US prison population will increase under Trump

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prison Population ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Private Prisons ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Us ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Incarcerated Population

Subject Politics of the US criminal justice system. Significance On February 23, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded a memorandum issued by his predecessor aimed at phasing out Department of Justice contracts with companies for operating private prisons. Stocks of these companies rose following President Donald Trump's November 2016 election win, and his administration is pursuing policies that will increase the size of the incarcerated population. Impacts Election-driven pressures to cut costs will dissuade officeholders from funding recidivism-reducing education and job programmes. Lack of competition in the private prison sector will undercut market mechanisms for better service delivery at lower cost. Voters are likely to focus on memorable high-profile crimes when establishing policy preferences rather than overall statistical declines. Conservatives are more likely to overestimate crime trends than liberals, which will limit political dividends for pro-reform Republicans. Federal detention of gang members and deportation to their countries of origin could consolidate transnational criminal networks.

Ottawa extends terrorist entity list to neo-fascists

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Us ◽  
White Supremacists ◽  
The Military ◽  
Radical Element

Significance Some MPs called for this action in the wake of the storming of the US Capitol last month, but the move has been considered for some time following concerns about extremism within the military. Impacts The growth of extremism is linked to a growing divide between conservative white rural areas and cosmopolitan cities. Separatist sentiment in the western provinces may develop a newly radical element from links to extremism. The business sector may face some disruption from an increase in protests and demonstrations. Canada’s reputation for welcoming immigrants could be damaged if there are high-profile incidents involving white supremacists.

Obama's push on nuclear arms control faces hurdles

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Arms Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nuclear Security ◽  
Nuclear Opacity ◽  
Nuclear Arms Control

Subject The US arms control agenda. Significance Despite having less than a year in office, President Barack Obama's administration is sustaining a high-profile arms control agenda in 2016. The administration wants to restore several damaged treaties with Russia, broaden Russia-China-US cooperation on various non-proliferation issues and leave Obama's successor a firm nuclear security architecture. Arms control is a consultative, long-term diplomatic process, and is susceptible to the political imperatives of more immediate regional crises. Impacts Tacit US support of Israeli nuclear opacity will undermine arms control efforts in the Middle East. Post-Obama arms control efforts are likely to focus on the security of nuclear material, rather than strategic arms reductions. Senate retirements will undermine US arms control advocacy in Congress. The United States will retain its nuclear arsenal indefinitely despite criticism from its allies.

Trump highlights pitfalls of election prediction

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Models ◽  
Analytical Quality ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Us ◽  
Election Prediction ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Winner Take All ◽  
Take All

Subject Elections analysis versus prediction. Significance The nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican Party's candidate for the US presidency raises questions for how analysts ought to respond to unlikely scenarios and how 'analysis' differs in its construction from prediction. His victory raises the question whether the low probability assigned by many observers to his chance of winning was accurate, and he nevertheless won due to the inherent volatility of primary politics, or if it was the result of fundamentally flawed modelling from the outset. Impacts Past elections suggest Republicans will face hurdles in the Midwest and Northeast against Clinton, but Trump argues he has unique appeal. Gauging analytical quality on the basis of a single high-profile event may encourage misleading deference to previously correct analysts. Including uncertainty levels is a key, but often neglected, part of creating sound predictive models. Threshold events, such as a 'winner-take-all' primary or 'first-past-the-post' election, can see minor shifts lead to outsized outcomes.

Partners will struggle to save the Iran nuclear deal

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade Partner

Significance Trump described the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as "defective at its core". Iran's compliance has repeatedly been verified, but the agreement has never operated as intended. Uncertainty over Washington's future commitment reduced economic benefits to Tehran and blocked Iran's reintegration into the global economy. Impacts Except for a few high-profile deals, Europe is eclipsed as an Iranian trade partner by China, which could gain from a JCPOA breakdown. A US or Israeli strike on Iran might target utility infrastructure rather than nuclear facilities, given the environmental risks. If Iran used the dispute settlement mechanism against the US violation, it could risk automatic 'snapback' of multilateral sanctions.

Ransomware rise calls for stronger cyber resilience

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Lost Sales ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Incident Response ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Business

Subject Ransomware attacks. Significance The US Department of Justice has described ransomware as a “new business model for cybercrime”. Ransomware makes part (or all) of an organisation’s computer systems unavailable and can affect the victim in various ways: system downtime, lost employee productivity, lost sales, and direct costs including incident response and restoring/replacing affected machines. Impacts A rise in remote working due to COVID-19 will have a mixed impact on the escalation of ransomware attacks. Organisations stressing good cybersecurity hygiene on both work and domestic digital devices will be better prepared. The cybersecurity insurance industry will continue to expand.

Racial divisions will shape 2016 election outcome

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Race Relations ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Protest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
White Voters ◽  
The Us ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
High Turnout ◽  
Poll Data

Subject Race relations and the 2016 US election. Significance Race relations have taken a central role in the 2016 US presidential election. Since the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, many subsequent police killings of African Americans have attracted national attention, a social protest movement has arisen, and two separate alleged 'revenge' attacks by gunmen in Dallas and Baton Rouge in July killed eight police officers. Both the Republican and Democratic national conventions conveyed exceptionally high levels of vitriol toward their respective opponents and an incompatibility of worldview, as illustrated by respective arguments about the state of race relations in the United States. Impacts Trump will stake his bid on high turnout and broader support from the white electorate, but may struggle with degree-holding professionals. Strong surrogates, such as Barack and Michelle Obama, will help Clinton with outreach to non-white voters. The US electorate may be older and whiter than exit poll data suggest.

Costa Rica scandal cements election corruption impact

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Large State ◽  
Regulatory Decisions

Subject Cement scandal. Significance On October 13, Costa Rica’s Supreme Court suspended Attorney General Jorge Chavarria for three months pending an investigation into alleged connections with a scandal involving Chinese cement firm Sinocem. A series of high-profile arrests have taken place since the case emerged in September. The board of a large state-owned bank, Bank of Costa Rica (BCR), has been dismissed and two legislators have been implicated, one of whom is running for president in February. Impacts Allegations are likely to implicate more officials, particularly in relation to cement regulatory decisions. More questionable dealings may well be uncovered in relation to industries other than cement and construction. A high rate of indecision among voters suggests scandals could sway the result of the election.

US anti-trafficking push will align with Trump goals

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
State Department ◽  
Trafficking In Persons ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
White House ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Us ◽  
Reporting Process ◽  
Forced Labour

Subject The 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report. Significance The US State Department released its 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on June 29 in a high-profile launch that featured Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Senior White House Advisor Ivanka Trump and Ambassador Susan Coppedge, the department’s anti-trafficking office chief. The 2017 reporting process straddled two administrations: the Obama White House compiled the data, but the rankings of individual countries were ultimately decided by the administration of President Donald Trump. Impacts Congress may restrain outreach to Malaysia and Myanmar (both upgraded) over the trafficking of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. Trump is unlikely to exercise his legal ability as president to grant protection to trafficked undocumented immigrants. Washington may raise the trafficking of North Koreans for forced labour in China if the White House sees little progress on weapons testing.

Kleptocracy and foreign corruption manifesting in illicit financial flows

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted C. Moorman
Keyword(s):  
Ethics Education ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Foreign Government ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
The Us ◽  
Asset Forfeiture

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the place of kleptocracy and foreign corruption within the broader framework of financial crime. This facilitates understanding the importance of kleptocracy and foreign corruption as social problems. Two other aims are to better understand the most problematic components of a kleptocratic network and the most effective combatants of that network. A subsequent goal is to offer solutions from a broad range of interventions, including policy, technology, education, research and collaborative efforts. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical economic concepts are used to analyze the importance of kleptocracy and foreign corruption. A small in-depth survey of 15 experts is conducted to identify the most problematic components of kleptocratic networks and the most effective combatants of those networks. The proposed solutions are based on a combination of argumentation, econometric developments, application of trends in related fields and material from in-depth surveys. Findings This paper identifies kleptocracy and foreign corruption as one of the most, if not the most, devastating financial crime according to its impact on the total marginal utility of wealth. Experts identify foreign kleptocrats or corrupt foreign government officials as the most problematic entities in kleptocratic networks and the most effective combatant is identified as the US Department of Justice. By adding up fines and asset forfeiture related to corruption, penalties are found to be a small fraction of the problem in terms of monetary magnitude. Research limitations/implications The paper does not attempt to make causal claims because of the nature of the paper’s purpose and methodology. Practical implications The paper offers suggestions and methods for academic researchers who may wish to pursue a research agenda that is empirical and forensic with the aim of combatting kleptocracy and foreign corruption. The paper describes how information on kleptocracy and foreign corruption can be implemented into business and economics curriculum. Social implications Kleptocracy and foreign corruption are important problems, and creative solutions are desperately needed. Originality/value The paper shows how understanding and combatting kleptocracy and foreign corruption can be considered an interdisciplinary activity, touching on fields including technology, economics, business, ethics, education, law, policy, statistics and research methods.

US opioid curb will see health law spats

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Operating Capacity

Significance This followed Attorney General Jeff Sessions on February 27 announcing the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation task force, the latest government move to push back against opioids. Sessions said that the Department of Justice would pursue under the law those who unnecessarily or excessively prescribe opioids, including manufacturers and distributors, and support local governments’ lawsuits against these people. Impacts Drug lobbyists will fight anti-opioid lawsuits. Medical practitioners and drug distributors will face more intense scrutiny of their prescription decisions. Solving the drug problem could aid security and the economy, including productivity. States have disparate finance and operating capacity to tackle opioids; results will not be uniform. Cracking down on drugs would also need US law enforcement capacity enhancements, but funding here too is not necessarily sufficient.

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