Category Archives: National Vanguard

Bill author Scott Wiener, Senator from San Francisco

By Linh Nguyen

SACRAMENTO Despite public opposition and misinformation, Governor Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 145incorrectly confused with legalizing pedophilia by QAnon and otherswhich amends a sex crimes law that discriminates against young LGBTQ people on Californias sex offender registry.

Under longstanding California law (since 1944), if an adult has voluntary penile-vaginal intercourse with a minor aged 14 through 17 and is up to 10 years older than the minor, the offense is not automatically registerable. A judge would have discretion of whether to place the defendant on the sex offender registry depending on the facts of the case.

However, if the act is oral sex, anal sex or sexual penetration, the court must place the defendant on the sex offender registry regardless of the facts of the crime and even in cases where neither the prosecutor nor the judge want to place the defendant on the registry.

This distinction of the law is discriminatory toward LGBTQ young people as, for example, it would place a 19-year-old on the sex offender registry for having voluntary, non-vaginal sex with a 17-year-old.

The age of consent in California is 18. Therefore, having sexual relations with a minor is considered statutory rape and may be considered a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the case details and ages of the defendant and alleged victim.

SB 145 would end California discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ young people for specific sex acts regarding sex offender registry law by placing those sex acts under the same category as penile-vaginal sex.

I am so grateful that Governor Newsomone of the LGBTQ communitys strongest allies everonce again has shown that hes willing to support our community even when its hard, said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 145, in a statement.

He added, And make no mistake: the politics here are hard, with the massive Trump, QAnon, and MAGA misinformation campaign against the legislation. The facts are clear: SB 145 simply ends anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Today, California took yet another step toward an equitable society.

The signing of SB 145 was met with widespread opposition by some in the public and prominent politicians.

Posts spreading on social media when the bill was being discussed in the state legislature falsely interpreted the bill as legalizing pedophilia. These posts echoed posts shared by conspiracy theory and QAnon social media accounts earlier in the summer.

QAnon is a right-wing, pro-Trump conspiracy theory group centered on beliefs of a deep state plot against the president involving satanism and child sex trafficking.

In early August, Sen. Wiener received threatening messages using anti-gay slurs and calling him a pedophile for sponsoring SB 145.

Despite massive, disgusting misinformation from the QAnon cultincluding extreme death threats against mewe were able to pass SB 145 because its the right thing to do, Wiener said in a statement.

One Facebook post read, PEDOPHILIA is now LEGAL in CALIFORNIA. Now a 21 year old can have sex with an 11 year old, and not be listed on the sex registry as a sex offender. This is unbelievable California.

The bill would not apply when the minor is under the age of 14, when the age gap is larger than 10 years or when either party says the sex was not consensual.

Another Twitter post strikes at Democratic Party Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris for being a supporter of Wiener, the outspoken supporter of the bill.

According to the bills authors and outside experts, these posts fundamentally misrepresent SB 145.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who drafted the bill, said in a statement: This bill allows judges and prosecutors to evaluate cases involving consensual sex acts between young people, regardless of their sexual orientation, on an individual basis.

Signing SB 145 was the right thing to do, said Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director of Equality California, which co-sponsored the bill with the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

It was the right thing to do for LGBTQ+ young people, it was the right thing to do to keep our communities safe and it was the right thing to do for California. If we want a California for all, then we need a justice system that treats all Californians fairly and equally regardless of who they are, what they look like or whom they love. That goal is at the core of SB 145, said Zbur.

SB 145 is co-sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office and Equality California, and is supported by both law enforcement (California District Attorneys Association and California Police Chiefs Association), as well as civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the California Public Defenders Association, Children Now, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

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CA Governor Signs Bill Ending Discrimination against Young LGBTQ on Sex Offender Registry - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Synopsys, Inc.(Nasdaq:SNPS) today publishedBSIMM11,the latest version of the Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM), created to help organizations plan, execute, measure, and improve their software security initiatives (SSIs). BSIMM11 reflects the software security practices observed across 130 firms from multiple industry verticals including financial services, FinTech, independent software vendors, cloud, healthcare, Internet of Things, insurance, and retail. BSIMM11 describes the work of 8,457 software security professionals who guide the efforts of over 490,000 developers.

BSIMM is used by organizations as a measuring stick to compare and contrast their own initiatives with the data from the broader BSIMM community. BSIMM11 shows that many organizations are adapting their software security efforts to support digital transformation and modern software development paradigms like DevOps.

Read the BSIMM11 Digest or download the full BSIMM11 study.

"The BSIMM is an excellent resource for security leaders interested in learning from the collective experiences of their peers, particularly to solve new or emerging challenges," said Mike Newborn, CISO of Navy Federal Credit Union, a member organization of the BSIMM community. "Today, most organizations face the challenge of securing a growing portfolio of applications against the backdrop of rapidly evolving and accelerating software development practices. BSIMM11 reflects how many of these organizations are adapting their software security strategies to protect themselves and their customers without stifling innovation or impeding the speed of development."

Emerging trends in BSIMM11

"The way modern software is built and deployed has transformed dramatically over the past few years, so naturally the efforts required to secure that software are changing as well," said Michael Ware, BSIMM co-author and senior director of technology at Synopsys. "Businesses are critically dependent on software, and modern methodologies have accelerated the speed of development. As a result, there is more software everywhere, and we still need to worry about all the pre-existing software. As a model that constantly evolves to represent the actual practices in use by hundreds of software security groups around the worldincluding some of the most advanced teams in the worldthe BSIMM provides a near-real-time view into how these changes are being implemented to protect the growing software portfolios."

New activities in the BSIMM represent a shift toward DevSecOps

The three activities added to BSIMM10 saw exceptional growth within the past year (SM3.4 Integrate software-defined lifecycle governance, AM3.3 Monitor automated asset creation, CMVM3.5 Automate verification of operational infrastructure security). This reflects how some organizations are actively working to accelerate software security efforts to match the pace of software delivery. Furthermore, the two activities added in BSIMM11 represent a continuation of that trend (ST3.6 Implementing event-driven security testing, CMVM3.6 Publishing risk data for deployable artifacts).

BSIMM across industries

BSIMM provides unique, data-driven insight to understanding and comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of software security initiatives across a variety of industries. Cloud, Internet of Things, and high technology firms are three of the most mature verticals in the BSIMM11 data pool. BSIMM11 also highlights differences between three highly regulated industries: financial services, healthcare, and insurance. The financial services industry, which had software security groups in place earlier than other industries, was seen to have more mature practices compared to their counterparts in healthcare and insurance. For the first time, the BSIMM presents data on the FinTech vertical, and found that it tracks fairly closely to financial services, with the primary deltas (in favor of FinTech) occurring in the training, security testing, and code review practices.

Read the BSIMM11 Digest or download the full BSIMM11 study.

For an interactive discussion of the key findings in BSIMM11, register for our October 15 webinar.

Acknowledgments

Sammy Migues, principal scientist at Synopsys, Michael Ware, senior director of technology at Synopsys, and John Steven, founding principal at Aedify Security, authored BSIMM11 after analyzing data collected over nearly 12 years of software security research. Some of the companies participating in the BSIMM study include: Adobe, Aetna, Alibaba, Ally Bank, Autodesk, Axway, Bank of America, Bell, BMO Financial Group, Black Knight Financial Services, Box, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, City National Bank, Cisco, Citigroup, Dahua, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Eli Lilly, Equifax, Experian, F-Secure, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Electric, Genetec, Global Payments, HCA Healthcare, Highmark Health Solutions, Honeywell, Horizon Healthcare Services, HSBC, iPipeline, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lenovo, MassMutual, McKesson, Medtronic, Morningstar, Navient, Navy Federal Credit Union, NCR, NEC Platforms, NetApp, NewsCorp, NVIDIA, PayPal, Pegasystems, Principal Financial Group, Royal Bank of Canada, SambaSafety, ServiceNow, Synopsys, TD Ameritrade, The Home Depot, The Vanguard Group, Trainline, Trane, U.S. Bank, Veritas, Verizon, Verizon Media, Wells Fargo, and Zendesk.

About the BSIMM

Started in 2008, the Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM) is a tool for creating, measuring, and evaluating software security initiatives. A data-driven model and measurement tool developed through the careful study and analysis of over 200 software security initiatives, BSIMM11 includes current, real-world data from 130 organizations. The BSIMM is an open standard that includes a framework based on software security practices, which an organization can use to assess and mature its own efforts in software security. For more information, visit http://www.bsimm.com.

About the Synopsys Software Integrity Group

Synopsys Software Integrity Group helps development teams build secure, high-quality software, minimizing risks while maximizing speed and productivity. Synopsys, a recognized leader in application security, provides static analysis, software composition analysis, and dynamic analysis solutions that enable teams to quickly find and fix vulnerabilities and defects in proprietary code, open source components, and application behavior. With a combination of industry-leading tools, services, and expertise, only Synopsys helps organizations optimize security and quality in DevSecOps and throughout the software development life cycle. Learn more atwww.synopsys.com/software.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) is the Silicon to Softwarepartner for innovative companies developing the electronic products and software applications we rely on every day. As the world's 15thlargest software company, Synopsys has a long history of being a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP and is also growing its leadership in software security and quality solutions. Whether you're a system-on-chip (SoC) designer creating advanced semiconductors, or a software developer writing applications that require the highest security and quality, Synopsys has the solutions needed to deliver innovative, high-quality, secure products. Learn more atwww.synopsys.com.

Editorial Contact:Mark Van ElderenSynopsys, Inc.650-793-7450[emailprotected]

SOURCE Synopsys, Inc.

http://www.synopsys.com

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Synopsys Publishes BSIMM11 Study Highlighting Fundamental Shifts in Software Security Initiatives in Response to DevOps and Digital Transformation -...

Artificial intelligence will under deliver to begin with but blow our minds in the future, the chief executive of Babylon Health has said.

Speaking during a London Tech Week panel discussion on AI, Ali Parsa said the NHS is doing fantastic work in the field but added we must not be afraid to participant in new technologies.

AI, like any other technology, is going to under deliver to start with but blow our mind away in the long term and we need to get used to it, he said

On one hand we need to stop hyping what it can do today and we need to almost overhype what it can achieve in the future.

He also added that getting the policy on AI right is critical.

You want the policy to make sure we dont have snake oil today deployed and hurting people, and on the other hand it doesnt suffocate what could come tomorrow, he said.

Thats incredibly hard work to do.

Also speaking was Dominic King, UK lead and medical director at Google Health, said turning research into production is immensely complex adding that the NHS is a vanguard on how AI can be deployed globally.

We know that artificial intelligence and digital technologies are going to transform healthcare, it may not be in two years but 10 years, he said.

Is it transformative now? Not really because most hasnt been implemented at scale, but we are putting the foundations so when its ready many of the mistakes and issues that weve seen with dissemination of technology in the past weve learnt our lessons.

Thats why I think the NHS acts as this exemplar or vanguard for how this technology can be thoughtfully deployed on a global scale.

But he warned there are risks with technologies like AI that need to be managed.

Theres also real risks of this technology and its critical that were very deliberate, we dont want to extend the current inequalities and biases we see, he said.

Particularly whats evident over the last nine months of Covid, and that we end up negatively disrupting how care is delivered in the future.

The government has recently boosted its stake in artificial intelligence, announcing a total of 100m for AI projects.

In late August the Department of Health and Social Care pledged 50m of further investment to improve diagnostics across the NHS, through delivering digital upgrades to pathology and imaging services across the country.

A second wave of 50m was announced on 8 September for a range of AI tools to be tested and scaled under the National AI Lab, launched in 2019.

It includes tools that can accurately analyse breast cancer screening scans and assess emergency stroke patients.

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AI will 'under deliver' at first but 'blow our minds' in the future - Digital Health

Low income housing estate in Abuja.By Gabriel Ewepu Abuja

As Nigerians continue to grapple with the challenge to own decent houses of their dream, the Affordable Housing Cooperative Society, Tuesday, stepped in to assist Federal Government to bridge the existing over 20 million housing deficit with the launch of two products, Easy Mortgage and Collateral Direct.

The launch of the products was done via webinar by the President, Affordable Homes Cooperative Society Town Planner Komolafe Lukman, along with other board members.

Lukman explained that the government alone cannot provide houses for the over 200 million Nigerians and those yet to be born, hence cooperative societies such as the Affordable Homes Cooperative Society, to jump in to rescue the situation with innovative strategies to ensure Nigerians own decent homes of their dream.

He said: Today is an important day for us at Affordable Homes Cooperative Society, which was established over 10 years, and it was formed to fill the gap, which is housing need, which is also a basic necessity of life including clothing and food.

We have a serious deficit in Nigeria as far as housing is concerned. The sole aim of forming this cooperative in 2011 is to solve part of the deficit of housing in Nigeria.

In making that effort we acknowledge the fact that there are challenges, but we at Affordable Homes Cooperative we are taking advantage of the opportunities by making sure we meet the housing needs of Nigerians and also bridge the gap.

However, we have identified problems facing the housing sector in Nigeria which include land, mortgage, which an average Nigerian cannot afford a mortgage because of the income of Nigerians.

Considering these challenges we have come up with two basic solutions to address these challenges, which we call Easy Mortgage; this is to assist Nigerians access mortgage easily, and the other is what we call Collateral Direct; this is to tackle the challenge of an average Nigerian who is into the business when it comes to moving their business forward in terms of accessing loans from Microfinance banks, while some are stuck and cannot move forward because they cannot access loan because they lack collateral.

The good thing is that we as a cooperative is out to fill that gap either by purchasing land through our partners by making sure we solve the problem of collateral.

According to him, Our target of launching these two products is to ensure that Nigerians benefit from them, which on the long run we are going to fix the problem of housing which we are optimistic that if we fix this problem of housing deficit in Nigeria we will solve a lot of problem in Nigeria.

We also know that housing could be used as a panacea to the countrys economic problems because it could be used as a conveyor-belt because if a site begins work it will lead to the multiplier effect of job creation, the supply of building material, food selling and other, he stated.

Meanwhile, in a goodwill message, the Executive Secretary, National Co-operative Cooperative Financing Agency of Nigeria, CFAN, Emmanuel Atama, commended the initiative of the Affordable Homes Cooperative Society and pledged support for success with the new products launched.

As we make giant strides in all sectors of the economy and housing is inclusive. The National Cooperative Society of Nigeria has been working with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria together with other cooperatives making sure that housing is affordable for Nigerians.

The FMBN has provided a window called the Cooperative Housing Window the intent and purpose and the FMBN and the National Cooperative Financing of Nigeria have been interfacing on behalf of cooperatives in Nigeria to ensure we create a window that promotes inclusiveness.

Unlike before that access to mortgaging is for those in the formal sector. Working with the FMBN today, the window has been provided for those even in the informal sector

We all know that when cooperatives intervene in any sector of the economy it makes things ordinarily not affordable to be affordable, and that is why we are very happy with the Affordable Homes Cooperative Society with respect to the intervention they have provided for access to housing in Nigeria. We are proud of them, wish them well, and will provide them the necessary facilitation to make sure they succeed.

Also speaking was the Executive Secretary, Affordable Homes Cooperative Society, Mike Dibie, who explained that the cooperative is legally registered with Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and CFAN, and added that members are projected as a priority to ensure their narrative change in positive based on the formidable team of management.

He said: Affordable Homes Cooperative Society is legally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, also with Cooperative Financing Agency of Nigeria.

Primarily the cooperative gives optimal support to members to own their own houses and also to live a fruitful and happy life, and members have fulfilled lives because they have access to personal and business loans and to own houses including buying goods at discounted rates on developing a property. To register is N5000, while you own a share by buying 10 units at N10, 000 with a fee of N2000 as monthly contribution as a member. The portal is there and soon our app will be out. Our headquarters is in Abuja. We can be reached at http://www.affordablehome.com.ng or 0817388222.

Today we are launching two products that would further deepen the impact of Affordable Cooperative Society which are Easy Mortgaging and Collateral Direct to have loans that make their business prosper.

Vanguard

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Cooperative steps in to assist FG bridge over 20m housing deficit - Vanguard

Vanguard has announced it will exit Hong Kong and transfer its Asian headquarters to Shanghai in a move that will be seen as a blow to the former British colony where overseas companies have expressed concerns about Chinas recent imposition of a controversial national security law.

The worlds second-largest asset manager will also wind down its Japan operations, the company said.

Vanguard issued a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday, saying it would seek to implement an orderly exit from its exchange traded funds business in Hong Kong, adding that it was considering appointing a new investment manager to take over the products, or terminating these listed funds.

We regularly review our international business, a company official said. This review has now led us to the conclusion to wind down our Hong Kong operation, which primarily serves institutional clients, and not the individual investors that are our primary strategic focus.

This article was previously published by Ignites Asia, a title owned by the FT Group.

The official stressed that Vanguard still saw growth potential in Hong Kong, but added: Unfortunately, from a distribution business standpoint, the current industry dynamics are better suited to institutional investors and do not currently support the scale needed for us to operate the economic engine behind our unique, low-cost, individual investor-orientated model.

As part of the companys departure from the Hong Kong market where its current Asia headquarters are located, Vanguard is considering transferring its Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund pension portfolio to another fund management company, a Shanghai-based official said. Vanguard listed its first ETF in Hong Kong in May 2013.

Scott Conking, Vanguards newly appointed Asia head, made the announcement to regional employees in a town-hall meeting on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter who said he also announced the closure of Vanguards Japan operations.

Mr Conking, who was only appointed to the role in March, also told some Hong Kong-based staff that they would have to relocate to its Shanghai office, which would become the companys new regional headquarters, while other staff were told they had to leave the company.

Vanguard, which had $5.7tn in global assets as of end-April, closed its Singapore office in 2018 when it also cut one-fifth of its headcount in the Hong Kong office.

With the closure of its Hong Kong and Japan offices, Vanguard will only have Asia-Pacific presences in Shanghai, Beijing and Melbourne in Australia. However, its Beijing representative office may also be affected by the changes to its regional business, two sources said.

The companys move to Shanghai will be seen as a blow to Hong Kong where the introduction of Chinas national security law has raised concernsin the business community, especially among US companies, and sparked fears that some companies could look to leave.

Vanguard has been ploughing resources into its China growth and development plans, while its wider Asia business has struggled somewhat to translate its low-fee, zero commission model to some of Asias regional retail fund management markets, where large banks call the shots over asset management companies.

200,000Number of clients Vanguard has won for its China fund advisory joint venture since March

Vanguard launched Bang Ni Tou, its China fund advisory digital platform, in March. The joint venture, with financial technology giant Ant, has already attracted 200,000 clients who have invested $315m.

Vanguard also confirmed that the company would cease all its onshore presence and operations in Japan, and would no longer actively market or distribute existing or new products in the market.

Earlier this year, Vanguard agreed to sell all its shares in its Japan investment joint venture, Monex-Saison-Vanguard Investment Partners, which was established in 2015.

*Ignites Asia is a news service published by FT Specialist for professionals working in the asset management industry. It covers everything from new product launches to regulations and industry trends. Trials and subscriptions are available at ignitesasia.com.

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Vanguard to exit Hong Kong and move regional HQ to China - Financial Times

idiAn Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile poses a threat to the water security of downstream Sudan and Egypt, catalyzing a feud between the countries and resulting on Aug. 8 in Egypt withdrawing and Sudan threatening to withdraw from dam negotiations.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Ethiopias hydropower project, is crucial for the countrys electricity and a symbol of its position in the region. Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed plans to transform the country into a regional exporter of energy through the dam.

The dam project remains significant for Ethiopias national unity and development. The country experienced ethnic violence in recent years, which critics said the prime minister failed to constrain, according to CNN.

Addisu Lashitew, a fellow with the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institute, said: The Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a national project that [got] the support of the government, opposition parties and the public as well. It has been a uniting force in Ethiopia, as it has been built by Ethiopians money.

Sudans water and irrigation minister, Yasser Abbas, said Ethiopia took unilateral action, according to Al Jazeera. This new Ethiopian position threatens the negotiations under the aegis of the African Union, and Sudan will not participate in negotiations which include the subject of sharing Blue Nile waters, Abbas said.

The controversial dam poses an existential threat to dry countries such as Egypt, where the Nile serves as a key source for both drinking water and agriculture, according to BBC. The World Bank considers Egypt a water-scarce country.

Colonial-era agreements granted Egypt and Sudan most of the Niles water, as well as veto power over construction projects on the Nile, according to the Brookings Institution. A 2010 deal signed by Ethiopia and six other Nile countries removed Egypt and Sudans veto power.

In the negotiations revolving around the worlds longest river, the three countries used different treaties to claim their rights on the dam. According to Al Jazeera, Ethiopia used the 2010 treaty, while both Sudan and Egypt called on their rights from the colonial-era treaties signed in 1929 and 1959.

According to downstream countries, building the dam indicated Ethiopias refusal to take other countries needs into account. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said: While we acknowledge Ethiopias right to development, the water of the Nile is a question of life, a matter of existence to Egypt.

Egypt withdrew from the dam talks scheduled for Aug. 8, stating Ethiopia lacked regulations for the dam and a legal avenue to settle disputes, while Sudan threatened to withdraw from the talks.

South Africa, as the current chair of the African Union, is acting as mediator in the Nile dispute. According to BBC, many Egyptians perceive South Africa as biased towards Ethiopia, with Egyptians claiming Ethiopians will receive a better outcome.

The current chairperson of the African Union, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement negotiations were at a critical phase. It is important that all parties should be engaged, Ramaphosa said. We would like to urge them to continue to be guided by the spirit of Pan-African solidarity.

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Dam dispute on the Nile - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com

Despite significant market uncertainty during the firsthalf of 2020, small business employees maintained a long-term perspective in saving for retirement, according to new research by Vanguard.

The firm reports in How America Saves Small Business: An update on 2020that 95% of participants in Vanguard small business retirement plans did not make a single trade between January and June 30 of this year. The report was issued as an accompaniment to the firms annual How America Saves Small Business Edition,as well as its annual How America Savesstudy.

Participant withdrawal activity remained low on an absolute basis, with only 1.3% of Vanguard Retirement Plan Access (VRPA) participants taking a withdrawal in the first six months of the year. Although a low figure, the study notes that the withdrawal rate is up slightly when compared to the first six months of 2019, in which 0.7% of participants took out a withdrawal. Of the 2020 withdrawals, 30% were Coronavirus-related distributions under the CARES Act.

Participation and Deferral Rates Rise

By contrast, participation and deferral rates rose slightly in the first six months of 2020, with the number of participants with professionally managed allocations holding steady, indicating participants remained disciplined throughout the volatility, the study notes. As of June 30, 2020, 67% of VRPA participants were invested in a professionally managed allocation, identical to the percentage at year-end.

Plan-weighted participation rates (calculated by taking the average of participation rates among a group of plans) were 74% through June 2020, up from 72% at year-end. And participant-weighted participation rates (calculated as if all employees in Vanguard-administered plans were in a single plan) were 63%, compared with 59% at year-end. Vanguards data also shows that the average deferral increased from 7.1% at year-end 2019 to 7.6% by June 2020.

Not surprisingly, account balances did fall, but the decrease was expected based on market performance. The average account balance as of June 2020 was $60,226a 4.8% decrease from $63,274 at year-end 2019. The median balance was $11,084a 4.2% decrease since year-end.

Vanguard notes that while COVID-19-related uncertainty persists, plans offering features such as automatic enrollment and defaulting participants into target-date funds, can help small business employees continue to save for their retirement goals.

With so much economic uncertainty, its important to focus on what you can control, such as implementing automatic enrollment, accelerating total saving rates and encouraging the use of TDFs, the firm observes in the small business edition.

For example,employees enrolled in plans with an automatic enrollment feature have an overall participation rate of 83%, compared with a participation rate of only 52% for employees hired under plans with voluntary enrollment.

Moreover, the study shows that, as of June 30, 2020, 78% of new plan entrants hold a single target date fund, compared to 63% of participants overall, which was the same as in 2019.

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Small Business 401(k) Plan Participants Remain Steadfast - National Association of Plan Advisors

On July 4, the Trump administration interjected the Department of Homeland Security into the protests ongoing in Portlandin spite of Associated Press reporting the number of nightly protestors to be less than 100with no consideration for the questionable legality of these actions. With federal troops withdrawn, however, the actions of the administrationand the reasons behind themcan be called into question. According to two Portland State professors, the actions of the DHS may not only be questionable, but authoritarian.

I think it is part of a strategy by the Trump administration to escalate things, said Dr. Leopoldo Rodriguez, an associate professor of International and Development Studies at PSU. Trump can probably see the polls, and see the public reaction of his terrible management of the countryin taking care of the [COVID-19] crisis and his terrible response to the Black Lives Matter movement and protests.

Data from RealClearPolitics illustrates the gap between Trumps falling approval and rising disapproval rating has increased by nearly 20%. A poll by The Washington Post shows a distinction across party lines: about 63% of Republicans prefer he restores security as opposed to deal with the racial divide, and 72% do not believe the police have used enough force in dealing with looters and vandals.

These are tactics that are very, very scary and I think the purpose of that is to scare peopleto be quiet, to not be counted, and fully deactivating, Rodriguez said. Its true that this thing about grabbing people, putting them in cars, driving them around and questioning them; that is a kind of tactic that I have seen used in Latin America by authoritarian regimes already about to come to power and after they are in power.

A comparison to Latin America is not unwarranted, considering Operation Condora United States-backed campaign of political repression and state terror in South America. This operation generated right-wing, anti-democratic and hyper-militarized regimes in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Furthermore, the domestic use of authoritarian actions is not unprecedented.

The federal government has intervened numerous times in our nations history to quell incidents of domestic unrests, explained Dr. Joshua Eastin, an associate professor of political science at PSU. Normally what happens is the Insurrection Act of 1807 is used to justify these actions; sometimes, when federal officials are sent, it is at the request of state or local officials [] we also have examples where federal troops have been sent in and local officials have opposed them.

Thomas Jefferson signed the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allowed the federal government to deploy military agents within the U.S. It was last used in the 1992 Los Angeles riots to quell the anger caused by police brutality.

Yet, despite having this avenue, the interjection in Portland did not use this rationale.

Whats different about this instance in my mind is that the president is not using the insurrection act to send in national guard troops to enforce federal law, Eastin said. What the federal government is doing is sending in non-military personnelso agents associated with the [DHS] working in the US marshals office, customs, and border protection, immigration, and customs enforcement, and the federal protections servicesunder the auspices of protecting federal property. But this is a very broad interpretation of a threat to federal property.

And its not entirely clear if its legal; one of the consequences of having a huge administrative apparatus like the [DHS] with multiple law enforcement agencies with overlapping administrative duties is that legal justifications can be stretched, or contracted, or contorted to fit particular circumstances and it feels like thats whats happening here, Eastin said.

Determining legality will take time and depend on the decisions of ongoing lawsuits.

I think its still quite early yet to call the Trump administration fascist, but I think that it would be appropriate to say there are overlaps with fascist regimes in history, Eastin said. So far, it seems that our liberal democratic institutions have been able to withstand much of the assaultin other words, it doesnt seem that overall the public does not trust the judiciary anymore because the president continues to attack them.

Whether authoritarian tactics devolve into fascism, however, depends on the public.

I dont want to conflate all authoritarian regimes with fascism; usually, when people mean authoritarian they mean non-democratic, Eastin said. Its not out of the question that were President Trump reelected that we would see things continue to erode to a point that it might be much, much more difficult to retrieve them than it is now.

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Why the feds came marching in - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com

I have my own bone to pick with Bhushan some years ago he teamed up with the fascist forces and for all his erudition and courage failed to see how they were leading India into the dark ages. It has taken years to recognise that these dark forces do not need an official and Constitutional Emergency to bend journalists or judges to their will but now, like the advocate from the Emergency days, I am beginning to think that lawyers like Bhushan and there are many more of them battling the authorities might become the bane of their existence and not allow all their evil designs to succed.

Bhushan's refusal to apologise and rethink his statement or move for a reconciliation or otherwise give in, quoting Mahatma Gandhi on taking his punishment cheerfully, I believe, could yet prove the first major strike towards the restoration of democratic processes and bringing its revered institutions back on an even keel.

Gandhiji's defiance of the British every step of the way confounded the authorities of that time. I am sure today's authorities have found Bhushan equally confounding. In fact, like Bhushan, we all need to return to the Mahatma Gandhis brand of defiance and passive resistance and in view of this government's previous attempts to deny us basic rights, as in the Citizenship Laws, disobedience rather than contesting them in the courts.

For today that estate of democracy is as much on the side of the government as the institution was with the British during the freedom movement. We know how Gandhiji broke the salt law by cocking a snook at a British judge in Ahmedabad court, who famously forbade him from undertaking the salt march.

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Must India fight a third war of Independenceand will lawyers be at the vanguard? - National Herald

Removing police union influence from the prosecutors office is a critical first step towards building a system that is safe, just, and fair for all.

By Miriam Krinsky and Buta Biberaj

As millions march, calling for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others, the responsibility for holding their killers accountable lies squarely in the hands of prosecutors. The will of the people is to have accountability for all criminal acts, regardless of who the actor is or their profession. That is the duty of a prosecutor. But all too often, prosecutors have failed to fulfill that duty, often declining to pursue charges against law enforcement, let alone securing a conviction. Those failures have struck deep blows to public trust in the justice system. Rebuilding that trust will require not simply policing reform, but also greater confidence in prosecutorial independence and the integrity of investigating and charging of police misconduct. And that confidence, as well as independence, can only be achieved through an end to financial ties between prosecutors and police unions.

A growing number of reform-minded prosecutors recognize this inherent conflict and have pledged to reject contributions and endorsements from law enforcement leaders and unions. To ensure systemic change, more prosecutors around the nation must join this pledge and the fight for police accountability, just as national and state bar associations the entities that define the ethical standards that govern all lawyers can propel reform by banning prosecutors from accepting contributions that erode both public trust and public safety.

Over the past 50 years, as the influence of most unions shrank with their membership, police unions grew and developed increasingly deep pockets. Police unions act as insurance for their members if theyre sued or prosecuted for misconduct typically footing the legal bills to defend their members. But that insurance takes another form: lobbying for local laws that make it challenging if not impossible to hold their members accountable, and doling out significant donations to DA candidates in an effort to curry favor from local prosecutors who will be charged with holding police accountable once in office.

These contributions, spread across thousands of elections, are challenging to track, but they are pervasive. A recent investigation found that in the last two decades, police unions have engaged in at least $87 million in local and state spending, including $64.8 million in Los Angeles, $19.2 million in New York City and $3.5 million in Chicago. Most recently, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey received over $2.2 million in contributions from police unions, and the LAPD union donated another $1 million to a PAC dedicated to defeating her challenger, George Gascn, who has promised to toughen standards around police use of force.

Campaign contributions to prosecutors by individual defense attorneys or firms have already been called into question: Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance received significant scrutiny after he declined to prosecute Harvey Weinstein and members of the Trump family who were represented by large donors to his campaign but then embraced expansive reforms to address these concerns. Contributions by police unions should face even higher scrutiny. Prosecutors dont simply decide whether or not to prosecute officers, every single day they work alongside officers and make judgments about their credibility and honesty and decide whether to initiate prosecutions and take away liberty based on those judgments. The conflict is clear and any bias doesnt just threaten public trust, it threatens public safety.

Nearly 50 District Attorneys and Attorneys General recently came together and pledged to no longer seek or accept endorsements or contributions from police departments or unions, and called on their colleagues to do the same. And now 42 have joined on to an expansive pledge singularly focused on this issue. But lasting and widespread change can be solidified by reform of state and local laws or the professional rules that govern all attorneys. And while laws can be difficult to change, the American Bar Association (ABA) can immediately reform how conflicts of interest are governed.

ABA rules already state that a prosecutor who has a significant personal, political, financial, professional, business, property, or other relationship with another lawyer should not participate in the prosecution of a person who is represented by the other lawyer (Standard 3-1.7 Conflicts of Interest, 2017). Additional clarity is needed. Its time for the ABA and state bar associations to acknowledge political contributions from law enforcement groups or unions as a potential financial influence and to prohibit prosecutors from accepting such contributions and endorsements.

Police unions have repeatedly established themselves as opponents of accountability and reform. The president of the Buffalo police union recently defended two officers who shoved an elderly man to the ground. Days after the prosecutor in Minneapolis charged an officer with the death of George Floyd, the president of the Minneapolis police union called Black Lives Matter protesters terrorists and condemned the city for firing the four officers involved in Floyds death without due process. Police unions have opposed body worn cameras, transparent disclosure of disciplinary records, and civilian review boards. And these obstructionist positions arent recent ones. In the 70s, police unions even opposed officers wearing name tags. In short, police unions are zealous opponents of any and all police accountability so the time is now to protect our communities and ensure that these unions have no influence (and are perceived as having no influence) over prosecutors, whose core duty is to bring about equal accountability for all who break the law, including police officers.

Building community trust in the criminal legal system will require a transformation of policing and a transformation of prosecution: the return of power to the community, the radical downsizing of the criminal legal system, deep investment in public health solutions, transparency, and a truly equal application of the law. Removing police union influence from the prosecutors office is a critical first step towards building a system that is safe, just, and fair for all.

Buta Biberaj is the Commonwealths Attorney for Loudoun County, Virginia. Miriam Aroni Krinsky is Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution and a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles. Article originally appeared in the Appeal.

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Guest Commentary: Want Prosecutorial Reform? Start with Curtailing the Influence of Police Unions - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis