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Category: Fisheries

  • MIL-Evening Report: The AI sexbot industry is just getting started. It brings strange new questions – and risks

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raffaele F Ciriello, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney

    DALL-E via Shutterstock

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting personal. Chatbots are designed to imitate human interactions, and the rise of realistic voice chat is leading many users to form emotional attachments or laugh along with virtual podcast hosts.

    And that’s before we get to the really intimate stuff. Research has shown that sexual roleplaying is one of the most common uses of ChatGPT, and millions of people interact with AI-powered systems designed as virtual companions, such as such as Character.AI, Replika, and Chai.AI.

    What does this mean for the future of (human) romance? The prospects are alarming.

    Better be nice to your AI overlord

    The most prominent AI companion service is Replika, which allows some 30 million users to create custom digital girlfriends (or boyfriends).

    While early studies indicate most Replika users are male, Caucasian and under 30, other demographics are catching up. Male sex robots have been in the making for some years. And they’re more than just vibrators with integrated jar openers.

    For a subscription fee, users can exchange intimate messages or pictures with their AI partners. Over half a million users had subscribed before Replika temporarily disabled its “erotic roleplay” module in early 2023, fearing regulatory backlash — a move that users dubbed “The Lobotomy.”

    The Replika “lobotomy” highlights a key feature of virtual companions: their creators have complete control over their behaviour. The makers of apps can modify or shut down a user’s “partner” – and millions of others – at any moment. These systems also read everything users say, to tailor future interactions and, of course, ads.

    AI is coming to the physical sexbot industry too.
    Shutterstock

    However, these caveats don’t appear to be holding the industry back. New products are proliferating. One company, Kindroid, now offers voice chats with up to ten virtual companions simultaneously.

    The digital world isn’t the limit either. Sex doll vendors such as Joy Love Dolls offer interactive real-life sexbots, with not only customisable skin colour and breast size, but also “complete control” of features including movement, heating, and AI-enabled “moans, squeals, and even flirting from your doll, making her a great companion”.

    For now, virtual companions and AI sexbots remain a much smaller market than social media, with millions of users rather than billions. But as the history of the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon has taught us, today’s digital quirks could become tomorrow’s global giants.

    Towards ethically sourced AI girlfriends?

    The availability of AI-driven relationships is likely to usher in all manner of ethically dubious behaviour from users who won’t have to face the real-world consequences.

    Soon, you might satisfy any kink with your AI girlfriend for an extra fee. If your AI wife becomes troublesome, just ask the corporate overlord to deactivate her envy module — for a price, of course. Or simply delete her and start fresh with as many AI mistresses as you like in parallel.

    The way people form relationships has already been disrupted by dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble.

    What will happen if, in the future, people looking for love are competing against perfect synthetic lovers that are always available and horny? Well, at least they’ll be able to create virtual replicas of those hot dates they didn’t land.

    And for those who lack the skills to create their own virtual companions, there will be plenty of off-the-shelf alternatives.

    An ABC investigation revealed the use of generative AI to create fake influencers by manipulating women’s social media images is already widespread. This is generally done without consent to sell pornographic content. Much of this content depicts unattainable body ideals, and some depicts people who appear to be at best barely of consenting age.

    Another likely application? Using AI sexbot technology to bring celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Clara Bow back to life. After all, dead people cannot deny consent anymore.

    Replika itself was inspired by its founder’s desire to recreate her late best friend through a chatbot. Many use the app to keep deceased loved ones around. What a time to be alive (or dead)!

    The potential for emotional manipulation by inventive catfishers and dictators is alarming. Imagine the havoc if figures like Russia’s Vladimir Putin or North Korea’s Kim Jong-un harness this technology to complement their nations’ already extensive cyber-espionage operations.

    Perhaps before long we will see corporations offering “responsibly sourced” AI girlfriends for the more ethical consumer – organically grown from consensually harvested content, promoting socially acceptable smut.

    Society and the state must act now

    With loneliness rising to epidemic levels — surveys suggest up to one in four people in OECD countries lack human connection — the demand for sexbots is only going to grow. Corporations will meet this demand unless society and the state set clear boundaries on what’s acceptable.

    Sex and technology have always co-evolved. Just as prostitution is “the oldest profession”, porn sites are some of the oldest corners of the internet. However, the dystopian potential of sexbots for mass-customised, corporate-controlled monetisation of our most intimate sphere is unprecedented.

    Users aren’t entirely blameless, either. There’s something vicious about replacing a real human being with a totally submissive lust machine.

    Early studies suggest narcissism is prevalent among users of this technology. Normalising harmful sexual behaviours such as rape, sadism or paedophilia is bad news for society.

    However, going after users isn’t likely to be the best way to tackle the issue. We should treat sexbot use like other potentially problematic behaviours, such as gambling.

    As with other problematic behaviours where the issue lies more with providers than users, it’s time to hold sexbot providers accountable. As our links to AI are growing ever more intimate, there’s not much time to waste.

    Raffaele F Ciriello 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 AI sexbot industry is just getting started. It brings strange new questions – and risks – https://theconversation.com/the-ai-sexbot-industry-is-just-getting-started-it-brings-strange-new-questions-and-risks-238998

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Two decades after decriminalisation, NZ’s sex workers still need protection from discrimination

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynzi Armstrong, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    It has been two decades since New Zealand decriminalised sex work. And while sex workers have workplace rights, they still worry about the risks of discrimination in everyday life.

    In my recent research, local sex workers explained the benefits of decriminalisation – and what still needs to change. Their experiences highlight that while much has changed for the better, stigma remains an issue. Further change is needed to better protect sex workers from it.

    New Zealand’s experience is relevant right now, as a number of governments elsewhere are reviewing their laws around sex work.

    Scotland, for example, is considering a proposal that would criminalise the purchase of sex – known as the Nordic model due to its initial adoption in some Nordic countries.

    Supporters argue this will help sex workers and extend gender equality. But evidence suggests the Nordic model actually harms sex workers: it impedes safety strategies, increases the risk of violence, limits access to justice, and enables discrimination.

    What is decriminalisation?

    The other options are decriminalisation and legalisation. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are different. Legalisation of sex work (in Germany and the Netherlands, for example) means legalising an act that was previously against the law.

    For sex workers, this means restrictive government regulation and control, which may include mandatory registration with authorities, compulsory sexual health checks, and permission to work in specific areas only.

    Decriminalisation, on the other hand, means repealing laws that make an act or behaviour a crime, but not necessarily introducing restrictive regulations specific to the sex industry.

    That said, decriminalisation does not mean there is no regulation. Instead, regulations are comparable to other businesses. The focus is not on regulating sex workers, but providing them with rights.

    Under New Zealand’s Prostitution Reform Act (2003) it is an offence to induce or compel a person to do sex work. Sex workers have the right to refuse to see clients for any reason at any time. If a sex worker wishes to stop doing sex work, they can access unemployment benefits immediately (rather than having the normal stand down period ).

    Impacts of decriminalisation in New Zealand

    Research three years after the law came into force found a majority of participants felt they had more rights and were more able to refuse to see clients than before. Several participants felt police attitudes towards them had improved.

    Subsequent research found relationships between street-based sex workers and police had improved. Decriminalisation supported the safety strategies of these sex workers better.

    There have also been several high-profile cases where sex workers have exercised their legal rights. Brothel-based sex workers won sexual harassment cases against business owners, and convictions of rape against two clients who covertly removed condoms during their bookings.

    Among the 26 sex workers we interviewed in New Zealand, participants described feeling fortunate to work in the decriminalised context. They also felt working conditions for sex workers were better than in other countries.

    One participant said:

    I also feel that we shouldn’t have to say “oh we’re so lucky” but we are compared to other people in other countries.

    Another felt decriminalisation gave sex workers a “protective layer”.

    This meant, as one participant put it, “we have rights, full stop”.

    Participants appreciated sex work being defined as work and the rights that accompany this. Decriminalisation was considered both ideal and normalised. As another explained,

    it’s been decriminalised for a long time now, like it’s part of our reality.

    Room for improvement?

    While participants felt grateful to work in the decriminalised context, this doesn’t mean there weren’t issues.

    Decriminalisation in New Zealand doesn’t include legal protection from discrimination. Sex workers have little recourse if they are treated unfairly because of their job.

    The sex workers we spoke with believed the social stigma of sex work was gradually fading, and instances of discrimination described by participants were rare. But they still feared the consequences of discrimination (such as being denied accommodation or premises to work from if their work became known to a landlord).

    They supported further legal protection from discrimination. For one participant this meant,

    I could tell people my job without […] any fear of backlash, and that would be fantastic.

    Participants also wanted the protections of decriminalisation extended to temporary migrants. People who hold temporary visas face deportation if they are found to be working in the sex industry, making them vulnerable to exploitation.

    Falling behind

    After two decades of decriminalisation, New Zealand risks falling behind as more jurisdictions (such as Victoria and Queensland in Australia) adopt decriminalised frameworks that build in protection from discrimination.

    Such protections mean it is no longer legal to deny a person accommodation or a job based on their sex work experience, or deny them a bank loan or mortgage.

    To keep up, New Zealand needs to follow suit. The next step is therefore to strengthen and expand the rights sex workers have.

    Perhaps then, in another 20 years, the country will still be seen as one that put the human rights of sex workers first and showed the rest of the world what equality really looks like.

    Lynzi Armstrong received funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund (2019-2024)

    – ref. Two decades after decriminalisation, NZ’s sex workers still need protection from discrimination – https://theconversation.com/two-decades-after-decriminalisation-nzs-sex-workers-still-need-protection-from-discrimination-240787

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lessons for the next pandemic: where did Australia go right and wrong in responding to COVID?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia

    Igor Corovic/Shutterstock

    With COVID still classified as an ongoing pandemic, it’s difficult to contemplate the next one. But we need to be prepared. We’ve seen several pandemics in recent decades and it’s fair to expect we’ll see more.

    For the final part in a series of articles on the next pandemic, we’ve asked a range of experts what Australia got right and wrong it its response to COVID. Here they share their thoughts on the country’s COVID response – and what we can learn for the next pandemic.

    Quarantine

    The federal government mandated 14 days of quarantine for all international arrivals between March 2020 and November 2021. During that period, 452,550 people passed through the system.

    The states and Northern Territory were given just 48 hours to set up their quarantine systems. The states chose hotel quarantine, while the Northern Territory repurposed an old miner’s camp, Howard Springs, which had individual cabins with outdoor verandas. The ACT had very few international arrivals, while Tasmania only had hotel quarantine for domestic travellers.

    During the first 15 months of the program, at least 22 breaches occurred in five states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia). An inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine found the lack of warning and planning to set up the complex system resulted in breaches that caused Victoria’s second COVID wave of 2020, leading to almost 800 deaths. A breach at Sydney airport led to the introduction of the Delta variant into Australia.

    In the next pandemic, mistakes from COVID need to be avoided. They included failure to protect hotel residents and staff from airborne transmission through ventilation and mask usage. Protocols need to be consistent across the country, such as the type of security staff used, N95 masks for staff and testing frequency.

    These protocols need to be included in a national pandemic preparedness plan, which is frequently reviewed and tested through simulations. This did not occur with the pre-COVID preparedness plan.

    Dedicated quarantine centres like Howard Springs already exist in Victoria and Queensland. Ideally, they should be constructed in every jurisdiction.

    Michael Toole

    Treatments

    Scientists had to move quickly after COVID was discovered to find effective treatments.

    Many COVID treatments involved repurposing existing drugs designed for other viruses. For example, the HIV drug ritonavir is a key element of the antiviral Paxlovid, while remdesivir was originally developed to treat hepatitis C.

    At the outset of the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty about COVID treatment among Australian health professionals. To keep up with the rapidly developing science, the National Clinical Evidence Taskforce was established in March 2020. We were involved in its COVID response with more than 250 clinicians, consumers and researchers.

    Unusually for evidence-based guidelines, which are often updated only every five years or so, the taskforce’s guidelines were designed to be “living” – updated as new research became available. In April 2020 we released the first guidelines for care of people with COVID, and over the next three years these were updated more than 100 times.

    While health-care professionals always had access to up-to-date guidance on COVID treatments, this same information was not as accessible for the public. This may partly explain why many people turned to unproven treatments. The taskforce’s benefits could have been increased with funding to help the community understand COVID treatments.

    COVID drugs faced other obstacles too. For example, changes to the virus itself meant some treatments became less effective as new variants emerged. Meanwhile, provision of antiviral treatments has not been equitable across the country.

    COVID drugs have had important, though not game-changing, impacts. Ultimately, effective vaccines played a much greater role in shifting the course of the pandemic. But we might not be so fortunate next time.

    In any future pandemic it will be crucial to have a clear pathway for rapid, reliable methods to develop and evaluate new treatments, disseminate that research to clinicians, policymakers and the public, and ensure all Australians can access the treatments they need.

    Steven McGloughlin and Tari Turner, Monash University

    Vaccine rollout

    COVID vaccines were developed in record time, but rolling them out quickly and seamlessly proved to be a challenge. In Australia, there were several missteps along the way.

    First, there was poor preparation and execution. Detailed planning was not finalised until after the rollout had begun.

    Then the federal government had overly ambitious targets. For example, the goal of vaccinating four million people by the end of March 2021 fell drastically short, with less than one-fifth of that number actually vaccinated by that time.

    There were also supply issues, with the European Union blocking some deliveries to Australia.

    Unfortunately, the government was heavily reliant on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was found, in rare cases, to lead to blood clots in younger people.

    Despite all this, Australia ultimately achieved high vaccination rates. By the end of December 2021, more than 94% of the population aged 16 and over had received at least one dose.

    This was a significant public health achievement and saved thousands of lives.

    But over the past couple of years, Australia’s initially strong vaccine uptake has been waning.

    The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends booster doses for vulnerable groups annually or twice annually. However, only 30% of people aged 75 and over (for whom a booster is recommended every six months) have had a booster dose in the past six months.

    There are several lessons to be learned from the COVID vaccine rollout for any future pandemic, though it’s not entirely clear whether they are being heeded.

    For example, several manufacturers have developed updated COVID vaccines based on the JN.1 subvariant. But reports indicate the government will only be purchasing the Pfizer JN.1 booster. This doesn’t seem like the best approach to shore up vaccine supply.

    Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia

    Mode of transmission

    Nearly five years since SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) first emerged, we now know airborne transmission plays a far greater role than we originally thought.

    In contrast, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 being transmitted via surfaces is likely to be low, and perhaps effectively non-existent in many situations.

    Early in the pandemic, the role contaminated surfaces and inanimate objects played in COVID transmission was overestimated. The main reason we got this wrong, at least initially, was that in the absence of any direct experience with SARS-CoV-2, we extrapolated what we believed to be true for other respiratory viruses. This was understandable, but it proved to be inadequate for predicting how SARS-CoV-2 would behave.

    One of the main consequences of overestimating the role of surface transmission was that it resulted in a lot of unnecessary anxiety and the adoption of what can only be viewed in retrospect as over-the-top cleaning practices. Remember the teams of people who walked the streets wiping down traffic light poles? How about the concern over reusable coffee cups?

    Considerable resources that could have been better invested elsewhere were directed towards disinfecting surfaces. This also potentially distracted our focus from other preventive measures that were likely to have been more effective, such as wearing masks.

    We now understand COVID spreads predominantly through the air.
    Kate Trifo/Pexels

    The focus on surface transmission was amplified by a number of studies published early in the pandemic that documented the survival of SARS-CoV-2 for long periods on surfaces. However, these were conducted in the lab with little similarity to real-world conditions. In particular, the amounts of virus placed on surfaces were greater than what people would likely encounter outside the lab. This inflated viral survival times and therefore the perception of risk.

    The emphasis on surface transmission early in the pandemic ultimately proved to be a miscalculation. It highlights the challenges in understanding how a new virus spreads.

    Hassan Vally, Deakin University

    National unity

    Initially, Commonwealth, state and territory leaders were relatively united in their response to the COVID pandemic. The establishment of the National Cabinet in March 2020 indicated a commitment to consensus-based public health policy. Meanwhile, different jurisdictions came together to deliver a range of measures aimed at supporting businesses and workers affected by COVID restrictions.

    But as the pandemic continued, tensions gave way to deeper ideological fractures between jurisdictions and individuals. The issues of vaccine mandates, border closures and lockdowns all created fragmentation between governments, and among experts.

    The blame game began between and within jurisdictions. For example, the politicisation of quarantine regulations on cruise ships revealed disunity. School closures, on which the Commonwealth and state and territory governments took different positions, also generated controversy.

    These and other instances of polarisation undermined the intent of the newly established National Cabinet.

    The COVID pandemic showed us that disunity across the country threatens the collective work needed for an effective response in the face of emergencies.

    The COVID response inquiry, due to release its results soon, will hopefully help us work toward national uniform legislation that may benefit Australia in the event of any future pandemics.

    This doesn’t necessarily mean identical legislation across the country – this won’t always be appropriate. But a cohesive, long-term approach is crucial to ensure the best outcomes for the Australian federation in its entirety.

    Guzyal Hill and Kim M Caudwell, Charles Darwin University

    This article is part of a series on the next pandemic.

    Adrian Esterman receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF and ARC.

    Michael Toole receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

    Steven McGloughlin works with the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration and is a consultant for the World Health Organisation Health Emergencies Program.

    Tari Turner receives funding from MRFF; NHMRC; the Victorian, WA and Commonwealth governments; and philanthropy.

    Guzyal Hill, Hassan Vally, and Kim M Caudwell do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Lessons for the next pandemic: where did Australia go right and wrong in responding to COVID? – https://theconversation.com/lessons-for-the-next-pandemic-where-did-australia-go-right-and-wrong-in-responding-to-covid-239819

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: DG Okonjo-Iweala at World Food Forum: Trade is vital for ensuring food security

    Source: World Trade Organization

    The Director-General recalled the strengthened partnership between the WTO and the FAO in the areas of food and agriculture. She highlighted the WTO’s ongoing efforts to update trade rules, stressing that the multilateral trading system must be complemented by domestic policies that reduce distortions and enhance competition. She pointed to the importance of “policies that provide essential public goods to farmers such as research, pest and disease control, efficient water management, and extension services that are needed to improve productivity and sustainability.”

    Her full remarks are below:

    Director-General QU Dongyu,
    Your royal highnesses,
    Excellencies,
    Distinguished delegates,
    Ladies and gentlemen,

    I’m delighted to join you in opening this year’s World Food Forum.

    My main message to you is that trade — and the World Trade Organization — are vital parts of an agrifood system that can deliver good food for people now and in the years ahead.

    My remarks today will look at three areas: the challenges ahead for farming and food security; how trade can help; and the role of the WTO.

    First, the challenges.

    The FAO’s latest figures show around 733 million people are facing hunger — most of them in Africa and South Asia [1]. At our current pace, we won’t meet Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

    Climate change is a growing threat to food security, affecting every aspect of our food systems, and exacerbating the sector’s problems with water and land management, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. 55% of the world’s food production occurs in areas experiencing drying or unstable trends in total water storage.

    Agricultural production and consumption continues to be distorted by trade restrictions and subsidies

    In 54 countries analysed by the OECD, support provided to individual producers averaged USD 630 billion per year [2] from 2020 to 2022.* This support often has environmentally harmful effects, encouraging the overuse of fossil fuels, energy and water.

    The distance between business as usual and truly sustainable food systems is considerable. The FAO has estimated that our current agri-food systems impose “hidden” health, environmental, and social costs equivalent to at least USD 10 trillion per year. [3]

    Turning now to trade, the case for how it can help is straightforward: about one in four calories consumed is traded.

    Between 2000 and 2022, agricultural trade grew five-fold, rising across all world regions. [4] The average applied tariff on agricultural goods has fallen [5] from 13 percent in 2005 to just 5.8 percent in 2022, helping make food more affordable and available, while incentivizing exporters to ramp up production in response to international demand.

    Trade has contributed to food security and resilience: For example, when the war in Ukraine cut off Ethiopia from its traditional source of wheat imports, the existence of deep and diversified global markets meant it could source from Argentina and the United States instead.

    The Global Commission on the Economics of Water, which I co-chair, will issue a report later this week that highlights the role of ‘virtual water trade’ in agriculture, through the water used to grow or make a traded product. It notes that trade can help mitigate water-related pressures, provided water’s price reflects its value and scarcity with targeted subsidies to those who cannot afford to pay, by allowing countries with abundant hydrological resources to specialize in producing water-intensive goods for export to water-scarce nations.

    For example, there are export opportunities here for several African countries who have been found to have abundant and shallow under-utilized ground water resources as well as land resources,  provided  of course these resources are well and innovatively managed.   In fact, based on these land and water resources, Africa not only can and should feed itself, using intra Africa food trade to manage supply and demand gaps but can also respond to external world demand. 

    Beyond trade’s contribution to ensuring that food is available, trade-led growth and income gains have contributed mightily to bringing down hunger in countries including China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, to name a few. [6]

    Now we need to help others replicate this success, sustainably — including elsewhere in Asia and Africa.

    This brings me to the role of the WTO.

    The WTO provides a negotiating forum where members could lower trade barriers and reduce trade-distorting support, helping agricultural markets function better and freeing up billions of dollars’ worth of resources that could be put to better use. But the fact is that at a time when a comprehensive update to the global agricultural trade rulebook is long overdue, we have not been so successful in moving forward agricultural trade negotiations at the WTO. But we will never give up trying. Agriculture and a well- functioning agricultural trading system is too important to the world. 

    This past Thursday, I chaired a meeting of all WTO members, where we looked at how to revitalize the negotiations and set the stage for delivering at least some concrete results by our next Ministerial Conference in Cameroon in early 2026. We have hard work ahead of us and we also need political will. I implore all the Food Security and Agriculture Ministers here to back your Trade ministers and their Geneva based WTO ambassadors to exhibit appropriate flexibility in their negotiating positions so we can move past 2.5 decades of stagnation to a new era of modern agricultural trade rules fit to help feed the 21st century world. 

    In this regard, cotton, both a food and non food commodity, is of paramount importance to several countries worldwide. 

    Last week, I was in the Republic of Benin to mark World Cotton Day. And while we are supporting exciting efforts  there and in the Cotton Four plus countries in West and  Central Africa to add value to their products and tap into global markets for textiles and clothing, particularly in the sports apparel sector, I want to note for all concerned that this does not mean we are paying attention to the issue of trade  distorting domestic support that lowers cotton prices and weighs on the livelihoods of millions of farmers in cotton producing countries  around the world. 

    On the bright side, in pursuing agriculture reforms at the WTO, we have some recent accomplishments to build on.

    At our 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022, members committed to refrain from imposing export controls on humanitarian purchases by the World Food Programme — a step that the agency has said is helping to source food more quickly, and from more countries.

    Our landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will help ease pressure on the marine fish stocks that millions of people rely on for food and livelihood security. I urge you to help fast-track ratification of this agreement in your countries, and support the rapid conclusion of negotiations on Phase 2 of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement on some outstanding issues so that the USD 22  billion being spent annually on harmful fisheries subsidies that can be repurposed to more beneficial uses. 

    I want to take a moment here to highlight the WTO’s appreciation for the work we do with the FAO.  In this regard, let me thank DG Qu Dongyu and Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen and their team for the excellent collaboration with the WTO. Our joint MoU signed last December ranges from work on fisheries and the associated trust fund, to supporting cotton, the Standards and Trade Development Facility and — last but not least — the Agriculture Market Information System. We look forward to continuing this collaboration whose aim is to assist FAO and WTO members. Collaboration between multilateral organizations brings coherence and congruence to helping members and the people they represent. 

    In conclusion, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. A free, fair, open and predictable MTS and modernized agricultural trade rules are critical to an agrifood system that can deliver good food to the world’s people today and tomorrow. But such a trading system must be complemented by domestic policies that reduce distortions and improve competition. It must be complemented by policies that provide essential public goods to farmers such as research, pest and disease control, efficient water management, and extension services that are needed to improve productivity and sustainability. 

    I am convinced that we can all work together, Multilateral organizations,  Governments, Farmers, Civil Society, Private sector, to enable people around the world to access the food and nutrition they need in a changing climate  and a changing and uncertain world.

    Thank you.

    *(NOTE: “support” is not the same here as “subsidies”, as it includes transfers from consumers to producers that result from border measures such as tariffs, in addition to budgetary outlays.).

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    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Issues in the control systems of the Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food in the sectors of food safety, farming, livestock production, veterinary issues and fisheries – E-001960/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001960/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left)

    According to the DG SANTE horizontal inspection (as described in the document on the subject with Ref. 2023-7655 General Follow Up Audit)[1], there appear to be serious issues in the control system implemented by the Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food in the sectors of farming, livestock production, veterinary issues and fisheries.

    The above-mentioned document highlights distortions, shortcomings and structural problems, in particular the fragmentation, overlapping responsibilities and understaffing of the control mechanisms, the absence of a single, coherent and simplified control framework, the ensuing lack of coordination and supervision and the risk-shy approach to imposing effective sanctions and administrative measures. The corresponding deficiencies have made for a landscape of arbitrariness and impunity.

    It goes without saying that the above factors jeopardise consumer protection, because of gaps in ensuring the import, production and distribution of safe food, and shortcomings in the certification of suitability, quality checks and the improvement of food quality.

    The EU and its Member States have an obligation to protect consumers and ensure they are not misled as to the safety, composition, labelling and price of food. In view of this:

    • 1.Has the Commission received a reply from the relevant Ministry and has it been informed of any compliance measures taken to date?
    • 2.What steps will it take to ensure that these distortions are remedied?

    Submitted: 4.10.2024

    • [1] As stated in the Ministry’s document (Ref. No: 39/90413 – 28/03/2024)
    Last updated: 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – ‘Blue Homeland’, including EU territories, in teaching material used in schools in Türkiye – E-001741/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001741/2024/rev.1
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI)

    On 7 December 2023, Greece and Türkiye signed the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations. Türkiye, however, instead of toning down its aggressiveness, is unfortunately doing the exact opposite. It has fully and officially adopted the ‘Blue Homeland’ (or ‘Mavi Vatan’ in Turkish) doctrine which, although it does not refer to it, is reminiscent of the concept of ‘living space’.

    In fact, not content with issuing a plethora of declarations, since September 2024 it has also incorporated the doctrine into the teaching material used in its schools. The new 9th-grade geography textbook includes, on page 62, a section devoted to ‘Mavi Vatan’, with maps, military aircraft and historical information.[1] Furthermore, it refers to the National Oath of 1920, sworn by the most extreme elements in the country, which declares that ‘the lawful frontiers of Türkiye include regions such as Western Thrace, the Dodecanese and Northern Iraq’. The first two of these regions belong to Greece!

    In view of this:

    • 1.Has notice been taken of these facts?
    • 2.What is the Commission’s reaction to the above references by Türkiye, in its teaching material, to territories belonging to the Union?

    Submitted: 17.9.2024

    • [1] https://www.kathimerini.gr/politics/563217235/toyrkia-apokalyptiria-tis-galazias-patridas-se-scholiko-vivlio/
    Last updated: 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Eight fast facts about toxic shellfish poisoning

    Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

    With warmer weather on the way, Kiwis all over the motu will be heading to the beach to enjoy the sea’s bounty. But before you go gathering shellfish, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle has some fast facts to share about toxic shellfish poisoning and how to keep yourself, your whanau and friends safe. 

    1. New Zealand hasn’t had a toxic shellfish poisoning outbreak for a decade

    Toxic shellfish poisoning can cause serious illness and can even be fatal. Fortunately, we haven’t had an outbreak of toxic shellfish poisoning since 2014, when 13 people fell ill.

    New Zealand Food Safety works hard to keep it that way by monitoring key recreational shellfish harvesting areas around the country for biotoxins.

    2. New Zealand Food Safety regularly tests water and shellfish for biotoxins to keep the public safe

    New Zealand Food Safety has more than 40 monitoring sites, with water tested weekly for toxic algae and shellfish tested fortnightly for biotoxins. The commercial shellfish industry also provides their own biotoxin monitoring data from more than 30 sites, giving us even greater coverage.

    If shellfish are found to contain biotoxins at unsafe levels, we issue public health warnings and post signs at affected beaches. In 2023 we issued 17 biotoxin alerts.

    3. Cooking does not destroy biotoxins

    It’s important to know that cooking will not make toxic shellfish safe to eat, because cooking doesn’t destroy biotoxins.

    If anyone becomes ill after eating shellfish from an area where a public health warning has been issued, phone healthline for advice on 0800 61 11 16, or seek medical attention immediately. We advise that you also contact your nearest public health unit and keep any leftover shellfish for testing.

    4. Shellfish become poisonous by feeding on toxic algae

    Shellfish with 2 shells (bivalve shellfish) can each filter more than 200 litres of water a day. They do this to filter out microscopic algae (called phytoplankton) and other particles as a food source. If these algae are toxic, the biotoxins can build up in the shellfish, making them poisonous. Generally, the more toxic algae there are in the water, the more toxic the shellfish get.

    5. Bivalve shellfish are the most affected by biotoxins

    Shellfish affected by biotoxins usually include bivalves like mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles and scallops. But pūpū (cat’s eyes) and Cook’s turban and can also have elevated levels of some biotoxins.

    Generally, you can still eat pāua, crab and crayfish, but only if you remove the gut before cooking, as biotoxins accumulate in the gut. Finfish are not affected by biotoxins from algal blooms, but we advise discarding the liver before cooking. 

    6. Not all species of phytoplankton are toxic

    Phytoplankton are photosynthetic microscopic algae, meaning that, just like plants, they use the sunshine to grow. And, like plants, they also need nutrients (which they get from the water) to grow. 

    If conditions are right, phytoplankton can multiply to high numbers and form algal blooms. Most species of phytoplankton are harmless, but some can naturally produce highly toxic chemicals we call marine biotoxins.

    7. Algal blooms occur naturally under particular conditions

    Algal blooms usually occur naturally when wind and water currents are favourable for their growth. Causes can include slow water circulation or unusually high water temperatures. Some blooms have happened after extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, or drought.

    New Zealand Food Safety does extra monitoring during a toxic algal bloom to track its spread and see how it is affecting different kinds of shellfish.

    8. There are 4 main types of toxic shellfish poisoning in New Zealand

    Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is potentially the most serious of the 4 main types of toxic shellfish poisoning found in NZ.

    PSP symptoms usually appear within 10 minutes to 3 hours of eating and may include:

    • numbness and tingling around the mouth, face, hands, and feet
    • difficulty swallowing or breathing
    • dizziness and headache
    • nausea and vomiting
    • diarrhoea
    • paralysis and respiratory failure
    • and, in severe cases, death.

    If you suspect someone has PSP poisoning after eating shellfish from an area where we have issued a public health warning, seek medical attention immediately.

    Find out more

    Check for current biotoxin warnings

    Subscribe to our alerts 

    Download our free NZ Fishing Rules App

    Read more about toxic shellfish poisoning

    For general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 00 83 33 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

    For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Files Amicus Brief on Importance of Protecting California’s Waterways

    Source: US State of California

    Monday, October 14, 2024

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, today filed an amicus brief with the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, in support of the environmental plaintiffs in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield. Last year, a coalition of environmental groups, led by Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California, were granted their motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the City of Bakersfield to cease completely drying up the Kern River in violation of California Fish and Game Code section 5937. This critically important state environmental statute requires all dam owners and operators to release sufficient water below dams to keep fish below the dams in “good condition.” 

    However, certain agricultural water districts, served by the City’s diversions from the Kern River, appealed the trial court’s decision requiring some water to be left in the river, arguing that the trial court wrongly interpreted Section 5937 and that the City could continue to periodically completely drain sections of the river. The real-world impact of the City’s decisions was illustrated most recently the Friday before Labor Day of this year, when the City once again diverted all of the flows from the Kern River below the Calloway Weir to deliver to agricultural customers, leaving thousands of fish to die.

    “California’s waterways and ecosystems are the lifeblood of our state’s rich and diverse wildlife and natural habitats,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Yet, in Bakersfield, the sudden loss of Kern River flows due to the city officials’ decisions to divert all water away from the river, is leaving behind a dry wasteland where fish are dying in droves. With today’s amicus brief, we urge the Court to allow enough water to flow in the Kern River, as required by law, to preserve ecosystems and ensure sustainability and viability of our fish populations.”

    “Conserving and protecting our fish and wildlife, and the habitats they call home, is of vital importance to the people of California. Failing to provide enough water for fish downstream not only damages ecosystems and fish populations but also violates California law,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham. “This case could impact California’s ability to protect vulnerable fish and wildlife populations in the future. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife stands in partnership with Attorney General Bonta to help protect these irreplaceable fish populations for generations to come.” 

    In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta highlights the importance of Section 5937 to protecting California’s waterways and wildlife. The brief argues that the City of Bakersfield must comply with the plain language of California Fish and Game Code Section 5937 and release sufficient flows below the City’s six dams to keep fish in the Kern River in “good condition.”  The brief further argues that the water districts’ concerns regarding the available water supply can be addressed at the remedy stage of the injunctive proceedings, when the trial court will decide what specific amounts of flows are necessary to comply with Section 5937 pending entry of final judgment in the case.

    A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: David Holdsworth’s speech at CLA 30th anniversary conference

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government Non-Ministerial Departments

    David Holdsworth addresses Charity Law Association Conference.

    Location:
    London
    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    Good afternoon, and to Welsh colleagues in the room, prynhawn da.

    I’m delighted to be here with you this afternoon, and for this opportunity to be a part of your annual conference. I’d like to say a few words about the Commission’s priorities, and about the ways in which I see us working with the wider charity law community during my time as CEO.

    This is, of course, the 30th anniversary of the CLA conference.

    Milestones like this encourage us to look back at where we’ve come from, and imagine and plan for what lies ahead.

    The milestones since 1994 alone speak of the passing of one generation into the next.

    We’ve had no fewer than 10 Charities Acts, including those passed in devolved parliaments. Some of this legislation has redefined charity, and the powers of the Commission as regulator, expanding our role, influence and responsibilities, ensuring that as the sector has grown and diversified, we have too, keeping pace with changing expectations and needs. The CLA will have been there, inputting, advising, consulting, every step of the way.

    Many leaders have come and gone. Since the early 1990s, we’ve seen 3 Chief Commissioners of the Charity Commission, then since the 2006 Act, 5 chairs, and the same number of chief executives, including myself.

    During the same period – three changes of government, with one coalition, and nine Prime Ministers.

    But perhaps more significant are the fundamental technological, cultural and social changes that have unfolded since the 1990s, transforming the way in which we live, work, and communicate – and the way in which we do good for our communities and for others and the values to which our society holds.  

    We have seen same sex marriage legalised, we’ve seen a huge shift in attitudes towards ….. and investment in ….. mental health, women’s health and wellbeing and we’re beginning to recognise the personal, social, and economic impact of systemic issues such as loneliness and inequality.  

    There are many more such examples. It is worth holding in mind both how recent such progress is, and how important charities and wider civil society are in reflecting, and driving social attitudes.

    Charities serve as a mirror in which society sees reflected not just how things are, but also how they could be.

    Over the past 30 years, the fundamental purpose of charity has remained pretty stable, but its role and relevance to our daily lives has only increased.

    From delivery of and support for emergency response services, to early years provision, medical research, and care and advocacy for the most vulnerable in our society… not to mention the work of charities in promoting the arts, cultural heritage, conservation and so on. Charities save and improve lives, cradle to grave.

    Of course, charities’ status at the heart of our society rests not just on the good intentions of those involved.

    Charities are trusted and valued because they are protected by a framework of statutory duties and obligations that experts such as yourselves both helped shape and importantly also help to uphold.

    Your work goes far beyond advising individual charities. Your voice is crucial in helping to shape the charity law framework, ensuring it keeps pace with changing needs in society.

    Looking ahead – we can’t of course say for sure where we’ll be 30 years from now.

    I would wager that the pace of technological, cultural and social change will only increase.

    And that our ambition will remain to ensure charities continue to be trusted as vehicles for our better nature, and that people continue to support charitable purposes with their time, money, and trust.

    While our research shows that trust is currently at a 10-year high, this is not an outcome we can take for granted.

    I believe there is a role for the Commission and the wider charity law community to help shape the future of charity, anticipating and responding to wider changes in society and public expectations.

    In that context, there are three areas I’d like to reflect on today.

    Picture the sector as the home in which we all live and which we all want to preserve for the future, and consider how you would maintain the structure for the long term.  

    First, there’s housekeeping and maintenance – so the things we need to do and think about now to ensure that we’re keeping the house safe and stable. This is not a small task. The building we are looking after is old, and it has many rooms and keeping it in good shape requires hard work and ingenuity.

    Second are the strategic works we know we need to undertake, because of changes we already know will come. Sticking with the analogy – we know we need to insulate all our walls, because the climate is changing and energy is precious.

    Third, and perhaps trickiest of all, we need to think now about the way in which the building may be used into the next generation. If we want to preserve the best of the building whilst ensuring it’s fit for future generations and not see it torn down or to fall into neglect and disrepair slowly over time due to its lack of attractiveness to new home owners – then we need to adapt it bit by bit over time ensuring it meets the needs of tomorrow’s home owners.

    So first, maintenance of the sector right now. Getting the basics right today.

    Here I’d like to home in on our work to support trustees through our guidance work.

    This forms an important part of the Commission’s corporate strategy – one of our strategic priorities being to support charities to get it right but take robust action where we see wrongdoing and harm. Our statute of course also requires us ‘to promote compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations’ and empowers us ‘give such advice or guidance with respect to the administration of charities as it considers appropriate’.

    Good, accessible, online guidance really matters. Our strategy, again, puts this well: Ultimately the sustainability of the charitable sector relies on the enthusiasm, generosity, and capability of trustees.

    There are, at least, 700,000 trustees of registered charities covering nearly a million trustee positions. We are undertaking research at the moment, with Pro Bono Economics, to understand better who they are, and what their skills are. For example this work will give us a better idea of how many legal professionals are serving as trustees.

    But what we already know is that the vast majority are volunteers, taking on the rewarding but challenging role of trusteeship on top of already busy lives.

    They have a right to expect, from us as regulator, clear, plain English guidance on what is required of them, and some level of instruction on how to deliver on those expectations.

    And this matters, because we know that the public have high expectations of trustees – research shows that the public expects charities to be efficient and effective in delivering on their purpose, and run according to high ethical standards.  

    Unfortunately, however, we are starting from a point where not enough trustees – our primary audience – use our guidance when undertaking their leadership roles.  

    Research published by the Commission earlier this year shows that only around a quarter – 26% –  of trustees use our information at least once a year, whereas nearly two thirds seek advice from a trusted colleague or fellow trustee.

    Yet almost all (93%) of those who have used the Commission’s information find it helpful. And those who use our guidance have a better understanding of their responsibilities – again our research shows this.

    When we ask trustees why some don’t access our support, they tell us that the length and style of our older guidance can put them off.

    In response, we are doing a huge amount to overhaul and improve our suite of guidance, ensuring it is not just clear in the way it explains charity law, but that it is actually used more and more by trustees. I know some lawyers mourn our longer and more detailed style of guidance. But I’d ask you to understand that our primary audience is the lay trustee, and we need them to access, understand, and action our guidance more routinely than they do at the moment.

    Over the past year alone, we have produced new guidance on accepting, refusing and returning donations – guidance that is helping to underpin and grow a strong philanthropic culture in the UK, and helping trustees make decisions that are right for their charities.

    We have reviewed and improved our guidance on charities and decision making, keeping to the 7 principles set out when we first published that guidance 11 years ago, and retaining all its other key points, but making the guidance more concise through smart editing based on clear writing principles.  We are grateful to the many people in this room who use CC27 and the 7 principles when they are advising Boards on making decisions – this is an example of how our guidance and the advice lawyers give can work in tandem to upskill trustees and keep them making effective decisions.

    Earlier this year, we updated our guidance on charities and meetings, bringing it up to date with the Zoom era, and encouraging charities to ensure their governing documents and policies keep pace with changes to the way in which people meet. This accelerated during the pandemic, during which we gave updated advice, now formalised through the redesigned guidance. 

    And most recently, we updated our guidance on managing finances. We have made the guide much more accessible, splitting its content into three separate pieces, making it easier for trustees to find the information that best relates to their situation, whether they may be starting to experience financial struggles or, worse, facing insolvency.

    We don’t of course, produce our guidance in isolation.

    Much of our resource and energy goes on working in collaboration with our partners to ensure our guidance is clear and fit for purpose.

    How we do this has changed over time, and we now take a more risk-based approach, helping to ensure we can produce and publish new guidance at pace. In some cases, for example when we are producing brand new guidance or reflecting new judgments, for example following the Butler Sloss case on charity investments, the CLA is a crucial partner for us to engage and consult with. At other times, for example when our task is to refresh guidance to improve its accessibility, user-testing with charities is the most important consultative work for us to undertake.

    I’m grateful for the CLA’s support and challenge over the years. I recall from my previous time at the Commission the excellent professional relationship we had and I look forward to rekindling that and hope you will continue to work with us to ensure our new guidance is legally sound, clear, and actionable. I am committed to building on our existing relationship to ensure a strong partnership on our guidance pipeline – and wider support to trustees – into the future.

    Next – the big strategic works that help our house respond to big changes that we already know are heading our way.

    Here I’d like to reference the important work of our horizon scanning and strategic policy work.

    We have recently tackled cryptocurrency models of giving, and AI. Our approach here is not so much to provide all the answers but to help charities and the sector ask the right questions, about how these transformative technologies can be harnessed to further charities’ work and think about the risks of engaging, and the risks of not doing so. As an example, we have reminded charities that under those seven key principles mentioned earlier, trustees remain responsible for decision making in their organisation, so it is vital this process is not delegated to AI or based on AI generated content alone.

    We continue to monitor both these areas, including in assessing applications from charities active in these spaces, and are keen to encourage the sector itself – and experts such as the CLA and its members – to think about how tech developments such as these might be harnessed for the sector into the future.  

    Ensuring legislation is fit for purpose is crucial too. Charity law is never quite done. The 2022 Act attracted fewer headlines, and less controversy than previous iterations of legislation, but it made for important efficiencies and improvements to the operation of charity, and our role in that.

    Looking ahead, we continue to consider whether further strengthening of our powers to address and prevent abuse and mismanagement in charities may be valuable –  enabling us to work more effectively and efficiently at a time when our resources, like those of charities, are stretched.

    And then, thirdly we need to think about the next generation living in our house – about big societal shifts and how they might impact on the sector into future generations.

    I am determined to use my position as CEO, and the wider convening role of the Commission, to help facilitate dialogue on the future of charity. It is not for us as the regulator in isolation to say what the sector “should” or “could” be. That is something for the sector and society more widely. However with technology changes, social media, AI, as well as societal expectations on speed of action or impact, we risk losing what is special about charity and the positive impact it has if we don’t think and adapt. We are already seeing areas where AI is having real world impact which had not been thought about in the creative sectors. So if we are to maximise the positive impacts of technology whilst mitigating the potential negative impacts then we need to think and act now. We are clear in our strategy that we will speak with authority and credibility, free from the influence of others, in areas like this.

    There are great opportunities, and great challenges ahead. What are the cultural factors that will shape the future of charity? What impact do changing giving and volunteering habits, and shifting attitudes towards institutions between generations, have on the role and work of charities?

    In a country where there are huge divisions of world view on fundamental issues, how can different charities continue to use their voice to campaign for the change they want to see in our society, in furtherance of their purposes, without inflaming tensions or entrenching divisions? What changes might we need to help charities respond and adapt to climate change?

    The Commission’s role as regulator is not to support or champion individual charities, and it is not for us to set the direction for charities or the sector as a whole.

    But we can have a role in helping the sector, and its partners in government and beyond, to ask these questions, and we can bring people together in tackling the big issues to unleash the potential of not just the sector but the people it exists to serve.

    And this is where you as charity law experts, and people who care deeply about the sector, come in.

    I think you have a crucial opportunity – perhaps even responsibility – to lead thought and discussion about how charities can be supported to respond to the next big generational shifts, over the next 30 years.

    There is great work underway already in this space.

    One example of this is this year’s research by Bayes Business School about the challenges that charity chairs might face in 30 years’ time. The research mentions the skills that might be required of chairs, the governance models that might be needed, and the future pipeline of chairs: where will they come from?

    We believe we have already started to respond to these issues: by improving our guidance in the way described and continuing to be responsive to trustees’ needs, we are helping to tackle perceived difficulties associated with being a trustee.

    And we are interested in how else we (with partners like the CLA) can continue to ensure that the sector is supported to deliver in the ways I have noted already.

    You have deep insight into the charities you advise, and you have a birds-eye view of the sector, the legislation that defines it and the systems that support it.

    Please use that insight and contribute to debate and discussion that will help equip the Commission, and the sector, for the challenges of the future.

    To conclude – none of us can predict what world we’ll be living in over the next 30 years.

    But we can work together, now, to ensure that charities remain at the beating heart of society, that they remain relevant, and trusted as the vehicles for positive change.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN AND HOUSE DEMOCRATIC VETERANS SLAM ELECTION-DENYING REPUBLICANS FOR ATTEMPTS TO DISENFRANCHISE ACTIVE DUTY SERVICEMEMBERS, ASK SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AUSTIN TO GUARANTEE TROOPS’ VOTING RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Pat Ryan (New York 18th)

    Congressman Pat Ryan and House Democratic Veterans Slam Election-Denying Republicans for Attempts to Disenfranchise Active Duty Servicemembers, Ask Secretary of Defense Austin to Guarantee Troops’ Voting Rights Are Protected

    Last week, 6 Republican Members of Congress from Pennsylvania, who all refused to certify the 2020 election, filed a lawsuit to strip voting rights away from U.S. citizens living abroad, including military personnel

    Ryan: “These Americans who raised their right hand and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution may be stripped of one of the most fundamental rights it guarantees”

    KINGSTON, NY –  Today, Army veteran Congressman Pat Ryan, alongside five fellow House Democratic veterans, slammed election-denying Republicans for their attempts to disenfranchise active duty servicemembers, and asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to guarantee that the voting rights of military personnel stationed overseas are protected. Last week, 6 House Republicans, all of whom refused to certify the 2020 election, filed a lawsuit challenging the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires states to allow eligible Americans living abroad, including military personnel, to vote in federal elections. Secretary of Defense Austin is the principal executive official with administrative responsibility for carrying out UOCAVA. The letter, co-led by Navy veteran Congressman Chris Deluzio and Air Force veteran Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, was also signed by Marine Corps veterans Congressman Seth Moulton and Congressman Salud Carbajal, as well as Army veteran Congressman Mike Thompson.

    “Six election-denying extremists are trying to disenfranchise our men and women in uniform. It’s disgraceful and anti-democratic,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “These are quite literally troops who raised their right hands and swore an oath to protect and defend our Constitution – and now extremists are stripping them of their constitutional rights. This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about doing right by those putting their lives on the line for our country, and they deserve to know immediately their right to vote will be protected.”

    “The un-American efforts by my Republican colleagues attacking our service members’ right to vote is despicable. With this letter today, we are drawing a line in the sand,” said Congressman Chris Deluzio. “I will always fight like hell to ensure that every eligible American, in uniform abroad or here at home, can freely exercise their right to vote.”

    “Pennsylvania is the bedrock on which the foundation of our constitution and rights as Americans was formed. I am deeply ashamed of my colleagues who are trying to prevent members of our military, who are stationed overseas from voting in this upcoming election,” said Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan. “We cannot allow six Republican Pennsylvanian members, the same ones who refused to certify the 2020, to toss aside those rights and disenfranchise the very people who are serving  us and are in harm’s way across the globe. I stand alongside other veterans in Congress in sending this letter to Secretary Austin to ensure our servicemembers’ fundamental rights are preserved and protected in this upcoming election.”

    The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) was enacted by Congress in 1986. UOCAVA requires that the states and territories allow members of the United States Uniformed Services to register and vote absentee in elections for Federal offices. The legislation was last updated in 2010 to make voting easier for service members. In March 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14019, which put further steps in place to ensure service member’s right to vote.

    A copy of House Democratic veterans’ letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is included below:

    Dear Secretary Austin,

    We write to express deep concern about the actions of our congressional colleagues and request your support in ensuring overseas military personnel and Americans abroad retain their right to participate fully in U.S. elections. My colleagues are attempting to usurp the right to vote from our men and women in uniform, as well as their families. These Americans who raised their right hand and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution may be stripped of one of the most fundamental rights it guarantees. 

    Earlier this month, six Congressmen, who all refused to certify the 2020 election, filed a lawsuit threatening the right to vote for Americans overseas. Our colleagues seek to litigate longstanding federal law at the expense of our service members. Undercutting confidence in our free and fair elections by disenfranchising our service men and women is unacceptable. Unfortunately, we must remind them that it is the Sense of Congress: that “each uniformed services voter receives the utmost consideration and cooperation when voting, each valid ballot cast by such a voter is duly counted, and all eligible American voters, regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, the language they speak, or the resources of the community in which they live, should have an equal opportunity to cast a vote and to have that vote counted.”

    As the principal executive official with administrative responsibility for carrying out The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), we seek further clarification on how you will carry out this Act and if this lawsuit will affect the constitutional rights of service members. UOCAVA was enacted by Congress in 1986 and was last updated in 2010 to make voting easier for service members. Executive Order 14019 puts further steps in place to ensure service member’s right to vote.

    While some of our colleagues are actively seeking to sow discord and misinformation, we urge you to carry out President Biden’s executive order and Federal Law to the best of your ability and ensure that all Americans have their constitutionally guaranteed right to participate in federal elections. 

    Thank you for considering this request. We look forward to hearing what the Department is doing to ensure that servicemembers and Americans abroad can have confidence that their ballots will be counted. 

    Sincerely, 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Agency, Audiologist Solve Hearing Aid Security Concern, Get Needed Devices in NSA Spaces

    Source: National Security Agency NSA

    FORT MEADE, Md. – Joe K never had to worry about wearing his hearing aid to work at NSA buildings—until he upgraded his device a few years ago.

    Joe, who is now the People with Disabilities Employee Resource Group (PWD ERG) Deaf and Hard of Hearing Subcommittee (DHHSC) chair, formerly used an analog hearing aid, which didn’t present a security risk. When he upgraded, he didn’t realize it was a problem until he was approached by a colleague wondering about the process for his new device to be approved by NSA Security & Counterintelligence (S&CI).

     “Using hearing aids can be second nature, like putting your glasses on. Sometimes you don’t think about the technology behind it,” Joe said. “Many of us [deaf and hard of hearing affiliates] weren’t aware of the security requirements to bring them in NSA buildings.”

    Starting in 2019, hearing aids began incorporating “hands-free calling,” a two-way audio Bluetooth technology. The new technology, however, presented an increased security threat to NSA — the potential for the transmission of classified conversations outside of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF).

    The issue with hearing aid technological improvements eventually brought together a number of stakeholders — including NSA Security & Counterintelligence (S&CI), NSA Research, and a Walter Reed Medical Center audiologist with close ties to the Veterans Administration (VA). The goal was to figure out how the deaf and hard of hearing community could take advantage of the new technology without compromising security.

     “The reason manufacturers are putting two-way audio Bluetooth in hearing aids is because it improves audio quality. It allows people to hear and speak through phone calls more clearly without holding the phone up to their ear and mouth,” said Jason B, technology officer for the PWD ERG DHHSC. “In the past, many hearing aids included a one-way Bluetooth feature which did not pose a threat. But lately, the two-way audio Bluetooth feature is being added as standard in all hearing aids, and that is where it became pretty problematic.”

    Some jobs at NSA specifically require keen hearing to listen to and translate audio samples. Without the support of a hearing aid, some affiliates would be unable to perform their jobs successfully, Jason explained.

    “I met with the chief of S&CI to brief him on the importance of hearing aids and how they allow members of the DHH community to do our jobs,” Jason said. “Mitigating security risks of modern hearing aid devices is essential because there are currently thousands of NSA employees with both diagnosed and undiagnosed hearing loss, and potentially thousands more that could be impacted in the future.”

    S&CI’s Office of Physical Security conducted some initial testing of devices equipped with this new two-way audio Bluetooth technology and determined the new hands-free calling feature would, in fact, introduce a wireless microphone into a SCIF, presenting a big security challenge.

    “Mitigations were being considered to address the new challenge but the COVID pandemic intervened,” said Heather J, technical director in S&CI’s Office of Physical Security. “We were working hard because we knew this was important, but we couldn’t rush something that could have such serious implications.”

    As denials of hearing aid applications began to pile up, some of the Agency ERGs stepped in to advocate on behalf of the affected workforce, according to Jason. The American Veterans ERG (AV ERG) raised the recurring denial concerns to the PWD ERG.

    Around the same time as the spike in hearing aid denials at NSA, an audiologist from Walter Reed Medical Center noticed a large number of her VA patients were returning new devices she had prescribed due to their inability to wear them at work. The audiologist contacted S&CI to gain insight into the problem, and S&CI engaged Research’s Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research (LACR) to help find a solution.

    One of the biggest challenges with assessing medical devices with two-way audio Bluetooth is that most of the information about the devices is proprietary, according to Stephanie P, Internet of Things (IoT) Security team lead for LACR’s Trust Mechanisms office.

    “We were really fortunate that the audiologist worked closely with Veterans Affairs and had connections with the six major companies that manufacture hearing aids,” Heather said. “She was able to provide context to them on the hands-free Bluetooth feature, share the challenges it presented to employers, and discuss potential solutions.”

    When a new hearing aid needed to be evaluated, the LACR team was there with its tailored test scenarios, Stephanie explained.

    “We provided detailed testing reports and vulnerability analysis, empowering senior leadership to make informed decisions on which devices to allow into our secured spaces,” she said. “One of the largest hearing aid manufacturers offered a disablement mitigation,” by programming software into its devices that would allow only the audiologist to deactivate the two-way audio Bluetooth feature. The user would still have the benefit of streaming the audio, one-way, directly into their hearing aid without external transmission.

    “This viable mitigation was a monumental first step in ensuring NSA affiliates could have access to the latest advances in smart medical technology while at work,” said Stephanie, explaining Research doesn’t normally do this type of work but was pulled in to lead the Bluetooth assessment because of its expertise in IoT security.

    In early 2023, the Agency announced it would allow this company’s Bluetooth hearing aids in SCIFs after going through the approval process.
    The challenge of these two-way audio Bluetooth medical devices isn’t limited to NSA, according to Heather, who has been partnering with Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to address concerns across the Intelligence Community.

    “I wrote the current [NSA hearing aid Bluetooth mitigation] policy and am currently working with ODNI to write the medical device policy, which will apply to the entire Intelligence Community,” Heather said.

    Both Heather and Stephanie are thrilled at the progress that has been made.

    “I am extremely happy and proud that I was able to play a part in allowing certain Bluetooth enabled hearing aids into NSA SCIFs,” Stephanie said. “It is fantastic that this work is enabling employees with hearing loss to be able to take advantage of the latest advancements in hearing aid technology while they’re at work.”

    “Balancing the needs of our workforce with the security of our facilities is getting harder as technologies get more advanced,” Heather agreed. “We’re really excited to have a way forward for this hearing aid feature, and we’re continuing to look at novel ways to mitigate new and emerging technical threats to maximize our ability to permit the latest and greatest in technology without compromising our missions.”

    NSA Media Relations
    MediaRelations@nsa.gov
    443-634-0721

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: NSA Volunteers Give Back at Sandalwood Elementary

    Source: National Security Agency NSA

    BALTIMORE, MD. — Seven National Security Agency (NSA) employees took the phrase “giving back to the community” to heart during a recent visit to Sandalwood Elementary School where they shared cyber safety tips with 4th and 5th grade students and talked about their careers at NSA.
     
    A new NSA K-12 pilot program called “All In” coordinated the volunteers’ visit. The All In program supports under-resourced elementary schools in the counties surrounding NSA’s Maryland headquarters with STEM and world culture education. The program’s goal is to increase awareness and knowledge to build the next generation of citizens and professionals.
     
    In celebration of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the volunteers shared cyber safety tips, such as password security, the good and bad of geotagging, and how to stay safe on social media and while emailing. They also highlighted their own cyber careers and experiences.
     
    “The students were engaged in the discussions, eager to share their own stories related to the topics, and walked away with a better understanding on how to be cyber safe at home and in the classroom,” said Jen Greenwaldt, the K-12 Outreach/All In Baltimore County liaison. “Seeing the excitement and engagement of students at these 4th and 5th grade levels was impressive. It made me more aware of the need to educate students on this important topic.”
     
    For Servia D., an engineer at NSA, the visit was personally rewarding.
     
    “I was pleasantly surprised to see how engaged the students were, and how much they already knew about cybersecurity topics at a very young age,” she said. “I am truly fortunate to be part of an Agency that is highly invested into giving back to the community and helping cultivate our future generation, especially in under-represented school communities.”

    To augment Sandalwood Elementary School’s cybersecurity curriculum, the NSA volunteers also shared cybersecurity resources from the National Institute of Standards & Technology and the National Initiative for Cyber Education with the school’s teachers.
     
    “With the evolution of technology and the next generation becoming more in-tune with the cyber world, it’s imperative to embrace the National Cybersecurity Workforce and Education Strategy to instill the importance of cyber safety,” Greenwaldt said.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: WATER SAFETY – Key initiatives funded around the country to help reduce harm on the water – UPDATED

    Source: Maritime New Zealand

    Just under three quarters of a million dollars has been allocated to 29 programmes supporting safer boating up and down New Zealand. 
    Tragically, on average 18 people a year lose their lives in recreational craft incidents. This winter has been a stark reminder of the dangers on the water, with eight people losing their lives in four separate incidents since mid-July.
    Maritime NZ Director, Kirstie Hewlett says “getting out on the water is a key part of life in New Zealand, and the recreational craft sector want people to not only enjoy the water, but be well informed about the risks, understand what can go wrong, and to come home safe.”
    Approximately 1.7 million people in Aotearoa undertake activities on the water each year. Through the grant funding Maritime NZ looks to work with partners who can reach these recreational craft users, particularly high risk users, and deliver initiatives that can have a real impact on reducing harm on the water. A key requirement of the funding this year was that applicants could demonstrate how their initiatives delivered the outcomes in the Recreational Craft Strategy, developed by the Safer Boating Forum.
    “The recreational sector is broad, from stand up paddle boards to high powered motorboats. This funding goes to organisations right across the sector who have highly skilled and talented people that want to improve the knowledge of those who enjoy being out in the water,” she says.
    Funding will go to a range of different regional councils as well as national bodies. Some of the larger grants have gone towards supporting Coastguard.
    Among the initiatives that have secured funding are Coastguard’s Old4New lifejacket upgrade programme, as well as its bar crossing seminars; Waka Ama NZ, to build on the culture of water safety for waka ama; and Northland Regional Council’s Nobody’s Stronger Than Tangaroa campaign. Tasman District Council has received funding to appoint an Iwi Launch Warden in a remote region of Golden Bay, where there is an increased presence of recreational craft users in the holiday period.
    From spring through to Easter, many people in New Zealand enjoy the good weather out on the water. The team at Maritime NZ and its partners hope they will check out the programmes and initiatives on offer to improve their knowledge and safety skills on the water. 
    Successful recipients:
    Council / Organisation: Bay of Plenty Regional Council Programme: Kia marutau ki te wai Description: Continuation of Safer Boating Education to Maori and Pasifika to address harm and reduce fatalities by giving them access to boating education. Funding Approved: $15,000
    Council / Organisation: Bay of Plenty Regional Council Programme: Safety is our Wai Description: Continuation of on water and boat ramp education Funding Approved: $60,000
    Council / Organisation: Buller District Council Programme: Understand – Monitor – Inform Description: New Programme to deliver a West Coast regional wide safer boating education and interaction programme. Funding Approved: $7,356
    Council / Organisation: Canoe Racing New Zealand Programme: Try-Learn-Explore Description: A programme specifically focussed on safe paddling practises, and increasing knowledge and awareness of conditions. Funding Approved: $15,000
    Council / Organisation: Coastguard New Zealand Tautiaki Moana Aotearoa Programme: Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade Campaign Description: Continuation of the Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade campaign offering discounted lifejackets and PFD’s to those who upgrade their old or damaged lifejackets across NZ. Funding Approved: $80,000
    Council / Organisation: Coastguard NZ Programme: Ko Tangata Moana Description: Continuation of programme to provide education and skills to recreational craft users of Māori, Pasifika and Asian descent. Funding Approved: $90,000
    Council / Organisation: Environment Canterbury Programme: Canterbury Safe Boating Programme Description: Continuation of programme to educate safer boating on-water and at boat ramps. Funding Approved: $45,000
    Council / Organisation: Environment Southland Programme: Environment Southland Boating Safety Program Description: Continuation of existing programme to deliver consistent boating safety education to recreational boating operators on water and on boat ramps. Funding Approved: $15,000
    Council / Organisation: Gisborne District Council Programme: Tairāwhiti Haumaru Moana Description: Continuation of promoting safer boating throughout the region, particularly in more isolated and remote coastal communities in partnership with Māori Wardens. Funding Approved: $32,000
    Council / Organisation: Greater Wellington Regional Council Programme: Be Responsibility (for actions/for safety) Description: Continuation of nationally consistent safe boating messages with a strong education push and basic messaging. Funding Approved: $30,000
    Council / Organisation: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Programme: Hawke’s Bay Safer Boating Programme Description: Continuation of education program of delivering Safer Boating Education to high risk communities. Funding Approved: $10,500
    Council / Organisation: Kiwi Association of Sea Kayakers (KASK) Programme: KayakSafe NZ Description: Continuation of delivery of key kayaking safety messages through a variety of channels. Funding Approved: $7,000
    Council / Organisation: Marlborough District Council Programme: Marlborough Boating Safety Workshop Description: Continuing of educating theory and practical boat safety to recreational craft users. Funding Approved: $15,000
    Council / Organisation: Nelson City Council Programme: Maritime Safety Internship Description: Continuation of increasing safety education and compliance for Nelson waters Funding Approved: $16,265
    Council / Organisation: Nelson City Council/Tasman District Council Programme: Sup Water Safety Course Description: Continuation of programme to educate SUP users on safety and help develop skills about informed decision making in dynamic environments. Funding Approved: $5,920
    Council / Organisation: New Zealand Stand Up Paddling Inc. (NZSUP) Programme: SUP SAFE Description: Continuation of campaign targeted at stand up paddle boarders to increase safety behaviours. Funding Approved: $16,600
    Council / Organisation: New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Inc. Programme: Coasters and Conversations – Introducing water safety to seasoned fishos and the next generation Description: New initiative that implements targeted messages that promote water safety. Funding Approved: $10,000
    Council / Organisation: New Zealand Underwater Association Programme: Fly the Flag Description: New initiative to enable boaties to access free boat dive flags & float flags. Funding Approved: $3,613
    Council / Organisation: Northland Regional Council Programme: Nobody’s stronger then Tangaroa Description: Continuation of engaging with remote communities with specific messaging and face to face engagement, and deliver lifejacket hubs. Funding Approved: $80,000
    Council / Organisation: Otago Regional Council Programme: Otago Recreational Safer Boating Campaign Description: New programme to expand community’s understanding of safety in Otago waterways. Funding Approved: $20,000
    Council / Organisation: Queenstown Lakes District Council Programme: QLDC Waterways Skipper Responsibility Campaign Description: Increased public messaging to promote skipper responsibility of waterways within region. Funding Approved: $7,000
    Council / Organisation: Surfing New Zealand Programme: Surfers Rescue 24/7 Description: New programme to encourage and develop water rescue techniques. Funding Approved: $12,500
    Council / Organisation: Tasman District Council Programme: Summer Student 2024/2025 Description: New programme to employ student to support safer boating messaging across the Tasman region. Funding Approved: $14,790
    Council / Organisation: Tasman District Council Programme: Iwi Launch Warden Description: New programme to appoint an Iwi Launch Warden in Golden Bay to increase safety awareness in remote area of the region. Funding Approved: $6,000
    Council / Organisation: Waikato Regional Council Programme: Operation Neptune Description: Continuation of on-water education engagement and enforcement while delivering safety messages Funding Approved: $40,000
    Council / Organisation: Waka Ama NZ Programme: Building a culture of water safety for Waka Ama NZ Description: Continuation of building a culture of water safety for Waka Ama NZ by CBE Waka Ama Safety Courses and Social Media campaigns. Funding Approved: $23,500
    Council / Organisation: Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland) Programme: WaiWise for Safer Boating for Pacific Peoples, and Asian Communities Description: Continuation of programme to provide specific drowning prevention education for the three at-risk communities in Tāmaki Makaurau. Funding Approved: $19,482
    Council / Organisation: Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland) Programme: Expansion of Lifejacket Hubs Description: Continuation to provide hubs where people can access lifejackets and support the establishment of further hubs. Funding Approved: $40,000
    Council / Organisation: Yachting New Zealand Programme: Yachting New Zealand Coastal Personal Safety Course Description: A new programme to deliver a coastal yacht personal safety course. Funding Approved: $5,500
    Total Funding Approved: $743,026

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Foreign Minister Lin hosts welcome dinner for Tuvalu Prime Minister Teo and his wife

    Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Foreign Minister Lin hosts welcome dinner for Tuvalu Prime Minister Teo and his wife

    • Date：2024-10-10
    • Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

    October 10, 2024
    No. 345

    Prime Minister of Tuvalu Feleti Penitala Teo and Madame Tausaga Teo led a delegation to Taiwan to attend National Day celebrations. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a dinner for the delegation on October 9, extending a heartfelt welcome on behalf of the government.

    Minister Lin welcomed Prime Minister Teo on his second visit to Taiwan since assuming office in February. He said that Prime Minister Teo’s presence, this time as a guest of honor at National Day celebrations, underscored the immense importance he placed on the diplomatic partnership between Taiwan and Tuvalu. Minister Lin noted that this year marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations and that Tuvalu was Taiwan’s longest-standing Pacific ally. He said that Taiwan would build on this existing robust foundation to further deepen cooperation with Tuvalu in such important domains as climate change, ICT, medicine and health care, talent cultivation, women’s empowerment, and basic infrastructure.

    Minister Lin expressed special appreciation for Prime Minister Teo’s staunch support for Taiwan’s international participation over the years. He thanked Prime Minister Teo for speaking up for Taiwan at this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), for reiterating that UNGA Resolution 2758 did not preclude Taiwan’s participation in the UN, and for strongly urging the UN to include Taiwan so as to truly “leave no one behind.”

    Prime Minister Teo began his remarks by thanking Taiwan for inviting him to visit and wishing Taiwan a happy National Day and continued prosperity. He stated that in addition to attending National Day celebrations, he would also travel to southern Taiwan to engage in exchanges with fisheries operators so as to enhance bilateral fisheries cooperation. Stressing that Taiwan and Tuvalu had enjoyed an enduring friendship and realized significant achievements in many areas of collaboration, Prime Minister Teo said that the two countries would continue to work together to enhance the well-being of both their peoples. 

    As October 9 also happened to be Prime Minister Teo’s birthday, Minister Lin had prepared a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. In the warm and cordial atmosphere of the gathering, members of the visiting delegation performed traditional Tuvaluan songs in a show of Austronesian culture. Colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sang a selection of Taiwanese songs in return. (E)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Foreign Minister Lin hosts welcome dinner for Tuvalu Prime Minister Teo and his wife

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan 3

    Foreign Minister Lin hosts welcome dinner for Tuvalu Prime Minister Teo and his wife

    Date：2024-10-10
    Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

    October 10, 2024No. 345Prime Minister of Tuvalu Feleti Penitala Teo and Madame Tausaga Teo led a delegation to Taiwan to attend National Day celebrations. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a dinner for the delegation on October 9, extending a heartfelt welcome on behalf of the government.Minister Lin welcomed Prime Minister Teo on his second visit to Taiwan since assuming office in February. He said that Prime Minister Teo’s presence, this time as a guest of honor at National Day celebrations, underscored the immense importance he placed on the diplomatic partnership between Taiwan and Tuvalu. Minister Lin noted that this year marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations and that Tuvalu was Taiwan’s longest-standing Pacific ally. He said that Taiwan would build on this existing robust foundation to further deepen cooperation with Tuvalu in such important domains as climate change, ICT, medicine and health care, talent cultivation, women’s empowerment, and basic infrastructure.Minister Lin expressed special appreciation for Prime Minister Teo’s staunch support for Taiwan’s international participation over the years. He thanked Prime Minister Teo for speaking up for Taiwan at this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), for reiterating that UNGA Resolution 2758 did not preclude Taiwan’s participation in the UN, and for strongly urging the UN to include Taiwan so as to truly “leave no one behind.”Prime Minister Teo began his remarks by thanking Taiwan for inviting him to visit and wishing Taiwan a happy National Day and continued prosperity. He stated that in addition to attending National Day celebrations, he would also travel to southern Taiwan to engage in exchanges with fisheries operators so as to enhance bilateral fisheries cooperation. Stressing that Taiwan and Tuvalu had enjoyed an enduring friendship and realized significant achievements in many areas of collaboration, Prime Minister Teo said that the two countries would continue to work together to enhance the well-being of both their peoples. As October 9 also happened to be Prime Minister Teo’s birthday, Minister Lin had prepared a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. In the warm and cordial atmosphere of the gathering, members of the visiting delegation performed traditional Tuvaluan songs in a show of Austronesian culture. Colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sang a selection of Taiwanese songs in return. (E)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Urgent action needed as governments and donors fail children with tuberculosis

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    • A new report released today shows that children are being left behind in the global fight to end tuberculosis.
    • Surveying tuberculosis policies from 14 countries, MSF found many countries are behind on the latest guidelines and policies from the WHO.
    • MSF urges all countries to update their national guidelines.

    Geneva- A new report released today by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), shows that children with tuberculosis continue to be left behind in the global effort to end the disease. The report, TACTIC: Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children, surveyed tuberculosis policy guidelines in 14 countriesAfghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, India, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Uganda.  with a high burden of tuberculosis, revealing that many countries lag behind in aligning their national tuberculosis policies with the latest guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

    We urge all countries to update their national guidelines to be in line with the WHO recommendations for the care of children with tuberculosis, and to allocate the needed resources—along with developing clear plans with timelines to implement the policies and increase access to tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the children with tuberculosis in the country. International donors and technical support agencies must provide sufficient funding to countries to support paediatric tuberculosis policy reforms and implementation.

    “Tuberculosis is curable, also in children. The WHO has updated policies to guide countries in providing the best possible care to children with tuberculosis, one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases,” says Stijn Deborggraeve, diagnostics advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign. “Yet countries are lagging behind in adopting and implementing these solutions for testing, preventing, and treating tuberculosis in children. We urge countries, donors and technical agencies to put an end to this deadly status quo and step up their efforts to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in children. We can no longer afford inaction—every delay means that more children die unnecessarily.”

    Of the 14 policy indicators measured in our report, only one country’s policies are fully aligned with WHO guidance, while seven countries have more than 80% alignment, and four countries still fall below 50% alignment. The largest gaps were found in policies related to diagnosing tuberculosis in children. For example, only 5 out of 14 countries have adapted their guidelines to initiate tuberculosis treatment in children when symptoms strongly indicate the disease, even if bacteriological tests are negative. Additionally, only 4 of these 5 countries have the necessary resources to implement this guidance effectively.

    The WHO estimates that 1.25 million children and young adolescents (0-14 years) fall ill with tuberculosis each year, but that only half of these children are diagnosed and treated. Based on the latest scientific evidence, WHO revised its guidance in 2022 for the management of children and adolescents with TB and made several key recommendations, including the use of treatment decision algorithms that allow many children to be diagnosed based on symptoms alone in absence of lab confirmation, and offering short oral regimens to treat and prevent tuberculosis in children. If adopted and implemented, this would drastically improve the diagnosis and quality of care for children with tuberculosis.

    “Since we started implementing the WHO recommendations for children in Bombali district, we have begun to find and treat many more children with tuberculosis,” said Joseph Sesey, clinical officer with MSF in Makeni, Sierra Leone. “These new recommendations have helped us avoid misdiagnosing children: doctors who were hesitant to start children on tuberculosis treatment without positive tuberculosis test results now feel more confident diagnosing tuberculosis based on clinical symptoms alone by using the WHO recommendations. I have noticed a significant reduction of deaths among children with tuberculosis in many health centres.”

    However, the work does not stop with policy reforms. For example, new, shorter, all-oral regimens are now recommended by the WHO for both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment in children, but their rollout in countries remains slow. Additionally, while new and child-friendly tuberculosis drugs are available for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant tuberculosis, these are not always procured by countries. 

    “It’s unfortunate that child-friendly formulations of tuberculosis drugs are still not available in many countries due to bureaucratic barriers and funding gaps,” says Dr Cathy Hewison, head of MSF’s working group on tuberculosis. “As a result, children with tuberculosis are forced to swallow crushed and bitter medicines without appropriate weight-based doses, putting them at grave risk of side effects and treatment failure. This neglect must end now. We call on governments, donors, and global health organisations to act with urgency, ensuring no child dies or suffers from a preventable, treatable disease like tuberculosis. The tools and treatments we have must reach the children who need them most – now.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Buyers of the Moscow-on-the-Wave fish markets can use the bonus points of the Million Prizes program

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    To the city loyalty program “A Million Prizes” fish markets joined “Moscow is on the wave”. in the Mitino and Kosino-Ukhtomsky districts. Participants of the capital’s electronic projects, such as “City of Ideas”, “Active Citizen”, “Electronic House”, “City of Tasks”, “Our City”, and others can get back 10 percent of the cost of purchases at the market in the form of city (green) points (no more than five thousand points in each of the markets).

    To do this, when paying for a purchase, you need to go to the site from a mobile device ag-together.ru using an account on the mos.ru portal. Then you need to click on the button with the shield image in the upper right corner of the page and show the cashier the participant’s QR code.

    In addition, fish markets are partners of the “

    The Moscow-on-the-Wave fish market opened in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district in November 2023, and in Mitino in September 2024. The area of each market is several thousand square meters. Here you can buy fish and seafood caught in different parts of Russia: in the Kamchatka Territory, Murmansk Oblast, Yakutia, Crimea and other regions. In addition, you can take your children to a master class, watch a performance by musicians or a chef competition on stage, or have lunch in a cafe. Thus, at the fish market in Mitino, among other establishments, there is a signature bistro “Moscow-on-the-Wave”.

    The markets have shopping arcades, storage areas with different temperature conditions, food courts, and master class studios. In addition, there are laboratories that check the quality of all products sold at the market.

    More information about the activity Department of Trade and Services– in the official telegram channel.

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

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

    http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145231073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: On 15.10.2024, the deposit auction of the Moscow Small Business Lending Assistance Fund will take place(2)

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    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.

    https://www.moex.com/n73983

    Category24-7, MIL-AXIS, Moscow, Moskov Stotsk Exchange, Russians Savings, Russian Federation, Russians Language, Russian economy

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    Parameters
    Date of the deposit auction 10/15/2024
    Placement currency RUB
    Maximum amount of funds placed (in placement currency) 45,000,000.00
    Placement period, days 10
    Date of deposit 10/15/2024
    Refund date 10/25/2024
    Minimum placement interest rate, % per annum 19.60
    Conditions of imprisonment, urgent or special Urgent
    Minimum amount of funds placed for one application (in placement currency) 45,000,000.00
    Maximum number of applications from one Participant, pcs. 1
    Auction form, open or closed Open
    Basis of the Treaty General Agreement
     
    Schedule (Moscow time)
    Preliminary applications from 12:30 to 12:40
    Applications in competition mode from 12:40 to 12:45
    Setting a cut-off percentage or declaring the auction invalid until 12:55
       
    Additional terms Placement of funds with the possibility of early withdrawal of the entire deposit amount and payment of interest accrued on the deposit amount at the rate established by the deposit transaction, in the event of non-compliance of the Bank with the requirements established by clause 2.1. of the Regulation “On the procedure for selecting banks for placing funds of the Moscow Small Business Lending Assistance Fund in deposits (deposits) under the GDS” (as amended on the date of the deposit transaction), early withdrawal at the “on demand” rate, payment of interest at the end of the term, without replenishment

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Incidents on Ryanair planes – concerns for passenger safety – E-001973/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001973/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Flavio Tosi (PPE), Salvatore De Meo (PPE), Giusi Princi (PPE), Massimiliano Salini (PPE), Caterina Chinnici (PPE), Letizia Moratti (PPE), Marco Falcone (PPE)

    Over the past week, Ryanair aircraft have been at the centre of two incidents: one in Brindisi and the other in Bergamo (Italy). In Brindisi, 184 passengers plus the cabin crew were evacuated and the airport was closed after an engine caught fire. Bergamo airport was shut for a few hours too, following a tyre blowout on a plane coming into land.

    Fortunately no one was injured in either case, but the two are only the latest in a series of episodes and technical issues to hit the Irish airline over the past year. Such incidents not only carry implications for the safety of passengers, crew and security staff, but instantly cause significant disruption to air traffic and operations at the airports involved.

    Given the alarming frequency of such failures, can the Commission say:

    • 1.What action will the European Union Aviation Safety Agency take to ensure that the maintenance plans for Ryanair’s aircraft are in order?
    • 2.For the sake of passenger safety, how will it make sure that the only aircraft used is that which is authorised and fully fit to fly?

    Submitted: 7.10.2024

    Last updated: 15 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Confirmation hearings of the Commissioners-designate: Costas Kadis – Fisheries and Oceans – 15-10-2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Costas (Costantinos) Kadis is a scientist with a solid academic profile who has held ministerial portfolios in health, education and agriculture in various Cypriot governments. Kadis is professor of biodiversity conservation at Frederick University, where he also heads the Nature Conservation Unit and has been appointed as deputy president of the University Council. Between 2014 and 2023, Kadis served in two successive Cypriot governments without belonging to a political party. He was minister for education and culture (2014-2018), and minister for agriculture, rural development and environment (2018-2023). In the latter position, he was also responsible for fisheries and marine research. Born in Nicosia in 1967, Kadis graduated and obtained a PhD in biology from the University of Athens. After several research-related positions in Greece and Cyprus, he joined Frederick University in Cyprus in 2005, where he was appointed associate professor, founded the Nature Conservation Unit, and was Dean of the School of Education. He held these positions until 2014, apart from the period from July 2007 to February 2008 when he served as minister of health (as a member of the centre-right Democratic Party (DIKO). Kadis also chaired the Greek Cypriot Environment Committee from 2008 to 2014 as part of the government’s (unsuccessful) efforts to reunify Cyprus. This work did lead to important environmental cooperation agreements with the Turkish Cypriot community. This is one of a set of briefings designed to give an overview of issues of interest relating to the portfolios of the Commissioners designate. All these briefings can be found at: https://epthinktank.eu/commissioner_hearings_2024.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Christopher J Waller: Thoughts on the economy and policy rules at the Federal Open Market Committee

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Thank you, Athanasios, and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this very worthy celebration.1 In support of the theme of this conference, I do have some thoughts on the Shadow Open Market Committee’s contributions to the policy debate, in particular its advocacy for policy rules. But before I get to that, I am going to exercise the keynote speaker’s freedom to talk about whatever I want. To that end, I want to take a few minutes to offer my views on the economic outlook and its implications for monetary policy. So let me start there, and afterward I will discuss the role that policy rules play in my decision making and in the deliberations of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

    In the three weeks or so since the most recent FOMC meeting, data we have received has been uneven, as it sometimes has been over the past year. I continue to judge that the U.S. economy is on a solid footing, with employment near the FOMC’s maximum employment objective and inflation in the vicinity of our target, even though the latest inflation data was disappointing.

    Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first half of 2024, and I expect it to grow a bit faster in the third quarter. The Blue Chip consensus of private sector forecasters predicts 2.3 percent, while the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model, based on up-to-the moment data, is predicting real growth of 3.2 percent.

    Earlier, there were concerns that GDP in the first half of this year was overstating the strength of the economy, since gross domestic income (GDI) was estimated to have grown a mere 1.3 percent in the first half of this year, suggesting a big downward revision to GDP was coming. But revisions received after our most recent FOMC meeting showed the opposite-GDI growth was revised up substantially to 3.2 percent. This change in turn led to an upward revision in the personal saving rate of about 2 percentage points in the second quarter, leaving it at 5.2 percent in June. This revision suggests that household resources for future consumption are actually in good shape, although data and anecdotal evidence suggests lower-income groups are struggling. These revisions suggest that the economy is much stronger than previously thought, with little indication of a major slowdown in economic activity.

    That outlook is supported by consumer spending that has been and continues to be strong. Though the growth in personal consumption expenditures (PCE) has moderated since the second half of 2023, it has continued at an average pace of close to 2.5 percent so far this year. Also, my business contacts believe that there is considerable pent-up demand for durable goods, home improvements, and other big-ticket items, demand that built up due to high interest rates for credit cards and home equity loans. Now that rates have started to come down and are expected to come down more, consumers will be eager to make those purchases. For business spending, purchasing managers for manufacturers describe ongoing weakness in that sector, but those for the large majority of businesses outside of manufacturing continue to report a solid expansion of activity.

    Now let’s talk about the labor market. Only a couple months ago, it appeared that the labor market was cooling too quickly. Low numbers for job creation and a jump in the unemployment rate from 4.1 percent in June to 4.3 percent in July raised risks that the labor market was deteriorating. To remind you of how bad the markets viewed the July data, some Fed watchers were calling for an emergency FOMC meeting to discuss a rate cut. While the unemployment rate ticked down in August, job growth was once again well below expectations. Many were arguing that the labor market was on the verge of a serious deterioration and that the Fed was behind the curve even after a 50 basis point cut in the policy rate at the September FOMC meeting.

    Then we got the September employment report. Job creation in September was unexpectedly strong at 254,000 and the unemployment rate fell back down to 4.1 percent, which is where it was in June. The report also showed big upward revisions to payroll gains for the previous two months. Together, the message was loud and clear: While job creation has moderated and the unemployment rate has risen over the past year, the labor market remains quite healthy.

    Along with other new data on the labor market, the evidence is that labor supply and demand have come into balance. The number of job vacancies, a sign of strength in the labor market, has fallen gradually since the beginning of the year. The ratio of vacancies to unemployed is at 1.2, about the level in 2019, which was a pretty strong labor market. To put this number into perspective, recent research has shown that this ratio has been above 1 only three times since 1960.2 The quits rate, another sign of labor market strength, has fallen lower than it was in 2019, a decrease which partly reflects that the hiring rate has fallen as labor supply and demand have come into better balance.

    In sum, based on payrolls, the unemployment rate and job revisions, there has been a very gradual moderation in labor demand relative to supply, but not a deterioration. The stability of the labor market, as reflected in these two measures as well as the other metrics I mentioned, bolsters my confidence that we can achieve further progress toward the FOMC’s inflation goal while supporting a healthy labor market that adds jobs and boosts wages and living standards for workers.

    I will be looking for more evidence to support this outlook in the weeks and months to come. But, unfortunately, it won’t be easy to interpret the October jobs report to be released just before the next FOMC meeting. This report will most likely show a significant but temporary loss of jobs from the two recent hurricanes and the strike at Boeing. I expect these factors may reduce employment growth by more than 100,000 this month, and there may be a small effect on the unemployment rate, but I’m not sure it will be that visible. Since the jobs report will come during the usual blackout period for policymakers commenting on the economy, you won’t have any of us trying to put this low reading into perspective, though I hope others will.

    Looking ahead, I expect payroll gains to moderate from their current pace but continue at a solid rate. The unemployment rate may drift a bit higher but is likely to remain quite low in historical terms. While I believe the labor market is on a solid footing, I will continue to watch the full range of data for signs of weakness.

    Meanwhile, inflation, after showing considerable progress for several months toward the FOMC’s 2 percent target, likely moved up in September. The consumer price index grew 0.2 percent over the past month, 2.1 percent over the past three months, 1.6 percent over six months and 2.4 percent in the past year. Oil prices fell over most of the summer but then more recently have surged. Excluding energy and also food prices that likewise tend to be volatile, and just as it did in August, core CPI inflation printed at 0.3 percent in September and 3.3 percent over the past year.

    Private-sector forecasts are predicting that PCE inflation, the FOMC’s preferred measure, will also move up in September. Core PCE prices are expected to have risen around 0.25 percent last month. While not a welcome development, if the monthly core PCE inflation number comes in around this level, over the last 5 months it is still running very close to 2 percent on an annualized basis. We have made a lot of progress on inflation over the course of the last year and half, but that progress has clearly been uneven-at times it feels like being on a rollercoaster. Whether or not this month’s inflation reading is just noise or if it signals ongoing increases, is yet to be seen. I will be watching the data carefully to see how persistent this recent uptick is.

    The FOMC’s inflation goal is an average of 2 percent over the longer run and there are some good reasons to think that price increases will be modest going forward. I am hearing reports from firms that their pricing power seems to have waned as consumers have become more sensitive to price changes. There has also been a steady slowing in the growth of labor compensation. It is true that average hourly earnings growth in September ticked up to 4 percent over the past year. And though it might seem like wage increases of 4 percent a year would put upward pressure on inflation that is near 2 percent, that might not be true if one considers productivity, which has grown at an average annual rate of 2.9 percent for the past five quarters. Some of this strength was making up for productivity that shrank due to the pandemic, but the longer it continues-up 2.5 percent for the second quarter-the better productivity supports wage growth of 4 percent, or even higher, without driving up inflation. All that said, I will be watching all the data related to inflation closely.

    With the labor market in rough balance, employment near its maximum level, and inflation generally running close to our target over the past several months, I want to do what I can as a policymaker to keep the economy on this path. For me, the central question is how much and how fast to reduce the target for the federal funds rate, which I believe is currently set at a restrictive level. To help answer questions like this, I often look at various monetary policy rules to assess the appropriate setting of policy. Policy rules have long been of serious interest to the Shadow Open Market Committee. So before I turn to my views on the future path of policy, I thought I would talk about monetary policy rules versus discretion and begin with some background about the use of rules at the FOMC.

    For a brief overview of the history of the advent of rules at the Board, I have been directed to the second chapter of The Taylor Rule and the Transformation of Monetary Policy written by George Kahn, and I have also consulted the memories of longtime members of the Board staff.3 Rules came along in the 1990s as the Fed was moving away from monetary targeting, focusing more on interest-rate policy, and taking its first major steps toward increased transparency. There was immediate interest in Taylor-type rules among Fed staff, and even some contributions of research.4 There was a presentation to the FOMC on rules in 1995, and that was the same year that John Taylor’s Bay Area colleague, Janet Yellen, was apparently the first policymaker to mention the Taylor rule at an FOMC meeting. While FOMC decisions mimicked a Taylor rule much of the time under Chairman Alan Greenspan, he was famously an advocate of “constructive ambiguity” in communication, and he and other central bankers since have resisted the suggestion that decisions could be handed over to strict rules. Today, of course, a number of rules-based analyses are included in the material submitted to policymakers ahead of every FOMC meeting, and we publish the policy prescriptions of different rules as part of the Board’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report. Rules have become part of the furniture in modern policymaking.

    As everyone here knows, but for the benefit of other listeners, Taylor rules relate the level of the policy interest rate to a limited number of other economic variables, most often including the deviation of inflation from a target value and a measure of resource use in the economy relative to some long-run trend.5 There are numerous forms of the Taylor rule, but they generally fall into two categories.

    The first of these, an inertial rule, has the property that the policy rate changes only slowly over time. I tend to think of it as an approach that captures the reaction function of a policymaker in a stable economy where the forces that would tend to change the economy and policy build over time. When change does occur, a gradual response may give policymakers time to assess the true state of the economy and the possible effects of their decision. One example I can use is the steadfastness of policymakers in the latter part of 2023, when inflation fell more rapidly than was widely expected, and again in early 2024, when it briefly escalated. The FOMC did not change course either time, an approach validated by inertial rules.

    A non-inertial rule, on the other hand, allows and in fact calls for relatively quick adjustments to policy. The guidance from these rules is more useful when there is a turning point in the economy, and policymakers need to stay ahead of events. One saw these non-inertial rules prescribe a sharper rise in the policy rate above the effective lower bound starting in 2021 as inflation began climbing above the FOMC’s 2 percent target. Non-inertial rules are also more useful in the face of major shocks to the economy such as the 2008 financial crisis and the start of the pandemic.

    The great promise of rules is that they provide a simple and reliable guide to policy, but what should one do when different rules recommend different policy actions given the same economic conditions? Right now, inertial rules tell us to move slowly in reducing policy rates toward a neutral stance that neither restricts nor stimulates the economy. On the other hand, non-inertial rules tell us to cut the policy rate more aggressively, subject to the caveat that one is certain of the values of all the ‘star’ variables: U*, Y* and r*. I think the answer is that while rules are valuable in helping analyze policy options, they have limitations. Among these are the limits of the data considered, which is typically narrower than the range of data that policymakers use to make decisions, and also the fact that simple policy rules do not take into account risk management, which is often a critical consideration in policy decisions. So, while policy rules serve as a good check on discretionary policy, there are times when discretion is needed. As a result, I prefer to think of them as “policy rules of thumb”.

    Turning to my view for the path for policy, let me discuss three scenarios that I have had in mind to manage the risks of upcoming decisions in the medium term.

    The first scenario is one where the overall strong economic developments that I have described today continue, with inflation nearing the FOMC’s target and the unemployment rate moving up only slightly. This scenario implies to me that we can proceed with moving policy toward a neutral stance at a deliberate pace. This path would be based on the judgment that the risks to both sides of our dual mandate are balanced. In this circumstance, our job is to keep inflation near 2 percent and not slow the economy unnecessarily.

    Another scenario, less likely in light of recent data, is that inflation falls materially below 2 percent for some time, and/or the labor market significantly deteriorates. The message here is that demand is falling, the FOMC may suddenly be behind the curve, and that message would argue for moving to neutral more quickly by front-loading cuts to the policy rate.

    The third scenario applies if inflation unexpectedly escalates either because of stronger-than-expected consumer demand or wage pressure, or because of some shock to supply that pushes up inflation. As we learned in the recovery from the pandemic recession, when demand was stronger and supply weaker than initially expected, such surprises do occur. In this circumstance, as long as the labor market isn’t deteriorating, we can pause rate cuts until progress resumes and uncertainty diminishes.

    Most recently, we have seen upward revisions to GDI, an increase in job vacancies, high GDP growth forecasts, a strong jobs report and a hotter than expected CPI report. This data is signaling that the economy may not be slowing as much as desired. While we do not want to overreact to this data or look through it, I view the totality of the data as saying monetary policy should proceed with more caution on the pace of rate cuts than was needed at the September meeting. I will be watching to see whether data, due out before our next meeting, on inflation, the labor market and economic activity confirms or undercuts my inclination to be more cautious about loosening monetary policy.

    Whatever happens in the near term, my baseline still calls for reducing the policy rate gradually over the next year. The median rate for FOMC participants at the end of 2025 is 3.4 percent, so most of my colleagues likewise expect to reduce policy over the next year. There is less certainty about the final destination. The median estimated longer-run level of the federal funds rate in the Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) is 2.9 percent, but with quite a wide dispersion, ranging from 2.4 percent to 3.8 percent. While much attention is given to the size of cuts over the next meeting or two, I think the larger message of the SEP is that there is a considerable extent of policy restrictiveness to remove, and if the economy continues in its current sweet spot, this will happen gradually.

    Thank you again, for the opportunity to be part of today’s conference, and for allowing me to share some thoughts, relevant to monetary policy rules and my day job back in Washington. The Shadow Committee has elevated the public debate about monetary policy. May you continue to play that role for many years to come.

    i. Note: On October 14, 2024, a sentence on page 10 was corrected to say “restrictiveness”: “I think the larger message of the SEP is that there is a considerable extent of policy restrictiveness to remove, and if the economy continues in its current sweet spot, this will happen gradually.”

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of Vice-President’s address at Inaugural Session of the International Conference for CA Members at Birla Auditorium, Jaipur

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Very good morning to all of you,

    I have a long association with your fraternity, I am one of you.

    I am absolutely delighted to be amongst you all. I take it as a great privilege and honour to address such a powerful group that is destined to shape the destiny of this nation. 

    Respected dignitaries, esteemed members, and everyone present here. 

    To be at the inaugural session and to connect with you is like generating a connect with the economy of the nation, with the industry of the nation, with trade of the nation, with commerce of the nation, with professionals of the nation, and anyone and everyone who matters. Thank you for this rare opportunity. 

    Chartered accountants are unsung heroes but now their presence is being felt. The past unsung stories are getting louder and louder in high decibels, resonating in our ears for the larger good of the nation. You make stakeholders in our growth trajectory more relevant and accountable. In an era of rapid globalisation, economic interconnectedness is imperative. By virtue of your training, your intellect, and experience, you are a real bridge, you are watchdogs and guardians of financial integrity. 

    When that book was given to me, what I wrote?, I will reveal. Be a beacon of transparency and accountability, and you are one. This transparency is not just a statutory requirement, a ritualistic formality. It is the very foundation of trust in our financial systems by providing sound financial advice and strategic insights, and I am aware, you alone are capable of do it by hand-holding young entrepreneurs. You enable businesses to make informed decisions, sometimes innovative decisions. You generate in them a futuristic outlook, and thus you act as catalysts for growth and innovation, both of which are good pillars of governance. 

    India’s remarkable economic journey has made impact globally. We have exponential economic upsurge, taking the nation to be the fifth-largest global economy, on the way to becoming the third one ahead of Germany and Japan but our target is very different, and the Prime Minister has unfolded his vision. The vision is, we have to be a developed nation, no one knows better than this category of people here what is meant by a developed nation.

    The challenge is daunting but achievable, given our expertise in human resources and we will have to undertake a journey by making our per capita income eight-fold. A challenge we will surely meet.

    क्योंकि पूरे देश में एक बहुत बड़ा हवन हो रहा है। वह हवन है विकसित भारत के लिए। उसका लक्ष्य है 2047 में भारत का विकसित होना। उस हवन में हर किसी की आहुति की आवश्यकता है, मेरे मन में कोई शंका नहीं है यदि पूर्ण आहुति कोई देगा, तो वह आपकी fraternity देगी।

    We have made remarkable progress in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings and this is a testament to the collective efforts of various stakeholders, important among them being chartered accountants fraternity. 

    Dear friends, we are the only country in the world that has a civilisational ethos of 5,000 years. Ethics is in our blood, ethics is our DNA and you know it more than I do that ethics in accounting and auditing are the cornerstone of trust and demand unwavering commitment to ethical practices. There can be no calibration of it, it has to be 100%. It is not optional, it is the only way. 

    In this digital age, the landscape of accounting and auditing is evolving rapidly as was indicated, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, data analytics, and the other technologies which we club as disruptive technologies. You will be happy to note that India is amongst the countries in single digits who are bestowing attention on this critical aspect. 

    Only yesterday, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India cautioned what has been indicated here also. We have to keep artificial intelligence in captivity rather than being its captive. Artificial intelligence and the kind are challenges and opportunities, we have to convert these challenges into opportunities. I have no doubt that the organisation will take all steps in this direction.

    The harmonisation of Indian accounting standards with international financial reporting standards is a significant step, for which I congratulate you. Chartered accountants are just not numbers. I remember a situation when I was a lawyer, they used to say, anecdotally, chartered accountancy मे पास होना मुश्किल है और वकालत में फेल होना मुश्किल है, आजकल हालत बहुत बदल गए हैं और लीगल एजुकेशन भी आपकी तरह बहुत प्रोफेशनल हो गया है मैं मेरे जमाने की बात कर रहा हूं।  Chartered accountants are not just number crunchers or compliance officers. Your job is not mechanical, I would go to the extent of saying that your job is emotive also because we know sometimes industrial houses, and in our country they are normally partnership-driven or family-driven. Someone labelled to me, when I was a member of the International Court of Arbitration at Paris,  It was indicated to me India has unique concept of corporates, and that is family corporates. You have a challenge to keep it in harmony, to see it doesn’t become dysfunctional, it doesn’t get into disruption groove and I am sure you know it more than I do. 

    More often than not it is behind the scenes. It is crucial in building a strong, transparent, and vibrant economy. Now, for us, challenge is very different because we are on the rise as never before, and our rise is unstoppable. Our rise is on an incremental trajectory and when you are in such a flight for the economy, you have to be extra careful that can be done only by your organisation. 

    First, and I would urge, a collective, nationalistic outlook is the very basis of economic prosperity. Which I assume all of you are primarily interested in because it doesn’t require much explanation. We cannot be pyramidical, we have to be plateau, that’s our culture. We take everyone along with us. That is why in G20 we gave the word of motto: One world, one family, one future ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

    Our national discourse needs more conversation about this nationalistic outlook because today, more than ever, we need our citizens to be nationalistic. How can we, in this country, ever imagine that we will have partisan interest, personal interest, fiduciary interest, self-interest, ahead of national interest? That we see quite often. You can take a great lead very successfully in this direction. After braving many challenges, we have come a long way, from a ship-to-mouth country to the world’s fastest-growing large economy in a few generations’ time. With this rise, internal and external challenges grow. 

    I was elected to parliament in 1989, and I know the situation then. Our foreign exchange reserve, with which you all are concerned, was around 1 billion US dollars. सोने की चिड़िया कहलाने वाले देश का सोना स्विट्जरलैंड के दो बैंकों में गिरवी रखना पड़ा। It was shipped by air to sustain our credibility and what a proud moment at the moment! Our foreign exchange reserves are more than 700 billion. That’s a great accomplishment. 

    Therefore, the greatest challenge I must advert to is a challenge that is growing day by day. The challenge has taken menacing proportions, it is alarmingly worrisome, and that is narratives and efforts are afoot to upset our social cohesion. We, therefore, all have to work with passion and in missionary mode to build a cohesive society that thinks in nationalistic terms and is not ridden by factions of caste, creed, colour, culture, conviction, and cuisines.

    We are all absorbing, let me describe the scene. We as a majority are all-embracing, we as a majority are tolerant, we as a majority generate a soothing ecosystem and we have a counterpoint writing on the wall the other kind of majority that is brute, ruthless, reckless in its functioning, believes in trampling all values of the other side. The difference has to be noticed.

    Friends, when you think as a citizen of this great civilisational state Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity and a place known in the world for incredible human genius, we will have to leave behind the narrow parochial divisions. A citizen with a nationalistic outlook will have no difficulty in embracing diversity, he or she celebrates this country’s glorious past regardless of his or her faith, because that is our shared cultural heritage. हमारे shared cultural heritage पर कुठाराघात हो रहा है, उसको हमारी कमजोरी बताने का प्रयास हो रहा है उसके तहत देश को ध्वस्त करने की योजना बनी हुई है ऐसी ताकतों पर वैचारिक और मानसिक प्रतिघात होना चाहिए।

    The people before me are nerve centres and epicentres of this wholesome narrative. Such unity and cohesion is the very basis of economic prosperity. We are having exponential growth, our developmental journey in infrastructure has the world stunned. Global institutions, the IMF, the World Bank, are accolading India for a variety of reasons, digitisation in particular but this economic rise becomes fragile when social unity is disturbed when the fervour of nationalism dies when anti-national forces within and without generate in this country divisiveness. We have to be mindful of that. 

    Our society is known through centuries to hand-hold the challenged, the marginalised, the vulnerable, the weaker. It is soothing to note that a number of government schemes have generated an ecosystem where everyone now can exploit his or her potential, realise dreams, and fructify aspirations but your role is also enormous in that, and I am sure, like all you have done so far, this too will be addressed. 

    No one has the right to take the law into one’s hands. That is universal, there was a time when some people thought they were above the law, they were privileged. कानून उनका कुछ नहीं बिगाड़ सकता, कानून के हाथ उन तक नहीं पहुंच सकते उन हालात में बड़ा बदलाव आ गया है। जब बदलाव आ गया है तो भी आज के दिन हम देख रहे हैं जिम्मेदार लोग संवैधानिक पदों पर बैठे लोग कानून की परवाह नहीं करते, देश की परवाह नहीं करते कुछ भी बोल देते हैं और वह ऐसे ही नहीं बोलते This is emerging as a sinister design, well-structured by forces that are inimical to India. 

    तो आप जो इतना कर रहे हो और जिसके नतीजे आज के दिन हर भारतीय सुखद तरीके से महसूस कर रहा है उसको चकनाचूर करने की जो योजना कुछ लोग बना रहे हैं हमारी प्रगति उनको पच नहीं रही है। We can’t be crazy for political power, political power has to emanate from the people. It has to emanate from the people through a democratic process that is sanctified. 

    I will make an appeal to you in particular because that is the brief you alone can handle and that is economic nationalism. Imagine the fate of this country, billions of foreign exchange is being drained out every year by engaging in avoidable imports – shirts, trousers, shoes, carpets, furniture, kites, diya, toys, and what not. We are inflicting three things.

    We are depriving our people of work, we are draining our foreign exchange, we are blunting entrepreneurship. Now imports of avoidable items are being done by whom? Those who place their fiscal gain ahead of national interest. 

    I appeal to you, no fiscal gain, irrespective of quantum, can be justification for avoidable imports. Your fraternity can play a big role, it will be a great service to the nation. 

    Second, no one knows better than you do when raw material is exported outside the country. Iron ore, for instance, go to Paradip Port. We declare to the world we are not capable of adding value to it. Why should our raw material go beyond the shores of this country without value addition? If we add value, we will certainly be generating employment, entrepreneurship will blossom.  You have a great role to play, no one can play that role more than you can because you to hand-hold the entrepreneur that what you are making in your cosy rooms, you will make much more. Get sublime satisfaction, and you will be contributing to national welfare. I am sure this must be handled by you by brainstorming. 

    Friends, optimum utilisation of natural resources, you know it, you have to curb it. Our economic prowess, our financial strength cannot be a determining factor as to how he or she will utilise natural resources. They are trustees. Let us focus on that. 

    Friends, I am happy that this outfit is at par with global standards and in some areas, in the lead, speaking of change, we must embrace the growing demand for ESG audits as a significant opportunity for our profession with stakeholders increasingly prioritising environmental sustainability, auditors could access a company’s ESG performance and ensure compliance with regulations. 

    I have no doubt, and everyone will agree and young girls, short-sighted accountants will agree immediately.अपने पास रहने के लिए धरती के अलावा और कोई प्लेनेट नहीं है। We have to pass it on to future generations, at least in some repairing mode, we have done enough damage to it.

    I am before audience that has a huge potential to generate a sustain economy, give it cutting edge through innovation and research. Global economies have prospered because they are engaged in research and development. 

    CSR has to be in a motivational groove. You have to nurture research that will give the entire nation a greater respect in the world. When in research and innovation we are ahead of others, that gives cutting edge to our soft diplomacy also. I have said all this because the organisers have very wisely, thoughtfully, given a theme for this conference.

    ‘Synthesizing The Profession’ that is need. We have to be in sync, we have to be in synergy, we have to be in synthesis. We have to work in tandem and togetherness. We all are stakeholders because we swim or sink together that feeling has to come. 

    Chartered accountants, I have no doubt, are the nerve centre and epicentre of big change. You can bring the change which you believe. I have no doubt, no legal transgressions can take place. There can be no dilution of transparency and accountability unless the chartered accountant looks the other way. You have seen global giants in chartered accountancy collapsing for ingratiating with the client management. Management and stakeholders, shareholders, the difference has to be understood. The trust of the stakeholders, the shareholders, is in your hands. It is your mandate, your ordainment, your obligation to see that the management is kept close to ethics, optimal utilisation, and giving the best to the shareholders. 

    Your role in combating corruption, uncovering malfunctions, and detecting corporate frauds is much beyond any investigating agency. They have to learn it, you know it so seamlessly that you are like a duck taking to water.  Investigating agencies have to learn, they learn through you that is an area we must focus on. 

    Tax evasion and financial frauds, they may help some, these days they don’t help anyone. The long arm of the law is working in an overzealous manner to serve the country, to see that such kinds of people who seek to monetise fraud, corruption, scams for fiscal gain, are learning their lesson the hard way. You are custodians and watchdogs, and therefore you cannot even for a moment take reprieve from this duty. This is not a duty emanating from your statute, its duty emanating from you being the citizen of this country, and therefore, please engage in this area. 

    In a country like ours, ethics is non-negotiable. घर के अंदर भी देखिए, बड़े बुजुर्ग पहले कोई गलत काम नहीं होने देते थे, अचानक घर के अंदर ज्यादा संपन्नता आ गई। पूछते थे कैसे आ गई? अब उन बड़े बुजुर्गों का काम तो आप लोग करते हैं I am sure you will do it. 

    Friends, I will be availing myself of this opportunity because I take you to be beyond chartered accountants. I take you as very responsible citizens of this great nation. India, Bharat, is a stabilising global force. This force has to emerge, this century has to belong to Bharat, and that will be good for humanity, that will contribute to peace and harmony on the planet. Therefore, it will be a national disservice of extremity if we turn Nielsen’s eye to the dangers of demographic upheavals that are taking place in this country. Organic, natural demographic change is never upsetting but a demographic change brought about in a strategic manner to achieve an object offers a scene that is frightening. 

    Analysing this menacing development over the last few decades will turn out to be an eye-opener. Take any state and you will find demographic change has a pattern. That pattern offers a challenge to our values, to our civilisational ethos, to our democracy. If this challenge, which is alarmingly worrisome, is not addressed in a systemic manner, it will graduate to an existential challenge. It has happened in the world. I need not name countries that have lost their identity 100% because of this demographic disorder, demographic earthquake. Demographic disorder is no less severe in consequences than a nuclear bomb. Mind you, young boys and girls in particular who are chartered accountants, mine is a moderate statement. You look at the global landscape and you will find the devastating consequences in the shape of loss of human rights, human values, democracy being the last option. 

    In some countries, even the developed world is feeling its heat but in our country, when we seek to address this draconian problem, there are voices that talk on a different level. Every one of us and each one of us has to be alive 24×7 to ensure this does not happen anymore. There is a proverb that says, if you are going in the wrong lane, you are not on the right path. The first thing is you must immediately stop and then contemplate taking a U-turn. The more you delay in taking a U-turn, you are creating your problems, not arithmetically but geometrically. 

    Look at our culture, our inclusivity and unity in diversity are facets of affirmative, positive social order, very soothing. We are for all with open arms and what is happening? This is being shaken and severely compromised by these demographic dislocations, evil design divisiveness on the plank of caste and the like also. 

    Let me slightly elaborate, demographic dislocation is turning out to be a fortress of political impregnability in democracy when it comes to elections in some areas. We have seen this change in the country so much is the demographic change that the area becomes a political fortress. Democracy has no meaning, elections have no meaning at all. Who will be elected turns out to be a foregone conclusion and this area in our country, unfortunately friends, is increasing. We must be alive to this danger. We owe it to our future generations that this civilisation that has ethos of 5000 years, its essence, its sublimity, its spirituality, its religiosity cannot be allowed to be destroyed before our eyes. Therefore, please think about it.

    I would say this is a monster, this monster is unregulated, this monster is being propagated by people who we take as wise people. Some in politics have no difficulty in sacrificing national interest for next day’s newspaper headline or getting some minor petty partisan interest served. 

    Friends, I have no doubt that you all will share my sentiment that all these misadventures to change the landscape of this land have to be neutralised by exemplification to preserve our roots and basics. We see all around there are some champions only of grammar of anarchy. They do it as a design, as a strategy. They orchestrate a narrative. Wings are given to the narrative. It is unregulated. 

    I will appeal to you, time for all of us to be aware of it. India’s 5 trillion economy, we are close to it. There will be more in the line that’s what we are going to do.

    I thought, If I don’t share my mind with people who have the capacity to change and the only constant in life is change, we must not be allowed by involuntary change, we must be the architect of change, we must script the change. 

    Let us have the change which we believe. Let us aspire for a change that fits in our civilisational ethos. I am grateful for your time. 

    Thank you so much. 

    ****

    JK/RC/SM

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alex Salmond: Scotland’s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Murray Leith, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Migration, Diaspora, Citizenship and Identity, University of the West of Scotland

    Alex Salmond, possibly one of the most famous Scottish politicians of recent decades, and certainly the best-known face of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has died at the age of 69.

    The former first minister of Scotland, a long-standing member of the Westminster parliament and a member of the Scottish parliament, he led the SNP from a small, fringe party within Westminster to become the ruling party of the Scottish government. He was the first Scottish nationalist first minister of Scotland, a post he would hold from 2007 to 2014.

    Salmond was born, raised and educated in Scotland. It was while he was a student at St Andrews University that he joined the university branch of the Federation of Student Nationalists in December 1973. As one of only two fully paid-up members of the SNP at the university, he became the branch president.

    After graduation, and a couple of years as a civil servant, Salmond moved to the Royal Bank of Scotland and became an economics expert, with a focus on oil. Yet, throughout this career he remained an active and committed member of the SNP.

    Leftwing in his views, he was part of the 79 Group, a small faction of the SNP that was very critical of the then leadership, and which advocated a more leftwing stance for the party as a whole. He, along with others, was briefly expelled from the SNP in 1982, but was allowed back in a month later.

    By 1985, Salmon was a senior figure in the SNP. His political career truly began in 1987, when he defeated the incumbent Conservative in Banff and Buchan in 1987 to become the consituency’s Westminster MP. He would win re-election four times, and then be elected to Holyrood, all from the north-east of Scotland, for the next three decades.

    SNP leadership and independence referendum

    Salmond first became leader of the SNP in 1990, and he showed his significant skills as a political strategist on the UK-wide stage. From here, he would become a very visible and recognisable face for the SNP, and for Scotland.

    It would be the advent of devolution in 1997, and the creation of the Scottish parliament in 1999 that would change the face of Scottish politics and allow Salmond to reach new heights. But there were many bumps along the way. Just a year into the life of the brand new parliament, Salmond suddenly stood down as SNP leader. There were rumours of fallouts with other leading figures.

    Salmond would, however, return as leader in 2004, replacing John Swinney (currently the first minister) after a poor showing for the SNP in Scottish parliament elections. As he was an MP and not an MSP at the time, the party at Holyrood was led by Nicola Sturgeon, at the time a longtime ally.

    Not only did he return as an MSP, but the SNP became the largest party in the Scottish parliament by one seat in 2007. It formed a minority government with Salmond as first minister and Sturgeon as his deputy.

    Another milestone was reached in 2011, when Salmond would lead the SNP in winning a majority within the Scottish parliament, a task everyone thought impossible given the voting system was, arguably, specifically designed to avoid such outcomes. This win led Salmond to begin negotiations with the UK government of David Cameron to hold a referendum on Scottish independence.

    In perhaps one of Salmond’s most effective moments, he came away with an agreement that allowed him many of his specific objectives – a single question on the ballot and a long lead in, of two years, before the referendum itself. Only ten years after he had returned as leader, he led the SNP to a referendum outcome where 45% of voters said yes to independence, a much larger figure than many thought possible.

    However, this was still a loss, and Salmond resigned as party leader the next day. He then returned to Westminster in 2015 but lost his seat in 2017.

    Further problems arose for Salmond in 2018, when allegations of sexual assault were made, and he resigned from the SNP after being a member for 45 years. Despite being cleared at a trial in 2020 of 14 charges, his relationship with the SNP, and his personal relationships with Sturgeon and other leading SNP figures, were badly damaged.

    He directly blamed Sturgeon and her husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, for the way in which he was treated. He took the Scottish government to court over the handling of the accusations and won a substantial payout of half a million pounds.

    Establishing a new party

    Whether it was because of his treatment by the SNP, his disquiet at what he saw as the wrong priorities, or the inability for him to find a role after leaving as first minister, Salmond decided to establish a new political party, Alba, in 2021, only three years after leaving the SNP.

    After being on the national, and international, stage for several decades, Salmond remained committed to the political fight for Scottish independence. There were several defections from the SNP – two MPs, one MSP, and a few local councillors – but the party has never won an elected seat at any level.

    Salmond also presented a television show on Russian state broadcaster RT, a decision unpopular with many in the SNP. He also wrote as a tipster on horse racing for newspapers for many years.

    There can be little doubt that Salmond’s professional and personal lives were characterised by ups and downs. Yet the fact remains that he led the SNP to many victories, and saw them challenge the status quo and the British state in a manner unthinkable when he first became an SNP MP.

    Those present during the last few days of the 2014 referendum will remember the distinct feeling that maybe, just maybe, the SNP could pull off a win, and an independent Scotland – a dream he shared with millions of others – could be a possibility.

    Salmond reshaped the SNP, he reshaped the political landscape of Scotland, and his legacy cannot be overstated.

    Murray Leith has previously received funding from the European Union, the Scottish Government, and the UK Government. He is a member of the Electoral Reform Society.

    – ref. Alex Salmond: Scotland’s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence – https://theconversation.com/alex-salmond-scotlands-first-nationalist-leader-and-a-tireless-campaigner-for-independence-241222

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Govt changes threaten depleted Hauraki Gulf

    Source: New Zealand Labour Party

    The National Government has sneakily reneged on protecting the Hauraki Gulf, reducing the protected area of the marine park and inviting commercial fishing in the depleted seascape.

    “Once again we see the National Government putting commercial interests and profit over scientific evidence and the priorities of our communities. There will be no future for the fishing and tourism industries in these areas if we don’t take action to protect them now,” Labour conservation spokesperson Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

    “Tama Potaka’s announcement undermines a decade of work by mana whenua, local and central governments, the industry, and local community groups to protect the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana for future generations.

    “Labour introduced the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill because the Hauraki Gulf was facing a bleak future if action wasn’t taken to protect it.

    “New Zealanders know that the Hauraki Gulf has been overfished for decades and that both sedimentation and pollution has led to a significant decline in marine life and seabird populations. Species are almost functionally extinct in the areas permitted to be fished now.

    “Years of negotiation with the community and stakeholders led to the Bill Labour introduced last year. National’s changes are a slap in the face to everyone involved in the negotiation process. 

    “Our Bill extended the Gulf’s marine reserves and created marine protection areas to preserve fragile habitats and parts of the sea floor from damaging activities, while allowing for customary practices of tangata whenua.

    “It looks like the Government has done this to bend to Minister of Fishing Shane Jones’ backroom deals.

    “This is a government set on attacking our natural environment from every angle, by allowing mining projects that risk native species, scrapping work to meet our climate targets, and repealing the ban on oil and gas exploration. Just like with the Fast Track legislation, National is making it harder for locals, iwi and hapu to have a say on destructive projects that will affect them,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

    Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Govt’s shameful backtrack on marine conservation

    Source: Green Party

    The Green Party has condemned the Government’s late change to allow commercial fishing in protected areas in the Hauraki Gulf.

    “This Government has bent over backwards to give fishing lobbyists exactly what they asked for, in an area of precious biodiversity facing ecological collapse,” says the Green Party Spokesperson for the Environment, Lan Pham. 

    “Healthy marine environments are the lifeblood of our planet. We can have healthy and thriving fisheries and marine life – now and in the future – if we give fish stocks a chance to recover. 

    “The Auckland and wider Hauraki Gulf community alongside iwi and hapū have worked hard for many years to develop a framework for protecting the health of the Gulf, under the guidance of the Hauraki Gulf Forum, but this coalition comes along and rides roughshod over that mahi at the whim of commercial fishing.

    “To exempt commercial fishing from the provisions in the Hauraki Gulf Protection Bill means the Government is prepared to allow stocks of various fish and marine species to tip over the edge into extinction.

    “The Minister’s spin about ‘significant protection’ should fool nobody. The Government is backtracking on marine conservation goals long established through community consensus, placing the ecological health of Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana at grave risk.

    “This is how the Luxon Government approaches lawmaking – erode the agency of community-driven consensus, particularly where it relates to the environment – in order to line the pockets of their industry mates.

    “The Bill had been supported unanimously by coalition parties at the Environment Select Committee, with careful consideration of different uses of the Gulf. So to come in at the last minute and exempt commercial fishing in this backhanded manner is another undemocratic trait of this Government.

    “Be it tobacco, fossil fuels, seabed mining or fisheries, this Government has made it crystal clear that the rules which apply to everyone else in our democratic and legislative processes don’t apply to industry and companies who have the ear of ministers. 

    “New Zealanders deserve a government that acts in the interests of our whole community, not the lobbyists with the deepest pockets,” says Lan Pham.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DLNR News Release – NEW VIDEOS EXPLORE CULTURAL PRACTICE WITH NATURAL RESOURCES

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    DLNR News Release – NEW VIDEOS EXPLORE CULTURAL PRACTICE WITH NATURAL RESOURCES

    Posted on Oct 11, 2024 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

    DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR

    DAWN CHANG
    CHAIRPERSON

    NEWS RELEASE 

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
     October 11, 2024 

    NEW VIDEOS EXPLORE CULTURAL PRACTICE WITH NATURAL RESOURCES

    DLNR’s ʻIke Kaiāulu series interviews local experts to share their knowledge

    (HONOLULU) – Our natural resources in Hawaiʻi are inextricably connected to the communities that rely upon and care for those resources. The “ʻIke Kaiāulu,” or “Community Knowledge,” video series, produced by education teams within the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), seeks to tap into an understanding of this rich history of caring for ‘āina and kai.

    The series premiered in 2023 with four videos sharing community knowledge related to limu, wood carving, lāʻau lapaʻau (medicinal plant use), and caring for special places like Kaʻena Point.

    Four new videos were recently added to the series, featuring experts with knowledge to share across a variety of practices: 

    • Kumu Hulu Mele Kahalepuna Chun explores her family’s history with Hawaiian featherwork and its relationship to the health of forest birds in Hawaiʻi
    • Paepae o Heʻeia Executive Director Hiʻilei Kawelo shares her experiences with loko iʻa (fishponds) and their connection to mauka and makai ecosystem health
    • ʻŌpelu fisherman Chuck Kealoha Leslie discusses his knowledge of net making and his hopes for the future of fishing in Hawaiʻi
    • Dr. Kawika Winter, Director of the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve, discusses biocultural restoration and the importance of centering indigenous ways of thinking in ecosystem management.

    While sharing knowledge from different fields, the interviewees expressed common themes. Each of the four experts talked about their knowledge coming from parents, grandparents, or other kūpuna and the importance of passing on that knowledge to younger generations.

    Mele Kahalepuna Chun said that passing along the knowledge provided by her tūtū and her mother was not a job, but a kuleana. “What I want to say to our keiki is to make sure it lives. Just holomua: keep it going.” 

    Another common theme was the endurance of cultural practices in communities. “The relationships we have within the ahupuaʻa, that’s what makes the magic happen,” said Hiʻilei Kawelo. On the topic of featherwork, Kahalepuna Chun added that her tūtū was often asked, “‘Isn’t this a dying art?’ She’d say no, not as long as I can help it.”

    Interviewees also shared hope for the future of their particular areas of expertise. Chuck Kealoha Leslie shared that he wanted keiki to know how we did things in the old ways, and then they can make it their own. He added, “If they want to do fishing, make fishing their life and make it joyful.”

    Dr. Kawika Winter articulated his views of cultural practice as part of management and life in Hawaiʻi, saying, “We’ve been here a long time, we’re going to continue being here a long time.” On the importance of sharing experience and knowledge, he added, “So many of the elders who came before me have said that Hawaiʻi has the answers that will help heal the world.”

    All videos are available on the DLNR website.

    # # # 

     

    RESOURCES 

    (All images/video courtesy: DLNR) 

    ʻIke Kaiāulu videos: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/education/videos

    Photographs of Community Experts on DOFAW website: https://hidofaw.canto.com/b/LF93O

    Media Contact: 

    Ryan Aguilar

    Communications Specialist

    Hawaiʻi Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

    808-587-0396

    [email protected]

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: News release on new Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle interim rule on movement of host material

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    News release on new Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle interim rule on movement of host material

    Posted on Oct 11, 2024 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

        

         

     

    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

    ʻOIHANA MAHIʻAI

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR

    KIAʻĀINA
                                                                            

    SHARON HURD
    CHAIRPERSON

    HAWAI`I BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

     

     

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

    NR24-29

    October 11, 2024

     

    NEW INTERIM RULE CONTINUES RESTRICTIONS ON THE MOVEMENT OF PALM PLANTS AND ORGANIC MATERIAL THAT MAY CONTAIN COCONUT RHINOCEROS BEETLES

     

    HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) today established a new interim rule to help stop the movement of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) from designated CRB-infested areas to non-infested areas in the state. Today, the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals recommended approval of a new interim rule that restricts the movement of palm plants; decomposing plant material, such as compost, wood or tree chips; mulch; potting soil; and other landscaping products that may harbor CRB, from infested areas to non-infested areas. In addition, the interim rule restricts the movement of palm plants higher than four feet in height, which will enable closer inspection of palm crowns where CRB are most likely to bore into a tree. The interim rule designates the island of O‘ahu as a CRB-infested area and is subsequent to other interim rules that were issued in June 2022 and October 2023.

     

    The interim rule was signed today by HDOA Chairperson Sharon Hurd and is effective immediately. It is valid for one year, while HDOA finalizes a permanent rule which is slated to be considered by the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture later this month.

     

    Any individual, company, or organization that violates the rule will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined not less than $100 and up to $10,000. Penalties for a second offense committed within five years will require the violator to pay for the cost of clean-up and decontamination fees to remove contaminated materials, as well as the cost to fully eradicate any CRB infestations caused by the violation. Repeat violators will be fined not less than $500 and up to $25,000.

    HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch inspectors at all island ports are concentrating efforts on inspections of potential CRB host material transported between islands.

    Residents on all islands are asked to be vigilant when purchasing mulch, compost and soil products, and to inspect bags for evidence of entry holes. An adult beetle is about two inches long, all black and has a single horn on its head. CRB grubs live in decomposing plant and animal waste. Adult CRB prefer to feed on coconut and other larger palms and are a major threat to the health of these plants.

     

    Residents may go to the CRB Response website at:  https://www.crbhawaii.org/ to learn more about how to detect the signs of CRB damage and how to identify CRB life stages. Reports of possible CRB infestation may also be made to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

     

    Surveillance for CRB has been ongoing on all neighbor islands, including pheromone traps at airports, harbors and other strategic locations. The traps are used for early detection of CRB infestations and are being monitored by HDOA, island Invasive Species Committees and the University of Hawai‘i.

     

    The CRB is a large scarab beetle that was first detected on O‘ahu in 2013. The beetle has since been detected in many neighborhoods on O‘ahu, In May 2023, CRB was detected on Kaua‘i and collaborative eradication efforts continue on the island. On Hawai‘i Island, CRB was detected in a palm tree stump Waikoloa in October 2023 and a single CRB was found dead in a trap last month in that same area. CRB grubs were found in Kīhei, Maui, in November 2023, but have not been detected on the island since.

     

    CRB is a serious pest of palm trees, primarily coconut palms, as the adult beetles bore into the crowns of the palms to feed on the trees’ sap. New unopened fronds are damaged in this way and when fully opened, may break and fall unexpectedly. If CRB kill or damage the growing point of the palm, the tree may die. Secondary fungal or bacterial pathogens may also attack the wounds caused by CRB, thereby killing the tree as well. Tree mortality after CRB attack has been reported to be anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent. Dead trees then become a safety hazard as they may fall unexpectedly after the trunk rots, potentially resulting in bodily injury or property damage.

    CRB is a major pest of palms in India, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Nukunono, American and Western Samoa and Guam. It is still not known exactly how the beetles arrived in Hawai‘i.

    ###

    Media Contact:
    Janelle Saneishi, Public Information Officer
    Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture
    Phone: 808-973-9560
    Cell: 808-341-5528
    [email protected]
    http://hdoa.hawaii.gov

    Aloha,

    Janelle Saneishi

    Public Information Officer

    Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture
    ph: (808) 973-9560
    email: [email protected]

    Website: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/

     

     

    Confidentiality Notice:  This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information.  Any review, use, disclosure, or distribution by unintended recipients is prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient(s), please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New Interim Rule Continues Restrictions on the Movement of Palm Plants and Organic Material That May Contain Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    New Interim Rule Continues Restrictions on the Movement of Palm Plants and Organic Material That May Contain Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles

    Posted on Oct 11, 2024 in Main

    October 11, 2024
     NR24-29

    HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) today established a new interim rule to help stop the movement of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) from designated CRB-infested areas to non-infested areas in the state. Today, the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals recommended approval of a new interim rule that restricts the movement of palm plants; decomposing plant material, such as compost, wood or tree chips; mulch; potting soil; and other landscaping products that may harbor CRB, from infested areas to non-infested areas. In addition, the interim rule restricts the movement of palm plants higher than four feet in height, which will enable closer inspection of palm crowns where CRB are most likely to bore into a tree. The interim rule designates the island of O‘ahu as a CRB-infested area and is subsequent to other interim rules that were issued in June 2022 and October 2023.

    The interim rule was signed today by HDOA Chairperson Sharon Hurd and is effective immediately. It is valid for one year, while HDOA finalizes a permanent rule which is slated to be considered by the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture later this month.

    Any individual, company, or organization that violates the rule will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined not less than $100 and up to $10,000. Penalties for a second offense committed within five years will require the violator to pay for the cost of clean-up and decontamination fees to remove contaminated materials, as well as the cost to fully eradicate any CRB infestations caused by the violation. Repeat violators will be fined not less than $500 and up to $25,000.

    HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch inspectors at all island ports are concentrating efforts on inspections of potential CRB host material transported between islands.

    Residents on all islands are asked to be vigilant when purchasing mulch, compost and soil products, and to inspect bags for evidence of entry holes. An adult beetle is about two inches long, all black and has a single horn on its head. CRB grubs live in decomposing plant and animal waste. Adult CRB prefer to feed on coconut and other larger palms and are a major threat to the health of these plants.

    Residents may go to the CRB Response website at:  https://www.crbhawaii.org/ to learn more about how to detect the signs of CRB damage and how to identify CRB life stages. Reports of possible CRB infestation may also be made to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

    Surveillance for CRB has been ongoing on all neighbor islands, including pheromone traps at airports, harbors and other strategic locations. The traps are used for early detection of CRB infestations and are being monitored by HDOA, island Invasive Species Committees and the University of Hawai‘i.

    The CRB is a large scarab beetle that was first detected on O‘ahu in 2013. The beetle has since been detected in many neighborhoods on O‘ahu, In May 2023, CRB was detected on Kaua‘i and collaborative eradication efforts continue on the island. On Hawai‘i Island, CRB was detected in a palm tree stump Waikoloa in October 2023 and a single CRB was found dead in a trap last month in that same area. CRB grubs were found in Kīhei, Maui, in November 2023, but have not been detected on the island since.

    CRB is a serious pest of palm trees, primarily coconut palms, as the adult beetles bore into the crowns of the palms to feed on the trees’ sap. New unopened fronds are damaged in this way and when fully opened, may break and fall unexpectedly. If CRB kill or damage the growing point of the palm, the tree may die. Secondary fungal or bacterial pathogens may also attack the wounds caused by CRB, thereby killing the tree as well. Tree mortality after CRB attack has been reported to be anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent. Dead trees then become a safety hazard as they may fall unexpectedly after the trunk rots, potentially resulting in bodily injury or property damage.

    CRB is a major pest of palms in India, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Nukunono, American and Western Samoa and Guam. It is still not known exactly how the beetles arrived in Hawai‘i.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The California Weekly

    Source: US State of California 2

    Oct 12, 2024

    Welcome to The California Weekly, your Saturday morning recap of top stories and announcements you might have missed.

    News you may have missed

    1. BOOSTING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

    The state is awarding $206 million in NEW funding to expand clean bus and rail transportation in disadvantaged communities, which face disproportionate impacts from pollution – bringing the total funding of these projects to more than $1 billion!

    2. SALMON SWIM FREELY

    For the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries. The final dam was successfully deconstructed earlier this month ahead of schedule and on budget. This project, years in the making, represents a major victory for the Klamath Basin tribes, the States of California and Oregon, and numerous environmental and fishing groups.

    3. READY! SET! COACH!

    Governor Newsom’s Advisory Council and Million Coaches Challenge are joining forces to train 25,000 youth coaches in California by 2025. Coaches will learn a range of youth-centered strategies, including fostering a sense of belonging and coaching with empathy to keep youth engaged in sports and help them develop the skills needed to thrive.

    4. MORE ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROTECT KIDS

    With California’s new hemp regulations now in effect, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control began enforcement efforts this week. The Department began visiting licensed locations across the state to confirm establishments comply with new state regulations and illegal hemp products are off shelves. And on Friday, a court denied the hemp industry’s attempts to temporarily block these regulations.

    Video of the week

    Megan Thee Stallion lends her voice to support California youth, bringing attention to suicide prevention resources available to them.

    Photo of the week

    A meaty haul by California Highway Patrol.

    Here’s what we’re reading

    A Harvard Kennedy School study on California’s $20 minimum wage law found that workers experienced substantial wage increases, no evidence that wage increases had unintended consequences on staffing, scheduling, or wage theft; and no evidence that wage increases were accompanied by a reduction in fringe benefits.

    • CSUs welcomed 65,000 new students as they began their higher education journey (the second consecutive year of record-breaking enrollment).
    • California has the lowest maternal mortality per capita by state at 4.0 per 100,000 – far lower than other large population states like Texas (34.5) and Florida (22.3) – though work continues to improve outcomes for all mothers.
    • The Department of Housing and Community Development announced the opening of 310 new affordable homes: 138 on Treasure Island as part of the Treasure Island Master Plan project; 72 in Fairfield as part of the No Place Like Home program; and 100 in Ventura al Sur for low-income seniors.

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Oct 11, 2024

    News What you need to know: A court has rejected a legal maneuver to stop enforcement of California’s emergency regulations banning THC-containing hemp products that harm the public, especially children. The ban remains in effect after the court affirmed that the…

    Oct 11, 2024

    News Includes arrest of a suspect with an arsenal of illegal firearms What you need to know: The ongoing enforcement collaboration between the California Highway Patrol and local law enforcement in Bakersfield continues to produce results. The collaborative effort has…

    Oct 11, 2024

    News What you need to know: The Senate passed Governor Newsom’s proposal to prevent gasoline price spikes in the special session called by the Governor, following the Assembly’s passage last week. SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Senate advanced Governor Gavin…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Backing the bittern: The bird on the brink

    Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council

    Threats facing the Australasian Bittern (Matuku-hūrepo)

    The bittern’s declining numbers are reflective of the region’s shrinking wetlands, where they’re commonly found. Since European settlement, 90 per cent of freshwater and natural wetlands and half of our coastal wetlands in Waitaha have been lost through human impact. 

    Other threats include collisions with vehicles and starvation caused by:

    • changes in water levels that leave birds ‘high and dry’,
    • lack of food and/or habitat where the species can hunt,
    • and murky water quality (sedimentation) – as bittern are visual feeders. 

    One of the best ways we can help the species is to protect and enhance our remaining wetlands, and where possible, create new wetlands, to provide an optimum breeding and feeding habitat.

    A starving juvenile bittern that was rehabilitated and successfully released – Photo credit: Peter Langlands – Wild Capture

    Elusive ‘spy’ behaviour

    If you’ve seen a bittern, consider yourself lucky! They’re known for their cryptic behaviour and are very good at avoiding people. Principal biodiversity advisor Frances Schmechel says bittern have been referred to as the James Bond of the bird world. 

    “They’re like spies in that they’re very elusive. They kind of skulk around and do a great job at hiding. 

    “If they are in a situation where they’re startled, they’ll stand upright with their bill pointing skyward and sway.” 

    The bittern are also known for the “booming” call that the males make during spring. 

    “It’s such a mystical type of sound to hear in a wetland,” Frances explains. “Some say it’s almost spiritual.”

    Listen to the ‘booming’ sound on this Department of Conservation (DOC) webpage.

    A skulking bittern at Old Mill Lane Wetland – Photo credit: Hilton and Melva Ward

    Preserving raupō habitat

    90 per cent of bittern sightings in Waitaha over the last 15 years have occurred in the Te Waihora and Pegasus Bay areas. Their most important habitat is dense/mature raupō beds on river, wetland or lake edges.

    The wetlands around the margin of Te Waihora are the largest remaining area of wetland habitat in lowland Canterbury, covering around 4,500 hectares. A DOC-run willow control programme, which we’re helping fund, is a key initiative for supporting bittern.

    Not only do willows suck up large volumes of water but they also encroach on native wetland vegetation such as raupō. They create a dense canopy and interfere with the function of the wetland, including destroying spawning grounds for benthic fish (fish that deposit their spawn on or near the bottom of the sea or lake) – which the bittern feed on.

    Their most important habitat is dense/mature raupō beds on river, wetland or lake edges

    At Te Waihora, willows were invading the raupō at an alarming rate. The ‘bittern habitat’ aspect was a key driver for establishing and maintaining the control programme, which began in 2011. 

    DOC biodiversity ranger Allanah Purdie says reversing the spread of willow is a cost-effective and efficient way to support bittern. 

    “Raupō is by far their preferred habitat – so when you remove the willow, you get bittern.” 

    As Allanah points out, the species’ perilous future is representative of the overall condition of wetland systems that remain. 

    “It’s an indicator for all our other wetland species and the health of the ecosystem as a whole, all of which are suffering as a result of long-term wetland degradation.” 

    Community conservation efforts

    In Waimakariri, the Bittern Īnanga Rushland wetland is one of three Kaiapoi projects being undertaken by an extended family who are passionate about restoring biodiversity to the area. 

    One of the aims is to attract bittern, and the site has also been identified as a potential Canterbury mudfish habitat. It is receiving $15,000 in funding this financial year through the Waimakariri Water Zone Committee. 

    The support will help with the control of willows and poplars, along with more than 350 metres of fencing to create a large buffer to protect the rushland and make room for plantings. 

    Landowner Nicky Auld says a bittern is now frequenting the area. 

    “It was very rewarding seeing a bittern for the first time, and it is now a regular visitor to the rushland – where it feeds on eels, fish and whitebait.  

    “We’ve been scattering raupō seeds in the hope that the rushland may become even more attractive to these magnificent birds, and a breeding ground.” 

    Others who have raupō on their property are already in a good position to help. 
    Allanah says wet areas with fresh standing water – about 20 cm deep – are ideal habitat. 

    “Bittern need areas to take-off and land in, so consider keeping the larger stature plants back at least ten metres from the water, with Carex around the margin and then raupō in the middle.  

    “The species is intrinsically linked to areas with marginal or dense vegetation. They don’t like being out in the open and are very prone to disturbance. If you have a disturbance event in a wetland they’ll go to ground or disappear.” 

    Bittern are known for being highly mobile, so when they do disappear – it can be to quite a distance away. One that was fitted with a transmitter was tracked flying from Te Waihora to Blenheim – more than 300 km. 

    The Great Matuku Muster

    Another initiative that’s helping raise awareness of the bittern’s plight is The Great Matuku Muster – which calls on people to listen out for, and record, the males’ ‘boom’ sound. 

    The events take place on one day each month in spring, with the next due on Saturday 19 October and Saturday 16 November, for up to an hour from sunset. 

    The muster is supported by a series of workshops around New Zealand to help people learn more about the bird and what to listen for. To find out more or to sign up, visit lovebittern.com. 

    This initiative runs alongside annual monitoring by regional councils, DOC and volunteers – aligning with bittern breeding season from October to December.  

    Our monitoring is getting underway now at key sites on Environment Canterbury managed land – helping build an updated picture of the species’ local population size. 

    Preventing extinction

    Conservationist Peter Langlands, who’s carried out extensive monitoring of bittern in Waitaha, describes the situation as ‘critical’. 

    “I’m worried that we may lose the source population of bittern in Canterbury. We must act now if we’re to save the species.” 

    Peter believes a collaborative approach to large scale habitat restoration projects, and scaling up wetland creation, will lead to the best conservation outcomes.  

    Frances echoes Peter’s sentiment. 

    “They’re such a mysterious, and surprisingly graceful bird. When you see one for the first time – it’s special. It would be really unfair if we didn’t manage to conserve that experience for people.” 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –