty places there,” and it will show you. You could even find out which of the many cafeterias at my university serves the best food. Or figure out how to take a photo in the Temple of Heaven without people being visible. But to immerse yourself in the Chinese blogosphere, you need to know the language and understand how it works. If you come to China with only English, it will be more difficult.

    The leading contemporary Chinese writer

    Probably Mo Yan. In the book “Frogs” he describes the social reality of the “One Family – One Child” era. I also liked the plot of the book “Children of the Herd Age” written by Liu Zhenyun. One of the stories describes how a man gave a large ransom for a woman, and she ran away with this ransom without marrying him, and his sister tries to find her.

    Popular Chinese Attractions Among Russians

    Beijing, Shanghai and Harbin — because of the proximity of the border. In Beijing, the heritage of ancient culture is interesting: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China. In Shanghai, people walk along the embankment, look at the Pearl Tower, there are more monuments of Western culture there. Hainan Island is also popular, especially among residents of Siberia and the Far East. The sea there is very clean. There are many interesting delicacies, for example, candies made from shark meat. Other destinations are for more advanced tourists who are also interested in nature. For example, the province of Sichuan, where pandas live and there are national parks.

    Differences between Western and Chinese culture

    There are, and very strong ones. In China, they tend to be collectivist, not individualistic. We have the concept of conscience, and they have shame. This is a capacious topic, it is difficult to talk about briefly, but it can be outlined with a series of illustrations by Chinese artist Yan Liu.

    What was the last thing I read and watched?

    Our colleague Ivan Yuryevich Zuenko recently published a book, “China in the Era of Xi Jinping.” I read it and even attended the presentation.

    Because of my dissertation, everything is about China now, and I watch something to support Chinese. For example, the talk show “This is China” with Professor Zhang Weiwei and the program “Round Table” with the popular host Dou Wentao.

    Advice to young scientists

    Get involved in the scientific community early on, as talking to colleagues helps you understand early on what to watch out for and what new and interesting perspectives there are on the issues you’re studying.

    Try to publish and speak at conferences. The sooner you gain such experience, the easier it will be to move along this path. And for a sinologist, it is especially important to have your own knowledge base and know exactly where to find certain materials. Order disciplines and helps in scientific work.

    Favorite place in Moscow

    VDNKh. I lived there during my first year of graduate school, and often walked there. This place is associated with my first pleasant memories after moving to Moscow.

    Favorite places in Beijing

    First of all, Beihai Park. Chinese parks are different from ours. When I came there for the first time in the evening, I felt like I was in a fairy tale. I also love Houhai, it’s also in the center, a walking place around the lake. And Qianmen Street, it’s quite lively, there are a lot of Chinese eateries, street food.

    At first, I didn’t quite have the right idea of Beijing. I thought it was high-rise and modern. But if you travel around southern cities, you’ll notice that Beijing has many low buildings in the center and it’s not so densely built up. There are hutongs on Qianmen Street – ancient buildings. And a nice coffee shop called Metal Hands.

    Chinese cuisine

    I like it. I often ate xiao long bao (steamed meat buns like dumplings), malatan (a spicy soup where you put the ingredients yourself), and different types of beef noodles. Because of my Indian friends, I also fell in love with Indian food. But in general, there are a couple of places in Beijing where you can eat Russian food. When I started missing mashed potatoes with a cutlet, it was easy to get them.

    Where would I go in China

    See the natural attractions near the cities of Chengdu and Chongqing. You need to go there in a group and think everything through in advance. There are two large national parks near Chengdu. And next to Chongqing is the Wulong Karst geological park. And there is also a beautiful place Zhangjiajie, you also need to go there for five days, preferably with a group and a guide.

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Navy Week Charts Course to Kansas City

    Source: United States Navy

    Kansas City Navy Week brings Sailors from across the fleet to the area to emphasize the importance of the Navy to Kansas City, the states of Missouri and Kansas, and the nation.

    More than 50 Sailors will participate in education and community outreach events throughout the city.

    Participating Navy organizations include Navy Band Great Lakes, USS Constitution, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Mid-America, Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Two, Navy History and Heritage Command, The Strike Group, Fleet Outreach Ambassador Team (FLOAT), Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Office of Small Business Programs, Office of Civilian Human Resources, Naval Reserve Center Kansas City, and Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Kansas City (LCS 22).

    The Navy’s senior executive is Rear Adm. Larry Watkins, Vice Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Vice Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa. He commissioned through the University of Missouri-Columbia Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program in December 1990, graduating with an economics degree. He is also a 2012 graduate of Webster University with a Master of Business Administration and completed Joint Professional Military Education curriculum at Army Command & General Staff College. During Kansas City Navy Week, he is participating in community engagements, and meeting with local organizations, higher education, local business, civic, and government leaders.

    Navy Weeks are a series of outreach events coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach designed to give Americans an opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people, and its importance to national security and prosperity. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, providing the public a firsthand look at why the Navy matters to cities like Kansas City.

    “Sailors are the reason America’s Navy is the most powerful in the world,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. Julie Holland. “We are thrilled to bring your Navy Warfighters to Kansas City.  At Navy Weeks, Americans will connect with Sailors who have strong character, competence, and dedication to the mission, and who continue a nearly 250-year tradition of decisive power from seabed to cyberspace.”

    Throughout the week, Sailors are participating in various community events across the area, including ceremonial celebrations at Harry S. Truman Museum, WWI Museum, and Negro League Baseball Museum; volunteering with the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, Habitat for Humanity Kansas City, Bishop Sullivan’s Center, Happy Bottoms, and Thelma’s Kitchen; and engaging with students across multiple high schools. Residents will also enjoy free live music by Navy Band Great Lakes at venues throughout the week.

    Kansas City Navy Week is the last of 15 Navy Weeks in 2024, which brings a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 130 million people — about half the U.S. population.

    Media organizations wishing to cover Kansas City Navy Week events should contact Ensign Lamar Badger at (901) 229-5709 or erick.l.badger.mil@us.navy.mil.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Patrushev took part in the keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel Ivan Frolov in St. Petersburg

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, as part of a working visit to St. Petersburg, together with the city’s governor, Alexander Beglov, took part in the ceremonial laying of the keel of the scientific expedition vessel Ivan Frolov.

    Dmitry Patrushev took part in the keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel Ivan Frolov in St. Petersburg

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov”

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov” in St. Petersburg

    October 29, 2024

    Dmitry Patrushev took part in the keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel Ivan Frolov in St. Petersburg

    October 29, 2024

    Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov took part in the keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel Ivan Frolov in St. Petersburg

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov”

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov”

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov”

    October 29, 2024

    Keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel “Ivan Frolov”

    October 29, 2024

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Patrushev took part in the keel-laying ceremony of the research expedition vessel Ivan Frolov in St. Petersburg

    According to the Deputy Prime Minister, after commissioning, the vessel should become the flagship of the Roshydromet fleet. It will house a powerful scientific complex that will allow research to be conducted even in the harshest weather conditions. And in general, this multi-purpose project will ensure the uninterrupted operation of Roshydromet polar stations – five year-round and five field bases in Antarctica.

    “Studying the Arctic and Antarctic is one of the key areas of activity of the federal service. More than 20 expeditions are already conducted annually. They allow us to track climate change, collect data for the development of navigation along the Northern Sea Route and clarify the boundaries of the country’s continental shelf. The appearance of the new vessel “Ivan Frolov” will certainly strengthen our positions in the polar regions,” said Dmitry Patrushev.

    The Deputy Prime Minister noted that a range of advanced knowledge and technologies is being used in construction. This will contribute to the development of Russia’s competencies in high-tech areas.

    It is planned that the research and expedition vessel Ivan Frolov will replace the flagship of the polar fleet Akademik Fedorov and will remain in service for at least 30 years. The vessel will be about 165 m long. Up to 20 laboratories and a platform for helicopters will be located on board. The research vessel will allow scientific research to be carried out on modular programs of any complexity by different scientific teams. Dozens of scientific projects will be carried out on board at the same time – from research of the ocean floor to the upper atmosphere and space, depending on the need and priority of research in polar latitudes.

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Sky Quarry Appoints Darryl Delwo as Chief Financial Officer and Cyla Apache as VP of Finance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WOODS CROSS, Utah, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) (“Sky Quarry ” or the “Company”), an integrated energy solutions company committed to revolutionizing the waste asphalt shingle recycling industry, today announced two key appointments. Darryl Delwo, CPA, a seasoned finance and accounting executive, was previously named Chief Financial Officer effective August 20, 2024, and Cyla Apache has recently been promoted to Vice President of Finance. These appointments reflect Sky Quarry’s focus on strengthening its finance leadership as it advances its growth strategy as a publicly listed company on Nasdaq.

    Darryl Delwo brings over 28 years of experience to the role and was promoted after serving as Vice President of Finance at Sky Quarry since 2020. Previously, Mr. Delwo served as Chief Financial Officer of Noralta Technologies Inc., an integrated SaaS provider primarily servicing the oil & gas market. Prior to that, Mr. Delwo was Controller and Acting CFO for the start-up company Sulvaris Inc., supporting the venture funding to recommence project construction. He has also served in Controller roles at Black Diamond Energy Services, Wholesale Sports, and Regus Canada. Mr. Delwo holds CPA and CMA designations in Canada, along with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from Athabasca University.

    Cyla Apache brings over six years of controllership experience. She is a motivated leader with a strong background in implementing software and developing efficient workflows. Additionally, Ms. Apache has extensive knowledge of tax law and demonstrates how an accounting department can drive revenue and profitability. She holds an MBA, an MS in Accounting, a CPA designation from the California State Board of Accountancy, and an Enrolled Agent designation from the IRS.

    “After more than four years as VP of Finance, Mr. Delwo’s promotion to CFO is a natural step,” said David Sealock, CEO of Sky Quarry. “His 28 years of experience and proven leadership will be invaluable as we grow as a Nasdaq-listed company and advance our capital markets strategy. Alongside Ms. Apache’s promotion to Vice President of Finance, these leadership additions enhance our ability to drive operational excellence and execute our strategic and financial priorities, all with a focus on value-added growth and commitment to our shareholders.”

    About Sky Quarry Inc.

    Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) and its subsidiaries are, collectively, an oil production, refining, and a development-stage environmental remediation company formed to deploy technologies to facilitate the recycling of waste asphalt shingles and remediation of oil-saturated sands and soils. Our waste-to-energy mission is to repurpose and upcycle millions of tons of asphalt shingle waste, diverting them from landfills. By doing so, we can contribute to improved waste management, promote resource efficiency, conserve natural resources, and reduce environmental impact. For more information, please visit skyquarry.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release may include ”forward-looking statements.” All statements pertaining to our future financial and/or operating results, future events, or future developments may constitute forward-looking statements. The statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “look forward to,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “will,” “project,” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of our management, of which many are beyond our control. These are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and factors, including but not limited to those described in our disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or our achievements may (negatively or positively) vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. We neither intend, nor assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and the Company’s other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the offering statement filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained.

    Investor Relations
    Chris Tyson
    Executive Vice President
    MZ Group – MZ North America
    949-491-8235
    SKYQ@mzgroup.us
    www.mzgroup.us

    Company Website

    https://investor.skyquarry.com/

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rachel Meade, Lecturer of Political Science, Boston University

    When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended his independent presidential run in August 2024 and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, it might have seemed a surprising turn of events.

    Kennedy began his presidential run as a Democrat and is the scion of a Democratic dynasty. Nephew to former President John F. Kennedy and the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Kennedy spent most of his career as a lawyer representing environmental groups that sued polluting corporations and municipalities.

    Yet Kennedy, 70, has long held positions that put him at odds with the Democratic mainstream. He pushes public health misinformation around vaccines and HIV/AIDS, opposes U.S. military involvement in foreign wars, including in Ukraine, and claims that the CIA assassinated his uncle.

    Kennedy’s ideologically mixed politics are hard to categorize in traditional left-right terms.

    My political science research finds that Kennedy’s journey from left-aligned skepticism into Trumpism is part of a broader trend of contemporary left-to-right populist transformations happening across the United States.

    Rise of the populist alternative media

    Populism is a political story that presents the good “people” of a nation as in a struggle against its “elites,” who have corrupted democratic institutions to further their own selfish interests. It cuts across the ideological spectrum, often combining left-wing economic critiques with right-wing cultural ones.

    Based on my research, I find that Kennedy uses a populist style of speech that matches the rhetoric of today’s online alternative media, also known as the “alternative influence network.”

    If populism cuts across the ideological spectrum, so does the alternative media.

    This network of politically diverse independent podcasters, YouTube hosts and other creators connects with young, politically disaffected audiences by mixing politics with comedy and pop culture, and presenting themselves as embattled defenders of free thinking – in opposition to mainstream media and mainstream parties.

    Top-rated shows include “Breaking Points,” “Stay Free with Russell Brand,” “The Joe Rogan Experience,” The Culture War with Tim Pool and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von.”

    While many of these shows have been around since the 2010s, the network expanded throughout the Trump era. Their popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public distrust in government, anger over pandemic restrictions and vaccine skepticism surged.

    These shows hosted Kennedy frequently throughout his presidential run in 2023 and 2024.

    Kennedy finds his audience

    I analyzed a set of Kennedy’s appearances for this story. Both Kennedy and alternative media hosts claim to care about “the real issues” facing Americans such as war, corporate and political malfeasance and economic troubles. They condemn the “mainstream” for promoting frivolous “culture war” topics related to race and identity politics.

    Kennedy and the alternative media hosts also combine left and right arguments in a typically populist way. They claim that corporations control the government and that liberals and corporations censor free speech.

    For example, on a May 2024, episode of “Stay Free with Russell Brand,” Brand asserted that corrupt institutions are backed by the “deep state.” He asked Kennedy how he would fight these powerful interests.

    “The major agencies of government have all been captured by the industries they’re supposed to regulate and act as sock puppets serving the mercantile interests of these big corporations,” responded Kennedy. “I have a particular ability to unravel that because I’ve litigated against so many of these agencies.”

    My research found that Kennedy often bonded with his alternative media hosts over his perception that liberal media sources – allegedly controlled by the Democratic National Committee or the CIA – were censoring his campaign.

    Like Kennedy, alternative media hosts often identify as former or disaffected Democrats. Many used to work at mainstream left news sites, where they say they experienced censorship.

    ‘This little island of free speech’

    In a June 2023 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan explained that he no longer identifies as a liberal because of the “orthodoxy it preaches” around issues like vaccines. He then cited YouTube’s removal of some of Kennedy’s vaccine-related videos for violating its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

    Kennedy had just spent 90 minutes outlining his journey toward vaccine skepticism, which started with meeting a mother who believed vaccines caused her son’s autism.

    “If a woman tells you something about her child, you should listen,” he said.

    Kennedy also described being convinced by a set of studies that public health officials had ignored.

    “Trust the experts is not a function of science, it’s a function of religion,” he said. “I’ve been litigating 40 years; there’s experts on both sides.”

    Afterward, he thanked Rogan for maintaining “this little island of free speech in a desert of suppression and of critical thinking.”

    Kennedy reiterated this point in the Aug. 23, 2024, speech that ended his campaign, saying the “alternative media” had kept his ideas alive, while the mainstream networks had shut him out despite his historically high third-party poll numbers of 15% to 20%.

    “The DNC-allied mainstream media networks maintained a near-perfect embargo on interviews with me,” Kennedy said.

    Speaking directly to the reporters in the room, he added, “Your institutions and media made themselves government mouthpieces and stenographers for the organs of power.”

    Left-to-right pipeline

    Trust in a range of U.S. institutions is at historical lows. Americans on both the right and the left are skeptical of power and crave radical change.

    Alternative media hosts tap into this desire, helping to push some disaffected listeners down the same left-to-right pipeline that landed Kennedy in Trump’s orbit.

    Trump and his allies are adept at harnessing the power of the alternative media ecosystem. Trump has appeared on male-centric shows like “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von and ”The Joe Rogan Experience,“ and he founded the alternative social media platform Truth Social.

    Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon hosts an influential podcast called the “War Room” on another MAGA alternative media platform, Rumble. Known for its fiery populist rhetoric, the “War Room” broadcasts live for an astonishing 22 hours a week.

    Until recently, Democrats have largely embraced traditional media. During the first months of her 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” ABC’s “The View” and MSNBC’s “Stephanie Ruhle.”

    Then, on Oct. 12, Harris appeared on “Call her Daddy.” Spotify’s second-most popular podcast, it has a young, female audience. Days later, she sat down for an interview with Fox News and is reportedly in talks to appear on Joe Rogan’s show.

    Kennedy might approve of all this aisle-crossing.

    “Step outside the culture war!” he tweeted in July 2024. “Step outside the politics of hating the other side!”

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

    – ref. RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline – https://theconversation.com/rfk-jr-s-pivot-to-trump-is-a-journey-taken-by-many-populists-swept-along-the-left-to-right-alternative-media-pipeline-236828

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Garret Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service

    Who will represent the U.S. better on the global stage? Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    According to conventional wisdom, U.S. voters are largely motivated by domestic concerns and especially the economy.

    But the upcoming presidential election may be somewhat of an outlier. In a September 2024 poll, foreign policy actually ranks quite high in voters’ concerns – with more Democrats and Republicans combined saying it was “very important” to their vote than, say, immigration and abortion.

    As such, understanding where Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris stand on the significant international issues of the day is important. And we can do so by looking at the records of their respective administrations in the three regions they prioritized: the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

    Donald Trump: Disrupter-in-chief

    In his 2017 inaugural address, Trump painted a dark picture of the U.S. In his telling, his country was being taken advantage of by other nations, especially in trade and security, while neglecting domestic challenges.

    To disrupt this, Trump promised an “America First” approach to guide his administration.

    And in practice, his foreign policy certainly proved disruptive. He showed a clear willingness to buck traditions and undid some of former President Barack Obama’s signature policies, such as the Iran nuclear deal, which exchanged sanctions relief for restrictions on Tehran’s domestic nuclear program, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

    In so doing, he ruffled the feathers of allies and foes alike.

    Trans-Atlantic relations were tense under Trump, especially because of his hostility toward NATO. After deriding the Atlantic alliance on the campaign trail, Trump stuck to the same tune while in office. He routinely insulted allies at high-level summits and allegedly came close to withdrawing from the alliance altogether in 2018.

    While NATO did make inroads in bolstering its Eastern flank in that period, the alliance was primarily defined by internal turmoil and limited cohesion during Trump’s time in office. U.S. relations with the European Union hardly fared better. In 2018, the U.S. imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, citing national security concerns.

    Trump also broke with previous U.S. presidents in his administration’s Asia policy. One of his first moves in 2017 was to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal negotiated by Obama. Trump’s late 2017 national security strategy also announced a major shift toward China, labeling it as a “strategic competitor” – implying a greater emphasis on containing China as opposed to cooperating with it.

    This hawkish turn played out especially in the field of trade. Trump’s administration imposed four rounds of tariffs in 2018-19, affecting US$360 billion of Chinese goods. Beijing, of course, responded with tariffs of its own. The two countries did sign a so-called phase-one deal in January 2020 that sought to lower the stakes of this trade war. But the COVID-19 pandemic nullified any chance of success, and relations soured further with each Trump utterance of the pandemic being a “Chinese virus.”

    Trump showcased somewhat contradictory impulses toward the Middle East and other issues. He pushed for disengagement and to undo Obama’s major policies. Besides withdrawing from the Paris climate accords in 2017, Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. His administration also signed a deal to end the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, and it withdrew forces from northern Syria.

    But at the same time, Trump continued the bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and authorized the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020. The latter was consistent with a policy that aimed to pressure and isolate Iran economically and diplomatically. The key example of the diplomatic pressure came through especially via the Abraham Accords through which Trump helped facilitate the establishment of normal diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.

    Kamala Harris: Alliance and engagement

    Although not taking a driving role in foreign policy, Harris has been part of an administration that has committed the U.S. to repairing alliances and engaging with the world.

    This came across by undoing some major actions from the Trump administration. For example, the U.S. quickly rejoined the Paris climate accords and overturned a decision to leave the World Health Organization.

    But in other areas, the Biden administration has shown more continuity with Trump than many expected.

    For instance, the U.S. under Biden has not fundamentally deviated from strategic competition with China, even though the tactics have differed a little. The administration maintained Trump’s tariff approach, even adding its own targeted rounds against Beijing on electric vehicles.

    Moreover, it cultivated different diplomatic platforms in the Indo-Pacific to act as a counterweight to China. This included the cultivation of the Quad dialogue with Australia, India and Japan, and the AUKUS deal with Australia and the U.K., both of which attempted to further the Biden administration’s strategy of containing China’s influence by enlisting regional allies. Finally, the Biden administration did maintain some channels of communication with China at the highest level as well, with Biden meeting Xi Jinping twice during his presidency.

    Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks alongside Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House compound on Sept. 26, 2024.
    Tom Brenner/Getty Images

    The Biden administration’s Middle Eastern policy displayed significant continuity with Trump’s approach – at first. While it turned out to be chaotic, the U.S. completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in summer 2021, as had been agreed under Trump. The Biden administration also embraced the format and goals of the Abraham Accords. It even tried to build on them, with the goal of fostering Israeli-Saudi diplomatic ties.

    Of course, the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel completely changed the equation in the Middle East. Preventing the spiral of violence in the region has become an all-consuming task. Since then, Biden and Harris have tried, largely unsuccessfully, to balance support for Israel with mediation efforts to liberate the hostages and to ensure a cease-fire.

    Trans-Atlantic relations, however, are an area where there were marked differences in the past four years. The tone of the Biden-Harris administration has been in sharp contrast with that of Trump, reaffirming frequently its clear commitment to NATO. And once Russia launched its illegal invasion in February 2022, the U.S. placed itself at the forefront of supporting Ukraine.

    Harris has suggested that she would continue Biden’s policy of providing Kyiv with extensive and continuous military support. In conjunction with allies, the White House of Biden and Harris also implemented a broad range of sanctions against Russia. But the U.S. under Biden has not yet been willing to support Ukraine’s immediate entry into NATO.

    What next?

    Based on their records, what could we expect of a Trump or Harris presidency?

    It’s unlikely either candidate will abandon strategic competition with China. But Trump is more likely to seriously escalate the trade war, promising extensive tariffs against Beijing. Trump’s commitment to defending Taiwan is also more ambiguous in comparison with Harris’ pledges.

    U.S. policy toward Europe will largely depend on the results of the election. Harris has frequently underlined her steadfast support for NATO, as well as for Ukraine. Trump, on the other hand, is showing signs that he is unwilling to further aid the regime in Kyiv.

    And for the Middle East, it remains to be seen whether either Trump or Harris would be able to better shape events in the region.

    Garret Martin receives funding from the European Union for the research institute he co-directs, the Transatlantic Policy Center.

    – ref. On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns – https://theconversation.com/on-foreign-policy-trump-opts-for-disruption-and-harris-for-engagement-but-they-share-some-of-the-same-concerns-238847

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Naomi F. Sugie, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

    Desmond Meade, right, registers to vote in Florida on Jan. 8, 2019. after completing his sentence on a federal conviction. Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images

    People who are convicted of felonies might think they can’t vote.

    Even in California, where they do have the right to vote, people convicted of felonies cite cases in Florida and Texas where people with felonies who have completed their sentences have been arrested and sentenced to prison for trying to vote illegally.

    It’s almost an article of faith that a person loses their right to vote once they have been convicted.

    But that’s not universally true.

    Since 1997, 26 states and Washington have passed reforms that have expanded voting eligibility to over 2 million people with felony convictions.

    The reforms reflect the growing recognition by some politicians that felony disenfranchisement laws often excluded people from voting long after they served their sentences. Rooted in historical racism that restricted access to the ballot box, these laws are at odds with the idea that punishment should end after someone completes their sentence.

    But with these reforms comes a new challenge – ensuring that people who have the right to vote are aware that they can.

    Different states, different laws

    A popular assumption among the general public, and even among those convicted of felonies, is that they can’t vote for life.

    During our research, we conducted interviews and focus groups with 137 people, as well as text message conversations with over 1,800 people across five states (California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas). Delia, a 40-year-old Hispanic woman in Texas, explained: “It’s very confusing on purpose. The majority of people that I know, who get booked in and are going to jail, one of the biggest things is, you can’t ever vote again. Right. And so, that’s what I believed.”

    Laws on felony disenfranchisement vary by state]. In some instances, people with convictions can still vote while they are serving time in Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Oct. 18, 2022, that the state’s new Office of Election Crimes and Security was in the process of arresting 20 individuals for voter fraud.
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, those convicted of felonies have their rights automatically restored in 23 states when released from prison. But in 10 other states, those convicted of certain felonies can lose rights indefinitely or require a governor’s pardon for voting rights to be restored.

    Making matters even more confusing is that state laws make different distinctions on who can and cannot vote. In some cases, the distinctions are based on whether the conviction was a felony or misdemeanor.

    Other states distinguish between the timing of the end of imprisonment, parole or probation – and whether all fines and fees have been paid.

    The Florida eligibility question

    In 2018, for example, Florida voters approved a ballot initiative that “restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.”

    Known as Amendment 4, the measure excluded people who committed murder or a felony sex offense.

    But before the measure went into effect, a legal dispute arose over the definition of what it meant to complete a sentence. In 2019, Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law that required payment of outstanding fees and fines before a person convicted of a felony conviction could regain their voting rights.

    Though the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the constitutionality of the law in court, a federal appellate court backed the Republican lawmakers.

    As a result, an estimated 730,000 Floridians who have completed their sentences remain disenfranchised.

    Extending voting rights

    Over the past nearly 30 years, many states have moved to make it easier for those convicted of felonies to regain their voting rights, starting in 1997 in Texas, where lawmakers eliminated a two-year waiting period before a person convicted of a felony regained their right to vote.

    As a result, the number of people with felonies who had lost their right to vote dropped from a high of 6.1 million in 2016 to an estimated 4 million in this election, according to the Sentencing Project. During the U.S. presidential election in 2020, that number was 5.2 million.

    So far in 2024 alone, officials in three states have tinkered with their laws on voter eligibility requirements for people convicted of felonies.

    In Virginia, lawmakers approved on April 5 a new law that allows registered voters who are imprisoned while awaiting trial or have been convicted of a misdemeanor to vote by absentee ballot.

    A month later, in May, Oklahoma lawmakers clarified their existing laws by passing a measure that allows people convicted of felonies to vote under certain conditions, such as receiving a pardon or a reduction of their felony conviction to a lesser misdemeanor.

    Though passed by state lawmakers in April 2024, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 16 that the new law could take effect. The law eliminates the two-year waiting period following the completion of a prison sentence before voting rights could be restored.

    Increasing voter turnout

    Numerous studies of those with felony convictions have shown that they believe the voting process is unclear and confusing.

    In our study of voting behavior of people with convictions, we interviewed Raymond, a 49-year-old Black man in Michigan. When asked about the process of registering to vote, he told us: “I ain’t going to say scary, but it was unfamiliar. It can be overwhelming for people who don’t want to do it. You don’t know where to go, you don’t know who to really vote for.”

    To get the word out to newly eligible voters, community organizations across the U.S. have launched grassroots operations to inform people with convictions of their voting rights and help guide them through the registration process.

    As part of that effort, community organizations such as Alliance for Safety and Justice and TimeDone are working with academic researchers to further understand how different methods of outreach can increase voter turnout among people with felony convictions.

    With many people newly eligible to vote in their first presidential election this year, I believe providing them with accurate information about voting and their state’s felony voting laws is critical to ensuring that the idea of a second chance includes the right to vote.

    Naomi F. Sugie receives funding from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Council on Library and Information Resources, Orange County, Alliance for Safety and Justice, Crankstart, and Public Agenda.

    – ref. For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state – https://theconversation.com/for-an-estimated-4-million-people-with-felony-convictions-restoring-their-right-to-vote-is-complicated-and-varies-state-by-state-239681

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shannon Bow O’Brien, Associate Professor of Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin

    Donald Trump speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, 2024. John Salangsang/Invision/AP

    Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally and the danger he says that poor immigrants of color pose for the U.S. – often using hateful language to make his point.

    In early October 2024, Trump took his comments a step further when he questioned immigrants’ faulty genes, saying without support that “Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they are now happily living in the United States. You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.”

    It was far from the first time Trump has invoked eugenics – a false, racist theory that some people, and even some races, are genetically superior to others.

    In 1988, for example, Trump told Oprah Winfrey during an interview: “You have to be born lucky in the sense that you have to have the right genes.”

    In 2016, Trump said that his German roots are the reason behind his greatness:

    “I always said that winning is somewhat, maybe, innate. Maybe it’s just something you have; you have the winning gene. Frankly it would be wonderful if you could develop it, but I’m not so sure you can. You know, I’m proud to have that German blood, there’s no question about it. Great stuff.”

    And in 2020, Trump again alluded to his belief that bloodlines convey excellence:

    “I had an uncle who went to MIT who is a top professor. Dr. John Trump. A genius. It’s in my blood. I’m smart.”

    Trump’s repeated and countless comments about white people’s racial superiority to people of color have prompted some comparisons to the Nazis and their ideology of racial superiority.

    The Nazis are indeed the most infamous believers of the false idea that white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired people were superior to others – and that the human population should be selectively managed to breed white people.

    But the Nazis didn’t originate these ideas. In fact, the Nazis were so impressed with many American eugenic ideas that they incorporated them into their racist, antisemitic laws.

    Root of eugenics

    The British scientist Francis Galton, a cousin of the evolutionist Charles Darwin, first developed the theory of eugenics in the 1860s, and it gained a foothold in the U.S. and Britain around this time.

    Eugenics sets racial identity, and especially white identity, as the most desirable and worthy.

    By the dawn of the early 1900s, much of the American eugenics scholarship looked down on American immigrants from any place other than Scandinavia, thus coining the term “Nordicism.”

    In the late 19th and early 20th century, immigration to the U.S. was at its peak. In 1890, 14.8% of people living in the U.S. were immigrants. Many people felt concerned about immigration in the U.S., and there were many prominent eugenicists in America. Two of the most famous were Madison Grant and Lothrop Stoddard.

    Both were avowed white supremacists who advocated for scientific racism. They wrote popular and widely read books that helped shape American and German law in the 1920s and 1930s.

    Grant, Stoddard and other theorists in the U.S. embraced eugenics as a way to justify racial segregation, restrict immigration, enforce sterilization and uphold other systemic inequalities.

    Stoddard attacked the United States’ immigration policies in his 1920 book, “The Rising Tide of Color: The Threat Against White World-Supremacy.” He wrote: “If the present drift is not changed, we whites are all ultimately doomed. … We now know that men are not, and never will be equal. We now know that environment and education can only develop what heredity brings.”

    Another prominent eugenicist was Harry H. Laughlin, an educator and superintendent of the Eugenics Record Office, a now-defunct research group that gathered biological and social information about the American population.

    Laughlin wrote an influential 1922 book, “Eugenical Sterilization in the United States,” which included a chapter on model sterilization laws. The Third Reich used his book and laws as a template when implementing them in Germany during the height of the Nazi period.

    Laughlin also regularly testified before U.S. Congress, with this 1922 testimony representative of his message to lawmakers: “Immigration is essentially and fundamentally a racial and biological problem. There are many factors to consider, but, from the standpoint of the future, immigration is primarily a long time national investment in human family stocks.”

    Eugenicists, including Laughlin, have long been specifically preoccupied with Norwegian genetics – believing that America is under attack when immigration occurs from non-Nordic countries.

    In November 1922, Laughlin said, “Some of our finest and most desirable immigrants are from Norway.”

    In 1924, Congress approved the Immigration Act, which severely limited immigration to the U.S., established quotas for immigrants based on nationality and barred immigrants from Asia.

    It was only following the end of World War II and the Holocaust that eugenics fell out of favor and lost its prominence in American thinking.

    Trump’s recycling of history

    Fears over foreign immigrants weakening the U.S. were popular a century ago, and Trump and many of his followers still embrace them today.

    Trump has promised that he will carry out mass deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, forcibly detaining immigrants in camps and removing 1 million people a year.

    In April 2024, Trump used dehumanizing language to express his apparent belief that immigrants are unworthy of empathy. “The Democrats say, ‘Please don’t call them animals. They’re humans.’ I said, ‘No, they’re not humans, they’re not humans, they’re animals.’”

    Trump has also promoted eugenicists’ obsession with Scandinavia and the superiority of white people.

    In 2018, Trump spoke about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa, saying “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

    In the same meeting, Trump also reportedly suggested that the U.S. should instead draw in more people from countries like Norway.

    In April 2024, Trump again embraced this idea of Scandinavian superiority, saying that he wants immigrants from “Nice countries. You know, like Denmark, Switzerland? Do we have any people coming in from Denmark? How about Switzerland? How about Norway?”

    A dangerous flash to the past

    A person running for president in 1924 would seem more likely than a candidate in 2024 to espouse this now-discredited point of view.

    President Calvin Coolidge ran for election on an “America First” platform in 1924, with the slogan only falling out of favor after groups like the Ku Klux Klan embraced it around the same time.

    The idea of America First, at the time, denoted American nationalism and exceptionalism – but also was linked to anti-immigration and fascist movements.

    When Coolidge signed the heavily restrictive 1924 Immigration Act into law he stated, “America must remain American.”

    One hundred years later, Trump calls to mind an America First mentality, including when he regularly reads the lyrics to a song called “The Snake” during his rallies as a way to explain the dangers of welcoming immigrants into the U.S. The civil rights activist Oscar Brown wrote this poem in 1963, and his family has said that Trump misinterprets the song’s words.

    ‘I saved you,’ cried that woman.

    ‘And you’ve bit me even, why’

    ‘You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to die.’

    ‘Oh shut up, silly woman,’ said the reptile with a grin,

    ‘You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.’

    I have written a book on this and I used many of my citations in Chapter 4 to help develop this piece though I reworded or reframed it.

    – ref. How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics – https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-racist-talk-of-immigrant-bad-genes-echoes-some-of-the-last-centurys-darkest-ideas-about-eugenics-241548

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By William Garriott, Professor of Law, Politics and Society, Drake University

    Early voting runs from Oct. 21 through Nov. 3 in Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Cannabis legalization is on the ballot again this November.

    Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to allow adults 21 and up in their states to use cannabis recreationally.

    Voters in Nebraska will decide whether to allow medical access under a doctor’s care.

    Voters in Arkansas will see a question about medical access on their ballot, but the state supreme court ruled that the votes can’t be counted because the name and title of the measure were “misleading.”

    The results of these ballot measures obviously matter to residents of each state, but they also will be telling for the future of the cannabis legalization movement. That’s because these states are all so-called red states where Republicans dominate state politics. They are part of the legalization movement’s biggest obstacle – what I call the “red wall.”

    And because federal legalization is unlikely in the next few years, red wall states are now the front line of the fight over cannabis reform.

    A bipartisan coalition in the beginning

    Cannabis legalization hasn’t always been so partisan.

    In fact, bipartisanship has been key to the success of the contemporary legalization movement, which began in the 1990s.

    How do I know? Because I’ve been told as much by the people who made it happen.

    Since 2014, I’ve been researching cannabis legalization in the U.S.. I’ve been trying to understand the contemporary legalization movement’s success and what it means for the future of U.S. drug policy. As an anthropologist, my process is to go where the action is and talk to people with lived experience.

    And so I’ve been talking to people in Colorado. In 2012, it became one of the first two states to legalize recreational use of cannabis, also called “adult use.”

    Today, 48 states and Washington D.C. have approved cannabis for some kind of medical use, although 10 of those states have legalized only the limited use of oils containing low levels of THC, the active compound in cannabis. Adult use for anyone 21 and older is now allowed in 24 states and Washington.

    This is a dramatic change that is undoing decades of prohibition.

    Any political movement takes thousands of people to be successful, but it also takes leaders. In Colorado, attorney Brian Vicente and activist Mason Tvert played a pivotal role. With support from the Marijuana Policy Project, they spent most of the 2000s building the movement that made recreational legalization possible in Colorado.

    When I asked Vicente and Tvert how they made it happen, they emphasized the same thing: To be effective, they had to build a new kind of coalition. They had to appeal to people who had no personal interest in consuming cannabis.

    Brian Vicente, left, and Mason Tvert, center, celebrate the passage of medical marijuana in Colorado in 2012.
    Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images

    In Colorado, they made the case that marijuana should be regulated like alcohol, with tax money going to schools. The fact that Colorado allowed ballot initiatives was also key. It let activists take the issue directly to voters, bypassing opposition from the governor and other elected officials.

    The strategy worked.

    Liberals liked the social justice arguments. Conservatives liked that it enhanced individual liberty. And a broad cross section of voters liked that it would generate tax revenue and let the criminal justice system focus on more serious threats to public safety.

    These voters made for a powerful coalition. And for years, such coalitions helped legalization measures pass in blue states like Oregon and California, and in red states like Alaska and Montana.

    Hitting the red wall

    But since 2020, legalization has become more partisan.

    Of the 26 states where cannabis remains illegal for adult use, 20 are red states with a Republican trifecta, meaning that Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s office.

    Another four – Kansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky and North Carolina – have Republican-controlled state legislatures and Democratic governors.

    Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation where legislative control is split. Medical cannabis was legalized there in 2016, but recreational use is not allowed.

    And Hawaii is the lone blue state that has yet to legalize recreational cannabis. A slimmer majority of voters support it than in other blue states, and there are unique concerns such as the potential impact on the tourist economy.

    All told, 92% of the states where adult use is still illegal are dominated – if not completely controlled – by Republicans who are much less likely to support legalization than either Democrats or independents. This is true of both elected leaders and rank-and-file party members.

    What’s more, 16 of the 26 states that have not legalized adult use cannabis don’t have a ballot initiative process, so supporters can’t take the issue directly to voters. The states with measures on the ballot this November are part of the minority that do.

    Voters in states without ballot initiatives have no choice but to wait on their state legislatures to act. But most Republican-controlled legislatures have shown little interest in the issue, even when the majority of voters in the state support it – like in Iowa.

    Will the red wall hold this November?

    Could the third time be the charm for recreational pot in North Dakota?
    Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Based on polling and precedent, the red wall will likely hold during the 2024 election.

    In South Dakota, most voters oppose adult use legalization, so the measure is likely to fail for the third time.

    Voters in conservative North Dakota have also rejected adult use legalization twice before, which makes success this year unlikely. On the other hand, it has more support from Republican state legislators than in other states, and more voters are undecided on the issue.

    The medical measure in Nebraska is likely to pass, but its future is uncertain. It faces an ongoing legal challenge spurred in part by the state’s Attorney General Mike Hilgers who is a staunch opponent of cannabis legalization.

    And even if it survives legal challenge, that does not mean recreational legalization is around the corner. The most recent polling of Nebraskans shows lower support for recreational use than medical use, particularly among Republicans.

    Florida could go either way

    The wild card is Florida. It has already legalized medical cannabis, and supporters have been trying for years to get adult use on the ballot.

    Polling this summer showed a majority of Republicans supported it, but more recent polls show a slim majority now oppose the referendum.

    It still probably has the votes to pass, but it faces a few obstacles.

    First, it must pass with 60% of the vote.

    Second, it has divided party leaders, with the state’s two highest-profile Republicans, Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, taking different positions on the issue. Trump says he’s voting yes, while DeSantis is a strong no.

    And third, it has drawn the ire of some legalization supporters for potentially giving disproportionate control of the market to a small group of large cannabis companies. The concern is that the amendment as written does not require the state to increase the number of licensed businesses. Only already-licensed businesses would be guaranteed the opportunity to expand into the recreational cannabis market.

    These same companies are the primary funders of the initiative, with Trulieve alone donating most of the more than US$90 million raised by the Yes campaign. The company already runs more than 150 medical dispensaries in Florida and is one of the largest cannabis companies in the U.S..

    Ironically, DeSantis’ No campaign has put concerns about corporate control at the center of its own messaging, creating a potential coalition between people who oppose adult use legalization under any circumstances and those who oppose it when there’s too much corporate control.

    Trulieve, for its part, has filed a defamation suit against the Republican Party of Florida over the claims.

    Where the movement goes from here

    Unless there are significant surprises this November, legalization supporters will need to find a new strategy to appeal to red state voters and legislators. They will need to take concerns over public health and safety seriously, address the persistence of racial disparities in cannabis arrests in legalization states, tackle the growing corporate influence within the movement, and respond to the moral critiques of people like former Alabama Senator and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions who feel that, simply put, “good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

    William Garriott’s research has been funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.

    – ref. Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box – https://theconversation.com/cannabis-legalization-may-hit-a-red-wall-at-the-ballot-box-241738

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Chen Hou, Associate Professor of Biology, Missouri University of Science and Technology

    Allocating more energy for growth versus for maintenance comes with longevity trade-offs. Matthias Clamer/Stone via Getty Images

    Fancy, high-quality products such as Rolex watches and Red Wing boots often cost more to make but last longer. This is a principle that manufacturers and customers are familiar with. But while this also applies to biology, scientists rarely discuss it.

    Researchers have known for decades that the faster an animal grows, the shorter its lifespan, at least among mammals. This holds across species of different sizes. Ecophysiologists like me have been studying the trade-offs between allocating energy for growth or for maintenance, and how those trade-offs affect aging and lifespan.

    One explanation is that since animals have a limited amount of energy available, investing more energy in growth will reduce the energy they have left to maintain their health, therefore leading to faster aging.

    Another explanation is based on the observation that metabolism – all the physical and chemical processes that convert or use energy – fuels growth. Some researchers have suggested that fast growth is associated with high metabolism, in turn causing stress that speeds up aging.

    However, these two explanations may not capture the whole picture of the trade-off between growth and longevity. For example, certain species allocate a larger fraction of their energy to maintenance but don’t have better resistance to stress than species that allocate less energy to those processes. This finding indicates that the amount of energy allocated to maintenance may not be the only thing that determines its quality.

    Meanwhile, I found that this negative association still strongly holds even after accounting for metabolic rate. That means the higher metabolism associated with faster growth cannot completely explain faster aging. There had to be other missing links to consider.

    What have scientists overlooked? My recently published research suggests that the energy cost it takes to make biological materials, or the biosynthetic cost, also affects lifespan.

    Whales have some of the longest lifespans among mammals.
    lisabskelton/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Cost of making biomass

    It costs energy to make biological materials, or biomass, such as assembling individual amino acids into whole proteins. It also costs energy to check newly synthesized materials for errors, break down and rebuild materials with errors, and transport finished materials to where they need to be.

    To measure the energy investment in building biomass across species, I derived a mathematical relationship between biosynthetic cost and rates of growth and metabolism. I based my equation on the first principle of energy conservation, which states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, and data on the growth and metabolism rates of different mammals routinely measured by other researchers in the field.

    While researchers previously believed that the cost of synthesizing new biomass was the same across species, my analysis of data from 139 different animals found that there is a great difference in biosynthetic cost between species. For example, a naked mole rat has a biosynthetic cost that is over three times as that of a mouse with the same body mass. While the naked mole rat has a lifespan of 30 years, the mouse’s lifespan is only two to three years.

    My findings suggest that some species spend more energy than others to make one unit of biomass. This is perhaps partially due to living in a more dangerous environment. Animals that grow faster are more likely to reach reproductive maturity than animals that grow more slowly, but the price to pay is low-quality biomaterials.

    Biosynthetic cost and aging

    If everything else is kept the same, the more expensive growth is, the lower the growth rate will be. But how does this energy cost contribute to the aging process?

    I used what I call a cost-quality hypothesis to answer this question. At the cellular level, biosynthetic cost is in part determined by the cell’s tolerance for errors in making materials. Take proteins as an example. Research has repeatedly suggested that protein homeostasis – the collective processes that maintain protein level, structure and function – plays a key role in the aging process. In simple terms, the accumulation of proteins with errors leads to aging.

    Protein synthesis and folding is imperfect. Researchers have estimated that 20% to 30% of new proteins are rapidly degraded after they’re made due to errors. Different species have different degrees of error tolerance and protein quality control. For example, the mouse proteome has two- to tenfold higher levels of proteins with incorrect amino acids relative to the proteome of naked mole rats.

    Let’s consider two species, where one is picky about protein errors and the other not so much. The picky species will break down and remake a protein when it finds an error, constantly using protein quality control mechanisms to proofread, quickly unfold and refold, degrade or resynthesize proteins. Not only do these processes cost energy, they also slow down an animal’s overall biomass growth rate. A pickier species would spend more energy for a unit of net new biomass synthesized than a species with high tolerance, growing more slowly overall.

    On the other hand, a species with higher tolerance to errors would have a lower biosynthetic cost because it would just incorporate the faulty protein into their new biomass. Because this species can function with faulty proteins, it is more resistant to stress and therefore lives longer.

    Naked mole rats live the longest among rodents – their lifespans can push past 30 years.
    Tennessee Witney/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Making things last

    An animal’s ability to maintain homeostasis not only depends on the amount of energy it allocates to maintenance but also on the quality of the tissue it produces. And the quality of that tissue is at least partially due to the energy it invests in making biomass.

    In other words, fancy stuff costs more to make but lasts longer.

    My hope is that these results could be used as a framework to investigate how differences in a person’s development and growth rate affect their health, risk for aging-related diseases and lifespan. It also opens a door to a new research area: Could we manipulate the mechanisms that determine the energetic cost of biosynthesis and slow aging?

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

    – ref. Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans – https://theconversation.com/grow-fast-die-young-animals-that-invest-in-building-high-quality-biomaterials-may-slow-aging-and-increase-their-lifespans-240517

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Making a Snickers bar is a complex science − a candy engineer explains how to build the airy nougat and chewy caramel of this Halloween favorite

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Richard Hartel, Professor of Food Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

    From their caramel centers to chocolatey coatings, several widely used candy-making processes go into the production of a single Snickers bar. NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images

    It’s Halloween. You’ve just finished trick-or-treating and it’s time to assess the haul. You likely have a favorite, whether it’s chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, those gummy clusters with Nerds on them or something else.

    For some people, including me, one piece stands out – the Snickers bar, especially if it’s full-size. The combination of nougat, caramel and peanuts coated in milk chocolate makes Snickers a popular candy treat.

    As a food engineer studying candy and ice cream at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I now look at candy in a whole different way than I did as a kid. Back then, it was all about shoveling it in as fast as I could.

    Now, as a scientist who has made a career studying and writing books about confections, I have a very different take on candy. I have no trouble sacrificing a piece for the microscope or the texture analyzer to better understand how all the components add up. I don’t work for, own stock in, or receive funding from Mars Wrigley, the company that makes Snickers bars. But in my work, I do study the different components that make up lots of popular candy bars. Snickers has many of the most common elements you’ll find in your Halloween candy.

    Let’s look at the elements of a Snickers bar as an example of candy science. As with almost everything, once you get into it, each component is more complex than you might think.

    Snickers bars contain a layer of nougat, a layer of caramel mixed with peanuts and a chocolate coating.
    istarif/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Airy nougat

    Let’s start with the nougat. The nougat in a Snickers bar is a slightly aerated candy with small sugar crystals distributed throughout.

    One of the ingredients in the nougat is egg white, a protein that helps stabilize the air bubbles that provide a light texture. Often, nougats like this are made by whipping sugar and egg whites together. The egg whites coat the air bubbles created during whipping, which gives the nougat its aerated texture.

    A boiled sugar syrup is then slowly mixed into the egg white sugar mixture, after which a melted fat is added. Since fat can cause air bubbles to collapse, this step has to be done last and very carefully.

    The final ingredient added before cooling is powdered sugar to provide seeds for the sugar crystallization in the batch. The presence of small sugar crystals makes the nougat “short” – pull it apart between your fingers and it breaks cleanly with no stretch.

    Chewy caramel

    On top of the nougat layer is a band of chewy caramel. The chewiness of the caramel contrasts the nougat’s light, airy texture, which provides contrast to each bite.

    Caramel stands out from other candies as it contains a dairy ingredient, such as cream or evaporated milk. During cooking, the milk proteins react with some of the sugars in a complex series of reactions called Maillard browning, which imparts the brown color and caramelly flavor.

    Maillard browning starts with proteins and certain sugars. The end products of these reactions include melanoidins, which are brown coloring compounds, and a variety of flavors. The specific flavor molecules depend on the starting materials and the conditions, such as temperature and water content.

    Commercial caramel, like that in the Snickers bar, is cooked up to about 240-245 degrees Fahrenheit (115-118 degrees Celsius), to control the water content. Cook to too high a temperature and the caramel gets too hard, but if the cook temperature is too low, the caramel will flow right off the nougat. In a Snickers bar, the caramel needs to be slightly chewy so the peanuts stick to it.

    Chocolate coating

    To make chocolate, raw cocoa beans are harvested from cacao pods and then fermented for several days. After the fermented beans are dried, they are roasted to develop the chocolate flavor. As in caramel, the Maillard browning reaction is an important contributor to the flavor of chocolate.

    The milk chocolate coating on the Snickers bar happens through a process called enrobing. The naked bar, arranged on a wire mesh conveyor, passes through a curtain of tempered liquid chocolate, covering all sides with a thin layer. Tempering the chocolate coating makes it glossy and gives it a well-defined snap.

    The enrobing process in action.

    The flow of the tempered chocolate needs to be controlled precisely to give a coating of the desired thickness without leading to tails at the bottom of the candy bar.

    The Snickers bar

    When done right, the result is a delicious Snickers bar, a popular Halloween – or anytime – candy.

    With about 15 million bars made each day, getting every detail just right requires a lot of scientific understanding and engineering precision.

    Richard Hartel has previously consulted for Mars Wrigley, but not in the past decade, and does not receive funding from them nor own shares in their company.

    – ref. Making a Snickers bar is a complex science − a candy engineer explains how to build the airy nougat and chewy caramel of this Halloween favorite – https://theconversation.com/making-a-snickers-bar-is-a-complex-science-a-candy-engineer-explains-how-to-build-the-airy-nougat-and-chewy-caramel-of-this-halloween-favorite-241534

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel’s ban on UNRWA continues a pattern of politicizing Palestinian refugee aid – and puts millions of lives at risk

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nicholas R. Micinski, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Maine

    The Israeli parliament’s vote on Oct. 28, 2024, to ban the United Nations agency that provides relief for Palestinian refugees is likely to affect millions of people – it also fits a pattern.

    Aid for refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees, has long been politicized, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA, has been targeted throughout its 75-year history.

    This was evident earlier in the current Gaza conflict, when at least a dozen countries, including the U.S., suspended funding to the UNRWA, citing allegations made by Israel that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. In August, the U.N. fired nine UNRWA employees for alleged involvement in the attack. An independent U.N. panel established a set of 50 recommendations to ensure UNRWA employees adhere to the principle of neutrality.

    The vote by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to ban the UNRWA goes a step further. It will, when it comes into effect, prevent the UNRWA from operating in Israel and will severely affect its ability to serve refugees in any of the occupied territories that Israel controls, including Gaza. This could have devastating consequences for livelihoods, health, the distribution of food aid and schooling for Palestinians. It would also damage the polio vaccination campaign that the UNRWA and its partner organizations have been carrying out in Gaza since September. Finally, the bill bans communication between Israeli officials and the UNRWA, which would end efforts by the agency to coordinate the movements of aid workers to prevent unintentional targeting by the Israel Defense Forces.

    Refugee aid, and humanitarian aid more generally, is theoretically meant to be neutral and impartial. But as experts in migration and international relations, we know funding is often used as a foreign policy tool, whereby allies are rewarded and enemies punished. In this context, we believe Israel’s banning of the UNRWA fits a wider pattern of the politicization of aid to refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees.

    What is the UNRWA?

    The UNRWA, short for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was established two years after about 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes during the months leading up to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli war.

    Palestinians flee their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
    Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Prior to the UNRWA’s creation, international and local organizations, many of them religious, provided services to displaced Palestinians. But after surveying the extreme poverty and dire situation pervasive across refugee camps, the U.N. General Assembly, including all Arab states and Israel, voted to create the UNRWA in 1949.

    Since that time, the UNRWA has been the primary aid organization providing food, medical care, schooling and, in some cases, housing for the 6 million Palestinians living across its five fields: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as the areas that make up the occupied Palestinian territories: the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    The mass displacement of Palestinians – known as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” – occurred prior to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defined refugees as anyone with a well-founded fear of persecution owing to “events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951.” Despite a 1967 protocol extending the definition worldwide, Palestinians are still excluded from the primary international system protecting refugees.

    While the UNRWA is responsible for providing services to Palestinian refugees, the United Nations also created the U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine in 1948 to seek a long-term political solution and “to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation.”

    As a result, UNRWA does not have a mandate to push for the traditional durable solutions available in other refugee situations. As it happened, the conciliation commission was active only for a few years and has since been sidelined in favor of the U.S.-brokered peace processes.

    Is the UNRWA political?

    The UNRWA has been subject to political headwinds since its inception and especially during periods of heightened tension between Palestinians and Israelis.

    While it is a U.N. organization and thus ostensibly apolitical, it has frequently been criticized by Palestinians, Israelis as well as donor countries, including the United States, for acting politically.

    The UNRWA performs statelike functions across its five fields, including education, health and infrastructure, but it is restricted in its mandate from performing political or security activities.

    Initial Palestinian objections to the UNRWA stemmed from the organization’s early focus on economic integration of refugees into host states.

    Although the UNRWA officially adhered to the U.N. General Assembly’s Resolution 194 that called for the return of Palestine refugees to their homes, U.N., U.K. and U.S. officials searched for means by which to resettle and integrate Palestinians into host states, viewing this as the favorable political solution to the Palestinian refugee situation and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this sense, Palestinians perceived the UNRWA to be both highly political and actively working against their interests.

    In later decades, the UNRWA switched its primary focus from jobs to education at the urging of Palestinian refugees. But the UNRWA’s education materials were viewed by Israel as further feeding Palestinian militancy, and the Israeli government insisted on checking and approving all materials in Gaza and the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

    A protester is removed by members of the U.S. Capitol Police during a House hearing on Jan. 30, 2024.
    Alex Wong/Getty Images

    While Israel has long been suspicious of the UNRWA’s role in refugee camps and in providing education, the organization’s operation, which is internationally funded, also saves Israel millions of dollars each year in services it would be obliged to deliver as the occupying power.

    Since the 1960s, the U.S. – the UNRWA’s primary donor – and other Western countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to use aid to prevent radicalization among refugees.

    In response to the increased presence of armed opposition groups, the U.S. attached a provision to its UNRWA aid in 1970, requiring that the “UNRWA take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) or any other guerrilla-type organization.”

    The UNRWA adheres to this requirement, even publishing an annual list of its employees so that host governments can vet them, but it also employs 30,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian.

    Questions over links of the UNRWA to any militancy has led to the rise of Israeli and international watch groups that document the social media activity of the organization’s large Palestinian staff.

    In 2018, the Trump administration paused its US$60 million contribution to the UNRWA. Trump claimed the pause would create political pressure for Palestinians to negotiate. President Joe Biden restarted U.S. contributions to the UNRWA in 2021.

    While other major donors restored funding to the UNRWA after the conclusion of the investigation in April, the U.S. has yet to do so.

    ‘An unmitigated disaster’

    Israel’s ban of the UNRWA will leave already starving Palestinians without a lifeline. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said banning the UNRWA “would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster.” The foreign ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. issued a joint statement arguing that the ban would have “devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.”

    Reports have emerged of Israeli plans for private security contractors to take over aid distribution in Gaza through dystopian “gated communities,” which would in effect be internment camps. This would be a troubling move. In contrast to the UNRWA, private contractors have little experience delivering aid and are not dedicated to the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality or independence.

    However, the Knesset’s explicit ban could, inadvertently, force the United States to suspend weapons transfers to Israel. U.S. law requires that it stop weapons transfers to any country that obstructs the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid. And the U.S. pause on funding for the UNRWA was only meant to be temporary.

    The UNRWA is the main conduit for assistance into Gaza, and the Knesset’s ban makes explicit that the Israeli government is preventing aid delivery, making it harder for Washington to ignore. Before the bill passed, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller warned that “passage of the legislation could have implications under U.S. law and U.S. policy.”

    At the same time, two U.S. government agencies previously alerted the Biden administration that Israel was obstructing aid into Gaza, yet weapons transfers have continued unabated.

    Sections of this story were first used in an earlier article published by The Conversation U.S. on Feb. 1, 2024.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Israel’s ban on UNRWA continues a pattern of politicizing Palestinian refugee aid – and puts millions of lives at risk – https://theconversation.com/israels-ban-on-unrwa-continues-a-pattern-of-politicizing-palestinian-refugee-aid-and-puts-millions-of-lives-at-risk-242379

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Canadian Engineers to Receive High-Demand Skills Training Through Innovative New Platform

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Foresight Canada is announcing the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing Engineers Upskilling Program (AME-UP). AME-UP is funded by Upskill Canada, powered by Palette Skills and the Government of Canada, and is part of the first wave of partnership agreements that are taking an industry-oriented approach to supporting Canadian workers. These agreements will help thousands of workers find new careers through skills training and job placement in some of the fastest-growing industries in Canada.

    Canada’s advanced manufacturing sector faces pressure to adopt sustainable practices to meet climate targets and stay competitive. Traditional methods contribute to high emissions, waste, and inefficiencies, increasing the demand for greener, more efficient solutions. Cleantech innovations like energy-efficient technologies and waste reduction are crucial, but the transition requires a workforce equipped with specialized skills.

    To address this need, Foresight Canada has launched the 16-week AME-UP program, which connects engineers with cleantech employers, offering hands-on experience, real-world projects, and industry-specific training. Employers benefit from access to skilled engineers through Work Integrated Learning (WIL), helping shape the future workforce while supporting the shift to sustainable manufacturing.

    Upskill Canada, supported by funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) as part of the Upskilling for Industry Initiative, is Canada’s most ambitious talent initiative. Central to all Upskill Canada programs is the role of community training providers, who work closely with industry to identify in-demand skills. Upskilling workers through Upskill Canada programs creates new career pathways for workers and better positions Canadian companies to compete both domestically and internationally.

    Whether you’re an employer seeking top talent or a participant looking to upskill in cleantech, the AME-UP program is for you. Apply today to unlock new opportunities and drive sustainable growth.

    Quick Facts

    Foresight Canada’s mission is to accelerate adoption of the world’s best clean technologies. Since 2013, they have supported 1280+ cleantech ventures, 150+ industry partners, and 300+ investor firms to deploy $1.77 billion in capital, achieve $511 million in revenues, and create 8,760+ high-paying jobs. Their domestic and international engagement includes collaboration with 2,000+ partners and collaborators.

    Quotes

    “Programs like AME-UP are essential to uniting innovators and industry leaders, bridging the gap between technical talent and our cleantech industry, and preparing Canada’s workforce to drive our future economy forward. By fostering collaboration through market-driven programs, we equip engineering talent with the knowledge needed to advance innovation, drive adoption and ensure employers have access to a highly trained, ready-to-impact workforce.” — Jeanette Jackson, CEO, Foresight Canada

    “Upskill Canada’s partnership with Foresight Canada will allow more workers to access jobs in Canada’s growing advanced manufacturing sector. Graduates of the AME-UP program will be in high demand, bringing the most up-to-date skills to a rapidly changing industry.” — Rhonda Barnet, CEO, Palette Skills

    About Foresight Canada

    ​​Foresight Canada helps the world do more with less, sustainably. As Canada’s largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator, they de-risk and simplify public and private sector adoption of the world’s best clean technologies to improve productivity, profitability, and economic competitiveness, all while addressing urgent climate challenges.

    About Upskill Canada

    Upskill Canada is a national talent platform that helps fast-growing companies access the talent they need to compete and succeed globally while creating new career pathways for workers to rapidly transition into high-demand roles. Upskill Canada programs are focused on strengthening key growth sectors: digital technology, cybersecurity, agricultural technology, advanced manufacturing, clean technology and biomanufacturing.

    Think you are a great fit for the AME-UP program? Apply now:

    For Employers

    For Participants

    Questions about the program ? Reach out: upskill@foresightcac.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The ancient Irish get way too much credit for Halloween

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lisa Bitel, Dean’s Professor of Religion & Professor of History, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

    The Celtic festival of Samhain celebrates a time of year when the division between Earth and the otherworld collapses, allowing spirits to pass through. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

    This time of year, I often run across articles proclaiming Halloween a modern form of the pagan Irish holiday of Samhain – pronounced SAW-en. But as a historian of Ireland and its medieval literature, I can tell you: Samhain is Irish. Halloween isn’t.

    The Irish often get credit – or blame – for the bonfires, pranksters, witches, jack-o’-lanterns and beggars who wander from house to house, threatening tricks and soliciting treats.

    The first professional 19th-century folklorists were the ones who created a through line from Samhain to Halloween. Oxford University’s John Rhys and James Frazer of the University of Cambridge were keen to find the origins of their national cultures.

    They observed lingering customs in rural areas of Britain and Ireland and searched medieval texts for evidence that these practices and beliefs had ancient pagan roots. They mixed stories of magic and paganism with harvest festivals and whispers of human sacrifice, and you can still find echoes of their outdated theories on websites.

    But the Halloween we celebrate today has more to do with the English, a ninth-century pope and America’s obsession with consumerism.

    A changing of the seasons

    For two millennia, Samhain, the night of Oct. 31, has marked the turn from summer to winter on the Irish calendar. It was one of four seasonal signposts in agricultural and pastoral societies.

    After Samhain, people brought the animals inside as refuge from the long, cold nights of winter. Imbolc, which is on Feb. 1, marked the beginning of the lambing season, followed by spring planting. Beltaine signaled the start of mating season for humans and beasts alike on May 1, and Lughnasadh kicked off the harvest on Aug. 1.

    But whatever the ancient Irish did on Oct. 31 is lost to scholars because there’s almost no evidence of their pagan traditions except legends written by churchmen around 800 A.D., about 400 years after the Irish started turning Christian. Although they wrote about the adventures of their ancestors, churchmen could only imagine the pagan ways that had disappeared.

    A neopagan celebration of Samhain in October 2021.
    Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    An otherworld more utopian than terrifying

    These stories about the pagan past told of Irish kings holding annual weeklong feasts, markets and games at Samhain. The day ended early in northwestern Europe, before 5 p.m., and winter nights were long. After sundown, people went inside to eat, drink and listen to storytellers.

    The stories did not link Samhain with death and horror. But they did treat Samhain as a night of magic, when the otherworld – what, in Irish, was known as the “sí” – opened its portals to mortals. One tale, “The Adventure of Nera,” warned that if you went out on Samhain Eve, you might meet dead men or warriors from the sí, or you might unknowingly wander into the otherworld.

    When Nera went out on a dare, he met a thirsty corpse in search of drink and unwittingly followed warriors through a portal into the otherworld. But instead of ghosts and terror, Nera found love. He ended up marrying a “ban sídh” – pronounced “BAN-shee” – an otherworldly woman. But here’s the medieval twist to the tale: He lived happily ever after in this otherworld with his family and farm.

    The Irish otherworld was no hell, either. In medieval tales, it is a sunny place in perpetual spring. Everyone who lives there is beautiful, powerful, immortal and blond. They have good teeth. The rivers flow with mead and wine, and food appears on command. No sexual act is a sin. The houses sparkle with gems and precious metals. Even the horses are perfect.

    Clampdown on pagan customs

    The link between Oct. 31, ghosts and devils was really the pope’s fault.

    In 834, Pope Gregory IV decreed Nov. 1 the day for celebrating all Christian saints. In English, the feast day became All Hallows Day. The night before – Oct. 31 – became known as All Hallows Eve.

    Some modern interpretations insist that Pope Gregory created All Hallows Day to quell pagan celebrations of Samhain. But Gregory knew nothing of ancient Irish seasonal holidays. In reality, he probably did it because everyone celebrated All Saints on different days and, like other Popes, Gregory sought to consolidate and control the liturgical calendar.

    In the later Middle Ages, All Hallows Eve emerged as a popular celebration of the saints. People went to church and prayed to the saints for favors and blessings. Afterward, they went home to feast. Then, on Nov. 2, they celebrated All Souls’ Day by praying for the souls of their lost loved ones, hoping that prayers would help their dead relatives out of purgatory and into heaven.

    But in the 16th century, the Protestant rulers of Britain and Ireland quashed saints’ feast days, because praying to saints seemed idolatrous. Protestant ministers did their best to eliminate popular customs of the early November holidays, such as candle-lit processions and harvest bonfires.

    In the minds of ministers, these customs smacked of heathenism.

    A mishmash of traditions

    Our Halloween of costumed beggars and leering jack-o’-lanterns descends from this mess of traditions, storytelling and antiquarianism.

    Like our ancestors, we constantly remake our most important holidays to suit current culture.

    Jack-o’-lanterns are neither ancient nor Irish. One of the earliest references is an 18th-century account of an eponymous Jack, who tricked the devil one too many times and was condemned to wander the world forever.

    Supposedly, Jack, or whatever the hero was called, carved a turnip and stuck a candle in it as his lantern. But the custom of carving turnips in early November probably originated in England with celebrations of All Saints’ Day and another holiday, Guy Fawkes Day on Nov. 5, with its bonfires and fireworks, and it spread from there.

    Guy Fawkes Day, an annual celebration in Great Britain, features fireworks and bonfires and is observed on Nov. 5.
    Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images

    As for ancient bonfires, the Irish and Britons built them to celebrate Beltaine, but not Samhain – at least, not according to the medieval tales.

    In 19th-century Ireland, All Hallows Eve was a time for communal suppers, games like bobbing for apples and celebrating the magic of courtship. For instance, girls tried to peel apples in one long peel; then they examined the peels to see what letters they resembled – the initials of their future husbands’ names. Boys crept out of the gathering, despite warnings, to make mischief, taking off farm gates or stealing cabbages and hurling them at the neighbors’ doors.

    Halloween with an American sheen

    Across the Atlantic, these customs first appeared in the mid-19th century, when the Irish, English and many other immigrant groups brought their holidays to the U.S.

    In medieval Scotland, “guisers” were people who dressed in disguise and begged for “soul cakes” on All Souls Day. These guisers probably became the costumed children who threatened – and sometimes perpetrated – mischief unless given treats. Meanwhile, carved turnips became jack-o’-lanterns, since pumpkins were plentiful in North America – and easier to carve.

    Like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter, Halloween eventually became a feast of consumerism. Companies mass-produced costumes, paper decorations and packaged candy. People in Britain and Ireland blamed the Americans for the spread of modern Halloween and its customs. British schools even tried to quash the holiday in the 1990s because of its disorderly and demonic connotations.

    The only real remnant of Samhain in Halloween is the date. Nowadays, no one expects to stumble into a romance in the sí. Only those drawn to the ancient Celtic past sense the numinous opening of the otherworld at Samhain.

    But who’s to say which reality prevails when the portals swing open in the dark of Oct. 31?

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

    – ref. The ancient Irish get way too much credit for Halloween – https://theconversation.com/the-ancient-irish-get-way-too-much-credit-for-halloween-239801

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, McGill University

    Hoping to win over customers, businesses from Amazon to Zoom have taken to touting their good deeds in corporate social responsibility reports.

    CSR reports let companies spotlight what they’ve done for workers, consumers, communities and the environment – essentially all their goals beyond simply making a profit. Research shows that CSR statements are linked to rising sales.

    As a marketing professor, I thought that raised an interesting question: When companies find success with CSR disclosures, are they bringing in new customers – or are their extra sales coming from their existing base alone?

    In a recent study of several hundred Chinese companies, a colleague and I put the question to the test. We found that a CSR disclosure lowers a business’s dependence on current customers by 2.1%.

    That’s welcome news for businesses. It means those additional sales are coming from new customers, who are indeed impressed by the company’s CSR efforts.

    But the findings weren’t all positive.

    To sell more products, companies generally need to buy more supplies. So a logical follow-up question is: Does a company’s CSR disclosure lead it to source purchases from new suppliers?

    In fact, we found the opposite. Companies that released CSR disclosures seemed to scare away new suppliers. This is probably because suppliers often bear the costs when a company chooses to prioritize social responsibility.

    Becoming dependent on suppliers comes at a cost to businesses. When suppliers know a company depends on them, they tend to demand payment in cash rather than credit. That can hurt a company, because it now has less cash for investments.

    So while CSR reports impress customers, they appear to antagonize suppliers – and that comes at a price.

    Why it matters

    Prior research has shown that CSR disclosures can boost sales, but it’s long been unclear whether these additional sales are sourced from old customers or newly acquired ones. Our work brings clarity that businesses can use in making decisions.

    The findings are also of interest to lawmakers, regulators and corporate responsibility advocates who are debating making CSR reports mandatory.

    The U.S. doesn’t require businesses to release CSR reports, but some countries do. One is China, which in 2008 mandated that all public companies submit annual CSR reports starting in 2009. This created the conditions for the nearly natural experiment we conducted.

    Interestingly, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly considered making some form of corporate social responsibility reporting mandatory. In the absence of requirements, many American corporations will continue to voluntarily report their CSR.

    In other words, the need for empirical evidence on the cost and benefits of CSR disclosure is greater than ever.

    What’s next

    The increasing incidence of extreme weather events and weather-related fatalities and injuries has piqued my interest in environmental responsibility. I have two ongoing research projects.

    First, I’m using a company’s public disclosures to measure its environmental risks and the activities it has undertaken to mitigate them. Second, I am researching how CEO incentives shape a company’s environmental disclosure, activities and spending – or the lack thereof.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

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

    – ref. Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests – https://theconversation.com/corporate-social-responsibility-disclosures-are-a-double-edged-sword-new-research-suggests-241540

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shannon Van Zandt, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

    Two people survey their beachfront home and business, which was destroyed in Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Oct. 13, 2024. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

    In a pattern all too familiar to people affected by disasters, hurricanes Helene and Milton have disappeared from the headlines, just a few weeks after these disasters ravaged the Southeast. Although reporters have moved on, recovery is just beginning for people who were displaced.

    According to government and private analysts, damages may exceed US$50 billion apiece for these two storms. The Red Cross estimates that over 7,200 homes were destroyed or severely damaged and that more than 1,200 people were living in shelters across the affected states as of late October 2024.

    Staffers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been on the ground since before Helene and Milton hit, positioned to help as soon as the storms passed, along with state and local responders. But many people aren’t clear about how FEMA helps or what its responsibilities are.

    This may be one reason why the agency has had to dispel rumors about its response to Helene in North Carolina, such as assertions that representatives were coming to seize damaged property.

    We study the impacts of natural disasters and how communities recover. Here’s what FEMA does in zones battered by disasters like Helene and Milton:

    This FEMA video explains how to initiate claims after federally declared disasters.

    Quick cash grants, then funding for repairs

    FEMA works year-round helping communities prepare for disasters and training emergency management personnel to respond to these events. In the wake of declared federal disasters, it offers its Public Assistance and Individuals and Households programs.

    Public Assistance Program funds are available to state and local governments and some nonprofits to help pay for things like removing debris, preventing further damage and restoring public infrastructure. Support from the Individuals and Households Program may include funds for temporary housing and for repairing or replacing primary residences, as well as provision of temporary housing units for people displaced from their homes.

    FEMA launched a new form of flexible aid in March 2024 that provides quick cash payments of $750 per household for immediate needs, such as food, water, gasoline and emergency shelter. Contrary to rumors that have circulated in the wake of Helene, these payments are just a start, not the maximum support that FEMA offers.

    Applicants have to file claims to receive further aid. These requests go through extensive review, such as inspections of home damage. FEMA then decides how much aid to provide, if any.

    The agency will fund repairs intended to make the home safe to live in, but this work may not be enough to return the home to its pre-disaster state. Currently, the maximum FEMA aid for housing assistance is $42,500, plus an additional $42,500 for other disaster-related needs. For many, these amounts will be insufficient.

    FEMA officials say the agency has enough funding to handle immediate response and recovery from both Helene and Milton. However,
    until damage from both storms has been fully assessed, it is hard to know whether FEMA will need supplemental funds from Congress to support long-term recovery.

    Insurance plays a key role

    FEMA’s programs are intended to help with temporary housing and other needs that aren’t covered by insurance. Homeowners are expected to protect themselves against losing their dwellings by insuring their homes.

    However, some natural disasters are not always covered by homeowners insurance. They include storm-driven flooding, earthquakes and wind damage from hurricanes and tornadoes.

    In places that are vulnerable to these hazards, homeowners may have to seek separate coverage, either from private insurers or government-backed lenders of last resort. Households that don’t purchase special coverage, either because it costs too much or they don’t think they need it, will struggle to recover.

    According to FEMA, only 4% of U.S. homeowners have flood insurance, while 99% of U.S. counties have experienced flooding since 1996.

    Other federal funding sources

    Another federal funding source for housing repair and replacement and other personal property losses is the Small Business Administration. But, unlike FEMA grants that don’t need to be repaid, the SBA only offers low-interest loans.

    The main source of funding for long-term housing recovery is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery grants. These funds must be approved by Congress following a disaster, so it can take months or years for funds to reach communities.

    Awarding this money as block grants gives state and local governments more flexibility to meet the needs of affected communities. However, it also makes it easier to allocate the funds in ways that don’t address the housing needs of the people they are intended to help.

    In recent years, we have seen many cases in which state or local officials have spent these funds inappropriately. For example, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour redirected most of his state’s HUD funds to economic development projects, including expanding the port of Gulfport, rather than rebuilding housing for storm survivors.

    Fighting to direct funds to those who need them most often requires legal action, extending the wait for hard-hit communities that need it.

    Renters have few options

    Disaster recovery programs often overlook renters, even though in many areas up to half of residents may rent their homes. Renters have little control over whether their homes are rebuilt at all, much less whether they will be allowed to return to them.

    Our research has shown that owner-occupied housing generally recovers much more quickly than rental housing. Apartment buildings also face a more uncertain recovery than single-family homes.

    Helping the neediest victims

    Even after recent updates to its rules, FEMA still struggles to adequately meet the needs of the most vulnerable groups in society. This includes low-income and minority households, people with disabilities and those who are undocumented.

    Poor households often live in homes that are in bad shape or that have gone through previous disasters without repair. In such cases, it can be hard for FEMA inspectors to determine how much damage was caused by the current disaster, which in turn can lead to claims being denied.

    In south Texas, after hurricanes Dolly and Ike in 2008, thousands of low-income households’ claims were denied, leading to a class-action lawsuit that homeowners ultimately won. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, many homeowners were denied rebuilding aid because they couldn’t provide a title to prove ownership.

    In response, FEMA created new rules in 2023 for demonstrating ownership. For example, FEMA has modified and expanded the types of documentation needed to prove ownership. The agency has also changed eligibility and assistance rules to make it easier to qualify for assistance.

    Recent research suggests that, at least on the whole, FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program is not likely to underserve poor households. Nonetheless, as people across the Southeast take stock of losses from this year’s hurricanes, we believe it will be important to pay special attention to under-resourced households, whose needs may not be adequately addressed by federal programs.

    Shannon Van Zandt receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and the National Institutes for Standards & Technology. She is a board member of Texas Housers, a non-profit that advocates for housing for low-income Texans.

    Walter Gillis Peacock research has been funded by a number of agencies including the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    – ref. Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes – https://theconversation.com/beyond-bottled-water-and-sandwiches-what-fema-is-doing-to-get-hurricane-victims-back-into-their-homes-241176

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AFRICA/NIGERIA – Rector of a seminary offers himself as hostage in exchange for two students

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – Father Thomas Oyode, the latest in a long list of priests kidnapped in Nigeria, offered himself as hostage in exchange for two students.On Sunday 27 October, around 7pm, armed men attacked the “Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary School” in Agenegabode, in the local government area of Etsako East of Edo State, in southern Nigeria. According to various sources, after entering the seminary, the attackers first fired shots in the air and then kidnapped two students from the school. When he heard the shots, Father Thomas, the Rector of the minor Seminary, went out into the courtyard and faced the bandits with the two students and offered himself as a hostage in exchange for the two students. The kidnappers accepted the priest’s request and exchanged him for the two students. He was then abducted by the bandits into the bush. Meanwhile, a manhunt has been launched to find the kidnappers and free Father Thomas.In a statement, the Diocese of Auchi also confirmed the incident, adding: “The vice-rector and all the seminarians have been located and are safe and have been temporarily moved to a safe place until security measures around the minor seminary are strengthened”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/INDONESIA – Appointment of bishop of Surabaya

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Tuesday, 29 October 2024

    Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Agustinus Tri Budi Utomo, of the clergy of the diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia, until now episcopal vicar for pastoral care, as bishop of the same diocese.Msgr. Agustinus Tri Budi Utomo was born on 12 March 1968 in Ngawi, East Java. After entering the Saint Vincentius a Paulo Minor Seminary in Blitar, he continued his formation at the Saint John XXIII Interdiocesan Major Seminary in Malang, attending the Widya Sasana Philosophical and Theological Institute in Malang, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in theology.He was ordained a priest on 27 August 1996.He has held the following offices: chaplain for university students (1996), parish vicar (1996-2000) and parish priest (2000-2001) of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario, lecturer at Universitas Airlangga (1996-2001), teacher at the Saint Vincentius a Paulo Minor Seminary (1996-2001), director of the Lembaga Karya Dharma social and healthcare Foundation (2001), parish vicar of Infant Jesus in Marau, diocese of Ketapang (2001-2004), parish priest of Saint Charles Borromeo in Tembelina, diocese of Ketapang (2004-2005), parish priest of Saint Pius XI in Blora (2005-2007), president of the Yohanes Gabriel educational Foundation (2006-2007-2012), episcopal vicar for Region IV (2007-2008), lecturer at the Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala (2007-2010), episcopal vicar of Cepu and parish vicar of Saint Willibrordus in Cepu (2008-2011), parish administrator of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario (2017-2018), parish vicar of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario (2018-2020), parish vicar of the Catheral (2020-2022), and chair of the diocesan Commission for the Family (2020-2022). Since 2011 he has served as vicar general of the diocese of Surabaya and subsequently episcopal vicar for pastoral care. Since 2021 he has been a member of the diocesan Commission for Property and Assets and, since 2022, parish vicar of Sakramen Mahakudus Pagesangan in Surabaya. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/MYANMAR – Appointment of bishop of Myitkyina

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Tuesday, 29 October 2024

    Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. John Mung Ngawn La Sam, M.F., of the Missionaries of Faith, until now parish priest of Saint Paul Church and head of the Retreat Centre in Shadau, as bishop of the diocese of Myitkyina, Myanmar.Msgr. John Mung Ngawn La Sam, M.F., was born on 27 April 1973 in Moe Gok. He studied law atMyitkyina University and philosophy at Saint Joseph’s Institute of Philosophy in Pyi Oo Lwin. After completing the year of spirituality at the formation house of the Missionaries of the Faith in Rome (2009-2010), he studied theology at the Pontifical Lateran University (2011-2014).He gave his religious vows in the Congregation of the Missionary Fathers of Faith on 8 September and was ordained a priest on 16 January 2016.He has held the following offices: assistant parish priest of the Saint Colombano Cathedral, Myitkyina (2016-2017), and since 2017, parish priest of Saint Paul’s Church and head of the Retreat Centre in the diocese of Myitkyina. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/SOUTH KOREA – A mass in memory of the victims of the Halloween massacre, two years later

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Tuesday, 29 October 2024 youth  

    Photo:Park Sun Hyeok

    Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – Yesterday evening, in the church of the “St. Francis Educational Center” in the Jung Dong district, in the capital of South Korea, a mass was held in memory of the victims of the Halloween disaster in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district where on October 29, 2022, a total of 159 people lost their lives in a stampede, swept away by the crowd of young people who had come for the Halloween party.The Holy Mass was celebrated by Father Marco Inkook Kim together with about 20 diocesan and religious priests, and was attended by at least 200 people, among whom there were also numerous nuns. During the Mass, the names of all the victims were read in the presence of the parents present, who wore purple clothes and sat in the first pews. The father of Sang-eun, one of the victims, took the floor and gave a long speech. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the nuns and priests on behalf of the grieving families for holding our hands, shedding tears and offering us comfort and support,” said Lee Sung-hwan, among other things.The Mass concluded with a performance by the famous artist Shin Sang Og, followed by music to the sounds of the song “Fly me to the moon”.The Catholic Church in Korea will host World Youth Day in 2027. There are many expectations from those involved in organizing this event, which will be an opportunity for the Korean ecclesial community to look with particular attention to the young generations and their situation. (PR) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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  • MIL-OSI: First Financial Northwest, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RENTON, Wash., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Financial Northwest, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ GS: FFNW), the holding company for First Financial Northwest Bank (the “Bank”), today reported a net loss of $608,000, or $(0.07) per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to net income of $1.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and net income of $1.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company reported a net loss of $128,000, or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.1 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the comparable period in 2023.

    The net loss for the quarter was primarily the result of a $1.6 million provision for credit losses. Our allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) analysis determined that a provision for credit losses of $1.6 million was appropriate as of September 30, 2024. This provision mainly relates to two participation loans totaling $6.0 million, for which we are not the lead lender. These loans, secured by short-term rehabilitation and assisted living facilities, have been individually evaluated and classified as “substandard” since March 2022 due to a decline in demand for the services provided at such facilities post-COVID. While payments on the loans were current as of September 30, 2024, updated appraisals received during the quarter resulted in an increase in our ACL. The loan guarantors are under contract to sell another property, with the sale expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024. Proceeds from this sale are expected to be applied to the two loans, which would improve our position. Additionally, the guarantors reported interest from a national real estate developer in purchasing one of the facilities, though no purchase agreement was entered into as of September 30, 2024. The ACL was also impacted by higher forecasted unemployment rates and increased construction and land development loan balances. Additionally, reserves for unfunded commitments increased by $75,000 due to increased construction lending activity during the quarter.

    “While we recorded a provision for credit losses during the quarter ended September 30, 2024, our credit quality remained strong, with only $853,000 in nonaccrual loans relative to our $1.14 billion total loan portfolio. Our strong credit quality is directly related to our top-notch lending department employees who originate, document and underwrite these loans,” stated Joseph W. Kiley III, President and CEO.

    “We also continue to work closely with Global Federal Credit Union (“Global”) to prepare for the closing of the pending transaction and to ensure a smooth transition for our customers and employees. I truly appreciate the efforts and patience of our employees, customers, and shareholders as we await the final required approval from the National Credit Union Administration before we can close the transaction,” concluded Kiley.

    Highlights for the quarter ended September 30, 2024:

    • Net loans receivable totaled $1.13 billion at September 30, 2024, down $8.9 million from the prior quarter end.
    • Book value per share was $17.39 at September 30, 2024, compared to $17.51 at June 30, 2024, and $17.35 at September 30, 2023.
    • The Bank’s Tier 1 leverage and total capital ratios were 10.9% and 16.7% at September 30, 2024, compared to 10.9% and 16.6% at June 30, 2024, and 10.3% and 16.0% at September 30, 2023, respectively.
    • Credit quality remained strong with nonaccrual loans totaling only $853,000, or 0.07% of total loans.
    • A $1.6 million provision for credit losses was recorded in the current quarter, compared to a $200,000 recapture of provision for credit losses in the prior quarter and a $300,000 recapture of provision for credit losses in the comparable quarter in 2023.

    Deposits totaled $1.17 billion at September 30, 2024, compared to $1.09 billion at June 30, 2024, and $1.21 billion at September 30, 2023. The $79.2 million increase in deposits at September 30, 2024, compared to June 30, 2024, was due primarily to a $81.9 million increase in retail certificates of deposit and a $624,000 increase in noninterest-bearing demand deposits, partially offset by a $1.5 million, $1.4 million, $392,000, and $104,000 decline in interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposits, savings and brokered deposits, respectively. The increased deposits were used to pay down our FHLB advances to $100.0 million at September 30, 2024, from $176.0 million at June 30, 2024.

    Advances from the FHLB totaled $100.0 million at September 30, 2024, down from $176.0 million at June 30, 2024, and $125.0 million at September 30, 2023, as the increase in deposits during the current quarter allowed us to reduce our reliance on FHLB advances. At September 30, 2024, the $100.0 million in FHLB advances were tied to cash flow hedge agreements where the Bank pays a fixed rate and receives a variable rate in return to assist in the Bank’s interest rate risk management efforts. These cash flow hedge agreements had a weighted average remaining term of 30.8 months and a weighted average fixed interest rate of 1.93% as of September 30, 2024. The average cost of borrowings was 3.19% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 2.64% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and 2.42% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

    The following table presents a breakdown of our total deposits (unaudited):

      Sep 30,
    2024    		   Jun 30,
    2024    		   Sep 30,
    2023    		   Three
    Month
    Change    		   One
    Year
    Change
    Deposits: (Dollars in thousands)
    Noninterest-bearing demand $ 100,466   $ 99,842   $ 104,164   $ 624     $ (3,698 )
    Interest-bearing demand   55,506     57,033     60,816     (1,527 )     (5,310 )
    Savings   17,031     17,423     18,844     (392 )     (1,813 )
    Money market   495,978     497,345     501,168     (1,367 )     (5,190 )
    Certificates of deposit, retail   447,474     365,527     349,446     81,947       98,028  
    Brokered deposits   50,900     51,004     175,972     (104 )     (125,072 )
    Total deposits $ 1,167,355   $ 1,088,174   $ 1,210,410   $ 79,181     $ (43,055 )
     

    The following tables present an analysis of total deposits by branch office (unaudited):

    September 30, 2024
      Noninterest-bearing demand Interest-bearing demand Savings Money
    market    		 Certificates of deposit, retail Brokered
    deposits    		 Total
      (Dollars in thousands)
    King County              
    Renton $ 29,388 $ 14,153 $ 10,654 $ 305,836 $ 315,721 $ – $ 675,752
    Landing   3,442   1,660   237   8,348   12,733   –   26,420
    Woodinville   1,968   2,234   959   8,852   11,522   –   25,535
    Bothell   2,965   1,151   401   1,536   5,918   –   11,971
    Crossroads   14,770   2,039   107   31,665   18,136   –   66,717
    Kent   5,417   10,502   44   16,053   8,562   –   40,578
    Kirkland   10,967   1,890   206   11,243   2,240   –   26,546
    Issaquah   1,186   294   18   2,547   6,580   –   10,625
    Total King County   70,103   33,923   12,626   386,080   381,412   –   884,144
    Snohomish County              
    Mill Creek   3,990   2,171   384   14,628   10,312   –   31,485
    Edmonds   9,254   6,831   330   18,549   13,281   –   48,245
    Clearview   5,587   5,242   1,462   21,206   12,251   –   45,748
    Lake Stevens   3,970   4,282   1,244   23,257   15,571   –   48,324
    Smokey Point   2,994   1,664   969   29,353   11,387   –   46,367
    Total Snohomish County   25,795   20,190   4,389   106,993   62,802   –   220,169
    Pierce County              
    University Place   2,940   53   4   1,848   1,458   –   6,303
    Gig Harbor   1,628   1,340   12   1,057   1,802   –   5,839
    Total Pierce County   4,568   1,393   16   2,905   3,260   –   12,142
                   
    Brokered deposits   –   –   –   –   –   50,900   50,900
                   
    Total deposits $ 100,466 $ 55,506 $ 17,031 $ 495,978 $ 447,474 $ 50,900 $ 1,167,355
    June 30, 2024
      Noninterest-bearing demand Interest-bearing demand Savings Money
    market    		 Certificates of deposit, retail Brokered
    deposits    		 Total
      (Dollars in thousands)
    King County              
    Renton $ 30,336 $ 14,380 $ 11,186 $ 306,176 $ 246,076 $ – $ 608,154
    Landing   2,079   566   113   7,895   9,881   –   20,534
    Woodinville   1,953   2,949   987   10,931   10,845   –   27,665
    Bothell   3,336   847   398   1,595   6,055   –   12,231
    Crossroads   13,585   2,858   28   25,599   17,748   –   59,818
    Kent   7,729   8,142   42   14,525   7,448   –   37,886
    Kirkland   8,326   1,789   210   15,007   1,752   –   27,084
    Issaquah   1,287   232   22   3,971   6,202   –   11,714
    Total King County   68,631   31,763   12,986   385,699   306,007   –   805,086
    Snohomish County              
    Mill Creek   5,823   2,306   420   15,209   9,578   –   33,336
    Edmonds   10,418   9,470   402   20,255   12,753   –   53,298
    Clearview   4,810   4,888   1,444   18,695   9,504   –   39,341
    Lake Stevens   4,111   4,445   1,171   22,618   14,090   –   46,435
    Smokey Point   2,700   3,152   982   31,808   10,435   –   49,077
    Total Snohomish County   27,862   24,261   4,419   108,585   56,360   –   221,487
    Pierce County              
    University Place   2,385   41   2   1,819   1,503   –   5,750
    Gig Harbor   964   968   16   1,242   1,657   –   4,847
    Total Pierce County   3,349   1,009   18   3,061   3,160   –   10,597
                   
    Brokered deposits   –   –   –   –   –   51,004   51,004
                   
    Total deposits $ 99,842 $ 57,033 $ 17,423 $ 497,345 $ 365,527 $ 51,004 $ 1,088,174
     

    Net loans receivable totaled $1.13 billion at September 30, 2024, compared to $1.14 billion at June 30, 2024, and $1.17 billion at September 30, 2023. During the quarter ended September 30, 2024, loan repayments outpaced new loan fundings across all loan categories except construction and land development. The average balance of net loans receivable totaled $1.13 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $1.14 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $1.17 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

    The ACL represented 1.42% of total loans receivable at September 30, 2024, compared to 1.29% at both June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023.

    Nonaccrual loans totaled $853,000 at September 30, 2024, compared to $4.7 million at June 30, 2024, and $201,000 at September 30, 2023. The decrease compared to the prior quarter was due primarily to the payoff of a $4.1 million commercial real estate loan that had been reported as nonaccrual as of June 30, 2024. The Bank did not incur any loss related to this credit. Additionally, there was no other real estate owned at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, or September 30, 2023.

    Net interest income totaled $8.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $9.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $9.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

    Total interest income was $19.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $19.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $19.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The increase in total interest income during the current quarter was primarily due to interest income on interest-earning deposits held with banks which increased to $863,000 in the quarter ended September 30, 2024, up 79.0% from $482,000 in the quarter ended June 30, 2024, partially offset by decreases in interest income on loans and investments of $147,000 or 0.9% and $142,000 or 7.5%, respectively. The decrease in total interest income during the current quarter compared to the comparable quarter in 2023, was primarily due to decreases in interest income on loans of $260,000 or 1.5% and on investments of $374,000 or 17.7%, partially offset by increases in interest income on interest-earning deposits held with banks and dividends on FHLB stock of $338,000 or 64.4% and $37,000 or 32.7%, respectively.

    Yield on loans decreased to 5.86% during the recent quarter from 5.93% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and increased from 5.73% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. During the June 30, 2024 quarter, the Bank modified over $130 million in loans under its agreement with Global, resulting in a $214,000 increase in net deferred loan fees and costs, which increased the loan yield. In the most recent quarter, these fees and costs decreased by $266,000. The yield on investment securities for the current quarter was 4.30%, down from 4.38% last quarter and up from 3.98% a year ago.

    Total interest expense was $11.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $10.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $10.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The increase from the quarters ended June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, was due to increases in funding costs. Interest expense on deposits increased $250,000 or 2.6% to $9.7 million, while interest expense on other borrowings increased $364,000 or 42.9% to $1.2 million during the current quarter, compared to the prior quarter. The increase in interest expense on deposits was primarily due to a $32.5 million increase in the average balances of certificates of deposit, partially offset by declines of $28.9 million and $10.7 million in the average balances of brokered deposits and money market deposits, respectively. In addition, the average cost of interest-bearing deposits was 3.80% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, up from 3.71% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase in interest expense on other borrowings was due to a $22.4 million increase in the average balance of borrowings, coupled with a 55-basis point increase in the average cost of other borrowings to 3.19% during the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to the prior quarter. The increase in interest expense during the current quarter compared to the same quarter in 2023, was also due to increases in both the average balance and cost of outstanding borrowings, which increased by $26.1 million and 77 basis points, respectively.

    Net interest margin was 2.46% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 2.66% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and 2.69% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in the net interest margin for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was due primarily to continued pressure on funding costs. The average yield on interest-earning assets decreased seven basis points to 5.66% during the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from 5.73% during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and increased 20 basis points from 5.46% during the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased 13 basis points to 3.72% during the quarter, from 3.59% during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and increased 48 basis points from 3.24% during the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The net interest margin for the month of September 2024 was 2.49%.

    Noninterest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, totaled $677,000, up slightly from $673,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and unchanged from $677,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The increase compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2024, was primarily due to fluctuations related to our fintech focused venture capital investment more than offsetting the decreases in BOLI income, wealth management revenue and deposit and loan related fees in the quarter.

    Noninterest expense totaled $8.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $7.9 million for the prior quarter, and $8.8 million for the same period in 2023. The increase from the June 30, 2024 quarter was primarily due to a $789,000 increase in salaries and employee benefits. This was because the June 2024 quarter included $939,000 in deferred loan costs related to loan modifications, which reduced salary and employee benefit expenses, compared to $117,000 in deferred loan costs in the quarter ended September 30, 2024. Partially offsetting this was a $411,000 refund from the defined benefit plan buyout following a final census review of remaining plan participants. Professional fees also declined by $164,000 in the current quarter, largely due to a $101,000 decline in transaction-related expenses and a $54,000 decline in legal fees. Compared to the September 30, 2023 quarter, the decline in noninterest expense was primarily due to a $412,000 decrease in salaries and employee benefits, a $51,000 decrease in marketing expenses, a $35,000 decline in regulatory assessments, and $10,000 in lower occupancy and equipment expense. These reductions were partially offset by higher data processing, other general and administrative expenses and professional fees.

    First Financial Northwest, Inc. is the parent company of First Financial Northwest Bank; an FDIC insured Washington State-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Renton, Washington, serving the Puget Sound Region through 15 full-service banking offices. For additional information about us, please visit our website at ffnwb.com and click on the “Investor Relations” link at the bottom of the page.

    Forward-looking statements:
    When used in this press release and in other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in press releases or other public stockholder communications, or in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases “believe,” “will,” “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimate,” “project,” “plans,” or similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent management’s current expectations and forecasts regarding future events many of which are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, assumptions and statements about, among other things, our pending transaction with Global Federal Credit Union (“Global”) whereby Global, pursuant to the definitive purchase and assumption agreement (the “P&A Agreement”), will acquire substantially all of the assets and assume substantially all of the liabilities of the Bank, expectations of the business environment in which we operate, projections of future performance or financial items, perceived opportunities in the market, potential future credit experience, and statements regarding our mission and vision. These forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations and may, therefore, involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ, possibly materially from those currently expected or projected in these forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us and could negatively affect our operating and stock performance. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the following: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or all of the parties to terminate the P&A Agreement; delays in completing the P&A Agreement; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the Global transaction, including the P&A Agreement, on a timely basis or at all; delays or other circumstances arising from the dissolution of the Bank and the Company following completion of the P&A Agreement; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities during the pending Global transaction; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement of the Global transaction; adverse impacts to economic conditions in our local market areas, other markets where the Company has lending relationships, or other aspects of the Company’s business operations or financial markets, including, without limitation, as a result of employment levels, labor shortages and the effects of inflation, a recession or slowed economic growth; changes in the interest rate environment, including increases or decreases in the Federal Reserve benchmark rate and duration at which such interest rate levels are maintained, which could adversely affect our revenues and expenses, the value of assets and obligations, and the availability and cost of capital and liquidity; the impact of inflation and the current and future monetary policies of the Federal Reserve in response thereto; the effects of any federal government shutdown; increased competitive pressures; legislative and regulatory changes; the impact of bank failures or adverse developments at other banks and related negative press about the banking industry in general on investor and depositor sentiment; disruptions, security breaches, or other adverse events, failures or interruptions in, or attacks on, our information technology systems or on the third-party vendors who perform several of our critical processing functions; effects of critical accounting policies and judgments, including the use of estimates in determining the fair value of certain of our assets, which estimates may prove to be incorrect and result in significant declines in valuation; the effects of climate change, severe weather events, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics and other public health crises, acts of war or terrorism, civil unrest and other external events on our business; and other factors described in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission – that are available on our website at www.ffnwb.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

    Any of the forward-looking statements that we make in this Press Release and in the other public statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made and may turn out to be wrong because of the inaccurate assumptions we might make, because of the factors illustrated above or because of other factors that we cannot foresee. Therefore, these factors should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

    For more information, contact:
    Joseph W. Kiley III, President and Chief Executive Officer
    Rich Jacobson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
    (425) 255-4400

    FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (Dollars in thousands)
    (Unaudited)
     
    Assets Sep 30,
    2024    		   Jun 30,
    2024    		   Sep 30,
    2023    		   Three
    Month
    Change    		   One
    Year
    Change
                       
    Cash on hand and in banks $ 8,423     $ 10,811     $ 8,074     (22.1 )%   4.3 %
    Interest-earning deposits with banks   72,884       48,173       49,618     51.3     46.9  
    Investments available-for-sale, at fair value   156,609       160,693       204,975     (2.5 )   (23.6 )
    Investments held-to-maturity, at amortized cost   2,462       2,456       2,450     0.2     0.5  
    Loans receivable, net of allowance of $16,265, $14,796, and $15,306 respectively   1,126,146       1,135,067       1,168,079     (0.8 )   (3.6 )
    Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) stock, at cost   5,403       8,823       6,803     (38.8 )   (20.6 )
    Accrued interest receivable   6,638       6,632       7,263     0.1     (8.6 )
    Deferred tax assets, net   2,690       2,360       3,156     14.0     (14.8 )
    Premises and equipment, net   18,584       19,007       19,921     (2.2 )   (6.7 )
    Bank owned life insurance (“BOLI”), net   38,661       38,368       37,398     0.8     3.4  
    Prepaid expenses and other assets   8,898       11,447       13,673     (22.3 )   (34.9 )
    Right of use asset (“ROU”), net   2,473       2,670       2,818     (7.4 )   (12.2 )
    Goodwill   889       889       889     0.0     0.0  
    Core deposit intangible, net   326       357       451     (8.7 )   (27.7 )
    Total assets $ 1,451,086     $ 1,447,753     $ 1,525,568     0.2     (4.9 )
                       
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity                  
                       
    Deposits                  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits $ 100,466     $ 99,842     $ 104,164     0.6     (3.6 )
    Interest-bearing deposits   1,066,889       988,332       1,106,246     7.9     (3.6 )
    Total deposits   1,167,355       1,088,174       1,210,410     7.3     (3.6 )
    Advances from the FHLB   100,000       176,000       125,000     (43.2 )   (20.0 )
    Advance payments from borrowers for taxes and insurance   5,211       2,764       4,760     88.5     9.5  
    Lease liability, net   2,673       2,866       3,011     (6.7 )   (11.2 )
    Accrued interest payable   294       1,117       2,646     (73.7 )   (88.9 )
    Other liabilities   15,340       16,139       20,506     (5.0 )   (25.2 )
    Total liabilities   1,290,873       1,287,060       1,366,333     0.3     (5.5 )
                       
    Commitments and contingencies                  
                       
    Stockholders’ Equity                  
    Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; authorized 10,000,000 shares; no shares issued or outstanding   –       –       –     n/a   n/a
    Common stock, $0.01 par value; authorized 90,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding                  
    9,213,969 shares at September 30, 2024; 9,179,825 shares at June 30, 2024; and 9,179,510 shares at September 30, 2023   92       92       92     0.0     0.0  
    Additional paid-in capital   72,916       72,953       72,926     (0.1 )   (0.0 )
    Retained earnings   93,692       94,300       96,206     (0.6 )   (2.6 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax   (6,487 )     (6,652 )     (9,989 )   (2.5 )   (35.1 )
    Total stockholders’ equity   160,213       160,693       159,235     (0.3 )   0.6  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 1,451,086     $ 1,447,753     $ 1,525,568     0.2 %   (4.9 )%
    FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Consolidated Income Statements
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
    (Unaudited)
     
      Quarter Ended        
      Sep 30,
    2024    		   Jun 30,
    2024    		   Sep 30,
    2023    		   Three
    Month
    Change    		   One
    Year
    Change
    Interest income                  
    Loans, including fees $ 16,658     $ 16,805     $ 16,918     (0.9 )%   (1.5 )%
    Investments   1,744       1,886       2,118     (7.5 )   (17.7 )
    Interest-earning deposits with banks   863       482       525     79.0     64.4  
    Dividends on FHLB Stock   150       144       113     4.2     32.7  
    Total interest income   19,415       19,317       19,674     0.5     (1.3 )
    Interest expense                  
    Deposits   9,748       9,498       9,205     2.6     5.9  
    Other borrowings   1,213       849       766     42.9     58.4  
    Total interest expense   10,961       10,347       9,971     5.9     9.9  
    Net interest income   8,454       8,970       9,703     (5.8 )   (12.9 )
    Provision (recapture of provision) for credit losses   1,575       (200 )     (300 )   (887.5 )   (625.0 )
    Net interest income after provision (recapture of provision) for credit losses   6,879       9,170       10,003     (25.0 )   (31.2 )
                       
    Noninterest income                  
    BOLI income   295       310       244     (4.8 )   20.9  
    Wealth management revenue   42       54       53     (22.2 )   (20.8 )
    Deposit related fees   236       240       247     (1.7 )   (4.5 )
    Loan related fees   96       97       79     (1.0 )   21.5  
    Other income (expense), net   8       (28 )     54     (128.6 )   (85.2 )
    Total noninterest income   677       673       677     0.6     0.0  
                       
    Noninterest expense                  
    Salaries and employee benefits   4,606       3,817       5,018     20.7     (8.2 )
    Occupancy and equipment   1,183       1,225       1,193     (3.4 )   (0.8 )
    Professional fees   585       749       553     (21.9 )   5.8  
    Data processing   838       856       742     (2.1 )   12.9  
    Regulatory assessments   165       170       200     (2.9 )   (17.5 )
    Insurance and bond premiums   113       118       111     (4.2 )   1.8  
    Marketing   46       47       97     (2.1 )   (52.6 )
    Other general and administrative   952       959       856     (0.7 )   11.2  
    Total noninterest expense   8,488       7,941       8,770     6.9     (3.2 )
    (Loss) income before federal income tax (benefit) provision   (932 )     1,902       1,910     (149.0 )   (148.8 )
    Federal income tax (benefit) provision   (324 )     347       409     (193.4 )   (179.2 )
    Net (loss) income $ (608 )   $ 1,555     $ 1,501     (139.1 )%   (140.5 )%
                       
    Basic (loss) earnings per share $ (0.07 )   $ 0.17     $ 0.16          
    Diluted (loss) earnings per share $ (0.07 )   $ 0.17     $ 0.16          
    Weighted average number of common shares outstanding   9,190,146       9,168,414       9,127,568          
    Weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding   9,190,146       9,235,446       9,150,059          
     

    The following table presents a breakdown of the loan portfolio (unaudited):

      September 30, 2024 June 30, 2024 September 30, 2023
      Amount   Percent   Amount   Percent   Amount   Percent
      (Dollars in thousands)
    Commercial real estate:                      
    Residential:                      
    Multifamily $ 132,811     11.6 %   $ 134,302     11.7 %   $ 140,022     11.7 %
    Total multifamily residential   132,811     11.6       134,302     11.7       140,022     11.7  
                           
    Non-residential:                      
    Retail   118,840     10.4       118,154     10.4       130,101     11.0  
    Office   73,778     6.5       74,032     6.4       72,773     6.1  
    Hotel / motel   54,716     4.8       55,018     4.8       63,954     5.4  
    Storage   32,443     2.8       32,636     2.8       33,229     2.8  
    Mobile home park   22,443     2.0       23,159     2.0       21,285     1.8  
    Warehouse   18,743     1.6       18,868     1.6       19,446     1.6  
    Nursing Home   11,407     1.0       11,474     1.0       11,676     1.0  
    Other non-residential   30,719     2.7       32,139     2.8       42,227     3.7  
    Total non-residential   363,089     31.8       365,480     31.8       394,691     33.4  
                           
    Construction/land:                      
    One-to-four family residential   42,846     3.8       39,908     3.5       43,532     3.7  
    Multifamily   7,227     0.6       6,078     0.5       2,043     0.2  
    Land development   10,148     0.8       9,800     0.8       9,766     0.8  
    Total construction/land   60,221     5.2       55,786     4.8       55,341     4.7  
                           
    One-to-four family residential:                      
    Permanent owner occupied   279,744     24.5       283,516     24.7       260,970     22.1  
    Permanent non-owner occupied   221,127     19.4       225,423     19.6       232,238     19.6  
    Total one-to-four family residential   500,871     43.9       508,939     44.3       493,208     41.7  
                           
    Business:                      
    Aircraft   –     0.0       –     0.0       1,981     0.2  
    Small Business Administration (“SBA”)   1,745     0.2       1,763     0.2       1,810     0.3  
    Paycheck Protection Plan (“PPP”)   238     0.0       316     0.0       551     0.0  
    Other business   12,416     1.1       12,984     1.1       23,633     1.9  
    Total business   14,399     1.3       15,063     1.3       27,975     2.4  
                           
    Consumer:                      
    Classic, collectible and other auto   58,085     5.1       56,758     4.9       59,955     5.1  
    Other consumer   12,935     1.1       13,535     1.2       12,193     1.0  
    Total consumer   71,020     6.2       70,293     6.1       72,148     6.1  
                           
    Total loans   1,142,411     100.0 %     1,149,863     100.0 %     1,183,385     100.0 %
    Less:                      
    ACL   16,265           14,796           15,306      
    Loans receivable, net $ 1,126,146         $ 1,135,067         $ 1,168,079      
                           
    Concentrations of credit: (1)                      
    Construction loans as % of total capital   36.8 %         34.8 %         37.8 %    
    Total non-owner occupied commercial
    real estate as % of total capital    		   296.2 %         298.8 %         328.1 %    
     

    (1) Concentrations of credit percentages are for First Financial Northwest Bank only using classifications in accordance with FDIC regulatory guidelines.

    FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Key Financial Measures
    (Unaudited)
     
      At or For the Quarter Ended
      Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Mar 31,   Dec 31,   Sep 30,
        2024       2024       2024       2023       2023  
      (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
    Performance Ratios: (1)                  
    Return on assets   (0.17 )%     0.43 %     (0.29 )%     0.31 %     0.39 %
    Return on equity   (1.50 )     3.88       (2.67 )     2.97       3.71  
    Dividend payout ratio   0.00       76.47       (108.33 )     100.00       79.26  
    Equity-to-assets ratio   11.04       11.10       10.91       10.74       10.44  
    Tangible equity ratio (2)   10.97       11.02       10.83       10.66       10.36  
    Net interest margin   2.46       2.66       2.55       2.54       2.69  
    Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities   116.46       117.01       116.40       115.84       116.94  
    Efficiency ratio   92.96       82.35       116.97       85.17       84.49  
    Noninterest expense as a percent of average total assets   2.32       2.21       3.05       2.18       2.29  
    Book value per common share $ 17.39     $ 17.51     $ 17.46     $ 17.61     $ 17.35  
    Tangible book value per share (2)   17.26       17.37       17.32       17.47       17.20  
                       
    Capital Ratios: (3)                  
    Tier 1 leverage ratio   10.86 %     10.91 %     10.41 %     10.18 %     10.25 %
    Common equity tier 1 capital ratio   15.43       15.39       14.98       14.90       14.75  
    Tier 1 capital ratio   15.43       15.39       14.98       14.90       14.75  
    Total capital ratio   16.68       16.64       16.24       16.15       16.00  
                       
    Asset Quality Ratios: (4)                  
    Nonaccrual loans as a percent of total loans   0.07 %     0.41 %     0.02 %     0.02 %     0.02 %
    Nonaccrual loans as a percent of total assets   0.06       0.32       0.01       0.01       0.01  
    ACL as a percent of total loans   1.42       1.29       1.30       1.28       1.29  
    Net charge-offs to average loans receivable, net   0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00  
                       
    Allowance for Credit Losses:                  
    ACL ‒ loans                  
    Beginning balance $ 14,796     $ 14,996     $ 15,306     $ 15,306     $ 15,606  
    Provision (recapture of provision) for credit losses   1,500       (200 )     (300 )     –       (300 )
    Charge-offs   (31 )     –       (10 )     –       –  
    Recoveries   –       –       –       –       –  
    Ending balance $ 16,265     $ 14,796     $ 14,996     $ 15,306     $ 15,306  
                       
    Allowance for unfunded commitments                  
    Beginning balance $ 564     $ 564     $ 439     $ 439     $ 439  
    Provision for credit losses   75       –       125       –       –  
    Ending balance $ 639     $ 564     $ 564     $ 439     $ 439  
                       
    Provision (recapture of provision) for credit losses                  
    ACL – loans $ 1,500     $ (200 )   $ (300 )   $ –     $ (300 )
    Allowance for unfunded commitments   75       –       125       –       –  
    Total $ 1,575     $ (200 )   $ (175 )   $ –     $ (300 )
     

    (1) Performance ratios are calculated on an annualized basis.
    (2) Non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this press release for a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP equivalents.
    (3) Capital ratios are for First Financial Northwest Bank only.
    (4) Loans are reported net of undisbursed funds.

    FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Key Financial Measures
    (Unaudited)
     
      At or For the Quarter Ended
      Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Mar 31,   Dec 31,   Sep 30,
        2024       2024       2024       2023       2023  
      (Dollars in thousands)
    Yields and Costs: (1)                  
    Yield on loans   5.86 %     5.93 %     5.88 %     5.83 %     5.73 %
    Yield on investments   4.30       4.38       4.11       4.11       3.98  
    Yield on interest-earning deposits   5.27       5.25       5.28       5.32       5.18  
    Yield on FHLB stock   7.73       8.63       7.79       7.29       6.57  
    Yield on interest-earning assets   5.66 %     5.73 %     5.62 %     5.56 %     5.46 %
                       
    Cost of interest-bearing deposits   3.80 %     3.71 %     3.69 %     3.62 %     3.33 %
    Cost of borrowings   3.19       2.64       2.65       2.40       2.42  
    Cost of interest-bearing liabilities   3.72 %     3.59 %     3.58 %     3.50 %     3.24 %
                       
    Cost of total deposits (2)   3.47 %     3.38 %     3.38 %     3.31 %     3.03 %
    Cost of funds (3)   3.44 %     3.30 %     3.31 %     3.23 %     2.97 %
                       
    Average Balances:                  
    Loans $ 1,131,473     $ 1,139,017     $ 1,160,156     $ 1,167,339     $ 1,171,483  
    Investments   161,232       173,102       202,106       206,837       211,291  
    Interest-earning deposits   65,149       36,959       37,032       65,680       40,202  
    FHLB stock   7,719       6,714       6,554       6,584       6,820  
    Total interest-earning assets $ 1,365,573     $ 1,355,792     $ 1,405,848     $ 1,446,440     $ 1,429,796  
                       
    Interest-bearing deposits $ 1,021,041     $ 1,029,608     $ 1,082,168     $ 1,127,690     $ 1,097,324  
    Borrowings   151,478       129,126       125,604       120,978       125,402  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   1,172,519       1,158,734       1,207,772       1,248,668       1,222,726  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits   96,003       101,196       99,173       102,869       109,384  
    Total deposits and borrowings $ 1,268,522     $ 1,259,930     $ 1,306,945     $ 1,351,537     $ 1,332,110  
                       
    Average assets $ 1,453,431     $ 1,446,207     $ 1,495,753     $ 1,538,955     $ 1,522,224  
    Average stockholders’ equity   161,569       161,057       161,823       159,659       160,299  
     

    (1) Yields and costs are annualized.
    (2) Includes noninterest-bearing deposits.
    (3) Includes total borrowings and deposits (including noninterest-bearing deposits).

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    In addition to financial results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) utilized in the United States, this earnings release contains non-GAAP financial measures that include tangible equity, tangible assets, tangible book value per share, and the tangible equity-to-assets ratio. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and ratios as presented are useful for both investors and management to understand the effects of goodwill and core deposit intangible, net and provides an alternative view of the Company’s performance over time and in comparison to the Company’s competitors. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. They should not be considered in isolation and are not a substitute for other measures in this earnings release that are presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

    The following tables provide a reconciliation between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures:

      Quarter Ended
        Sep 30,
    2024    		       Jun 30,
    2024    		       Mar 31,
    2024    		       Dec 31,
    2023    		       Sep 30,
    2023    		  
      (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
    Tangible equity to tangible assets and tangible book value per share:
                                           
    Total stockholders’ equity (GAAP) $ 160,213     $ 160,693     $ 160,183     $ 161,660     $ 159,235  
    Less:                  
    Goodwill   889       889       889       889       889  
    Core deposit intangible, net   326       357       388       419       451  
    Tangible equity (Non-GAAP) $ 158,998     $ 159,447     $ 158,906     $ 160,352     $ 157,895  
                       
    Total assets (GAAP) $ 1,451,086     $ 1,447,753     $ 1,468,350     $ 1,505,082     $ 1,525,568  
    Less:                  
    Goodwill   889       889       889       889       889  
    Core deposit intangible, net   326       357       388       419       451  
    Tangible assets (Non-GAAP) $ 1,449,871     $ 1,446,507     $ 1,467,073     $ 1,503,774     $ 1,524,228  
                       
    Common shares outstanding at period end   9,213,969       9,179,825       9,174,425       9,179,510       9,179,510  
                       
    Equity-to-assets ratio (GAAP)   11.04 %     11.10 %     10.91 %     10.74 %     10.44 %
    Tangible equity-to-tangible assets ratio (Non-GAAP)   10.97       11.02       10.83       10.66       10.36  
    Book value per common share (GAAP) $ 17.39     $ 17.51     $ 17.46     $ 17.61     $ 17.35  
    Tangible book value per share (Non-GAAP)   17.26       17.37       17.32       17.47       17.20  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: SECU Foundation Awards $1 Million to SPCA Wake for State’s First Regional Campus for Pets & People

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A $1 million challenge grant from SECU Foundation to SPCA of Wake County (SPCA Wake) will help the largest animal welfare organization in North Carolina establish a Regional Campus for Pets & People. The site will serve as a community hub to expand affordable pet care services and will include a new Learning Center that will provide more space to grow SPCA’s training capacity for new or potential pet owners and develop partnerships and programming for animal shelter professionals across the state.

    SPCA Wake supports 59 counties, including many rural and under-resourced communities, to help match homeless pets with families, prevent animals from entering area shelters, and address animal suffering, neglect, and overpopulation. In 2022, SPCA placed over 4,250 pets in new homes, provided over 7,300 spay or neuter surgeries, managed 6,700 pet helpline requests, and supplied over 159,000 pet meals to owners in need.

    “Pets bring people together and can provide a great source of comfort. It is our hope that the Foundation’s grant will shed light on the phenomenal work of SPCA Wake and the significant need for the new campus facility,” said SECU Foundation Board Chair Chris Ayers. “Our support along with that of many others will undoubtedly help SPCA Wake make a transformative impact in our communities.”

    “We are honored to be a part of SECU Foundation’s legacy of positive impact across North Carolina, and we are humbled to be the first animal welfare organization to receive funding for a capital project,” said SPCA of Wake County President and CEO Kim Janzen. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the members of State Employees’ Credit Union, we have raised $20.3 million toward the total project goal of $27.5 million.”

    About SECU and SECU Foundation

    A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 87 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $56 billion in assets. It serves more than 2.8 million members through 275 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, www.ncsecu.org, and the SECU Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high-impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $300 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.

    Contact: Jama Campbell, Executive Director, secufoundation@ncsecu.org

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f58a4914-50cd-44f1-8449-116e398af036

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis announces 2024 Board of Directors election results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (“FHLBank Indianapolis” or “Bank”) today announced the results of the election of two Indiana Member Directors and three Independent Directors to its Board of Directors (“Board”). The following individuals were elected to the Board and will each serve four-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

    The new Indiana Member Directors are:

    • Dan L. Moore, executive chairman, Home Bank, S.B., Martinsville, Ind. Previously, Moore served as its chairman, president and CEO and director. Moore served on the Board from 2011 to 2022 and was Board Chair from 2019 to 2022. He also served as Chairman of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks in 2022.
    • Jamie R. Shinabarger, CEO, Springs Valley Bank & Trust Co., Jasper, Ind. Shinabarger also serves on the bank’s board of directors and of SVB&T Corp., the bank’s holding company in French Lick, Ind.

    The new Independent Directors are:

    • Kathryn M. Dominguez, professor of public policy and economics, University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy in Ann Arbor, Mich. She also serves as the school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and is the co-faculty director of the Center on Finance, Law and Policy. Dominguez was appointed to the Board as an Independent Director to fill a partial term in 2023, and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Risk Oversight Committee.
    • Charlotte C. Henry, former chief information technology officer for the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Detroit. Henry has been an Independent Director on the Board since 2017. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board’s Security and Technology Committee, and formerly served as the Chair of that committee.
    • Todd E. Sears (Public Interest Independent Director), vice president of development, Cohen Esrey, Indianapolis. Previously, Sears served as chief investment officer and chief financial officer of Valeo Financial Advisors and was executive vice president of research, policy and strategy at Kittle Property Group, Inc., in Indianapolis. Sears previously served as the executive vice president for the non-profit CDFI, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. He has served as an Independent Director on the Board since 2021 and previously served on the Board’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council from 2012-2018.

    Annually, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency determines the size of the Board and designates at least a majority, but no more than 60%, of the directorships as member directorships and the remainder as independent directorships. Independent directors are nominated by the Board after consultation with the Bank’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

    Media contact:
    Scott Thien, Sr. Communications Lead
    317-902-3103
    sthien@fhlbi.com

    Building Partnerships. Serving Communities
    FHLBank Indianapolis is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to provide access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with particular attention paid to providing solutions that support the housing and small business needs of members’ customers. FHLBanks are privately capitalized and funded, and they receive no Congressional appropriations. One of 11 independent regional cooperative banks across the U.S., FHLBank Indianapolis is owned by its Indiana and Michigan financial institution members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. For more information about FHLBank Indianapolis, visit www.fhlbi.com and follow the Bank on LinkedIn, and Instagram and X at @FHLBankIndy.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Scotland’s approach to special needs education is more inclusive than the rest of the UK – but it doesn’t always work in practice

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Joan Mowat, Reader in the School of Education, University of Strathclyde

    nimito/Shutterstock

    Across the UK, how children are identified with special educational needs, and how they are then supported, differs according to where they live. There are broad similarities in the approaches in Wales, England and Northern Ireland. But in Scotland things are done differently.

    Northern Ireland, Wales and England define children with learning needs as those who have significantly greater difficulty in learning than their peers.

    Scotland takes a more distinctive approach, using the term “Additional Support Needs” (ASN). A child or young person has ASN if they are unable, without the provision of additional support, to benefit from the school education provided.

    This much broader definition means that there is a wide range of reasons a learner could have ASN. These could be permanent or temporary in nature: they could be, for instance, experiencing family bereavement or bullying. Unsurprisingly, Scotland’s broader definition has meant that it has a significant proportion of learners identified with ASN – 37% in 2023.

    Across a wide range of policy documentation, inclusive education in Scotland is understood broadly to encompass an extensive range of issues, such as addressing discrimination more widely – not just related to disability.

    This is underpinned by a presumption of mainstreaming in Scottish law. This is the assumption that, with the exception of specific circumstances, children identified with additional support needs will be educated in mainstream schools.

    Making inclusivity work

    There is a broad consensus from parents, children, teachers, politicians and others that the Scottish approach to inclusive education is the correct way forward. However, there is significant divergence between policy intent and practice.

    An independent 2020 review investigated how provision for additional support needs worked in practice – and found many failures.

    The review showed that the needs of children and young people for additional support were not being met adequately. There were disconnects between the system’s intentions and what children and young people were actually experiencing.

    The report established that not all children, young people and those who support them flourish or are equally valued within the education system. Their voices are not being heard by those who have the power to make a difference. Service providers and senior leaders in schools experience significant challenges in being able to meet needs, but this is not recognised sufficiently at a higher level.

    A subsequent inquiry, concluded in 2024, found many reasons for this divergence between policy and practice. These included a lack of resources, the need for ongoing professional training for school staff and issues with school culture.

    The inquiry heard that resourcing for Additional Support for Learning had decreased over time. It found that many recently built schools had not been designed to be accessible to all. It heard about the need for school leaders to have training which has equity, inclusion and social justice at its heart to effect the necessary cultural change.

    Learning from practice

    Across the UK and in Ireland, an issue of concern is the lack of a clear definition of what inclusive education means and entails and how it should be implemented in practice. This is reflected in the current crisis in the growing demand for specialist provision.



    Read more:
    There’s a crisis in special educational needs provision: here’s the situation across the UK and Ireland

    A recent review of special educational needs education in England by the National Audit Office has pointed out that mainstream schooling needs to be much more inclusive, that schools are not incentivised to prioritise it, and that the Department of Education should “develop a vision and long-term plan for inclusivity across mainstream education”.

    In Scotland, in contrast to the other nations, greater attention has been devoted to coming to a shared understanding of what an inclusive education system constitutes. This is reflected within the National Framework for Inclusion, the third edition of which was published in 2022. This framework underpins the professional standards for teachers and informs policy more generally.

    The Framework, produced under the auspices of the Scottish Universities Inclusion Group and influenced by the work of inclusive education expert Lani Florian and colleagues on inclusive pedagogy, offers a series of reflective questions to promote inclusive practice. This is indicative of a more consensual and collaborative approach towards educational policy making in general. But it is clear that more work needs to be done to make this understanding of inclusivity a widespread reality in schools.

    The differences in policy approaches to additional support and learning needs mean that the profile of a child identified with special educational needs will vary depending on which country they live in. Furthermore, the variations in the education systems themselves will affect the child’s placement and the support they may receive.

    Collaborative cross-nation work is essential to gain a stronger understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to meeting the additional learning needs of children and young people.

    Carmel Conn has received funding from Welsh Government.

    Brahm Norwich and Joan Mowat do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Scotland’s approach to special needs education is more inclusive than the rest of the UK – but it doesn’t always work in practice – https://theconversation.com/scotlands-approach-to-special-needs-education-is-more-inclusive-than-the-rest-of-the-uk-but-it-doesnt-always-work-in-practice-240257

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Haiti’s gangs turn to starving children to bolster their ranks

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    After months of relentless gang violence, thousands of killings, and the unseating of a government, Haiti is faced with another heartbreaking issue which seems likely to prolong the Caribbean island nation’s woes for another generation. Testimonies collected by Amnesty International have uncovered how Haiti’s armed gangs are enlisting hundreds of children.

    Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, says: “We have documented heartbreaking stories of children forced to work for gangs: from running deliveries to gathering information and performing domestic tasks under threats of violence.”

    Boys as young as six are being forced to work as lookouts, made to build street barriers, trained to use machine guns, and are being ordered to participate in kidnappings and other acts of violence. Girls in the possession of gangs are subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence by older male gang members, according to Piquer.

    Haiti’s 200 or so armed gangs currently control around 90% of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and large parts of the country are ungovernable. The collapse in law and order has allowed gang leaders such as Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier to commit terrible atrocities largely unchallenged.



    Read more:
    Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier: the gangster behind the violence in Haiti who may have political aspirations of his own

    The involvement of children in Haiti’s gangs is not exactly new. According to Unicef, between 30% and 50% of children in Haiti are involved with armed groups in some capacity. There are several socioeconomic explanations for this.

    Haiti was once the wealthiest European colony in the Americas – and staged the only ever successful slave rebellion against its French colonial masters before declaring independence in 1804. But modern Haiti is a failed state where more than half of the population now live below the World Bank’s poverty line.

    According to figures published by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Haiti has the highest prevalence of food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean. One-third of the population goes hungry every day.

    Impoverishment and grinding poverty has made the population desperate. With limited options for survival, many children in Haiti are drawn into criminal groups. At times, the promise of a single meal can be enough to attract a child to join a gang.

    That said, the breakdown of order throughout the country has undoubtedly encouraged the gangs to increase their recruitment of children. As with most conflict zones, once indoctrinated, child soldiers make for cheap and deadly combatants.

    There is also one other specific social factor that contributes to some parents turning a blind eye to their children joining the gangs. The prevalence of child recruitment by gangs can be linked to a Haitian socioeconomic practice called restaveks.

    A restavek, which is Creole for “to stay with”, is a child who is given away by impoverished parents with the unwritten understanding that they will be fed, looked after and will not die of hunger. It has become a form of modern-day slavery.

    The End Slavery Now project has found that “more than 300,000 children are victims of domestic slavery” in Haiti today. Many of these children regularly undergo forms of physical and sexual violence.

    A set pattern

    Child sex slavery and sexual abuse are familiar occurrences in societies torn by civil war. It is more likely to take place in settings where the process of governance is weak or non-existent. This situation facilitates conditions of criminal impunity, leading various actors involved in conflict to sexually exploit children.

    There is an established pattern of predatory child sexual slavery in Haiti. Following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 and the ensuing cholera epidemic, some members of the UN peacekeeping force stationed in the country were found to have been running a child sex racket.

    In 2017, an investigation by the Associated Press revealed at least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were involved. It has been documented that girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated by the peacekeepers, and then subsequently abandoned to raise their children alone. Impoverished and starving Haitian children fell victim to this racket in exchange for scraps of the peacekeepers’ leftover food.

    According to its own admission, the UN peacekeeping force was responsible for “transactional sex” during its operations in the country.



    Read more:
    ‘They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby in you’ – 265 stories of Haitian children abandoned by UN fathers

    In 2019, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, branded violence against children as a “silent emergency” of our time. Unfortunately, not much is being done to address this challenge, despite the urgency of Guterres’ statement.

    There are many existential challenges facing Haiti. Some of them are homegrown, such as the prevalence of gangs and their terror techniques.

    But, as it is located on a geological fault line in a region susceptible to severe storms, Haiti is particularly prone to natural disasters. A devastating earthquake in 2010 and a cholera epidemic in 2016 debilitated the country, and the knock-on effects will last decades.

    To make matters worse, Haiti also suffers from a compassion deficit. A lack of real engagement from the international community has contributed to the erosion of the Haitian civil society and left the population at the mercy of gang violence.

    Even the Kenyan-led policing mission tasked with restoring order is suffering from inadequate funding and equipment, which has affected its operational capacity. Only around US$400 million (£308 million) of the US$600 million that was originally pledged for the mission has materialised, with the US shouldering a disproportionate financial burden.

    Preoccupied with more high-profile conflicts elsewhere, the international community appears to have little interest in the horrors that are unfolding under the tropical sun in the faraway Caribbean.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation fellowships.

    – ref. Haiti’s gangs turn to starving children to bolster their ranks – https://theconversation.com/haitis-gangs-turn-to-starving-children-to-bolster-their-ranks-241386

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The supernatural beliefs of medieval people – from elves and fairies to abductions and the undead

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anne Lawrence-Mathers, Professor in Medieval History, University of Reading

    Medieval people have a reputation for being superstitious – and many of the supernatural phenomena found in the pages of medieval chronicles, miracle stories and romances are still alive in modern culture. Think ghosts, werewolves, demons, vampires, fairies and witches. But while (almost all) people today regard these beings as entirely fictional, many medieval people believed in them.

    Christian theologians accepted the existence of the supernatural, categorising such beings broadly as “fallen angels” who viewed humanity as a battleground in their ongoing conflict with God. Their enormous power meant they could even appear as deities, including the pagan gods and goddesses – they were seen to take on a monstrous appearance mainly when claiming the souls of the damned or being defeated by a Christian leader.

    The smaller and less powerful supernatural creatures known in Old and Middle English as “elves”, however, were seen to have less straightforward explanations.

    Elves, fairies and sirens

    Medieval elves were not usually as powerful as the glamorous beings envisioned centuries later by J.R.R. Tolkien. They merged with demons in some accounts and with fairies in others.

    A siren and a centaur depicted in a bestiary (1278–1300).
    Courtesy of the Getty Open Content Program

    For the 13th-century English priest Layamon, it was elves (alven) who gave King Arthur magical gifts and who, in the form of beautiful women, carried him away to the mythical island of Avalun to heal. However, Layamon was careful to say that this was the belief of “the Britons” (Celtic people), which he was simply recording.

    Fairies first appeared in French-language accounts and quickly blended with other categories of supernatural being. They were apparently more human in appearance than elves, though wings were added later.

    They formed one category of the large group of tempting, supernatural female creatures who lured human men into dangerous relationships. Perhaps most famous is the fairy Melusine, who was strongly linked to water.

    Melusine’s Secret Discovered, from Le Roman de Mélusine (circa 1450).
    National Library of France

    Melusine was half-human, half-serpent and was both beautiful and powerful. She brought prosperity and numerous sons to her human husband, but forbade him to see her at a specified time (Saturdays). When he broke his promise, Melusine’s true form was revealed, and she left forever.

    It is unclear whether the chroniclers and readers who enjoyed such stories entirely believed them, but it seems likely that fairies were considered more real in the middle ages than now.

    Medieval abductions and miracles

    For medieval people, elves, fairies and sirens inhabited the ambiguous territory between fact and fiction. The same may be said of mysterious beings who abducted unsuspecting humans, often women, and carried them off to strange and frightening regions. Those who allegedly reported these experiences believed them to be real, although they were condemned as demonic illusions by moralists.

    Depiction of a miracle from 1531.
    The Book of Miracles

    Being taken high above the Earth is a recurring theme in medieval writing, including tales of witches deliberately flying on the backs of animals. These abduction tales could be compared to modern accounts of alien abductions.

    While tales of abduction by fairies were sometimes dismissed as delusions, stories of saints’ miracles and natural marvels were usually accepted as true. It might be tempting to compare the powers of miracle-working saints with those of modern superheroes – but miracles were considered overt demonstrations of the power of God, whereas superheroes tend to result from scientific or technological extremes.

    A revenant rises from his grave (16th-century facsimile).
    Bavarian State Library, Munich

    A particularly sensational example was recorded in the Life of St Modwenna (an early Irish princess and abbess), written by the abbot Geoffrey of Burton circa 1120-1150. In his account, two tenants of Burton Abbey stirred up a violent feud between the abbot and Count Roger the Poitevin. The troublemakers died suddenly and were buried in haste, but apparently reappeared at sunset carrying their own coffins, before transforming into terrifying animals.

    These revenants (spirits or animated corpses) reportedly brought death to the village – only three people were left alive. When the graves of the runaways were opened, they were found to be bloodstained but intact. A formal apology to the abbey and the saint was followed by ritual dismembering of these corpses and burning of their hearts. This apparently led to the expulsion of an evil spirit and the recovery of the surviving peasants.

    Natural marvels

    “Natural marvels” were medieval phenomena which were accepted as parts of God’s creation, but could not be scientifically explained. Many of the creatures found in bestiaries (medieval encyclopedias of animals both real and mythological) fitted here, such as dragons, unicorns and basilisks.

    Dragons and unicorns remain popular fantasy characters today, but basilisks are less well known – although a giant one once proved a fearsome opponent for Harry Potter. Basilisks were said to be so poisonous that their scent, their fiery breath and even their gaze could kill. They were attested not only by bestiaries but by the Roman philosopher and botanist Pliny in his book Natural History (circa AD77). They were found in the province of Cyrene, in modern Libya.

    A basilisk depicted in a bestiary (circa 1200-1225).
    British Library

    Similarly, different regions of the Earth were characterised by natural marvels recorded in works such as priest and historian Gerald of Wales’s book, The History and Topography of Ireland (1185-88).

    Gerald noted that some readers would find his stories “impossible or ridiculous”, but testified to their accuracy. They included strange islands where no female creature could survive and nobody could die a natural death, as well as strange creatures and humans forced to transform periodically into wolves by the power of St Natalis (an Irish monk and saint).

    Medieval people believed in a wide array of supernatural beings. While today we mostly see them as the stuff of nightmarish fiction, our enthusiasm for this diversity hasn’t waned – just look at the breadth of supernatural costumes on display every Halloween.


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    Anne Lawrence-Mathers 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. The supernatural beliefs of medieval people – from elves and fairies to abductions and the undead – https://theconversation.com/the-supernatural-beliefs-of-medieval-people-from-elves-and-fairies-to-abductions-and-the-undead-240756

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Palestine’s economy teeters on the brink after a year of war and unrelenting destruction

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dalia Alazzeh, Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of the West of Scotland

    The Palestinian economy has been devastated beyond recognition. Israel’s intense military operations in Gaza have led to unprecedented destruction, wiping out much of the enclave’s essential infrastructure, private property and agricultural resources.

    Meanwhile, the occupied West Bank is also under severe strain. Similar patterns of destruction, alongside rising settler violence, land confiscations and expanding settlements, have left its economy buckling under the pressure of mounting public debt, unemployment and poverty.

    Gaza’s economy was being suffocated even before the war. A blockade imposed by Israel in 2007 has severely restricted the import and export of goods, while fishermen were limited to a six-mile zone, crippling their ability to earn a livelihood.

    The blockade caused Gaza’s GDP per capita (a measure of the wealth of a country) to shrink by 27% between 2006 and 2022, with unemployment rising to 45.3%. This gave rise to a situation where 80% of the population depended on international aid.

    In addition to the economic blockade, Gaza suffered massive physical destruction due to Israeli military operations in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2022. Yet the cumulative effects of 16 years of blockade and military attacks are minor compared to the sheer destruction caused by the current war.

    A report by the UN’s trade and development wing (Unctad) has revealed that in the space of just eight months, between October 2023 and May 2024, Gaza’s GDP per capita was fell by more than half. The economic situation now is almost certainly worse.

    According to the report, which was released in September 2024, Gaza’s GDP dropped by 81% in the final quarter of 2023 alone. The report concluded that the war had left Gaza’s economy in “utter ruin”, warning that even if there was an immediate ceasefire and the 2007–2022 growth trend of 0.4% returns, it will take 350 years just to restore the GDP levels of 2022.


    The only sectors still functioning are health and humanitarian services. All other industries, including agriculture, are at a near standstill. The destruction of between 80% and 96% of agricultural assets has led to rampant food insecurity.

    The scale of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented in modern times and is happening under the world’s gaze. From October 2023 to January 2024 alone, the total cost of damage reached approximately US$18.5 billion (£14.2 billion) – equivalent to seven times Gaza’s GDP in 2022.

    A separate report by the UN Development Programme, which was published in May, predicts that it will take more than 80 years to rebuild just Gaza’s housing stock if it repeats the rate of restructuring seen after Israeli military operations in 2014 and 2021. Merely clearing the debris could take up to 14 years.

    The war has displaced almost all of Gaza’s population, and has thrown people into dire poverty. Unemployment surged to 80%, leaving most households without any source of income. And prices of basic commodities have increased by 250%, which is contributing to famine across the Strip.

    The Gaza Strip is in ruins after more than a year of relentless bombardment.
    Anas-Mohammed / Shutterstock

    The economic crisis has also extended to the West Bank, where GDP has fallen sharply. Military checkpoints, cement blocks and iron gates at the entrances to Palestinian towns and cities, as well as the denial of work permits for Palestinians in Israeli settlements, have resulted in more than 300,000 job losses since the start of the war.

    The Unctad report reveals that the rate of unemployment in the West Bank has tripled to 32% since the start of the conflict, with labour income losses amounting to US$25.5 million. Poverty is rising rapidly.

    Israeli forces have also continued to confiscate Palestinian homes and land. Over the past year alone, 24,000 acres of land in the West Bank have been seized, and over 2,000 Palestinians have been displaced.

    This devastation has been exacerbated by Israel’s decision to withhold the tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority, which typically accounts for between 60% and 65% of the Palestinian public budget, as well as a significant decline in international aid. Aid to Palestine has dropped drastically over the past decade or so, falling from the equivalent of US$2 billion in 2008 to just US$358 million by 2023.

    The Palestinian Authority is facing a massive budget deficit, which is projected to increase by 172% in 2024 compared to the previous year. This financial strain has crippled the Palestinian government’s ability to provide essential services, pay salaries and meet the needs of a population battered by war, displacement and severe poverty.

    The road to recovery

    For the Palestinian economy to have any chance at recovery, several immediate steps are necessary.

    First, international aid should flow into Gaza uninterrupted, and pressure must be applied to ensure that humanitarian aid – particularly food aid – reaches those in need. Data analysis by organisations working in Gaza suggests that Israel is currently blocking 83% of food aid from reaching Gaza.

    Second, the destruction of homes, schools and infrastructure must cease. However, this seems improbable as Israel continues to pursue its military goal of destroying Hamas – an objective most analysts believe to be unachievable.

    And third, the economic restrictions imposed on Gaza and the West Bank must be lifted. Sustainable development – and any prospect for recovery – cannot be achieved without granting the Palestinian people the right to self-determination and sovereignty over their resources.

    This would require new peace agreements, an outcome that appears unlikely at present. But without these crucial interventions, the Palestinian economy will be completely devastated and the humanitarian crisis will worsen, making any future recovery within the lifetime of anyone currently living in Gaza virtually impossible to imagine.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Palestine’s economy teeters on the brink after a year of war and unrelenting destruction – https://theconversation.com/palestines-economy-teeters-on-the-brink-after-a-year-of-war-and-unrelenting-destruction-241607

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How language barriers influence global climate literacy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mario Saraceni, Associate Professor in English Language and Linguistics, University of Portsmouth

    Creativa Images/Shutterstock

    Our planet is getting hotter at an alarming rate. Climate change is one of the most serious global issues today. Its consequences affect every single human being on Earth. So it seems perfectly logical that scientific publications about global warming are written in the global language: English.

    And yet, it is precisely because it is written in English, that climate science is largely inaccessible to the majority of people globally.

    To explain this apparent contradiction, we need to look at some numbers. Nearly 90% of scientific publications globally are in English. This is a staggering dominance of just one language. But English, often called a global language, is only spoken by a minority of the world’s population.



    Read more:
    Indigenous languages must feature more in science communication

    How do we know that most people in the world don’t speak English? English the main language of society in only a handful of countries: the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The population of these countries, combined, amounts to about 400 million – a very small percentage of the world’s population.

    In many other former British colonies, such as India, Nigeria or Malaysia, English exists alongside other languages. In these contexts English tends to be an elite language, used mostly by urban, middle-class, well-educated people. Elsewhere, English functions as a lingua franca, used mostly in transnational communication.

    Given these diverse scenarios, it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of speakers of English with any precision. About 20 years ago, linguist David Crystal suggested that the number may be somewhere between 1 and 2 billion. Even if we take the upper limit of that extremely large range, we’re talking about only one quarter of the world’s population. This means that three out of four people in the world do not speak English.



    Read more:
    Italian government wants to stop businesses using English – here’s why it’s the lingua franca of firms around the world

    That means at least three quarters of the world’s population do not speak the language in which the science about climate change is disseminated globally. At the same time, languages other than English are marginalised and struggle to find space in the global communication of science.

    So this linguistic inequality creates an imbalance in the distribution of scientific knowledge about climate change. But it also reinforces two other types of existing inequality.

    One has to do with the production of scientific knowledge in general, which is disproportionately emanating from the two main Anglophone countries: the US and the UK. Out of the top 100 scientific journals for impact and prestige, 91 are based in these two countries.

    Out of 100 top scientific journals, 91 are published in the UK and the US.
    Sergei25/Shutterstock

    The other form of inequality has to do with social injustice. Scientific literature is almost exclusively written in English. But this language is virtually unknown by most people, especially in developing countries. And so, societies who suffer more from climate change are precisely those where access to scientific literature about it is severely limited.

    What is the solution? Unesco’s Open Science initiative, is attempting to tackle the problem. It aims to “make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole”. One of its objectives is to “ensure that scientific collaborations transcend the boundaries of geography, language and resources”.

    Breaking language barriers

    Achieving the objectives set by Open Science is no easy task. One approach is to break the barrier of English monolingualism by promoting multilingualism.

    On the one hand, opportunities must be created for scientists from around the world to communicate their research and their scholarship in languages other than English.

    On the other, the great technological advancement made in machine translation, especially with the advent of AI, should be put to use in order to ensure that content is available in languages other than English. This is precisely the goal of Climate Cardinals, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to “make the climate movement more accessible to those who don’t speak English” by translating information into more than 100 languages.

    These kinds of concrete efforts offer hope for climate literacy and, consequently, for action to lessen the impact of climate change.

    Mario Saraceni 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. How language barriers influence global climate literacy – https://theconversation.com/how-language-barriers-influence-global-climate-literacy-241867

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Astra Awards Celebrate Grassroots Innovation23 Oct 2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Royal Air Force

    The Astra Awards celebrated innovation, challenge, and improvement across the RAF at the RAF Museum in London on 17 October 2024.

    Astra is the RAF’s approach to grassroots innovation, which encompasses bureaucracy challenge and continuous improvement. The Astra Awards recognise some of the most inspirational people, ingenious ideas, and the incredible impact they’ve had on our operational output.

    Award Winners

    Astra Unit Award, sponsored by Fujitsu

    Winner: RAF Lossiemouth

    RAF Lossiemouth showcases the future of the Astra Network at a unit level. Enthusiastically grasping the direction to refocus Astra onto grassroots innovation, the team have already made a significant impact on the innovative mindset across the station. Proactively upskilling the existing Continuous Improvement personnel in unfamiliar areas such as additive manufacturing, computer-aided design, and virtual reality, the small team are already proving highly effective in all aspects of grassroots innovation. Positively impacting on people and the operational output across the unit, they are making best use of every asset and opportunity provided to them. To support their work, the team have created an exciting and engaging Astra Hub; a collaborative, innovative space that will allow the whole force to continue to deliver substantial benefits to RAF Lossiemouth and the RAF.

    Astra Innovation Award, sponsored by PA Consulting

    Winner: Project I2T

    Project IMMERSIVE INSTRUCTOR TRAINING, known as I2T, is designed to enhance the delivery of training to Qualified Helicopter Instructors and Qualified Helicopter Crewman Instructors. Significantly modernising the outdated system, the project delivers training using immersive 360-degree video courseware accessed via virtual reality headsets. Developed by Flt Lt Rich Keeling and Dr Jon Allsop at the Central Flying School, it is being implemented by RAF Shawbury to great effect. It is proving to complement the existing training programme and allows instructors to gain skills through repeatable virtual scenarios and error analysis. It bridges the gap between theoretical and real-world flying in a sustainable manner and helps to ensure effective instructors for future helicopter aircrew.

    Astra Challenge Award, sponsored by Boxxe

    Winner: Sergeant Becky Livesey

    Consistently championing change for the benefit of our whole force, Becky has been a driving force behind a challenge to amend outdated policy to support hundreds of individuals with shared parental responsibility. The previous policy only allowed leave to be shared between serving spouses, which did not reflect the changing nature of families and led to personal difficulties and an unstable environment for the children of Service personnel. Her challenge highlighted the negative impact of the policy and was integral to bringing about a significant change. The updated policy now allows leave to be transferred between serving personnel in all three Services who both have parental responsibility for a child, enabling them to use it for childcare purposes. The resulting increase in stability for Service children and the home environment cannot be underestimated, nor can its impact on retention and morale for our people.

    Astra Improvement Award, sponsored by QinetiQ

    Winner: RAF Brize Norton Air Mobility Force Dispatch Optimisation

    The consolidation of key enablers into a centralised dispatch centre at RAF Brize Norton has greatly enhanced communication, professional relationships, and overall efficiency, saving over 15 minutes for every flight from the busy main operating base. The relocation of the Meteorological Office, Jet Plans, and MSC has reduced unnecessary movement and transportation waste, streamlining workflow. The elimination of ‘nav bags’ and the centralisation of Electronic Flight Bags further minimised motion waste. Additionally, process duplication has been removed, reducing rework, and allowing crews to plan without interruption. Crews also save a further 6-8 minutes by no longer needing to visit Load Control, and aircrew now book transport directly, reducing delays. The project has delivered efficiencies for all stakeholders throughout the process.

    Astra Contribution to Operations Award, sponsored by the RAF

    Winner: F-35 Detachment Toolkit

    Recognising the need for rapid deployability in support of ACE, the RAF Marham team developed and delivered a deployable toolkit in support of the F-35 fleet. Employing Lean Six Sigma analysis and modelling high level tool usage across the fleet, they identified the full requirements to ensure the project would deliver a successful product. The team repurposed tools and test equipment from redundant issue centres, obtained funding for a laser etching machine, and procured mobile support units. Owing to their efforts, the F-35 now has a deployable tool capability that was used for the first time in the Iceland Air Policing operation. The capability has increased the potential operational output of the fleet, allowing it to operate effectively in two different locations with minimal impact to the flying programme.

    Astra Ambassador Award, sponsored by the RAF

    Winner: Chief Technician Martyn Sullivan

    Martyn has consistently demonstrated and embodied innovation, challenge, and improvement. His passion for making RAF Coningsby better through well-structured and benefit-led projects has ensured his small team have delivered a positive and lasting impact at unit level. Their demonstrable output adds value across the board. Alongside his commitment to RAF Coningsby, he actively collaborates with the whole force across the RAF, sharing his knowledge and experience and encouraging others to develop their innovative mindset. He created, organised, and delivered courses that developed an internal grassroots innovation network that spans all professions and sections. Furthermore, his exceptional work with industry partners such as BAE Systems has delivered projects that have improved and enhanced the operational output of the Typhoon fleet at both Coningsby and Lossiemouth.

    Spirit of Innovation Award, sponsored by BAE Systems

    Winner: Chief Technician Neil Hunt

    Wing Commander Williamson collected the award on behalf of Chief Technician Hunt. It will be formally presented on unit.

    Neil has shown significant determination and commitment to improvement. After identifying issues with the transportation of F-35 canopies across unit, Neil, alongside Sgt Richard James, developed the F-35 Canopy Transportation Trolley project, which has now been brought into service at RAF Marham. The innovative improvement project has already saved Defence over £600k. Continuing to engage with the Astra improvement process, Neil has submitted a further 13 ideas over the past two years. This includes the F-35 Ejection Seat Transportation Solution, which has once again delivered an effective solution that has delivered significant benefits, saving Defence £1.75m in the first 3 months by removing potential for damage and increasing resource efficiency.

    Neil’s award was collected by Wg Cdr Williamson on his behalf and will be handed over formally on unit.

    Astra Rising Star Award, sponsored by Frazer-Nash Consultancy

    Winner: Elizabeth Garvin

    Beth is new to the Civil Service and the RAF whole force as the Continuous Improvement Facilitator at RAF St Mawgan, who has taken on the role of Astra Ambassador as well as CI Lead. Always keen to learn, she proactively approached the Headquarters CI Team to secure a place on the Lean Six Sigma training course to further develop her skills. Since completing the course, she has rapidly applied her newfound knowledge and skills to delivering improvements across the unit. She has embraced the Astra ethos and amalgamated innovation, challenge, and improvement across all functional areas on unit, developing a growing innovative mindset and culture. Her creation of a regular drumbeat of collaboration opportunities, where she shares insight into activity in other areas, is already proving popular and igniting ideas in others from every area across the unit. Beth epitomises the values and intentions of Astra and grassroots innovation in the RAF whole force.

    Astra People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Babcock

    Winner: D-State Proforma

    Using the tools and techniques of Continuous Improvement, a full review and redesign of the State Demand form at RAF Coningsby was undertaken. The inefficient process saw at least 12 versions of the same form used on unit, with a significant administrative burden for all involved in submitting the 6000+ forms a year. The process was reviewed end-to-end and redesigned to remove unnecessary steps. Considering the needs of all stakeholders, it has simplified the communication flow and established an effective feedback loop. The project has significantly reduced the rejection rate for state demand forms and the potential misallocation of engineering spares. The redesigned form has also saved over 1600 hours per year just at RAF Coningsby and has also been used repeatedly and proven highly successful in the UK and on Op SHADER.

    Astra Team Award, sponsored by Leonardo

    Winner: Ailidh Leather

    Ailidh Leather has been the lead for Project POST ROOM at RAF Cosford, which uses scanning technology to significantly enhance the experience of the Post Room staff and the hundreds of recipients on station. Several years ago, Ailidh identified how technology could transform how mail is processed. With increasing amounts of parcels due to online shopping and inefficient handwritten ledgers, the post room was being swamped with mail leading to long delays in items reaching their intended recipient. Her persistence, determination, and forward thinking have ensured that the project has reached the position it is in today despite numerous setbacks. Through her tenacity, the project is making a real difference to the lives of personnel at Cosford, with potential to be rolled out wider across the RAF.

    Chief of the Air Staff’s Award, sponsored by Astra

    Winner: Air Specialist Class 1 Ross McGrory

    Ross played a pivotal role in Project GAIA, seamlessly transforming it into a Digital Shadow for a deployed medical centre by connecting multiple devices to a central hub. Proactively learning a new programming language, and dedicating a significant amount of his personal time, he developed a working product that provides a critical capability – 24/7 monitoring for emergency medical items such as blood supplies. Ross’s innovative mindset and skillset ensured that the complex system could easily be used by non-technical staff, which is not an easy task. Additionally, as second in command of RAF Leeming‘s Makerspace, which is an integral part of the Astra Hub, he expanded user engagement. He swiftly solved a persistent station issue in just 4 hours, highlighting his technical expertise and commitment to innovation.

    Hundreds gathered in Sunderland Hall at the RAF Museum for an evening of reward and recognition, showcasing grassroots innovation and sharing ideas. Grassroots innovation activities from the whole force were on display to ignite the innovative mindset of our people and encourage collaboration to bring meaningful change.

    Personnel from across the whole force were joined by international allies from the United States Air Force (USAF), Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force. Members of the USAF currently based in the UK also joined RAF personnel in demonstrating grassroots innovation projects in their area. The USAF’s AFWERX team are working closely with the RAF’s Astra Team to encourage collaboration on common problem sets, with the first joint grassroots innovation projects already being planned.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –