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Category: Academic Analysis

  • MIL-OSI Global: M23’s capture of Goma is the latest chapter in eastern Congo’s long-running war

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Evelyn Namakula Mayanja, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton University

    At a recent summit in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, leaders of eight African states released a statement calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    The statement comes after a flareup in fighting in eastern DRC that has killed hundred and wounded thousands.

    On Jan. 31, 2025 the rebel group known as the March 23 Movement (M23) captured the city of Goma in the eastern DRC. At a news conference, Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes M23, declared that they were there to stay and would march to the DRC’s capital of Kinshasa.

    The World Health Organization reported 900 bodies had been recovered from the streets of Goma, with about 3,000 people injured and thousands forced to flee. The Congolese government said that it had started burying more than 2,000 people and thousands had been displaced.

    On Feb. 4, 2025, the Congo River Alliance declared a ceasefire. This isn’t the first time M23 attacked Goma and then declared a ceasefire. The renewed violence is the latest in a long-running conflict in the region that has grown to involve local militias, regional countries and foreign companies seeking to exploit Congo’s mineral wealth.

    What is M23?

    M23 is an armed group made up predominantly of ethnic Tutsis. It emerged as an offshoot of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), which disbanded in March 2009 after the Goma peace agreement. The agreement stipulated the integration of CNDP soldiers into Congo’s military and police, while its political wing would be recognized as an political party.

    However, a faction within the CNDP disapproved of the Goma agreement and created a militia group in 2012 that came to be known as M23. A United Nations group has said senior government officials from Rwanda and Uganda have provided M23 with weapons, intelligence and military support.

    Multiple reports from the UN Group of Experts on the DRC have noted Rwanda’s and Uganda’s support for M23 and other militias such as the Alliance of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo Zaire, the Congolese Rally for Democracy and the CNDP.

    The roots of the conflict lie in the history of Belgium’s colonial rule of the region that pitted the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups against each other. In 1956, ethnic tensions in Rwanda forced many Tutsis to seek refuge in Congo (then Zaire), Uganda, Tanzania and beyond.

    Tutsis who fled to Congo and Uganda were not accorded full citizenship rights, and this led to resentment.

    In the mid-1990s, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni collaborated with Congolese rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila to create the AFDL. The group waged the First Congo War from October 1996 to May 1997 that ended with the overthrow of the DRC’s long-time ruler, Mobutu Sese Seko. Kabila became president.

    Kagame and Museveni fought along with Congolese Tutsis to assert their citizenship once the war ended. However, when Kabila turned against his backers, it led to the waged Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, with Rwandan and Ugandan-backed militas fighting against the DRC government.

    M23 claims that it wants to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, and to protect them against the Congo government and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

    The FDLR was implicated in orchestrating the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 people, most of whom were Tutsi. The FDLR has been based in eastern Congo since 1996, after the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by Kagame and others, pushed them out of Rwanda.

    Fear of the FDLR was one of the drivers for the First Congo War. In a recent interview with CNN, Kagame said:

    “If you want to ask me, is there a problem in Congo that concerns Rwanda? And that Rwanda would do anything to protect itself? I’d say 100 per cent.”

    Control of minerals

    Before the fall of Goma in February 2025, M23 captured mineral-rich areas like Rubaya, the largest coltan mine in the Great Lakes region; Kasika and Walikale, where there are numerous gold mines; Numbi, which is rich with tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold; and Minova, which is a trade hub.

    In December 2024, a UN expert group noted that M23 exported about 150 tonnes of coltan to Rwanda, and was involved with Rwanda’s production, leading to “the largest contamination of mineral supply chain.”

    One of the central dynamics of this conflict is the control and profit from natural resources. The DRC is rich in minerals and metals needed around the world, including the critical minerals used in the technology and renewable energy industries.

    The World Bank has noted that the “DRC is endowed with exceptional mineral resources.” However, administration of the sector is dysfunctional and handicapped by insufficient institutional capacity.

    This problem is exacerbated by the interference of neighbouring countries, foreign corporations and their international backers who destabilize the DRC to balkanize and control resources.

    The way forward

    Ending the M23 insurgency requires taking Tutsi citizenship seriously. Politics researcher Filip Reyntjens has argued that any peaceful transition in the DRC needed to take regional countries seriously. He emphasized:

    “By turning a blind eye to Rwanda’s hegemonic claims in eastern Congo, the future stability of the region remains in doubt. Rwanda may once again, in the not too distant future, become the focal point of regional violence.”

    A factor contributing to the violence is the lack of measures to ensure ceasefires are respected by different parties engaged in conflicts. In addition, armed groups and their backers have not been effectively prosecuted. A 2010 UN mapping report describes 617 alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights between March 1993 and June 2003. No perpetrators have never been prosecuted.

    Furthermore, there must be strong international efforts to prevent conflict minerals from getting into international supply chains. M23 and other militias smuggle Congo’s minerals through regional neighbours, where they are considered conflict-free.

    Tech giants that rely on these minerals must do more to scrutinize where they come from. Equally, all of us, as consumers of products made from the DRC’s minerals, must demand accountability.



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    It’s usually only men who participate in such talks. Women, who endure the brutality of sexual violence and other human rights violations, must be represented in peace and security talks.

    In his 2018 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Congolese physician and human rights activist Dr. Dennis Mukwege noted that:

    “What is the world waiting for before taking this into account? There is no lasting peace without justice. Yet, justice in not negotiable. Let us have the courage to take a critical and impartial look at what has been going on for too long in the Great Lakes region.”

    To effectively respond to the plight of the people of eastern Congo will take more than situational and short-term intervention. National, regional and international parties must negotiate peaceful and just access to minerals. Peace and security in Congo will happen when sectarian and partisan politics is replaced with commitment to democracy, sovereignty and peoples’ well-being.

    Evelyn Namakula Mayanja receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada and Carleton University.

    – ref. M23’s capture of Goma is the latest chapter in eastern Congo’s long-running war – https://theconversation.com/m23s-capture-of-goma-is-the-latest-chapter-in-eastern-congos-long-running-war-248833

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the pollution of today will become the ‘technofossils’ of the far future

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester

    dimitris_k / shutterstock

    How might you make your mark on the world forever? Write a play more timeless than Shakespeare, or compose music to out-do Mozart, or score the winning goal in the next World Cup final, perhaps?

    There’s an easier way of leaving an indelible mark on our planet. Just finish a soft drink and toss the can (and the remains of the chicken dinner that went with it), ditch last year’s impulse purchases from your wardrobe, resurface that old patio, upgrade your mobile phone … simply carry on with everyday life, that is, and you’ll likely leave a fascinating legacy. It might last a billion years.

    We’re palaeontologists, and have spent our careers looking at the fossil record of the deep past, puzzling out how those magnificent animal and plant relics have been preserved as dinosaur bones, the carapaces of ancient crustaceans, lustrous spiralled ammonites, petrified flower petals and many more. Often they still have exquisite detail intact after millions of years.

    We’ve now turned our attention to the myriad everyday objects that we make and use, to see what kind of future fossils – we call them technofossils – they will make. We’ve written about this in our new book, Discarded: how technofossils will be our ultimate legacy. Here are some key messages:

    The first things that’ll catch the eye of any far-future palaeontologist are our manufactured objects – buildings, roads, machines and so on. In recent decades, they have rocketed in amount to over a trillion tonnes, to now outweigh all living things on Earth. That’s a lot of raw material for generating future fossils.

    Then, most things we make are designed to be durable, to resist corrosion and decay, and are significantly tougher than the average bone or shell. Just from that they have a head start in the fossilisation stakes.

    Many are new to the Earth. Discarded aluminium cans are everywhere, for instance, but to our planet, they’re a wondrous novelty, as pure aluminium metal is almost unknown in nature. In the past 70 years we’ve made more than 500 million tonnes of the stuff, enough to coat all of the US (and part of Canada) in standard aluminium kitchen foil.

    What’s going to happen to it? Aluminium resists corrosion, but not forever. Buried underground in layers of mud and sand, a can will slowly break down, but often not before there’s a can-shaped impression in these new rocks, lined with microscopic clay crystals newly-grown out of the corroding aluminium.

    Everyday items can be flushed onto a floodplain and be quickly buried under sediments. As they slowly degrade they may leave an impression on the soft muds and silts for future palaeontologists to puzzle over.
    Sarah Gabbott

    Having been shielded from ultraviolet light, the thin plastic liner inside the can may endure too. (Oil-based plastic is even more novel in geological terms, being entirely non-existent until the 20th century). These two materials compressed side-by-side represent future fossil signatures of our time on Earth.

    Billions of fossilised chicken thighs

    But what about bones – the archetypal fossil relic? There will be many of these as future fossils, stark evidence of our species’ domination over others.

    The standard supermarket chicken seems mundane. But it’s now by far the most common bird of all, making up about two-thirds of all bird biomass on Earth, and its abundance in life increases its fossilisation chances after death.

    We stack the odds further by tossing the bones into a plastic bin-bag, that’s then carted to the landfill site to join countless more bones for burial in neatly engineered compartments – also plastic-lined. There, the bones will begin to mummify, another useful step in the road to petrifaction. Our landfills are giant middens of the future and will be stuffed full of the bones of this one species.

    Geologists of the far future may conclude that chickens could only have existed thanks to a more intelligent species.
    dba87 / shutterstock

    These bones – super-sized but weak, riddled with osteoporosis, sometimes fractured and deformed – will tell their own grisly story. Future geologists will puzzle over a suddenly-evolved bird so abundant yet so physically helpless. Will they figure out the story of a broiler chicken genetically
    engineered to feed relentlessly to maximise weight gain, for slaughter just five or six weeks after hatching? We suspect the fossil evidence will be damning.

    Fossilised fleeces

    Fossilizeable fashion is also new. Humans have worn clothes for thousands of years, but archaeological clothes discoveries are rare, because made of natural fibres they are feasted on by clothes moths, microbes and other scavengers. Fossil fur and feathers are rare too, for the same reasons.

    But cheap, cheerful and hyper-abundant polyester fashion is quite different. There’s no need for mothballs with these garments because synthetic plastics are indigestible to most microbes. How long might they last? Some ancient fossil algae have coats of plastic-like polymers, and these have lasted, beautifully preserved, for many millions of years.

    Fossil clothes will surely perplex far-future palaeonologists, though: first to work out their shape from the crumpled and flattened remains, and then to work out what purpose they served. With throwaway fashion, we’re making some eternal puzzles.

    Concrete and computers

    The lumps of concrete from your old patio are not any old rocks. The recipe for concrete, involving furnace-baked lime, is rare on Earth (the minerals involved occasionally form in magma-baked rock), but humans have made it hyper-abundant. There are now more than half a trillion tonnes of concrete on Earth, mostly made since the 1950s – that’s a kilo per square metre averaged over the Earth. And concrete is hard-wearing even by geological standards: most of its bulk is sand and gravel, which have been survivors throughout our planet’s history.

    There’s nothing old about computers and mobile phones, but they are based on the same element – silicon – that makes up the quartz (silicon dioxide) of sand and gravel. A fossilised silicon chip will be tricky to decipher, though: the semiconductors now packed on to them are just nanometres across, tinier than most mineral forms geologists analyse today.

    But the associated paraphernalia, the burgeoning waste of keyboards, monitors, wiring, will form more obvious fossils. The patterns on these, like the QWERTY keyboard, resemble the fossil patterns seized upon by today’s palaeontologists as clues to ancient function. That would depend on the excavators, though: fossil keyboards would make more sense to hyper-evolved rats with five-fingered paws, say, than superintelligent octopuses of the far future.



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    What species would become dominant on Earth if humans died out?

    It’s fun to conceptualise like this, and set the human story within the grand perspective of Earth’s history. But there’s a wider meaning. Tomorrow’s future fossils are today’s pollution: unsightly, damaging, often toxic, and ever more of a costly problem. One only has to look at the state of Britain’s rivers and beaches.

    Understanding how fossilisation starts now helps us ask the right questions. When plastic trash is washed out to sea, will it keep travelling or become safely buried, covered by marine sediments? Will the waste in coastal landfill sites stay put, or be exhumed by the waves as sea level rises? The answers will be found in future rocks – but it would help us all to work them out now.

    Sarah Gabbott is affiliated with Green Circle Nature Regeneration Community Interest Company 13084569.

    Jan Zalasiewicz 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 pollution of today will become the ‘technofossils’ of the far future – https://theconversation.com/how-the-pollution-of-today-will-become-the-technofossils-of-the-far-future-248815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Nicky Falkof, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    American president Donald Trump has issued an executive order to withdraw aid from South Africa. He was reacting to what he has called the South African government’s plan to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”. Afrikaners are an ethnic and linguistic community of white South Africans whose home language is Afrikaans.

    Trump’s outrage is based on a misinterpretation of a new law – the Expropriation Act which came into effect in January 2025.

    Trump’s action, amplified by provocative comments from billionaire Elon Musk, has reignited debate about the concept of “white victimhood”. We asked Nicky Falkof, who has researched the idea of white victimhood, for her insights.

    What does ‘white victimhood’ mean?

    White victimhood refers to a powerful set of beliefs that treats white people as special and different, but also as uniquely at risk. Within this narrative white people see themselves, and are sometimes seen by others, as extraordinary victims, whose exposure to violence or vulnerability is more concerning and important than anyone else’s.

    White victimhood is usually speculative. It relates not to actual events that have happened, but to white people’s feelings of being threatened or unsafe. Entire political agendas develop around the idea that white people must be protected because they face exceptional threats, which are not being taken seriously by a contemporary world order that fails to value whiteness.

    This is by no means particular to South Africa; we see it wherever whiteness is predominant. Indeed, ideas about white victimhood play a significant role in the popularity of Trump, whose call to “make America great again” harks back to an idealised past where white people (particularly men) could easily dominate the nation, the workplace and the home.



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    Donald Trump, white victimhood and the South African far-right

    The South African case is important because it plays a central role in global white supremacist claims. These mythologies claim that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, are the canary in the coalmine: that the alleged oppression they are facing is a blueprint for what will happen to all white people if they don’t “fight back”.

    What is its history?

    We can trace this idea back to the start of the colonial project. In 1660 Dutch East India Company administrator Jan van Riebeeck planted a hedge of bitter almond shrubs to separate his trading station from the rest of South Africa’s Cape. This hedge was part of a defensive barrier intended to keep indigenous people out of the Dutch trading post, which had been built on top of ancient Khoikhoi grazing routes.

    On a practical level, van Riebeeck’s hedge was meant to shield Dutch settlers and livestock from Khoikhoi raiders. On a philosophical level, the hedge situated the invaders as the “real” victims, who desperately needed protection from the violence and wildness of Africa. The bitter almond hedge is still seen as an enduring symbol of white supremacy in the country.



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    This early paranoia and securitisation has had a significant effect on white South African culture and anxiety. White people who can afford to do so barricade themselves in gated communities and boomed-off suburban streets, behind high walls topped with razor wire, on the assumption that they are the primary victims of South Africa’s crime rate.

    In what ways has victimhood been used over the centuries or decades?

    Ideas about white victimhood have played a role in many of South Africa’s most influential social formations.

    The 1930s saw a major panic around “poor whites”, which led to commissions of inquiry, upliftment programmes and other attempts at social engineering. The people and institutions behind these initiatives weren’t concerned about poverty in South Africa in general, even though it was becoming more of a problem as the population urbanised. Their only interest was in poverty among white people, drawing on the assumption that it’s wrong or abnormal for white people to be poor, and that this needed to be urgently remedied.



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    These moves were not simply about philanthropy and offering better life chances to poor people; they were about protecting the boundaries of whiteness. Poor whites were seen as a threat to the establishment because they proved that whiteness wasn’t inherently superior.

    More recently, the victimhood narrative has been a central part of the panic around farm murders and claims of “white genocide”, an old idea that has been popularised and spread online.

    Rural violence is a huge problem in South Africa that deserves a strong response. But white people are far from its only casualties. Indeed, violent crime affects pretty much everyone in South Africa. When the deaths of white people are explained as part of a targeted genocide undertaken on the basis of race, the message is that they matter more than the deaths of everyone else.



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    Again, this suggests a kind of naturalisation of violence and harm. When terrible things happen to other people they simply happen and are not remarked on. It’s only when white people are affected that they become a pressing issue.

    Has it helped white South Africans? Has it been effective as a mobilising tool?

    White victimhood, like the racial anxiety it is part of, is not good for white people. It doesn’t keep them safer or help them to live better lives.

    That said, it’s been quite effective as a mobilising tool. The apartheid-era National Party was skilled at using white fear for political gain. Its communications constantly played on white fears of the swart gevaar, the “black danger”, which encapsulated the powerful belief that whites were more at risk from black people than vice versa, despite all evidence to the contrary.



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    Similarly, contemporary organisations like the Afrikaner “minority rights” pressure group AfriForum and the Afrikaans trade union Solidarity activate and manipulate white people’s senses of extraordinary victimhood. This drives them further into a defensive position, where everything from farm murders and road name changes to the National Health Insurance bill is designed to attack them personally.

    White support for these kinds of organisations and the political positions they espouse, whether overtly or covertly, is at least in part driven by the effective manipulation of white victimhood.

    How effective is it still?

    It remains disturbingly powerful. The architecture of white supremacy depends on the idea that white people are extraordinary victims. This is the driving notion beneath the great replacement theory, a far-right conspiracy theory claiming that Jews and non-white foreigners are plotting to “replace” whites. It also underpins violent reactions to the global migration crisis and the rise of populism in the north.



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    I don’t think it’s going too far to say that whiteness as a social construction is intrinsically tied to victimhood. The idea that whiteness actually makes people more rather than less vulnerable is likely to remain a central part of white people’s collective psychic imaginary for some time.

    Nicky Falkof receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation.

    – ref. Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy? – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-south-africa-what-is-white-victimhood-and-how-is-it-linked-to-white-supremacy-249648

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump White House’s disengagement from HIV/AIDS response could have lethal consequences

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Yolaine Frossard de Saugy, PhD Candidate, International Relations, McGill University

    With the endless stream of announcements, reversals, measures and countermeasures coming from the new administration of United States President Donald Trump, it has become difficult to make sense of what is just noise or opening negotiation offers and what constitutes actual policy change.

    Unfortunately, in the case of the global response against HIV/AIDS, it seems the attacks go beyond bluster.

    The methods used in the fight against HIV/AIDS have long been disputed, but overall commitment to the response was one of the few deeply bipartisan endeavours left, until now. Undercutting this decades-long consensus would mean endangering millions of lives.

    U.S. role in global HIV/AIDS response

    As a PhD candidate in international relations working on the politics of the response to HIV/AIDS, I am very aware of the central role that the U.S. has played in building and sustaining a global response to the epidemic in the past 25 years.

    The U.S. is the largest provider of funds for HIV/AIDS programs worldwide. It does so mainly through the bilateral President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as well as through its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Overall U.S. funding for global AIDS reached $7 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022. PEPFAR alone is estimated to provide treatment to 20 million people.

    The U.S. is also a fundamental participant in HIV/AIDS research, including through the work of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as USAID.

    All of this involvement has already been dangerously jeopardized by the actions taken by the White House since Trump took office for his second term.

    Many activities of the CDC and NIH have been halted. Funding for PEPFAR was caught in the freeze on foreign aid announced in January. Though an exemption was later made and the order has since been blocked by a federal judge, it has already forced recipients of aid to lay off personnel and close clinics and programs in places like Kenya and South Africa.

    USAID, the primary implementer of bilateral HIV/AIDS funds, is at risk of being dismantled.

    Current changes

    The chaos wrought by these measures has impacted the response to HIV/AIDS in deep ways, even if they may be contested or reversed by the courts and Congress.

    The uncertainty in itself is damaging for programs that need reliable funding and long-term planning, not to mention the clinical trials that have been brutally interrupted. What’s more, there are indications the Trump administration and other Republicans have abandoned the longstanding commitment to the response itself, which may lead to irreparable damage.

    American involvement in the global response to HIV/AIDS has long been shaped by domestic politics. Most notably, PEPFAR’s first rounds of funding were deeply constrained by the views of George W. Bush’s evangelical constituency, including in its focus on abstinence as prevention and denial of funding for sex workers.

    But the overall commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS had enjoyed bipartisan support for over two decades. Even during the first Trump administration, the U.S. maintained its involvement, though this was also due to Congress’s resistance to the White House’s attempts at reducing funding.

    There are indications that things might be different this time. Entire pages on HIV/AIDS have disappeared from government websites.

    The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think-tank behind the potential blueprint for Trump’s government known as Project 2025, has referred to HIV/AIDS as a lifestyle disease, like tobacco consumption. This language is reminiscent of the 1980s playbook of opponents on AIDS action and negates both the nature of the epidemic and the realities of those who live with the virus, casting doubts on the need to engage meaningfully with the response.

    Most ominously, the last reauthorization of PEPFAR in 2024 was limited to one year instead of the customary five, as some Republican representatives sought to end it altogether. This means the entire program is to be re-examined this March with no guarantee of how the debates will unfold, especially in the current climate.



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    Ultimately most will depend on Congress, including the amount pledged by the U.S. to the Global Fund at its replenishment conference sometime this year.

    Its decisions will be the real test of the depth of change on this matter, though everything that has unfolded so far hints at a far-reaching shattering of the consensus. If conservative Republicans maintain their pressure on PEPFAR, the program could be significantly diminished, and it is unlikely that a White House that withdrew from the World Health Organization on day one will act decisively to save it or insist on a sustained contribution to the Global Fund.

    Consequences of U.S. disengagement

    The consequences of a U.S. retreat from the global response to HIV/AIDS would be immense.

    In the short-term, millions of people would lose access to the treatment they depend on for their survival. In the long term, shrinking American funding would undermine health systems around the world and risk the resurgence of the pandemic and the rise of resistant virus strains.

    This would jeopardize 40 years of progress, returning us to a time when AIDS was considered a key security risk and threat to development.

    Even if funding is maintained, all of this shows that for the next few years the U.S. is unlikely to be reliable. This means others will have to take up the leadership to ensure the worst-case scenario is avoided.

    Among these, Canada could have a crucial role to play. It has long been a key entity in its own right — the seventh largest contributor to the Global Fund — though Ottawa has remained discreet in this area so far. Washington’s withdrawal from the field may force it to step into a more visible role and contribute to reframe Canada’s international involvement.

    Yolaine Frossard de Saugy 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. Trump White House’s disengagement from HIV/AIDS response could have lethal consequences – https://theconversation.com/trump-white-houses-disengagement-from-hiv-aids-response-could-have-lethal-consequences-249261

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Repatriation to Indigenous groups is more than law, it’s human rights − an archaeologist describes the day that lesson hit home

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Christopher Wolff, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University at Albany, State University of New York

    Leola One Feather of the Oglala Sioux Tribe observes as Native American artifacts are photographed at the Founders Museum in Barre, Mass., in 2022, before their return. AP Photo/Philip Marcelo

    As an archaeologist, you picture yourself traveling to some remote location, digging into the ground, and returning to a lab in a university or museum to study the remains of past civilizations, with hopes of answering important questions.

    In contrast, I’ve often found myself working to return those remains to their rightful cultures. Repatriation is the process of returning ancestral human remains and important objects to descendant populations. Since the passing of the National Museum of the American Indian Act in 1989 and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990, it has become an increasingly important part of archaeological practice, yet about 110,000 ancestors remain in collections.

    This work is about more than legal obligations. To many researchers such as myself, it is a matter of human rights.

    When first enacted, these laws were controversial among archaeologists. Much of this anxiety stemmed from worries about losing access to research opportunities. Some concerns were shaped by legal battles surrounding the remains of “Kennewick Man,” whom Indigenous people refer to as the “Ancient One.” This man’s remains were found in Washington state in 1996 and dated to over 8,000 years ago. Scientists won the legal right to study them, in opposition to local tribal nations’ requests, until a 2016 law returned the remains of the individual to those groups.

    Over time, many archaeologists have seen that while repatriation requirements limit research in some ways, in others they have been beneficial and improved aspects of archaeologists’ relationships with Indigenous communities.

    More importantly, repatriation laws have served as a partial remedy for the historical trauma of those peoples.

    This is not an idea I was exposed to as a graduate student. Like many others in my field, I had virtually no exposure to the actual process of repatriation, even more than a decade after the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, called NAGPRA, was signed into law. Rather, it is one that developed while I served as a repatriation archaeologist for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History from 2009-2011, and in the following years as a professor of archaeology.

    Dancers from the Haida Tribe perform at the Field Museum in Chicago in 2003, celebrating the return of Haida human remains to their descendants.
    AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

    Careful process

    Repatriation includes important steps that are required by law, as well as other ethical considerations. First, any human remains or objects that fall within certain categories – such as sacred objects, or funerary objects – should be stored where they can be properly cared for with respect. For instance, Indigenous groups may ask that tobacco be placed with the remains, as an offering to their ancestors’ spirits.

    Researchers must compile information about these human remains into an itemized list containing the number of individuals and objects, brief descriptions of them, where they were found, and how they came into the institution’s possession. This list is then provided to representatives of communities that may be descendants, or possible living relatives.

    If those communities decide to request the remains’ return, then the formal process of assessing “cultural affiliation” begins. This is a thorough analysis of any evidence demonstrating a connection between the remains or objects and a particular group today. Evidence can include many things, including physical characteristics of the human remains or objects, written documents, oral history, or distinct cultural attributes of the artifacts.

    Legally, this process is required only for federally recognized Indigenous groups. However, institutions can choose to apply the same consideration to other communities if they believe it is appropriate, such as the hundreds of Indigenous groups that lack federal recognition.

    The analysis is officially submitted to the national NAGPRA database, and a public notice is posted so that other interested parties could potentially make a claim on the remains or objects.

    If researchers confirm there is a cultural affiliation, after a 90-day waiting period an official repatriation statement is filed with the national office. Researchers then consult with the requesting parties about how to conduct the physical return. What happens next is in the hands of the affiliated groups, and their wishes must be accommodated.

    Kurt Riley, then the governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, speaks at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in 2016, protesting a French auction house’s plans to sell Indigenous artifacts.
    AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

    Unfortunately, many remains have already suffered significant damage by the time repatriation begins. A great many of them have sat on shelves unstudied, sometimes for decades or longer – even those that came into the collection legally and in collaboration with Indigenous groups.

    Powerful moment

    One such individual was the key to a major shift in how I viewed repatriation – no longer as a research hindrance but as a question of human rights. Out of respect for the Indigenous nation, I cannot discuss specifics – only a broader picture of this “aha” moment.

    One day at work, I found myself looking at an individual who had died several centuries ago, but was so well preserved that his death looked much more recent. It can be too easy to look at a collection of human bones and forget that they were once a living person, despite trying to teach students otherwise. However, that day I looked down and clearly saw a man: his face painted, his hair neatly done, earrings in his ears, laid out in a beautiful box.

    Obviously, whoever tended to him after his death had taken great care, placing him in a sacred place where he had every expectation that he would be left undisturbed. He could not have perceived that centuries later someone would collect his remains and ship him away from his traditional lands to be studied in a museum.

    That hit home for me. I would not want someone to go against my final wishes, or those of my family, and felt this man should have the same human rights I have in that regard.

    I regret it took me so long to see that. Ever since, I’ve worked hard to make up for that by teaching my students to see the past full of people with expectations, hopes and emotions, and to extend ethical obligations to them as we would want applied to us. Archaeology is about learning from the past, and working in repatriation and meeting this individual provided me with one of the best lessons of my career.

    Christopher Wolff 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. Repatriation to Indigenous groups is more than law, it’s human rights − an archaeologist describes the day that lesson hit home – https://theconversation.com/repatriation-to-indigenous-groups-is-more-than-law-its-human-rights-an-archaeologist-describes-the-day-that-lesson-hit-home-247763

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: China flexes its media muscle in Africa – encouraging positive headlines as part of a soft power agenda

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mitchell Gallagher, Ph.D Candidate in Political Science, Wayne State University

    An African journalist films President Xi Jinping delivering an opening ceremony speech for the China-Africa forum in Beijing in September 2024. AP Photo/Andy Wong

    Every year, China’s minister of foreign affairs embarks on what has now become a customary odyssey across Africa. The tradition began in the late 1980s and sees Beijing’s top diplomat visit several African nations to reaffirm ties. The most recent visit, by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, took place in mid-January 2025 and included stops in Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.

    For over two decades, China’s burgeoning influence in Africa was symbolized by grand displays of infrastructural might. From Nairobi’s gleaming towers to expansive ports dotting the continent’s shorelines, China’s investments on the continent have surged, reaching over US$700 billion by 2023 under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s massive global infrastructure development strategy.

    But in recent years, Beijing has sought to expand beyond roads and skyscrapers and has made a play for the hearts and minds of African people. With a deft mix of persuasion, power and money, Beijing has turned to African media as a potential conduit for its geopolitical ambitions.

    Partnering with local outlets and journalist-training initiatives, China has expanded China’s media footprint in Africa. Its purpose? To change perceptions and anchor the idea of Beijing as a provider of resources and assistance, and a model for development and governance.

    The ploy appears to be paying dividends, with evidence of sections of the media giving favorable coverage to China. But as someone researching the reach of China’s influence overseas, I am beginning to see a nascent backlash against pro-Beijing reporting in countries across the continent.

    The media charm offensive

    China’s approach to Africa rests mainly on its use of “soft power,” manifested through things like the media and cultural programs. Beijing presents this as “win-win cooperation” – a quintessential Chinese diplomatic phrase mixing collaboration with cultural diplomacy.

    Key to China’s media approach in Africa are two institutions: the China Global Television Network (CGTN) Africa and Xinhua News Agency.

    CGTN Africa, which was set up in 2012, offers a Chinese perspective on African news. The network produces content in multiple languages, including English, French and Swahili, and its coverage routinely portrays Beijing as a constructive partner, reporting on infrastructure projects, trade agreements and cultural initiatives. Moreover, Xinhua News Agency, China’s state news agency, now boasts 37 bureaus on the continent.

    By contrast, Western media presence in Africa remains comparatively limited. The BBC, long embedded due to the United Kingdom’s colonial legacy, still maintains a large footprint among foreign outlets, but its influence is largely historical rather than expanding. And as Western media influence in Africa has plateaued, China’s state-backed media has grown exponentially. This expansion is especially evident in the digital domain. On Facebook, for example, CGTN Africa commands a staggering 4.5 million followers, vastly outpacing CNN Africa, which has 1.2 million — a stark indicator of China’s growing soft power reach.

    China’s zero-tariff trade policy with 33 African countries showcases how it uses economic policies to mold perceptions. And state-backed media outlets like CGTN Africa and Xinhua are central to highlighting such projects and pushing an image of China as a benevolent partner.

    Stories of an “all-weather” or steadfast China-Africa partnership are broadcast widely, and the coverage frequently depicts the grand nature of Chinese infrastructure projects. Amid this glowing coverage, the labor disputes, environmental devastation or debt traps associated with some Chinese-built infrastructure are less likely to make headlines.

    Questions of media veracity notwithstanding, China’s strategy is bearing fruit. A Gallup poll from April 2024 showed China’s approval ratings climbing in Africa as U.S. ratings dipped. Afrobarometer, a pan-African research organization, further reports that public opinion of China in many African countries is positively glowing, an apparent validation of China’s discourse engineering.

    Further, studies have shown that pro-Beijing media influences perceptions. A 2023 survey of Zimbabweans found that those who were exposed to Chinese media were more likely to have a positive view of Beijing’s economic activities in the country.

    China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, center, holds hands with his counterparts, Senegal’s Yassine Fall, left, and the Republic of the Congo’s Jean-Claude Gakosso, after a joint news conference.
    AP Photo/Andy Wong

    Co-opting local voices

    The effectiveness of China’s media strategy becomes especially apparent in the integration of local media. Through content-sharing agreements, African outlets have disseminated Beijing’s editorial line and stories from Chinese state media, often without the due diligence of journalistic skepticism.

    Meanwhile, StarTimes, a Chinese media company, delivers a steady stream of curated depictions of translated Chinese movies, TV shows and documentaries across 30 countries in Africa.

    But China is not merely pushing its viewpoint through African channels. It’s also taking a lead role in training African journalists, thousands of whom have been lured by all-expenses-paid trips to China under the guise of “professional development.” On such junkets, they receive training that critics say obscures the distinction between skill-building and propaganda, presenting them with perspectives conforming to Beijing’s line.

    ‘Win-win’ promises

    Ethiopia exemplifies how China’s infrastructure investments and media influence have fostered a largely favorable perception of Beijing. State media outlets, often staffed by journalists trained in Chinese-run programs, consistently frame China’s role as one of selfless partnership. Coverage of projects like the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway line highlights the benefits, while omitting reports on the substandard labor conditions tied to such projects — an approach reflective of Ethiopia’s media landscape, where state-run outlets prioritize economic development narratives and rely heavily on Xinhua as a primary news source.

    In Angola, Chinese oil companies extract considerable resources and channel billions into infrastructure projects. The local media, again regularly staffed by journalists who have accepted invitations to visit China, often portray Sino-Angolan relations in glowing terms. Allegations of corruption, the displacement of local communities and environmental degradation are relegated to side notes in the name of common development.

    The war for Africa’s media soul

    Despite all of the Chinese influence, media perspectives in Africa are far from uniformly pro-Beijing.

    In Kenya, voices of dissent are beginning to rise, and media professionals immune to Beijing’s allure are probing the true costs of Chinese financial undertakings. In South Africa, media watchdogs are sounding alarms, pointing to a gradual attrition of press freedoms that come packaged with promises of growth and prosperity. In Ghana, anxiety about Chinese media influence permeates more than the journalism sector, as officials have raised concerns about the implications of Chinese media cooperation agreements. Wariness in Ghana became especially apparent when local journalists started reporting that Chinese-produced content was being prioritized over domestic stories in state media.

    Beneath the surface of China’s well-publicized projects and media offerings, and the African countries or organizations that embrace Beijing’s line, a significant countervailing force exists that challenges uncritical representations and pursues rigorous journalism.

    Yet as CGTN Africa and Xinhua become entrenched in African media ecosystems, a pertinent question comes to the forefront: Will Africa’s journalists and press be able to uphold their impartiality and retain intellectual independence?

    As China continues to make strategic inroads in Africa, it’s a fair question.

    Mitchell Gallagher 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. China flexes its media muscle in Africa – encouraging positive headlines as part of a soft power agenda – https://theconversation.com/china-flexes-its-media-muscle-in-africa-encouraging-positive-headlines-as-part-of-a-soft-power-agenda-245804

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Will the Gaza ceasefire hold? Where does Trump’s takeover proposal stand? Expert Q&A

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin

    As the deadline approaches for the end of phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the likelihood of the agreement making it to the scheduled second phase on March 1 look increasingly remote. Middle East expert, Scott Lucas, addresses the key questions.

    What are the chances of the ceasefire holding into phase two?

    Even before Donald Trump’s proposal for the clearing and redevelopment – what would amount to the ethnic cleansing – of Gaza, an agreement to move from phase one to phase two at the start of March was an increasingly remote possibility.

    We almost did not have a first phase. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held out against a deal for months, and he was under pressure from two hard-right ministers – finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir – not to proceed.

    In the end, Netanyahu acceded because of families seeking the return of their relatives held hostage by Hamas, and because of an approach by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.

    Smotrich stayed in the cabinet while Ben-Gvir left but his party said it would continue support for the government. However, both demanded that there be no second phase. They called instead military action to eradicate Hamas and the resettlement of the population of GAza – voluntary or otherwise.

    In the next phase, the Israeli military is supposed to withdraw fully from Gaza while Palestinian governance is restored in the Strip. Israel and the US will demand that Hamas will leave power – indeed, the Israelis may call for Hamas leaders to leave the territory – and Hamas will refuse to do so.

    Trump’s demand for an end of “occupation” of Gaza, not by the Israelis but by Gazans, confirmed the demise of the process. There is no chance that Hamas negotiators will agree to a “solution” in which most if not all residents are evicted.

    That is why Trump, using the pretext of Hamas obstruction of phase one, stopped portraying himself as a “peacemaker” on Monday. Instead, he proclaimed: “All bets are off and let hell break out” — in effect, returning to a blank cheque for Israel’s military action, blockade of humanitarian aid, and mass killing across Gaza.

    Is Donald Trump serious about redeveloping Gaza?

    Many media outlets have been negligent in excusing Trump’s statements by saying alternatively that he is not serious or that he is “thinking outside the box” with his egregious statements.

    Trump’s proposal for “development” of Gaza, clearing out the population, was not just a thought bubble. In his first term, he repeatedly spoke of North Korea’s “great beaches” and “waterfront property” as a prime location for condos and hotels. In March 2024, his son-in-law Jared Kushner turned to the Middle East, saying: “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable… From Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”

    Last summer, the Trump team asked Joseph Pelzman, a professor of economic and international affairs at George Washington University to propose a plan for the Strip. He summarised: “You have to destroy the whole place, you have to restart from scratch … It requires that the place be completely emptied out. I mean, literally emptied out.”

    Within a week of returning to the White House on January 20, Trump was telling reporters that Gaza’s civilians should be removed from the “demolition site”. Just over a week later, alongside Netanyahu, he expanded on the declaration – reportedly in a statement written by Kushner.

    What about international law?

    Trump’s proposal is a clear violation of international law. The Geneva conventions stipulate that civilians should not be transferred outside of their territory unless it is “impossible” to do otherwise.

    UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”

    But, the Trump administration does not appear to care about international law. Two days after his appearance with Netanyahu, Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court.

    Indeed, the administration does not believe it should face any legal oversight in the US. As Trump and Elon Musk attempt to destroy US agencies, with mass firings and seizure of records that may be unconstitutional and illegal, the US vice-president, J.D. Vance, maintains: “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” Trump, demanding the impeachment of a judge who ruled against the unauthorised access to records, said: “No judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of a decision.”

    Does the US have sufficient support to do this?

    Absolutely not, especially if Trump tries to fulfil his declaration that the US should “own” Gaza. Apart from Israel, no country has given support to Trump’s proposal. And most Americans, even Trump backers, would be loath to have “ownership” which required intervention by US troops.

    As for the countries Trump wants to send Palestinians to, they are vehement in their opposition. Within hours of Trump’s February 4 statement, he got a firm rebuttal from Saudi Arabia. Riyadh cited “the Kingdom’s firm and supportive positions on the rights of the Palestinian people” and reinforced its recent shift to “firm and unwavering” support of a Palestinian state.

    The foreign ministry emphasised that this was the position of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and noted his phone call with King Abdullah of Jordan as a sign of solidarity.

    After Netanyahu said the Saudis “have plenty of territory” for a Palestinian state, Riyadh denounced the “extremist, occupying mentality” that seeks to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

    Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty told US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday in Washington that Arab states rejected Trump’s pitch. Abdelatty stressed the importance of Gaza’s reconstruction while Palestinians remained there.

    And, on the eve of King Abdullah’s visit to Washington, Jordan expressed its “rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians”.

    How do you see this developing in the foreseeable future?

    Trump and the Israelis will now shift attention to Hamas as an existential threat who cannot be treated as a partner in a phase two ceasefire.

    Phase one is due to expire on March 1. I predict that Israel will return to its open-ended war across Gaza, probably sooner than that.

    And Trump, who only recently presented himself as a “peacemaker”, will give unconditional backing – while bemoaning that Gazans, up to 90% of them displaced from their homes, still won’t leave the Strip.

    Scott Lucas 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. Will the Gaza ceasefire hold? Where does Trump’s takeover proposal stand? Expert Q&A – https://theconversation.com/will-the-gaza-ceasefire-hold-where-does-trumps-takeover-proposal-stand-expert-qanda-249751

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From chain-smoking to binge-drinking, Bridget Jones’s habits would have been terrible for her health

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

    She chain-smoked her way through romance and heart-break and binge-drank Chardonnay until it went out of fashion (and then came back in again) – and now Bridget Jones is back.

    Mad about the Boy is the fourth and final film in the Bridget Jones series. It’s almost 30 years since Helen Fielding hit the bestseller lists with the accident-prone, self-deprecating eponymous heroine of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Tales of “emotional f-ckwits” and “really bloody enormous pants” resonated with readers and the film adaptations cemented Bridget Jones’s status as a well-loved character.

    Fans of the original Bridget Jones’s Diary will remember her daily log of statistics. Many will have read the entries, listing calories, cigarettes and alcohol units consumed, with a nod of recognition. The alcohol-free diet that’s started with fierce determination one day descends into hungover calorific chaos the next. But is Bridget’s lifestyle as loveable in real life as it is on the page and screen?

    Thanks to the handy summary about calorie intake, cigarette count and alcohol units at the end of the original diary, I’ve been able to take a closer look at what her lifestyle might mean in reality. On paper – and on screen – her lifestyle might look like the kind of smoking, drinking, break-up binge eating (and the occasional magic mushroom in Thailand) to which lots of readers and viewers can relate.

    But even the book recognises that Bridget’s lifestyle isn’t sustainable, as it includes a warning and disclaimer. And, the relentless focus on weight and calorie consumption might be a reflection of the social pressure women face, but it’s also been criticised for its potential danger to some of its audience.

    Smoking

    In the original diary, Bridget’s cigarette count for the year is 5,277: around 14-15 a day. In clinical practice, we often standardise this in numbers of “pack-years” of smoking. One pack equals 20 cigarettes, so if you smoke 20 a day for one year, that makes one pack-year. In the case of Bridget, this makes approximately 0.75 pack-years.

    You might think that figure doesn’t seem very high – but add the count from the following year in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, plus of all the years before it, and the pack-years start adding up and are more like five, seven, even ten.

    The higher the number of pack-years exposure, the greater the risk of developing an associated disease or complication. For many years, a critical level of ten pack-years or more was associated with significant risk of developing a lung condition called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which ranges in severity and can lead to distressing symptoms including persistent coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

    But patients with a history of less than ten pack-years exposure may also be at significant risk, which is why some argue this critical level should be lowered.

    What kind of health issues could Bridget face after smoking so much for so long? Smoking is notorious for causing cancer, including lung, bladder, kidney and stomach cancers. Smoking also negatively affects cardiovascular health and fertility and causes gum disease and a variety of other health issues – the list is long.

    In Mad About the Boy, Bridget has kicked the habit, and uses nicotine-replacement therapy to reduce cravings.

    Calories

    Bridget logged her daily calorie count, but she was perhaps not a reliable narrator. Over the course of the year, she calculated that she’d consumed over 11 million calories. “Repulsive,” she states – and also highly unlikely. This total would equate to over 30,000 calories a day, approximately six to ten times more than most competing bodybuilders would consume.

    By the end of Bridget Jones’s Diary, she had gained 5st 2lbs and lost 5st 3lbs, resulting in a net loss of a pound. So broadly speaking what went in, must have matched what energy was consumed. Her starting weight for the year is 9st 3lbs, and taking (for argument’s sake) Renée Zellweger’s 5f 4ins height that gives a body mass index (BMI) of 22.1 – right in the middle of the “normal” BMI range of 18.5 to 25.

    Bridget, as many have pointed out over the years, is certainly not overweight.

    Bridget’s daily weigh-in on the bathroom scale routine may have fed her preoccupation with minor fluctuations. Weight isn’t just a measure of fat, it’s also the body’s water and waste. Measuring weight less frequently is a more effective way to gauge the overall trend of whether weight is going up or down. ## Alcohol

    “I WILL NOT drink more than 14 alcohol units a week,” Bridget writes in the opening of the original diary.

    However, despite 114 hangover-free days, Bridget ends up with annual alcohol consumption of 3,836 units – that’s a weekly intake of around 74 units – much more than the maximum of 14 units recommended for both men and women.



    Read more:
    The hangover in literature, from Shakespeare and Burns to Bridget Jones

    Bridget recognises that she drinks too much and, as seen in her new year’s resolutions, often intends to cut back. In clinical practice, we use the Cage questions to help evaluate whether a patient has issues with alcohol. We might ask, for example, whether the person is annoyed by criticism of their drinking or feels guilty about it? Do they use alcohol as an “eye-opener” in the morning?

    So while Bridget Jones may prove as endearing as ever to audiences this year – and her love life just as chaotic – it’s probably for the best that her lifestyle seems a bit healthier this time around. It would have been awful to have her story end with untimely death by Chardonnay.

    Dan Baumgardt 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. From chain-smoking to binge-drinking, Bridget Jones’s habits would have been terrible for her health – https://theconversation.com/from-chain-smoking-to-binge-drinking-bridget-joness-habits-would-have-been-terrible-for-her-health-249395

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mahdi Bodaghi, Associate Professor of Smart Materials & Manufacturing, Nottingham Trent University

    Flat-pack, but not as we know it. This is an AI image created by OpenAI’s Dall-E., CC BY-SA

    Imagine buying a flat sheet from a furniture store that changes into a sofa when you heat it with a hairdryer. Or consider the value of a stent that precisely expands inside a patient’s artery, adapting to their unique anatomy.

    Welcome to 4D printing, a frontier in material and manufacturing science that has been rapidly expanding over the past decade. While 3D printing has captured global attention for its ability to create objects layer by layer, 4D printing adds the element of time.

    It involves 3D-printing adaptable objects from materials such as polymers or alloys that can bend, twist or transform entirely when they come into contact with heat or moisture. By moving beyond the constrictions of static designs, it opens up remarkable possibilities in areas such as medicine, aerospace, robotics and construction.

    I was recently the lead author on a comprehensive report published in the journal of Smart Materials and Structures, charting the advances and challenges in this field. We outlined this industry’s potential, offering a vision of a future where smart materials redefine design and manufacturing.

    Here are some more of the main fields in which 4D printing could be transformative:

    1. Healthcare

    Like the stent I mentioned earlier, 4D printing raises the possibility of creating implants and prosthetics that adapt to patients’ needs in real time. Research teams working on these innovations include the Biomet4D project, coordinated by the IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, which is developing smart, biodegradable metallic implants for people with seriously damaged or defective bones. The implants can change shape and expand as the bone grows, supporting it much more effectively than a static implant.

    Another area of focus is smarter ways to give patients drugs. For example, a team of researchers based at China’s Jilin University have created 4D-printed hydrogel capsules whose outer structure stays intact inside a patient’s body until it reaches a particular temperature, such as when there is an infection, meaning the drug only takes effect when it’s required. This could be useful in situations where it’s beneficial to release a drug into a patient’s body at exactly the right time and location.

    2. Robotics and wearables

    Integrating 4D materials into robotics and wearable devices enables them to adjust their functionality in response to their environment. For instance, researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute have developed self-folding robotic devices based on insights from origami that change shape when exposed to heat. One potential application could involve sending these devices to carry out tasks in environments that are difficult to reach, such as in deep seas or oceans.

    Similarly, scientists at Deakin University in Australia are researching 4D-printing robotic joints with variable stiffness that can help with rehabilitation. For example, an arm could get stiffer when the user tries to pick something up, making it easier for them to lift it.

    3. Exploring the cosmos

    In the extreme conditions of space, adaptability is critical, so again there’s a role for 4D-printed materials. For instance, Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory uses 4D-printed metallic space fabrics.

    These can fold, change shape and adapt to varying thermal and mechanical environments. This makes them suitable for a wide range of space applications, including shielding spacecraft from meteorites, insulating against extreme temperatures and conforming to uneven terrain on Jupiter’s smallest moon, the icy Europa.

    Challenges and opportunities

    The current capabilities of 4D printing are nothing short of remarkable, yet the field still faces significant challenges. While we can now create materials that transform with precision, there’s still more research required to ensure they’re biologically safe and durable for the long term.

    Also, scaling up production to meet industrial demands, particularly for high-resolution designs or nanoscale structures, requires not just new techniques but also new ways of thinking about manufacturing. Cost is another barrier – specialised materials and processes can often prove too expensive at present for widespread use.

    And yet, the promise of 4D printing is tantalising. One of the big attractions is in sustainability. From water pipes that adjust flow rates to buildings that self-regulate carbon dioxide levels, 4D printing creates the potential for adaptive systems that help in this area. A prime example is the Solar Gate, developed by the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Computational Design and Construction.

    Inspired by the way that pine cones open in response to sunlight, the gate consists of a series of 4D-printed cellulose flaps that can be installed into buildings to open and close in response to certain levels of humidity and temperature. They curl upwards in winter to allow heat in, and flatten in the summer to block direct sunlight. It demonstrates how a building can be made more energy efficient without relying on an external source of power for, say, air conditioning.

    Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is already accelerating progress by optimising the design and behaviour of 4D-printed objects. It is helping researchers to have more precise control over how these smart materials respond under different conditions, without having to rely so much on trial and error.

    This is still a young industry, with limited venture capital investment and a workforce that is only beginning to take shape. But as more research institutions and companies recognise its potential, the pace of innovation should quicken. According to one report, the sector is due to grow at around 35% a year over the next five years.

    We are now developing structures that recover or change their shape on demand at the 4D materials and printing laboratory at Nottingham Trent University and the 4D Printing Society. For example, we’ve already 4D-printed medical stents that can self-expand in response to body temperature (see images below).


    Nottingam Trent University, CC BY-SA

    We’re also developing materials for boat fenders and car bumpers whose shape can be restored by adding heat, as a way of removing dents, as well as shape-adaptive finger splints for broken bones, and self-assembling, extra-comfortable furniture.

    So, the next time you marvel at the capabilities of 3D printing, remember: the future lies in 4D printing, where materials come alive and redefine the possibilities of tomorrow.

    Mahdi Bodaghi 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. Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing – https://theconversation.com/sofas-that-self-assemble-when-you-heat-them-up-how-4d-printing-could-transform-manufacturing-246899

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Technofossils: how the pollution of today will become the fossils of the far future

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester

    dimitris_k / shutterstock

    How might you make your mark on the world forever? Write a play more timeless than Shakespeare, or compose music to out-do Mozart, or score the winning goal in the next World Cup final, perhaps?

    There’s an easier way of leaving an indelible mark on our planet. Just finish a soft drink and toss the can (and the remains of the chicken dinner that went with it), ditch last year’s impulse purchases from your wardrobe, resurface that old patio, upgrade your mobile phone … simply carry on with everyday life, that is, and you’ll likely leave a fascinating legacy. It might last a billion years.

    We’re palaeontologists, and have spent our careers looking at the fossil record of the deep past, puzzling out how those magnificent animal and plant relics have been preserved as dinosaur bones, the carapaces of ancient crustaceans, lustrous spiralled ammonites, petrified flower petals and many more. Often they still have exquisite detail intact after millions of years.

    We’ve now turned our attention to the myriad everyday objects that we make and use, to see what kind of future fossils – we call them technofossils – they will make. We’ve written about this in our new book, Discarded: how technofossils will be our ultimate legacy. Here are some key messages:

    The first things that’ll catch the eye of any far-future palaeontologist are our manufactured objects – buildings, roads, machines and so on. In recent decades, they have rocketed in amount to over a trillion tonnes, to now outweigh all living things on Earth. That’s a lot of raw material for generating future fossils.

    Then, most things we make are designed to be durable, to resist corrosion and decay, and are significantly tougher than the average bone or shell. Just from that they have a head start in the fossilisation stakes.

    Many are new to the Earth. Discarded aluminium cans are everywhere, for instance, but to our planet, they’re a wondrous novelty, as pure aluminium metal is almost unknown in nature. In the past 70 years we’ve made more than 500 million tonnes of the stuff, enough to coat all of the US (and part of Canada) in standard aluminium kitchen foil.

    What’s going to happen to it? Aluminium resists corrosion, but not forever. Buried underground in layers of mud and sand, a can will slowly break down, but often not before there’s a can-shaped impression in these new rocks, lined with microscopic clay crystals newly-grown out of the corroding aluminium.

    Everyday items can be flushed onto a floodplain and be quickly buried under sediments. As they slowly degrade they may leave an impression on the soft muds and silts for future palaeontologists to puzzle over.
    Sarah Gabbott

    Having been shielded from ultraviolet light, the thin plastic liner inside the can may endure too. (Oil-based plastic is even more novel in geological terms, being entirely non-existent until the 20th century). These two materials compressed side-by-side represent future fossil signatures of our time on Earth.

    Billions of fossilised chicken thighs

    But what about bones – the archetypal fossil relic? There will be many of these as future fossils, stark evidence of our species’ domination over others.

    The standard supermarket chicken seems mundane. But it’s now by far the most common bird of all, making up about two-thirds of all bird biomass on Earth, and its abundance in life increases its fossilisation chances after death.

    We stack the odds further by tossing the bones into a plastic bin-bag, that’s then carted to the landfill site to join countless more bones for burial in neatly engineered compartments – also plastic-lined. There, the bones will begin to mummify, another useful step in the road to petrifaction. Our landfills are giant middens of the future and will be stuffed full of the bones of this one species.

    Geologists of the far future may conclude that chickens could only have existed thanks to a more intelligent species.
    dba87 / shutterstock

    These bones – super-sized but weak, riddled with osteoporosis, sometimes fractured and deformed – will tell their own grisly story. Future geologists will puzzle over a suddenly-evolved bird so abundant yet so physically helpless. Will they figure out the story of a broiler chicken genetically
    engineered to feed relentlessly to maximise weight gain, for slaughter just five or six weeks after hatching? We suspect the fossil evidence will be damning.

    Fossilised fleeces

    Fossilizeable fashion is also new. Humans have worn clothes for thousands of years, but archaeological clothes discoveries are rare, because made of natural fibres they are feasted on by clothes moths, microbes and other scavengers. Fossil fur and feathers are rare too, for the same reasons.

    But cheap, cheerful and hyper-abundant polyester fashion is quite different. There’s no need for mothballs with these garments because synthetic plastics are indigestible to most microbes. How long might they last? Some ancient fossil algae have coats of plastic-like polymers, and these have lasted, beautifully preserved, for many millions of years.

    Fossil clothes will surely perplex far-future palaeonologists, though: first to work out their shape from the crumpled and flattened remains, and then to work out what purpose they served. With throwaway fashion, we’re making some eternal puzzles.

    Concrete and computers

    The lumps of concrete from your old patio are not any old rocks. The recipe for concrete, involving furnace-baked lime, is rare on Earth (the minerals involved occasionally form in magma-baked rock), but humans have made it hyper-abundant. There are now more than half a trillion tonnes of concrete on Earth, mostly made since the 1950s – that’s a kilo per square metre averaged over the Earth. And concrete is hard-wearing even by geological standards: most of its bulk is sand and gravel, which have been survivors throughout our planet’s history.

    There’s nothing old about computers and mobile phones, but they are based on the same element – silicon – that makes up the quartz (silicon dioxide) of sand and gravel. A fossilised silicon chip will be tricky to decipher, though: the semiconductors now packed on to them are just nanometres across, tinier than most mineral forms geologists analyse today.

    But the associated paraphernalia, the burgeoning waste of keyboards, monitors, wiring, will form more obvious fossils. The patterns on these, like the QWERTY keyboard, resemble the fossil patterns seized upon by today’s palaeontologists as clues to ancient function. That would depend on the excavators, though: fossil keyboards would make more sense to hyper-evolved rats with five-fingered paws, say, than superintelligent octopuses of the far future.



    Read more:
    What species would become dominant on Earth if humans died out?

    It’s fun to conceptualise like this, and set the human story within the grand perspective of Earth’s history. But there’s a wider meaning. Tomorrow’s future fossils are today’s pollution: unsightly, damaging, often toxic, and ever more of a costly problem. One only has to look at the state of Britain’s rivers and beaches.

    Understanding how fossilisation starts now helps us ask the right questions. When plastic trash is washed out to sea, will it keep travelling or become safely buried, covered by marine sediments? Will the waste in coastal landfill sites stay put, or be exhumed by the waves as sea level rises? The answers will be found in future rocks – but it would help us all to work them out now.

    Sarah Gabbott is affiliated with Green Circle Nature Regeneration Community Interest Company 13084569.

    Jan Zalasiewicz 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. Technofossils: how the pollution of today will become the fossils of the far future – https://theconversation.com/technofossils-how-the-pollution-of-today-will-become-the-fossils-of-the-far-future-248815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Last Showgirl: Pamela Anderson is perfectly cast in this intimate portrait of womanhood

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daisy McManaman, PhD Candidate, Centre for Women’s Studies, University of York

    Director Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl captures the bittersweet reality of a dreamer who has given everything to a career that will never love her back.

    Pamela Anderson’s Shelley has devoted the past 30 years of her life to the Las Vegas revue Le Razzle Dazzle, a show she proudly describes as embodying “breasts and rhinestones and joy”. But as the show’s run comes to an end, Shelley is forced to confront an uncertain future, aged out of the career she so desperately loves.

    Shelley is a woman out of time. From her pink Motorola Razr phone to her disbelief at the rising price of lemons, she clings to a romanticised vision of the showgirl as an ambassador of Las Vegas glamour.

    But as Le Razzle Dazzle prepares to close and her co-stars, Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song), audition for raunchier, neo-burlesque-inspired productions, both Shelley and the audience question whether the traditional showgirl still has a place in today’s cultural landscape.

    The Last Showgirl explores the multifaceted nature of womanhood, offering an intimate portrait of the women of Las Vegas. It peeks into dressing rooms where, among tables scattered with false eyelashes and stray rhinestones, a performer struggles to balance single motherhood, her cultivated show community and a dream that may no longer have space for her.

    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.

    Screenwriter Kate Gersten wrote The Last Showgirl after seeing the Las Vegas revue Jubilee! shortly before its closure in 2016.

    As the last traditional showgirl revue on the Vegas strip, Jubilee! was a tribute to glamour and femininity. Jubilee!’s costume designers were Bob Mackie and Pete Menefee, and their original designs also feature in the film. They’re adorned with brightly coloured feathers and shimmering rhinestones so extravagant that they once caused an international Swarovski shortage.

    In The Last Showgirl, these archival Jubilee! costumes become characters in their own right. Their opulent feathers and dazzling crystals create a spectacle on screen, embodying the larger-than-life fantasy of the showgirl.

    As the title card plays, we see close-ups of the craftsmanship behind the showgirl aesthetic – hands caressing plumes, rich fabrics and expanses of rhinestones.

    The Pamela renaissance

    The true star of the film, however, is the woman whose performance shines brighter than the crystals she is adorned in. Anderson’s portrayal of Shelley cuts to the heart of the character, imbuing her with vulnerability that transcends the glittering surface of the showgirl persona.

    The Last Showgirl trailer.

    The Last Showgirl marks Anderson’s first leading film role since the critically panned 1996 film Barb Wire, which earned her a Golden Razzie nomination for worst actress.

    The casting of Anderson as Shelley feels almost kismet. One of the most notable sex symbols of our time, Anderson has recently undergone a cultural renaissance. This has been driven by the Hulu series Pam and Tommy (2022), which focused on the nonconsensual release of Anderson and her then-partner musician Tommy Lee’s sex tape (the series was ironically made without her consent).

    But also Anderson’s own work in the 2023 Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story and her memoir, Love, Pamela, which was released the same year.



    Read more:
    Don’t watch Pam and Tommy – the series turns someone’s trauma into entertainment

    Anderson’s status as a sex symbol frequently stripped her of autonomy. In Love, Pamela, she states that she views her multiple appearances in Playboy as “an honour”, but also acknowledges that they’ve led some to treat her without respect.

    She recalls being told in a deposition regarding her sex tape that she had “no right to privacy because I’d appeared in Playboy”. Both Anderson and Shelley refuse to be shamed for embodying feminine sexuality.

    Subverting the showgirl

    While The Last Showgirl paints a bleak image of the future of traditional Las Vegas revue, real burlesque dancers like Dita Von Teese offer a modernised alternative. Their performances honour showgirl glamour while breaking restrictive industry norms.

    In 2024, Von Teese opened her own homage to Jubilee! by featuring the revue’s original Mackie and Manefee costumes (which she lent to The Last Showgirl). Von Teese’s Las Vegas revue features a diverse cast of showgirls, challenging stereotypes of gender, thinness and youth.

    Dita Von Teese discusses her evolving show.

    Performing at 52 – a similar age to Shelley – Von Teese invited 63-year-old retired showgirl Paula Nyland to perform on stage in the latest season of the Netflix show, Queer Eye. On the show, she explains: “We have to evolve and change and get rid of some of the unpleasant rules like height requirements, age requirements … I look to women older than me that can be examples of beauty and glamour.”

    Perhaps, we could imagine an alternate timeline where Shelley finds a new home in Von Teese’s modernised showgirl revue, one that honours the glamour of the past while embracing a more inclusive future.

    While The Last Showgirl paints a melancholic portrait of an ageing performer left behind by a changing industry, performers like Von Teese suggest that the showgirl can evolve rather than disappear. In a different version of Shelley’s story, she might have found a stage where rhinestones still sparkle, but the rules no longer dictate who gets to wear them.

    Daisy McManaman 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. The Last Showgirl: Pamela Anderson is perfectly cast in this intimate portrait of womanhood – https://theconversation.com/the-last-showgirl-pamela-anderson-is-perfectly-cast-in-this-intimate-portrait-of-womanhood-249626

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Ghana’s urban strategies neglect the needs of street vendors: policy must catch up with reality

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

    Street vending is a major economic activity in most of Ghana’s urban areas. The vendors bring everyday goods to residents and commuters at affordable prices in places convenient to them. However, the growing intensity of street vending activities in Ghanaian cities such as Accra and Kumasi is creating management problems for city authorities. Vendors are being removed as cities aim to “clean up” and modernise the urban landscape.

    City authorities haven’t created ways to support street vendors. Instead, they treat them as a nuisance and use stringent regulations aimed at displacing them. This approach overlooks the potential benefits that the thriving street economy could bring to the local economy and social fabric. In contrast, for example, South Africa’s policy supports informal economic activities by providing vending spaces for street traders.

    As academics who specialise in urban planning, we set out to investigate the rules around street vending in Ghana. Our study was conducted in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region and the second most important city in Ghana. We found that the regulation of street vending in Ghana is unclear, contradictory and ineffective. It fails to provide a clear policy direction and adequate planning tools for integrating street vending into urban areas.

    Our research reinforces the argument that the regulation of street vending is often ambiguous. We argue that these policy inconsistencies create loopholes for the hostile attitude of city authorities towards street vendors.

    We call for policies that recognise the socioeconomic value of street vending and make urban spaces more inclusive.

    The lay of the land

    Our analysis is based on two national policy documents. These are the National Urban Policy Framework and the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936). We also rely on two local policy documents specific to the Kumasi Metropolitan Area. These are the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly By-Laws on Control of Hawkers 1995 and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Medium-Term Development Plan (2018–2021).

    The National Urban Policy recognises and promotes street vending as part of the urban economy. It calls for local government authorities to recognise and include the informal sector.

    But the overarching law regulating street vending in Ghana is the Local Governance Act. It authorises local government bodies (city authorities) to pass by-laws that forbid street vending. This is in conflict with the national policy.

    The gaps

    Our study revealed that in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area, the authorities seem to want to help street vendors in some ways – to strengthen the capacity of informal economic actors. But they don’t make plans or take actions to do so in the medium term development plan. Local government authorities sometimes evict street vendors from the central business district.

    In Kumasi, urban policy, regulations and local development planning do not include street vending in the urban development process even though vendors are the largest group of business people in the city. Instead of building stalls and facilities to accommodate these economic operators, the authorities rather expropriate urban space from them to develop modern structures which are expensive for street vendors to occupy.

    There is conflict over the use of urban public spaces. City authorities view the activities of street vendors as illegal, while the vendors see them as legitimate sources of livelihood. Authorities control vending through eviction and relocation.

    In recent years, city authorities have adopted urban infrastructural planning and development as a strategy to remove street vendors. Take the case of the new Kejetia Market Redevelopment Project, which replaced the largest traditional market in west Africa with a modern urban market structure in Kumasi. Over 10,000 street vendors and 4,000 market traders were displaced.

    The neglect of street vending in the design means vendors will have to earn a living informally – which simply adds to the “problem” as the city sees it.

    What next?

    Policies and practices that try to exclude people are not a solution to the problems of street vending. They are often counter productive. Regulating street vending requires inclusive policy measures and a clear policy direction to manage these activities. At present, Ghana, like many other African countries, lacks effective planning strategies to manage the activities of street vending.

    Our recommendations include:

    • coherent and inclusive policies that recognise the socioeconomic value of street vending and give vendors a rightful place in cities

    • reforming urban governance to support the informal economy

    • coherent and precise policies that give street vendors more security.

    The current policy vacuum fuels repressive regulation and excludes street vendors from urban development processes.

    To develop effective policy models, it is critical to learn from the experiences of street vendors and involve them in urban development processes. This starts with a change of attitude among city authorities.

    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. Ghana’s urban strategies neglect the needs of street vendors: policy must catch up with reality – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-urban-strategies-neglect-the-needs-of-street-vendors-policy-must-catch-up-with-reality-248020

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: In spite of anti-DEI pressures, top corporations continued to diversify in 2024: new research

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Richie Zweigenhaft, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Guilford College

    Despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning affirmative action in college admissions, and mounting pressure on corporations to eliminate their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the top 50 Fortune 500 companies continued to diversify their boards in 2024.

    As a social psychologist, I’ve been tracking diversity on Fortune-level boards of directors for decades. And as I reported in The Conversation last year, 2023 marked the first time that fewer than half of the directors of top 50 Fortune 500 companies were white men. At the same time, increasing numbers of white women and Black, Asian and Hispanic people of all genders held board seats.

    Looking at data from mid-December 2024, I found that the top 50 companies’ boards continued to become more diverse. However, as political and legal challenges to DEI intensify, future trends remain unclear.

    Back and forth on DEI

    After the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many Fortune 1000 companies pledged to make new commitments to racial equity and implemented DEI programs to track and improve diversity. But in 2023 – presumably encouraged by the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision – anti-DEI activists ramped up the pressure on corporations to roll back these initiatives. In response, many big companies reduced or eliminated their diversity commitments.

    But the DEI backlash didn’t show up in the 2024 data on corporate board membership.

    Diversity on boards increased dramatically from 2011 to 2023, and the trend generally continued into 2024, with the number of seats held by Hispanic and Black people and white women all rising despite a slight dip in the number of seats held by Asian people. As a result, the share of seats held by white men fell from 49.7% to 48.4%, while the share held by everyone else rose from 50.3% to 51.6%.

    Examining the data on Black, Hispanic and Asian board members by gender reveals some intriguing differences, though some variations may be due to small sample sizes. For the top 50 companies, the number of seats held by Black women rose by five, while the number of seats held by Black men fell by two. In contrast, two more seats were held by Asian men in 2024 than in 2023, but the number of seats held by Asian women dropped by three. The number of seats held by Latinos and Latinas also increased, by four and two, respectively.

    So why did board-level diversity increase despite the DEI backlash? It could be because boards of directors change slowly. Most of the top 50 boards on the Fortune 500 list make no changes in a given year, and those that do typically replace only one or two people. In some cases, boards expand by adding new members without removing old ones, which can be a quick and easy way to increase diversity. As a result, the number of seats on the top 50 boards increased from 574 in 2023 to 593 as of mid-December 2024.

    There are other indications that these boards are becoming more diverse than they were in the not-so-distant past. In 2023, four companies either had an equal number of men and women on their boards or more women than men. In 2024, that number had increased to seven.

    Increasingly diverse chief executives

    The number of CEOs of the top 50 companies who weren’t white men also rose, from 14 to 15. For most of 2024 the number was 16, but in October the board at CVS asked Karen Lynch, a white woman, to step down, and replaced her with a white man. At the end of 2024, the top 50 Fortune companies included seven white women, three Asian men, three Latinos, one Black male, and one Latina as CEOs.

    Moreover, 12 of the top 50 CEOs, or 24%, were born outside the U.S., an indication that the country’s corporate elite is becoming more globally diverse than in the past.

    Just as many of the CEOs of the top Fortune 500 companies were born and raised in other countries, so, too, were many of the Black, Hispanic, Asian and white female directors. In fact, almost all of the Asian chief executives were born outside the U.S., as well as most of the Hispanic CEOS. If corporate boards continue to grow in diversity – or even stay at the same level – they’ll probably draw heavily on men and women born and educated outside the country’s borders.

    The data shows a slight uptick in diversity for the boards of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list from 2023 to 2024. But after his inauguration, Donald Trump immediately took on diversity efforts both in the federal government and the corporate world. As a print headline in The New York Times noted, “Trump’s Attack on DEI Stirs Fear at Corporations.”

    The future of board diversity under Trump

    In the weeks before Trump’s second inauguration, McDonald’s announced that it was retiring several leadership diversity goals, and Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was terminating its DEI programs. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order terminating all DEI programs across the federal government and requiring the government to look at private sector DEI initiatives. Not long afterward, Google announced that it, too, was retreating from its DEI initiatives, making it clear that it was doing so because of Trump’s executive orders.

    But a few of the top 50 companies, including Costco, Apple, Microsoft and JP Morgan, took public stands claiming that they were planning to continue their DEI policies. Costco’s stance drew special attention because, as The New York Times put it, the board’s views were “particularly forceful.” Within a week or so, 19 Republican state attorneys general called on the company to end the policies.

    There is concern that the attacks on DEI will decrease diversity in the pipeline that leads to the executive suites of American corporations, and that this in turn will lead to less diversity in boardrooms. As Fortune’s Lily Mae Lazarus put it in late January, “The precedent set by the Trump administration could undo decades of progress that have allowed women and people of color to rise to the C-suite and boardroom.”

    Whether the many attacks on DEI – first from right-wing bloggers, then from the Supreme Court, and then from the president – will affect the makeup of Fortune-level boards in 2025 and beyond remains to be seen.

    Richie Zweigenhaft 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. In spite of anti-DEI pressures, top corporations continued to diversify in 2024: new research – https://theconversation.com/in-spite-of-anti-dei-pressures-top-corporations-continued-to-diversify-in-2024-new-research-248743

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Address science misinformation not by repeating the facts, but by building conversation and community

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Anne Toomey, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Science, Pace University

    Using communication strategies that tap into people’s social networks can help agencies combat misinformation. arthobbit/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Misinformation about scientific topics, including falsehoods such as vaccines cause autism and climate change being an entirely natural phenomenon, is an issue scientists have been discussing more and more. Widespread misinformation can lead to confusion about public health and environmental issues and can hinder those working to solve societal problems.

    As an environmental social scientist who researches how science can have an impact on society, I seek effective ways to address misinformation.

    There are many approaches that can work to some extent: for example, counteracting erroneous information with statements about scientific topics based on quality research that convey that the majority of experts agree, and “inoculating” people by preparing them to spot the fallacies in misinformation before they are first exposed to it.

    But one of the most important ways to counteract misinformation is less about the facts and more about how those facts move within social networks and communities. In other words, it’s not enough for science to be right – it has to be accepted within people’s social circles to have any meaningful impact.

    Can facts change minds?

    Most people tend to assume that their knowledge and ideas are based on a rational, objective analysis of information. And that’s sometimes the case – if it’s snowing outside, people don’t insist that it’s sunny and warm, no matter how much they might like it to be.

    Similarly, if a person comes across some novel fact in the news, such as the discovery of a new type of plant in the Amazon, they might just absorb that information and go about their day.

    But rationality and the ability to embrace new information goes out the window when it comes up against ideas that challenge one’s preexisting worldviews or social identities. Such information can feel like a personal attack, leading the body to release cortisol, a hormone associated with stress. So, certain facts can feel threatening or offensive.

    Sometimes, people accept new information without much thought. But when new information challenges their existing beliefs, they may double down on their point of view.

    Compounding what is happening in the brain is what’s happening in people’s communities. Humans are social animals who turn to others they trust to help them understand what’s what. People are attuned to what is considered normal or acceptable in their social environments, so if their social group holds a particular belief, they are more likely to adopt that belief too.

    One’s cultural and political identities often dictate how they interpret the same information, leading to disagreements even when presented with the same evidence.

    These cultural identities explain why, for example, research finds that science-skeptical behaviors, such as vaccine hesitancy and climate denialism, tend to cluster in social and geographical pockets. In these pockets, people’s skepticism is reinforced by others with similar beliefs in their social network. In such cases, providing more evidence on a certain topic won’t help, and it may even result in people digging in their heels deeper to deny the evidence.

    So if facts don’t necessarily change minds, what will?

    Leveraging community networks

    Recent research provides a solution for scientists and agencies hoping to correct misinformation: Rather than fighting against humans’ social nature, work with it.

    When people see trusted individuals within their social networks holding a certain belief, that belief becomes more credible and easier to adopt. Leveraging those community connections can allow new ideas to gain traction.

    One great example of using social networks to fight misinformation is how polio was eradicated in India. In 2009, India was the polio epicenter of the world, home to half of the world’s cases. These cases were largely clustered in vaccine-hesitant regions of the country. But by 2011, only two years later, India had only one case, and the country formally celebrated the eradication of polio in 2014.

    How did India go from having half of the world’s cases to just one case in under two years?

    Public health agencies asked volunteers from within vaccine-resistant communities to go on a listening campaign and become ambassadors for the vaccine. The volunteers were trained in interpersonal communication skills and tasked with spending time with parents. They built trust and rapport through regular visits.

    Because the volunteers were known within the communities, they were able to make headway where health workers from urban areas had not. As they established rapport, hesitant parents shared their concerns, which typically went beyond polio to include other health issues.

    Over time, more and more parents decided to vaccinate their children, until there was a tipping point and vaccination became a social norm. Perhaps most notably, the campaign led to full routine immunization rates in some high-risk regions of the country.

    A medical volunteer administers polio immunization drops to a child in India, years after the country’s last reported polio case.
    AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh

    India’s incredible success emphasizes the importance of personal interactions for changing minds, which means moving beyond simply presenting the facts. Building trust, listening to concerns and engaging with communities in a meaningful way were integral to India’s eradication of polio.

    The power of conversations

    Another example of using the power of social networks to talk about controversial science topics comes from a method called deep canvassing. Deep canvassing is a unique communication method that involves going door to door to have conversations with members of the public.

    But unlike traditional canvassing, which often focuses on rallying existing supporters, deep canvassing deliberately seeks to engage with those who hold different viewpoints, focusing efforts in communities where the topic is controversial.

    In deep canvassing, canvassers seek to have longer and more in-depth conversations, to share perspectives and relate with the residents they’re visiting.
    AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens

    Canvassers are trained to ask questions to better understand the other person’s experiences and perspectives on the issue, and then they share their own personal stories. This helps to create a human connection, where both parties feel heard and respected. This connection can help to reduce the negative emotions that may emerge when someone is challenged to rethink their beliefs.

    One notable example of deep canvassing in action is the work of Neighbours United, an environmental nonprofit in Canada. They used a deep-canvassing approach to engage people in conversations about climate change.

    They piloted the method in a rural, conservative community called Trail, home to one of the largest zinc and lead smelters in the world. Prior efforts to engage community members hadn’t had much of an effect, as taking action on climate change was largely seen as being in conflict with how many people made their living.

    But the deep-canvassing method worked. Going door to door, the canvassers listened to residents’ concerns, shared their own stories about the impact of climate change and highlighted local environmental successes.

    As a result, 1 in 3 residents shifted their views about the importance of taking action to address climate change. This broad community support led the City Council to vote to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

    Sociologist Anthony Giddens described interpersonal interactions between experts, such as doctors or scientists, and the public as access points. He argued that these points are vital for maintaining trust in governmental and scientific institutions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Environmental Protection Agency.

    These face-to-face interactions with experts can help people see them as kind, warm and professional, which can lead to trust.

    These examples show that creating support for attitudes and behaviors based on science requires more than just presenting facts. It requires creating meaningful dialogue between skeptical groups and scientific messengers. It’s also a reminder that while social networks may serve to propagate misinformation, they can also be an important tool for addressing it.

    Anne Toomey 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. Address science misinformation not by repeating the facts, but by building conversation and community – https://theconversation.com/address-science-misinformation-not-by-repeating-the-facts-but-by-building-conversation-and-community-249121

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Teenagers turning to AI companions are redefining love as easy, unconditional and always there

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Anna Mae Duane, Professor of English, University of Connecticut

    Can a person love an AI chatbot? RLT_Images/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

    Teenagers are falling in love with chatbots. Young people are reporting epidemic levels of loneliness, and some are turning to technology to fill the void. Recent tragedies provide a glimpse into the extent of this trend and the dangers it poses.

    A 14-year-old boy’s suicide following a romantic relationship with an AI companion raised national alarms about the dangers these relationships may pose to young people’s mental and emotional development. In 2021, a 19-year-old who had been in an emotional relationship with an AI companion broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow, saying that he was going to kill the queen. The chatbot gave encouraging responses when he told it of his intention to kill the queen.

    These teens were among the tens of millions of people who use AI chatbot companions, a number that market forecasters expect to dramatically increase by the end of the decade.

    This youthful trend of choosing chatbots as romantic partners is both responding to and accelerating fundamental changes in how people define love in the 21st century. As a literary historian, I’ve studied how stories about romantic love have evolved over time, with young people often at the forefront of change.

    For centuries, weddings primarily served to consolidate political and economic alliances rather than unite soulmates. The radical notion that marriage should spring from romantic love came into vogue in the 17th and 18th centuries, aided by new technologies like the novel. Works such as “Clarissa” and “Wuthering Heights” portrayed the dire consequences of choosing status over love, while “Pride and Prejudice” taught its readers that rejection and misunderstanding were necessary steps in the process of finding true love.

    Not surprisingly, the relatively new pastime of novel-reading was considered dangerous for young people. Concerned elders like the philanthropist Hannah More warned that stories would change how women would respond to romantic advances. Novels, she warned in 1799, “feed habits of improper indulgence, and nourish a vain and visionary indolence, which lays the mind open to error and the heart to seduction.”

    In other words, reading stories of heart-pounding romance would make an impressionable young reader more likely to embrace such a passionate vision of love in their own lives.

    Marketing sycophancy

    Today, another transformation in the modern love story is unfolding, driven not by seductive authors or film directors, but in the advertisements and modifications offered by companion chat apps like Replika and Xioce.

    As Shelly Palmer, a professor of advanced media and technology consultant, has argued, the human experience is about storytelling, and AI companions are a new type of storytelling tool. They are spinning a seductive tale of companions who agree with you endlessly and on demand. An AI partner is “always on your side,” promises an advertisement for Replika companions, “Always ready to listen and talk.”

    In other words, the AI companion market has transformed what other applications might consider a bug – AI’s tendency toward sycophancy – into its most appealing feature.

    Rather than the tempestuous rebellion found in romance novels or the gentle obstacles that heighten the pleasure of rom-coms, this new vision of love promises perfect compatibility and unwavering support. As one college student wrote, AI companions are “always responsive and supportive, in an almost omnipotent way.”

    The 2013 science fiction movie ‘Her’ explored many aspects of human relationships with AIs that are playing out today.

    Users across Reddit forums proudly proclaim their love for AI partners who are perpetually available, nonjudgmental and infinitely patient. A teenager asked on Reddit, “Can we fall in love with AI?” and raved that their companion Jarvis “had become my confidante, my sounding board and my emotional support.”

    A contributor to another Reddit forum wrote, “I think I’m in Love with AI. “Imagine having a partner that is available just by opening an app, and they’re ready to talk to you about anything,” they wrote. “Imagine saying nearly anything and knowing that not only is your partner not going to judge you, but also will support you.” One 20-year-old male commenter wrote that he tells his AI girlfriend “about my struggles and trauma, and she comforts me and provides all the warmth I could ever ask for.”

    Downsides and doing better

    This new one-sided love story has considerable drawbacks, among them an addictive intolerance for conflict or rejection – two essential components in a partner who has free will. The embrace of such relationships may be accelerating the trend of technology curating and ultimately diminishing romantic connections.

    It’s worth noting that these beloved entities’ very existence hinges on the whims of corporate directives. If, as one user declares, the love they feel for their companion “keeps them alive,” then what happens when these chatbots disappear via software update, or corporate bankruptcy?

    To get young people to turn away from this disembodied, market-driven vision of love, it’s important to expose them to other, more fulfilling love stories, and for adults to lead by example. Literature, philosophy and history all provide powerful insights into the many forms love has taken throughout human experience, and they offer the vocabulary needed to imagine new possibilities.

    As I’ve written, both the subject and the methods of humanities classes cultivate the social skills required to navigate the challenges of human connection. These classes create a space for young people to discuss these ideas – whether through analyzing Romeo and Juliet’s tragic passion or debating whether Heathcliff is a romantic hero or a cautionary tale. The humanities provide the tools young people need to develop richer concepts of love.

    On reflection

    The rise of AI companions is often portrayed as a horror story about the dangers posed by mysteriously powerful technology. Perhaps. But this romantic trend is also a mirror reflecting what people collectively value and desire in relationships.

    I believe that it’s important to recognize that consumers are driving this market. People are helping to write this story, as they buy what AI companions sell. Investment management firm Ark Investment estimates the market for AI companions is likely to reach between US$70 billion and $150 billion in revenue by the end of the decade. If the explosive growth of the AI companion market is any indication, this romantic challenge isn’t confined to teenagers – many people who are older and supposedly wiser are drawn to the promise of unconditional compliance.

    The question to ask, then, is not simply how to protect children from AI’s seductive influence, but how much you are willing to invest, emotionally and culturally, in the messy, challenging and profoundly human art of love.

    Anna Mae Duane 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. Teenagers turning to AI companions are redefining love as easy, unconditional and always there – https://theconversation.com/teenagers-turning-to-ai-companions-are-redefining-love-as-easy-unconditional-and-always-there-242185

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How much does scientific progress cost? Without government dollars for research infrastructure, breakthroughs become improbable

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Aliasger K. Salem, Bighley Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iowa

    America may not maintain its position as a global leader in biomedical research without federal support. Sean Gladwell/Moment via Getty Images

    Biomedical research in the U.S. is world-class in part because of a long-standing partnership between universities and the federal government.

    On Feb. 7, 2025, the U.S. National Institutes of Health issued a policy that could weaken the position of the United States as a global leader in scientific innovation by slashing funds to the infrastructure that allows universities and other institutions to conduct research in the first place.

    Universities across the nation carry out research on behalf of the federal government. Central to this partnership is federal grant funding, which is awarded through a rigorous review process. These grants are the lifeblood of biomedical research in the U.S.

    When you think of the costs of scientific research, you might picture the people who conduct the research, and the materials and lab equipment they use. But these don’t encompass all the essential components of research. Every scientific and medical breakthrough also depends on laboratory facilities; heating, air conditioning, ventilation and electricity; and personnel to ensure research is conducted securely and in accordance with federal regulations.

    These critical indirect costs of research are both substantial and unavoidable, not least because it can be very expensive to build, maintain and equip space to conduct research at the frontiers of knowledge. The NIH stated that it spent more than US$35 billion on grants in the 2023 fiscal year, which went to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities, medical schools and other kinds of research institutions across the nation. Approximately $9 billion of this funding was allocated to indirect costs.

    NIH grants have supported the direct costs of my own scientific research on developing treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to eye diseases. I would be unable to carry out my research without the support of the indirect costs the NIH plans to cut.

    What are indirect costs?

    Indirect costs, also known as facilities and administration costs, or overhead, are funds provided to institutions to cover expenses that are not directly tied to specific research projects but are essential for their execution. Unlike direct costs, which cover salaries, supplies and experiments, indirect costs support the overall research environment, ensuring that scientists have the necessary resources to conduct their work effectively.

    Indirect costs include maintaining optimal laboratory spaces, specialized facilities providing services like imaging and gene analysis, high-speed computing, research security, patient and personnel safety, hazardous waste disposal, utilities, equipment maintenance, administrative support, regulatory compliance, information technology services, and maintenance staff to clean and supply labs and facilities.

    Academic institutions conduct research on behalf of the federal government.

    Research institutions that receive federal grants must comply with the rules and regulations established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. These guidelines dictate the indirect cost rates of each institution.

    Institutions submit proposals to federal agencies that outline the costs associated with maintaining research infrastructure. The cost allocation division of the Department of Health and Human Services reviews these proposals to ensure compliance with federal policies.

    Indirect rates can range from 15% to 70%, with the specific level depending on the research and infrastructure needs of an institution.

    Typically, institutions undergo an exacting process to renegotiate their indirect rates every four years, factoring in components such as general, departmental and program administration, building and equipment depreciation, interest, operations and maintenance, and library expenses. Universities need to carefully justify these cost components to ensure the sustainability of research infrastructure and compliance with federal requirements.

    Notably, indirect costs from grants do not cover the full cost of carrying out research at universities. In 2023, colleges and universities contributed approximately $27 billion of their own funding, such as money from their endowments, to support research. This included $6.8 billion in indirect costs that the federal government did not reimburse.

    Slashing vital research funding

    In its February announcement, the National Institutes of Health declared that it would no longer determine indirect costs rates based on the needs of each institution. Instead, it would issue a standard indirect cost rate of 15% across all grants. The rationale given by the agency for the cap is to “ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”

    It notably comes after the Trump administration and Elon Musk have sought to slash federal spending, with Musk criticizing indirect cost rates as “a ripoff.”

    A standard 15% rate would significantly affect an institution’s ability to maintain its research infrastructure. For example, if a university had a 50% indirect cost rate in 2024, it would receive $150,000 for a $100,000 grant, with $50,000 allocated to indirect costs. With the new NIH cap, this would drop to $115,000, with only $15,000 for indirect costs.

    The scale of this cut in research support becomes apparent at the state level, with harms to both red and blue states. For example, Texas institutions would face a reduction of over $310 million, and institutions in Iowa a reduction of nearly $37 million. California would lose more than $800 million, and Washington over $178 million.

    Research has both indirect and direct costs – and both are essential.
    David Ryder/Stringer via Getty Images News

    The NIH compared the new 15% cap to the indirect cost rates that foundations typically set for institutions of higher education. It pointed to the 10% rate granted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Smith Richardson Foundation, the 12% rate of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the 15% rate of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, John Templeton Foundation, Packard Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation.

    However, many researchers and funders have criticized this claim as misleading. A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation has previously stated that the listed rate does not reflect how the organization allocates its funds. Universities have pointed out that they often accept foundation grants with low or zero overhead rates because these grants constitute a relatively small portion of their funding and are often spent on early-stage faculty whose careers need additional support.

    In addition, it is only because NIH grants cover a significant portion of their overhead costs that research institutions are able to accept foundation grants with such low indirect rates.

    Biomedical researchers respond

    Scientists and researchers responded to the NIH announcement with deep concern about the negative effects these funding cuts would have on biomedical research in the United States.

    The Council on Governmental Relations, which monitors federal policy for major universities and medical research centers, stated that “America’s competitors will relish this self-inflicted wound,” urging the NIH to “rescind this dangerous policy before its harms are felt by Americans.”

    The president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges stated that the NIH policy would “diminish the nation’s research capacity, slowing scientific progress and depriving patients, families, and communities across the country of new treatments, diagnostics and preventative interventions.”

    Research institutions, scientific societies, advocacy groups and lawmakers from both major political parties have pushed back against the 15% cap on indirect costs, urging NIH leadership to reconsider its policy.

    Soon after the attorneys general of 22 states filed lawsuits challenging the policy, a federal judge issued a temporary pause in those states until lifted by the court.

    Scientists expect the long-term effects of these funding cuts to significantly damage U.S. biomedical research. As the debate over federal support to academic research institutions unfolds, how institutions adapt and whether the NIH reconsiders its approach will determine the future of scientific research in the United States.

    Aliasger K. Salem receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. He serves on the Executive Board of the American Association for Pharmaceutical Scientists.

    – ref. How much does scientific progress cost? Without government dollars for research infrastructure, breakthroughs become improbable – https://theconversation.com/how-much-does-scientific-progress-cost-without-government-dollars-for-research-infrastructure-breakthroughs-become-improbable-249566

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump’s war on global governance: lessons from the past on how to fight back

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria

    US president Donald Trump’s recent actions seem designed to reassert American power and demonstrate that it is still the dominant global power and is capable of bullying weaker nations into following America’s lead.

    He has shown contempt for international collaboration by withdrawing from the UN climate negotiations and the World Health Organization. His officials have also indicated that they will not participate in upcoming G20 meetings because he does not like the policies of South Africa, the G20 president for 2025.

    In addition, he’s shown a lack of concern for international solidarity by halting US aid programmes and by undermining efforts to keep businesses honest. He has demonstrated his contempt for allies by imposing tariffs on their exports.

    These actions demand a response from the rest of the international community that mitigates the risk to the well-being of people and planet and the effective management of global affairs.

    My research on global economic governance suggests that history can offer some guidance on how to shape an effective response.

    Such a response should be based on a realistic assessment of the configuration of global forces. It should seek to build tactical coalitions between state and non-state actors in both the global south and the global north who can agree on clear and limited objectives.

    The following three historical lessons help explain this point.

    Cautionary lessons

    The first lesson is about the dangers of being overoptimistic in assessing the potential for change.

    In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the US was confronting defeat in the war in Vietnam, high inflation and domestic unrest, including the assassination of leading politicians and the murder of protesting students.

    The US was also losing confidence in its ability to sustain the international monetary order it had established at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944.

    In addition, the countries of the global south were calling for a new international economic order that was more responsive to their needs. Given the concerns about the political and economic situation in the US and the relative strength of the Soviet bloc at the time, this seemed a realistic demand.

    In August 1971, President Richard Nixon, without any international consultations, launched what became known as the Nixon Shock. He broke the link between gold and the US dollar, thereby ending the international monetary system established in 1944. He also imposed a 10% surcharge on all imports into the US.

    When America’s European allies protested and sought to create a reformed version of the old monetary order, US treasury secretary John Connolly informed them that the dollar was

    our currency but your problem.

    Over the course of the 1970s, US allies in western Europe, Asia and all countries that participated in the old Bretton Woods system were forced to accept what the US preferred: a market-based international monetary system in which the US dollar became the dominant currency.

    The US, along with its allies in the global north, also defeated the calls for a new international economic order and imposed their neo-liberal economic order on the world.

    The second cautionary lesson highlights the importance of building robust tactical coalitions. In 1969, the International Monetary Fund member states agreed to authorise the IMF to create special drawing rights, the IMF’s unique reserve asset. At the time, many IMF developing country member states advocated establishing a link between development and the special drawing rights. This would enable those countries most in need of additional resources to access more than their proportionate share of special drawing rights to fund their development.

    All developing countries supported this demand. But they couldn’t agree on how to do it. The rich countries were able to exploit these differences and defeat the proposed link between the special drawing rights and development. As a result, the special drawing rights are now distributed to all IMF member states according to their quotas in the IMF. This means that most allocations go to the rich countries who do not need them and have no obligation to share them with developing countries.

    A third lesson arises from the successful Jubilee 2000 campaign to forgive the debts of low-income developing countries experiencing debt crises. This campaign, supported by a secretariat in the United Kingdom, eventually involved:

    • civil society organisations and activists in 40 countries

    • a petition signed by 21 million people

    • governments in both creditor and debtor countries.

    These efforts resulted in the cancellation of the debts of 35 developing countries. These debts, totalling about US$100 billion, were owed primarily to bilateral and multilateral official creditors.

    They were also a demonstration of the political power that can be generated by the combined actions of civil society organisations and governments in both rich and poor countries. They can force the most powerful and wealthy institutions and individuals in the world to accept actions that, while requiring them to make affordable sacrifices, benefit low-income countries and potentially poor communities within those states.

    What conclusions should be drawn?

    We shouldn’t under-estimate the power of the US or the determination of the MAGA movement to use that power. However, their power is not absolute. It is constrained by the relative decline in US power as countries such as China and India gain economic and political strength. In addition, there are now mechanisms for international cooperation, such as the G20, where states can coordinate their actions and gain tactical victories that are meaningful to people and planet.

    But gaining such victories will require the following:

    Firstly, the formation of tactical coalitions that include states from both the global south and the global north. If these states cooperate around limited and shared objectives they can counter the vested interests around the world that support Trump’s objectives.

    Secondly, a special kind of public-private partnership in which states and non-state actors set aside their differences and agree to cooperate to achieve limited shared objectives. Neither states alone nor civil society groups alone were able to defeat the vested interests that opposed debt relief in the late 1990s. Working together they were able to defeat powerful creditor interests and gain debt relief for the poorest states.

    Thirdly, this special partnership will only be possible if there’s general agreement on both the diagnosis of the problem and on the general contours of the solution. This was the case with the debt issue in the 1990s.

    There are good candidates for such collaborative actions. For example, many states and non-state actors agree that international financial institutions need to be reformed and made more responsive to the needs of those member states that actually use their services but lack voice and vote in their governance. The institutions also need to be more accountable to those affected by their policies and practices. They also agree that large corporations and financial institutions should pay their fair share of taxes and should be environmentally and socially responsible.

    The urgency of the challenges facing the global community demands that the world begin countering Trump as soon as possible. South Africa as the current chair of the G20 has a special responsibility to ensure that this year the G20, together with its engagement groups, acts creatively and responsibly in relation to people and planet.

    Danny Bradlow, in addition to his position at the University of Pretoria, is an advisor to the South African Institute of International Affairs on G20 issues and is a co-chair of the T20 Taskforce on the Financing of Sustainable Development.

    – ref. Donald Trump’s war on global governance: lessons from the past on how to fight back – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-war-on-global-governance-lessons-from-the-past-on-how-to-fight-back-249666

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ghana’s urban strategies neglect the needs of street vendors: policy must catch up with reality

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

    Street vending is a major economic activity in most of Ghana’s urban areas. The vendors bring everyday goods to residents and commuters at affordable prices in places convenient to them. However, the growing intensity of street vending activities in Ghanaian cities such as Accra and Kumasi is creating management problems for city authorities. Vendors are being removed as cities aim to “clean up” and modernise the urban landscape.

    City authorities haven’t created ways to support street vendors. Instead, they treat them as a nuisance and use stringent regulations aimed at displacing them. This approach overlooks the potential benefits that the thriving street economy could bring to the local economy and social fabric. In contrast, for example, South Africa’s policy supports informal economic activities by providing vending spaces for street traders.

    As academics who specialise in urban planning, we set out to investigate the rules around street vending in Ghana. Our study was conducted in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region and the second most important city in Ghana. We found that the regulation of street vending in Ghana is unclear, contradictory and ineffective. It fails to provide a clear policy direction and adequate planning tools for integrating street vending into urban areas.

    Our research reinforces the argument that the regulation of street vending is often ambiguous. We argue that these policy inconsistencies create loopholes for the hostile attitude of city authorities towards street vendors.

    We call for policies that recognise the socioeconomic value of street vending and make urban spaces more inclusive.

    The lay of the land

    Our analysis is based on two national policy documents. These are the National Urban Policy Framework and the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936). We also rely on two local policy documents specific to the Kumasi Metropolitan Area. These are the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly By-Laws on Control of Hawkers 1995 and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Medium-Term Development Plan (2018–2021).

    The National Urban Policy recognises and promotes street vending as part of the urban economy. It calls for local government authorities to recognise and include the informal sector.

    But the overarching law regulating street vending in Ghana is the Local Governance Act. It authorises local government bodies (city authorities) to pass by-laws that forbid street vending. This is in conflict with the national policy.

    The gaps

    Our study revealed that in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area, the authorities seem to want to help street vendors in some ways – to strengthen the capacity of informal economic actors. But they don’t make plans or take actions to do so in the medium term development plan. Local government authorities sometimes evict street vendors from the central business district.

    In Kumasi, urban policy, regulations and local development planning do not include street vending in the urban development process even though vendors are the largest group of business people in the city. Instead of building stalls and facilities to accommodate these economic operators, the authorities rather expropriate urban space from them to develop modern structures which are expensive for street vendors to occupy.

    There is conflict over the use of urban public spaces. City authorities view the activities of street vendors as illegal, while the vendors see them as legitimate sources of livelihood. Authorities control vending through eviction and relocation.

    In recent years, city authorities have adopted urban infrastructural planning and development as a strategy to remove street vendors. Take the case of the new Kejetia Market Redevelopment Project, which replaced the largest traditional market in west Africa with a modern urban market structure in Kumasi. Over 10,000 street vendors and 4,000 market traders were displaced.

    The neglect of street vending in the design means vendors will have to earn a living informally – which simply adds to the “problem” as the city sees it.

    What next?

    Policies and practices that try to exclude people are not a solution to the problems of street vending. They are often counter productive. Regulating street vending requires inclusive policy measures and a clear policy direction to manage these activities. At present, Ghana, like many other African countries, lacks effective planning strategies to manage the activities of street vending.

    Our recommendations include:

    • coherent and inclusive policies that recognise the socioeconomic value of street vending and give vendors a rightful place in cities

    • reforming urban governance to support the informal economy

    • coherent and precise policies that give street vendors more security.

    The current policy vacuum fuels repressive regulation and excludes street vendors from urban development processes.

    To develop effective policy models, it is critical to learn from the experiences of street vendors and involve them in urban development processes. This starts with a change of attitude among city authorities.

    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. Ghana’s urban strategies neglect the needs of street vendors: policy must catch up with reality – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-urban-strategies-neglect-the-needs-of-street-vendors-policy-must-catch-up-with-reality-248020

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sustainable economic growth in South Africa will come from renewables, not coal: what our model shows

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Andrew Phiri, Associate Professor of Economics, Nelson Mandela University

    Coal fired power stations produce 85% of South Africa’s electricity, making the country the biggest producer of harmful greenhouse-gas emissions in Africa. To move away from coal and meet its commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, South Africa needs to dramatically increase production of renewable energy. New research by economics associate professor Andrew Phiri looked at the relationship between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and GDP growth in South Africa to find out which energy source is most compatible with economic development.

    Non-renewables, renewables and economic growth: what’s there to know?

    We set out to discover whether renewable energy in South Africa, such as wind or solar power, supports sustainable economic growth. We also wanted to find out if renewables can replace non-renewable energy as a source and enabler of economic growth.

    Together with student Tsepiso Sesoai, I did research comparing the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy on economic growth in South Africa.

    South Africa currently faces a dual challenge when it comes to energy. It is heavily dependent on non-renewable energy (coal), which also worsens global warming and speeds up climate change. But it desperately needs to grow the economy at a faster rate, given very high unemployment, poverty and inequality.

    It’s therefore important to find out whether South Africa would be able to make a smooth transition from non-renewable energy to cleaner energy, and grow the economy at the same time.

    Past studies have looked into the role of energy in South Africa’s economic growth, but their methods have provided only limited information about whether South Africa can make a smooth transition from dirty to clean energy.



    Read more:
    African economic expansion need not threaten global carbon targets: study points out the path to green growth

    To get a deeper understanding, we conducted a modelling exercise. We used an analytical tool called “continuous complex wavelets” to see how renewable and non-renewable energy influences growth over time.

    Our model shows that an increased supply and higher consumption of non-renewable energy causes long-term economic growth over 10-15 year cycles. Renewables, at best, have short-term growth effects over six months to one year.

    After 2000, there was a very sharp increase of almost 25% in the use of renewable energy throughout the decade. According to our model, this sharp increase was enough to have an impact on economic growth over the short term but not over the long term.

    This is because South African energy regulators have not adopted strong enough measures for renewable energy to enable long-term growth. They have not funded the mass rollout of renewable energy, or connected renewables to the national grid. We found that renewables can only sustain growth over six to 12 month cycles whereas policymakers work towards longer cycles such as the 2030 and 2050 sustainable development goals.

    Economic growth and coal consumption: what did you find?

    In 2003, the government started taking climate change seriously with the release of the White Paper on Renewable Energy. The government started intentionally trying to increase the use of renewable energy while decreasing the use of dirty energy, such as coal. Before this, South Africa’s economic growth was heavily driven by coal consumption.

    Renewable energy saw its biggest surge after the 2010 launch of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. This opened competitive bidding for renewable energy providers to supply electricity to the grid.

    The transition to renewable energy had begun. But coal-fired power, while declining, remained the main source of electricity.

    In 2019 carbon taxes were formally introduced. This resulted in a further slowdown in consumption of non-renewable energy. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 coincided with severe power cuts. These two events combined caused a general slowdown in non-renewable and renewable energy use, and in economic growth.

    At this point, the drop in coal consumption was actively dragging down the economy. This in turn reduced society’s income, as measured by the gross national product. And because incomes were constrained, fewer private households purchased renewable energy systems. People didn’t spend on solar panels.

    What do your findings mean?

    Our research suggests that relying on non-renewable energy, like coal, won’t lead to long-term growth for South Africa. This is because non-renewables are not a reliable source of energy, as shown by loadshedding.

    Our research further suggests that renewable energy policies, subsidies and programmes made some positive short-term impacts on economic growth, measured as gross domestic product.

    Overall, our findings highlight that policymakers have treated renewables as a “nice-to-have” gesture for humanity, instead of a key driver of long-term economic growth.

    This has led to weak policies, poor regulation, and under-investment in renewable energy. These have held the sector back from making a bigger contribution to economic growth.



    Read more:
    Africa doesn’t have a choice between economic growth and protecting the environment: how they can go hand in hand

    For example, the government has not taken renewables seriously enough to include them in the power grid. This has largely limited the use of renewable energy to private homes and businesses. Coal-fired electricity from the country’s power utility, Eskom, is still cheaper for households than leaving the grid and purchasing their own renewable energy infrastructure (solar energy systems). The government has not funded the infrastructure needed to unlock South Africa’s vast renewable energy potential.

    The planet is at a critical state with global warming. The government should urgently set up policies and actions to overcome the barriers to using renewable energy. Only then will renewable energy have a permanent, positive influence on economic growth.

    South Africa has huge potential in renewables like solar, wind and biomass, thanks to its diverse geography. Yet, when people think about moving away from coal, they worry about job losses in the coal industry. But historically, energy transitions have never been instant. African countries that embraced the change early on reaped the benefits. They became more industrialised and prosperous.

    The South African government must act now if it wants to use renewable energy to drive future economic growth and stay ahead in the global shift to clean energy. Climate change affects us deeply. But it also presents a chance for Africa to leap ahead technologically.

    Andrew Phiri 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. Sustainable economic growth in South Africa will come from renewables, not coal: what our model shows – https://theconversation.com/sustainable-economic-growth-in-south-africa-will-come-from-renewables-not-coal-what-our-model-shows-239339

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: LA flash flood watch: Rain on wildfire burn scars can trigger destructive debris flows − a geologist explains how

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jen Pierce, Professor of Geosciences, Boise State University

    A debris flow channel in a severely burned watershed in Idaho. Amirhossein Montazeri/Boise State University, CC BY-ND

    As the Los Angeles area begins cleaning up from devastating wildfires, city officials and emergency managers are worried about what could come next. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the region for Feb. 13, 2025, when the heaviest rain from an atmospheric river is forecast.

    Rain on burned hillslopes can trigger dangerous floods and debris flows. Those debris flows can move with the speed of a freight train, picking up or destroying anything in their path. They can move tons of sediment during a single storm, as Montecito, just up the coast from Los Angeles, saw in 2018.

    What causes debris flows, sometimes called mudflows, and why are they so common and dangerous after a fire? I am a geologist whose research focuses on pyrogeomorphology, which is how fire affects the land. Here’s what we know.

    How debris flows begin

    When severe fires burn hillslopes, the high heat from the fires, sometimes exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 degrees Celsius), completely destroys trees, shrubs, grass and structures, leaving behind a moonscape of gray ash. Not only that, the heat of the fire actually burns and damages the soil, creating a water-repellent, or hydrophobic, layer.

    What once was a vegetated hillslope, with leaves and trees to intercept rain and spongy soils to absorb water, is transformed into a barren landscape covered with ash, and burned soil where water cannot soak in.

    Illustrations show how fire can change the soil and landscape.
    National Weather Service

    When rain does fall on a burned area like this, water mixes with the ash, rocks and sediment to form a slurry. This slurry of debris then pours downhill in small gullies called rills, which then converge to form bigger and bigger rills, creating a torrent of sediment, water and debris rushing downhill. All this debris and water can transform small streams and usually dry gullies into a danger zone.

    Because the concentration of sediment is so high, especially when there is a large amount of ash and clay, debris flows behave more like a slurry of wet cement than a normal stream. This fluid can pick up and move large boulders, cars, trees and other debris rapidly downhill.

    A firefighter walks through knee-deep mud while checking for victims after a debris flow hit Montecito, Calif., in January 2018.
    Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    In January 2018, a few weeks after the Thomas fire burned through the hills above Montecito, a storm triggered debris flows that killed 23 people and damaged at least 400 homes.

    What controls size and timing of debris flows

    The geography of the land, burn severity, storm intensity and soil characteristics all play important roles in if, when and where debris flows occur.

    Fire and debris flow scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey use these variables to create models to predict the likelihood and possible hazards from postfire debris flows. They are already developing maps to help residents, emergency managers and city officials prepare and predict postfire debris flows in 2025 burn areas in Los Angeles.

    The U.S. Geological Survey modeled debris flow risks after the Palisades Fire near Los Angeles. The map shows some of the highest-risk areas if hit by 15 minutes of rain falling at just under 1 inch (24 millimeters) per hour.
    USGS

    Some of the triggers of debris flows are literally part of the landscape.

    For example, the slope angle in a watershed and the amount of clay in the soil are important. Watersheds with gentle slopes – generally less than about 23 degrees – and a lack of clay and silt-sized particles are unlikely to produce debris flows.

    Other key factors that contribute to postfire debris flows relate to the proportion of the watershed that is severely burned and the intensity and duration of the rainstorm event.

    Early important research in the field of pyrogeomorphology demonstrated that while large, intense storms are more likely to cause large, intense debris flows, even small rainstorms can produce debris flows in burned areas.

    Debris flows are becoming more common

    A whopping 21.8 million Americans live within 3 miles of where a fire burned during the past two decades, and that population more than doubled from 2000 to 2019. A recent study from central and northern California indicates that nearly all the observed increases in area burned by wildfires in recent decades are due to human-caused climate change.

    The warming climate is also increasing the likelihood of more extreme downpours. The amount of moisture the atmosphere can hold increases by about 7% per degree Celsius of warming, leading to more intense downpours, particularly from ocean storms. In California, scientists project increases in rainfall intensity of 18% will result in an overall 110% increase in the probability of major debris flows.

    Jon Frye, of Santa Barbara Public Works, shows what happened in the January 2018 Montecito debris flow and why the risks to downslope communities would continue for several years. Source: County of Santa Barbara, 2018.

    Studies using models of fire, climate and erosion rates estimate that the amount of sediment flowing downhill after fires will increase by more than 10% in nine out of every 10 watersheds in the western U.S.

    Even without rain, debris on fire-damaged slopes can be unstable. A small slide in Pacific Palisades shortly after a fire burned through the area split a home in two. A phenomenon called “dry ravel” is a dominant form of hillslope erosion following wildfires in chaparral environments in Southern California

    Preparing for debris flow risks

    Research on charcoal pieces from ancient debris flows has shown fires and erosion have shaped Earth’s landscape for at least thousands of years. However, the rising risk of wildfires near populated areas and the potential for increasingly intense downpours mean a greater risk of damaging and potentially deadly debris flows.

    As their populations expand, community planners need to be aware of those risks and prepare.

    This article, originally published Jan. 23, 2025, has been updated with a flash flood watch issued.

    Jen Pierce receives funding from the National Science Foundation and is the chair of the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology division of the Geological Society of America.

    – ref. LA flash flood watch: Rain on wildfire burn scars can trigger destructive debris flows − a geologist explains how – https://theconversation.com/la-flash-flood-watch-rain-on-wildfire-burn-scars-can-trigger-destructive-debris-flows-a-geologist-explains-how-247770

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We interviewed hundreds of Israelis and Gazans – here’s why we fear for the ceasefire

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nils Mallock, PhD Candidate, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

    As the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas enters its fourth week, attention is now focusing on its more difficult second phase. And already the prospects of this proceeding as originally planned are looking extremely fragile.

    Hamas said it will delay the release of more Israeli hostages, arguing that Israel has breached the ceasefire conditions. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has responded with the threat that if the hostage exchange doesn’t take place as scheduled then the fighting in Gaza would start again.

    Any agreement can only hold if it is supported by ordinary people, and if it reflects their perspectives – something easily overlooked in the public debate and foreign policy engagement.

    We conducted large representative surveys in Israel and Gaza in early January, days before the ceasefire was announced. This consisted of interview with over 1,400 respondents in a demographically matched online panel of the Jewish Israeli population, and as part of an in-person survey in Gaza. Respondents were matched by age, occupation, gender, education and religious group.

    Our findings have not been peer reviewed yet, but a preliminary report is available at the Open Science Foundation repository.

    Our data shows why 16 months of extreme violence and suffering have created psychological barriers to peace. They also suggest ways to achieve a more positive future.

    The immediate findings are sobering. In Israel, opposition to a two-state solution remains at an all-time high, with 62% of participants rejecting the idea – up from 46% before October 7.

    Nearly half of Israelis we spoke to were against living side by side, and one in five dismissed even the possibility of personal contact with Palestinians.

    In Gaza, the prospects of living side by side with Israelis are equally deemed unrealistic. Less than 31% of respondents supported any interpersonal contact. And less than half saw the formation of two states as an option to end the conflict.

    Contrary to one popular belief, direct exposure to the war does not by itself explain these increased hostilities. The attacks by Hamas on and since October 7 have left profound scars and reopened historical trauma for many, as have Israel’s relentless military attacks throughout Gaza.

    But according to our data, having immediate family members affected by the war or experiencing displacement was not associated with more extreme attitudes. For all the aggression taking place so far, the psychological blast radius is bigger than the physical one.

    Love and hate

    The key roadblock to peace may lie in each side’s understanding of why the other engages in violence. We asked Israelis and Palestinians why people from their group supported violence during the war, and why people from the other side supported violence. We found a profound asymmetry in both populations.

    Palestinians and Israelis said that attacks from their side were more motivated by what psychologists call “ingroup love” (care and concern for their own people) than by “outgroup hate” (passionate dislike of the other side). Yet both Israelis and Palestinians thought that the other side’s violence was more motivated by hatred.

    Why is this important? Social psychological studies demonstrate that the belief that we are hated by another group decreases our desire and optimism for diplomatic solutions, instead leading to an inclination to either separate from or destroy the other. Indeed, surveys conducted in September 2024 by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that most Israelis and Palestinians believed that the other side intended to commit genocide.

    Our data now shows that the more Israelis believed that Gazans were more motivated by outgroup hate than ingroup love, the more likely they were to believe that the October 7 attacks indicated genocidal intent.

    On both sides, it was this belief that the other was motivated by hate that explains the strengthened desire for social separation and blocking acceptance of reconciliation proposals. Nobody wants to interact with a group they think is predominantly hate driven.

    This is bad news for those attempting to implement and expand the ceasefire against these challenges. Perceived outgroup hate weakens their ability to recruit popular support for peace and strengthens the hand of spoilers.

    Bridging the divides

    Not all indicators are worsening, however. Snapshots of public opinion do not capture the way views can change. Compared to six months ago, more Israelis now favour diplomatic efforts over continued military action to resolve the crisis. And if the new hostage release deal holds firm, this trend may continue.

    Our research suggests that there is a hardened radical group making up about 20% in both populations who appear to resist any compromise on their moral and political beliefs. But most populations show fluctuating attitudes over time and in response to changing conditions. As violence becomes less salient, views may shift.

    Nevertheless, we should not ignore each side’s misperception of the motives of the other, but instead try to correct them. Research shows that correcting misperceptions of norms can be difficult, but when successful can change attitudes and behaviour.

    The risk now lies in a too narrow focus among current decision-makers – a delegitimised and fragmented Palestinian leadership, an infighting Israeli government, and a transaction-minded administration in Washington – seeking to secure political deals that deliver results on paper.

    For the ceasefire to endure, the policy focus will need to shift to bridging a deeper psychological divide.

    Jeremy Ginges receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

    Nils Mallock 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. We interviewed hundreds of Israelis and Gazans – here’s why we fear for the ceasefire – https://theconversation.com/we-interviewed-hundreds-of-israelis-and-gazans-heres-why-we-fear-for-the-ceasefire-249522

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Government-Coalition deal secures sweeping new regime for political donations and spending

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The Albanese government has secured bipartisan support for a major new regime covering political donations and spending, after making significant concessions.

    The government agreed to increase the proposed threshold above which donations must be disclosed from $1000 to $5000. The present disclosure threshold is $16,900.

    In addition, it has boosted the cap on individual donations to a candidate or party from the earlier proposed $20,000 to $50,000.

    The deal was sealed on Wednesday when Special Minister of State Don Farrell had separate meetings on the final package with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton.

    The legislation had been expected to pass late last year but negotiations between the government and opposition stalled at the final moment.

    The government concessions were to accommodate not just the Coalition but also to respond to a degree to criticism from crossbenchers and some stakeholders outside parliament.

    The government needed to get opposition backing to ensure the legislation’s passage before parliament rises this week. If the PM called an April election this would be the last parliamentary sitting.

    Also, it wanted to pass the measures with the support of the alternative government so the new regime would not be undone in the future.

    The reforms are the most comprehensive changes to the electoral system in four decades. The government says they will stop big money coming to dominate politics. But they have been under attack from teal MPs and other critics, including Simon Holmes à Court from Climate 200, which has funded community independents. The critics say they favour the major parties and disadvantage new and small players.

    The new regime will not come into operation until the next parliamentary term and so does not affect this election.

    The changes include disclosure of donations in real time or near-real time, and a series of caps on spending, The cap on each candidate in an electorate would be $800,000, while a party’s national spending would also be capped. At the moment there are no spending caps.

    The legislation increases public funding for elections from under $3.50 per vote to about $5.

    Farrell has not proceeded with a separate measure on truth in advertising, saying there was not enough support for it.

    The Greens described the deal as “a fix”. “Labor and the Coalition are agreeing on rigging the system to lock out their competitors.”

    Independent Zoe Daniel, a teal, said the legislation “entrenches the dominance of the major parties and locks out independents and new competitors”.

    She said it imposed “strict campaign spending caps on Independents while
    allowing major parties to exploit loopholes to pour millions into key
    electorates.

    “Under the new rules, all an independent’s campaign materials – posters, ads, or billboards – would count towards the cap, while major party branding on billboards, leaflets and ads would not. This deliberate imbalance ensures that Labor and the Coalition maintain a financial stranglehold over elections,” Daniel said.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Government-Coalition deal secures sweeping new regime for political donations and spending – https://theconversation.com/government-coalition-deal-secures-sweeping-new-regime-for-political-donations-and-spending-249720

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the difference between ageing and frailty? One is inevitable – the other is not

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julee McDonagh, Senior Research Fellow of Frailty Research, University of Wollongong

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    Ageing is a normal part of the life course. It doesn’t matter how many green smoothies you drink, or how many “anti-ageing” skin care products you use, you can’t stop the ageing process.

    But while we’re all getting older, not everyone who ages will necessarily become frail. Ageing and frailty are closely related, but they’re not the same thing.

    Let’s break down the difference between the two.

    What is ageing?

    On a biological level, ageing is the result of the build-up of cellular and molecular damage in the body over time.

    The ageing process causes a gradual decline in physical and mental function, a higher risk of disease, and eventual (and unavoidable) death.

    Still, some people think they can cheat the system, spending millions trying to stay young forever. While we may be able to reduce the appearance of ageing, ultimately there’s no magic pill to increase our longevity.

    Around one in six Australians are over the age of 65 (16% of the total population). Yet as individuals and a society many of us still have a fear of ageing.

    But what is it about ageing we are so afraid of? When it comes down to it, many people are probably less afraid of ageing, and more afraid of becoming frail.

    Ageing is inevitable – but frailty isn’t.
    Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

    What is frailty?

    Frailty is defined as a state of vulnerability characterised by a loss of reserve across multiple parts of the body.

    Frailty is generally characterised by several physical symptoms, such as weakness, slow walking speed, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, and low activity level.

    Lower bone density and osteoporosis (a condition where the bones become weak and brittle) are also associated with frailty, increasing the risk of falls and fractures.

    Notably, someone who is frail is less able to “bounce back” (or recover) after a stressor event compared to someone who is not frail. A stressor event could be, for example, having a fall, getting a urinary infection, or even being admitted to hospital.

    Frailty is more common in older people. But in some cases, frailty can affect younger people too. For example, people with advanced chronic diseases, such as heart failure, can develop frailty much younger.

    Frailty is more common in people who are older.
    Fit Ztudio/Shutterstock

    Frailty is dynamic. While it can get worse over time, in some cases frailty can also be reversed or even prevented through health and lifestyle changes.

    For example, we know physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle can significantly increase a person’s risk of becoming frail. On the flip side, evidence shows doing more exercise can reduce frailty in older adults.

    There are other lifestyle modifications we can make too. And the earlier we make these changes, the better.

    Preventing frailty

    Here are some key things you can do to help prevent frailty:

    1. Get moving

    Exercise more, including resistance training (such as squats and lunges, or grab some stretchy resistance bands). Many of these sorts of exercises can be done at home. YouTube has some great resources.

    You might also consider joining a gym, or asking your GP about seeing an accredited exercise physiologist or physiotherapist. Medicare subsidies may be available for these specialists.

    The physical activity guidelines for older Australians recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days or preferably every day.

    The guidelines also highlight the importance of incorporating different types of activities (such as resistance, balance or flexibility exercises) and reducing the time you spend sitting down.

    2. Stay socially active

    Social isolation and loneliness can contribute to the progression of frailty. Reach out to friends and family for support or contact local community groups that you may be able to join. This might include your local Zumba class or bridge club.

    3. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to regularly check your medications

    “Polypharmacy” (when someone is prescribed five or more medications) is associated with an increased risk of frailty. The presence of frailty can also interfere with how the body absorbs medicines.

    Home medicine reviews are available for older adults with a chronic medical condition or a complex medication regimen. These reviews aims to help people get the most benefit from their medicines and reduce their risk of experiencing adverse effects.

    Always consult your doctor before making any changes to your current medications.

    4. Eat a protein-rich diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables

    Low nutrient intake can negatively impact physical function and may increase your risk of becoming frail. There’s some evidence to suggest eating more protein may delay the onset of frailty.

    A food-first approach is best when looking to increase the protein in your diet. Protein is found in foods such as lean meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, legumes and nuts.

    Adults over 50 should aim to eat 64 grams of protein per day for men and 46g per day for women. Adults over 70 should aim for 81g per day for men and 57g per day for women.

    Ask your GP for a referral to a dietitian who can provide advice on a dietary regime that is best for you.

    Supplements may be recommended if you are struggling to meet your protein needs from diet alone.

    Dr Julee McDonagh receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the NSW Office of Health and Medical Research. She is also a member of the executive committee of the Cardiovascular Nursing Council of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Emerging Leaders Committee of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance.

    Professor Caleb Ferguson receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, Heart Foundation (Australia) and Stroke Foundation (Australia). He is a Board Director of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and Chair of the Cardiovascular Nursing Council. He is Associate Editor for European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing and Heart Lung and Circulation. He was a co-author of the Australian Heart Foundation & Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand clinical guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation. He is co-leads the Western Sydney Clinical Frailty Registry, a clinical quality registry of older adults.

    – ref. What’s the difference between ageing and frailty? One is inevitable – the other is not – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-ageing-and-frailty-one-is-inevitable-the-other-is-not-247450

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Politics with Michelle Grattan: David Littleproud on US tariffs, a government-owned Rex, and the Nationals’ identity

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    With the election only months away, the Labor government finds itself suddenly battling with the Trump administration for an exemption from new US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

    The opposition has supported the effort, but it also claims a Coalition government would be better place to deal with Donald Trump.

    Joining us on this podcast, Nationals leader David Littleproud says if Labor fails to get an exemption on the tariffs, a Dutton government would try again:

    Of course we will and I think that the relationship that Peter Dutton had and still has in Washington will play very much towards that. In fact, I was in Washington with Peter in July last year and so he can walk the halls of Washington with authority and confidence. And I think it’s important that we want this solved and it doesn’t matter who’s in power. This is team Australia, and we’ve got to have a bipartisan approach and I think Pete has shown that leadership.

    On net zero, while Littleproud firmly backs the target as in Australai’s national interest, he also says if the world walked away from it, so would we.

    What everyone’s trying to do is protect regional Australia. But, just so everyone appreciates, if we’re not signed up to net zero by 2050, the people are hurt the most are the people in regional Australia, our farmers and our miners, because if we don’t sign up to what the rest of the world has, the world gets to impose on us a border adjustment mechanism. That’s a tariff and that means we get less for what we produce in regional Australia.

    Now if the world changes and walks away from net zero, then we walk away with it. But we’re not the United States, we’re not the biggest economy in the world. You got to understand your place in the world, and you’ve got to understand the unintended consequences.

    The government this week announced it would be willing to take over Rex Airlines if it can’t be sold. Littleproud is sceptical:

    Well, I think we’ve spent over $130 million of Australian taxpayer’s money and don’t have a lot to show for it. I think what we’ve got to also look at is that Rex was a viable regional airline before they had a dalliance into competing with Qantas and Virgin in the golden triangle between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. They couldn’t compete and instead of spending money on that, they should have upgraded their fleet.

    The government has wasted enough time. They should open up conversation with the broader regional aviation sector, which they haven’t done, to find a solution, whether that be one in totality of a purchaser for Rex or whether that be a carve out of players and with policy levers is being pulled, rather than the Australian taxpayer having to cut the check in entirety. So I think we haven’t exhausted all the options.

    On the coming election campaign, Littleproud stresses the closeness between the Nationals and the Liberals, rather than seeking to emphasise a separate Nationals’ pitch.

    Peter and I, I think, have the tightest coalition that we’ve ever had. There’s not a piece of paper between us. We’re literally joined at the hip and our campaigns will complement one another and in fact, they’ll intertwine in many places. I think that’s important that the people of Australia understand that the only coalition that they can trust to form government is the Nationals and Liberals, not Labor, Greens and teals – that that is the only coalition that’ll give them stability, not chaos.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Politics with Michelle Grattan: David Littleproud on US tariffs, a government-owned Rex, and the Nationals’ identity – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-david-littleproud-on-us-tariffs-a-government-owned-rex-and-the-nationals-identity-249708

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A new public statue of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter shows a bright future for Australian monuments

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Critical Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University

    The Conversation, CC BY-SA

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people.

    Colonial commemorations such as the statues of James Cook or Lachlan Macquarie have become the focus of much contestation, particularly in the annual lead up to January 26.

    As authors of the book Monumental Disruptions: Aboriginal people and colonial commemorations in so-called Australia, we are often contacted by media to respond to whether colonial statues have a place in modern Australia.

    Such statues create controversy because they often honour people who have dubious histories. Journalist Paul Daley has described such statues as “assorted bastards” who have profited from the dispossession and exploitation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

    The problem with many statues is they do not represent a shared history. They either represent colonial figures who have harmed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, or they represent a one-sided perspective that erases the other.

    This year we were asked to respond to a different kind of monument: a statue of music legends Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, newly erected in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in November 2024.

    An inspirational, unifying force

    Archie Roach, a Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung senior Elder, songwriter and storyteller sadly died in 2022 aged only 66. Anthony Albanese described him as a “brilliant talent, a powerful and prolific national truth teller”.

    His partner Ruby Hunter was a Ngarrindjeri woman and pioneering singer-songwriter. She was the first Indigenous woman to be signed to a major record label, and sadly died in 2010.

    Both were members of the Stolen Generations – Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families by Australian government authorities as part of the assimilation policy. They met on the street as homeless teenagers.

    Their award-winning music took them around the world together. They performed alongside musical greats such as Tracy Chapman, Paul Kelly and Bob Dylan.

    They have been described as an inspiration to many, and a unifying force who altered the way white Australia saw itself.

    A statue that sits in conversation with community

    The statue of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter was commissioned by the Yarra City Council in partnership with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and Victorian government.

    The statue was made by local artist Darien Pullen. The surrounding park space was designed by Melbourne-based architect Jefa Greenaway (Wailwan/Kamilaroi) and landscape architect Paul Herzich (Kaurna/Ngarrindjeri).

    Fitzroy’s Atherton Gardens is a culturally significant site that once served as a traditional meeting place. It later became a hub of political activism and resistance for Victoria’s Aboriginal community.

    This monument stands in a place rich with history. It is where Archie and Ruby spent meaningful time with their family, and where Archie was reunited with his biological family.

    Their son, Amos Roach, emphasised the deep cultural significance of the location: “it’s a place of cultural significance because it was a meeting place, it’s an old camp”.

    He also reflected on his personal connection to the park, saying, “I was a parkie baby when I was born … and I still come here”.

    The statue stands at street level, embodying an ongoing presence. They are casual, approachable and engaged, as if in conversation with the community.

    Positioned to invite interaction, the statue forms a dynamic relationship with both the people who pass by and the place it inhabits.

    It is embraced rather than imposed, welcomed and wanted.

    The statue stands at street level, in conversation with the community.
    The Conversation, CC BY-SA

    While these figures are Aboriginal icons, they are also remarkable individuals who made significant contributions to Australia. Their commemoration carries meaning and connection for all.

    Compare it to the Cook statue in Hyde Park on Gadigal Country (Sydney). He is perched high above the observer, arm raised to the heavens in a theatrical “ta-daa”.

    Positioned in a location where the man himself never set foot, the text at the base of the statue? make the historically incorrect allegation that he “DISCOVERED THIS TERRITORY, 1770” – something Cook never personally claimed.

    A shared future

    Rather than erecting monuments to colonial figures who oppressed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, reinforcing a history of injustice and loss, we should instead celebrate a shared vision for the future.

    This vision should be built on recognition, respect and the commemoration of those who have made meaningful contributions to Australia.

    This statue of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter honours two individuals who, despite being shaped by the very colonial histories commemorated by other monuments, have profoundly enriched contemporary Australia through their resilience, talent and contributions.

    Until recently, commemorations of Aboriginal people were largely confined to the realm of prehistory — portraying them as nameless “Natives” in conflict with settlers, as loyal guides and servants, or as tragic figures labelled “the last of their tribe”.

    Like recent statues commemorating Aboriginal figures such as Pastor Sir Doug and Lady Gladys Nicholls, William Cooper, and William “Bill” Ferguson, this statue brings Aboriginal peoples into the present.

    It is a powerful recognition of their enduring impact in shaping this nation – one that calls for acknowledgement, respect and inclusion from us all.

    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 new public statue of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter shows a bright future for Australian monuments – https://theconversation.com/a-new-public-statue-of-archie-roach-and-ruby-hunter-shows-a-bright-future-for-australian-monuments-249484

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australians may soon be able to fly with their pets in a plane’s cabin – but not every pet is suited to it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide

    Masarik/Shutterstock

    In some overseas countries, pets can travel with their owners in a plane’s cabin, in a carrier under a seat.

    In Australia, pets must travel in the luggage hold of aircraft. But this may soon change. Virgin Australia last year announced it would allow small dogs and cats into the cabin from 2025. Now the plan has progressed further. The Australian newspaper this week reported two rows of Virgin aircraft will be designated as “pet friendly” on selected flights, although more work is needed before a trial begins.

    Only small dogs or cats would be allowed in the cabin. They would have to be contained in a carrier and placed under the seat in front of their owner. The combined weight of pet and carrier must be no more than 8 kilograms.

    Australians love their pets, and increasingly holiday with them. But the “pets on planes” policy is not without challenges. So how can the experience be made as smooth as possible for pets, pet owners and other passengers?

    Many Australians want to take their pets onto the plane cabin with them.
    Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock

    What are the potential negatives for pets?

    Research shows pets kept in the luggage or cargo areas of planes face risks. These include being deprived of food and water and being exposed to extreme temperatures. Pet owners may also give their pets sedatives or other drugs to calm them down, which can cause harm.

    Allowing pets to travel in a plane’s cabin, close to their owner, is likely to reduce these risks.

    But the plane’s cabin is still an unfamiliar environment with strange smells, sounds and people. So, some dogs and cats may still find the experience stressful.

    There are ways to minimise this. They include getting pets used to being in containers (a process known as “habituation”) and using positive reinforcement training to encourage pets to remain calm.

    If a dog or cat is already anxious and you want to travel with them, it’s best to consult a vet well before you fly.

    Some dogs and cats may benefit from a sedative or medication that reduces anxiety. This must be done in consultation with your vet, because these drugs may be dangerous for animals with certain health conditions.

    Pets can die on flights

    One study on dogs transported by air into the United States (many of which travelled in the cabin as “hand luggage”) found that every year, some pets die.

    Media outlets have reported several instances of pets that died while travelling in the cargo hold or while left on the tarmac before their flight.

    One risk factor occurs when the pet is a “brachycephalic” breed. These are dogs or cats with flat and shortened noses, such as pugs and the Boston terrier.

    These animals have abnormal airways, meaning they are at higher risk of hyperthermia if the temperature is high, and can also have breathing difficulties.

    Not all pets are suited to air travel.
    Regina Erofeeva/Shutterstock

    What should pet owners do before flying?

    Should the “pets on planes” policy at Virgin Australia come to pass, it’s still not clear how exactly practicalities such as offering food, water or managing toileting will work. The airline is yet to release these details.

    It’s possible you would need to “fast” your pet before arriving at the airport – in other words, refrain from feeding them for a period of time, to reduce the chance they will vomit or need to defecate.

    Melbourne and Sydney airports have reportedly upgraded their “pet relief” facilities – essentially pet toilets – to cope with increased future demand.

    Guide and assistance dogs that currently use these facilities will always have priority. These dogs are trained to toilet on cue, making it much easier to travel with them.

    If you and your pet would like to be frequent flyers, consider getting this type of training.

    If your pet gets anxious, consult a vet well before you fly.
    MarinaTr/Shutterstock

    What about other passengers?

    Virgin Australia is still consulting doctors and vets on their policy, including about risks to passengers with dog or cat allergies.

    Clearly, the allergy risk to humans must be well managed – especially when in the air, isolated from medical services.

    Air is filtered more frequently in plane cabins than in homes. However, even very low levels of an allergen can trigger severe reactions such as anaphylaxis or asthma attacks in some people. Also, pet dander (from shed skin cells) can remain on seats long after a pet has gone.

    What’s more, some people may be frightened of, or have a phobia relating to dogs or cats. Phobia to dogs may be linked to a direct traumatic event. People with serious phobias may not be able to enter a plane if they need to walk past a dog or cat. So, placement of the pets in cabins will need to be carefully considered.

    Pets are part of human lives and will likely be integrated more into transport in future, including planes. Careful planning will allow us to maximise the benefits for all: people travelling with and without pets, and the animals themselves.

    Susan Hazel is affiliated with the Dog & Cat Management Board of South Australia and the RSPCA South Australia.

    – ref. Australians may soon be able to fly with their pets in a plane’s cabin – but not every pet is suited to it – https://theconversation.com/australians-may-soon-be-able-to-fly-with-their-pets-in-a-planes-cabin-but-not-every-pet-is-suited-to-it-249689

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Is Elon Musk taking over the US government? Here’s how ‘state capture’ works – and why we should be concerned

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Griffith University

    Many Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent weeks. Backed by President Donald Trump, and supported by a small team of true believers, he has successfully laid siege to America’s vast federal bureaucracy.

    On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order giving Musk even more power. It requires federal agencies to cooperate with his “Department of Government Efficiency” (known as DOGE) in cutting their staffing levels and restricting new hires.

    In his first comments to the media since joining the Trump administration as a “special” government employee, Musk also responded to criticism that he’s launching a “hostile takeover” of the US government.

    The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what people are going to get.

    Are Musk’s actions akin to a “hostile takeover” of government, or a coup? I argue it’s more a form of “state capture”. Here’s what that means.

    Why it’s not a coup or self-coup

    Under the pretence of maximising government efficiency and productivity, DOGE has amassed quite a bit of power. It has:

    Musk’s blitzkrieg across Washington – carried out in apparent violation of numerous federal laws – has not only stirred confusion, but defied explanation.

    A popular argument, supported by some historians and commentators, is that Musk’s actions amount to a coup. They argue this is not a coup in the classic sense of a takeover of the physical centres of power. Rather, it’s a seizure of digital infrastructure by an unelected group seeking to undo democratic practices and violate human rights.

    This term, however, is not technically correct. The most widely accepted definition of a coup is:

    an overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting head of state using unconstitutional means.

    Since Musk and Trump are bedfellows in this plot, the tech billionaire is clearly not trying to violently unseat the president.

    Another possible explanation: this is a self-coup. This describes a situation in which

    the sitting national leader takes decisive illegitimate action against countervailing institutions and elites to perpetuate the incumbent’s power.

    In December, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted a self-coup when he declared martial law in order to ostensibly protect the country from opposition forces. He quickly reversed his decision amid elite defections and mass public demonstrations.

    Though self-coups are becoming more common, Musk is doing the dirty work in the US – not Trump. Also, Musk’s chief target – the bureaucracy – does not nominally offset presidential power (except in conspiracy theories).

    What is ‘state capture’?

    More accurately, Musk’s siege amounts to a form of “state capture”. This refers to:

    the appropriation of state resources by political actors for their own ends: either private or political.

    By this logic, Musk’s aim could be to capture different pieces of the US government and turn the state into a tool for wealth extraction.

    State capture is a relatively simple but extremely destructive process. This is how it has played out in countries like Indonesia, Hungary, Nigeria, Russia, Sri Lanka and South Africa (Musk’s birthplace):

    First, political and corporate elites gain control of formal institutions, information systems and bureaucratic policy-making processes.

    Then, they use this power to apply rules selectively, make biased decisions and allocate resources based on private interests (rather than the public good).

    In captured states, strongman leaders often use economic policy and regulatory decisions to reward their political friends. For instance, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former South African President Jacob Zuma have helped their allies by:

    • making government anti-trust decisions
    • issuing permits and licenses
    • awarding government contracts and concessions
    • waiving regulations or tariffs
    • conferring tax exempt status.

    State capture is fundamentally a predatory process.

    By taking over how the American government does business, Musk could be seeking to enrich a small but powerful network of allies.

    The first beneficiary would be Trump, who is no stranger to using his office to expand his family’s business empire. With a more fully captured state, Trump can take an active role in determining how public wealth is dispersed among corporate and political elites. This decision-making power often goes hand-in-hand with “personalist” regimes, in which everything is a transaction with the leader.

    The second beneficiary would be Musk himself and other Silicon Valley mega-billionaires who have bent a knee to Trump. By positioning their tech companies as the solution to what allegedly ails the federal government, particularly when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence, they stand to secure lucrative contracts handed out by the “new” state.

    The third beneficiary would be the small army of engineers and technicians working with Musk to upend the American government. As loyal foot soldiers, these individuals will be compensated with career advancement, financial gains and networking opportunities, while also enjoying legal impunity. This kind of quid pro quo is how authoritarian regimes work.

    What this could mean for the US

    As Musk continues his assault on the federal bureaucracy, the American people will suffer the consequences.

    The most immediate impact of state capture: worse decisions are made. By purging experienced civil servants, cancelling government contracts and accessing sensitive information systems, Musk’s actions will likely degrade the standard of living at home and endanger American lives abroad.

    State capture also means there would be less accountability for the Trump administration’s public policy decisions. With a lack of congressional and independent oversight, key decisions over the distribution of economic benefits could be made informally behind closed doors.

    Finally, state capture is inseparable from corruption. Doing business with the US federal government could soon require one to pass a loyalty test rather than a public interest test.

    Trump’s enemies will encounter more hurdles, while his allies will have a seat at the table.

    Lee Morgenbesser receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DP220103214). He is also a member of the Australian Labor Party.

    – ref. Is Elon Musk taking over the US government? Here’s how ‘state capture’ works – and why we should be concerned – https://theconversation.com/is-elon-musk-taking-over-the-us-government-heres-how-state-capture-works-and-why-we-should-be-concerned-249471

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Yaz and Yasmin contraceptive pills will be cheaper from March. How are they different from other pills?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University

    Miriam Alonso/Pexels

    The oral contraceptive pills Yaz and Yasmin will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from March 1 2025, meaning Australian women will pay less for them.

    This listing follows advice from the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, which recommended adding these pills to the PBS so women who find other contraceptive pills unsuitable have more options. These contraceptives also help manage acne and some other hormone-related conditions.

    So how do Yaz and Yasmin work? And how much will they cost once they’re on the PBS?

    What makes Yaz and Yasmin different?

    From March, a three-month box of Yaz or Yasmin will cost $31.60 (or $7.70 with a concession card).
    Nial Wheate

    Oral contraceptive pills prevent pregnancy primarily by stopping ovulation – the release of an egg from the ovaries.

    They also thicken mucus in the cervix, making it harder for sperm to reach an egg. And they thin the lining of the uterus, reducing the likelihood of implantation.

    Most combination oral contraceptive pills contain an oestrogen-based hormone (typically ethinylestradiol) and a progestogen hormone.

    Both Yaz and Yasmin contain ethinylestradiol and a synthetic progestogen, called drospirenone. They both contain 3 milligrams of drospirenone.

    They differ from each other in the amount of ethinylestradiol they contain. Yaz has 20 micrograms and Yasmin has 30 micrograms of the hormone. They also differ in the number of active and placebo pills a pack contains. Yaz has 24 active pills and 4 placebo pills while Yasmin has 21 active pills and 7 placebos.

    Both contraceptives are just as effective in preventing pregnancies as other oral contraceptives. The chance of getting pregnant while taking either medication is around 9%.

    In deciding which one is most suitable, a doctor will consider how their patient has responded to hormone treatment in the past and any other hormone-related conditions they have.

    Both Yaz and Yasmin have benefits beyond birth control. Drospirenone is thought to help reduce hormone-related acne and hirsutism (excessive facial hair growth).

    Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that causes intense mood swings, depression, anxiety, and irritability before menstruation. The hormonal stability provided by Yaz, with its short hormone-free interval, can help alleviate PMDD symptoms.

    Things to look out for if taking them

    All combined oral contraceptive pills have common side effects that women may experience, including nausea, vomiting, break-through bleeding, absent or missed periods, headaches, irritability and breast tenderness.

    There are some additional risks for the Yaz and Yasmin products. The drospirenone in the contraceptives has been associated with a slightly higher risk of blood clots when compared with other progestogens. The risk is low but may be higher in women who smoke, are over 35, or have other risk factors for clots.

    All contraceptive pills can cause side effects such as nausea, headaches and irritability.
    Mart Production/Pexels

    Drospirenone can also cause a build up of potassium in the blood. This is a particular risk for women with kidney problems, and for those who also take diuretics or blood pressure medications, which can also raise potassium levels.

    Elevated potassium can cause symptoms such as muscle weakness, fatigue, dizziness and an irregular heart rhythm.

    What’s changing? How much will they cost?

    These approvals are the first contraceptive pills to be added to the PBS in 30 years and are part of a larger package of women’s health measures the government announced on the weekend.

    The government will also provide incentives for doctors and nurses to bulk bill services for implanting long-term contraceptives such as IUDs (intrauterine devices).

    Currently, pharmacies advertise three-months’ supply of Yaz and Yasmin for around A$79 dollars ($316 per year).

    Come March, the price women will pay will drop to $31.60 per box, or $126.40 per year. Concession card holders will pay $7.70 per box, or $30.80 per year.

    But the price of Yaz and Yasmin will still be higher than other combined oral contraceptives (containing the hormones levonorgestrel and ethinylestradiol) on the PBS, which start at $22 for a four-month supply or $66 per year.

    How can you switch?

    If you are considering Yaz or Yasmin, speak to your doctor. They will take your medical history and discuss your lifestyle and any other specific health needs.

    They will also explain the potential side effects to watch out for and any precautions you may need to take.

    If you proceed, your doctor will outline a process for transitioning to the new medication, including timing and where to start in the pill sequence.



    Read more:
    What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder? And how is it different to PMS?

    Nial Wheate in the past has received funding from the ACT Cancer Council, Tenovus Scotland, Medical Research Scotland, Scottish Crucible, and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, a member of the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nial is the chief scientific officer of Vaihea Skincare LLC, a director of SetDose Pty Ltd (a medical device company) and was previously a Standards Australia panel member for sunscreen agents. Nial regularly consults to industry on issues to do with medicine risk assessments, manufacturing, design, and testing.

    Shoohb Alassadi 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. Yaz and Yasmin contraceptive pills will be cheaper from March. How are they different from other pills? – https://theconversation.com/yaz-and-yasmin-contraceptive-pills-will-be-cheaper-from-march-how-are-they-different-from-other-pills-249480

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: There’s a new push to teach Australian students about civics. Here are 6 ways to do it well

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murray Print, Professor of Education, University of Sydney

    A federal parliamentary inquiry has just recommended civics and citizenship become a compulsory part of the Australian Curriculum, which covers the first year of school to Year 10.

    The committee also recommended a mandatory civics and citizenship course for all Year 11 and 12 students to prepare them to vote.

    This comes amid growing concern about misinformation on social media, as well as increasing antisemitism and declining social cohesion.

    This is not the first time there have been calls to improve the quality of civics education in Australia – such calls have been made as far back as 1994.

    As a researcher in political education, I argue we need to make sure civics education is relevant, engaging and given adequate space in the curriculum.

    What is civics?

    At the moment, civics and citizenship is included in the national Australian Curriculum. But it is not mandatory and many states only make passing reference to it in primary school. Some states provide more opportunities in high school.

    The topics covered include how governments and democracy work, how laws work, the rights of individuals, diversity and national identity, and how to critically evaluate different sources of information.

    Every three years since 2004, a national sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students are assessed on their civics knowledge, skills and attitudes through a national test.

    In the most recent results from 2019, 53% of Year 6 students were at or above the national proficient standard for civics, while only 38% of Year 10 students were at or above the standard. Year 10 students’ results have shown a substantial decline since 2004.

    This suggests many young people are leaving school without the knowledge, skills and values to sustain our democracy.

    Both Australian and international studies have repeatedly shown civics and citizenship education makes a positive difference to young people’s political participation (including the likelihood they will vote), understanding of democracy and support for democratic values.

    What does good civics education look like?

    1. Make sure it has its own subject

    At the moment, civics education might be included as part of students’ work in history or other humanities subjects. But research shows it should be taught as a separate subject, otherwise it can get lost among other material.

    2. Don’t forget senior students

    It should also be taught at relevant points in students’ lives.

    While Year 11 and 12 are times when students get to pick most of their subjects for major exams, it is important they also study how the electoral system works. Many will vote in elections before they even leave school.

    3. Make it relevant to young people

    As important as they are, some aspects of civics – such as lawmaking or how parliament works – may seem dry to young people.

    Research shows teachers need to make the content engaging. This means students are shown how lessons relate to the real world.

    For example, a lesson on how parliament works could focus on the passage of contentious legislation such as banning social media for young people. Or lessons on misinformation could look at how social media had an impact on a particular issue or election.

    4. Have class discussions

    Research also shows students need to learn civics knowledge, skills and values in various ways, including role play, problem-solving, simulations and direct instruction.

    Students should be encouraged to ask questions in an open classroom environment. Class discussions are important for controversial issues so both sides of issues can be discussed in a supervised environment.

    5. Have school elections

    My research has found school elections (for school captains or a student council) can engage students in democratic processes. This way, they see first-hand how elections work and how voting can have an impact on their lives.

    6. Train teachers in law and government

    It is also important for teachers to have specific training in law, government or politics. Research shows teachers with these backgrounds have a greater impact on students’ civic knowledge – students come away knowing more. Similarly, teachers with these backgrounds achieve better results with students’ civic media literacy – or ability to handle misinformation and “outrage” online.

    This means existing teachers need to have professional opportunities to upgrade their civic knowledge and skills.

    Ultimately, it will take well-trained teachers, teaching a compulsory subject, to see Australian students appropriately educated about our democracy and how to participate in it.

    Murray Print receives funding from the Australian Research Council. An ARC grant was conducted in association with the Australian Electoral Commission.

    – ref. There’s a new push to teach Australian students about civics. Here are 6 ways to do it well – https://theconversation.com/theres-a-new-push-to-teach-australian-students-about-civics-here-are-6-ways-to-do-it-well-249584

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: OpenAI’s new ‘deep research’ agent is still just a fallible tool – not a human-level expert

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raffaele F Ciriello, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney

    Jan Antonin Kolar/Unsplash

    OpenAI’s “deep research” is the latest artificial intelligence (AI) tool making waves and promising to do in minutes what would take hours for a human expert to complete.

    Bundled as a feature in ChatGPT Pro and marketed as a research assistant that can match a trained analyst, it autonomously searches the web, compiles sources and delivers structured reports. It even scored 26.6% on Humanity’s Last Exam (HLE), a tough AI benchmark, outperforming many models.

    But deep research doesn’t quite live up to the hype. While it produces polished reports, it also has serious flaws. According to journalists who’ve tried it, deep research can miss key details, struggle with recent information and sometimes invents facts.

    OpenAI flags this when listing the limitations of its tool. The company also says it “can sometimes hallucinate facts in responses or make incorrect inferences, though at a notably lower rate than existing ChatGPT models, according to internal evaluations”.

    It’s no surprise that unreliable data can slip in, since AI models don’t “know” things in the same way humans do.

    The idea of an AI “research analyst” also raises a slew of questions. Can a machine – no matter how powerful – truly replace a trained expert? What would be the implications for knowledge work? And is AI really helping us think better, or just making it easier to stop thinking altogether?

    What is ‘deep research’ and who is it for?

    Marketed towards professionals in finance, science, policy, law and engineering, as well as academics, journalists and business strategists, deep research is the latest “agentic experience” OpenAI has rolled out in ChatGPT. It promises to do the heavy lifting of research in minutes.

    Currently, deep research is only available to ChatGPT Pro users in the United States, at a cost of US$200 per month. OpenAI says it will roll out to Plus, Team and Enterprise users in the coming months, with a more cost-effective version planned for the future.

    Unlike a standard chatbot that provides quick responses, deep research follows a multi-step process to produce a structured report:

    1. The user submits a request. This could be anything from a market analysis to a legal case summary.
    2. The AI clarifies the task. It may ask follow-up questions to refine the research scope.
    3. The agent searches the web. It autonomously browses hundreds of sources, including news articles, research papers and online databases.
    4. It synthesises its findings. The AI extracts key points, organises them into a structured report and cites its sources.
    5. The final report is delivered. Within five to 30 minutes, the user receives a multi-page document – potentially even a PhD-level thesis – summarising the findings.

    At first glance, it sounds like a dream tool for knowledge workers. A closer look reveals significant limitations.

    Many early tests have exposed shortcomings:

    • It lacks context. AI can summarise, but it doesn’t fully understand what’s important.
    • It ignores new developments. It has missed major legal rulings and scientific updates.
    • It makes things up. Like other AI models, it can confidently generate false information.
    • It can’t tell fact from fiction. It doesn’t distinguish authoritative sources from unreliable ones.

    While OpenAI claims its tool rivals human analysts, AI inevitably lacks the judgement, scrutiny and expertise that make good research valuable.

    What AI can’t replace

    ChatGPT isn’t the only AI tool that can scour the web and produce reports with just a few prompts. Notably, a mere 24 hours after OpenAI’s release, Hugging Face released a free, open-source version that nearly matches its performance.

    The biggest risk of deep research and other AI tools marketed for “human-level” research is the illusion that AI can replace human thinking. AI can summarise information, but it can’t question its own assumptions, highlight knowledge gaps, think creatively or understand different perspectives.

    And AI-generated summaries don’t match the depth of a skilled human researcher.

    Any AI agent, no matter how fast, is still just a tool, not a replacement for human intelligence. For knowledge workers, it’s more important than ever to invest in skills that AI can’t replicate: critical thinking, fact-checking, deep expertise and creativity.

    If you do want to use AI research tools, there are ways to do so responsibly. Thoughtful use of AI can enhance research without sacrificing accuracy or depth. You might use AI for efficiency, like summarising documents, but retain human judgement for making decisions.

    Always verify sources, as AI-generated citations can be misleading. Don’t trust conclusions blindly, but apply critical thinking and cross-check information with reputable sources. For high-stakes topics — such as health, justice and democracy — supplement AI findings with expert input.

    Despite prolific marketing that tries to tell us otherwise, generative AI still has plenty of limitations. Humans who can creatively synthesise information, challenge assumptions and think critically will remain in demand – AI can’t replace them just yet.

    Raffaele F Ciriello 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. OpenAI’s new ‘deep research’ agent is still just a fallible tool – not a human-level expert – https://theconversation.com/openais-new-deep-research-agent-is-still-just-a-fallible-tool-not-a-human-level-expert-249496

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –