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Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE training course strengthens police response to violence against women and girls in North Macedonia

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE training course strengthens police response to violence against women and girls in North Macedonia

    Participants of the training course on gender-responsive policing of violence against women and girls at the Police Training Center in Idrizovo, North Macedonia, 19 September 2024. (OSCE/Bjorn T. Saltvik) Photo details

    From 18 to 24 September, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department held a training course on gender-responsive policing of violence against women and girls in Idrizovo, North Macedonia.
    A total of 505 police cadets (150 women, 355 men) from the Police Training Center learned how to effectively respond to cases of violence against women and girls while maintaining a victim-/survivor-centred approach.
    The one-week course covered topics such as the definitions of key terms and concepts; the importance of the victim-centred approach; reporting and the role of the police in detecting and preventing gender-based violence; implementing protective measures and conducting risk assessments; the neurobiology of trauma; and the psychology of victims and perpetrators.
    “Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious crime that police officers need to handle in a way that protects and supports the victims. When the police succeed in doing that, it builds vital trust among the public and the authorities,” said OSCE Project Manager Bjorn Tore Saltvik. He underlined that all police officers need to be trained to provide an appropriate response, while holding the perpetrators accountable.
    During the training course, the Centre for Youth Education (CEM) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, performed the role-play ‘Lullaby Goodbye’, based on the true story of a teenage girl who was exploited online which had a devastating effect on her life. The role-play also represented testimonies of numerous victims of this growing form of gender-based violence.
    In addition, all police cadets attended a screening of the film “Domestic Violence”, which is produced by the International Association Chiefs of Police and highlights experiences from several real GBV cases in the U.S.
    The training course and film-screening were organized in co-ordination with the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Police Training Center, and took place under the “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe” project, which is funded by Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Italy and Norway.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE Presence trains Albanian State Police on environmental enforcement and investigation techniques

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE Presence trains Albanian State Police on environmental enforcement and investigation techniques

    Participants of training on environmental enforcement and investigation techniques that the OSCE Presence in Albania organized for the Albanian State Police on 25 and 26 September 2024, Tirana, 25 September 2024. (OSCE/) Photo details

    On 25 September 2024, the OSCE Presence in Albania started a two-day training for the Albanian State Police on environmental enforcement and investigation techniques. The training brought together 17 police officers from all 12 regional directorate of police across Albania which cover criminal police, public safety, and environmental crime unit.
    The training was delivered by a group of mixed international and national experts. The participants were equipped with knowledge of the domestic and international standards on environmental enforcement and investigation of environment crime in the European Union and Albania. They also benefitted from the experience and practices of the Slovak Environmental Crime Unit, its police structure of environmental crime police officers and their inter-institutional co-ordination. 
    “We hope that these two-day training and discussion will be useful for your work and will serve as a platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among all stakeholders invested in combating environmental crimes in Albania,”, said the Head of the Presence, Ambassador Michel Tarran, who opened the event alongside the Director of Criminal Police Department at the Albanian State Police, Neritan Nallbati.
    The training builds upon the Presence’s support to environmental governance and security in Albania and its active involvement in developing national capacities to address such challenges.
    In 2023, the Presence developed and delivered a new curriculum on environmental legislation for the School of Magistrates in Albania for the initial education system 2023-2024. In December 2023, the Presence supported a training needs assessment for all the institutional chains dealing with environmental enforcement in Albania and is working to address some of those needs within the frame of the project. The training need assessment underlined the importance of systematic training programs for civil servant of institutions dealing with environmental violations. It shed light on the current state of affairs, identified gaps in knowledge and skills, and ultimately paved the way for strategic interventions that will empower relevant stakeholders in their efforts to combat environmental crimes effectively.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The European Union is becoming too obsessed with defence

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Richard Youngs, Professor of International and European Politics, University of Warwick

    A new team of 26 leaders has been appointed to the European Commission, reflecting a carefully crafted balance of political ideologies and member states. Each will take on a different portfolio, from democracy to agriculture to innovation.

    And for the first time, the EU will have a dedicated defence commissioner in the form of Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius.

    Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has made it clear that in her second term, the primary focus will be defence and security issues. She wants to convert the EU into a “security project” and has created the new post to build the bloc’s military capacities and cooperation.

    The last EU Commission that ran from 2019 to this year declared itself “geopolitical”. Under this label, it moved the European Union towards a heightened concern with military capabilities and hard power.

    Most observers see this as a positive aspect of the last commission. And there is a striking degree of supportive consensus that the military-power shift needs to be extended and deepened.

    However, this increasingly unchallenged conventional wisdom has unhelpfully narrowed and distorted the EU’s foreign policy debates. The EU needs to move beyond its hazy geopolitical mantra, not lean on it even more heavily.

    Much EU policy debate has become concerned principally with the question of whether the EU can defend itself more robustly and without help from the US. Analysis of European foreign policy has come overwhelmingly to take the form of calls for the EU to advance more ambitiously in its emerging ethos of militarised self-preservation and for laggardly member states to accelerate their rearmament.

    While the focus on defence capabilities was overdue and remains necessary, it is becoming too dominant.

    Defence players and experts get a far readier hearing in Brussels than anyone working on more liberal agendas involving human rights, development or peacebuilding. Funds flow aplenty into new programmes on defence and away from these old liberal concerns, many of which policymakers and analysts now belittle as passé.

    As they ramp up their defence spending, most member states are cutting their development aid. The incoming commissioners’ mission statements are all about security and protecting European democracy from external threats. There is no mention of the work they would do to support global human rights.

    If it previously tended to under-securitise its major challenges, the EU now risks over-securitising them. Well beyond the defence sphere, nearly all areas of EU policy are now infused with a more securitised ethos.

    The new hard-power orthodoxy risks crowding out any critical questioning of the EU’s new enthusiasm for concepts – power politics and zero-sum geopolitical rivalry – that were until recently anathema to its very essence.

    This deflects from the broader and more significant question of how the EU needs to mobilise different kinds of power to shape international trends. Contrary to what now predominates as received wisdom, governments’ increased defence budgets and EU efforts to coordinate defence investments do not in themselves provide such leverage.

    Indeed, with its priority on military defence, the EU has in recent years shown less evidence of qualitatively updating and sharpening its understanding of international leverage. While European leaders ritually claim that the union has “learned the language of power”, the current policy trajectory has diverted the EU away from being more influentially geostrategic.

    Outgoing high representative Josep Borrell has himself lamented that the EU risks being better at reacting to its last crisis than pre-empting wider and future trends.

    The shift in EU strategic narrative rests on an unduly one-dimensional reading of global trends. Contrary to what is now a commonly accepted premise, not every international development points towards state-to-state, zero-sum, order-menacing illiberalism.

    Much of it does, but the evolving order is also one of intensified societal mobilisation against autocracy and state power. It sees sub-state networks working across borders and citizens seeking problem-oriented cooperation on the ailing global commons.

    Out of step

    Articles, political speeches, and European policy documents routinely urge the EU to step back and accept that liberal political values are now contested. But global surveys show strong and even rising levels of citizen support for democracy and underlying social trends away from authoritarian values.

    Once a self-styled power of liberal betterment, the EU increasingly seems reduced to a strategy of stemming ordinary peoples’ desire for change. It rarely meets citizens’ pleas for support in their efforts to spur political and social reform. It has become an ambiguous bystander more than proactive promulgator.

    By downplaying these complexities, the EU fixation on traditional geopolitical power looks increasingly at odds with the emerging order rather than skilfully aligned with it. The EU’s now commonly repeated leitmotif of “accepting the world as it is” actually does no such thing.

    It actually collides with the underlying ways in which that world is shifting socially and politically. It’s one thing for the EU to get real about defending itself but another to become a regressive power that passively moulds itself to the power-politics of illiberalism.

    Far from going alone, Europe instead needs to fashion more effective interdependencies and coalitions.

    As its new leaders take office, the EU needs to move beyond the now omnipresent, yet ill-defined geopolitical narrative. It needs a more precise and forward-looking vision of what it wants power, sovereignty and autonomy for.

    If, for many years, the EU dangerously neglected the need for hard, defensive power it now risks moving to other extreme – giving hard power such pride of place that it detracts from the more consequential trends that will redefine the world order.

    Richard Youngs 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 European Union is becoming too obsessed with defence – https://theconversation.com/the-european-union-is-becoming-too-obsessed-with-defence-239666

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: When Russia and Israel talk about setting up ‘buffer zones’ what they are really talking about is a land grab

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Iain Farquharson, Lecturer in Global Challenges – Security Pathway Lead, Brunel University London

    In the conflicts raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, we have recently seen calls for the establishment of what are being referred to as “buffer zones”.

    Russia has proposed setting one up around Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv in the north-east of the country. This, the Kremlin claims, is to protect Russian towns from shelling and missile attacks from Ukrainian territory.

    Israel, meanwhile, wants to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. It says it needs to protect nearly 70,000 civilians returning to their homes, which they have abandoned in the past year after rocket attacks by Hezbollah.

    But these suggestions should be viewed with scepticism. Both Russia and Israel want to set up these buffer zones within the borders of neighbouring autonomous nation states – in breach of their sovereignty – in the name of “security”. They should instead primarily be seen as a way of formalising control over contested territory to protect their home bases, which would give them a military advantage.

    The situation is further complicated by the fact that neither nation is formally at war with its opponent. No formal declaration of war has been issued by Russia to Ukraine, while Israel claims its legitimacy to establish a buffer zone under Article 51 of the UN constitution concerning self-defence.

    Such arguments are hypocritical and one-sided. Russian and Israeli policymakers have shown no concern for the effect of the establishment of these zones on the Ukrainian and Lebanese populations of the areas.

    The idea of buffer zones has a long history within international relations. Buffer zones have generally been defined as a nation state or neutral geographical area between two states not politically or militarily controlled by either of the rival states it separates.

    The zones proposed by Russia and Israel don’t fit this definition. Both Kharkiv and southern Lebanon are militarily contested. And neither the Ukrainian nor Lebanese governments is in control of their territories.

    If the Russian and Israeli proposals were to conform to this definition, they would comprise territory on both sides of the border of the two states, established with the agreement of both rival states. But neither Russia nor Israel is planning to cede their own territory in the establishment of these buffer zones. In fact, both have consistently sought to delegitimise their rival’s status as a nation state.

    These considerations, alongside Ukrainian and Hezbollah resistance, suggest that these new buffer zones will be fiercely contested. Indeed, the history of buffer states and zones suggests that the effectiveness of such zones is highly questionable.

    History of failure

    Lebanon itself serves as an example of this in acting as a buffer state (although not formally declared as such) for the Israeli-Syrian rivalry from the late 1960s. Both Syria (1976) and Israel (1978 and 1982) intervened militarily in Lebanon at one point or another.

    In this context, Lebanon provided a way for Syria to protect itself from surprise attacks. It allowed the political and military confrontation to play out without escalation to their own national territories. But it was terrible for Lebanon itself and ironically, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 paved the way for the foundation of Hezbollah as a political and military force.

    Similarly, Anglo-Russian rivalry over influence in Afghanistan in the 19th century focused on political manoeuvring to exert influence over Afghan rulers to protect British India and southern Russia respectively. This saw much money and political capital expended on both sides. There were also three British military incursions (1839-40, 1878-80 and 1919) attempting to consolidate their influence. None went well.

    In both these cases though, competing powers were using an intervening state to avoid an escalation of tensions into conflict.

    External ‘security zones’

    In this instance, the recent declarations in pursuit of “buffer zones” by both Russia and Israel have more in common with strategic occupations of territory to resolve a military problem – namely attacks on their own territories. Within security studies literature these are termed “external security zones” and are generally militarily occupied zones within hostile territory deemed essential to the national security of the occupying power.

    Historically, these zones have also been of questionable value. Following continued Palestinian attacks on Israeli border villages, in 1977 the Israel Defense Forces created a formal security buffer zone in south Lebanon through the proxy South Lebanon Army and supported by UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (Unifil) from March 1978.

    The establishment of this zone did little to prevent shelling and rocket attacks on Israel, leading to significant exchanges of artillery fire in the summer of 1981. Then on June 6 1982, Israel invaded southern Lebanon.

    Ultimately, neither buffer zones nor security zones have proved very effective at preventing conflict or preserving populations from its effects. These have almost always been negative, to say the least.

    Now, both Russia and Israel are likely to find themselves facing increasing resistance from the occupied nation. This will require the commitment of more troops and perhaps deeper military advances under cover of the political and strategic “necessity” to ensure the security of their own borders.

    These commitments will undoubtedly lead to more casualties. They will either lead to a destabilisation of existing governance in their regions or serve as a pretext for the aggressors to push further forward. It will also require them to further reshape their economies to fill military needs and could lead to potential escalation with other regional powers.

    Iain Farquharson 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. When Russia and Israel talk about setting up ‘buffer zones’ what they are really talking about is a land grab – https://theconversation.com/when-russia-and-israel-talk-about-setting-up-buffer-zones-what-they-are-really-talking-about-is-a-land-grab-239765

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Hillsborough law planned for 2025 – what it will mean for future disasters and scandals

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nathan Critch, Research Associate, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester

    In his first conference speech as prime minister, Keir Starmer vowed that a Hillsborough law will be introduced in April, before the next anniversary of the football stadium disaster. The law will force public bodies to cooperate with investigations into future disasters and scandals.

    This announcement follows a long campaign by the families of the 97 people killed (and hundreds more injured) when part of Hillsborough stadium collapsed in 1989.

    The disaster and the inquiry that followed highlighted how justice is so often impeded by the tendency of powerful people to cover up information or refuse to cooperate in investigations.

    Initial media coverage of the Hillsborough disaster wrongly blamed football fans for the deaths. A public inquiry cited faults in police control, although its main recommendations related to crowd safety in sports venues.

    Crucially, the inquiry did not have access to all relevant evidence, interviewing only a few of those involved as it rushed to produce a narrowly focused report. An inquest ruled the deaths to have been “accidental”.

    Bereaved families “were sure that the true context, circumstances and aftermath of Hillsborough had not been adequately explored, established and made public”. Further efforts and campaigns for truth and justice ensued. Families attempted to bring private prosecutions against two of the police officers who had been in charge of operations at the match. Neither were successfully charged.

    In 2009, the government made an exception to the normal 30-year restriction on the publication of official documents, to ensure all documents related to the disaster were available to investigators.

    Shortly afterwards, the government established the Hillsborough Independent Panel to reexamine the causes of the disaster in light of full access to relevant evidence and in close consultation with Hillsborough families.



    Read more:
    New ‘Hillsborough Law’ needed to tackle ‘burning injustice’ and empower victims and family

    The panel’s report emphasised policing failures and found that crowd safety had been “compromised at every level” due to “well known” issues. The report found that police “sought to deflect responsibility” on Liverpool fans.

    New inquests concluded that the deaths of 97 had been unlawful, highlighting police and emergency service failures and exonerating the supporters who were initially blamed.

    In 2012, South Yorkshire Police apologised, and confirmed the independent panel’s findings that “senior officers sought to change the record of events” in the aftermath.

    Decades of campaigning

    The long struggle for truth and justice has focused on a lack of honesty and openness by those in power, a willingness to close ranks and blame others, and a failure to disclose relevant information. A Hillsborough law will enforce “a positive duty to tell the truth” and require public officials to “proactively assist investigations”.

    Starmer confirmed in his speech that the law will include criminal sanctions for those who breach it. Proposals also include better legal support and representations for future victims of disasters and their families.

    Proposals for a Hillsborough law were first put forward in 2017 as a private members’ bill by Andy Burnham, then shadow home secretary. Its passage was interrupted by the 2017 general election, but some aspects were reintroduced in 2022 in another private member’s bill. This, too, was interrupted when Boris Johnson prorogued parliament.

    Since becoming Labour leader, Starmer has framed his project as being one committed to returning his party, and the government, back to the service of working people. Passing a law designed and advocated for by working-class people who experienced injustice when their family members died is a clear symbol of this agenda.

    The law is also indicative of Starmer’s efforts to frame his government as one that seeks to be transparent, open and consistent. This puts him in contrast to the preceding 14 years of Conservative rule, which were marred by allegations of corruption and misconduct.

    High-profile scandals related to the pandemic, including members of the government holding illegal parties in Downing Street and misallocated contracts for PPE (personal protective equipment) to companies owned by people closely connected to government are just two examples.

    The announcement comes as Starmer himself, and senior members of his government, have been accused of lack of transparency on donations and gifts.
    Announcing the Hillsborough law goes some way to repairing his commitment to transparency and service in government, which has lost some of its shine in recent weeks.

    Changing the culture

    The reaction to the announcement from families and campaigners has been positive.

    The director of the charity Inquest, which supports families of those who have died in state-related disasters, called the law “a step forward in providing a legacy for the 97 so that others do not have to go through the pain and trauma of decades of campaigning”.

    The potential effect of the law goes far beyond Hillsborough. Other recent events including the Post Office scandal, infected blood and the Grenfell Tower fire have all been affected by a lack of openness and candour by those in power.

    But will a law on its own be enough? From Hillsborough to Grenfell to Windrush, what these many injustices highlight is that the problem of secrecy and a lack of transparency and candour is systemic and cultural. The British state has long been marked by a tradition of elitism, a government-knows-best attitude and a scepticism towards citizen engagement, participation and openness.

    While the Hillsborough law is indeed a step forward, it is only one piece of the jigsaw of making British governance more open and democratic.

    Nathan Critch receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number:
    ES/V002740/1). He is affiliated with The Productivity Institute.

    – ref. Hillsborough law planned for 2025 – what it will mean for future disasters and scandals – https://theconversation.com/hillsborough-law-planned-for-2025-what-it-will-mean-for-future-disasters-and-scandals-239855

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US election: why immigration remains a major issue for voters and why they trust Trump on border security

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Eli Auslender, Research Fellow in Migration and Climate Change, Aberystwyth University

    US border policy remains a key electoral issue for Democrats and presidential nominee Kamala Harris as she approaches the November election.

    According to a recent Gallup poll, 77% of Americans believe the southern border is experiencing either an ongoing crisis or is a major problem. Meanwhile 55% wish to see less overall immigration, 53% support expansion of the border wall and 63% would support the president temporarily closing the border to asylum seekers when the border is “overwhelmed”.

    The issue is an important one in border states, especially in those such as Arizona, where polls show an incredibly tight race.
    Those who rate immigration as a top issue favour Donald Trump over Harris, and in one new poll voters say that Trump will be far more successful than Harris at securing the border.

    Joe Biden’s initial border policies continued some entry restrictions brought in by Trump’s administration, which had restricted border entry during the heights of the pandemic. But Biden also opened new pathways for legal migration. This included expanding temporary protected status, which expedites work permits for specific populations fleeing violence or disasters from countries such as Haiti or Ukraine.

    Biden’s congressional border bill failed to get through the Senate in June. In it, he aimed to speed up the asylum process, revoke visas of the bosses of companies that work with illegal immigrants, and add executive authority to shut border access.

    Harris has confirmed that she wants to resurrect the Biden administration’s border bill despite criticism from advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. It argues that it would cut off any access to asylum protections for the vast majority of people arriving at the US-Mexico border, and disregard human safety.

    Democratic shift?

    So how and why did Democrats shift their border policies so drastically when they had been openly against Trump’s border restrictions during his presidency – and what does this mean for potential border policies under a Harris administration?

    Over the past decade, people from Central and South America have been fleeing for a variety of reasons, including the recent chaos in Haiti, the effect of harsh economic conditions in Venezuela and organised crime. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that the number of forcibly displaced people in the region is expected to reach 25 million.

    Along with this, the US southern border has been inaccurately framed as the primary means through which fentanyl has entered the country and caused the opioid crisis. These two factors have linked asylum-seekers with fentanyl despite US citizens being the main smugglers of fentanyl into the country.

    The Biden administration attempted to address some of these issues by appointing Harris, at the beginning of its term, to explore the “root causes” of migration from Central America. This included directing private sector investments towards countries from where large numbers of asylum seekers were fleeing. Research suggests that this does little to address organised crime or governance issues.



    Read more:
    No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths about immigrant foodways

    Immigration was under discussion in the recent presidential debate.

    Customs and Border Protection reported in June that 2024 saw the fewest border crossings since 2021. The Harris campaign has seized on this to claim the Biden administration’s approach has been the correct one. A closer looks, however, suggests there are many different factors.

    US Customs and Border Protection has increasingly restricted access to asylum as per the executive order, delaying those who can cross the border and need to claim asylum immediately. Mexico (among other states in Central America) has restricted northward movement towards the US border, including bussing people back to the south of the country.

    Meanwhile, asylum-seeker deaths at crossing points within Central America and after crossing the US border have increased from 149 discovered remains in 2023 to 164 by August 2024. This would suggest that the root causes remain the same.

    Asylum, border security, crime, and the opioid epidemic have been tangled into a single issue. National security and immigration are constantly linked. And this has led to the Harris campaign’s recent advertisements emphasising her “tough stances” on border crime.

    This is in contrast to her criticism of Trump in 2018, when she called his border wall policy “un-American”. Despite past Democratic criticism of Trump’s harsh border restrictions, restrictive border policies have come from both parties.

    Both parties claim that stronger enforcement and more rigorous vetting of asylum-seekers is needed, as well as expedited deportations and “safe third country” deportations. These positions still conflate asylum-seekers with criminals. Immigrant advocates have noted that the US’ asylum system is already one of the most complex in the world. Asylum cases often take years to decide.

    The “remain in Mexico” policy, which forced asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their asylum applications were considered, was implemented by the Trump administration during the pandemic and maintained by the Biden administration. Advocacy group Human Rights Watch argued that it endangered countless asylum seekers, putting men, women and children at risk of violence or death, while they waited for their cases to be heard.

    Seeking asylum is both a national and international right. The first potential policy priority to ease the border pressure should be to simplify the asylum process and reduce the time it takes to resolve a case from several years to several months. Fortifying the border puts vulnerable lives at risk, regardless of which party proposes it. Shutting down the border would only put more lives at risk.

    If the Harris campaign is serious about border policy reform, it must first look to ease and expedite asylum access instead of restricting it.

    Eli Auslender 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. US election: why immigration remains a major issue for voters and why they trust Trump on border security – https://theconversation.com/us-election-why-immigration-remains-a-major-issue-for-voters-and-why-they-trust-trump-on-border-security-238263

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Torrential rain represents an opportunity to build a better society

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Maryam Imani, Associate Professor of Water Systems Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University

    A month’s worth of rain has poured down in just a few hours in parts of central and southern England. More than 300 flood-related emergency calls were made, major roads were submerged, trains were delayed, and an enormous sinkhole opened up on a football pitch in south London.

    This follows similar torrential rain across central and eastern Europe two weeks ago, which led to flash floods and widespread damage and deaths. As climate change alters rain patterns and makes extreme downpours more common, and more extreme, such flooding is increasingly the new normal.

    Intense rain doesn’t lead to serious floods every time, of course. Sometimes we get lucky: a well-timed low tide might help, or a rainstorm could be surprisingly localised in a place where water can easily flow into the sea, a river or a pond. And some of the actions taken by humans to minimise the risk of catastrophic floods can actually make life more pleasant anyway, even when it isn’t raining. For this reason, we should see rains like this not just as a challenge, but as an opportunity.

    Minimising the risk of disaster

    There are various things we can do to minimise flood risks before and after torrential rains and prevent smaller floods from escalating into disasters.

    We can build bigger and better drainage and stormwater infrastructure, for instance, and make sure drains are unblocked and flood walls are properly maintained. This is an example of so-called “hard” flood defences.

    Features like ponds and wetlands, larger parks, or trees on hillsides, help slow down or store rainwater and can ensure the flow is spread out over days or even weeks. Water flows much faster over bare ground, and especially over concrete roads and buildings, where urban drainage systems can soon be overwhelmed – causing floods. These features are known variously as “nature-based solutions” or “sustainable drainage systems” or “blue-green infrastructure”.

    We can also use smart technologies for flood warning systems and we can ensure people are aware and prepared. We can ensure people don’t live in flood-prone areas in the first place, through climate-resilient planning, and that those who do live there are insured and have flood-proofed their homes as best they can.

    More sustainable flood management

    In the UK, several exemplary projects address flood management. The most iconic is the Thames Barrier in London, which protects the city from storm surges and high tides coming from the North Sea. Another is the the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, which protects over 3,000 properties and 500 businesses in the UK’s fourth-largest urban area. It involves a combination of hard defences – weirs, flood walls – and natural solutions like planting trees and constructing water storage areas.

    The National Storm Overflows Plan for England report is being reviewed by the UK government for approval by December 2024. One of its recommendations is to make sustainable drainage systems mandatory.

    A government scheme (Flood Re) also ensures homeowners in flood-risk areas can protect their homes and obtain affordable insurance. And various rivers have been allowed to “wiggle” once again, by flooding over nearby fields. This has proven effective at reducing peak flows during storms, which is especially beneficial downstream where people live and where rivers are often encased in human-made banks.

    The River Derwent flows through the Lake District of northern England.
    RnDmS / shutterstock

    These initiatives are part of a broader trend toward more sustainable flood management practices. Key projects such as the “slowing the flow” project in Pickering, Yorkshire or projects along the River Derwent in Cumbria focus on reconnecting rivers with their floodplains.

    Worldwide lessons

    The Netherlands is one of the world leaders in flood management. The Delta Works, a massive system of dams, sluices, locks, dikes and storm-surge barriers, protects the country, much of which is below sea level, from flooding due to rainfall and rising sea levels.

    The Room for the River programme, started in 2007, manages higher water levels in rivers by lowering flood plains, creating water buffers, relocating levees, increasing the depth of side channels, and constructing flood bypasses. Urban adaptations, such as those in Rotterdam, are also crucial for managing flash flooding.

    Japan, particularly in flood-prone areas like Tokyo, has built massive underground flood tunnels to divert rainwater during storms. This system helps protect the city from excessive rainfall and typhoons. In many European countries, sustainable drainage systems are now integrated into urban planning. This helps absorb excess rainwater during storms, while offering ecological and social benefits too (grass and ponds are ultimately a lot nicer than bare concrete).

    It’s crucial to be aware of the problem of intense rain and view it as a chance to improve society. Prolonged droughts highlight the need to focus on storing and using excess water during high-demand times, which can be done by creating wetlands, storing floodwaters or by enabling the soil to store and retain more moisture.

    Engineers can’t do all this by themselves. Neither can tree-planters or wetland creators. We need a hybrid approach combining engineering solutions with nature and community efforts.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get our award-winning weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Maryam Imani is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a STEM programme ambassador.

    – ref. Torrential rain represents an opportunity to build a better society – https://theconversation.com/torrential-rain-represents-an-opportunity-to-build-a-better-society-239755

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Houlahan Urges Postmaster General to Address Service Issues Caused by Closure of West Chester Post Office

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)

    WEST CHESTER, PA – Late last week, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) sent a letter to United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlining her constituents’ concerns following a fire in July that closed the Airport Road Post Office in West Chester, PA. The letter highlighted problems resulting from the closure including a lack of clear operating hours at alternate facilities such as the Gay Street Post Office, incorrect and outdated information on the website, long wait times, and chronic understaffing at the post offices currently trying to handle the overflow of customers who had previously relied on the Airport Road Post Office before the fire. 

    Houlahan asked DeJoy to share the Postal Service’s plan to remedy the issues and to commit to rebuilding the Airport Road facility, which is owned by the U.S. Postal Service. Houlahan also expressed her concerns about how the closure of the USPS Airport Road facility will impact the distribution and collection of mail-in ballots.  

    “With only a handful of weeks until election day, and even fewer before mail-in ballots are distributed, I’m asking for a detailed plan for the distribution of ballots despite lack of access to this post office,” wrote Houlahan. “This plan should include what additional capacity will be needed at other nearby locations, and how this capacity can be provided. Every eligible American has the right to participate in our elections and that right should not be diminished due to lack of post office access.” 

    Read Houlahan’s letter here or below.  

    Dear Postmaster General Dejoy, 

    As you may be aware, on July 19th, services were indefinitely suspended at the USPS facility located at 1050 Airport Road in West Chester, PA because of a major fire. This particular post office is the primary delivery unit in Chester County, where the majority of my constituents of Pennsylvania’s Sixth District reside. As an additional point of context, West Chester University with a student enrollment of approximately 18,000 individuals, is located in West Chester, Chester County’s County Seat and population base.  

    I am thankful that no one was hurt in the blaze, and for the updates provided by your team to my office. I appreciate the work the USPS is doing to recover from this disaster and ask that you prioritize a few issues that many members of my community have shared with me.  

    First and most imminently, the hours displayed on the USPS’s website still describe the Airport Road location as being open and operating normally. This has caused confusion as postal patrons have traveled to the Airport Road location only to find a shuttered building. Please correct this right away. Additionally, because of the closure, the nearby Gay Street Post Office has extended its hours but the website has not been updated, leading to additional confusion. I appreciate the USPS’s prompt attention to these necessary updates.  

    Second, the closure of the Airport Road Post Office has meant that demand at the Gay Street Post Office is now higher than ever. My office has received reports of long wait times of up to 90 minutes for counter services, as well as hours-long closures at the Gay Street location, due to a shortage of staff. It is critical that more staff are either hired or quickly transferred to meet the increased demand of postal customers that have been forced from the Airport Road location to the Gay Street location. I ask that you regularly keep my office apprised of the actions the USPS is taking to improve staff recruitment and retention in the West Chester, PA area. It is my hope that these actions will be in addition to the efforts already underway to improve staffing at USPS locations across the nation, as described by the Delivering for America plan.  

    Third, I have deep concerns about how the closure of the USPS Airport Road facility will impact the distribution and collection of mail-in ballots. With only a handful of weeks until election day, and even fewer before mail-in ballots are distributed, I’m asking for a detailed plan for the distribution of ballots despite lack of access to this post office. This plan should include what additional capacity will be needed at other nearby locations, and how this capacity can be provided. Every eligible American has the right to participate in our elections and that right should not be diminished due to lack of post office access.  

    Fourth, I’d like you to commit that the West Chester Post office will be rebuilt and reopened, rather than closed permanently. This location is critically important to maintaining adequate services in this part of my district in the long term. While augmenting services at nearby offices can be help fill the gap in the short term, it cannot be an indefinite solution.  

    Lastly, I ask that USPS personnel continue to be in regular contact with my staff on the status of the West Chester Post Office. Specifically, I ask that monthly updates be provided to my staff on the progress of reconstruction, and the ongoing impact of the closure on nearby offices.  

    Thank you for your work to address this difficult issue.  

    Sincerely, 

    Chrissy Houlahan

    Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which “recognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward” and the Congressional Management Foundation’s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Miller, Colleagues Introduce the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Authorization Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV)

    Washington D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV)  introduced the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Authorization Act with Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Ann Kuster (D-NH). The RCORP Authorization Act will establish and expand prevention, treatment, and recovery services in rural areas for opioid users.

    “Ensuring there are enough resources for those who are suffering from addiction is a top priority for me. As a representative for a rural district, I have seen firsthand how important it is for my constituents to have access to quality health care. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program provides funding to rural communities that are in need of recovery facilities, and the program should be authorized to provide certainty for communities and providers. I thank my colleagues for partnering with me on this bipartisan issue to establish addiction prevention services in the most rural areas of the United States,” said Congresswoman Miller.

    “The opioid epidemic doesn’t discriminate. As we see in Alabama, it affects people of every background and every zip code, urban and rural. By authorizing the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, we can take critical steps toward expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services for opioid users in rural communities. I’m grateful to be part of the bipartisan group of lawmakers working to make that happen,” said Congresswoman Sewell.

    “The opioid epidemic is a nationwide crisis that especially impacts rural communities. As a pharmacist and representative for a rural district, I understand the importance of ensuring that all Americans have access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Formally authorizing the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program will save lives in districts like mine. I am proud to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure continued access to these vital health care resources,” said Congressman Carter.

    “From health care workforce shortages to limited access to treatment and recovery services, rural communities in New Hampshire and across the country have been hit particularly hard by the addiction and overdose crisis. Ending the substance use disorder epidemic calls for an all-of-the-above government response, and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program will help ensure that even our most rural communities have access to the resources and support they need to save lives,” said Congresswoman Kuster.

    “Substance use, including opioid use, is exacerbated in rural America by a lack of access to care and treatment. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is a grant program aimed at alleviating this gap by establishing and expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services. NRHA applauds the efforts of Representatives Miller, Sewell, Carter, and Kuster for their introduction of the RCORP Authorization Act and their continual leadership on rural issues,” said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. 

    “Rural communities have been uniquely tested by the opioid epidemic. Limited care options, transportation issues, and incomplete support systems along with barriers to reintegration into the workforce have created unique barriers on the road to recovery. The RCORP program has been critical in deploying needed resources to these communities while promoting unique collaborations that provide patient-centered care. As such, we enthusiastically support the continuation of this vital program,” said David Gozal, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D. (Hon), Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University.

    ​​”On behalf of the 50 State Offices of Rural Health, we are thrilled to see Reps. Carol Miller, Ann Kuster, and Buddy Carter introduce the RCORP Authorization Bill of 2024.  The RCORP grant program has been a lifeline for Rural population in West Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia and all 50 states.  If passed into law this bill solidifies the standing of the program in the eyes of Congress – we look forward to working with our rural champions to ensure Congress passes this bipartisan bill into law,” said Tammy Norville, CEO of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. 

    Click here for bill text.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Higher doses of buprenorphine may improve treatment outcomes for people with opioid use disorder

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release

    Wednesday, September 25, 2024

    NIH-funded analysis suggests higher doses of buprenorphine were associated with lower rates of future behavioral health-related emergency department and inpatient care.

    Adults with opioid use disorder who receive a higher daily dose of the opioid addiction treatment medication buprenorphine may have a lower risk of subsequent emergency department visits or use of inpatient services related to behavioral health (such as for mental health and substance use disorders) than adults receiving the recommended dose, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These findings suggest that higher buprenorphine doses could be more effective in managing opioid use disorder, which may be particularly relevant for improving treatment for those who use fentanyl, a major driver of the overdose crisis.

    Researchers reviewed insurance claims data from over 35,000 people who were diagnosed with opioid use disorder and began buprenorphine treatment between 2016 and 2021. They found that among all people who started treatment with buprenorphine, 12.5% experienced an emergency department or inpatient visit related to behavioral health within the study period.  After adjusting for patient demographics and medical history available in the data, researchers then analyzed how long it took for people receiving different doses of buprenorphine to use emergency care or have an inpatient stay after starting treatment.

    The recommended target dose for buprenorphine in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approved labeling is 16 mg per day. Researchers found that those taking higher daily doses of buprenorphine (>16 to 24 mg) took 20% longer to have a subsequent emergency department or inpatient health care visit related to behavioral health within the first year after receiving treatment, compared to those receiving >8 to 16 mg a day. Those taking daily doses of more than 24 mg of buprenorphine went 50% longer before having a subsequent emergency or inpatient health care visit related to behavioral health within the first year after receiving treatment, compared to those receiving >8 to 16 mg a day.

    “As the overdose crisis evolves, particularly with the rise of fentanyl, it is crucial to investigate how to best adapt and deliver the lifesaving and evidence-based treatments for opioid use disorder that we have available,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “The findings add to the growing evidence that higher doses of buprenorphine may have meaningful health impacts for people with opioid use disorder.”

    In 2022, of the nearly 108,000 overdose deaths reported in the U.S., almost 70% were primarily due to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin. The ubiquity of fentanyl in the drug supply and associated overdose deaths have raised questions about whether existing dosing guidelines for buprenorphine should be modified to better address the unique challenges posed by such a potent opioid. Higher doses of buprenorphine may be necessary to effectively manage the more severe withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and tolerance associated with fentanyl use.

    “Preventing or delaying the need for high-intensity, urgent health care among people with opioid use disorder has tremendous benefits on health and recovery,” said Bradley D. Stein, M.D., Ph.D., a study co-author and director of the RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center. “As we continue to gather data across studies, findings suggest that higher doses of buprenorphine may have the ability to significantly improve treatment in the era of fentanyl, as both fatal and nonfatal overdoses remain unacceptably high.”

    The authors also note that addressing barriers to accessing higher doses, such as state laws and insurance policies, will be important in ensuring that all patients receive effective care. In addition, revisiting guidelines that serve as barriers to higher doses could be beneficial, as these may limit access to potentially life-saving treatment for patients at high risk of relapse or overdose.

    Notably, the data used in the study were pulled from a single commercial insurance company, which does not include uninsured people and those with Medicaid or fee-for-service Medicare coverage, and the sample of people included in the analysis was 75% non-Hispanic white. Further research is needed to explore the effects of higher buprenorphine doses in more diverse populations, including those with different insurance statuses or in different clinical settings. In addition, the authors note that future research should also investigate additional outcomes such as the long-term effects of high-dose buprenorphine on opioid use disorder treatment retention and overall health outcomes using similar data.

    These findings build upon accumulating evidence of the safety and efficacy of higher doses of buprenorphine. Studies have shown that more than 16 mg of buprenorphine is safe and well tolerated in people with opioid use disorder in emergency department and outpatient treatment settings, and that higher buprenorphine doses are associated with improved retention in treatment for opioid use disorder.

    This study was funded by the NIH’s NIDA and published in JAMA Network Open. The data analyzed in the study came from a large insurer’s database of commercial claims, including those for Medicare Advantage.

    If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol conditions, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).

    About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. For more information about NIDA and its programs, visit www.nida.nih.gov.

    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NFL and FEMA Launch National Strategy to Build Resilience in Communities, Designate Venues as Mission Ready Locations During Disasters

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: NFL and FEMA Launch National Strategy to Build Resilience in Communities, Designate Venues as Mission Ready Locations During Disasters

    NFL and FEMA Launch National Strategy to Build Resilience in Communities, Designate Venues as Mission Ready Locations During Disasters

    WASHINGTON — Stadiums and venues provide a central and accessible location to help communities respond to extreme weather crises, providing safe storage and shelter in times of need. With these events becoming more frequent, severe and expensive, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and NFL Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier today announced that FEMA and the NFL are launching a new strategy to build resilience in communities through a program that will designate NFL stadiums and fields as mission capable venues that can be used during response and recovery missions. Through Mission Ready Venues, a public-private partnership, NFL stadiums are recognized for their capabilities to better sustain public safety and be a source of support for the communities they serve. The designation identifies the ways the stadium or venue could be used for response and recovery activities during declared emergencies or disasters. 

    “During large-scale emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, or tornados, we’ve seen how large music, sports and entertainment venues can serve as a safe space for communities,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “This new strategy we’re launching with the NFL is a groundbreaking opportunity to help our partners use these venues for emergency response and recovery needs, while keeping communities safe and making them more resilient. While we are starting with the NFL, all venues across sports organizations and leagues can become assets to their communities, and I encourage them to join in this collaborative effort as we grapple with the impacts of the climate crisis.”

    “Stadiums are valuable community assets that are often used in times of disasters,” said NFL Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier. “This designation reflects the role that many stadiums play, not only on Sundays, but especially in times of need. We are proud to work with FEMA and first responders at the local and state level to ensure disaster response agencies have the information and tools they need to help a community recover when disaster strikes.”

    According to the NYU School of Professional Studies and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, stadiums and arenas can improve the public health and well-being of their communities—including pandemic response during COVID-19. The initial stadiums to receive designations include MetLife, home of the Jets and the Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Lumen Field, home of the Seahawks in Seattle, Washington, Acrisure Stadium, home of the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida. SoFi Stadium, home of the Rams and the Chargers in Los Angeles, California is under review. 

    Given the size, capabilities and locations of large sports venues, these existing community assets can serve the public in a variety of ways including emergency shelters, staging areas, commodity distribution sites, evacuation pick up points, disaster recovery centers, mass vaccination and testing, temporary hospitals and more. FEMA and the NFL recognized this unique opportunity for collaboration and are enlisting the support of venue owners, operators and the tenants of these facilities to work with government officials in the planning and preparation for emergency or disaster response and recovery efforts. To receive an official Mission Ready Venue designation, venues must undergo a comprehensive assessment to determine what capabilities the venue may be able to support in emergency and disaster response and recovery efforts. The designation highlights the following attributes of selected venues:

    • Provide Safety and Security: Stadiums are usually centrally located, close to major roadways and transportation hubs and critical services like hospitals. If used to respond to a disaster, the designation will save valuable time and resources and will further enhance coordination between the public and private sectors during disaster response and recovery.
    • Provide Accessibility: Stadiums are also compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act and can support persons with disabilities and others with access or functional needs. Additionally, 73% of NFL venues are accessible by mass transportation. This provides an avenue to promote equitable service to underserved populations to access potentially critical lifesaving/life-sustaining services after an event.  
    • Strengthen Community Resilience: Stadiums and arenas are a focal point of communities and help strengthen social networks by enhancing connections between residents with home team pride. These Mission Ready Venues can boost morale amidst disaster. By providing a more robust and resilient environment, these venues can enhance social networks amongst survivors while providing ample opportunities to establish connections with the venue’s main tenants.
    • Ensure Unity of Effort: Coordination of stadium resources and services can support survivors and responders and help stabilize an incident quickly. Since stadiums are fixed locations, resources and services can be deployed quickly. This promotes the community’s physical and economic recovery.

    Mission Ready Venue designations are for five-year increments with a yearly check-in to ensure continued readiness of the venue. Redesignation will be necessary every five years and designation does not supersede any agreements with state, local or private sector entities. 

    amy.ashbridge

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Gangs’stories: Danny’s tales of machismo in Glasgow

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Alistair Fraser, Professor of Criminology, University of Glasgow

    Glasgow – 1973, Queen Street Rail Station. Helmutt Zozmann, CC BY-NC-ND

    For the past five years, the GANGS project, a European Research Council-funded project led by Dennis Rodgers, has been studying global gang dynamics in a comparative perspective. When understood in a nuanced manner that goes beyond the usual stereotypes and Manichean representations, gangs and gangsters arguably constitute fundamental lenses through which to think about and understand the world we live in.

    _Alistair Fraser and Angela Bartie present the story of Danny, who was a Glaswegian gang member in his youth. Drawing on interviews carried out when he was 18, 59, and 70 years old, they trace his changing self-reflection about his past experiences which mirror the broader transformation of the city from a violence urban space in the 1960s to a thriving “people’s city” in 2024.

    _

    As Danny left the room, that autumn of 2022, our eyes locked together in shock. For the last three hours, this spry seventy-year-old had held us rapt. Tanned, lean, and composed in his smart coat and cap, he was someone you’d have happily bought a used car from. But in the room he had been regaling us with tales of his teenage years running with the ‘Drummy’, a street gang notorious in Glasgow’s history. How had he got from there to here?

    Danny grew up in Easterhouse, a 1950s housing scheme on the periphery of the city that quickly attracted negative publicity. Tens of thousands were rehoused from crumbling tenements in the city centre. They were sold a bright new vision of progress but found themselves deserted on the edge of town, with only fields for company. Without shops, jobs, or facilities, young people made their own entertainment, forming themselves into gangs and fighting for kicks. Membership was decided simply by which street you happened to live on, a kind of natural selection where geography would land you on one side or the other. Unlike gangs in other cities, in Glasgow it was not about control of drug markets but a more primal law of the jungle, fighting for kicks and respect.

    The violence of the Easterhouse gangs was legendary. As Danny recalled:

    “It was just out and out tribal, that’s all it was, you know. And it was a day-to-day routine… some of the things you did were ludicrous. I mean, we used to run, we had football pitches, and you would run into the football pitches, maybe 50, 60 of yous, in pitch black. You would charge each other. Now, the British Army wouldn’t do that, in pitch black, run into it, not knowing what’s there. And you ran at each other, not knowing if the guy’s got a sword, a knife, a hatchet, anything.”

    The issue didn’t stay local for long. Warfare involving Easterhouse gangs attracted national media attention, drew concerned responses from politicians, and even garnered a celebrity visit from popular entertainer Frankie Vaughan who asked the gangs to put down their knives.

    Years before series such as the Peaky Blinders, the movie Small Faces (1996) would highlight gang violence in industrial towns such as Glasgow.

    The violence also attracted the attention of radical criminologists. Gail Wilson and Mary Wilson were part of a loose association of “Anarchists, CND, young Communists and international Socialists” (Cohen 1974: 27) who were trying to rewire academic approaches to youth culture. Rather than looking at the rule-breakers, these upstarts were looking at the rule makers and asking why some groups were criminalised more than others. Gail and Mary spent years working alongside gang youth in Easterhouse, studying their daily lives and comparing this with media narratives. They applied a theory called “social constructionism”, which tries to untangle stereotypes and reality.

    Meeting Danny

    We first met Gail and Mary back in 2010, after our studies of 1960s gangs had led us to their doorsteps. During our first meeting, Gail climbed a ladder to a storage hatch and retrieved a dusty box. Our eyes widened as we saw what lay inside. Notes, news clippings, sketches, essays and – incredibly – eighteen hand-written transcripts of interviews with members of the “Drummy” gang from 1969.

    We set about trying to trace these boys, who would now be in their fifties. We wondered how their lives had gone, where they’d ended up, and what lessons they would want to tell the current generation. We weren’t always successful. Some had died, others relocated. One got in touch to say he didn’t want to talk about that period in his life. Danny was one that said yes.

    Glasgow Gangs, 1968.

    Danny’s story, in a way, was the story of Glasgow. After his teenage gang years, Danny surfed Glasgow’s wave of industrialisation into a career in sales. He worked hard and moved out of the estate, initially to an area a few miles west of Easterhouse. His manager saw his potential, and Danny reflected that his street skills had prepared him for organisational roles and promotion.

    When we first spoke in 2011, he had been bullish in his talk of days gone by. His eyes glinted at the retelling of tales of violence, like a cowboy in a Western saloon. He revelled in one about his strict father taking him to the pub for his 18th birthday, where they had been challenged to a fight by a man and his dog. “Needless to say”, he told us with a grin, “we leathered them.”

    It sealed a bond between father and son. As he told us, “I kind of walked up the road as proud as punch, me and my dad”. We interpreted this as a link between past and present – the gang was a hand-me-down masculinity, like the legend of the Glasgow hardman swaggering through the pages of history.

    Ten years later, however, he told the story differently. As we sat squeezed around a table too big for the room, the air was thick with regret not bravado. His father had recently passed away, and this former hardman was suddenly vulnerable. As he recalled in 2022 of the altercation:

    “That’s the first time I probably ever bonded, truly, with my dad, if you know what I mean, in all the years… on my 18th birthday, I’ll never forget it.”

    The macho image started to fracture

    The macho image that we had of Danny, and of the Glasgow hardman, started to fracture. Ever since, we have been re-evaluating what we thought we knew about Danny’s life – and gang lives in general – and our own part in retelling his story. The oral historian Lynn Abrams says:

    “The story that a person tells is just one of many that are possible. The script is not deterministic. Its shape, form and content is determined by the need for the narrator to construct a memory story with which he or she can feel comfortable at that moment. And a comfortable telling is often one in which the story told coheres with larger cultural understandings.”

    Danny’s perspectives on his youthful gang experiences have altered not just in response to his own changing life circumstances, but also to how the culture of Glasgow has transformed in the fifty years since he was involved in the Drummy.

    Today, Glasgow is hailed as a city that has beaten the gangs, with talk of a Glasgow miracle of violence reduction.

    As he swaggered out the door, every inch the successful businessman, a stillness descended on the room. Danny was as far from the stereotype of a gang member as you could possibly imagine. He is your grandfather, your neighbour, your friend.

    Meeting Danny reminded us that stories matter, but like a city they can change – and paying attention to when and why these stories change can often reveal more than the stories themselves.

    Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Gangs’stories: Danny’s tales of machismo in Glasgow – https://theconversation.com/gangsstories-dannys-tales-of-machismo-in-glasgow-224876

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: SDG Flag Day in Lugano: the important role of cities in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in French

    Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

    Bern, 25.09.2024 – Since 2019, the SDG Flag Day has been held every year on 25 September, at the initiative of the business community (UN Global Compact). Schools, municipalities, organisations, companies and governments raise a flag depicting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to symbolically express their support for the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. By participating in the SDG Flag Day event in Lugano, the two Federal Council delegates for the 2030 Agenda, Markus Reubi and Daniel Dubas, are emphasising the importance of cities in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

    Access to green spaces and public spaces, sustainable transport systems, waste sorting or urban planning with all stakeholders: cities are particularly confronted with the challenges of sustainability. Although they only cover 3% of the Earth’s surface, they consume three quarters of the world’s resources and are responsible for 75% of global emissions. This is why SDG 11 “Sustainable cities and communities” of the 2030 Agenda also addresses this central theme.

    Cities and municipalities must be designed to be more inclusive, resilient and green. On this year’s SDG Flag Day, the City of Lugano is illustrating with various examples how it is contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

    “With his program

    Today’s event in Lugano is the starting point for closer collaboration between the FDFA and various cities in the field of sustainability, which will be supported by a city symposium at the 2025 edition.

    Agenda 2030The 2030 Agenda is the global framework for local, national and international efforts to find common solutions to major global challenges, such as climate change, resource exploitation, biodiversity conservation and health crises. The 2030 Agenda was adopted on 25 September 2015 by 193 UN Member States, including Switzerland. It applies to all States and sets sustainable development goals until 2030. In Switzerland, too, the 2030 Agenda outlines the broad outlines of sustainable development policy. The 17 SDGs and their 169 targets are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. They are structured around five principles that guide action: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. With these five principles, the 2030 Agenda aims to ensure human well-being, economic development and environmental protection and addresses aspects such as peace, the rule of law and governance. The SDG Flag Day event is an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact, a global network of businesses committed to the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

    Address for sending questions

    Communication DFAE Federal Palace WestCH-3003 BernTel. Press Service: 41 58 460 55 55E-Mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.chTwitter: @EDA_DFAE

    Author

    Federal Department of Foreign Affairshttps://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/dfae.html

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Announces Over $3 Million in Awards to Advance Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for STEM, R&D-Focused Small Businesses and Startups

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    WASHINGTON – Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, announced the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage Two winners. Forty-four accelerator partnerships received between $50,000 and $150,000 each to advance their work supporting small businesses and startups in STEM and research and development (R&D) across priority areas like national and economic security, domestic manufacturing and production, and sustainability and biotechnology. 

    “Innovation happens everywhere and the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to build on its commitment to promote sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems that advance research and development and commercialization in communities across the nation,” said Administrator Guzman. “The 2024 GAFC Stage Two award winners will drive forward the Investing in America agenda and strengthen America’s global competitiveness by continuing to support the expanding and increasingly diverse entrepreneurs across the nation and provide them with the opportunities that lower barriers for market and capital access.”

    GAFC Stage One prizes emphasized ecosystem network building, while Stage Two efforts focus on the enhanced support that can be provided to small businesses and startups through these Growth Accelerator Partnerships. These partnerships span public, private, nonprofit, and academic institutions, fostering collaboration across industries and geographies, with lead awardees headquartered in 34 U.S. states and territories, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and assisting innovators nationally.

    “Since its launch in 2014, the SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) has made a positive difference to local and national innovation-focused entrepreneurship organizations and the communities they support. The competition has grown to be a core component and vital source of support to our nation’s innovation ecosystem. Over the last decade, SBA has awarded 566 prizes totaling over $33 million to winners across the U.S. and U.S. territories. We are delighted to announce 31 of this year’s Stage Two winners are new to the program, and we are inspired to witness communities of ecosystem developers coming together to build new relationships and networks with GAFC funding,” said Bailey G. DeVries, Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. 

    Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage Two Winners

    Learn more about each GAFC partnership in the public directory located at https://bit.ly/GAFC24Directory. 

    National and Economic Security

    • Ala., The Catalyst Center for Business and Entrepreneurship
    • Calif., Starburst Accelerator
    • Colo., Catalyst Accelerator
    • Ind., Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
    • Ind., Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies
    • La., Maven Scouts
    • Md., Rural Autonomous Innovation Network (RAIN) Association of University Research Parks (AURP)
    • Mo., Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation
    • Mont., Early Stage Montana
    • Neb., Invest Nebraska
    • N.M., NewSpace Nexus

    Domestic Manufacturing and Production

    • Ariz., Startup Tucson
    • Ark., Endeavor NWA Entrepreneurs
    • District of Columbia, National Disability Institute
    • Fla., Florida Institute of Technology
    • Fla., International Business Innovation Association
    • Hawaii, XLR8HI
    • N.C., RIoT
    • N.D., Grand Farm Research and Education Initiative Inc.
    • N.Y., FuzeHub
    • N.Y., Southern Tier High Technology Incubator Inc.
    • Utah, Utah Advanced Materials Manufacturing Institute
    • Wash., 360 Social Impact Studios

    Sustainability and Biotechnology

    • Alaska, Spruce Root Inc.
    • Calif., Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
    • Conn., The Community Foundation-Mission Investments Company
    • Ill., University of Illinois Research Park LLC
    • Maine, Central Maine Growth Council
    • Mass., SeaAhead Inc.
    • Minn., RuralWorks Partners LLC
    • N.C., Eva Garland Consulting LLC
    • N.Y., The Hudson Valley Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz
    • Ore., Oregon Health and Science University
    • Pa., University City Science Center
    • Puerto Rico, CARBONO3 LLC
    • Tenn., BioTN Foundation Inc.
    • Tenn., Native American Investment and Capital Alliance
    • Texas, Health Wildcatters
    • Texas, Impact Hub Houston
    • Utah, Altitude Lab
    • Va., FedTech
    • Vt., LaunchVT
    • W.Va., U.S. Research Impact Alliance Corp.
    • Washington, D.C., Women in Engineering ProActive Network 

    “Supported by SBA’s Investment and Innovation Ecosystem Development (IIED) Division, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition awards boost strategic partnerships that create a national network so entrepreneurs can tap into significant capital and resources. Our work emphasizes the value of strategic connections and relationships across a wide variety of entrepreneur support organizations and accentuates how the work they are doing can successfully impact the growth and advancement of our federal innovation ecosystem,” said Brittany Sickler, Director of Ecosystem Development, for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. “We are changing the trajectory for underserved communities and founders so that more startups and small businesses can scale and grow. “

    For more information about the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, please visit SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (americasseedfund.us). 

    ###

    About SBA Office of Investment and Innovation

    The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) leads programs that provide the growth-oriented small business and startup community with access to financial capital, networks, assistance, and R&D funds to develop commercially viable innovations. Our work is underpinned by public-private partnerships that help small businesses on their trajectory from idea to IPO. 
     

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: At Hearing, Warren Slams Trump for Role in Criminalizing Abortion, Pushes Back on Misinformation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    September 25, 2024
    Warren: “The consequences (of overturning Roe v. Wade) have been disastrous. Women hemorrhaging in parking lots until they are closer to death, women airlifted to another state for an emergency abortion, women traveling from emergency room to emergency room, desperate for help, only to be turned away and left to miscarry at home.” 
    Warren: “Thanks to Donald Trump, doctors in nearly half the country now have to wonder if they will face criminal penalties for providing medically necessary care.”
    Video of Exchange (YouTube)
    Washington, D.C. – At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted the dangerous consequences women have faced two years after Donald Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Senator Warren recounted recent tragedies in states with abortion bans and warned that doctors’ ability to perform life-saving care in emergency situations is under attack. Just last week, ProPublica reported on the untimely deaths of two Georgia mothers, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, who were denied timely care following rare, but treatable, complications from medication abortion. 
    Senator Warren pushed back on Republican efforts to use these womens’ deaths to spread misinformation about the safety of medication abortion, which Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, Obstetrician and Gynecologist, confirmed is “extremely safe.” When asked what is to blame for the unnecessary suffering women are facing when attempting to receive emergency medical care in states with abortion bans, Dr. Huntsberger clarified that “lawmakers, who may or may not have bothered to understand the complexity of pregnancy and medical care, made laws that are impacting physicians’ ability to act and to take care of their patients.” 
    Senator Warren also highlighted the stakes of the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a case related to the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals that accept Medicare to provide stabilizing care to individuals with an emergency medical condition. Professor Michele Goodwin, JD, Georgetown University School of Law, described the Court’s failure to affirm the 200-year-old principle that federal law preempts state law as “incredibly dangerous.” 
    Senator Warren called for restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade to protect women’s lives and bodily autonomy.  
    Transcript: Hearing on Chaos and Control: How Trump Criminalized Women’s Health Care Senate Finance CommitteeSeptember 24, 2024
    Senator Elizabeth Warren: So it has been two years since Donald Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade. The consequences have been disastrous. Women hemorrhaging in parking lots until they are closer to death, women airlifted to another state for an emergency abortion, women traveling from emergency room to emergency room, desperate for help, only to be turned away and left to miscarry at home. 
    Ms. Joshua, I am deeply sorry for what happened to you. It should not have happened to anyone. Trump’s abortion bans aren’t just causing unnecessary suffering, they’re killing women. 
    Last week, we learned about Amber Nicole Thurman. Amber lived in Georgia. She was mother to a six year old boy. She hoped to become a nurse. After learning she was pregnant, she fled to another state, where she got a medication abortion back in Georgia, Amber experienced a rare complication. She waited 20 hours before doctors performed the life saving surgery that she needed, but 20 hours made it too late. Anti-abortion extremists want to twist Amber’s story to spread misinformation about the safety of medication abortion. 
    Doctor Huntsberger, you are an OBGYN. How safe is medication abortion?
    Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, Obstetrician and Gynecologist: Extremely safe. We have decades of research on mifepristone demonstrating its safety. Risk of complications are always present with any medication, but are quite low. It’s also important to note that the same both medications and treatment with surgical procedures are identical for the management of early pregnancy loss or miscarriage and abortion, 
    Senator Warren: All right, so extremely safe, is what I heard you say. And in the rare case where there is a complication, is it treatable? 
    Dr. Huntsberger: Yes.
    Senator Warren: Eminently treatable. But anti-abortion extremists want to misdirect and cast blame on the providers, arguing that doctors are willfully misapplying the law. 
    Dr Huntsberger, tell us, what’s really going on here?
    Dr. Huntsberger: I think it’s important that instead of trying to shift blame to physicians who are practicing in a really hostile and challenging environment, for us to look at why they are in that circumstance in the first place, and that is because lawmakers, who may or may not have bothered to understand the complexity of pregnancy and medical care made laws that are impacting physicians’ ability to act and to safely take care of their patients. 
    Senator Warren: Okay, so the problem is not here with the physicians, it’s with the lawmakers who are passing these laws. I think what we’re seeing is Republican politicians who pass these medically unsound and dangerous laws that end up intimidating and confusing physicians who are just trying to provide care. 
    Tragically, another Georgia mother, Candy Miller, died at home because Georgia’s abortion ban made her afraid to seek the medical care that she needed. Amber and Candy should be alive today. 
    Now we have a federal law that is designed to prevent tragedies like this from occurring, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, EMTALA, as it’s known, requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to individuals in an emergency situation. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether Idaho’s near total ban on abortion conflicts with EMTALA. 
    Professor Goodwin. You’re a constitutional law expert. The Supreme Court did not actually resolve this. They sent it back to the lower court. What should we take away from this? Does this mean we are now safe and we’ll have the protection in emergency circumstances? Go ahead, Professor Goodwin.
    Professor Michele Goodwin: No, we should all be deeply alarmed by the Supreme Court’s procedural move, rather than substantively answering the question that federal law trumps states’ laws. It’s been a principle in American law for over 200 years, and the Supreme Court’s failure to be clear on that, that a state law does not preempt federal law is something that is incredibly dangerous.
    Senator Warren: Okay. Dangerous. I hear alarm bills going off. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Thanks to Donald Trump, doctors in nearly half the country now have to wonder if they will face criminal penalties for providing medically necessary care. 
    44% of women of reproductive age now live in states where they don’t get to make decisions about their own bodies, and two women, undoubtedly more, have now died because they were not able to access the timely care they needed. We must restore the protection of Roe to make sure this never happens again.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Project Guacamaya uses daily satellite images, Amazon-specific AI models in battle against deforestation

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Project Guacamaya uses daily satellite images, Amazon-specific AI models in battle against deforestation

    “Technology will be a game-changer in saving the Amazon,” says Pablo Arbeláez, director of the CinfonIA Research Center.

    Using data, machine learning, cloud technology, data science and other technology, patterns of deforestation are identified faster, allowing for quicker action to be taken in at-risk areas. The audio language model is a custom-made multimodal language model called CLAP, developed by Microsoft. The image models are trained from open-source models and the framework used to develop the image models, Pytorch Wildlife, was also created by Microsoft.

    “I think it shows the best of private sector, NGOs, universities and governments working together,” says Juan Lavista Ferres, Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab. “This is a great example of how AI accelerates and supports the work of conservationists. We’ve already made significant progress through this collaboration and I’m looking forward to more impact.”

    [embedded content]

    Several key updates have occurred in Project Guacamaya over the past year, giving researchers more options and better ability to track and understand deforestation patterns, including:

    • Daily satellite images from Planet Labs: Prior to this update, imagery was provided monthly. Now, with daily updates, researchers can set up daily alerts using images from the satellites monitoring the Amazon.
    • Amazon-specific AI models: Now, researchers studying animals found in the Amazon can use a region-specific AI model that is more accurate in identifying the species found in the rainforest, allowing them to work 10x faster.
    • Governmental collaboration: The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), which provides the official deforestation reports for Colombia, will now use Project Guacamaya’s models in its reporting.
    • Open-source biodiversity model: The project has released Pytorch Wildlife, an open-source platform that is specifically designed for creating, modifying and sharing powerful AI conservation models.

    “With this connection of knowledge, institutions and technology, we want the country to move more forcefully in making critical decisions on how to maintain and conserve ecosystems,” says Hernando García Martínez, general director of the Instituto Humboldt. “We need people to understand the value of nature.”

    Top image: Amazon-specific AI has made it 10 times easier for scientists studying the wildlife in the Rainforest to identify species found in Colombia, since the model narrows down the focus to animals who live in the region.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: This is how we can minimise the impact of heavy rain

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Published: 25 September 2024 at 16:00

    VIEWPOINT: ARU expert explains how to reduce flood risks – and build a better society

    By Maryam Imani, Anglia Ruskin University

    A month’s worth of rain has poured down in just a few hours in parts of central and southern England. More than 300 flood-related emergency calls were made, major roads were submerged, trains were delayed, and an enormous sinkhole opened up on a football pitch in south London.

    This follows similar torrential rain across central and eastern Europe two weeks ago, which led to flash floods and widespread damage and deaths. As climate change alters rain patterns and makes extreme downpours more common, and more extreme, such flooding is increasingly the new normal.

    Intense rain doesn’t lead to serious floods every time, of course. Sometimes we get lucky: a well-timed low tide might help, or a rainstorm could be surprisingly localised in a place where water can easily flow into the sea, a river or a pond. And some of the actions taken by humans to minimise the risk of catastrophic floods can actually make life more pleasant anyway, even when it isn’t raining. For this reason, we should see rains like this not just as a challenge, but as an opportunity.

    Minimising the risk of disaster

    There are various things we can do to minimise flood risks before and after torrential rains and prevent smaller floods from escalating into disasters.

    We can build bigger and better drainage and stormwater infrastructure, for instance, and make sure drains are unblocked and flood walls are properly maintained. This is an example of so-called “hard” flood defences.

    Features like ponds and wetlands, larger parks, or trees on hillsides, help slow down or store rainwater and can ensure the flow is spread out over days or even weeks. Water flows much faster over bare ground, and especially over concrete roads and buildings, where urban drainage systems can soon be overwhelmed – causing floods. These features are known variously as “nature-based solutions” or “sustainable drainage systems” or “blue-green infrastructure”.

    We can also use smart technologies for flood warning systems and we can ensure people are aware and prepared. We can ensure people don’t live in flood-prone areas in the first place, through climate-resilient planning, and that those who do live there are insured and have flood-proofed their homes as best they can.

    More sustainable flood management

    In the UK, several exemplary projects address flood management. The most iconic is the Thames Barrier in London, which protects the city from storm surges and high tides coming from the North Sea. Another is the the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, which protects over 3,000 properties and 500 businesses in the UK’s fourth-largest urban area. It involves a combination of hard defences – weirs, flood walls – and natural solutions like planting trees and constructing water storage areas.

    The National Storm Overflows Plan for England report is being reviewed by the UK government for approval by December 2024. One of its recommendations is to make sustainable drainage systems mandatory.

    A government scheme (Flood Re) also ensures homeowners in flood-risk areas can protect their homes and obtain affordable insurance. And various rivers have been allowed to “wiggle” once again, by flooding over nearby fields. This has proven effective at reducing peak flows during storms, which is especially beneficial downstream where people live and where rivers are often encased in human-made banks.

    These initiatives are part of a broader trend toward more sustainable flood management practices. Key projects such as the “slowing the flow” project in Pickering, Yorkshire or projects along the River Derwent in Cumbria focus on reconnecting rivers with their floodplains.

    Worldwide lessons

    The Netherlands is one of the world leaders in flood management. The Delta Works, a massive system of dams, sluices, locks, dikes and storm-surge barriers, protects the country, much of which is below sea level, from flooding due to rainfall and rising sea levels.

    The Room for the River programme, started in 2007, manages higher water levels in rivers by lowering flood plains, creating water buffers, relocating levees, increasing the depth of side channels, and constructing flood bypasses. Urban adaptations, such as those in Rotterdam, are also crucial for managing flash flooding.

    Japan, particularly in flood-prone areas like Tokyo, has built massive underground flood tunnels to divert rainwater during storms. This system helps protect the city from excessive rainfall and typhoons. In many European countries, sustainable drainage systems are now integrated into urban planning. This helps absorb excess rainwater during storms, while offering ecological and social benefits too (grass and ponds are ultimately a lot nicer than bare concrete).

    It’s crucial to be aware of the problem of intense rain and view it as a chance to improve society. Prolonged droughts highlight the need to focus on storing and using excess water during high-demand times, which can be done by creating wetlands, storing floodwaters or by enabling the soil to store and retain more moisture.

    Engineers can’t do all this by themselves. Neither can tree-planters or wetland creators. We need a hybrid approach combining engineering solutions with nature and community efforts.

    Maryam Imani, Associate Professor of Water Systems Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    The opinions expressed in VIEWPOINT articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARU.

    If you wish to republish this article, please follow these guidelines: https://theconversation.com/uk/republishing-guidelines

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Further success for Edinburgh pupils

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    Liberton High School pupils celebrate after receiving exam results.

    Edinburgh’s pupils continue to be amongst the best performing in Scotland.

    Results from the SQA Insight report shows Edinburgh’s learners are performing better than their virtual comparators in 14 out of 15 key measures,  with 7% more pupils gaining at least one Advanced Higher than in other areas in Scotland.

    Edinburgh learners are also out-performing their virtual comparators in Literacy and Numeracy for all stages and levels.

    A virtual comparator is a sample of students from other areas of Scotland who have similar characteristics to a school’s students.

    The news builds on the SQA exam results in August showing levels of attainment for pupils across Edinburgh remaining above those achieved before the Covid pandemic.

    Insight provides teachers and lecturers with a summary of how learners have performed in their exams and coursework for each subject at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level over the past year.

    Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said:

    This has been another positive year for our pupils. I want to congratulate them, as well as all our teaching and support staff. Their hard work has certainly paid off and praise should go to them as well as all the parents and carers who have supported the children.

    I welcome the results from the SQA Insights report. We have invested heavily in improving the skills of our workforce and I am confident that our staff will continue to improve the quality of teaching and learning to meet the needs of the city’s young people.

    Let’s not forget there is no wrong pathway for our young people as everyone’s learner journey is different. School is about ensuring all our young people are able to fulfil their potential by attaining the highest level of achievements possible and by receiving the best possible experience. We want all our learners to find their pathways into the world of higher and further education, employment or training and to narrow the gap between those living in different areas of affluence.

    Course reports – written by principal assessors and principal verifiers – are published to give an insight into how learners performed, detailing which areas of the course assessment where learners performed well, and which areas proved to be more demanding.

    Principal assessors and other senior appointees are experienced teachers and lecturers who work with SQA to produce the course reports and highlight examples where candidates have performed well in their external assessments.

    The reports also contain advice for teachers, lecturers, and training practitioners on preparing learners for the coming year’s assessments, as well as statistical data relating to grade boundaries.

    Published: September 25th 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO RELEASE: Sen. Johnson’s Full Roundtable Discussion, American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) led a roundtable discussion titled, American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion. Sen. Johnson and a panel of experts provided a foundational and historical understanding of the changes that have occurred over the last century within agriculture, food processing, and healthcare industries which impact the current state of national health.  

     

    Watch the full four-hour discussion here. 

    PARTICIPANTS: 

    Dr. Casey Means

    Dr. Casey Means is a medical doctor, New York Times bestselling author, tech entrepreneur (Levels), aspiring regenerative gardener, and outdoor enthusiast. While training as a surgeon, she saw how broken and exploitative the healthcare system is and left to focus on how to keep people out of the operating room. 

    Dr. Jordan Peterson

    Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is a renowned psychologist, author, and online educator. His bestselling books, including “12 Rules for Life” and “Beyond Order,” have sold millions of copies worldwide. Dr. Peterson’s lectures and podcasts consistently attract large audiences, providing valuable insights into topics such as mythology, psychology, and personal development.

    Calley Means

    Calley Means is the co-founder of Truemed, a company that enables tax-free spending on food and exercise. He recently started an advocacy coalition with leading health and wellness companies called End Chronic Disease. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant for food and pharma companies and is now exposing practices they use to weaponize our institutions of trust. 

    Mikhaila Fuller

    Mikhaila Fuller is a podcaster, lifestyle and diet blogger, the Co-Founder and CEO of Peterson Academy, and the founder of Fuller Health and The Lion Diet. The Lion Diet is a therapeutic and plant free ketogenic diet that can be used to treat autoimmunity and psychiatric disorders. On “The Mikhaila Peterson Podcast,” she discusses health, cultural phenomena, politics, and other topics.

    Alex Clark

    Alex Clark is a food activist, advocate for healthier food systems, and host of the “Culture Apothecary” podcast. She is committed to educating consumers on the importance of organic farming and the dangers of harmful additives in food products. Clark’s mission is to inspire positive change in both personal health choices and industry standards, driving the movement toward cleaner, more responsible food production.

    Vani Hari (Food Babe)

    Vani Hari, known as the “Food Babe,” is a food activist, author, and speaker committed to improving food quality and safety. She has built a powerful platform through her blog, advocating for transparency in food labeling, and the removal of harmful chemicals from processed foods. Her activism has spurred significant changes in the food industry, encouraging consumers to make healthier, more informed choices while prompting companies to adopt cleaner practices. 

    Jillian Michaels

    Jillian Michaels is a globally recognized fitness expert, entrepreneur, and best-selling author. With her no-nonsense approach to health, she has inspired millions through her fitness programs, books, and digital platforms. Best known for her role on “The Biggest Loser,” Michaels promotes a balanced approach to fitness and nutrition, emphasizing long-term health and self-empowerment.

    Max Lugavere

    Max Lugavere is a leading health and wellness advocate, filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author of “Genius Foods.” His work focuses on the link between diet, lifestyle, and brain health, and he has become a trusted voice in educating people about how nutrition impacts cognitive function.

    Dr. Chris Palmer

    Dr. Chris Palmer, MD is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, researcher, and author of “Brain Energy,” where he explores the groundbreaking connection between metabolic health and mental illness. He is a leader in innovative approaches to treating psychiatric conditions, advocating for the use of diet and metabolic interventions to improve mental health outcomes. Dr. Palmer’s work is reshaping how the medical field views and treats mental health disorders. 

    Brigham Buhler

    Brigham Buhler is the founder and CEO of Ways2Well, a healthcare company that provides personalized preventative care through telemedicine. With a strong background in the pharmaceutical industry, Buhler has focused on making healthcare more accessible by harnessing the power of technology to deliver effective and tailored treatments. His vision for improving health outcomes has positioned him as a leader in modern, patient-centered healthcare solutions.

    Courtney Swan

    Courtney Swan is a nutritionist, real food activist, and founder of the popular platform “Realfoodology.” She advocates for transparency in the food industry, promoting the importance of whole foods and clean eating. Swan is passionate about educating the public on the benefits of a nutrient-dense diet, and she encourages sustainable, chemical-free farming practices to ensure better health for people and the planet.

    Jason Karp

    Jason Karp is the Founder and CEO of HumanCo – a mission-driven company that invests in and builds brands focused on healthier living and sustainability. In addition to HumanCo, Jason is the Co-Founder of Hu Kitchen, known for creating the #1 premium, organic chocolate in the U.S.. Prior to HumanCo, Jason spent over 21 years in the hedge fund industry where he was the Founder and CEO of an investment fund that managed over $4 billion. Jason graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

    Grace Price

    Grace Price is an 18-year-old citizen scientist and health activist. Grace gained recognition for her documentary Cancer: A Food-Borne Illness, which challenged the commonly held belief that cancer is a genetic disease. The main focus of her work is advocating for the health of her generation through exposing the corruption behind big food and pharmaceutical conglomerates. 

    Dr. Marty Makary

    Dr. Marty Makary MD, MPH is a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University. He writes for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal and is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, “Unaccountable” and “The Price We Pay.” He has been an outspoken opponent of broad vaccine mandates and some COVID restrictions at schools. Dr. Makary holds degrees from Bucknell University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Harvard University. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Adams, McGovern; Sen. Booker Introduce Climate-Smart Farm Conversion Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Alma Adams (12th District of North Carolina)

    Bicameral legislation would enable producers to transition away from factory farming model using conservation dollars

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Representative Jim McGovern (MA-02), and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act (IACA), which would allow farmers to voluntarily convert their on-farm infrastructure toward more climate-friendly uses with USDA conservation dollars. 

    The IACA would use existing agricultural conservation funds to support farmers transitioning from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to more sustainable and humane production systems. Reps. Adams and McGovern are leading the bill in the House, and Sen. Booker introduced companion legislation in the Senate.  

    “Farmers want to produce food in ways that are good for people and the planet, but aren’t always empowered to do so in a consolidated food system like ours. I’m thrilled to introduce the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act, which unlocks climate-forward conservation dollars to assist producers who want to transition out of the factory farm model,” said Congresswoman Adams. “Whether pasture-based or plant-based, farmers want to farm sustainably, humanely, and resiliently. I’m glad to support them in partnership with Representative McGovern, Senator Booker, and dozens of organizations on the ground.” 

    “We need a food system that feeds everyone while doing right by the people, the planet, and animals” said Congressman McGovern. “Farmers are at the center of that vision, and we need to do everything we can to support them. I’m proud to co-lead this bill with Representative Adams and Senator Booker so that we can empower farmers to break free from a broken system and thrive as independent producers.” 

    “Corporate meatpackers use their market power to trap producers in the factory farm system with terrible profit margins and unsustainable debt,” said Senator Booker. “Their practices contribute to climate change and destroy rural communities. This legislation leverages conservation funding to give farmers a completely voluntary new path forward by providing them with the resources they need to transition to a more climate-friendly and humane production system that is good for people, animals, and the planet.” 

    The IACA is the first stand-alone federal legislation to assist producers who want to make the move from intensive animal agriculture to pasture-based animal agriculture or specialty crop production. It would allow the USDA to create a grant program for eligible climate-smart conversion projects, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act’s pathbreaking investments in agricultural conservation. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Adams, Congressman McGovern, and Senator Booker all signed a letter cautioning against the use of IRA conservation money towards industrial agriculture; the IACA would ensure the integrity and effectiveness of these funds. 

    “Factory farming is not just a nightmare for animals—contract farmers who were promised easy profits and the chance to ‘feed the world’ find themselves taking on seemingly endless debt to raise animals in this cruel industrial model, threatening the security of their families and farms,” said Kara Shannon, director of farm animal welfare policy for the ASPCA. “The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act offers resources to support farmers who are climbing the ladder out of the pit of factory farming and want to transition to more humane and economically sustainable practices. We commend Representatives Adams and McGovern, and Senator Booker for introducing this groundbreaking legislation to create a more compassionate food system that respects animals, farmers, rural communities and our environment.”  

    “The factory farming industry preys on our nation’s farmers by trapping them in exploitative contracts and depriving them of meaningful autonomy. The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act seeks to promote competition in our food system by creating a program for farmers who wish to transition from the highly consolidated factory farming model to climate-smart practices, such as specialty crop production,” said Frances Chrzan, senior federal policy manager, the Transfarmation Project of Mercy For Animals. “We applaud Rep. Alma Adams, Rep. McGovern, and Sen. Cory Booker for introducing legislation to create kinder and more sustainable pathways for farmers, which will benefit not only farmers and our economy but human health, the environment, and farmed animals.”  

    “I know firsthand the difficulty both financially and socially in transitioning from a confinement animal system to a regenerative farming system, having transitioned our farm in 1996,” said Ron Holter of Holterholm Farms. “Financially there is often a lag time from the beginning of what can be an expensive transition to eventually achieving an improved income while the land heals and the livestock become accustomed to a healthier, happier lifestyle. Transitional funds like those provided in the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act would be a blessing to farmers attempting to move to more regenerative, livestock friendly systems.”    

    “We took on over $400,000 in debt to become contract chicken farmers and came close to foreclosure when we decided to get out of industrial animal agriculture. When we cancelled our contract, the integrator came out to our farm, picked up their $20 sign and drove away without another thought,” said Paula Boles, co-owner of JB Farms. “We know too many farmers have similar stories of being exploited by integrators and left with few options to keep their farms going. The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act would help support farmers like us across the country who want to transition to more sustainable and economically viable farming systems.”  

    “In North Carolina’s Duplin and Sampson counties, hogs outnumber people by approximately 30-to-1. The vast majority of these industrial agricultural operations use an outdated cesspit and spray field system in which hog feces and urine are flushed into open-air pits and sprayed onto nearby fields, causing higher rates of anemia, kidney disease, and infant mortality among local communities,” said Dr. Rania Masri, Co-Director of the NC Environmental Justice Network. “NCEJN applauds Rep. Alma Adams, from North Carolina, for introducing the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act and speaking up for the contract farmers, trapped as serfs on their own land, and the communities who are struggling against this polluting industry.”  

    “Too many farmers have been exploited and trapped in the factory farm system for too long, which is why Farm Aid applauds the introduction of the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act,” said Hannah Tremblay, Policy and Advocacy Manager of Farm Aid. “We’re especially excited that livestock farmers will have an opportunity to be a part of the solution to climate change through the funding for climate-smart conversion projects.”  

    “The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act will release farmers ensnared in the highly flawed industrial animal agriculture model and usher in much-needed sustainable food and farm system reform. ‘Get Big or Get Out’ has failed farmers, rural communities, and our country. The IACA will help farmers and rural America get out from under CAFOs and thrive,” said Harry Manin, deputy legislative director of the Sierra Club. 

    “The factory farm system that traps farmers under mountains of debt and damages rural communities, public health and the environment didn’t happen by accident,” said Patty Lovera of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. “Factory farms are the result of decades of failed enforcement, bad farm policy and direct government support, including federally-guaranteed loans for new factory farms. The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act would be a critical first step in the transition away from factory farms to a system based on independent, family farm livestock production.” 

    “Today’s factory farm system stacks the cards against farmers, workers, consumers, and the environment while letting Big Ag corporations reap all the rewards. The Industrial Agricultural Conversion Act is an important opportunity to transition our food and agriculture sector away from factory farms and an important lifeline for those squeezed by corporate consolidation,” said Rebecca Wolf, senior food policy analyst for Food and Water Watch.  

    “This bill would give small farmers more control over their operations to not have the larger corporations controlling what they do on their own farms. Factory farms put a strain on our health. This gives those farmers an opportunity to create a better product for our communities and consumers and improve our food system as a whole,” said Philip Barker, farmer and co-founder/co-project director of Operation Spring Plant, Inc. 

    “More than ever before, consumers want the assurance that the products they buy are aligned with their values. The data shows us that 80% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they buy,” said David Levine, Co-founder and President of the American Sustainable Business Network. “In just the last few years, the sale of meat with labels boasting environmental and labor benefits increased 18% compared to conventionally labeled meat products. In addition, the sustainable fashion industry market is expected to more than double to $15 billion by 2030. Sustainable business is no longer just about doing the right thing, it’s also a wise investment and makes good business sense. Once farmers can move out of the industrial model, they will see higher profits and more resiliency to extreme weather and volatile markets, the Industrial Agriculture Conservation Act will begin to provide the needed support to take that first step to transition.”  

    “Over a decade ago I began to transition away from conventional cattle production to more sustainable, humane and regenerative practices and I’ve seen more benefits than I can name in the health of my animals and land. But without the kind of support this legislation offers, doing the right thing has been a slow and extremely risky process for myself and farmers like me across the country,” said Don Jackson, owner of Pompey’s Rest Farm. “The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act gives farmers a way out of a destructive system that’s squeezing them dry, and that’s a wonderful thing.” 

    Specifically, the IACA would: 

    The text of the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act is available here. 

    A section-by-section of the IACA is available here. 

    A list of endorsers of the IACA at the time of publication is available here. 

    ### 

    Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Johnson Re-Introduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Hold Judiciary Accountable To Its Employees

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Hank Johnson (GA-04)

    Reps. Johnson, Nadler, Torres Re-Introduce Bill In House To Protect Employees of the Federal Judiciary Against Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Retaliation, and Other Forms of Workplace Misconduct

    Sens. Hirono, Murkowski Introduce Bill in Senate

    Legislation would protect workers and whistleblowers, create effective workplace misconduct prevention programs, investigate complaints, and hold the powerful accountable

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, in concert with Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), and Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35), senior member of the Appropriations Committee and member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee that oversees the Federal Judiciary – and Sen. Mazie Hirono (HI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) – reintroduced the Judiciary Accountability Act of 2024 (JAA).

    The JAA would ensure the more than 30,000 employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and other forms of workplace misconduct.

    The foundational federal anti-discrimination statutes — such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — still do not apply to the federal judiciary, making it one of the only employers in the entire country – public or private – whose employees are not protected by federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination and retaliation. The federal judiciary has faced sustained criticism for its approach to preventing, investigating, and redressing sexual harassment and discrimination by judges and other high-level judicial branch officials. This summer, back-to-back reports were released — one from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the other from the Federal Judicial Center and National Academy of Public Administration— underscoring that the internal dispute resolution mechanisms implemented by the judiciary to combat these issues have instead led to a lack of accountability for judges who mistreat employees.

    “It is the height of injustice that judiciary employees who support the daily functioning of our courts lack basic workplace protections,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts. “These protections are already provided to congressional and executive branch staff. Why should we continue to exempt our third branch of government? In the face of clear, repeated evidence of unaccountable judges committing egregious misconduct, Congress has the power and the duty to fix it and ensure judicial employees who use their voices and bravely sharing their experiences do not do so in vain. I’m pleased to lead re-introduction of the Judiciary Accountability Act, which is common-sense legislation that would align the federal judiciary with not just the rest of the federal government but with private sector workplaces as well.”

    “It is unconscionable that over 60 years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employees of the federal judiciary are not protected from workplace discrimination,” said Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler. “The lack of protections undermines credibility in the court, which is why I’m proud to reintroduce the Judiciary Accountability Act, to bring the same basic rights available to congressional and executive branch staff to the judicial branch.”

    “The Judiciary Accountability Act is a significant step towards ensuring the safety and rights of judiciary employees. It is crucial that judiciary employees feel secure in expressing concerns about misconduct without fearing for their safety or job security. All Judiciary members are entitled to fundamental workplace rights that safeguard them from harassment and discrimination,” said Rep. Norma Torres. “The era of judges abusing their power and instilling fear in the work environment is over. That is why I am honored to co-lead the Judiciary Accountability Act alongside ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Rep. Johnson. We are deeply committed to providing protections backed up by the full force of United States law for employees who come forward after experiencing sexual harassment. Our federal Judiciary must set an example of accountability in addressing sexual harassment, and the provisions outlined in this bill will help achieve that goal.”

    “No one is above the law, but most federal judiciary employees lack essential workplace protections, preventing them from obtaining justice when they face discrimination and harassment,” said Senator Hirono. “Employees of the federal judiciary dedicate their careers to providing justice, and they deserve justice when they face misconduct in the workplace. Yet these employees are among the only ones in the United States who lack the right to sue when they face discrimination or harassment. The Judiciary Accountability Act will help to protect the 30,000 federal judiciary employees by extending basic anti-discrimination protections to cover them, giving them access to federal court to vindicate those rights, and helping to ensure more accountability in the federal courts.”

    “The Judiciary Accountability Act expands federal laws that prohibit workplace harassment and discrimination to employees of the judiciary, putting them on par with executive branch, congressional, and private sector employees who have long-had these protections,” said Senator Murkowski. “This legislation not only helps safeguard employees from mistreatment at work, but also establishes a review system to foster accountability when those rights are violated. I appreciate the opportunity to lead this bipartisan legislation with Senator Hirono to cultivate transparency and a positive working environment within the judicial branch.”

    The Judiciary Accountability Act will:

    • Give judicial branch employees the same anti-discrimination rights and remedies private sector and government employees have had for decades. Today, judicial branch employees are not protected by the federal civil rights statutes that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, and disability. The Judiciary Accountability Act would correct that injustice.

    • Protect judicial branch employees from retaliation against them by providing them with the right to sue for relief if they are retaliated against. Unlike most other federal employees, judicial branch employees currently have no statutory protection against retaliation. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2020, multiple witnesses testified that they and others were afraid to come forward about the sexual harassment they suffered or witnessed.

    • Establish a comprehensive workplace misconduct prevention program overseen by an improved and expanded Office of Judicial Integrity. The Office’s Board of Directors would include members experienced in investigating and enforcing civil rights laws against workplace discrimination, as well as experience assisting victims of discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The Office would administer a nationwide, confidential reporting system and a comprehensive training program addressing workplace behavior and bystander intervention, among other duties.

    • Establish an Office of Employee Advocacy to assist judicial branch employees in matters related to workplace discrimination and harassment. The Office of Employee Advocacy would advise covered judicial employees about their rights and the resources available to them, provide legal assistance where appropriate, and operate an anonymous reporting hotline for covered judicial employees.

    • Require regular assessments of workplace culture to determine the effectiveness of judicial branch policies designed to prevent and remedy harassment and discrimination.

    • Make clear that discrimination and retaliation constitute judicial misconduct and ensure that the judicial misconduct laws apply to all federal judges, regardless of whether they subsequently resign, retire, or pass away.

    Cosponsors: Reps. Madeleine Dean (PA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Adam Schiff (CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)

    What Groups Are Saying

    “Sexual harassment in the judiciary is a judicial ethics problem” said Debra Perlin, Policy Director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).  “The public’s trust in our democracy depends on the credibility of an accountable judicial branch. Repeated credible complaints of sexual harassment and assault in the judiciary undermines that accountability. CREW applauds Congressman Johnson and Senator Hirono for reintroducing the Judiciary Accountability Act to extend protections against sexual harassment and discrimination to judicial branch employees, who are essential to our courts.”

    “Legal Momentum, The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund is proud to endorse the Judicial Accountability Act as it is a long-overdue and crucial step forward in the fight to advance workplace gender equality.  Our nation’s federal judicial workers deserve a workplace free from discrimination, sexual harassment, and other forms of misconduct, and it is unacceptable that federal judges are exempt from the very laws they are tasked with enforcing. History has proven time and time again that protections that benefit women benefit everyone, and when employees feel safe to advocate for themselves at work, the entire system only grows stronger,” said Azaleea Carlea, Legal Director of Legal Momentum.

    Fix the Court Executive Director Gabe Roth said: “Anti-harassment policy is one of the many areas in which the judiciary falls short when compared to the other two branches and the rules that apply to them. Among the shortcomings, though, this is the most indefensible. I applaud Reps. Johnson and Torres for their legislation to finally bring third branch workplace policies up to par to give employees both the remedies they need should they experience misconduct and the resources they deserve to help prevent harassment, discrimination, and retaliation from happening in the first place.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASS to publish 2023 Irrigation and Water Management report earlier

    Source: US National Agricultural Statistics Service News

    IIssued Sept. 25, 2024, by the Agricultural Statistics Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. For more information, contact Lance Honig at Lance.Honig @usda.gov or (202) 690-0912.

    The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has changed the publication date of the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management data report. The data from this 2022 Census of Agriculture Special Study was scheduled to be released Nov. 14, 2024, at noon EDT. The new release date is Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, at noon EDT.

    All NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Announces Over $3 Million in Awards to Advance Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for STEM, R&D-Focused Small Businesses and Startups

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    WASHINGTON – Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, announced the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage Two winners. Forty-four accelerator partnerships received between $50,000 and $150,000 each to advance their work supporting small businesses and startups in STEM and research and development (R&D) across priority areas like national and economic security, domestic manufacturing and production, and sustainability and biotechnology. 

    “Innovation happens everywhere and the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to build on its commitment to promote sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems that advance research and development and commercialization in communities across the nation,” said Administrator Guzman. “The 2024 GAFC Stage Two award winners will drive forward the Investing in America agenda and strengthen America’s global competitiveness by continuing to support the expanding and increasingly diverse entrepreneurs across the nation and provide them with the opportunities that lower barriers for market and capital access.”

    GAFC Stage One prizes emphasized ecosystem network building, while Stage Two efforts focus on the enhanced support that can be provided to small businesses and startups through these Growth Accelerator Partnerships. These partnerships span public, private, nonprofit, and academic institutions, fostering collaboration across industries and geographies, with lead awardees headquartered in 34 U.S. states and territories, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and assisting innovators nationally.

    “Since its launch in 2014, the SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) has made a positive difference to local and national innovation-focused entrepreneurship organizations and the communities they support. The competition has grown to be a core component and vital source of support to our nation’s innovation ecosystem. Over the last decade, SBA has awarded 566 prizes totaling over $33 million to winners across the U.S. and U.S. territories. We are delighted to announce 31 of this year’s Stage Two winners are new to the program, and we are inspired to witness communities of ecosystem developers coming together to build new relationships and networks with GAFC funding,” said Bailey G. DeVries, Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. 

    Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage Two Winners

    Learn more about each GAFC partnership in the public directory located at https://bit.ly/GAFC24Directory. 

    National and Economic Security

    • Ala., The Catalyst Center for Business and Entrepreneurship
    • Calif., Starburst Accelerator
    • Colo., Catalyst Accelerator
    • Ind., Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
    • Ind., Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies
    • La., Maven Scouts
    • Md., Rural Autonomous Innovation Network (RAIN) Association of University Research Parks (AURP)
    • Mo., Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation
    • Mont., Early Stage Montana
    • Neb., Invest Nebraska
    • N.M., NewSpace Nexus

    Domestic Manufacturing and Production

    • Ariz., Startup Tucson
    • Ark., Endeavor NWA Entrepreneurs
    • District of Columbia, National Disability Institute
    • Fla., Florida Institute of Technology
    • Fla., International Business Innovation Association
    • Hawaii, XLR8HI
    • N.C., RIoT
    • N.D., Grand Farm Research and Education Initiative Inc.
    • N.Y., FuzeHub
    • N.Y., Southern Tier High Technology Incubator Inc.
    • Utah, Utah Advanced Materials Manufacturing Institute
    • Wash., 360 Social Impact Studios

    Sustainability and Biotechnology

    • Alaska, Spruce Root Inc.
    • Calif., Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
    • Conn., The Community Foundation-Mission Investments Company
    • Ill., University of Illinois Research Park LLC
    • Maine, Central Maine Growth Council
    • Mass., SeaAhead Inc.
    • Minn., RuralWorks Partners LLC
    • N.C., Eva Garland Consulting LLC
    • N.Y., The Hudson Valley Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz
    • Ore., Oregon Health and Science University
    • Pa., University City Science Center
    • Puerto Rico, CARBONO3 LLC
    • Tenn., BioTN Foundation Inc.
    • Tenn., Native American Investment and Capital Alliance
    • Texas, Health Wildcatters
    • Texas, Impact Hub Houston
    • Utah, Altitude Lab
    • Va., FedTech
    • Vt., LaunchVT
    • W.Va., U.S. Research Impact Alliance Corp.
    • Washington, D.C., Women in Engineering ProActive Network 

    “Supported by SBA’s Investment and Innovation Ecosystem Development (IIED) Division, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition awards boost strategic partnerships that create a national network so entrepreneurs can tap into significant capital and resources. Our work emphasizes the value of strategic connections and relationships across a wide variety of entrepreneur support organizations and accentuates how the work they are doing can successfully impact the growth and advancement of our federal innovation ecosystem,” said Brittany Sickler, Director of Ecosystem Development, for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. “We are changing the trajectory for underserved communities and founders so that more startups and small businesses can scale and grow. “

    For more information about the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, please visit SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (americasseedfund.us). 

    ###

    About SBA Office of Investment and Innovation

    The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) leads programs that provide the growth-oriented small business and startup community with access to financial capital, networks, assistance, and R&D funds to develop commercially viable innovations. Our work is underpinned by public-private partnerships that help small businesses on their trajectory from idea to IPO. 
     

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Analysis Shows Irreversible Sea Level Rise for Pacific Islands

    Source: NASA

    Climate change is rapidly reshaping a region of the world that’s home to millions of people.
    In the next 30 years, Pacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji will experience at least 8 inches (15 centimeters) of sea level rise, according to an analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team. This amount of rise will occur regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years.
    The sea level change team undertook the analysis of this region at the request of several Pacific Island nations, including Tuvalu and Kiribati, and in close coordination with the U.S. Department of State.
    In addition to the overall analysis, the agency’s sea level team produced high-resolution maps showing which areas of different Pacific Island nations will be vulnerable to high-tide flooding — otherwise known as nuisance flooding or sunny day flooding — by the 2050s. Released on Sept. 23, the maps outline flooding potential in a range of emissions scenarios, from best-case to business-as-usual to worst-case.
    “Sea level will continue to rise for centuries, causing more frequent flooding,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, who directs ocean physics programs for NASA’s Earth Science Division. “NASA’s new flood tool tells you what the potential increase in flooding frequency and severity look like in the next decades for the coastal communities of the Pacific Island nations.”
    Team members, led by researchers at the University of Hawaii and in collaboration with scientists at the University of Colorado and Virginia Tech, started with flood maps of Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, and Niue. They plan to build high-resolution maps for other Pacific Island nations in the near future. The maps can assist Pacific Island nations in deciding where to focus mitigation efforts.
    “Science and data can help the community of Tuvalu in relaying accurate sea level rise projections,” said Grace Malie, a youth leader from Tuvalu who is involved with the Rising Nations Initiative, a United Nations-supported program led by Pacific Island nations to help preserve their statehood and protect the rights and heritage of populations affected by climate change. “This will also help with early warning systems, which is something that our country is focusing on at the moment.”
    Future Flooding
    The analysis by the sea level change team also found that the number of high-tide flooding days in an average year will increase by an order of magnitude for nearly all Pacific Island nations by the 2050s. Portions of the NASA team’s analysis were included in a sea level rise report published by the United Nations in August 2024.  
    Areas of Tuvalu that currently see less than five high-tide flood days a year could average 25 flood days annually by the 2050s. Regions of Kiribati that see fewer than five flood days a year today will experience an average of 65 flood days annually by the 2050s.
    “I am living the reality of climate change,” said Malie. “Everyone (in Tuvalu) lives by the coast or along the coastline, so everyone gets heavily affected by this.” 
    Flooding on island nations can come from the ocean inundating land during storms or during exceptionally high tides, called king tides. But it can also result when saltwater intrudes into underground areas and pushes the water table to the surface. “There are points on the island where we will see seawater bubbling from beneath the surface and heavily flooding the area,” Malie added.
    Matter of Location
    Sea level rise doesn’t occur uniformly around the world. A combination of global and local conditions, such as the topography of a coastline and how glacial meltwater is distributed in the ocean, affects the amount of rise a particular region will experience.
    “We’re always focused on the differences in sea level rise from one region to another, but in the Pacific, the numbers are surprisingly consistent,” said Ben Hamlington, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the agency’s sea level change science team lead.
    The impacts of 8 inches (15 centimeters) of sea level rise will vary from country to country. For instance, some nations could experience nuisance flooding several times a year at their airport, while others might face frequent neighborhood flooding equivalent to being inundated for nearly half the year.
    Researchers would like to combine satellite data on ocean levels with ground-based measurements of sea levels at specific points, as well as with better land elevation information. “But there’s a real lack of on-the-ground data in these countries,” said Hamlington. The combination of space-based and ground-based measurements can yield more precise sea level rise projections and improved understanding of the impacts to countries in the Pacific.  
    “The future of the young people of Tuvalu is already at stake,” said Malie. “Climate change is more than an environmental crisis. It is about justice, survival for nations like Tuvalu, and global responsibility.”
    To explore the high-tide flooding maps for Pacific Island nations, go to:
    https://sealevel.nasa.gov
    News Media Contacts
    Jane J. Lee / Andrew WangJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
    2024-128

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The management of the State University of Management visited the DPR on a working visit

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On September 25, 2025, representatives of the rector’s office of the State University of Management, headed by Vladimir Stroyev, paid a working visit to the Donetsk People’s Republic.

    A delegation from the State University of Management headed by rector Vitaly Stroyev handed over humanitarian aid to one of the combat units operating on the territory of the DPR. The handover took place as part of the “State University of Management – to Ourselves” campaign; the cargo included various equipment and first aid supplies.

    After that, a round table was held, at which the State University of Management was represented by Rector Vladimir Stroyev, Vice-Rectors Maria Karelina, Vitaly Lapshenkov and Pavel Pavlovsky, as well as the Director of the Educational and Training Center for Actions in an Emergency Situation and Basic Military Training, Moscow City Duma Deputy Maxim Dzhetygenov. The host party was the head of the regional executive committee of the People’s Front in the DPR Sergey Samokhin, the head of the Department of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the DPR Alexey Yankel, the rector of the Donetsk National Technical University Alexander Anoprienko, the vice-rector for research Sergey Borshchevsky, as well as representatives of the Interregional Office of Rosfinmonitoring of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions.

    The round table was devoted to the issues of training specialists based on additional professional education programs, organizing work with youth, humanitarian cooperation, creating network programs for training engineers and developing the skills of young specialists. The possibilities of jointly submitting an application for the Advanced Engineering School were also discussed.

    The Second Round Table was held on the territory of the Mariupol State University named after A.I. Kuindzhi. Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky took part in it. The agenda included issues of preserving the sovereignty and integrity of the Russian Federation.

    After this, Vladimir Stroev made a working visit to the Priazovsky State Technical University, where he discussed with the acting rector Igor Kushchenko the possibilities of cooperation on scientific projects and educational programs.

    Let us recall that yesterday the management of the State University of Management made a working visit to the Don State Technical University.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 09/25/2024

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

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

    The management of the State University of Management visited the DPR on a working visit

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Edwards speaks in support of due process for recognizing federal tribes

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11)

    U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) today delivered remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of upholding the merit-based process when recognizing federal tribes, including the Lumbee community.

    The remarks as prepared are below, or you may watch online here.

    [embedded content]

    “I rise today to express my deep opposition to any circumvention of the merit-based process set out in law, which would grant federal recognition to the Lumbee community through political means.

    “I am proud to represent North Carolina’s 11th District, which is the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Tribal Nation rich with culture, language, and sovereignty that is a treasure to the State of North Carolina and the United States.

    “I am proud to have the representatives of the Eastern Band with us in the gallery today.

    “The Eastern Band Cherokees are the descendants of those that fought to stay in their traditional homelands in the face of forcible federal removal efforts.

    “Some Cherokee, including a man named Junaluska, made the forced journey and then walked back to the mountains of Western North Carolina to return home.

    “It must be noted that the Lumbee community has no standing treaties with the federal government, no reservation land, and no common language.

    “As Members of Congress, one of our most sacred duties is making sure that laws are drafted and implemented in an objective and equal manner.

    “For over 40 years, the Department of the Interior has carried out a merit-based process, as set out by Congress and administered by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), to make determinations on federal recognition of tribes.

    “If the administration or Congress allows the Lumbee to bypass the OFA, it sends a clear message that other groups with dubious claims for tribal recognition can also avoid the deliberation and scrutiny that the OFA petition process is designed to provide.

    “We need the OFA process to protect Indian country and the public. The process requires verification that the persons who claim to be tribal members actually have Native American descent.

    “Believe it or not, the OFA has determined that some petitioning groups are comprised entirely of people that cannot demonstrate Native American ancestry. Not a single person.

    “Regarding the Lumbee, in one fell swoop, the federal government would recognize a tribe that would soon be the largest in the country, and all enrolled members would likely gain full access to all federal benefits, which will further strain the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service’s already-stretched budgets.

    “As a member of the Interior & Environment Subcommittee on House Appropriations, I’m proud that we funded the needs of the Indian Health Service and other critical priorities for our nation’s tribes in the FY25 bill recently approved in the House.

    “That said, if the overall tribal population covered by these services is allowed to swell by tens of thousands of people, many of whom have no Native ancestry, I fear that necessary appropriations cannot feasibly keep pace.

    “That is the crux of the issue to me – if there was actual merit behind the Lumbee case for federal recognition, they’d go through the OFA process as set out in the law.

    “But as they know it won’t hold up under a deliberative process, they’ve instead sought to get special treatment through other avenues, all in the face of credible opposition by multiple federally recognized tribes.

    “More than 140 established tribes from across the country have said that the Lumbee and other groups should go through the federal recognition process at the Department of Interior to demonstrate the merits of their claim to be a tribe. I agree.

    “I urge all of my colleagues to take these concerns into account, and I hope that the merit-based process put in place by Congress decades ago on federal tribal recognition will be adhered to.

    “And Mr. Speaker, while I have the floor, I’d also like to urge you and my colleagues to move H.R. 7227, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, to create a commission to get a better understanding of the grievous wrongs done to Native American children in federally run boarding schools.

    “Our tribal nations deserve the dignity to understand what happened to their family members at these schools. It’s the very least this country can do.”

    Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Chief Michell Hicks said, “We commend Congressman Edwards for his leadership in defending Indigenous sovereignty from those seeking to undermine the OFA process. The Lumbees, who have repeatedly failed to meet the standards for federal recognition – attempt to circumvent the established process through political pressure and maneuvering in Congress by blocking the return of historic and sacred lands back to tribes across the country and other key legislation impacting Federally-recognized tribes.

    “Additionally, the Lumbees are taking millions of dollars in Federal Funding through HUD, HHS and other Federal agency funding sources blocking hundreds of Tribes from receiving these critical resources. We will continue to fight these political tactics and will continue to fight to protect the sovereignty of Indigenous communities and uphold the integrity of our nation’s processes.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Polis Administration Announces Solid Power Planned Expansion in Colorado: 40 New Jobs in the Renewable Energy Sector

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis and the Global Business Development Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced that Colorado-based Solid Power, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLDP), an industry-leading developer of next-generation all-solid-state battery technology, plans to expand its presence in the state. 

    “We are thrilled that Solid Power will continue to grow in Colorado, creating new jobs in the renewable energy industry. Companies like Solid Power are helping drive innovation in our state and will play a key role in helping us reach our clean energy goals and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2040,” said Governor Polis. 

    A uniquely Colorado success story, Solid Power was founded in 2011 and grew out of research at the University of Colorado Boulder. In 2021, the company went public and listed on NASDAQ. Solid Power is known for its work with BMW, Ford, and SK On. Most recently it was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to begin award negotiations for up to $50 million in federal funding to install the first globally-known continuous manufacturing process of sulfide-based solid electrolyte materials for advanced all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) and expand its electrolyte production capabilities at its Thornton, Colorado facility. These materials help create batteries needed for electric vehicles. Colorado is among the top states for EV adoption in the nation, with more than 22% of new cars sold being electric. 

    Solid Power is committed to supporting the transition to renewable energy by developing ASSBs that are expected to have longer life, be safer, and cost less than current lithium-ion batteries. The company chose Colorado for expansion of up to 40 new jobs because of the state’s talent pipeline and the collaborative network of higher education and research institutions. 

    “We are excited to continue expanding our technology development in Colorado,” said John Van Scoter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Solid Power. “As part of the DOE, State of Colorado, and City of Thornton funding, Solid Power will prioritize employee welfare and safety, community engagement, and benefits to local communities, and we look forward to partnering with various groups in Thornton to add talent and advance our goals.” 

    With this expansion, Solid Power expects to create up to 40 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $77,823.90, which is 111% of the average annual wage in Adams County. The positions will include production operators, chemists, and engineers. Solid Power is also partnering with local institutions such as Northglenn High School, Front Range Community College, and Metropolitan State University of Denver for internship programs, as well as a partnership with the local Adams 12 school district. 

    “Solid Power is a true Colorado success story, who’s next chapter will advance the technologies of tomorrow and create new good jobs for Coloradans. That’s a win for our state and the nation, as we look forward toward a more renewable future,” said OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman. 

    The State of Colorado supported Solid Power’s early growth with an Advanced Industries Accelerator grant in 2014, offered through OEDIT’s Global Business Development division to support the development of early-stage technologies. 

    To support the company’s upcoming expansion, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved up to $160,000 in a performance-based Strategic Fund incentive over an eight-year period, at $4,000 per net new job. These incentives are contingent upon Solid Power, referred to as Project Maverick 2024 throughout the OEDIT review process, meeting net new job creation and salary requirements. 

    “The City Council and I are always delighted to hear that a company in our city is thriving so much that they need to expand their operations here,” says Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann. “We look forward to the continued growth of Solid Power here in our community. This exciting opportunity for new job development and advanced technologies in the solid-state battery industry further shows Thornton is an attractive destination for business.” 

    “The creation of up to 40 new STEM jobs paying above the annual average wage is wonderful news for the Adams County business community and our residents,” says Board Chair for Adams County Commissioners, Emma Pinter. “Adams County continues to focus on innovative and inclusive initiatives to bring smart growth and opportunities to the area.” 

    In addition to Colorado, Solid Power considered Columbia, South Carolina, for exemption. 

    About Solid Power, Inc. 

    Solid Power is developing solid-state battery technology to enable the next generation of batteries for the fast-growing EV and other markets. Solid Power’s core technology is its electrolyte material, which Solid Power believes can enable extended driving range, longer battery life, improved safety, and lower cost compared to traditional lithium-ion. Solid Power’s business model – selling its electrolyte to cell manufacturers and licensing its cell designs and manufacturing processes – distinguishes the company from many of its competitors who plan to be commercial battery manufacturers. Ultimately, Solid Power endeavors to be a leading producer and distributor of sulfide-based solid electrolyte material for powering both EVs and other applications. For more information, visit http://www.solidpowerbattery.com/. 

    About OEDIT’s Global Business Development Division 

    Global Business Development (GBD) is a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. GBD supports Colorado businesses and communities by using a data-driven approach to recruit, support, and retain businesses that contribute to a robust and diversified economy. We align our portfolio of programs, services, and incentives with industries that benefit Colorado companies and elevate the state’s national and international competitiveness. GBD also hosts foreign delegations and participates in trade and investment missions around the world to strengthen global awareness of Colorado. With a highly educated and motivated workforce, a thriving innovation economy, and nation-leading entrepreneurial spirit, Colorado is a top market for business development. 

    About Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade 

    The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works to empower all to thrive in Colorado’s economy. Under the leadership of the Governor and in collaboration with economic development partners across the state, we foster a thriving business environment through funding and financial programs, training, consulting and informational resources across industries and regions. We promote economic growth and long-term job creation by recruiting, retaining, and expanding Colorado businesses and providing programs that support entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes at every stage of growth. Our goal is to protect what makes our state a great place to live, work, start a business, raise a family, visit and retire—and make it accessible to everyone. Learn more about OEDIT. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Sites for New Francophone Schools in Saskatoon and Prince Albert

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on September 25, 2024

    Today, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) announced that the sites for new Francophone Schools in Saskatoon and Prince Albert have been identified.

    “The sites selected for these schools indicate progress and increased opportunities for our communities,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “These schools hold great significance for Saskatchewan’s Francophone community and are essential for maintaining language, culture and identity. We are excited to be a part of these projects that will support Francophone students and their families for years to come.”

    In Saskatoon, the planned location is in the Kensington neighbourhood, adjacent to Lions Century Park. When complete, it will accommodate up to 400 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 students and will provide 51 child care spaces.

    The new CÉF school in Prince Albert will replace École Valois and will be designed to accommodate up to 350 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students, including 51 child care spaces. It will be located near the Alfred Jenkins Field House.

    Currently, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement and the CÉF are working with the City of Saskatoon and the City of Prince Albert and will soon begin procuring project managers to ensure the specific needs of the Francophone community and CÉF are fully understood and thoughtfully included in the planning and design of the new schools.

    “We are very pleased to see that the Government of Saskatchewan is recognizing Francophone families’ need for a new school on the west side of the river in Saskatoon and another in Prince Albert close to the Alfred Jenkins Field House,” Conseil Scolaire Fransaskois Chair Alpha Barry said. “These new student facilities will help alleviate some of our education needs. Our school division will continue to work with the Province to ensure that all Fransaskois students have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to ensure their full development.”

    Since 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan has committed approximately $2.6 billion toward school infrastructure projects, including 69 new schools and 32 major renovation projects with an additional seven projects approved through the Minor Capital Renewal Program.

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    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Ami Bera, Larry Bucshon Introduce Bipartisan Penicillin Allergy Verification and Evaluation Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ami Bera (D-CA)

     U.S. Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA-06), along with U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN-08) and eight additional bipartisan colleagues, recently introduced the Penicillin Allergy Verification and Evaluation (PAVE) Act. This legislation would add a penicillin allergy verification component to the “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit and annual wellness visits.

    “Evidence shows that millions of seniors have either outgrew or mistakenly believe they have a penicillin allergy, yet have never been retested. As a doctor, I understand firsthand how crucial it is to have accurate, up-to-date health information,” said Representative Ami Bera. “An outdated or incorrect penicillin allergy in someone’s medical record can restrict treatment options, increase healthcare costs, and contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The PAVE Act offers a common-sense solution to this problem. By including penicillin allergy verification in Medicare’s initial and annual wellness visits, we can help ensure that seniors receive the most effective and appropriate treatments available.”

    “As a physician, I know just how important it is to have a full picture of a patient’s health and wellness.  Without accurate health information, patients and their health care providers can’t make informed health decisions,” said Dr. Bucshon. “It has become apparent that millions of patient records contain inaccurate information about a penicillin allergy—maybe because of a misdiagnosis, or because the individual outgrew the allergy later in life. This legislation will provide our seniors with better access to penicillin allergy verification testing, ensuring that they can receive treatments most appropriate for their situation.”

    The PAVE Act is supported by a wide variety of clinician and patient stakeholder groups, including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, which provided feedback in drafting the bill.

    “The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) enthusiastically applauds Representatives Bucshon, Bera, Griffith, Peters, Murphy, Schrier, Kelly, DelBene, Miller-Meeks, and Underwood for their leadership in introducing the PAVE Act”, said Dr. Paul Williams, President, AAAAI.  “Millions of patients believe they are allergic to penicillin, but evidence shows that 95% of patients with a self-reported penicillin allergy in their electronic medical record can safely take penicillin. The PAVE Act would add penicillin allergy verification and evaluation for Medicare beneficiaries, which will improve healthcare outcomes for these patients, while also reducing healthcare costs and help fight antimicrobial resistance.  As we approach National Penicillin Allergy Day on September 28, the AAAAI looks forward to working with the bill champions to educate the public on penicillin allergy testing and advance this important legislation.”

    Additional Supporting Organizations:

    American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)

    American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy (AAOA)

    American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS)

    American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology(ACAAI)

    American College of Physicians (ACP)

    American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)

    American Geriatrics Society (AGS)

    Allergy and Asthma Network (AAN)

    American Medical Association (AMA)

    Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)

    Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT)

    Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)

    Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)

    International Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome Association (I-FPIES)

    The Mast Cell Disease Society, Inc. (TMS)

    Peggy Lillis Foundation (PLF)

    BACKGROUND: Millions of patients believe they are allergic to penicillin, but evidence shows that the vast majority of patients with a self-reported allergy can safely take penicillin after verification testing and evaluation. Removing an incorrect penicillin allergy label from a patient’s electronic medical record is a relatively easy, low cost and important public health intervention that can improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and advance the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Addressing inaccurate reports of penicillin allergy is particularly crucial for older adults, who face heightened vulnerability to severe infections and adverse drug reactions.

    BILL SUMMARY: To improve antibiotic stewardship and combat AMR, the PAVE Act seeks to identify and de-label Medicare patients who have been previously labeled with a penicillin allergy. The legislation adds “penicillin allergy verification and evaluation” as part of Medicare’s Initial Preventative Physical Exam (IPPE) and Annual Wellness Visit (AWV). IPPEs are covered for new Medicare Part B enrollees within the 12 months and AWVs are covered annually.

    The bill defines “penicillin allergy verification and evaluation” as: 

    • identification of individuals reporting a history of penicillin allergy; 

    • consideration of whether the reported reaction history is consistent with an allergy/hypersensitivity reaction or can be re-evaluated; 

    • provision of information on the adverse individual and public health impact of a penicillin allergy label; and 

    • referral to an allergy/immunology specialist, as appropriate.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Andrew Cardno, Dr. Ralph Thomas and Dr. A.K. Singh Release Their 11th Book: “The Math That Gaming Made, Compendium”

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN DIEGO, Sept. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Acclaimed gaming and analytics experts Andrew Cardno and Dr. Ralph Thomas of QCI have proudly released their 11th book, “The Math That Gaming Made, Compendium,” a definitive exploration of the mathematical frameworks and strategies that have shaped the modern gaming industry.

    The book, which serves as a comprehensive guide to the intersection of mathematics and gaming, is a deep dive into how advanced analytics, mathematical modeling, and data science have revolutionized the gaming landscape. Covering decades of research and insights, “The Math That Gaming Made, Compendium” provides a wealth of knowledge for industry professionals, data enthusiasts, and anyone passionate about the intricacies of gaming mathematics.

    A Legacy of Expertise

    Andrew Cardno, a recognized authority in gaming analytics, and Dr. Ralph Thomas, a pioneer in gaming data science, bring together their years of experience and research in this book. Together, they offer readers an unparalleled understanding of how math is used to optimize everything from player experiences to casino operations.

    “This book is a culmination of over 20 years of innovation in the gaming industry,” said Andrew Cardno. “It not only highlights how data and analytics have evolved but also provides the tools and knowledge for others to apply these concepts in real-world gaming environments.”

    A Must-Read for Industry Professionals

    Industry expert Buddy Frank shared his praise for the book: “If there’s one thing the casino gaming industry does not do well, it is sharing. This book breaks that mold as the authors dish some of the best advice on improving your slot mix, gaining market share, understanding databases, and a lot more. They even translate all our obscure acronyms. This new volume is several inches thick, but you’ll find gems on every page. Better yet, follow their advice and your profitability will improve.”

    “The Math That Gaming Made, Compendium” is available now through Amazon.

    About Andrew Cardno

    Andrew Cardno is a distinguished figure in the field of artificial intelligence and data plumbing, with over two decades of experience leading private Ph.D. and master’s level research teams. His expertise has made significant contributions to data tooling, including groundbreaking innovations like the deep zoom image format, now a cornerstone in many mapping tools. Andrew’s leadership has earned him two Smithsonian Laureates and garnered 40 industry awards, including three pivotal gaming industry transformation awards. Co-founding Quick Custom Intelligence with Dr. Ralph Thomas, Andrew holds over 150 patent applications and has made a profound impact across various industries, from telecommunications and retail to the medical sector. He is also a prolific author, contributing to over 100 industry publications and co-authoring eight influential books with Dr. Thomas. Andrew advocates for community and diversity and has made a significant impact on over 100 Native American Tribal Resorts, reflecting his expansive and inclusive professional endeavors.

    About Dr. Ralph Thomas

    Dr. Ralph Thomas is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence. Ralph is a product visionary in applied analytics and the founder of two companies that deliver solutions in casino gaming, education, and adult learning. As a gaming industry veteran, Dr. Thomas has substantial experience implementing analytics into single and multi-property gaming companies to drive tangible and measurable gains to the bottom line and has built business intelligence tools for multibillion-dollar casinos. Dr. Thomas is co-author of seven books and over 80 articles on applied analytics and data science in gaming, an inventor on dozens of patents, and understands gaming from raw data up through casino operations, giving him a unique, 360-degree view of the industry.

    About Dr. A.K. Singh

    Chair & Professor, Resorts, Gaming & Golf Management Department at University of Nevada Las Vegas. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Statistics from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, Ashok worked as a Visiting Research Fellow at the NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, NC, in 1977. He has held academic positions since 1978, including: 1978 to July 1991: Associate Professor of Mathematics at New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM. August 1991 to December 2005: Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNLV. January 2006 to present: Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNLV, serving as Chair of the Resorts, Gaming & Golf Management Department since July 1, 2021. His research interests encompass applications of statistics in engineering, business, and law, as well as machine learning applications in business and medicine, and predictive analytics.

    Contact:

    Laurel Kay, Quick Custom Intelligence

    Phone: 858-349-8354

    The MIL Network –