Monthly Archives: June 2021

Does a DARQ Future Await the World? – International Banker

Posted: June 30, 2021 at 2:57 pm

By Hilary Schmidt, International Banker

The proliferation of new technologies over the last decade or so has unleashed previously unimaginable insight into what the future may hold for businesses, customers and society as a whole. Digitally oriented companies, in particular, are already proving to be the ones adding value in our current global landscape. But as we move forward in the digital era, which technologies are the ones most likely to outperform? According to more than a few analysts, DARQ is the answer.

DARQ is an acronym for four specific technologies:

These technologies are being credited with massive game-changing potentialinitially by Accenture but now by a growing chorus of thought-leadersas they continue to transform many of the worlds most important industries and businesses as well as drive major shifts in customer experiences, business models and labour-input capabilities. Accenture stated in 2019 that DARQ technologies would drive the post-digital wave and enable innovation in such core aspects of business that they would become foundational for whatever comes after that. According to the consulting firm, 89 percent of businesses are already experimenting with one or more DARQ technologies and are expecting them to be key differentiators going forward.

Indeed, each DARQ technology is already having a hugely disruptive influence on a number of key industries. AI is having a visible impact on business models through such increasingly important applications as chatbots, search engines and a multitude of machine-learning (ML) use cases that are transforming the decision-making process. DLT is already making the need for third-party intermediaries redundant across a growing number of transactional business relationships. Immersive XR is transforming how we interact with the world around us and showing us what advancements are possible through experiencing virtual environments. And quantum computing, the least explored tech of the four, is strongly anticipated to dramatically expand computing power such that we will be able to solve many of the most challenging computational problems. Individually, each of these four technologies represents opportunities for businesses to differentiate their products and services. Collectively, they will open unimagined new pathways into the future, Accenture predicted.

Accenture likens DARQ to another set of four technologies that have also converged over a brief period of timesocial, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC)and have helped businesses to acquire deeper insights into their partners and consumers. Today, companies are looking at DARQ technologies as the next differentiator combination. As they mature and converge, Accenture expects they will allow businesses to build intelligent and highly customised experiences that help shape their customers, business partners and employees lives.

Healthcare provides an ideal example in this regard. According to the Accenture 2019 report Digital Health Technology Vision, virtually every health executive surveyed (94 percent of 221 respondents) believed emerging technologies accelerated the pace of innovation over the previous three years. That said, it would seem that healthcare employees were waiting for their organisations to catch up, with more than three-quarters (77 percent) of the reports respondents stating that their employees were more digitally mature than their organisations. As such, the report suggested that DARQ will be instrumental in initiating the required step-change for healthcare companies, with more than two-thirds (68 percent) of executives believing the four technologies will have a transformational or extensive impact on their organisations between 2019 and 2022. All four DARQ technologies are, or will be, powerful on their own, Accenture asserted, and they will act as complementary technologies by pushing each other forward such that even before they have reached full maturity, healthcare enterprises will be able to appreciate the value on the horizon.

DLTs will soon become integral to payments and identity management within the healthcare industry, with blockchains presence in insurance qualifications, patient identification and credentials verification growing all the time. AI is already underpinning much of the recent improvement being realised on the clinical and operational sides of healthcare; indeed, 41 percent of respondents in the Accenture report said AI would have the biggest effect on their organisational processes over the next three years. AI has perhaps the greatest number of emerging use cases in healthcare, the reports researchers noted. The constellation of artificial intelligence technologies is already having tremendous impact on labor, a substantial line item in healthcare. AI is used in contact centers, for payment activities, medical chart reviews, and it can help patients take part in self-service. XR, meanwhile, has already proven hugely transformational for the industry, with 38 percent of the healthcare organizations polled acknowledging that they had already deployed XR across at least one business unit. And although practical quantum-technology applications remain rare at this early stage, health systems will soon be using it to crunch complex data sets, such as DNA data, to enable more personalized medicine and interactions, Accenture predicted.

The DARQ technology market generated a revenue of $640 million in 2019, according to the DARQ Technology Market Forecast (2021 2026) report from market-research consultancy IndustryARC. And between 2020 and 2025, the research projected a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5 percent. Artificial intelligence, a part of DARQ technology, has the highest market growth due to its wider applications adoption, the report explained. AI Technology is associated with human intelligence with similar characteristics such as language comprehension, reasoning, learning, problem-solving, and so on. Moreover, technological advancements lead to wider application of DARQ, thereby boosting the market growth.

Collectively, moreover, DARQ technologies will power the innovations and opportunities uniquely associated with the coming post-digital era, according to a paper from the International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology. As the business landscape transitions into a combination of digital natives and businesses well into their digital transformations, DARQ is the key that will open unimagined new pathways into the future, the papers authors from the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management stated.

And as was the case with SMAC, when a set of powerful technologies converge, they can induce significant transformation. But as was the case with SMAC, there is a risk of waiting too long to capitalise on this transformational power. Accenture noted that many businesses ignored SMAC until they were forced to continuously play catch-up with digital-first businesses. Whether lowering the cost of care, improving labor productivity or enabling better experiences for consumers and partners, regardless of training or intent, DARQ potential runs deep. To take advantage of the transformational new capabilities that DARQ technologies will offer, payers and providers must explore the possibilities now, Accentures Digital Health Technology Vision advised. To avoid this mistake, Accenture explained that companies must begin exploring new capabilities as they arise, experimenting with combinatorial effects and using their digital foundations to launch meaningful and effective pilots. Leaders will be the ones best prepared to capitalize on the value of DARQ technologies as they progressively reach maturity. At this stage, every advantage counts.

As such, it seems that those businesses that are keen to be at the forefront of innovation going forward should look at the success of SMAC technologies and endeavour to replicate their impacts as much as possible. In practice, this is likely to mean engaging in various test projects, such as pilot programmes, launching start-ups and accelerators, and making strategic acquisitions. By exploring what DARQ can offerboth as individual technologies and as combinations of some or all fourbusinesses over the next decade and beyond can position themselves as pioneers in an increasingly competitive environment.

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Does a DARQ Future Await the World? - International Banker

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Crdit Agricole CIB partners with Pasqal and Multiverse Computing – IBS Intelligence

Posted: at 2:57 pm

Crdit Agricole CIB with European tech Pasqal and Multiverse Computing announced a partnership to design and implement new approaches running on classical and quantum computers to outperform state of the art algorithms for capital markets and risk management.

International companies and institutions have started investing heavily in quantum technologies. Europe launched the Quantum Flagship Plan in October 2018, and France recently announced a 1.8 billion investment plan.

Quantum computing is likely to profoundly impact multiple industries in the coming years, including finance. Finance has been making substantial use of algorithms requiring advanced mathematics and statistics so far; it is the turn of quantum physics to help solve quantitative financial problems. In addition, quantum theory and technology, assembled in Quantum Computing, start demonstrating promising applications in capital markets and risk management.

Crdit Agricole CIB has teamed up with two quantum technology companies to apply quantum computing to real-world finance applications. French company Pasqal is developing a quantum computer based on neutral atoms arrays, currently being trialled to build industrial quantum computers. Spanish company Multiverse Computing specialises in quantum algorithms which can run both on quantum and classical computers.

Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO of Pasqal, said: I strongly believe in that partnership to foster the usage of quantum computing for Finance. To our knowledge, it is the first-ever in which all the stakeholders, software developer, hardware provider and end-user are working together on a problem. All the teams are very excited, and this development will be the cornerstone of future industrial applications for neutral atom quantum computers.

Enrique Lizaso, CEO of Multiverse Computing, said: We are thrilled with the opportunity of working together with Credit Agricole CIB and Pasqal in this ambitious project, that will put into production the most advanced tools currently only used in large non-financial institutions in US and China. This is a landmark project in Finance in the world.

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How the United States Fueled a Global Drug War, and Why It Must End – Open Society Foundations

Posted: at 2:56 pm

Within the United States, the momentum for drug policy reform continues to accelerate. At least one in three people in the United States live in states where the recreational use of cannabis is legal. Several bills have been submitted to Congress tolegalize cannabisand todecriminalize all drugsat the federal level. The focus on ensuring social justice, racial equity, resisting corporate capture, and reparations for communities harmed by the war on drugs is a more recent and very welcome phenomenon. In addition, harm reduction now features among the top drug policy priorities of the new administration, with a new $30 million fund dedicated to scale-up services.

The winds of change are blowing in the United States. But it would be a travesty for the United States to promote progressive reforms at home while imposing repressive and inhumane measures elsewhere.

As the arch-enforcer of the war on drugs, the United States now has the moral and political responsibility to proactively promote drug policies that are grounded in health and social justice, and above all in human rights.

This would mean moving away from providing international funding and political cover for the harsh enforcement of disproportionate drug laws, the militarization of drug control, aerial spraying and forced eradication, discriminatory policing practices, forced treatment programs, drug courts, and mass incarceration.

But it also means promoting positive reforms, discussing reparations for communities that have suffered the brunt of repressive drug control to the international level, fully recognizing the ancestral rights of Indigenous communities worldwide, and endorsing and funding life-saving harm reduction services both at home and abroad. These are not unrealistic fantasies, but real and concrete policies that are already being adopted in some U.S. states, often with overwhelming popular support.

On June 26, 2021,thousands of activistsaround the world mobilized for the 9thSupport. Dont Punish Global Day of Actionand rejected the traditionally self-congratulatory message of theUNs World Drug Day. They united with one clear, strong, and urgent message: it is time to end the war on drugs. Fifty years after Nixons administration strengthened heavy-handed international prohibition through UN drug treaties, with devastating consequences, the current U.S. presidential administration has an opportunity to begin to right the wrongs of history and start a real conversation on dismantling the global prohibition regime.

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Mother of 2 killed drug suspects urges ICC to pursue war on drugs probe – GMA News Online

Posted: at 2:56 pm

Over four years after her sons were killed in government anti-drug operations, Llore Pasco called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue its probe on the Duterte administration's bloody drug war.

On Maki Pulido's 24 Oras report, Pasco said she was willing to wait as long as it takes to get justice for her sons Juan Carlos Lozano, who died in Diliman, Quezon City during an August 10, 2017 anti-drug operation, and Crisanto Lozano who was killed in Diliman, Quezon City in a May 12, 2017 police operation.

"Para po talaga makamit po natin ang hustisya kahit ito po ay tumagal pa, laan po kaming maghintay," Pasco said.

(To finally get justice, we'll wait however long it takes.)

The ICC earlier urged alleged victims of President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs to submit their views, concerns, and expectations which will be used for the consideration of ICC judges, who will decide on a possible full investigation into the controversial anti-drug campaign.

It was former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda who urged the ICC to conduct a full-blown investigation into the supposed crimes against humanity committed in Duterte's drug war.

Her successor ICC prosecutor Karim Khan is expected to take over once the international court allows an investigation into the anti-drug campaign.

Security issues

However, unlike Pasco, some families of drug war victims were hesitant about testifying against the government's drug war probe because they feared for their safety, according to an expert from New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"They are facing tremendous security issues. Marami sa kanila takot lumabas, takot magsalita," Carlos Conde, HRW senior researcher in the Philippines, warned.

(A lot of them are scared about exposing themselves, are frightened to speak up.)

Lawyer Kristina Conti of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) said they are going to areas where there are drug war victims to help them submit their views and concerns to the ICC.

She said other groups are also making similar efforts to submit allegations of inhumane acts in the drug war such as vigilante killings and illegal detentions.

Jurisdiction remains

Retired ICC Judge Raul Pangalangan, meanwhile, said despite the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019, the ICC still has jurisdiction and may proceed with its investigation.

"The court maintains jurisdiction even after withdrawal, it retains jurisdiction over all crimes committed in its territory while it is still a member of the Rome statute," said Pangalangan.

Malacaang, however, said it was confident that ICC prosecutors would not be able to build a case for crimes against humanity against Duterte because the government will ignore the proceedings.

The ICC can do whatever it wants, but there is a chamber of ICC which already said na huwag na mag-imbestiga kung walang cooperation ng state [don't push through with the investigation if the state won't cooperate], said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. Consuelo Marquez/DVM, GMA News

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‘Safety First’ Drug Education Program Acknowledges the Failings of ‘Just Say No’ – The 74

Posted: at 2:56 pm

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Mim Shafer, head of the health department at Mission High School in San Francisco, and a teacher of three health classes, was disappointed with the school districts drug-prevention curriculum. She felt it was stuck in a Just Say No model from the 1980s, failed to acknowledge the differences between types of drugs, and didnt prepare teenagers for real life scenarios in which drug use occurs.

We teach a really radical sexual health curriculum, we have this awesome, body-positive way we teach nutrition, she says. How come its in a district where were accessing all this radical, engaging curriculum that our drug and alcohol unit is like, please just dont do this?

In 2019, Shafer was asked if she wanted to volunteer her class for an experimental curriculum one that went beyond prevention and taught teens how to minimize the harm of drug use, including recognizing an overdose and administering naloxone. She jumped at the chance.

Two years since the pilot ended, Shafer is still teaching the curriculum and says her students find it more engaging. Its very conversation-based, and I think theres a lot of very cool ways that students get to sort of follow other interests, she says, including student projects looking at the war on drugs, looking at state-by-state zero tolerance laws and exploring drug myths.

Beginning in 2019, five schools in the San Francisco Unified School District became among the first in the nation to adopt a drug curriculum for teenagers based on the principle of harm reduction. The 15-lesson curriculum, Safety First: Real Drug Education For Teens, was published by the non-profit Drug Policy Alliance and, after incorporating feedback from the 2019 SFUSD pilot, was published for free on its website.

The curriculum was designed as an antidote to abstinence-based and preventive curricula popularized in the 1980s and which still proliferate. Rather than just saying no, Safety First focuses on the history of drug policy, the physical and social effects of different drugs on the brain, and potential consequences for use, covering alcohol, illicit and prescription drugs, as well as casually used drugs like caffeine. It also teaches kids how to independently research drugs.

While the curriculum advises teenagers that abstinence from drugs is the safest approach, it advises students on minimizing potential negative effects. It also provides historical background about the war on drugs and its disparate impact on mostly poor Black and Latino communities.

The designer of the curriculum, Marsha Rosenbaum, is a long-time executive at Drug Policy Alliance, and lessons extend on the themes of her widely read 1998 op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, written as a letter to her son upon entering high school. In the letter Rosenbaum tells her son that rather than trying to scare him into not using drugs she would, tell you a little about what I have learned, hoping this will lead you to make wise choices.

She began developing Safety First into a full classroom lesson plan in 2016. DPA piloted the curriculum in a single classroom at Bard High School in New York in 2018 and in Spring of 2019 it was piloted at five schools in SFUSD.

Sasha Simon, who has overseen the Safety First curriculum since 2017 and now works for DPA as a consultant, says that SFUSD was chosen because the school already has a less punitive drug policy, directing students to outside resources instead of penalizing them for drug use. The five schools Simon and DPA chose for the pilot were also chosen for their racial diversity and because many students were low-income, in contrast to the student body of their first successful pilot at Bard High School, whose students are whiter and more affluent.

Simon says the district was taking a financial risk by opting into Safety First; In California, its easier for schools to adopt drug curricula with an abstinence or prevention-centered approach, because the programs are eligible for state grants. Through the states Tobacco Use Prevention Education program, Californias county offices of education received $5.4 million of grants for preventive tobacco and drug curricula in the 2019-2020 school year. Simon says that while SFUSDs prior curriculum was eligible for this funding, Safety First is not.

Cheryl Nelson, a teacher on special assignment in SFUSD who was a liaison between Drug Policy Alliance and the district, says she spoke to many teachers who were frustrated with the districts previous drug curriculum. (Nelson added she was not speaking as a representative of the school district but rather speaking to her personal experience with drug education curricula.)

Teachers would say to me, Im lying to the students, so much of the drug curriculum asks teachers to stand there and not implement best practices, she says. It felt not true, judgmental, archaic, she says of the curriculum.

Steven Sussbaum, a researcher who was the creator of SFUSDs previous drug curriculum, Towards No Drug Abuse, or TND for short, defended the curriculum to Next City, saying it had shown preventive effects for hard drug use in 7 of 7 randomized controlled trials between the years 1992-2012. He says that the program has remained timely because the effects are replicated over a long period of time.

We do revise the TND curriculum slightly to keep up with the times, either regarding information on our website or in the manual to the extent that we maintain the evidence-base, Sussbaum wrote in an e-mail.

While searching for funding to write a new drug curriculum, Nelson was put in touch with Rosenbaum at DPA, who was developing the Safety First lesson plan. Nelson offered feedback, and DPA eventually asked her about piloting the program in SFUSD schools.

Erin Hiltbrand Hall was one of the teachers Nelson reached out to about teaching Safety First in 2019. She teaches at Balboa High School, where the student body is about 50 percent Asian-American, 30 percent Latinx and over 60 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch, a program for low-income households. It was always kind of difficult to find something that was relevant to students that didnt contribute to stigma, she says.

(Sussbaum, who developed the TND curriculum, told Next City he is not blind to addiction stigma concerns, and sent a study he authored this year on addiction stigma.)

Hall says Safety First was more relevant to her students than the old curriculum. Were certainly not encouraging teenagers to use drugs, but theres the reality that people are curious and they try and do things for a number of reasons, Hall says. If we can provide teenagers with factual information where they can make the best decision for them and their body, I think thats fantastic.

Shafer, at Mission High School, says the students have wildly different reactions to the curriculum. Her students are 90 percent students of color, about 50 percent of whom are Latinx, and 80 percent are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Thirty 14 year olds have very different life experiences and very different levels of familiarity, she says of a typical class. Theres definitely kids who talk about narcan, talk about fentanyl right away, Shafer says. Theres kids who are like, drugs are bad so Im just not going to use them. She says the students would also integrate pop culture into the conversations, like the year the students related the lessons back to the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why.

While abstinence-based and preventive approaches are still the norm in high schools, even the dominant drug prevention campaign of the 1980s has had to shift focus to a less rigid approach after studies showed it was not successful at prevention. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E, a once ubiquitous program from the era that partnered with police departments, recently adopted a new curriculum, still aimed at preventing drug use, although it is now more interactive than before.

D.A.R.E. opposes marijuana legalization, and classes are still led by police officers, despite criticism that this approach is inappropriate in schools where teenagers have had negative experiences with the criminal justice system.

In an e-mail, Ashley Frazier, Director of Curriculum at D.A.R.E., disputed the characterization of the program by DPA, saying it is not an abstinence program, and does not require or suggest the pledging of any oaths, to police officers or anyone else, a reference to a claim made on DPAs website.

To claims that D.A.R.E. is out of touch, Frazier says, what seems out of touch is the idea that all kids experiment with drugs, which is not borne out by any large sample data. Most kids dont use drugs. She says that most D.A.R.E. participants are fifth graders, and It just isnt a great audience for harm reduction efforts. Those are better aimed at population (sic) who are experiencing or at high risk of experiencing substance use disorder. A request for data on how many D.A.R.E. participants are teenagers was not returned, but there are lesson plans on the D.A.R.E. website for middle school and high school students.

Frazier says that rather than abstinence, D.A.R.E. is now aimed at, learning to assess their context, identify potential risk, weigh the potential for negative consequences, and make decisions that align with the future they want.

But Simon says many health curricula have changed their branding yet still arent thinking past prevention. Most health education policies are written with abstinence in mind, or minimally with prevention in mind, or preventing at all costs, she says. Even if thats not whats directly stated, that is absolutely the goal.

Simon says that the focus on decision-making that D.A.R.E. has recently adopted is limited, as the only decision students are prepared for is to say no. If youre looking for a million ways to say no, what happens when they say yes? Simon asks.

Safety First doesnt use prevention as a metric. Instead, it focuses instead on drug knowledge and critical thinking, and says an evaluation showed students media literacy had improved; teens were less likely to believe that only one online resource was enough to understand the use of a drug, Simon says.

Shafer says the focus on research skills is one of the salient points of Safety First. They know to vet articles when they find them, she says. Shafers students also have a personal connection to the material, as Marsha Rosenbaums now adult son, Johnny, leads a surf club at the high school. Rosenbaum made a visit to the school to talk more about the letter she wrote to her son twenty years ago.

And Shafer says she hasnt gotten pushback from parents. I havent heard much from parents other than the standard, Im so glad youre talking to them about this, she says.

This article originally appeared at Next City and is published in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Exchange

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ICC probe into ‘drug war’ can proceed without government cooperation lawyer – Philstar.com

Posted: at 2:56 pm

MANILA, Philippines With the Duterte administration vowing not to cooperate, it will be challenging for the International Criminal Court to investigate the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the course of the war on drugs in the Philippines, but a human rights lawyer said that hurdle can be conquered.

Hindi siya magiging balakid sa pagpapatuloy ng imbestigasyon, Center for International Law fellow Ross Tugade told Philstar.com in an interview. Kailangan lang maging creative ang Office of the Prosecutor at resourceful na rin sa paggamit ng ebidensya na na-submit na sa kanila leading towards the request to open an investigation on the drug war.

(It wont be an obstacle to the investigation. The Office of the Prosecutor just has to be creative and resourceful in using evidence that has been submitted to them leading towards the request to open an investigation on the drug war.)

Tugade said what the ICCs OTP can do is to rely on submissions from relevant sources or interested parties who would give it evidence which would support charges which could be filed before the international tribunal.

The OTP, then led by Fatou Bensouda, requested last June 14 that the ICCs pre-trial chamber allow a full investigation into the Duterte administrations war on drugs, which according to government data has left 6,117 dead as of April 30.

While a probe has yet to be authorized, President Rodrigo Duterte said last week his administration will not cooperate in a possible investigation into the countrys deadly drug war and that he will only face a Philippine court with a Filipino judge.

The Philippines withdrew in 2018 from the Rome Statute the treaty that established the ICC after Bensouda launched a preliminary examination into the war on drugs.

Tugade said this means that the Philippines can no longer be compelled to hand over whoever will be ordered arrested by the ICC. But it does not mean that the investigation would no longer continue.

Aandar pa rin siya under the Office of the Prosecutor, yong opisina na ngayon ay ino-occupy na ng bagong prosecutor, si Karim Khan. Siya ang magda-direct ng investigations tungkol sa drug war before the ICC, she said.

(The investigation will continue under the Office of the Prosecutor, the office which is now occupied by a new prosecutor, Karim Khan. He will direct the investigations about the drug war before the ICC.)

The push of the ICCs OTP for a full-blown investigation into the drug war has sparked hope among the families of those killed during its course.

Sobrang masayang-masaya, kasi parang nagkaroon kami ng pag-asa sa laban namin na to. Hindi lang sa laban ko, kundi sa laban ng lahat ng mga biktima ng pamamaslang dito sa Pilipinas, said Jane Lee, whose husband was killed in March 2017.

(I was very happy because we found hope in our battle. Not only in my battle, but also the battles of all the victims of the killings here in the Philippines.)

But the road toward a possible conviction before the ICC is long and arduous, which is why Tugade said the public must manage their expectations.

Kailangan nating bantayan ang proseso at kailangan rin nating, siguro, maging patient doon sa buong process sapagkat ang ICC ay isang korte na maaring magdesisyon pabor sa mga biktima o pabor sa mga akusado pagkatapos nitong tingnan ang ebidensya na ipepresenta before it, she said.

(We need to be vigilant about the process and we also need to be patient with the whole process because the ICC is a court that may decide in favor of the victims or in favor of the accused after it has looked at all the evidence presented before it.)

Lee hopes, however, that they would not be denied justice.

Hindi naman nila mababalik yung buhay ng mga mahal namin sa buhay. Sa totoo lang, kahit na anong hustisya yong makamit namin, hindi yon mapapantayan yong sakit, hindi mapapantayan yong hirap na dinanas namin, yong torture, she said.

(They wont be able to bring back the lives of our loved ones. In reality, any kind of justice wont would not be enough to compensate for the hurt, the pain, the torture that we experienced.)

She continued, Kaya yong hustisya na kaya na lamang ibigay, sana huwag nang ipagkait pa sa amin.

(I hope that the justice that can be given would not be denied to us.)

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Maya Schenwar’s Sister Died of an Overdose. She Says Defunding the Police Might Have Saved Her – Democracy Now!

Posted: at 2:56 pm

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today with a deadly scourge striking down people at an alarming rate. No, its not COVID; its drug overdoses. Over 92,000 people died from overdoses in the United States in the 12-month period ending in November the most since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began keeping track over two decades ago. Many experts cite two factors for the surge in deaths: the pandemic and the increasing availability of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. This all comes as the nation marks 50 years since President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs June 17th, 1971.

We begin todays show with someone who lost her sister to an overdose just as the pandemic was starting. Maya Schenwar joins us from Chicago, where she works as editor-in-chief of the news website Truthout. Her sister Keeley died of a drug overdose in February 2020 at the age of 29. Mayas piece about her death is just out; its headlined My Sister Died of an Overdose. Defunding the Police Might Have Saved Her. Maya is the co-author of Prison by Any Other Name and author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesnt Work and How We Can Do Better.

Maya, welcome to Democracy Now! Our condolences on the death of your sister. The story you tell is heartrending. Tell us the story of Keeley, how she lived she is also a mother and how she died.

MAYA SCHENWAR: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

You know, my sister Keeley was, as you said, a wonderful mother, a writer, an animal lover and a friend. And she died last year, thanks to a long cycle of criminalization. Keeley was incarcerated for the first time when she was 15. And for the next 14 years, she was just cycling in and out of jail and prison, as well as alternatives, like electronic monitoring and drug treatment. And the things that she was arrested for were always related to her addiction, even when they werent drug charges. So, she would go to prison. She would become even more deeply traumatized, because thats what prison does it traumatizes people. And she would emerge with even fewer opportunities and options. And then she would just go back to heavily using heroin to help deal with that pain.

And I want to point out real quick: So, heroin, in a vacuum, just like any other drug, is not the problem. People, I think, can use most stigmatized drugs and be OK, you know, even the most stigmatized drugs like heroin. But people are not supported in using drugs and being OK, because theyre criminalized.

So, while Keeley was incarcerated, horrible things happened to her, like anyone whos locked up. She experienced violence that was perpetrated by guards. She experienced the daily violence that everyone experiences of strip searches and medical neglect, and really just being called by a number instead of by your name. And also she experienced giving birth to her baby while she was incarcerated, and a prison guard was just sitting there watching her give birth.

And when Keeley returned to using heroin after her time in prison or a mandated treatment program, each time, she was at a much greater risk of overdose. And this is something I really want to emphasize. This is true for so many people who use drugs who are released from prison. So, within the first couple of weeks after being released, someones risk of overdose is almost 13 times higher than it is for the rest of the population. And thats partly because your tolerance for the drug is lower, because you havent been using.

So, last year, my sister was in a drug treatment program, a drug court program, so a mandatory treatment, and it was based around abstinence, not using the drug, and so her tolerance was reduced. And she was also very scared of being rearrested, because she knew that that would mean returning to prison and being separated from her daughter again. And so she was avoiding seeking any kind of medical help, because it could mean police involvement. So, at that point [inaudible]

JUAN GONZLEZ: Maya, I wanted to ask you, in terms of

MAYA SCHENWAR: Yeah.

JUAN GONZLEZ: When she was out of prison, what kind of medical or therapeutic help did she receive during those periods of time? And also, youve said that her interactions with police made her situation worse, not better. If you could talk about that, as well?

MAYA SCHENWAR: Yeah, absolutely. So, while she was out of prison, she would occasionally receive some support. She tried to be engaged in medication-assisted treatment, which has proven to support people with heroin addictions. But so much of the treatment that she experienced was based around surveillance and policing. And this is something that we see with many, many people who are criminalized and also use drugs, because its inside of the criminal legal system, so we see substance use as a problem that is within the criminal system even if were not sending people to jail.

And so, when people are sent to a mandated drug treatment center, when treatment is mandated, the research shows that thats not actually effective in helping people recover. And also we have to think about, ethically, you know, whether we should be putting people in a position where theyre mandated to do certain things with their bodies and their minds.

And so, Keeley was always surveilled. And she was not able to do the things that many of us are able to do to create a meaningful life. You know, she wasnt given opportunities to pursue her interests, to be with her family in a sustained way. Many of these treatments actually separated her from her family and confined her, just like prison.

And then, the thing I mention often about policing and the role that it played in her death was she became so afraid of being rearrested. And this is a very common fear among people who use drugs, and particularly among marginalized people who use drugs Black people, Indigenous people, trans people, people with disabilities and mental health diagnoses. You know, police are targeting them very, very heavily, so its a warranted fear. And so, seeking any kind of medical attention, particularly calling 911, can put you at risk for police contact, and that can lead to a return to incarceration. So, even when, in theory, there are options available and people say, Well, why didnt you seek help? its like, Well, you know, why would you seek help if the threat of punishment and torture and trauma is just hanging over your head every single second of the day?

JUAN GONZLEZ: And I wanted to ask you in 2019, Keeley was sentenced to two years in drug court. Explain what that means. And what happened to her after that?

MAYA SCHENWAR: Yeah. So, drug court is a diversion. So, the idea is that someone will be diverted either pretrial or sentenced to treatment instead of prison. And this option has grown substantially in popularity over the past few years. And its something that Biden has heavily promoted. Its often a thing that generates bipartisan enthusiasm.

But what people arent acknowledging is its still criminalization. So it still involves arresting people. Just arrest is a trauma. Its within the criminal legal system, which is built on foundations of white supremacy, and so its still targeting people of color, targeting Black people. Its still operating within a mindset of surveillance, so drug testing people constantly. Its still operating within a model of abstinence, which we know is not actually the best way to help people survive.

And so, even though we know all these things, were endorsing this program, I think, because partly, because its so hard to break out of this punishment mindset. And we need to challenge ourselves and say, What are we doing? Why are we supporting criminalization at the expense of peoples actual survival and ability to find support and ability to find resources?

You know, I think one really sad thing about all the money that is going into drug policing and drug courts and all of these resources, not only are harming and killing people, but, like the defund police movement has brought up again and again, what could we have if we diverted those resources and spent even more resources, as well, on things like housing and education and noncoercive healthcare and mental healthcare and more recreational opportunities and the arts and ways for people to live meaningful and livable lives and have all kinds of options to support their survival? Thats where we should be directing our energy.

AMY GOODMAN: Maya, Id like to go back to June 2014, when your sister, Keeley Schenwar, participated in a panel discussion in Chicago on breastfeeding and incarceration. Keeley read a poem she wrote for her baby daughter while she was incarcerated. Keeley gave birth while she was in prison, was taken away from her newborn daughter only after 24 hours with her.

KEELEY SCHENWAR: It took me over a month to start writing. Its so hard for me to think about all Ive already put you through. Nurses give me updates when the counselors here let me call. They say youre almost 10 pounds, starting to feel better, and that you love your baths.

Im not the one that holds you when you cry or the one that you look at when you open your eyes. It kills me to know that the reality is Im not a part of your life. I brought you into a world full of great things that are surrounded with pain, that which you already know too well, and I have no choice but to let you handle it all on your own and without a mother.

I guess youre not alone. It doesnt make sense or, it doesnt matter, nothing about this feels right. Although I know you wont remember this, I cant help but wonder if you feel the emptiness I carry day and night without you close or anywhere in sight.

I know my handwriting is sometimes sloppy, but its late, and Im writing in the background of the dim prison hallway lights. Im about to miss your first Halloween, just as Ive missed these last two months. I wish none of this was I wish none of this was true, but deep inside, really underneath a whole lot, I know I need to tell you nothing but the truth, which also includes that I love you. Ill spend the rest of my life making this up to you.

AMY GOODMAN: Thats Keeley Schenwar back in 2014. I am so sorry, Maya, how difficult this is for you, which makes it all the more brave for you to have written this piece in Truthout and to tell your sisters stories and her truths. As we talk about her baby being taken away from her so quickly, can you talk about her terror to get help because she was always afraid shed lose her baby, that theyd take her baby from her, and what you think needs to happen now, and if Cori Bushs new resolution, that she just introduced into Congress, the Peoples Response Act, which would send unarmed, trained professionals to respond to mental health and substance abuse crises instead of police, would make a difference?

MAYA SCHENWAR: Yes. Thank you, Amy. Thank you for playing that poem. I am overwhelmed. The poem is so beautiful. But it shouldnt have had to be written.

Tearing a mother away from her newborn baby is one of the most violent acts in the universe. And its perpetrated by our legal system. And I think when we think about the terror of Keeley and so many mothers and parents who use drugs and, more generally, who are criminalized, we have to think about this double punishment, the fact that not only are they under threat of being put into torture chambers prisons but also theyre under threat of this deep, deep, wrenching punishment of being torn away. And, of course, for Keeley, that was also the trauma of actually being pregnant and giving birth behind bars.

And when we look forward and think about, Well, what can be done? I think the number one thing we need to be thinking about is end criminalization and policing. And, you know, this might sound like something were doing away with instead of introducing, but I think its generative, because criminalization and incarceration are traumatizing and torturing people, and theyre also putting us in the mindset that this is all we can do, that this is our go-to solution. Well, you cant actually administer treatment through a system like that. And as weve discussed, police are actually making it less likely that people are going to seek emergency help when they really need it.

And so, I think that, within that, we also need to look at some of the other demands that are being made by organizers working to defund the police and to defend Black lives. And I think that Cori Bushs legislation does encompass some of that. We need to be fueling resources toward priorities that affirm life, and that includes housing, education, food, healthcare. These things would absolutely reduce overdoses, in addition to all the other many benefits they would have and the ways in which they would build toward creating a more flourishing and meaningful and equitable society. And I think creating nonpolice emergency responses is definitely something we should be funding and fueling. I believe Cori Bushs bill actually puts funding into existing programs, which is good, and we also need to be lifting up and funding and supporting all of the mutual aid efforts and the efforts that have actually been created by people who use drugs to support people in their survival, come up with creative harm reduction techniques and actually bring those to the community.

And I think that, in addition I just want to say real quickly that actually legalizing drugs, and doing that in a way thats informed by racial justice, that grants reparations to people most impacted by the drug war, that also has to happen, too, as were talking about all these issues with people dealing with contaminated drugs, people dealing with overdoses when they didnt even realize what amount they were taking. So I think its all of these things together, with a mindset of freedom and supporting people in their survival, a mindset of healing and liberation, instead of the idea that you can confine and surveil and police people into so-called recovery.

AMY GOODMAN: Maya Schenwar, I want to thank you so much for being with us. Again, this is a conversation we will continue. Maya is editor-in-chief of Truthout. Her sister Keeley died of a drug overdose in February 2020 at the age of 29. Mayas piece about her death is just out. Well link to it. Its headlined My Sister Died of an Overdose. Defunding the Police Might Have Saved Her. Maya Schenwar is co-author of Prison by Any Other Name and author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesnt Work and How We Can Do Better.

Next up, well speak with Democratic Congressmember Nikema Williams of Georgia about her Abolition Amendment to end forced prison labor. Well also talk with her about voting rights and infrastructure spending. Stay with us.

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Green Economy to Receive Big Talent Boost From $3.7M Wage Subsidy Program – Business Wire

Posted: at 2:54 pm

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BioTalent Canada announced the continuation of its Science and Technology Internship Program Green Jobs (STIP) wage subsidy. This programfunded in part by Natural Resources Canadafurther supports a vibrant green economy essential to Canada's sustainability. The $3.7M in funding will help to replenish the one resource the sector needs to thrive: young, skilled talent.

STIP provides qualified employers up to a maximum of $25,000 per year$32,000 for youth furthest from employmentfor new hires in natural resource-based STEM positions linked to the green economy. The program proved so successful the first two times that renewing it for a third was a necessary step.

"Canada's green economy is growing rapidly in size, prominence, and importance," says Rob Henderson, President and CEO of BioTalent Canada. "Extending STIP is an opportunity to ignite the sector's growth and provide young talent with an access point to a career in the bio-economy."

The enthusiasm, hard work and vision of youth are shaping Canadas future. Theyre looking for green jobs and green internships, so were providing them with the opportunities to build our low-emissions energy future. Youth - above all - will get us to net-zero. Minister of Natural Resources, The Honourable Seamus ORegan Jr.

By taking bold action and thinking outside of the box, our government is setting up young Canadians for success and ensuring an inclusive recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The STIP program is a great example of how government can work with community organizations to break down barriers to employment and create long-lasting change in the lives of young people. When we make skills-building and job opportunities available to young Canadians, we all succeed. Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, The Honourable Carla Qualtrough

According to BioTalent Canada's latest labour market report Growing the bio-economy: youth in focus, between March 2019 and March 2021, 75 employers across 42 cities in 11 provinces and territories accessed talent. Incredibly, 87% of participants received permanent offers following their internships.

Green economy employers were not immune to the effects of COVID-19. Like Vancouver-based Ensero Solutions, many turned to STIP to bolster workforces with young, energetic, skilled new hires. The results, to date, have been nothing short of transformative.

"We wouldn't have hit a lot of our field goal requirements and commitments without (STIP hires) Talor (Osberg) and Sara (Battaglia)," says Mitch Strom, Chief People Officer at Ensero Solutions. "The STIP subsidy helped during a tough year due to COVID."

As part of their internships, Talor and Sara got to do meaningful fieldwork and gain exposure to active mining sites. Ensero hired both permanently because of their internships.

"Canada's youth are ready and eager to contribute in a big way to the green economy," says Henderson. "And STIP provides them with an entry point to a career in the sector. The industry has already felt the results, but just wait because the long-term impacts are going to be astonishing."

Rob Henderson is available for comment.

BioTalent Canada is actively accepting applications. For more information, visit biotalent.ca/greenjobs.

About BioTalent Canada

BioTalent Canada supports the people behind life-changing science. Trusted as the go-to source for labour market intelligence, BioTalent Canada guides bio-economy stakeholders with evidence-based data and industry-driven standards. BioTalent Canada is focused on igniting the industrys brainpower, bridging the gap between job-ready talent and employers, and ensuring the long-term agility, resiliency, and sustainability of one of Canadas most vital sectors.

Recently named one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada with 10-50 employees and certified as a Great Place to Work for 2021, BioTalent Canada practices the same industry standards it recommends to its stakeholders. These distinctions were awarded to BioTalent Canada following a thorough and independent survey analysis conducted by Great Place to Work.

For more information, please visit biotalent.ca.

About Science Technology Internship Program Green Jobs

The Science and Technology Internship Program Green Jobs covers the cost of a new hire's salary by 80% to a maximum of $25,000/yr and $32,000/yr for youth furthest from employment. These funds help employers hire the talent they need and help youth initiate a career. Employers can bring on an eager, young worker for a special project and at the end of the placement, end up with a skilled candidate already oriented to their company. Youth from northern and remote communities have an opportunity for an increased subsidy. For more information, visit biotalent.ca/GreenJobs

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Intergenerational Report 2021: Three things can brighten the fiscal outlook – The Australian Financial Review

Posted: at 2:54 pm

The inflated expectations of the unexpected resources boom were also built into the spending monuments of the Rudd-Gillard government. However worthy in intent, the billions of dollars ploughed into secondary schools and disability services have not generated any financial return and, as a result, have helped to drag down Australias productivity performance.

Our school performance has actually declined in absolute terms even as schools have been given more taxpayers money to play with.

This is a sub-par outlook for a prosperous, resource-based frontier economy at the foot of Asia.

As IGR 2021 shows, labour productivity basically stalled from about 2015, in turn delivering the slowdown in wages growth that attracts so many complaints. But at the time this was disguised in the afterglow of the resources development boom.

So IGR 2015 projected four decades of budget surpluses that would pay off all the net public debt by the 2020s.

Six years later, the global pandemic has smashed that rosy outlook, returning it to a further four decades of budget deficits and net debt at 35 per cent of GDP in 2060-61.

The cost of the failed 2014 Abbott-Hockey budget attempt to properly repair the fiscal excesses of the Labor years is now being revealed. The closing of the international border to migrants has led to the first downgrading of population growth since IGR 2002.

The flow-on effects of a less expanded economy, slower growth, an older population and smaller workforce will sharpen the fiscal challenge of growing our way out of the deficit and debt blowout.

Yet even this sobering outlook is propped up by the wildly optimistic assumption that Australias productivity performance will recover over the next decade to a 30-year trend rate that was pushed up by the huge gains made during the 1980s and 1990s reform era.

So the actual outlook has deteriorated more than IGR 2021 admits.

The capacity of the political system to deal with this has been undermined further by both the shock of COVID-19 and Australias surprisingly rapid economic and jobs rebound.

Amid freakishly low interest rates, this has further disoriented the public debate over debt and deficits and what needs to be done to drive the assumed recovery in productivity growth.

But the Morrison government dare not seriously prepare the ground for genuine budget repair before the next election. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg insists there will be no fiscal austerity.

The government has pushed modestly on policy reforms, including to superannuation, insolvency laws and the personal income tax structure. But even its proposed tinkering with our antiquated industrial relations regulation was blocked by Labor and the crossbench in the Senate. Any further tax reform has been pushed off to the states.

But as the boost to demand from borrowed money wears off, even the official budget numbers forecast that Australias economic growth will settle closer to 2 per cent before the hoped-for resumption of immigration kicks in.

This is a sub-par outlook for a prosperous, resource-based frontier economy at the foot of Asia.

After the pandemic is over, Australias national debate inevitably will be gripped by the disappointing future that IGR 2021 projects.

Unfortunately, just not now.

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Oregon Legislation Mandates 100% Clean Electricity by 2040 With a Focus on Environmental Justice – JD Supra

Posted: at 2:54 pm

[co-author: Haley Nieh*]

For the past two legislative sessions, the Oregon legislature triedand failedto pass comprehensive climate legislation. Those efforts, which were focused on a cap-and-trade, economy-wide approach, were met with such harsh resistance that opponents walked out of the legislature, grinding the sessions to a halt and leading Governor Kate Brown to take matters into her own hands through executive action.

With that history still fresh, a broad coalition of stakeholders took a different approach this year by targeting the elimination of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electric generating sector while focusing on the effects of climate change on a community-by-community basis, and giving a stronger voice to environmental justice stakeholders.

On June 26, 2021, those efforts resulted in the passage of House Bill 2021, a far-reaching clean electricity bill that requires the state's two largest investor owned utilities (IOUs) and retail electricity service suppliers to reduce GHG emissions associated with electricity sold to Oregon consumers to 100 percent below baseline emissions levels by 2040, with interim stepsincluding an 80 percent reduction in just nine years (2030)along the way. The 2040 deadline is even faster than the 2045 deadline set by neighboring Washington in 2019, a goal that was seen as remarkably ambitious at the time.

Moreover, the legislation ensures broad stakeholder input in shaping how Oregon reaches those targets. It also encourages more renewable development within the state while setting labor standards for such projects; prohibits the siting of new natural gas, coal, or other fossil fuel based electric generating facilities unless demonstrated to be "nonemitting" (defined as not emitting GHGs into the atmosphere); and allocates $50 million for the development of community-based renewable energy projects.

Here we highlight some of the most significant aspects of this new legislation, which Governor Brown is expected to sign. But the legislation's passage is only a first stepmany of the significant details will be determined by the agencies tasked with implementing it.

Retail electric service in Oregon is provided by a mix of IOUs, public or consumer owned utilities, and "electricity service suppliers" serving commercial and industrial customers under Oregon's "direct access" laws. HB 2021's mandates are directed at the state's two largest "electric companies"IOUs PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric (both of which supported the legislation)and electricity service suppliers, which together account for the lion's share of retail electricity supply in the state.1

Under HB 2021, the Department of Environment Quality is tasked with determining the amount of emissions reduction necessary for each retail electricity provider covered by the law to meet clean energy targets. The targetswhich do not replace the separate renewable portfolio standards previously established in Oregonincrease over time: electricity sold to Oregon consumers would first need to meet an 80 percent below baseline emissions threshold by 2030 and 90 percent below baseline emissions by 2035.2

The legislation requires electric companies to develop and submit to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) clean energy plans to meet the law's targets. These plans, which are to be developed in conjunction with the electric companies' established integrated resource planning processes, must address a series of topics, including the anticipated means for, and progress towards, meeting the clean energy targets; resiliency benefits; and the associated costs and benefits. The OPUC is tasked with monitoring the electric companies' progress towards meeting the established targets and acknowledging the plans found to be consistent with the reduction targets and in the public interest.

The legislation authorizes the OPUC to grant electric companies a temporary exemption from the targets on a case-by-case basis. The electric company must persuade the OPUC that achieving a target would conflict with its ability to comply with mandatory reliability standards or resource adequacy obligations, compromise its ability to provide service at fair and reasonable rates, or otherwise compromise the power quality or integrity of the electric company's system. If granted a temporary exemption, the OPUC is to require specific actions within a specified timeframe in order to remedy the potential problems.

The bill also establishes a cost cap process for the OPUC to grant a "narrowly tailored" and "limited duration" exemption to the targets for electric companies or electricity service suppliers if compliance costs are determined to exceed a specified limit (6 percent of the annual revenue requirement for electric companies, with a "comparable exemption" to be provided for electricity service suppliers).

In addition to its clean energy targets, HB 2021 has a strong environmental justice component, similar to Washington State's recent climate legislation. Among other things, Oregon focuses on ameliorating the impacts of climate change on environmental justice communities, which the legislation defines as communities of color, communities experiencing lower incomes, tribal communities, rural communities, coastal communities, and communities with limited infrastructure. It also includes other communities traditionally underrepresented in public processes and adversely harmed by environmental and health hazards, including seniors, youth, and persons with disabilities. The legislation emphasizes the development of community-based renewable energy, increased resiliency, local job development, and reducing energy costs for families and businesses.

The legislation requires an electric company filing a clean energy plan to convene a Community Benefits and Impacts Advisory Group to gather input from community stakeholders. The Advisory Group is to submit to the OPUC a biennial report analyzing the energy burden and disconnections impacting residential and small business customers, and identifying opportunities to increase contracting with women-, veteran-, Black-, Indigenous-, or People of Color-owned businesses. It is also to review resiliency opportunities and the social, economic, and environmental justice co-benefits that result from the utility's investments or practices.

The legislation establishes a $50 million Community Renewables Investment Fund that will make grants to Indian tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities to develop community renewable energy projects. The grants are to promote small-scale (not more than 20 MW) renewable energy projects that will benefit qualifying communities by providing energy resilience, local jobs, economic development, and direct energy cost savings to families and small businesses.

Under current law, electric companies are required to provide residential consumers with a portfolio of rate options for electric service, including both a market-based rate and at least one other rate "that reflects significant new renewable energy resources." The new legislation expands on this portfolio by providing local governments with the ability to coordinate with the electric companies serving consumers within their boundaries on the establishment of more specific rates for their constituents that are directly tied to the specific local government's clean electricity goals, such as to promote community-based renewable resources.

HB 2021 also establishes contractor labor standards for the construction and repowering of "large-scale" energy projects (generally those with a capacity of 10 MW or more). The standards include apprenticeship outreach to women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities and establishes policies to prevent harassment and discrimination and promote workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. The legislation also requires the payment of wages in accordance with the same trade or occupation in the locality where the labor is performed.

HB 2021 authorizes a number of rulemakings and other agency proceedings to implement its various provisions. DWT will be closely tracking those developments.

* Haley Nieh is a Summer Associate in DWT's San Francisco office and a rising 2L at Santa Clara Law.

1 The legislation's GHG target reduction provisions do not apply to electric companies serving fewer than 25,000 Oregon retail electric customers.2 Measured and reported as GHG emissions per megawatt-hour as reported under ORS 468A.280.

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