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Category: KB

  • MIL-OSI Video: 80th Anniversary at Leyte Landing | U.S. Army

    Source: US Army (video statements)

    Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, deputy commanding general of I Corps, gives a speech during the 80th anniversary of the Leyte Landing celebration in Palo, Leyte, Philippines, on Oct. 20, 2024. The event commemorated the historic Leyte Landing on Oct. 20, 1944, which liberated the Philippines during World War II.

    About the U.S. Army:

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

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

    Connect with the U.S. Army online:
    Web: https://www.army.mil
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/
    X: https://www.twitter.com/USArmy
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army
    #USArmy #Soldiers #Military #80thAnniversary #LeyteLanding

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAl5EY7jfcM

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Latest data shows twice as much flu among school children

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The latest weekly flu surveillance data published by UKHSA today shows flu case numbers are twice as high among school children, aged 5 to 14 years.

    As of 22 October (week 42), influenza positivity – the rate of laboratory confirmed flu cases – among school children aged 5 to 14 years is higher than any other age group, at a weekly average positivity rate of 5.7% compared with a whole population weekly average of 2.5%.

    All school-aged children, up to and including year 11, are eligible for a free nasal spray flu vaccine. The spray, delivered through local NHS School Immunisation Teams, is quick and painless. The vaccine usually produces a better immune response in children and evidence from last year’s flu season shows strong effectiveness for children in England with a 54% reduction in hospitalisation for those between 2 and 17 years of age.

    Delivery of the flu vaccine in schools started in early September and the local Immunisation Teams will move from school to school across their region throughout October and November, with school vaccination sessions completed by mid-December. It’s important that parents do sign and return the consent forms on time. In some areas this will now be sent digitally to make consent easier.

    Last year saw a sudden increase in the number of people having to be hospitalised, due to a flu peak in the week leading up to Christmas and then again at the end of January. So even getting a vaccination in November will protect children for the usual peak flu season in December and January, and also importantly help stop them spreading the virus to others who are more vulnerable, such as grandparents or baby brothers and sisters.

    If your child has missed out on getting their flu vaccine at school, there will be further opportunities to get vaccinated, potentially at NHS community clinics. The school immunisation team will be able to provide further details. For children in a clinical risk group who have missed out, it is possible to make an appointment for the vaccine at your GP surgery.

    Younger children, aged 2 years (before the flu vaccination seasons starts on 1 September) and all 3 year olds, are also able to receive a flu vaccine from their GP surgery.

    To help reduce the impact of winter viruses on those most at risk, as well as ease NHS winter pressures, UKHSA – with Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England – has launched a scaled-up Get Winter Strong campaign. The campaign is currently running on broadcast TV, on demand and community TV, as well as radio channels, outdoor poster sites across England and on social media channels.

    The campaign will urge those eligible to get their flu and COVID-19 vaccination when invited, ahead of winter, targeting those at greatest risk.

    Flu can be very serious for some younger children and puts many thousands in hospital every year. Maryam Sheiakh, a mother from Manchester, recounts the fear and anxiety she went through 2 years ago, when her then 4 year-old daughter, Saffy, spent more than a week at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital after being admitted with flu, suffering with a severe cough and high temperature. She was transferred to a High Dependency Unit as she was struggling to breathe and needed oxygen. Maryam said:

    I was seriously concerned we might lose Saffy. I honestly thought she might die from this. I was so distraught watching her struggling to breathe day after day, worried about her breathing difficulties and getting oxygen to the brain – would she be the same little girl before she got ill?

    Thanks to the NHS staff, Saffy made a full recovery and, now aged 6, is thriving. Maryam, a nursery teacher, is now urging all parents to vaccinate their children to ensure they have the best protection against flu:

    Just go and get it, don’t take the risk. No parent wants to watch their child suffer like we did with Saffy.

    Dr Suzanna McDonald, Flu Vaccination Programme Lead at the UKHSA, said:

    This week’s data shows that while flu remains at low levels, it is highest among school children. Children’s immune systems respond well to flu vaccines, which for most children is given as a quick and painless nasal spray in school, helping to give them good protection as winter approaches. Flu season can often peak around late December, so getting your children vaccinated now will help ensure flu doesn’t ruin their and your family’s Christmas – as the vaccine will also help stop them spreading the virus.

    Parents should ensure they sign and return their vaccination consent forms so your children don’t miss out. But if they have missed the opportunity at school, you should still be able get them vaccinated at a community clinic. Flu can be a very nasty illness for anyone and every year thousands of children do end up in hospital. Nobody wants this for their child, so please ensure they get their flu vaccine on time.

    Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccinations and screening said: 

    Today’s data is a stark reminder of how easily viruses can spread in schools – especially during the colder months when students are more likely to gather indoors – but vaccination is one of the best ways to stop the spread and help prevent yourself and others from getting sick this winter.

    Despite delivering almost 10 million flu vaccines to all eligible groups since kicking off this year’s Autumn campaign, it’s still as important as ever to ensure your child is protected as winter approaches.

    NHS staff continue to ensure getting vaccinated is as quick and convenient as possible – by visiting schools across the country to deliver jabs or providing the painless flu nasal spray in ‘Bluey’ themed children’s vaccine clinics – all to help avoid the growing risk of a tripledemic this winter as pressures on NHS services are increased.

    Latest NHS data published this week shows there has been 9,641,272 flu vaccinations delivered so far this Autumn – with 1,337,530 given to school  aged children and 321,678 to children aged 2 and 3.

    UK Health Security Agency press office

    10 South Colonnade
    London
    E14 4PU

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Funding secured for brownfield sites

    Source: City of Plymouth

    Two empty public buildings are set to make way for much-needed housing.

    The buildings at the former DELL Children’s Centre and at Douglass House , both in Efford, are no longer in use and will be demolished early next year.

    It comes after the Council were successful in securing £540,000 from the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund, which helps local authorities support the delivery of housing.

    The redevelopment of sites like these is a key pillar of the Council’s Plan for Homes, a strategy that tackles the ongoing housing crisis by supporting the delivery of new and affordable housing.

    Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities Cllr Chris Penberthy said “I’m really pleased that we have been successful in obtaining these funds to assist the redevelopment of brownfield sites.

    “The simple truth is that this city needs more homes and it needs them quickly.

    “Brownfield sites like these enable us to make best use of land that has been previously developed and deliver housing where infrastructure like schools and transport links already exist.”

    The Council will now work to agree business cases for these projects and allocate £540,000 into the Capital Programme.

    Once the sites have been cleared, the Council will enter into discussion with local housing partners and consult with local residents about future developments.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic at the autumn educational exhibition in Hanoi “Russian Universities – the Best Choice”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    Polytechnic University took part in an educational exhibition in Vietnam, which was held in Hanoi from October 21 to 25. The event was organized by the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Hanoi as part of the long-term project “Universities of Russia” to popularize Russian education. Polytechnic University was represented by Deputy Head of the International Education Department Tatyana Sytnikova and specialist of the Department for Work with Foreign Students Ekaterina Pirkovska.

    The opening ceremony was attended by the Director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Hanoi Vladimir Murashkin, Counselor of the Russian Embassy in Vietnam, representative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Evgeny Mitrofanov, as well as representatives of 11 leading Russian educational institutions.

    Exhibitions help talented Vietnamese people to better navigate the educational space of Russia, and Russian universities to prepare for a meeting with Vietnamese students. The project “Universities of Russia” is actively expanding the partner network of Russian universities in Vietnam, which contributes to the development of scientific and educational cooperation between our countries, – emphasized Vladimir Murashkin.

    Representative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Evgeny Mitrofanov emphasized the importance of Russian higher education for Vietnamese students. He noted that studying in Russia opens up new horizons and opportunities, and also highlighted the possibility of receiving free education through scholarships from the Russian government.

    After the official part, more than 200 Vietnamese students and schoolchildren visited the Polytechnic stand, where they were consulted about the educational programs of bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate studies at SPbPU, and told about dormitories and scholarships.

    The delegation of the Polytechnic University visited the Tran Phu Special School for Talented Children in Hai Phong, the Le Hong Phong Special School for Talented Children in Nam Dinh and the Hanoi University of Entrepreneurship and Technology. During the Polytechnic presentations, the children had a unique opportunity not only to get acquainted with the educational programs and admission conditions, but also to communicate with the university representatives, ask questions and clarify issues of interest to them.

    In addition, a meeting of delegations of Russian universities was held at the Ministry of Education and Personnel Training of the SRV, dedicated to further cooperation between universities of our country and Vietnamese universities. During this event, many agreements were signed aimed at deepening mutual understanding and cooperation in the field of higher education. Special attention was paid to training personnel in such areas as mathematics, economics, philology and Russian studies.

    Tatyana Sytnikova took part in a press conference with Vietnamese media at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Hanoi. She emphasized the importance of the educational programs offered by the Polytechnic University for foreign applicants.

    The Polytechnic University offers foreign applicants unique educational programs in the fields of IT, artificial intelligence, linguistics, construction and building design, law, design, economics and management, and biotechnology. We are confident that high-quality education in these areas will open up new horizons and opportunities for a successful career for our students, said Tatyana Sytnikova.

    On the last day of the exhibition, an expert session entitled “University Consortia in Russia and the International Educational Space: Practice and Prospects” was held.

    Recently, we have been actively engaged in solving various issues of cooperation between Russia and Vietnam. As a society acting as a people’s diplomacy, we strive to help both our and your partners in establishing strong ties and contacts. We sincerely hope that cooperation between Vietnam and Russia will develop more and more actively every day, – noted the deputy chairman and secretary general of the Vietnamese-Russian Friendship Society, the main reactor of the Berezka magazine Nguyen Dang Phat.

    Educational exhibitions play a key role in establishing effective links between educational institutions and prospective students, providing a valuable platform for information exchange and broadening horizons. The exhibition in Vietnam was a great opportunity for young people to learn about the opportunities that Polytechnic University offers to international students. Such events not only help to popularize education abroad, but also greatly simplify the process of choosing an educational institution for those who are looking to gain quality education and international experience.

    Let us remind you that selection and competitive events have started for foreign applicants wishing to study at the Polytechnic University for free under the direction of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (under a quota) in the next academic year. You can get up-to-date information about the dates of their holding in the English-language Polytech telegram channel.

    You can also apply for the first qualifying round of the international Open Doors Olympiad: Russian Scholarship project until November 20. From this year onwards, the winners will have the opportunity to enroll in the Polytechnic University’s bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate programs without entrance examinations and study for free in the 2025–2026 academic year.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Buyer Beware: Off-brand Ozempic, Zepbound and Other Weight Loss Products Carry Undisclosed Risks

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    In just a few years, brand-name injectable drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have rocketed to fame as billion-dollar annual sellers for weight loss as well as to control blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

    But the price of these injections is steep: They cost about US$800-$1,000 per month, and if used for weight loss alone, they are not covered by most insurance policies. Both drugs mimic the naturally occurring hormone GLP-1 to help regulate blood sugar and reduce cravings. They can be taken only with a prescription.

    The Food and Drug Administration announced an official shortage of the active ingredients in these drugs in 2022, but on Oct. 2, 2024, the agency announced that the shortage has been resolved for the medicine tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound.

    Despite the soaring demand and limited supply of these drugs, there are no generic versions available. This is because the patents for semaglutide – the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, which is still in shortage – and tirzepatide don’t expire until 2033 and 2036, respectively.

    As a result, nonbrand alternatives that can be purchased with or without a prescription are flooding the market. Yet these products come with real risks to consumers.

    I am a pharmacist who studies weaknesses in federal oversight of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements in the U.S. My research group recently has investigated loopholes that are allowing alternative weight loss products to enter the market.

    High demand is driving GLP-1 wannabes

    The dietary supplement market has sought to cash in on the GLP-1 demand with pills, teas, extracts and all manner of other products that claim to produce similar effects as the brand names at a much lower price.

    Products containing the herb berberine offer only a few pounds of weight loss, while many dietary supplement weight loss products contain stimulants such as sibutramine and laxatives such as phenolphthalein, which increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

    The role of compounding pharmacies

    Unlike the dietary supplements that are masquerading as GLP-1 weight loss products, compounding pharmacies can create custom versions of products that contain the same active ingredients as the real thing for patients who cannot use either brand or generic products for some reason.

    These pharmacies can also produce alternative versions of brand-name drugs when official drug shortages exist.

    Since the demand for GLP-1 medications has far outpaced the supply, compounding pharmacies are legally producing a variety of different semaglutide and tirzepatide products.

    These products may come in versions that differ from the brand-name companies, such as vials of powder that must be dissolved in liquid, or as tablets or nasal sprays.

    Just like the brand-name drugs, you must have a valid prescription to receive them. The prices range from $250-$400 a month – still a steep price for many consumers.

    Compounding pharmacies must adhere to the FDA’s sterility and quality production methods, but these rules are not as rigorous for compounding pharmacies as those for commercial manufacturers of generic drugs.

    In addition, the products compounding pharmacies create do not have to be tested in humans for safety or effectiveness like brand-name products do.

    Proper dosing can also be challenging with compounded forms of the drugs.

    Companies that work the system

    For people who cannot afford a compounding pharmacy product, or cannot get a valid prescription for semaglutide or tirzepatide, opportunistic companies are stepping in to fill the void. These include “peptide companies,” manufacturers that create non-FDA approved knockoff versions of the drugs.

    From November 2023 to March 2024, my team carried out a study to assess which of these peptide companies are selling semaglutide or tirzepatide products. We scoured the internet looking for these peptide companies and collected information about what they were selling and their sales practices.

    We found that peptide sellers use a loophole to sell these drugs. On their websites, the companies state that their drugs are for “research purposes only” or “not for human consumption,” but they do nothing to verify that the buyers are researchers or that the product is going to a research facility.

    By reading the comments sections of the company websites and the targeted ads on social media, it becomes clear that both buyers and sellers understand the charade. Unlike compounding pharmacies, these peptide sellers do not provide the supplies you need to dissolve and inject the drug, provide no instructions, and will usually not answer questions.

    Peptide sellers, since they allegedly are not selling to consumers, do not require a valid prescription and will sell consumers whatever quantity of drug they wish to purchase. Even if a person has an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, the companies will happily sell them a semaglutide or tirzepatide product without a prescription. The average prices of these peptide products range from $181-$203 per month.

    Skirting regulations

    Peptide sellers do not have to adhere to the rules or regulations that drug manufacturers or compounding pharmacies do. Many companies state that their products are 99% pure, but an independent investigation of three companies’ products from August 2023 to March 2024 found that the purity of the products were far less than promised.

    One product contained endotoxin – a toxic substance produced by bacteria – suggesting that it was contaminated with microbes. In addition, the products’ promised dosages were off by up 29% to 39%. Poor purity can cause patients to experience fever, chills, nausea, skin irritation, infections and low blood pressure.

    In this study, some companies never even shipped the drug, telling the buyers they needed to pay an additional fee to have the product clear customs.

    If a consumer is harmed by a poor-quality product, it would be difficult to sue the seller, since the products specifically say they are “not for human consumption.” Ultimately, consumers are being led to spend money on products that may never arrive, could cause an infection, might not have the correct dose, and contain no instructions on how to safely use or store the product.

    Will prices for brand-name products come down?

    To combat these alternative sellers, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly began offering an alternative version of its brand-name Zepbound product for weight loss in September 2024.

    Instead of its traditional injection pen products that cost more than $1,000 for a month’s supply, this product comes in vials that patients draw up and inject themselves. For patients who take 5 milligrams of Zepbound each week, the vial products would cost them $549 a month if patients buy it through the company’s online pharmacy and can show that they do not have insurance coverage for the drug.

    After a grilling on Capitol Hill in September 2024, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk came under intense pressure to offer patients without prescription coverage a lower-priced product for its brand-name Wegovy as well.

    In the next few years, additional brand-name GLP-1 agonist drugs will likely make it to market. As of October 2024, a handful of these products are in late-phase clinical trials, with active ingredients such as retatrutide, survodutide and ecnoglutide, and more than 18 other drug candidates are in earlier stages of development.

    When new pharmaceutical companies enter this market, they will have to offer patients lower prices than Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in order to gain market share. This is the most likely medium-term solution to drive down the costs of GLP-1 drugs and eliminate the drug shortages in the marketplace.

    Originally published in The Conversation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: UConn Magazine: Dan Orlovsky Is All In

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The cafeteria at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut, is a monument to distraction. I’m confronted by three preposterous flat-screen TVs on the far wall. Look up. A parade of smaller screens offers a high-definition plea not to engage with your lunch companion.

    Into this boulevard of broken attention spans enters Dan Orlovsky ’17 (BGS), ESPN’s NFL analyst, 20 years removed from a storied career as the UConn quarterback who propelled the football program into national prominence. He absolutely looks the part, dressed in a slim-fit suit that straddles the line between blueberry and robin’s egg. There’s no tie but a sharp blue-gridded white dress shirt and stylish salt-and-pepper stubble. His hair is perfect.

    Aside from developing a reputation as a great football analyst, Orlovsky has become known for his pile of oddities, which he embraces. (“I told you I’m weird,” he reminds me during our conversation.) Food is a big one. Today, he arrives with what looks like a chicken avocado salad. But because there is no lettuce present, his lunch resembles an entrée from the apocalypse, a hillock of (seasoned?) browns and beiges specked with green. There was his memorable admission on Twitter that he uses a bath towel around 30 times before it’s removed from the rotation — presumably with tongs into a hazmat bag.

    At work, Orlovsky has a “maniacal desire to be the best,” says Laura Rutledge, the host of “NFL Live,” his main gig. “He preps like no one I’ve ever seen in my entire life for anything that he does.”

    Orlovsky, 41, does not do these things to perpetuate an image. Everything has a reason, even the bizarro food choices. Why introduce something new and possibly disruptive? Then he can’t spend time with his family or do his job. That’s not how to win the day. When you help resurrect a college football program and get drafted by a National Football League team, that credo isn’t ridiculous. It’s required. Lack the drive to excel while reducing the game’s din and violence to its necessities and you’ll be prowling LinkedIn by your 25th birthday. Orlovsky spent 12 years in the NFL; the average career lasts a hair over three.

    Why, he wonders, can’t the principles that made him a millionaire in the NFL work away from the football field?

    Every day Dan Orlovsky tries to answer that question.

    Read on for more.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Murphy Announces Planned Innovation Center Based in Newark

    Source: US State of New Jersey

    TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today announced that the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), a corporation of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), have launched the NJII Venture Studio, the state’s latest Strategic Innovation Center (SIC). The NJII Venture Studio will focus on accelerating and commercializing intellectual property with a focus on high technology and information technology developed by NJIT, NJII and NJIT’s corporate partners, as well as other academic institutions who contribute to the advancement of the industry. This will be the seventh SIC in New Jersey announced under the Murphy Administration.

    “Since I took office, my administration has been laser focused on positioning New Jersey as a national leader in innovation and technology development,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “The NJII Venture Studio, our seventh Strategic Innovation Center, will provide aspiring entrepreneurs with access to cutting-edge technology and the chance to collaborate with industry experts. This exciting initiative reinforces New Jersey’s reputation as a hub for innovation and research and the tremendous expertise within our state’s research universities.”

    NJII, a non-profit subsidiary corporation established by NJIT in 2014, will operate and manage the Studio. The NJEDA and NJII have entered into a non-binding term sheet to establish the creation, funding, and management of the Venture Studio with an opportunity to make equity investments into participating companies. The Studio, which will be located in the Paul Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Newark, will seek to launch two to three start-ups a year over a four-year period.

    The Venture Studio will provide emerging companies with necessary business training, operating services, physical space, and management guidance to transform their research into commercially viable products and services. Pending approval by its Board, the NJEDA intends to invest $5.8 million into the project on a 1:1 basis with NJII, with program funding for the Venture Studio totaling $11.6 million.

    “Governor Murphy is dedicated to expanding New Jersey’s innovation economy by investing in various industries and equipping entrepreneurs with the necessary resources to grow and scale their businesses,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Powered by the NJEDA’s Strategic Innovation Center program, the NJII Venture Studio will foster the development of new technologies, good-paying jobs, and long-term, sustainable economic growth throughout the state.”

    NJII intends to partner with NJIT, other New Jersey higher education institutions, and NJII and NJIT’s corporate partners to offer university students hands-on experience and training.

    Since its founding, NJII has spun out two for-profit companies, Healthcare Innovative Solutions (HCIS) and BioCentriq, with hopes to replicate and expand its capacity to spin out startups.

    “We are excited to embark on this partnership with the NJEDA to further build the state’s Innovation Economy,” said Michael Johnson, Ph.D., President of NJII. “We see the NJII Venture Studio as a powerful tool that will bridge the gap between translational research and commercialization, resulting in innovative companies and world-changing technologies.”

    Serving as the SIC’s anchor academic partner, NJIT will provide access to university resources and intellectual property to assist with the launch and development of participating companies.

    “The creation of the NJII Venture Studio aligns perfectly with NJIT’s 2030 strategic plan, which calls for the university to expand on its role as a nexus of innovation—a physical and intellectual focal point for ideas, actions and people that brings together researchers, learners, entrepreneurs and partners from government, industry and the community to pursue innovation,” said Dr. Teik C. Lim, President of NJIT.

    “With this next Strategic Innovation Center, New Jersey continues to unlock unparalleled opportunities to grow cutting-edge industries and cultivate emerging talent right here in the Garden State,” said New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Brian K. Bridges. “Combined with the expertise and resources of the state’s world-class institutions, like NJIT, we are well-positioned to lead innovation and meet the workforce demands of tomorrow’s economy.” 

    “I commend Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for their continued focus on innovation and economic growth with the launch of the Venture Studio in Newark. This new Strategic Innovation Center is a vital step in positioning New Jersey as a national leader in emerging technologies and entrepreneurship,” said Senator Paul Sarlo, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. “As an alumnus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, I know firsthand the innovative spirit possessed by the university’s students and faculty. I am thrilled that this center will not only help jumpstart the careers of young entrepreneurs, but also give NJIT students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the process of starting a company.”

    “The NJII Venture Studio will offer fresh and exciting opportunities for students and entrepreneurs in Newark and beyond,” said NJEDA Chief Economic Transformation Officer Kathleen Coviello. “The Studio’s prime location and proximity to the state’s key players in the innovation sector will open doors for entrepreneurs to advance their research, testing, and development of diverse technologies.”

    SICs are facilities that support research and development, innovation, and entrepreneurship through mentorship, networking opportunities, hands-on training, business support services, and education opportunities. SICs can be accelerators, incubators, or research centers. Having a physical location where entrepreneurs can collaborate will help support new, diverse innovators and help drive long-term economic growth.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Dave to Report Third Quarter 2024 Results on November 12, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. ET

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dave Inc. (“Dave” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: DAVE), one of the nation’s leading neobanks, will host a conference call on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. The Company’s results will be reported in a press release prior to the call.

    Dave management will host the conference call, followed by a question-and-answer period. The conference call details are as follows:

    Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
    Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time
    Dial-in registration link: here
    Live webcast registration link: here

    The conference call will also be available for replay in the Events section of the Company’s website, along with the transcript, at https://investors.dave.com.

    If you have any difficulty registering for or connecting to the conference call, please contact Elevate IR at DAVE@elevate-ir.com.

    About Dave

    Dave (Nasdaq: DAVE) is a leading U.S. neobank and fintech pioneer serving millions of everyday Americans. Dave uses disruptive technologies to provide best-in-class banking services at a fraction of the price of incumbents. Dave partners with Evolve Bank & Trust, a FDIC member. For more information about the company, visit: www.dave.com. For investor information and updates, visit: investors.dave.com and follow @davebanking on X.

    Investor Relations Contact

    Sean Mansouri, CFA
    Elevate IR
    DAVE@elevate-ir.com

    Media Contact

    Dan Ury
    press@dave.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: GCM Grosvenor to Announce Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Host Investor Conference Call on November 8, 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GCM Grosvenor (Nasdaq: GCMG), a global alternative asset management solutions provider, announced today that it will release its results for the third quarter 2024 on Friday, November 8, 2024.

    Management will host a webcast and conference call on Friday, November 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss the results and provide a business update. The conference call will be available via public webcast through the Public Shareholders section of GCM Grosvenor’s website at www.gcmgrosvenor.com/public-shareholders and a replay will be available on the website soon after the call’s completion for at least seven (7) days.

    To register for the call, visit www.gcmgrosvenor.com/public-shareholders.

    About GCM Grosvenor

    GCM Grosvenor (Nasdaq: GCMG) is a global alternative asset management solutions provider with approximately $79 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return investment strategies. The firm has specialized in alternatives for more than 50 years and is dedicated to delivering value for clients by leveraging its cross-asset class and flexible investment platform.

    GCM Grosvenor’s experienced team of approximately 540 professionals serves a global client base of institutional and individual investors. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney. For more information, visit: gcmgrosvenor.com.

    Source: GCM Grosvenor

    Public Shareholders Contact
    Stacie Selinger
    sselinger@gcmlp.com
    312-506-6583

    Media Contact
    Tom Johnson and Abigail Ruck
    H/Advisors Abernathy
    tom.johnson@h-advisors.global / abigail.ruck@h-advisors.global
    212-371-5999

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Ethical Web AI announces our new Chief Executive Officer – Manfred Ebensberger, with a shareholder update

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bubblr Inc., d/b/a Ethical Web AI (OTC: BBLR) – a frontrunner in ethical technology determined to revolutionize the digital domain, has announced its new CEO, Manfred Ebensberger.

    Before joining Bubblr, Mr. Ebensberger held senior roles in European investment firms, serving as Managing Director and Asset Manager for Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWIs). He also served as CEO of a luxury Italian fashion brand in New York. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ebensberger was managing director for several US investment companies and an assistant professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Manfred holds a degree from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, from the University of Venice, Italy and completed a certificate in General Business Studies at UCLA. He is a seasoned professional committed to the vision and direction of the company.

    Steve Morris, CTO and founder of Ethical Web AI remarked, “I am delighted to welcome Manfred as our CEO. Manfred is a highly experienced executive who has a proven track record as the CEO of a publicly listed company, which he led to a very successful buy-out. We have been speaking to Manfred for quite some time, and both parties are in agreement that Manfred is the perfect CEO at this critical point in the company’s development.”

    “Our biggest challenge has been our ability to describe succinctly what our platform does and why it is so revolutionary. Now that the platform is demonstrable, this makes our many years of work understandable, applicable and ultimately profitable. Manfred will lead us into the next stage of our revenue-positive corporate development. It has taken years in the making, but we are finally at a point where we have a product that will change the way we all use and utilize the internet.”

    “Our last press release in August 2024 made clear the massive significance of finally delivering our ethical Web Search (EWS) platform to the point where it is demonstrable. It has taken many years of development to build the EWS platform, and it is the technical manifestation of our US Patent 10977387, which has been independently valued at $4.7bn. Manfred’s role is to oversee the next stage of Ethical Web AI’s development to realize its true potential and value as the world’s most innovative technology company. Our current plans are extremely ambitious, and we are confident that Manfred is the CEO we need to deliver them. They include the following key objectives:”

    Raising substantial new investment capital

    Within the next six months, we plan to raise significant new investment capital. This capital is required to transform the company from a technology development company to a fast-growing, revenue-driven business. There are many conversations currently underway with a number of important investors that we expect to be concluded in the next few months.

    Significantly increase revenue from AI Seek.

    Our generative AI product, AI Seek, is capable of generating significant revenues and is very profitable. We intend to sign a distribution and marketing contract in the next few weeks that will deliver very significant new revenues before the end of the year.

    We already consider AI Seek to be demonstrably superior to Chat GPT in many ways. In particular, AI Seek is unique in that it is totally anonymous for consumers to use. This unique aspect of AI Seek allows us to develop a version of AI Seek that can be safely used by children under direct parental control. A “child-safe” generative AI application will obviously be hugely popular.

    Oversee the rollout of the EWS platform to our first pilot projects.

    We are currently negotiating with a number of potential community licensees to pilot our EWS platform. There are three candidates, and all three are very keen to be the first early adopter. Again, we will be signing our first deal in the next few weeks, and we will make announcements as they happen. The pilot project(s) will provide the necessary learnings required to automate the onboarding of new licensees to the platform entirely. Once we have fully automated the onboarding process, we will begin the global adoption of the product using the tried and tested open-source SaaS model.

    Organic uplist to Nasdaq in 2025

    We have a strategic plan to organically uplist Nasdaq in 2025. In order to qualify for Nasdaq, we need revenues and adequate cash reserves in the bank. The cash reserves will be secured primarily through further external investment capital. Both the revenues and the capital raise are eminently achievable.

    The Nasdaq uplist provides a number of significant benefits for the company and its shareholders. We are certain that we have the most significant and valuable technology that the world has ever witnessed. However, hardly anyone has ever heard of the company. The Nasdaq uplist delivers much more visibility of the company and its products. It provides a platform to showcase our company to both the investment community and retail users.

    Pursue our expected exit plan through acquisition.

    The founder and CTO, Steve Morris, has always maintained that the most likely final exit strategy would be that it would be acquired (or its critical assets acquired) by a global technology business to ensure its global adoption. Ethical Web AI is more like a startup pharmaceutical company that has developed a world-beating drug. Such a company knows it will be acquired by one of the global pharma giants. However, acquisition opportunities were not expected to arise before we were uplisted to Nasdaq. In recent developments, a major technology company has expressed interest in communicating with the company regarding potential future alliances.

    It is clear that our new CEO, Manfred Ebensberger, has a lot to do in the next few months, but he has the complete suite of expertise, knowledge and full support of everyone in the company to help him deliver. We expect to issue many more press releases in the coming weeks.

    About Ethical Web AI:
    Ethical Web AI is an ethical technology company that is championing an anonymous, safe, and fair new internet. We are producing unique intellectual property and technology that is made defensible by our valuable utility software patents.

    Visit the new AI Seek website at: https://www.aiseek.ai.

    If you are an AI Seek user, make sure to add desktop integration by going to the page https://desktop.aiseek.ai/

    For more information about our Company and products, please visit our website at https://www.ethicalweb.ai.

    Media Contact:
    Steve Morris
    Bubblr, Inc.
    (646) 814 7184

    Safe Harbor Statement
    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company’s current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company reserves the right to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Pacific Financial Corp Earns $2.6 Million, or $0.25 per Diluted Share for Third Quarter 2024; Tangible Book Value Per Share Up 6.6% During Quarter; Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.14 per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ABERDEEN, Wash., Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacific Financial Corporation (OTCQX: PFLC), (“Pacific Financial”) or the (“Company”), the holding company for Bank of the Pacific (the “Bank”), reported net income of $2.6 million, or $0.25 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2024, compared to $2.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2024, and $3.6 million, or $0.35 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2023. All results are unaudited.

    Pacific Financials’ third quarter 2024 operating results reflected the following changes from the second quarter of 2024: (1) higher net interest income as the rise in loan and investment yields outpaced the rise in deposit and borrowing costs; (2) a negative provision for credit losses due to lower provision for unfunded loans; (3) lower non-interest income due to smaller gains on the sale of loans and investment securities; (4) slightly lower non-interest expenses; (5) a small decrease in total gross loans of 0.6% offset by an increase in the purchase of investment securities with the balance of investment securities increasing $18.1 million, or 6.5% during the third quarter; (6) an increase in total deposits of 2.6% to $1.0 billion at September 30, 2024, and (7) a $6.2 million increase in shareholder equity, or 5.4%. Tangible book value per share increased 6.6% during the quarter to $10.47.

    The board of directors of Pacific Financial declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share on October 23, 2024. The dividend will be payable on November 22, 2024 to shareholders of record on November 8, 2024. Additionally, the Board of Directors has authorized an additional $2.6 million toward future repurchases, or approximately 2.0% of total shares outstanding. The current stock repurchase program expires in November 2024.

    “Our core operations continue to remain strong,” said Denise Portmann, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focused efforts on deposit retention, combined with the efforts of our new commercial loan and deposit teams, resulted in increased business relationships during the third quarter. Additionally, we added to our investment securities portfolio to increase yields. During the fourth quarter, we will be closing our mortgage banking division which we anticipate will improve the efficiency of our operation and improve earnings. However, the fourth quarter will reflect some one-time charges related to severance, contract and lease terminations.”

    Third Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights:

    • Return on average assets (“ROAA”) was 0.90%, compared to 0.76% for the second quarter 2024, and 1.21% for the third quarter 2023.
    • Return on average equity (“ROAE”) was 8.77%, compared to 7.47% from the preceding quarter, and 13.16% from the third quarter a year earlier.
    • Net interest income was $11.2 million, compared to $10.8 million for the second quarter of 2024, and $12.3 million for the third quarter of 2023.
    • Net interest margin (“NIM”) increased to 4.19%, compared to 4.15% from the preceding quarter, and 4.37% for the third quarter a year ago. The increase in the net interest margin in the most recent quarter was due to increased yields on interest-earning assets outpacing the increased cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
    • Provision for credit losses was a benefit of $66,000 for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024 compared to a provision of $304,000 for the preceding quarter and $244,000 in the third quarter a year ago. The benefit largely reflected lower provisions for unfunded loans relative to prior periods.
    • Gross loans balances held in portfolio decreased by $4.4 million, or less than 1% to $699.6 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $704.0 million at June 30, 2024, and increased by $27.6 million, or 4%, from $672.0 million at September 30, 2023.
    • Total deposits increased $25.8 million to $1.01 billion, compared to $985.6 million at June 30, 2024, and decreased from $1.05 billion at September 30, 2023. Core deposits represented 87% of total deposits, with non-interest bearing deposits representing 38% of total deposits at September 30, 2024.
    • Coverage of short-term funds available to uninsured and uncollateralized deposits was 229% at September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024. Uninsured or uncollateralized deposits were 25% of total deposits at September 30, 2024, and 24% at June 30, 2024.
    • Asset quality remains solid with nonperforming assets to total assets at 0.10%, compared to 0.12% three months earlier, and 0.10% at September 30, 2023. Accruing loans past due 30 or more days represent only 0.03% of total loans at September 30, 2024.
    • Tangible book value per share increased 6.6% during the quarter to $10.47 per share at September 30, 2024 from $9.82 per share at June 30, 2024. The increase was largely the result of a decline in interest rates and its impact on the fair market value of securities.
    • Pacific Financial and Bank of the Pacific continued to exceed regulatory well-capitalized requirements. At September 30, 2024 Pacific Financial’s estimated leverage ratio was 11.6% and its estimated total risk-based capital ratio was 17.9%.

    Balance Sheet Review

    Total assets increased 3% to $1.16 billion at September 30, 2024, compared to $1.12 billion at June 30, and decreased 2% from $1.18 billion at September 30, 2023.

    Liquidity metrics continued to remain strong with total liquidity, both on and off balance sheet sources, at $576.8 million as of September 30, 2024. The Bank has established collateralized credit lines with borrowing capacity from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLB) and from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, as well as $60.0 million in unsecured borrowing lines from various correspondent banks. There was no balance outstanding on any of these facilities at quarter-end.

    The following table summarizes the Bank’s available liquidity:

    LIQUIDITY (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Deposits
    ($ in 000s)    
                                       
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024   Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024   2024   2023     $ %   $ %   2024 2024 2023
    Short-term Funding                                  
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 85,430 $ 63,183 $ 147,970   $ 22,247 35 % $ (62,540 ) -42 %   8 % 6 % 14 %
    Unencumbered AFS Securities   154,565   139,581   123,842     14,984 11 %   30,723   25 %   15 % 14 % 12 %
    Secured lines of Credit (FHLB, FRB)   336,771   332,674   318,557     4,097 1 %   18,214   6 %   33 % 34 % 30 %
    Short-term Funding $ 576,766 $ 535,438 $ 590,369   $ 41,328 8 % $ (13,603 ) -2 %   56 % 54 % 56 %


    Investment securities:     The investment securities portfolio increased 6% to $296.8 million, compared to $278.7 million at June 30, 2024 and increased 3% compared to the like period a year ago. The increase from the prior quarter was primarily due to the purchase of collateralized mortgage obligations and mortgage backed securities. U.S. Treasury bonds, and securities issued by the U.S. Government sponsored agencies accounted for 85% of the investment portfolio as of September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023. Within that total, collateralized mortgage obligations accounted for 48% of the investment portfolio at September 30, 2024, compared to 45% the previous quarter.

    The average adjusted duration to reset of the investment securities portfolio was 4.2 years at September 30, 2024. Net unrealized losses on the investments classified as available for sale declined $7.2 million to $14.8 million ($11.5 million after-tax) at September 30, 2024, or 5% of AFS portfolio.

    Gross loans balances excluding loans held for sale decreased $4.4 million, or 1%, to $699.6 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $704.0 million at June 30, 2024. During the third quarter, loan pipelines and originations slowed from prior levels as borrowers continued to adjust to higher interest rates and economic uncertainty. Due primarily to loan amortization the loan portfolio reflected slight declines in most categories except multi-family lending which increased $2.8 million. Year-over-year loan growth was 4%, or $27.6 million, with the largest increases in residential 1-4 family and multi-family loans which increased $14.8 million and $11.7 million, respectively. Loans classified as commercial real estate for regulatory concentration purposes totaled $261.3 million at September 30, 2024, or 185% of total risk based capital.

    The Company continues to manage concentration limits that establish maximum exposure levels by certain industry segments, loan product types, geography and single borrower limits. In addition, the loan portfolio continues to be well-diversified and is collateralized with assets predominantly within the Company’s Western Washington and Oregon markets.

    Credit quality: Non-performing assets were minimal and remained at $1.1 million, or 0.10% of total assets at September 30, 2024, compared to $1.2 million, or 0.10% at September 30, 2023. The Company has zero other real estate owned as of September 30, 2024 and accruing loans past due more than 30 days represent only 0.04% of total loans.

    Allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) for loans was $8.9 million, or 1.27% of gross loans at September 30, 2024, compared to $8.9 million or 1.26% of loans at June 30, 2024 and $8.3 million or 1.24% at September 30, 2023.

    A negative provision for credit losses of $66,000 was recorded in the current quarter, reflecting less allowance requirements for unfunded loans. This compares to a provision for credit losses of $304,000 in the second quarter of 2024 and $244,000 for the third quarter of 2023. Net charge-offs for the current quarter remained minimal and reflected a net recovery of $11,000, compared to a net charge-off of $56,000 for the preceding quarter and $125,000 for the third quarter one year ago.

    Total deposits increased to $1.01 billion at September 30, 2024, compared to $985.6 million at June 30, 2024 and decreased from $1.05 billion at September 30, 2023. The bank has focused efforts to retain customer relationships resulting in a $22.1 million increase in business deposits.

    Non-interest-bearing account balances, composed of commercial banking relationships, are the largest component of the deposit portfolio at 38% at September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024. Money market deposits currently represent the second largest component of the deposit base and increased $11.5 million from the linked quarter and $12.8 million from the same quarter a year ago and represent 19%, 18%, and 17%, of total deposits, at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, respectively. Interest-bearing demand deposits are the third largest component of the deposit base representing 18% of total deposits at September 30, 2024. Pacific Financial continues to benefit from a strong core deposit base, with core deposits representing 87% of total deposits at quarter end.

    Shareholder’s equity increased $6.2 million, or 5% to $121.1 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $114.9 million at June 30, 2024, and increased $14.5 million, or 14% compared to $106.6 million at September 30, 2023. The increase in shareholders’ equity during the current quarter was due to quarterly net income, a decrease in unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities and dividends paid to shareholders. Net unrealized losses (after-tax) on available-for-sale securities were $11.5 million at September 30, 2024 compared to $17.1 million at June 30, 2024, and $23.1 million at September 30, 2023. This decrease in net unrealized losses reflects lower longer-term market interest rates at the end of the quarter.

    Book value per common share was $11.78 at September 30, 2024, compared to $11.12 at June 20, 2024, and $10.22 at September 30, 2023. The Company’s tangible common equity ratio was 9.4% at September 30, 2024 and 9.1% at June 30, 2024, compared to 8.0% at September 30, 2023. Regulatory capital ratios of both the Company and the Bank continue to exceed the well-capitalized regulatory thresholds, with the Company’s leverage ratio at 11.6% and total risk-based capital ratio at 17.9% as of September 30, 2024. These regulatory capital ratios are estimates, pending completion and filing of regulatory reports.

    The current stock repurchase program expires in November 2024. The Board of Directors has authorized an additional $2.6 million toward future repurchases, or approximately 2.0% of total shares outstanding.

    Income Statement Review

    Net interest income increased $438,000 to $11.2 million for the third quarter of 2024, compared to $10.8 million for the second quarter of 2024, and decreased $1.1 million compared to $12.3 million for the third quarter a year ago. The change in the current quarter compared to the preceding quarter reflects higher yields on a larger investment portfolio and an increase in loan yields due primarily to repricing of loans. Increasing deposit costs offset some of the benefit from higher yielding investments and loans. For the current quarter compared to the like period a year ago, funding costs have outpaced the rising yields on investments and loans.

    The Bank’s net interest margin continued to remain strong at 4.19% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 compared to 4.15% the preceding quarter. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2023, the net interest margin was 4.37% reflecting lower funding costs relative to more recent periods.

    Yields on total interest earning assets increased 14 basis points to 5.29% for the third quarter of 2024 compared to 5.15% for the prior quarter and 5.06% in the like quarter a year ago. Average loan yields increased to 5.99% during the current quarter, compared to 5.80% for the preceding quarter and 5.71% for the third quarter 2023.

    The Bank’s total cost of funds increased to 1.15% for the current quarter, compared to 1.05% for the preceding quarter, and 0.72% for the third quarter 2023. The increase in the costs of deposits was due to retention efforts and competitive pricing of deposit products. The percentage of non-interest bearing deposits remained high at 38% for the current quarter.

    Noninterest income decreased to $1.7 million for the current quarter, compared to $2.0 million for the linked quarter and increased from $1.6 million a year earlier. The decrease compared to the linked quarter was primarily due to decreased mortgage banking loan production and no gains on the sale of investment securities.

    The company plans to close its mortgage banking division by the end of 2024 which is expected to reduce non-interest income offset by a reduction of personnel and overhead expenses associated with the operation. The elimination of the mortgage banking division is expected to improve the efficiency of the company after severance and contract termination expenses are realized in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Fee and service charge income remained consistent in the third quarter of 2024 at $1.2 million compared to the previous quarter and the third quarter of 2023.

    Noninterest expenses decreased to $9.7 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to $9.8 million for the prior quarter and increased from $9.1 million for the third quarter of 2023. Within the total of noninterest expenses for the current quarter compared to the prior quarter, the largest category of salaries and employee benefits remained at $6.3 million. Similarly, data processing and occupancy expenses remained consistent to the prior quarter.

    The company’s efficiency ratio decreased to 75.48% for the third quarter of 2024, compared to 77.34% in the preceding quarter and increased from 65.78% in the same quarter a year ago. The increase in the efficiency ratio relative to the previous year primarily relates to the decreased net interest margin and higher overhead expenses related to the hiring, building and marketing of new commercial loan and deposit teams.

    Income tax expense: Federal and Oregon state income tax expenses totaled $633,000 for the current quarter, and $454,000 for the preceding quarter, resulting in effective tax rates of 19.6% and 17.6%, respectively. These income tax expenses reflect the benefits of tax exempt income and credits on tax-exempt loans and investments, affordable housing tax credit financing, and investments in bank owned life insurance.

    FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (unaudited) Quarter Ended   Change From   Nine Months Ended   Change
         
    (In 000s, except per share data)                                          
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024   Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30,   Sep 30,        
        2024     2024     2023       $ %   $ %   2024    2023      $ %
    Earnings Ratios & Data                                          
    Net Income $ 2,594   $ 2,126   $ 3,645     $ 468   22 % $ (1,051 ) -29 % $ 7,370   $ 11,663     $ (4,293 ) -37 %
    Return on average assets   0.90 %   0.76 %   1.21 %     0.14 %     -0.31 %     0.87 %   1.28 %     -0.41 %  
    Return on average equity   8.77 %   7.47 %   13.16 %     1.30 %     -4.39 %     8.52 %   14.34 %     -5.82 %  
    Efficiency ratio (1)   75.48 %   77.34 %   65.78 %     -1.86 %     9.70 %     75.67 %   64.64 %     11.03 %  
    Net-interest margin %(2)   4.19 %   4.15 %   4.37 %     0.04 %     -0.18 %     4.24 %   4.40 %     -0.16 %  
                                               
    Share Ratios & Data                                          
    Basic earnings per share $ 0.25   $ 0.21   $ 0.35     $ 0.04   19 % $ (0.10 ) -29 % $ 0.71   $ 1.12     $ (0.41 )  
    Diluted earning per share $ 0.25   $ 0.21   $ 0.35     $ 0.04   19 % $ (0.10 ) -29 % $ 0.71   $ 1.12     $ (0.41 )  
    Book value per share(3) $ 11.78   $ 11.12   $ 10.22     $ 0.66   6 % $ 1.56   15 %                
    Tangible book value per share(4) $ 10.47   $ 9.82   $ 8.93     $ 0.65   7 % $ 1.54   17 %                
    Common shares outstanding   10,283     10,336     10,427       (53 ) -1 %   (144 ) -1 %                
    PFLC stock price $ 11.65   $ 9.76   $ 10.00     $ 1.89   19 % $ 1.65   17 %                
    Dividends paid per share $ 0.14   $ 0.14   $ 0.13     $ –   0 % $ 0.01   8 % $ 0.42   $ 0.39     $ 0.03   8 %
                                               
    Balance Sheet Data                                          
    Assets $ 1,158,410   $ 1,124,295   $ 1,181,975     $ 34,115   3 % $ (23,565 ) -2 %                
    Portfolio Loans $ 699,603   $ 703,977   $ 671,969     $ (4,374 ) -1 % $ 27,634   4 %                
    Deposits $ 1,011,473   $ 985,627   $ 1,051,256     $ 25,846   3 % $ (39,783 ) -4 %                
    Investments $ 296,792   $ 278,728   $ 289,152     $ 18,064   6 % $ 7,640   3 %                
    Shareholders equity $ 121,087   $ 114,923   $ 106,601     $ 6,164   5 % $ 14,486   14 %                
                                               
    Liquidity Ratios                                          
    Short-term funding to uninsured                                          
    and uncollateralized deposits   229 %   229 %   254 %     0 %     -25 %                  
    Uninsured and uncollateralized                                          
    deposits to total deposits   25 %   24 %   22 %     1 %     3 %                  
    Portfolio loans to deposits ratio   69 %   71 %   63 %     -2 %     6 %                  
                                               
    Asset Quality Ratios                                          
    Non-performing assets to assets   0.10 %   0.12 %   0.10 %     -0.02 %     0.00 %                  
    Non-accrual loans to portfolio loans   0.16 %   0.19 %   0.18 %     -0.03 %     -0.02 %                  
    Loan losses to avg portfolio loans   -0.01 %   0.03 %   0.07 %     -0.04 %     -0.08 %     0.01 %   0.04 %     -0.03 %  
    ACL to portfolio loans   1.27 %   1.26 %   1.24 %     0.01 %     0.03 %                  
                                               
    Capital Ratios (PFC)                                          
    Total risk-based capital ratio   17.9 %   17.6 %   17.6 %     0.3 %     0.3 %                  
    Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio   16.7 %   16.4 %   16.5 %     0.3 %     0.2 %                  
    Common equity tier 1 ratio   15.0 %   14.8 %   14.8 %     0.2 %     0.2 %                  
    Leverage ratio   11.6 %   11.7 %   10.7 %     -0.1 %     0.9 %                  
    Tangible common equity ratio   9.4 %   9.1 %   8.0 %     0.3 %     1.4 %                  
                                               
    (1) Non-interest expense divided by net interest income plus noninterest income.
    (2) Tax-exempt income has been adjusted to a tax equivalent basis at a rate of 21%.
    (3) Book value per share is calculated as the total common shareholders’ equity divided by the period ending number of common stock shares outstanding.
    (4) Tangible book value per share is calculated as the total common shareholders’ equity less total intangible assets and liabilities, divided by the period
    ending number of common stock shares outstanding.
    INCOME STATEMENT (unaudited) Quarter Ended   Change From   Nine Months Ended   Change
         
    ($ in 000s)                                          
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024   Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30,   Sep 30,        
        2024     2024     2023       $ %   $ %   2024    2023      $ %
    Interest Income                                          
    Loan interest & fee income $ 10,520   $ 10,109   $ 9,549     $ 411   4 % $ 971   10 % $ 30,853   $ 27,166     $ 3,687   14 %
    Interest bearing cash income   1,108     847     2,322       261   31 %   (1,214 ) -52 %   2,890     7,669       (4,779 ) -62 %
    Investment income   2,503     2,410     2,371       93   4 %   132   6 %   7,388     6,832       556   8 %
    Interest Income   14,131     13,366     14,242       765   6 %   (111 ) -1 %   41,131     41,667       (536 ) -1 %
                                               
    Interest Expense                                          
    Deposits interest expense   2,684     2,358     1,716       326   14 %   968   56 %   7,033     3,437       3,596   105 %
    Other borrowings interest expense   243     242     246       1   0 %   (3 ) -1 %   727     682       45   7 %
    Interest Expense   2,927     2,600     1,962       327   13 %   965   49 %   7,760     4,119       3,641   88 %
    Net Interest Income   11,204     10,766     12,280       438   4 %   (1,076 ) -9 %   33,371     37,548       (4,177 ) -11 %
    Provision (benefit) for credit losses   (66 )   304     244       (370 ) -122 %   (310 ) -127 %   271     409       (138 ) -34 %
    Net Interest Income after provision   11,270     10,462     12,036       808   8 %   (766 ) -6 %   33,100     37,139       (4,039 ) -11 %
                                               
    Non-Interest Income                                          
    Fees and service charges   1,225     1,198     1,248       27   2 %   (23 ) -2 %   3,523     3,695       (172 ) -5 %
    Gain on sale of investments, net   –     121     –       (121 ) -100 %   –   -100 %   121     (154 )     275   -179 %
    Gain on sale of loans, net   267     445     170       (178 ) -40 %   97   57 %   865     540       325   60 %
    Income on bank-owned insurance   188     182     174       6   3 %   14   8 %   550     509       41   8 %
    Other non-interest income   7     17     18       (10 ) -59 %   (11 ) -61 %   34     53       (19 ) -36 %
    Non-Interest Income   1,687     1,963     1,610       (276 ) -14 %   77   5 %   5,093     4,643       450   10 %
                                               
    Non-Interest Expense                                          
    Salaries and employee benefits   6,341     6,321     5,560       20   0 %   781   14 %   18,656     17,006       1,650   10 %
    Occupancy   601     564     501       37   7 %   100   20 %   1,806     1,536       270   18 %
    Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment   286     267     252       19   7 %   34   13 %   837     808       29   4 %
    Marketing & donations   201     176     160       25   14 %   41   26 %   531     380       151   40 %
    Professional services   233     327     301       (94 ) -29 %   (68 ) -23 %   897     941       (44 ) -5 %
    Data Processing & IT   1,185     1,165     1,161       20   2 %   24   2 %   3,541     3,490       51   1 %
    Other   883     1,025     1,207       (142 ) -14 %   (324 ) -27 %   2,839     3,174       (335 ) -11 %
    Non-Interest Expense   9,730     9,845     9,142       (115 ) -1 %   588   6 %   29,107     27,335       1,772   6 %
    Income before income taxes   3,227     2,580     4,504       647   25 %   (1,277 ) -28 %   9,086     14,447       (5,361 ) -37 %
    Provision for income taxes   633     454     859       179   39 %   (226 ) -26 %   1,716     2,784       (1,068 ) -38 %
    Net Income $ 2,594   $ 2,126   $ 3,645     $ 468   22 %   (1,051 ) -29 % $ 7,370   $ 11,663     $ (4,293 ) -37 %
                                               
    Effective tax rate   19.6 %   17.6 %   19.1 %     2.0 %     0.5 %     18.9 %   19.3 %     -0.4 %  
    BALANCE SHEET (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Total
    ($ in 000s)    
                                       
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024     2024     2023       $ %   $ %   2024  2024  2023 
    Assets                                  
    Cash on hand and in banks $ 20,621   $ 17,362   $ 12,052     $ 3,259   19 % $ 8,569   71 %   2 % 2 % 2 %
    Interest bearing deposits   80,522     58,586     146,886       21,936   37 %   (66,364 ) -45 %   7 % 5 % 12 %
    Investment securities   296,792     278,728     289,152       18,064   6 %   7,640   3 %   26 % 25 % 24 %
    Loans held-for-sale   140     4,051     637       (3,911 ) -97 %   (497 ) -78 %   0 % 0 % 0 %
    Portfolio Loans, net of deferred fees   698,974     703,322     671,134       (4,348 ) -1 %   27,840   4 %   60 % 63 % 57 %
    Allowance for credit losses   (8,897 )   (8,859 )   (8,347 )     (38 ) 0 %   (550 ) 7 %   -1 % -1 % -1 %
    Net loans   690,077     694,463     662,787       (4,386 ) -1 %   27,290   4 %   60 % 62 % 56 %
    Premises & equipment   17,124     15,571     13,756       1,553   10 %   3,368   24 %   2 % 2 % 2 %
    Goodwill & Other Intangibles   13,435     13,435     13,435       –   0 %   –   0 %   1 % 1 % 1 %
    Bank-owned life Insurance   28,084     27,860     27,321       224   1 %   763   3 %   2 % 2 % 2 %
    Other assets   11,615     14,239     15,949       (2,624 ) -18 %   (4,334 ) -27 %   1 % 1 % 1 %
    Total Assets $ 1,158,410   $ 1,124,295   $ 1,181,975     $ 34,115   3 % $ (23,565 ) -2 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
                                       
    Liabilities & Shareholders’ Equity                                  
    Deposits $ 1,011,473   $ 985,627   $ 1,051,256     $ 25,846   3 % $ (39,783 ) -4 %   87 % 88 % 89 %
    Borrowings   13,403   $ 13,403   $ 13,403       –   0 %   –   0 %   1 % 1 % 1 %
    Other liabilities   12,447   $ 10,342   $ 10,715       2,105   20 %   1,732   16 %   1 % 1 % 1 %
    Shareholders’ equity   121,087   $ 114,923   $ 106,601       6,164   5 %   14,486   14 %   11 % 10 % 9 %
    Liabilities & Shareholders’ Equity $ 1,158,410   $ 1,124,295   $ 1,181,975     $ 34,115   3 % $ (23,565 ) -2 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
    INVESTMENT COMPOSITION & CONCENTRATIONS (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Total
       
    ($ in 000s)                                  
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024     2024     2023       $ %   $ %   2024  2024  2023 
    Investment Securities                                  
    Collateralized mortgage obligations $ 141,842   $ 125,937   $ 126,376     $ 15,905   13 % $ 15,466   12 %   48 % 45 % 45 %
    Mortgage backed securities   41,264     37,159     38,322       4,105   11 %   2,942   8 %   14 % 13 % 13 %
    U.S. Government and agency securities   68,961     72,504     82,292       (3,543 ) -5 %   (13,331 ) -16 %   23 % 27 % 27 %
    Municipal securities   44,725     43,128     42,162       1,597   4 %   2,563   6 %   15 % 15 % 15 %
    Investment Securities $ 296,792   $ 278,728   $ 289,152     $ 18,064   6 % $ 7,640   3 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
                                       
    Held to maturity securities $ 42,301   $ 43,244   $ 56,469     $ (943 ) -2 % $ (14,168 ) -25 %   14 % 16 % 20 %
    Available for sale securities $ 254,491   $ 235,484   $ 232,683     $ 19,007   8 % $ 21,808   9 %   86 % 84 % 80 %
                                       
    Government & Agency securities $ 252,039   $ 235,570   $ 246,956     $ 16,469   7 % $ 5,083   2 %   85 % 85 % 85 %
    AAA, AA, A rated securities $ 44,084   $ 42,471   $ 41,025     $ 1,613   4 % $ 3,059   7 %   15 % 15 % 14 %
    Non-rated securities $ 669   $ 687   $ 1,171     $ (18 ) -3 % $ (502 ) -43 %   0 % 0 % 0 %
                                       
    AFS Unrealized Gain (Loss) $ (14,804 ) $ (21,978 ) $ (29,783 )   $ 7,174   -33 % $ 14,979   -50 %   -5 % -8 % -10 %
    PORTFOLIO LOAN COMPOSITION & CONCENTRATIONS (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Total
       
    ($ in 000s)                                  
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024     2024     2023       $ %   $ %   2024  2024  2023 
    Portfolio Loans                                  
    Commercial & agriculture $ 73,002   $ 74,952   $ 73,232     $ (1,950 ) -3 % $ (230 ) 0 %   10 % 11 % 11 %
    Real estate:                                  
    Construction and development   46,569     47,856     42,584       (1,287 ) -3 %   3,985   9 %   7 % 7 % 6 %
    Residential 1-4 family   105,298     105,807     90,449       (509 ) 0 %   14,849   16 %   15 % 14 % 14 %
    Multi-family   60,773     58,003     49,092       2,770   5 %   11,681   24 %   9 % 8 % 7 %
    CRE — owner occupied   167,086     169,491     164,057       (2,405 ) -1 %   3,029   2 %   24 % 24 % 25 %
    CRE — non owner occupied   157,347     157,591     154,993       (244 ) 0 %   2,354   2 %   22 % 22 % 23 %
    Farmland   26,553     27,195     27,641       (642 ) -2 %   (1,088 ) -4 %   4 % 4 % 4 %
    Consumer   62,975     63,082     69,921       (107 ) 0 %   (6,946 ) -10 %   9 % 10 % 10 %
    Portfolio Loans   699,603     703,977     671,969       (4,374 ) -1 %   27,634   4 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
    Less: ACL   (8,897 )   (8,859 )   (8,347 )                      
    Less: deferred fees   (629 )   (655 )   (835 )                      
    Net loans $ 690,077   $ 694,463   $ 662,787                        
                                       
    Regulatory Commercial Real Estate $ 261,292   $ 260,068   $ 244,277     $ 1,224   0 % $ 17,015   7 %   37 % 37 % 36 %
    Total Risk Based Capital(1) $ 140,971   $ 140,176   $ 137,473     $ 795   1 % $ 3,498   3 %        
    CRE to Risk Based Capital(1)   185 %   186 %   178 %       -1 %     7 %        
    CRE–MULTI-FAMILY & NON OWNER OCCUPIED COMPOSITION (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Total
       
    ($ in 000s)                                  
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024   2024   2023     $ %   $ %   2024  2024  2023 
    Collateral Composition(2)                                  
    Multifamily $ 63,099 $ 63,243 $ 54,677   $ (144 ) 0 % $ 8,422   15 %   27 % 27 % 26 %
    Retail   37,685   36,074   28,657     1,611   4 %   9,028   32 %   16 % 16 % 13 %
    Hospitality   30,844   30,248   32,190     596   2 %   (1,346 ) -4 %   13 % 13 % 15 %
    Mini Storage   25,758   23,619   20,977     2,139   9 %   4,781   23 %   11 % 11 % 10 %
    Office   22,921   23,266   27,075     (345 ) -1 %   (4,154 ) -15 %   10 % 10 % 13 %
    Mixed Use   22,708   23,520   22,457     (812 ) -3 %   251   1 %   10 % 10 % 11 %
    Industrial   13,912   13,691   10,898     221   2 %   3,014   28 %   6 % 6 % 5 %
    Warehouse   7,582   7,631   6,204     (49 ) -1 %   1,378   22 %   3 % 3 % 3 %
    Special Purpose   6,968   7,014   7,146     (46 ) -1 %   (178 ) -2 %   3 % 3 % 3 %
    Other   3,174   3,213   3,380     (39 ) -1 %   (206 ) -6 %   1 % 1 % 1 %
    Total $ 234,651 $ 231,519 $ 213,661   $ 3,132   1 % $ 20,990   10 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
                                       
    (1) Bank of the Pacific                      
    (2) Includes loans in process of construction                      
    CREDIT QUALITY (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from
     
    ($ in 000s)   Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Jun 30, 2024
        2024    2024    2023      $ %   $ %
    Risk Rating Distribution                          
    Pass $ 691,199   $ 694,272   $ 664,327     $ (3,073 ) 0 %   26,872   4 %
    Special Mention   4,789     4,731     1,626       58   1 %   3,163   195 %
    Substandard   3,615     4,974     6,016       (1,359 ) -27 %   (2,401 ) -40 %
    Portfolio Loans $ 699,603   $ 703,977   $ 671,969     $ (4,374 ) -1 % $ 27,634   4 %
                               
    Nonperforming Assets                          
    Nonaccruing loans   1,138     1,370     1,219     $ (232 ) -17 %   (81 ) -7 %
    Other real estate owned   –     –     –       –   0 %   –   0 %
    Nonperforming Assets $ 1,138   $ 1,370   $ 1,219     $ (232 ) -17 %   (81 ) -7 %
                               
    Credit Metrics                          
    Classified loans1 to portfolio loans   0.52 %   0.71 %   0.90 %     -0.19 %     -0.38 %  
    ACL to classified loans1   246.11 %   178.11 %   132.68 %     68.00 %     113.43 %  
    Loans past due 30+ days to portfolio loans2   0.03 %   0.04 %   0.25 %     -0.01 %     -0.22 %  
    Nonperforming assets to total assets   0.10 %   0.12 %   0.10 %     -0.02 %     0.00 %  
    Nonaccruing loans to portfolio loans   0.16 %   0.19 %   0.18 %     -0.03 %     -0.02 %  
                               
    (1) Classified loans include loans rated substandard or worse and are defined as loans having a well-defined weakness or weaknesses related to the borrower’s financial capacity or to pledged collateral that may jeopardize the repayment of the debt. They are characterized by the possibility that the Bank may sustain some loss if the deficiencies giving rise to the substandard classification are not corrected.
    (2) Excludes non-accrual loans
    DEPOSIT COMPOSITION & CONCENTRATIONS (unaudited) Period Ended   Change from   % of Total
       
    ($ in 000s)                                  
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024 Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30, Jun 30, Sep 30,
        2024   2024   2023     $ %   $ %   2024  2024  2023 
    Deposits                                  
    Interest-bearing demand $ 183,337 $ 179,278 $ 208,091   $ 4,059   2 % $ (24,754 ) -12 %   18 % 19 % 20 %
    Money market   192,185   180,727   179,367     11,458   6 %   12,818   7 %   19 % 18 % 17 %
    Savings   117,131   121,851   138,981     (4,720 ) -4 %   (21,850 ) -16 %   12 % 12 % 13 %
    Time deposits (CDs)   133,995   125,560   92,720     8,435   7 %   41,275   45 %   13 % 13 % 9 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits   626,648   607,416   619,159     19,232   3 %   7,489   1 %   62 % 62 % 59 %
    Non-interest bearing demand   384,825   378,211   432,097     6,614   2 %   (47,272 ) -11 %   38 % 38 % 41 %
    Total deposits $ 1,011,473 $ 985,627 $ 1,051,256   $ 25,846   3 % $ (39,783 ) -4 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
                                       
    Insured Deposits $ 636,725 $ 632,923 $ 666,308   $ 3,802   1 % $ (414,008 ) -62 %   63 % 64 % 63 %
    Collateralized Deposits   122,448   118,966   152,960     3,482   3 %   (30,512 ) -20 %   12 % 12 % 15 %
    Uninsured Deposits   252,300   233,738   231,988     18,562   8 %   404,737   174 %   25 % 24 % 22 %
    Total Deposits $ 1,011,473 $ 985,627 $ 1,051,256   $ 25,846   3 % $ (39,783 ) -4 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
                                       
    Consumer Deposits $ 458,097 $ 458,249 $ 466,877   $ (152 ) 0 % $ (8,780 ) -2 %   45 % 47 % 44 %
    Business Deposits   420,845   398,719   429,443     22,126   6 %   (8,598 ) -2 %   42 % 40 % 41 %
    Public Deposits   132,531   128,659   154,936     3,872   3 %   (22,405 ) -14 %   13 % 13 % 15 %
    Total Deposits $ 1,011,473 $ 985,627 $ 1,051,256   $ 25,846   3 % $ (39,783 ) -4 %   100 % 100 % 100 %
    NET INTEREST MARGIN (unaudited) Quarter Ended   Change From   Nine Months Ended   Change
         
    ($ in 000s)                                          
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024   Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30,   Sep 30,        
        2024    2024    2023      $ %   $ %   2024    2023      $ %
                                               
    Average Interest Bearing Balances                                          
    Portfolio loans $ 697,904   $ 699,404   $ 665,300     $ (1,500 ) 0 % $ 32,604   5 % $ 695,418   $ 653,619     $ 41,799   6 %
    Loans held for sale $ 1,276   $ 1,593   $ 497     $ (317 ) -20 % $ 779   157 % $ 1,155   $ 601     $ 554   92 %
    Investment securities $ 285,947   $ 283,637   $ 284,041     $ 2,310   1 % $ 1,906   1 % $ 287,315   $ 285,538     $ 1,777   1 %
    Interest-bearing cash $ 81,755   $ 62,494   $ 172,119     $ 19,261   31 % $ (90,364 ) -53 % $ 71,080   $ 206,259     $ (135,179 ) -66 %
    Total interest-earning assets $ 1,066,882   $ 1,047,128   $ 1,121,957     $ 19,754   2 % $ (55,075 ) -5 % $ 1,054,968   $ 1,146,017     $ (91,049 ) -8 %
    Non-interest bearing deposits $ 383,332   $ 387,740   $ 441,782     $ (4,408 ) -1 % $ (58,450 ) -13 % $ 388,672   $ 457,750     $ (69,078 ) -15 %
    Interest-bearing deposits $ 615,388   $ 596,121   $ 619,183     $ 19,267   3 % $ (3,795 ) -1 % $ 600,694   $ 628,978     $ (28,284 ) -4 %
    Total Deposits $ 998,720   $ 983,861   $ 1,060,965     $ 14,859   2 % $ (62,245 ) -6 % $ 989,366   $ 1,086,728     $ (97,362 ) -9 %
    Borrowings $ 13,403   $ 13,404   $ 13,403     $ (1 ) 0 % $ –   0 % $ 13,403   $ 13,401     $ 2   0 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities $ 628,791   $ 609,525   $ 632,586     $ 19,266   3 % $ (3,795 ) -1 % $ 614,097   $ 642,379     $ (28,282 ) -4 %
                                               
    Yield / Cost $(1)                                          
    Portfolio loans $ 10,509   $ 10,092   $ 9,570     $ 417   4 % $ 939   10 % $ 30,834   $ 27,208     $ 3,626   13 %
    Loans held for sale $ 22   $ 28   $ 8     $ (6 ) -21 % $ 14   175 % $ 55   $ 28     $ 27   96 %
    Investment securities $ 2,535   $ 2,442   $ 2,405     $ 93   4 % $ 130   5 % $ 7,485   $ 6,954     $ 531   8 %
    Interest-bearing cash $ 1,108   $ 847   $ 2,322     $ 261   31 % $ (1,214 ) -52 % $ 2,890   $ 7,669     $ (4,779 ) -62 %
    Total interest-earning assets $ 14,174   $ 13,410   $ 14,306     $ 764   6 % $ (132 ) -1 % $ 41,265   $ 41,859     $ (594 ) -1 %
    Interest-bearing deposits $ 2,684   $ 2,358   $ 1,716     $ 326   14 % $ 968   56 % $ 7,033   $ 3,437     $ 3,596   105 %
    Borrowings $ 243   $ 242   $ 246     $ 1   0 % $ (3 ) -1 % $ 727   $ 682     $ 45   7 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities $ 2,927   $ 2,600   $ 1,962     $ 327   13 % $ 965   49 % $ 7,760   $ 4,119     $ 3,641   88 %
    Net interest income $ 11,247   $ 10,810   $ 12,344     $ 437   4 %   (1,097 ) -9 % $ 33,505   $ 37,740     $ (4,235 ) -11 %
                                               
    Yield / Cost %(1)                                          
    Yield on portfolio loans   5.99 %   5.80 %   5.71 %     0.19 %     0.28 %     5.92 %   5.57 %     0.35 %  
    Yield on investment securities   3.53 %   3.46 %   3.36 %     0.07 %     0.17 %     3.48 %   3.26 %     0.22 %  
    Yield on interest-bearing cash   5.39 %   5.46 %   5.35 %     -0.07 %     0.04 %     5.43 %   4.97 %     0.46 %  
    Cost of interest-bearing deposits   1.74 %   1.59 %   1.10 %     0.15 %     0.64 %     1.56 %   0.73 %     0.83 %  
    Cost of borrowings   7.21 %   7.26 %   7.28 %     -0.05 %     -0.07 %     7.25 %   6.80 %     0.45 %  
    Cost of deposits and borrowings   1.15 %   1.05 %   0.72 %     0.10 %     0.43 %     1.03 %   0.50 %     0.53 %  
                                               
    Yield on interest-earning assets   5.29 %   5.15 %   5.06 %     0.14 %     0.23 %     5.22 %   4.88 %     0.34 %  
    Cost of interest-bearing liabilities   1.85 %   1.72 %   1.23 %     0.13 %     0.62 %     1.69 %   0.86 %     0.83 %  
    Net interest spread   3.44 %   3.43 %   3.83 %     0.01 %     -0.39 %     3.53 %   4.02 %     -0.49 %  
    Net interest margin   4.19 %   4.15 %   4.37 %     0.04 %     -0.18 %     4.24 %   4.40 %     -0.16 %  
                                               
    (1) Tax-exempt income has been adjusted to a tax equivalent basis at a rate of 21%.  
    ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES (ACL) (unaudited) Quarter Ended   Change From   Nine Months Ended   Change
         
    ($ in 000s)                                          
        Sep 30,   Jun 30,   Sep 30,     Jun 30, 2024   Sep 30, 2023   Sep 30,   Sep 30,        
        2024    2024    2023      $ %   $ %   2024    2023      $ %
    Allowance for Credit Losses                                          
    Beginning of period balance $ 8,859   $ 8,580   $ 8,223     $ 279   3 % $ 636   8 % $ 8,530   $ 8,236     $ 294   4 %
    Impact of CECL Adoption (ASC 326)   –     –     –       –   -100 %   –   -100 %   –     (157 )     157   -100 %
    Charge-offs   (5 )   (57 )   (126 )     52   -91 %   121   -96 %   (97 )   (259 )     162   -63 %
    Recoveries   16     1     1       15   1500 %   15   1500 %   19     55       (36 ) -65 %
    Net (charge-off) recovery   11     (56 )   (125 )     67   -120 %   136   -109 %   (78 )   (204 )     126   -62 %
    Provision (benefit)   27     335     249       (308 ) -92 %   (222 ) -89 %   445     472       (27 ) -6 %
    End of period balance $ 8,897   $ 8,859   $ 8,347     $ 38   0 % $ 550   7 % $ 8,897   $ 8,347     $ 550   7 %
                                               
    Net charge-off (recovery) to                                          
    average portfolio loans   -0.01 %   0.03 %   0.07 %     -0.04 %     -0.08 %     0.01 %   0.04 %     -0.03 %  
    ACL to portfolio loans   1.27 %   1.26 %   1.24 %     0.01 %     0.03 %     1.27 %   1.24 %     0.03 %  
                                               
    Allowance for unfunded loans                                          
    Beginning of period balance $ 617   $ 648   $ 754     $ (31 ) -5 % $ (137 ) -18 % $ 698   $ 203     $ 495   244 %
    Impact of CECL Adoption (ASC 326)   –     –     –       –   -100 %   –   -100 %   –     609       (609 ) -100 %
    Provision (benefit)   (93 )   (31 )   (5 )     (62 ) 200 %   (88 ) 1760 %   (174 )   (63 )     (111 ) 176 %
    End of period balance $ 524   $ 617   $ 749     $ (93 ) -15 % $ (225 ) -30 % $ 524   $ 749     $ (225 ) -30 %

    ABOUT PACIFIC FINANCIAL CORPORATION

    Pacific Financial Corporation of Aberdeen, Washington, is the bank holding company for Bank of the Pacific, a state chartered and federally insured commercial bank. Bank of the Pacific offers banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses and professionals in western Washington and Oregon. At September 30, 2024, the Company had total assets of $1.16 billion and operated fifteen branches in the communities of Grays Harbor, Pacific, Thurston, Whatcom, Skagit, Clark and Wahkiakum counties in the State of Washington, and three branches in the communities of Clatsop and Clackamas counties in Oregon. The Company also operated loan production offices in the communities of Burlington, Washington and Salem, Oregon. Visit the Company’s website at www.bankofthepacific.com. Member FDIC.

    Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other laws, including all statements in this release that are not historical facts or that relate to future plans or events or projected results of Pacific Financial Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bank of the Pacific. Such statements are based on information available at the time of communication and are based on current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied, and could negatively impact the Company’s operating and stock price performance. These risks and uncertainties include various risks associated with growing the Bank and expanding the services it provides, development of new business lines and markets, competition in the marketplace, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, extensive and evolving regulation of the banking industry, and many other risks. Any forward-looking statements in this communication are based on information at the time the statement is made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Readers of this release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    CONTACTS:
    DENISE PORTMANN, PRESIDENT & CEO
    CARLA TUCKER, EVP & CFO
    360.533.8873

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitget Wallet Powers Nearly 50% of Catizen Airdrop

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget Wallet, the leading non-custodial Web3 wallet, facilitated nearly 50% of claims for the Catizen’s CATI token airdrop, according to onchain data. This positions Bitget Wallet as the most popular choice for users claiming the Catizen airdrop, underscoring its dominance in accessing the latest Web3 opportunities.

    Catizen is an innovative game within the TON and Mantle ecosystems, seamlessly blending gaming with crypto rewards in a play-for-airdrop format. Its integration with Telegram’s mini-app ecosystem has made it highly accessible, creating a dynamic hub for Web 3.0 traffic and quickly attracting players eager to explore the next generation of blockchain gaming. The CATI airdrop claim period, which ran from September 19 to October 24, nearly 50% of all claims were made through Bitget Wallet, underscoring its popularity among users.

    Bitget Wallet partnered with Catizen to enhance its airdrop experience by providing full gas fee subsidies, enabling users to claim CATI tokens on-chain at no cost. The initiative also included a prize pool of 50,000 CATI tokens for users completing designated tasks. Furthermore, Bitget Wallet integrated Catizen’s Game Center by adding a dedicated section within its DApp platform for easy access. This collaboration enriches the Catizen community and solidifies Bitget Wallet’s role within the expanding TON ecosystem.

    Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, stated, “Our partnership with Catizen is a step for making blockchain gaming more accessible. By facilitating seamless access to the Catizen game and its token airdrop, we are removing barriers to participation and empowering users to explore new opportunities, ultimately fostering a vibrant blockchain gaming community and Web3 ecosystem.“

    About Bitget Wallet

    Bitget Wallet is the home of Web3, where endless possibilities come together in one wallet. Uniting over 40 million users, this non-custodial wallet brings everything onchain in one place—asset management, quick swaps, rewards, staking, trading tools, live market data, a DApp browser, and an NFT marketplace. With wallet options like mnemonic, MPC, AA, and a Telegram bot, Bitget Wallet serves everyone from beginners to advanced traders. Supporting 100+ blockchains, 20,000+ DApps and 500,000+ tokens, it connects to hundreds of DEXs and cross-chain bridges for seamless multi-chain trading, and offers a $300 million protection fund to keep your digital assets safe.

    Experience Bitget Wallet Lite to start your Web3 journey.

    For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | TikTok | Discord

    About Catizen

    Catizen is a revolutionary gaming bot on Telegram that seamlessly integrates the messaging app Telegram with multiple blockchains, including TON and Mantle Network. It redefines Web 3.0 experiences by enabling -mobile payments with both crypto currencies and fiat currencies. By tapping into Telegram’s vast user base, Catizen aims to create a Web 3.0 traffic hub on an unprecedented scale.

    Additionally, Catizen is evolving into a Mini-app Center, integrating features from launchpool platforms, such as early access to new projects, token-based activities, transaction capabilities, along with short videos and e-commerce functionalities. This innovative approach will attract and engage users through gamification and strategic Play-to-Airdrop initiatives, transforming how users access and engage with the Web 3.0 ecosystem.

    For more information, visit: X | Official Website | Telegram | Telegram Chat | Bot

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ce6b68b3-c33e-45b6-bd97-85090f45a5c4

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, October 2024 | Reforms amid Great Expectations

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    Leveling the Playing Field: Gender Equality and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Sub-Saharan Africa has made significant strides in reducing gender inequality over the past two decades, yet challenges remain. Despite improvements in labor force participation and political representation, gaps persist in education, health, and access to financial resources. Legal barriers and harmful practices like child marriage and gender-based violence limit women’s opportunities, restricting their economic empowerment. Addressing these issues is crucial for boosting productivity and fostering inclusive growth in the region. Policy recommendations emphasize legal reforms, improving educational access, and fostering financial inclusion. Empowering women can drive economic diversification and reduce poverty, creating a more resilient and dynamic workforce that supports long-term economic stability in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: In her first budget, the chancellor faces a minefield of risks

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City Political Economy Research Centre, City St George’s, University of London

    Ahead of the new government’s first budget on October 30, chancellor Rachel Reeves has revealed her determination to change borrowing rules that will allow her to boost investment spending.

    The overriding goal of the government is to promote economic growth, after more than a decade of stagnation in living standards. In the long run, boosting growth will produce more money for the government to improve public services. But while Reeves has given a strong steer as to how she will fund the public investment needed to grow the economy in the long term, she will also have to find money for urgent improvements to struggling public services like the NHS, a key election pledge.

    There are three ways that the government can raise the funds it needs to boost investment and improve key public services. It can raise taxes, increase borrowing, or make cuts to spending. Given the scale of the challenge faced by the chancellor, all three are likely.

    The government had made a rod for its own back with two of its key election pledges: not to raise the main taxes (income tax, national insurance, and VAT) on “working people”, while sticking to a set of fiscal rules that set strict limits on government borrowing. These pledges were designed to appeal to voters hit by the cost of living, while demonstrating to financial markets that Labour would be cautious with public money. Government borrowing reached nearly £80 billion in last six months, the third highest sum on record.

    With the so-called financial “black hole” now estimated at £40 billion, not the £22 billion announced in July, the Treasury will need major tax rises that go well beyond the modest proposals from the election campaign. Although Labour may make some limited increases in other taxes on wealth, such as capital gains tax, this alone will not close the revenue gap.

    The most likely candidate to bridge the gap is an increase in employer national insurance (NI) contributions, for example by making employers pay NI on their pension contributions. This could raise more than £15 billion per year. Reeves and prime minister Keir Starmer argue that this would not breach their manifesto commitments – but it will be politically controversial. Observers, including the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, argue that such taxes are eventually felt by workers through either lower wages or staff cuts.

    Further spending cuts are also on the cards. In July the chancellor announced a series of cuts, cancelling planned spending on the reform of social care, withdrawing the winter fuel payment to most pensioners, and ordering departments to make efficiency savings to help fund pay awards.



    Read more:
    The boomer generation hit the economic jackpot. Young people will inherit their massive debts

    Other than for the NHS, Reeves is expected to squeeze spending in “unprotected” departments (prisons and local government, for example). On welfare spending, the Treasury has the rising bill for disability and incapacity benefits in its sights.

    But even these decisions leave the government with a major funding dilemma. How will it pay for capital spending, everything from new hospitals and schools to roads, bridges and other infrastructure? All are key to boosting long-term growth.

    While one of Reeves’ fiscal rules aims to ensure that day-to-day spending must be balanced by tax receipts (leading to the need for tax increases), borrowing for long-term public investment is not part of that calculation. But any increased borrowing for investment appears to be sharply curtailed by another fiscal rule, which says that total government debt (including that incurred by borrowing to invest) as a percentage of GDP must be falling within five years.

    New government, new rules?

    Despite Labour’s embrace of both these tight fiscal rules during the election campaign, the chancellor has now confirmed that she wants to modify this debt rule to allow herself to borrow more.

    She plans to change how overall government debt is measured, effectively redefining it by including more government assets to set against the amount being borrowed. The likely new measure, known as “public sector net financial assets”, would include assets like funded local government pension schemes and student loans income, as well as government-owned companies like Great British Energy.

    This could give the chancellor up to £50 billion in extra borrowing power for public investment. Her argument is that borrowing to build infrastructure gives the government a tangible asset that will pay for itself in the long term by boosting growth and tax receipts.

    None of the choices facing Rachel Reeves will be easy.

    The government’s spending watchdog, the OBR, agrees that in the long term, well-planned public sector investment could benefit the economy, although it says it would take a long time to materialise. Many observers, including the former head of the civil service, Gus O’Donnell, and Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, strongly support increased public investment as a way to boost lagging productivity.

    But there are risks in this strategy if it unsettles financial markets. Total government debt on the current measure now stands at £2.6 trillion, nearly the same size as the whole UK economy. It is costing the Treasury around £74 billion a year in interest payments, almost the size of the education budget.

    If the bond markets (which buy government debt) take fright, they could force up the cost of borrowing further, which could raise interest rates on mortgages and other consumer borrowing. And news of the chancellor’s plan to change to the fiscal rule did cause bond yields to rise slightly. This suggests if government debt rises too rapidly, even within the new rules, this could have a destabilising effect. So the chancellor will have to judge carefully how much of the extra headroom she should use.

    Like all Labour chancellors, Reeves faces the task of keeping both voters and the financial markets happy at the same time. Her strategy could end up alienating rather than pleasing both sides.

    Given the scale of Labour’s ambitions, balanced against her limited resources, she may have little choice but to take such a bold approach. But her path between alienating business and disillusioning the public is a narrow one. And the longer it takes for her strategy to bear fruit in terms of a better standard of living and improved public services, the more difficult things will become politically.

    Steve Schifferes 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. In her first budget, the chancellor faces a minefield of risks – https://theconversation.com/in-her-first-budget-the-chancellor-faces-a-minefield-of-risks-241939

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Budget will invest in foundations of future growth

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in Washington D.C. for her first IMF Annual Meetings, where she will say that the Budget is about investing in future growth.

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C.

    • Reeves will set out how public investment will drive innovation in science and technology, the transition to clean energy, and upgraded infrastructure.
    • Chancellor to represent British interests in G7, G20 and IMF discussions on the global economy, international financial system and ongoing support for Ukraine.

    Rachel Reeves will tell her global counterparts that the Government’s first Budget will “invest in the foundations of future growth,” as she attends her first annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C as Chancellor.

    The Chancellor will pledge that the Budget next week will be “built on the rock of economic stability” to fix the foundations and deliver change. She will set out how public investment will help fuel mission-led government, from boosting investment in science and technology, transitioning to clean energy and upgrading infrastructure.

    The Chancellor will attend G7, G20 and IMF meetings to represent Britain’s interests on issues including the global economy, the international financial system and ongoing support for Ukraine. This follows the UK’s announcement of its £2.26bn contribution to the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans for Ukraine scheme, backed by the profits from sanctioned Russian sovereign assets. She will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with her international counterparts.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

    A Britain built on the rock of economic stability is a Britain that is a strong and credible international partner. I’ll be in Washington to tell the world that our upcoming Budget will be a reset for our economy as we invest in the foundations of future growth.

    It’s from this solid base that we will be able to best represent British interests and show leadership on the major issues like the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

    At the Annual Meetings, Chancellor Reeves will support proposals to expand financing for development, needed for countries to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and tackle unsustainable debt. She will also press for all G20 countries to meet G20 best practice on debt transparency and move swiftly to implement support for countries facing pressing liquidity problems. The Chancellor will welcome the agreement of a new G20 roadmap to scale up financing to developing countries through Multilateral Development Banks.

    It is the 80th anniversary year of the founding of the IMF and the World Bank, established at a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944 to promote international cooperation on economic and monetary policies. At this years’ gathering the Chancellor will also call for change to the global financial system to deliver a fairer deal for vulnerable countries.

    The IMF released its latest survey of the global economy on Tuesday, in which the UK’s growth forecast was upgraded to 1.1% in 2024. Whilst this is welcome, the Chancellor will make clear to her counterparts that there will be more long-term decisions required to reinforce stability and deliver on the promise of change at her first Budget on 30 October.

    The Chancellor’s trip to Washington D.C. follows the International Investment Summit earlier this month, at which it was announced that nearly 38,000 jobs are set to be created across the UK thanks to a total of £63 billion in investment commitments from businesses around the world. The vote of confidence in the UK is a clear sign Britain is open for business and ready to drive sustainable growth across the country.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Horror movies are as much a mainstay of Halloween as trick or treat − but why are they so bloody?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James Francis, Jr., Instructional Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

    Horror movies are plentiful in 2024, and plenty bloody. The year has seen the release of films awash in blood, such as “Immaculate,” “The First Omen” and “The Strangers.” With Halloween on the way, bloody offerings are streaming, in theaters and running in marathons on cable.

    Watch them, and you’ll likely notice that as the decades pass, the directors, writers and studio executives of these films seem to produce more and more on-screen blood, violence and gore. But why?

    As a professor of horror studies, I explore the depths of the genre with my students – and for us to understand the evolution of blood in horror cinema, we first consider how films reflect their times.

    Alfred Hitchcock and Michael Powell created proto-slashers with “Psycho” and “Peeping Tom,” respectively. Both films were released in 1960 about four months apart, both feature serial killers, and both operate on a “tell, don’t show” visual aesthetic. Rather than show the blood to the audience, the films provide narrative cues to only suggest the blood.

    Janet Leigh’s shower scene in ‘Psycho’ is one of the most memorable moments in movie history.
    Bettmann via Getty Images

    Guts, gore and so much more

    In “Psycho,” Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, is stabbed to death in the famous shower scene. But the quick-cut editing gives only the illusion of her nude body being slashed as a small amount of blood washes down the drain in black-and-white tones. By not shooting “Psycho” in color, and avoiding the image of bright red blood in the bathtub – Hitchcock’s choice – the film doesn’t seem as violent.

    By the late 1960s, the restrictive Hays Code, which prohibited overt on-screen violence and the use of fake blood, was replaced by the less stringent Motion Picture Association of America film ratings system. Filmmakers could latch onto new freedoms to express fear, anxiety and dread in more visceral depictions. One way to do that – more blood.

    In “Night of the Living Dead,” George A. Romero’s 1968 seminal zombie flick, the walking dead consume the flesh of the living. Even though the movie is in black and white, the monochromatic presentation does not dull the display of the undead gobbling guts and licking up blood.

    The film’s release came six months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and a clear connection between Romero’s film and the Civil Rights Movement then taking place is apparent. The movie’s heightened gore correlates to the movement’s all-too-bloody violent struggle, as Ben, played by Duane Jones, the sole person of color among the living, hides from the ghouls in an abandoned farmhouse with a group of six white people.

    Ben works to keep the group safe but faces ongoing pushback from the white male characters. At the end of the film, a group of vigilantes, believing Ben is a zombie, guns him down before tossing his body into a fire.

    The symbolism as a reflection of the times is hard to miss. Romero and John Russo, who co-wrote the screenplay, didn’t initially intend to make a statement on civil rights; but later, during postproduction, Romero realized the assassination of King turned his movie into a “Black film.”

    Bloody metaphors

    Then came the 1970s, when blood was sprayed all over the screen. But Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974), William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” (1974) and Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979) have something else in common: They feature women protagonists who survive the unthinkable.

    Once again, blood is a common denominator. Sally’s body is covered in it after escaping Leatherface; Regan’s body, along with the blood, spews green vomit; and Ripley sees an alien burst out of a crew member’s chest. But the films weren’t just gory – they were metaphors for the uphill battle for women’s rights in the 1970s.

    The original “Halloween” (1978) also fits here, but with a twist. The character of Laurie Strode, perhaps an early prototype of women protagonists in horror films, connects back to a “tell, don’t show” sensibility while simultaneously embracing changing times. While the first kill shows Michael Myers stabbing his older sister, the audience views the death from the partially veiled perspective of Myers behind his Halloween mask. You see little until her body hits the floor to reveal the blood.

    ‘Halloween’ was a huge hit and has thus far spawned six direct sequels, one offshoot, a two-part remake and one reboot trilogy over 46 years.
    Universal History Archive via Getty Images

    Nightmares and reality

    In the 1980s, the slasher subgenre dominated horror – and the bloodier, the better: These movies focus on the number of kills and the creative ways the victims are dispatched.

    Each sequel in these horror franchises needed to up the kills, if for no other reason than to outdo its predecessors and competitors. Audiences began rooting for villains like Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger, all of whom had their own theme music, and in Freddy’s case, trademark one-liners. Many of the villains had more character development than their victims, who seemed interchangeable and little more than fodder for the slasher machine.

    The 1990s had bigger-budgeted, more innovative films, such as Wes Craven’s “New Nightmare” (1994) and “Scream” (1996). Here the attacks are more personal; the stabbings are close-up. CGI, or computer-generated imagery, used in abundance in the “Nightmare” series, allowed for more creative and bloody kills.

    Scarier times mean bloodier movies

    Since 9/11, horror films have existed in a place where there’s no apparent motive other than violence and bloodshed. In “The Strangers” (2008), the villains tie up, torment and savagely maim their victims. In the 2009 remake of “The Last House on the Left,” it’s the villains who meet a bloody end. Contemporary horror understands how senseless killings on screen are effective, because the removal of emotion from the violence parallels real-world incidents.

    ‘Ghostface’ is the villain in the popular ‘Scream’ series.
    James Gourley/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

    By the late 2010s, horror films link to the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, most notably in the “Halloween” reboot trilogy, as Laurie Strode once again confronts Michael Myers and the trauma he inflicted 40 years prior.

    The kills in the new “Halloween” trilogy are extremely bloody and violent. They also mirror the sexual and societal exploitation of women and their bodies. Ultimately, the series allows the protagonist, and the traumatized town of Haddonfield, to acknowledge the evil, confront it and try to finally put an end to it, once and for all.

    The evolution in the horror genre’s presentation of blood and gore doesn’t necessarily make for scarier movies, but they often point to the scarier times in which we live. Earlier horror films, comparatively tamer and with less blood, were often box-office successes. But today’s audiences probably appreciate them more for their artistic merits than the fear they induce.

    The preferences of horror audiences change over time, much like the ebb and flow of the blood depicted in these movies. The original “Halloween” has hardly a drop; the recent reboots are over the top – but still nowhere close to the mayhem depicted in the just-released “Terrifier 3.”

    What the future holds is anyone’s guess. But check out the world around you, and you’ll certainly get a bloody good hint of what’s to come.

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

    – ref. Horror movies are as much a mainstay of Halloween as trick or treat − but why are they so bloody? – https://theconversation.com/horror-movies-are-as-much-a-mainstay-of-halloween-as-trick-or-treat-but-why-are-they-so-bloody-241214

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Florida’s new condo laws recognize the total price of living on the beach

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bill Hughes, Research Director, Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center, University of Florida

    Repairing high-rise condos like this one in Miami Beach can cost millions. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Nearly a million Florida condo owners face an important deadline at the end of the year. That’s when a law passed in 2022 requires most Florida condo associations to submit inspection reports for their buildings and to collect money from owners to pay for any needed repairs.

    Condo owners are reporting that new condominium rules are driving up fees and inducing outrageous assessments.

    The media has picked up on the outrage. News articles about condo owners “facing financial turmoil as a result of new building safety regulations” and how “bills are crippling homeowners” lead readers to believe that Florida lawmakers have imposed an egregious tax on the elderly and those on fixed incomes.

    This is misleading at best.

    As the research director at the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Real Estate Center, I suggest it is important to set emotions aside and see what these laws attempt to accomplish.

    Safety inspections

    The 2022 state condo law, known as SB-4D, and its 2023 follow-up, SB-154, establish three primary requirements: licensed inspections, reporting and disclosures, and reserve funds.

    Importantly, these laws are not tax legislation that directly increases housing costs on condo owners.

    But by requiring more inspections, transparency and funding to cover repairs, many owners will face costs much greater than the amounts paid in the past. These new expenses simply reflect more of the true cost of living in a condo near the ocean.

    Under the laws, all buildings occupied before 1992 must complete a milestone inspection by Dec. 31, 2024. This is an examination of the building’s structural integrity by an architect or engineer.

    The requirement also applies to buildings at least 25 years old that are within 3 miles of the coast.

    If the milestone inspection finds a potential structural problem, testing is required to determine if structural repairs are needed. If they are, owners must fund these repairs without an option to waive by vote.

    If no damage is identified, then the association must report and post the results, and that concludes the requirement.

    Prior to SB-4D, milestone inspections were not required outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Now, they are required statewide and must be reported to local authorities, all unit owners and the public for buyer information.

    Adequate savings for repairs

    The new regulations also require building associations to budget and collect sufficient reserves to cover the cost of maintaining and replacing parts of their buildings subject to regular wear and tear, such as roofs, elevators and balconies.

    History suggests that most homeowners associations struggle to adequately save for repairs and maintenance to keep their properties safe and in top condition.

    “Florida has … more associations that are considered weak [in terms of funded reserves] than any other state,” Will Simons, the head of Florida and Southeast Operations at Association Reserves, which conducts reserve studies for condo and community associations, told a colleague as part of a research article.

    The Champlain Towers South condominium that collapsed in the Miami suburb of Surfside in June 2021, killing 98 people, is just one example. Simons’ company completed a reserve study of the condo just months prior to the collapse and found its association was significantly underfunded.

    The association held approximately US$706,000 in reserves as of January 2021. Association Reserves recommended the association stockpile nearly $10.3 million to account for necessary repairs. That means the Surfside condo’s homeowners association had just 6.9% of the money it needed on hand.

    True costs of living by the ocean

    More than 16,000 condominium associations representing over 900,000 of Florida’s 1.5 million condominium units are currently affected by the new laws because these units are already more than 30 years old.

    Properties that have been sufficiently maintained and hold adequate reserves for future structural repairs will face nothing but an increased disclosure of inspection reports and continued reserve funding.

    Many residents, especially retired seniors, are struggling to adapt to the funding requirement. In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis is indicating some form of relief for owners facing financial hardship over these regulations.

    Frustration is understandable, as current residents are asked to simultaneously fund 30 years of past deterioration and also set aside savings for the next 30 years. However, policymakers are simply setting guidelines that condo owners should have established for themselves. Properties that face significant financial shocks from SB-4D are, by definition, undermaintained or underfunded.

    It is important to separate the intent of these laws from possible overreaction or fraud from condo associations, which is an existing concern. House Bill 1021, signed into law in June 2024, focuses on association governance to manage oversight of this type.

    Oceanside concrete structures, roofs, windows and elevators have limited lifespans. These items need to be repaired or replaced to protect residents’ safety. The new regulations are making the true condo costs transparent to unit owners and buyers.

    Bill Hughes is affiliated with National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), and CFA Institute.

    – ref. Florida’s new condo laws recognize the total price of living on the beach – https://theconversation.com/floridas-new-condo-laws-recognize-the-total-price-of-living-on-the-beach-239163

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Student-athletes find more power in the changing legal landscape of college sports

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joshua Lens, Associate Professor of Instruction of Sport & Recreation Management, University of Iowa

    Money disputes abound between players and universities. Aksonov/E+ via Getty Images

    Ever since the NCAA permitted college athletes to get paid by companies that use their names, images and likenesses, athletes have tested the limits of their increasing power.

    One of the latest examples is Matthew Sluka, the starting quarterback for UNLV’s first three games of the 2024 season. After helping lead UNLV to three wins and potential contention for a prestigious College Football Playoff bid, Sluka announced on Sept. 24, 2024, he would sit out the rest of the season. His decision is the result of a dispute over compensation for use of his name, image and likeness, commonly referred to as NIL.

    While the decision sent shock waves through college athletics, it also shines light on the changing balance of power that favors athletes over their coaches and universities.

    As a former lawyer and college athletics compliance administrator – and also as a current university faculty member who has authored several law review articles on legal issues related to NIL – I suggest that Sluka’s situation exemplifies how collegiate athletes can use recent NCAA rules changes to improve their financial situation in the NIL era of college athletics.

    Promises and denials

    Sluka’s NIL agent claims a UNLV assistant coach failed to fulfill a promise he made Sluka during the recruiting process. That promise, according to Sluka’s agent, was that Sluka would receive US$100,000 of NIL compensation from an NIL collective should he attend UNLV. NIL collectives are generally formed to pool individuals’ and businesses’ funds to provide NIL opportunities and compensation for athletes.

    Any such promise by a UNLV assistant coach would violate current NCAA policy. That’s because NCAA policy prohibits coaches from making NIL compensation offers contingent on whether a student enrolls. NIL collectives, on the other hand, may negotiate with athletes during the recruiting process as the result of a U.S. District Court ruling. That ruling prohibits the NCAA from penalizing collectives that negotiate NIL compensation with athletes during the recruiting process.

    In a forthcoming BYU Law Review article, however, I suggest that a university whose star athlete transfers because another school’s collective recruited the athlete possesses a viable legal claim against the collective. That claim would be for inducing the athlete to transfer and violate their athletics scholarship agreement.

    UNLV denies Sluka’s version of events. The university asserts that Sluka’s representative demanded more compensation from UNLV and its NIL collective in order for Sluka to continue playing. UNLV says it then refused, as such a “pay-for-play” agreement violates NCAA policy, which states that athletes may not accept NIL compensation based on “play” or on-field results.

    Perceptions and ‘pay-to-play’

    In Sluka’s case, further complicating things is the issue of whether Sluka’s NIL representative is properly registered with the state as an agent, as required by Nevada law. The state may be interested in pursuing enforcement, given the Nevada secretary of state’s relationship with UNLV’s NIL collective. More specifically, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar co-founded Blueprint Sports, which operates the collective.

    NCAA rules allow a football player to retain a year of eligibility if they play in four or fewer games in a season. Sluka exercised this ability by leaving his team. There is little that UNLV can do about it beyond taking away Sluka’s athletic scholarship for leaving the team.

    Universities, however, must be increasingly sensitive to providing the necessary procedures, such as hearings and appeal opportunities, before disciplining athletes in the NIL era. As I explain in a forthcoming SMU Law Review article, a recent U.S. District Court decision involving then-University of Illinois men’s basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. precluded the university from enforcing its suspension of Shannon without providing appropriate processes, lest he lose out on NIL compensation, which the court classified as a constitutionally protected interest.

    Issues of fairness linger in the era of NIL deals for college athletes.
    David Madison via Getty Images

    A slew of lawsuits

    Before it granted college athletes the ability to get paid through NIL deals, the NCAA faced long-standing criticism that its policies were unfair to athletes. The argument was that athletes benefited relatively little compared with the NCAA, conferences and universities, even though it was the athletes who provided the product. Along those lines, former college football stars Terrelle Pryor, Reggie Bush and Denard Robinson all recently filed separate lawsuits against the NCAA over denied NIL compensation opportunities.

    Some college football luminaries are now questioning whether the pendulum of power has swung too far in favor of athletes in the NIL era. Examples include former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and former Ohio State quarterback and longtime ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit. Saban has openly wondered whether the current college football model is sustainable. Herbstreit has lamented “the players having all the control” without any accountability to their coaches and universities.

    High-profile college football players, such as quarterbacks Kelly Bryant and D’Eriq King and receiver Gary Bryant Jr., previously exploited NCAA rules permitting them to play in four games and then transfer to another university without sacrificing a season of competition eligibility.

    At least publicly, their decisions were due to on-field considerations such as playing time. Sluka’s decision to forgo playing the rest of the season and transfer was different. It is the first time – but likely not the last – a college athlete has publicly based their decision to leave their team mid-season on an NIL dispute.

    Sluka’s departure from UNLV makes clear that collegiate athletes’ power to move freely between universities in pursuit of their best financial situation has greatly increased. Meanwhile, their coaches’ and universities’ power to keep them on the team and participating has significantly decreased.

    While my full-time employment is as a faculty member at the University of Iowa, I provide consulting services on a contractual basis on the side for universities and athletics conferences. However, I have never performed consulting services for UNLV or any of the individuals mentioned in this piece and do not believe my consulting conflicts in any way with publishing this piece.

    – ref. Student-athletes find more power in the changing legal landscape of college sports – https://theconversation.com/student-athletes-find-more-power-in-the-changing-legal-landscape-of-college-sports-240433

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Debates about Columbus’ Spanish Jewish ancestry are not new − the claim was once a bid for social acceptance

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Devin Naar, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies and Chair of the Sephardic Studies Program, University of Washington

    ‘Landing of Columbus,’ by John Vanderlyn. Architect of the Capitol via Wikimedia Commons

    In connection to Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day, media from the BBC and Fox to Reuters and Haaretz reported on new DNA evidence about the holiday’s original namesake. According to research revealed in a recent Spanish documentary, Christopher Columbus was not Italian, as widely assumed, but Sephardic: of Spanish Jewish lineage.

    About 1 in 5 people in Spain and Portugal today may indeed be of “converso” origin: descendants of Jews or Muslims who converted to Catholicism, often under threat of death or expulsion. Regardless of whether Columbus was genealogically Jewish, though, there is scant evidence that he considered himself to be Jewish in any meaningful way. After all, he wrote approvingly of the Spanish king and queen’s decision to expel Jews from Spain in 1492.

    The claim that Columbus may have been of Spanish Jewish descent is by no means certain; the “new” research has not yet been published in any academic journals. What’s more, it’s far from new.

    The debate over the origins of the New World’s “discoverer” stretch back more than a century, to a time when Columbus was more routinely hailed as a hero – whereas today, he is remembered as the man who initiated European settler colonialism in the Americas and the genocide of Indigenous peoples. For decades, some Spanish and American Jewish activists claimed that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew.

    One of their own

    At the turn of the 20th century, new immigrant groups in the U.S. were seeking acceptance as part of dominant white American society. Spaniards, Jews, Italians and Greeks seized claims that Columbus was one of their own, hoping to combat prejudice that they faced. By linking themselves to the progenitor of white “civilization” in the Americas, they sought to secure their own position on the white side of the color line, with the privileges and protections that status bestowed.

    A poster for the Italian-American Exposition of 1892 in Genoa, Italy – often thought to be Columbus’ birthplace.
    Twice25 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    U.S. President Benjamin Harrison instituted Columbus Day in 1892, initially as a one-time holiday. The event was meant to celebrate Italian American contributions to society – partly as an apology, following the lynching of 11 Italian immigrants in New Orleans. Decades later, in 1934, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt rendered Columbus Day a federal holiday, even as the U.S. government continued to impose a quota on Italian immigration.

    Early claims about Columbus or members of his entourage being Sephardic Jews also emerged in 1892 – the 400th anniversary of the conquerer’s arrival. Oscar Straus, a Jewish American diplomat, commissioned Meyer Kayserling, a rabbi and scholar, to research Jews’ role in the age of conquest. While Kayserling’s book did not say Columbus himself was of Jewish origin, it claimed that many people connected to his voyages were, including an interpreter named Luis de Torres and funder Luis de Santagel. Straus hoped that highlighting Jewish contributions to American society would curtail rising antisemitism in the United States.

    Spanish strategy

    In contrast, Spanish claims about Columbus as a Sephardic Jew sought to elevate Spain’s own international image. After its 1898 defeat in the Spanish-American War, Spain lost its possessions in the Western Hemisphere and ceased to be a major European colonial power. A cohort of Spanish writers and artists, known loosely as the Generation of ’98, produced an outpouring of cultural creativity grappling with Spain’s new position.

    Some politicians and intellectuals drew on economic and cultural arguments to court descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, whom they viewed as having preserved the Spanish language, and thus providing a new source of influence in the Mediterranean region. Ultimately, the Spanish government issued a decree in 1924 that rendered these descendants eligible for citizenship – an offer it renewed from 2015-2021.

    Raquel Venitura and Moise Cohen were wed in Madrid in 1930, the first Hebrew marriage ceremony in Spain since the Inquisition.
    Bettmann via Getty Images

    Spanish intellectuals became the first to claim that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew, hoping to further elevate Spain’s status, in the wake of the losses of 1898, as the trailblazer of European civilization in the Americas. By World War I, scholar Celso Garcia de la Riega published a theory that not only some of Columbus’ crew had Spanish Jewish origins, but Columbus himself. Nobel Prize nominee Salvador de Madariaga endorsed the theory of Columbus’ Jewish origins in his 1940 book on Don Cristobal Colón.

    Crucial moment

    The rise of Nazism heightened discussion among American Jews about Columbus and brought Sephardic Jews themselves into the debate – hoping that a connection to the explorer would temper rising antisemitism.

    Sephardic Jews also hoped that if Columbus were recognized as one of their own, Ashkenazi Jews, the dominant Jewish group in the United States, would be more likely to treat them with respect. Sephardic Jews coming from the Ottoman Empire – one of the primary places their ancestors sought refuge after Spain – were often maligned as “uncivilized” and “uncultured” due to their associations with the Muslim world.

    As Spanish and Portuguese Jews were the first practicing Jews to come to the Americas, Sephardic Jews arriving from the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the 20th century hoped to hitch their story to the grandeur of the country’s first Jewish communities.

    In 1933, American Jewish writer Maurice David purported to offer Spanish archival evidence to demonstrate Columbus’ Spanish Jewish bona fides. While David was not Sephardic himself, the Sephardic Jewish community in New York advertised his book’s “sensational” claims in La Vara, a newspaper written in Ladino, the main Sephardic language, also called Judeo-Spanish.

    Sephardic men in Seattle, around 1918.
    University of Washington via Wikimedia Commons

    The most prominent Sephardic exponent of the theory was the former editor of La Amerika, the first Ladino newspaper published in the U.S. During the Second World War, Moise Gadol published a booklet in English called “Christopher Columbus was a Spanish-Jew.”

    Gadol sought to elevate the status of his own community of Jews from the Ottoman Empire. By demonstrating links to Columbus, he hoped that all Sephardic Jews – not only those early Spanish and Portuguese Jews who came to the Americas during the colonial period – would be associated with Europe rather than the “Orient,” and with being “white” rather than “brown.”

    Gadol also sought to exert pressure on the American public and government to loosen the quotas preventing Jews fleeing Nazi persecution from entering the United States. Two years before, in 1939, the government had rejected all 900 passengers aboard the SS St. Louis, who were forced to return to Europe – an infamous manifestation of the policy.

    Gadol’s dubious claims about Columbus, however, did not produce the desired results. Sephardic Jews continued to be marginalized within the broader American Jewish community. Meanwhile, immigration quotas based on nationality – in effect until 1965 – continued to prevent Jewish refugees from finding safe haven in the U.S.

    Then … and now

    A century ago, embracing Columbus – and the sweeping colonization he represents – was a way for marginalized immigrant groups to claim a sense of belonging as part of the dominant white caste in American society.

    Today, it provokes uncomfortable questions. especially claims about Columbus as a Jew. Fixating on his ancestry reinforces the racial blood logic of the Spanish Inquisition, according to which a person was considered Jewish or Muslim based on descent alone – to say nothing of the racial logic of Nazi Germany or the Jim Crow South.

    What’s more, the emphasis on Columbus’ personal genealogy distracts from the actual geopolitical forces at play, such as empire building and resource extraction, that propelled Europe’s conquest and mass violence.

    As discussions about antisemitism intensify in the U.S. and across the world, perhaps the idea that Columbus was “Jewish” – a conquistador who initiated the destruction of Indigenous peoples – only aggravates the problem.

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

    – ref. Debates about Columbus’ Spanish Jewish ancestry are not new − the claim was once a bid for social acceptance – https://theconversation.com/debates-about-columbus-spanish-jewish-ancestry-are-not-new-the-claim-was-once-a-bid-for-social-acceptance-242003

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Doctors are preoccupied with threats of criminal charges in states with abortion bans, putting patients’ lives at risk

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sophie Bjork-James, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University

    The study took place in Tennessee, a state that has had a near-total ban on abortions since 2022. Anchiy/E+ via Getty Images

    Abortion bans are intended to reduce elective abortions, but they are also affecting the way physicians practice medicine.

    That is the key finding from our recently published article in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

    Medical providers practicing in states that implemented abortion bans in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision are forced to balance the needs of their pregnant patients against the risk that the providers could be prosecuted for treating these patients. This dilemma has serious and far-reaching consequences.

    We interviewed 22 medical providers working in reproductive health care across Tennessee in the six months following the implementation of the state’s total abortion ban in 2022.

    Providers spoke with our team about the need to protect themselves from criminal liability and told us that they were increasingly hesitant to provide care that their patients needed.

    Why it matters

    A 2024 ProPublica investigation found that at least two women have died in Georgia as a result of being denied medical care stemming from the implementation of these abortion bans. Nearly all of our interviewees spoke about their fear that these kinds of deaths would happen.

    Providers told us that patients often believe that these bans include exceptions when the health of the pregnant person is at risk, but that is not always true in practice.

    In states with abortion bans, providers grapple with ensuring the health and autonomy of their patients while facing the looming threat of medical malpractice lawsuits and criminal liability.

    The Tennessee abortion ban allows for an “exception for situations where the abortion is necessary to prevent the death of a pregnant woman or prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.”

    The problem is that such cases are rarely clear-cut. And the stakes for health care providers are very high. In certain states, including Tennessee, if they are found to have provided an abortion in a case where the mother’s life or health was not imminently at risk, they can face felony charges, which could include multiple years in prison.

    In interviews, providers described many cases where terminating a pregnancy is medically necessary for the pregnant person. Take cases of preterm premature membrane rupture, a condition where a pregnant person’s water breaks before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Serious complications can follow a premature membrane rupture, particularly in cases that do not result in the beginning of labor.

    The standard treatment for this condition is to induce labor in an effort to prevent such potential medical complications. However, if it is early on in a pregnancy and the fetus would likely not survive outside the womb, this treatment is now discouraged, as the law does not sufficiently clarify what interventions are allowed to protect the pregnant person.

    In many cases, the physical harm the pregnant person is experiencing correlates with the level of legal protection a medical provider receives.

    Although doctors are trained to follow best practices around health care treatment, fear of malpractice accusations leads to the widely documented practice of defensive medicine, cases where providers either over-administer testing or avoid risks in an effort to prevent malpractice lawsuits.

    Abortion bans make this dynamic far worse because they often involve the threat of criminal prosecution, which is not covered by malpractice insurance. This exposes providers to a new form of risk, one that is shaping how providers interact with patients and provide care.

    Our team calls this new form of defensive medicine “hesitant medicine.” Providers are forced to prioritize their own criminal legal protection over the well-being of their patients, so they hesitate to provide treatment that patients need. Hesitancy is exacerbated by bans that are ambiguous about when a provider can intervene during a pregnancy complication.

    What’s next

    It will take years before researchers have data showing the full picture of how abortion bans are affecting women’s reproductive health. However, our interviews show that these bans are already shaping how providers are treating pregnant people.

    A majority of our interviewees had considered moving to a state without an abortion ban to practice medicine with far less stress around the threat of criminal prosecution, a trend that is already occurring. Over time, this exodus of providers could exacerbate the problem of health care deserts in the United States.

    To mitigate some of this harm, more effort is needed from medical associations, employers and legislatures to clarify or revise the Tennessee “Human Life Protection Act” in a way that better protects women’s health.

    Sophie Bjork-James receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    Anna-Grace Lilly and Isabelle Perry Newman do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Doctors are preoccupied with threats of criminal charges in states with abortion bans, putting patients’ lives at risk – https://theconversation.com/doctors-are-preoccupied-with-threats-of-criminal-charges-in-states-with-abortion-bans-putting-patients-lives-at-risk-240524

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why returning the name Kuwohi to the Great Smoky Mountains matters

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Seth T. Kannarr, PhD Student in Geography, University of Tennessee

    View from the overlook on Kuwohi of the mountain peaks and ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

    Getty Images

    It’s not every day that the name of a mountain is restored to the one used by Indigenous peoples for centuries.

    But after nearly two years of trying, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians finally convinced the U.S. Board on Geographic Names on Sept. 18, 2024, to formally agree to rename the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee to Kuwohi (koo-whoa-hee).

    The mountain, known as “Clingmans Dome” since 1859, has been a sacred place for the Cherokee people, serving as a place of prayer, reflection and gathering of mulberries for medicine. In fact, the name Kuwohi translates to “the mulberry place” in Tsalagi, the Cherokee language.

    Though known as Kuwohi by the Cherokee people for hundreds of years, explorer Arnold Guyot effectively ignored that history after he surveyed the mountain range in 1859. Guyot named the peak “Clingmans Dome” after his friend Thomas Lanier Clingman, a North Carolina U.S. senator and a Confederate brigadier general during the Civil War. Clingman never set foot on this mountain, but his name remained there for 165 years until now.

    What is place name repatriation?

    The government’s renaming of the mountain to Kuwohi is a significant example of place name repatriation, or the return of an original, Indigenous name to a particular place or landscape.

    Sometimes the primary motivation for place renaming is to remove an offensive or irrelevant place name from the landscape, such as the renaming of Squaw Peak in Arizona to Piostewa Peak in 2008.

    In other cases, such as the renaming of Mount McKinley in Alaska to Denali in 2016, the motivation was to create a more authentic and historically accurate name for a particular place.

    In the case of Kuwohi, the return to its original name was a mixture of both. The government’s decision recognized the original Indigenous name and removed the name of a white man who defended the enslavement of African people. It is also about restoring a larger sense of respect and recognition of Indigenous identity across the landscape.

    Just as important is the fact that it was individuals from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who put forward this proposal and remained the lead throughout the process.

    Place naming is only truly reparative if these processes truly reflect the agency and intent of these historically oppressed groups. Otherwise, it contributes to the long history of dismissing Indigenous claims to land and culture by not involving them.

    View of observation tower on Kuwohi in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
    Joshua Moore/Getty Images

    Why does place naming matter?

    A name is one of the most fundamental ways to identify and give meaning to places. In other words, the name of the place makes a big difference in how people perceive it.

    There is growing public recognition that place names can transmit harmful messages that misrepresent the history and identity of minority communities. Place names also can demonstrate how those in power have used them to disrespect and misrepresent ethnic and racial groups that have been historically discriminated against.

    For those groups, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names found in 2022 that derogatory place names are a source of recurring trauma.

    If place naming did not matter, disputes over name changes would not occur. Some critics find place renaming to be an example of unnecessary political correctness, while others see it as a meaningful solution that will leave a lasting positive impact.

    The elimination of names of Confederate generals from some U.S. military bases provides another example. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to restore the name “Fort Bragg” to the North Carolina Army base that’s known today as Fort Liberty if reelected. Originally named after Braxton Bragg, a slave-owning Confederate general, the fort was one of nine U.S. installations that the Defense Department ordered in 2023 to have their names changed to among 3,700 recommendations.

    Trump’s stance exemplifies the wave of backlash that has occurred against local and state school officials across the country that have removed the names of Confederate generals and others from public buildings.

    Lavita Hill (L) and Mary Crowe in 2022.
    Cherokee One Feather

    Despite such backlash, efforts by Indigenous people and civil rights advocates slowly move forward and are seen across the U.S. in places like streets, neighborhoods, college campuses and beyond.

    For Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe, the two members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who took the lead on submitting the proposal, the renaming of Kuwohi was a moment of success. Their campaign was heavily inspired by the renaming of Mount Doane to First Peoples Mountain in Yellowstone National Park in 2022.

    Crowe told reporters that she saw friends and relatives shed tears when they learned of the name change. “It was humbling,” she said. “It was beautiful.”

    What comes next?

    The success of the effort to restore the name Kuwohi may help other communities in their ongoing place renaming efforts.

    One such proposal involves a 100-year-old fight to rename Mount Rainier in Washington state to “Tacoma,” the original name given to it by the Salish people of the Pacific Northwest.

    View of the Great Smoky Mountains at sunset from Kuwohi.
    Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images

    This movement began in 1924 among the Salish and other groups because its namesake, Peter Rainier, was a British naval officer who was known as being “anti-American.”

    Another example is a push by 20 different Indigenous tribes, including the Lakota Nation and the Oglala Sioux Tribe, to rename Devils Tower in Wyoming to Bear Lodge. The current name of this butte resulted from a poor English translation of the original Indigenous name of “bear lodge” to “bad god’s tower.” Over time, the name was simplified to “Devils Tower.”

    As geographers who have studied the significance of place renaming, we have learned that it is important to engage the folks that these movements will benefit most in all conversations and decisions.

    What is at stake is not just removing insulting names, but also ensuring that the process of changing place names is collaborative of all Americans, especially historically oppressed communities, to truly be restorative and meaningful for society.

    Seth T. Kannarr is affiliated with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as an Education Branch VIP (Volunteer-In-Parks) part-time.

    Derek H. Alderman once served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names, U.S. Department of Interior.

    – ref. Why returning the name Kuwohi to the Great Smoky Mountains matters – https://theconversation.com/why-returning-the-name-kuwohi-to-the-great-smoky-mountains-matters-240644

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Foreign countries are helping autocracies repress exiled dissidents in return for economic gain

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rebecca Cordell, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

    Governments, even democratic ones, are willing to aid autocracies in silencing exiled dissidents if the host nation thinks it’s in its economic interest.

    That is what we found when looking into cases of transnational repression – the act of governments reaching across their national border to repress diasporas and exiles – from 2014 to 2020.

    Since 2014, international watchdog Freedom House recorded 1,034 cases of governments reaching across borders to illegally deport, abduct, intimidate or assassinate their citizens.

    The most frequent offenders were autocratic countries such as China (213 cases), Turkey (111), Egypt (42), Tajikistan (38), Russia (32) and Uzbekistan (29).

    These governments have extended their reach into over 100 foreign countries to silence critics abroad. While autocracies sometimes act alone or collaborate with nongovernment actors, the most common form of transnational repression involves the governments of countries to which targeted people have fled. This includes democracies working closely with autocratic regimes to arrest, detain and deport people who face the risk of persecution and repression in the home country.

    Our analysis of Freedom House data found that cooperation in transnational repression is most common among trade partners and when foreign countries wish to maintain or improve their economic relationship with autocratic governments.

    Meanwhile, autocratic countries were most successful in securing cooperation among foreign countries with a weak rule of law.

    For example, Turkey has successfully secured cooperation from multiple countries with a weak rule of law, such as Lebanon, in its efforts to silence Turkish journalists and overseas citizens linked to the opposition Gülen movement. Meanwhile, China has used its economic leverage to compel foreign governments to cooperate, with Cambodia deporting 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers to China after signing 14 trade deals with the country. Similarly, Thailand forcibly returned numerous dissident journalists to China, its largest trade partner.

    Our analysis looked specifically at countries hosting refugees and asylum-seekers, since having diaspora populations is necessary for transnational repression to occur. For example, we included Poland, which hosts many Russian refugees, but excluded Belize, which has none.

    Using Freedom House’s database, we tracked 608 cases of direct government cooperation in transnational repression. We focused specifically on detentions, renditions without legal representation, and unlawful deportations, but we excluded cases such as assassinations where host countries weren’t directly involved.

    Then, using statistical models, we analyzed IMF data on annual trade flows and World Bank assessments of a country’s rule of law.

    We found strong quantitative evidence that international cooperation on transnational repression relies on a country’s economic ties to the origin country and the quality of the country’s rule of law.

    Why it matters

    Our findings suggest that many countries are willing to sacrifice the civil liberties of foreign dissidents for economic opportunities with authoritarian governments. Autocracies also appear to be strategically targeting vulnerable states with weak rule of law institutions, such as the police, courts or immigration authorities.

    Foreign countries that are less concerned about the consequences of breaking the rule of law are easier to co-opt and coerce, especially when they’re more financially dependent on the autocratic partner.

    This provides autocracies with both the opportunity to repress and the leverage to elicit cooperation in violation of the “non-refoulement” rule – which, under international law, protects migrants from being returned to a country where they are at risk of torture.

    What still isn’t known

    It is difficult to know the full scale of transnational repression. Data measuring transnational repression is able to capture only the “tip of the iceberg,” as Freedom House has put it.

    Many instances likely go unobserved due to the secret nature of human rights violations and governmental attempts to cover up, censor and deny abuses. We also know less about what causes autocracies to carry out transnational repression through collaborations with nonstate actors – including political parties, educational and religious groups, businesses and criminal gangs – rather than governments.

    More research is needed to establish what prompts autocracies to engage in different types of tactics, from nonphysical instances of transnational repression – harassment, intimidation and threats – to physical forms, such as detention, abduction and physical violence.

    The decision to engage in one tactic over another may be driven by different strategic benefits and costs.

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

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

    – ref. Foreign countries are helping autocracies repress exiled dissidents in return for economic gain – https://theconversation.com/foreign-countries-are-helping-autocracies-repress-exiled-dissidents-in-return-for-economic-gain-240069

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marcus Hedahl, Professor of Philosophy, United States Naval Academy

    Members of the Utah National Guard were deployed to Washington in June 2020 in response to public protests and demonstrations. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

    On the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has declared there are serious threats to the United States. First, he said, there is “the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within, and the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous,” as he told Fox News in an Oct. 13, 2024, interview.

    He went on to say that “the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military.”

    Donald Trump discusses ‘the enemy within’ the United States.

    When asked on CNN about Trump’s remarks about using the military on U.S. soil, Mark Esper, one of five people who led the Defense Department during Trump’s presidency, said Americans “should take those words seriously,” most especially because Trump had already tried to do so when he was president.

    As professors of military ethics, we worry that Trump’s actions while president, and his comments about his plans for a potential second term, may put the military in a tough position. The July 1, 2024, Supreme Court ruling giving the president immunity for official acts – potentially including as commander in chief of the military – would make that tough position even more difficult.

    Donald Trump says armed forces should take on ‘the enemy from within’ the U.S.

    Response to demonstrations

    In the summer of 2020, protests, including some violent ones, arose in cities around the U.S. in the wake of the May 25 murder of George Floyd. Then-President Trump announced he was considering sending the U.S. military into the streets of several American cities. He had already deployed some National Guard members in Washington in an effort to control the demonstrations there.

    At the time, the two of us considered the possibility of dissent within the military hierarchy, saying that resistance would be most effective “if it were to come from those at the top.”

    Indeed, many of the highest-ranking generals, admirals and Cabinet-level advisers resisted Trump’s requests to send the military to “beat the f— out” of protesters and “crack their skulls” – or even “just shoot them.”

    Though Trump reportedly wanted to bring as many as 10,000 soldiers to Washington, fewer troops were deployed in the nation’s capital. No federal military personnel were used against public demonstrations in the U.S. that summer. Some National Guard troops were called up by state governors, not federal orders.

    The reasons for civilian control

    For his potential second term, Trump says he wants to hire Cabinet and other government officials who will follow his orders without question, rather than people who might try to prevent his worst inclinations from being enacted.

    Questions about dissent and disobedience will therefore likely fall on those at more junior levels of military service in a second Trump administration than they did in the first.

    The U.S. military has long been dedicated to the principle of civilian control. To minimize the chance of the kind of military occupation they suffered during the Revolutionary War, the country’s founders wrote the Constitution requiring that the president, an elected civilian, would be the commander in chief of the military. In the wake of World War II, Congress went even further, restructuring the military and requiring that the secretary of defense be a civilian as well.

    For that reason, in a time of increasing political polarization, military educational institutions are focusing even more explicitly on the oath military members take to the Constitution, rather than to a person or an office.

    As the Joint Chiefs of Staff reminded the military after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and just before the inauguration of Joe Biden as president, military personnel serve the nation’s interests, not those of a politician or a political party.

    Nonpartisanship could become partisan

    When faced with a potential order to deploy the U.S. military within the nation’s borders, however, service members may find themselves in a situation where upholding the military’s tradition of staying out of politics could itself appear partisan.

    Military members have a duty to obey orders from superior officers. But as military ethicists, we recognize that the content of an order is not the only factor that determines whether it is a moral one.

    The political motivation for an order may be equally important. That’s because the military’s obligation to stay out of politics is deeply intertwined with the mutual obligation of civilian officials not to use the military for partisan reasons.

    If an elected official were to attempt to use the military for obviously partisan ends, the decisions of military personnel to either follow the order or resist it would open them up to accusations of partisanship – even if their actions were attempts to protect the military’s strict partisan neutrality.

    At the nation’s founding, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson worried about a military that would be loyal to a particular leader rather than to a form of government. James Madison was concerned that soldiers might be used by those in power as instruments of oppression against the citizenry.

    Trump has said the National Guard or the military could “easily handle” political protesters. He has recommended one “really rough, nasty” hour of police violence to curb criminal activity. He has expressed a desire for military officers to be obedient to him and not the Constitution.

    It’s not clear that military members could follow those kinds of orders and remain nonpartisan. By refusing to follow orders about military deployment to U.S. cities for political ends, members of the armed forces could actually be respecting, rather than undermining, the principle of civilian control. After all, the framers always intended it to be the people’s military – not the president’s.

    In 2020, military personnel clear protesters from a park in Washington.
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Risks for military members

    There is a long line of military heroes who had the moral courage not to follow immoral orders. In fact, it was a junior officer who first exposed the widespread use of torture in the global war on terror.

    That particular example may be useful to consider in the weeks and months ahead, given the significant effort at the time to argue that some of those immoral orders could nonetheless be legal.

    Recently, some of Trump’s former military advisers have raised concerns about the the potential use of U.S. troops in American cities. But several of his civilian advisers have already recommended being less reticent about finding legal means to deploy the military within the country. And a July 1, 2024, Supreme Court ruling gave the president criminal immunity for official acts – which almost certainly include giving orders to the military.

    Regardless of who wins the 2024 presidential election, there will likely be significant protests over policy – perhaps even over the results themselves. If the military is ever called in because of those actions, military members would have to consider whether they could ethically follow the orders to do so. To be ready to answer these important questions, they have to consider them now.

    We often ask our students to imagine themselves in numerous different ethical situations, both real and hypothetical. In the present circumstance, we believe one set of ethical questions could quickly become very concrete for those serving:

    “Would you obey an order from a president – a particular president giving an order for a particular reason – to deploy to a U.S. city? What might it mean for the nation if you did? And what might it mean for American democracy if, in some circumstances, you were brave enough not to?”

    Many Americans claim to venerate military men and women, thanking them for their service and standing to celebrate them at sporting events. They may need much more support than that from the American people, and soon.

    The academic views expressed in this article are the views of the authors alone and should not be read as endorsing any candidate for office. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense or any other entity within the U.S. government; the authors are not authorized to provide any official position of these entities.

    This article contains some material previously published on June 11, 2020.

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

    – ref. Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions – https://theconversation.com/threatening-the-enemy-within-with-force-military-ethicists-explain-the-danger-to-important-american-traditions-241964

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Line Manager Induction Programme: Fresh take on familiar ground

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Despite years of line management experience, HMRC’s Nikki Fisher says the Line manager Induction was an important way of preparing for the new Standards.

    Nikki Fisher, HMRC

    During the course of a 35-year career in the civil service, senior IT delivery manager Nikki Fisher has had extensive experience as a line manager and currently looks after a team of two. 

    Yet despite this, she was among the first civil servants to do the Line Manager Induction Programme – and saw it as an ideal way of refreshing her skills and learning more about the new Civil Service Line Management Standards. 

    “I had already looked at the standards, but I thought the induction would provide a more engaging way to apply them in practice,” said Nikki.

    “I didn’t approach it as a new manager but as a way to refresh and refine my skills.”

    Key takeaways

    “It encouraged me to focus more on performance and development conversations with my team, especially now that I manage a smaller team of two. It reminded me of things I already knew but had overlooked, like giving more attention to individual development.

    “The course offered practical tips and brought the standards to life in a way that simply reading them didn’t. It was a great reminder that, even as experienced managers, there are always opportunities to tweak our approach.”

    Practical insights and flexibility

    The two-hour Line manager Induction Programme can be completed in 20 minute chunks and participants can log out and return to complete it later. 

    “The mix of video content and reading made it easier to stay engaged and I also found that it wasn’t overly prescriptive. It gave me practical pointers that I could apply in my day to day work without feeling like I had to drastically change my management style” she explained.

    “For me, the Line manager Induction Programme provided useful, manageable insights into the standards expected of civil service managers. It’s a great tool for both new and experienced managers to revisit and refine their skills. I found it valuable and believe others will too.”

    The Line Management Induction Programme is available to do on Civil Service Learning and is part of the Civil Service recommended learning curriculum.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Recovered appeal: Kilnwood Vale, Sub Phase 3DEFG, Kilnwood Vale, Horsham (ref: 3333968 – 25 October 2024)

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Decision letter and Inspector’s Report for a recovered appeal application.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Recovered appeal: Kilnwood Vale, Sub Phase 3DEFG, Kilnwood Vale, Horsham (ref: 3333968 – 25 October 2024)

    PDF, 1.57 MB, 92 pages

    This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

    Request an accessible format.
    If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@communities.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

    Details

    Decision letter and Inspector’s Report for a recovered appeal for an application for reserved matters approval for layout, appearance, landscaping, and scale for Phase 3DEFG of the Kilnwood Vale development, comprising 280 dwellings with associated landscaping, access and parking.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 October 2024

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Mexico: Susannah Goshko

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Ms Susannah Goshko CMG has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United Mexican States.

    Ms Susannah Goshko

    Ms Susannah Goshko CMG has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United Mexican States. Ms Goshko will take up her appointment during November 2024.

    Curriculum vitae       

    Full name: Susannah Clare Goshko

    2021 to present Ottawa, British High Commissioner
    2019 to 2021 FCDO, Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State
    2018 to 2019 FCO, Deputy Director, National Security Directorate
    2017 to 2018 DEXEU, Deputy Director for Withdrawal Issues
    2013 to 2017 Washington, First Secretary (Political) later Political Counsellor
    2010 to 2013 Nairobi, First Secretary (Economic) and Permanent Representative to United Nations Environment Programme
    2006 to 2010 FCO, Counter Terrorism Department
    2004 to 2006 Washington, Private Secretary to the Ambassador
    2001 to 2004 Havana, Second Secretary (Political and Press)
    2000 to 2001 FCO, Africa Department (Equatorial)
    2000 Joined FCO

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Report calls for regulatory reform to tackle health impacts of gambling

    Source: Federation University

    A new Lancet Commission report highlights the urgent need for regulatory reform to address the health impacts resulting from the rapid expansion of commercial gambling. The report reveals that gambling harms are far more substantial than previously understood, exacerbated by the increased visibility of the gambling industry through digital and online platforms. 

    The harms associated with gambling extend beyond financial losses and include physical and mental health problems, relationship breakdown, heightened risk of suicide and domestic violence, increased crime, and loss of employment. According to the report, an estimated 80 million adults worldwide experience gambling disorder or problematic gambling. 

    Dr. Angela Rintoul, Principal Research Fellow at Federation University and a member of the Lancet Commission, expressed concern over the Australian government’s failure to respond to urgent cross-party recommendations from the Murphy Inquiry.  

    The Murphy Inquiry ‘you win some, you lose more’ was released in June 2023, detailing 31 recommendations, with the aim of reducing and ending gambling advertising and addressing the serious risk of suicide linked to gambling and a comprehensive national strategy on online gambling harm. 

    Dr. Rintoul stated, “We know that gambling causes enormous harm not only to those who gamble, but their family members, friends, and colleagues. High levels of gambling contribute significantly to suicide, domestic violence and other health and wellbeing issues. Constant promotion of gambling is exposing young people to gambling advertising as never before, with devastating consequences for many.”   

    The Lancet Commission report emphasises that the harms of gambling are not evenly distributed, with adolescents, children, and those from disadvantaged socio-economic groups being more at risk.  

    The Lancet Commission report calls for effective and well-resourced regulatory controls and international leadership to urgently reduce the impact of commercial gambling on public health.  

    For more information about the Lancet Commission report and its recommendations, please visit www.thelancet.com/commissions/gambling 

    About the Lancet Commission: 

    The Lancet Commission is an independent international body of experts that provides evidence-based recommendations to address pressing global health challenges. The Commission brings together leading researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to develop strategies for improving public health and achieving sustainable development. 

    Quotes attributable to Federation University Australia Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley 

    “At Federation University, our mission is to transform lives and enhance communities and the recommendations in the Lancet Commission Report clearly outline urgent recommendations that will help keep our communities safe.” 

    “Gambling advertising has catastrophic impacts on lives far beyond financial stress and it is our responsibility to protect young people who are especially vulnerable to the risks.” 

    Quotes attributable to Federation University Australia Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Executive Deal, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Professor Remco Polman 

    “The Lancet Commission Report is timely considering the Murphy inquiry in Australia and the government must heed the report’s recommendations. I am proud that Federation University is globally at the forefront of this issue.” 

    “Gambling does significant harm to the individual as well as their environment. It will be key to develop effective strategies to reduce the harms of excessive gambling and protect our children from the harmful effects and the predatory strategies of gambling companies.” 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: North American Construction Group Ltd. Announces Credit Facility Extension

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ACHESON, Alberta, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Construction Group Ltd. (“NACG” or “the Company”) (TSX:NOA.TO/NYSE:NOA) today announced it has finalized an extension and amendment of its senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). The maturity date has been extended by one year to October 3, 2027. In addition to the extension, the capacity has been increased to provide greater flexibility in operating the Company’s Australian and Canadian businesses.

    “We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank National Bank Financial and our syndicate partners for their ongoing support,” Jason Veenstra, Chief Financial Officer stated. “It is encouraging to have all existing members extend. This low-cost facility is the foundation of our debt financing and provides the liquidity and term needed for our business.”

    The Credit Facility provides lending capacity of $525 million (from $475 million) through Canadian and Australia dollar tranches and allows for an additional $400 million of secured equipment financing from third party providers (from $350 million). The facility is comprised of a revolver with no scheduled repayments and is not governed by a borrowing base that limits available borrowings. Financial covenants are tested quarterly on a trailing four quarter basis and are generally consistent with the previous agreement except for the fixed charge ratio being replaced with an interest coverage ratio.

    About NACG
    NACG is one of Canada and Australia’s largest providers of heavy construction and mining services. For over 70 years, NACG has provided services to mining, resource, and infrastructure construction markets.

    Jason Veenstra, CPA, CA
    Chief Financial Officer
    P: 780.960.7171
    E: ir@nacg.ca

    The information provided in this release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “expected”, “estimated” or similar expressions, including the anticipated revenues and backlog to be generated by the contract. The material factors or assumptions used to develop the above forward-looking statements and the risks and uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject are highlighted in the Company’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2023 and quarter ending June 30, 2024. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements because of any number of factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NACG’s control. For more complete information about NACG, please read our disclosure documents filed with the SEC and the CSA. These free documents can be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedar.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: AIST and QuEra Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Collaboration Toward Commercial Use of Quantum Computers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOSTON, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QuEra Computing, the leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, today announced that on September 6th, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to strengthen their collaboration towards the advancement and industrialization of quantum technology. This agreement builds on an April 2024 contract, under which QuEra will deliver a state-of-the-art quantum computer to Japan, installed on-premises alongside AIST’s NVIDIA-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer.

    As part of this new collaboration, QuEra will establish and operate a cloud-based platform, providing remote access to the quantum computer for researchers, collaborators, and external users. This platform will seamlessly integrate with AIST’s high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, including the ABCI-Q supercomputer.

    The collaboration will promote the development of a hybrid environment between ABCI-Q, a function of Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (G-QuAT) and QuEra Computing’s neutral atom quantum computer. Additionally, the applicability of optical materials and components necessary for the hardware development of next generation neutral atom quantum computers will be tested. This effort aims not only to scale up and enhance the performance of quantum computers but also to standardize processes to strengthen future supply chains.

    As the demand for the industrialization of quantum technology continues to grow, the enhanced cooperation between the two institutions is expected to lead to new technological advancements and market creation.

    About QuEra
    QuEra Computing is the leader in developing and productizing quantum computers using neutral atoms, widely recognized as a highly promising quantum computing modality. Based in Boston and built on pioneering research from Harvard University and MIT, QuEra operates the world’s largest publicly accessible quantum computer, available over a major public cloud and for on-premises delivery. QuEra is developing useful, scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers to tackle classically intractable problems, becoming the partner of choice in the quantum field. Simply put, QuEra is the best way to quantum. For more information, visit us at quera.com and follow us on X or LinkedIn.

    About AIST
    The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the country’s largest public research organizations. AIST dedicates itself to bridging innovative technological seeds with commercial applications, enhancing industry and societal welfare.

    Media Contact
    Merrill Freund
    press@quera.com
    +1-415-577-8637

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Not Just 15 Seconds Faster Detection – Siterwell Unveils New Combo Smoke & CO Detector for Safer Choices

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recently, Siterwell is proud to announce the launch of its new A8612B Combo Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector. This alarm achieves smoke detection 15 seconds faster than the latest standard UL217 9th Edition requirements (*Based on the testing from Siterwell’s laboratory, and actual data may slightly vary under real-world conditions). This advancement is driven by Siterwell’s cutting-edge photoelectric sensor, innovative 360° smoke capturing technology, and advanced labyrinth technology, collectively enabling superior smoke detection capabilities.

    Research shows that fifty years ago, it took 20 to 30 minutes for a house to be fully engulfed in flames in the event of a fire. Today, that time has been reduced to just 5 to 10 minutes due to changes in building materials and the widespread use of electrical appliances. According to the US Fire Administration, residents may have less than 2 minutes to escape once the smoke alarm sounds during a home fire. In preventing disaster and saving lives, every second counts. But what if residents had 15 seconds more?

    Indeed, it is this continuous drive for innovative technology that has enabled Siterwell, since its founding in 2010, to emerge as a leader in the alarm security industry, specializing in a comprehensive range of products including smoke, carbon monoxide, gas, heat, and water level alarms, alongside fog machines for theft prevention and advanced IoT intelligent security systems. Focusing on international development, this company collaborates with leading global brands and standards laboratories to ensure superior product performance and consistency, exporting its products to around 66 countries. Drawing on the diverse experiences gained from its global operations, Siterwell continually innovates to meet the evolving safety needs of homes worldwide.

    “Advancing home safety with innovative and efficient solutions is always Siterwell’s commitment. On one hand, dangers in modern homes are constantly evolving, while on the other, the ability to detect these threats quickly and accurately has always been proven essential to ensuring the safety of individuals and homes,” said Aixia, CMO of Siterwell. “The advancement of 15 second faster detection strongly reflects our commitment. By providing household members with 15 seconds more to respond before a fire breaks out, it will significantly enhance personal safety and property protection.”

    “We also understand the frustrations users face with frequent false alarms, especially when triggered by everyday activities like cooking smoke that poses no real danger. That’s why we are proud to introduce our detector, equipped with advanced dual-lightwave technology that accurately differentiates between regular cooking smoke and real threats. This feature ensures users can cook with confidence without unwanted alerts.” She added.

    Beyond faster smoke detection and fewer nuisance alarms, the new detector exemplifies Siterwell’s dedication to delivering genuine assurance and confidence in safety for its users in each feature:

    15-Second Faster, Feel Safer

    Every second counts in a fire, as the risk intensifies rapidly. With advanced Photoelectric smoke sensor, this alarm detects smoke 15 seconds faster than the UL9 standard requirements. This crucial head start can make all the difference in an emergency, significantly enhancing the safety of individuals and homes.

    Reduced Nuisance Alarms from Cooking

    With the advanced dual-lightwave technology, the device accurately differentiates between regular cooking smoke and actual fire smoke. Consequently, the family can enjoy a more peaceful cooking experience, free from unnecessary disturbances.

    Accurate CO Level Monitoring

    Frequent alarms for low, harmless CO levels can undermine users’ confidence in a CO alarm. The intelligent CO detection system in this alarm tailors its responses to varying CO levels by continuously monitoring low levels, and issuing timely alerts for high levels.

    10-Year Battery, Reduced Changes

    Alarms with limited battery life need frequent battery changes, increasing the cost of maintenance. In contrast, this 10-year battery alarm will offer long-lasting and worry-free protection for your home, and minimize battery waste for the environment. (*Only A8612B-4R has a built-in 10-year battery. A8612B-6AR is hardwired and comes with 2 replaceable AA batteries.)

    One-Click Silence, No Disturbing

    A simple press of a button silences low battery alerts for up to 10 hours. This convenient feature enables uninterrupted daily routines while still keeping safety awareness.

    Soft Nightlight for Better Sleep

    Given that conventional lighting can interrupt sleep due to excessive brightness, this device incorporates a specially designed light carrier. It ensures soft lighting to maintain sleep continuity and activates a potent red alert in response to danger.

    Dual-Language Voice Alerts

    In bilingual households, it is crucial that every member can quickly understand alerts in an emergency. The smoke detector supports English and French bilingual announcements, ensuring that individuals receive immediate and clear warnings.

    With advanced smoke and carbon monoxide detection, this alarm provides unparalleled safety for modern homes. For a limited time, customers can enjoy the safety from these top-tier features at an exclusive price starting from $42.39, now available with a 20% discount. Purchases can be made directly from Siterwell official store or through Siterwell’s Amazon store. By choosing Siterwell’s latest innovations, protect your home and family with more than just dual coverage—but with a vital 15-second head start for greater security!

    Social Links

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SiterwellElectronics

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siterwell_electronics

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@siterwell

    Media Contact

    Company: SITERWELL ELECTRONICS CO., LIMITED

    Contact Person: Marketing Team

    Email: info@siterwellhome.com

    Website: https://store.siterwellhome.com/

    SOURCE: SITERWELL ELECTRONICS CO., LIMITED

    The MIL Network –