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04/17/2024: U.S. to Pay Victims of Larry Nassar $100 Million Over FBI Failures "The agreement with around 100 women brings the final price-tag for settlements over the former gymnastics team doctor close to $1 billion." Sources: https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/larry-nassar-fbi-failures-18067a65 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/justice-department-settlement-talks-pay-100-million-larry-nassar-victi-rcna148235

Our Pack took a similar approach. We are not "free": unit dues pays for awards and things. But we go as lean as possible. The Pack purchased neckerchiefs of each rank - So when AOLs bridge out, their neckerchiefs are reused to the Bears den bridging up. The Bears neckerchiefs go the Wolves den, Wolves to Tigers, all the way down.  The only required uniform left to purchase is the shirt and belt.  Everything else is optional. (Tie neckerchief in a knot so you don't need a slide. Or make one at a den meeting.) Books are not even required anymore. The Pack buys one for the den leader. Everyone else is optional. The Pack pays registration for leaders through unit dues: for Key 3 + den leaders; so we aren't discouraging volunteers from signing up. "You mean I have to pay all these ridiculous fees for my scout, plus more money to volunteer? Nevermind." Families are squeezed, having to make a hard decision to choose scouting vs. other activities. We have used fundraising to defray costs. But when families stop participating in unit fundraising, then what?

4/17/2024: DHS Launches Know2Protect™ Public Awareness Campaign to Combat Online Child Exploitation and Abuse With Many Public and Private Sector Partners, including Boy Scouts of America, Google, Meta, Snap, Roblox, NASCAR, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, National Police Athletic League, and More WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Know2Protect, Together We Can Stop Online Child Exploitation™, a first-of-its-kind national public awareness campaign that brings together public and private sector partners. Key partners include high-profile technology companies, national and international sports leagues, youth-serving organizations and nonprofits, and other private sector partners to raise awareness of this heinous and growing crime and how to keep children safe. Through Know2Protect, DHS and its partners will educate and empower young people, parents, and trusted adults on ways to prevent and combat exploitation and abuse both on and offline, explain how to report incidents of these crimes, and offer support resources for victims and survivors of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Online child exploitation and abuse is reaching epidemic proportions and threatens the safety of children globally. In 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 36 million CyberTipline® reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), a 360% increase over the number of reports received 10 years ago. According to the 2023 WeProtect Global Threat Assessment, the volume of child sexual abuse material has increased globally by 87% over the past five years. ... Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will collaborate with Know2Protect to promote knowledge sharing and empowerment for youth and parents. The BSA will also facilitate Project iGuardian presentations for Scouts and parents and explore developing a co-branded BSA patch in recognition of taking an in-person Project iGuardian training at the local or national level. “Safeguarding our Scouts so that we can prevent harm will always be our most important mission, and that includes their online safety,” said Boy Scouts of America President and CEO Roger Krone. “Through this collaboration with DHS, Scouting will make the Know2Protect resources available to empower more than a million youth members and adult volunteers, further enhancing our education and training initiatives to help ensure that our Scouts, leaders, and their families remain safe from online dangers.” ... More at sources: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2024/04/17/dhs-launches-know2protecttm-public-awareness-campaign-combat-online-child https://www.dhs.gov/know2protect https://www.missingkids.org/home https://www.ice.gov/topics/iGuardians  

Salomon Rushdie spoke on 60 minutes regarding censorship. "There seems to be a kind of growing orthodoxy, particularly amongst young people, that censorship … is a good thing," Rushdie told correspondent Anderson Cooper.  "The thing that's different now is that it's also coming from progressive voices," he said. "There are progressive voices saying that certain kinds of speech should be not permitted because it offends against this or that vulnerable group." Rushdie said that when speech is suppressed, the people who are first impacted are often minority groups. "To support censorship in theory on behalf of vulnerable groups is a very slippery slope," Rushdie said. "It can lead to the opposite of what you want." In his interview with 60 Minutes, the author said there is value in hearing from voices that offend because they challenge people. "There's now a kind of offense industry," Rushdie explained. "Offense has become an aspect of identity politics. And my view is it's very easy for a book to stop offending you. You just shut it."  Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salman-rushdie-on-censorship-in-america-today-60-minutes/  

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