NewzIntel.com

Category: Academic Analysis

  • MIL-Evening Report: NZ’s barriers to economic growth: short-term thinking, political concentration and policy flip-flops

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Nicholls, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Auckland University of Technology

    Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

    Economic growth took centre stage during Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s recent State of the Nation speech.

    Yet in amongst the discussion and criticism of the government’s plans, many have got locked into a one-dimensional debate centred on reducing regulation to encourage economic growth.

    This ignores a deeper discussion on the actual sources of New Zealand’s economic growth in the 21st century and, potentially, what we need to do to shift from one model of growth to another.

    What drives growth?

    Emerging partly out of the 2007–09 global financial crisis, thinking about economic growth has become dominated by something known as the growth model framework.

    The framework contrasts countries such as Germany that base their growth on exports – partly through wage restraint – with those in which growth is led by consumption. This group includes the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand.

    New Zealand’s growth model

    How can this framework be used to understand economic growth in our local context?

    New Zealand’s economy is dominated by domestic demand – with the service industry making up around two-thirds of the gross domestic product, putting us squarely in the consumption-led camp.

    Local analysts have often reflected on the drivers and pitfalls of this growth model, revolving as it does around property investment and related industries such as banking and insurance.

    And yet, this is not how we tend to think of ourselves at all.

    Whether aspirational or wishful thinking, countless political speeches and policy documents refer to New Zealand as something of an export platform, a trading nation, or a (potential) knowledge-based innovator on the world stage.

    New Zealand has long viewed itself as an export economy. But economic indicators tell a different story.
    Kritsana Laroque/Shutterstock

    The politics of New Zealand’s growth model

    It is also difficult to imagine a New Zealand political leader standing up to announce how proud they are to be overseeing a service and consumption-driven economy.

    In fact, it could be argued the past couple of decades have represented a series of failures to shift the growth model from where we are to where we want to be.

    What is more, many of the barriers to doing so are political rather than strictly economic.

    The growth model perspective identifies not only the varied national growth strategies but also the coalition of political and business groups that support each model.

    Possible – but difficult – change

    Shifts in national growth models can occur. But doing so requires forging a consensus around a new or evolving growth model through political institutions or through the expansion of the growth coalition’s base to include new economic players including, in some cases, trade unions.

    Ireland, for example, underwent a major shift from the late 1980s toward a growth model infused with foreign direct investment. This happened, in part, through social partnership, where most aspects of public policy were negotiated between state, business and organised labour, along with some input from the community and voluntary sector. It was also due to an overwhelmingly centrist political culture and it’s structure of government.

    Sweden’s gradual shift toward more information-technology intensive manufacturing and the Netherlands’ to business services and finance, representing more balanced or mixed growth models, can also be traced to consensus-driven politics.

    Barriers to change

    Back in Aotearoa New Zealand, we face a series of political barriers to similar change.

    Above all, politics in New Zealand is notably short-term in nature, driven by a host of factors including the three-year electoral term. There is also an absence of an Irish or Swedish-style social partnership-type tradition in which key societal groups are included in policy negotiations that survive changes of government.

    Compounding this, power in New Zealand politics is still concentrated in the hands of the incumbent government despite the adoption of the mixed member proportional (MMP) system. This means a considerable degree of ideological yo-yoing and policy flip-flops.

    Most difficult perhaps is finding a way to override entrenched economic interests with a vested interest in the status quo.

    For example, while there is widespread support for a capital gains tax in New Zealand, implementing one has proven out of political reach.

    This is likely due, in part, to the oversized role that property plays in our economy, but also because we lack consensus-forging institutions through which to channel a will to change.

    Somehow broadening the base of support may help to address this issue, as will ensuring that the government is able to exercise its own autonomy – connected to economic interests yet able to rise above rather than relying on them to make change happen.

    Kate Nicholls does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. NZ’s barriers to economic growth: short-term thinking, political concentration and policy flip-flops – https://theconversation.com/nzs-barriers-to-economic-growth-short-term-thinking-political-concentration-and-policy-flip-flops-249007

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Workplace aggression causes real harm — leaders must take action against it

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Zhanna Lyubykh, Assistant Professor, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University

    When leaders ignore workplace aggression, employees can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder and depression. (Shutterstock)

    Workplace aggression is a pervasive and highly damaging issue that costs organizations billions of dollars annually in lost productivity. Beyond financial losses, it fosters toxic workplace cultures, exposes companies to legal and reputational risks, and causes substantial distress for those who experience or witness it.

    For years, scholars and practitioners have sought ways to prevent workplace aggression and mitigate its negative consequences. One proposed solution is bystander intervention, where employees who witness or hear about aggression step in to stop or address it.

    However, results from our recent meta-analysis cast doubt on the effectiveness of bystander intervention as a reliable solution. We integrated research findings from 149 articles, which included data from 111,466 participants. Alarmingly, we found that bystanders intervened only in the artificial safety of experiments, but not in real work settings.

    Not all employees feel equipped to address workplace aggression, and organizations should not over-rely on employees to take action. Instead, we highlighted the crucial role leaders can play. Leaders can effectively interrupt incidents of workplace aggression, act as influential role models for others and ultimately foster inclusive climates.

    Leaders must step up

    Leaders can become aware of workplace aggression in various ways, including overhearing rude comments in a meeting, receiving written complaints or being approached for advice on handling inappropriate jokes. When this happens, leaders must decide whether to act and how.

    Several barriers may prevent leaders from responding constructively. Like anyone else, leaders are prone to cognitive distortions. They may downplay an incident as a joke, hesitate to confront a high-performing employee who is the instigator, or even blame the target for provoking the behaviour.

    Some leaders may also feel it’s not their responsibility to intervene. If they have demanding jobs, they might not have time or energy to get involved in interpersonal issues that are not central to their jobs.

    Too often, employees remain silent when it comes to dealing with aggressive behaviours due to their perceived lack of power or ability to make a difference.
    (Shutterstock)

    However, the cost of leader inaction is high. In 2022, Nike faced a harassment and discrimination lawsuit with female employees raising concerns that “Nike’s management were unlikely to address their concerns” about unwanted sexual advances, sexist attitudes, and discrimination.

    In another case, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police faced a $1.1 billion lawsuit alleging systematic negligence and failure of “the chain of command” to address workplace aggression.

    When leaders ignore workplace aggression, organizations can suffer reputational and financial damage. But most importantly, employees can experience serious distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression.

    Responding to aggressive incidents

    One survey found that only 44 per cent of employees at U.S. companies strongly agree that their companies have a culture where employees are encouraged to speak up. Too often, employees remain silent when it comes to dealing with aggressive behaviours due to their perceived lack of power or ability to make a difference.

    Leaders, however, have the power to resist pushback, hold instigators accountable and create a supportive workplace environment. Leaders must take an active role in both preventing and responding to aggressive workplace incidents.

    First, leaders should acknowledge that addressing aggression is a part of their job. Aside from legal obligations to address aggression, leaders’ actions set the tone for what is considered acceptable. Demonstrating a commitment to civility can signal their ethical leadership, a highly valued leadership style.



    Read more:
    Workplace tensions: How and when bystanders can make a difference

    Second, leaders need to also address what might seem like minor incidents. A common misconception among bystanders is that minor incidents of aggression aren’t serious or harmful enough to act on.

    Minor incidents of aggression include low-intensity behaviors, such as sarcastic remarks, offensive jokes, eye-rolling, or dismissive gestures. More severe aggression includes such behaviors as yelling, intimidation, throwing objects in anger, or even inflicting physical harm.

    Aggression often starts with relatively minor acts that may escalate to more severe ones when left unchecked, so these smaller acts need to be addressed. Once aggression escalates in intensity or frequency, it becomes part of the organizational culture, making it much harder to change.

    It might seem surprising, but minor and severe aggression can be equally harmful to victims. Minor incidents are often subtle, which can lead to excessive rumination (e.g., was it intentional?), self-doubt (e.g., am I misinterpreting it?) and lowered self-esteem. This is particularly problematic because minor incidents are significantly more prevalent at work.

    How leaders can intervene effectively

    Leaders also need to learn how to appropriately intervene in incidents of aggression. For minor incidents, leaders can take immediate actions by redirecting attention from the target and stopping the incident by shifting the conversation or suggesting a quick break.

    Leaders should also privately address the aggressive behaviour with the instigator. Aggressive behaviours, especially in minor forms, are sometimes unintentional, so it’s best to approach the conversation in a non-confrontational manner that prompts the instigator to reflect on their behaviour and recognize the harmful nature of their actions.

    Leaders should privately address any aggressive behaviour with instigators.
    (Shutterstock)

    Since employees commonly become defensive or deny wrongdoing during such conversations, leaders should focus on discussing behaviours rather than personality, and provide actionable suggestions for positive behavioural change.

    It is also important to provide support to the target. Sometimes, employees react negatively toward victims of workplace aggression, such as blaming them for provoking the aggression rather than supporting them, which can damage their social standing within the team. When leaders support victims, it signals to others how they should respond, which can help victims retain their social status.

    Leaders can also create opportunities for the target to showcase their skills, reaffirming the importance of their role within the team and the organization, or engaging in acts of leader allyship toward victims.

    Innovating bystander training

    While our findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of bystander intervention among regular employees, they underscore the critical role of those in positions of authority and power to take action to address workplace aggression.

    Leaders should adopt innovative training programs, including bystander intervention training. While many organizations already provide such training, it often only involves educational videos or lectures. Research shows the best way to learn is by practicing, not passively listening. Training should take this into account.

    But how can employees practice interventions in a safe environment? One way organizations can do this is by taking advantage of recent technological developments, such as generative artificial intelligence, to create realistic training simulations.

    Trainees can engage in simulated conversations with a virtual instigator or victim and practice their intervention skills. Such conversations can be done in real-time with an avatar through video or voice, allowing employees build confidence and refine their approach in a controlled setting.

    Leaders have both the power and responsibility to create safer workplaces. By taking action to interrupt aggression and support victims, leaders can be role models for employees and ultimately foster a more productive work environment. Needless to say, leaders should address the problem, not contribute to it.

    Zhanna Lyubykh receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Sandra L. Robinson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Sandy Hershcovis receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Rui Zhong and The Ton Vuong do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Workplace aggression causes real harm — leaders must take action against it – https://theconversation.com/workplace-aggression-causes-real-harm-leaders-must-take-action-against-it-249938

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Inuit children in Nunavut face a preventable food security crisis

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Vandna Sinha, Adjunct Professor of Social Work, McGIll University & Associate Research Professor of Education, University of Colorado, Boulder, McGill University

    Nunavut has the highest rate of child poverty and the highest rate of food insecurity of any Canadian province or territory. In 2022, around 80 per cent of Indigenous children aged between one and 14 in Nunavut lived in households experiencing food insecurity. In 2018, the rate of childhood food insecurity in Nunavut was almost six times higher than in Canada as a whole.

    The Hamlet Food Voucher Program, funded through the Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI), has recently offered some relief. This program gives families funds for groceries to meet the nutritional needs of Inuit children.

    However, ICFI funding only runs until March 31, 2025. With Parliament prorogued, plans for further funding remain uncertain. That means starting April 1, many Inuit children in Nunavut may again go hungry. The Canadian government can make sure that does not happen by extending funding for ICFI and the food voucher program.

    Long-term effects of food insecurity

    Food insecurity can have harmful, and sometimes lasting, impacts on a young person’s physical health, mental health, academic performance and cognitive development. Infants and toddlers are particularly vulnerable because they are completely dependent on adult caregivers whose physical and mental health can also be impacted by food insecurity.

    Recently, food security initiatives in Nunavut have been funded through the ICFI, which was launched in 2018. ICFI was meant to be a temporary measure to help families access essential services while an Inuit-specific framework is being developed.

    Nutrition support for children has been one of the most requested services under ICFI. Initially, each family had to submit extensive documentation, and often faced months-long delays before receiving services and supports.

    In 2023, municipal governments in Nunavut began to request, and receive, ICFI funding for nutrition supports for all Inuit children in their community. By December 2024, all but one community received funding for Hamlet Food Voucher Programs. These programs provide $500 per child for groceries and an additional $250 for children under four.

    High grocery costs

    The support provided through the Hamlet Food Voucher Program is significant, but $500 covers far less in Nunavut than in southern Canada. Groceries must be brought to Nunavut by plane or ship, and most communities have only one or two grocery stores. Accordingly, despite efforts to reduce prices through programs like Nutrition North Canada (NNC), the cost of groceries in Nunavut is much higher than in the rest of Canada.

    Grocery prices in Nunavut are also rising much faster than in the rest of Canada. Our research shows that, between 2022 and 2024, the cost of a basket of goods in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut’s largest region, rose by 26 per cent (compared to 13 per cent across Canada) and is now more than double the average cost in Canada.

    Even food subsidized through NNC is far more expensive: four litres of milk cost $9.95 in Qikiqtaaluk compared to a Canada average of $5.10. Prices for other items can be even higher: a February 2025 video from the hamlet of Grise Fiord shows a jar of jam selling for $35, pickles for $66 and a six-pack of apple sauce for $58.

    The high rate of food insecurity in Nunavut reflects a vast gap between household incomes and the money required to support a basic standard of living. Nunavut saw sustained income growth between 2005 and 2019, and a declining percentage of people receiving social assistance. Still, employment rates remain lower than in other territories.

    In 2023, the median income for households with two adults and two children was just under $36,000.

    This was around 40 per cent of the $89,420 needed for a two-adult, three-child family living in social housing in Iqaluit to afford the “modest, basic standard of living” represented by the official poverty threshold.

    The social assistance available to low-income Nunavut families is comparable to that in provinces with a lower cost of living. Even with $1,000 a month in food vouchers, a family of four making the median income remains far below the “deep poverty” threshold of 75 per cent of the official poverty line.

    An Inuit-led solution

    We have been interviewing service providers, grocery store employees and people co-ordinating Hamlet Food Voucher Programs. The interviews are part of an ongoing research project we are working on in collaboration with Sindu Govindapillai and Dheeksha Reddy from Qupanuaq, a service co-ordination program operated by the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, and research team members Kelly Mitchell, Mohammad N. Khan, Josee G. Lavoie and Tracey Galloway.

    Interviewees tell us that, because of the program, fewer people go without food and more families can cover rent, utilities and other necessities. People also told us that families are eating healthier, children are going to school more often and are more engaged when there, and families are less stressed. Other programs and services that were previously busy addressing food-related crises can now focus on providing medical care, fostering learning and keeping children safe.

    The people we interviewed also make it clear the Hamlet Food Voucher Program is not enough to solve the problem of food insecurity in Nunavut. They stressed that food security initiatives must be paired with supports for healing, well-being and life-long learning.

    Inuit plans for addressing poverty include such supports. They also include measures to increase community decision-making, reform income assistance, increase access to housing and strengthen local economies.

    Until such a framework is fully implemented, the Hamlet Food Voucher Program must remain in place. Nunavut families currently face record levels of child poverty, rising food prices and a potential North American trade war that would further drive-up costs.

    Losing food voucher support would be catastrophic for many households, particularly those with young children. The Canadian government must support Inuit leaders working toward a long-term solution to food insecurity in Nunavut. By funding the Hamlet Food Voucher program in the interim, it can help ensure that the children of Nunavut do not go hungry.

    The ongoing research described in this article is funded by the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.

    Financial support for this research was provided by CN and Mr. Dan Einwechter through the Einwechter Centre for Supply Chain
    Management, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Nicholas Li receives funding from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Development Grant that helped support this research.

    Jessica Penney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Inuit children in Nunavut face a preventable food security crisis – https://theconversation.com/inuit-children-in-nunavut-face-a-preventable-food-security-crisis-250004

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alper Kara, Head of Department of Economics and Finance, Brunel University of London

    1000 Words/Shutterstock

    After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, the UK’s banking sector was placed under a much stricter regime. Bonuses were limited, regulations were beefed up and the whole industry scrutinised like never before.

    The idea was to make banks safer places for everyone’s money. But regulators are now thinking about easing some of these financial safeguards in a bid to boost economic growth.

    One proposal is to change the rules on mortgage affordability. One industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, is considering relaxing the lending restrictions which were designed to prevent households from building up unsustainable debt.

    This includes reviewing affordability tests and allowing banks to lend more freely to borrowers with smaller deposits or lower incomes. Some commentators argue that these changes will help first-time buyers and increase overall mortgage availability.

    But the risks of easier mortgage lending cannot be ignored. Before the last crisis, lenders approved loans to borrowers without verifying income or creditworthiness, assuming that rising property values would provide a safety net.

    And when interest rates increased and property values collapsed, many borrowers could not afford their repayments – and lost their homes.

    In fact, mortgage repayments are already becoming more difficult. The Bank of England has warned that over 1.5 million UK households will face significantly higher mortgage costs in 2025 after their current deals expire.

    And loosening lending rules could easily push house prices even higher. When more buyers qualify for mortgages, demand for housing increases and prices go up. This makes home ownership even less affordable, especially for those first-time buyers.

    Expanding access to debt without fixing underlying issues around housing supply only creates more financial risk. And it seems to be part of a broader trend towards deregulation.

    Internationally agreed banking rules, which require banks to hold more capital as protection against financial shocks, are being delayed in the UK until 2027. The Bank of England has justified the wait by
    saying that banks need more flexibility to increase lending and investment without the constraints those rules would bring.

    Banks are also challenging regulations that require them to hold on to a specific type of debt designed to ensure that failing banks can absorb financial losses without taxpayer bailouts. But if these rules are weakened, the banking system could become more fragile, forcing governments to intervene.

    The banking system is showing other signs of fragility too.

    Banking on regulations

    One worrying trend is the increasing use of something called “synthetic risk transfers”. This is a technique that banks use to reduce the amount of risk on their balance sheets, by transferring it to outside investors – such as hedge funds or insurers – through special financial contracts.

    These are sometimes compared to “collateralised debt obligations” (or CDOs), where a bank bundles multiple loans (such as mortgages, corporate debt or car loans) and sells portions of that bundle to investors. These complex transactions were a key factor in the global financial crisis because they concealed risky loans, spreading financial instability across global markets.

    Then there’s the UK’s motor finance sector, where lenders have been accused of charging excessive interest rates on car loans. This could lead to compensation claims of up to £44 billion, making it potentially one of the biggest consumer finance scandals since payment protection insurance (PPI).

    On that occasion, banks and lenders wrongly sold PPI to millions of customers, leading to a record £50 billion in compensation payouts.

    With the ongoing case of motor finance, the British government wanted regulators to limit compensation payouts to avoid disrupting financial markets, but this was rejected by the supreme court.

    Yet despite these problems, some still claim that deregulation will do wonders for the sector’s financial flexibility. The British chancellor Rachel Reeves has argued that relaxing some regulations and reducing red tape will encourage growth and increase the UK’s competitiveness in global financial markets.

    Sometimes there’s a reason for red tape.
    Oksana Valiukevic/Shutterstock

    Perhaps she agrees with Donald Trump, whose aggressive financial agenda includes relaxed capital requirements and weakened regulatory oversight.

    But past experience suggests that weakening financial safeguards and encouraging more debt in pursuit of short term growth can have severe long-term consequences.

    Research shows that financial deregulation often leads to financial instability and economic crises. It also suggests that expanding credit does not fix housing affordability, and that reducing capital requirements does not make banks safer.

    The global financial crisis was a direct result of excessive risk-taking in an underregulated system. Governments had to bail out banks with taxpayer money, leading to more than a decade of austerity.

    The same mistakes could happen again. For now though, it looks like some of those hard lessons have been forgotten.

    Alper Kara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis – https://theconversation.com/how-the-uks-rollback-of-banking-regulations-could-risk-another-financial-crisis-249386

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Colombia wants to ban Pablo Escobar and other narco-themed merchandise – here’s why

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ross Bennett-Cook, PhD Researcher, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University

    When you think of Colombia, what images come to mind? For some, it may be coffee or perhaps the country’s diverse landscapes and cultures. For many others, it will be cartels, crime and cocaine.

    Colombia’s history as a drug trafficking hub plays a major role in attracting visitors to the country – a form of travel known as “dark tourism”. But the Colombian government and much of the population are desperate to shake off this sordid association.

    A new bill going through Colombia’s congress is proposing to ban the sale of souvenirs that depict notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals. The proposed law would mean fines for those who violate the rules, and a temporary suspension of businesses.

    Colombia became a major producer of cocaine in the 1970s, fuelled by demand in North America. Led by Escobar, the Medellín cartel dominated this trade, controlling roughly 80% of the cocaine supply to the US.

    In 1988, Time magazine famously dubbed Medellín the “most dangerous city” in the world. Car bombings, assassinations, kidnap and torture became part of everyday life. In a failed attempt to assassinate presidential hopeful César Gaviria in 1989, Escobar was even behind the bombing of a commercial flight that killed all 107 passengers and crew onboard.

    By 1991, the homicide rate in Medellín was a shocking 381 for every 100,000 inhabitants, with 7,500 people murdered in the city that year alone. In comparison, there were a total of 107 homicides in London in 2024.

    Nowadays, Medellín is much more peaceful. Since Escobar’s death in 1993, its homicide rate has dropped by 97% due to increased security crackdowns and peace deals between the narco gangs.

    Colombia now has a booming tourism industry, breaking records for its highest number of visitors in 2024. Medellín has even become a trendy location for digital nomads due to its exciting nightlife, stunning landscape and excellent weather.

    A tourist poses for a picture in the Comuna 13 neighbourhood of Medellín.
    Anamaria Mejia / Shutterstock

    Yet, when I visited Colombia in 2024, it was hard not to become infatuated by Escobar. His face is everywhere: on key rings, magnets, mugs and t-shirts, while you often see lookalikes posing for photographs. Even airports – the last place I would expect to be associated with drugs – stock Escobar souvenirs.

    A quick look on TripAdvisor’s “best things to do in Medellín” shows Museum Pablo Escobar at number one. Almost every tour in the city is related to the notorious cartel leader, including visits to the neighbourhoods he controlled (and often terrorised), his hideout spots, and the location of his final shootout with the police.

    Narco tourism’s boom can be largely attributed to the huge popularity of Narcos, a critically acclaimed series on Netflix that dramatised the life of Escobar. But shows such as Narcos have been criticised by some experts for glorifying the cartel lifestyle – focusing on money, glamour and sex rather than the harsh realities of life within Colombia’s drug trade.

    According to dark tourism researcher Diego Felipe Caicedo, popular media related to narco culture often portrays cartel members as heroes managing to defeat the class structure established by the elite capitalist system.

    This has resulted in a dissonant heritage of people like Escobar. To some, he is a Robin Hood-type figure who built houses and gave to the poor. To others, he is an evil figure and vicious murderer. And while Escobar did use some of his fortune to improve deprived neighbourhoods, many saw this as a tactic to buy loyalty and mask his criminal activity.

    The romanticism of Escobar angers many in Colombia who hate the idea of a murderous drug tycoon being the most recognised image of the country. In a city where almost every family knows of someone affected by the violent consequences of the drug trade, victims in Medellín now live with reminders plastered across storefronts, vendor stalls and tourist’s t-shirts.

    Yet those who rely on this souvenir trade are furious at the possibility of restrictions. In many developing tourist destinations, selling souvenirs is an accessible way of benefiting from tourism and can act as a gateway out of poverty.

    The souvenir trade is one of supply and demand – vendors are only selling Escobar souvenirs because they are the most popular. So, perhaps the focus should be on changing the attitudes and interests of tourists, rather than penalising the vendors.

    Controlling the narrative

    Camille Beauvais, a researcher of Colombian history, suggests it is up to local authorities to take control of the narrative through commemoration and education. This could follow the example of the anti-mafia museum in Palermo, Italy, which is designed to recognise the courage of the city and its people in standing up to criminal activity.

    Attempts like this could steer tourists away from sensationalist tours to a more nuanced and historically accurate representation of this turbulent time. But the Colombian authorities have, up to now, tried to ignore this important period in the country’s history.

    It was only in 2022 that the Colombia Truth Commission released an official report on the root causes of violence in Colombia, including governmental and international failures in tackling narcotraffickers.



    Read more:
    Dark tourism: why atrocity tourism is neither new nor weird

    However, some groups in Colombia have already tried to develop an alternate narrative. In 2019, the NGO Colombia ConMemoria (Colombia Remembers) created an online “Narcostore”, a fake souvenir website full of Escobar-themed products.

    When visitors clicked to purchase the item, they were redirected to video testimonies of those affected by the drugs trade, many of whom had lost friends or relatives to Escobar’s terror. The site reached 180 million visitors worldwide.

    Narco tourism does not seem to be disappearing. Fascination with true crime, drugs and cartels is as popular as ever. But perhaps these tourists should take a moment to consider how they might feel, if someone who had murdered their loved ones became a souvenir fridge magnet for people to remember their country by.

    Ross Bennett-Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Colombia wants to ban Pablo Escobar and other narco-themed merchandise – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/colombia-wants-to-ban-pablo-escobar-and-other-narco-themed-merchandise-heres-why-249916

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Domestic abuse: how it escalates and why that makes it so hard to leave

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tirion E. Havard, Professor of Gender Abuse and Policy, London South Bank University

    Ryan Wellings has been jailed for more than six years after the death of his partner Kiena Dawes. Wellings was convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour, having abused Dawes repeatedly throughout their relationship.

    Dawes took her own life in July 2022 and squarely blamed Wellings’ abuse, leaving a suicide note that read: “I was murdered. Slowly … Ryan Wellings killed me.” Wellings was acquitted of manslaughter.

    In the UK it is estimated that 1.6 million women aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse last year. Yet when we hear horrific stories like Dawes’s, a common response is to ask, “Why would she stay with him?” This attitude perpetuates misconceptions about abuse, and misses the reality that anyone can become a victim.

    Abuse often escalates over time, meaning that what looks like a loving relationship initially may become violent or controlling.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    In the 1970s, psychologist Lenore Walker’s book The Battered Woman Syndrome proposed a theory that abuse in intimate relationships often occurs in a cycle, consisting of three main phases.

    The first, tension building, is when the perpetrator indicates signs of anger or frustration and can last from minutes to months. It usually escalates until it shifts into the second phase (explosion), when there is physical or sexual violence.

    After the event, the perpetrator may feel some remorse or guilt at the violence. Here they may enter the honeymoon phase, when the perpetrator apologises and promises that it will never happen again. The cycle is repeated, often becoming quicker (the honeymoon phase becomes shorter).

    This explanation can be overly simplistic and is not consistent with all survivors’ experiences. But it can be helpful to understand how abuse can change over time.

    As a probation officer, I worked with a woman who was severely abused by her long-term partner. Convinced that if she left him, he would kill her, she developed coping strategies based on the cycle of abuse. As the tension-building phase intensified, she became adept at recognising when the risk he posed became life-threatening.

    To avoid an explosion (and serious harm to herself) she would deliberately shoplift in front of security guards. Her criminal record and reputation was so well established that she was banned from most shops in her area.

    Once in court, she would plead for a custodial sentence. This would offer her some safety and “time out” from the abuse, but it also gave her partner time to reflect. At the time of her release, he would be sufficiently remorseful and the honeymoon period would start again.

    Control and isolation

    Like most intimate connections, abusive relationships typically start filled with romance, excitement and lust. In these early periods, perpetrators can be “over the top” with excessive communication and extreme flattery, even showering their partner with unnecessary gifts.

    This “love bombing” is often accompanied with early and intense conversations about a future together, as exhibited by Wellings who had Kiena Dawes’s name and face tattooed on his body within only days of meeting.

    Physical abuse typically comes later, sometimes triggered by life events such as marriage, pregnancy or childbirth. Usually, elements of control seep into the relationship as the couple becomes more established. These acts are discrete and difficult for the survivor, friends, family and professionals to recognise.

    Abusers may persuade their partner to stay in to watch a film or have a romantic meal at home, rather than going out to meet friends or family. When a night out is organised, the perpetrator might invite themselves or turn up unexpectedly to social events.

    This isolation is part of a perpetrator’s wider intention to control their partner. With no one to speak to and nothing to measure their relationship against, it becomes more difficult for survivors to recognise their relationship as abusive. Instead, they may doubt themselves and their perceptions.

    Even if they do recognise their relationship as abusive, the lack of contact with others makes it more difficult to reach out for help. Survivors feel trapped, having no choice but to stay.

    Mobile phones and other tech have given abuse perpetrators a new tool of control.
    Bits and Splits/Shutterstock

    Over time, the control escalates and becomes more overt, often hiding in plain sight. As a probation officer, I once worked with a perpetrator who, on his wedding night, took the hotel towel and used it to strangle his new wife.

    Thereafter when they had guests, he would purposefully place a towel over a chair – signalling to his partner that her friends needed to leave, or that she had crossed an invisible line and she would pay for it later.

    The symbolism of this simple act would likely be missed by those around the couple, but would serve as a warning to the survivor of the abuse that was to come. As the evening continued, the tension would build alongside her crippling fear.

    This kind of control can also occur when someone experiencing abuse is out in public or with friends. As I have found in my research, smartphones have given abusers more tools to control their victims, creating a panopticon effect, where victims feel surveilled and watched by their partners 24/7.



    Read more:
    Even before deepfakes, tech was a tool of abuse and control

    Breaking the cycle

    As Kiena Dawes’ story shows, there is no easy way to break this cycle. Research has shown that leaving an abusive relationship can be dangerous for women, as abuse typically continues post-separation.

    The number of suicides linked with domestic abuse has risen steadily in recent years. There are currently more domestic abuse related deaths linked to suicide than homicide between partners. Between 2019 and 2022, 30% of suspected suicides in Kent and Medway identified domestic abuse as a factor.

    The last government took important steps to recognise that abusive relationships can and do result in survivors taking their own lives, replacing the term “domestic homicide” with “fatal domestic abuse” in law.

    Yet misunderstandings, particularly about why people stay with their abusers, persist. When faced with women who are experiencing abuse, the question should not be why do they stay, but what is stopping them from leaving – and how do we remove those barriers?

    If you or someone you know is affected by abuse, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247, and other resources are available.

    Tirion E. Havard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Domestic abuse: how it escalates and why that makes it so hard to leave – https://theconversation.com/domestic-abuse-how-it-escalates-and-why-that-makes-it-so-hard-to-leave-238919

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A robot nearly headbutted a festival spectator in China – here are four urgent steps to make the tech safer

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Carl Strathearn, Lecturer in Computer Science, Edinburgh Napier University

    Humanoid robots will start to become much more common as prices tumble. thinkhubstudio

    Humanoid robots are supposed to be our loyal assistants, but we saw another side to them the other day. Chinese robot manufacturer Unitree was demonstrating its latest H1 robots at a lantern festival in the city of Taishan, Guangdong province, when one walked up to the crowd barrier and seemed to lunge at an elderly woman, nearly headbutting her.

    The incident quickly went viral, and sparked a fierce debate about whether the robot actually attacked the woman or had tripped up. It’s mostly being overlooked that we’re a long way from having robots that could intentionally attack someone – machines like these are often remote controlled – but the danger to the public is clearly real enough.

    With sales of humanoid robots set to skyrocket over the next decade, the public will increasingly be at risk from these kinds of incidents. In our view as robotics researchers, governments have put very little thought into the risks.

    Here are some urgent steps that they should take to make humanoid robots as safe as possible.

    1. Increase owner requirements

    The first important issue is to what extent humanoid robots will be controlled by users. Whereas Tesla’s Optimus can be remotely operated by people in a control centre, others such as the Unitree H1s are controlled by the user with a handheld joystick.

    Currently on sale for around £90,000, they come with a software development kit on which you can develop your own artificial intelligence (AI) system, though only to a limited extent. For example, it could say a sentence or recognise a face but not take your kids to school.

    Who is to blame if someone gets hurt or even killed by a human-controlled robot? It’s hard to know for sure – any discussion about liability would first involve proving whether the harm was caused by human error or a mechanical malfunction.

    This came up in a Florida case where a widower sued medical robot-maker Intuitive Surgical Inc over his wife’s death in 2022. Her death was linked to injuries she sustained from a heat burn in her intestine during an operation that was caused by a fault in one of the company’s machines.

    The case was dropped in 2024 after being partially dismissed by a district judge. But the fact that the widower sued the manufacturer rather than the medics demonstrated that the robotics industry needs a legal framework for preventing such situations as much as the public do.

    While for drones there are aviation laws and other restrictions to govern their use in public areas, there are no specific laws for walking robots.

    So far, the only place to have put forward governance guidelines is China’s Shanghai province. Published in summer 2024, these include stipulating that robots must not threaten human security, and that manufacturers must train users on how to use these machines ethically.

    For robots controlled by owners, in the UK there is currently nothing preventing someone from taking a robot dog out for a stroll in a busy park, or a humanoid robot to the pub for a pint.

    As a starting point, we could ban people from controlling robots under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or when they are otherwise distracted such as using their phones. Their use could also be restricted in risky environments such as confined spaces with lots of members of the public, places with fire or chemical hazards, and the roofs of buildings.

    2. Improve design

    Robots that looks sleek and can dance and flip are fun to watch, but how safe are the audiences? Safe designs would consider everything from reducing cavities where fingers could get caught, to waterproofing internal components.

    Protective barriers or exoskeletons could further reduce unintended contact, while cushioning mechanisms could reduce the effect of an impact.

    Robots should be designed to signal their intent through lights, sounds and gestures. For example, they should arguably make a noise when entering a room so as not to surprise anyone.

    Even drones can alert their user if they lose signal or battery and need to return to home, and such mechanisms should also be built into walking robots. There are no legal requirements for any such features at present.

    ‘I am now exiting the room.’
    Simple Line

    It’s not that manufacturers are entirely ignoring these issues for walking robots. Unitree’s quadroped Go2, for instance, blinks and beeps when the battery is low or if it is overheating.

    It also has automatic emergency cut-offs in these situations, although they must be triggered by a remote operator when the robot is in “telemetric mode”. Crucially, however, there are no clear regulations to ensure that all manufacturers meet a certain safety standard.

    3. Train operators

    Clearly there will be dangers with robots using AI features, but remote-operated models could be even more dangerous. Mistakes could result from users’ lack of real-world training and experience in real-life situations.

    There appears to be a major skills gap in operator training, and robotics companies will need to prioritise this to ensure operators can control machines efficiently and safely.

    In addition, humans can have delayed reaction times and limited concentration, so we also need systems that can monitor the attention of robot operators and alert them to prevent accidents. This would be similar to the HGV-driver distraction-detection systems that were installed in vehicles in London in 2024.

    4. Educate the public

    The incident in China has highlighted current misconceptions about humanoid robots as the media is once again blaming AI despite the fact that this was not the issue. This risks causing widespread mistrust and confusion among the public.

    If people understand to what extent walking robots are owner-operated or remote-operated, it will change their expectations about what the robot might do, and make everyone safer as a result.

    Also, understanding the owner’s level of control is vital for managing buyers’ expectations and forewarning them about how much they’ll need to learn about operating and programming a robot before they buy one.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. A robot nearly headbutted a festival spectator in China – here are four urgent steps to make the tech safer – https://theconversation.com/a-robot-nearly-headbutted-a-festival-spectator-in-china-here-are-four-urgent-steps-to-make-the-tech-safer-250851

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Freetown’s celebrated tree planting scheme won’t work for other African cities, or the planet

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in African Studies, University of Oxford

    More than a million trees have been planted in the city of Freetown in Sierra Leone since 2020. This reforestation scheme, known as “FreetownTheTreeTown”, has been celebrated for its innovative approach to climate action, with ambitious plans to plant another 5 million trees by 2030 and 20 million more by 2050.

    A global network of mayors known as the C40 Cities and other urban development experts have called this a “highly replicable” solution for environmental crises across urban Africa.

    Reforestation helps Freetown cope with excess heat, annual seasonal floods, landslides and other environmental problems. Because of its geography, squeezed between wooded mountains and coastline, and widespread poverty, the city is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of the climate change.

    Deforestation of Freetown’s mountains for wood, charcoal and housing space led to a landslide in 2017 that killed 1,100 people and left at least another 3,000 people homeless. FreetownTheTreetown is a response to this disaster.



    Read more:
    Sierra Leone mudslide was a man-made tragedy that could have been prevented

    There are also important historical contexts. I’ve conducted research into the colonial history of Freetown and the changing historical meaning of its trees. From the spiritual meaning of trees in Indigenous west African cultures, through to their use in colonial planning schemes, trees in Freetown have been central to political struggles over the urban landscape.

    Tree planting should not be viewed simply as a generic social good. Trees are embedded in wider structures of power. From colonial-era tree planting, which aimed to reorganise Freetown into a European style city, to the 21st century’s green capitalism – in which tree “tokens” have become commodities for their marketable “carbon offset” – trees are far from apolitical.

    Tree planting projects alone cannot solve environmental problems in African cities. As the world heats up, reliance on fossil fuels must be reduced. Green capitalism’s tree planting schemes won’t cut greenhouse gas emissions at source.

    Climate solutions

    FreetownTheTreeTown is organised through an app, TreeTracker, used by community growers who plant and care for saplings that have been grown in a nursery. They use the app to tag the geographical location of each new tree and track tree growth with photographs.

    The community growers, largely women and young people, receive payments from the city administration once every quarter in the form of tokens that can be exchanged for cash. Thanks to this community, the project has achieved a high tree survival rate of over 80%.

    Inside Freetown’s tree planting scheme.

    Since 2020, this project has received almost US$3 million (£2.4 million), largely from the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility.

    But the project is supposed to start covering its own costs through selling carbon offset tokens to foreign nations and companies. Buyers will buy these to “cancel out” their own carbon emissions. A polluting airline in the US, for example, could claim it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions if it buys carbon offset tokens from FreetownTheTreeTown.



    Read more:
    There aren’t enough trees in the world to offset society’s carbon emissions – and there never will be

    Carbon offset schemes have been criticised by academics and journalists for overstating the rate and speed at which they can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. They’ve been accused of distracting attention from the necessary and difficult work of transitioning away from polluting energy sources.

    Charcoal is the most important product of the deforestation of Freetown’s mountainous peninsula because the city’s residents use it as cooking fuel. It is, however, highly polluting. People living in informal communities are encouraged to move to cleaner cooking fuels. Some briquettes are even made from human waste. Freetown is genuinely trying to reduce its extremely low carbon emissions.

    Tensions in tree town

    Tension between the conservation and exploitation of Freetown’s mountain forest has existed for centuries. Freetown was established by British colonists in 1792 as a site for the resettlement of formerly enslaved people from across west Africa. Mountain forests were cut down and turned into timber for the board houses of Freetown.

    My research into the late 19th century history of Freetown has revealed that an enormous iroko tree with a trunk circumference of over 15 metres was a place of great spiritual and ritual significance in the area of Brookfields.



    Read more:
    Bringing forests to the city: 10 ways planting trees improves health in urban centres

    Many formerly enslaved people from Yorubaland, in what is today south-western Nigeria, believed iroko trees were inhabited by powerful spirits. Witches were thought to hold meetings around them.

    The Brookfields iroko tree was feared. But it was also respected. Processions of the Bondo, an all-female secret society, visited the tree with offerings, such as corn and pieces of cloth.

    The colonial government planted new trees to demarcate the gridded streetscape of Freetown. But Freetonians did not like the new trees. They suspected them of harbouring mosquitoes and snakes. Twenty years after the first planting, most had been cut down by the city’s residents. The colonial government attempted to overwrite west African understandings of trees by imposing a new order.

    Tree planting schemes must pay close attention to histories of government-led dispossession if they are to successfully transform cities. FreetownTheTreeTown has begun to tackle this history head on by co-creating this reforested city with its communities. This is important work. But, there must be caution about simply transplanting the technical solutions from Freetown to other cities across Africa.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Milo Gough has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council through CHASE DTP.

    – ref. Why Freetown’s celebrated tree planting scheme won’t work for other African cities, or the planet – https://theconversation.com/why-freetowns-celebrated-tree-planting-scheme-wont-work-for-other-african-cities-or-the-planet-247254

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mike Amesbury guilty of punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Caygill, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Nottingham Trent University

    Since the publication of this article, Mike Amesbury’s sentence has been suspended on appeal.

    MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for ten weeks after he pleaded guilty to punching a man in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. The indecent happened in October of last year. Amesbury had the Labour whip withdrawn and has sat as an independent MP since.

    What happens to MPs who are accused and found guilty of wrongdoing? While it does depend on how we define “wrongdoing”, as it can vary in terms of the scale of offence, there are several options available to parliamentary parties, the House of Commons itself and the public. In the case of Amesbury, neither parliament nor the Labour party can stop him from remaining as an MP under the current rules, either while in prison or after he comes out. But his constituents do have a say.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    The ultimate power parliamentary parties have (particularly the leader) is to remove the whip. In effect, this means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and may not sit with their colleagues, nor be reelected under the party banner should the whip remain withdrawn at an election.

    There is a distinction between the whip being withdrawn and it being suspended. To have the whip withdrawn suggests it is final and will not be returned. To have it suspended suggests its removal is only temporary and can be returned. This was the case with the seven Labour MPs who voted against the party line over the two-child benefit cap.

    Amesbury had the whip withdrawn after the allegations and video evidence (which was circulated widely on social media) emerged. However, he remains an independent MP, at least for now.

    The House of Commons has the power to suspend MPs from the chamber for a specified period of time. Where an MP is found to have broken the code of conduct or committed a contempt of the House (for example, misleading the House), the committee on standards may recommend a period of suspension which leads to a motion being tabled in the House of Commons.

    This is what was going to happen to Boris Johnson after he was found to have misled parliament over “partygate” allegations. He resigned before the suspension could take effect.

    The parliamentary commissioner for standards, (an independent officer of the House of Commons), can also investigate complaints made against MPs (including over breaching lobbying rules). In serious cases it can report to the standards committee to recommend a sanction, including suspension from the House.

    The only way an MP can be expelled by the House of Commons completely (rather than having their membership suspended) is if they are sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment. In this case, Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks, so well below that threshold.

    Prior to 2015, this would have been the end of the process. Amesbury would have had the whip withdrawn. After completing his ten-week sentence he would have been free to continue to sit as an MP until the end of his current term.

    The role of the public

    As things stand in 2025, this is no longer the end of the line for these kinds of offences. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Recall of MPs Act, which has provided a route for the electorate to remove sitting MPs who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.

    Recall refers to a process whereby the electorate in a constituency can trigger a byelection to remove a sitting MP before the end of their term of office. MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:

    • if they are convicted in the UK of any offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted

    • if an MP is suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the committee on standards for a specified period: at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified (we saw a number of these kind of recalls during the 2019 Parliament, particularly following lobbying scandals)

    • if an MP is convicted of making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims (under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009).

    In the case of Amesbury, his sentence is close to meeting the conditions of the first point. I use the word “close” as he is planning on appealing the sentence, and the criteria cannot be formally met until those appeals are exhausted.

    If the criteria is met, then the speaker must notify the local returning officer (who oversees elections). A recall petition is then automatically launched and remains open for six weeks. Under the act, electors must sign the petition in person, by post or by proxy. For a petition to be successful and a byelection triggered, 10% of the eligible registered voters must sign it.

    At the time of writing, there have been six recall petitions launched against various MPs. Four of those were successful and saw the sitting MP lose their seat, one petition failed and the MP remained in place and in one case the MP resigned while the petition was open, automatically triggering a byelection.

    Given Amesbury is appealing, this process has not yet begun. However, he is under pressure, particularly from opposition MPs, to resign immediately and trigger a byelection now.

    While there is potentially a way back for Amesbury in terms of remaining an MP (should his appeal be upheld or if a recall petition goes ahead and fails to meet the 10% threshold) it is unlikely there is a way back for him in terms of having the Labour whip restored.

    Either way, he is on borrowed time. Even if he remains an MP, without a party whip he most likely faces defeat at a subsequent general election.

    This is what happened to former Labour MP Claudia Webbe. She had the whip withdrawn by the Labour Party in 2021 following a conviction for harassment. However, she appealed her sentence and was given community service instead – failing to trigger the Recall of MPs Act. She remained as an independent MP until the 2024 general election, where she was defeated by the Conservative candidate.

    There is an onus on political parties to ensure they respond to wrongdoing appropriately, including suspending the whip and removing it where necessary. In Amesbury’s case, Labour acted quickly.

    But given the scandals we have seen in recent years, the public have limited patience. And wrongdoing, by what is a small minority of MPs, can tar the reputation of all MPs and parliament itself.

    Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324241256)

    – ref. Mike Amesbury guilty of punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP – https://theconversation.com/mike-amesbury-guilty-of-punching-a-man-heres-why-hes-still-an-mp-250707

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Water-based batteries could be key in helping Canada achieve its net zero goals by 2050 — here’s how

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Meysam Maleki, Ph.D. Candidate of Chemical Engineering, Concordia University

    Canada has set an ambitious target to be net zero by 2050.

    Key to achieving this target will be decarbonizing the country’s energy grid.

    Renewable energy sources will be an important aspect of these plans. But while these energy sources are both cheap and increasingly accessible, a problem they continue to face is variability. After all, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow when power is needed.

    Canada’s dominant renewable energy source — hydropower, which made up almost 62 per cent of Canada’s total renewable electricity generation in 2022 — is also highly vulnerable to climate change. Low precipitation in 2023 reduced reservoir levels in Canada below average. This led to a 25 per cent drop in electricity exports to the United States. The situation was even worse in British Columbia, where BC Hydro had to import electricity to meet provincial demand.

    Given these challenges, critical questions arise about whether renewable energy sources will be able to cope with energy demands now and in the future.

    One way of addressing these issue is by building large-scale energy storage systems. These would be capable of storing excess renewable energy when it’s abundant and deploying it when needed.

    Storing energy

    Around 90 per cent of global energy capacity is stored using pumped hydro energy storage systems.

    This system stores energy by pumping water from a lower level reservoir to a higher one using electric pumps powered by a renewable energy source. To release this stored energy, the reverse process occurs — so the water in the high levels flows down through turbines, generating electricity.

    Pumped hydro energy storage is currently the most desirable energy storage method. This is because it can have a lifespan of up to 100 years, is highly efficient and very cost-effective.

    However, a major pitfall of these storage systems is the geographic conditions required for them to work. These systems rely on large amounts of water flowing through different elevations. This incurs a significant cost. There are also environmental concerns, since it needs a large infrastructure to be built.

    But a type of water-based battery may, in some cases, offer a better way of storing renewable energy for large-scale use — all without requiring as much space and infrastructure as pumped hydro systems.

    Aqueous redox flow batteries are a type of battery that store energy in external tanks filled with water-based solutions. These solutions are then pumped and cycled through the battery’s electrochemical cell, causing reactions which allow the battery to release and store energy until needed.

    Aqueous redox flow batteris could help store renewable energy for decades.
    (Shutterstock)

    These batteries are able to store and release energy for years. Some companies claim they can last up to 25 years.

    Alongside their long life, aqueous redox flow batteries are potentially more cost-effective to scale-up compared to other batteries — such as the conventional lithium-ion batteries found in our phones and cars. They’re also a lot safer than conventional batteries, as the water-based electrolytes means there’s no risk of flammability.

    Aqueous redox flow batteries are highly scalable due to their modular design. Increasing storage capacity can be done by building larger tanks without needing to change the entire system. This makes them useful for both small and large-scale projects — whether that’s powering a single home or an entire community.

    These batteries have the potential to benefit the energy industry by providing a reliable way of managing fluctuating energy supply. They could also be well-suited for supplying reliable, renewable energy in rural communities and during disaster recovery.

    The world’s largest aqueous redox flow battery was recently built in China. Assuming an average consumption of one kilowatt-hour per hour per household, this one battery alone would be able to supply electricity to approximately 58,000 homes for 12 hours.

    Aqueous redox flow batteries can also be used in many other applications. For example, as electric vehicles become more prevalent, this technology could be suitable for supporting EV charging stations. South Korea even announced in 2021 that these batteries would be trialled to enhance EV charging infrastructure.

    This is particularly relevant in Canada, given plans to have 12.4 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2035.

    Battery limitations

    While commercial aqueous redox flow batteries have many advantages, their main limitation is cost.

    Currently, commercial aqueous redox flow batteries rely on expensive and rare materials, such as vanadium. This makes them too costly for widespread adoption.

    Cheaper, more abundant organic materials (such as anthraquinones) could replace the vanadium in these batteries. But organic materials come with their own challenges. Currently, some cost-effective organic redox flow batteries degrade much faster than versions made with vanadium, which can last for decades.

    However, current research is making significant progress in improving the stability of organic materials- helping to extend the lifespan of cheap organic redox flow batteries, making them an increasingly viable alternative.

    Given the current costs of the materials needed to make commercial aqueous redox flow batteries and the short lifespan of cost-effective organic compounds, this technology is not yet fully ready for widespread use. Continued investment in research and development will be crucial. If we can overcome these current challenges and unlock the full potential of aqueous organic redox flow batteries, they could become a key component of the global transition to renewable energy.

    Nothing to disclose.

    – ref. Water-based batteries could be key in helping Canada achieve its net zero goals by 2050 — here’s how – https://theconversation.com/water-based-batteries-could-be-key-in-helping-canada-achieve-its-net-zero-goals-by-2050-heres-how-221083

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Labour’s Mike Amesbury guilty of punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Caygill, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Nottingham Trent University

    Since the publication of this article, Mike Amesbury’s sentence has been suspended on appeal.

    Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for ten weeks after he pleaded guilty to punching a man in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. The indecent happened in October of last year. Amesbury had the Labour whip withdrawn and has sat as an independent MP since.

    What happens to MPs who are accused and found guilty of wrongdoing? While it does depend on how we define “wrongdoing”, as it can vary in terms of the scale of offence, there are several options available to parliamentary parties, the House of Commons itself and the public. In the case of Amesbury, neither parliament nor the Labour party can stop him from remaining as an MP under the current rules, either while in prison or after he comes out. But his constituents do have a say.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    The ultimate power parliamentary parties have (particularly the leader) is to remove the whip. In effect, this means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and may not sit with their colleagues, nor be reelected under the party banner should the whip remain withdrawn at an election.

    There is a distinction between the whip being withdrawn and it being suspended. To have the whip withdrawn suggests it is final and will not be returned. To have it suspended suggests its removal is only temporary and can be returned. This was the case with the seven Labour MPs who voted against the party line over the two-child benefit cap.

    Amesbury had the whip withdrawn after the allegations and video evidence (which was circulated widely on social media) emerged. However, he remains an independent MP, at least for now.

    The House of Commons has the power to suspend MPs from the chamber for a specified period of time. Where an MP is found to have broken the code of conduct or committed a contempt of the House (for example, misleading the House), the committee on standards may recommend a period of suspension which leads to a motion being tabled in the House of Commons.

    This is what was going to happen to Boris Johnson after he was found to have misled parliament over “partygate” allegations. He resigned before the suspension could take effect.

    The parliamentary commissioner for standards, (an independent officer of the House of Commons), can also investigate complaints made against MPs (including over breaching lobbying rules). In serious cases it can report to the standards committee to recommend a sanction, including suspension from the House.

    The only way an MP can be expelled by the House of Commons completely (rather than having their membership suspended) is if they are sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment. In this case, Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks, so well below that threshold.

    Prior to 2015, this would have been the end of the process. Amesbury would have had the whip withdrawn. After completing his ten-week sentence he would have been free to continue to sit as an MP until the end of his current term.

    The role of the public

    As things stand in 2025, this is no longer the end of the line for these kinds of offences. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Recall of MPs Act, which has provided a route for the electorate to remove sitting MPs who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.

    Recall refers to a process whereby the electorate in a constituency can trigger a byelection to remove a sitting MP before the end of their term of office. MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:

    • if they are convicted in the UK of any offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted

    • if an MP is suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the committee on standards for a specified period: at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified (we saw a number of these kind of recalls during the 2019 Parliament, particularly following lobbying scandals)

    • if an MP is convicted of making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims (under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009).

    In the case of Amesbury, his sentence is close to meeting the conditions of the first point. I use the word “close” as he is planning on appealing the sentence, and the criteria cannot be formally met until those appeals are exhausted.

    If the criteria is met, then the speaker must notify the local returning officer (who oversees elections). A recall petition is then automatically launched and remains open for six weeks. Under the act, electors must sign the petition in person, by post or by proxy. For a petition to be successful and a byelection triggered, 10% of the eligible registered voters must sign it.

    At the time of writing, there have been six recall petitions launched against various MPs. Four of those were successful and saw the sitting MP lose their seat, one petition failed and the MP remained in place and in one case the MP resigned while the petition was open, automatically triggering a byelection.

    Given Amesbury is appealing, this process has not yet begun. However, he is under pressure, particularly from opposition MPs, to resign immediately and trigger a byelection now.

    While there is potentially a way back for Amesbury in terms of remaining an MP (should his appeal be upheld or if a recall petition goes ahead and fails to meet the 10% threshold) it is unlikely there is a way back for him in terms of having the Labour whip restored.

    Either way, he is on borrowed time. Even if he remains an MP, without a party whip he most likely faces defeat at a subsequent general election.

    This is what happened to former Labour MP Claudia Webbe. She had the whip withdrawn by the Labour Party in 2021 following a conviction for harassment. However, she appealed her sentence and was given community service instead – failing to trigger the Recall of MPs Act. She remained as an independent MP until the 2024 general election, where she was defeated by the Conservative candidate.

    There is an onus on political parties to ensure they respond to wrongdoing appropriately, including suspending the whip and removing it where necessary. In Amesbury’s case, Labour acted quickly.

    But given the scandals we have seen in recent years, the public have limited patience. And wrongdoing, by what is a small minority of MPs, can tar the reputation of all MPs and parliament itself.

    Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324241256)

    – ref. Labour’s Mike Amesbury guilty of punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP – https://theconversation.com/labours-mike-amesbury-guilty-of-punching-a-man-heres-why-hes-still-an-mp-250707

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the Face magazine redefined culture, music and style

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Clifford Kent, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies & Visual Culture, Royal Holloway University of London

    The Face magazine had a revolutionary impact on contemporary culture. The legendary “style bible” launched in 1980 was known for its bold design, iconic covers and trailblazing photography.

    As Sabina Jaskot-Gill, curator of The Face Magazine: Culture Shift at the National Portrait Gallery, observes, the Face was “not just documenting the contemporary cultural landscape, but playing a vital role in inventing and reinventing it”. This capacity to both document and actively shape cultural movements highlights the magazine’s enduring influence.

    Art director Phil Bicker explains how the Face was “a catalyst that challenged and changed broader culture,” pioneering an approach that democratised information, anticipated cultural trends and inspired its readers. This ability to forge, rather than simply reflect shifts in music, fashion and youth culture, underscores why the Face remains so influential today. This is particularly so in an era dominated by digital and social media.

    The exhibition features prints, magazine spreads, film and music. It uses portraiture to explore how the cult publication championed innovative photography, enabling image-makers to disrupt culture and redefine the spirit of the age.

    Iconic magazine covers are on show featuring the model Kate Moss, the designer Alexander McQueen, the singer Kurt Cobain, electronic duo Daft Punk and many others. Among these are lesser-known images from the magazine, some exhibited for the first time. These pictures from the Face’s vast archive represent some of the most arresting photographs in this exhibition.

    As a teenager, I was obsessed with the Face, drawn to its radical style and images bursting with energy and youth. Each issue felt exciting and unpredictable. I’d tear out pages, pin them to my bedroom wall, and paste them into sketchbooks and mood boards – a practice I’ve continued throughout my career. The exhibition was a reminder of how much the magazine informed my understanding of photography before I ever picked up a camera.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Style bible for a new generation

    The Face’s founder, Nick Logan – former NME editor and Smash Hits creator – recognised a gap in the market for a monthly in which art, fashion and music converged. From its earliest issues, the Face challenged the conventions of publishing.

    It combined innovative editorial strategies with cutting-edge social commentary. Writing in The Story of The Face, journalist Paul Gorman describes how the so-called “style bible” propelled cover stars into the national consciousness, becoming a must-have publication for art directors around the world.

    Far from occupying the margins, it became a core reference for those tracking 1980s and 1990s fashion trends. The Face fostered a collaborative culture that elevated photographers, stylists and designers.

    It also spearheaded an experimental visual storytelling that shaped fashion, music and youth culture without traditional editorial constraints. This encouraged groundbreaking approaches that infused cutting-edge fashion with the raw energy of subcultures like punk, hip-hop and acid house.

    Photographer Janette Beckman recalls a 1984 shoot with rap group Run-DMC in Queens, New York. After dialling a number she had been given, she ended up at Jam Master Jay’s mother’s house and captured a portrait of the American group whose stripped-back sound was about to revolutionise hip-hop.

    As rap and rave culture thrived, the magazine’s raw, black-and-white photography by Corinne Day, Glen Luchford and Juergen Teller rejected high-fashion gloss in favour of authenticity. Stylists like Melanie Ward promoted casual youth style, launching a new wave of seemingly unconventional models, including Kate Moss (“the anti-supermodel”).

    Ward later revealed: “We wanted to achieve an emotional response from the models … these were not cold hard fashion photos … I remember going to appointments with my book and them saying ‘These aren’t fashion photographs, these are documentary.’”

    The Face was synonymous with Britpop’s rise and the hedonism of Cool Britannia in the mid to late 1990s. A visual language, crafted by photographers and stylists, defined the look and feel of a generation.

    One striking example is Juergen Teller’s 1995 snapshot of music producer Goldie, slumped on the floor of a living room beside a TV set, a stack of VHS tapes and a Roman bust. A few years later in 2001, Gemma Booth photographed Ms. Dynamite for the Face just as the British singer and rapper exploded onto the UK garage scene.

    Another picture from 2003, taken by Neil Massey, shows Girls Aloud sitting in a Paris cafe during the promo tour for their song Sound of the Underground. He told me: “They’d just gone platinum yet struck me as normal girls who’d been thrust into the limelight.”

    Portraits such as these encapsulate the raw, unfiltered aesthetic of the time. They are visual records of cultural shifts, documenting artists who defined their eras and paved the way for future generations.

    (Re)invention in the digital age

    In the 1990s and 2000s, the Face embraced the shift from analogue to digital, developing a bold, hyperreal aesthetic that pushed the boundaries of photography and design.

    Under art director Lee Swillingham, photographers such as Norbert Schoerner and Inez and Vinoodh experimented with emerging digital tools like Quantel Paintbox and Photoshop, blending photography with graphic design in a cinematic, futuristic aesthetic. This era marked a return to glamour but with a high-tech, avant-garde edge that transformed photographers into image-makers.

    A striking example of this digital experimentation featured in the exhibition is Sean Ellis’s The Dark Knight Returns (1998). This is a darkly menacing portrait of Alexander McQueen, styled by fashion editor Isabella Blow. The dramatic lighting and theatrical composition captured McQueen’s rebellious spirit while reflecting the Face’s evolving visual identity, merging art, fashion and technology.

    In the mid‑1980s, Logan considered closing the magazine, convinced he had reached the end of an era. But it was not until 2004, amid fierce competition, declining sales and shifting ownership, that the magazine eventually ceased publication.

    Despite its closure, the Face remained influential and was revived as a print-online hybrid in 2019. Building on its legacy, the magazine continues to push visual boundaries and raise up emerging image-makers.

    This timely exhibition celebrates the Face’s generational impact, highlighting the importance of authenticity, human connection and the radical potential of image-making.

    The Face Magazine: Culture Shift runs at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 20 February until 18 May

    James Clifford Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How the Face magazine redefined culture, music and style – https://theconversation.com/how-the-face-magazine-redefined-culture-music-and-style-250862

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How stigma, fear and the UK welfare system harm women in informal self-employment

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sally Jones, Reader in Entrepreneurship and Gender Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

    Self-employment is often championed as a route out of poverty for the unemployed and those on low incomes, offering independence, flexibility and financial autonomy. However, for informally self-employed women in the UK, the reality is very different to these kinds of entrepreneurial success stories.

    These women, working for themselves and “off the books”, can find they are trapped in a grey area – neither fully unemployed nor officially self-employed. And as such, they can struggle against a welfare system that both stigmatises and penalises their efforts to make a living.

    My recent research along with my co-researcher Sara Nadin, sheds light on these often overlooked women, who work informally while claiming state benefits. It shows the precarious and gendered nature of informal self-employment and the difficulties of transitioning into formal work.

    Informal self-employment is not an entrepreneurial aspiration but a necessity for the women in our study. Domestic responsibilities, a lack of formal qualifications and limited job opportunities can force these women into work that fits around their caregiving roles. From cleaning and childcare to sewing and catering, these women engage in work that remains invisible and unrecognised.

    Their earnings – often meagre and inconsistent – help cover basic necessities, yet they live in constant fear of exposure and “getting caught by the taxman”.

    The UK’s welfare system, with its strict and punitive conditions, places them in an impossible situation. If they declare their income, they risk losing benefits essential for survival. If they continue working informally, they face criminalisation and stigma as “benefits cheats”.

    Angela (not her real name) is an unregistered child minder. She told us she recognises the drawbacks for everyone involved. She said: “I think it’s a shame that people have to go to these lengths to be able to cope financially. There should be better laws regarding employment, pay and conditions, so people choose that option instead of doing it unregistered or make a living on benefits. It is not good for anyone, the person doing it is under stress of being caught and the government and the country lose out on money.”

    There is a paradox of visibility here too. On one hand, these women need to remain hidden to avoid welfare sanctions. On the other, they rely on word-of-mouth to attract business. This delicate balancing act forces them into an in-between space, where they can neither fully integrate into the formal economy nor retreat into unemployment.

    And this is no short-term situation. The women we interviewed had been informally self-employed for an extended period – one for more than ten years.

    While some women did say they wanted to formalise and grow their businesses, they felt the risks were too high. The unpredictability of their earnings, coupled with the loss of benefits, can make it financially unviable.

    As one woman put it: “I’d like to make a proper go of it, but it’s really scary. What if I can’t get enough clients?”

    A broken system

    Successive UK governments have promoted self-employment as a route out of poverty and worklessness, yet welfare policies often work against women trying to become financially independent. The introduction of Universal Credit has exacerbated the issue, imposing strict minimum-income thresholds that self-employed workers can struggle to meet. This primarily affects women, who are less able to work full-time and more likely to be found in low-paid sectors of self-employment.

    In fact, it has been argued that the UK’s Universal Credit welfare scheme actively limits claimants’ ability to get into formal self-employment. Instead of supporting entrepreneurship, the system has been found effectively to discourage it.

    Policy changes could help break this cycle. Introducing an “earnings disregard”, where informal workers can earn a set amount without affecting their benefits, would provide a crucial safety net. And supporting women transitioning from informal to formal self-employment – through grants, tax breaks and accessible business education – could empower them to grow their businesses formally and sustainably, without fear of financial ruin.

    Rather than criminalising those struggling to make ends meet, policymakers should recognise the valuable role these women play in their communities. Whether they’re caring for children, cleaning homes or helping busy families with their ironing, their services provide affordable options for other low-income families. This creates a grassroots support network for the formally employed that is overlooked and undervalued.

    For real change to happen, the conversation around informal self-employment must shift. Instead of treating this work as a problem to be eradicated, it should be acknowledged as part of the broader economic fabric – one that deserves protection and support.

    The women in this study are not merely informal workers. They are survivors navigating an unforgiving system. Their experiences challenge the simplistic notion that self-employment is a solution to poverty. Without changes to both welfare and self-employment policies, they will remain in the shadows – enterprising but invisible, offering valuable local services but criminalised.

    It’s time for a policy rethink that values and supports all workers, regardless of where they fall on the economic spectrum.

    Sally Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How stigma, fear and the UK welfare system harm women in informal self-employment – https://theconversation.com/how-stigma-fear-and-the-uk-welfare-system-harm-women-in-informal-self-employment-250125

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Vivien Parmentier, Professeur junior spécialiste des atmosphères d’exoplanètes au laboratoire LAGRANGE, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur

    The largest telescopes in the world are used to look at the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars and located at astronomical distances. Y. Beletsky(LCO)/ESO, CC BY

    The planet WASP-121b is extreme. It’s a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star–50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces have locked its rotation in a “resonance”: the planet always shows the same face to its star, like the Moon to the Earth. Therefore, one side of WASP-121b constantly bakes in light whereas the other is in perpetual night. This difference causes huge variations in temperature across the planet. It can be more than 3,000°C on one side and drop 1,500°C on the other.

    This huge temperature contrast is the source of violent winds, blowing several kilometres per second, which try to redistribute the energy from day to night. Until now, we had to guess the strength and direction of the winds with indirect measurements, such as measurements of the planet’s temperature. In recent years, with the arrival of new instruments on giant telescopes, we’ve been able to directly measure the wind speed of certain exoplanets, including WASP-121b.

    In our study published in the journal Nature that was conducted by my colleague, Julia Seidel, we not only looked at wind speed on an exoplanet, but also at how these winds vary with altitude. We were able to measure for the first time that winds in the deepest layers of the atmosphere are very different from those at higher altitudes. Put it this way: on Earth, winds blowing a few dozen kilometres per hour already make it hard to ride a bike; on WASP-121b, pedalling would be impossible, because the winds are a hundred times faster.

    Our measurements reveal the behaviour of a pivotal zone of the atmosphere that forms the link between the deep atmosphere–usually surveyed by telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope–and the outer zones where the atmosphere escapes into space, blown by the wind coming from its star.

    How did we measure the atmosphere of a planet millions of billions of kilometres away?

    To make our measurements, we used one of the most precise spectrographs on Earth, mounted on the largest telescope available to us: ESPRESSO at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), located in the Atacama desert in Chile. To collect as much light as possible, we combined the light from the VLT’s four 8-metre diameter telescopes. Thanks to this combination, which is still being tested, we collected as much light as would a 16-metre diameter telescope–which would be larger than any optical telescope on Earth.

    The ultra-precise ESPRESSO spectrograph then enabled us to separate the light from the planet into 1.3 million wavelengths. This allows us to observe as many colours in the visible spectrum. This precision is necessary to detect different types of atoms in the planet’s atmosphere. This time, we studied how three different types of atoms–absorb light from the star: hydrogen, sodium and iron (all in a gaseous state, given the very high temperatures).

    By measuring the position of these spectral lines very precisely, we were able to directly measure the speed of these atoms. The Doppler effect tells us that an atom coming toward us will absorb more blue light, while an atom moving away from us will absorb more red light. By measuring the absorption wavelength of each of these atoms, we have as many different measurements of the wind speed on this planet.

    We found that the lines of the different atoms tell different stories. Iron moves at 5 kilometres per second from the substellar point (the region of the planet closest to its host star) to the anti-stellar point (the most distant) in a very symmetrical way. Sodium, on the other hand, splits in two: some of the atoms move like iron, while the others move at the equator directly from east to west four times faster, at the staggering speed of 20 kilometres per second. Finally, hydrogen seems to move with the east-west current of sodium but, also, vertically, no doubt allowing it to escape from the planet.

    To reconcile all this, we calculated that these three different atoms are, in fact, in different parts of the atmosphere. While iron atoms lie at the deeper layers, where symmetrical circulation is expected, sodium and hydrogen let us probe much higher layers, where the planet’s atmosphere is blown by the wind coming from its host star. This stellar wind, combined with the rotation of the planet, probably carries the material asymmetrically, with a preferential direction given by the rotation of the planet.

    There are violent winds in the atmosphere of WASP-121b. The three types of atoms travel at different speeds, helping to reconstruct the structure of the atmosphere, even though the planet is millions of billions of kilometres away from Earth.
    ESO/M. Kornmesser, CC BY

    Why study the atmospheres of exoplanets?

    WASP-121b is one of those giant gaseous planets with temperatures of over 1,000°C that are known as “hot Jupiters”. The first observation of these planets by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz (which later earned them a Nobel Prize in Physics) came as a surprise in 1995, particularly because planetary formation models predicted that these giant planets could not form so close to their star. Mayor and Queloz’s observation made us realise that planets do not necessarily form where they are currently located. Instead, they can migrate, i.e., move around in their youth.

    How far from their star do “hot Jupiters” form? Over what distances do these objects migrate in their infancy? Why did the Jupiter in our solar system not migrate toward the Sun? (We’re lucky it didn’t, because it would have sent Earth into our star at the same time.)

    Some answers to these questions may lie in the atmosphere of exoplanets, which exhibit traces of the conditions of their formation. However, variations in temperature or chemical composition within each atmosphere can radically skew the abundance measurements that we are trying to take with large telescopes such as the James Webb. In order to exploit our measurements, we first need to grasp how complex these atmospheres are.

    To do this, we need to understand the fundamental mechanisms that govern the atmosphere of these planets. In the solar system, winds can be measured directly by, for example, looking at how fast clouds move. On exoplanets, we cannot see any details directly.

    In particular, “hot Jupiters” orbit so close to their stars that we cannot separate them spatially and take photos of the exoplanets. Instead, from among the thousands of known exoplanets, we select those that have the good taste to periodically pass between their star and us. During this “transit”, light from the star is filtered by the planet’s atmosphere, which allows us to measure the signs of absorption by different atoms or molecules. In general, the data we obtain are not good enough to separate the light that passes on one side of the planet from the other, and we end up with an average of what the atmosphere has absorbed. As conditions along the atmospheric limb (i.e., the slice of atmosphere surrounding a planet as observed from space) can vary drastically, interpreting the final average is often a headache.

    This time, by using a telescope that, in effect, is larger than any other optical telescope on Earth, and combining it with an extremely precise spectrograph, we were able to separate the signal absorbed by the eastern side of the planet’s limb from the signal absorbed by the western side. This allowed us to measure the spatial variation of the winds in the planet.

    The future of atmospheric study of exoplanets

    Europe is currently building the next generation of telescopes, led by the ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, which is scheduled for 2030. The ELT will have a mirror 30 metres in diameter, twice the size of the telescope we obtained by combining the light from the four 8-metre telescopes of the VLT.

    This giant telescope will gather even more precise details about the atmospheres of exoplanets. In particular, it will measure the winds in exoplanets both smaller and colder than “hot Jupiters”.

    But what we are all really waiting for is the ELT’s ability to measure the presence of molecules in the atmosphere of rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their star, where water may be present in a liquid state.

    The EXOWINDS project is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which funds project-based research in France. Its mission is to support and promote the development of fundamental and applied research in all disciplines, and to strengthen the dialogue between science and society. For more information, visit the ANR website.

    Vivien Parmentier received funding from the French National Research Agency (exowinds, ANR-23-CE31-0001-01).

    Julia Victoria Seidel is an ESO (European Southern Observatory) Research Fellow.

    – ref. A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away – https://theconversation.com/a-new-study-reveals-the-structure-of-violent-winds-1-300-light-years-away-250187

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mati Diop is a new star of African cinema – what her award-winning movies are about

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Murphy, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, University of Strathclyde

    Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards.

    Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more.

    Who is Mati Diop?

    Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director. She is also an accomplished actor who has starred in a number of French films, in particular Claire Denis’s 35 Shots of Rum.

    She was born in Paris in 1982 and was raised in France, but frequently visited Senegal during her childhood, as she comes from a Senegalese cultural dynasty.

    Her father is Wasis Diop, an inventive and experimental musician who fuses Senegalese folk music with western pop and jazz. Her uncle was the maverick Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambéty. He directed classics like Touki Bouki and Hyenas. For good measure, her mother, Christine Brossard, is involved in the French art world and is a photographer.

    Although she had previously made short films, Diop gained global attention in 2019 when she won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature-length fiction film, Atlantics.

    Her documentary Dahomey won the top award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. Over the past few years, Diop has become established as one of the most creative artistic voices making films about contemporary Africa.

    What’s Dahomey about?

    Dahomey is a documentary about a contentious issue, the repatriation of looted African art works from western museums.

    The objects – 26 royal treasures – were taken from the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin). President Emmanuel Macron of France has voiced his support for the return of such objects and a slow, piecemeal process of repatriation has now begun.

    On the surface, the story of Dahomey might not seem to be particularly dramatic. Taking objects from a museum in Paris and sending them to a museum in Benin might be politically important and symbolic. But how do you make a creative, insightful and entertaining film about it that also appeals to a wide audience? Well, essentially, Diop weaves a tale that seeks to explore what it means for Africans that this heritage is being returned. To do that, she gives voice to Africans, whether heritage professionals, students or the general public.

    In her most daring creative gesture, she also gives voice to one of the objects being returned, a magnificent, life-sized wooden statue of King Ghézo (who ruled Dahomey in the 1800s), depicted as half-man, half-bird. Many of the items that are displayed in European museums as beautiful but inanimate objects in fact played a highly significant spiritual role in precolonial societies. Essentially, they formed a bridge between the living and the spirit world, and Diop is interested in exploring what it might mean to these spirits to return to an Africa that has been transformed in their absence.

    So, Dahomey is not your average documentary. There’s no narrative voiceover that explains the context of the journey home for these objects. Apart from a few on-screen captions explaining the big picture, viewers must piece together the story and decipher its meaning by themselves.

    In the first half of the film, we see the curators from Benin and French workmen moving through the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They assess the condition of the fragile objects as they make an inventory of them and box them safely for the trip. At first, theirs are the only voices we hear.



    Read more:
    The award-winning African documentary project that goes inside the lives of migrants

    But then we begin to hear the deep, electronically distorted voice of the statue of King Ghézo who awakens from a long slumber. In this voiceover (written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel), Ghézo reflects on the sense of dislocation and confusion at being taken from Africa, his journey over the sea to be exhibited in a museum in Paris, his memories of the continent he left behind.

    Once the objects arrive in Benin, the film follows a reverse process. The camera dwells on the African workmen overseeing their installation, interspersed with the voice of the statue trying to make sense of the Africa to which he has returned.

    The longest section of the film gives voice to local university students debating what it means to return this heritage. While some view the process as vital, others see it as a distraction from the major issues facing the continent. The film does not seek to nudge the viewer to take sides. What is important is that different African voices are heard so that Africans can reach their own informed decisions.

    What’s Atlantics about?

    Atlantics is a film about the migration crisis that sees many young Senegalese men (and some women) set off from the coast on dangerous journeys in small fishing boats to try and reach the economic promised land of Europe (in this instance, the Canary Islands). But the film is also a love story about a young couple, Ada and Souleiman.

    With a group of young men, many cheated of their wages by a corrupt local businessman, Souleiman embarks on the dangerous journey. The bereft girlfriends and sisters wait for news of their boyfriends and brothers and ultimately take revenge on the businessman. I can’t tell you precisely how this is done without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that the film is a striking mix of social drama and supernatural thriller.

    Why is her contribution to film important?

    Above all else, Mati Diop is a great storyteller. Atlantics and Dahomey are films that take important current affairs as their starting point, and they weave passionate, complex and strange stories around them.

    They’re strange not because Diop is trying to be artistically eccentric, but because life is fundamentally strange and defies easy explanation. This is an artistic standpoint that her uncle would have understood.



    Read more:
    Souleymane Cissé has died. He was one of Africa’s boldest and most pioneering film-makers

    Like his work, Diop’s fiction films contain long sections dwelling obsessively on the detail of “real” life while her documentaries contain many fictional elements. In fact, her short 2013 documentary A Thousand Suns is a wonderful homage to the beautiful strangeness of Mambety’s work. In a remarkable blend of fact and fiction, she traces the story of the actors who played the young couple in his avant-garde masterpiece, Touki Bouki.

    In the work of both uncle and niece, the real and the fictional, the strange and the mundane are mixed together to make a mysterious and strikingly original body of work that defies categorisation.

    David Murphy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Mati Diop is a new star of African cinema – what her award-winning movies are about – https://theconversation.com/mati-diop-is-a-new-star-of-african-cinema-what-her-award-winning-movies-are-about-250417

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis: why his papacy matters for Africa – and for the world’s poor and marginalised

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Stan Chu Ilo, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University

    Pope Francis remains in a critical condition and hospitalised as he battles pneumonia in both lungs. The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, the Argentinian was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from corruption to clerical sexual abuse. Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and a research professor of African studies and world Catholicism, examines the milestones in the life, work and legacy of Pope Francis.

    What did Pope Francis inherit when he took over in 2013?

    By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era.

    By the end of 2012 what was in the news about the church included the revelation of papal secrets by the papal butler. These details were published in a book by the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled His Holiness: The Secret Files of Pope Benedict. The book portrayed the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.

    The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment.

    Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included:

    Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse.

    What is his global papal role and legacy?

    Three key things have defined his papal role and legacy.

    First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did.

    Francis has focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery.

    He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy.

    Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church’s message is communicated. In his programmatic document, Evangelii Gaudium, he called the church to what he calls “missionary conversion”. His thinking is that everything that is done in the church must be about proclaiming the good news to a wounded and broken world.

    His central message has been that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He has also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like celebrating mass at a wall that divides the United States and Mexico.



    Read more:
    Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans

    In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace.

    The third strategy is restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank.

    He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented.

    He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He has also shaken up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He appointed the first woman (Sr Simone Brambilla) to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. Another woman (Sr Raffaella Petrini) was named the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.

    What has he done to strengthen the Catholic church in Africa?

    Three things stand out.

    First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour.

    In a sense, Pope Francis embodies the message of decolonisation and is driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence.

    Secondly, he has encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa’s own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believes in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He has said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church.

    In this way, he has encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He has also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and given African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes.

    Thirdly, Pope Francis has a very deep connection to Africa’s young people. He has encouraged and supported initiatives and programmes to strengthen the agency of young people, to give them hope and support their personal, spiritual and professional development. For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe.

    What’s gone wrong, what’s gone well under his watch?

    Pope Francis’s reform could be termed a movement from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone’s concerns and needs are catered to.

    He has quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican.

    Granted, he has not substantially altered the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he is chipping away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church’s position. In doing this, he has shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority.

    He has opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQi+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa.

    Why does his papacy matter?

    Pope Francis is the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, emulating St Francis of Assisi.

    In a sense, Pope Francis has redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It’s not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today.

    Stan Chu Ilo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Pope Francis: why his papacy matters for Africa – and for the world’s poor and marginalised – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-why-his-papacy-matters-for-africa-and-for-the-worlds-poor-and-marginalised-251059

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why incest porn is more common and harmful than you think

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law, Durham University

    Delbo Andrea/Shutterstock

    Incest porn is finally facing long overdue scrutiny. The government’s porn review recommends strengthening the extreme porn law to include incest porn and mandate its removal. The review also calls for much more proactive regulation of the porn industry, and bans on misogynistic, degrading and violent pornography, including sexual strangulation.

    These proposed changes address a glaring gap in regulation. While pornographic videos depicting incest porn are unlawful offline, there are no controls over its online distribution or possession. Strengthening extreme porn laws to include incest would signal a shift towards a society no longer willing to normalise and trivialise child sexual abuse and incest.

    Any cursory visit today to the most popular porn websites reveals a continuous stream of incest material.

    To be clear, I’m talking about porn depicting sexual activity between family members, particularly the vast swathes of material with (step)fathers and (step)brothers having sex with very young-looking girls. They may be actors over 18, but they are often in children’s clothes, surrounded by children’s toys, with pigtails, braces and other markers of childhood.

    The scenarios are often about creeping into young girls’ bedrooms, coercing or grooming them into sex. The graphic titles of videos describe sex between (step)fathers and daughters. Alarmingly, they often reproduce the justifications of real-life abusers, such as “little secret between daddy and his girl”. These videos are viewed and given the thumbs up online by millions.

    The new proposals target the depiction of unlawful sexual activity between family members. This includes any daddy-daughter or brother-sister scenarios as this is always a sexual offence. But it would not cover consensual sexual activity between step-parents and step-children over 18, as this is not currently unlawful. Nor would it cover instances where terms like daddy or stepmom are simply used as descriptors for older actors.

    Growing popularity

    Incest porn wasn’t always so common. In the 1980s, porn content studies found only 3% of material was incest-related. One of the first studies of internet porn, in 2006, found only 1% portrayed incest. But by 2014, incest porn was on Pornhub’s list of most popular searches.

    My own research with colleagues revealed that one in eight titles on the homepages of the most popular porn websites described sexual violence, with sexual activity between family members the largest category of abusive content. Professor Elaine Craig’s recent study also confirms the prevalence of incest-related themes on the most popular porn platforms.

    The changing business model of porn in the internet age means that the prevalence of incest porn is as much about platforms promoting it, as it is about users seeking it out. The largest porn websites use algorithmic models to maximise user engagement, keeping users hooked, collecting more data and selling more advertising. Just like social media, porn websites prioritise extreme, shocking, exploitative and divisive material, such as incest content.

    Pornography writes our sexual scripts

    Porn, therefore, shapes our sexual scripts, the norms we internalise about what is expected, normal and acceptable in sexual relationships. Research on sexual strangulation, for example, finds that more frequent consumption of porn leads to greater exposure to pornographic depictions of sexual strangulation which, in turn, predicted a higher likelihood of strangling sexual partners.

    The largest study to date of men who have sexually offended against children found that they were 11 times more likely to watch violent porn and 27 times more likely to view bestiality porn.

    Porn consumed by millions (there are 130 million visitors a day to Pornhub) necessarily shapes our social environment, and in turn our attitudes and sexual practices.

    Evidence suggests pornography shapes our sexual scripts.
    Torwai Studio/Shutterstock

    The prevalence of incest-themed content matters, as it normalises and legitimises ideas of sexual activity between family members – particularly involving young girls. When these messages are consumed by millions every day, the influence extends beyond individual users and filters into broader cultural attitudes.



    Read more:
    Sexual strangulation has become popular – but that doesn’t mean it’s wanted

    In time, we may become desensitised, less likely to understand the prevalence of child sexual abuse, or its seriousness. The claim that incest porn is fantasy without real-world effects assumes incest is rare, abhorrent. But it’s not.

    It’s commonplace, with 500,000 children in England and Wales sexually abused each year. These are predominantly girls, with (step)fathers accounting for up to half of the perpetrators.

    From my work in this field, it is clear to me that these sexual scripts influence society in various ways, including making us less likely to believe survivors. We may blame the victims, having internalised that girls entice family members into sex. And it seems we become less concerned about government inaction on child sexual abuse as it no longer seems serious.

    Time for change

    Critics demand evidence of direct causation, asking for proof that watching specific videos of incest porn leads to specific acts of incest. But this narrow framing (I argue, deliberately) misses the point. Sexual violence is complex and influenced by a range of factors. No study can isolate porn as the sole cause of any particular act, nor should we expect it to.

    Rejecting a direct causal relationship is not the same as rejecting any relationship. We need to ask, in a culture saturated with incest porn, are we more likely to tolerate, excuse or dismiss the realities of incest and sexual abuse? Probably – and I would argue that is enough.

    If we continue to allow incest porn to proliferate, we risk perpetuating a culture that trivialises abuse, undermines survivors and distorts our understanding of what is acceptable in sexual relationships. It is time to stop debating whether pornography causes direct harm in a narrow sense, but to confront the broader reality that it is shaping our attitudes and society in profoundly damaging ways.

    Clare McGlynn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Why incest porn is more common and harmful than you think – https://theconversation.com/why-incest-porn-is-more-common-and-harmful-than-you-think-247512

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can making the NHS cleaner slow the spread of disease?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan R. Goodman, Research Associate, Public Health, University of Cambridge

    Several weeks ago, I visited a local NHS urgent care centre with my toddler on what might be called a semi-annual pilgrimage related to having a child in nursery. Owing to what is now a typical three- or four-hour wait, during which he made a recovery, I had the time to notice the hospital’s waiting room cleaning practices. They amounted to someone pushing a mop around the floor and in the process moving, rather than removing, various fluids and items that had probably amassed over the preceding several hours.

    About 36 hours later, our toddler woke up with a stomach bug. The cleaning practices I saw – coupled with my inability to keep him from touching a lot of surfaces in the hospital, including the floor – suggested to me that this was not a coincidence.

    Individual behaviour and practices play a role in the spread of disease. And many times it is our collective actions that lead to contagion, even if our goal is to prevent it.

    Given the NHS has recently recorded its highest ever rate of norovirus cases – with the bug making up more than one in 100 hospitalisations in the country – we are due for a rethink about how we understand the social elements of illness.

    As a social scientist working in public health, I’ve learned that diseases conform to our behaviour, which can keep us one step ahead – or leave us one behind.

    How we develop policy around contagion is one example. Recently, NHS England published new national standards of cleanliness for NHS Trusts – the most recent update since 2021. These standards define cleanliness, what materials should be used and the frequencies necessary for adequate cleaning.

    The guidelines are, unsurprisingly, very boring, but what stands out to me is the emphasis on which spaces and surfaces are the most likely to be contaminated, rather than taking a contextual approach to the relationship between people, germs and spaces.

    The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by contrast, uses a more complex function. Risk is evaluated by combining the probability of contamination of an item or surface, the vulnerability of patients and the potential for exposure within the space.

    A waiting room where people have been vomiting, for example, would be taken more seriously as a risky area using these guidelines than the brute force approach taken by the NHS.

    Another important element of risk, though one not evaluated explicitly in any policy guideline, is how germs evolve in response to our efforts against them.

    Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, for example, are typically treated by antibiotics, though the rise of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) subtype has complicated patient care around the world.

    More recently, bacteria called carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPEs) have started spreading in hospitals, and are both highly contagious and difficult to treat.

    Both MRSA and CPEs are, however, direct results of our efforts to combat bacteria: our use of antibiotics selects, evolutionarily speaking, for resistance to our treatments.

    Imperial College London’s Fleming Initiative, named after the discoverer of the first antibiotic, penicillin, is an international effort that aims to stymie the spread of these germs, but they nonetheless present a real and serious risk to patients everywhere.

    Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium linked with painful stomach bugs, has also shown increasing resistance to antibiotics, particularly strains found in hospitals. What’s worse, evidence from 2023 suggests C difficile may even be resistant to bleach, which is typically successful at killing almost all germs and was found, in the past, to work against this bacterium, too.

    Everyone plays a role

    Blunt policies specifying cleaning schedules without reference to context are unlikely to be effective in a world of fast-evolving germs. What’s needed, instead, is a population-level understanding about how everyone plays a role in contagion and in its containment. We’re part of a broader ecosystem that bacteria and viruses live within, and which evolve to thrive when we become complacent in our behaviour.

    The CDC’s guidelines embrace context, but the work doesn’t stop with hospital cleaning staff – who in the UK, by the way, earn an average of £21,000 a year for the critical work they do. Anyone who works in or visits a healthcare space has a responsibility to those nearby, whether that involves maintaining distance between people or shielding others from their own illness.

    We can’t expect stretched systems and overworked employees to prevent the spread of germs. And the UK’s massive norovirus outbreak is a symptom itself of how bad we are at preventing viral contagion.

    Yet people – including patients and their carers like me – can do a lot more than just idly watch dirty mops float by in waiting areas. We can educate ourselves about current risks, avoid where possible spaces with a high risk of contamination, and stay home to prevent infecting others, for example in the workplace.

    Social approaches should be built into any framework that aims to combat disease. Knowledge, unlike antibiotics and bleach, is free – and the spread of information about how to help prevent contagion can only be good for healthcare systems and society more broadly.

    Jonathan R. Goodman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Can making the NHS cleaner slow the spread of disease? – https://theconversation.com/can-making-the-nhs-cleaner-slow-the-spread-of-disease-249647

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump, Putin and the authoritarian take on constitutionalism

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Lovell, Professor of Modern History, King’s College London

    When Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” for his failure to hold elections, it was a shocking moment. Even by the topsy-turvy standards of the current US administration, this looked like deliberate ignorance of the facts. Ukrainian law and the electoral code state that elections cannot be held while martial law is in place. That leaves aside the practical impossibility of ensuring fair, free and secure elections during war on the scale Russia is inflicting on Ukraine.

    In making this dangerous intervention, the US president was simply repeating a well-established trope of Russian propaganda. For some time, the Kremlin has been casting aspersions on the legitimacy of Zelensky. Vladimir Putin has been using this as a pretext to allow him to sidestep any direct contact with the (legitimately elected) Ukrainian president.

    It is not the first time that Russia has cited a concern for constitutional propriety in its Ukraine policy. The Kremlin condemned both the orange revolution of 2004 (which forced a rerun of a rigged presidential election) and the Euromaidan protests of 2013-14 (which chased out the Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych) as cases of anti-constitutional mob rule ousting a legitimately elected leader.

    Russia’s defence of constitutional legitimacy has been selective and self-interested. For two decades, it has energetically – and often unconstitutionally – meddled in the political processes of Ukraine and other neighbouring states. Electoral outcomes are sacrosanct only when they confirm pro-Russian candidates in power. No matter if these results were secured by massive fraud and intimidation.

    Meanwhile, when Putin found his own constitution an inconvenience, he had it changed in a referendum which handed him the opportunity to retain power until 2036.

    Making things ‘legal’

    But there is more than pure cynicism to the Russian government’s embrace of constitutional rhetoric. This belief in the need for power to have a legal framework has a long tradition behind it. Russia imposed rapid-fire referendums in Crimea in 2014 and then in four regions of occupied Ukraine in 2022 in an attempt to give a legal basis to its military occupation of these territories.

    There were echoes of the shotgun plebiscites conducted in 1939-41 in eastern Poland, Bessarabia and the Baltic states. Almost immediately after it annexed these territories, the Soviet state forced the population into participating in the Stalinist version of democracy. These were votes with only one candidate on the ballot paper. The Soviet Union was desperately poor, its state apparatus was overstretched and underresourced – but money and personnel were found for these choreographed elections.

    The same logic applied in the Soviet Union “proper”. In 1918, at the very start of the civil war that followed the October revolution, the Bolsheviks adopted a constitution for the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. This was amplified by a Soviet constitution in 1924 that established the elected Congress of Soviets as the supreme organ of state power (even if the Communist Party really pulled the strings).

    Just over a decade later, Stalin found it necessary to update the constitution. He wanted it reflect what he saw as the progress made towards socialism in the first two decades after the revolution. The result, after extensive if largely orchestrated public discussion, was the 1936 constitution. This, among other things, enshrined universal suffrage elections to a national representative body: the Supreme Soviet.

    This was not to be the end of the Soviet constitutional road. A generation later, in the early 1960s, the post-Stalin leadership felt the need to refresh and amplify the 1936 document. It took until 1977 for a new constitution finally to be agreed and adopted, but it was clear that this authoritarian state took “socialist legality” very seriously indeed. Constitutional law might have been considered malleable by the Communist party, but it was important for it to exist and to withstand challenge, whether from internal dissidents or from cold war adversaries.

    Why have a constitution?

    To understand the significance of constitutions and political institutions in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia, it’s worth considering what function constitutions actually perform. Western nations tend to think of them as documents setting out the relationship between different branches of government: executive, legislative, judicial. They contain some limitation on the powers of the executive. Certainly, this is how the US constitution – which is often seen as the archetype of a western state constitution – is most commonly viewed.

    Defining a new country: the US constitution.
    https://pixy.org/1262083/

    But there has long been another way of viewing constitutions: as a symbol of the integrity and robustness of the state. As British historian Linda Colley has shown, between the mid-18th and the early 20th centuries, constitutions became perhaps the main currency of legitimacy for a nation state. To have a constitution was, above all, a way to stake a claim to exist in a dangerous world inhabited by predatory empires.

    For some of those empires, constitutions served as a way of holding together their own large and disparate territories. This tended to work by, for example, conceding a degree of representation to minority groups in the hope of preempting separatist movements. On close inspection, this was also true of the US constitution. It was a document designed to bring and hold the original 13 states together and establish the US as an international power.

    Constitutions and elections have always been as much about power, legitimacy and state integrity as about representation – democratic or otherwise – or limitations on government. For states that are not major powers, the legitimacy needs to be projected externally as much as internally.

    Ukraine now finds the legitimacy of its constitution under threat from both the dominant regional power – Russia – and the world power of the US. It falls on Europe – a region almost defined by its commitment to constitutional democracy – to articulate and defend an alternative vision.

    European leaders – and their electorates – need to act on the belief that democracy and sovereignty are not on separate tracks but belong together. Ukraine deserves to retain its free elections, but it also deserves a state.

    Stephen Lovell is currently at work on a project on the history of voting in the Russian Empire and USSR funded by a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust.

    – ref. Trump, Putin and the authoritarian take on constitutionalism – https://theconversation.com/trump-putin-and-the-authoritarian-take-on-constitutionalism-250662

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Botanic gardens are struggling to keep up with the biodiversity crisis – here’s what they can do

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Samuel Brockington, Professor of Evolution, Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, University of Cambridge

    As I wander around Cambridge University Botanic Garden, a tree called the Wollemi pine often catches my eye. It’s one of our rarest trees, and a distinctive looking pine, with broad needles and bark that reminds you of coco pops.

    First discovered in 1994 in a ravine in the Wollemi National Park in western Australia, only a few hundred survive in the wild. Although it has been on planet earth for hundreds of thousands of years, it is close to extinction. This tree species, like many others, represents a paradox: a rare and threatened species thriving in cultivation while its wild counterparts are just about hanging on to existence.

    As a curator of one of the world’s largest university botanic gardens, I often talk about the power of living collections. I also recognise their limits. The world’s botanic gardens hold an extraordinary diversity of plants. But, they are struggling to keep up with the accelerating biodiversity extinction crisis.

    Botanic gardens are often seen simply as peaceful retreats from the daily rat race or living museums where species are catalogued and displayed. But they are far more than that. Collectively, the world’s gardens form an extensive network of living plant collections, acting as refuges for biodiversity, sources of genetic material for research, and hubs for ecological restoration.

    Our recent study, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, analysed 50 of the world’s largest living plant collections, currently growing 41% of all species in cultivation, and 500,000 individual plants. Our research spanned a century of digitised data and the findings are striking.

    Programmes like the International Conifer Conservation Programme, led by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, have successfully safeguarded conifer species at risk of extinction. And Missouri Botanic Garden has changed how it manages its collection to prioritise threatened species, embedding conservation into its core activities. For example, they are increasingly only growing plant species that will naturally fit their own climate.

    Yet, despite these successes at specific gardens, our new research suggests that our current global system of botanic gardens is not keeping pace with the biodiversity crisis.

    We have hit “peak capacity” in botanic gardens – both in the number of plants grown and in the diversity of species held. This means we are growing as many individual plants as we possibly can, and our collections are as diverse as they can possibly be. While this may seem like a success, it reveals an uncomfortable truth: we are running out of space and resources to add more species.

    We have already passed “peak wild”. This means that we are collecting and sourcing less plants directly from the wild. Since 1992, the proportion of wild-collected plants entering botanic gardens has declined, alongside a decrease in material sourced across international political boundaries.

    This shift coincides with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims to regulate the trade of wild animals and plants and the use of genetic resources. While intended to promote fair sharing of the benefits of biodiversity, it has seems to have negatively effected the cultivation of plants outside of their native environment, even when this is being done to protect them. It has done this by limiting the movement of plant material.

    Collections are also becoming less globally diverse. Since the early 1990s, they have become increasingly regionalised, potentially limiting their capacity to act as global conservation networks.

    These trends expose a crucial challenge: if botanic gardens are to play a serious role in conservation, their curators must rethink how they collect, share and manage plant diversity.

    Some gardens are already adapting, exemplified by the global charity Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s (BGCI) Global Conservation Consortia, which are forming networks to safeguard specific tree genera.

    Central to their efforts is the concept of the “meta-collection” – a coordinated network of living collections that steward global plant diversity. Collaboration is essential, as no single institution has the capacity or expertise to conserve every threatened species alone. BGCI is leading efforts to collate data from thousands of collections worldwide. Its searchable platforms, such as PlantSearch and ThreatSearch, are leading the way in terms of the data tools institutions need to identify conservation priorities and track the status of threatened species.

    Smart next steps

    To save endangered plants, we need to focus on three key actions that make a real difference, much like how we protect the Wollemi pine.

    The rules around plant protection need to be fixed. Right now, complicated legal barriers can make it harder, not easier, to save plants. We need clear guidelines that help gardens and conservationists share and protect rare species responsibly, without getting stuck in red tape.

    We need to make better use of what we already have. Many botanic gardens are running out of space, so rather than collecting more and more species, we need to focus on preserving strong, genetically diverse populations of the most endangered plants – like ensuring the Wollemi pine has a secure future in multiple locations around the world.

    A global data system would allow scientists to see, in real time, where rare plants like the Wollemi pine are being grown, how well they’re doing, and where help is needed most. Better information means smarter conservation decisions.

    Botanic gardens have a long history of adaptation. They have evolved from medicinal gardens to scientific institutions, and now they must become conservation leaders on a global scale. The extinction crisis demands bold action, strategic collaboration and a willingness to rethink traditional approaches.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Samuel Brockington does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Botanic gardens are struggling to keep up with the biodiversity crisis – here’s what they can do – https://theconversation.com/botanic-gardens-are-struggling-to-keep-up-with-the-biodiversity-crisis-heres-what-they-can-do-248722

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Man wants to search dump for lost hard drive with bitcoin fortune – here are his odds of finding it

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Craig Anderson, Senior Lecturer in Statistics, University of Glasgow

    vchal/Shutterstock

    James Howells is considering buying a council dump in south Wales after his former partner accidentally threw away a hard drive containing his bitcoin wallet. Howells has already lost a high court case to allow him to search the tip for the hard drive, which he believes contains bitcoin worth £600 million.

    But would it even be possible to find it? Let’s do the maths.

    Howells, a Welsh IT engineer, was an early adopter of the cryptocurrency bitcoin in December 2008. By February 2009, he had started mining the coins on his laptop – a process which involves using your computer to carry out complex mathematical processes in exchange for the coins.

    At the time, he was one of just five people mining the currency, and he eventually accrued a fortune of around 8,000 bitcoin. Initially, these were basically worthless – the first real-world transaction involving the currency was in 2010, when a man in Florida bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins.

    However, in the 15 years since, the value of the currency has grown dramatically, with a single bitcoin passing the US$100,000 mark in December 2024 – a value which would mean those two pizzas are now worth US$1 billion (£790 million).

    Doing the calculations

    No wonder Howells wants to find his hard drive. But what are the chances of finding a tiny 10cm hard drive in a site containing 1.4 billion kg of waste? Is it literally like finding a needle in a haystack?

    At first, this seems like a simple calculation. If we randomly select a single location within the landfill, the probability that the hard drive will be there is simply the size of the object divided by the total size of the landfill.

    A Google maps estimate of the area of the Docksway landfill site suggests it is roughly 500,000 square metres (or 5 billion square centimetres), which is approximately the size of 70 football pitches.

    Docksway landfill in Newport, Wales, in 2007.
    wikipedia, CC BY-SA

    However, we also have to account for the depth of the landfill, with years of rubbish piled on top of each other. Even a conservative estimate of 20 metres would give a total volume of 10 million cubic metres (or 10 trillion cubic centimetres). This is roughly 3,600 times the volume of the swimming pool used at last summer’s Paris Olympic Games.

    Howells says the bitcoin are on a 2.5-inch hard drive, which has a volume of around 70 cubic centimetres (7cm x 10cm x 1cm). Therefore, the odds of finding the bitcoin at a single randomly selected location are 70/10,000,000,000,000 = 0.000000000007 – approximately a one in 143 billion chance.

    This is over 3,000 times less likely than winning the jackpot on the UK’s National Lottery. However, with £600 million on the line, it seems unlikely anyone would just turn up and search one single location.

    So, the real question here is about time and money. If we know that the hard drive is located somewhere within the landfill site, how long would it take to find it, and how much would it cost?

    If we focus on time to begin with, this is really just an extension of our first calculation. Suppose it takes 1 second to search each 1,000 cubic centimetre section of the landfill (an incomplete estimate since my experience of hunting landfill for hard drives is limited), then it would take us 10 billion seconds (or 316 years) of continuous searching to cover the entire site. But of course, this could be significantly reduced by having an entire team searching at the same time.

    Is it financially worth it?

    Clearly, Howells does not have 316 years available to complete his search, but what if he was given the resources for one full year of non-stop searching? The odds of finding the hard drive in this year would be 1 in 316, and while the chances remain slim, this might start to sound tempting given the potential reward.

    That is where the aspect of cost comes in. How much would you be willing to pay in order to have a 1 in 316 chance of winning £600m? The answer lies in the statistical concept of “expected value”“, which is the expected long-term outcome of a scenario if you were able to repeat it over and over again.

    For example, suppose you were rolling a die, and you were told that you would be given £2 if you rolled a six but would have to pay £1 if you rolled any other value. You can work out the expected value of this game to see if it is worth playing. The odds of rolling a 6 are 1/6, and the odds of rolling any other value are 5/6. We can therefore compute the expected value as:

    E [winnings] = 1/6 * £2 + 5/6 * (-£1) = 2/6 – 5/6 = -3/6 = -£1/2

    In other words, you would expect to lose half of £1 (or 50p), on average, every time you played this game.

    In the case of our bitcoins, we can think about the expected value as being the amount of money you would expect to make on average if you searched the landfill for a whole year. We would expect that, on average, we would find the hard drive (and the £600 million) 1 time out of 316, and would fail to find it 315 times out of 316 and get absolutely nothing. Therefore, we can compute the expected value as:

    E [£ found] = 1/316 * £600m + 315/316 * 0 = £1,898,734

    This means that on average, by searching the site for a year, you would expect to find £1.9 million. So, if the searching costs were less than this amount, you would expect to make a profit on average, and it may be considered a worthwhile investment. However, if the search cost more than £1.9 million, you would expect to lose money on average, and it would not be considered worthwhile.

    These calculations can be easily adjusted to account for different lengths of search time, number of people searching, or indeed different sizes of landfill site or search area.

    If Howell ever gets access to the dump, it might be worth having a statistician on hand to help guide the search (and of course, I would be happy to offer my services for a small fee…).

    Craig Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Man wants to search dump for lost hard drive with bitcoin fortune – here are his odds of finding it – https://theconversation.com/man-wants-to-search-dump-for-lost-hard-drive-with-bitcoin-fortune-here-are-his-odds-of-finding-it-249889

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump administration sets out to create an America its people have never experienced − one without a meaningful government

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sidney Shapiro, Professor of Law, Wake Forest University

    A worker removes letters from the U.S. Agency for International Development building. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

    The U.S. government is attempting to dismantle itself.

    President Donald Trump has directed the executive branch to “significantly reduce the size of government.” That includes deep cuts in federal funding of scientific and medical research and freezing federal grants and loans for businesses. He has ordered the reversal or removal of regulations on medical insurance companies and other businesses and sought to fire thousands of federal employees. Those are just a few of dozens of executive orders that seek to deconstruct the government.

    More than 70 lawsuits have challenged those orders as illegal or unconstitutional. In the meantime, the resulting chaos is preventing the government from carrying out its everyday functions.

    The administration accidentally fired civil servants who were responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear weapons, preventing a bird flu epidemic and overseeing the nation’s electricity supply. A Veterans Administration official told NBC, “It’s leading to paralysis, and nothing is getting done.” A spokesperson at a nationwide program that provides meals to seniors, Meals on Wheels, which the government helps fund, said, “The uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today.”

    Our recent book, “How Government Built America,” shows why the administration’s aim to eliminate government could result in an America that the country’s people have never experienced – one in which free-market economic forces operate without any accountability to the public.

    Federal dollars built the federal interstate highway system and maintain it.
    Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    A combination of regulation and freedom

    The U.S. economy began in the Colonial era as a mix of government regulation and market forces, and it has remained so ever since. History shows that without government regulation, markets left to their own devices have made the country poorer, killed and injured thousands, increased economic inequality, and left millions of Americans mired in desperate poverty, among other economic and social ills.

    For example, approximately 23,000 people died from workplace injuries in 1913. In 2023, that figure was just 5,283, largely because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began regulating workplace safety in 1971. Similarly, the rate of deaths in vehicle crashes per mile driven has decreased 93% since 1923, which can be mainly attributed to the ways government has made vehicles and highways safer.

    Government funding and regulation have yielded countless economic benefits for the public, including the launch of many efforts later capitalized on by the private sector. Government funding delivered a COVID-19 vaccine in record time, many of the technologies – GPS, touchscreens and the internet – that are key to the functioning of the cellphone in your pocket, and the highway system that enables travel throughout the country.

    Government management of the economy has prevented economic downturns and enabled quicker recoveries when they have occurred. Government regulations keep private businesses from engaging in reckless economic behavior that harms everyone, as happened in 2008 when loopholes in rules and enforcement allowed the banking industry to invest billions of dollars in worthless securities. The government then spent trillions to prevent major banks from collapsing and to stimulate the nation’s economic recovery.

    More recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government spent $3.1 trillion to keep the economy healthy.

    Food and water are safe because the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency act to protect people from becoming ill.

    Because of government oversight, Americans can safely take the medications physicians prescribe to make them better. They can safely put money in checking and savings accounts knowing that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration reduce the likelihood of the bank or credit union failing – and ensure they don’t lose everything if trouble arises.

    The Federal Trade Commission works to ensure the advertising Americans see is not deceptive, and the Securities and Exchange Commission makes sure that the companies people invest in are not making false claims about their financial prospects.

    Americans know that their children can get a free public education and student loans for college or trade schools to advance themselves economically. And government has helped millions of Americans pay for housing, food, medical care and the other necessities of life even if they work full-time or cannot because of age, illness or disability.

    A person gets drinking water from a tap in Jackson, Miss.
    AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

    Not a perfect record

    Admittedly, there is wasteful spending – as much as $150 billion a year in erroneous payments. That is a lot of money, but it’s a tiny sliver – just 2.2% – of the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent in the 2024 fiscal year. And government has not always been a positive force in society, either.

    As we describe in our book, for a very long time the federal government aided and abetted slavery and then racial segregation. It also codified the treatment of women as second-class citizens, and discriminated against members of the LGBTQ community.

    Yet government has addressed these failings as Americans’ understanding of equality has evolved. Over the past century, rights for women, racial and ethnic minority groups and people with a range of sexualities and gender identities have been recognized in constitutional amendments, federal laws, state laws and Supreme Court decisions.

    As our book shows, the responses haven’t always been immediate, but the president and Congress have addressed policy mistakes and incompetent administration by making appropriate adjustments to the mix of government and free markets, sometimes at the behest of court cases and more often through congressional action.

    Until now, however, it has never been government policy to shut down government wholesale by defunding agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development or threatening to do so with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education.

    Many Trump voters cited economic factors as motivating their support. And our book documents how policies supported by both political parties – particularly globalization, which led to the flood of manufacturing jobs that went overseas – contributed to the economic struggles with which many Americans are burdened.

    But based on the history of how government built America, we believe the most effective way to improve the economic prospects of those and other Americans is not to eliminate portions of the government entirely. Rather, it’s to adopt government programs that create economic opportunity in deindustrialized areas of the country.

    These problems – economic inequality and loss of opportunity – were caused by the free market’s response to the lack of government action, or insufficient or misdirected action. The market cannot be expected to fix what it has created. And markets don’t answer to the American people. Government does, and it can take action.

    Sidney Shapiro is affiliated with the Center for Progressive Reform.

    Joseph P. Tomain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump administration sets out to create an America its people have never experienced − one without a meaningful government – https://theconversation.com/trump-administration-sets-out-to-create-an-america-its-people-have-never-experienced-one-without-a-meaningful-government-250727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find out

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University

    Could Friedrich Merz be the man to speak for Europe? Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?”

    The question was famously attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and refers to the historical inability of the political entity of Europe to coordinate on a united front in the global arena.

    And despite decades of integration under the European Union, who speaks for Europe – or what the bloc desires to be – is perhaps less clear now than at any point in recent years. Internal cleavages over immigration, right-wing nationalism, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House all challenge the notion of what Europe is and should stand for.

    Friedrich Merz, the expected next chancellor of Germany, offered one continental vision shortly after his conservative party triumphed in the country’s national elections. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said.

    Merz’s apparent desire for a stronger German role could portend a balance shift back to Germany’s preeminent place in the EU, a position it has pulled back from in recent years. But it remains an open question as to what extent Europe can be unified given the continent’s political landmines – or even what kind of Europe it would be.

    Filling Merkel’s shoes

    A German leader has, in living memory, succeeded in providing something approaching a singular European voice that the White House could deal with. Europe was long synonymous with Angela Merkel, Germany’s long-lasting – and only female – chancellor, who was known by affectionate nicknames like “Mutti Merkel,” or “Mommy Merkel,” and, during Trump’s first time in office, was even referred to by some as the de facto leader of the free world.

    Her legacy – Merkel served from 2005 to 2021 – was defined in part by strong commitments to clean energy, welcoming hundreds of thousands of refugees during the 2015 European migrant crisis and championing German leadership of the European Union. In the process, she became something of “Europe’s engine.”

    Merkel collaborated especially well with France’s Emmanuel Macron, a passionate fellow Europeanist, communicating a vision of a united Europe and its core values to the rest of the world. Dubbed “Merkron” by commentators, the pair were seen as the EU’s power couple.

    President Emmanuel Macron of France and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a formidable European double act.
    Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Meanwhile, former U.S. President Barack Obama often described Merkel as his closest ally, praising her humanitarian vision of refugee politics and even decorating her with the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that the U.S. can award to a foreign national.

    Merkel was visionary, too, especially regarding the former superpowers of the Cold War and their controversial leaders. A child of East Germany, she never trusted Russia’s Vladimir Putin. She also experienced great difficulties collaborating with Trump during his first presidency. Somewhat anticipating Merz’s recent comments, Merkel in 2017 warned that neither Germany nor the EU could rely on the U.S. the way they used to, urging her fellow Europeans to take their fate and their interests in their own hands.

    A déjà vu of ‘the German question’

    But in some ways Merkel was more popular abroad than at home.

    The so-called “German question” – or the inability of the Germans to unify as a nation in its leadership and “Leitkultur,” or “guiding culture” – has been tormenting the country since the 19th century and gained renewed relevance during the years of German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

    Years on from the so-called “Miracle of Merkel,” Germany’s increasing internal political divisions – especially pronounced between the country’s West and East – mirror the broader divisions facing the EU at large, including over who should claim the mantle of political leadership and around what vision.

    To regain the gravitas within Europe it had under Merkel, Germany now would need a similar kind of strong and visionary program that resonates with the continent. The country’s political, economic and social challenges in 2025 demand clear national leadership, something that in my opinion neither the unemotional and uncharismatic outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor the opposition right-wing leader and soon-to-be successor Merz has demonstrated in public over the past couple of years.

    Although Merkel and Merz represent the same political party, the CDU, their visions for Germany and the EU are strikingly different. A wealthy former business lawyer, Merz’s signature book, “Dare More Capitalism,” is a blueprint for a policy agenda that prioritizes reduction of government intervention, less bureaucracy, lower taxes and pro-market reforms. Merz also wants to strengthen German borders with restrictionist immigration politics, a reflection of how the country has moved far to the right on the issue amid the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), with whom Merz has at times flirted.

    Yet in Merz’s relatively different agenda, he similarly advocates for both Europe and NATO, and wishes to refashion Germany into the powerhouse it was in the Merkel years and make it again the envy of Europe.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel confers with President Donald Trump in 2018.
    Ian Langsdon/AFP via Getty Images

    A changing conception of Europe?

    Given the current “America First” attitude of the Trump administration and the rise of far-right populism across the EU and the world, it is thought-provoking – some would say alarming – that Trump declared the results of an election that saw strong gains for the far right – propelling it into second place – as a “great day for Germany.”

    Whether it is great for Europe depends on what vision of the continent one has in mind. Merz, although more right wing than Merkel, nonetheless has advocated for a strong Europe, led by Germany, that could promote a Europe independent of U.S. influence, appearing to follow in the steps of former French President Charles de Gaulle, who sought to cleave Europe from American dominance.

    During his recent speech at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned of a European “threat from within,” disparaging continental governments for their retreat from “fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” while defending far-right populism and policies on the continent. Elon Musk subsequently posted on his social platform X: “Make Europe Great Again! MEGA, MEGA, MEGA!”

    Despite the bewilderment and dismay expressed by the European leaders at such statements, today’s tormented and divided Europe can hardly claim it is a problem-free environment, nor that many of the continent’s leaders don’t likewise support such politics.

    The rise of populism and nationalism across Europe poses a huge problem for what could unceremoniously be described as “Old Europe,” especially now, when it is seemingly drifting apart from its former ally and protector, the United States.

    With Russian influence and authoritarian politics growing in Central Europe – especially in Hungary and Slovakia – and ultra-nationalist and far-right ideas likewise strong in Austria, Germany, France and elsewhere, today’s Europe is hardly a unified political, economic and cultural totality.

    In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing political chameleonism, combined with her defense and praise of both Musk and Trump, is also a problem for those searching for a Europe unified more toward the political center.

    Don’t keep me hanging, s’ils vous plaît!

    Less than a year ago, France’s Macron, the still-passionate Europeanist, marked a somber note in suggesting: “We must be clear on the fact that our Europe, today, is mortal. … It can die, and that depends entirely on our choices.”

    ‘Would Henry Kissinger bother to even pick up the phone today?’
    Jack Robinson/Condé Nast via Getty Images

    Among other things, what Macron’s warning points to is the unresolved question of what the European bloc desires to be. So long as the answer to that question remains unclear, Kissinger’s question could be rephrased to, “Is there even a Europe to call?”

    And, given the Trump administration’s emerging hostility to a host of EU policies, including on the war in Ukraine, foreign aid, regulation and trade, there is a further worrying interpretation for EU leaders, even if there were “a Europe to call”: Would Washington bother picking up the phone?

    Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find out – https://theconversation.com/is-a-united-european-voice-possible-in-the-age-of-trump-putin-and-far-right-politics-germanys-new-leader-intends-to-find-out-249241

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Brutalism – the architectural style that dared to summon a new world from the ashes of World War II

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michael Allen, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, West Virginia University

    Boston City Hall, which was completed in 1968, is considered a classic example of Brutalist architecture. Yunghi Kim/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Some viewers of “The Brutalist” are probably getting their first taste of Brutalism, the architectural style that gives the film its name.

    The film, which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, centers on the efforts of fictional protagonist László Tóth to realize a mammoth, bunkerlike, concrete structure that will house a community center in Pennsylvania.

    A survivor of the Holocaust, Tóth insists on the building’s overwhelming scale, starkly unadorned concrete surfaces and labyrinthine interior in order to create an architectural version of the designer’s own shattered, traumatized inner world. The near-maniacal drive to finish the work becomes an intensely personal project of overcoming his trauma.

    Yet “The Brutalist” doesn’t relay much about Brutalist architecture beyond its reflexive relationship to Tóth. Drawings and photographs of real-life Brutalist buildings appear in several scenes as glimpses into Tóth’s originality and style. But the structures come across as the progeny of one architect’s ego, while the philosophy behind Brutalism remains unexplained.

    The actual story of Brutalism is so much more.

    What you see is what you get

    In my research, I’ve explored how architecture can embody values such as the common good and the human struggle for well-being. Specifically, my work explores how architecture after World War II presented a vision of a new world, one that could overcome decades of violence, exploitation and oppression.

    Brutalism, which flourished from the 1950s until around 1980, is one style that has taught me a lot.

    Brutalist buildings emphasize form using assemblies of monumental geometric shapes. While some critics find Brutalism’s heavy look and utilitarian use of materials like concrete, brick and glass harsh – even ugly – there is a beautiful intent behind them.

    Historian and critic Reyner Banham articulated Brutalism’s core ideas in a 1955 review of Peter and Alison Smith’s Hunstanton School, which was completed in 1954 in Norfolk, United Kingdom.

    Banham latched onto the French term “beton brut” – “bare concrete” – to christen the emergent style. The architects at the forefront of what Banham termed “New Brutalism” were actually thwarting the overly theorized, self-referential modernism of the times. Their buildings, he explained, exhibited three simple traits: an easily visible interior plan, direct expression of structure, and building materials that were valued for their own traits.

    In “The Brutalist,” Tóth’s insistence on plain concrete, as well as Cararra marble for the community center’s altar, captures the core of the philosophy. The materials used for Brutalist structures are not chosen as mere cladding, but as components that are essential to the building’s design. Their presence is an endorsement of their utility and beauty.

    Some Brutalist buildings, such as the Hunstanton School, are made of brick instead of concrete. Others use stone. The goal is honest expression, not in-your-face experimentation.

    Monuments to the masses

    Beyond the devotion to the materials, plan and form of buildings, Brutalism often signified a devotion to social change.

    Brutalism sought to upend preexisting social hierarchies and divisions. Its staggering forms made monuments out of ordinary places frequented by ordinary people: homes, schools, libraries.

    In the U.S., public colleges and universities erected Brutalist structures to celebrate the expansion of higher education to the masses, thanks to the GI Bill. In a project led by Walter Netsch, the University of Illinois-Chicago wove together its buildings with concrete walkways leading to a central, outdoor amphitheater. Harry Weese’s Forest Park Community College in St. Louis consisted of long, monumental brick blocks that made the junior college appear as a temple.

    Chicago-born architect Walter Netsch made an outdoor amphitheater the beating heart of the University of Illinois-Chicago’s campus.
    ArchEyes

    Well-known, if not always well-loved, public buildings such as Boston City Hall, which was built in 1968, expressed faith in modern democracy, giving the majestic government buildings of the past a new look to signify a modern egalitarianism.

    Other projects emphasized the triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement. The Neigh Dormitory at Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi, was completed in 1970 by the firm of Black architect J. Max Bond Jr. Architectural historian Brian Goldstein described it as “modernism as liberation.”

    Despite Brutalism’s social optimism, it is not without detractors. In 2014, Northwestern University demolished Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago despite pleas from preservationists. According to the university, the concrete construction made the building impossible to adapt for new laboratory space.

    In Goshen, New York, county officials long viewed Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center as an ugly and unpleasant seat of government, and almost succeeded in having it demolished. The building has since been remodeled to cloak the Brutalist design.

    New buildings for a new world

    In the U.K., cities faced damages from Nazi bombing during World War II as well as long-deferred upgrades to public housing. Brutalism was a key part of postwar housing recovery and expansion efforts.

    Perhaps the most iconic Brutalist structure in the U.K. is Erno Goldfinger’s 31-story Trellick Tower, a frequent setting for film and music videos.

    That same year, Alison and Peter Smithson unveiled their massive apartment complex, Robin Hood Gardens, in London. With its hulking concrete forms and “streets in the sky” – wide, outdoor decks on each story that were meant to mimic street life and facilitate contact with neighbors – the project demonstrated that working-class people could not only have modern apartments, but also live in new ways. London’s massive, middle-class Barbican Estate, completed in 1982, created a small city within the city, replete with plazas, a waterway and iconic concrete and brick buildings.

    London’s Robin Hood Gardens was famously built with ‘streets in the sky.’
    Matthew Lloyd/PA Images via Getty Images

    Other European Brutalist works directly confront the horrors of World War II.

    The Swiss-French architect and artist known as Le Corbusier built the Convent at Sainte Marie de La Tourette in France in the 1950s with concrete shapes resembling cannons and machine-gun barrels in its walls.

    In Paris, Georges-Henri Pingusson’s Memorial to the Martyrs of Deportation, built in 1962, commemorates the lives of 200,000 victims of the Holocaust through an assemblage of stark, monolithic concrete forms.

    While the Soviet Union’s 1950s and 1960s prefabricated concrete panel housing estates built under Premier Nikita Khruschev embody the Brutalist devotion to cost efficiency and social problem-solving, projects in the former Yugoslavia show how Brutalism could symbolize the rebirth of a people. Housing projects and commercial blocks in New Belgrade forged a new architecture for a new nation – and, in a sense, a new nationality.

    And on the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia, run by a Nazi puppet regime, architect Bogdan Bogdanović crafted perhaps the most optimistic acknowledgment of the will to overcome the 20th century’s darkest hours.

    Where slave labor once made bricks, and thousands lost their lives, the designer crafted a massive concrete monument, completed in 1969. The stark form suggests a flower emerging from tortured soil but set upon thriving anyway.

    To me, monuments like Bogdanović’s show how Brutalism is the perfect style to convey the earnest hope that a new world is possible.

    Bogdan Bogdanović’s memorial honors the people killed at the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia.
    Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

    Michael Allen is an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

    – ref. Brutalism – the architectural style that dared to summon a new world from the ashes of World War II – https://theconversation.com/brutalism-the-architectural-style-that-dared-to-summon-a-new-world-from-the-ashes-of-world-war-ii-248957

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Managers can help their Gen Z employees unlock the power of meaningful work − here’s how

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kelly Kennedy, Director of Transformative Learning, University of Connecticut

    Finding fulfilling and motivating work is a challenge for many people, but it can be especially difficult for those just starting their careers. And as Generation Z professionals – those born between 1997 and 2012 – increasingly seek personalized career paths, managers are tasked with helping employees find meaning in their roles while also meeting organizational goals.

    Some managers may view Gen Z’s desire for meaningful work as a form of entitlement, but dismissing it can be costly. Research shows that employees who find their work meaningful experience greater job satisfaction, which directly boosts productivity. Meanwhile, ignoring this need can lead to higher employee turnover and “quiet quitting.” In short, helping younger employees find meaning on the job isn’t just good for them – it’s a smart business strategy.

    As business professors who study meaningful work, we wanted to understand how managers can help younger staff thrive. So, together with leadership consultant Shanna Hocking, we asked a range of Gen Z professionals about their workplace experiences. Through these conversations, we identified three crucial factors that can help managers unlock meaning for early career professionals: self-knowledge, adding value and relationships.

    By addressing these areas, managers can foster a supportive environment where Gen Z professionals thrive.

    The 3 keys to meaningful work

    Self-knowledge is about understanding who you are and what you value, and recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. Research shows self-awareness can be a powerful tool for creating a productive and engaged workforce.

    To help Gen Z employees develop self-knowledge, encourage them to reflect on what energizes and interests them. To get the ball rolling, you can ask them to think about their college experiences, internships and important personal milestones. These reflections can help them uncover patterns in what they enjoy and what drives their motivation.

    Additionally, many Gen Z professionals seek roles that align with their values. It’s common for them to focus on developing a sense of purpose that extends beyond a specific job title.

    The U.S. workforce now has more people who were born after 1997 than those born between 1946 and 1964.

    For example, one young employee we interviewed, who works in fashion merchandising, told us, “I will make things beautiful and that will be my life.” This is a flexible sense of purpose – one that isn’t tied to any particular job, but rather to a bigger vision of impact. A smart manager will connect day-to-day tasks to employees’ larger goals, helping them see how their contributions fit into the bigger picture.

    Adding value at work comes down to two key things: feeling recognized and knowing one’s contributions make a difference. Our study found that adding value and feeling valued play a crucial role in shaping workplace meaning. For example, when asked what makes work meaningful, a Gen Z worker said, “being part of a team where you are able to contribute and directly see the impact of your work, regardless of the level you are at.”

    So, how do you make Gen Z employees feel recognized? It can be as simple as giving praise or as big as offering a raise. But for many young professionals, meaningful work goes beyond just perks – it’s about feeling like their efforts contribute to a larger goal and make a positive impact on society.

    Finally, how people get work done in the office is often tied to the relationships they have.

    Previous research has shown that Gen Z professionals are more likely to thrive in work environments that prioritize diversity and inclusion and encourage positive relationships between colleagues. Our conversations with Gen Z workers backed that up: They told us they valued quality relationships, collaboration, and support from managers and colleagues.

    Managers can foster this type of environment by encouraging team members to meaningfully connect. As a Gen Z private equity analyst shared with us, “When you work such long hours, it’s nice knowing there’s others in the trenches with you.”

    Building strong relationships with direct reports is also important. Gen Z professionals value being mentored by their managers and receiving regular feedback and honest communication. Research has shown connection at work is powerful for creating a meaningful environment of trust for employees of all ages.

    We also found that Gen Z appreciates being able to take risks – and potentially fail – in a safe space. That’s why mentorship programs can be impactful; they help young professionals develop skills, build confidence and find meaning in their work by providing a safe space for learning and growth.

    3 questions to unlock the power of meaningful work

    Reflection and coaching are powerful tools that help early career employees develop self-awareness, add value and build strong relationships. This work may seem daunting at first, but it’s easy to incorporate into the regular conversations you’re already having as a manager. To bring out the best in your Gen Z employees, start by asking three simple questions during your next one-on-one meeting.

    1. When have you felt most energized at work?

    Asking this question can help early career employees gain a deeper understanding of what motivates them. By identifying key moments, both you and the employee can gain valuable insight into their priorities and interests. Pay close attention to the specific aspects of their work that spark enthusiasm, and observe nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions – they can reveal just as much as words about what truly excites them.

    Make it a dialogue by sharing what you’ve noticed about the employee’s interests and discussing ways to tap into their motivations. Then, encourage the employee to find tasks and projects that align with their interests and bring them to the next one-on-one to discuss. From there, when assigning new tasks, be sure to highlight how the work connects to the employee’s interests and the organization’s larger goals.

    2. Where do you feel you contribute the most?

    This question helps early career employees recognize their strengths, allowing them to contribute more effectively and feel like a valued part of the team. As they respond, look for recurring themes in how they approach their work and the quality of their output.

    Help employees see the bigger picture by connecting their efforts to departmental objectives and the company’s overall mission. Highlight how their skills and contributions make a difference – not just in their own work but in supporting their colleagues and driving team success. And be on the lookout for opportunities to genuinely acknowledge their contributions in real time, as well as during performance reviews.

    3. Whom in the company do you want to learn from or work more closely with?

    Bringing up an employee’s work relationships in a one-on-one meeting might seem unconventional, but it’s a valuable opportunity to guide them in building strong partnerships. Plus, showing genuine interest in their connections reinforces your own relationship with them.

    As you discuss their workplace interactions, pay attention to whom they mention and why. Their responses can offer valuable insights into their career aspirations, potential collaboration opportunities and the relationships they find most meaningful.

    Also, remember: You don’t have to have all the answers. If a Gen Z employee comes to you with a question, use it as a chance to connect them with other team members or subject-matter experts. Encouraging them to seek out knowledge from others not only strengthens their network but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.

    As Gen Z professionals seek more personalized and fulfilling career paths, managers play a critical role in supporting them. Helping early career team members reach their professional goals will, in turn, help organizations reach their own goals. So if you’re a manager, asking these three simple questions during one-on-one meetings can lead to happier, more motivated workers and a more productive and stable organization.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Managers can help their Gen Z employees unlock the power of meaningful work − here’s how – https://theconversation.com/managers-can-help-their-gen-z-employees-unlock-the-power-of-meaningful-work-heres-how-248993

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Oren Reshef, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Washington University in St. Louis

    Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study.

    In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned restaurants. As professors who study digitization, inequality and the economics of technology, we were interested in understanding its effect. So we analyzed more than two years of data from Yelp.

    We found that restaurants labeled as Black-owned saw a 65% increase in online traffic, more searches and calls, and higher sales through food orders and in-person visits. These results suggest that for many Black-owned businesses, a simple change in their visibility can create new opportunities for growth.

    However, the impact varied by location. The gains were strongest in politically liberal areas and places with lower levels of implicit racial bias, as measured by regional variation in implicit-association test scores. This suggests that platforms are in part channeling, as opposed to creating, customer demand. Interestingly, white customers drove most of the increase, suggesting the label helped raise awareness of businesses they might not have considered before.

    This wasn’t just a 2020 trend – in follow-up analyses, we found similar results among businesses that opted into the feature later. We also collaborated with the online furniture company Wayfair, which launched a “Black Maker” label on its site in 2023, and found that it led to a 57% increase in web traffic. Finally, Yelp rolled out a Latino-owned label on the platform late that year, which led to a similar increase in consumer engagement.

    Why it matters

    This research has implications for business owners, digital platforms and policymakers. Growing awareness of racial inequality – partially driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, especially after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 — has led to increased corporate and customer interest in supporting minority-owned businesses. It also led many companies to make commitments to promote racial equity.

    However, more recently, many companies have dismantled these efforts. For instance, Target recently announced that it was eliminating its program to spotlight Black-owned businesses. Our findings suggest that increasing the visibility of minority ownership – a relatively low-cost change – can substantially improve economic outcomes for Black-owned businesses.

    Our results also show that diversity initiatives aren’t just about warm and fuzzy feelings. Businesses should measure and evaluate their impact to ensure their programs are effective. A well-designed program can benefit the bottom line, while a poorly designed one risks being ineffective or even counterproductive.

    So it’s important to acknowledge the potential risks. Past research, including some of our own, indicates that revealing racial identity sometimes can lead to discrimination or backlash. While our findings suggest that labeling can have positive effects, a poorly implemented policy can backfire. Yelp’s initiative design empowered users looking to support Black-owned businesses while allowing other users to continue searching in alternative ways.

    That means policy design is crucial. What matters isn’t just what information is revealed, but also how it’s communicated. Our analysis shows that customer demand and preferences vary considerably across locations and demographics, meaning that context also matters.

    What still isn’t known

    While our research suggests that businesses experienced economic benefits from adopting the label, it’s crucial to understand which policy designs work best in the long run. For instance, Yelp’s program used an opt-in feature, which may have contributed to its success.

    However, open questions remain. How are platforms affected by labeling businesses? What other types of labels might be impactful, and for which types of businesses? Could some interventions backfire?

    Another key question is, which customers respond to racial identity disclosures? Recent advances in data analytics can help companies refine their strategies, making it easier to target the right consumer groups for more effective initiatives.

    Ultimately, our study is a step toward understanding how transparency and visibility can shape economic outcomes. It highlights a diversity initiative that has benefited both customers and businesses, and provides a road map for companies that want to design initiatives that matter. And, more broadly, it speaks to a question facing all companies: How can companies better understand and shape their societal footprint?

    In the past, Oren Reshef has worked as an Economics Research Intern at Yelp. The company did not intervene in the analysis or the publication process of this article.

    Michael Luca has done consulting for tech companies including Yelp.

    Abhay Aneja does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses – https://theconversation.com/identifying-brands-as-black-owned-can-pay-off-for-businesses-250129

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: More Americans of all political stripes support government benefits for low-income people − and Black Lives Matter could be a big reason why

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Karyn Vilbig, PhD Student in Sociology, New York University

    A protester leads a Black Lives Matter rally in San Francisco on June 3, 2020. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

    For all the apparent division over Black Lives Matter, the movement may have had a widespread and positive impact on Americans’ support for policies that help the poor.

    Since the Black Lives Matter movement launched in 2013, several studies using a range of datasets have all found that Americans’ views of Black people have become significantly more positive. As a sociologist who researches the safety net, I wondered how this might translate to support for policies that support low-income Americans.

    That’s because perceptions of Black people have long been one of the best predictors of whether someone favors government aid for low-income people.

    If this has held true, more positive views of Black Americans should translate into more support for social welfare programs. Indeed, since 2012, the share of Americans who support higher spending on these programs has grown by 12%.

    It still wasn’t clear, though, whether that boost in support was due to some other factor – say, the dramatic economic fallout associated with the COVID-19 pandemic or the success of the government stimulus programs that followed – as opposed to shifts in racial attitudes.

    So I decided to explore the extent to which these changes in attitudes about government benefits can be attributed to recent shifts in racial attitudes. I found that nearly all of the increase in support for these safety net programs since 2012 can be explained by changes related to Americans’ racial attitudes.

    Who receives these benefits?

    When Americans think about welfare beneficiaries, they usually picture Black people.

    It’s true that Black Americans are overrepresented among those who receive government assistance. For example, Black people make up just 14% of the U.S. population but 30% of those enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

    That being said, the majority of recipients of government aid are white.

    For decades, however, TV shows, movies and the news media have portrayed Black people as impoverished recipients of government benefits. This has caused many Americans to incorrectly presume that these programs support mostly Black people.

    Because so many Americans have traditionally held negative views toward Black people, the mental association between Black people and poverty has undermined support for government programs – and has perhaps even prevented the United States from developing the kind of robust social safety net that is found in many other affluent countries.

    The ‘welfare queen’ myth advanced by President Ronald Reagan has been hard to dislodge in the American imagination.

    Feelings toward Black people have shifted

    Since 2012, however, Americans’ racial attitudes have dramatically changed.

    In 2012, for example, 49% of Americans responding to the General Social Survey, a long-standing national survey that measures societal change, said Black-white differences in income, housing and jobs were due to a lack of willpower on the part of Black people. By 2022, the most recent year available, this number had fallen to 29%.

    There’s been a debate about the exact cause of these dramatic changes. But many researchers credit the Black Lives Matter movement.

    Black Lives Matter began in 2013 in response to the acquittal of the man who murdered Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. It gained further momentum in 2014 with the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. In 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd, it became the largest movement in U.S. history by number of protesters.

    Past research has linked specific waves of Black Lives Matter protests to increased attention on racial inequality and decreases in racial prejudice.

    Breaking down the data

    Meanwhile, support for government benefits for low-income people has also grown in recent years.

    To figure out whether increased support for Black people was tied into more support for government aid for the poor, I analyzed two national datasets by running a type of statistical analysis called “decomposition.”

    A decomposition analysis takes the difference between two groups and breaks it into different parts to explain what’s behind that difference. For example, decomposition analysis has been used to explain the pay gap between men and women. These analyses often find that part of the gender pay gap can be explained by differences in the average number of hours men and women work and by differences in the payoff to a college degree experienced by men and women, among other things. Instead of comparing men and women, I compare Americans in 2012 versus Americans in 2020.

    In my analysis, I found that improved attitudes toward Black people between 2012 and 2020, more than any other measure, explained increased support for welfare programs during that same period.

    A second factor also helps to explain the increased support for the safety net: Americans are exhibiting greater alignment between their racial and social policy attitudes.

    In the past, many Americans expressed support for racial equality in principle but opposed the policies that might actually achieve it. I found something new. In 2020, most Americans didn’t just say that they want racial equality in the abstract. They also expressed support for the programs they believed will bring it about.

    Supporters of the Civil Rights Movement demonstrate against racial segregation outside a Woolworth’s store in New York City in 1960.
    Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

    GOP voters have changed, too

    These progressive attitude shifts can even be found among Republican – albeit to a lesser extent. Republican politicians once appealed to voters by disparaging welfare recipients and Black people. In light of these attitude shifts, that approach no longer appears to be a recipe for political success in America.

    Instead, Republicans have made opposition to immigration central to their campaigns. Immigration is an issue where Republicans perform well with voters, and this strategy has paid off at the voting booth.

    But governing requires attention to more than just the issues that poll well.

    Particularly when it comes to decisions about the safety net, Republicans find themselves in an awkward position. As recent budget debates in the House have made clear, the goal of dramatically cutting government spending conflicts with promises to protect the social programs Republican voters increasingly support.

    The safety net may very well become a major liability for the Republican Party. To the extent that the GOP continues to back spending cuts for programs that help millions of low-income people, it will be out of step with many of its voters. But if it follows the lead of right-wing parties in Europe and supports the safety net, it will be at odds with many of its donors.

    Karyn Vilbig received funding for this work from the American Sociological Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (ASA DDRIG).

    – ref. More Americans of all political stripes support government benefits for low-income people − and Black Lives Matter could be a big reason why – https://theconversation.com/more-americans-of-all-political-stripes-support-government-benefits-for-low-income-people-and-black-lives-matter-could-be-a-big-reason-why-247764

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − recovery will take effort and time

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lesley Joseph, Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of South Carolina

    Vast areas in Gaza have been reduced to rubble. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The war in Gaza has come with an awful cost. Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed, and thousands more are missing. And while a temporary ceasefire has allowed for increased aid delivery, easing the plight of those facing disease and hunger, experts predict malnutrition and health issues to persist for months or even years.

    Much of the territory’s infrastructure – its schools, hospitals and homes – has been damaged or destroyed. And yet, the tremendous human and societal loss has been augmented by a lesser reported but potentially catastrophic, consequence: environmental devastation.

    In June 2024, the United Nations Environment Programme conducted an environmental impact assessment to evaluate the damage resulting from Israeli military actions in Gaza. It found “unprecedented levels of destruction” from the intensive bombing campaign, along with the complete collapse of water and solid waste systems, and widespread contamination of the soil, water and air. And that was before another six months of bombing caused further damage to Gaza.

    As a scholar of environmental justice, I have thought carefully about the impact that a lack of clean water, access to sanitation facilities, and the absence of basic infrastructure can have on a community, particularly vulnerable and marginalized populations. The current pause in fighting is providing respite for the 2.2 million people in Gaza who have endured more than a year of war. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the environmental damage to the densely populated enclave in three crucial areas: the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, or WASH; air quality; and waste management.

    Here is what we know so far:

    WASH sector

    According to an interim damage assessment released by the World Bank, U.N. and E.U. in March 2024, an estimated US$502.7 million of damage was inflicted on the WASH sector in Gaza in the initial months of bombing, including damage to approximately 57% of the water infrastructure.

    The United Nations reported that water desalination plants in Gaza, 162 water wells and two of the three water connections with Israel’s national water provider had been severely damaged.

    As a result, the amount of available water in Gaza was at that point reduced to roughly 2-8 liters per person per day – below the World Health Organization emergency daily minimum of 15 liters and far below its standard recommendation of 50-100 liters per day.

    In November 2024, meanwhile, the charity Oxfam reported that all five wastewater treatment plants in Gaza had been forced to shut down, along with the majority of its 65 wastewater pumping stations. This resulted in ongoing discharges of raw, untreated sewage into the environment. As of June 2024, an estimated 15.8 million gallons of wastewater has been discharged into the environment in and around Gaza, according to the U.N. environmental report.

    Meanwhile, sanitation facilities for Palestinians in Gaza are practically nonexistent. Reporting from U.N. Women states that people in Gaza routinely walk long distances and then wait for hours just to use a toilet, and due to the lack of water, these toilets cannot be flushed or cleaned.

    Air quality

    The air quality in Gaza has been drastically impacted by this war. NASA satellite imagery from the first few months of the war found that approximately 165 fires were recorded in Gaza from October 2023 to January 2024.

    With a shortage of electricity, residents have been forced to burn various materials, including plastics and household waste, for cooking and heating. And this has contributed to a dangerous decline in air quality.

    Meanwhile, large amounts of dust, debris and chemical releases have been produced from explosions and the destruction of infrastructure, leading to significant air pollution. In February 2024, the U.N. Mine Action Service estimated that, in the first few months of the war alone, more than 25,000 tons of explosives had been used, equivalent to “two nuclear bombs.”

    Waste management

    In the first six months of bombardment, more than 39 million tons of debris were generated, much of it likely to contain harmful contaminants, including asbestos, residue from explosives and toxic medical waste.

    Human remains are also mixed in with this debris, with estimates that over 10,000 bodies remain under the rubble. Moreover, the three main landfills in the Gaza Strip have been closed and are unable to receive waste or conflict-related debris.

    Substantial damage has been done to five out of six solid waste management facilities, and solid waste continues to accumulate at camps and shelters, with an estimate of 1,100 to 1,200 tons being generated daily.

    The charge of ‘ecocide’

    With such environmental destruction, claims of “ecocide” have been made against the Israeli government by international rights groups.

    Although not presently incorporated into the framework of international law, there have been recent efforts for ecocide to be added as a crime under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. Indeed, a panel of experts in 2021 proposed a working definition of ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment caused by those acts.”

    To date, 15 countries have criminalized ecocide, and Ukraine is investigating Russia for ecocide for its destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023.

    Various organizations, including the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the University of California Global Health Institute and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, have stated that the level of environmental devastation in Gaza reaches the proposed legal definition of “ecocide.”

    Although the Israeli government has not responded to these accusations, it has consistently stated that it has a right to defend itself and that it seeks to protect civilians as it conducts its military operations.

    Health impacts of environmental harm

    Regardless of whether the charge of ecocide applies to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the environmental impact, the spread of disease, and other harmful health impairments will be felt for years to come.

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency reported an increase in hepatitis A in the enclave, from 85 cases before the current war to 107,000 cases in October 2024. The WHO has reported 500,000 cases of diarrhea and 100,000 cases of lice and scabies, along with the reemergence of polio.

    Polio virus has been found in wastewater, threatening the lives of Palestinian children in Gaza.
    Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The lack of adequate WASH facilities has also disproportionately affected women and girls by interfering with basic menstrual hygiene, harming their mental and physical health.

    Meanwhile, the increased presence of dangerous air pollutants has led to increases in respiratory issues, including nearly 1 million acute respiratory illnesses. Presently, the most common respiratory ailments in Gaza are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer.

    Next steps

    As a licensed environmental engineer, I have never seen the scale of environmental destruction that has occurred in Gaza.

    While the situation is unprecedented, there are concrete steps that the international community can take to help Gaza’s environment recover. The three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on Jan. 19, 2025, is a promising first step. This agreement has allowed some Israeli hostages to be released and Palestinian detainees to return to their homes. It also allows for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to deal with the current food crisis and health emergency.

    Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead for the people of Gaza. First, the ceasefire agreement will need to hold – and already there are signs of difficulty in implementing the agreement in full. Should fighting resume, that will close or delay the opportunity for engineers and surveyors to perform detailed, comprehensive field assessments.

    Meanwhile, the need for a post-conflict plan for Gaza has never been starker.

    Recovering from Gaza’s environmental devastation will require Israel and neighboring countries, as well as influential world powers such as the United States and the European Union, to work together to rebuild critical infrastructure, such as water and wastewater treatment plants and solid waste infrastructure. Moreover, to succeed, any long-term plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will need to prioritize the needs and perspectives of Palestinians themselves.

    Lesley Joseph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − recovery will take effort and time – https://theconversation.com/israels-bombing-of-gaza-caused-untold-environmental-damage-recovery-will-take-effort-and-time-245311

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What is a charter school, really? Supreme Court ruling on whether Catholic charter is constitutional will hinge on whether they’re public or private

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Preston Green III, John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education, University of Connecticut

    The court’s ruling could affect more than religion in schools. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

    In April 2025, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school can open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese.

    The case is often discussed in terms of religion, and a decision in the school’s favor could allow government dollars to directly fund faith-based charter schools nationwide. In part, the justices must decide whether the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishing religion applies to charter schools. But the answer to that question is part of an even bigger issue: Are charters really public in the first place?

    As two professors who study education law, we believe the Supreme Court’s decision will impact issues of religion and state, but could also ripple beyond – determining what basic rights students and teachers do or don’t have at charter schools.

    Dueling arguments

    In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s application to open as an online K-12 school. The following year, however, the Oklahoma high court ruled that the proposal was unconstitutional. The justices concluded that charter schools are public under state law, and that the First Amendment’s establishment clause forbids public schools from being religious. The court also found that a religious charter school would violate Oklahoma’s constitution, which specifically forbids public money from benefiting religious organizations.

    The Oklahoma Supreme Court in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City, May 19, 2014.
    AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File

    On appeal, the charter school is claiming that charter schools are private, and so the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause does not apply.

    Moreover, St. Isidore argues that if charter schools are private, the state’s prohibition on religious charters violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which bars the government from limiting “the free exercise” of religion. Previous Supreme Court cases have found that states cannot prevent private religious entities from participating in generally available government programs solely because they are religious.

    In other words, while St. Isidore’s critics argue that opening a religious charter school would violate the First Amendment, its supporters claim the exact opposite: that forbidding religious charter schools would violate the First Amendment.

    Are charters public?

    The question of whether an institution is public or private turns on a legal concept known as the “state action doctrine.” This principle provides that the government must follow the Constitution, while private entities do not have to. For example, unlike students in public schools, students in private schools do not have the constitutional right to due process for suspensions and expulsions – procedures to ensure fairness before taking disciplinary action.

    Charter schools have some characteristics of both public and private institutions. Like traditional public schools, they are government-funded, free and open to all students. However, like private schools, they are free from many laws that apply to public schools, and they are independently run.

    Because of charters’ hybrid nature, courts have had a hard time determining whether they should be considered public for legal purposes. Many charter schools are overseen by private corporations with privately appointed boards, and it is unclear whether these private entities are state actors. Two federal circuit courts have reached different conclusions.

    In Caviness v. Horizon Learning Center, a case from 2010, the 9th Circuit held that an Arizona charter school corporation was not a state actor for employment purposes. Therefore, the board did not have to provide a teacher due process before firing him. The court reasoned that the corporation was a private actor that contracted with the state to provide educational services.

    In contrast, the 4th Circuit ruled in 2022 that a North Carolina charter school board was a state actor under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, Peltier v. Charter Day School, students challenged the dress code requirement that female students wear skirts because they were considered “fragile vessels.”

    The court first reasoned that the board was a state actor because North Carolina had delegated its constitutional duty to provide education. The court observed that the charter school’s dress code was an inappropriate sex-based classification, and that school officials engaged in harmful gender stereotyping, violating the equal protection clause.

    If the Supreme Court sides with St. Isidore – as many analysts think is likely – then all private charter corporations might be considered nonstate actors for the purposes of religion.

    But the stakes are even greater than that. State action involves more than just religion. Indeed, teachers and students in private schools do not have the constitutional rights related to free speech, search and seizure, due process and equal protection. In other words, if charter schools are not considered “state actors,” charter students and teachers may eventually shed constitutional rights “at the schoolhouse gate.”

    Amtrak: An alternate route?

    People ride an Amtrak Acela train through Pennsylvania, en route from New York City to Washington, in 2022.
    AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

    When courts have held that charter schools are not public in state law, some legislatures have made changes to categorize them as public. For example, California passed a law to clarify that charter school students have the same due process rights as traditional public school students after a court ruled otherwise.

    Likewise, we believe states looking to clear up charter schools’ ambiguous state actor status under the Constitution can amend their laws. As we explain in a recent legal article, a 1995 Supreme Court case involving Amtrak illustrates how this can be done.

    Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation arose when Amtrak rejected a billboard ad for being political. The advertiser sued, arguing that the corporation had violated his First Amendment right to free speech. Since private organizations are not required to protect free speech rights, the case hinged on whether Amtrak qualified as a government agency.

    The court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, reasoning that Amtrak was a government actor because it was created by special law, served important governmental objectives, and its board members were appointed by the government.

    Courts have applied this ruling in other instances. For example, the 10th Circuit Court ruled in 2016 that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was a governmental agency and therefore was required to abide by the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

    Currently, we believe charter schools fail the test set out in the Amtrak decision. Charter schools do serve the governmental purpose of providing educational choice for students. However, charter school corporations are not created by special law. They also fall short because most have independent boards instead of members who are appointed and removed by government officials.

    However, we would argue that states can amend their laws to comply with Lebron’s standard, ensuring that charter schools are public or state actors for constitutional purposes.

    Preston Green III is affiliated with the National Education Policy Center.

    Suzanne Eckes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What is a charter school, really? Supreme Court ruling on whether Catholic charter is constitutional will hinge on whether they’re public or private – https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-charter-school-really-supreme-court-ruling-on-whether-catholic-charter-is-constitutional-will-hinge-on-whether-theyre-public-or-private-249428

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The secret lives of polar bear families

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Louise Archer, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Sciences, University of Toronto

    Newborn polar bear cubs spend weeks in the den with their mother until they’re old and strong enough to be outdoors. (Dmytro Cherkasov/Polar Bears International), CC BY

    Despite being the largest land carnivore and a top Arctic predator that can weigh over 600 kg, polar bears start off surprisingly small. Blind, almost hairless, and weighing just 600g at birth, cubs are born in maternity dens under the snow. These snow caves keep newborns warm and safe for the first few months of their life, when they grow rapidly by nursing on their mother’s rich milk.

    After three to four months in the den, cubs will have grown to about 20 times their birth weight and will be large enough and furry enough to follow their mothers out into the frigid Arctic spring.

    In a study published in The Journal of Wildlife Management, we used remote cameras to study polar bear families as they emerged from their dens in Svalbard, Norway, gaining insight into the behaviour of mothers and cubs as they experience the world outside the den for the first time.

    Drifting snow helps polar bear dens remain hidden.
    (B.J. Kirschhoffer/Polar Bears International), CC BY

    An elusive phenomenon

    While they provide ideal conditions for developing cubs, maternal dens are difficult for researchers to study and monitor. Challenging weather, limited daylight and the remoteness of many den sites means opportunities for direct observation are few. Often, denning polar bears are identified using tracking devices worn by a bear — usually collars, but also ear or fur tags. These transmit location data via satellite, allowing researchers to track individuals and to study movement patterns.

    As technology has developed, additional data can also be collected from these devices, including data on activity and temperature. An extended stationary period and low activity readings are the telltale signs of denning. Above-ambient temperatures also indicate a bear in a den; insulated by snow and warmed by the mother’s body heat, the interior of the den can be more than 20 °C warmer than the outside.

    In Svalbard, polar bears build their dens on slopes of fjords and mountainous areas, where drifting snow means dens are often impossible to distinguish from the snow-covered surroundings.

    Locating dens

    We relied on GPS locations transmitted from satellite collars worn by females to locate 13 den sites. With the return of daylight to Svalbard in the spring, our team installed time-lapse cameras facing the entrance of each suspected den, capturing footage of polar bear families as they exited. To minimize any disturbance, the final approach was made on foot or by ski, and cameras were collected several months later — long after the polar bear families had departed for the sea ice.

    After processing thousands of images, the camera gave us a detailed look at this cryptic component of polar bears’ life cycle. By linking images back to data from the collars, we were also able to develop a model of the various behaviours caught on camera, providing a new tool to remotely monitor denning bears more accurately.

    A feat of endurance

    Although critical to cubs, denning can be tough on a mother. Pregnant female polar bears usually enter a den in the fall, give birth in mid-winter, and remain in the den nursing their cubs until the family is ready to emerge in the spring. Although their offspring guzzle down high-energy milk, mother polar bears don’t feed at all during this time and rely on their fat reserves, losing up to 43 per cent of their body mass while in the den.

    Despite this clear motivation to get back to hunting seals on the sea ice, polar bear families will often hang out at the den for days or weeks after emerging. On average, the families we monitored in Svalbard stayed at the den site for a further 12 days after first emerging.

    During this time, mother and cubs frequently left the den to explore, sometimes staying outside for less than a minute, and in other cases emerging for hours at a time. Cubs rarely ventured outside without their mother and were seen alone in only five per cent of camera observations. In general, bears spent longer outside when temperatures were warmer and the more days had passed since they first emerged outside.

    This post-emergence period may allow cubs time to acclimatize to the external environment, and to develop the skills and strength they’ll need to follow their mother across the sea ice for the next two-and-a-half years.

    We also saw incredible variation in behaviour post-den emergence, with one family abandoning the den after only a couple of days, and another family remaining at the den for a full month after first appearing outside. Two females even decided to move their cubs to new dens after emerging.

    Consequences of Arctic change

    These kinds of insights lead to new questions: what drives decisions to stay or leave the den, what cues do families respond to? While we continue to build out our data set to better understand these behaviours, on average, we noted that polar bears abandoned their dens about a week earlier than previously recorded in the region. The Barents Sea is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet, and continued monitoring will make clear if this is an emerging trend in response to sea ice loss.

    To get even more detailed information, we have also been testing custom designed camera systems that can capture behaviour continuously.

    Climate warming has already resulted in declining polar bear health in parts of the Arctic that are experiencing rapid loss of sea ice. With continued warming jeopardizing the persistence of polar bears across much of their range, successful denning and reproduction is essential to give the next generation of polar bears a chance.



    Read more:
    Polar bears may struggle to produce milk for their cubs as climate change melts sea ice

    Time spent denning, the date of den exit and the amount of time bears remain at the den after emerging all contribute positively to the subsequent survival of cubs. Yet climate warming means the human footprint in the Arctic is expanding, risking encroachment on denning habitat and disturbing polar bear families.

    Improved monitoring and a deeper understanding of denning behaviour will help to protect polar bears during this critical time.

    Louise Archer receives funding from Polar Bears International. She is affiliated with University of Toronto Scarborough and Polar Bears International. This study was performed in collaboration with the Norwegian Polar Institute and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

    – ref. The secret lives of polar bear families – https://theconversation.com/the-secret-lives-of-polar-bear-families-248764

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –