Category: Politics

MIL-OSI Security: Maryland Woman Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Destroy the Baltimore Region Power Grid

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

Baltimore, Maryland – On September 25, 2024, Senior United States District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a Catonsville, Maryland resident, to 18 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for conspiring to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1366(a), and a concurrent sentence of 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and 3 years of supervised release, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“Such cowardice, designed to disrupt and endanger the lives of Maryland’s citizens, will not be tolerated,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. “My Office remains committed to protecting the security and well-being of the community by prosecuting such conduct to the full extent of the law.”

“Those who seek to attack our country’s critical infrastructure will face the full force of the United States Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Sarah Beth Clendaniel sought to ‘completely destroy’ the city of Baltimore by targeting five power substations as a means of furthering her violent white supremacist ideology. She will now spend the next 18 years in federal prison. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively counter, disrupt, and prosecute those who seek to launch these kinds of hate-fueled attacks that target our critical infrastructure, endanger entire cities, and threaten our national security.”

“The defendant plotted to disable the power grid around the entire Baltimore region and cause harm to thousands of people in pursuit of a racially motivated violent extremist agenda,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Her plan failed thanks to the great work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners. Today’s sentencing should serve as a warning to others that you will be held accountable if you attempt to carry out violent attacks on our infrastructure or threaten the safety of those in our communities.”

“Sarah Beth Clendaniel engaged in a hate-filled scheme to destroy the infrastructure Marylanders rely on every day,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “Through rigorous investigation and law enforcement partnerships, her radical plan was halted. Today’s sentence underscores the FBI’s commitment to protecting our national security and holding accountable those conspiring to commit violence.”

According to her plea agreement and other court documents, in 2018, Clendaniel became acquainted with Brandon C. Russell, a Florida resident, who is currently charged with conspiracy to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland and is awaiting trial. Clendaniel and Russell espouse a white supremacist ideology and advocate a concept known as “accelerationism.” To “accelerate” or to support “accelerationism” is based on a white supremacist belief that the current system is irreparable and without an apparent political solution, and therefore violent action is necessary to precipitate societal and government collapse.

According to court documents, from at least December 2022 through February 2023, Clendaniel conspired with Russell to damage energy facilities involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity and to cause a significant interruption and impairment of the Baltimore regional power grid. The intended monetary loss associated with the planned attacks would have exceeded $75 million.

As set forth in her plea agreement, Clendaniel admitted that she communicated and planned over encrypted communication applications (“ECA”) to carry out attacks against energy facilities. Russell and Clendaniel communicated their plans to commit an attack on the Baltimore region power grid to a confidential human source (“CHS-1”).

Their plans began to coalesce on January 12, 2023, when CHS-1 and Russell discussed the planned substation attack in Maryland with a goal of working with Clendaniel to “maximize impact” and “to coordinate to get multiple [substations] at the same time.” Later that same day, Clendaniel, using the moniker “Nythra88,” sent a message to CHS-1 on ECA confirming her support of the attack.

In the ensuing conversation, which continued through January 14, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she lived near Baltimore. She also stated that she was a felon, and had previously, but unsuccessfully, attempted to obtain a rifle. She asked CHS-1 to purchase a rifle for her, stating that she wanted to “accomplish something worthwhile” and that she wanted the rifle “within the next couple of weeks” to “accomplish as much as possible before June, at the latest.” On January 18, 2023, on ECA, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she had identified a few potential locations to target in her attack. CHS-1 stated that CHS-1 would have to be the “driver” and Clendaniel would have to be the “shooter” in the attack. Clendaniel confirmed that she was “determined to do this” and stated she would have done something earlier on her own if she had not lost her rifle “a few months ago.” The conversation continued with CHS-1 and Clendaniel discussing the specifics of the desired rifle and agreeing that Clendaniel would send CHS-1 a “wish list,” which she did the following day.

At various times from January 21, 2023 through January 29, 2023, CHS-1 exchanged encrypted messages, separately with Clendaniel and with Russell, in which they discussed in detail the rifle and specific firearms accessories that Clendaniel wanted and potential targets for their attack.

On January 29, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that the five substations she planned to target included “Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall.” Clendaniel described how there was a “ring” around Baltimore and if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they “would completely destroy this whole city.” She added that they needed to “destroy those cores, not just leak the oil . . . ” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them . . . should make that happen.” Further, she stated that: “[i]t would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.” When CHS-1 asked if it would accomplish a “cascading failure,” Clendaniel replied, “[y]es . . . probably” and that the attack targets are all “major ones.” Clendaniel also said that the most difficult target that they would have to do together has “fire walls on three sides.”

During that conversation, Clendaniel sent CHS-1 five links to the “Open Infrastructure Map” which showed the locations of five specific Baltimore, Gas and Electric (“BGE”) electrical substations in Maryland. BGE is an energy company that utilizes substations, like the five targeted sites, to produce, convert, transform, regulate and distribute energy. Three of the five substations were located near the towns of Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall. The remaining two substations were in the vicinity of Baltimore City. Each location is a BGE substation with significant infrastructure.

On or about January 31, 2023, Russell discussed with CHS-1 the attack of the targeted substations on ECA, including how to “make sure it’s done right,” how “it has been studied,” and how to make it “cascading” so as to maximize damage. Russell and Clendaniel believed that attacking these five electrical substations in the greater Baltimore area would serve accelerationism.

On February 3, 2023, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Clendaniel’s residence in Catonsville, Maryland. During the search, law enforcement agents recovered from Clendaniel’s bedroom various firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Federal law prohibits Clendaniel from possessing these items because she is a convicted felon, including convictions in Cecil County, Maryland for Robbery in 2006 and Robbery and Attempted Robbery in 2016.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Michael Aubin who are prosecuting the federal case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland is a partner in the U.S. Department of Justice’s United Against Hate community outreach program. The United Against Hate initiative seeks to directly connect federal, state and local law enforcement with traditionally marginalized communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents. Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the nationwide launch of the initiative and its expansion to all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: McConnell: VP Harris’ Willingness To Throw Away Senate’s Guardrails As Disqualifying As Her Record

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
‘There is nothing normal or rational about blowing up the dam holding back simple majority rule. And the fact that a major political party has welcomed this short-sighted radicalism into the mainstream will be to their eternal shame. To lean on today’s fill-in-the-blank justification is to miss entirely what’s at stake. The Senate’s protections against the vacillations of simple majority rule are bigger than Washington Democrats’ policy preferences.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the filibuster:
“’I am prepared to get rid of the filibuster to pass a Green New Deal.’
“‘I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe.’
“These are the words of the Vice President of the United States and the Democratic nominee for President.
“Her willingness to shatter the institution of the Senate is not unique. Nearly every single one of our Democratic colleagues was willing to do it two years ago. And they would have succeeded had two members of their own caucus not stood in the breach.
“Nor is this campaign to rip up precious safeguards for political minorities confined here to the Senate. From a sitting President all the way down to grassroots activists, Democrats have made smashing institutions a core pillar of their party’s platform.
“The Vice President’s latest comments are not novel. But they are shocking – no less so than the votes our colleagues cast here on January 19, 2022.
“There is nothing normal or rational about blowing up the dam holding back simple majority rule. And the fact that a major political party has welcomed this short-sighted radicalism into the mainstream will be to their eternal shame.
“To lean on today’s fill-in-the-blank justification is to miss entirely what’s at stake. The Senate’s protections against the vacillations of simple majority rule are bigger than Washington Democrats’ policy preferences. They’re bigger than my own.
“A Senate that can steamroll a legislative minority to codify Roe v. Wade or enshrine the lunacy of the Green New Deal into law…
“…is a Senate that will drive a stake through liberal hopes as soon as the political winds change.
“To gamble the guardrails that make the Senate what it is… To short-circuit the process by which dissenting views are guaranteed a hearing… That ought to be disqualifying, by itself.
“Then again, so should the Vice President’s record on the issues.
“In November, the Democratic nominee will own the worst border crisis in American history, and the broken policies that invited it.
“She will own the worst inflation in forty years, and the reckless spending and tie-breaking votes that enabled it.
“The American people may well worry, like I do, about the future of an institution designed to be the world’s greatest deliberative body.
“But more than that, they worry about keeping their families safe and putting food on the table. And I expect they’ll vote accordingly.”

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: McConnell: Subservience To Autocrats Neither An American Value Nor Strategic Interest

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
‘Hungary’s leaders have made no secret of their conviction that the future is one of American decline. They’re not hiding the ways they’re preparing for American weakness and betting on our failure. There’s nothing tough about bowing to autocrats. And there’s nothing for America’s leaders to gain by praising those who do.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding NATO:
“I’ve spoken frequently about the welcome signs that America’s European allies are waking up to the strategic challenge posed by the PRC, and to the dangers of predatory Chinese influence in their own backyards.
“Like America, our allies are watching the flaws of China’s statist economic model laid bare. They’re increasingly wary to hitch their wagons to a totalitarian system that stifles innovation, discourages free thought, and complicates free enterprise.
“They’re hesitant to take risks in a system where the rule of law is trampled by the whims of the state, and assets are subject to expropriation by the regime.
“Encouraging progress, like a German security strategy that explicitly recognizes the Chinese threat, and efforts across the EU to reduce reliance on Chinese technologies, presents opportunities for the West to work closer together. To secure supply chains. And to lower barriers to cooperation among allies.
“Unfortunately, this progress is not across-the-board. China may not be a safe business partner, but it’s still an enticing one for far too many economies… including within the NATO alliance.
“I’ve spoken before about Hungary’s decade-long drift into the orbit of the West’s most determined adversaries. It’s an alarming trend. And nobody – certainly not the American conservatives who increasingly form a cult of personality around Prime Minister Viktor Orban – can pretend not to see it.
“Hungary’s leaders aren’t cozying up to Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran in private. They’re doing it publicly and vocally as well.
“The Orban government has welcomed China’s view of a ‘European bridgehead’ in Hungary as the perfect complement to its own declared policy of an ‘opening to the East.’ And it hasn’t been shy about turning words into actions.
“When Chinese state enterprise has said jump, Hungarian officials have asked, how high?
“As European allies began to heed warnings from the Trump Administration to reduce reliance on Chinese industry and technology, Budapest repeatedly blocked EU progress and welcomed a geyser of Chinese Belt-and-Road investment.
“Included in the torrent of PRC influence was five-hundred-million Euros from a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer to build a new facility on Hungarian soil… and another seven-billion-euro investment in a new EV battery plant.
“Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of a former vassal of Russian communism has nothing but praise for the neo-Soviet imperialist responsible for the first major land war in Europe since 1945.
“Viktor Orban describes the regime that has sacrificed tens- if not hundreds of thousands of Russian lives and more than $200 billion dollars in military force for its unprovoked – and thus far unsuccessful – aggression against Ukraine as ‘hyper-rational’.
“But this NATO Prime Minister doesn’t just admire Putin. He helps him. His government runs interference for Moscow, gumming up European and trans-Atlantic efforts to combat Russia’s unlawful aggression at every turn.
“European allies are providing more assistance to Ukraine than the US is, but Americans who complain the EU isn’t doing more to help Ukraine should look no further than to Budapest’s efforts to block additional EU assistance for the answer.
“And then there’s Budapest’s relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hungary’s Foreign Minister has bemoaned that ongoing international sanctions make it ‘really challenging to build effective economic and trade cooperation’ with the world’s most active state sponsor of terror.
“I have little sympathy for Hungarian companies that struggle to profit from their ties to the genocidal regime in Tehran.
“Of course, that hasn’t stopped Hungarian firms from committing tens of millions of dollars to financing joint nuclear projects with Iran.
“It didn’t stop a national Hungarian university from inviting the former Iranian President to a conference on ‘common values in the global environment’.
“’Common values’ with Tehran. And here I thought it was American conservatives who claimed shared values with Hungary’s ruling party. Has the Orban government forgot its adoring fans on this side of the Atlantic?
“No. Hungary’s leaders have made no secret of their conviction that the future is one of American decline. They’re not hiding the ways they’re preparing for American weakness and betting on our failure.
“There’s nothing tough about bowing to autocrats. And there’s nothing for America’s leaders to gain by praising those who do.
“Subservience to revanchist powers is not an American value. But far more importantly, it is not in America’s interests.”

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts on Iran’s Threats Against President Trump: “These Provocations Demand a Strong Response”

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)

September 25, 2024

September 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement in response to news that the Trump campaign had been briefed on “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him.”
“While Iran’s President and Foreign Minister spew lies at the United Nations, the Iranian regime works to assassinate former President Trump and meddle in our election. They chant ‘death to America’ and fund global terrorism. These provocations demand a strong response, but the Biden-Harris administration has done nothing. They have an appeasement-first policy. We need strong leadership, not weakness.”

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Mann Rejects Continuation of Fiscal Insanity

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Tracey Mann (Kansas, 1)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) voted against H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025. The legislation, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 341-82, fails to reduce government spending, protect the integrity of the upcoming U.S. election, or tackle America’s $35 trillion debt. Rep. Mann released the following statement after the vote.

“I did not come to Congress to be a caretaker in the slow demise of America,” said Rep. Mann. “Our country currently has $35 trillion in debt that our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be responsible for. We cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Kansans regularly tell me that the economy and the federal government’s reckless spending are two of their top concerns. I will not contribute to the decimation of America’s fiscal house by supporting spending bills that fail to prioritize the real needs of America. It is Congress’ job to pass 12 individual appropriations bills each year to fund the government. We must return to regular order, stop kicking the can down the road, and do our job.”

In March 2024, Rep. Mann voted against H.R. 1061, the first part of a $1.66 trillion spending package. Mann also opposed the second vehicle in the spending package that further exceeded spending caps and ballooned the national debt.

H.R. 9747 will now go to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

###

For more information about Representative Mann, visit: www.mann.house.gov

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK provides essential humanitarian supplies to civilians in Lebanon as the situation deteriorates
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Government re-opens portal for British nationals in Lebanon to register their presence following deployment
Government re-opens portal for British nationals in Lebanon to register their presence

Follows deployment of military, Border Force and Foreign office officials to Cyprus to support contingency planning

£5 million humanitarian package will support thousands of people who have been displaced or forced to flee

The UK is sending £5m to Lebanon to support humanitarian response efforts, where the United Nations [UNICEF] will distribute supplies to those in need.

It comes as the UK also re-opens the Register Your Presence service to support British nationals and provide vital updates.

The UK has been calling for British nationals to leave Lebanon since October 2023. Yesterday, 700 troops, alongside Border Force and Foreign Office officials, also deployed to Cyprus to continue contingency planning for a range of scenarios in the region.

The essential humanitarian support comes after further civilian casualties following air strikes in recent hours. Thousands more have been displaced or forced to flee their homes.

The package includes essential medical supplies, hygiene kits and fuel for water stations, to help thousands of displaced civilians across Lebanon meet their basic needs.

It will also help emergency teams respond to urgent health and nutrition needs, and provide a series of training sessions for key delivery partners and frontline workers to ensure an effective emergency response.

Anneliese Dodds, Minister of State for Development and Minister of State for Women and Equalities, said:

The situation in Lebanon is deeply concerning. While we continue to urge British nationals to leave and have launched our ‘register your presence’ portal to aid their departure, the UK will always be a strong supporter of the Lebanese people. That is why we are providing £5m to UNICEF to support civilians who have been displaced and are facing a humanitarian emergency.

We need to see an immediate ceasefire from both sides to prevent further civilian casualties and ensure that displaced people can return to their homes.

At UNGA this week the Foreign Secretary emphasised the need for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hizballah when he met G7 ministers. The UK was the first G7 country to call for an immediate ceasefire. The Foreign Secretary will deliver the UK’s intervention at the UN Security Council session on Lebanon.

Flights from Beirut continue to run, and British nationals should depart on the first available carrier.

The military teams have joined the already significant UK diplomatic and military footprint in the region, including RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Royal Navy ships RFA Mounts Bay and HMS Duncan, which have remained in the eastern Mediterranean to support British nationals and allies over the summer.

The Royal Air Force also have aircraft and transport helicopters on standby to provide support if necessary.

Notes to editors

Today’s funding announcement comes from pre-existing Official Development Assistance budgets and is already accounted for.

The UK is committed to supporting the most vulnerable in Lebanon, including refugees and Lebanese communities, with timely, flexible assistance to address basic needs and reduce suffering.

The UK’s bilateral humanitarian support to Lebanon this financial year (up to £21m through the Lebanon Humanitarian Programme, including this £5m for UNICEF) is focussed on:

supporting the most vulnerable refugee and Lebanese communities to meet their basic needs;

providing essential education and child protection services to over 5,000 of the most vulnerable and marginalised out of school children; and

supporting the Government of Lebanon to develop more inclusive, sustainable, and accountable social protection systems.

Through the Lebanon Humanitarian Programme, the UK is one of the largest donors to OCHA’s Lebanon Humanitarian Fund which has allocated $14.7m to a range of NGOs for preparedness and response to displacement.

Earlier this year, a Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocation of $9m was released to support UN partners response to the rising needs in Southern Lebanon. The UK is one of the largest donors to the CERF globally.

$2.2m Education Cannot Wait (ECW) funding has been released to support 5,000 children affected by the crisis. The UK is the second largest donor to ECW.

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

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

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Updates to this page

Published 25 September 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Josh Brecheen Votes Against Continuing Resolution (CR) That Increases Spending and Fails to Secure Our Elections

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Josh Brecheen (2nd District)

Congressman Josh Brecheen Votes Against Continuing Resolution (CR) That Increases Spending and Fails to Secure Our Elections

Washington, September 25, 2024

Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen voted against H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen voted against H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025.

“This Continuing Resolution (CR) maintains heightened government spending that must be reduced given our current $2 trillion annual deficits,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen. “I could not vote for this given we are more than $35 trillion in debt and this continues our trajectory towards a sovereign debt crisis.”

###

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/LEBANON – Maronite Patriarch asks UN Security Council to intervene in order to impose negotiations between the parties in conflict

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Beirut (Agenzia Fides) – In the face of the “national catastrophe” in Lebanon, Maronite Patriarch Boutros Bechara Rai appeals to the UN Security Council to “intervene effectively” to force the parties to the conflict to “end the war and start negotiations”.The appeal calls for unity “of the entire Lebanese family” and thanks all those who open their homes and schools to the displaced and work in hospitals to help the wounded. The Lebanese Cardinal also reminds the Lebanese Parliament of the urgency of electing a new President of the Republic and put an end to the political and institutional crisis that has been going on for years. “And let us pray to God,” the Patriarch concludes in his brief appeal, “so that he inspires everyone to find the path to a just and inclusive peace”. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 25/9/2024)
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MIL OSI Europe News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Democracy Promotion: Supporting Democratic Openings with Diplomatic Instruments

Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in English

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

New York, 24.09.2024 – Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) – Check against delivery

Secretary Blinken,

Administrator Power,

Excellencies,

I would like to thank Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power for convening this important meeting today, which allows us to reaffirm our commitment to supporting democratic openings.

Switzerland and the United States share a long history when it comes to democratic rights and freedoms.

From the 17th century to the present day, our countries have influenced each other. We are sister republics, as the American constitutionalists put it 250 years ago.

Excellencies,

Democracy brings substantial benefits for sustainable development and lasting peace. Switzerland’s history bears witness to these positive consequences:

Our democratic institutions and processes have enabled us to navigate linguistic, religious and cultural diversity and find unity.

Today, only 30% of the global population lives in a democracy. Drawing from our own experience, strengthening democracy has become a key priority in our foreign policy.

I am pleased to announce that my Ministry is now developing its first “Democracy Guidelines”.

These guidelines define the objectives of our efforts and detail the tools we will employ:

– One key tool is diplomacy: fostering bilateral and multilateral dialogue while engaging political actors as equal partners.

– Another tool is providing knowledge and financial support to strengthen the framework that sustains democracies, thereby starting with the universally recognized fundamental rights, essential for the dignity and freedom of individuals.

We are ready to provide swift and creative support wherever and whenever it is welcomed.

Switzerland fully supports the joint statement and looks forward to ongoing dialogue, aiming to expand the family by welcoming many more sisters.

Thank you.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

MIL OSI Europe News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: SDG Flag Day in Lugano: Cities play a key role in implementing sustainable development goals

Source: Switzerland – Federal Administration in English

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 25.09.2024 – Since 2019, SDG Flag Day has been held every year on 25 September on the initiative of the business community (via the UN Global Compact). Schools, communes, organisations, companies and governments fly flags to symbolically express their support for the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the SDG Flag Day event in Lugano, the two Federal Council delegates for the 2030 Agenda, Markus Reubi and Daniel Dubas, emphasised the key role of cities in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Whether it’s access to green spaces and public areas, sustainable transport systems, waste sorting or involving all stakeholders in urban planning, cities face particular challenges in the field of sustainability. Although they only cover 3% of the earth’s surface, they consume three quarters of global resources and are responsible for 75% of global emissions. The 2030 Agenda therefore also addresses this topic in SDG Goal 11, ‘Sustainable cities and communities’.

Swiss cities and communes need to become inclusive, resilient and environmentally friendly. To mark this year’s SDG Flag Day, the city of Lugano is providing various examples of how it is driving forward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

“Through its #luganosostenibile programme, Lugano is one of the many cities using their proximity to citizens to implement solutions in different areas of the 2030 Agenda,” says Markus Reubi, deputy head of the Prosperity and Sustainability Division (PSD) of the FDFA and one of the Federal Council’s two delegates for the 2030 Agenda. Mr Ruebi took part in SDG Flag Day in Lugano together with the other Federal Council delegate for the 2030 Agenda, Daniel Dubas. According to Mr Dubas, who heads the Sustainable Development Section of the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE), ‘cities are a key driver of sustainable development in Switzerland, especially as almost three quarters of the population live in cities and peri-urban areas.’

Today’s event in Lugano marks the start of a deeper collaboration between the FDFA and a range of cities in the field of sustainability, a development that will be highlighted at a city symposium on SDG Flag Day 2025.

2030 Agenda

The 2030 Agenda is the global frame of reference for local, national and international efforts to find joint solutions to major international challenges such as climate change, resource consumption, biodiversity conservation and health crises. The 2030 Agenda was adopted on 25 September 2015 by 193 UN member states, including Switzerland. It applies to all countries and sets the SDGs to be achieved by 2030. In Switzerland too, the 2030 Agenda is the guiding framework for sustainability policy.
At the heart of the 2030 Agenda are the 17 SDGs and their 169 targets. These are structured around five guiding principles: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. With these five principles, the 2030 Agenda aims to safeguard human well-being, economic development and environmental protection as well as addressing aspects such as peace, the rule of law and governance. SDG Flag Day is an initiative of the UN Global Compact, a global network of companies that are committed to the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

MIL OSI Europe News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Censorship of a private channel and threat to media pluralism in France – E-001421/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament

The Commission is committed to safeguarding pluralistic and independent media, essential for democracy and the rule of law, and to the functioning of the internal market for media. Independent authorities play a key role in this, as important rule of law safeguards and integral to national systems of checks and balances.

The licensing or administrative authorisation of audiovisual media services are a national competence. Member States need to ensure that their legislation, national policies and administrative procedures respect EU law and values, including on a free, independent, and diverse media ecosystem, which is integral to a free and open democratic debate.

The European Media Freedom Act[1], which will apply fully from 8 August 2025, requires that legislative, regulatory, or administrative measures taken by a Member State that are liable to affect media pluralism or the editorial independence of media service providers operating in the internal market have to be duly justified and proportionate. Such measures shall be reasoned, transparent, objective, and non-discriminatory.

In the context of the annual Rule of Law Report, the Commission regularly monitors media freedom and pluralism in the Member States, including the independence, resources, and capacity of the regulatory authorities.

Regarding France, the Commission refers to the relevant country chapter of the 2024 Rule of Law Report[2], where it considered that the solid national legal framework permits the media regulator, Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (ARCOM), to operate independently.

In her political guidelines[3] for the new mandate the President-elect of the Commission renewed her commitment to the Rule of Law Report and to investing in upholding the rule of law in the EU.
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1083
- [2] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/27db4143-58b4-4b61-a021-a215940e19d0_en?filename=1_1_58120_communication_rol_en.pdf and the relevant country chapter https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/5e07c320-2475-4c0c-bdbd-6eda76460cdd_en?filename=25_1_58064_coun_chap_france_en.pdf
- [3] https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/president-elect-ursula-von-der-leyen_en
MIL OSI Europe News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Question on the EU acquis – E-001737/2024
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001737/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Costas Mavrides (S&D)

On the Commission’s website, in the section entitled ‘European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)’, the 35 chapters of the EU acquis are outlined[1]. The subsection headed ‘Chapter 32: Financial control’ includes the following reference:

‘This chapter also requires an institutionally, operationally and financially independent external audit institution that implements its audit mandate in line with the standards of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and reports to the parliament on the use of public sector resources.’

In the Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law Report – Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Cyprus[2], there are various references to these INTOSAI standards.

On 17 May 2021, the EU Contact Committee, which is the assembly of the heads of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of the EU Member States and the European Court of Auditors (ECA), which was at that time chaired by the ECA, issued a statement[3] that included the following wording:

‘The acquis communautaire provides for an operationally, institutionally and financially independent external audit function, which is in line with the Lima and Mexico Declarations’.

Does the Commission indeed consider that the aforementioned references in Chapter 32 are part of the EU acquis?

Submitted: 17.9.2024

[1] European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), ‘Chapters of the acquis’, European Commission website: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/conditions-membership/chapters-acquis_en.

[2] European Commission, 2024 Rule of Law Report, ‘Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Cyprus’ (SWD(2024) 813 final): https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/a3e5a6f3-2dc4-403a-94ea-af42177813e9_en?filename=31_1_58067_coun_chap_cyprus_en.pdf.

[3] EU Contact Committee statement (CC 1/2021) in support of the constitutional role, mandate and independence of the Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus, 17 May 2021: https://www.eca.europa.eu/sites/CC/Lists/CCDocuments/CC_Statement_2021/CC_Statement_in_support_of_CY_EN.pdf.
Last updated: 25 September 2024
MIL OSI Europe News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Sarah Ferguson, ABC 7.30

Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

Sarah Ferguson, Host: After nearly a year of conflict in Gaza, there are now fears the situation in southern Lebanon could destabilise the entire Middle East. Israel’s heavy bombardment beginning on Monday targeting Hezbollah is believed to have killed 569 people. Today, Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile towards Tel Aviv. The missile was intercepted. The escalation comes as global leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly, where Secretary-General António Guterres warned Lebanon is at the brink. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was at the meeting in New York. She joined me earlier. Penny Wong, welcome to 7.30.

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good to be with you.

Ferguson: Now, following this week’s escalation in Lebanon, can you start by describing the atmosphere at the UN?

Foreign Minister: First, in relation to Lebanon, can I say to your audience, I know there are so many people in Australia who have relatives, friends and family in Lebanon and this is obviously a very stressful situation for them. In terms of how things are here in the United Nations, many countries have been working to try and ensure there is no regional escalation of the conflict in Gaza, and their people are concerned, as you would have, as you would know from what the Secretary-General said to the General Assembly today about the prospect for more loss of civilian life in Lebanon.

Ferguson: Are Israel’s attacks in Lebanon legitimate acts of self-defence?

Foreign Minister: What I’d say is this. There is no doubt that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation and there is no doubt that Hezbollah has been engaging in attacks on Israel and has breached international law. Even in law, even in war, however, there are rules and as you know, international humanitarian law applies to all conflicts, even when engaging a terrorist actor. However, what I would say is our advocacy at the moment, like so many others here in New York, is aimed at trying to avert a regional escalation because of what that would mean for Israel and for the people of the region, including the people of Lebanon. Our advocacy is to try and avert further civilian casualties.

Ferguson: Now, would a ceasefire, however elusive that is at the moment, would a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza halt further escalation in Lebanon? Or do you fear that the course is now set between Israel and Hezbollah?

Foreign Minister: Whatever people’s views about those hypotheticals, a ceasefire is necessary. I mean, we see what has happened in Gaza. We see the civilian toll. We see that so many tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. We see how many children have been lost. So, we would continue to back in the UN Security Council’s resolution. It’s called for a ceasefire. We will continue to urge all parties, as President Biden did today, to agree to that ceasefire.

Ferguson: Do you think the international community has learnt anything from the enormous civilian destruction during the war in Gaza?

Foreign Minister: It has been, I think, quite distressing and, frankly, catastrophic. Horrific for so many around the world. It has been deeply distressing. I hope that what this will do is bring more countries together to galvanise commitment to and compliance with international humanitarian law. That’s my motivation behind the initiative that I launched yesterday alongside many other countries from around the world. A commitment to work together for the protection of humanitarian workers.

As you probably know, Sarah, you know, this has been the worst year so far on record in terms of the deaths of humanitarian workers, aid workers, of course, one of them Australian Zomi Frankcom. Gaza is the most dangerous place on Earth to be an aid worker. So, we have brought countries together to say whether it’s in Sudan, whether it’s in Yemen, whether it’s in Myanmar or Gaza, we are committed to trying to galvanise greater commitment to and compliance with international humanitarian law, particularly in respect of aid workers, because you can’t assist civilians in conflict zones unless aid workers are protected.

Ferguson: You’re doing this in the name of Australian Zomi Frankcom. The Israeli Military Advocate General is still considering whether to pursue that case further. Do you trust the Israeli system?

Foreign Minister: We do want to see full transparency and accountability. We will be watching very closely the work of the Military Advocate General. Obviously, we want to see that report when it is finalised, we want to see those decisions made. And we, again, would be looking to the Israeli Defence Force, which has acknowledged and taken responsibility for those deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her fellow workers from World Central Kitchen. We would be looking for full transparency in relation to any findings.

Ferguson: Does full transparency include releasing the audio of the drone footage of the killing, which the family hasn’t had access to?

Foreign Minister: The family has called for that and I have expressed that to the Israeli government, and I’ve expressed the view that in the circumstances, obviously we would ask that the Israeli government, we would seek that the Israeli government respond positively to Zomi Frankcom’s family’s requests.

Ferguson: Have you had any response from the Israelis about that audio?

Foreign Minister: Not at my level as yet, no.

Ferguson: I just want to go back to last week’s UN vote demanding Israel withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. You said that the resolution went too far in its demands. What were the specific obstacles from Australia’s point of view?

Foreign Minister: I would say two things. One is our preference would have been to support a resolution that was consonant with and consistent with the ICJ advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice advisory opinion. Obviously, the advice to me was that the language went further than we would have liked. We engaged with many other like-mindeds to try and get the sorts of amendments that we would have liked. We’ll keep working through the UN with, obviously, the Palestinian delegation and other like-mindeds because we do want to give effect to a two-state solution. We do want to add our voice to a pathway to peace, and we know that this will only be resolved, the conflict in the Middle East will only be resolved, and we will only see security for both Palestinians and Israelis, if we see two states, as was envisioned by the UN when Israel was established.

Ferguson: Were the sticking points the issues of land restitution and compensation for Palestinians?

Foreign Minister: Well, there were a number of issues in that resolution which did go, and I think you’ve picked a couple of them, to final status issues, issues which obviously still would require resolution, even if there can be progress on two states. But I think the broader point is we do support two states. We have taken action which is consistent with our position. Those actions have included our position on settlements, those actions have included sanctions on extremist settlers, and those actions have included the votes you’ve seen in the United Nations.

Ferguson: In Australia, you’ve been accused of lacking moral courage. Do those words hurt?

Foreign Minister: I’ve been accused of many things on both sides and as people say things in the street, I get criticism from both sides. The approach I’ve tried to take in this, Sarah, as the Foreign Minister of Australia, is to try to think very carefully about what is the principle position Australia should take and try to act in accordance with that, and that’s what I will always do.

Ferguson: You’ve had a meeting today with your Chinese counterpart. Did you discuss Australia’s role in the Quad?

Foreign Minister: I had a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Obviously, we’ve had quite a number of meetings over the last few years and we discussed multilateral issues, so, United Nations issues, we discussed bilateral issues and we discussed international issues. Obviously, China is very aware of our role, our membership of the Quad and our engagement in that. That was one of the issues that was raised, there were many other issues raised as well.

Ferguson: Now, just while it pains always to stress the appearance of good relations with China, the Albanese government has committed to much deeper involvement with US military strategy to counter China. How does that, how does that latter position reflect Labor values?

Foreign Minister: Well, I think Labor values are first to work for peace, stability and prosperity. I think Labor values are to recognise we work in the Alliance, we work in the region, and we work through the rules to assure peace and stability, and that’s what we are doing. Our position as a government to work with the United States, to work with Japan, to work with ASEAN, and to work in the multilateral system as well as to engage with China is all about assuring Australia’s place in the world and trying to ensure that we, our children, grow up in a region which has the same sorts of attributes that we have had, we’ve been privileged to have for most of our lives there.

Ferguson: Think that the Australian public wants a much deeper involvement in US military strategy?

Foreign Minister: I think the Australian public want peace and stability, and that’s what we’re seeking to do, and I would make the point if the reference is AUKUS and the involvement with the United States, Australia has a very clear framework in relation to our sovereignty, and that matters. But so too, what matters is the objective that we seek to bring to, as I said, the alliance to the region and the rules, which is peace and stability and shared prosperity.

Ferguson: Penny Wong, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Foreign Minister: Good to speak with you.

MIL OSI News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Recent increase in electricity prices in central and eastern Europe – E-001736/2024
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001736/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Radan Kanev (PPE), Merja Kyllönen (The Left), Miriam Lexmann (PPE), Adrian-George Axinia (ECR), Daniel Buda (PPE), Dan-Ştefan Motreanu (PPE), Dan Barna (Renew), Zala Tomašič (PPE), Dirk Gotink (PPE), Dimitris Tsiodras (PPE), Matej Tonin (PPE), Eva Maydell (PPE), Tsvetelina Penkova (S&D), Tonino Picula (S&D), Ioan-Rareş Bogdan (PPE), Nikola Minchev (Renew), Virgil-Daniel Popescu (PPE), Hristo Petrov (Renew), Emil Radev (PPE)

For over four consecutive months, the internal energy market has faced a significant lack of uniformity, particularly in several Member States in south-eastern Europe, including Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Croatia. Electricity prices in these countries have surged dramatically compared with other regions of Europe, approaching the highest prices seen in the EU in this period. This disparity is having serious negative effects on industrial competitiveness and consumer prices, while also jeopardising economic convergence within the EU. Moreover, this situation is being massively exploited politically by Russian and populist propaganda, further undermining the democratic integrity of these nations.

1.Has the Commission assessed the causes behind the electricity price imbalances in these countries?

2.If so, can the Commission share its findings, including insights into the factors affecting the functioning of the common energy market and local influences?

3.What actions is the Commission planning to address this imbalance?

Submitted: 17.9.2024
Last updated: 25 September 2024
MIL OSI Europe News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Frederica Wilson’s Statement on the Continued Resolution to Keep Government Open Until December

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Frederica S Wilson (24th District of Florida)

Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson released the following statement on the Continued Resolution to Keep Government Open Until December, to which Congresswoman Wilson voted yes to keep government open:

“Today, Democrats and Republicans came together to prevent a government shutdown that would have hurt millions of Americans by passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open until December. But before we celebrate, let’s take a moment to address how we got here.

“Last week, House Democrats stood strong to block the extreme MAGA Republicans’ efforts to inject toxic provisions into our funding bills. These poison pills would have implemented parts of Trump’s Project 2025, shortchanged veterans, and harmed the middle class. Make no mistake, the only reason we’re passing a continuing resolution today instead of months ago is because MAGA Republicans deliberately chose to derail the process.

“Months ago, Democrats and Republicans had already reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the government and avoid this last-minute scramble that people assume is normal in Congress. But instead of honoring that agreement, House Republicans, ordered by President Trump and his political ambitions ahead of the election, decided to stall the process—putting their own political interests above the needs of the American people.

“This didn’t have to happen. Even with this three-month extension, we could have passed a full budget by now if MAGA Republicans had been willing to put aside politics and work with Democrats for the good of the country.

“And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about Democrats pointing fingers. Look at today’s vote. Once again, it was Democrats who stepped up today. Once again, it was Democrats who provided the majority of votes to keep the government open. Once again, Democrats have proven that we are committed to solving problems for the American people and delivering real results, while many House Republicans—despite being the majority—voted to shut the government down.

“So, while I am thankful that we’ve kept the government open, we didn’t need to be pushed to the edge. This process was delayed and nearly derailed by the extremism of MAGA Republicans.”

###

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Dr. Rand Paul Forces Vote on Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 25, 2024
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

Dr. Rand Paul Forces Vote on Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years
Senate Votes 39-56 on Dr. Paul’s Six Penny Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) forced the Senate to vote on his “Six Penny Plan” federal budget that will balance within five years. Dr. Paul spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, below are excerpts from his remarks.
“This year, the United States will spend over $6 trillion while only bringing in $4 trillion in revenue. That’s a profound gap, $2 trillion will be borrowed this year. To add insult to injury, Congress spends like drunken sailors without even bothering to pass a budget…In fact, over the past 20 years, Congress has passed a budget less than half the time. So, today, I will attempt to do what both parties have failed to do and that is pass a budget…The Penny Plan that I offer today will balance the budget in 5 years.
“Americans will pay dearly for Congress’s insatiable appetite for more and more spending. The high level of spending that is currently crushing the American family is just the beginning. If we continue down this unsustainable path, American families will be forced to deal with even higher inflation, confiscatory tax rates, rising interest rates, and a weak economy. It will be harder to find a job and provide for a family because the deals made in the halls of Congress always stick the taxpayers with the bill.
“As interest payments on the national debt crowd out the rest of the government’s budget, tax increases, inflation, and an eventual default on the debt are what lie ahead for the American economy. Unfortunately, a debt crisis will not just stop with our economy. A threat to our financial security is also a threat to our national security.
“Even the Biden-Harris Administration’s own Treasury has admitted that our current path is unsustainable. The math is clear, and I urge my colleagues: do not get in an argument with math. You will lose.
“Our current trajectory weakens our national security and drains productivity from our economy. History will remember those who had the courage to make the hard choices now and who chose to leave their children with less of the burden. For just six pennies on the dollar, we can reverse this dismal trajectory. In just five years, we can restore trust in the U.S. dollar, the U.S. economy, and walk the U.S. government off the fiscal cliff. Vote yes on this plan, vote yes on restoring fiscal sanity, vote yes on securing a future for our country.”
You can watch Dr. Paul’s full floor remarks HERE and HERE.
Background:
The Six Penny Plan is a federal budget resolution that will balance on-budget outlays and revenues within five years by cutting six pennies off every dollar projected to be spent in the next five fiscal years. This plan is the most recent in a series of plans that Dr. Paul has introduced to address an ever-worsening budget crisis:
In the 100 days between CBO’s February and June budget baselines, the federal government added an additional $540 billion to the national debt (an additional $1,600 per U.S. citizen).
CBO’s June estimates increased projected deficits by $2.5 trillion over CBO’s February estimates.
Interest payments on the debt account for more spending than our entire defense budget.
At over $35 trillion, the national debt is nearly double the amount of total bank deposits in the U.S. In other words, emptying every bank account in the U.S. would only cover half of the government’s debt.
In 2017, Dr. Paul introduced a budget that would have only required a spending freeze to balance in five years. An annual six percent cut is now required to achieve the same results. Dr. Paul’s Six Penny Plan implements these cuts while preserving congressional discretion regarding how to achieve these spending targets. This plan would:
Reduce spending by $329 billion in the first year. The plan would continue to cut six percent until balance in year five, then allows spending to rise with the pace of revenues in the five years remaining.
Make no specific policy assumptions. All savings are reflected in the newly defined budget function 930: New Efficiencies, Consolidations, and Other Savings. The budget sets a goal of balance and then calls on Congress to make the changes needed to achieve this objective.
Assume the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is made permanent (originally set to expire in 2027). Since CBO originally assumed this would expire and federal revenues would increase, this plan accounts for the decrease in projected revenues if TCJA were to be made permanent.
You can read the Six Penny Plan HERE.
Dr. Paul’s Six Penny Plan has wide support:
“For decades, the government has spent beyond its means and expected hardworking taxpayers to foot the bill. This reckless spending in Washington has delivered nothing but record inflation, leaving the American people unable to make ends meet. It’s past time for Congress to make the hard decisions required to put our financial house back in order. Heritage Action thanks Sen. Paul for his consistent support for fiscal responsibility and backs his ‘Six Penny Plan’ to balance the budget,” said Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President of Heritage Action.
“The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste supports Sen. Paul’s amendment to cap spending for five years and achieve a balanced budget. His proposal to cut spending by 6 percent annually should be supported by every senator who believes in fiscal responsibility and getting the nation back on the right track,” said Tom Schatz, President of Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.
“Senator Paul has been a true pioneer in new concepts for fiscal responsibility, with his first introduction of a Penny Plan to balance the budget back in 2017. At the time, achieving eventual balance would have only required cutting 1 cent per dollar of federal spending. However, due to continued reckless policies, a Six Penny Plan, requiring annual 6 percent savings to tackle deficits, is now necessary. Senator Paul’s legislation also locks in the pro-growth Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preventing tax hikes on top of inflation. Also important, the Six Penny Plan wisely proposes scorekeeping reforms to identify duplicate programs in new proposals and strengthened budget enforcement in the Senate. Taxpayers can only hope that Congress acts swiftly on the Six Penny Plan, so Senator Paul won’t need to introduce a Dime Plan or, worse, a Quarter Plan,” said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research, National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
“Senator Rand Paul has been fighting for fiscal responsibility and raising the alarm on federal spending with his Penny Plan since 2017. Had Congress listened to Sen. Paul and passed his plan, the country would have a balanced budget today. Instead, Congress continues to exacerbate inflationary pressures with unprecedented and obscene spending levels. As President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, I thank Senator Rand Paul for this commonsense and much-needed solution to balance the budget and protect taxpayers,” said David Williams, President of Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
“Citizens for Renewing America supports Senator Rand Paul’s Six Penny Plan, which offers a real solution to years of reckless spending policies. As Congress continues to avoid addressing the root causes of our growing national debt, Senator Paul’s plan forces genuine cuts to the woke and weaponized federal bureaucracy. This legislation is critical to restoring the fiscal sanity that Washington has sorely lacked and provides the necessary course correction to years of flawed policies that have failed to reduce our national debt or deficits,” said Wade Miller, Executive Director of Citizens for Renewing America.
“Unfortunately, the Biden Administration continues to advocate for inflationary spending plans that would add to the crushing tax burden faced by hardworking Americans. As we face the real threat of stagflation for the first time since the 1970s, we need a major course correction from policymakers in Washington. Senator Rand Paul should be commended for his bold approach to address our $35 trillion national debt, while avoiding economically damaging tax increases. Sen. Paul’s common sense spending reforms put our hardworking taxpayers first by addressing the root cause of our national debt: overspending,” said Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy.
“Unsustainable federal spending is driving the bloated national debt and contributes to economic weakness and elevated inflation, so I applaud Senator Paul’s Six Penny Plan to get control of the spending crisis,” said Vance Ginn, Ph.D., President of Ginn Economic Consulting and former Chief Economist of Trump White House OMB.
“Senator Rand Paul has long been a champion of balancing the federal budget and protecting the American taxpayer. Senator Paul has a plan that will balance the budget in five years. Interestingly, if Congress had voted for Senator Paul’s plan five years ago, we would not be suffering runaway inflation, economic downturns, slowdowns, severe shortages, and empty shelves at the store. And we’d be celebrating a balanced budget too! And balancing the budget has national security benefits as well. If we wait even longer to take action, we will suffer more inflation, larger and larger deficits, and more economic instability and our national security will slide downhill as well. And then it will take much larger cuts to get things back on track. So now is the time to act before the problem becomes so large that it cannot practically be fixed,” said George Landrith, President of Frontiers for Freedom.
“Senator Rand Paul is one of the few Senators who are serious about the fiscal challenges facing America. Quite simply, the current rate of government spending is unsustainable with interest payments on the debt for the first ten months of fiscal year 2024 reaching a staggering $763 billion fully $202 billion more than the same period the previous year. Net interest payments on the debt surpass every other spending category other than Social Security. It is astonishing that the fiscal apocalypse that we have worried about for decades is now upon us with even defense spending dwarfed by the cost of simply making interest payments on our $35 trillion national debt. Senator Paul’s Six Penny Plan forces an honest discussion about the crisis our nation faces and some of the tough decisions which will be required to reverse course from the almost $2 Trillion in debt our country adds onto the ledger every single year. Higher interest rate payments on more of the debt combined with the spending spree which has raised the debt from $26.9 Trillion on September 30, 2020 to more than $35 Trillion. America is in trouble and Senator Paul is one of the few members of Congress willing to propose solutions,” said Richard Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government Foundation

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Connolly Introduce Legislation to Promote Federal Worker Safety

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – With winter cold, flu, and COVID season upon us, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is leading Senate introduction of the Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act, legislation requiring federal agencies to establish and publish workplace protections in the instance of a public health emergency declared for an infectious disease. Companion legislation was also introduced today in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
The legislation is named for Chai Suthammanont, a kitchen staff worker at a childcare facility on Marine Corps Base Quantico, who died from coronavirus-related complications in May of 2020 after being exposed to COVID-19, likely in the tight kitchen space he shared with additional staff. Confusion and uncertainty regarding best practices and agency policies, as well as a general lack of communication with federal workforce staff, likely contributed to his death.
Joining Sen. Warner in Senate introduction are Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
“Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal employees remained hard at work, ensuring that the American people could continue to count on their government. But unfortunately, the pandemic highlighted that our federal agencies were widely unprepared to protect these essential workers,” said Sen. Warner. “It’s crucial that we learn from our mistakes. We owe it to our federal workforce to ensure a safe workplace, and when faced with another public health emergency, we must be prepared.”
“On May 26, 2020, Chai Suthammanont, my constituent and a kitchen staff worker at a childcare facility on Marine Corps Base Quantico, died from COVID-related complications,” said Rep. Connolly. “Confusion and uncertainty surrounding agency guidance during the pandemic emerged as two of the largest contributing factors to Chai’s death. These factors, combined with a general lack of communication with federal workforce staff, led to tragedy. Our Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act will ensure federal employees are informed and better protected during any future public health emergency. I want to thank Senator Warner for his partnership, and I want to thank Chai’s widow, Christina, for her continued efforts to transform her family’s loss into a charge to help others.”
Specifically, the Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act would:
Require each federal agency to develop and maintain a plan that details public health protocols the agency will take during a nationwide infectious disease PHE declaration. The plan must include guidelines for testing, cleaning, occupancy limits, use of personal protective equipment, notification of individuals who may have been exposed, and protections for employees who travel off-site;
Require each agency to publish the safety plan on its website and communicate its plan to employees, contractors, and subcontractors;
Ensure accountability and oversight by requiring the Office of the Inspector General for each agency to report to Congress on plan implementation. The Government Accountability Office would also issue a report on the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future protocols.
This bill has been endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE).
Bill text is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Duckworth, Ramirez, Underwood Celebrate Senate Passage Of Resolution Honoring Wadee Alfayoumi

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
09.25.24
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) celebrated Senate passage of a resolution honoring Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Palestinian American boy who was murdered as a victim of a hate crime in Plainfield, Illinois, on October 14, 2023. The lawmakers introduced the resolution earlier this year.
“Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother were violently attacked for no apparent reason other than their religion and their ethnicity. Targeting someone based on their ethnicity or religion is wrong, and targeting an innocent child based on those characteristics is pure hatred. Nearly a year after Wadee Alfayoumi’s young life was taken too soon, our nation continues to mourn with his family,” said Durbin. “By passing this resolution, the United States Senate is honoring and remembering Wadee’s life and condemning all forms of hate.”
“My heart breaks for the family of Wadee Alfayoumi, the precious, innocent 6-year-old who lost his life in an unimaginably cruel way, just because of his Palestinian Muslim identity,” Duckworth said. “This barbaric, cold-blooded murder was a chilling act of hate against the Palestinian community in Illinois, and we must do everything in our power to denounce and stop more hatred and violence.I’m proud our resolution passed honoring Wadee’s life and legacy. May his memory live on and serve as a reminder that we must be united in our shared goal of ending—rather than perpetuating—the needless suffering of innocent human beings.”
“Yesterday’s Passage of S.Res. 847, honoring Wadee Alfayoumi, was an incredibly important step for humanity, for the movement against hate and bigotry, and for this moment,” said Ramirez. “We are 12 days from October 7th and 19 days from the anniversary of Wadee’s murder – both dates marked by children torn from their mothers. While time has passed, we continue to see an escalation of violence in the Middle East, a rise in bigotry and dehumanizing rhetoric, and a rejection of our shared humanity. We must remember Wadee. And his memory must move Speaker Johnson and the House to take up the Concurrent Resolution and bring it to the Floor for a vote after the October Recess.”
“Our community lost a beautiful light when Wadee Alfayoumi was taken from us. He brought so much sunshine and joy to his loved ones and classmates,” Underwood said. “The hatred that took him has no place in our community or in our country. I’m glad to see this resolution pass the Senate, and proud to have worked on it with Wadee’s family and community leaders to honor his life and his memory.”
Last week, Durbin chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” The hearing examined the threats facing marginalized communities and how the federal government can better protect the civil rights and safety of all Americans, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim Americans. During his opening remarks, Durbin recognized the family members of those who were victims of hate crimes in attendance, including Hanaan Shahin, Wadee’s mother.
In addition to Durbin and Duckworth, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Help Navigators Advance Your Claim
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Help Navigators Advance Your Claim

Help Navigators Advance Your Claim
SANTA FE, N.M. – By law, the Claims Office can only pay claims that include the required documentation. After filing a Notice of Loss (NOL), claimants have 150 days to provide documents showing Proof of Loss (POL). If claimants think they will be unable to deliver the needed documents in 150 days, they can request an extension. Extensions are not automatic and must be requested by the claimant.
- It’s important to know that claimants do not have to wait for a Navigator to reach out to them to submit documentation. Claimants may submit documentation any time after they have received their Letter of Acknowledgment.
- Documentation may be hand delivered directly to one of the three claims offices or may be submitted via email to: FEMA-hermits-peak@FEMA.dhs.gov, or mailed to: P.O. Box 1329 Santa Fe, NM 87504.
- We recommend you provide copies of your documents and keep the originals.
When a Navigator does reach out, it is important that claimants respond to navigators’ attempts to reach them by phone or email, either when the navigators are first assigned to the claim – after an NOL is submitted — or later when the navigators seek needed paperwork.

Navigators are dealing with a very high volume of claims which requires them to work on multiple claims at a time, so it is important to answer your navigator in a timely manner, so they can work on your claim within the timeframe of a 150 days since your NOL was submitted.

“Navigators are here to help people understand what documentation is required during the claims process and how to submit the documentation, but the process moves faster when claimants work along with their navigators as a team”, said Jay Mitchell, Director of Operations for the New Mexico Joint Recovery Office. “Navigators are dedicated to helping impacted people receive compensation for their losses, but the claimants have a significant role in the determination of the compensation through the information they provide.”

Anyone impacted by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent flooding is encouraged to start a claim with the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office if they haven’t already. The deadline to submit a Notice of Loss to start the claims process is November 14, 2024.

The Claims Office continues to observe an increase in claim submissions leading to longer wait times in claims reviews, determinations, and the issuance of Letters of Determination (LODs) for claims. We are actively working to reduce wait times and shorten processing times of claims by sharing checklists of what documentation is required for specific losses.

Claims Office compensation is not taxable. Receiving payment from the Claims Office will not impact eligibility for government assistance programs. Contact a tax professional for specific tax-related questions. Questions and concerns can also be addressed by calling your claim Navigator or the Claims Office Helpline at 505-995-7133.

The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office is committed to meeting the needs of people impacted by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent flooding by providing full compensation available under the law as expeditiously as possible. At the time of publication, the FEMA Claims Office has paid more than $1.2 billion to claimants.

For information and updates regarding the Claims Office, please visit the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office website at fema.gov/hermits-peak. For information in Spanish, visit fema.gov/es/hermits-peak. You can also follow our Facebook page and turn notifications on to stay up to date about the claims process, upcoming deadlines and other program announcements at facebook.com/HermitsPeakCalfCanyonClaimsOffice.
erika.suzuki
Wed, 09/25/2024 – 19:46

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: The Marshall Star for September 25, 2024

Source: NASA

By Wayne Smith
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center honored top contractors, subcontractors, teams, and individuals of fiscal year 2024 at the 38th meeting of Marshall’s Small Business Alliance. The awards honor aerospace companies and leaders who have demonstrated support of the center’s small business programs and NASA’s mission of exploration.

The event took place Sept. 19 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville. Around 650 participants from industry and government gathered to network, learn about business opportunities, and recognize outstanding achievements in support of NASA’s mission and the small business community. Those attending represented 32 states and 10 nations.
“The Marshall Small Business Alliance is an outreach tool designed to introduce the business community to the NASA marketplace,” said David Brock, small business specialist for the agency’s Office of Small Business Programs at Marshall. “Those in attendance can gain valuable insight into Marshall’s exciting programs and projects, upcoming procurement opportunities, and get an opportunity to network with Marshall prime contractors.”
Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey welcomed attendees, while Jeramie Broadway, deputy director of Marshall’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communications, provided an update on the center for fiscal year 2025 and beyond.
Marshall’s Industry & Advocate Awards are presented annually and reflect leadership in business community and sustained achievement in service to NASA’s mission.
“We are excited about this year’s winners,” Brock said. “Each play a key role in helping NASA achieve successes in support of key programs and projects, including the Human Landing System and Space Launch System rocket. Maintaining and sustaining an experienced and competitive industry base is what makes America strong, and small businesses are at the core of those successes.”

Marshall manages the Human Landing System and Space Launch System programs.
This year’s award recipients are:
Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year
Media Fusion
Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
Zin Technologies
Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year
Jacobs
Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year
Jacobs (mentor) and CodePlus (protégé)
Procurement Person of the Year
Joseph Tynes
Program Person of the Year
Patrick McVay
Small Business Technical Coordinator of the Year
Leah Fox
Technical Person of the Year
David Hood

NASA civil service employees nominate eligible individuals and organizations for awards. A panel of NASA procurement and technical officials evaluates each nominee’s business practices, innovative processes, adoption of new technologies and their overall contributions to NASA’s mission and the agency’s Small Business Program.
Award recipients in the following categories become candidates for agency-level Small Business Industry and Advocate Awards:

Large and Small Business Prime Contractors of the Year
Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
Procurement Team or Person
Technical, Small Business Technical Coordinator/Technical Advisor
Program Person or Team of the Year

Learn more about Marshall’s small business initiatives.
Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
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By Serena Whitfield
A new flag is reaching for the Moon outside the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center following a Sept.19 ceremony, marking contributions from center team members toward the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
The Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station will carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The mission is scheduled to launch Sept. 28 no earlier than 12:17 p.m. CDT.

Crew-9 will be the first human spaceflight mission to launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the orbiting laboratory under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The crew will spend approximately five months at the station, conducting more than 200 science and research demonstrations before returning in February 2025.
Once aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew and perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. The pair will join NASA astronauts Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Wilmore and Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025.

The flag raising has been a tradition for missions supported at Marshall’s Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC), as well as a tradition within the CCP to celebrate the successful conclusion of NASA’s Agency Flight Readiness Review prior to launch. The HOSC provides engineering and mission operations support for the space station, the CCP, and Artemis missions, as well as science and technology demonstration missions. The Payload Operations Integration Center within HOSC operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
The CCP support team at Marshall provides crucial programmatic, engineering, and safety and mission assurance expertise for launch vehicles, spacecraft propulsion, and integrated vehicle performance. Marshall’s role within the CCP is to support certification that the spacecraft and launch vehicle are ready for launch. The support team performs engineering expertise, particularly for propulsion, as well as program management, safety and mission assurance, and spacecraft support.

The flag-raising ceremony was a joint effort between the Payload and Mission Operations Division (PMOD) and CCP team. Dave Gwaltney, technical assistant, specialty systems, and Commercial Crew Program representative, gave the introductions. He recognized Brady Doepke, structural analyst for liquid propulsion systems, for his significant contributions in preparation for Crew-9 mission success. Gwaltney said Doepke exemplified leadership and innovation through his guidance of Marshall’s CCP engineering team, which resulted in a successful risk assessment of the updated SpaceX turbine wheel fleet leader acceptance criteria.
Payload and Mission Operations Division Manager Nicole Pelfrey also recognized Thomas “Reid” Lawrence as the division’s Crew-9 honoree.
“Reid serves dutifully in the HOSC as part of the HOSC’s Data Operations Control Room Operations Engineers,” Pelfrey said. “Reid has a number of technical specialties, including his expertise in the Backup Control Center activation procedures. This expertise has been vital over the past year as JSC has worked through power upgrades. He also diligently ensures our ISS payload users receive their data and is a key engineer for the testing, verification, and operation of our HOSC interfaces that support commercial crew communications.”
Whitfield is an intern supporting the Marshall Office of Communications.
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NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center hosted the Rossi Prize Recognition Dinner at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville on Sept. 18. The dinner was held to recognize the IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) team members honored with the Bruno Rossi Prize, a top prize in high-energy astronomy. From left, Martin Weisskopf, Rossi Prize awardee and NASA emeritus scientist, who served as the principal investigator for IXPE during its development, launch, and commissioning; Paolo Soffitta, Rossi Prize awardee, and the Italian Space Agency’s principal investigator for IXPE; Hashima Hasan, program scientist for IXPE at NASA Headquarters; Andrea Marinucci, IXPE team member and researcher with the Italian Space Agency; and Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey, who provided welcome remarks at the dinner. “The Bruno Rossi Prize highlights how partnerships and teamwork can push the boundaries of scientific knowledge,” Pelfrey said. “The (IXPE) mission, a groundbreaking collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, represents over 30 years of dedicated effort and stands as a testament to the innovative work of a truly multinational team.” (NASA/Jennifer Deermer)

Rossi Prize winners Weisskopf and Soffitta, center seated, are joined by a plush goat, the unofficial mascot of the IXPE mission, and other IXPE team members at the Rossi Prize Recognition Dinner. Read more about the award and the prize winners. (NASA/Jennifer Deermer)
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By Wayne Smith
Talk with Shannon Segovia for any length of time and you’ll quickly discover the care and enthusiasm she has for her position as director of the Office of Communications at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. And that care and enthusiasm extends to those she works with across the center to share news about Marshall missions and team members.
In her role, Segovia oversees a team responsible for media relations and public affairs, digital and social media, stakeholder relations and engagement, internal and employee communications, and executive communications for the center.

“We manage these activities for the entire center of about 7,000 people, so it is a definitely a very busy job!” said Segovia, a native of Athens, Alabama, who was named as permanent communications director this summer after more than 12 years at Marshall.
She was the deputy director of communications starting in June 2023 after working as Marshall’s news chief and public affairs team lead starting in 2019. From 2012 to 2019, Segovia was a public affairs officer at the center. Prior to joining NASA, she was the communications manager for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
At Marshall, she said it’s the people who continue to be her biggest motivators.
“As a public servant, I want the people I serve – the people who follow our channels, listen to the news stories we create, and attend our events – to know why NASA’s missions are important and critical to the world we live in,” Segovia said. “I am so fortunate to have such a brilliant team, and they motivate me daily with their hard work.”
“I’m also motivated by my husband and family because I want to make them proud. I want my nieces and nephews to have a bright future, and I truly believe the work we are doing at NASA will help them do that.”
Question: What excites you most about the future of human space exploration, or your NASA work, and your team’s role it?
Segovia: NASA’s missions depend on public and stakeholder support, and that is what our office does – ensures people know what we are doing at NASA and specifically at Marshall, why it is important, and how our missions are benefiting humanity. From social media posts to events like the South Star music festival to interviews with media outlets and stakeholder tours, we use every channel we can to tell others about the work we are doing at Marshall and NASA. Our office touches every organization at the center, and it is so exciting to have a front seat to everything we are doing to get humans back to the Moon and on to Mars.

Question: What has been the proudest moment of your career and why?
Segovia: I helped take a team of 12 Marshall female engineers to The Today Show in 2019 for a segment about International Women’s Day. As a public affairs specialist, one of our job duties is to prepare subject matter experts for interviews, making sure they have messages, talking points, and anything else they need. I have never been more proud to be a woman and to work for Marshall than I was that day, seeing how well these women represented NASA and the extraordinary achievements they have made possible. It also made me even more thankful for the job I have – preparing them to make sure they felt confident and could talk about their work was a wonderful experience. The other moment in my career I will never forget is the Artemis I launch in November 2022. I’ve supported the Space Launch System since I started working at NASA, and seeing that rocket fly was one of the best moments of my career. It was the culmination of so much hard work and sacrifice from so many people and was truly an overwhelming and amazing experience.
Question: Who or what inspired you to pursue an education/career that led you to NASA and Marshall?
Segovia: My parents have always been my No. 1 fans, encouragers, and supporters. They instilled in me a strong work ethic and the belief I could do anything I wanted to do if I worked hard. They made education a priority for my brothers and I and would do anything to help us succeed. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. My mom always wanted me to do something in the medical field, but a biology course in college changed my mind quickly on that. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but had been at school for two years and needed to declare a major. I liked to write and read but didn’t know how to make a career out of that until I went to a journalism class taught by Ms. Bobbie Hurt at the University of North Alabama, and I was hooked. She became my mentor and really taught me how to be a good writer, which has been the foundation for my entire career. I ended up with a double major in journalism and public relations, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Question: What advice do you have for employees early in their NASA career or those in new leadership roles?
Segovia: Find people to whom you can go to for advice, who have your back, and can help you accomplish your goals. I’ve had some amazing mentors, teammates, and bosses who have not only supported me but pushed me to do things I wasn’t sure I could do and helped me even when I messed up. I would not be here without them, and I think it is so important to have those people in your entire career, but especially when you are new. Ask for help when you need it. Time flies, so enjoy the season and job you are in. You will know when it is time to move on, but being present and learning from where you are will help you succeed.
Question: What do you enjoy doing with your time while away from work?
Segovia: I love the water – ocean, river, pool, lake – I like being outside and water activities. I love to read and travel, and also to spend time with family and friends. I have three nieces and two nephews, and I like to go to their games and activities. I have a 4-year-old terrier mix named Ted and I enjoy taking him on walks and to the park.
Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
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NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon.

This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Sept. 20 at Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
“Congratulations to the finalist teams for developing impactful power solutions in support of NASA’s goal to sustain human presence on the Moon,” said Kim Krome-Sieja, acting program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “These technologies seek to improve our ability to explore and make discoveries in space and could have implications for improving power systems on Earth.”

The winning teams are:

First prize ($1 million): H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) of Santa Barbara, California
Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

Four teams were invited to refine their hardware and deliver full system prototypes in the final stage of the competition, and three finalist teams completed their technology solutions for demonstration and assessment at Glenn. The technologies were the first power transmission and energy storage prototypes to be tested by NASA in a vacuum chamber mimicking the freezing temperature and absence of pressure found at the permanently shadowed regions of the Lunar South Pole. The simulation required the teams’ power systems to demonstrate operability over six hours of solar daylight and 18 hours of darkness with the user three kilometers (nearly two miles) away from the power source.
During this competition stage, judges scored the finalists’ solutions based on a Total Effective System Mass (TESM) calculation, which measures the effectiveness of the system relative to its size and weight – or mass – and the total energy provided by the power source. The highest-performing solution was identified based on having the lowest TESM value – imitating the challenges that space missions face when attempting to reduce mass while meeting the mission’s electrical power needs.

Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from University of California, Santa Barbara, won the grand prize for their hardware solution, which had the lowest mass and highest efficiency of all competitors. The technology also featured a special cable operating at 800 volts and an innovative use of energy storage batteries on both ends of the transmission system. They also employed a variable radiation shield to switch between conserving heat during cold periods and disposing of excess heat during high power modes. The final 48-hour test proved their system design effectively met the power transmission, energy storage, and thermal challenges in the final phase of competition.
Orbital Mining Corporation, a space technology startup, received the second prize for its hardware solution that also successfully completed the 48-hour test with high performance. They employed a high-voltage converter system coupled with a low-mass cable and a lithium-ion battery.
“The energy solutions developed by the challenge teams are poised to address NASA’s space technology priorities,” said Amy Kaminski, program executive for Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “These solutions support NASA’s recently ranked civil space shortfalls, including in the top category of surviving and operating through the lunar night.”

[embedded content]
Watch the finale of NASA’s Watts on the Moon challenge, a $5 million, two-phase competition designed to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies.

During the technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony, NASA experts, media, and members of the public gathered to see the finalist teams’ technologies and hear perspectives from the teams’ participation in the challenge. After the winners were announced, event attendees were also welcome to meet NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen.
The Watts on the Moon Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge led by Glenn. Marshall manages Centennial Challenges, which are part of the agency’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA contracted HeroX to support the administration of this challenge.
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Manufacturing equipment that will be used to build components for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for future Artemis missions is being installed at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility.
The novel tooling will be used to produce the SLS rocket’s advanced exploration upper stage, or EUS, in the factory’s new manufacturing area. The EUS will serve as the upper, or in-space, stage for all Block 1B and Block 2 SLS flights in both crew and cargo configurations.

In tandem, NASA and Boeing, the SLS lead contractor for the core stage and exploration upper stage, are producing structural test articles and flight hardware structures for the upper stage at Michoud and the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Early manufacturing is already underway at Michoud while preparations for an engine-firing test series for the upper stage are in progress at nearby Stennis Space Center.
“The newly modified manufacturing space for the exploration upper stage signifies the start of production for the next evolution of SLS Moon rockets at Michoud,” said Hansel Gill, director at Michoud. “With Orion spacecraft manufacturing and SLS core stage assembly in flow at Michoud for the past several years, standing up a new production line and enhanced capability at Michoud for EUS is a significant achievement and a reason for anticipation and enthusiasm for Michoud and the SLS Program.”

The advanced upper stage for SLS is planned to make its first flight with Artemis IV and replaces the single-engine Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) that serves as the in-space stage on the initial SLS Block 1 configuration of the rocket. With its larger liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks feeding four L3 Harris Technologies- built RL10C-3 engines, the EUS generates nearly four times the thrust of the ICPS, providing unrivaled lift capability to the SLS Block 1B and Block 2 rockets and making a new generation of crewed lunar missions possible.
This upgraded and more powerful rocket will increase the SLS rocket’s payload to the Moon by 40%, from 27 metric tons (59,525 lbs.) with Block 1 to 38 metric tons (83,776 lbs.) in the crew configuration. Launching crewed missions along with other large payloads enables multiple large-scale objectives to be accomplished in a single mission.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon. The rocket is part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. NASA’s SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program and Michoud.
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Chris Pereira can personally attest to the immense gravitational attraction of black holes. He’s been in love with space ever since he saw a video on the topic in a high school science class.
But it wasn’t just any science class. It was one specially designed for English learners.

“I was born and raised in Guatemala,” Pereira said. “I came here at 14 unable to speak any English.”
Pereira did not know how to navigate the U.S. educational system either, but after that class, he was certain he wanted a career in space.
Thus began a journey that ultimately landed him at L3Harris Technologies, where he works in the Aerojet Rocketdyne segment as an engineer and operations integrator on the RS-25 engine – used to power the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch astronauts to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Pereira’s first step was to stay after class and ask to borrow a copy of the video on black holes. His teacher not only obliged but took him across the street to the local library to get his first library card.
Pereira quickly recognized that the pathway to his desired career in space was through higher education. It was equally clear, however, that he was not yet on that pathway. English as a Second Language classes, including that science class, did not count toward college admissions. His guidance counselor, meanwhile, was nudging him toward the trades.
But with the help of teachers and a new guidance counselor, he got himself on the college-bound track.
“I came to understand there were multiple career pathways to explore my interest in space,” Pereira said. “One was engineering.”
There was a lot of catching up to do, so Pereira took eight classes per day, including honors courses. He also worked every day after school cleaning a gymnasium from 6 to 11 p.m. to help his family make ends meet.
Pereira earned his mechanical engineering degree at California State University at Los Angeles while also working as a senior educator at the California Science Center to cover the cost of his college tuition and living expenses.
Pereira’s first career experience was as an intern in manufacturing engineering at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “I learned that making 100% mission-success engines requires a strong culture of attention to detail, teamwork and solid work ethics.” Pereira said. His first full-fledged engineering job was with Honeywell Aerospace working on aircraft programs.
Eventually, space came calling – literally. “My mentor at Aerojet Rocketdyne called me up and said, ‘Chris, I have a job for you,’” Pereira said.
He began his new job working on rocket engine programs including the AR1 and RS-68 but shifted to the RS-25 after NASA awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a contract for newly manufactured versions of the engine. Initial versions of the SLS are using refurbished engines from the Space Shuttle Program. Evolved versions of the RS-25 recently concluded a critical test series and will debut with the fifth Artemis flight.
As RS-25’s operations integrator, Pereira is responsible for ensuring that the many pieces of the program – from tracking on-time procurement of supplies and labor loads to coordinating priorities on various in-demand machine centers – come together to deliver a quality product.
Playing a key role in the nation’s effort to return astronauts to the Moon feels a bit like coming home again, Pereira said. “You develop your first love, work really hard, take different pathways and encounter new passions,” he said. “It’s almost funny how the world and life work out – it’s like I’ve taken a big circle back to my first love.”
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.
Read other I Am Artemis features.
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Renee Weber, chief scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, talks during the “Legacy of the Invisible” event in downtown Huntsville on Sept. 20. About 300 people attended the event, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The celebration featured “No Straight Lines,” a new mural at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Washington Street by local artist Float. The mural honors Huntsville’s rich scientific legacy in astrophysics and highlights the groundbreaking discoveries made possible by Marshall scientists and engineers. Other speakers included Collen Wilson-Hodge, principal investigator of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The event also offered members of the community the opportunity to meet the scientists who worked on some of NASA’s most revolutionary astrophysics missions. Featured exhibits from Marshall included the Apollo Telescope mount, the main science instrument on Skylab; the High Energy Astrophysics Program (HEAO); the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory; Chandra X-ray Observatory; Fermi; IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer); and Marshall’s X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility. “I had a really nice time at the event,” Weber said. “It’s always great to see such interest and enthusiasm in our science work from the public.” Wilson-Hodge said the mural is an artistic depiction of the historic event detected with the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory on Aug. 17, 2017. “On that day, for the first time ever, we observed both a gamma-ray burst and gravitational waves from two very dense neutron stars merging to form a black hole,” she said. (NASA/Serena Whitfield)

From left to right, scientists and astrophysicists from Marshall, Cori Fletcher, Michelle Hui, Steven Ehlert, Weber, Colleen Wilson-Hodge, Lisa Gibby, and the artist Float pose for a photo in front of the “No Straight Lines” mural at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Washington Street in Huntsville. (NASA/Serena Whitfield)
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Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have found a galaxy cluster has two streams of superheated gas crossing one another. This result shows that crossing the streams may lead to the creation of new structure.

Researchers have discovered an enormous, comet-like tail of hot gas – spanning over 1.6 million light-years long – trailing behind a galaxy within the galaxy cluster called Zwicky 8338 (Z8338 for short). This tail, spawned as the galaxy had some of its gas stripped off by the hot gas it is hurtling through, has split into two streams.
This is the second pair of tails trailing behind a galaxy in this system. Previously, astronomers discovered a shorter pair of tails from a different galaxy near this latest one. This newer and longer set of tails was only seen because of a deeper observation with Chandra that revealed the fainter X-rays.
Astronomers now have evidence that these streams trailing behind the speeding galaxies have crossed one another. Z8338 is a chaotic landscape of galaxies, superheated gas, and shock waves (akin to sonic booms created by supersonic jets) in one relatively small region of space. These galaxies are in motion because they were part of two galaxy clusters that collided with each other to create Z8338.
This new composite image shows this spectacle. X-rays from Chandra (represented in purple) outline the multimillion-degree gas that outweighs all of the galaxies in the cluster. The Chandra data also shows where this gas has been jettisoned behind the moving galaxies. Meanwhile an optical image from the Dark Energy Survey from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile shows the individual galaxies peppered throughout the same field of view.
The original gas tail discovered in Z8338 is about 800,000 light-years long and is seen as vertical in this image. The researchers think the gas in this tail is being stripped away from a large galaxy as it travels through the galaxy cluster. The head of the tail is a cloud of relatively cool gas about 100,000 light-years away from the galaxy it was stripped from. This tail is also separated into two parts.

The team proposes that the detachment of the tail from the large galaxy may have been caused by the passage of the other, longer tail. Under this scenario, the tail detached from the galaxy because of the crossing of the streams.
The results give useful information about the detachment and destruction of clouds of cooler gas like those seen in the head of the detached tail. This work shows that the cloud can survive for at least 30 million years after it is detached. During that time, a new generation of stars and planets may form within it.
The Z8338 galaxy cluster and its jumble of galactic streams are located about 670 million light-years from Earth. A paper describing these results appeared in the Aug. 8, 2023, issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available here.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
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What does it take to build a massive spacecraft that will seek to determine if a mysterious moon has the right ingredients for life? Find out in a new video series called “Behind the Spacecraft,” which offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the roles of five engineers working on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, from building the spacecraft’s communications systems to putting it through rigorous tests so the orbiter can meet its science goals in space.

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With its launch period opening Oct. 10, Europa Clipper is the agency’s first mission dedicated to exploring an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles to the Jupiter system, where it will investigate the gas giant’s moon Europa, which scientists believe contains a global saltwater ocean beneath its icy shell.
The videos are being released here weekly. The first two are already out.
Meet the team:

Dipak Srinivasan, lead communications systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, makes sure the Europa Clipper team can communicate with the spacecraft. Learn more about his work in the video above.
Sarah Elizabeth McCandless, navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helped plan Europa Clipper’s trajectory, ensuring the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter safely and has a path to fly by Europa dozens of times. Learn more about Sarah’s work here.
Jenny Kampmeier, a science systems engineer at JPL, acts as an interface between mission scientists and engineers.
Andres Rivera, a systems engineer at JPL and first-generation American, works on Europa Clipper’s cruise phase — the journey from Earth to Jupiter.
Valeria Salazar, an integration and test engineer at JPL who spent her childhood in Mexico, helped test the Europa Clipper spacecraft to ensure its launch readiness.

Europa Clipper experts will answer questions about the mission in a NASA Science Live show airing in English on Oct. 1, and in Spanish on Oct. 3. The broadcasts will appear on NASA+, YouTube, Facebook, and X. The Spanish broadcast will be streamed on the NASA en Español YouTube channel. Viewers can submit questions on social media using the hashtag #askNASA or by leaving a comment in the chat section of the Facebook or YouTube stream.
Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission and will fly through the most punishing radiation environment of any planet in the solar system. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and, during multiple flybys of Europa, will collect a wealth of scientific data with nine science instruments and an experiment that uses its telecommunications system to gather gravity data.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: Leader of Gorilla Stone Mafia Gang Convicted of Two Murders on Staten Island and Drug Distribution

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

While in Jail, the Defendant Wrote About the Murders: “I Feel Like the Reaper”

Today, a federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict against John Pena, leader of the Gorilla Stone Mafia (GSM), a subgroup of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation (UGSN), which is a faction of the nationwide Bloods street gang. The jury convicted Pena, also known as “Tragedy,” “Don Tragg,” “Last Don” and “Money Baggz,” on all six counts of a second superseding indictment charging him with racketeering; murder in-aid-of racketeering; causing death through use of a firearm; unlawful possession, brandishing and discharge of a firearm; being a felon in possession of ammunition; and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and crack cocaine. Pena was convicted of murdering Mark Bajandas on March 10, 2021, and Francisco Gonzalez on June 22, 2021, on behalf of GSM. The verdict followed a seven-day trial before United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly. When sentenced, Pena faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Thomas G. Donlon, Interim Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.

As the evidence proved, Pena was consumed by seeking revenge against rivals and maintaining his leadership position in the Gorilla Stone Mafia gang by any means necessary,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Killing a man as he slept in bed and shooting another man with a dozen bullets are shocking examples of Pena’s ruthlessness. Today’s verdict ensures he will spend the rest of his life in prison for his direct role in the extreme violence and drug trafficking wreaked on a Staten Island community.”

Mr. Peace thanked the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance.

“Today’s guilty verdict is a direct result of the focused and collaborative efforts of dedicated investigators from the NYPD, FBI, and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,” stated Interim NYPD Commissioner Donlon. “Gang activity, especially the carrying and indiscriminate shooting of illegal guns on our streets, instills fear in the daily lives of New Yorkers. It is crucial that we and our law enforcement partners continue to target and dismantle these criminal groups, and work toward preventing the violence that is so often associated with their activities.”

As proven at trial, Pena committed the crimes of conviction in connection with his leadership of GSM, which operated out of the Stapleton Houses, a public housing development on Staten Island. Members of GSM use intimidation, threats of violence and acts of violence to preserve and protect GSM’s power, territory and criminal activities. They also use drug trafficking as a means of obtaining money.

In the early morning hours of March 10, 2021, Pena fired multiple gunshots from close range at Mark Bajandas, also known as “Drama,” a former GSM associate and perceived rival, killing him. Bajandas, a former GSM member who had defected to the rival Bugatti set of USGN, suffered at least 12 gunshot wounds. The murder occurred after Pena and Bajandas had attended a memorial earlier in the evening to commemorate the death of Avanti Brock, a former GSM member who was murdered allegedly by Bugatti approximately one year earlier.

On June 22, 2021, Pena murdered Francisco Gonzalez, a former GSM member, by shooting him three times in the head while Gonzalez was asleep in bed next to Pena’s ex-girlfriend.

Law enforcement recovered writings from Pena’s jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center that included statements in which he took responsibility for the murders of Bajandas and Gonzalez, such as: “Kuz I Turn all my opps into ghost / Francisco I mix them N / Mark / A … shhh / Gotta chill … they don’t Know / Lately how I feel / Like the reaper / If I spot em I’m snatching his soul.” Pena also wrote about killing Gonzalez, including: “left his brains on them sheets man what was he thinkin’?,” referring to the fact that he had shot Gonzalez in the head while Gonzalez was asleep in bed.

Witness testimony and evidence obtained from cell phones proved that GSM members enriched themselves by selling controlled substances in and around the Stapleton Houses and also in Vermont, and that Pena was involved in the sale and distribution of marijuana, crack cocaine and heroin.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. As part of the program, U.S. Attorney’s Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Dana Rehnquist, Andrew Roddin and Elias Laris are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Elizabeth Reed and Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Galeotti.

The Defendant:

JOHN PENA (also known as “Tragedy,” “Don Tragg,” “Last Don” and Money Baggz”)
Age: 32
Staten Island, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 21-CR-176 (S-2) (AMD)

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Mixing it up: hybrid work models can offer the best of both worlds for worker wellbeing and productivity

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Blumenfeld, Director, Centre for Labour, Employment and Work, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sparked debate on the future of work in New Zealand this week when he ordered public service employees back to the office.

But Luxon’s edict neglects a broader transformation in work culture.

Work from home (WFH) arrangements have grown considerably over the past decade, propelled by an increase in dual-income households and rapid technological advancements.

The COVID pandemic acted as a catalyst for further change, proving that many jobs could successfully be performed remotely.

Our upcoming article in the New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations addresses the pros and cons of remote work. We highlight how a hybrid model – mixing days in the office with days working from home – can improve wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

We found embracing a hybrid approach may lead to better outcomes as society shifts with technology and employment expectations. And, despite the prime minister’s demands on public service workers, it may be too late to go back.

Embracing flexibility

Under current rules, employees can request flexible working arrangements. Employers must provide valid reasons if they decline the request.

According to a 2023 survey from Human Resources New Zealand, 40% of HR professionals noted productivity gains as a critical advantage of WFH arrangements.

And some professional organisations have embraced work from home or hybrid work arrangements.

The New Zealand Law Association, for example, has emphasised the significant benefits of flexible work for their members, including increased employee engagement, productivity, and overall wellbeing.

A report from Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission noted the public service’s success in delivering quality services during the pandemic while working remotely.

The commission’s current guidance on hybrid work arrangements supports flexibility that allows working from home to focus and working together when necessary.

Does WFH reduce efficiency?

Luxon argues forcing workers back to the office will promote efficiency. But there is little evidence suggesting New Zealand’s productivity has significantly declined with WFH or hybrid arrangements.

Instead, we found office-only arrangements risked introducing new inefficiencies for the government. These included new layers of permissions and reporting on arrangements that have already been agreed to.

The assumption that office work suits everyone is also contradicted by experiences during and after COVID.

During the first year of the pandemic, many workers felt the void of casual interactions that once sparked creativity. They also struggled with isolation. This was especially pronounced for caregivers, often women, who had to juggle professional duties with increased childcare responsibilities.

Despite this, a University of Otago survey conducted during the pandemic noted 67% of participants preferred a hybrid work model.

Many expressed optimism regarding remote work’s continuation, with significant portions reporting stable or increased productivity, although some struggled with home distractions.

And our research found taking a hybrid approach to work – with one or more days at home – reduced the risks from professional and social isolation and improved collaboration.

Opportunities to work at home some of the time also allowed time for focused work, reduced commuting time and improved wellbeing.

Boosting productivity from home

Luxon’s assertion that working from home is “not an entitlement” aligns with traditional views on work. These include the belief that time at a desk is a measurement of productivity, rather than measuring the outcomes from work.

However, a growing body of evidence indicates remote work can elevate both productivity and employee satisfaction.

Eliminating daily commutes allows employees to redirect time toward focused work, positively impacting job satisfaction and mental wellbeing.

Moreover, remote work fosters inclusivity, enabling organisations to source talent from a broader geographic area, which in turn enhances diversity and innovation.

A report from McKinsey & Company found businesses adopting flexible work arrangements are better positioned to navigate future uncertainties, sustaining or even boosting productivity.

A survey by the Australian Council of Trade Unions exploring WFH revealed nearly 48% of participants experienced enhanced productivity, attributed in part to the elimination of commuting.

However, it also highlighted challenges. Some 40% of respondents said they were facing longer work hours, which can lead to burnout. Addressing these issues is essential to maintaining employee wellbeing.

The future of work

Instead of enforcing strict office attendance, leaders should adapt to the changing work landscape.

Promoting flexible arrangements can foster a more productive and engaged workforce, ultimately benefiting New Zealand’s public service in today’s dynamic environment.

Balancing both office and remote work presents the most promising path forward.

Joanne Crawford receives funding from the Health Research Council and the NZ Industrial Relations Foundation Trust.

Roya Gorjifard receives funding from the Victoria University of Wellington for Doctoral Research.

Chris Peace and Stephen Blumenfeld 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. Mixing it up: hybrid work models can offer the best of both worlds for worker wellbeing and productivity – https://theconversation.com/mixing-it-up-hybrid-work-models-can-offer-the-best-of-both-worlds-for-worker-wellbeing-and-productivity-239710

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: The government is reviewing negative gearing and capital gains tax, but this won’t be enough to fix our housing shortage

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Cull, Associate professor, Western Sydney University

Negative gearing and capital gains tax are back on the national agenda as Australians deal with a housing crisis and politicians look for ways to tackle the issue and win voters’ support at the upcoming election.

The Labor government confirmed this week the tax concessions were being reviewed. Meanwhile, the government is struggling to pass its Help to Buy housing assistance legislation through the Senate.

The Help to Buy legislation is aimed at helping first home buyers on low and middle incomes purchase their first home. The government would contribute up to 40% of the home purchase price and require only a 2% deposit from buyer. Buyers could eventually buy back the government’s equity share.

But the legislation has stalled with the Greens wanting more including rent caps and pulling back negative gearing while the Coalition says the government “shouldn’t be in the business of co-owning people’s homes”.

The review, revealed yesterday, could reportedly include a cap on the number of properties a person could negatively gear. The changes would not affect anyone who is currently negatively geared.

Negative gearing lets taxpayers claim deductions on their tax for the expenses relating to owning an investment property. They can save on tax as the property potentially rises in value. They can also be eligible for a reduced capital gains tax when they sell the property.

But any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax policies could face further opposition – depending on how they are implemented. The crucial issue is whether the changes free up enough housing stock and make it more affordable for buyers and renters.

Home ownership in Australia

Based on National Housing Supply and Affordability Council data, home ownership across most age groups has been declining since the 1970s.

Younger households, aged between 25 and 34 years, are hardest hit, having 34% of household income spent on mortgage costs in 2022–23.

About 67% of households in Australia are home owners, and the remainder renters. While the proportion of owners with a mortgage has increased since 1994, so too has the proportion of private renters.

Size of the investment market

Just under 10% of all taxpayers negatively geared their properties in 2020–21 and more than 70% of property investors have only one investment property.

While there have been calls for changes to negative gearing policy to cap the number of investment properties at six, this would impact about only 20,000 individual property investors.

Changes to capital gains tax

Suggestions to increase capital gains tax (CGT) need to be considered carefully, given that:

• there is no solid evidence to show that increasing CGT will increase housing supply and in fact, it may have the opposite effect by limiting rental housing available

• any change to CGT legislation also impacts other investments (such as shares), as the CGT discount also applies to other capital gains

• multiple investment properties are often held within self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) which are subject to different CGT rules and also benefit from superannuation tax concessions

• the rapid increase in housing prices over recent years is likely to result in very large amounts of CGT being paid on investment properties, even with the current 50% CGT discount.

Other ways to improve affordability and availability

Policy discussions around housing affordability and availability invariably lead to suggestions to change how negative gearing and capital gains tax operate. However, taxation policy is not the only solution available.

Another suggestion put forward is to allow first home buyers to use their superannuation for deposits.

Regardless of one’s position on accessing superannuation for something other than retirement, this suggestion is not viable for low to middle income earners. These households are unlikely to have substantial superannuation balances. Also, they don’t have the earning capacity to service a mortgage for the outstanding amount.

There is currently a push to use self-managed super funds SMSFs to enable home ownership. This would effectively allow individuals to become tenants in homes owned by their super funds.

However, the complexities of superannuation law mean this could cause big problems for people whose relationships break down.

Considering the generational wealth that currently exists in property, the government could consider making it easier for parents or grandparents to gift (or sell) property to their children or grandchildren, in certain circumstances.

This area has not yet been sufficiently explored.

What needs to change

The real issue of housing affordability is multifaceted, and any change needs to be done as part of a broader policy.

It is likely that on its own, changes to negative gearing and/or capital gains tax will not achieve the intended outcome to make housing more accessible and affordable for Australians who want to buy a home.

While the debate around the best way to achieve housing affordability and accessibility continues, and while there are statistics that tell us about the current housing crisis, one crucial thing that is missing is the voice of the very people that any new housing policy should be designed to assist.

More consultation is needed with younger age groups and low to middle income earners who are struggling with high rent and unable to purchase their own home.

Australia desperately needs bold new innovative housing policies that do not rely solely on the taxation system but that consider a raft of measures that meet the housing needs of everyday Australians.

Michelle Cull is co-founder of the Western Sydney University Tax Clinic which has received funding from the Australian Taxation Office as part of the National Tax Clinic Program. Michelle Cull is a member of CPA Australia and the Financial Advice Association Australia. Michelle is also an academic member of UniSuper’s Consultative Committee and volunteers as Chair of the Macarthur Advisory Council for the Salvation Army Australia.

– ref. The government is reviewing negative gearing and capital gains tax, but this won’t be enough to fix our housing shortage – https://theconversation.com/the-government-is-reviewing-negative-gearing-and-capital-gains-tax-but-this-wont-be-enough-to-fix-our-housing-shortage-239813

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Our electricity workforce must double to hit the 2030 renewables target. Energy storage jobs will soon overtake those in coal and gas
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jay Rutovitz, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Wanwajee Weeraphukdee/Shutterstock

The electricity workforce will need to double in five years to achieve Australia’s 2030 renewable energy target, our new report finds. More than 80% of these jobs will be in renewables. Jobs in energy storage alone will overtake domestic coal and gas jobs (not including the coal and gas export sector) in the next couple of years.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) updates its Integrated System Plan every two years. It’s a blueprint for the energy transition from coal to renewable energy. The plan lays out scenarios for how the electricity system might change to help put in place all the elements needed to make the transition happen.

AEMO and the RACE for 2030 co-operative research centre commissioned the Institute for Sustainable Futures to undertake modelling on the workforce needed for this transition. The “step change” scenario in the Integrated System Plan is broadly aligned with the 2030 renewables target. Under this scenario, we found the electricity workforce would need to grow from 33,000 to peak at 66,000 by 2029.

Rooftop solar and batteries together are projected to account for over 40% of these jobs. Wind farms will employ around one-third and solar farms just under 10%. Jobs would also treble in transmission line construction to connect renewables in regional areas to cities and other states in the next few years.

Job projections in the National Electricity Market under the ‘step change’ scenario that aligns with the 2030 renewables target.
Author provided

Job growth would surge in a ‘renewable energy superpower’

In the “green energy export” scenario, Australia becomes a “renewable energy superpower”. The country uses renewable energy to export green hydrogen and power heavy industry. In this scenario, the electricity workforce would almost treble to 96,000 by the late 2020s.

By 2033, after construction peaks, more than half of electricity sector jobs will be in operations and maintenance. This applies to both the step change and green energy export scenarios.

A significant employment downturn is projected during the 2030s. But in the green energy export scenario jobs then climb steeply again to a peak of 120,000. This projection reflects AEMO’s expectations of when green export growth will occur.

New South Wales is projected to have the most renewable energy jobs in the 2020s. However, Queensland would become the largest state for renewable jobs (especially in wind farms) in the green energy export scenario.

Projected total job numbers by scenario.
Author provided

What are the other possibilities?

“Progressive change” is another scenario in the Integrated System Plan. For this scenario, we modelled slower growth in renewable energy. It reflects constraints on the economy and supply chains (including labour and minerals) for renewables.

In an “enhanced manufacturing” scenario, local renewable energy manufacturing increases. Our modelling found it could create a peak of 5,000 extra jobs.

Importantly, these projections don’t include upstream jobs in supply chains for the sector (for example, increased mining to supply the resources that renewables need) or electrification of homes.

Creating this many jobs is very challenging

Our modelling shows the workforce needs to grow very rapidly to make Australia’s energy transition happen. Unfortunately, the challenges of building this workforce are daunting. They include:
- there’s a shortage of almost all key occupations in demand for the electricity sector – electricians, engineers, construction managers – according to Australia’s Skills Priority List
- “extraordinary growth” forecast by Infrastructure Australia in other major infrastructure projects, such as transport, which will compete for many of the same skilled workers
- under AEMO’s scenarios, employment will be subject to boom-bust cycles, which increases the risk of skill shortages and damaging impacts, such as housing shortages, in regional areas
- Australia has relied heavily on skilled migrants – and will look to do so again – but many parts of the world are chasing the same workers.
The International Energy Agency has noted:

Labour and skills shortages are already translating into project delays, raising concerns that clean energy solutions will be unable to keep pace with demand to meet net zero targets.

What can be done to avoid skill shortages?

Some action has been taken to increase the workforce. The federal government, for instance, is subsidising apprentices under the New Energy Apprenticeship program.

But action isn’t happening at the scale and pace required.

What else can be done?

Firstly, Jobs Skills Australia and Powering Skills Organisation (which oversees energy skills training) have outlined ways to increase the system’s capacity to train more skilled workers. This includes creating better pathways into renewable energy for students, especially in recognised Renewable Energy Zones.

Secondly, Jobs Skills Australia has noted the need for renewable energy businesses to increase their intakes of apprentices. It recommends expanding the Australian Skills Guarantee to include generation and transmission projects.

The guarantee has set mandatory targets for apprentices or trainees to complete 10% of labour hours on Commonwealth-funded major construction and information technology projects (A$10 million plus). It could also be applied to major government funding programs for renewable energy and transmission. These include:
- the Capacity Investment Scheme, a government tender program to support a large volume of new renewables and storage projects
- Rewiring the Nation, a $20 billion fund for transmission lines
- grants from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Thirdly, government tenders could moderate the peaks and troughs in employment by limiting the maximum and minimum volumes built each year.

Fourthly, including more women and First Nations Australians can increase labour supply and workforce diversity. Only one-in-two First Nations Australians are employed compared to around two in three in the wider population. Yet they account for around one-in-ten people in some major Renewable Energy Zones.

Government pre-employment programs, working with industry and First Nations groups, could also increase the supply of workers. These could have a dramatic social impact too.

It’s a challenging problem whichever way you look at it. We need rapid change to build renewable energy capacity before coal plants retire and to tackle climate change. But that depends on growing the workforce amid skill shortages.

There’s a range of ways to increase the supply of workers and improve local outcomes. But we are running out of time. Urgent action is needed.

The Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney received funding from the Australian Energy Market Operator and the RACE for 2030 CRC for the report upon which this article is based

The Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney received funding from the Australian Energy Market Operator and the RACE for 2030 CRC for the report upon which this article is based.

– ref. Our electricity workforce must double to hit the 2030 renewables target. Energy storage jobs will soon overtake those in coal and gas – https://theconversation.com/our-electricity-workforce-must-double-to-hit-the-2030-renewables-target-energy-storage-jobs-will-soon-overtake-those-in-coal-and-gas-239718
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: In a too-close-to-call US presidential election, will ‘couch-sitters’ decide who wins?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeff Bleich, Professorial fellow, Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies, Flinders University

In countries with compulsory voting, such as Australia and many in Latin America, the system usually ensures an overwhelming majority of voters cast their ballots election after election.

In the United States, it’s a very different story. Two-thirds of eligible voters turned out to vote in the 2020 presidential election – the highest rate since 1900. Turnout in presidential elections before 2020 tended to hover between 50% and 65%.

Often, it’s the voters choosing to stay home on the couch who effectively decide an election’s outcome.

Under the United States’ unusual Electoral College presidential voting system, the candidate who wins the most votes nationally does not necessarily win the election. Twice in the past 25 years, Democrats have won the popular vote in the presidential race and still lost the election. That includes Donald Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

As such, victory depends on getting more voters “off the couch” in key battleground states where the decisive Electoral College votes are up for grabs. In those states, it doesn’t matter what percentage of people show up to vote, or how much a candidate wins by, it is winner take all.

A voter who doesn’t vote, therefore, actually makes an active choice — they remove a vote from the candidate they would have likely chosen, and so give an important advantage to the person they would not have voted for.

The “couch” is effectively where Americans go to vote against their self-interest.

Who is more incentivised to vote?

As this year’s presidential election between Trump and Kamala Harris approaches, we ask a simple question: whose “couch” will decide one of the most consequential elections in living memory?

Recent research demonstrates that partisanship is an important driver of voter choice in presidential elections.

The fact that the US is deeply divided is not news to most, but current survey data show how evenly split along partisan lines it actually is. With about 30% of Americans identifying as a Republican and 30% identifying as a Democrat, there is virtually no difference in the total number of voters who support each major party.

The remaining 40% of Americans identify as “independent” – that is, not loyal to either major political party. Almost seven decades of research on the American voter shows, however, that independents heavily “lean” towards one party or the other, with about half leaning Republican and the other half leaning Democrat.

One possible insight into which group has greater incentive to vote is polling on people’s dissatisfaction with their party’s candidate.

According to the most recent Gallup Poll data, 9% of Republicans currently have an unfavourable opinion of Trump. In contrast, only 5% of Democrats have an unfavourable opinion of Harris.

Partisan voters who are dissatisfied with their party candidate have a massive incentive to “stay on the couch” and refrain from voting. They don’t really want to vote for “the other team”, but they can’t stand their own team anymore either.

For example, Republican women in the suburbs, veterans and traditional Republicans have started to abandon Trump over his stances on reproductive rights and national security, and his temperament. The Trump campaign clearly knows this. At a rally in New York a few days ago, he told attendees to “get your fat ass out of the couch” to go vote for him.

Should these disaffected Republican and Republican-leaning voters stay home on November 5, Harris may well have a decisive edge over Trump.

When the couch wins, America loses

In 2016, Trump defied the polls and traditional voter turn-out trends by convincing some disaffected, working-class Democrats to stay on the couch, vote for an unelectable third party candidate or, in some cases, vote for him.

Could this happen again? Or will Democrats be able to reverse this phenomenon by getting exhausted Republicans suffering Trump fatigue to stay home, while motivating everyone from Taylor Swift fans to “never Trumpers” to veterans of foreign wars to get out to vote.

Recent trends suggest overall turnout will be comparatively high, in line with the past three federal US elections.

Democrats have traditionally benefited from higher voter turn-out, but it is not as clear this is still the case in 2024. Recent research shows higher turnout rates seem to have favoured the Republican Party since 2016.

Yet both parties still have significant numbers of people who don’t vote. According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents didn’t vote in the past three elections (2018, 2020 and 2022), compared to the 41% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

So again, who sits on the couch matters. Inevitably, many of those who stay home will get precisely what they don’t want. When the couch wins, America loses.

Jeff Bleich is a former US ambassador to Australia and a member of the National Security Leaders for America, a group of 700 former generals, admirals, service secretaries, ambassadors, and other national security professionals, that has endorsed Kamala Harris in the presidential election. He was also special counsel to President Barack Obama and served as chair of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board under President Donald Trump and as a member of President Joe Biden’s (non-partisan) National Security Education Board.

Rodrigo Praino receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government Department of Defence, and SmartSat CRC.

– ref. In a too-close-to-call US presidential election, will ‘couch-sitters’ decide who wins? – https://theconversation.com/in-a-too-close-to-call-us-presidential-election-will-couch-sitters-decide-who-wins-239394

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Cohen Votes for Continuing Budget Resolution to Keep the Federal Government Operating

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today voted for a continuing appropriations resolution (known as a CR) to keep the government operating beyond the September 30 fiscal year deadline and until December 20. The measure was stripped of Republican poison pill provisions that caused him to vote against last week’s CR. The measure passed this afternoon would not have passed without Democratic member votes.

The vote on passage was 341 to 82.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“Our job in Congress is to appropriate money and to see that the federal government operates. The threat of a government shutdown was once unheard of but has become a regular occurrence under the Republican majority’s haphazard control of the House. Without the votes of Democrats, Speaker Johnson could not have passed this measure which now assures the continuation of necessary services at appropriate levels without the partisan poison pill provisions Donald Trump was pushing. I look forward to a return to a more disciplined and thoughtful appropriations process after the November elections.”

# # #

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Russia: The government allocated a quarter of a billion rubles for a clinic in Khakassia

MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

Order dated September 17, 2024 No. 2561-r

Document

Order dated September 17, 2024 No. 2561-r

A prefabricated modular polyclinic designed for 170 visits per shift will be purchased and installed for residents of the village of Bograd in the Republic of Khakassia. The order to allocate 250 million rubles for these purposes was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The subsidy was allocated to the budget of Khakassia on co-financing terms. The total cost of the work is almost 590 million rubles. The installation of the clinic and connection of the building to utility networks is planned to be completed in 2025.

The new building of the polyclinic will have departments for adults and children, with the children’s department designed to receive 40 young patients per shift. Medical equipment needed to serve residents will be transported from the old building of the polyclinic, which is considered unsafe.

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

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

http://government.ru/nevs/52786/

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Russia: Moscow doctors have introduced the latest method of treating a common disease in men

MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Doctors of the urology center of the Moscow Multidisciplinary Scientific and Clinical Center (MMNCC) named after S.P. Botkin have introduced the latest minimally invasive method of treating prostate adenoma. This is the most common disease in men, which significantly affects the quality of life. It occurs in about a third of patients aged 40-45 years and in 70 percent after 60.

The method of the capital’s doctors is based on the use of sterile high-temperature steam. It is delivered to the prostate through the urethra using special instruments under local anesthesia. The procedure does not require surgical incisions. Sterile steam passes through the tissues of the enlarged prostate and reduces its size, improving the quality of urination. The operation takes about 15 minutes and does not require long-term hospitalization.

The Urology Center of the S.P. Botkin MMNCC was the first among the clinics of the capital Department of Health was equipped with high-tech equipment to perform such operations. Urologists underwent specialized training to perform them.

According to the head of the urological center, professor and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Pushkar, the new method of treating prostate adenoma is the most modern and most gentle of all those that exist today. More than 100 patients have already received high-quality care.

The Moscow Urology Center, the S.P. Botkin MMNCC, began operating in November 2023. Doctors can perform up to 17,000 urological surgeries per year, including endourological, laparoscopic, and robotic interventions. The center includes a consultative and diagnostic department, three general urology departments and two oncourology departments, as well as seven operating rooms equipped with expert surgical equipment, and an intensive care unit. The minimally invasive surgical interventions used here allow patients to quickly recover and maintain a high quality of life.

Moscow Mayor Talks About Implementation of New Moscow Healthcare Standard

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

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

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/144392073/

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Russia: An educational complex will be built in the north of Moscow as part of the KRT project

MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

The investor will build and transfer to the city an educational complex, as well as transport and engineering infrastructure facilities within the framework of the integrated development of the territory (IDT) of the former industrial zone of Bratsevo. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.

“Based on the results of the preparation and approval of the territory planning project, the city entered into an additional agreement to the contract for the integrated development of the site with the company that is redeveloping the former industrial zone of Bratsevo. According to the document, by 2030 the investor will build and transfer to the city an educational complex for 1,075 places, including a kindergarten designed for 325 pupils and a school for 750 students, as well as transport and engineering infrastructure facilities,” said Vladimir Efimov.

The territory is located in the north of the capital near the Baltiyskaya station of the Moscow Central Circle.

“The project for the integrated development of a 22-hectare territory is already being actively implemented. The investor has begun construction of the first-stage facilities. In total, by 2031, it is planned to build more than 550 thousand square meters of residential, social and public-business real estate on the site,” noted the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of City Property of the City of Moscow

Maxim Gaman.

The company will also improve the courtyards and create a park with a boulevard. A promenade area of over two hectares will be laid along Vyborgskaya Street and Novopetrovsky Proezd. At each stage, the construction of the residential quarter on the site of the former industrial zone of Bratsevo is monitored by Mosgosstroynadzor.

According to the Chairman of the Moscow State Construction Supervision Authority Anton Slobodchikova, in August 2023, the committee gave permission to begin construction of the first stage of the project. It includes 10 sections of a residential building with 1,506 apartments. The developer began work on the site in the Voykovsky district on Admirala Makarova Street (building 2/16) in November of the same year. The area of residential premises will be 86.7 thousand square meters. The first stage of construction is expected to be completed in 2027.

Earlier Sergei Sobyanin told, that over 80 percent of KRT projects involve the construction of real estate near major transport facilities. Multifunctional city blocks are being created within the framework of the program. Roads, comfortable housing and all necessary infrastructure are being designed on the sites of former industrial zones and inefficiently used areas.

Currently, there are 236 KRT projects in Moscow at various stages of implementation, with a total area of over 3.1 thousand hectares. Their development is being carried out on behalf ofSergei Sobyanin.

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

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

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/144418073/

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Australia: Doorstop – Launceston

Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, it’s fantastic to be here with the Premier of Tasmania, Jeremy Rockliff, with my Education Minister, Jason Clare, with Senator Helen Polley and with Deputy Premier, Michael Ferguson here this morning. And this is a big day for the Commonwealth and a big day for Tasmania. The two services that are most important to people’s lives are health and education. And today, we have some fantastic announcements on both. First of all, it’s great to be here at Launceston General Hospital. I do want to thank the administration and the staff, the doctors, the nurses, the volunteers who’ve shown us around here this morning. It’s been a great privilege, and I do want to take the opportunity to thank them for the difference that they make to people’s lives here in Northern Tasmania. But I want to say that it’s a good day for them too, it’s a good day, most importantly, for the people of Northern Tasmania. Because this announcement today of $120 million from the Federal Government for a Northern Heart Centre will make an enormous difference. People in Northern Tasmania should not have to cross the Bass Strait to the North Island in order to get the health care that they deserve. They should get it here in their local community and this Northern Heart Centre, which is well advanced in terms of its planning, will make an enormous difference for research. Most importantly, to be able to get that early detection and early care here, so that if you avoid a traumatic incident, then you actually save money as well as saving lives. And that’s why I’ve been talking with the Premier about the importance of this. This will mean more beds and less pressure on the hospital’s Emergency Department. The Centre will have its own dedicated lab that can diagnose and treat various heart conditions, allowing patients to bypass the Emergency Department with its own access to the intensive care unit and medical imaging. That will make an enormous difference here in Northern Tasmania. And I’m very proud that this is a part of my Government’s commitment to strengthening Medicare and providing better healthcare for all Australians, regardless of where they live. Further today I can announce that my Government and the Tasmanian Government have signed a historic agreement that means all Tasmanian public schools will be fully and fairly funded. We promised we would fully fund schools in Tasmania and today we deliver. Tasmania is the third state now after Northern Territory and Western Australia to sign up. The Commonwealth has $16 billion on the table to make sure that every school can reach that designation of fair funding that was first put forward by Gonski, by David Gonski, in his Review. The other thing that it will do of course, is the nature of education as well. Because we want to make sure it’s not just about dollars, it’s about how education is delivered. And the signing up of this agreement will make sure that the priorities that parents talk about, making sure that the basics are looked after, make sure that we lift literacy and numeracy right across Tasmania, but right across the country, is what we want to see. We want to make sure that if a child falls behind that a school is in a position to be able to lift them up. Simple as that. During the election campaign in 2022, I spoke about no one being left behind and no one held back. And that’s what education and health are at the centre of. Making sure that no one’s left behind. Every child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential, but also making sure that people are looked after in terms of their healthcare. So, this is a really exciting day and it’s a good day. And I do want to thank Jeremy for the relationship that we have, in spite of the fact we’re from different political parties, we’re just concerned about getting things done. And that’s what this is about today. Getting things done in the interests of Northern Tasmanians when it comes to healthcare and getting things done on behalf of all younger Australians, Tasmanians and their families, importantly going forward as well. So, I want to thank Jason Clare as well for the extraordinary work that he has done. Mark Butler, our Health Minister has worked hard on this as well, and that is a very good thing that we’ve been able to achieve this today. I’ll hand over to Jeremy, I will then hand to Jason Clare, the Education Minister, and then I’m happy to take some questions and I’m sure that Jeremy will as well. And then we have some document signing that we’re going to do to fulfil this delivery that we’re announcing today.

JEREMY ROCKLIFF, PREMIER OF TASMANIA: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And it’s great to be here with the Deputy Premier, Michael Ferguson, Federal Minister for Education, Jason Clare and Senator Helen Polley. Thank you Fiona, for your commitment and passion to healthcare across the North. As Chief Executive of the Launceston General Hospital, can I say to you a big thanks to all the people that you work with on a daily basis. From administration to the healthcare professionals, to the volunteers that make up this wonderful institution, the Launceston General Hospital, delivering healthcare for many, many thousands of Tasmanians across north and north west Tasmania. This is a great day for healthcare. This is a great day for our schools, education and public investment in education. And I want to thank the Prime Minister for the great collaboration that we have had over the course of the last couple of years. It’s not the first time I’ve stood alongside the Prime Minister when it comes to announcing key partnerships in health. Whether that be GP recruitment, whether that be Urgent Care Clinics. It’s not the first time, of course – we’ve also got partnerships when it comes to urban renewal projects as well. And so what Tasmanians expect is their federal and state governments to work together in the very best interests of them and in this case the best interests served in healthcare and indeed our schools across Tasmania. We made a very clear commitment at the last election that we will deliver a $120 million Heart Centre and that is exactly what will be delivered at this site over the course of the next few years. That commitment has been realised through the strong collaboration and working relationship with the Federal and State Governments. A $120 million commitment from the Federal Government. And can I say Prime Minister, thank you to you, to Mark Butler – who I worked with very closely as Health Minister for a number of years – but also on behalf of all Tasmanians that will of course be cared for through this facility. Northern and north western Tasmania have the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the country. This is why this investment is so critical and the partnership will endure. The partnership of capital investment from the Federal Government and of course the operational investment from the Tasmanian Government means that this will be delivered. It will be delivered by 2029 and will be servicing Tasmanians, particularly Northern Tasmanians, for many, many decades to come. Can I also pay tribute to Jason Clare, the Federal Minister for Education, and of course our State Minister for Education, Jo Palmer, who would be here if it wasn’t for Budget Estimates in southern Tasmania. I know Jason and Jo have worked very closely in securing this Agreement on behalf of families across Tasmania, our students, of course, in public schools. There is no better investment in productivity and wellbeing than education. And having been Education Minister for seven years, I can well and truly appreciate the need for fair funding when it comes to our public schools, particularly our schools of disadvantage across the country and indeed in Tasmania. That’s why I was very proud to be part of the Gonski Two Agreement as Education Minister, where you apply that fair funding model to support students across our public school environment. What this will mean is an additional $300 million into our public schools over the course of the next five years, focusing on early intervention when it comes to numeracy and literacy, focusing on students well being as well. And when students have good wellbeing, they have a very strong learning environment as well. And so we are committed as a Tasmanian Government, in partnership with the Federal Government, to deliver significant uplift in funding for our public schools over the next five years or sooner. So, thank you for working with us, Prime Minister and Federal Education Minister, Jason Clare. It is a great example of federal and state governments working together. At the end of the day, what Tasmanians care about is good quality services and what they want to see is cooperation in partnership between federal and state government, irrespective of political colour, to deliver for them. And today we have delivered in spades for our public schools and healthcare across Northern Tasmania. And with those few words, I’ll hand to Jason.

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks Premier. Can I start by paying credit to the Prime Minister and the Premier. These are two leaders who know how to get the job done and these are two leaders who understand the power of education. The power of education to change children’s lives. And this investment, this announcement that we’re making today, will change the lives of children here in Tasmania. Can I also thank you Deputy Premier. And can I thank my dear friend, the Education Minister of Tasmania, Jo Palmer, who, as the Premier said, can’t be with us because of Estimates. She is a great Education Minister. It’s a privilege to work with her and I’m looking forward to implementing this Agreement that we’ll sign today with her. This is a historic day for Tasmania. It’s a historic day for public education in Tasmania. Today we sign agreements that will make sure that every public school in Tasmania is fully funded, as the Prime Minister said, at that level that David Gonski set for us all those years ago. And the Premier talked about the money, about $300 million. But he also made the point, and I’m glad you did, Premier, about what this money will be invested in. Because it’s not just about the money, it’s what it does. This money will help us to invest in things like a phonics check and a numeracy check in year one or in the early years, to identify children who are falling behind when they’re little and then make sure that we intervene and provide them with the sort of supports that will help them to catch up and to keep up and to finish school. Things like catch up tutoring. We know that when a child’s falling behind in a classroom of 20 or 30, if you take them out of that classroom, into a classroom of two or three, with one teacher, four days a week, 40 minutes at a time, that they can learn as much in six months as they’d normally learn in a year. In other words, they catch up. And if children catch up when they’re young, they’re more likely to go on and finish high school and then go on to TAFE or to university. And the investment in health and wellbeing is just as important. There’s a real and obvious link between education and health. You see it in these two announcements today, but we also see it in our classrooms. Because children that are experiencing mental health challenges are more likely to not be at school, to be absent from school. And by year nine, they’re about a year and a half or three years behind the rest of the children in their class in literacy and numeracy. So, investments in things like psychologists and counsellors to provide that wrap around support at schools can make all the difference in whether a child finishes school or not. Can I end where I began – this is a fantastic example of our two governments working together. And most importantly, it shows what we can achieve when we work together. And when Parliament returns, I’ll introduce legislation to make this extra investment in our children and in Tasmania a reality.

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Jase. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, has your Government asked Treasury –

PRIME MINISTER: We’ve got an announcement to help every child in school and can we have questions about this first? And then I’m happy to go down whatever direction you want. Are there any questions about today’s announcements?

JOURNALIST: The Education Union has been calling on this for some time. Why are you choosing to fund it now?

PRIME MINISTER: We’ve been in government for two years and we’re getting it done. We’ve got it done now with the Premier, Roger Cook. We’ve got it done in the Northern Territory, which in particular required a substantial lift up per person in the Northern Territory because so many schools there, particularly in remote areas, have missed out. And we’ve got this done in Tasmania and we’re hopeful of getting it done in other states as well, are imminent. I’ve been speaking with Premiers and Chief Ministers. At the last meeting of the National Cabinet, the Premier and I, as well as other Premiers and Chief Ministers, spoke about how important this was, that we get this done. David Gonski did this work some time ago in the Gillard Government to look at what the level of funding was needed to bring every child up to the best of their potential. And that’s what Jason has spoken about – practical differences that it makes. I think it helps, the fact that Jeremy’s been the Education Minister and gets it. And so I’d encourage the other states to sign up. We’ve got $16 billion on the table. This means that the Commonwealth contribution will be lifted up to 22.5 per cent of that standard and the state contribution will be lifted to 77.5 per cent. Making sure that this is realised, because this is so important and we’ve been able to get it done and we’re getting it done today.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the Heart Centre. We know right across Australia, Tasmania is no exception, that there is a critical shortage of healthcare workers. How confident are you that there will be the workers that are needed to make this Centre a success?

PRIME MINISTER: We’re very confident that that can be done. One of the things that we’re doing as well is making sure that we train additional doctors, that we train nurses and healthcare professionals. I’ve been into TAFEs here in Tasmania, for example, I met young people and people retraining to go back into the health system. That has been very important. So we’ll work as well, we have – as Jeremy said, we had quite an innovative plan for additional GPs here that we announced. I think just down the road in Devonport at the Mercy Hospital. We are working with the Tasmanian Government to make sure that we have that capacity. We do need an appropriate workforce in order to deliver. But the other thing is, if you don’t do the right thing, sometimes you can end up chasing your tail. So, emergency departments get more and more pressure on them, which creates more difficulties in the system. So, we have, for example, our four Urgent Care Clinics that have opened here in Tasmania. We’ve got a fifth coming and there’s a potential of more there. They have seen tens of thousands of Tasmanians – all Tasmanians have needed is their Medicare card, not their credit card. They’ve got the care that we need. I’ve been into the Urgent Care Clinic there in Hobart that has been an enormous success. There’s one here in Lonnie. And what we do if you do that is you stop people going to the emergency departments of hospitals, if they have a broken arm or the kids fall off the bike or the skateboard, or they cut themselves preparing dinner – they can get that care on the spot when they need it, where they need it and for free as part of our commitment to extending Medicare. So, that’s made a difference as well to the system. Okay. Happy to take other things.

JOURNALIST: Have you asked for a modelling on the impacts of negative gearing, Prime Minister?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, I’ve seen those reports and what we do is we value the Public Service. So, from time to time I’m sure the Public Service are looking at policy ideas. That’s because we value them. But we have our housing policy. It’s out there for all to see. It’s currently being blocked. At the risk of being partisan here, it’s currently being blocked by a No-alition of the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens in the Senate. They’re blocking our Help to Buy scheme that’s about increased home ownership. They’re blocking our Build to Rent scheme. I mean, why you would block – the Greens position is that they’re blocking the Build to Rent scheme because if you have medium density housing built, it’ll be built by developers. Well, yeah, hello. I’m not sure who they think builds houses and medium density housing and increases supply. So, our focus as a Government is on supply.

JOURNALIST: (inaudible)

PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?

JOURNALIST: Is your Government considering making changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions?

PRIME MINISTER: What our Government is considering is fixing housing supply by getting our legislation through the Senate. That’s what we’re considering.

JOURNALIST: Would you rule out changes to negative gearing and property taxes this term or next?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we’re doing is doing the legislation that we have before the Senate. So, I talk about what we’re doing, not what we’re not doing. And what we’re doing, is trying to get through that legislation through the Senate.

JOURNALIST: But just to confirm, Prime Minister, your Government has asked Treasury for modelling?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I didn’t confirm that. Treasury, I’m sure, like other departments do a range of proposals, policy ideas. I want a Public Service that is full of ideas.

JOURNALIST: The RBA is looking through your rebates (inaudible)?

PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?

JOURNALIST: The RBA is looking through your rebates. Have your attempts to get a rate cut failed?

PRIME MINISTER: What we’ve done is to reduce inflation to half of what it was. Half of what we inherited. Now, there’ll be new figures out tomorrow, or today, actually, we will wait and see what they show in a couple of hours’ time. But we know that the last time around, the monthly figures showed a rate of 3.5 per cent. Which is half, basically, of what we inherited. And we’ve done that, putting that downward pressure on inflation, by producing two budget surpluses, turning a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus last year. And this year, the financial year just finished, another surplus that will be in double digits in terms of the figures when they’re finally released or finalised in a couple of weeks’ time. So we have as well, we indicated on Monday, that has seen debt decreased by the Commonwealth by around about $150 billion from what was predicted in PEFO, the Pre-Election Forecast, that were there in Treasury of what the former Government was going to deliver. And we’ve done all of that whilst we have given cost of living support. Whether it’s a tax cut for every taxpayer, Energy Bill Relief for every household, 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE places, Cheaper Child Care. While we have delivered all of those measures, as well as delivering important funding, such as what we’ve been able to deliver here in Tasmania. Making sure we’re working to deliver proper services in health and education. That’s what happens when you have responsible economic management. And the Reserve Bank, of course, set interest rates independent of the government – that is their job. Our job is to put downward pressure on inflation, but also look after people. We have had now 980,000 jobs created on our watch. More jobs created since I’ve been elected as Prime Minister than in every previous term of any Prime Minister since Federation. I’m very proud of that. It’s been a difficult economic task, but we have delivered what we have set out to do, which is that downward pressure on inflation whilst we’ve been helping with cost of living relief.

JOURNALIST: On cost of living, will you introduce new cost of living measures in a pre-election Budget?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, one of the things that we are going to do, and you will have seen on Monday when it comes to cost of living as well, is take on businesses when they’re not doing the right thing by consumers. Now, this action by the ACCC in taking Woolworths and Coles to court in order to hold them to account for what the ACCC alleges has happened. When you have a packet of Oreos lifted up in prices and by triple the amount in which they’re then decreased and a sign put on them saying that it’s a special, then that is not doing the right thing by consumers. Now people out there are under financial pressure and they’re looking for value, they’re looking for bargains. And so when they go into a supermarket and see ‘special’ or ‘prices down’, they trust that that is the truth. Now it’s not the truth if a supermarket has increased the price by $1.50 from what it was and then a month later put it down by fifty cents and purported to argue that they have decreased the price. That is a breach of trust, it’s a breach of faith. Australians are rightly angry about it, as they should be, and my Government is taking action. The ACCC are taking them to court. We have released on Monday as well exposure drafts of our changes to legislation, as well as our changes to the mandating of the code of conduct for supermarkets, as recommended by Dr Craig Emerson. It is extraordinary that under the former Government you had a voluntary code of conduct, just expecting that people would voluntarily do the right thing. Quite clearly, that’s not good enough, which is why we’re mandating. That’s a part of dealing with cost of living pressures. So we want wages to increase and we’re delivering that, including in Jason’s area, a 15 per cent increase in the wages of early educators in childcare. We have delivered a substantial increase in the wages of aged care workers. We’ve delivered tax cuts on top of that. So we want people to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. That’s all a part of our cost of living measures.

JOURNALIST: Here in Tasmania, will you exempt the Macquarie Point Stadium from GST calculations?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: Why not?

PRIME MINISTER: Because if we did that, we’d have to do the same for the Olympic sites in Queensland, for every infrastructure project in the country.

JOURNALIST: Wasn’t that done for a stadium in Jim Chalmers electorate?

PRIME MINISTER: We won’t, well I’m not sure what stadium with hundreds of millions of dollars you’re referring to in Jim’s electorate in Logan. I’m very familiar with the electorate. So we will be, can I make this point. We’ll be exempting this contribution to the hospital, to the Northern Tasmania Heart Centre from the GST. It’s very different. But infrastructure projects, of course, it all adds up. It all evens out. I’m not sure this is understood fully by people in these positions, but when you have the GST equalisation, if you have a proportion of funds invested around the country, then it evens itself out. This is a separate thing which we’ve agreed to exempt from the GST because it’s about healthcare. But infrastructure across the board is not exempt. I was an Infrastructure Minister for six years, I assure you there was no GST exemptions during that period.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, with the Heart Centre comes a lot of money for Northern Tasmania. How concerned are you about your prospects in Lyons?

PRIME MINISTER: I think Lyons, what I’m doing in every seat, in every state, in the one country of Australia, is governing. We’re doing things here regardless of the political colour. I don’t have a colour coded spreadsheet to determine my funding proposals. And I am working and delivering here in Northern Tasmania, in North West Tasmania, in Hobart. We’re delivering at UTAS down the road here, $65 million each to fix up UTAS and to make it into a much better stadium. We are investing in Macquarie Point, we’re investing throughout Tasmania. We’ll continue to do so and I believe there’ll be an election at some time. If you keep your eye on that white car with the little flag on the front on the day it goes to Yarralumla, then we’ll call an election sometime before, or on or before May, and we’ll put our case to the Australian people. But we have a serious plan for health, a serious plan for education, a serious plan for energy. We’re working here as well. The Marinus Link Project is a great example of the cooperation that was talked about for a long period of time. Well, myself and this Premier have actually got it done. Thanks very much.

MIL OSI News –

September 29, 2024