NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: Prominent Law Enforcement Groups Back Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s Bipartisan Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    National Fraternal Order of Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s union and more endorsed Vasquez’s bill

    LAS CRUCES, N.M. – U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (N.M.-02) announced the support of several prominent law enforcement organizations for his bipartisan Stop Fentanyl at the Border Actthatprovides increased funding, technology and staffing for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to keep our communities safe and combat the growing fentanyl crisis. Endorsements include the National Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Treasury Employees Union (representing CBP officers), National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, and Major County Sheriffs of America.

    These groups, representing thousands of officers and law enforcement professionals on the front lines of the opioid crisis, support Vasquez in his efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling and stop the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.

    “Having the support of the men and women in law enforcement who work to protect our communities is an important endorsement to stop this crisis at the source. Fentanyl is having a tragic impact on young people and our families. I’m grateful for law enforcement’s support of my bill to combat fentanyl smuggling,” said Vasquez. “My bipartisan Stop Fentanyl at the Border Actprovides additional screening resources and staff to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help save lives. This is not a partisan issue, we must come together to prevent further tragedy, overdoses and death.”

    The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act provides increased funding for personnel, advanced inspection technology and equipment to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ensuring that officers have the resources to effectively detect and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States. This bipartisan bill also addresses the illegal exportation of goods, firearms and currency, which are often tied to drug trafficking networks.

    “Our law enforcement members are the first line of defense against the scourge of fentanyl that comes across the American border each day,” said Patrick Yoes, President of theNational Fraternal Order of Police. “On behalf of more than 377,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I thank you both for your leadership on the issue.” 

    “The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act provides much needed support, resources, and funding to the southwest border to help federal, state, and local law enforcement fight the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the country,” said William J. Johnson, Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organization (NAPO). “Law enforcement at all levels of government have long been asking for these resources to support their efforts to prevent and detect fentanyl coming into this country and our communities. NAPO continues to fight for resources to support law enforcement’s efforts to combat fentanyl, its analogues, and similar opioids. We thank [Rep. Vasquez] for your leadership on this issue and we look forward to working with you to pass this important legislation.”

    The opioid crisis continues to devastate hundreds of thousands of American families as deadly, illicit narcotics are smuggled into the county. Fentanyl-related overdoses are responsible for over 70,000 deaths a year in the United States. Vasquez’s bill addresses CBP’s lack of necessary personnel, technology and resources to prevent these deadly substances from entering the United States.

    Vasquez’s Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act remains a key part of his broader commitment to safeguard New Mexico’s families and address the opioid crisis. The bill has gained momentum as it continues to receive bipartisan support and endorsements from law enforcement professionals dedicated to ending the fentanyl epidemic.

    In Congress, Vasquezhas worked across the aisle to find real solutions to these problems, securing over $280 million for border security, voting to add 22,000 new Border Patrol agents and introducing a series of bipartisan bills that would improve security at ports of entry, crack down on cartels and ensure that those who work hard and play by the rules have an opportunity for legal citizenship.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Jordan — IMF Staff Conclude Article IV Discussions and Reach Staff Level Agreement on the Second Review under the Extended Fund Facility

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    October 10, 2024

    End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    • IMF staff and the Jordanian authorities have reached a staff level agreement on the second review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). All commitments for the second review under the program have been met, demonstrating the authorities’ steadfast commitment to sound macro-economic policies and continued progress on reforms.
    • Jordan continues to show resilience and maintain macro-economic stability, despite the headwinds caused by the intensifying conflict in the region. Jordan’s economy is expected to grow by 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2.5 percent in 2025. However, strong and timely international support remains important to help Jordan face the external headwinds, and to continue to shoulder the cost of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees.
    • Bringing the Jordanian economy onto a higher growth trajectory is essential to create more jobs and raise prosperity. This requires accelerating structural reforms, while maintaining macro-economic stability, and making significant progress in implementing the authorities’ Economic Modernization Vision.

    Amman: A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Ron van Rooden, visited Amman during September 30–October 10, 2024, for discussions on the 2024 Article IV consultation and the second review under the arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which was approved by the IMF’s Executive Board on January 10, 2024 (Press Release).

    At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. van Rooden issued the following statement:

    “We are pleased to announce that the IMF team and the Jordanian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the second review of the authorities’ economic reform program supported by the EFF arrangement, approved in January of this year. Program performance continues to be strong, despite a challenging external environment. All quantitative performance criteria and structural benchmarks for the second review were met and steady progress is being made toward achieving the program’s overall objectives, including good progress toward meeting benchmarks for future reviews. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s management and the Executive Board. The completion of this review will make another SDR 97.784 million (about US$131 million) available, out of the previously approved program size of SDR 926.370 million (about US$1.2 billion).  

    “Jordan continues to show resilience and maintain macro-economic stability, despite the headwinds caused by the intensifying conflict in the region. This resilience is the result of the authorities’ continued pursuit of sound macro-economic policies and reform progress. The recent upgrades to Jordan’s credit ratings, the first in over 20 years, testify to the credibility of the authorities’ economic policies.

    “Nonetheless, as the conflict continues and widens, it is having a larger impact on Jordan’s economy than anticipated at the outset of the program. The economy is projected to grow by 2.3 percent this year, with weaker domestic demand offset by a stronger performance in net exports. Growth is projected at 2.5 percent for 2025. Inflation remains low, at 2 percent, thanks to the Central Bank of Jordan’s (CBJ) firm commitment to monetary stability and safeguarding the exchange rate peg. The financial sector remains healthy and well capitalized. The current account deficit is projected to narrow to 4.4 percent of GDP this year, helping to further build the CBJ’s reserve buffers, and to widen slightly to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2025.

    “Government revenues have been adversely affected this year by the weaker domestic demand, as well as a sharper-than-expected drop in the prices of key export commodities. The authorities have taken strong actions to offset the revenue shortfall to contain this year’s central government budget deficit. With this, the authorities are committed to limit this year’s central government primary deficit (excluding grants and transfers to public utilities) to 2.9 percent of GDP, up slightly from 2.7 percent of GDP in 2023. Together with measures taken to limit the operational losses of the utility companies and continued surpluses of the social security system, the overall general government primary deficit (excluding grants) is expected to remain broadly unchanged this year, at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to 1.4 percent in 2023, and public debt to be contained at just over 90 percent of GDP by end-2024.

    “The authorities are firmly committed to continue to implement sound macro-economic policies to maintain stability and to advance structural reforms needed to further strengthen the resilience of Jordan’s economy and to improve people’s living standards, as envisaged also in their Economic Modernization Vision. Notably, fiscal policy aims to reduce public debt to 80 percent of GDP by 2028 to ensure fiscal sustainability, by advancing a gradual fiscal consolidation, including limiting the central government primary deficit (excluding grants and transfers to the public utilities) to 2 percent of GDP in 2025. With further efforts to improve the finances of the public utilities and continued surpluses of the social security system, the overall general government primary deficit (excluding grants) will be reduced by 1.1 percent of GDP to 0.2 percent of GDP. The CBJ’s monetary policy will continue to be underpinned by its firm commitment to the exchange rate peg to the US dollar and to maintain low inflation, and the CBJ stands ready to undertake policy adjustments as necessary to credibly safeguard monetary and financial stability.

    “The authorities are determined to step up the pace of structural reforms to achieve stronger growth and generate more jobs, which is particularly important given that unemployment remains high, particularly among the youth and women. Reforms will focus on improving the business environment, to attract more investment, by enhancing competition and labor market flexibility, while further strengthening the social safety net. Efforts will also focus on streamlining regulation and digitalization of government services, including tax and customs administration.  

    “The staff team is grateful to the authorities for the candid and constructive discussions. The team met with Prime Minister Hassan, Minister of Finance Shibli, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Toukan, Minister of Economic Affairs Shehadeh, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan Al-Sharkas; and other Ministers and senior government and CBJ officials.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Angham Al Shami

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/10/pr-24366-jordan-imf-staff-conclude-aiv-discussions-and-reach-sla-on-2nd-rev-under-eff

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel-Gaza conflict: Home and away

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Vinita Srivastava, Senior Editor, Culture + Society | Host + Exec. Producer, Don’t Call Me Resilient

    This article is from our race-related newsletter, a weekly curation of stories examining how systemic racism permeates our society. Sign up for the newsletter here.

    It’s not often that events far away impact us so profoundly at home. But events in Palestine and Israel, which have been reverberating in the Global North for decades, crescendoed over the past year, directly impacting millions of people in the region and also those of us who feel deeply committed to the transnational issues the conflict raises.

    Away, in Israel, 80,000 people remain displaced from their homes and lives continue to be gutted after the horrific attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which led to over 1,200 people killed and 250 taken captive. Across the border, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, primarily by Israeli forces, and another two million have been displaced, many of whom are facing catastrophic famine conditions.

    Here in Ontario, before the start of this war, the Ford government had connected criticism of Israel to antisemitism and turned that concept into law through an executive decree. That same definition was picked up by institutions across Canada.

    That decree has ramifications for news media as well as university scholars across the country. This spring, students on Canadian campuses turned Canadian universities into massive hubs of debate as they protested the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

    In late September, those debates continued at the grade-school-level when teachers in Toronto were prevented from taking students on any field trips for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federally mandated day of memorialization. That school board decision was based on concerns that students may be exposed to rhetoric supporting Palestine. At an earlier demonstration about Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows) First Nation, some demonstrators chanted a slogan connecting Indigenous Peoples dispossessed of their land here to those in Palestine, also dispossessed of their land.

    Recently, two Canadian scholars discussed some of those connections: how famine historically was used to control Indigenous communities in Canada, and continues to be a weapon of war against Palestinians today.

    When I was in grade school, Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress were classified as terrorists. Although I remember somehow being able to attend a school-sponsored talk by a former ANC member who spoke about the 1976 Soweto uprising. I trace part of my politicization back to that day.

    Teachers who introduce their students to issues like Grassy Narrows are aware of the lasting impression first-person narratives can make.

    This week, we put together eight episodes from Don’t Call Me Resilient from the last year in which you will hear directly from scholars with deep knowledge of the regions and the issues at play. The playlist starts with: “Why the Israel-Gaza conflict is so hard to talk about,” with other episodes digging into themes of starvation, news media, student protests and asylum seekers.

    Because it’s the long weekend, I’ll also point you to a music playlist we made, with suggestions from our podcast guests over the years. I’m inviting all of you to write in with song suggestions to add to it. We will try to get at least some of them up there this long weekend.

    Just drop us an email with your suggestion at: dcmr@theconversation.com

    – ref. Israel-Gaza conflict: Home and away – https://theconversation.com/israel-gaza-conflict-home-and-away-240854

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: New survey of IPCC authors reveals doubt, and hope, that world will achieve climate targets

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Seth Wynes, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, University of Waterloo

    How hot is it going to get?

    This is one of the most important and difficult remaining questions about our changing climate. The answer depends not only on how sensitive our climate is to greenhouse gases, but also on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases we as a civilization choose to emit over coming decades.

    In order to help think more clearly about this question, we asked authors who have contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to share their best guesses about where the world is headed.

    The results of our recently published study show that most of the responding climate experts believe our planet will likely exceed the 1.5 C and “well-below 2 C” warming targets agreed upon by the international community.

    In fact, the median estimate was 2.7 C by 2100, which is roughly what is expected if the world’s nations fail to implement new policies consistent with their targets and pledges, and instead only maintained existing levels of action.



    Read more:
    How mainstream climate science endorsed the fantasy of a global warming time machine

    To put it plainly, this could be a catastrophic outcome for humanity. We’ve already seen devastating consequences like more flooding, hotter heatwaves and larger wildfires, and we’re only at 1.3 C above preindustrial levels — less than halfway to 2.7 C.

    But not all authors think alike and to help shed further light on the IPCC report process, and any differences of opinion between authors, we conducted a survey over email with 211 authors of past reports providing responses. Our participants represented all IPCC working groups, and every inhabited continent.

    The data they shared provides a fascinating glimpse into the dynamics of modern climate science.

    Wide ranging beliefs

    Our survey shows that authors shared a wide range of estimates as to likely climate outcomes.

    A small number of surveyed experts believe that staying below 2 C is still likely, while others believed that we are on track for even more horrendous levels of climate warming at above 3 C. Approximately 86 per cent of participants estimated warming of more than 2 C by or before the year 2100.

    When we planned the study, we wondered whether IPCC authors who worked on climate solutions would be more optimistic than those who worked on climate vulnerability and adaptation. One reason for this is that experts who work on solutions might be more aware of recent research indicating that worst-case climate outcomes are becoming less likely. But we only found weak evidence for this hypothesis.

    In some ways this is a good sign, as it suggests that researchers are not working in isolated silos, each holding their own beliefs.

    Mixed perceptions

    A unique feature of the study is that we also asked IPCC authors what they thought others in the survey would answer in response to the same questions. We were interested to know the extent to which experts in this field believed that other experts shared similar beliefs to their own. Perceptions of peer beliefs are important because they can strongly influence a person’s own beliefs and behaviour.

    Participants in our study believed very strongly that their peers’ views on expected future warming were in line with their own beliefs. Even those who expected very high or very low amounts of future warming incorrectly believed that their peers would have similar estimates.

    This is not particularly surprising. In many domains, people tend to estimate the beliefs of their peers by examining their own beliefs, and then adjusting up or down, but often insufficiently. Researchers call this a false-consensus effect and we found that this effect was very prominent in our results.

    Because IPCC authors are trusted public figures who are often asked to share their thoughts with decision-makers and the media, this finding could be problematic if an author confidently believes that their expectations are also widely shared by their peers.

    Interdisciplinary benefits

    We see our study as an opportunity for experts to better understand the range of beliefs held by their own community, so they can communicate with more nuance and awareness as to whether their personal beliefs are part of a larger consensus or not.



    Read more:
    Eco-anxiety Q&A: how the IPCC’s vice-chair keeps her head cool on a warming planet

    Climate experts are not oracles. And even though a “wisdom of the crowd” average is often more accurate than a single expert, forecasting decades into the future is extremely difficult.

    The balance of evidence from this study reaffirms a message that climate scientists have been repeating for a long time: current efforts to tackle climate change are insufficient and more progress is needed quickly.

    While working on this project Seth Wynes received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    H. Damon Matthews receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

    – ref. New survey of IPCC authors reveals doubt, and hope, that world will achieve climate targets – https://theconversation.com/new-survey-of-ipcc-authors-reveals-doubt-and-hope-that-world-will-achieve-climate-targets-239177

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: BusinessNZ – Energy policy a boost to business confidence

    Source: BusinessNZ

    The Government’s policy statement on electricity should provide a business confidence boost within the energy sector, the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) says.
    Executive Director Tina Schirr welcomes the Government’s approach in addressing the energy trilemma – sustainability, security and equity – as the road to affordability, and encourages everyone to take a broader view of the energy equation.
    “Beyond electrification, we must consider clean fuel solutions for our large energy users, including shipping and aviation – which connect us to the rest of the world. 
    “The fix for our energy sector won’t come solely from constructing more infrastructure at pace. It’s critical to rethink how we can manage and develop a smarter energy system. Increased generation is part of the journey, but another core area of focus will be energy efficiency going forward. We should be guided by a principal to do better – not necessarily more, in energy.
    “Achieving good energy outcomes requires collaboration across the sector and across political lines. A multi-party strategy and agreed direction of travel can provide the best stability and confidence needed for long-term investments.
    “By empowering people and businesses to adopt cleaner technologies and fostering a stable regulatory environment, we can build a resilient and sustainable energy system.”
    “Today’s announced policy statement will assist in developing an energy strategy to guide investment, which the Government plans to release by the end of this year.
    The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kamlager-Dove Delivers $1.6M to Local Organizations Supporting Housing, Community Safety, and Foster Youth During Youth Justice Action Month

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)

    LOS ANGELES, CA — Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman presented two checks totaling $1.6 million to Amity Foundation and Court-Appointed Special Advocates of Los Angeles (CASA/LA), two organizations in the district working to support youth and adults in the child welfare and justice systems. These organizations are two of fifteen that Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove secured a total of $12.4 million for through Fiscal Year 2024 government funding legislation. Photos and videos from the event are here.

    Amity Foundation received $1,000,000 for the Amistad de Los Angeles residential re-entry facility, a housing project that supports currently incarcerated men on the path to re-entry and recovery. This funding allows for the renovation of the existing facility to increase the capacity to serve a greater number of individuals (26 new beds) and significantly improve the standard of housing for the current 184 residents.
     
    CASA/LA received $640,000 for the Transition Age Youth Program, which serves youth 12-17 and non-minor dependents 18-21 in the child welfare system at risk of entry or re-entry into the justice system. CASA volunteers provide crucial one-on-one support and court advocacy to ensure the youth’s best interests are represented in legal proceedings. In addition to their legal advocacy, CASA volunteers help youth navigate essential services such as education, housing, job training, and employment opportunities, empowering them to achieve long-term self-sufficiency.
     
    “Supporting those most at-risk in our community, including foster youth and formerly incarcerated individuals, requires comprehensive wraparound services to get our neighbors through critical turning points in their lives,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “Through the continuum of care they provide, Amity and CASA/LA unlock access to crucial resources, including housing, jobs programs, and courtroom advocacy for youth and adults in the child welfare and justice systems, setting them on a strong path toward stability and success. I was proud to secure this funding because I know expanding these organizations’ services will uplift our community members as they transition into a new phase of life and, ultimately, keep our communities safe.”
     
    “The Biden-Harris Administration is delivering avenues of opportunity for our young people. I would like to thank Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove for her leadership,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “These resources will help stabilize youth who are homeless, and there’s no better investment.”
     
    “Resources like this are vital to the transformation of the lives of our students and well-being of our entire community,” said Doug Bond, CEO of Amity Foundation. “Having safe environments creates sanctuaries for our students to heal, and our Amistad de Los Angeles campus will continue to be a space for learning and growth in our community with the continued support and leadership of Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove.”
     
    “We are deeply grateful to Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove for her generous support and commitment to the young people we serve. This grant will significantly enhance our ability to provide critical court advocacy and comprehensive support services to youth in foster care, especially Transition Age Youth and those who have contact with the juvenile justice system,” said Dr. Charity Chandler-Cole, CEO of CASA of Los Angeles. “By focusing on individualized one-on-one support, education, and trauma-informed care, we can help break the cycle of re-entry into the justice system. CASA advocacy will help young people make positive life choices, which in turn strengthens families and communities, and enhances public safety.Together, we are fostering long-term change that builds a stronger, more equitable future for our children in care.” 
     
    Following the press conference, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove and representatives from Amity Foundation and CASA of Los Angeles participated in a roundtable discussion focused on understanding current gaps in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other federal partners.
     
    ABOUT AMITY FOUNDATION
    Founded in 1981 in Tucson, AZ, Amity Foundation is a California 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves individuals, families, and children. Amity began as a therapeutic community and has evolved into a teaching community. Our mission is to foster personal growth, emotional literacy and social responsibility for our students, as well as improve their physical health through nutrition and wellness. These create the fertile ground for students’ success in gaining employment, housing, furthering education, and reuniting families.
     
    ABOUT CASA OF LOS ANGELES
    CASA of Los Angeles organizes the community to take action and advocate for children and families in LA County’s overburdened child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Through an intentional, restorative, and culturally relevant lens, CASA/LA trains committed, consistent, and caring adults who provide equitable access to resources and life-affirming connections.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New councillor elected to St Michael’s ward

    Source: City of Coventry

    Cllr Sanjida Jobbar (left) is congratulated by Council Chief Executive Dr Julie Nugent

    Sanjida Jobbar has been elected as the new councillor for St Michael’s ward after winning a by-election last night.

    The election was held following the resignation of David Welsh, who had served the ward since 2010.

    Labour’s Cllr Jobbar won with a 572 majority, beating Dave Nellist of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition into second place with 49% of the vote. Turnout was 11.15%

    View the full results on the Council’s website.

    Friday, 11th October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: R v. Kloubakov: Supreme Court of Canada ignores sex workers in case on sex work

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Vincent Wong, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Windsor

    The Supreme Court of Canada will soon hear a case, R v. Kloubakov, in which two men charged with financially benefiting from sex work are claiming the charges violate their Charter rights.

    The accused worked as drivers for sex workers in Calgary. A court in Alberta found them guilty of benefiting financially from prostitution and being parties to procuring women into the sex trade. They argue that Canada’s sex work laws criminalize people who work with sex workers in non-exploitative situations, and are therefore unconstitutional.

    While the appellants in this case are not sex workers themselves, the outcome greatly impacts sex workers and their rights because it could, among other things, undermine their security and ability to put in place safety measures. Migrants arrested under these laws also face the prospect of loss of status, detention and deportation.

    Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has chosen to exclude a national coalition of 23 sex worker organizations, the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform (CASWLR), and two organizations that work with migrant sex workers (the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

    The court has concluded their views are irrelevant to the case at hand. This exclusion rehearses Canada’s longer history of excluding those connected with sex work based on race, gender and immigration status.

    Canada’s sex work law

    This case centres on the procurement and material benefits provisions in Canada’s criminal code. They are part of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), which was passed in 2014 after the Supreme Court struck down previous provisions targeting sex work.

    PCEPA criminalizes “everyone who procures a person to offer or provide sexual services” and anyone “who receives a financial or other material benefit” from sex work, with certain exceptions.

    The law assumes that sex workers are victims and ignores their agency and labour. While being a sex worker is not directly made an offence, the law criminalizes the purchase of sexual services and thus renders illegal all commercial transactions for sex. Activists have argued that doing so has driven sex work further underground. Sex workers, and those wishing to purchase sexual services, must avoid police for fear of detection, apprehension and in the case of migrant women, deportation.

    Going underground means sex workers are at amplified risk of exploitation and physical harm because they have reduced bargaining power and cannot use safety measures, such as hiring third parties or implementing certain vetting and safety protocols in the spaces they would like to use, for fear of attracting the attention of police.

    CASWLR argues that the law’s criminalization of sex workers and third parties replicates and even exacerbates the harms of the former laws that the Court found violated sex workers’ Charter rights to security of the person.

    As a sex worker-led umbrella organization, CASWLR members have lived expertise and intimate knowledge of how these laws still harm sex workers in ways that can crucially inform the question of whether the laws are constitutional.

    Migrant sex workers

    Aside from direct criminalization, migrant sex workers may face additional and distinct consequences under immigration laws if they are charged, convicted or merely under criminal investigation. Migrant sex workers could lose their status in Canada, be detained and deported and be barred from re-entering the country. Further, it is not just sex workers themselves who are affected. Migrant third parties and their family members’ immigration status and future could be imperilled as well.

    These potential consequences may drive migrant sex workers to do their work in unsafe conditions to avoid detection by police and immigration enforcement. Sex workers are effectively forced into these precarious conditions because of the existing laws.

    In our view, loss of immigration status and deportation for engaging in non-exploitative, consensual activity are consequences of the current law that are not justified under the Charter because of the risks of violence and other harms that arise from avoiding detection.

    The Court, however, has decided it will not be considering this aspect at all and has excluded the only two organizations that work with migrant sex workers. The Court did grant intervener status to some organizations who will do a reasonable job in detailing some of the harms of the laws. However, none are sex worker-led and none represent migrant sex workers who may experience additional harms.

    The Supreme Court denied intervener status to these organizations because they perceived their interventions as providing new information that would unduly expand the case. Denying standing to these organizations, however, has the ultimate effect of not hearing from those directly impacted by the laws being examined.

    Courts are meant to consider the wider implications of how laws are interpreted, implemented and the potential ways they affect others. This is particularly important in constitutional challenges where it is both foreseeable and expected that legal decisions will have widely ranging effects on multiple groups.

    History of migrant exclusion

    Unfortunately, this exclusion is tied to the history of discrimination and stigmatization of Asian migrant sex workers, ostensibly for their own protection. Though many Canadians may have heard of Canada’s law that restricted Chinese immigration, including the infamous Head Tax, many may not know that it explicitly barred “any Chinese woman who is known to be a prostitute.”

    This law took influence from the very first immigration ban in the United States, the 1875 Page Act. This law barred the immigration of women from “any Oriental country” if they were “imported for the purposes of prostitution.” The exclusion and policing of Asian sex workers was justified by ideas of carceral humanitarianism, which proposes that exclusion and policing are a necessary way of protecting people from being trafficked.

    These so-called safety measures did not achieve either goal — in the past or present. Migrant sex workers who are directly targeted and harmed by the law were never directly asked what they desired or whether they needed saving.

    We see these long-standing patterns at work again today with the Supreme Court’s exclusion of migrant sex workers (and other sex workers) in R v. Kloubakov. The court is demonstrating that it has clearly not learned from history.

    When courts deny those most impacted by the law a hearing, they do not take into account all of the considerations they should. Cases can take years to reach the Supreme Court. When courts do take up the task to review law, it should welcome those directly affected by it, particularly when there are groups that have been traditionally marginalized from political and legal power.

    For courts to be effective, they must hear from those who can best explain how their rights are violated and excluded from the discussion. Trust in our justice system and our laws are diminished when those directly harmed by it have no say and no recourse.

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

    – ref. R v. Kloubakov: Supreme Court of Canada ignores sex workers in case on sex work – https://theconversation.com/r-v-kloubakov-supreme-court-of-canada-ignores-sex-workers-in-case-on-sex-work-240417

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Scott, Grassley, Colleagues Push DOJ to Investigate Requirements for Hamas-Linked Campus Orgs to Register as Foreign Agents

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in penning a letter to the Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI regarding Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) enforcement, raising concerns Hamas-linked entities are escaping FARA scrutiny as they seek to shape U.S. public opinion and policy outcomes through partnerships with campus organizations. Joining Senators Scott and Grassley on the effort are Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

    The senators’ inquiry specifically hones in on the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) – which received backing from an organization whose associated entities the U.S. government has implicated for financing Hamas – and the hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters NSJP claims to support across the U.S.

    “It is incumbent upon all of us crack down on hidden foreign influence. […] The introduction of hostile foreign adversaries into domestic political discussion is especially of issue when it is fueling an alarming rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. The public reporting appears to indicate that NSJP and related chapters may fit into the FARA definition of ‘publicity agent,’ at minimum, and its conduct, among other activity, may constitute a public relations effort designed to impact U.S. public opinion in favor of a foreign principal, which would meet FARA’s definition of political activities,” wrote the senators.

    The senators continued, “Taken as a whole, these actions require further investigation from DOJ and the FBI to fully determine whether NSJP and SJP chapters should register as foreign agents under FARA and the extent of Hamas and Iran’s potential involvement.”

    Scott, Grassley, and their colleagues cite numerous examples that signal NSJP and SJP chapters may have an obligation to register as agents under FARA. Several follow.

    1. Federal court filings from state Attorneys General assert NSJP’s material support to Hamas.
    2. Dozens of SJP chapters echoed NSJP’s social media messages lauding Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, attack on Israel; some “[praised] the creativity” of Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israeli civilians.
    3. NSJP urged SJP chapters in the U.S. to publicly facilitate and join “armed struggles, general strikes and popular demonstrations.”
    4. NSJP launched a campaign against U.S. college administrators, pushing for divestments in Israel-connected assets.
    5. NSJP held a summer 2024 program for SJP participants to “deepen our understanding of our current political moment […] with the aim entrenching the frameworks necessary to sustain and grow the Student Intifada.”
    6. NSJP has stated it “aim[s] to develop a student movement that is connected, disciplined, and equipped” with tools toward fulfilling its mission.

    Considering this evidence and more, the senators are asking DOJ and FBI pointed questions about the steps they have taken to assess NSJP and SJP’s potential requirement to register as foreign agents.

    Background:

    Congress passed FARA in 1938 to identify Nazi propaganda and other foreign efforts to sway U.S. policy and public opinion. The content-neutral law was designed not to prohibit activity, but rather, to ensure certain individuals who act as agents of a foreign government or enterprise register with DOJ.

    Read the full letter here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Teams Up with AARP & RI State Police for Elder Fraud Prevention Summit

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    EAST PROVIDENCE, RI – Older adults are a growing population in Rhode Island, and a growing target for criminals seeking to scam them out of their hard-earned savings.
    In an effort to protect older Americans from financial exploitation and the proliferation of evolving scams, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today teamed up with AARP Rhode Island and the Rhode Island State Police’s Financial Crimes Unit for an Elder Fraud Prevention Summit at the East Providence Senior Center.  The presentation and Q&A session focused on a range of fraud and scams that criminals are using to target older adults and included tips for detection, prevention, and advice on how to report and recover if you or a loved one is victimized.
    According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), elder fraud complaints rose by 14 percent in 2023, and losses grew by 11 percent. The report found that elder fraud resulted in losses of over $3.4 billion in 2023, including $7.4 million lost by Rhode Islanders over age sixty due to scams.
    Senator Reed says public education and outreach is needed to lower that number, which is likely underreported because many victims are too embarrassed to notify the authorities or don’t know where to turn.  He credited AARP, the Rhode Island State Police, and local TV stations and the news media for helping to raise awareness and enable older Americans protect themselves, recognize telltale signs of scams, reduce victimization, and combat the financial exploitation.
    “Two of the most important things people can do to protect themselves against fraud is to stay informed and have open lines of communication with trusted sources.  And if you do get scammed, report it to the authorities right away so they can help you.  Criminals targeting older Americans try to scare victims and create a false sense of urgency.  Know the signs, stay informed, and never be embarrassed if you ever get caught up in a scam.  The criminals are master manipulators and with Artificial Intelligence and new technology, anyone can get scammed.  Brilliant people of all ages and from all walks of life have been victimized.  The one thing most victims have in common is: They didn’t tell anyone else what was happening.  Don’t let it happen to you.  Be forewarned and help stop these crimes by reporting them.  Local, state, and federal law enforcement are working together to go after the bad guys and bring them to justice,” said Senator Reed.
    To help older Rhode Islanders stay informed about evolving scams and equip them with tools to stop the latest fraud techniques, AARP offers a free Fraud Watch Network’s Watchdog Alert, a twice monthly notification that lets users know about the latest trending scams and how to spot and avoid them. It’s also easy to share with friends and family.
    AARP Rhode Island’s State Director Catherine Taylor stated: “There’s a false narrative that older people are gullible or forgetful. That’s not true. If you are the victim of a scam, it’s not your fault. The fact is many of these scams are being perpetrated by usually offshore criminals who are well organized, well resourced, and highly skilled. And they have a playbook with three common elements: make unexpected contact, yield high emotion, and create a sense of urgency. AARP Rhode Island has a host of resources, information and support that equip older Rhode Islanders to fight back against the crime of fraud.”
    Nationwide, the FBI reports that tech support scams were the most widely reported type of scam last year.  The top five varieties of scams include: personal data breaches, confidence and romance scams, non-payment or non-delivery scams, and investment scams. Investment scams were the costliest type of elder fraud.
    The Rhode Island State Police offers an Identity Theft, Fraud & Scams resource page with detailed tips on detecting and preventing a range of financial crimes. 
    “Romance scams, investment scams, pop-up scams on computers, and others are all things we’ve seen in Rhode Island. Although they may differ in tactics, the goal is the same: to take your money,” said Lieutenant Richard Ptaszek, head of Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit. “To help prevent scams, you must take your time, think about the request being made, trust your judgement and follow up with a trusted source.”
    If fraud occurs, please help the authorities track and prosecute it by reporting it to both the local police and using the Federal Trade Commission’s online reporting portal: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov  Last year, Rhode Islanders reported 11,906 fraud complaints to the FTC.
    To reach the Rhode Island State Police’s Financial Crimes Unit directly, call: (401) 764-5179.
    The U.S. Department of Justice also has a toll-free National Elder Fraud Hotline available to help at: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  The hotline is staffed during business hours by caseworkers trained in elder abuse and offers translation services for non-English speakers.
    The presentation focused on combatting several types of schemes that the FBI says are among the most prevalent today, including:
    Tech support scam: Criminals pose as technology support representatives and offer to fix non-existent computer issues. The scammers gain remote access to victims’ devices and sensitive information.
    Grandparent scam: A type of confidence scam where criminals pose as a relative—usually a child or grandchild—claiming to be in immediate financial need.
    Government impersonation scam: Criminals pose as government employees and threaten to arrest or prosecute victims unless they agree to provide funds or other payments.
    Sweepstakes/charity/lottery scam: Criminals claim to work for legitimate charitable organizations to gain victims’ trust. Or they claim their targets have won a foreign lottery or sweepstake, which they can collect for a “fee.”
    Home repair scam: Criminals appear in person and charge homeowners in advance for home improvement services that they never provide.
    Romance scam: Criminals pose as interested romantic partners on social media or dating websites to capitalize on their elderly victims’ desire to find companions.
    TV/radio scam: Criminals target potential victims using illegitimate advertisements about legitimate services, such as reverse mortgages or credit repair.
    Family/caregiver scam: Relatives or acquaintances of the elderly victims take advantage of them or otherwise get their money.
    In many of these scams, the criminal impersonates someone else and tricks the victim over the phone or email, claiming there’s an issue with their bank account and they must make a crypto investment in order to resolve the problem. The scammer instructs the target to convert cash to cryptocurrency and upload it to an unsecured account that the scammer can access. 
    No legitimate entity will contact you over the phone and urge you to pay with crypto currency, gift cards, or precious metals.  Any time someone does this, hang up or cut off contact and report the incident.
    For more information, visit Senator Reed’s scam prevention page: https://www.reed.senate.gov/seniorscams

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Responds to Hurricane Milton in Florida as it Continues Coordinated Recovery Across Six States Affected by Hurricane Helene

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: FEMA Responds to Hurricane Milton in Florida as it Continues Coordinated Recovery Across Six States Affected by Hurricane Helene

    FEMA Responds to Hurricane Milton in Florida as it Continues Coordinated Recovery Across Six States Affected by Hurricane Helene

    WASHINGTON – FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell continues to lead the federal government’s coordinated recovery across six states affected by Hurricane Helene, while FEMA remains simultaneously focused on the immediate response to Hurricane Milton in Florida.

    The agency was assisting the state of Florida to prepare prior to Hurricane Milton’s landfall. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is on the ground in Florida with local officials assessing the impacts of the storm. Commodities, volunteer agencies, response assets and federal personnel are being coordinated through the FEMA Region 4 Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta and the National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. Both facilities are activated on 24-hour operations to support the state.

    Resources and personnel have also remained in the states affected by Hurricane Helene to provide immediate long-term support. As these comprehensive recovery efforts continue, more than $344 million in federal disaster assistance has gone into the hands of Helene disaster survivors. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas is in North Carolina today to meet with state and local leaders, and members of the FEMA workforce supporting response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. These engagements follow his visit to North and South Carolina last week with President Biden.

    President Joseph R. Biden has approved federal disaster assistance in six states affected by Helene. This opens up federal help for survivors in designated areas in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Survivors may apply for assistance in three ways: online by visiting disasterassistance.gov, by calling 800-621-3362 or using the FEMA App.

    Survivors may receive upfront funds to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay.

    These photos highlight response and recovery efforts across affected states impacted by Helene and the response to Milton.

    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56148″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/bc76a25a1cbb1cdf82f0b1c70612bb41.jpg?itok=95kdKLOD” alt=”Caption: Tallahassee, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2024) – FEMA Administrator is leading the federal response to Hurricane Milton at the Florida Division of Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center.” class=”image-style-large”>
    Tallahassee, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2024) – FEMA Administrator is leading the federal response to Hurricane Milton at the Florida Division of Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center.
    TALLAHASSEE, Florida – FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks with Florida’s emergency management team at the Florida Division of Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center.  (source: FEMA)
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56089″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/3ec38dff94d421b29e9b738c3e2fd7e4.jpg?itok=g-b1UW6a” alt=”Caption: Asheville, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division distribute food and water to residents in Asheville, N.C.,” class=”image-style-large”>
    Asheville, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division distribute food and water to residents in Asheville, N.C.,
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56153″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/62d2e63814faa422a6617faf9f64c4cb.jpg?itok=l9vCm5A0″ alt=”Caption:

    Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2024) – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas visited the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Emergency Operations Center to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.

    ” class=”image-style-large”>

    Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2024) – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas visited the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Emergency Operations Center to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56146″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/f303bf0f0d79b0a081336926e095b1fd.jpeg?itok=nLrjmb7g” alt=”Caption:

    Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2024) – FEMA Urban Search and Rescue is prepared and ready to respond to Hurricane Milton.

    ” class=”image-style-large”>

    Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2024) – FEMA Urban Search and Rescue is prepared and ready to respond to Hurricane Milton.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56143″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/bb201edc491b02876939951937d6a29a.jpg?itok=MrXKeK6K” alt=”Caption:

    Orlando, Fla – Power restoration trucks and other equipment are pre-staging ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall.

    ” class=”image-style-large”>

    Orlando, Fla – Power restoration trucks and other equipment are pre-staging ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56101″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/91804c58d1d2deaf450c6704c7a25190.jpg?itok=xkPZYW-3″ alt=”Caption:

    Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – FEMA Deputy Administrator Hooks visits the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center to provide support to those affected by Hurricane Helene.

    ” class=”image-style-large”>

    Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – FEMA Deputy Administrator Hooks visits the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center to provide support to those affected by Hurricane Helene.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56099″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/687e96e97136b77ee9df8c0ebb725ba9.jpg?itok=FAx5yq2S” alt=”Caption: Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith visits FEMA Corps members supporting Hurricane Helene response and recovery.” class=”image-style-large”>
    Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith visits FEMA Corps members supporting Hurricane Helene response and recovery.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56114″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/803bc2e74d88047e766de87fab89911c.jpg?itok=cizykDdV” alt=”Caption: Greenville, S.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks visits Greenville’s Emergency Operations Center to meet with the leadership to discuss the stabilization progress for the County. Deputy Hooks met with Greenville County Emergency Management’ Director Jessica Stumpf, Deputy Director Pierce Womack, Greenville City Fire Chief Brian Horton, Division Chief David Hindman, South Carolina Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson, alongside FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer, Brett Howard.” class=”image-style-large”>
    Greenville, S.C. (Oct. 8, 2024) – FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks visits Greenville’s Emergency Operations Center to meet with the leadership to discuss the stabilization progress for the County. Deputy Hooks met with Greenville County Emergency Management’ Director Jessica Stumpf, Deputy Director Pierce Womack, Greenville City Fire Chief Brian Horton, Division Chief David Hindman, South Carolina Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson, alongside FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer, Brett Howard.
    View Original‘ data-align=”center” data-asset-link=”1″ data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”large” data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-asset-id=”56069″ src=”https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/externals/6dab3be35910de73fb3062ae41c6060e.jpg?itok=MCkazuYu” alt=”Caption:

    Newport, Tenn. (Oct. 7, 2024) – Volunteers open large distribution points for Hurricane Helene survivors to receive food, water, clothing, cleaning supplies, pet food, diapers and emotional support at Crossroads Community Church in Newport, Tenn.

    ” class=”image-style-large”>

    Newport, Tenn. (Oct. 7, 2024) – Volunteers open large distribution points for Hurricane Helene survivors to receive food, water, clothing, cleaning supplies, pet food, diapers and emotional support at Crossroads Community Church in Newport, Tenn. 

    FEMA’s Disaster Multimedia Toolkit page provides graphics, social media copy and sample text in multiple languages. In addition, FEMA has set up a rumor control web page to reduce confusion about its role in the Helene response. Visit Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response.

    amy.ashbridge

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Stansbury Leads Letter Urging Speaker Johnson to Call House Back Into Session to Vote on Emergency Disaster Relief Funding

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01)

    ALBUQUERQUE—Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) led a letter urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) to bring the U.S. House of Representatives back into session to approve necessary funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to fulfill their Hurricane Helene and Milton relief missions. Recent legislation has provided initial relief funds but falls critically short of what will be necessary to address the scale of destruction and the recovery needs for Fiscal Year 2025. From Milton and Helene, to wildfires and flooding at home in New Mexico, replenishment of federal disaster funds is critically needed. 

    61 Members of Congress signed the letter.  

    “I want to send everyone who is in the path of Hurricane Milton my prayers,” Congresswoman Stansbury said. “This is a difficult time, especially as Hurricane Helene made landfall just a few days ago. In New Mexico, our communities experienced a catastrophic fire and flooding in Lincoln and Otero counties and are still recovering. But beyond that, we need to make sure that all families and all communities across the United States can access necessary disaster relief funds. That’s why I co-led this letter. We must do the work to ensure our communities are safe.” 

    “We write to you amidst a season marked by unprecedented natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events that have left communities across our nation in dire need of additional and comprehensive disaster relief funding,” wrote the Members. “The funds previously allocated were a necessary first step, allowing for an initial response to the immediate aftermath of these disasters. However, as recovery efforts continue, it is abundantly clear that these funds will not suffice.” 

    As representatives of the American people, it is our duty to ensure that every community has the resources to recover and rebuild in the wake of devastation. This is not merely a matter of policy but a profound obligation to the citizens we serve, who depend on their government for support in their most critical times of need,” the Members continued. “Therefore, we strongly urge you to bring the US House of Representatives back into session to approve the necessary funding that will empower FEMA and the SBA to fulfill their disaster relief missions. Our communities cannot wait, and we must act swiftly to provide them with the assurance that their government will stand by them.” 

    A full copy of the letter can be found by clicking here, or reading below: 

    Dear Speaker Johnson,  

    We write to you amidst a season marked by unprecedented natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events that have left communities across our nation in dire need of additional and comprehensive disaster relief funding. 

    Recent legislation has provided initial relief funds, yet these provisions fall critically short of what will be necessary to address the scale of destruction and the recovery needs for Fiscal Year 2025. We, therefore, urge you to immediately reconvene the US House of Representatives so that it can pass robust disaster relief funding.  

    The funds previously allocated were a necessary first step, allowing for an initial response to the immediate aftermath of these disasters. However, as recovery efforts continue, it is abundantly clear that these funds will not suffice. 

    Furthermore, the frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events are a clarion call for proactive measures. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must be equipped not only to respond to current disasters but also to adequately prepare for future events. This requires substantial funding that ensures FEMA can maintain a state of readiness and provide immediate assistance when disasters strike. Additionally, the Small Business Administration disaster relief loan program must be replenished as soon as possible to help business owners rebuild their enterprises and communities. 

    As representatives of the American people, it is our duty to ensure that every community has the resources to recover and rebuild in the wake of devastation. This is not merely a matter of policy but a profound obligation to the citizens we serve, who depend on their government for support in their most critical times of need. 

    Therefore, we strongly urge you to bring the US House of Representatives back into session to approve the necessary funding that will empower FEMA and the SBA to fulfill their disaster relief missions. Our communities cannot wait, and we must act swiftly to provide them with the assurance that their government will stand by them. 

    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We hope for your leadership in reconvening the House and ensuring that our nation is prepared to meet the challenges posed by natural disasters. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada Passes Legislation for a First Phase of National Universal Pharmacare

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    Today, the Pharmacare Act received Royal Assent and immediately came into force. The Minister of Health will continue working with provinces and territories to reach bilateral agreements to provide universal, single-payer, first-dollar access to a range of contraception and diabetes medications.

    Pharmacare Act includes universal access to contraception and diabetes medications.

    October 10, 2024 | Ottawa, Ontario | Health Canada 

    Everyone in Canada deserves access to the medications they need, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. Canadians should not have to choose between purchasing the medications that keep them healthy and putting food on the table.

    Today, the Pharmacare Act received Royal Assent and immediately came into force. The Minister of Health will continue working with provinces and territories to reach bilateral agreements to provide universal, single-payer, first-dollar access to a range of contraception and diabetes medications as the first phase of a national universal pharmacare program. These agreements will support reproductive freedom by providing up to nine million women and gender diverse people in Canada free access to contraception. Additionally, the 3.7 million people in Canada living with diabetes will have universal access to a suite of medications that reduce the risk of serious health complications and improve quality of life.

    The Act also requires that Canada’s Drug Agency develop a list of essential drugs and related products to inform the development of a national formulary, a national bulk purchasing strategy to help further reduce drug prices, and a pan-Canadian strategy on the appropriate use of prescription medications. The Government of Canada will consult with provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples, and other partners and stakeholders about the path forward to improve the accessibility, affordability, and appropriate use of pharmaceutical products. The Act also requires that a committee of experts be established within thirty days to make recommendations on the operation and financing of national, universal, single-payer pharmacare in Canada. 

    Passing the Pharmacare Act is a crucial step forward to improve health equity, affordability, and outcomes, and will result in long-term savings to the health care system. The government is determined to work towards a plan where Canadians can obtain their medication as prescribed, regardless of where they live or if they can afford it. 

    • Many Canadians have no insurance for prescription medication or are under-insured. In 2021, Statistics Canada found that one in five adults in Canada did not have the insurance they needed to cover their medication costs.

    • On February 29, 2024, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-64, An Act respecting pharmacare (Pharmacare Act).

    • In addition to providing access to a number of contraception and diabetes medications, the Act will also establish a fund for diabetes devices and supplies to help Canadians manage and monitor their diabetes and administer their medication. 

    • On December 18, 2023, the Government of Canada announced the creation of Canada’s Drug Agency with an investment of over $89.5 million over 5 years, starting in 2024-25. The Agency will help Canadians achieve better health outcomes by providing the dedicated leadership and coordination needed to make Canada’s drug system more sustainable and better prepared for the future. 

    • On March 22, 2023, the Government of Canada announced measures in support of the first-ever National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases, with an investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years to help increase access to, and the affordability of, effective drugs for rare diseases. Bill C-64 commits to a model for long-term funding through bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, beginning with funding for the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases.

    • In August 2021, the Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island (PEI) announced the Improving Affordable Access to Prescriptions Drugs Program that provides federal funding to PEI to improve access to prescription drugs and make them more affordable for Island residents. Since then, PEI residents have saved over $2 million in out-of-pocket costs on more than 230,000 prescriptions under PEI’s $5 copay program, which was launched in June 2023 and reduced copays for almost 60% of medications regularly used by Island residents. 

    Matthew Kronberg
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Honourable Mark Holland
    Minister of Health
    343-552-5654

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Cooper Surveys Storm Damage in Madison County, Joins EPA Administrator Michael Regan to Assess Water Infrastructure in Haywood and Buncombe Counties

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Cooper Surveys Storm Damage in Madison County, Joins EPA Administrator Michael Regan to Assess Water Infrastructure in Haywood and Buncombe Counties

    Governor Cooper Surveys Storm Damage in Madison County, Joins EPA Administrator Michael Regan to Assess Water Infrastructure in Haywood and Buncombe Counties
    mseets

    Today, Governor Roy Cooper traveled to Marshall in Madison County on Thursday morning where he was joined by Mayor Aaron Haynie as well as FEMA and state officials to survey storm damage. Following this visit, the Governor joined EPA Administrator Michael Regan to assess water infrastructure damage and discuss federal support to rebuild water systems in Western North Carolina.

    “Today I traveled to Marshall and the Madison County Emergency Operations Center, met with residents, first responders, soldiers and business owners and again saw how they are working together with local, state and federal officials to recover and rebuild,” said Governor Cooper. “I also surveyed sites with EPA Administrator Michael Regan where work is happening to restore clean drinking water and we discussed streams for federal funds that are needed to build back these systems stronger than ever. We’ll continue our unprecedented response with our federal, state, local and non-profit partners to surge resources where they’re needed in Western North Carolina.”

    In Marshall, the Governor was joined by FEMA Region 4 Administrator Robert Samaan, NCDPS Secretary Eddie Buffaloe, NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins and NCDEQ Secretary Mary Penny Kelley. During the Governor’s travels to Haywood and Buncombe counties with Administrator Regan, he visited an EPA mobile command center that provides a space for first responders and scientists to direct field activities, a mobile drinking water lab that is designed to help local and state governments lift boil water advisories and the North Fork Water Treatment Plant to review operations in the wake of the storm.

    Goods and services continue to flow into impacted communities through state, federal and local partners. The North Carolina National Guard and the Joint Task Force- North Carolina have assisted thousands of people who needed rescue, evacuation and other assistance.

    Photos from the Governor’s visit to Western North Carolina can be found here.

    North Carolina National Guard and Military Response

    More than 3,500 Soldiers and Airmen are now working in Western North Carolina. Joint Task Force- North Carolina, the task force led by the North Carolina National Guard is made up of Soldiers and Airmen from 12 different states, two different XVIII Airborne Corps units from Ft. Liberty, a unit from Ft. Campbell’s 101st Airborne Division, and numerous civilian entities are working side-by-side to get the much-needed help to the citizens in western North Carolina.

    National Guard and military personnel are operating 29 aviation assets and more than 1,200 specialized vehicles in Western North Carolina to facilitate these missions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping to assess water and wastewater plants and dams. Residents can track the status of the public water supply in their area through a website launched on Saturday.

    FEMA Assistance

    More than $70 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far to Western NC disaster survivors and more than 143,000 people have registered for Individual Assistance. Approximately 1,250 households are now housed in hotels through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance. Federal partners have delivered approximately 10 million liters of water and approximately 7.8 million meals in North Carolina to support both responders and people living in the affected communities.

    1,000+ FEMA staff are in the state to help with the western North Carolina relief effort. In addition to search and rescue and providing commodities, they are meeting with disaster survivors in shelters and neighborhoods to provide rapid access to relief resources. They can be identified by their FEMA logo apparel and federal government identification.

    The Major Disaster Declaration requested by Governor Cooper and granted by President Biden now includes 27 North Carolina counties (Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

    North Carolinians can apply for Individual Assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7am to 11pm daily or by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov, or by downloading the FEMA app. FEMA may be able to help with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs.

    Help from Other States

    More than 1,400 responders from 36 state and local agencies have performed 125 missions supporting the response and recovery efforts through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This includes public health nurses, emergency management teams supporting local governments, veterinarians, teams with search dogs and more.

    Beware of Misinformation

    North Carolina Emergency Management and local officials are cautioning the public about false Helene reports and misinformation being shared on social media. NCEM has launched a fact versus rumor response webpage to provide factual information in the wake of this storm. FEMA also has a rumor response webpage.

    Food, Water and Commodity Points of Distribution

    Efforts continue to provide food, water and basic necessities to residents in affected communities, using both ground resources and air drops from the NC National Guard. More than 20,000 hot meals a day are being prepared and served by mobile kitchens. Food, water and commodity points of distribution are open throughout western North Carolina. For information on these sites in your community, visit your local emergency management and local government social media and websites or visit ncdps.gov/Helene.

    Missing Persons

    To report a missing person or request non-emergency support, please call NC 211 or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state. NC 211 also has a registry page for missing persons and welfare check requests.

    Shelters

    A total of 16 shelters are open in Western North Carolina serving 695 people and 95 pets.

    Storm Damage Cleanup

    If your home has damages and you need assistance with clean up, please call Crisis Cleanup for access to volunteer organizations that can assist you at 844-965-1386.

    Power Outages

    Across Western North Carolina, approximately 90,000 customers remain without power as of Tuesday, down from a peak of more than 1 million. Overall power outage numbers will fluctuate up and down as power crews temporarily take circuits or substations offline to make repairs and restore additional customers.

    Road Closures

    Travel remains dangerous, with hundreds of roads closed. Many of these roads are primary routes connecting the region. As connectivity and reporting measures improve, these number may increase.

    NCDOT is asking people to avoid unnecessary travel to or in Western North Carolina. NCDOT has posted at ncdot.gov an interstate detour map for travelers to avoid western N.C. NCDOT currently has approximately 2,100 employees and 1,100 pieces of equipment working on approximately 6,000 damaged road sites.

    Fatalities

    Ninety-one storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. We expect that this number will continue to rise over the coming days. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will continue to confirm numbers twice daily. If you have an emergency or believe that someone is in danger, please call 911. To report that you have been unable to reach a person in Western North Carolina, please call 211.

    Volunteers and Donations

    Due to dangerous road conditions and the need to maintain open routes for emergency operations, travel to Western North Carolina is strongly discouraged. Instead, consider the following options for donations and volunteer opportunities:

    • If you would like to donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, visit nc.gov/donate. Donations will help to support local nonprofits working on the ground.
    • For information on volunteer opportunities, please visit nc.gov/volunteernc

    Additional Assistance

    There is no right or wrong way to feel in response to the trauma of a hurricane. If you have been impacted by the storm and need someone to talk to, call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. Help is also available to anyone, anytime in English or Spanish through a call, text or chat to 988. Learn more at 988Lifeline.org.

    If you are seeking a representative from the North Carolina Joint Information Center, please email ncempio@ncdps.gov or call 919-825-2599.

    For general information, access to resources, or answers to frequently asked questions, please visit ncdps.gov/helene.

    If you are seeking information on resources for recovery help for a resident impacted from the storm, please email IArecovery@ncdps.gov.

    ###

    Oct 10, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Address to Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, Melbourne

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    Introduction

    I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today.

    I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, and I acknowledge any First Nations Australians in attendance.

    Thank you to our hosts today at Maurice Blackburn and to all of you for being here in attendance.

    No one here needs to be convinced of the devastating impact of scams on Australians.

    And I believe you want to be part of the solution of protecting Australians to help keep their money safe.

    Four weeks ago, we took a significant step forward in that goal.

    The Scams Prevention Framework –

    The legislation that establishes a consumer‑focused defence against scams –

    Will make Australia one of the toughest targets for scammers.

    Many of you have been working constructively with our Treasury colleagues over the last few weeks.

    I thank you for your input on this vital piece of economic reform.

    I have personally engaged representatives from consumer groups, the Telecommunications sector, the Digital Platforms sector, the Banking sector, and potential future sectors.

    These conversations have provided valuable insight into how the proposed framework will integrate into the ecosystem.

    And I want to express my thanks to the Treasury team that are right now poring over your written submissions and processing your feedback.

    Your feedback will help ensure this is a strong framework that actively prevents scams reaching potential victims.

    And your engagement reflects the fact that we all bear the cost of scams.

    Because while the digitisation of the economy has brought significant benefits –

    The threat of scams can bring that all undone.

    The digital economy has opened new markets.

    Generated productivity gains.

    And changed the way we work and live.

    We can expect the pace of change to accelerate.

    Now this change can be good.

    And we want to encourage, unlock and spread the benefits of the digital economy.

    But there are vulnerabilities.

    And that means there is a premium on the role of government and business to keep Australians safe.

    Because if Australians lose trust and confidence in the digital economy, we all lose.

    This is why the government has a significant program of work underway to keep consumers safe.

    The review of the Privacy Act seeks to bring it into the digital age.

    It will impose higher standards on business to ensure they are keeping customers’ data safe.

    We are looking at the way businesses store data –

    What data they collect.

    Why they collect it.

    How they store it.

    And how long they need it.

    Our Digital ID System establishes a simple and secure means for consumers to verify their identity online.

    And reduces the quantity of identity information that businesses and government need to collect and store.

    Our National Cyber Security Strategy is helping to strengthen our resilience across the economy.

    And improving our defence against cybercriminals.

    Rejecting the status quo

    All of these initiatives – and others – are designed to ensure that there is trust in our digital infrastructure.

    But this unravels without a strong and coherent defence against scams.

    This is critical and core economic policy.

    This attitude alone differentiates us from our predecessors.

    Scams exploded under them.

    Losses in 2021 were double the losses in 2020.

    Losses in 2022 were double the losses in 2021.

    Doubling and doubling again.

    In their final year in office, scam losses had reached $3 billion.

    This was not just bad luck.

    It was the product of a government that was asleep at the wheel.

    And consumers paid the price.

    We wholeheartedly reject this approach.

    When the perpetrators are off‑shore

    When thinking about the right approach to take, it has been often suggested to me that the answer is beefing up our law enforcement –

    More police out there arresting the bad guys.

    And it is true that law enforcement is part of the solution.

    But it has its limitations.

    Particularly when we know that the majority of these criminals are operating offshore –

    Often in places where traditional law enforcement can’t reach.

    And we are working with our international partners to improve cooperation and efforts in this area.

    But more needs to be done at home.

    So what to do.

    Doing nothing is not an option.

    And traditional approaches are severely limited.

    Protecting consumers through prevention

    Well, we can start with the principle that prevention has to be the goal.

    As with other harms, prevention is better than cure.

    We can’t wait until a victim is scammed.

    The emotional and financial cost is too much to let that happen.

    So we need to bring all of our capabilities to bear on having a wall of separation between scammers and their targets.

    We also need to recognise that scammers will target the weakest link.

    Many scams involve players across the economy.

    A text message.

    A social media ad.

    A bank transfer.

    We can put all our efforts into plugging one hole.

    And the scammers will just find another way to their victim.

    So we need to work together with urgency.

    This is why our first actions were to build the infrastructure to take the fight to scammers.

    Building government capacity – 3 key measures

    Last year, we established the National Anti‑Scam Centre, which provides a necessary layer of defence for Australians.

    It enables better reporting of scams for earlier intervention.

    Near real‑time sharing of intelligence with banks, telcos, social media, and regulators.

    It brings together the expertise and capability of government agencies, law enforcement and the private sector.

    So that we can detect, disrupt and prevent scams.

    We’re also cutting off the avenues for scammers directly.

    Over half of reported scams originate from a phone call or a text message.

    We have all been the recipient of the millions of scam messages bombarding Australians.

    So we have also invested in an SMS ID Registry, and established a blacklist of phone numbers being used by scammers.

    We are blocking an average of 1 million scam calls and 1 million texts per day.

    We’re also beefing up the capabilities of our regulators.

    We’ve built new functions for ASIC and the NASC to take down scam websites.

    ASIC alone have already taken down over 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites through the last year, saving Australians millions of dollars. This is the government’s scams prevention infrastructure.

    Information sharing.

    Blocking the contact between scammers and their targets.

    And getting on top of scam websites quickly.

    And while it is way too early to claim victory, the initial results show the tide is turning in the favour of Australians.

    Because of the first phase of our plan, annual scam losses declined in 2023 for the first time since 2016.

    But there was still $2.74 billion lost.

    So there is more to do.

    With the infrastructure in place, we can take the next step –

    Significantly raising the bar of obligations and expectations on business to keep their customers safe.

    The Scams Prevention Framework legislation does this.

    The Scams Prevention Framework

    The Scams Prevention Framework is a whole‑of‑economy reform which will protect Australians from scams.

    It will drive a significant uplift across the digital ecosystem.

    The legislation creates new principles‑based obligations on industry to take reasonable steps to prevent, detect, report, disrupt, and respond to scams as well as implement strong governance frameworks.

    These obligations are activated when the Minister, under the Act, designates a sector.

    They are backed by strong regulator powers, penalties and remedies when businesses in a sector breach their obligations.

    Beyond these general principles, the legislation also empowers the Minister to create sector‑specific codes which will set out specific obligations and deliverables.

    These will be strong, legally binding measures which must be implemented by businesses within the sector to prevent, detect, report, disrupt, and respond to scams.

    Protecting Australians from scams must be the shared goal.

    And that protection will need to be tailored for each sector.

    Because each sector has unique vulnerabilities that scammers seek to expose.

    Sectors interact at different points in the scams chain.

    So we’re not taking a one‑size‑fits all approach.

    The codes will enforce specific obligations for each sector that lifts the standard.

    Same goal.

    Same high standards.

    Specific, legally enforceable requirements for each sector that protect Australians across the ecosystem.

    Initially, I will designate banks, telecommunication service providers, and a range of digital platform services, including social media.

    This means they will need to meet obligations around talking preventative actions.

    Examples of these obligations will include requirements on the banks to strengthen controls around transfers.

    The banks will need to have in place mandatory confirmation of payee.

    Digital platforms will need to implement verification measures for all new advertisers and taking down scam pages.

    Telecommunication companies will be required to block known scam numbers.

    This combines with the next phase of our investment in an SMS ID register.

    In addition to blocking known scam numbers, telcos will need to check whether messages being sent under a brand name correspond with the registered sender.

    If it doesn’t match, the number will either be blocked or the recipient will receive a warning.

    This is good for businesses that want to legitimately communicate with customers.

    And it’s good for Australians – taking our protections even further.

    Cutting off the threat of scams early is paramount.

    And so designated sectors will need to take steps to detect scams proactively.

    Examples of this would include sharing information between sectors to identify threats.

    And setting in place internal mechanisms to alert to the threat of high‑risk transactions.

    Industry will also be required to report actionable intelligence to the ACCC.

    Such as phone numbers, bank accounts, advertisements and other relevant information which can enable action.

    Better and earlier information is crucial to stopping the scammers from harming Australians.

    Taken together, the framework will provide the toughest safety obligations owed to a customer by a business anywhere in the world.

    The pathways for redress within the framework

    The Scams Prevention Framework will be a landmark reform for consumer protection.

    We only need to consider what currently exists to see how big a shift this framework is.

    Take a victim who was scammed through a social media platform.

    There is no clear prevention standard to which the platform can be held accountable.

    There is no mandatory internal dispute resolution procedure to raise the complaint.

    There is no external dispute resolution process.

    There may be access to court proceedings, but the lack of clear obligations under current laws means the cause of action is limited or not existent.

    Victims who seek to raise a complaint against a telco are in a slightly better position, but only just.

    This sector is required to have an internal dispute resolution process.

    If they fail to resolve the matter there, they have access to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

    Yet there is limited obligation to report or communicate scams to consumers.

    It’s a similar story for someone bringing a complaint against a bank.

    Bank clients have access to internal dispute resolution process.

    If that does not resolve the issue, they can apply to AFCA.

    If the payment was not authorised, AFCA may award compensation.

    Where the payment has been authorised, but through the deception of a scammer there is little in the way of obligations to support the claim.

    AFCA can apply the principle of fairness and efficiency as required by the corporations law, but this is of limited utility.

    In fact, the general law supports the principle that a customer may direct their bank to make payments on their behalf and the bank must follow those directions.

    There are many problems here:

    The obligations on the businesses to protect customers from scam activity are at best uncertain but at worst non‑existent.

    The avenues for redress are at best uncertain but at worst non‑existent.

    The ability of a regulator to enforce a higher standard of safety is at best uncertain but at worst non‑existent.

    Our redress pathway addresses each of these shortcomings.

    The new law will require businesses to have an internal dispute resolution process.

    It sets new standards of what businesses are required to do to keep their customers information and money safe.

    It provides a mandated IDR and EDR process – including in sectors where none currently exist.

    This is what it means to respond –

    To have accessible and transparent dispute resolution processes.

    It also establishes clear obligations and regulatory responsibility –

    The ACCC as the system‑wide and digital platform regulator.

    ACMA as the telecommunications regulator.

    ASIC as the banking regulator.

    It also provides consumers and regulators with judicial remedies – which for the most part do not currently exist for the scam activity that the framework will tackle.

    In short this is a significant uplift in both obligation and remediation available to consumers and regulators.

    When legislated it will provide the most comprehensive set of mandatory obligations in any country in the world.

    Automatic reimbursement model

    Some people also think we should put this all on the banks to pay compensation.

    No fault, no questions.

    I understand the motive behind this call.

    But I worry that a significant beneficiary of this approach would be criminal scammers.

    So let me just step through the government’s concerns with this approach.

    The first problem is that it does not require proactive steps to prevent the scam from occurring in the first place.

    The second problem is that it detaches liability from fault.

    Throughout our legal system, we operate on the basis that compensation is preceded by establishing fault –

    That a person who could and should have taken steps to prevent a harm did not.

    Our legislation will set the standard for fault – a standard which does not exist today.

    If an institution does not meet the standard at law, they absolutely should be held responsible for the financial loss of a victim.

    So we actually need this legislation to provide pathways for compensation.

    I’m also cautious when someone says that a ‘bank’ should just pay compensation.

    What that often translates to is the customers of the bank paying higher costs.

    We at least need to be honest about this flow‑through impact.

    But what is perhaps the most concerning weakness of this approach is that it does not reflect the threat of scams.

    Scams usually don’t originate at a bank.

    They originate somewhere else in the economy – a telecommunications network or a social media platform.

    If we are to be serious about prevention, then we must look upstream.

    Our solution needs to be multi‑sector.

    If we put this all on one sector, the scams won’t stop.

    Scammers are sophisticated and will expose the weaknesses in the system if we only plug one hole.

    Everyone needs skin in the game.

    If there is fault that has occurred on a digital platform and a bank, they both should be held responsible.

    In fact, I find it unconscionable that there would be liability on one business for a scam that another business profits from.

    Take the very common example of the puppy scam that exploded during the pandemic.

    These ads are commonly placed on a platform like Facebook Marketplace.

    Scammers have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from victims of these scams.

    But Meta has also received a revenue stream from the advertising revenue.

    How is it fair that a bank – perhaps a very small bank – is held liable, while Meta – one of the largest companies in the world – gets off scot‑free?

    How is this going to reduce scams?

    This is a model advocated by businesses who want to avoid responsibility.

    We disagree and think it’s quite simple.

    Prevention must be the goal.

    We need to lift the standard of the whole of industry, not just one sector.

    And if industry does not meet the standard, then they absolutely need to provide redress for a victim.

    This is fair for the consumer.

    So the framework enables the government to set strong obligations that make prevention a realistic goal –

    It sets a clear standard for industry to meet with clear financial penalties for failing –

    And it protects Australians.

    This will drive meaningful action.

    The Scams Prevention Framework legislation will give us another strong asset in the fight against scammers.

    We will start with the banks, telcos and social media companies.

    But the design of the framework is intended to enable expansion into future sectors, where we see greater scam activity.

    And I want to put all sectors on notice.

    Don’t wait to be told to do more.

    You owe it to Australians to do more.

    And if that isn’t enough, then it is in your interests to do more too.

    Conclusion

    And it is the government’s commitment to make Australia one of the hardest targets in the world for scammers.

    Our plan involves strong obligations.

    Clear consequences for failures to prevent scams.

    And putting consumers first.

    This is how we work together individually and collectively to keep Australians’ money safe.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Address to Aspen Medical Foundation annual report launch, Canberra

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, on whose traditional lands we meet, and pay respect to all First Nations people here today.

    Thank you to Glenn Keys and his team for the invitation to address you and launch Aspen Medical Foundation’s first annual report.

    Some starting presumptions. If you’re here today, it is highly probable you’re a friend to the Foundation, perhaps as a contributor to its initiatives, or as a beneficiary of them.

    I will also presume you appreciate the role played by smart, innovative philanthropy in modern society.

    The role of reimagining what’s possible.

    This annual report demonstrates how Aspen Medical Foundation’s contributions have done just that.

    I was particularly moved by the story of Dr Tahni Derbin, one of the Foundation’s First Nations scholarship recipients, who graduated last year from Griffith University with a medical degree.

    Dr Derbin’s example highlights the resonance of philanthropy. How helping an individual can create changes that reverberate through communities to uplift, transcend and inspire.

    Working across 3 pillars of First Nations Health, Disability Health and Indo‑Pacific Health – the Aspen Medical Foundation has focused on big impacts.

    Since its establishment in 2008, the foundation has provided a way for Aspen Medical’s shareholders to allocate a percentage of profits to charitable causes – generating social impact and public good from the success of the company.

    Across a range of the Foundation’s initiatives I see a common thread – a goal of inspiring health care workers and young doctors to build community resilience and lasting human impact.

    It shows a belief that people might ultimately be the best health solution. Producing grounded, networked and well‑trained health workers and health advocates is an investment in human potential well beyond the direct recipients.

    Ambassadors who can change behaviour and build health knowledge in their day to day relationships as well as their professional lives, reaching across their extended families and their community.

    It’s a broad community based approach which sets of ripples of influence that go beyond purely medical outcomes.

    One of the best examples of this ripple effect is the Maalpa Young Doctors for Life program. This program, running in Perth and the South West regions of Western Australia, aims to turn students into health ambassadors. It takes students aged between 9 and 12 and gives them culturally appropriate teaching on how to set their own ‘health destiny’ and improve the outcomes for their family.

    The students are shown practical and hands‑on skills by Aboriginal elders, doctors and paramedics across a range of personal hygiene, mental health and nutrition – and this gives them the authority to shape better habits around them.

    This is a program deeply rooted in First Nations culture and it’s a charming and subtle approach to improving health among family groups in the region.

    But the foundation is also able to react quickly to global challenges, funding life‑enhancing prosthetics to victims of the catastrophic conflict in the Ukraine.

    These subtle and agile approaches to big problems show philanthropy at its smartest and most compassionate.

    Doubling giving by 2030

    Two years ago, when the Albanese government committed to double philanthropic giving by 2030, we envisaged ourselves as one participant in a partnership that also included the business, philanthropy and non‑profit sectors.

    That’s why we asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a once‑in‑a‑generation inquiry to examine the policy framework supporting philanthropy.

    The result was the Future Foundations for Giving report, which contains short‑ and long‑term recommendations to improve conditions for giving.

    What we’ve already done

    As many of you know, the government has been laying the foundations to improve conditions for giving.

    These changes are a clear signal of the government’s commitment to sectoral reform.

    We’ve made regulatory changes so the system works for charities, not against them.

    For example, we reduced red tape by giving the ATO responsibility of the deductible gift recipient application process for environmental organisations, harm‑prevention charities, cultural organisations, and overseas aid organisations.

    These types of charities will now spend fewer resources meeting requirements and more on pursuing charitable purposes.

    Second, we created a new deductible gift recipient category for ‘community foundations’. These are charities that directly support local and regional communities across Australia. The guidelines for the ‘community charity’ deductible gift recipient category will be made available for public consultation this year and I encourage everyone to have their say.

    Third, we gave new powers and resources to the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission. It can now publish information about investigating misconduct allegations, which will improve transparency and accountability in the charity sector.

    Fourth, we established the not‑for‑profit–led Blueprint Expert Reference Group to identify priority areas for reform.

    The group is developing a blueprint to capitalise on the strengths and the experiences of not‑for‑profits around the country to chart a path to a better‑connected Australia.

    Closing remarks

    Let me finish by saying that I am sure you, like me, are excited to see what comes next from Aspen Medical Foundation. As well as from other philanthropic organisations like yours that are shaping the pathway to doubling giving by 2030.

    I am sure many of you are thinking about what comes next now that the Productivity Commission’s inquiry has been published.

    The double‑giving goal is not just a government objective – it’s a shared objective.

    I’d like to suggest that everyone asks themselves the same question. ‘How can I contribute to that goal?’

    The Productivity Commission’s recommendations, alongside the data contained in this first Annual Report, present Aspen Medical Foundation with the opportunity to ponder that question.

    And by taking the right steps, Dr Tahni Derbin will have many more fellow scholarship recipients and graduates working at her side by 2030.

    Thank you.

    References

    Aspen Medical Foundation (2024), Impact Report 2023/24, p 12.

    Aspen Medical (12 July 2024) Aspen Medical Foundation and Alcoa Foundation partner to being program empowering kids to become ‘Young Doctors’ to Western Australia [media release].

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Save the Children – A girl marries every 30 seconds in countries ranked fragile and child marriage hotspots – New Report

    Source: Save the Children

    A girl is married every 30 seconds in countries ranked as fragile states and with high child marriage rates, with about 32 million adolescent girls living in these emergency hotspots, according to new analysis released today by Save the Children [1].
    Save the Children’s latest Global Girlhood Report 2024: Fragile Futures set out to analyse if there was a link between fragility and child marriage and found some 32 million girls are living in countries rated ‘extremely fragile’ or ‘fragile’ and with high child marriage rates – so called “fragility-child marriage hotspots”.
    Eight of 10 of the worst fragility-child marriage hotspots are located in Africa with the Central African Republic, Chad and South Sudan the worst affected, followed by Somalia and Eritrea [2].
    The report, released on International Day of the Girl, also found that the 36 million girls living in 15 countries ranked ‘extremely fragile’ by the OECD were twice as likely to marry under the age of 17 than girls in more stable countries. One in 10 children marriages occurs in these states [3].
    In extremely fragile countries, almost 558,000 girls – or one-in-four – give birth before their 18th birthday. Many of those girls will not have access to skilled birth attendants to support them through the heightened risks associated with adolescent pregnancy.
    The number of countries ranked as fragile has increased in recent years with the OECD listing 60 countries as fragile in its 2022 States of Fragility report. Of these 15 countries were ranked as ‘extremely fragile’ and 45 countries as ‘fragile’, with 170 million adolescent girls living in these countries. This was an increase from a total of 57 fragile countries in 2020 and 58 in 2018.
    Fragile countries are those where the government does not have enough control over responsibilities like law-making, law enforcement, managing the economy and the services that people need to be safe and healthy. They are also countries more often affected by crises like wars and climate disasters, which contribute to fragility and its consequences. Extremely fragile countries are those where these factors are the most extreme.
    Child marriage has devastating consequences for a girl’s life by depriving them of their rights to health, education, safety and participation. Girls married young are far less likely to stay in school, impacting their economic independence and decision-making, at higher risk of physical and sexual violence, and face more complications in pregnancy and child birth and infection with HIV/AIDS.
    Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said:
    “Our latest report reveals a devastating link between child marriage and fragile states, with girls living in extremely fragile countries twice as likely to marry than girls in countries experiencing periods of greater stability. The picture is bleak for these children; right now, no fragile country is on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on ending hunger, ensure education and health for all, or gender equality.
    “Fragility has also increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and is linked to many of the new crises we see today, eroding the systems communities rely on for healthcare, safety, education and income.
    “Persistent and unaddressed inequalities, the climate crisis and the erosion of children’s and human rights mean that girls’ lives continue to be shaped by a cycle of crisis and recovery. And this will continue unless urgent action is taken.
    “Governments are ultimately responsible for guaranteeing the rights of all people within their borders. For governments in fragile settings this is more difficult as they face the dual challenge of needing to do more to protect girls rights at a time when they are less able to deliver that support. More resources are needed to support the governments, civil society organisations and communities – including girls – in fragile settings to ensure they can respond to the needs. The governments of the fragile countries, UN agencies, civil society organisations, and donors must work together to ensure girls’ rights are protected.”
    To uphold girls’ rights and address child marriage in fragile settings, Save the Children is calling on governments, UN Agencies, civil society organisations and donors focused on development and humanitarian settings to collaborate across development and humanitarian contexts for girls’ rights. In doing so they must develop policy guidance to address child marriage and support girls’ rights in fragile settings, and must invest more in research and trialing new responses.
    As a child rights organisation dedicated to ensuring all children have an equal opportunity to survive, learn, and live free from violence, Save the Children works around the world to prevent and respond to child, early, forced marriage and unions around the world.
    Our key strategies include supporting girls’ empowerment, including through meaningful participation in decision-making; mobilising families and communities as allies for gender equality; providing improved and inclusive gender-responsive access to services; conducting research and budget analysis to inform technical guidance on good practice programming, laws and policies; and advocating to ensure governments and other decision-makers are accountable to girls.
    [1] The figures are calculations done by Save the Children UK’s research and data hub using publicly available demographic and health statistics. We use the latest available data points on child marriage (%) from UNICEF, skilled birth attendance for ages 15 to 19 (%) and birth under 18 (%) from UNICEF Data, and data on out of school girls from UNESCO UIS. Data on fragility is taken from OECD States of Fragility index 2022 which categorised countries as “Extremely fragile”, “Other Fragile”, and “Rest of the World”. Projections of female population by age groups in 2024 is taken from World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations. Adolescent girls refer to girl population from age 10 to 17 years of age. To find the absolute number of child marriages in fragile contexts, child marriage numbers are calculated using weighted average of girl population in the age group of 20-24 by country before aggregating the countries into the respective fragility context. Similarly, the same is done for maternal health statistics by the appropriate age groups.
    [2] Eight of 10 of the worst fragility-child marriage hotspots are located in Africa with the Central African Republic, Chad and South Sudan the worst affected, followed by Somalia and Eritrea. The other hotspots listed were Sudan, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Afghanistan.
    [3] From OECD’s Fragile States Index – 36 million girls live in “extremely” fragile countries; 134 million girls live in ‘other’ fragile’ countries – meaning those that aren’t fragile enough to be ranked ‘extreme’; and a total of 170 million girls live in countries consider fragile in total (extremely + other fragile).

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Plaid Leader sets sights on government with vision for healthier Wales

    Source: Party of Wales

    Plaid leader promises a government with both immediate impact and a vision for long-term change toward a healthier, wealthier Wales

    Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS will today address his party’s Annual Conference in Cardiff, criticising 25 years of Labour leadership and spelling out his vision for a healthier and wealthier Wales.

    Rhun ap Iorwerth MS will set out Plaid Cymru’s commitment to “break the cycle of short-term thinking which shortchanges Wales”. On key issues of the economy, education and health, he’ll promise action to implement immediate improvement but set out the need for longer term change that Wales desperately needs.

    In health that means a pledge that under a Plaid Cymru Government, spending on preventative health measures will increase every year.

    He will also announce that a Plaid Cymru Cabinet would include a Minister for Public Health, “ensuring a truly national mission of creating healthier lives which in turn deliver substantial savings.”

    Describing the NHS as “born on Labour’s watch” with a promise of a “rebirth under a Plaid Cymru government” Rhun ap Iorwerth MS is expected to say:

    “My government will break the cycle of short term thinking which shortchanges Wales.

    Unlike Eluned Morgan, I will acknowledge that some things are  broken but more importantly I’ll be determined that nothing is beyond repair.

    My government will not consider issues in isolation. Silo working helps no one when one decision so often affects another.

    Unlocking our economic potential will need major improvements in education attainment, but another bedrock of a healthy economy is a well Wales – its people active in body and mind.

    This year, as waiting lists grew – Labour for some inexplicable reason cut the amount it spends on preventative health policies.

    Friends, this is short-term thinking with long term pain guaranteed. It feeds the problem as opposed to solving it, putting further pressure on front line staff, filling our hospitals with ever sicker patients.

    Plaid Cymru will reverse the thinking, it’s something I’m determined to do , ensuring the NHS is fit for its centenary celebrations and beyond.”

    The Plaid leader will launch a new approach to preventative health as part of wider NHS changes by saying:

    “For too long, Labour’s priority has been managing people’s pain but I want to keep people healthy and I can announce that in the first 100 days of a Plaid Cymru government we will bring forward a new budget – based on the principles of a healthier, wealthier Wales – with a promise that spending on preventative health measures will increase every year

    No more sticking plaster, no more blaming the individual, no more passing the buck.

    This is grown-up government – taking responsibility, empowering people and protecting the NHS.

    And we have an enormous task ahead of us. On improving the NHS estate, we’ll go further than the last 8 Labour Health Ministers, clearing the emergency maintenance backlogs over the duration of the next Senedd term. Only this week, a critical incident was declared at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend because of serious long-term damage to its roof. We have to have an NHS estate fit for purpose!

    We’ll introduce a target focused cancer contract for every patient and reform the governance of the NHS, bringing standards back where they should be and waiting lists down.

    And with a new Minister for Public Health, we’ll put the ‘N’ back in the NHS – ensuring a truly national mission of creating healthier lives which in turn deliver substantial savings.

    Our treasured National Health Service – born on Labour’s watch, given a rebirth by the Plaid Cymru government I will lead.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: As the conflicts in the Middle East dramatically escalate, could Iran acquire a nuclear bomb?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University

    As Israel continues its assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran appears increasingly backed into a corner.

    Israel’s efforts to weaken Iran’s proxy network have focused on a number of objectives: eliminating key Hezbollah leaders, destroying their weapons and other military sites, and targeting large numbers of fighters and sympathisers.

    Hezbollah has undoubtedly been weakened over the past few weeks, which presents a dilemma for Iran. Could this sustained pressure on its main militant proxy group push Iran towards finally acquiring a nuclear weapon?

    Iran’s deterrence strategy

    The use of armed proxy networks as a deterrence strategy is a well-known approach employed by countries worldwide.

    Iran has successfully adopted this strategy for decades, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon and extending to Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, various Iraqi militant factions, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

    This strategy has allowed Iran to project power in the region and counter pressure from the United States, Israel and their allies, while deterring any direct military confrontation from its adversaries.

    Both Iran and Israel have until recently appeared reluctant to engage in a full-scale war. Instead, they have adhered to certain rules of engagement in which they apply pressure on each other without escalating to all-out conflict. This is something neither side can afford.

    Iran has long avoided direct confrontation with Israel, even when Israel has targeted its groups in Syria and assassinated several Iranian nuclear scientists over the past few decades.

    Recently, however, this strategy has shifted. Feeling the impact of Israel’s prolonged assaults on its proxy network, Iran has responded by launching two direct missile attacks against Israel in the past six months.

    This indicates that as pressure on Iran’s proxies intensifies, Tehran may increasingly resort to alternative strategies to reestablish effective deterrence against Israel and its Western allies.

    Some analysts believe Israel may now be gaining what is called “escalation dominance” over Iran. As one group of experts has explained, this happens when one combatant escalates a conflict

    in ways that will be disadvantageous or costly to the adversary while the adversary cannot do the same in return, either because it has no escalation options or because the available options would not improve the adversary’s situation.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a “harsh response” to Iran’s latest missile attack against Israel in early October. This could push Iran further towards changing its deterrence strategy, particularly if Israel strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities.

    Calls for a new nuclear strategy

    With pressure growing on Iran’s leaders, the regime is now openly discussing whether to declare a military nuclear program.

    This would represent a major shift in Iranian policy. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, with no intention of developing a military component. The US and its allies have contested this assertion.

    On October 8, the Iranian parliament announced it had received draft legislation for the “expansion of Iran’s nuclear industry”, which will be discussed in parliament. The nature of this expansion is not yet known – it’s unclear whether it will include a military program. However, recent statements by Iranian officials suggest such an agenda.

    Kamal Kharrazi, a senior politician and member of the Expediency Discernment Council, a high-ranking administrative assembly appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, forewarned of a reconsideration of Iran’s nuclear program. In an interview in May, he said:

    Iran’s level of deterrence will be different if the existence of Iran is threatened. We have no decision to produce a nuclear bomb, but we will have to change our nuclear doctrine if such threat occurs.

    Calls in Iran for a revision of the country’s defence doctrine are growing louder. This week, nearly 40 lawmakers wrote a letter to the Supreme National Security Council, which decides on Iran’s general security policy. They demanded the council reconsider the current nuclear policy, noting that Khamenei’s fatwa forbidding the production of a nuclear bomb could be subject to change due to current developments.

    In the same vein, Ayatollah Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic revolution and former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, called last week for “enhancing the level of deterrence” against Israel. Iranian media interpreted this as referring to nuclear weapons.

    There have also been reports speculating that an earthquake in Iran last week could actually have been a nuclear bomb test.

    However, the US has said there is no evidence yet that Iran is moving towards building a nuclear weapon.

    Revived nuclear deal increasingly unlikely

    In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany and the European Union. This deal allowed it to pursue a civilian nuclear program with certain restrictions on its critical nuclear facilities. In exchange, the US and its allies agreed to lift sanctions on Iran.

    However, the US withdrew from the deal under then president Donald Trump in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Since then, Iran has barred several international inspectors from monitoring some of its nuclear sites.

    It is now believed to be just weeks away from producing enough weapons-grade material to build a bomb.

    Efforts to revive the nuclear negotiations have not gone far in recent years, though Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has suggested his government would be willing to engage again with the West and resume the talks.

    Yet, if Israel carries out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for last week’s missile attack, as has been speculated, Iran may deem it necessary to opt for the weaponisation of its nuclear program instead.

    If Iran declares a military nuclear program, it would do so with the expressed intention of restoring a deterrence balance with Israel that could prevent a full-scale war. Israel is believed to possess nuclear weapons, but has never confirmed it.

    However, such a decision is likely to have dire implications for both Iran and the region.

    It would undoubtedly lead to more international pressure and US sanctions on Iran, making it even more isolated. And it could spark a nuclear arms race in the region, as Saudi Arabia has already pledged to pursue a nuclear arsenal if Iran develops one.

    Shahram Akbarzadeh receives funding from Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with Middle east Council on Global Affairs (Doha).

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

    – ref. As the conflicts in the Middle East dramatically escalate, could Iran acquire a nuclear bomb? – https://theconversation.com/as-the-conflicts-in-the-middle-east-dramatically-escalate-could-iran-acquire-a-nuclear-bomb-240893

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Further federal funding for innovative safety solutions at regional level crossings

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    Four projects will share in $800,000 under Round 2 of the Research and Innovation Grants, a component of the Regional Australia Level Crossing Safety Program (RALCSP).

    Through the Research and Innovation Grants, the Australian Government is delivering a total of $4.7 million from 2023-24 to 2025-26 to support research and trials of low-cost, innovative level crossing safety technology and improvements.

    These latest projects are in addition to the six projects already underway, which received a total of $2.8 million in federal funding under Round 1.

    They will investigate human behaviours at level crossings, trial radar technology that detects upcoming obstacles, engage predictive models to identify high-risk level crossings, and use analytics tools to promote low cost and efficient upgrades.

    The results will be used to inform ongoing activities under the National Level Crossing Safety Strategy currently being delivered jointly by the Australian Government, local governments, rail and heavy vehicle industry associations, and regulators.

    This is yet another demonstration of our Government’s commitment to achieving the goal of zero harm at level crossings, and finding better ways to improve the safety of level crossings in the regions.

    Currently, most level crossings in regional Australia have either give way or stop signs, particularly where there is no reliable electricity source.

    To address this, the $180.1 million RALCSP is also providing funding to deliver infrastructure upgrades such as rumble strips or boom gates, improve data, and promote safe behaviours around level crossings.

    This is consistent with the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 which sets a goal for the Australian, state and territory governments of reducing road deaths by 50 per cent and serious injuries by 30 per cent by 2030. 

    I look forward to seeing these latest projects get underway, to help us pave a safer road and rail future in Australia.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Feedback will improve health and safety system and grow the economy

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says the feedback from the health and safety roadshow will help shape the future of health and safety in New Zealand and grow the economy. 

    “New Zealand’s poorly performing health and safety system could be costing this country billions,” says Ms van Velden. 

    “An effective health and safety system can support productivity and economic growth. I want to make sure businesses and organisations are focused on addressing the things that are causing workers harm, rather than being caught up in unnecessary compliance or trying to interpret and navigate complex rules and regulations.

    “The health and safety roadshows across the country have been a real eye-opener. The problems I’m hearing from employers, businesses and workers are shared across different parts of the country and across very different industries. This consensus has been surprising, and the frustrations are very real. 

    “For example, employers and workers finding inconsistencies in guidance from WorkSafe. One very obvious theme is that small businesses and sole traders are struggling a lot more with compliance than businesses who can afford dedicated health and safety experts. For SMEs, the costs can be unbearably high – they have to consider the financial costs, as well as the time they have to commit. 

    “We have some work to do but I am grateful for the Kiwis I have met across the country, for their honesty and openness in sharing their concerns.  

    “I am still very keen to hear from more small businesses and those with health and safety obligations who do not usually participate in government consultation. Small businesses make up 97 percent of businesses in New Zealand, they are our Kiwi family-owned businesses and sole-traders. You still have time to make an online submission by going to MBIE’s website before 5pm 31 October, or by emailing HSWHaveYourSay@mbie.govt.nz. Your voice is an important part of shaping the future of our health and safety system.”

    Notes to editors:

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: No one can stop China’s reunification: mainland slams Lai’s separatist remarks

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday said that no individual or force can stop China’s reunification, slamming Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te’s latest separatist remarks.
    Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a speech Lai delivered in Taipei on Oct. 10.
    Lai’s speech continued to propagate the new “two states” theory and fabricate “Taiwan independence” fallacies, Chen said, adding that it has deliberately heightened cross-Strait tensions and gravely undermined peace and stability in the Strait.
    Noting that the future of Taiwan lies in national reunification, Chen said that nothing Lai has said can change Taiwan’s legal status as a part of China or the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China.
    Lai’s remarks have demonstrated his unwavering “Taiwan independence” stance, along with his confrontational mindset and continuous provocations, Chen said.
    Since 1949, due to the continuation of China’s civil war and foreign interference, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been locked in a prolonged state of political confrontation, he noted.
    However, Taiwan has always remained an inalienable part of China’s territory, and Taiwan’s people have always been members of the Chinese nation, Chen stressed.
    The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, including Taiwan, he added.
    He noted that the current fight against separatist forces advocating for “Taiwan independence” is not a fight over political systems but a fight over the reunification or splitting of the motherland.
    Lai is attempting to hijack Taiwan for his “Taiwan independence” aims, and his related provocations are the root cause of instability in the Taiwan Strait, which will bring disaster to Taiwan people, Chen said.
    He emphasized the mainland’s firm opposition to any separatist activities or external interference, calling for the promotion of cross-Strait exchange and cooperation, further integration, and the unwavering pursuit of national reunification. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠ Harris Administration Supports Life-Saving and Life-Sustaining Response Efforts following Hurricane  Milton

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, the Federal government pre-staged personnel and resources to ensure a robust and immediate response effort could begin once the storm passed. Following Hurricane Milton’s impact on Florida, the Biden-Harris Administration is working alongside State and local officials to carry out life-saving response efforts. As conditions on the ground begin to improve, first responders have begun assessing damage and assisting communities. The top response priorities include search and rescue, power restoration, route clearance, and debris clean-up.
    President Biden and Vice President Harris have been regularly briefed about the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton, as well as the Federal government’s ongoing support to State and local officials for their rescue and response efforts. This morning, President Biden spoke to Governor Ron DeSantis and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton. The President reiterated that he will provide any Federal support the State needs to speed response and recovery.
    President Biden directed FEMA to immediately open disaster recovery centers across the impacted communities so there are one-stop-shops for residents to learn about all the Federal support that is available to them and apply for assistance in person.
    Additionally, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration authorized Florida Power and Light to fly large drones to quickly assess the damage to the power grid, so ground crews can restore power more quickly.
    The President directed Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess how fast they can re-open the Port of Tampa to get fuel, food, water, and basic goods flowing into the area again.
    More than 50,000 workers from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada already are dedicated to the power restoration efforts, beginning that work as soon as it was safe to do so. Additionally, three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Temporary Power teams are staged in the region to provide temporary power to critical facilities, such as hospitals.
    FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has been on the ground in Florida since last night, and today she surveyed the damage alongside her State and local counterparts. She will continue working closely with them to determine any unmet needs. She is joined on the ground by more than 1,000 Federal responders.
    Since last night, the President has spoken with numerous Florida officials, including: Senator Rick Scott; Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Kathy Castor, and Anna Paulina Luna; Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward; Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson; Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Pasco County Chair Ron Oakley; and Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert. The President told each of them to call him directly if they need additional assistance on rescue, response, and recovery efforts. The President also emphasized that he will be with them and their communities before, during, and after the storm. The Vice President has also spoken to officials from impacted areas.
    These urgent efforts are in addition to the expansive Federal response and recovery efforts underway across the Southeast and Appalachia following Hurricane Helene.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Continues “Invest in NH Tour” with Visit to Lakes Region Community College to Discuss Paramedic Certificate Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
    (Laconia, NH) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, continued her “Invest in NH Tour” with a visit to Lakes Region Community College (LRCC) to learn more about its paramedic certificate program. The “Invest in NH” tour highlights the important funding opportunities Shaheen has secured for New Hampshire. In the fiscal year (FY) 2023 government funding bill that was signed into law, Shaheen secured more than $111 million for New Hampshire-specific projects. Photos from the event can be found here.
    “Paramedic certificate programs, like the one established at Lakes Region Community College, are critical to addressing the shortage of emergency medical personnel and first responders in New Hampshire and saving lives,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was proud to secure funding that is helping the program provide essential, life-saving training while also setting students of up for life-long, successful, careers as first responders.”
    Shaheen secured a $580,000 award for Lakes Region Community College to establish a new Paramedic training and certification program in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 government funding bill through the congressionally directed spending (CDS) process. The funding is being used to offset tuition costs for students and to address instructional costs for the program. Recognizing the barriers facing potential students, LRCC has designed a 12-month program with flexible and convenient schedules for working firefighters and EMTs.  
    Through her role on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen has routinely fought to provide funding for New Hampshire’s community colleges and professional training programs. In April, Shaheen toured the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship to discuss rural entrepreneurship after securing $528,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending to support the center. Last fall, Shaheen visited Nashua Community College (NCC) to learn about its new Aviation Technology Center. She secured funding to support the purchase of updated training aids and equipment for the Center.
    Shaheen has led efforts to address the shortage of emergency medical professionals and first responders throughout New Hampshire. In August, Shaheen joined New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation to announce more than $2.9 Million in Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) to Support Granite State Firefighters. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen, Hassan, Pappas Deliver Remarks at New Hampshire Life Sciences Inaugural Event and Celebrate Granite State Innovation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
    (Salem, NH) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), along with U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (NH-01), delivered remarks at the inaugural celebration of New Hampshire Life Sciences. This statewide life sciences association fosters economic growth and awareness of the life sciences industry in New Hampshire, bringing world-class talent and innovation to the state. You can find photos from today’s event here.
    “Fueling local economies and growing industries, including New Hampshire’s innovative life sciences industry, requires collaboration,” said Senator Shaheen. “That’s why I’m glad to see so many companies and organizations in this association developing cutting-edge therapies right here in the Granite State that will save lives in the state and beyond. The formation of New Hampshire Life Sciences will help improve lives, all while growing our state’s economy and creating good-paying jobs.” 
    “Today’s Live Free Life Science celebration reaffirms that anyone who wants to innovate, research, or create should come to the Live Free or Die State,” said Senator Hassan. “Life sciences companies are advancing cutting-edge science while creating good paying jobs and are an example of the many innovative businesses that choose to make New Hampshire home.”   
    “New Hampshire has always been a place that has driven innovation and technology, and today’s inaugural Live Free Life Science Event and Celebration further proves that,” said Congressman Pappas. “Our life science industry is driving economic growth, employing thousands, and accomplishing innovative work that is saving lives. I want to thank New Hampshire Life Sciences for convening this summit to connect businesses, share information and resources, and plan for the future of life sciences here in the Granite State.” 
    “The strength of New Hampshire’s life sciences industry was on full display at our Live Free Life Science event, and we are thrilled by the engagement from industry and elected leaders from across the state,” said Andrea Hechavarria, President & CEO of NHLS. “There has been incredible momentum generated over our first year in operation, creating a springboard for our work to help grow the Granite State’s cutting-edge life sciences companies.”
    As Chair of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Shaheen leads efforts to promote American innovation and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth. Last month, Shaheen, Hassan and Pappas celebrated the grand-opening of Novocure’s North American flagship facility located in downtown Portsmouth which will house a world-class training and development center, bringing physicians and scientists from around the world to New Hampshire and creating hundreds of high paying jobs in the state.
    In July, the New Hampshire Congressional delegation welcomed $44 million in federal funding awarded to the ReGen Valley Tech Hub through the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to accelerate Southern New Hampshire’s growth into a global epicenter for the production and distribution of regenerative cells, tissues and organs. Last year, Shaheen, Hassan and Pappas visited the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) to celebrate the ReGen Valley Consortium’s Tech Hub designation.  
    Prior to that, Shaheen and Hassan hosted Commerce Secretary Raimondo at ARMI following Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) selection of Southern New Hampshire’s BioFabrication Cluster as a Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) awardee. This separate $44 million award– which Shaheen, Hassan, and Pappas also advocated for – is being used as a down payment to establish Southern New Hampshire’s leading role in regenerative tissue and organ production.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Commission on Judicial Selection Opens Application Process for Vacancies in the Fourth Judicial District

    Source: US State of Minnesota

    Today, the Commission on Judicial Selection announced two vacancies in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. These vacancies will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Peter A. Cahill and Honorable Susan M. Robiner. These seats will be chambered in Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis Statement on Successful Mollie Kathleen Mine Rescue

    Source: US State of Colorado

    TELLER COUNTY – Governor Polis released a statement on the rescue of the 12 individuals trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine: 

    “I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident. I thank Teller County and Sheriff Mikesell and his team, as well as the other law enforcement and first responders from local and state government for their swift response and tireless efforts, including members of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Thanks to this collaborative effort, each of these individuals will return home safely,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    ### 

    Declaración del Gobernador Polis sobre el Exitoso Rescate en la Mina Mollie Kathleen 

    CONDADO DE TELLER – El Gobernador Polis emitió un comunicado sobre el rescate de las 12 personas atrapadas en la mina Mollie Kathleen: 

    “Me siento aliviado de que 12 de las personas atrapadas en la mina Mollie Kathleen hayan sido rescatadas de manera segura. Nuestro más sentido pésame a la familia y amigos de la persona que murió en este incidente. Agradezco al condado de Teller y al sheriff Mikesell y su equipo, así como a las demás autoridades policiales y socorristas del gobierno local y estatal por su rápida respuesta y esfuerzos incansables, incluyendo los miembros del Departamento de Recursos Naturales, el Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo, y la División de Seguridad Nacional y Manejo de Emergencias. Gracias a este esfuerzo de colaboración, cada una de estas personas regresará a casa sana y salva”, dijo el Gobernador Jared Polis.

     ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: We must ‘help way earlier’ – united call to address systemic failures of Australia’s youth justice systems

    Source: Australian Human Rights Commission

    Joint media release: Justice Reform Initiative and Australian Human Rights Commission 

    Law and justice leaders, parliamentarians, First Nations leaders, child safety advocates, community service providers, peak organisations, and people with lived experience of child imprisonment from around Australia will come together for a landmark parliamentary event in Canberra on Thursday.

    Amid an increasing national spotlight on the systemic failures of harmful youth justice practices across the country, more than 120 representatives – including former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce and Members of Parliament from all sides of politics – will converge in Canberra to recognise the urgent need for systems reform and for child justice, safety and well-being to be made a national priority.

    Co-hosted by the Justice Reform Initiative and National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, the meeting comes as submissions for the first Federal Senate Inquiry into Australia’s child justice system are set to close on Thursday.

    The event will include a panel discussion featuring four remarkable speakers who have experienced incarceration as children and have critical insights into what needs to change. They will be joined by Anne Hollonds (National Children’s Commissioner who will also provide a brief overview of her report), and Natalie Lewis (Commissioner for the Queensland Family and Child Commission).

    The event follows the tabling in Parliament of the National Children’s Commissioner’s major report ‘Help Way Earlier!’ How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing, and her address at the National Press Club last week.

    Among its 24 recommendations, the ‘Help Way Earlier!’ report specifically calls for:

    • a National Taskforce for Child Justice Reform
    • a National Cabinet Minister for Children
    • a Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing reporting to National Cabinet 
    • legislation to protect the human rights of children.

    Comments attributed to National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds:

    “Our ‘Help Way Earlier!’ report finds that in Australia we have misunderstood the problems we are trying to solve – that the criminal justice system is not able to reduce offending by children and make the community safer.

    “The evidence shows that the younger you lock up children, the more likely it is that they will go on to commit more serious and violent crimes. Making the justice system more punitive through longer sentences, tougher bail laws, and building more children’s prisons is the wrong approach.

    “That’s because offending by children is a symptom of underlying causes and needs that we are failing to address. Instead we need to pivot towards the solutions based on decades of evidence, to transform our approach and work together across the federation to address the underlying causes of crime by children, and that will make communities safer for everyone.’

    Comments attributed to Chair of the Justice Reform Initiative, Robert Tickner AO:

    “Australia is failing its children every day with a failed approach to youth justice. As the National Children’s Commissioner’s report makes abundantly clear, it’s time for the Commonwealth to step up and show national leadership, working with the states and territories for a better approach.

    “The social factors which drive the crisis in youth justice have been allowed to worsen over time without adequate attention from either side of politics. The unanimous Senate support for an inquiry, set to be tabled in November, is acknowledgment of the need for major systemic change and national leadership to drive that change.

    “Too many children around Australia are managed in prisons, rather than receiving the support and care and opportunity they need in the community. Imagine if schools across the country failed two-thirds or more of their students, or if our hospitals had a death rate of two-thirds of patients or higher. About two-thirds (66%) of children aged 10 to 16 who are released from sentenced detention receive another supervised sentence within 6 months, and more than 4 in 5 (85%) within 12 months.

    “We are paying an enormous price for this failure – both socially and economically. Locking up children across Australia now costs more than $855 million each year at a cost of $2,827 per child per day, equivalent to over $1 million per year per child.

    “This is an issue which should be on the agenda of the National Cabinet. As the Prime Minister has noted, we need state and territory collaboration to develop a national model of best practice based on the evidence of what works to turn young lives around. As a cross party national organisation, the Justice Reform Initiative is calling for youth justice to be taken out of the hothouse war zone of party politics and for our political leaders to come together to support evidence-based policy which reduces crime and makes our communities safer.”

    MEDIA NOTE: The event will be held at 7.30- 9.30am in the Mural Hall. National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner AO, Law Council President Greg McIntyre and Australian Medical Association President Danielle McMullen will be available for comment immediately following the event.

    Media contact: Pia Akerman 0412 346 746

    The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hope returns to Kashmir after elections, but the ultimate power still belongs to Narendra Modi’s government

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leoni Connah, Lecturer in International Relations, Flinders University

    This year’s local elections in India’s northernmost territory of Jammu and Kashmir were the first since the national government controversially stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in 2019. It’s also the first local election in Muslim-majority Kashmir since 2014.

    It was a significant moment for the region. The election will restore, at least partially, some degree of self-rule five years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took it away.

    Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) was delivered a resounding defeat when the official results were released this week. The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and Congress alliance won 48 seats in the 90-seat regional legislature. The BJP won 29, mostly in the Hindu-majority Jammu region.

    The former chief minister, Omar Abdullah, was also reinstated as leader. This was a surprising turn given he lost his race for a seat in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, in the national elections a few months ago.

    What’s changed?

    Elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been affected in the past by boycotts and low voter turnout, due largely to public mistrust of the government.

    There was also a sense of betrayal after Modi’s government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. This had granted special privileges to local residents and gave the region its own constitution and ability to make its own laws.

    However, voter turnout in this year’s election reached 64%. And the participation of separatists and independent candidates suggested a change in attitude toward the political process.

    For the BJP, the elections are evidence that normalcy has returned to Kashmir after years of ongoing violence. Modi said in a tweet: “Many people claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir would burn if Article 370 was abrogated. However, it didn’t burn, it blossomed.”

    Modi had promised during the campaign that “statehood” would be restored, though he suggested this would be realised only if the BJP was victorious.

    With Modi’s opposition winning, some believed the election to be a de-facto referendum on the territory’s special status.

    The JKNC has always opposed the revocation of Article 370 and the stripping of Kashmir’s autonomy. The party has promised to work towards restoring that special status, as well as repealing the draconian Public Safety Act, which allows for the detention of people for up to two years without charge, and seeking amnesty for prisoners.

    In reality, however, the result won’t undo the revocation of Article 370. The new local assembly will have the power to make and amend laws, debate local issues and approve decisions for the territory, particularly in education and culture. But Abdullah will still need to seek the federally appointed lieutenant governor’s approval on any major decisions.

    Even if many Kashmiris would like to prevent the BJP from extending its reach into the region, the party still maintains some control from New Delhi.

    The BJP expanded the lieutenant governor’s powers over public order and policing. The lieutenant governor also has control over the regional anti-corruption bureau and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

    These powers were heavily criticised by the opposition parties in the region.

    Future of democracy?

    In recent years, Indian security forces have cracked down on the news media, social media and other forms of communication throughout the region, particularly any forms of Kashmiri solidarity with Palestine.

    Human rights advocates say abuses and repression continue in the region, and the climate of fear has had a detrimental impact on Kashmiri life.

    Statehood remains one of the biggest grievances for Kashmiri residents. Abdullah said himself that “restoration of full, undiluted statehood for [Jammu and Kashmir] is a prerequisite for these elections”.

    Only time will tell if these demands can be addressed, but there is hope a new local government might begin to change the bleak situation in Kashmir.

    As I spoke about in a recent podcast, there is optimism the new government will go a long way towards restoring some level of autonomy in Kashmir, as long as it is not obstructed by the lieutenant governor’s new powers.

    Leoni Connah 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. Hope returns to Kashmir after elections, but the ultimate power still belongs to Narendra Modi’s government – https://theconversation.com/hope-returns-to-kashmir-after-elections-but-the-ultimate-power-still-belongs-to-narendra-modis-government-240990

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ADB, Papua New Guinea Agree on Action Plan to Accelerate Project Implementation

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA (11 October 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) today agreed on a timebound action plan to accelerate the implementation and improve the performance of ADB-financed projects at the 2024 Country Portfolio Review Mission Roundtable Meeting.

    Co-chaired by ADB Country Director for PNG Said Zaidansyah and the Department of National Planning and Monitoring Acting First Assistant Secretary Reichert Thanda and attended by government officials—including Department of Works and Highways Acting Secretary Gibson Holemba and Department of Treasury Deputy Secretary John Uware—project directors, and ADB staff, the hybrid meeting discussed the overall performance of the portfolio, reviewed projects, and delegated responsibilities with executing agencies and implementing agencies.

    “As the biggest multilateral development partner of PNG, ADB will continue to support diversified, sustained, and inclusive growth in the country,” said Mr. Zaidansyah. “The development impact and effectiveness of ADB’s support depend on the quality of the portfolio performance and we will continue to collaborate with the government to improve the portfolio performance and build the capacity of the relevant government agencies.”  

    ADB’s active program in PNG includes 15 loans and 6 grants with 10 projects amounting to $1.38 billion. The largest sectors ADB is supporting are transport (roads and civil aviation)—comprising 60% of the total active portfolio—and energy (20%) in response to the large infrastructure gap in the country. The human and social development sector, building resilience to climate and supporting gender equity, are also integral parts of ADB’s active portfolio. ADB is also actively working on public sector management, including state-owned enterprise reform.

    The action plan designed to improve the portfolio performance focuses on contract and project management, procurement, financial management, social and environmental safeguards, and gender equality. ADB and the government will closely monitor the progress of the agreed actions.  

    ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

    MIL OSI Economics –