#stakeholders welfare
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Cooperation and reciprocity are the new economics. Let's choose to build better, more inclusive narratives and enaction of economic regulation policies.
#new economics#market capitalism#cooperation#virtue#reciprocity#economics#modern economy#capitalism#labour#neoliberalism#equitable society#tending markets#inclusion#economic growth#economy is people#stakeholders welfare#choice#constructed narratives#sustainable economy#high functioning democracy#civil society#plutocrats
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How America's oligarchs lull us with the be-your-own-boss fairy tale
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#sell-job
Capitalism is a vibes-based system. Sure, we all know about Keynes's "Animal Spirits" that see "bulls" and "bears" vying to set the market's future, but beyond that, there's just a hell of a lot of narrative.
Writing for The American Prospect, Adam M Lowenstein reviews two books that tell the histories of the stories that are used to sell American capitalism to the American people – the stories that turn workers into "temporarily embarrassed millionaires":
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2024-02-16-stories-corporations-tell-williams-waterhouse-review/
The first of these books is Taming the Octopus: The Long Battle for the Soul of the Corporation, by Kyle Edward Williams, a kind of pre-history of "woke capitalism":
https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393867237
Taming is a history of the low-water marks for Big Business's reputation in America, and how each was overcome through PR campaigns that declared a turning point in which business leaders would pursue the common good, even at the expense of their shareholders' interests.
The story starts in the 1950s, when DuPont and other massive firms had gained a well-deserved reputation as rapacious profit-generation machines that "alienated workers and pushed around small businessmen, investors, and consumers." This prompted DuPont's PR chief, Harold Brayman, to write a memo called "The Attack on Bigness," where he set out a plan to sell America on a new cuddly image for corporate giants.
For Brayman, the problem was that corporate execs were too shy about telling their social inferiors about all the good that businesses did for them: "The businessman is normally reluctant to talk out loud. He frequently shuns the spotlight and is content with plugging his wares, not himself."
This was the starting gun for a charm offensive by American big business that included IBM president Thomas Watson Jr ("I think there is a world market for about five computers") going on a speaking tour organized by McKinsey & Co, where he told audiences that his company's billion dollar annual profits had convinced it to assume "responsibilities for the broader public welfare."
This set the template for a nationwide mania of "business statesmanship" that Fortune celebrated with an editorial announcing "a great transformation, of which the world as a whole is as yet unaware" that put the "profit motive…on its last leg."
Fortune then spent the next seventy years recycling this announcement, every time the tide went out on business's popularity. In 2019, Fortune platformed IBM president Ginni Rometty for an announcement that the company was orienting its priorities to the public good: "It’s a question of whether society trusts you or not. We need society to accept what it is that we do."
The occasion for Rometty's quote was a special package on the Trump tax-cuts, a trillion-dollar gift to American big business, which lobbyists for the Business Roundtable celebrated with an announcement that American capitalism would now serve "stakeholders" (not just shareholders). Fortune celebrated this "change" as "fundamental and profound."
Fast forward five years and corporate leaders are still telling stories, this time about "stakeholder capitalism" and "ESG" – the dread "woke capitalism" that has right-wing swivel-eyed loons running around, hair afire, declaring the end of capitalism.
For Williams and Lowenstein (and me), all this ESG, DEI, and responsible capitalism is just window dressing, a distraction to keep the pitchforks and torches in people's closets, and to keep the guillotines in their packaging. The right-wing is doing a mirror-world version of liberals who freak out when OpenAI claims to have built a machine that will pauperize every worker – assuming that a PR pitch is the gospel truth, and then repeating it in criticism. Criti-hype, in other words:
https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5
Think of ESG: the right is freaking out that ESG is harming shareholders by leaving hydrocarbons in the ground to appease climate-addled greenies. The reality is that ESG is barely disguised greenwashing, and it's fully compatible with burning every critter that died in the Mesozoic, Cenozoic, and lo, even the Paleozoic:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/15/sanctions-financing/#profiteers
The reason this tactic is so successful is that Americans have also been sold another narrative: that American problems are solved by American individuals as entrepreneurs and businesspeople, not as polities or as members of a union (let alone the working class!).
This is the subject of the second book Lowenstein reviews, One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America, by Benjamin Waterhouse:
https://wwnorton.com/books/one-day-ill-work-for-myself/
A keystone of American narrative capitalism is the idea that the USA is a nation of small businesspeople, Jeffersonian yeoman farmsteaders of the US economy. But even a cursory examination shows that the country is ruled – economically and politically – by very large firms.
Uber sells itself as a way to be your own boss ("No shifts. No boss. No limits.") – even though it's a system where the app is your boss, and thanks to that layer of misdirection, Uber gets to be the worst conceivable boss, while its workers have no recourse in labor law:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men
In labor fights, Uber represents itself as the champion of innumerable "small businesspeople" who drive its unlicensed taxis. In consumer protection fights, Amazon claims to be fighting for "small businesspeople" who sell on its platform. In privacy fights, Facebook claims to represent "small businesspeople" who buy its surveillance advertising.
But large firms are actively hostile to small firms, seeing them as small-fry to be rooked or destroyed (recall that when Amazon targeted small publishers for bankruptcy-level discounts, they called the program "The Gazelle Project" and Bezos told his executives to tackle these firms "the way a cheetah pursues a sickly gazelle").
Decades of this tale have produced "a profound shift from a shared belief that individuals might come together to solve problems, into a collective faith in individual effort." America's long love-affair with rugged individualism was weaponized in the 1970s by corporations seeking to shed their regulatory obligation to workers, customers, and the environment.
As with Big Tech today, the big business lobby held up mom-and-pop businesses as the true beneficiaries of deregulation, even as they knifed these firms. A telling anecdote comes from someone who worked for the Chamber of Commerce's magazine Nation's Business: when this editor pointed out that many of the magazine's subscribers were small businesspeople and asked if they could start including articles relevant to mom-and-pops, the editor in chief said, "Over my dead body."
The neoliberal era has been an unbroken string of platitudes celebrating the small business and policies that annihilate their chances against large firms. Ronald Reagan's dewy-eyed hymns to American entrepreneurship sounded nice, but what matters is that he attempted to abolish the Small Business Administration and refused to address the 20,000 attendee "White House Conference on Small Business."
In the years since, American has sacrificed its small businesses while pulling out all the stops – bailouts and tax cuts and elite bankruptcy – to keep its largest firms growing. New regulations like Dodd-Frank were neutered in the name of saving mom-and-pop shops, even though the provisions that were cut already exempted small businesses.
Today, millions of Americans are treading water in a fetid stew of LLC-poisoning, rise-and-grind, multi-level-marketing, dropshipping and gig-work, convinced that the only way to get a better life is to pull themselves up by their bootstraps:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/10/declaration-of-interdependence/
Narrative does a lot of work here. The American economy runs on bubbles, another form of narrative capitalism. Take AI, a subject I sincerely wish I could stop hearing about, not least because I'm certain that 99% of that thinking is being wasted on whatever residue remains after the bubble pops:
https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/
AI isn't going to do your job, but its narrative may convince your boss to fire you and replace you with a bot that can't do your job. Like what happened when Air Canada hired a chatbot to answer customer inquiries and it started making shit up about bereavement discounts that the company later claimed it didn't have to honor:
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/air-canada-s-chatbot-gave-a-b-c-man-the-wrong-information-now-the-airline-has-to-pay-for-the-mistake-1.6769454
This story's been all over the news for the past couple of days, but so far as I've seen, no one has pointed out the seemingly obvious inference that this chatbot probably ripped off lots of people. The victim here was extraordinarily persistent, chasing a refund for 10 weeks and then going to the regulator. This guy is a six-sigma self-advocate – which implies a whole bell-curve's worth of comparatively normal people who just ate the shit-sandwich Air Canada fed them.
The reason AI is a winning proposition for Air Canada isn't that it can do a customer service rep's job – it can't. But the AI is a layer of indirection – like the app that is the true boss of Uber drivers – that lets Air Canada demoralize the customers it steals from into walking away from their losses.
Nevertheless, the narrative that AI Will Change Everything Forever is powerful – more powerful than AI itself, that's for sure. Take this Bloomberg headline: "Nearly all wealth gained by world's rich this year comes from AI":
https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/nearly-all-wealth-gained-by-world-s-rich-this-year-comes-from-ai-124021600006_1.html
Dig in and you find even more narrative. The single largest beneficiary of AI stock gains last year was Mark Zuckerberg ($161B!). Zuck is American Narrative Capitalism's greatest practitioner: the guy who made billions peddling a series of lies, from "pivot to video" to "metaverse," leaping from one lie to the next just ahead of the mass stock-selloffs that wiped out lesser predators.
The Narrative Capitalism Cinematic Universe has a lot of side-plots like AI and entrepreneurship and woke capitalism, but its main narrative arc was articulated, ad nauseum, by Margaret Thatcher: "There is no alternative." This is the most important part of the story, the part that says it literally can't be otherwise. The only way to organize society is through markets, and the only way to organize markets is to leave them alone, no matter how much suffering they cause.
This is a baffling story, because it's so easily disproved. Zuck says the only way to have friends is to let him surveil you from asshole to appetite, even though he once ran Facebook as the privacy-forward alternative to MySpace, and promised never to spy on you:
https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1128876
Likewise, the business leaders – and their chorus of dutiful Renfields – who insist that monopoly is the natural and inevitable outcome of any market economy just handwave away the decades during which anti-monopoly enforcement actually kept most businesses from getting too big to fail and too big to jail.
I'm no champion of market efficiency – especially not as the best and final arbiter of social and economic questions – but when I hear my comrades repeating the Thatcherite claims that all forms of capitalism necessarily degrade into monopolistic quagmires, that there is no alternative, it sounds like more criti-hype.
This is a frequent point of departure during discussions of enshittification: some people dismiss the whole idea of enshittification as "just capitalism." But we had decades of digital services that either didn't degrade, or, when they did, were replaced by superior competitors with a minimum of switching costs for users who migrated from the decaying incumbent to greener pastures.
The reality is that while there are problems with all forms of capitalism, there are different kinds of capitalist problems, and some forms of capitalism are less harmful to working people and more capable of enacting and enforcing sound policy than others.
Enshittification is what happens when the constraints on the worst impulses of companies and their investors and managers are removed. When a company doesn't have competitors, when it can capture its regulators to trample our rights with impunity, when it can enlist those regulators to shut down would-be competitors who might free us from its "walled garden," and when it can fire any worker who refuses to enact harm upon the users they serve, then that company will enshittify:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel
A company can be made to treat you well, even if it is run by a wicked person who sees you as a mark to be fleeced – that mustache twirler just has to be constrained – by competition, regulation, self-help and labor. He may still hate you and wish you harm, but he won't be able to act on it.
As MLK said:
It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, religion and education will have to do that, but it can restrain him from lynching me. And I think that's pretty important also. And so that while legislation may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men. And we see this every day.
#pluralistic#narrative capitalism#oligarchy#temporarily embarrassed millionaires#late-stage capitalism#enshittification#disenshittification#vocational awe#fobazi ettarh#ai#bubbles#bubblenomics#rise and grind#Benjamin C. Waterhouse#One Day I’ll Work for Myself#Kyle Edward Williams#Taming the Octopus#woke capitalism#llcs with mfas
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The Cass Review: Cis-Supremacy in the UK's Approach to Healthcare for Trans Children
is a brilliant academic article by Dr Cal Horton, the full body of which can be found here.
For non-UK folk wondering what on earth is going on, the Cass Review is a recently released report about healthcare for trans and gender-questioning kids written entirely by cis people, the recommendations of which are being used right now to justify further restrictions on trans healthcare, including “pausing” all new prescriptions for puberty blockers in the youth gender services.
This article breaks down very thoroughly the biggest ways in which this review is dogshit and has transphobic bias baked in at the most basic level. The results section is a long (but worthwhile) read, but if you have less time, the much shorter discussion and conclusion sections summarise the results.
It's a great resource if you've vaguely heard about “this thing called the Cass Review” and want to know what its issues are but don't want to wade through hundreds of pages of transphobic dogwhistling. It's particularly useful to cite or quote if you're contacting your political representatives and want to back up your claims.* Horton is very good at stating perfectly unambiguously the massive problems with this review in ways that support trans lives and don't try to “both-sides” the issue.
*And I strongly encourage you to do so if you're in the UK; the website WriteToThem makes it very easy. This website contains useful information and a template email that is Scotland-specific, but obviously you can adapt it to fit the particular situations of the other UK nations.
Choice quotes include (highlights mine):
“Within the Cass Review anti-trans prejudice is not acknowledged as a problem or a threat to trans children. Across several reports the Cass Review centres the concerns of non-affirmative professionals, including those who do not believe in the existence of trans children. The existence of anti-trans prejudice amongst healthcare professionals is well-documented in existing literature and Cass Review reports indeed provide clear indication of professional ignorance or prejudice. However, across Cass Review reports, there is no instance where professional views on trans children are identified as ill-informed or prejudiced or are rejected from inclusion in the review. Instead, the views of ignorant or pathologising professionals seeking support for non-affirming practice with trans children are presented with sympathy. There is no parallel consideration of the rights or welfare of trans children, nor discussion of an NHS duty of care to protect trans children from being harmed by professionals who reject the validity or existence of trans lives. The Cass approach welcomes all views, including those grounded in ignorance, pathologisation or denial of the existence of trans children.”
“Pathologisation of gender diversity can be seen across Cass Review outputs. Entrenched cisnormativity and problematisation of transness leads to the Cass Review prioritising the research questions about transness that trouble cis people. The Cass Review does not centre trans community research priorities such as enhancing depathologised access to safe and effective healthcare for trans children. This leads the Cass Review into research priorities that are more philosophical than medical, questions on epidemiology of transness, aetiology or identity persistence. The Cass Review is able to step beyond (and deprioritise) the domains of effective trans healthcare for trans children, by the Review’s failure to recognise trans children as a core stakeholder group, enabling the very existence of trans children to be a valid topic of cis curiosity. Whilst the Cass Review decentres and delegitimises its core target population (trans children), their health and welfare needs are secondary to curiosity on how children came to identify as trans and whether or when they will stop.”
“The NICE evidence reviews chaired by Dr Cass both utilised an approach where only evidence like randomised controlled trials are considered high quality evidence. In a field where RCTs are recognised as infeasible and unethical, in a field where “high quality evidence” does not and may never exist, we may be left to wonder, has this evidence review really served to enlighten and inform decision making in trans healthcare? Those interested in maximising trans children’s well-being would look at all available sources of evidence, and use the best quality existing evidence to inform decision making. Instead, the absence of a type of “high quality” evidence is used by the Cass Review to conclude that “evidence on the appropriate management of children and young people with gender incongruence and dysphoria is inconclusive.” Such statements have legitimised the closure of current trans children’s healthcare services for England and Wales, with no services currently operational. [Since the publication of this article, this is also now true for Scotland.] The Cass approach places so much emphasis on uncertainties, unknowns, areas without consensus and the absence of “high quality evidence” that it can be read as an argument against affirmative healthcare for trans children. A cisnormative double standard can also be seen, where evidence-based affirmative approaches are dismissed with calls for RCT standard evidence, whilst non-affirmative theories and policies are introduced and endorsed with no or limited evidence.”
“The Cass Review overall can be considered an example of cis-ignorance, a concept recognised in trans healthcare, where “ignorance is not simply an absence of knowledge, but an epistemic practice in its own right” (Mikulak, p. 827). Mikulak recognises that “practices of ignorance are often entangled with practices of exclusion and oppression”. Cis-ignorance can be seen in the Cass Review’s decision to exclude trans expertise, in the choice to appoint leadership without experience or knowledge, and in the valuing of insights from healthcare professionals who do not even believe in the existence of trans children. Cis-ignorance is apparent in the cisnormative framing of research questions, where research on the meaning of identity or the epidemiology of transness are perceived as important research priorities, and in the erasure of trans children from the Review’s stated target group, leaving trans children’s existence a topic of debate. Cis-ignorance can be seen in the citation of discredited research, forcing affirmative researchers to continually re-dispute the same literature that has been critiqued so many times, including in peer reviewed literature, preventing the field from moving forwards. Cis-ignorance can be seen in a futile search for consensus in a polarised field, setting out (with time, resources, and establishment credentials) to reach an objective of building consensus that is doomed from the start. Cis-ignorance can be seen in the dismissal of existing knowledge, framing the whole of trans healthcare as “inconclusive,” “unknown” or risky, and in calls for infeasible and unethical RCT or blinded control studies. Observers may wonder whether cis-ignorance is intentional and abusive, or careless and ill-informed. Regardless of intent, it manifests as an exertion of cis power over trans communities, in a National Health Service that continues to fail to uphold trans people’s rights to equality in healthcare.”
Anyway, I encourage you to go read Horton's article if you have the time and inclination; it's an excellent elucidation of the major issues in a dangerous review that has the potential to make healthcare for trans people in the UK even worse than it already is.
#transgender#transphobia#trans#trans rights#trans youth#trans uk#transmasc#transfem#uk#uk news#uk politics#cass review#cass report#puberty blockers#nhs#gender affirming care#lgbt#lgbtqia#my posts
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OPINION: DiliMall: Not a Mall for All
Photo credit: Lauren Nina Andres
For decades, the UP Shopping Center (SC) was a staple for the UP community. Filled with various stores from computer shops, school supplies stores, photocopying and bookbinding services, to food stalls, and beauty parlors, among others, the SC catered well to the needs of students, faculty, staff, and even residents of the campus. However, in 2018, the well-loved SC burned down, causing vendors to be displaced and its once affordable items and reliable services to no longer be easily accessible.
After the fire, the tenants experienced difficulties with relocating and rebuilding their establishments. According to an article by ABS-CBN, the University’s Business Concession Office drew lots for the affected business owners. Those that were picked were allowed to reopen in other locations on campus, such as Vinzon’s Hall, the Food Hub next to the Fine Arts Building, the Centennial Building, and the Acacia Building, among others. Some tenants were able to rebuild at the old tennis court nearby, provided by the administration as a temporary space, and others opted to reopen in Area 2. A month later, during the 1334th Board of Regents meeting held in April 2018, former UP President Danilo Concepcion announced plans for the rehabilitation of the SC into a more modern structure. And thus, “DiliMall” was born.
The move to rebuild and rebrand the SC as DiliMall was criticized by community stakeholders because the administration’s priorities seem to be misplaced as revealed in the proposed floor plan of the structure posted by the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) last November 24, 2023. Robinsons Easymart and other known restaurants such as Mary Grace, Pancake House, and Army Navy take up the first floor, while the space given to UP vendors is found on the third floor. Not to mention, the vendors in the tennis court are at risk of being displaced once again since the space will be converted into a parking lot.
This begs the question of whether these “development plans” are truly for the benefit of the community or are merely ways for developers and businesses to capitalize on the university.
In light of this, last March 12, the “UP Not For Sale Network” was launched, consisting of various organizations namely, the USC, Shopping Center Association, UP Academic Workers Union, UP Workers Alliance, Movement for Democratic Governance, and Local College Councils. The network calls against the commercialization of DiliMall and pushes for the prioritizing of the UP Community.
DiliMall is not just the issue
DiliMall is not the first time the UP community has faced commercialization on campus. In an article by the Philippine Collegian, USC Councilor and Community Rights and Welfare Head Kristian Mendoza claimed that DiliMall is part of the implementation of the UP Master Development Plan (MDP), a land use policy approved by the Board of Regents in 2014 aiming to “proactively and systematically” develop UP’s land assets.
Before this, the UP Administration had already begun developing idle lands of the university, approving Ayala Land’s bid to convert 37.5 hectares of land into an information and technology hub in 2006—the UP Ayala Technohub.
The UP Integrated School (UPIS) community is familiar with this issue, as the old Grades 7-10 Building was replaced with the UP Town Center in 2013 by the same developer. From our 8-hectare land along Katipunan Avenue, we were moved to a building built and donated by the Ayala Corporation, a 5-structure facility with a main 4-story building, where the Narra Residence Hall once stood. The new 7-10 Building was budgeted at P180-million, from which P40-million was allotted for upgrades to the Grades 3-6 Building.
Only 10 years later, the Grades 7-12 Building is in a state of downfall, proving to be a great inconvenience and safety hazard to the UPIS community. During the Academic Year (A.Y.) 2022-2023, grades 3-12 students had to share the 3-6 Building since the structural integrity of the 7-12 Building was still being assessed. In A.Y. 2023-2024, although the 7-12 Building was cleared for use, parts of the building have been barricaded due to the degraded structure resulting in longer detours when moving from classroom to classroom and restricted movement among students, teachers, and staff.
The new Gyud Food Hub, which opened in December 2022, posed similar concerns as the development of DiliMall with failing to prioritize UP vendors that have long served the community. In this case, vendors displaced from the Main Library received a handwritten note from President Concepcion assuring them slots in the new facility. However, contrary to the administration’s promise, these vendors were not granted a space in the hub.
Moreover, the implementation of these establishments serves to exacerbate class disparity in the university by focusing on businesses catering to higher-income consumers that exclude students and lower-income community members. Again, the firms affected by the 2018 fire incident in the Shopping Center are still grappling with getting proper spaces allocated among them where established businesses have taken precedence over them.
Additionally, vendors and business owners are not the only ones being displaced by UP’s development plans, but as well as its residents. Homes and residences were demolished and claimed in accordance with the UP MDP. Some of the affected communities were Pook Village C, residents located at the UP Arboretum in 2020, and farmers from Pook Aguinaldo in 2021. These communities and families have been residing in the said areas for decades without any issues, only for them to be evicted from their homes; their livelihoods taken away to give space for “sustainable” infrastructure projects, without proper plans for relocation.
This further demonstrates how commercialization discriminates against marginalized individuals within the UP Community and society.
Additionally, the commercialization in UP Diliman may lead to the phase-out of small local businesses and vendors that have long been an integral part of the community. This greatly affects not only their livelihood but also the culture and diversity of the university’s environment.
Concerns and detractors from the UP community continue to rise towards this issue as stakeholders of the community are negatively affected and neglected by the university. Examples of affected sectors are dormitories, classrooms, and faculty buildings, all of which are experiencing problems with their space, functionality, and facilities.
It is important to maintain and improve the academic environments of UP as this will keep the university’s name, provide equal learning opportunities, liaise with the communities, and secure student wellbeing. These areas are fundamental in the institution for they facilitate learning and contribute towards its success as a top-ranked higher learning institution. To uphold the eminence that characterizes UP, we need to give priority to the conservation and upgrading of academic spaces.
Commercialization for who?
The university insists that converging with the private sector is beneficial as income generated from these rented spaces can be directed to academic and community needs. However, based on the 2016 audit report by the Commission of Audit, it is revealed that Ayala Land Inc. has 209.2-million pesos worth of unpaid obligations to UP. The amount comprises underpayments in rent income and late interest payments for the spaces at UP Technohub and UP Town Center. This raises the question as to why the university continues to commercialize its land when the previous corporation failed to keep up with its lease agreements.
Nevertheless, the university is still in dire need of other means of income. Government funding shortages can be pointed as to why the university insists on commercializing its land assets. Despite the fact that UP’s 2024 budget increased by P508-million, amounting to P24.771-billion this year, 80% of the funds were allocated for the university’s infrastructure projects. Sectors such as utility and maintenance incurred a P1.3-billion cut, and the budget for university operations was reduced for the new budgetary focus. According to an article by the Philippine Collegian, even if the funds for infrastructure were excluded, UP still suffered a P873-million cut. Additionally, P943-million will be cut for the provision of higher education services—which may result in fewer resources allocated to quality education for students. Taking all of this into account, it can be understood why commercialization may appeal to UP—as the university is getting increasingly pressured by almost all sides of its community to take action for its funding shortfalls.
Even so, our integrity as a public education and service institution must come first. It must be emphasized that UP serves as the nation’s model for quality education, and when we allow commercialization and privatization to be fostered within our institution, it may invite other educational institutions in the country to also be dependent on for-profit provisions. Reinforcing this notion, the presence of privatized businesses as stakeholders in the university may greatly influence university decisions, academic programs, and student policies.
In the end, UP must decide between prioritizing the community's interests or pursuing commercialization at the expense of its constituents. However, we’ve experienced the effects of this firsthand: the building we’ve sacrificed for profit forced us to settle for our current building–one that is deteriorating, crumbling piece by piece. We must ask ourselves: are we going to let this happen again? If the university chooses to commercialize its spaces for funding, attention, and care for its students and community must still be sustained.
Therefore, we need to oppose the commercialization of spaces and services in our university, assert our right to quality basic academic spaces and student facilities, stand with the vendors, employees, and families affected, and call on the administration to negotiate better terms with business partners—terms that put the benefit and interest of the UP community first. Furthermore, it is important to stress the need for more funding from the government to be able to run UP’s essential activities and programs successfully. We should come together to protect the good name of our institution and meet its responsibility to the UP community and the Filipino people.
// by Kela Alcantara, Grace Gaerlan, Xia Mentes
Sources:
Abello, L. T. (2024, February 6). UP students protest increasing commercialization of campus spaces. Philstar.com. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/02/07/2331536/students-protest-increasing-commercialization-campus-spaces
Abello, L. T. (2024, March 12). UP community on ‘DiliMall’ opening: ‘Do not commercialize the services to the people’. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/12/up-community-on-dili-mall-opening-do-not-commercialize-the-services-to-the-people-1
Chua, C. (2022, July 6). UP’s Proposed 2023 Budget Set to Fund DaniCon’s Infra Splurge in His Last Year in Office. Philippine Collegian. https://phkule.org/article/586/ups-proposed-2023-budget-set-to-fund-danicons-infra-splurge-in-his-last-year-in-office
Daduya, J. (2023, January 28). “Nabudol kami!”: UP’s small-time vendors cry foul over Danicon’s unfulfilled promises.https://csspsinag.wordpress.com/2023/01/28/nabudol-kami-ups- small-time-vendors-cry-foul-over-danicons-unfulfilled-promises/
Gavilan, J. (2018, March 8). From photocopying services to Rodic’s: What’s inside UP Shopping Center. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/197714-things-to-know-up-diliman-shopping-center/
Gonzales, I. (2016, February 25). Ali reviews COA findings on unpaid obligations to UP. Philstar.com. https://www.philstar.com/business/2016/02/02/1549017/ali-reviews-coa-findings-unpaid-obligations-up?fbclid=IwAR2xWm74RVI8zYPn3EHJ9eUw0jaLyj3TMVziHv6i9RFSKZuwoHnDfz-zZsU
Lara, R. (2018). Decisions of the Board of Regents 1334th Meeting, 6 April 2018. The University of the Philippines Gazette, 49(3), 23-24. https://osu.up.edu.ph/2018/04/1334/
Lirio, A. (2023, December 24). An increase with setbacks: A look into the UP System’s 2024 budget. Tinig ng Plaridel.
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My comment on the OTW's most recent announcement post
It addressed the End OTW Racism campaign, but not any of the things Azarias revealed or things she has requested from the OTW Board and Legal committee. You can find her comments on the post here and here.
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I have been a member of AO3 since 2009. I was proud to support an organization with a vested interest in making a place for all fanwork, including kinds which for-profit corporations would find objectionable. It is a thing I supported with my money, my words, and posting my fanwork on AO3. I was also a tag wrangler for a little bit, because I wanted to use my labor to improve AO3 for everybody.
I have seen the OTW promise movement on many things regarding user safety, welfare, and DEI, some of which have been done. But the truly substantiative, laborious, gnarly work required has not actually progressed significantly. It is absolutely ridiculous that it has taken almost three years to move forward on recruitment of a DEI consultant/officer. I also understand that TOS updates take time to think through and require community feedback, but my understanding is this is something that has been in the works for, again, about three years. I'm not saying people should expect instantaneous results, but your stakeholders deserve more clarity than has been provided.
This is something I have felt for a long time, before the revelations about how poorly the Board and Legal handled the 2022 CSAM attack and the aftermath. It is one thing to drag your feet on things promised, it is completely different when organizational dysfunction, personal vendettas, and overreach from Legal contributed to grievous harm of at least one volunteer.
I would like to think we, as fans, understand that we do the things we do out of love. Certainly there will be annoyances and irritations in the process, but those are not the same as genuine harm. I know for many of us, fandom has been a refuge from extremely awful things in our lives. It tears me up inside that a thing you do out of love can lead to such a devastating trauma because people who should have given a shit absolutely did not.
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The rest of this message is addressed to the Board of Directors and the Legal Committee. I want a public response, preferably in the comments. (Others can feel free to +1/ditto/support this.)
* Given how grossly you violated the Code of Conduct all OTW personnel are supposed to abide by, there is no way any reasonable person (AO3 user, OTW member, anybody in fandom) can trust any of you to make decisions on behalf of the OTW. When can we expect your resignations?
* Do you have plans to retract the defamatory statements you have made in response to Azarias's revelations about how she was treated? Will you apologize to her for how she has been treated while volunteering for your organization? Will there be any counseling or therapy conducted by qualified practioners specializing in exposure to CSAM offered (and paid for by OTW) to Azarias or other affected volunteers, for as long as they need?
* Were there ever any intentions to address the possibility of another CSAM attack, or any plans to prevent or mitigate them? You can be honest.
I'm not asking these questions to be dramatic, but rather out of frustration there is very little certain stakeholders (AO3 users, people who won't give money to become voting members) can do to demand accountability and redress for a fellow fan and volunteer who has been grievously wronged. This organization can practice transparency and start making amends by answering them.
If this is something you'd also like addressed, I'd love it if you could go here and make a +1/upvote/supportive comment. Feel free to say your piece too. I also encourage you to go through the other comments on the main post and +1 the ones that speak to you.
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Industrial relations labour law
The term "industrial relations" describes the interactions that occur between employers, employees, and the government or trade unions, as well as the relationship that exists between employers and employees inside an organizational setting. It includes all facets of the working relationship, such as discussions, collective bargaining, resolving conflicts, and the general atmosphere of harmony or discord in the office.
Government Control: Through laws, rules, and regulatory bodies, governments have the power to control labor relations. Labor departments or ministries supervise compliance and enforce rules, and labor laws set minimum requirements for working conditions, worker rights, and collective bargaining procedures.
Employer-Employee Relations: Industrial relations refers to the daily exchanges that take place between employers and workers, encompassing activities like dialogue, handling conflicts, managing performance, and promoting employee involvement. Good interactions between employers and employees are a prerequisite for a productive and peaceful work environment.
Social Dialogue: Economic policies, social justice, labor market issues, and the place of work in society are all topics covered in industrial relations talks and debates. Government, business, and labor representatives come together through social conversation to discuss common issues and build social cohesion. Maintaining a balance of labor relations requires effective industrial relations.
Important elements of labor relations consist of: Collective bargaining is the process of negotiating terms and circumstances of employment, such as pay, benefits, working hours, and workplace policies, between employers and labor unions or employee representatives. For employees who are members of a union, collective bargaining agreements are legally binding contracts that set forth the terms of employment.
Labor Unions: Labor unions bargain on behalf of its members' collective interests with employers to get better pay, benefits, and working conditions. fits and operational circumstances. Additionally, they could take part in organizing, lobbying, and advocacy campaigns to uphold the rights of employees and further their interests.
Employee Representation: Employees in non-unionized companies may have appointed or elected representatives speak on their behalf while speaking with management. These delegates may speak on matters pertaining to employee welfare, workplace regulations, and grievances.
Conflict Resolution: Among various stakeholders or between employers and employees, industrial relations encompasses procedures for settling disagreements and conflicts. This could involve filing a lawsuit through labor courts or tribunals, mediation, arbitration, or grievance procedures.
Workplace Consultation and Participation: A number of companies implement procedures that ask workers for their opinions on issues impacting their jobs and include them in decision-making processes. This may promote a feeling of trust, collaboration, and ownership.
To know about labour laws click here
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An investigation uncovers a web of influence in the powerful coalition aligned behind the European Commission’s proposal to scan for child sexual abuse material online, a proposal leading experts say puts rights at risk and will introduce new vulnerabilities by undermining encryption.
In early May 2022, days before she launched one of the most contentious legislative proposals Brussels had seen in years, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, sent a letter to a US organisation co-founded in 2012 by the movie stars Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.
The organisation, Thorn, develops artificial intelligence tools to scan for child sexual abuse images online, and Johansson’s proposed regulation is designed to fight the spread of such content on messaging apps.
“We have shared many moments on the journey to this proposal,” the Swedish politician wrote, according to a copy of the letter addressed to Thorn executive director Julie Cordua and which BIRN has seen.
Johansson urged Cordua to continue the campaign to get it passed: “Now I am looking to you to help make sure that this launch is a successful one.”
That campaign faces a major test in October when Johansson’s proposal is put to a vote in the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament. It has already been the subject of heated debate.
The regulation would obligate digital platforms – from Facebook to Telegram, Signal to Snapchat, TikTok to clouds and online gaming websites – to detect and report any trace of child sexual abuse material, CSAM, on their systems and in their users’ private chats.
It would introduce a complex legal architecture reliant on AI tools for detecting images, videos and speech – so-called ‘client-side scanning’ – containing sexual abuse against minors and attempts to groom children.
Welcomed by some child welfare organisations, the regulation has nevertheless been met with alarm from privacy advocates and tech specialists who say it will unleash a massive new surveillance system and threaten the use of end-to-end encryption, currently the ultimate way to secure digital communications from prying eyes.
The EU’s top data protection watchdog, Wojciech Wiewiorowski, warned Johansson about the risks in 2020, when she informed him of her plans.
They amount to “crossing the Rubicon” in terms of the mass surveillance of EU citizens, he said in an interview for this story. It “would fundamentally change the internet and digital communication as we know it.”
Johansson, however, has not blinked. “The privacy advocates sound very loud,” the commissioner said in a speech in November 2021. “But someone must also speak for the children.”
Based on dozens of interviews, leaked documents and insight into the Commission’s internal deliberations, this investigation connects the dots between the key actors bankrolling and organising the advocacy campaign in favour of Johansson’s proposal and their direct links with the commissioner and her cabinet.
It’s a synthesis that granted certain stakeholders, AI firms and advocacy groups – which enjoy significant financial backing – a questionable level of influence over the crafting of EU policy.
The proposed regulation is excessively “influenced by companies pretending to be NGOs but acting more like tech companies”, said Arda Gerkens, former director of Europe’s oldest hotline for reporting online CSAM.
“Groups like Thorn use everything they can to put this legislation forward, not just because they feel that this is the way forward to combat child sexual abuse, but also because they have a commercial interest in doing so.”
If the regulation undermines encryption, it risks introducing new vulnerabilities, critics argue. “Who will benefit from the legislation?” Gerkens asked. “Not the children.”
Privacy assurances ‘deeply misleading’
Star of That ‘70s Show and a host of Hollywood hits, 45-year-old Kutcher resigned as chairman of the Thorn board in mid-September amid uproar over a letter he wrote to a judge in support of convicted rapist and fellow That ‘70s Show actor Danny Masterson, prior to his sentencing.
Up until that moment, however, Kutcher had for years been the very recognisable face of a campaign to rid the Internet of CSAM, a role that involved considerable access to the top brass in Brussels.
Thorn’s declarations to the EU transparency register lists meetings with senior members of the cabinets of top Commission officials with a say in the bloc’s security or digital policy, including Johansson, antitrust czar Margrethe Vestager, Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, and internal market commissioner Thierry Breton.
In November 2020, it was the turn of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was part of a video conference with Kutcher and an organisation registered in the small Dutch town of Lisse – the WeProtect Global Alliance.
Though registered in the EU lobby database as a charity, Thorn sells its AI tools on the market for a profit; since 2018, the US Department of Homeland Security, for example, has purchased software licences from Thorn for a total of $4.3 million.
These tools are used by companies such as Vimeo, Flickr and OpenAI – the creator of chatbot ChatGPT and one of many beneficiaries of Kutcher’s IT investments – and by law enforcement agencies across the globe.
In November 2022, Kutcher and Johansson lined up as key speakers at a summit organised and moderated by then European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, who three weeks later was arrested and deposed over an investigation into the ‘Qatargate’ cash-for-lobbying scandal.
In March this year, six months before his resignation amid uproar over his letter of support for Masterson, Kutcher addressed lawmakers in Brussels, seeking to appease concerns about the possible misuse and shortcomings of the existing technology. Technology can scan for suspicious material without violating privacy, he said, a claim that the European Digital Rights association said was “deeply misleading”.
The Commission has been reluctant to detail the relationship between Thorn and Johansson’s cabinet under the EU’s freedom of information mechanism. It refused to disclose Cordua’s emailed response to Johansson’s May 2022 letter or a ‘policy one pager’ Thorn had shared with her cabinet, citing Thorn’s position that “the disclosure of the information contained therein would undermine the organisation’s commercial interest”.
After seven months of communication concerning access to documents and the intervention of the European Ombudsman, in early September the Commission finally released a series of email exchanges between Johansson’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs and Thorn.
The emails reveal a continuous and close working relationship between the two sides in the months following the roll out of the CSAM proposal, with the Commission repeatedly facilitating Thorn’s access to crucial decision-making venues attended by ministers and representatives of EU member states.
The European Ombudsman is looking into the Commission’s refusal to grant access to a host of other internal documents pertaining to Johansson’s proposal.
FGS Global, a major lobbying firm hired by Thorn and paid at least 600,000 euros in 2022 alone, said Thorn would not comment for this story. Johansson also did not respond to an interview request.
Enter ‘WeProtect Global Alliance’
Among the few traces of Thorn’s activities in the EU’s lobby transparency register is a contribution of 219,000 euros in 2021 to the WeProtect Global Alliance, the organisation that had a video conference with Kutcher and Von der Leyen in late 2020.
WeProtect is the offspring of two governmental initiatives – one co-founded by the Commission and the United States, the other by Britain.
They merged in 2016 and, in April 2020, as momentum built for legislation to CSAM with client-side scanning technology, WeProtect was transformed from a British government-funded entity into a putatively independent ‘foundation’ registered at a residential address in Lisse, on the Dutch North Sea coast.
Its membership includes powerful security agencies, a host of governments, Big Tech managers, NGOs, and one of Johansson’s most senior cabinet officials, Antonio Labrador Jimenez, who heads the Commission’s team tasked with fighting CSAM.
Minutes after the proposed regulation was unveiled in May last year, Labrador Jimenez emailed his Commission colleagues: “The EU does not accept that children cannot be protected and become casualties of policies that put any other values or rights above their protection, whatever these may be.”
He said he was looking forward to “seeing many of you in Brussels during the WeProtect Global Alliance summit” the following month.
Labrador Jimenez officially joined the WeProtect Policy Board in July 2020, after the Commission decided to join and fund it as “the central organisation for coordinating and streamlining global efforts and regulatory improvements” in the fight against CSAM. WeProtect public documents, however, show Labrador Jimenez participating in WeProtect board meetings in December 2019.
Commenting on this story, the Commission said Labrador Jimenez “does not receive any kind of compensation for his participation in the WeProtect Global Alliance Management Board, and performs this function as part of his duties at the Commission”.
Labrador Jimenez’s position on the WeProtect Board, however, raises questions about how the Commission uses its participation in the organisation to promote Johannson’s proposal.
When Labrador Jimenez briefed fellow WeProtect Board members about the proposed regulation in July 2022, notes from the meeting show that “the Board discussed the media strategy of the legislation”.
Labrador Jimenez has also played a central role in drafting and promoting Johansson’s regulation, the same proposal that WeProtect is actively campaigning for with EU funding. And next to him on the board sits Thorn’s Julie Cordua, as well as government officials from the US and Britain [the latter currently pursuing its own Online Safety Bill], Interpol, and United Arab Emirates colonel, Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi, who chairs or participates in numerous international police task forces.
Between 2020 and 2023, Johansson’s Directorate-General awarded almost 1 million euros to WeProtect to organise the June 2022 summit in Brussels, which was dedicated to the fight against CSAM and activities to enhance law enforcement collaboration.
WeProtect did not reply directly to questions concerning its funding arrangements with the Commission or to what extent its advocacy strategies are shaped by the governments and stakeholders sitting on its policy board.
In a statement, it said it is led “by a multi-stakeholder Global Policy Board; members include representatives from countries, international and civil society organisations, and the technology industry.”
The financing
Another member of the WeProtect board alongside Labrador Jimenez is Douglas Griffiths, a former official of the US State Department and currently president of the Geneva-based Oak Foundation, a group of philanthropic organisations around the world providing grants “to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live”.
Oak Foundation has provided WeProtect with “generous support for strategic communications”, according to WeProtect financial statements from 2021.
From Oak Foundation’s annual financial reports, it is clear it has a long-term commitment to aiding NGOs tackling child abuse. It is also funding the closely linked network of civil society organisations and lobby groups promoting Johansson’s proposed regulation, many of which have helped build an umbrella entity called the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group, ECLAG.
ECLAG, which launched its website a few weeks after Johansson’s proposal was announced in May 2022, acts as a coordination platform for some of the most active organisations lobbying in favour of the CSAM legislation. Its steering committee includes Thorn and a host of well-known children’s rights organisations such as ECPAT, Eurochild, Missing Children Europe, Internet Watch Foundation, and Terre des Hommes.
Another member is Brave Movement, which came into being in April 2022, a month before’s Johansson’s regulation was rolled out, thanks to a $10.3 million contribution by the Oak Foundation to Together for Girls, a US-based non-profit that fights sexual violence against children.
Oak Foundation has also given to Thorn – $5 million in 2019. In 2020, it gave $250,000 to ECPAT to engage “policy makers to include children’s interests in revisions to the Digital Services Act and on the impact of end-to-end encryption” and a further $100,000 in support of efforts to end “the online child sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the digital space”. The same year it authorised a $990,000 grant to Eurochild, another NGO coalition that campaigns for children’s rights in Brussels.
In 2021, Oak Foundation gave Thorn a further $250,000 to enhance its coordinating role in Brussels with the aim of ensuring “that any legislative solutions and instruments coming from the EU build on and enhance the existing ecosystem of global actors working to protect children online”.
In 2022, the foundation granted ECPAT a three-year funding package of $2.79 million “to ensure that children’s rights are placed at the centre of digital policy processes in the European Union”. The WeProtect Global Alliance received $2.33 million, also for three years, “to bring together governments, the private sector, civil society, and international organisations to develop policies and solutions that protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse online”.
In a response for this story, Oak Foundation said it does not “advocate for proposed legislation nor work on the details of those policy recommendations”.
It did not respond directly to questions concerning the implications of Johansson’s regulation on privacy rights. A spokesperson said the foundation supports organisations that “advocate for new policies, with a specific focus in the EU, US, and UK, where opportunities exist to establish precedent for other governments”.
‘Divide and conquer’
Brave Movement’s internal advocacy documents lay out a comprehensive strategy for utilising the voices of abuse survivors to leverage support for Johansson’s proposal in European capitals and, most importantly, within the European Parliament, while targeting prominent critics.
The organisation has enjoyed considerable access to Johansson. In late April 2022, it hosted the Commissioner in an online ‘Global Survivors Action Summit’ – a rare feat in the Brussels bubble for an organisation that was launched just weeks earlier.
An internal strategy document from November 2022 the same year leaves no doubts about the organisation’s role in rallying support for Johansson’s proposal.
“The main objective of the Brave Movement mobilisation around this proposed legislation is to see it passed and implemented throughout the EU,” it states.
“If this legislation is adopted, it will create a positive precedent for other countries… which we will invite to follow through with similar legislation.”
In April this year, the Brave Movement held an ‘Action Day’ outside the European Parliament, where a group of survivors of online child sexual abuse were gathered “to demand EU leaders be brave and act to protect millions of children at risk from the violence and trauma they faced”.
Johansson joined the photo-op.
Survivors of such abuse are key to the Brave Movement’s strategy of winning over influential MEPs.
“Once the EU Survivors taskforce is established and we are clear on the mobilised survivors, we will establish a list pairing responsible survivors with MEPs – we will ‘divide and conquer’ the MEPs by deploying in priority survivors from MEPs’ countries of origin,” its advocacy strategy reads.
Conservative Spanish MEP Javier Zarzalejos, the lead negotiator on the issue in the parliament, according to the Brave Movement strategy has called for “strong survivors’ mobilisation in key countries like Germany”.
Brave Movement’s links with the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs goes deeper still: its Europe campaign manager, Jessica Airey, worked on communications for the Directorate-General between October 2022 and February 2023, promoting Johansson’s regulation.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Airey worked “closely with the policy team who developed the [child sexual abuse imagery] legislation in D.4 [where Labrador Jimenez works] and partners like Thorn”.
She also “worked horizontally with MEPs, WeProtect Global Alliance, EPCAT”.
Asked about a possible conflict of interest in Airey’s work for Brave Movement on the same legislative file, the European Commission responded that Airey was appointed as a trainee and so no formal permission was required. It did say, however, that “trainees must maintain strict confidentiality regarding all knowledge acquired during training. Unauthorised disclosure of non-public documents or information is strictly prohibited, with this obligation extending beyond the training period.”
Brave Movement said it is “proud of the diverse alliances we have built and the expert team we have recruited, openly, to achieve our strategic goals”, pointing out that last year alone one online safety hotline received 32 million reports of child sexual abuse content.
Brave Movement has enlisted expert support: its advocacy strategy was drafted by UK consultancy firm Future Advocacy, while its ‘toolkit’, which aims to “build a beating drum of support for comprehensive legislation that protects children” in the EU, was drafted with the involvement of Purpose, a consultancy whose European branch is controlled by French Capgemini SE.
Purpose specialises in designing campaigns for UN agencies and global companies, using “public mobilisation and storytelling” to “shift policies and change public narratives”.
Beginning in 2022, the Oak Foundation gave Purpose grants worth $1.9 million to “help make the internet safer for children”.
Since April 2022, Purpose representatives have met regularly with ECLAG – the network of civil society groups and lobbyists – to refine a pan-European communications strategy.
Documents seen by this investigation also show they met with members of Johansson’s team.
A ‘BeBrave Europe Task Force’ meeting in January this year involved the ECLAG steering group, Purpose EU, Justice Initiative and Labrador Jimenez’s unit within the Directorate-General. In 2023 the foundation that launched the Justice Initiative, the Guido Fluri Foundation, received $416,667 from Oak Foundation.
The Commission, according to its own notes of the meeting, “recommended that when speaking with stakeholders of the negotiation, the organisations should not forget to convey a sense of urgency on the need to find an agreement on the legislation this year”.
This coordinated messaging resulted this year in a social media video featuring Johansson, Zarzalejos, and representatives of the organisations behind ECLAG promoting a petition in favour of her regulation.
Disproportionate infringement of rights
Some 200 kilometres north from Brussels, in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, a bright office on the edge of the city’s famous red light district marks the frontline of the fight to identify and remove CSAM in Europe.
‘Offlimits’, previously known as the Online Child Abuse Expertise Agency, or EOKM, is Europe’s oldest hotline for children and adults wanting to report abuse, whether happening behind closed doors or seen on video circulating online.
In 2022, its seven analysts processed 144,000 reports, and 60 per cent concerned illegal content. The hotline sends requests to remove the content to web hosting providers and, if the material is considered particularly serious, to the police and Interpol.
Offlimits director between 2015 and September this year, Arda Gerkens is deeply knowledgeable of EU policy on the matter. Yet unlike the likes of Thorn, she had little luck accessing Johansson.
“I invited her here but she never came,” said Gerkens, a former Socialist Party MP in the Dutch parliament.
“Commissioner Johansson and her staff visited Silicon Valley and big North American companies,” she said. Companies presenting themselves as NGOs but acting more like tech companies have influenced Johansson’s regulation, Gerkens said, arguing that Thorn and groups like it “have a commercial interest”.
Gerkens said that the fight against child abuse must be deeply improved and involve an all-encompassing approach that addresses welfare, education, and the need to protect the privacy of children, along with a “multi-stakeholder approach with the internet sector”.
“Encryption,” she said, “is key to protecting kids as well: predators hack accounts searching for images”.
It’s a position reflected in some of the concerns raised by the Dutch in ongoing negotiations on a compromise text at the EU Council, arguing in favour of a less intrusive approach that protects encrypted communication and addresses only material already identified and designated as CSAM by monitoring groups and authorities.
A Dutch government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The Netherlands has serious concerns with regard to the current proposals to detect unknown CSAM and address grooming, as current technologies lead to a high number of false positives.”
“The resulting infringement of fundamental rights is not proportionate.”
Self-interest
In June 2022, shortly after the roll out of Johansson’s proposal, Thorn representatives sat down with one of the commissioner’s cabinet staff, Monika Maglione. An internal report of the meeting, obtained for this investigation, notes that Thorn was interested to understand how “bottlenecks in the process that goes from risk assessment to detection order” would be dealt with.
Detection orders are a crucial component of the procedure set out within Johansson’s proposed regulation, determining the number of people to be surveilled and how often.
European Parliament sources say that in technical meetings, Zarzalejos, the rapporteur on the proposal, has argued in favour of detection orders that do not necessarily focus on individuals or groups of suspects, but are calibrated to allow scanning for suspicious content.
This, experts say, would unlock the door to the general monitoring of EU citizens, otherwise known as mass surveillance.
Asked to clarify his position, Zarzalejos’ office responded: “The file is currently being discussed closed-doors among the shadow rapporteurs and we are not making any comments so far”.
In the same meeting with Maglione, Thorn representatives expressed a “willingness to collaborate closely with COM [European Commission] and provide expertise whenever useful, in particular with respect to the creation of the database of indicators to be hosted by the EU Centre” as well as to prepare “communication material on online child sexual abuse”.
The EU Centre to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, which would be created under Johansson’s proposal, would play a key role in helping member states and companies implement the legislation; it would also vet and approve scanning technologies, as well as purchase and offer them to small and medium companies.
As a producer of such scanning technologies, a role for Thorn in supporting the capacity building of the EU Centre database would be of significant commercial interest to the company.
Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal Foundation, the US non-for-profit foundation behind the Signal encrypted chat application, says that AI companies that produce scanning systems are effectively promoting themselves as clearing houses and a liability buffer for big tech companies, sensing the market potential.
“The more they frame this as a huge problem in the public discourse and to regulators, the more they incentivise large tech companies to outsource their dealing of the problems to them,” Whittaker said in an interview for this story.
Effectively, such AI firms are offering tech companies a “get out of responsibility free card”, Whittaker said, by telling them, “’You pay us (…) and we will host the hashes, we will maintain the AI system, we will do whatever it is to magically clean up this problem”.
“So it’s very clear that whatever their incorporation status is, that they are self-interested in promoting child exploitation as a problem that happens “online,” and then proposing quick (and profitable) technical solutions as a remedy to what is in reality a deep social and cultural problem. (…) I don’t think governments understand just how expensive and fallible these systems are, that we’re not looking at a one-time cost. We’re looking at hundreds of millions of dollars indefinitely due to the scale that this is being proposed at.”
Lack of scientific input
Johansson has dismissed the idea that the approach she advocates will unleash something new or extreme, telling MEPs last year that it was “totally false to say that with a new regulation there will be new possibilities for detection that don’t exist today”.
But experts question the science behind it.
Matthew Daniel Green, a cryptographer and security technologist at John Hopkins University, said there was an evident lack of scientific input into the crafting of her regulation.
“In the first impact assessment of the EU Commission there was almost no outside scientific input and that’s really amazing since Europe has a terrific scientific infrastructure, with the top researchers in cryptography and computer security all over the world,” Green said.
AI-driven scanning technology, he warned, risks exposing digital platforms to malicious attacks and would undermine encryption.
“If you touch upon built-in encryption models, then you introduce vulnerabilities,” he said. “The idea that we are going to be able to have encrypted conversations like ours is totally incompatible with these scanning automated systems, and that’s by design.”
In a blow to the advocates of AI-driven CSAM scanning, US tech giant Apple said in late August that it is impossible to implement CSAM-scanning while preserving the privacy and security of digital communications. The same month, UK officials privately admitted to tech companies that there is no existing technology able to scan end-to-end encrypted messages without undermining users’ privacy.
According to research by Imperial College academics Ana-Maria Cretu and Shubham Jain, published last May, AI driven Client Side Scanning systems could be quietly tweaked to perform facial recognition on user devices without the user’s knowledge. They warned of more vulnerabilities that have yet to be identified.
“Once this technology is rolled out to billions of devices across the world, you can’t take it back”, they said.
Law enforcement agencies are already considering the possibilities it offers.
In July 2022, the head of Johansson’s Directorate-General, Monique Pariat, visited Europol to discuss the contribution the EU police agency could make to the fight against CSAM, in a meeting attended by Europol executive director Catherine de Bolle.
Europol officials floated the idea of using the proposed EU Centre to scan for more than just CSAM, telling the Commission, “There are other crime areas that would benefit from detection”. According to the minutes, a Commission official “signalled understanding for the additional wishes” but “flagged the need to be realistic in terms of what could be expected, given the many sensitivities around the proposal.”
Ross Anderson, professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University, said the debate around AI-driven scanning for CSAM has overlooked the potential for manipulation by law enforcement agencies.
“The security and intelligence community have always used issues that scare lawmakers, like children and terrorism, to undermine online privacy,” he said.
“We all know how this works, and come the next terrorist attack, no lawmaker will oppose the extension of scanning from child abuse to serious violent and political crimes.”
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The Ethical Dilemma of Satta Result: Examining the Moral Implications
Introduction: In the labyrinth of vice and virtue, few phenomena stand as controversial as the world of Satta Result. This article delves into the ethical quandaries surrounding Satta Result, exploring its moral implications, societal consequences, and the responsibilities of individuals and institutions in navigating this murky terrain.
The Moral Landscape of Satta Result: At its core, Satta Result epitomizes the clash between individual freedom and societal welfare. On one hand, proponents argue for the autonomy of individuals to engage in voluntary transactions, regardless of their nature. They champion the principle of personal responsibility, contending that adults should be free to make their own choices, even if they entail risk or harm. On the other hand, critics decry the exploitative nature of Satta Result, highlighting its disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, such as the poor, the uneducated, and the marginalized. They argue that the allure of quick riches often masks the harsh reality of addiction, debt, and social disintegration, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and despair.
The Role of Regulation: In navigating the ethical minefield of Satta Result, the role of regulation looms large. Proponents of strict regulation advocate for measures to curb its proliferation, protect consumers from exploitation, and safeguard the integrity of public institutions. They emphasize the need for robust enforcement mechanisms, transparent oversight, and comprehensive support services for those affected by gambling addiction. Conversely, advocates of laissez-faire argue for minimal intervention, citing the principles of individual liberty and free market economics. They contend that excessive regulation only drives Satta Result underground, fostering a black market rife with corruption, violence, and organized crime.
The Moral Responsibility of Stakeholders: Amidst the debate over regulation, the moral responsibility of stakeholders remains paramount. For operators of Satta Result, this entails ethical business practices, including fair play, transparency, and responsible gambling initiatives. It also involves corporate social responsibility efforts aimed at mitigating the negative impact of Satta Result on society, such as funding addiction treatment programs, promoting financial literacy, and supporting community development projects. Similarly, individuals who participate in Satta Result bear a moral obligation to exercise prudence, self-discipline, and empathy towards those affected by their actions. They must recognize the broader consequences of their behavior and strive to minimize harm to themselves and others.
Towards Ethical Engagement: In conclusion, the ethical dilemma of Satta Result poses profound questions about the nature of morality, freedom, and social justice. While the debate may be contentious, it is essential to approach it with nuance, humility, and a commitment to dialogue and mutual understanding. Rather than resorting to simplistic solutions or moral absolutes, we must grapple with the complexities of human nature, societal dynamics, and the ethical imperatives of our time. By fostering an ethos of ethical engagement, we can navigate the moral maze of Satta Result with integrity, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to the common good.
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Breaking the Silence: Addressing the Challenges in Gymnast Welfare
Gymnastics has become one of the most regarded Olympic sports, however behind the success there is an abundance of disregarded welfare issues.
We have all heard the remarkable accomplishments from the likes of Jessica Gadirova and Claudia Fragapane, you believe they are superheroes of the sport; they are so strong nothing can bring them down. But in reality, the toughest of athletes are the most vulnerable to mental health issues (34% with clinically elevated depression) for reasons such as the high demand of training and the need for the ‘perfect body’.
What is really happening?
‘Aesthetic’ sports expect athletes to have ‘perfect’ bodies. This is reinforced from a young age; the constant demands from coaches have resulted in cases of body dysmorphia.
Numerous testimonies, from ex-gymnasts, have come to light regarding the poor treatment they received that have resulted in some type of mental health issue. Coaches pushing athletes to achieve success has been shown to negatively impact the gymnasts both physically and mentally.
One of the most prevalent mental health problems in gymnastics is eating disorders, in particular anorexia athletica. Obsessive attitudes towards eating are a common theme among young gymnasts (16.3% of competitive gymnasts indicated disordered eating), having constant thoughts about their diet and the impact this will have on their body.
Nicole Pavier is a name that sparks interest within this field. She reinforces the fear of gymnasts being able to speak out about the battles they are facing while they are in the sport, and whether it is going to be taken seriously. She is an apposite example, highlighting her concerns 10 years after first developing her eating disorder. Nicole has spoken out about the social pressures and the anxiety of putting on weight and the worry of how her coaches were going to treat her, or more likely punish her.
It is widely acknowledged that coaches can be controlling over gymnasts and will go to any extent in the pursuit of success. This leaves gymnasts in the fear of being physically or even mentally hurt. UK Sport have widely explored this issue and have published The Whyte Review regarding the allegations and mistreatment of gymnasts.
But has there been any improvement?
As noted, an increasing number of former gymnasts have opened up about their own battles with mental health. Is there any hope of combating this?
British Gymnastics finally appear to be acknowledging the scale of the issue; this year have made some reassuring announcements to manage the amount of mental health issues in the sport. Most recently has been the announcement to ban coaches from weighing gymnasts.
British Gymnastics has also introduced the #BeTheChange campaign with the aim to reinforce the importance of athlete welfare as well as ensure an understanding of what is and what isn’t acceptable in the sport for all stakeholders (parents, coaches, gymnasts etc.)
This is a promising step forwards because they are outlawing something that is contributing towards the development of eating disorders and abusive coaching. However, this alone will not repair the lasting impact on gymnasts that have suffered in the sport.
The future of athlete welfare
The British Gymnastics chair insists that an independent body should be implemented to support athletes’ welfare across all sports. This will provide a central system for sporting welfare issues and cut costs for individual governing bodies that are currently spending thousands or even millions on prominent issues – but is one individual body capable of supporting such a wide range of sporting welfare?
Whilst again this is an encouraging suggestion in improving welfare in the sporting community, it must be noted that the journey of athlete welfare is ongoing. British Gymnastics must still take responsibility for their sport. They must continue to raise awareness of specific welfare issues within their sport and create an empowering environment for athletes to thrive in the sport.
N1002090
Have an impact on the future of gymnast’s welfare:
If you feel passionately about the issues discussed, visit the Gymnasts For Change website.
Gymnasts For Change is a global network ran by current and former stakeholders of the sport that are enthusiastic about supporting and improving welfare issues in gymnastics. On the website you can read and learn more about the prominent issues, in addition to being able to get involved and donate to have your own impact on supporting the future of gymnast welfare.
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Pula wins world’s first Friend of the Sea Sustainable City Award
The efforts and initiatives of the Croatian city of Pula to preserve its marine environment and species have been recognised by Friend of the Sea[1], a project of the World Sustainability Organisation (WSO)[2]. Pula has become the world’s first winner of the Friend of the Sea Sustainable City Award[3], which aims to promote sustainable practices and the protection of marine ecosystems.
The award handed by the Friend of the Sea project praises Pula’s efforts to preserve the environment and improve its citizens’ quality of life by embracing sustainable solutions, according to a press release from the WSO.
“We recognize the city of Pula’s impressive record in adopting sustainable practices and marine conservation initiatives. For this reason, we decided to award it with the Friend of the Sea placard”, said Paolo Bray, founder and director of the WSO, which promotes sustainable practices through its two main certification programs – Friend of the Sea and Friend of the Earth
Pula is also among the 100 most sustainable destinations in the world, which demonstrates its ability to work with all stakeholders, particularly environmentally conscious companies, individuals, and associations committed to adopting sustainability, according to the statement.
The sustainability initiatives that Pula has implemented so far include establishing and improving a waste management system, implementing a green model of storm water drainage, and introducing eco-buses that use compressed natural gas, as well as electric bicycles and electric scooters in its public transportation system. It also plans to co-finance the purchase of energy-saving devices and the installation of solar panels.
In June this year, the Pula Aquarium received the Sustainable Aquarium certification from Friend of the Sea for its contribution to promoting environmental policies and animal welfare. At the award ceremony, a sea turtle rehabilitated in the Aquarium’s Rescue Center was released into the sea.
The turtle was released at Pula’s Ambrela Beach, which is in final stages of the certification process to receive the Friend of the Sea Sustainable Beaches[4] label, the WSO said in the statement, adding that the requirements include the absence of disposable plastic, water quality, and respect for the natural ecosystem.
In addition to the already implemented activities, the city of Pula plans to introduce other environmentally friendly measures such as co-financing the purchase of energy-saving devices and the installation of solar panels.
Source
Pula wins world’s first Friend of the Sea Sustainable City Award, in: Balkan Green Energy News, 13-10-2022, https://balkangreenenergynews.com/pula-wins-worlds-first-friend-of-the-sea-sustainable-city-award/
[1] Friend of the Sea is currently a project of the World Sustainability Organization, an international NGO whose mission is to promote environmental conservation. Friend of the Sea has become the leading certification standard for products and services which respect and protect the marine environment. The certification awards sustainable practices in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Fishmeal and Omega 3 Fish Oil. Friend of the Sea also promotes pilot projects related to restaurants, sustainable shipping, whale and dolphin-watching, aquaria, ornamental fish, UV creams and others. https://friendofthesea.org/friend-of-the-sea/
[2] WSO is the only organization proposing two consumer friendly logos which can potentially certify sustainability for the whole food range (seafood and agro) as well as non-food products and services. WSO delivers the certifications based on 30 years’ experience in the field, in full independence and by mean of audits of accredited certification bodies. https://www.wsogroup.org/
[3] https://friendofthesea.org/the-city-of-pula-receives-the-first-friend-of-the-sea-sustainable-award-for-its-merits-in-showcasing-sustainability-and-environmental-awareness/
[4] https://friendofthesea.org/sustainable-standards-and-certifications/sustainable-beach/
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United have released a "statement" (not a statement at all lbr) that reads as follows:
"Following the dropping of all charges against Mason Greenwood in February 2023, Manchester United has conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations made against him.
This has drawn on extensive evidence and context not in the public domain, and we have heard from numerous people with direct involvement or knowledge of the case.
Throughout this process, the welfare and perspective of the alleged victim has been central to the club’s inquiries, and we respect her right to lifelong anonymity.
We also have responsibilities to Mason as an employee, as a young person who has been with the club since the age of seven, and as a new father with a partner.
The fact-finding phase of our investigation is now complete, and we are in the final stages of making a decision on Mason’s future.
Contrary to media speculation, that decision has not yet been made and is currently the subject of intensive internal deliberation. Responsibility ultimately rests with the Chief Executive Officer.
Once made, the decision will be communicated and explained to the club’s internal and external stakeholders.
This has been a difficult case for everyone associated with Manchester United, and we understand the strong opinions it has provoked based on the partial evidence in the public domain. We ask for patience as we work through the final stages of this carefully considered process"
So many words to say basically NOTHING
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Sprouting Seeds: Pioneering Egg Donor Agencies in India
In the realm of assisted reproduction, egg donation has emerged as a beacon of hope for individuals struggling with infertility. India, renowned for its advanced medical facilities and skilled healthcare professionals, has witnessed a burgeoning growth in egg donor agencies in Mumbai. Among these, "Sprouting Seeds" stands out as a prominent name, offering comprehensive services and unwavering support to intended parents. Let's delve into the ethos, processes, and significance of Sprouting Seeds in reshaping the landscape of assisted reproduction in India.
The Genesis of Sprouting Seeds
Sprouting Seeds was conceived with a singular mission: to provide a ray of hope to individuals and couples yearning to embrace parenthood through egg donation in India. Founded by a team of passionate fertility specialists and compassionate professionals, the agency embodies the ethos of empathy, integrity, and excellence. From its inception, Sprouting Seeds has been committed to upholding the highest ethical standards while delivering personalized care to each client.
Navigating the Egg Donation Journey
The journey of egg donation in Mumbai can be both emotionally and logistically challenging. Sprouting Seeds recognizes the complexities involved and strives to streamline the process for intended parents and donors alike. Upon contacting the agency, clients are greeted with warmth and understanding, as experienced counselors guide them through every step of the journey. From initial consultations to matching with suitable donors and navigating legal formalities, Sprouting Seeds ensures a seamless experience for all stakeholders.
A Diverse Pool of Donors
Sprouting Seeds' broad network of egg donors, which spans a variety of demographics, nationalities, and backgrounds, is essential to the organization's success in donor egg IVF costs in Mumbai. The organization takes great satisfaction in carefully screening possible donors to make sure they satisfy strict psychological and medical requirements. Prospective parents can select from a wide range of donors, allowing them to match their ideals and preferences. Whatever the criterion—physical characteristics, educational background, or cultural heritage—Sprouting Seeds aims to meet each individual's needs.
Empowering Donors with Support and Guidance
Although donating eggs is a selfless act of kindness, it's important to recognize the journey that the egg donors in Mumbai have taken. Sprouting Seeds goes above and above to empower and assist contributors at every stage of the process. The organization puts the welfare of donors first at every stage, from thorough physical examinations to therapy sessions addressing psychological issues. Sprouting Seeds makes sure that contributors feel valued, respected, and appreciated for their priceless contributions by creating a supportive environment.
Ethical and Transparent Practices
In a field beset by scandals, Sprouting Seeds is a shining example of moral rectitude and openness. The organization guarantees adherence to all legal and ethical standards by following strict norms and regulatory frameworks. Every step of the process, including donor selection, medical procedures, and financial transactions, is embedded with transparency. Clients put their hopes for motherhood in the hands of Sprouting Seeds because they know that the organization will always uphold the highest standards of ethics and responsibility.
Holistic Support and Counselling
The path to motherhood can elicit a wide range of feelings, from happiness and excitement to fear and uncertainty. Sprouting Seeds provides complete services that go beyond medical aid since it understands the need for holistic support and counseling. Skilled counselors help clients navigate the challenges of assisted reproduction by offering them coping mechanisms, guidance, and emotional support. At every stage, Sprouting Seeds makes sure that customers feel empowered and informed, whether it's answering questions regarding fertility treatments or setting realistic
Community Engagement and Advocacy
In addition to offering services, Sprouting Seeds actively participates in the community and promotes increased understanding and acceptance of assisted reproduction. The organization aims to debunk misconceptions, lessen stigma, and create a more encouraging atmosphere for people and couples considering reproductive treatments through educational efforts, workshops, and outreach programs. Sprouting Seeds seeks to shift cultural perceptions about assisted reproduction by elevating the voices of individuals impacted by infertility and provoking thought-provoking conversations.
Global Collaboration and Partnerships
Understanding that assisted reproduction and infertility are global issues, Sprouting Seeds welcomes cooperation and alliances with top organizations and institutions across the globe. The agency wants to improve care quality and increase access to reproductive treatments globally by exchanging best practices, resources, and expertise. Using strategic alliances and cooperative endeavors, Sprouting Seeds aims to harness the combined proficiency and inventiveness to tackle the diverse predicaments of infertility and transform the trajectory of assisted reproduction.
Research and Innovation
A dedication to ongoing research and innovation in the field of assisted reproduction is at the core of Sprouting Seeds' goal. To improve the science and practice of fertility treatments, the organization makes investments in state-of-the-art technologies, investigates new trends, and takes part in ground-breaking research projects. Sprouting Seeds makes sure its clients have access to the best and most creative options available by being on the cutting edge of scientific developments, which increases their chances of success as they approach fatherhood.
Elevating Standards of Care
Sprouting Seeds is a trailblazing organization in the assisted reproduction space that is unwavering in its dedication to raising the bar for quality and caring. The agency supports efforts that put patient safety, moral behavior, and openness at the top of the priority list and pushes for further regulation and control of the sector. Sprouting Seeds seeks to inspire confidence and trust among patients, medical professionals, and regulatory organizations alike by establishing a standard for excellence and responsibility.
Conclusion: Nurturing Hope, One Seed at a Time
In a world where becoming a parent is difficult, Sprouting Seeds shines as a source of quality, compassion, and optimism. With an uncompromising dedication to moral behavior, individualized attention, and comprehensive support, the agency keeps changing lives and realizing aspirations. Sprouting Seeds recognizes its status as a pioneer in assisted reproduction, enabling individuals and couples to take on the amazing adventure of motherhood as it sets out on its goal to nourish hope, one seed at a time.
#egg donation in india#egg donation in mumbai#egg donor agencies in mumbai#egg donor mumbai#donor egg ivf cost in mumbai
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What is ISO 45001 Certification? What is the Importance of ISO 45001 Certification in Chennai
ISO 45001 Certification in Chennai:
ISO 45001 Certification in Chennai Workplace safety and health are paramount troubles in Chennai’s dynamic and all at once growing employer enterprise surroundings. The adoption of ISO 45001 certification in Chennai represents a superb advance for agencies aiming to enhance their occupational health and protection control systems (OHSMS). ISO 45001 certification in Chennai offers a robust framework for figuring out, holding, and decreasing places of job dangers, making sure extraordinary and more healthy on-foot circumstances for all workers.
The Importance of ISO 45001 certification in Chennai
ISO 45001:2018 is the primary worldwide occupational health and protection control tool big. For agencies in Chennai, carrying out this certification gives numerous important benefits:
Enhanced Worker Safety: Implementing ISO 45001 certification in Chennai permits businesses to systematically decorate their protection measures, reducing the chance of place of work accidents and ailments. This is critical in immoderate-risk industries which includes manufacturing, production, and factories.
Keeping with Legal and Regulatory Needs: ISO 45001 certification in Chennai assists groups in aligning with countrywide and global occupational health and security information. In India, adherence with the Factories Act of 1948 and one in every of a type relevant prison recommendation is important for keeping off-jail difficulties and assuring the welfare of personnel.
Improved Reputation and Credibility: Certification demonstrates a willpower to clients, companions, and stakeholders to immoderate fitness and safety necessities. This enhances the enterprise corporation’s popularity and will grow industrial company opportunities and market competitiveness.
Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction: Effective fitness and safety management reduces incidents, lowers insurance expenses, and minimises downtime, essential to huge fee economic monetary financial savings and advanced operational ordinary common universal overall performance.
Implementation in the Chennai Context
Implementing ISO 45001 certification in Chennai requires a strategic method tailored to network situations and organisation-precise stressful situations. Here are the essential element steps for agencies seeking out certification:
Gap Analysis: Conduct an in-depth evaluation to identify gaps in cutting-edge-day practices and the necessities of ISO 45001 certification in Chennai. This consists of reviewing cutting-edge safety protocols, incident statistics, and compliance reputation.
Leadership Commitment: Senior manage have to expose sturdy electricity of thoughts through the usage of allocating essential assets and assist for the implementation manner. Leadership is essential in fostering a life-style that prioritises fitness and protection.
Employee Involvement and Training: Engage personnel the least bit degrees in growing and imposing the OHSMS. Comprehensive training packages make certain everyone is privy to their roles and obligations inside the new device.
Risk Assessment and Hazard Control: Identify and test administrative center dangers and positioned into impact effective manage measures to mitigate dangers. This proactive technique is crucial to the ISO 45001 certification in Chennai framework.
Continuous Improvement: Establish mechanisms for often tracking, measuring, and reviewing the OHSMS. Continuous improvement want to be driven via the usage of facts collected from audits, incident investigations, and employee remarks.
Challenges and Solutions
Implementing ISO 45001 certification in Chennai can present worrying situations which includes restrained property, resistance to change, and ranging stages of focus approximately occupational fitness and safety. These demanding situations may be addressed through:
Capacity Building: Invest in schooling and development packages to acquire inner information in OHSMS.
Communication and Engagement: Foster open conversation channels to make sure all employees apprehend the benefits and significance of ISO 45001 certification in Chennai.
Partnerships and Support: Leverage resource from employer establishments, specialists, and certification our bodies to navigate the certification manner successfully.
Conclusion
ISO 45001 certification in Chennai marks a big improvement for occupational fitness and safety in Chennai. By adopting this worldwide trend, organisations can protect their frame of mind, make sure compliance with recommendations, and beautify their common modern-day regular average performance. The adventure inside the path of certification can be difficult, however the extended-term advantages of an extra solid, greater wholesome administrative centre make it a profitable funding.
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Related links:
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ISO 14001 certification Chennai
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ISO 22000 certification Chennai
ISO Certification in Chennai
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Al-Wahah Foundation: Empowering Communities through Qurbani Appeal
Introduction:
In the heart of every believer lies a desire to contribute to the well-being of others, particularly during sacred occasions. As Muslims, the act of giving back holds immense significance, especially during Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice. This is where organizations like Al-Wahah Foundation step in, bridging the gap between those who can help and those in need through their Qurbani Appeal.
Understanding Qurbani:
Qurbani, derived from the Arabic word 'qurban,' meaning sacrifice, is a ritual practiced by Muslims worldwide during the Islamic month of Dhul-Hijjah, particularly on the 10th to 12th days of the month. It commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, Isma'il (Ishmael), as an act of obedience to God. However, before he could fulfill the sacrifice, God provided a ram to sacrifice instead.
The Significance of Qurbani:
The essence of Qurbani lies not in the act of slaughtering an animal, but in the principles it embodies. It symbolizes obedience, submission, and the willingness to sacrifice what is dear to one's heart for the sake of God. Moreover, Qurbani serves as a means of sharing blessings with those less fortunate, fostering a sense of compassion and solidarity within the global Muslim community.
Al-Wahah Foundation: A Beacon of Hope:
In the pursuit of fulfilling the spirit of Qurbani, organizations like Al-Wahah Foundation have emerged as beacons of hope for marginalized communities worldwide. Established with a vision to alleviate poverty and empower vulnerable populations, Al-Wahah Foundation operates with a commitment to integrity, transparency, and compassion.
The Mission of Al-Wahah Foundation:
At the core of Al-Wahah Foundation's mission is the belief that every individual deserves access to basic necessities, dignity, and opportunities for growth. Through their Qurbani Appeal, the foundation aims to:
Provide Essential Nutrition: Qurbani meat distribution ensures that families in impoverished areas have access to nutritious food during Eid al-Adha and beyond.
Empower Local Economies: Al-Wahah Foundation sources animals for Qurbani from local farmers, thereby stimulating economic activity within communities and supporting livelihoods.
Promote Social Cohesion: By facilitating Qurbani donations, the foundation fosters a sense of solidarity and empathy among donors and recipients, transcending geographical and cultural boundaries.
Ensure Ethical Practices: Al-Wahah Foundation upholds the highest standards of animal welfare and ethical slaughtering practices, ensuring that Qurbani is performed in accordance with Islamic principles and legal regulations.
Impact of Qurbani Appeal:
The impact of Al-Wahah Foundation's Qurbani Appeal extends far beyond the distribution of meat. It reverberates through communities, uplifting lives and instilling hope for a brighter future. Some key areas of impact include:
Food Security: Qurbani meat provides essential protein and nutrients, addressing nutritional deficiencies and promoting overall health and well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.
Economic Empowerment: By purchasing animals locally and engaging with small-scale farmers, the Qurbani Appeal contributes to sustainable livelihoods and economic resilience, empowering communities to break the cycle of poverty.
Educational Opportunities: Proceeds from Qurbani donations may be allocated to educational initiatives, including school supplies, tuition assistance, and vocational training, opening doors to a brighter future for children and youth.
Community Development: Through collaborative efforts with local leaders and stakeholders, Al-Wahah Foundation fosters community development projects that address broader socio-economic challenges, such as access to clean water, healthcare, and infrastructure.
How You Can Make a Difference:
Participating in Al-Wahah Foundation's Qurbani Appeal is a tangible way to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Here are some steps you can take to get involved:
Donate Generously: Your financial contributions enable Al-Wahah Foundation to procure, slaughter, and distribute animals for Qurbani, reaching those most in need.
Spread Awareness: Share information about the Qurbani Appeal with your friends, family, and community members, raising awareness about the importance of giving back and supporting vulnerable populations.
Volunteer Your Time: Get involved in fundraising activities, logistical support, or outreach efforts to maximize the impact of Al-Wahah Foundation's initiatives.
Pray for Success: Offer prayers for the success and sustainability of Al-Wahah Foundation's endeavors, as well as for the well-being of those who benefit from their programs.
Conclusion:
In the tapestry of humanity, acts of kindness and compassion form the threads that bind us together. Al-Wahah Foundation's Qurbani Appeal exemplifies the power of collective action in creating positive change and uplifting communities. By participating in this noble endeavor, we reaffirm our commitment to serving others and honoring the timeless values of sacrifice, generosity, and empathy. Together, let us continue to sow the seeds of hope and resilience, enriching lives and building a brighter future for generations to come.
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Joe Gordhamer's 4 Tips from OCG Companies For Leadership
In today's fast-paced business environment, effective leadership is the cornerstone of success. Joe Gordhamer, President of OCG Companies LLC, has honed his leadership style over two decades of global experience across various industries. Here, he shares four invaluable tips that have guided him in leading OCG Companies to new heights in outdoor utility restoration.
1. People-First Approach
"Your people are your most valuable asset," Joe Gordhamer emphasizes. At OCG Companies, this belief translates into substantial investments in employee development and well-being. Joe advocates for continuous training programs that not only enhance skills but also boost morale. Creating a supportive and collaborative work environment ensures that employees feel valued and motivated. This people-first approach fosters loyalty and drives the high performance that is essential for delivering top-notch services to clients.
2. Strategic Vision
Navigating complex and ever-changing markets requires a clear and forward-thinking strategy. Joe Gordhamer’s background in business strategy, enriched by his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, enables him to set a robust strategic direction for OCG Companies. His vision focuses on expanding service offerings and exploring new market opportunities while remaining true to the company’s core competencies. This strategic clarity helps OCG stay ahead of the curve and achieve sustainable growth.
3. Community Engagement
For Joe, leadership extends beyond business success; it encompasses making a positive impact on the community. Under his guidance, OCG Companies actively participates in local initiatives and ensures that its operations benefit the communities it serves. Joe Gordhamer’s commitment to community welfare not only enhances the company’s reputation but also builds strong, trust-based relationships with stakeholders. This engagement is a testament to OCG’s role as a responsible and reliable partner.
4. Innovation and Efficiency
In an industry that demands both innovation and reliability, Joe Gordhamer emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement in operational efficiency and service delivery. At OCG, he has championed the implementation of cutting-edge technologies and streamlined processes to enhance performance. By fostering a culture of innovation, Joe ensures that OCG stays ahead of industry trends and maintains a competitive edge. This commitment to efficiency and innovation leads to better customer satisfaction and business outcomes.
Conclusion
Joe Gordhamer’s leadership insights are a testament to the power of a well-rounded and strategic approach to leadership. By prioritizing people, maintaining a clear strategic vision, engaging with the community, and fostering innovation, leaders can drive their organizations to achieve remarkable success. OCG Companies' journey under Joe’s leadership exemplifies how these principles can transform a business and positively impact its employees, clients, and the broader community.
#Joe Gordhamer#CompanyPresident#ExecutiveLeadership#OCGCompanies#LeadershipGoals#BusinessLeader#OCGPresident
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Redefining Sustainable Agriculture: Travis Hills of MN and the Vision for Livestock Water and Energy
In the ever-evolving landscape of agricultural innovation, few visionaries stand out as prominently as Travis Hills of MN. At the helm of Livestock Water and Energy, Hills articulates an ambitious blueprint for the future, aiming to operationalize over 1,000 facilities within the next half-decade. This endeavor is not merely about scaling operations; it is about fundamentally transforming the industry.
Hill’s ambition isn’t confined to just establishing a company. His gaze is set on revolutionizing both livestock operations and manure management paradigms, forever altering barn designs and waste practices. His vision encompasses a comprehensive overhaul of how livestock facilities are conceived and managed, addressing both ecological and economic dimensions.
The strategy revolves around integrating cutting-edge technologies to enhance efficiency and sustainability. By leveraging advanced water recycling systems, innovative waste-to-energy solutions, and smart barn designs, Livestock Water and Energy aims to set new standards in the industry. These facilities will not only reduce environmental footprints but also optimize operational costs, creating a win-win scenario for stakeholders and the planet.
Central to Hills' vision is the belief that sustainable practices and profitability are not mutually exclusive. By pioneering methods that convert manure into valuable energy resources and rethinking traditional barn structures to improve animal welfare and resource use, Livestock Water and Energy positions itself as a leader in sustainable agriculture.
In essence, Travis Hills of MN is not just building a company; he is spearheading a movement. With a clear vision and a robust strategy, Livestock Water and Energy is poised to redefine the future of livestock management, ensuring a more sustainable and prosperous industry for generations to come.
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