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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: Airdropping vaccines to eliminate canine rabies in Texas – two scientists explain the decades of research behind its success

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rodney E. Rohde, Regents’ Professor & Chair, Medical Laboratory Science, Texas State University

    Rabies is a fatal disease for both animals and people. CDC/Barbara Andrews

    Rabies is a deadly disease. Without vaccination, a rabies infection is nearly 100% fatal once someone develops symptoms. Texas has experienced two rabies epidemics in animals since 1988: one involving coyotes and dogs in south Texas, and the other involving gray foxes in west central Texas. Affecting 74 counties, these outbreaks led to thousands of people who could have been exposed, two human deaths and countless animal lives lost.

    In 1994, Gov. Ann Richards declared rabies a state health emergency. The Texas Department of State Health Services responded by launching the Oral Rabies Vaccination Program to control the spread of these wildlife rabies outbreaks.

    Since 1995, the program has distributed over 53 million doses of rabies vaccine over 758,100 square miles (nearly 2 million square kilometers) in Texas by hand or aircraft. Rabies cases in dogs and coyotes went from 141 to 0 by 2005, and rabies cases in foxes went from 101 to 0 by 2014. By 2004, one canine rabies variant was effectively eliminated from Texas, and another variant was substantially controlled.

    We are researchers who began studying wildlife rabies and oral vaccination in the 1980s. From providing a proof of concept in using oral vaccines in raccoons to being among the first to use new rabies vaccines in the 1990s, we were on the ground floor of efforts to contain this deadly virus.

    Decades of vaccine research led to one of the most successful public health projects in Texas. And we’re hopeful it could provide a road map for the use of mass wildlife vaccination to prevent future outbreaks.

    Developing the oral rabies vaccine

    The Texas Oral Rabies Vaccination Program benefited greatly from the work of multiple researchers over prior decades.

    The mid-20th century saw several major developments in rabies control. With the failure of efforts to poison or trap infected animals, virologist and veterinarian George Baer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized the need for a different strategy to prevent and control wildlife rabies. His and his colleagues’ work in the 1960s led to the concept of oral rabies vaccination. While orally vaccinating wildlife would help combat infection at its source, it was previously thought to be logistically unfeasible given the large range of target animals.

    By the late 1970s, European researchers began the first field trials to orally vaccinate foxes against rabies. Small plastic containers were filled with vaccines and placed into baits, such as chicken heads. Over 50,000 of these vaccine-laden baits were distributed over four years in fox habitats in forests and fields.

    Early vaccine baits were coated with fishmeal crumbles and cod liver oil.
    Maki et al/Veterinary Research, CC BY-ND

    Researchers in Canada also began similar field trials in Ontario. During the 1980s, an average of 235 rabid foxes per year were reported in the area. Baits containing oral rabies vaccine were dropped annually from 1989 to 1995 and successfully eliminated the fox variant of rabies from the whole area.

    Recombinant oral rabies vaccine

    The first generation of these vaccines used live viruses modified in an attempt to not cause severe disease. Although effective and generally safe, the original rabies vaccines had to be kept in cool temperatures and had the rare risk of causing rabies in animals.

    In the early 1980s, scientists developed recombinant rabies vaccines, which use a separate virus to express the genes of the rabies virus. A collaboration between a nonprofit institute, the U.S. government, and the pharmaceutical industry led to the development of a recombinant viral vaccine that produced a rapid immune response against rabies without the possibility of causing rabies.

    In 1984, preliminary work in laboratory animals showed the promise of using an oral form of the recombinant vaccine to vaccinate animals. However, the concept of using genetically modified organisms was in its infancy among both scientists and the general public. While the vaccine was safe and effective in captive raccoons and foxes, major questions loomed over how it might affect other species once released into the environment.

    After years of work improving the vaccine’s design and testing its safety in several nonhuman species, the first European trial was held on a military base in Belgium. With data supporting it could safely and effectively control wildlife in Luxembourg and France, the vaccine was licensed to control fox rabies in 1995.

    In the U.S., similar studies of the oral recombinant rabies vaccine were conducted. The first trial began in 1990 at Parramore Island off the Virginia coast, and a year of intensive monitoring found no significant adverse effects on the environment or any wildlife species. A second yearlong study on the mainland near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, had similarly positive results.

    After the vaccine was successfully used to control raccoon rabies in tests in several other East Coast states, it was approved for use on raccoons in 1997.

    In 1998, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received funding to expand existing oral wildlife vaccination projects to states of strategic importance, to prevent the spread of specific rabies viruses, and to coordinate interstate projects.

    Results in Texas

    In Texas, the oral recombinant vaccine is now primarily distributed by hand and by approximately 75 separate helicopter flights annually.

    The Texas Department of State Health Services rabies laboratory worked alongside the CDC to create the Regional Rabies Virus Reference Typing Laboratory. One of us was recruited to both distribute the vaccine in the field and to develop molecular typing tools to discriminate between different types of rabies virus variants in the lab. These techniques allowed us to identify where different rabies virus variants were emerging at any given moment.

    The Texas Oral Rabies Vaccination Program continues to monitor and control rabies cases in the state.

    Our lab was also the first in the nation outside of the CDC to assist other U.S. states and countries in testing their specimens for rabies virus variants. These techniques helped researchers monitor where the rabies epizootic was ongoing or retreating due to wildlife vaccination and new forms of spread.

    With the constant threat of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 and influenza, the prospect of mass vaccination of wild animals may be one way to address future pandemics. Though there is much work ahead of us, we have hope that we may one day have the option of using mass wildlife vaccination to reduce or eliminate infectious diseases like rabies.

    Rodney E. Rohde has received funding from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA), and other public and private entities/foundations. Rohde is affiliated with ASCP, ASCLS, ASM, and serves on several scientific advisory boards.

    Charles E. Rupprecht consults for global academic, governmental, industrial and NGO organizations. He receives funding from academic, governmental, industrial, and NGO sources.

    – ref. Airdropping vaccines to eliminate canine rabies in Texas – two scientists explain the decades of research behind its success – https://theconversation.com/airdropping-vaccines-to-eliminate-canine-rabies-in-texas-two-scientists-explain-the-decades-of-research-behind-its-success-238508

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fungal infections known as valley fever could spike this fall – 3 epidemiologists explain how to protect yourself

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jennifer Head, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan

    As the climate warms and landscapes become drier, researchers fear that valley fever could spread across other regions of the U.S. Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    As the climate warms, the southwestern U.S. is increasingly experiencing weather whiplash as the region swings from drought to flooding and back again. As a result, the public is hearing more about little-known infectious diseases, such as valley fever.

    In May 2024, about 20,000 people attended a music festival in Buena Vista Lake, California. In the months that followed, at least 19 developed valley fever, and eight were hospitalized from their infection. This outbreak follows a dramatic increase of more than 800% in valley fever infections in California between 2000 and 2018.

    In 2023, California reported the second-highest number of valley fever cases on record, with more than 9,000 cases reported statewide. And between April 2023 and March 2024, California provisionally reported 10,593 cases – 40% more than during the same period the prior year.

    The Conversation U.S. asked Jennifer Head, Simon Camponuri and Alexandra Heaney – researchers specializing in the epidemiology of valley fever – to explain what valley fever is, and what might explain its rise in recent years.

    What is valley fever, and how do you get infected?

    Valley fever is the common name for a disease called coccidioidomycosis, which is an infection caused by pathogenic fungi from the Coccidioides genus. The fungi are primarily found in arid soils of the southwestern United States, as well as parts of Central and South America.

    When the fungus has access to moisture and nutrients, it grows long, branching fungal chains throughout the soil. When the soil dries out, these chains fragment to form fungal spores, which can be stirred up into the air when the soil is disturbed, such as by wind or digging. Airborne spores can then be inhaled and cause a respiratory infection.

    Cases of valley fever are typically highest in California’s southern San Joaquin Valley and southern Arizona, but they have been increasing outside of these regions. Between 2000 and 2018, the incidence of valley fever cases increased fifteenfold in the northern San Joaquin Valley and eightfold along the Southern California coast. And between 2014 and 2018, incidence increased by more than eightfold along the central coast.

    Because of these trends and the virulence of the pathogen that causes valley fever, it is listed as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. Historically, fungal infections have received very little attention and resources. By creating this list, the WHO is hoping to galvanize action surrounding listed pathogens, including getting more resources for research as well as the development of new treatments.

    Coccidioides immitis, one of the two species of fungus that cause valley fever.
    Smith Collection-Gado/Archive Photos via Getty Images

    What are the symptoms, and what should people be looking for?

    After inhaling fungal spores from the environment, Coccidioides initially infects the lungs, causing symptoms like mild to severe cough, fever, difficulty breathing, chest pain and tiredness. Valley fever symptoms can resemble other common respiratory infections, so it’s important for people to get checked by a doctor if they’ve experienced prolonged symptoms, particularly if they have been given antibiotics that they are not responding to.

    In California and Arizona, an estimated one-third of community-acquired pneumonia cases – or pneumonia acquired outside of the hospital – are caused by valley fever. However, only a fraction of community-acquired pneumonia cases get tested for it, so it’s likely the number of valley fever cases is significantly higher. Among diagnosed cases, half experienced symptoms for two months or more before being diagnosed.

    In 5% to 10% of cases, the fungus can spread from the lungs to other parts of the body, such as the central nervous system, liver and bones, causing meningitis or arthritis-like symptoms. These cases can be severe and possibly fatal.

    Antifungal treatment is available, and early diagnosis and treatment is critical for better outcomes.

    Jose Epifanio Sanchez Trujeque of Lebec, Calif., spent four months in the hospital after contracting valley fever in 2023.
    The Washington Post/Getty Images

    What time of year should you be most concerned?

    Valley fever cases can occur year-round, but in California, cases reported via surveillance systems tend to increase starting in August and September, peak in November and return to background levels in January and February.

    Researchers believe that patients are likely exposed to the fungus in the summer and early fall months, typically one to three months prior to their diagnosis. This delay accounts for time between when patients are exposed, develop symptoms and are diagnosed with the disease. While cases peak in the fall on average, seasonal strength and timing varies regionally.

    Our research shows that this seasonal surge in the fall is especially strong following wetter winters and that alternation between dry and wet conditions is associated with increased incidence in fall months.

    Valley fever cases in California nearly doubled following wet winters that occurred one and two years after the 2007-2009 and 2012-2015 droughts.

    In 2023, California experienced a similar transition, with an extreme drought occurring between 2020-2022 followed by heavy precipitation in the winter of 2022-2023.

    This transition was followed by a near-record spike in cases in 2023. The state experienced another wet winter during the 2023-2024 wet season, furthering concern about continued high risk for valley fever in 2024.

    Our research team recently developed a model to forecast valley fever cases that will occur between April 2024 and March 2025 in California. We forecast that the state is likely to see another spike in cases during the fall and winter of 2024, on par with the spike in 2023.

    During high-risk periods, clinicians should consider valley fever as a potential diagnosis. This is especially true when evaluating a patient presenting with valley fever symptoms or a respiratory illness who lives in, works in or traveled to an endemic or emerging region.

    We are currently working to characterize seasonal disease patterns in Arizona as well, which are different from California’s. This is likely because Arizona has two rainy seasons.

    Are some people at greater risk than others?

    Those who spend time or work outdoors in areas where valley fever is common, especially where they may be exposed to dirt and dust, are more likely to get it.

    While healthy people are still at risk of infection, certain factors can increase the likelihood of developing severe disease from valley fever. These include being an adult 60 years or older, having diabetes, HIV or another condition that weakens the immune system, or being pregnant. People who are Black or Filipino also have been noted to have a higher risk of severe disease, which may relate to more exposure to the fungal spores, underlying health conditions, inequities in accessing care or other possible predispositions.

    People who work around dry, dusty conditions are at a higher risk of contracting valley fever.
    David McNew/Getty Images News via Getty Images

    How can you protect yourself from getting valley fever?

    People who live and work in the regions where the fungus is found should avoid exposure to dust as much as possible. When it is windy outside and the air is dusty, stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed.

    When driving through a dusty area, limit vehicle speed, keep car windows closed and recirculate the air, if possible. When working outdoors, use dust suppression techniques, including wetting soil before digging to prevent stirring up dust, and installing fencing, windbreaks and vegetation where possible.

    For those who must directly stir up soil or be in dusty conditions, such as while doing construction or gardening work, consider using an N95 mask to limit dust inhalation.

    Jennifer Head receives funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

    Alexandra K. Heaney receives funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

    Simon Camponuri receives funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health and from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    – ref. Fungal infections known as valley fever could spike this fall – 3 epidemiologists explain how to protect yourself – https://theconversation.com/fungal-infections-known-as-valley-fever-could-spike-this-fall-3-epidemiologists-explain-how-to-protect-yourself-238972

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Drug prices improved under Biden-Harris and Trump − but not for everyone, and not enough

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

    Negotiations to reduce drug prices can sometimes shift costs onto consumers. rudisill/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    When it comes to drug pricing, the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations both have some very modest wins to tout.

    As director of the Health Outcomes, Policy, and Evidence Synthesis group at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, I teach and study about the ethics of prescription drug prices and the complexities of drug pricing nationally.

    Delving into the presidential candidates’ successes on a number of drug-pricing policies, you’ll see a continuation of progress across the administrations. Neither the Trump administration nor the Biden-Harris administration, however, has done anything to truly lower drug prices for the majority of Americans.

    $35 insulin

    Insulin is a necessity for patients with diabetes. But from January 2014 to April 2019, the average price per unit went from US$0.22 to $0.34 before dropping back slightly by July 2023 to $0.29 per unit. Since dosing is weight-based, insulin costs for someone weighing 154 pounds would have risen from $231 to $357 a month from 2014 to 2019 and dropped to $305 a month by 2023. Price increases have led some patients to space out their medications by taking less than the dose they need for good blood sugar control. One study estimated that over 25% of patients in an urban diabetes center were underusing their insulin.

    In July 2020, the Trump administration enacted a $35 cap on insulin copayments via executive order. In effect, it made participating Medicare Part D programs limit the price of just one of each type of insulin product to $35. For instance, if there were six short-acting insulin products on an insurance plan’s approved drug list, the insurer had to offer one vial form and one pen form at $35.

    These price changes did not go into effect during Trump’s presidency. By 2022, only about 800,000 people – or around 11% of the more than 7.4 million people in the U.S. who use insulin to regulate their blood sugar – saw their prices reduced.

    Millions of Americans need insulin to manage their diabetes.
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    In August 2022, the Biden-Harris administration signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. This maintained the $35 insulin cap with the same stipulations but made the program mandatory for all Medicare Part D and Medicare Part B members. This expanded the number of people who could benefit from cheaper insulin to 3.3 million.

    This still doesn’t help a majority of diabetics. If you don’t have Medicare, the $35 reduction does not apply to you. Furthermore, pharmaceutical companies are not responsible for lowering insulin costs under these policies, but health plans are on the hook for lowering copayments. Costs could be passed along to beneficiaries in future Medicare premiums.

    Importing Canadian drugs

    Americans pay nearly 2.6 times more for prescription drugs than people in other high-income countries. One way regulators have tried to reduce prices is to simply import drugs at the prices pharmaceutical companies charge those countries rather than those charged to U.S. consumers.

    In July 2019, the Trump administration proposed importing drugs from Canada as a way to share Canadians’ lower drug costs with American consumers. He signed an executive order allowing the Food and Drug Administration to create the rules under which states could import the drugs. When President Joe Biden came into office, he left the executive order in place and the rulemaking process continued.

    Some Americans have traveled across borders for cheaper medications.
    Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images

    No state under the Trump or Biden-Harris administrations has yet been able to successfully import a Canadian drug product. In January 2024, however, the Food and Drug Administration approved Florida’s plan to import Canadian drugs, the first state to receive the green light. Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Texas have applications pending as of September 2024.

    Unfortunately, it is unlkely that Canada would allow their prescription drugs to be shipped in large quantities to American consumers, not without imposing high tariffs as a disincentive. That is because drug manufacturers could limit supplies to Canada and cause shortages if drugs are moved to the U.S. Manufacturers could also be less willing to negotiate lower prices for Canadians if that will hurt U.S. profits.

    Negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry

    Be it prescription drugs or cars, both buyer and seller must agree on a price for a successful sale to occur. If the potential buyer is unwilling to walk away from negotiations, you will not get the seller’s best price. One reason U.S. drug prices are higher than other countries’ is because the government is not a shrewd negotiator.

    Negotiations that result in major reductions in drug prices frequently result from the drug manufacturer losing access to patients on a certain health plan or ending up in a higher drug tier that substantially raises a patient’s copay. However, if the buyer refuses the seller’s final offer, their members or citizens lose access to those drugs. While major private health plans and pharmacy benefit managers are able to directly negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers, often with substantial savings, Medicare was prevented from doing so by federal law until recently.

    In May 2018, the Trump administration released a so-called blueprint for reducing prescription drug prices that included negotiating Medicare prescription drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. This plan wasn’t enacted during his term.

    In August 2022, under the Biden-Harris administration, the Inflation Reduction Act enabled price negotiation and specified the number of drugs that negotiations could include in a year.

    The Inflation Reduction Act allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time.

    The first negotiation between Medicare and the pharmaceutical industry took place over the summer of 2024, lowering costs for 10 Medicare Part D drugs, which include the blood thinner Xarelto and the drugs Farxiga and Jardiance, which treat Type 2 diabetes, heart failure and kidney disease. The resulting $1.5 billion in savings will be extended in 2026 to the approximately 8.8 million Medicare Part D patients who are taking these drugs. The prices for these drugs are still twice what they are in four other developed countries.

    Prices will be negotiated for another 15 Medicare Part D drugs in 2027. Thereafter, drug negotiations could include Medicare Part D drugs, which you pick up from your pharmacy, and Medicare Part B drugs, which are administered or received from your doctor’s office.

    Another aspect of the Inflation Reduction Act is capping out-of-pocket expenses at $2,000. This won’t go into effect until 2025, however, and simply shifts costs above the cap onto taxpayers.

    Continuation of progress

    It is often challenging to attribute policy successes to one administration versus another when assessing complex issues such as drug pricing. There were ideas initiated during the Trump administration that did not come to fruition until the Biden-Harris administration implemented and expanded on them.

    For example, Medicare price negotiation, proposed in a Trump administration “blueprint,” was codified in law by President Biden, but the fruits of this policy will not be seen until the next administration. And regardless of who you attribute this success to, only a portion of people on Medicare will see any relief from high drug prices as a result.

    Truly lowering the costs of prescription drugs would require identifying the maximum price the nation is willing to pay for benefits, such as cost per quality adjusted life year at the federal, state and private payer levels, and being willing to walk away from negotiations if the price exceeds that level. This would not be a panacea, though, especially for patients with rare and ultrarare diseases, and would need to be eased in over time to avoid bankrupting the industry.

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

    – ref. Drug prices improved under Biden-Harris and Trump − but not for everyone, and not enough – https://theconversation.com/drug-prices-improved-under-biden-harris-and-trump-but-not-for-everyone-and-not-enough-238407

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the US government can stop ‘churches’ from getting treated like real churches by the IRS

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

    Uniformed members of Trail Life USA present the colors at the Family Research Council’s 2018 Values Voter Summit. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    The Family Research Council is a conservative advocacy group with a “biblical worldview.” While it has a church ministries department that works with churches from several evangelical Christian denominations that share its perspectives, it does not represent a single denomination. Although its activities are primarily focused on policy, advocacy, government lobbying and public communication, the Internal Revenue Service granted the council’s application to be treated as “an association of churches” in 2020.

    Concerned that the IRS had erred in allowing the council and similar groups to be designated churches or associations of churches, Democratic members of the House of Representatives sent the Treasury secretary and the IRS commissioner letters in 2022 and 2024 expressing alarm. The House Democrats pointed to what appeared to be “abuse” of the tax code and asked the IRS to “determine whether existing guidance is sufficient to prevent abuse and what resources or Congressional actions are needed.”

    As a professor of nonprofit law, I believe some groups that aren’t churches or associations of churches want to be designated that way to avoid the scrutiny being a charitable organization otherwise requires. At the same time, some other groups that should qualify as churches may have difficulty doing so because of the IRS’ outdated test for that status.

    Together with my colleague Ellen P. Aprill, I recently published a paper outlining two main arguments in favor of revising the federal government’s definitions of churches as they pertain to tax law.

    No 990s means less scrutiny

    All charitable nonprofits, including churches, get the same basic benefits under federal tax law. This means they don’t have to pay taxes on their revenue and that donors can deduct the value of their gifts from their taxable income – as long as they itemize deductions on their tax return.

    Unlike other tax-exempt charities, churches don’t have to file 990 forms. That means the public does not have access to churches’ staff pay, board membership and funding details, which are in this publicly available tax form that all other charities must complete every year. The availability of 990 forms enhances the transparency and accountability of the nonprofit sector.

    And churches and associations of churches are unlikely to get audited by the IRS. Federal law requires that a senior IRS official “reasonably believes” the church or association has violated federal tax rules before beginning an investigation. This means that an official must have reason to believe the organization has violated federal tax law before obtaining any information from the organization.

    This standard is higher than what’s needed before an audit can begin for all other tax-exempt organizations and indeed all taxpayers. For everyone else, the IRS is free to begin an examination based only on a suspicion of a violation or even based on random selection.

    Also, unlike other tax-exempt charities, churches and church associations are automatically eligible for their tax-exempt status. They don’t have to apply for it.

    Why churches get special treatment

    Congress has passed laws granting churches and what it calls “integrated auxiliaries” and “conventions or associations of churches” special protections because the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects religious freedom.

    Churches include houses of worship ranging in size from a handful of parishioners to megachurches with 10,000 or more people attending weekly services. Houses of worship of all faiths, including synagogues, mosques and temples, count as churches, according to the IRS.

    Integrated auxiliaries are church schools and other organizations affiliated with churches or conventions and primarily supported by internal church sources, as opposed to by the public or government.

    Conventions or associations of churches are organizations that have houses of worship from either a single denomination or from multiple denominations as their members. Most denominational bodies, such as the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are likely conventions or associations of churches, although the IRS does not publish a list of such entities.

    Not every religious nonprofit belongs in one of these categories.

    For example, the University of Notre Dame, where I teach law students and conduct legal research, and World Vision, a global humanitarian group, are both religious organizations that do not fall into any of these categories. This makes sense, because Notre Dame and World Vision are primarily engaged in activities other than fostering a religious congregation or coordinating the activities of churches within a single denomination.

    The IRS has long relied on a 14-factor test to distinguish churches from the other religious nonprofits. Examples of those factors include having ordained ministers, a formal doctrine, a distinct membership and a regular congregation attending religious services.

    It’s not necessary for all the factors to apply to pass this test.

    Yet for almost as long, courts have been uncomfortable with this test because it draws heavily on the traditional characteristics of Protestant Christian churches, as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims explained in a 2009 ruling. This system therefore may be a poor fit for houses of worship of other faiths, especially given the increasing diversity of faith communities.

    These courts have instead adopted an “associational test.” It focuses on whether the organization’s congregants hold religious services on a regular basis and gather in person on other occasions.

    With the growth of virtual and televised religious services, an update of this test is overdue.

    A couple get married in May 2020 in a mostly empty church, with a screen set up so guests can watch over Zoom.
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    Proposed solutions

    Aprill and I recommend that the IRS change its definition for churches to the associational one adopted by some courts in rulings as early as 1980. As the U.S. Court of Federal Claims explained in that 2009 ruling, this test focuses on whether a body of believers assembles regularly to worship. Given technological advances, the IRS should also make it clear that this test can be satisfied through remote participation in religious services using interactive, teleconferencing apps such as Zoom.

    This definition would be also better suited for congregations of all faiths because some faiths do not prioritize many of the factors included in the IRS test, such as having a formal code of doctrine or requiring members to not be associated with other houses of worship or faiths. And it would better reflect how some Americans participate in religious services today.

    We recommend that the IRS revisit its test for being a church and that Congress pass a law that would change the definition of church associations. The new law could limit associations of churches to organizations that represent a single denomination, as Congress likely initially intended.

    This latter change would make it harder for religious organizations that are primarily involved in bringing churches from multiple faiths together to engage in advocacy or other activities to obtain this status and the lack of transparency and accountability that come with it. We believe Congress, not the IRS, should make this change because of the potential political tensions that narrowing the definition could create.

    We don’t think the changes would impinge upon the special role that churches have in our society. Indeed, the revised test for qualifying as a church would better fit with both the increasing variety of faiths in our country and technological advancements.

    Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer is affiliated with the University of Notre Dame, a tax-exempt religious nonprofit corporation. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer is also affiliated with South Bend City Church, a tax-exempt religious nonprofit corporation that is classified as a church for federal tax purposes.

    – ref. How the US government can stop ‘churches’ from getting treated like real churches by the IRS – https://theconversation.com/how-the-us-government-can-stop-churches-from-getting-treated-like-real-churches-by-the-irs-237922

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Big lithium plans for Imperial Valley, one of California’s poorest regions, raise a bigger question: Who should benefit?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Manuel Pastor, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

    The edge of the Salton Sea, a heavily polluted lake with large geothermal and lithium resources beneath it. Manuel Pastor

    Imperial County consistently ranks among the most economically distressed places in California. Its Salton Sea, the state’s biggest and most toxic lake, is an environmental disaster. And the region’s politics have been dominated by a conservative white elite, despite its supermajority Latino population.

    The county also happens to be sitting on enough lithium to produce nearly 400 million batteries, sufficient to completely revamp the American auto fleet to electric propulsion. Even better, that lithium could be extracted in a way consistent with broader goals to reduce pollution.

    The traditional ways to extract lithium involve either hard rock mining, which generates lots of waste, or large evaporation ponds, which waste a lot of water. In Imperial Valley, companies are pioneering a third method. They are extracting the mineral from the underground briny water brought up during geothermal energy production and then injecting that briny water back into the ground in a closed loop. It promises to yield the cleanest, greenest lithium on the planet.

    The hope of a clean energy future has excited investors and public officials so much that the area is being rechristened as “Lithium Valley.”

    In a region desperate for jobs and income, the prospect of a “white gold rush” is appealing. Public officials have been working to roll out the red carpet for big investors, including trying to create a clear plan for infrastructure and a quicker permitting process. To get community groups’ support, they are playing up the potential for jobs, including company commitments to hire local workers.

    But Imperial Valley residents who have been on the butt end of get-rich schemes around water and real estate in the past are worried that their political leaders may be giving away the store. As we explore in our new book, “Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles and a Just Future,” the U.S. has an opportunity to ensure that these residents directly benefit from the lithium extraction boom, which is an important part of the global shift to clean energy.

    Possibilities and perils in ‘Lithium Valley’

    Imperial Valley is emblematic of the potential and the risks that have long faced impoverished communities in resource-rich regions.

    To understand the possibilities and perils in Imperial Valley, it’s useful to remember that the world is not just moving away from fossil fuel extraction but toward more mineral extraction. Today’s battery technology – necessary for electric vehicles and energy storage – relies on minerals including cobalt, magnesium, nickel and graphite. And mineral extraction is often accompanied by obscured environmental risks.

    A prototype for CTR’s lithium-producing geothermal facility, in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Imperial Valley.
    Manuel Pastor

    In Imperial Valley, environmental and community organizations are worried about lithium extraction’s water use, waste and air pollution as production steps up and truck traffic increases. When your region’s childhood asthma rate is already more than twice the national average, and dust from the drying lake is toxic, kicking up a “little extra dust” is a big deal.

    Comite Civico del Valle, a long-established environmental justice organization in Imperial Valley, has sued to slow down a streamlined permitting process for Controlled Thermal Resources, a company planning lithium extraction there. The group’s concern is that inadequate environmental reviews could result in harm to residents’ health. Both the company and public officials are warning that the lawsuit could stop the lithium boom before it begins.

    Local communities are also concerned about how much benefit they will see while the industry profits. They note that the electric vehicle boom driving lithium demand occurred precisely because of public policy. Tesla, for example, has benefited from multiple rounds of state and federal zero-emissions vehicle incentives, including the sale of emissions credits that accounted for 85% of Tesla’s gross margin in 2009 and rose to US$1.8 billion a year by 2023.

    Behind these policies and financial incentives have been public will and taxpayer money.

    Young advocates with the Imperial Valley Equity & Justice Coalition have been spreading their concerns through the community.
    Chris Benner

    We believe that local residents, not just companies, deserve a return. Rather than promising to just pay for community “benefits,” such as environmental mitigation, contributions to municipal coffers or jobs, the companies could pay “dividends” directly to local residents and communities.

    There are models of this dividend approach. For example, the Alaska Permanent Fund gives an annual amount to all residents of that state from revenues obtained from the oil beneath the ground.

    In Imperial Valley, the actual ownership of the lithium is complex, involving a mix of privately owned subsurface rights, public lease rights obtained by companies and public rights held by the regional water district to whom companies will pay royalties.

    Given the ownership complexities and the desire to benefit as development takes place, local authorities and community organizations persuaded the state in 2022 to pass a per-metric-ton lithium tax to address local needs.

    Controlled Thermal Resources CEO Rod Colwell, right, walks near the Salton Sea with a colleague.
    AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

    That “flat tax” was bitterly resisted by some in the emerging industry on the grounds that it could make Imperial Valley’s less-polluting extraction method too costly to compete with environmentally damaging imports; after the vote, CTR’s CEO called the legislators “clowns.” Meanwhile, CTR has also agreed to hire union workers in the construction phase. Everyone – companies, communities and government officials – is struggling to balance economic viability with accountability.

    Lessons for a just transition

    The hesitance of low-income Imperial Valley residents to immediately buy into the lithium vision is deeply rooted in history.

    Decades of racial exclusion, patronizing practices and broken promises have led to deep distrust of outsiders who assert that things will be better this time.

    Irrigation at the turn of the last century was supposed to bring an agriculture boom, but the early result was a broken canal that released enough water over nearly two years of disrepair to create what is now the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea was then supposed to fuel recreational tourism, but the failure to replenish it with anything but agricultural runoff helped to kill fish, birds and recreation. A more recent scheme to attract solar farms in recent decades delivered little employment and more worries about agricultural displacement.

    You can still find old billboards promising a resort life on the Salton Sea, which today is one of the state’s most polluted lakes. Wind kicks up toxic dust when the water is low.
    Manuel Pastor

    Building the supply chain here, too

    In recent years, some people have pinned their hopes on lithium. The main site so far in Imperial Valley has been CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen. It’s a fitting moniker on summer days when temperatures regularly exceed 110 degrees.

    Ensuring that the surrounding communities benefit from this new lithium boom will require thinking about how to attract not just companies extracting the lithium but also those that will use it. So far, Imperial County has had limited success in attracting related industries. In 2023, a company named Statevolt said it would build a “gigafactory” there to assemble batteries. However, the company’s previous efforts – Britishvolt in the United Kingdom and Italvot in Italy – have stalled without any volts being produced. Imperial County will need serious suitors to make a go of it.

    A potentially promising future for modern transportation and energy storage may be brewing in Imperial Valley. But getting to a brighter future for everyone will require remembering a lesson from the past: that community investments tend to be hard-won. We believe that ensuring everyone benefits long term is essential for achieving a more inclusive and sustainable future.

    Research for the book from which this article draws was supported by the James Irvine Foundation, New Energy Nexus, the California Wellness Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. Manuel Pastor was also supported by a Residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center.

    Research for the book from which this article draws was supported by the James Irvine Foundation, New Energy Nexus, the California Wellness Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. Chris Benner was also supported by a Residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center.

    – ref. Big lithium plans for Imperial Valley, one of California’s poorest regions, raise a bigger question: Who should benefit? – https://theconversation.com/big-lithium-plans-for-imperial-valley-one-of-californias-poorest-regions-raise-a-bigger-question-who-should-benefit-238397

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Grocery stores that donate expiring food − instead of price discounting or discarding − make higher profits

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By John Lowrey, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain and Health Sciences, Northeastern University

    This new food pantry opened on Long Island in September 2024. Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images

    All major supermarkets and retailers that sell groceries, such as Kroger, Walmart and Costco, give large amounts of food to food banks and pantries. In 2022, retailers donated close to 2 billion pounds of food across the United States, which amounted to US$3.5 billion that year. The estimated value of donated food was a little less than $2 per pound in 2022.

    Retailers donate products that are typically packaged, palatable and safe for consumption, yet unsuitable for sale due to quality concerns, such as minor blemishes. Since these items can go a long way to feeding hungry people, donations represent one of the best uses of leftover or surplus food.

    Donations are also technically acts of charity, and the companies responsible for them get tax breaks. This means that donations boost profits by lowering costs. There’s a second effect of donations on a store’s bottom line: They improve the quality of food on the store’s shelves and increase revenue from food sales.

    As a supply chain scholar who studies food banks, I worked with a team of economists to estimate the effects of retail food donations. We used sales data for five perishable food categories sold by two competing retail chains, with stores located in a large, Midwestern metropolitan area. We found that stores that remove items on the brink of expiration, donate them to food banks and fill up the emptied shelf space with fresher inventory get more revenue from sales and earn higher profits.

    Retailers donate 30% of what food banks give their clients

    U.S. food banks, which have been operating for more than 50 years, give away over 6 billion pounds of food annually.

    They get about 30% of that food for free from supermarkets and big-box retailers that sell groceries. Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers supplied more than twice as much food to food banks than the federal government did. The volume of food supplied by federal programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program, have steadily increased since 2020, to now almost match the volume of food donated by retailers.

    In 2022, for example, the network of more than 200 Feeding America member food banks procured about 2 billion pounds from retailers and almost 1.5 billion pounds from government programs.

    The remaining 2.88 billion pounds of food were either purchased directly, provided by farmers, donated by food processing companies or donated by people and organizations in local communities.

    Despite several federal programs that help low-income people get food and the nation’s robust network of food banks and food pantries, nearly 50 million Americans are experiencing food insecurity. That means they can’t get enough nutritious food to eat at least some of the time.

    Retail donation routines are established but inconsistent

    When food on a store’s shelves is on the verge of expiration, store managers have three options. They can donate or discard it, or sell it at a discount.

    Stores that regularly donate food have established routines for when they set aside about-to-expire food to give away. However, these routines are often inconsistent.

    Many stores donate only on a seasonal basis or just give away certain kinds of food. For example, they might donate only meat, baked goods or fruits and vegetables. In many cases, donations take a backseat to more immediate priorities, such as customer service.

    Those realities can increase the likelihood that food will land at the dump instead of on somebody’s table.

    Although millions of Americans struggle to find their next meal, close to 40% of food gets thrown out along the supply chain, as food moves between agricultural producers, factories, retailers and consumers. This is largely due to logistical challenges: It’s hard to transport and distribute highly perishable food.

    Discounted meat is displayed at a San Rafael, Calif., grocery store in September 2024.
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Discounts on food can undercut sales

    Stores often prefer to sell food on the brink of expiration at a discount rather than donate it or throw it out due to the money they recoup that way. This option, however, also keeps the discounted food on the shelf, where it takes up valuable space that could otherwise hold fresher inventory.

    Shelf space dedicated to the sale and promotion of full-priced products competes with that for price-discounted food. Stocking perishable foods that are starting to look iffy – such as bananas with brown spots sold alongside unblemished yellow bananas – could harm a retailer’s image if shoppers start to question the store’s quality.

    In other words, if consumers make judgments based on all the produce that’s on display, then it may be better for stores if they don’t sell sad-looking bananas and instead just give them away.

    My research team calls this practice “preemptive removal.” Increasing the average quality level of food on display does more than improve a store’s appearance. We used panel data with over 20,000 observations, and we included 21 retail stores that compete in a similar market geography. The five fresh food categories were bakery, dairy, deli, meat and produce.

    Stores that donated food, instead of discounting it, may have made better use of the limited room to display fresher inventory. My research team found that food donations can increase average food prices by up to 1%, which corresponds to a 33% increase in profit margins. Profit margins for supermarkets and other food retailers are quite low and typically hover below 3%.

    That means even a small increment in food prices, even a 1% bump up, can translate into significantly higher profits for retailers. At the same time, increasing the volume of retail food donations would get more food to people who need it, limit hunger and reduce food insecurity.

    Prof Lowrey has consulted with several Feeding America member Food Banks on procurement and food-distribution-related supply chain projects. He has also served on an advisory board to the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, focused on supply chain responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the emergency feeding network. His research has been funded by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (National Institute for Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture).

    – ref. Grocery stores that donate expiring food − instead of price discounting or discarding − make higher profits – https://theconversation.com/grocery-stores-that-donate-expiring-food-instead-of-price-discounting-or-discarding-make-higher-profits-234998

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Get a grant to study in the UAE

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    The Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education informs about the start of accepting applications for a grant for training in higher education programs – bachelor’s programs, master’s programs, postgraduate programs (doctoral studies), as well as for Arabic language courses at the Mohammed bin Zayed University for the Humanities (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates).

    Russian students interested in learning Arabic are eligible to participate. The University provides grants for the following programs: Arabic language courses (30 places), and bachelor’s, master’s, and postgraduate programs (15 places).

    Information about the programs is posted on the website of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Center for the Development of Education and International Activities (Interobrazovanie)” in the section “Academic Mobility – Programs”.

    All interested candidates should contact the International Cooperation Department of the State University of Management at ab_kasatkina@guu.ru by October 10, 2024.

    The competitive procedure is carried out by the Emirates side. For questions regarding participation in the programs, please contact Rashid Alminhali, Head of the Protocol Department at Mohammed bin Zayed University for Humanities and Sciences, at the email address: rashed.almenhali@mbzuh.ac.ae.

    The deadline for submitting documents is October 20, 2024.

    Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 09/26/2024

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

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

    Get a grant to study in the UAE

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A graduate of the State University of Management is among the best athletes of Russia in BMX sports

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    A graduate of the Department of Management in the Sports and Fitness Industry of the IOM GUU, Alexander Katyshev, repeatedly takes the top step of the podium at BMX competitions.

    This summer, Alexander won four gold medals at the Russian BMX Championship and became the winner of several stages of the Russian Cup.

    “Every year the level of competitions grows, and I want to thank everyone involved in the creation and implementation of such a great event,” the athlete shared on his page.

    In September, the GUU graduate once again added to his stock of gold medals by taking first place at the IX stage of the Russian Cup.

    We congratulate Alexander on his well-deserved awards and wish him further victories and outstanding achievements!

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 09/26/2024

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

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

    A graduate of the State University of Management is among the best athletes of Russia in BMX sports

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: AUT design students have renewed their own backyard

    Source: Auckland Council

    St Paul Street has been upgraded by the people who use it most – students of AUT.

    It’s the first of two semi-permanent street upgrades enabled by Auckland Council, which give design students the chance to influence the renewal of a street in their own neighbourhood.

    The redesign of St Paul Street in the city centre’s Learning Quarter, by AUT spatial design students from the Master of Design programme, is now in place.

    Last year Claire Davis, Principal – Urban Design from Auckland Council’s Tāmaki Makaurau Design Ope (TMDO), joined creative forces with the Material Imaginaries Research Collective at AUT. The task was for students to collaboratively develop a concept design for a new St Paul Street installation, replacing the existing equipment.

    An initial trial helped show how students and staff used the street and what activities needed to be provided for. This month council contractors delivered their innovative, semi-permanent solution, keeping the scope and budget to a ‘no dig’, low disruption execution.

    Waitematā Local Board Chair Genevieve Sage is pleased to see Auckland’s next generation of urban designers has helped shape their university environments.

    “It means we’re creating uni neighbourhoods that better reflect the everyday needs of students and staff, and we’re also giving future spatial designers and planners real world experience as they begin their careers,” she says.

    The students’ design for St Paul Street is anchored by two main elements: a ‘wandering line’ and a series of bench seats. The wandering line echoes the line of the Rangipuke ridge meeting the upper stream of Te Waihorotiu, re-enacting the slow pooling motion of waterways that were once present in the area. Concrete benches rise and fall in wave-like forms.

    “Working on a live, quick-response project in collaboration with Auckland Council was a great way to ground our research students’ practice-based inquiries,” says Dr Carl Douglas, Head of Department at AUT University.

    “Taking part in the St Paul Street project has been an invaluable experience for me. The project provided opportunities to collaborate with various real-life professionals, and as one of the main users of St Paul Street, I enjoyed contributing to the street’s vision to become a more pedestrian-friendly place,” says participating AUT student Emma Choi. 

    Alfred Street

    In a second design school partnership, a group of third year planning students from the University of Auckland are working on concepts for the renewal of Alfred Street.

    Auckland Council’s design team (TMDO) collaborated with the Architecture & Planning School at the University of Auckland to build a concept for the next phase of the Alfred Street project, replacing the temporary plastic planters.  

    Their brief was to create a medium-term, people-focused, healthy and biodiverse streetscape while delivering a lighter, quicker, cheaper execution.

    In April, twelve student groups presented their concept designs to a panel of teaching staff and Auckland Council guest critics. The TMDO will review the student presentations and consolidate them into one streetscape design to be taken forward through detailed design and implementation.

    “Our students have described this project as enlightening and enjoyable.  It is fantastic for the students to get to work on a real-world solution and work with not only creativity but also constraints. I hope that we can continue this collaboration further,” says Zoe Avery, University of Auckland Associate Director of Design.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer Delivers Remarks at the 2024 Hate Crimes Grantee Conference

    Source: United States Attorneys General 13

    Thank you, Liz Ryan, for that introduction and thank you also to Director Karhlton Moore and the Bureau of Justice Assistance for putting together this week’s conference. This inaugural conference has brought together grantees of the Justice Department’s hate crime grants, which includes law enforcement agencies, states, community-based organizations, and national civil rights organizations, for important discussions on best practices for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, supporting victims of hate, and preventing hate crimes and hate incidents.

    I also want to take a moment to thank Houston Police Department Senior Officer Jamie Byrd-Grant, daughter of James Byrd Jr., and Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard, for being part of this week’s conference and for their strength and advocacy for so many years after the murder of their loved ones.

    I remember vividly when both of those heinous crimes were committed in 1998. I was almost exactly the same age as Matthew and, like him, was a young gay man living in a small college town. So Matthew’s murder in particular struck a fearful chord in me.

    But thanks to the Byrd and Shepard families’ commitment, and the advocacy of many people in this room, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act 15 years ago. That law gave the Justice Department some of the most important tools it has today.

    So we can both acknowledge how far we have come in the last 26 years but also recognize how much more needs to be done to make sure everyone feels safe in this country.

    The latest FBI hate crime statistics released on Monday demonstrate just how much work remains to do. There were a record number of hate crimes in 2023, and we know that hate crimes are underreported. Nearly 30% of all reported hate crimes were anti-Black or African American. Anti-Latino hate crimes increased from 2022, and there was a record number of hate crimes because of the victim’s sexual orientation. There were also a record number of anti-Arab and anti-Jewish hate crimes, with increases of 34% and 63% respectively, and anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 49%. Yet the numbers alone do not tell the full story. Behind each of the 11,862 hate crimes is a tragic or traumatic story of intimidation and bigotry.

    Hate crimes instill fear in communities and undermine our democracy. The Justice Department has and will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to combat hate in this country.

    That includes prosecuting those who perpetrate these terrible crimes. Earlier this month, for example, the Justice Department charged two leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that operates on the digital messaging platform Telegram, where they promote a white supremacist ideology. Among other charges, the defendants are charged with soliciting users to commit hate crimes against those in the United States and abroad that they deemed to be enemies of the white race, with the goal of igniting a race war.

    But prosecutions are not the only tool available to us to help promote public safety. We also provide financial support to communities through grants to combat hate. Those grants go to a range of recipients, including state and local law enforcement and prosecution agencies, community-based organizations, and civil rights groups.

    I am thrilled to announce that this year, the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs is awarding close to $30 million to law enforcement agencies, states, community-based organizations, and national civil rights organizations to fight the rise in hate and bias crimes and incidents. Over the last four fiscal years, the Department has given over $100 million in anti-hate crime grants, a number that demonstrates our strong commitment to this work.

    Through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Program, we are awarding nearly $12 million to local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, as well as to collaborate with community partners on outreach and education to targeted communities.

    For example, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Police Department and Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence will launch a project across the University of Colorado system. That project will educate students, faculty, and community members about hate crime prevention and intervention and train campus officials on strategies for addressing hate crimes and hate-based incidents on campus.

    The 9th Circuit State Attorney’s Office in Orlando, Florida, will use its grant funds to establish an online complaint system for hate crimes to be reported, vetted, and referred to the proper law enforcement agency. It will also provide mediation where appropriate for non-violent hate crimes and provide trauma-informed mental health services to victims of hate crimes.

    Through the Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crime Program, the Department is also awarding more than $7.6 million to 11 different community-based and civil rights organizations. That money will fund projects dedicated to developing and implementing comprehensive hate crimes prevention and response strategies.

    For example, the Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization will implement a hate crimes preparedness program for approximately 350,000 religious congregations to better prepare for and mitigate the threat from hate crimes and incidents. The No al Odio (or “No to Hate”) project will work with Hispanic communities in California to understand and report hate crimes through a comprehensive education and outreach strategy. And the Global Peace Foundation will use funds to work with Black and African immigrant populations in Maryland to train participants in conflict resolution and to build trust between diverse community members.

    To improve hate crime reporting and access to services for victims, the Department is awarding $1.1 million under the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act State-Run Hate Crime Reporting Hotlines. That funding, awarded to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, will support the launch of its statewide hate crimes and bias incidents hotline by investing in partnerships with LGBTQI+, Latino, Black, immigrant, and refugee organizations.

    Both California and Illinois received hate crime reporting hotline grants in FY2022, and both states now have active hotlines for victims to report incidents in multiple languages, speak to trained professionals, and seek support and trauma-informed services.

    Also through Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act funding, the Department is providing $2.5 million to its research and analysis project that evaluates FBI crime data and hate crime reporting patterns within and across states, as well the variation among state laws on hate crimes. The Department is also providing $650,000 to its project on NIBRS data and police service calls, with a focus on identifying hate crimes.

    And through the Emmett Till Cold Case Investigation and Prosecution Program, we are awarding $1 million to the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (D.A.’s Office) to continue its work identifying, researching, and cataloguing Jim Crow cold case homicides, as well as unsolved homicides of LGBTQI+ victims, particularly those killed during the late 1970s.

    Through a previous grant under this program, the D.A.’s Office is investigating nearly 175 racial terror homicides in New Orleans and over 300 cases statewide.

    In addition to these grants, the Department is also combating hate by supporting resource centers. This includes the launch of a new Coordinated Hate Crimes Resource Center through a $2.7 million award to RTI and its subrecipients, the Eradicate Hate Global Summit and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The Resource Center will serve as a hub for resources, training, and education, and it will support practitioners who are countering hate crimes and supporting victims in local, state, federal, and Tribal jurisdictions across the nation.

    Additionally, in June, through funding by the Department, the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Training and Technical Assistance Program announced the launch of a website that provides resources for law enforcement, prosecutors, community groups, and the public on how to identify, investigate, prosecute, and prevent hate crimes, as well as on how to address the needs of victims and communities.

    We know that a key tool to combat hate and support victims of hate crimes and incidents is research. To that end, the Department is providing over $2.5 million in funding for three research projects to advance the understanding of law enforcement responses to hate crimes and the needs of survivors and survivor communities. The studies will generate new information to improve specialized law enforcement bias crime units, the use of LGTBQI+ liaison units to respond to anti-transgender hate crimes, and outcomes for survivors of hate crimes and their communities.

    This research will also lead to the development of recommendations and guidance to help practitioners and policymakers improve responses to hate crimes.

    In addition to these new grant awards, I am pleased to announce two new trainings. First, the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is releasing a new Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying Prevention Curriculum, designed for middle and high school-aged youth and the teachers, counselors, and others who work with them.

    The curriculum was informed by 19 roundtable discussions with youth across seven states, along with pilot testing in many communities. It is designed to empower young people to change attitudes and behaviors and make them less likely to engage in or be victimized by hate crimes or bullying.

    The curriculum is also designed to educate adults who work with youth about the potential use of online technologies to break down cultural barriers and bias. The Department is dedicated to continuing to provide more resources to address hate crimes, bias incidents, and bullying among youth. You are going to hear more about the training from Director Ryan momentarily.

    Second, the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (or the COPS Office) is launching a new training on investigating hate crimes. That training was developed in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other subject matter experts. It builds on the training the COPS Office released in 2022 on recognizing and reporting hate crimes aimed at line-level officers. Both trainings can be requested at no cost by state and local agencies.

    I have touched on the importance of the Justice Department’s prosecutions, grants, and trainings to combat hate. Another critical pillar to our work is our engagement with the communities we serve. The Department’s Community Relations Service (or CRS) is working with communities across the country who are victimized by hate crimes and hate incidents. Using facilitated dialogues and programs, CRS is in communities responding to threats of violence against community members because of who they are and where they are from.

    CRS is also involved in many of the United Against Hate Programs that the Justice Department launched in all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. Those programs connect federal, state, and local law enforcement with communities to increase community understanding and reporting of hate crimes, build trust between communities and law enforcement, and create stronger alliances to prevent and combat hate crimes.

    Over the past two years, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, in close partnership with FBI, CRS, and the Civil Rights Division, have held over 550 United Against Hate events nationwide with over 18,500 participants. Just yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the FBI Office here in Birmingham hosted a United Against Hate symposium at Alabama A&M University for students and faculty.

    As the many programs and tools I have mentioned today underscore, the Justice Department remains committed to combating and preventing hate crimes and incidents. The partnerships that we have built across the country and continue to build with everyone here this week are indispensable to that work. I am grateful to stand with you as we work together to reject bigotry used to justify hate-fueled threats and violence and attempts to divide us. We are stronger together. Every person deserves to feel safe in their communities, and we will continue to fight back against hate in all its forms.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: China issues guidelines to promote employment

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Students attend a job fair at Tsinghua University in Beijing, capital of China, March 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
    The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have unveiled a set of guidelines to promote high-quality and sufficient employment by implementing the employment-first strategy.
    According to the guidelines, efforts should be made to create more high-quality jobs, including transforming and upgrading traditional industries, fostering and strengthening emerging industries, developing future industries and accelerating the development of advanced manufacturing clusters.
    Measures should be taken to expand new employment spaces in the digital economy, create more new jobs related to green industries and cultivate new growth points of employment by developing the silver economy, the guidelines state.
    They urge efforts to tackle structural unemployment, such as improving the system of lifelong vocational training.
    They call for refining the targeted and effective public services system for employment and the system of providing employment support for key groups, as well as optimizing the system for supporting self-employment and flexible employment.
    The guidelines also stress the promotion of reasonable increases in people’s remuneration for labor and expanding the coverage of social insurance.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Win for SA sport with new SASI up and running

    Source: University of South Australia

    26 September 2024

    UniSA’s Prof Jon Buckley and Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing Katrine Hildyard with SASI athletes.

    South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) athletes have had a first look at their new, state-of-the-art Mile End facility, ahead of operations commencing next week.
     
    The nearly $90 million SASI build has been designed to give South Australian and SA-based athletes a competitive edge, featuring nation-leading spaces including:

    • Strength and conditioning gym, fit with five lane synthetic turf testing space (three lanes are 60 metres and two lanes are 40 metres) and anti-gravity treadmill.
    • Environmental chamber for athlete testing under a range of temperature, hypoxic and humidity conditions.
    • Full sized indoor sprung timber court and half court movement studio, designed for instant performance analysis under individual and team modes.
    • Ergometer training space, home to the SASI rowing and canoe/kayak programs.
    • Physiology laboratory and athlete health rooms, fit out for our allied health partners.
    • Athlete recovery centre, complete with athlete nutrition zone.
    • Biomechanics and exercise physiology laboratories fit for our allied health partners and for students to learn about the role that forces play in movement and physiological responses to exercise and training.

    The Malinauskas Government has invested $68 million towards the development, which provides a world-class sport, research and education hub to high performance athletes, coaches and university students.

    UniSA Prof Jon Buckley and SASI athlete and weightlifter Callum Thomas

    Project partner UniSA has contributed a further $20 million for capital costs, which will see the UniSA Sports Science Hub open on the second floor in the coming months, with high performance sport science laboratories and teaching spaces for students undertaking a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
     
    The building will also be home to the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, which was instrumental in the design and building process, working alongside COX Architecture and Hansen Yuncken.
     
    The new facility launches as one of the best high-performance sports precincts in the country. Its Mile End location sits right on the doorstep of Adelaide’s CBD, and is co-located with the pioneering National Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, upgraded SA Athletics Stadium, and the SA Netball Centre.
     
    The Mile End sports precinct is set to be a drawcard for international sports teams with world-renowned organisations having already expressed their interest in basing themselves in Adelaide to use these amenities.
     
    A SASI open day event will be held early next year where members of the public will be invited to come along and take a tour of the new facility.
     
    Quotes attributable to Katrine Hildyard
     
    Through this remarkable new SASI, our Government is proudly ensuring South Australia is at the forefront of world-class sport performance and research, and empowering more athletes to chase their sporting dreams.
     
    The new SASI and its state-of-the-art features will be a key site in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Games and beyond, supporting the work of our South Australian athletes and coaches and also attracting national and international teams to Adelaide.
     
    This almost $90 million development is a key part of the brilliant sporting precinct we are developing at Mile End with our National Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, upgraded Athletics Stadium and soon to be redeveloped SA Netball Centre all neighbours.
     
    We know that the new SASI will enable every athlete who uses this facility to have the best possible support around them as they strive to realise their ambition to compete at the highest level.
     
    Quotes attributable to SASI Director Keren Faulkner
     
    SASI’s new home in Mile End is something I am extremely proud of where we will help athletes develop into the best version of themselves, both in their sporting pursuits and in their everyday lives.
     
    As an organisation that is at the heart of South Australia’s sporting success, I’m thrilled that this space has been designed to be inclusive and support every type of elite athlete.
     
    It will also enable our coaches and staff to power greatness in their work where we’ve always had a world class team and now, we have the facilities to match this – the sky’s the limit in terms of what we can achieve.
     
    Our partnership with UniSA will also give us great opportunities to promote the way research, science and academia can work together with sport.
     
    Quotes attributable to UniSA Professor Jon Buckley, Executive Dean: UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance Academic Unit
     
    UniSA is very pleased to partner with the State Government and South Australian Sports Institute in this world-class development.
     
    The collaboration draws upon the expertise of SASI and UniSA to dually advance the preparation of high-performance athletes and educate the elite sports workforce of the future.

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi congratulates Communication University of China on 70th founding anniversary

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, Sept. 26 — Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended congratulations to the faculty, students and alumni of the Communication University of China on its 70th founding anniversary.

    In a reply letter to its faculty and students, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on the university to cultivate more high-caliber journalism and communication professionals.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Giving feedback is a skill: 3 tips on how to do it well for students

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Martina van Heerden, Senior Lecturer in English for Educational Development, University of the Western Cape

    It can be difficult to tell someone what you think of their work, even if you mean well and even if you think they’re doing a good job. Sometimes the person doesn’t understand what you mean, or doesn’t respond the way you’d hoped. Feedback should contribute to learning, but you might sometimes wonder if it’s any use at all. South African university lecturer Martina van Heerden studied the art of giving feedback to students in higher education. Her insights and three top tips are useful for effective communication in many areas of life.

    Why did you decide to study feedback?

    As a tutor, I initially did not get training on how to give feedback to students on their essays. After a while, I started thinking more about what exactly I was trying to say and do with my feedback. For example, if I told a student “your argument lacks depth”, was I just telling the to make a stronger argument in this essay, or was there a “deeper message”?

    So, in my PhD, I explored “what lies beneath” our feedback. What I found is that often feedback has very specific messages for students, largely about what is valued in a particular context; what the student is expected to know in that discipline.

    Feedback is a big concern in higher education globally. It is fairly well researched and most research identifies various problems with it. Students don’t seem to take up the feedback, or there are different understandings of its purpose, or it’s not as effective as it should be because of academic language and conventions. The blame tends to be put on students.

    I wondered if the problem lay instead with how educators approach and give feedback.

    Focusing on English literature studies, I analysed written comments given to first year students and worked with the tutors giving the feedback. English literature is a tricky discipline to give feedback in as it involves balancing language, literature and academic literacy aspects. Focusing too much on one aspect in feedback could mislead students.

    What did you find?

    There was a bit of misalignment between the purpose and the practice of feedback.

    Ideally, the underlying message of feedback in literature studies should be to develop students’ ability to think critically and analytically about texts. It could do this, for example, by asking questions that stimulate thinking around the topics and themes of the text (rather than asking students to merely provide more information on it).

    Most of the feedback in my study, however, focused on correcting surface-level errors like grammar and spelling. Although there is nothing wrong with this in itself, it could mislead students about what is valued in the discipline.

    Feedback is often quite frustrating for both students and educators – both research and practice wisdom attest to this. Educators are frustrated because students don’t seem to learn from feedback, and students are frustrated because they are getting what they feel is unhelpful feedback. These are global concerns. There is a big discrepancy between how useful educators and students perceive feedback to be.

    My work and other research highlights the importance of seeing feedback as a literacy – that is, as a skill – that needs to be developed deliberately.

    Too often, it is assumed that educators will know how to give effective feedback, or it is assumed that students will know what to do with feedback. But a lot of the time, they don’t – we go by our instincts and what is perhaps easier to identify and correct. For feedback to actually “feed forward” – beyond a specific essay or task – the skill needs to be developed.

    How can people give better feedback?

    I recommend asking yourself three questions:

    1.) What do I want to achieve with my feedback? Ask yourself if you just want to help students pass this essay or do well in this task, or if you want them to learn something. If they need to learn something, what should they learn?

    2.) How understandable is my feedback language? The language of feedback may be steeped in academic, professional, or industry terms which you take for granted. Or you may have developed your own feedback shorthand. This might be easy for you to understand – you’re the one writing it – but that doesn’t mean a student will. So, ask yourself whether someone who is not you would understand your feedback.

    3.) What do I want my students to do with my feedback? Too often, comments don’t really give students guidance on what to do. Correcting errors and making statements about students’ work takes agency and action away from students. Using questions and suggestions means that students become more active in the feedback process.

    Feedback is important for learning and development. Too often, though, it becomes another obstacle that has to be overcome. Useful, clear, actionable feedback can help students become better writers, researchers, thinkers and scholars.

    Martina van Heerden is a member of the South African Association of Academic Literacy Practitioners.

    – ref. Giving feedback is a skill: 3 tips on how to do it well for students – https://theconversation.com/giving-feedback-is-a-skill-3-tips-on-how-to-do-it-well-for-students-240572

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Giving feedback is a skill: 3 tips on how to do it well for students

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Martina van Heerden, Senior Lecturer in English for Educational Development, University of the Western Cape

    It can be difficult to tell someone what you think of their work, even if you mean well and even if you think they’re doing a good job. Sometimes the person doesn’t understand what you mean, or doesn’t respond the way you’d hoped. Feedback should contribute to learning, but you might sometimes wonder if it’s any use at all. South African university lecturer Martina van Heerden studied the art of giving feedback to students in higher education. Her insights and three top tips are useful for effective communication in many areas of life.

    Why did you decide to study feedback?

    As a tutor, I initially did not get training on how to give feedback to students on their essays. After a while, I started thinking more about what exactly I was trying to say and do with my feedback. For example, if I told a student “your argument lacks depth”, was I just telling the to make a stronger argument in this essay, or was there a “deeper message”?

    So, in my PhD, I explored “what lies beneath” our feedback. What I found is that often feedback has very specific messages for students, largely about what is valued in a particular context; what the student is expected to know in that discipline.

    Feedback is a big concern in higher education globally. It is fairly well researched and most research identifies various problems with it. Students don’t seem to take up the feedback, or there are different understandings of its purpose, or it’s not as effective as it should be because of academic language and conventions. The blame tends to be put on students.

    I wondered if the problem lay instead with how educators approach and give feedback.

    Focusing on English literature studies, I analysed written comments given to first year students and worked with the tutors giving the feedback. English literature is a tricky discipline to give feedback in as it involves balancing language, literature and academic literacy aspects. Focusing too much on one aspect in feedback could mislead students.

    What did you find?

    There was a bit of misalignment between the purpose and the practice of feedback.

    Ideally, the underlying message of feedback in literature studies should be to develop students’ ability to think critically and analytically about texts. It could do this, for example, by asking questions that stimulate thinking around the topics and themes of the text (rather than asking students to merely provide more information on it).

    Most of the feedback in my study, however, focused on correcting surface-level errors like grammar and spelling. Although there is nothing wrong with this in itself, it could mislead students about what is valued in the discipline.

    Feedback is often quite frustrating for both students and educators – both research and practice wisdom attest to this. Educators are frustrated because students don’t seem to learn from feedback, and students are frustrated because they are getting what they feel is unhelpful feedback. These are global concerns. There is a big discrepancy between how useful educators and students perceive feedback to be.

    My work and other research highlights the importance of seeing feedback as a literacy – that is, as a skill – that needs to be developed deliberately.

    Too often, it is assumed that educators will know how to give effective feedback, or it is assumed that students will know what to do with feedback. But a lot of the time, they don’t – we go by our instincts and what is perhaps easier to identify and correct. For feedback to actually “feed forward” – beyond a specific essay or task – the skill needs to be developed.

    How can people give better feedback?

    I recommend asking yourself three questions:

    1.) What do I want to achieve with my feedback? Ask yourself if you just want to help students pass this essay or do well in this task, or if you want them to learn something. If they need to learn something, what should they learn?

    2.) How understandable is my feedback language? The language of feedback may be steeped in academic, professional, or industry terms which you take for granted. Or you may have developed your own feedback shorthand. This might be easy for you to understand – you’re the one writing it – but that doesn’t mean a student will. So, ask yourself whether someone who is not you would understand your feedback.

    3.) What do I want my students to do with my feedback? Too often, comments don’t really give students guidance on what to do. Correcting errors and making statements about students’ work takes agency and action away from students. Using questions and suggestions means that students become more active in the feedback process.

    Feedback is important for learning and development. Too often, though, it becomes another obstacle that has to be overcome. Useful, clear, actionable feedback can help students become better writers, researchers, thinkers and scholars.

    – Giving feedback is a skill: 3 tips on how to do it well for students
    – https://theconversation.com/giving-feedback-is-a-skill-3-tips-on-how-to-do-it-well-for-students-240572

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ChatGPT is changing the way we write. Here’s how – and why it’s a problem

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor – Information and Communications Technology, CQUniversity Australia

    Shutterstock

    Have you noticed certain words and phrases popping up everywhere lately?

    Phrases such as “delve into” and “navigate the landscape” seem to feature in everything from social media posts to news articles and academic publications. They may sound fancy, but their overuse can make a text feel monotonous and repetitive.

    This trend may be linked to the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs). These tools are designed to make writing easier by offering suggestions based on patterns in the text they were trained on.

    However, these patterns can lead to the overuse of certain stylistic words and phrases, resulting in works that don’t closely resemble genuine human writing.

    The rise of stylistic language

    Generative AI tools are trained on vast amounts of text from various sources. As such, they tend to favour the most common words and phrases in their outputs.

    Since ChatGPT’s release, the use of words such as “delves”, “showcasing”, “underscores”, “pivotal”, “realm” and “meticulous” has surged in academic writing.

    And although most of the research has looked specifically at academic writing, the stylistic language trend has appeared in various other forms of writing, including student essays and school applications. As one application editor told Forbes, “tapestry” is a particularly common offending term in cases where AI was used to write a draft:

    I no longer believe there’s a way to innocently use the word ‘tapestry’ in an essay; if the word ‘tapestry’ appears, it was generated by ChatGPT.

    Why it’s a problem

    The overuse of certain words and phrases leads to writing losing its personal touch. It becomes harder to distinguish between individual voices and perspectives and everything takes on a robotic undertone.

    Also, words such as “revolutionise” or “intriguing” – while they might seem like they’re giving you a more polished product – can actually make writing harder to understand.

    Stylish and/or flowery language doesn’t communicate ideas as effectively as clear and straightforward language. Beyond this, one study found simple and precise words not only enhance comprehension, but also make the writer appear more intelligent.

    Lastly, the overuse of stylistic words can make writing boring. Writing should be engaging and varied; relying on a few buzzwords will lead to readers tuning out.

    There’s currently no research that can give us an exact list of the most common stylistic words used by ChatGPT; this would require an exhaustive analysis of every output ever generated. That said, here’s what ChatGPT itself presented when asked the question.

    Possible solutions

    So how can we fix this? Here are some ideas:

    1. Be aware of repetition

    If you’re using a tool such as ChatGPT, pay attention to how often certain words or phrases come up. If you notice the same terms appearing again and again, try switching them out for simpler and/or more original language. Instead of saying “delve into” you could just say “explore”, or “look at it closely”.

    2. Ask for clear language

    Much of what you get out of ChatGPT will come down to the specific prompt you give it. If you don’t want complex language, try asking it to “write clearly, without using complex words”.

    3. Edit your work

    ChatGPT can be a helpful starting point for writing many different types of text, but editing its outputs remains important. By reviewing and changing certain words and phrases, you can still add your own voice to the output.

    Being creative with synonyms is one way to do this. You could use a thesaurus, or think more carefully about what you’re trying to communicate in your text – and how you might do this in a new way.

    4. Customise AI settings

    Many AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Claude allow you to adjust the writing style through settings or tailored prompts. For example, you can prioritise clarity and simplicity, or create an exclusion list to avoid certain words.

    By being more mindful of how we use generative AI and making an effort to write with clarity and originality, we can avoid falling into the AI style trap.

    In the end, writing should be about expressing your ideas in your own way. While ChatGPT can help, it’s up to each of us to make sure we’re saying what we really want to – and not what an AI tool tells us to.

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

    – ref. ChatGPT is changing the way we write. Here’s how – and why it’s a problem – https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-is-changing-the-way-we-write-heres-how-and-why-its-a-problem-239601

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Sun Dong attends automotive summit

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong attended automotive supply chain meetings in Wuhan, Hubei Province today.

    In the morning, Prof Sun attended the 2024 China Automotive Supply Chain Conference & the Third China Intelligent Networked New Energy Vehicle Ecological Conference organised by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Dongfeng Motor Corporation, as well as the launch ceremony of the International Automotive & Supply Chain (Hong Kong) Summit and the 2025 International Automotive & Supply Chain Expo (Hong Kong).

    Speaking at the conference, Prof Sun said that the automobile industry has entered the new energy era, making it an emerging industry under new industrialisation. In the Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Development Blueprint, new energy vehicles is one of the significant industries advocated for development under new industrialisation.

    He added that over the past two years or so, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attracted over 100 strategic innovation and technology (I&T) enterprises to set up their businesses in Hong Kong, including BeyonCa, a joint enterprise established earlier in the city by today’s event co-organiser Dongfeng Motor Corporation and France’s Renault Group.

    The tech chief also expressed confidence that Hong Kong can make new contributions to the innovative development of the national supply chain of the new energy vehicle industry, thereby augmenting the new advantages of Chinese vehicle brands.

    At the Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Prof Sun learnt about its latest developments, product planning and corporate culture. He also had in-depth exchanges with the corporation’s Chairman Yang Qing on its development of new quality productive forces in the future and potential co-operation opportunities between the two parties in aspects such as new industrialisation.

    He particularly hoped that both sides’ collaboration on BeyonCa setting up in Hong Kong would serve to demonstrate their co-operation with each other.

    During a tour of the assembly final workshop at the corporation’s Mengshi Tech Intelligent Park, Prof Sun experienced the functionality and performance of the latest domestic high-end off-road electric vehicles.

    In the afternoon, he visited Wuhan FineMEMS to gain an understanding of the national high technology enterprise’s research and development, and products in providing Microelectromechanical Systems sensors, and metallic thick film pressure sensors and system.

    Prof Sun then proceeded to the Wuhan University to exchange views with its leaders and experts, as well as other local higher education institutions, the Hubei Provincial Government’s Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office, Hubei Province’s Department of Science & Technology and high-tech enterprises.

    The tech chief expressed his support for deepening I&T co-operation among higher education institutions between the two places.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: GUU takes part in events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    From September 19 to 20, the International Scientific and Practical Conference “On the Road of Struggle and Achievements: for the 75th Anniversary of the Formation of the PRC and the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Russia and China” was held in St. Petersburg.

    Director of the Center for Socio-Economic and Political Research of China at the National University of Management Fanis Sharipov made a presentation at the plenary session on the program “International Manufacturing Business”. This is a dual degree program of the National University of Management and Ningbo University (PRC), which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

    The next day, Fanis Sharipov became the moderator of the section “International Relations and Foreign Policy of the PRC in a Changing World”, and also gave a report “The Space Silk Road”.

    The conference was organized by the Regional Office of the Interregional Public Organization “Russian-Chinese Friendship Society” in St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg State University of Economics with the support of the A.M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.

    On September 27, the Director of the Center for Socio-Economic and Political Research of China at the State University of Management will attend a gala reception at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China.

    And on September 30, 2024, a Gala Evening dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, the 75th anniversary of Russian-Chinese diplomatic relations and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese-Russian Friendship Society will be held in the Rossiya Cinema building.

    The Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation I.I. Melnikov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Russian Federation Zhang Hanhui will speak at the ceremonial meeting. After the speeches, the guests will enjoy a concert by the N.V. Osipov Folk Instruments Orchestra, soloists of the A.V. Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble, as well as musicians from the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

    Organizers of the event: Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia.

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

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

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

    GUU takes part in events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of academic freedom – HKSAR Government rejects the baseless smears by the so-called Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Democracy Council

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) stated today (September 25) that it strongly condemned and rejected the report on the academic freedom of Hong Kong published by the so-called Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Democracy Council yesterday (September 24). The content of the report are all maliciously smears and sweeping remarks. The HKSAR Government must point out its errors to set the record straight.

         A spokesman for the HKSAR Government stressed, “The fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents have all along been guaranteed at the constitutional level by the Basic Law. HKSAR’s laws to safeguard national security attach special importance to human rights. Both the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL) and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) have clearly stipulated that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the HKSAR and that the rights and freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall be protected in accordance with the law. Any measures or enforcement actions taken under the relevant laws must observe the above principle.

         “After the implementation of the HKNSL, Hong Kong residents continue to enjoy various rights and freedoms, including the freedom of academic research, literary and artistic creation and other cultural activities, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. According to Article 137 of the Basic Law, educational institutions of all kinds may retain their autonomy and enjoy academic freedom. Hong Kong residents can exercise their freedom of expression legitimately, including criticising government policies or decisions made by officials.

         “The offences stipulated in the NSL and the SNSO clearly define their elements, penalties, exceptions and defences. These laws actively prevent, suppress and punish acts and activities that endanger national security, in accordance with the principle of the rule of law. Additionally, they target an extremely small minority of people and organisations that pose a threat to national security, while protecting the lives and property of the public. Law-abiding people including students, scholars, and other academics will not engage in acts and activities that endanger national security and will not unwittingly violate the law, and therefore have no reason to be worried.”

         The spokesman said, “We noticed that most of the interviewees of the so-called report have used pseudonyms, which is a tactics frequently adopted by anti-China forces, making it difficult to ascertain if the interviewees truly exist. Therefore, the authenticity and credibility of the so-called report is questionable.”

         As regard to the so-called report containing fabricated content and irresponsible remarks saying that academic freedom has declined in Hong Kong, the spokesman stressed, “Academic freedom is an important social value treasured in Hong Kong and the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s higher education sector. The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to upholding academic freedom and institutional autonomy, which are both enshrined in the Basic Law. These safeguards are clear and specific, and their effectiveness has never changed. Since the implementation of the NSL, academics or post-secondary education institutions in Hong Kong continue to conduct normal exchange activities between their foreign or external counterparts.”

         The spokesman said, “National security is essential for the prosperity and stability of society as well as for its people to live and work in peace and contentment. Without security and stability, there is no way to talk about anything. We should not forget the painful experiences Hong Kong endured in 2019, including the riots in campuses that severely disrupted normal teaching and academic research.”

         The spokesman stressed, “Enacting laws safeguarding national security fully aligns with the principles of international law, international practice and common practice adopted in various countries and regions. It is both necessary and legitimate. The HKNSL and SNSO complement each other, providing a strong framework for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong. This allows all sectors, especially higher education, to flourish in a safe and stable environment, enabling scholars and students to pursue their studies and research in a stable, secure, and inclusive setting.

         “The HKSAR Government is committed to developing Hong Kong into an international education hub and will continue to work closely with the higher education sector in capitalising on Hong Kong’s strengths. Through various key initiatives, the Government will support expansion and quality enhancement of institutions, promote academic exchanges and research collaborations, and promote a more diversified campus culture, so as to enhance the competitiveness of the institutions and students in the globalised environment.

         “In fact, over the years, Hong Kong’s publicly-funded universities have continued to be highly rated in international rankings and among the best in Asia. In the World University Rankings 2025 published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an international higher education organisation, five publicly-funded universities have stayed in the world’s top 100, highlighting that Hong Kong’s universities are highly reputable in the global academic community, with excellent performances in terms of quality of teaching and research, and internationalisation, thereby attracting experts and talent from around the world. At present, four University Grants Committee-funded universities are ranked among the top 10 most internationalised universities in the world.

         “The HKSAR Government will continue to lead Hong Kong in fully focusing on development, improving people’s livelihoods, and maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of the city.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Out of step

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

    Decades of campaigning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Changing the culture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    History of failure

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

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

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

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

    External ‘security zones’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Democratic shift?

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

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

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

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



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

    Immigration was under discussion in the recent presidential debate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

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

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

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

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

    Minimising the risk of disaster

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

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

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

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

    More sustainable flood management

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

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

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

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

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

    Worldwide lessons

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

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

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

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

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

    Read Houlahan’s letter here or below.  

    Dear Postmaster General Dejoy, 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Thank you for your work to address this difficult issue.  

    Sincerely, 

    Chrissy Houlahan

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Click here for bill text.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Geography of Childhood in China: The Daily Reality of Rural Migrant Children

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

    Source: Universities – Science Po in French

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

    MIL Translation OSI

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

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

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

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

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

    _

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Meeting Danny

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

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

    Glasgow Gangs, 1968.

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

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

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

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

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

    The macho image started to fracture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

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

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

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

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

    Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage Two Winners

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

    National and Economic Security

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

    Domestic Manufacturing and Production

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

    Sustainability and Biotechnology

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

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

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

    ###

    About SBA Office of Investment and Innovation

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

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

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

    US Senate News:

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

    MIL OSI USA News –