Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
Philippines Hosts 7th International Forum on Law and Religion, Highlighting Women, Peace, and Security
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 11 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued the following news release:
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The Philippines Hosts 7th International Forum on Law and Religion, Highlighting Women, Peace, and Security
More than 230 lawyers, law students, religious leaders, interfaith partners, scholars, law-and-religion experts, and key government and civil society leaders gathered on November 21, 2025, at the University of the Philippines BGC campus for the 7th International Forum on Law and Religion.
The event was organized collaboratively by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
... Show Full Article
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 11 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued the following news release:
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The Philippines Hosts 7th International Forum on Law and Religion, Highlighting Women, Peace, and Security
More than 230 lawyers, law students, religious leaders, interfaith partners, scholars, law-and-religion experts, and key government and civil society leaders gathered on November 21, 2025, at the University of the Philippines BGC campus for the 7th International Forum on Law and Religion.
The event was organized collaboratively by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints, the University of the Philippines Law Center: Institute for the Administration of Justice, the Brigham Young University International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Religions for Peace Philippines, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), and the UP Women Lawyers' Circle.
A Diverse Group of WPS Experts
The forum brought together speakers from around the world, including Southeast Asian experts whose diverse viewpoints informed current law-and-religion issues, especially those surrounding women, peace, and security.
This year's forum examined urgent themes at the intersection of gender, religious identity, legal protections, and community stability. By convening these varied sectors, the event sought to advance mutual understanding and cooperation, strengthening religious liberty and interfaith collaboration as essential foundations for peace and social progress.
Keynote speaker Elder James R. Rasband, General Authority Seventy of the Church, led the distinguished roster of guests. Other notable attendees who addressed the forum included Senator Loren Legarda; Dean Gwen Grecia-De Vera of the UP College of Law; Dr. Aminah Rasul, PhD, President of PCID; Congressman Jude Acidre of Tingog Partylist; Congresswoman Leila M. de Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal Partylist; and former Supreme Court Associate Justice and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.
Their messages were described as memorable, striking, and inspiring, adding significant depth to the forum's theme of "Women, Peace, and Security" in the context of law and religion.
Elder Rasband: "Women's Voices Matter"
In his message, Elder Rasband, who earned his law degree from the prestigious Harvard Law School, emphasized the vital role women play in global peace and security. "Women's voices matter to the flourishing of our communities and nations. Their language of conscience and faith should be part of the conversation because that language has real power to achieve the WPS agenda," he said.
He added, "Religious organizations, while surely imperfect, have much to contribute to the peace and security agenda for women. And I want to claim that there is power brought to the peacemaking process by the personal religious faith of the women involved in that process."
Elder Rasband stressed that women of faith should not hesitate to bring their religious convictions into global discussions on women, peace, and security, noting that 80 percent of the world's population identifies with a religious belief and that the majority of them are women. "If women of faith don't participate in the agenda, the world loses its single largest group of potential peacemakers," he emphasized.
Deep Dives into Specialized Topics
The forum also featured six fully attended breakout sessions designed to engage participants in focused discussions led by experts from diverse fields. These jam-packed, standing-room-only sessions offered opportunities for participants to explore specialized topics, share practical experiences, and propose frameworks for integrating law, religion, and social justice in the Philippines.
The thematic sessions covered the following areas:
* Global Challenges to the UNSCR 1325 Agenda
* Gaps in the WPS Implementation
* Advancing WPS in the Digital Space
* Normative Structures and Supporting Networks for WPS
* WPS and Underserved / Marginalized Communities
* Youth Engagement in WPS
Speakers in the thematic sessions mainly examined critical intersections, including the role of legal protections in safeguarding both religious freedom and women's rights; the contribution of interfaith collaboration to peace in conflict-affected regions; and the role of media and education in shaping public perceptions of religious pluralism.
The thematic sessions also emphasized the complexity of navigating law and religion in a religiously diverse society like the Philippines while offering constructive avenues for problem-solving and collaboration.
Significance and Forward Outlook
The strong turnout and high-level participation reflected the growing recognition in the Philippines of the importance of dialogue at the confluence of law, religion, and human rights.
For an increasingly diverse society, events such as the 7th International Forum on Law and Religion provide a vital platform to strengthen legal protections, build mutual respect among faith traditions, and encourage cooperation among government, academia, religious communities, and civil society.
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Original text here: https://news-ph.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/the-philippines-hosts-7th-international-forum-on-law-and-religion--highlighting-women--peace--and-security
[Category: Religion]
PETA Urges Funding Cuts for Aussie Animal Strangulation Tests at Monash University
NORFOLK, Virginia, Dec. 11 -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued the following news release on Dec. 10, 2025:
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PETA Urges Funding Cuts for Aussie Animal Strangulation Tests at Monash University
Melbourne, Australia - PETA U.S. and PETA Australia today renew calls for retractions of Monash University research papers, including one published last month, and a cut in taxpayer funding after its authors failed to adequately defend their cruel experiments, which involve strangling rats, bashing them over the head with weights, and forcing them to swim until exhaustion, supposedly
... Show Full Article
NORFOLK, Virginia, Dec. 11 -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued the following news release on Dec. 10, 2025:
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PETA Urges Funding Cuts for Aussie Animal Strangulation Tests at Monash University
Melbourne, Australia - PETA U.S. and PETA Australia today renew calls for retractions of Monash University research papers, including one published last month, and a cut in taxpayer funding after its authors failed to adequately defend their cruel experiments, which involve strangling rats, bashing them over the head with weights, and forcing them to swim until exhaustion, supposedlyto mimic human domestic abuse.
In a joint letter sent to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the PETA entities demand the organization follows its policy to discourage funding applications for forced-swim experiments and also add strangulation and traumatic brain injury tests to that policy. A second letter (https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-10-response-to-elsevier-re-rat-strangulation-experiments-1.pdf) to scientific publisher Elsevier presents evidence that the experiments didn't adhere to ethical guidelines or the journal's policies and urges it to pull the university's papers and prohibit publication of similar experiments in the future.
A third letter https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-10-3rd-rebuttal-to-monash-re-strangulation-1.pdf) to Monash University points out the many scientific and ethical problems with these experiments and urges it to switch to cutting-edge, human-relevant research that doesn't use animals.
"Even a child could see that slamming weights onto animals' heads to cause brain damage and choking the life out of them is cruelty, not science," says PETA U.S. Vice President Shalin Gala. "PETA calls on the NHMRC to stop throwing money at these disgusting experiments, Elsevier to stop publishing them, and Monash University to stop tormenting animals and switch to state-of-the-art research that actually helps humans."
Rats are highly intelligent and social animals who show love to their families, form complex social structures, and bond easily with human guardians. At Monash University, experimenters dropped weights on pregnant rats' heads, causing severe eye injuries and likely brain damage, denied them adequate pain relief, and strangled some before killing them all.
In another test, experimenters strangled dozens of adolescent female rats for 90 agonizing seconds with a weighted band, applying a force about three times the rat's body weight. Other rats were violently hit in the head with a weight to inflict traumatic brain injury. Some endured both abuses, others were resuscitated after being strangled, and all were killed at the end.
In a third test published last month, experimenters subjected female rats to traumatic brain injury without pain relief and strangled the animals for 90 seconds daily for five days before injecting them with a psychedelic drug and killing them.
PETA--whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to experiment on"--points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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December 10, 2025
Alan Singh, Executive Director, Research Quality and Advice Branch, National Health and Medical Research Council
Via e-mail: Alan.Singh@nhmrc.gov.au
Dear Mr. Singh:
Thank you for your August 20, 2025, response1 to the letter from PETA U.S. and PETA Australia, co-signed by the Alliance for Hope International,2 regarding two NHMRC-funded experiments at Monash University involving strangulation, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and the forced swim tests (FST)3,4 conducted on rats.
In your reply,5 you state that your previous "response from March 17, 2025, remains valid,"6 and that NHMRC's policy is "that it does not fund research involving animals unless the work is of high quality as determined by NHMRC's peer review process and the work has been approved by an animal ethics committee (AEC)."7
We note, however, that your website officially discourages new research funding applications for the FST.8 Despite this clear policy direction, funding was approved for the experiments in question, which include the FST.9 We urge the NHNRC to reevaluate its review process to ensure consistency with its stated policy on FST.
Finally, while we understand that you may not be able to share specific correspondence regarding our complaint, we would like to pose a more general question: Just as NHMRC has taken a commendable step in discouraging the use of the widely discredited FST in new projects, would the Council consider a similar action--such as restricting funding--for future experiments involving any degree of strangulation and/or TBI on animals?
Given the significant public concern surrounding the use of strangulation on animals in experimentation,10,11,12 we believe this presents an important opportunity for the NHMRC to reaffirm its leadership in promoting humane and scientifically sound research practices.
You may contact me directly via e-mail at MaggieW@peta.org. Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Maggie Wisniewska, PhD, Science Policy Advisor, International Laboratory Methods Division, PETA U.S.
Mimi Bekhechi, Senior Policy Advisor to PETA Australia
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1 Email from Singh A at NHMRC to PETA regarding PETA's July 22, 2025, rebuttal letter. August 20, 2025. Accessed September 19, 2025. https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/202508-20-nhmrc-email-to-2nd-rebuttal-re-funding-strang-tbi-fst-at-monash.pdf.
2 Letter from Wisniewska M to Singh A at NHMRC regarding strangulation, TBI, and FST use on animals at Monash. Accessed September 19, 2025. https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-07-22-rebuttal-to-nhmrc-response-re-rat-strangulation-study.pdf.
3 Sun M, Symons GF, Spitz G, O'Brien WT, Baker TL, Fan J, Martins BD, Allen J, Giesler LP, Mychasiuk R, van Donkelaar P, Brand J, Christie B, O'Brien TJ, O'Sullivan MJ, Mitra B, Wellington C, McDonald SJ, Shultz SR. Pathophysiology, blood biomarkers, and functional deficits after intimate partner violence-related brain injury: Insights from emergency department patients and a new rat model. Brain Behav Immun. 2025: Jan 123:383-396. Accessed November 5, 2025. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159124006342.
4 Sgro M, Kodila Z, Salberg S, Li CN, Smith MJ, Freeman J, Vlassopoulos E, Harris S, Shultz SR, Yamakawa GR, Noel M, Mychasiuk R. Exposure to perinatal trauma modifies nociception and gene expression in the prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus of adolescent rats. J Pain. 2025: Mar 28:104762. Accessed November 5, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39730020/.
5 Email from Singh A at NHMRC. August 20, 2025.
6 Reply letter from Singh A at NHMRC to PETA regarding funding for strangulation and TBI research. March 17, 2025. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.peta.org/wpcontent/uploads/2025/11/2025-03-17-nhmrc-reply-to-rebuttal-re-funding-strangulation-and-tbi-atmonash.pdf.
7 Email from Singh A at NHMRC. August 20, 2025.
8 National Health and Medical Research Council. December 13, 2023 (updated January 24, 2024).
Statement on the forced swim test in rodent models. Australian Government. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.nhrc.gov.au/research-policy/ethics/statement-forced-swim-test-rodentmodels.
9 Sgro et al. 2025.
10 Stock P. February 14, 2025. Domestic violence study that strangled rats should not have been approved, animal advocates argue. The Guardian. Accessed September 10, 2025.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/14/rats-strangled-in-part-government-funded-australian-domesticviolence-study-ntwnfb.
11 Animal-Free Science Advocacy. (n.d.). January 31, 2025. Controversial study sparks outrage: Simulated non-fatal strangulation on rats to study human intimate partner violence (IPV). Accessed September 10, 2025.
https://animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au/controversial-study-sparks-outrage-simulated-non-fatal-strangulation-onrats-to-study-human-intimate-partner-violence-ipv/.
12 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. March 25, 2025. Nonprofit science advocacy group calls for retraction of intimate partner violence study involving animal trauma training. Accessed November 5, 2025.
https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/nonprofit-science-advocacy-group-calls-retraction-intimate-partnerviolence.
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Original text here: https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/peta-urges-funding-cuts-for-aussie-animal-strangulation-tests-at-monash-university/
[Category: Animals]
Inside the Future of Reporting: Highlights From the TFAS Journalism Forum
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- The Fund for American Studies issued the following news:
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Inside the Future of Reporting: Highlights from the TFAS Journalism Forum
Roger hosts a special episode of Liberty + Leadership that brings listeners inside the 32nd Annual TFAS Journalism Awards Dinner and the Journalism Forum that preceded it. These curated conversations offer a look at how TFAS is shaping the journalists of tomorrow through their rich ecosystem of programs like the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship, the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowships for Excellence in Journalism, the Student Journalism
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- The Fund for American Studies issued the following news:
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Inside the Future of Reporting: Highlights from the TFAS Journalism Forum
Roger hosts a special episode of Liberty + Leadership that brings listeners inside the 32nd Annual TFAS Journalism Awards Dinner and the Journalism Forum that preceded it. These curated conversations offer a look at how TFAS is shaping the journalists of tomorrow through their rich ecosystem of programs like the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship, the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowships for Excellence in Journalism, the Student JournalismAssociation, the Media Accelerator Fellowship and the Campus Transparency Fellowship.
Listeners will hear keynote remarks and panel discussions featuring alumni, fellows, editors and student journalists who examine the state of journalism, the collapse of trust in legacy media and the rise of independent reporting. Topics include the responsibilities of credible news organizations, the importance of showing one's work, the changing business models of journalism and the discipline required to report with accuracy and independence. Listeners will also hear the results of the yearlong projects of two Novak alumni and a panel of student journalists who demonstrate the bright possibilities of the future of journalism.
This special episode features voices from across TFAS's journalism network, including Brian Anderson of City Journal; Novak alumni Charles Lehman, Kate Batchelder Odell and Mene Ukueberuwa, Carine Hajjar (also a Rago alumna) and Audrey Fahlberg; student journalists Alex Shieh, Natalia Lopez and Max Whalen. Their commentary reflects the mission of TFAS to prepare principled, curious and courageous reporters who can strengthen the public square and elevate the standards of their profession.
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Original text here: https://tfas.org/podcast/inside-the-future-of-reporting-highlights-from-the-tfas-journalism-forum/
[Category: Sociological]
House Removes Anti-Innovation Provisions From NDAA
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- Americans for Tax Reform posted the following commentary:
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House Removes Anti-Innovation Provisions from NDAA
By James Erwin
Two anti-innovation provisions from the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act have been removed by the House. One would have undermined the spectrum auction deal made in the One Big, Beautiful Bill and another would have prevented American technology from reaching global markets.
The NDAA, which Congress passes every year to maintain our military, is widely seen as a "Christmas tree" various congressional priorities. The text released
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- Americans for Tax Reform posted the following commentary:
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House Removes Anti-Innovation Provisions from NDAA
By James Erwin
Two anti-innovation provisions from the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act have been removed by the House. One would have undermined the spectrum auction deal made in the One Big, Beautiful Bill and another would have prevented American technology from reaching global markets.
The NDAA, which Congress passes every year to maintain our military, is widely seen as a "Christmas tree" various congressional priorities. The text releasedby the House on Sunday mostly resists this urge by dropping the worst provisions of the Senate version - and House leadership deserves credit for delivering a cleaner bill.
Members of Congress often try to insert all kinds of unrelated bills that would never carry on their own into this must-pass legislation. The NDAA will never fail to pass, so members naturally try to attached pet projects to a moving vehicle.
Members of the Armed Services Committees in both House and Senate tend to resent provisions they do not see as directly impacting defense policy getting shoehorned into their annual package. They can, however, use the pretext of "national security" to insert their own priorities when they have some tangential connection to defense.
This is precisely what happened when Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee included two anti-innovation provisions in their version of the NDAA. The first of these would have given the deep state a veto over Congressionally-mandated spectrum auctions.
The One Big, Beautiful Bill mandated that the Federal Communications Commission auction off government-controlled airwaves to the private sector. The biggest holder of inefficiently used government spectrum is (unsurprisingly) the Department of Defense, so the Pentagon lobbied hard to undo the deal Republicans had reached back in the spring.
A provision of the Senate version "prohibits any modifications to the Department's systems in key spectrum bands without joint certification from the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." In plain English, the Senate-passed NDAA grants a veto to the deep state over what was already signed into law through reconciliation. There is nothing to prevent the Pentagon from refusing to agree to any auction, defeating the purpose of the Big Beautiful Bill's commerce title. Like Darth Vader, they were altering the deal and expected everyone else to put up with it.
Spectrum auctions have generated over $233 billion since 1994 while wireless investment has added $260 billion to GDP. Of this, $118 billion has come in since just 2018 - demand is growing. Auctions not only raise non-tax federal revenue, which helps the math work in the budget process, but also accelerate investment and innovation. If the Pentagon had been required to approve every auction the FCC wanted to conduct, the auctions would never happen. House leadership wisely recognized this and stripped the provision from their bill.
The other bad idea in the NDAA was the GAIN AI Act. It would essentially give American companies right of first refusal to buy advanced AI chips from American producers before they are exported. While export controls can slow down other countries' own technological development, they cannot stop it forever and inevitably result in black market smuggling.
The GAIN AI Act is not even a full export control since American companies could still export our high-end microchips and graphics processing units under its terms as long as they reveal all of their proprietary information to the Department of Commerce and offer steep discounts to Americans first. Our innovators would be allowed to sell abroad and keep American tech as the global leader as long as they are willing to lose money domestically in the process.
GAIN AI is a market distortion that would make it harder for chipmakers to recoup their investments and harder for friendly countries to buy our tech. It would do this out of fear that a Chinese buyer might purchase them second-hand and might use them for military purposes, if they could buy them at scale. Even if one supports export controls on leading technology, this is not an effective way to go about them.
The House of Representatives' version of the NDAA is vast improvement over the Senate-passed bill. It protects innovation and promotes both liberty and American tech leadership globally. Congress should preserve these changes in final passage.
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Original text here: https://atr.org/house-removes-anti-innovation-provisions-from-ndaa/
[Category: Political]
Campaign for Accountability: Report - U.S.-Sanctioned Firms Find Opening in Apple and Google App Stores
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (TNSrep) -- Campaign for Accountability issued the following news release:
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Report: U.S.-Sanctioned Firms Find Opening in Apple and Google App Stores
Apple's App Store hosts dozens of apps for U.S.-sanctioned organizations, including Russian banks propping up Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and a Chinese paramilitary group linked to human rights abuses, according to an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). TTP also found a smaller number of apps connected to U.S.-sanctioned organizations in the Google Play Store--18 compared to Apple's 52.
Apple and Google
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (TNSrep) -- Campaign for Accountability issued the following news release:
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Report: U.S.-Sanctioned Firms Find Opening in Apple and Google App Stores
Apple's App Store hosts dozens of apps for U.S.-sanctioned organizations, including Russian banks propping up Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and a Chinese paramilitary group linked to human rights abuses, according to an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). TTP also found a smaller number of apps connected to U.S.-sanctioned organizations in the Google Play Store--18 compared to Apple's 52.
Apple and Googleboth charge a fee to app developers, so they may be violating Treasury Department-enforced sanctions simply by hosting these apps. Although both companies claim to comply with U.S. sanctions, the often-obvious connections to sanctioned entities that TTP surfaced in its review of these apps raise serious questions about how thoroughly Apple and Google vet the apps in their stores.
Read TTP's Report (https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/u.s.-sanctioned-firms-find-opening-in-apple-and-google-app-stores).
"Apple and Google are not only providing a valuable service to these companies, but also appear to be engaging in financial transactions with them--a possible sanctions violation," said Michelle Kuppersmith, Executive Director of Campaign for Accountability, the nonprofit watchdog group that runs TTP.
More than half of the apps that TTP flagged in the Apple App Store were for sanctioned Russian companies. This included multiple companies the U.S. government has sanctioned to try to curtail Russia's financing of its war in Ukraine. Although Apple has removed some Russian banking apps since the war began, it is unclear why others have slipped through the cracks.
Other examples of sanctioned entities whose apps TTP surfaced in its investigation include: a Chinese paramilitary group accused of human rights abuses against Muslim ethnic Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region, a company owned by an accused Lithuanian drug trafficker, and a Yemeni financial institution reportedly controlled by Houthi militants.
To get their apps in the app stores, developers must pay Apple and Google a fee. The payment of these fees may violate sanctions enforced by the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which prohibit "the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services" from a sanctioned entity. OFAC clarifies that a U.S. party is still liable for sanctions violations even if they "did not know or have reason to know" they were engaging in a prohibited transaction.
Apple has been fined before by the U.S. government for failing to guard against sanctions violations in the App Store, over a case involving an app linked to a sanctioned Slovenian drug trafficker in 2019. As part of a settlement with the Treasury Department, Apple promised to take steps to improve its sanctions screening tools. Yet, TTP was able to identify these apps through public searches, suggesting Apple is falling short six years later.
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Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.
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Original text here: https://campaignforaccountability.org/report-u-s-sanctioned-firms-find-opening-in-apple-and-google-app-stores/
[Category: Political]
CODEPINK Statement on U.S. Seizure of Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela: Call It What It Is: 21st-Century Piracy
LOS ANGELES, California, Dec. 11 -- CodePink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, posted the following news release:
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CODEPINK Statement on U.S. Seizure of Oil Tanker off the Coast of Venezuela: Call It What It Is: 21st-Century Piracy
The Trump regime has crossed another line in its relentless campaign against Venezuela: seizing a massive, fully loaded Venezuelan oil tanker in Caribbean waters. This is 21st-century piracy, plain and simple, and it's being carried out by a government that has decided
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Dec. 11 -- CodePink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, posted the following news release:
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CODEPINK Statement on U.S. Seizure of Oil Tanker off the Coast of Venezuela: Call It What It Is: 21st-Century Piracy
The Trump regime has crossed another line in its relentless campaign against Venezuela: seizing a massive, fully loaded Venezuelan oil tanker in Caribbean waters. This is 21st-century piracy, plain and simple, and it's being carried out by a government that has decidedbullying an entire country is acceptable foreign policy.
The tanker seizure is not an isolated incident. It comes after months of escalating U.S. aggression in the region. U.S. forces have launched more than ten strikes on small boats in the Caribbean, killing at least 87 people. And now the Trump regime has deployed warships to surround and confiscate one of the biggest oil tankers as it transported Venezuelan crude to Cuba.
For years, Washington has illegally sanctioned Venezuelan oil, and while it once seized Iranian fuel bound for the country, it had never gone as far as to intercept and confiscate a fully loaded Venezuelan supertanker until now. The stolen vessel is capable of carrying more than 300,00 tons of crude. This is exactly the kind of prize that foreign policy hawks begged Trump to seize during his first term. Now, with a second-term team built around hardliners like Marco Rubio, that long-planned escalation has finally become policy.
This maritime aggression is part of a much wider campaign of economic coercion and outright theft that Venezuela has endured for years. Washington has seized the country's external assets, freezing billions abroad, taking CITGO, and even confiscating a Venezuelan government plane. Now that same pattern is playing out at sea: U.S. forces intercepting and taking the very tankers that carry Venezuela's oil. After stripping the country of one of its largest revenue sources, the Trump regime has simply expanded the operation on land, in the air, and across the Caribbean. It's all the same strategy: starve the country economically, attack it militarily when politically convenient, and bully it into submission.
This attack doesn't just hurt Venezuela; it hurts Cuba, too. By seizing a tanker carrying crude to the island, the Trump regime is deliberately targeting the Cuban people, who already endure punishing US sanctions and fuel shortages.
CODEPINK condemns this dangerous escalation. The U.S. must immediately release the seized tanker and cease its blockade in the Caribbean. Latin America is not Washington's playground; it's a Zone of Peace. The people of the region deserve sovereignty and dignity.
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Original text here: https://www.codepink.org/oiltankerstatement
[Category: Sociological]
AIC President in Fortune: 'Private Equity is An Essential Part of Solving Our Country's Retirement Crisis'
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (TNSrpt) -- The American Investment Council issued the following news on Dec. 9, 2025:
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AIC President in Fortune: "Private equity is an essential part of solving our country's retirement crisis"
Yesterday, Fortune published an op-ed by Will Dunham, President and CEO of the American Investment Council, highlighting how expanding Americans' access to private markets through their 401(k)s can play a key role in solving the retirement crisis. The op-ed cites data from a new AIC report showing that private equity has delivered stronger returns compared to public markets and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (TNSrpt) -- The American Investment Council issued the following news on Dec. 9, 2025:
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AIC President in Fortune: "Private equity is an essential part of solving our country's retirement crisis"
Yesterday, Fortune published an op-ed by Will Dunham, President and CEO of the American Investment Council, highlighting how expanding Americans' access to private markets through their 401(k)s can play a key role in solving the retirement crisis. The op-ed cites data from a new AIC report showing that private equity has delivered stronger returns compared to public markets andother asset classes over 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year time horizons, even when accounting for fees.
Some key takeaways from Will's op-ed are outlined below:
Read the full op-ed to learn why expanding Americans' access to private equity is part of the solution to the retirement crisis.
Fortune: Private equity is being villainized in the retirement debate -- even as it provides diversification and outperforms public markets long-term
By Will Dunham | December 8, 2025
America is in the middle of a retirement crisis. Seventy percent of retirees are worried they don't have enough money and wish they'd started saving earlier. Even worse, 30% are considering going back to work, because their savings could soon run out. At a time like this, both current and future retirees are counting on their investments paying off.
In August, President Trump issued an executive order that helps savers by expanding Americans' access to private markets through their 401(k)s, making an asset class that's long been used by public pension funds and wealthy families more easily available to everyday investors if they so choose. If you were to rely solely on media coverage in recent weeks, however, you'd be left with the impression that expanding options for families and workers is a net negative. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
A new report from my organization, the American Investment Council, found that over the long term, private equity as an asset class continually and consistently outperforms the broader stock market and other popular investment categories. This is exactly why investors should be offered the option to invest in private markets. It's also why, beyond wealthy investors, public servants - including millions of teachers, police officers, and firefighters - have long relied on these investments to keep their pension plans fully funded.
We analyzed the rates of returns across all of private equity, then compared it to returns from other popular asset classes. Our biggest finding is that over 10 years, private equity beats every other major asset class. For instance, private equity's returns beat the S&P 500 by 3%. That margin makes a huge difference for workers and families over the long haul, giving middle-class investors the higher compounding returns that can deliver their retirement and savings goals.
To put it in perspective: if you invested $25,000 in the stock market over 10 years, with compounding you could expect a return of $85,618; in private equity, that same amount compounded would return an estimated $111,720 - a difference of more than $26,000. Over a 5-year window, private equity remains the market leader, with a nearly 2% higher rate of return than the S&P 500. Crucially, these returns are after fees--dispelling the myth that investors end up paying hidden costs. They don't.
Media coverage tends to ignore the long-term nature of private markets while over-indexing on the short-term realities of investing. Every kind of investment and asset class has ups and downs. The stock market has good years and bad years, but Americans still invest billions of dollars amid the see-saws. The past year has been especially good for top stocks, with annualized returns of 25% in the S&P 500 compared to private equity's nearly 10% returns. But private equity isn't focused on single-year returns. It's focused on the same thing as most everyday investors: The long-haul. On that key score, private equity's returns are significantly higher.
This is exactly what everyday investors need from their 401(k)s: consistent, steady, and substantial growth over decades. That's especially true as investors confront the retirement crisis. We're talking about people who are saving for golden years, their children's education, and other financial needs that are far down the road. They usually aren't focused on the volatility of a year or two. They're taking a longer view of one or two decades, if not longer. If middle-class investors are showing such fiscal wisdom, why aren't pundits and other critics?
The critics also ignore that investors aren't looking to pile every penny into private markets in a "one-size-fits-all" approach. They simply want the option to invest a portion of their portfolio in asset classes that offer upside to traditional equities, in a way that works for them. Many will choose target-date funds that get more conservative over time.
And Americans want access to more options after seeing their choices in the traditional equity markets decline for years. The number of publicly traded companies has fallen by over 50% in the last 30 years--from 8,800 to less than 4,000 - as more companies choose to stay private longer or leave the public markets. By investing in private markets, middle-class investors will be able to diversify their portfolios and get more exposure to successful private companies. This is the definition of investor prudence. It should be praised and encouraged, not second-guessed or stifled.
President Trump is right to expand middle-class Americans' access to private markets, and the critics are wrong to argue against more sound choices for savers. The evidence is in: Private equity is the kind of diversified, highly profitable investment that Americans should be able to choose as they think about their futures. Private equity hasn't peaked at all, and it's an essential part of solving our country's retirement crisis.
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Will Dunham is President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Investment Council (AIC), an advocacy and resource organization that represents the private equity and private credit industries. Prior to this, Will Dunham was the AIC's Executive Vice President of Government Affairs. He led AIC's bipartisan advocacy and education efforts on behalf of the private investment industry, taking the industry's story directly to lawmakers, and promoting a tax and regulatory environment that supercharges American job creation.
Earlier in his career, Will spent two years as a Policy Director at Brownstein, the largest lobbying firm in the United States, working for a diverse group of clients in the financial services, health care, and consumer brands sectors.
Will spent more than 13 years in Congress. He served for seven years as former-Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) top policy aide and liaison to House committees, the Senate, and executive branch, through every type of political terrain. Prior to his work for former-Speaker McCarthy, Will also served as executive director to now-Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
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REPORT: https://www.investmentcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AIC25_PEPerformance_Report.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.investmentcouncil.org/aic-president-in-fortune-private-equity-is-an-essential-part-of-solving-our-countrys-retirement-crisis/
[Category: Financial Services]
