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  • MIL-OSI Russia: The anniversary season of the project “Your Move” has started

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    The All-Russian student project “Your Move”, which is part of the presidential platform’s line of projects “Russia is a country of opportunity” and is being implemented with the support of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, announced the start of the anniversary fifth season on Russian Students’ Day.

    Students of NSU and other universities of the Novosibirsk region can take part in both traditional and new competition tracks, including team ones, as well as in updated special projects.

    — “Your Move” is one of the main student projects in Russia, and its scale is growing every year. I know that thousands of students across the country are eagerly awaiting the start of the anniversary season. We are launching five competition tracks, including two new team tracks, one of which is created for regional teams of the project. There are other innovations. For example, teachers, employees and vice-rectors of universities and colleges can now take part in the special project “Your Move x Debate”, and in the special project “Your Move x Improvisation” you can choose one of three directions — become a member of a duet, a curator of a university club or a comedy coach. Let’s make the new season bright and memorable together!” — said Alexey Agafonov, First Deputy General Director of the presidential platform “Russia — Land of Opportunities”.

    The fifth season of the project “Your Move” includes five competition tracks, including two new ones – “Unite” and “Inspire”:

    ● The “I Do” track is aimed at identifying leadership positions among students whose projects involve others in changes in the country. Based on the results of the track, 100 projects will be identified, the leaders of which will receive a prize of 1,000,000 rubles, which can be used to pay for tuition at Russian educational institutions, improve living conditions, or develop their own project.

    ● The “Otkryvayu” (formerly “Pioneer”) track will allow first-year students to make a name for themselves, get acquainted with the opportunities of the student community and the ecosystem of youth policy in the country. Based on the results of the competitive tests, the top 200 winners will be determined, who will receive a prize from the project for the next six months of study. The track was launched for the first time last season, more than 35,000 applications were received for participation in it, and this year, for the first time, students of secondary vocational education will be able to take part in it.

    ● The team track “Unite” is intended for students of higher education institutions – members of youth organizations. It is designed to create a unified student community and involve students in social activity.

    ● The “Inspire” track was created for regional teams of the “Your Move” project and is designed to inspire activity, reveal the potential of regional teams and evaluate their contribution to the development of the unified student community “Your Move” throughout Russia.

    ● The “I define” track, which will continue to study the opinions of the Russian student community on current issues in the higher education system.

    — “Tvoy Khod” is not just a project, but a community that unites students from all over the country. The fifth season has become special and significant: we have symbolically launched five competition tracks and special projects that will cover the widest possible range of student initiatives and abilities. It is important for us that students have equal opportunities regardless of the form of education, so you can take part in the competition tracks in the fifth season both individually and in a team, both students of higher and professional educational organizations can make a name for themselves. Our main goal is to support students and their desire to live and create in Russia, so the project has established a scholarship that will help to appreciate their contribution. It is important that “Tvoy Khod” not only strives to help participants reveal their talents, but also forms in young people a sense of belonging to a large society, nurturing a sense of patriotism and responsibility for the future of their country, — noted the head of the All-Russian student project “Tvoy Khod” Yulia Epifanova.

    For the first time in the fifth season, special competition tracks will appear — these are additional competition directions that are organized and held jointly with partners of the project “Your Move” in parallel with the main competition tracks throughout the year. Upon completion of their passage, the winners will receive memorable gifts from partners.

    The project will include the second season of the educational program “Live and Create in Russia” (previously “Voice of a Generation. Students”), aimed at training leaders of the student community, as well as the all-Russian competition of academic group leaders “Your Move, Leader!” In addition, regional clubs will be assembled at universities and on the basis of regional teams for the special projects “Your Move x Debate” and “Your Move x Improvisation”.

    This season, the special project “Your Move x Debate” will be divided into two leagues for the first time – spring and autumn. In addition to the track, in which students of universities and colleges take part, a new category of participants will appear – teachers, employees and vice-rectors of universities and colleges. In the second season of the special project “Your Move x Improvisation”, you can take part in one of three roles: become a participant in the games as a duet, curator of the university improvisation club or take part as a coach in comedy and improvisation.

    In addition, in the fifth season of the project, the career center “Your Move” will begin operating, which will help students develop professional skills and successfully integrate into the labor market.

    You can get detailed information about the competition tracks and project opportunities, as well as apply for participation on the platform “Your Move“.

    In 2024, the NSU team showed a worthy result in all tracks of the “Your Move” project. Three NSU students at once – Rafael Arutyunyan and Ksenia Abysheva, NSU Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, and Lina Gumirova, NSU Faculty of Natural Sciences – became winners of the track for first-year students “Pioneer”. Alina Churkina, a student of the NSU Faculty of Economics, took first place in the “Your Move in Science” conference. Nikita Zelenkov (2nd year, NSU Institute of Intelligent Robotics) entered the top five curators in the country. Yusub Ozmanyan, a master’s student of the NSU Institute of Philosophy and Law, reached the final of the All-Russian competition “Student of the Year”, the results of which were also announced during the “Your Move” forum. In addition, NSU entered the top 10 universities that took part in the competition for the best practices of educational activities “Now Your Move, University!” More details about the results of the university team’s participation in the “Your Move” project read in the material.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Terracotta Warriors welcoming Chinese New Year with extended hours, more tickets

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, home to the renowned Terracotta Warriors located in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, will extend their opening hours and offer more tickets to accommodate the expected surge of visitors during the Spring Festival holiday.

    From Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, the museum will add 90 minutes to its daily schedule, opening from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the daily ticket limit raised by 10,000 to 75,000, according to the museum.

    Other museums in the provincial capital Xi’an, including Shaanxi History Museum and Xi’an Beilin Museum, have also announced extended opening hours during the holiday.

    The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the country’s most important traditional holiday. The festival falls on Jan. 29 this year, with an eight-day public holiday from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4. During the period, tens of millions of people will travel across the country to celebrate with family and explore cultural landmarks.

    Xi’an, a city with over 3,100 years of history, is one of China’s most renowned tourist destinations. As the capital of 13 ancient dynasties, it is home to iconic sites, such as the Terracotta Warriors, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and the Bell Tower.

    By extending hours and increasing ticket availability, the museums aim to make their treasures more accessible, allowing domestic and international visitors to immerse themselves in the ancient capital’s history during this special time of the year.  

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Academy Awards venue in Los Angeles rings in Chinese New Year

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    People in traditional Chinese costumes pose for a group photo during Chinese New Year celebrations in Hollywood’s Ovation Mall, California, the United States, on Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Hollywood’s Ovation Mall and Dolby Theatre, normally home to the Academy Awards, for the first time ushered in the Chinese New Year with a delightful celebration that merged Eastern and Western cultural traditions.

    The celebration, which was held in Los Angeles on Sunday, featured three fashion shows, dancing performances, cultural events, music and a special art gallery show on Shanghai life in the 1930s.

    “Tourists come to LA from all over to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and now Hollywood and Ovation Mall are giving them an even more upscale and luxurious Chinese New Year destination to enjoy,” the event’s program director Evelyn Xu told Xinhua.

    “It was a terrific event,” Rob Martin, a tourist, told Xinhua. “My wife and I stumbled upon it by accident and really enjoyed all the colorful and beautiful fashion shows and the cool Chinese performances.”

    This high-profile event began with a stunning fashion show staged on the iconic Academy steps sweeping down from high above, where icons of cinema walk down after receiving their Academy Awards.

    Twenty gorgeous models floated down the Award steps, revealing the elegant new evening wear line from celebrity fashion designer Kiki Wang.

    “I consider myself an ambassador between Eastern and Western cultures,” Wang told Xinhua. “Fashion and beauty can unite our cultures — in fact, I want to unite the whole world with fashion!”

    Wang’s new “East Meets West” collection was designed entirely in red, with shimmering red silks, satins, gossamer and chiffons, and decorated with exquisite embroidery and brocade in gold, greens and blues.

    A second fashion show showcased the exquisite flowing robes and pastel colors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

    Models perform in a fashion show during Chinese New Year celebrations in the Dolby Theatre, which is part of the Ovation Hollywood complex in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Also featured was the Miss LA Chinatown Qipao Fashion and Beauty Show, reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s, when these stylish and iconic, form-fitting dresses first became popular.

    To prepare for the Chinese New Year celebration, organizers also did rehearsals and selected dresses, models, dancers and songs, with many groups and community members coming together to help this cross-cultural tradition shine in this new venue.

    “Everything on display today from Chinese culture is unique and beautiful and so interesting because it is very different from a traditional American New Year celebration,” Xu told Xinhua. “That’s fun for people looking for something new.”

    “It’s all so elegant and gorgeous!” said actress and spectator Cici Lau, who came all the way from San Gabriel to enjoy the Chinese New Year festivities. “It’s so cultural and a wonderful delight for everyone.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s delivery services at full throttle to meet festival shopping boom

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The file photo shows workers unload e-commerce parcels from a bullet train at Shuangliu West Railway Station in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

    When Wang Lijun returned to his hometown in Hebei for the Spring Festival this year, he didn’t carry the usual load of holiday goods, as his New Year purchases — juicy navel oranges from Jiangxi and wild vegetables from the northeast — had already arrived at his doorstep via express delivery.

    “Returning home for the Spring Festival used to be physically exhausting, but now it’s a breeze,” said the 50-year-old man, who spent eight months constructing cliffside roads deep in the Taihang Mountains.

    Wang’s shipments were just a fraction of the billions of parcels crisscrossing China as people shop for gourmet treats, festive goods and gifts for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 29 this year. With e-commerce now an integral part of daily life, the holiday season has become one of the busiest times for the country’s delivery network.

    At Sanya Phoenix International Airport, a major hub in China’s tropical island province of Hainan, packages of mangoes, dragon fruits and coconuts are flown across the country to eager holiday shoppers.

    “Over 70 percent of the air-shipped parcels are fruits, and during peak times, more than 70 tonnes are dispatched daily,” said Zhao He from the YTO Express branch at the airport. Even in the snow-covered northeastern regions, deliveries can arrive in as little as 24 hours.

    Data from JD.com, a leading e-commerce platform, showed that Chinese consumers are enjoying a greater variety of specialties from across the country for the festival. For instance, the sales of local products from the coastal city of Shanghai have surged by 277 percent year on year in the inland Qinghai Province on the platform.

    Driven by the holiday shopping frenzy, China’s express delivery network has been operating at high capacity since the beginning of this year, according to the State Post Bureau.

    During the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush, which kicked off in mid-January, the daily average of express deliveries handled nationwide exceeded 670 million, a 29 percent jump from the same period in 2024, according to the bureau.

    Festive shopping gained momentum as China tapped into its growing domestic consumption potential, driven by the rise of online retail and the rapid expansion of its delivery network. In 2024, the country’s courier sector handled 174.5 billion parcels, with 974 million Chinese people shopping online by year-end.

    In the distribution center of Yunda Express in Shanghai, the pre-holiday delivery is in full swing. To handle the surge in parcels, the company has activated all of its smart sorting lines in the center, expanded its fleet of vehicles and upgraded the equipment.

    “We are also considering hiring more temporary workers to meet the business demand,” said Yang Shuai, who is in charge of the center.

    Logistics companies may face further challenges as many delivery workers, like all fellow Chinese, are returning to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, leading to a seasonal manpower shortage.

    According to Ye Wenhui, manager of ZTO Express’s Fengxian branch in Shanghai, only 30 percent of the couriers in the branch will stay on their post during the eight-day holiday which starts on Tuesday.

    To boost staffing, couriers will be paid three times their usual pay during the holiday, with bonuses that guarantee daily incomes of 400 to 600 yuan (about 56 to 84 U.S. dollars) for delivering 200 to 300 packages. They’ll also be able to take time off once their colleagues return.

    Ye said that innovative solutions have been put in place to address the staff shortage, such as setting up unattended pickup stations and adding delivery lockers to courier stores.

    Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has further alleviated labor shortages by deploying unmanned delivery vehicles.

    These automated systems would handle the most labor-intensive transportation tasks, allowing on-site workers to focus on sorting and last-mile deliveries. A dedicated operation team has been established to ensure smooth functionality of unmanned vehicles during the holiday period.

    According to a Cainiao delivery manager in east China’s Hangzhou, this year, six unmanned vehicles will handle the transportation work, allowing 60 percent of the staff to enjoy their Spring Festival holiday, significantly higher than about 30 percent in past years.

    Wang Lei, manager of a YTO Express branch in Shanghai’s Xuhui District, said that a decline in delivery volumes is expected in the first three days of the holiday. “But it will surge afterward as people ship local specialties back to the metropolitan cities like Shanghai where they reside and work.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Shawo radish industry fuels rural revitalization in N. China

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, shows the growth of Shawo radishes in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Song Rui)

    Rows of green Shawo radishes are growing well in a technology demonstration base covering an area of around 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares) in the suburb of north China’s Tianjin Municipality.

    It is currently the peak sales season for Shawo radishes, and most of the radishes in the greenhouses at the base are in cold storage, waiting to be distributed nationwide.

    “Via the Internet of Things and sensors in the greenhouses, the amount of watering, the temperature, humidity and light can be managed intelligently, increasing the quality of the radishes. The process of growing the radishes including seed selection, planting and maintenance is recorded in the smart system,” said Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in Tianjin.

    Hao said that the smart planting technology would soon be introduced to more than 10 greenhouses in the area — allowing local farmers to plant in an automated way by using mobile phones.

    The Shawo radish is named after its growth localities in Xiaoshawo Village and Dashawo Village in Xinkou Town, Tianjin’s Xiqing District. Local Shawo radish growing dates back more than 300 years. The soil in these areas is sandy near the surface and sticky deeper down — making radishes grown there both crisp and sweet.

    In 2024, in order to promote the development of the Shawo radish industry, the district government made a plan and cooperated with towns, villages and enterprises to produce a well-known Shawo radish brand.

    “In the past, the radish planting here lacked both scale and standardization. The production facilities were old, while seeds were not standard. The taste of radishes grown by different people was different, which restricted the brand-inheritance potential of the Shawo radish,” Hao said.

    Notably, Guli farm and Dashawo Village have strengthened their cooperation efforts since last year. More than 300 contracted farmers have enjoyed technical training and guidance from experts with Tianjin Academy of Agriculture Sciences. They also did not need to find the sales channels by themselves, but instead sold radishes directly to Guli farm.

    Thanks to this cooperation model, Sun Guoqiang, a 62-year-old living in Dashawo Village, has benefited a lot. “The peak sales season for Shawo radishes is from December to February of the following year. By the end of 2024, all 25,000 kilograms of Shawo radishes in my five greenhouses had been purchased by Guli farm, earning me roughly 100,000 yuan (about 13,638 U.S. dollars),” Sun said.

    The price of the radishes has more than doubled compared with 2023, and Sun plans to expand his planting area this year to make even more money.

    In recent years, marketing activities to promote the Shawo radish brand have been implemented, boosting sales. In addition, a special promotion meeting focused on the Shawo radish was held in Beijing, while many Chinese cities including Changsha, Hangzhou and Guangzhou hosted exhibitions, where visitors could get a closer look at this special radish variety. Online and offline sales channels for this brand have been expanded recently, serving as another boost for the Shawo radish industry.

    “In 2024, we made a lot of efforts to expand the sales chain of Shawo radishes, and enhance their popularity and reputation through brand building and cultural tourism activities,” Hao said.

    This year, the company will cooperate with enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to help farmers sell Shawo radishes to buyers in Hong Kong and Macao, Hao added.

    The Shawo radish industry has had a significant impact on Xinkou Town, boosting rural revitalization there.

    At present, the town has planted Shawo radishes across an area of about 7,000 mu — which is expected to yield an estimated output of around 32.5 million kilograms and an estimated sales value of 250 million yuan.

    According to Zhao Jun, the town’s Party secretary, the town plans to expand the cultivation scale of Shawo radishes and strengthen the development of both deep processing of agricultural products and tourism, adding that they would also try to make the Shawo radish industry a good model of rural revitalization by continuously extending the industry chain and strengthening the Shawo radish brand.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Nasdaq celebrates Chinese Lunar New Year with closing bell

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Nasdaq, a major stock exchange in the world, celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday afternoon by holding a closing bell ceremony in partnership with the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

    Marking the 16th year of celebrating the Spring Festival at Nasdaq, Chen Li, the Chinese consul general in New York, rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York City, one of the most populous cities in the United States.

    “The Spring Festival embodies values of reunion, renewal and resilience, which are essential as we work together to deepen economic ties between China and the United States,” Chen said.

    It is also meaningful to celebrate these values here at the heart of the global commerce center, Chen added.

    “We welcome more investors and friends from the United States and beyond to explore opportunities in China… It is inspiring to see more Chinese enterprises listed on Nasdaq with the blessings of the Year of the Snake. I hope China-U.S. economic ties can be stronger and bring greater benefits to the world,” Chen said.

    “The Lunar New Year has always been a time to express gratitude for our partnerships and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead in 2025,” said Robert H. McCooey, Jr., vice chairman of Nasdaq, at the ceremony.

    “Nasdaq’s commitment to China remains very strong and we are extremely proud to be the home of over 250 innovative Chinese companies who embody the entrepreneurial spirit that will help our two great nations continue to grow together,” said McCooey.

    According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Spring Festival falls Wednesday this year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Rejoice in the Year of the Snake

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    An exciting and joyous atmosphere prevails in Hong Kong as the city rings in the Year of the Snake with people busy shopping for festive treats and decorations.

    At the Lunar New Year Fair in Victoria Park, a variety of festive essentials are available for those keen on adorning their homes.

    The Mong Kok Flower Market is drawing crowds of people eager to pick auspicious plants and flowers for good luck, wealth and prosperity.

    Various activities are being held across the city to celebrate the Lunar New Year with the community, including a lantern display at the Cultural Centre Piazza showcasing masterpieces by a local paper-crafting master. 

    The news.gov.hk team wishes our readers a joyful and prosperous Year of the Snake.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Central Georgian Pleads Guilty to Illegally Building Machineguns

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Agents Seized 3D Printers, Equipment to Build Firearms and Silencers from Defendant’s Bedroom

    MACON, Ga. – A technical college student who described himself as a “machinist” and was building machineguns and silencers using a 3D printer out of his Lizella, Georgia, bedroom pleaded guilty to manufacturing a machinegun.

    Jaden Michael-William Pope, 20, of Lizella, pleaded guilty to one count of manufacture of an unregistered machinegun before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell on Jan. 27. Pope faces a maximum of ten years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 13. There is no parole in the federal system.

    “3-D printed machineguns and silencers pose a significant threat to the safety of our communities by increasing the access of illegally manufactured rapid-fire weapons to potentially dangerous individuals,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Shanelle Booker. “I applaud our local and federal law enforcement partners for shutting down this clandestine machinegun manufacturing operation.”

    “The collaboration between ATF and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office showcases our unwavering commitment to confronting the illegal production of firearms, especially those created through advanced methods like 3D printing,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “These weapons are designed to evade detection and accountability, posing an undeniable threat to public safety. Together, we are ensuring such dangers are swiftly and decisively addressed.”

    According to the stipulation of fact and other statements referenced in court, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Pope in Sept. 2023, for stealing firearms out of vehicles at night. He was arrested and admitted to stealing from cars. Investigators found photos on Pope’s cell phone of personally manufactured firearms and firearm silencers as well as screenshots from a website called Yeggi, which offers 3D-printed templates of AR-15 full auto sears. A confidential source (CS) notified law enforcement that Pope was a machinist who was manufacturing firearms, including silencers, in his bedroom and that he had watched Pope shoot a firearm with a manufactured silencer that significantly diminished the sound.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) was contacted to further the investigation. Agents found photos Pope posted on Facebook of personally manufactured firearms, including a Glock handgun with a “switch,” which is a device that allows the semi-automatic firearm to fire full-automatic with a single trigger pull. On his Facebook profile, Pope described himself as a “machinist” and a student at a local technical college. Agents executed a search warrant at Pope’s home on Dec. 12, 2023, and found four 3D printers, three computers, two machineguns, nine silencers and a short-barreled rifle. Agents also found a stolen .45 caliber pistol.

    Along with the 3D printers and weapons seized, agents found additional evidence that Pope manufactured the machineguns, silencers and the short-barreled rifle. Agents found diagrams and instructions for building the firearms, notes related to their production, scrap parts, and failed 3D prints and residue. Agents analyzed the computers used with the 3D printers and found “g-codes” which is the computer programming code used to 3D print the machineguns, silencers and the short-barreled rifle. While searching the electronic devices, agents found methamphetamine hidden within a USB device.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring the results.

    The case was investigated by ATF and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.

    Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes is prosecuting the case for the Government.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Historic Week as the Golden Age Begins

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    Inauguration Day was a good day for America. Watching Donald Trump take the oath of office becoming the 47th President of the United States was an honor. It is time to not only make America great again, but make it even better after four years of disastrous Democratic policies.  
    President Trump is coming into office with more experience and a wariness of the deep state. Our job in the Senate is to make sure we confirm his cabinet so we can get to work and President Trump can fulfill his promises to the American people. We also need to expose the weaponization of government that happened during the last administration. 
    WATCH: Sen. Johnson on BBC News Special Inauguration Coverage 
    WATCH: Sen. Johnson on Newsmax 

    Attending the swearing-in ceremony of President Trump at the Capitol Rotunda: Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Rand Paul, and Sen.Ted Cruz. 
    New Position as Chairman of PSI

    I am honored to serve as chairman of the powerful Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. This subcommittee’s investigatory record spans decades and its reputation for conducting thorough oversight and exposing wrongdoing is unparalleled. It is my privilege to build on that legacy.
    I look forward to working with Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal and other members of the subcommittee to uncover the truth on issues that are important to the American people. My hope is that the subcommittee’s work will be largely non-partisan. There should be nothing partisan about revealing the truth.
    Absurd Spending Needs to Change

    Current spending is completely unsustainable, unjustified, and absurd. We have to return to pre-pandemic spending levels. It’s time for a paradigm shift in the way we use our budgets.
    The people that voted for President Trump do not expect the federal government is going to continue spending at President Biden and the Democrats’ spending levels.
    On January 16, I spoke on the Senate floor to discuss the importance of returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic spending level and the massive deficit spending that is devaluing the U.S. dollar.
    WATCH: Senate floor speech on government spending
    READ: Badger Institute —  Emergency ended; so should federal spending spree
    WATCH: Politico First 100 Days Speaker Series on Tax Reform
    Cabinet Confirmation Hearings

    Since the start of the 119th Congress, we have been holding confirmation hearings for President Trump’s cabinet nominees. 
    Here are some highlights from the hearings I have participated in:
    Kristi Noem: For too long the Department of Homeland Security has been completely misused. Their mission creep under the Biden administration has caused the agency to leave America vulnerable. I look forward to working with Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary to secure the homeland again.
    Scott Bessent: The pick for Treasury Secretary and I agree that the U.S. does not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. I look forward to voting for Scott Bessent’s confirmation and working with him to reset spending levels to a reasonable pre-pandemic level.
    Sean Duffy: I was proud to introduce Wisconsin’s own Sean Duffyin his confirmation hearing. Sean will be a strong and dedicated leader of the Department of Transportation, prioritizing safety and investing in infrastructure projects that connect our communities. We are fortunate that he is willing to serve the public again, and I recommend him as Secretary without reservation.
    News from the 119th Congress

    The Laken Riley Act passed Congress and will be the first bill signed into law by President Trump. I voted to pass the bill which will give local law enforcement and ICE more tools to combat illegal immigrants who commit crime in the United States.  
    I joined a letter to President Trump encouraging him to reinstate and broaden the life-affirming pro-life policies in the early days of his new administration and end the weaponization of the U.S. government against pro-life Americans and unborn children.
    As part of the MAHA Caucus, we were pleased to see the FDA ban Red No. 3 from foods, dietary supplements, and ingested medicines. We look forward to addressing the root causes of chronic diseases and creating a healthier, stronger nation with President Trump and HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Sky News Afternoon Agenda

    Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers

    CHENG LEI: The Prime Minister has made his pitch for re-election, spelling out his second term agenda at the National Press Club. It set the scene for the campaign, the PM telling voters they have a choice between two different nations at the next election. Joining me now is Regional Development Minister, Kristy McBain. Hey there Kristy. Happy Friday to you. So how are we developing our regions to build Australia, especially going towards the future. 

    KRISTY MCBAIN: Thanks Lei, it’s great to be with you this afternoon. I’m at the Lazy George Cafe in Marulan, and we’ve made a big announcement today on the Housing Support Program. $27.2 million to help have the houses that we need to retain and attract workers into communities just like this one. When we came to government two and a half years ago, there was a skill shortage across the country, and that’s because at the state and federal level, Coalition governments had ripped money out of TAFE and they’d taken completion incentives away from apprentices. I know this firsthand because my husband and I run a small business in the construction industry. The Prime Minister’s pitch today was all about trying to continue to build those skills back in our communities, with making fee-free TAFE a permanent feature of the federal government, and also those $10,000 apprenticeship incentives. We know people are battling with the cost of living, and here’s another way that the Albanese Labor Government can commit to seeing people through their apprenticeships. $2,000 at five different points during that apprenticeship process, to help people get through what can be a tough three or four years. It’s really important that we help people build the skills that we need right across regional Australia. 

    CHENG LEI: Kristy, if you run the small business in construction, then you know the difficulties the industry faces. That is not just the labour shortage but also the land supply, the tax issue and also infrastructure that needs to be built for housing. What’s being done on that? 

    KRISTY MCBAIN: I’ve engaged with 250 councils directly, and the things that they’ve told me are that they need enabling infrastructure to get more homes on the ground quicker. That’s why we committed to the Housing Support Program. $1.5 billion helping communities build that enabling infrastructure. $27.2 million right here in Marulan to upgrade the sewerage treatment plant, so that more homes can be built in this community here. In Kempsey, it was $45 million for both water and sewerage treatment plants, so that more homes can get on the ground there. $10 million in Griffith for roads and green space, so more homes can be constructed there. We’re getting on with the job, but we’re doing it in conjunction with state and local council, because it’s really important that we’re working together. For 12 odd years that the liberal state government was in, and nearly the ten years that the former coalition government was in, there wasn’t a Housing Minister, and there weren’t any plans to help communities with this vital infrastructure. We’ve listened and we’re delivering what those local communities are asking for. 

    CHENG LEI: Tell us more about the water treatment, because I know that for a long time, water quality was quite an issue in your constituency. 

    KRISTY MCBAIN: That’s right. This project here, $27.2 million is for sewerage treatment. It will allow more homes to connect to a proper sewerage treatment option, and will also allow further land subdivisions, so that more homes will be able to connect to an upgraded sewage treatment plant. Detailed design works are currently underway, and then the local council will be working with the regulatory authorities, the Office of Water, the EPA, to make sure that plant complies with all the regulations. It’s on top of the $17.2 million I’ve just delivered down the road in the Yass Valley, where water quality was absolutely a huge issue. It’s been an issue that’s been talked about for decades, and we’ve seen press releases from a whole bunch of Liberal and National politicians, but it took a Labor Government to come in and change the guidelines to the National Water Grid to ensure that town water projects, like the Yass project, could actually get national water funding. That’s exactly what the Albanese Labor Government has delivered. $17.2 million so that people will not have to deal with brown, smelly water, which we wouldn’t expect anywhere else.

    CHENG LEI: Finally, how are you celebrating the Australia Day long weekend?

    KRISTY MCBAIN: I’m really looking forward to the Australia Day long weekend. I’ll be attending three different celebrations across my electorate. Goulburn in the morning, Captains flat in the afternoon, Queanbeyan in the evening. I’ll be heading home to my family in the evening, hopefully in time for a barbi, and hanging out with a few mates. I hope everyone has a great day, celebrates in the way they chose, and hopefully we have some nice weather so they can get out and about as well.

    CHENG LEI: Thanks so much Kristy, I was just in Queanbeyan last weekend. I enjoyed a really nice bush walk.

    KRISTY MCBAIN: We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

    CHENG LEI: Minister for Regional Development, thank you.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: III MEF Advances into 2025: Building on a Year of Milestones and Strengthening Regional Security

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    CAMP COURTNEY, Okinawa, Japan  –  

    As the calendar turns to 2025, the Marines, Sailors, and joint force enablers of III Marine Expeditionary Force are poised to build on the successes of 2024, a year marked by significant milestones and advancements in regional security. Through a robust series of exercises, training events, and community engagements, III MEF deepened relationships with regional partners and allies, reinforcing shared values of mutual respect, trust, and cooperation.

    “Our successes this year are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Marines, Sailors, and regional partners,” said Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner, the III MEF commanding general. “As we look to 2025, I’m confident that we’ll continue to build on this momentum. We remain steadfast in our resolve to defend our interests, promote stability, and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

    Throughout the year, the 3d and 12th Marine Littoral Regiments continued to increase their capabilities and lethality. 3d MLR, located on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, received its first tranche of Navy/Marine Corps Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) launchers and Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems (MADIS). The addition of the NMESIS to 3d MLR’s arsenal supports the unit’s ability to attack enemy maritime targets and conduct expeditionary strike missions, while the MADIS provides 3d MLR enhanced air and missile defense capability. Concurrently, Combat Logistics Battalion 12 was redesignated as the 12th Littoral Logistics Battalion, falling under the 12th MLR. The newly redesignated 12th LLB provides ground supply, medical support, general engineering, explosive ordnance disposal, and multi-modal transportation to support distributed forces in contested maritime spaces. 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion also activated in 2024 adding to 12th MLR’s ability to support sea control and sea denial operations within actively contested maritime spaces.

    In the Philippines, 3d MLR participated in the 39th iteration of Exercise Balikatan 24, marking the unit’s 3rd consecutive year of participation in the largest annual bilateral training exercise between the U.S. military and Armed Forces of the Philippines since 3d MLR’s redesignation from 3d Marines in 2022. Following the conclusion of Balikatan, 3d MLR remained in the Philippines to conduct the first iteration of Archipelagic Coastal Defense Continuum and Marine Aviation Support Activity 24. The 75-day deployment marked 3d MLR’s longest deployment to the Philippines since redesignation.

    During the amphibious-focused exercise Iron Fist, the 31st MEU, PHIBRON-11, the JGSDF ARDB’s 2nd Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment and the JMSDF Commander Landing Ship Division 1 conducted combined planning to improve preparedness through real-world amphibious training. The three-week exercise focused on advanced marksmanship, amphibious reconnaissance, fire and maneuver assaults, bi-lateral logistics and medical support, and fire support operations; such as mortars, artillery and close-air support. Ultimately, Iron Fist honed the rapid, global expeditionary response capabilities expected of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and exemplified the spirit of trust and cooperation between the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

    Throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) served as a crisis response force, participating in operations in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, and across the region’s waters. F-35B Lightning II fighter jets provided simulated close air support during multinational exercises like SSang Yong, while MV-22B Ospreys inserted bilateral forces during Exercise Iron Fist 24. Meanwhile, ground forces from the MEU’s Maritime Raid Force and Battalion Landing Team conducted bilateral training in various environments, including jungles, beaches, waterways, and mountains in Japan and the Republic of Korea. The Combat Logistics Battalion 31, the only permanently assigned logistics battalion to an MEU worldwide, played a crucial role in supporting and sustaining the entire force. The unit’s logistics capabilities were on full display during Exercise Iron Fist 24, where military leaders from the region, as well as European partners and allies, observed beach operations following an amphibious assault training.

    Prepared to respond to crises of a larger scale, the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) achieved significant milestones through its campaign of learning and experimentation with Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN as Task Force 76/3. The brigade synchronized efforts with the integrated naval headquarters staff to ensure access to key maritime terrain and reinforce Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet’s rapid response capabilities. 3d MEB serves as III MEF’s Alert Contingency Marine Air-Ground Task Force, a scalable humanitarian assistance-disaster relief headquarters ready to respond within hours to emerging crises.

    As a capstone exercise in Japan, Resolute Dragon 24, which spanned from Iwakuni to Yonaguni, served as the operational debut of the 12th MLR and showcased the deployment of one of III MEF’s TPS-80 radar systems to Yonaguni. Flown to Yonaguni by a Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-2 aircraft, the TPS-80 radar system provided advanced sensing and targeting capability to enhance situational awareness for the joint force, further enabling the monitoring and acquisition of targets throughout the region. At Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, home to Marine Air Group 12 and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force’s Fleet Air Wing 31, U.S. and Japanese V-22 Osprey aircraft conducted bilateral flight operations, demonstrating both the capabilities of the platform and the ability of the JGSDF and USMC to fly coordinated missions in support of ground forces.

    In the Republic of Korea, more than 3,000 U.S. Marines from across III MEF, and 1st Marine Division, I MEF, completed exercises Freedom Shield 24 and Warrior Shield 24, demonstrating the U.S and ROK Marine Corps’ ability to integrate and operate in support of the alliance. During Freedom Shield 24, the Combined Marine Component Command rehearsed their combined, force wide command-and-control capabilities in response to a simulated crisis. While in the Republic of Korea, U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion completed the construction of Choctaw Road at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex, facilitating the safe and efficient transport of tactical military vehicles and ensuring direct access to live-fire ranges. This project was the result of coordinated efforts across multiple units, including ROK Marines and U.S. Soldiers from the 11th Engineer Battalion.

    Continuing to build on the U.S.-ROK partnership, Exercise Ssang Yong saw III MEF, 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and 31st MEU forces operating alongside ROK Navy and Marine Corps units, demonstrating amphibious landing capabilities and highlighting the strength of the U.S.-ROK Alliance. The exercise involved division-level Marine Corps landing forces, ROK Navy large transport ships, and over 40 aircraft, including U.S. F-35B Lightning II fighter jets and ROK amphibious mobile helicopters.

    Back in Japan, III MEF also participated in Exercise Keen Sword 25, a biennial exercise that fosters realistic training and allows leaders to validate and test command relationships and operational control of forces. The exercise included both field training and command post elements, with forces from 3d MEB establishing a bilateral coordination center alongside Western Army partners in Kumamoto. This critical bilateral node showcased the ability to for U.S. and Japanese forces to coordinate operations within a shared battlespace, and unified against a common threat.

    In addition to these exercises, III MEF contributed to the largest ever iteration of Exercise Yama Sakura 87, a trilateral exercise involving the U.S. Army, Australian Defence Force, and Japan Ground Self Defense Force. The exercise spanned three nations, six locations, and over 7,000 service members, demonstrating the value of the Marine Corps’ permanent presence in Japan and the seamless integration of U.S. and Japanese forces.

    Beyond these major exercises, III MEF engaged in various community-based initiatives, including training students at the Thailand Mine Action Center to develop an explosive ordnance disposal capacity. This partnership aligns with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Mine Action Program, which assists partnered nations affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. 5th Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company integrated with the JGSDF Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, making history in the establishing of the JGSDF’s first Joint Terminal Attack Controller Instructor and Evaluator. Throughout the year, 5th ANGLICO Marines trained several Joint Tactical Air Controllers, increasing the ARDB’s capabilities and effectiveness.

    Twice during the year, III MEF flew KC-130Js from Okinawa to the Philippines to contribute to disaster relief operations following natural disasters in Mindanao and Luzon. III MEF forces transported tens of thousands of food packs alongside other critical aid items in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development. In Japan, Marines and sailors conducted humanitarian aid/disaster response training in Ishigaki City, building relationships in the Sakishima Islands and demonstrating capabilities to respond rapidly to natural disasters.

    III MEF also tested new capabilities in 2024, with the introduction of the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALPV) and Stern Landing Vessel. Marines across the MEF conducted trial operations with the ALPV in open water, simulating covert logistical resupply, and demonstrated the ability to resupply a dispersed lethal fighting force in contested maritime terrain. III MEF also participated in various resilient joint kill web experimentation events in support of the joint force, through the use of the Joint Fires Network and Maven Smart System capabilities.

    As III MEF looks to 2025, the force will continue to build on the successes of previous years, with a focus on increasing interoperability with partners and allies across the Indo-Pacific. On the horizon are continued training opportunities in Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and the Kingdom of Thailand. During Exercise Pacific Sentry, 3d Marine Division will undergo certification as a Joint Task Force, providing Indo-Pacific Command with another certified JTF for employment in support of regional security. 12th MLR will add their third and final subordinate element, 12th Littoral Combat Team, to enhance precision, lethality, and littoral maneuverability. 3d MLR will undergo a Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation (MCCRE) prior to the unit’s deployment to the Philippines in support of Exercises Balikatan 25 and Kamandag 9. A series of full-scale rapid mobilization events will ensure that forces from III MEF are ready to swiftly deploy from locations in Okinawa to distributed locations across the region in support of sea denial operations and reinforcing regional partners and allies. With its commitment to regional stability and security, III MEF remains a vital component of the U.S. military’s presence in the Indo-Pacific, poised to address the challenges of a rapidly changing security environment.

    Please direct questions to IIIMEFMedia@usmc.mil.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Here’s what ‘deep listening’ can tell us about the natural world and our place in it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monty Nixon, PhD Student in Education, University of Canberra

    Jakub Maculewicz, Shutterstock

    Have you ever taken the time to stop and listen to nature? Deeply, quietly and patiently?

    If not, don’t worry, there’s still time to learn. Deep listening is a skill that can be developed.

    There’s much more to it than simply recognising the call or song of a particular species. To listen deeply to nature is to become aware of behaviours, relationships and patterns of interaction between multiple species, and to learn from what we hear.

    This is what Indigenous people have been doing for many thousands of years, in Australia and overseas.

    Under the supervision and guidance of Indigenous knowledge holders of Karulkiyalu Country, my PhD research, explores ways to embed this Indigenous approach to deep listening in Australia’s education system.

    The project builds on previous work showing positive results for student and teacher wellbeing, as well as an increased understanding of and desire to care for the natural world.

    The Rufous whistler is an Australian virtuoso.
    Andrew Skeoch

    What is deep listening?

    If you’d like to try deep listening, take some time to visit a natural place and find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed. Turn off your electronic devices.

    Close your eyes, and extend your sense of hearing into the landscape around you. Try focusing your listening in each direction, then above and even below. How far you can hear?

    At first you will hear the voices of individual creatures, perhaps one then another. After a while, you may begin to notice interactions and patterns of communication between them. Be curious. Does one respond to another? How, and why?

    Hearing all the interconnected activity going on around you in that moment can help you comprehend the living system as a whole.

    Acoustic ecologist Andrew Skeoch recording the sounds of nature in the Australian bush.
    Andrew Skeoch

    What can we learn from nature by listening?

    People often simplify complex relationships down to perceptions of either cooperation or competition.

    But listening to nature affirms that cooperative partnerships play a far greater role than meets the eye. Relationships between species that accommodate each other’s needs are ubiquitous throughout the biosphere.

    For instance, multiple species of birds forage efficiently and safely in mixed flocks, by communicating and alerting each other to information about food and threats. This practice of foraging collectively is so worthwhile it’s encountered the world over.

    Listening to the animated twittering of these flocks – which continually communicates and affirms each bird’s location – reminds us how beneficial cooperation can be. More importantly, cooperation is most advantageous when it embraces diversity.

    Addressing the existential threats facing humanity will require cooperation and collaboration on a massive scale. Many of these threats are interlinked. They tend to resist independent solutions and need to be tackled together.

    So there is an urgent need to embrace and celebrate our differences. Listening to mixed-species flocks reminds us that diversity can be a source of great strength.

    Lessons about competition

    Listening can also tell us about competitive interactions, particularly between members of the same species.

    In the morning twilight of the breeding season, songbirds join the dawn chorus – singing with repertoire and behaviours not heard at other times of day or year. It’s also clear they are listening to each other.

    At dawn, songbirds use formal vocal interactions to negotiate their most essential relationships. These include defining home ranges, establishing and maintaining pair bonds, acknowledging neighbours and affirming community identities.

    In this way, the dawn chorus is a sonic expression of a widespread principle in nature: that while the potential for competition exists, life-threatening aggression is risky, inefficient and costly.

    Many animals have developed specialised behaviours to sort out their relationships and status while minimising the risks of serious harm. For instance “boxing” kangaroos engage in scrapping or sparring rather than injurious fighting.

    While these physical behaviours are found widely throughout the animal world, songbirds have evolved their own trick: they use song to negotiate their interactions. Listening to them singing at dawn reminds us that competitive behaviours and aggression are not advantageous. Negotiation, mutual acknowledgement and respect are more successful ways of living.

    Boxing kangaroos negotiate their status without causing injury.
    victoriam, Shutterstock

    Educational possibilities from listening

    Learning through deep listening was integral to the education system in Australia for thousands of years. It allowed First Nations peoples to understand the ecological community around them and how to live with these groups of species.

    In this education system, Country and Earth-Kin, (such as plants and animals) were both central knowledge holders and teachers. Humans (primarily grandparents) provided support for childrens’ learning from these knowledge holders. In this way children came to know, understand and care for land.

    People and Country flourished through this way of learning. Australia became home to the longest continuing cultures in human history.

    Research is demonstrating how this old teaching and learning method can work in modern schooling. More than 120 educators across the ACT are involved in the Country as Teacher project. Cultivating a practice of deep listening to Earth-Kin and Country helped teachers and students develop an improved sense of wellbeing, as well as knowledge and understanding of the places they live.

    The research argues that teachers first need to cultivate their own practice of listening. Then they can embed this process in their approach to education. By slowing down, developing nuanced awareness, following curiosity, listening empathically to other beings and opening to being affected emotionally, teachers can cultivate their own deeper sense of care, appreciation and understanding. From their personal listening journey, educators can then facilitate these experiences for their students.

    Deep listening to Earth-Kin or Country as Teacher offers an old and new pathway to return to a valuable and important way of being for our schools and society.

    This path offers us the chance to come to appreciate and care for the ecological communities of the Earth. Through listening we can learn the ways in which species across the Earth adapt, survive and thrive, providing guidance for our own cultures as we confront increasing social and environmental uncertainty.

    This article was written in collaboration with acoustic ecologist Andrew Skeoch.

    Monty Nixon receives funding from The ACT Affiliated Schools Network.

    – ref. Here’s what ‘deep listening’ can tell us about the natural world and our place in it – https://theconversation.com/heres-what-deep-listening-can-tell-us-about-the-natural-world-and-our-place-in-it-235868

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How the AFL and NRL have crept into cricket’s traditional summer timeslot

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania

    Most of Australia has four seasons each year.

    However, when it comes to sport, the Australian calendar has long been dominated by two seasons: cricket and football.

    Traditionally, cricket has been played from October to March when the weather is suitable, and Australian rules football and rugby league from April to September.

    But in recent years, a lack of international cricket in Australia after January – coupled with earlier start dates for the AFL and NRL seasons – has resulted in football receiving more local media coverage and attention from fans during the summer.

    For many Australian cricket fans, the season will be finished once the Big Bash League and women’s Ashes conclude in early February.

    In February and March, the Australian men’s and women’s cricket teams will play matches overseas and the Australian states will play each other in one-day and four-day games.

    However, the reduced media attention and free-to-air TV coverage of cricket in Australia means many sports fans turn their attention to other sports, usually football or rugby league.

    But has this always been the case?



    Read more:
    How is the Big Bash League faring after 14 years of ups and downs – and what’s next?

    Football seasons are getting longer

    Cricket has been played in Australia for more than 200 years. While Australian rules football was initially developed to keep cricketers fit through the winter, football competitions such as the AFL and NRL have now arguably become more dominant across the sporting calendar.

    The 2024 AFL season was the longest in the sport’s history. The 2025 season will be exactly the same length, stretching nearly seven months, from March 6 to September 27.

    The 2025 NRL season will be even longer. It starts in Las Vegas on March 2 and doesn’t finish until the Grand Final on October 5.

    The 2025 AFLW and NRLW seasons will also be the longest ever, finishing as late as November 30.

    Football seasons are starting earlier

    While an AFL Grand Final in late September and an NRL Grand Final leading into NSW’s Labour Day in early October are well established, the start of the season has been slowly creeping forward over the decades.

    Twenty years ago, the AFL season started in late March, 50 years ago it was early April, and 80 years ago it was late April. The first AFL (VFL) season in 1897 started on May 8.

    The start of the NRL season has also moved forward over time. The first NRL (NSWRL) season in 1908 started on April 20.

    While these historical season start dates did not overlap with the cricket season, that is no longer the case.

    This year, the AFL and NRL will have completed three premiership rounds before the Sheffield Shield final ends the Australian domestic cricket season in late March.

    And then there are the AFL and NRL pre-season competitions, with games starting as early as February 7.

    Why are football seasons getting longer?

    Some of the factors that have contributed to extensions of football seasons include:

    • the introduction of more teams that all need to play each other
    • revenue opportunities for broadcasters, venues and clubs, and
    • additional mid-season byes and rest periods.

    AFL and NRL players have cited fatigue because of the long seasons. Consequently, some players’ associations and coaches have advocated for shorter seasons.

    However, playing fewer games would likely mean less money for the AFL and NRL, and for players and clubs.

    Adding more teams to the AFL and NRL and extending the AFLW and NRLW seasons may allow for more flexibility with future season lengths, as football codes can be played any time of year.

    Unless your stadium has an expensive roof, cricket cannot because of the threat of rain.

    What does this mean for cricket?

    While Australians can still play both cricket and football at junior and community levels, this is no longer possible at representative levels because of the overlap between seasons.

    The encroachment of football into traditional cricket months means increased competition for players, often forcing talented young athletes to make a decision about which sport to pursue.

    Greater perceived opportunities to play at the elite level may convince some players to prioritise football.

    For example, the six Australian state cricket teams generally contract 20 to 25 players each season. In comparison, the 17 NRL teams each have 30 contracted players and the 18 AFL clubs can have 44 players in their squads.

    Current AFL players such as Stephen Coniglio, Caleb Serong and Brent Daniels all represented their state in underage cricket before choosing football. Manly lock Nathan Brown and retired star Braith Anasta are NRL examples.

    Luckily for cricket, current players such as Alex Carey (GWS under-18 captain 2010), Mitch Marsh (under-18 WA AFL team 2008) and Will Sutherland (under-18 Victorian Metro AFL team 2017) are examples of young players choosing cricket after successful underage football careers.

    Venue availability and scheduling conflicts

    The extended football seasons pose logistical challenges for venues. Iconic stadiums such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) traditionally host both cricket and football matches and now face increased scheduling pressure with the seasons overlapping.

    For instance, in 2024, the MCG only had a 22-day turnaround between hosting the AFL Grand Final and the Victoria vs NSW Sheffield Shield match.

    Hosting concerts at these venues increases revenue but also adds to scheduling difficulties.

    It all adds up to a difficult juggling act for venues, which will be made even trickier if the football codes creep even further into the traditional cricket season.

    Cricket, too, has a battle on its hands to stay relevant to fans, broadcasters, commercial partners and even participants as the AFL and NRL seasons continue to expand.

    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. How the AFL and NRL have crept into cricket’s traditional summer timeslot – https://theconversation.com/how-the-afl-and-nrl-have-crept-into-crickets-traditional-summer-timeslot-247330

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: David Seymour says Kiwis are too squeamish about privatisation – history shows why they lost the appetite

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

    Getty Images

    State asset sales have been a political dividing line in New Zealand for decades now, and it seems voters are again being asked to decide which side they’re on.

    In his state-of-the-nation speech last week, ACT Party leader David Seymour advised New Zealanders to “get past their squeamishness about privatisation” and ask themselves:

    If we want to be a first world country, then are we making the best use of the government’s half-a-trillion-dollars–plus worth of assets? If something isn’t getting a return, the government should sell it so we can afford to buy something that does.

    No doubt this appealed to ACT’s core constituency. But the available evidence suggests many New Zealanders view the privatisation of state assets with scepticism, not squeamishness.

    The most rigorous available data are from the New Zealand Election Study: just under 50% of those surveyed in 2020 either “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed with the proposition that “privatisation has gone too far”.

    Just over 9% either somewhat or strongly disagreed with that statement. In other words, those who oppose state asset sales comfortably outnumber those who support them.

    It seems reasonable to suggest this reflects the sizeable proportion of New Zealanders who remember the asset sales experience of the 1980s and 1990s under both Labour and National governments.

    Writing in 2000, during the heights of this bipartisan privatisation boom, economic analyst Brian Gaynor argued:

    By selling 100 per cent shareholdings in state assets, the New Zealand Government has allowed a small group of investors, mainly offshore, to make enormous profits. With just a little foresight these profits could have been kept for the benefit of domestic investors and taxpayers.

    At the same time, voters have watched levels of wealth inequality rise, and the transfer of public wealth into private hands. And while asset sales can improve efficiency, they can also reduce access to services for those on limited incomes or experiencing higher unemployment.

    Market failure

    Research has shown a clear majority of New Zealanders would prefer the government provides social services, especially in health and education.

    Just over 80% of New Zealanders trust the public service based on their own experiences. And levels of trust in the public service outstrip those in the private sector. All this suggests there is little appetite for a return to the days of peak privatisation.

    More broadly, some New Zealanders will also question Seymour’s assertion that state assets should provide a return on investment.

    Aside from it not being possible to turn a profit on many of the assets a government needs to serve the needs of its citizens, there are costs associated with putting a market value on certain social goods and services.

    As Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel has argued:

    [W]hen money comes increasingly to govern access to the essentials of the good life – decent health care, access to the best education, political voice and influence in campaigns – when money comes to govern all of those things, inequality matters a great deal.

    Furthermore, there is ample evidence of the ethical and operational shortcomings of applying the profit motive to public institutions such as prisons, hospitals and schools.

    Nor are markets themselves value-free, self-correcting mechanisms. In the material economy, they have a propensity to fail. When they do, the people who suffer most tend to be those least well positioned to defend themselves.

    That is why the state performs certain functions: to make sure those unable to pay for privately provided goods and services are not denied them.

    The nature and extent of what the state should provide is quite properly a matter for debate. But those decisions affect everyone and should be decided in the public domain, not left to the managers and owners of private companies.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon: open to a conversation about priviatisation.
    Getty Images

    Public versus private debt

    Seymour also suggested a return to asset sales was justified by the country’s current levels of public debt. He referred to “the other tribe” who are

    building a majority for mediocrity – who would love nothing more than to go into lockdown again, make some more sourdough, and worry about the billions in debt another day.

    But as the right-leaning Maxim Institute points out,

    the real risk in New Zealand is our very high levels of private debt, which includes household debt like mortgages, student loans, credit card, hire purchases, to buying a car in instalments […] Compared to our relatively low levels of public debt our current household debt stands at 95% of GDP.

    According to the Treasury, current public debt levels are “prudent”, although “an ageing population, climate change and historical trends mean governments have important choices to make”.

    The risk of renewed asset sales and privatisation is that public debt might be reduced but at the expense of private debt increasing.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has responded by saying he was open to a conversation about selling state assets. While it was “not something on our agenda right now”, he said, he hinted National may campaign on it ahead of next year’s election.

    His other coalition partner, NZ First, has a long-held antipathy to selling local assets to offshore owners. And Luxon may also remember the result of the non-binding citizens-initiated referendum in 2013, when 67.3% opposed the potential sale of the state’s energy companies.

    A niche party such as ACT can safely take policy positions that have little appeal beyond its core supporters. But that’s not a luxury available to its major coalition partner, which started the year behind in the polls.

    On the other hand, National does not want to be outflanked any further by ACT. Asset sales, it seems, are destined to remain a perennial political fault line.

    Richard Shaw 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. David Seymour says Kiwis are too squeamish about privatisation – history shows why they lost the appetite – https://theconversation.com/david-seymour-says-kiwis-are-too-squeamish-about-privatisation-history-shows-why-they-lost-the-appetite-248308

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell Proud to Confirm Bessent as Treasury Secretary

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the confirmation of Scott Bessent as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury:

    “The American people voted resoundingly to return to commonsense, pro-growth policies after four years of reckless spending and runaway inflation under the Biden Administration. Scott Bessent’s sharp financial foresight and private sector expertise will be immediate assets to the President as his Administration gets to work on urgent tax reform and widespread regulatory relief. Secretary Bessent is the right choice to get our fiscal house back in order, and I look forward to working with him in the years ahead.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Electronic Intifada: Bringing Israeli genocide perpetrators to justice

    This article was written before The Electronic Intifada’s founding editor Ali Abunimah was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday afternoon for “speaking up for Palestine”. He has since been released and deported.

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Ali AbunimahIsrael smuggled one of its soldiers out of Cyprus, apparently fearing his detention on charges related to the genocide in Gaza, according to Dyab Abou Jahjah, the co-founder of The Hind Rajab Foundation.

    Abou Jahjah, a Belgian-Lebanese political activist and writer, told The Electronic Intifada livestream last week that his organisation was stepping up efforts all over the world to bring to justice Israeli soldiers implicated in the slaughter of tens of thousands of men, women and children over the last 15 months.

    You can watch the interview with Abou Jahjah and all of this week’s programme in the video above.


    Gaza Ceasefire Day 5. Video: The Electronic Intifada

    Speaking from Gaza, Electronic Intifada contributor Donya Abu Sitta told us how people there are coping following the ceasefire, especially those returning to devastated homes and finding the remains of loved ones.

    She shared a poem inspired by the hopes and fears of the young children she continued to teach throughout the genocide.

    Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to attack Palestinians in some parts of Gaza. That was among developments covered in the news brief from associate editor Nora Barrows-Friedman, along with the efforts to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation.

    Israel’s genocidal war has orphaned some 40,000 children in Gaza.

    Contributing editor Jon Elmer covered the latest ceasefire developments and the resistance operations in the period leading up to it.

    We also discussed whether US President Donald Trump will force Israel to uphold the ceasefire and what the latest indications of his approach are.

    And this writer took a critical look at Episcopal Bishop of Washington Mariann Edgar Budde.

    She has been hailed as a hero for urging Donald Trump to respect the rights of marginalised groups, as the new president sat listening to her sermon at Washington’s National Cathedral.

    But over the last 15 months, Budde has parroted Israeli atrocity propaganda justifying genocide, and has repeatedly failed to condemn former President Joe Biden’s key role in the mass slaughter and did not call on him to stop sending weapons to Israel.

    Pursuing war criminals
     In the case of the soldier in Cyprus, The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint, and after initial hesitation, judicial authorities in the European Union state opened an investigation of the soldier.

    “When that was opened, the Israelis smuggled the soldier out of Cyprus,” Abou Jahjah said, calling the incident the first of its kind.

    “And when I say smuggling, I’m not exaggerating, because we have information that he was even taken by a private jet,” Abou Jahjah added.

    The foundation is named after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was in a car with members of her family, trying to escape the Israeli onslaught in Gaza City, when they were attacked.

    The story of Hind, trapped all alone in a car, surrounded by dead relatives, pleading over the phone for rescue, a conversation that was recorded by the Palestinian Red Crescent, is among the most poignant and brazen crimes committed during Israel’s genocide.

    According to Abou Jahjah, lawyers and activists determined to seek justice for Palestinians identified a gap in the efforts to hold Israel accountable that they could fill: pursuing individual soldiers who have in many cases posted evidence of their own crimes in Gaza on social media.

    The organisation and its growing global network of volunteers and legal professionals has been able to collect evidence on approximately 1000 Israeli soldiers which has been handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    In addition to filing cases against Israeli soldiers traveling abroad, such as the one in Cyprus, and other recent examples in Brazil, Thailand and Italy, a main focus of the foundation is individuals who hold both Israeli and another nationality.

    “Regarding the dual nationals, we are not under any restraint of time,” Abou Jahjah explained. “For example, if you’re Belgian, Belgium has jurisdiction over you.”

    Renouncing their second nationality cannot shield these soldiers, according to Abou Jahjah, because courts will take into account their citizenship at the time the alleged crime was committed.

    Abou Jahjah feels confident that with time, war criminals will be brought to justice. The organisation is also discussing expanding its work to the United States, where it may use civil litigation to hold perpetrators accountable.

    Unsurprisingly, Israel and friendly governments are pushing back against The Hind Rajab Foundation’s work, and Abou Jahjah is now living under police protection.

    “Things are kind of heavy on that level, but this will not disrupt our work,” Abou Jahjah said. “It’s kind of naive of them to think that the work of the foundation depends on a person.”

    “We have legal teams across the planet, very capable people. Our data is spread across the planet,” Abou Jahjah added. “There’s nothing they can do. This is happening.”

    Resistance report
     In his resistance report, Elmer analysed videos of operations that took place before the ceasefire, but which were only released by the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, after it took effect.

    He also previewed Saturday, 25 January, when nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for four Israeli female soldiers.

    Will Trump keep Israel to the ceasefire?
     Pressure from President Trump was key to getting Israel to agree to a ceasefire deal it had rejected for almost a year. But will his administration keep up the pressure to see it through?

    There have been mixed messages, with Trump recently telling reporters he was not sure it would hold, but also intriguingly distancing himself from Israel. “That’s not our war, it’s their war.”

    We took a look at what these comments, as well as a renewed commitment to implementing the deal expressed by Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy, tell us about what to expect.

    As associate editor Asa Winstanley noted, “this ceasefire is not nothing.” It came about because the resistance wore down the Israeli army, and statements from Witkoff hinting that the US may even be open to talking to Hamas deserve close attention.

    ‘Largely silent’
     By her own admission, Bishop Mariann Budde has remained “largely silent” about the genocide in Gaza, except when she was pushing Israeli propaganda or engaging in vague, liberal hand-wringing about “peace” and “love” without ever clearly condemning the perpetrators of mass slaughter and starvation of Palestinians, demanding that the US stop the flow of weapons making it possible, or calling for accountability.

    This type of evasion serves no one.

    You can watch the programme on YouTube, Rumble or Twitter/X, or you can listen to it on your preferred podcast platform.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoeven Statement on Confirmation of Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
    01.27.25
    WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Bessent to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
    “Scott Bessent has the skills and experience necessary to lead the Treasury Department. We look forward to working with Secretary Bessent and President Trump to extend the tax cuts for American families and businesses, tackle inflation, grow our economy and get our nation’s fiscal house in order.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: PM emphasises importance of growth in 2025

    Source: New Zealand Government

    For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity.
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament.
    “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by the people of New Zealand with a mandate to change course. Since then, we have made big changes and we are seeing promising signs of success, with inflation dropping and remaining low, interest rates starting to fall, and wages continuing to rise,” Mr Luxon says.
    “Business and consumer confidence is rising and average mortgage interest rates have now fallen for the first time in more than three years. Wages are rising faster than inflation, supporting a recovery in household incomes. Growth is also expected to resume, reaching 2.1 per cent in 2025 according to Treasury’s latest forecasts in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update. 
    “We need to act now to strengthen growth and productivity – both in the very near term and over the years to come.
    “In 2025, we will take action to end the culture of no – whether that’s through Fast Track, comprehensive RMA reform, rewriting our health and safety laws, enabling more mining, allowing our farmers to grow their businesses with much less red tape, or other changes designed to promote more growth and investment. 
    “In this Government’s first year in office we made tough decisions to ease the cost of living and laid the foundations for a stronger economy, rising incomes and more opportunities for New Zealanders to get ahead. 
    “This year we will continue to build on this early progress to make sure these green shoots of recovery grow into lasting improvements that benefit all New Zealanders,” Mr Luxon says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The science of the “X-ray vision” that reveals the magma beneath Yellowstone

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Scott K. Johnson, Science Communication Associate at EarthScope Consortium.

    Jeopardy is unique for its question-to-the-answer format, with contestants using a clue like “this animal starred in a 1975 Steven Spielberger film and can constantly regrow lost teeth” to correctly respond “what is a shark?” The geophysical techniques that allow us to image the magma beneath Yellowstone―as in a recent study that provided a view of multiple separate magma reservoirs― work similarly. These studies are often of great public interest, producing visuals that are (relatively) easy to understand. But how exactly do they work?

    This example shows areas where seismic waves travel more quickly in blue, and slower areas in red, beneath the western United States. Faults are black lines, and blue line is the San Andreas Fault. You can explore the data at any depth beneath the surface with EarthScope’s velocity model viewer (https://observablehq.com/@earthscope/emc-horizontal-slicer).  

    Seeing below the surface is the realm of tomography―in medical imaging, the “CT” in “CT scan” stands for Computed Tomography―which can be done in several ways. The most common method uses shaking measured by seismometers to reveal variations in the physical properties of the Earth.

    The similarity to Jeopardy is that these techniques work backwards―what we call “inversion.” Because we can’t directly take a measuring tape underground and inspect a magma reservoir, we have to rely on the fact that this magma reservoir can affect measurements of other things, like seismic waves that pass through. If we knew exactly what was underground, we could pretty clearly predict its effect on the seismic waves reaching nearby seismometers. But instead, the inverse solution is to take the pattern of measured seismic waves and work backwards to find a plausible model of the conditions underground that would cause that pattern.

    It’s a bit like working out where a traffic jam is occurring in town based solely on how late each of your coworkers arrives home at the end of the workday. Knowing that they all left work at 5:15, and knowing which part of town each one was headed for, you could probably figure out where the slowdown is based on the fact that two people were delayed 15 minutes, one was delayed 5 minutes, and one experienced no delay at all.

    In fact, a common method of seismic tomography involves measuring the travel time for seismic waves from earthquakes and noting where they arrive at seismometers “late.” This allows us to map out regions of rock where seismic waves travel more quickly or more slowly. That information can then be turned into estimates of physical properties like temperature, rock type, density, or the presence (and amount) of magma. The more seismometers recording data and the more earthquakes that are measured, the better the resolution of the map.

    The same idea can be applied in other ways to seismic data. We can look at the details of the wiggles on the seismometer rather than just their arrival time, for example, seeing which areas of the Earth dampen the seismic waves and which ring like a bell. Or we can replace the earthquake with another source of shaking energy, like a truck-mounted piston that thumps the ground, the constant background din of a busy highway, or even the global noise created by ocean waves. Through different approaches, we can image something local, like a magma reservoir, or we can image the entire planet―this is how we know about the properties of the mantle, outer core, and inner core of the Earth.

    Schematic showing magma storage beneath Yellowstone caldera. Nested calderas resulting from the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, Mesa Falls Tuff, and Lava Creek Tuff caldera forming eruptions are shown as solid black, green, and orange lines, respectively. C1 and C2 represent bodies of basaltic magma and C3 and C5-C7 represent rhyolitic magma bodies beneath Yellowstone caldera. Magnetotelluric stations occupied during experiment are shown as magenta triangles. Sour Creek and Mallard Lake resurgent domes are shown as purple lines. The locations of Lower Geyser Basin (LGB), Norris Geyser Basin (NGB), and Hot Springs Basin (HSB) are shown. Figure is from Bennington et al., “The progression of basaltic–rhyolitic melt storage at Yellowstone Caldera.” Nature 637:8044 (2025), 97-102.

    The recent image of Yellowstone’s magma system was created from yet another kind of data. Instead of using seismometers that measure shaking, magnetotelluric instruments were used to measure the electrical conductivity beneath the ground.

    The Sun’s energy and also lightning around the world induce electrical and magnetic fields within the Earth, but the strength of these fields varies from place to place depending on the conductivity of the material beneath the surface. And since measurements at different frequencies relate to the conductivity at different depths, we can collect quite a lot of information through magnetotelluric measurements. Magma has a much higher conductivity than solid rock, so the magnetotelluric technique is of obvious use around volcanoes.

    The inversion in the case of magnetotelluric data works out the 3-D pattern of conductivity underground that can explain the measurements made at the surface. And again, the more surface measurements you have close together, the more detailed the 3-D image becomes.

    All kinds of tomography have been employed at Yellowstone to give us a much richer understanding of the magma system that lies beneath the ground. Similar studies have been done at other volcanoes as well—like Mount St. Helens. Even on a much smaller scale, these techniques have been used to image the hot-water “plumbing” beneath individual geysers in Yellowstone, giving us insights into the reasons for their behavior.

    Permanent monitoring networks of instruments like seismometers around Yellowstone help make this possible―sometimes supplemented by temporary additions of even more instruments for higher-resolution imaging. The end result is a better understanding of what the system looks like beneath the surface, how it works, and how it may behave over time, which is critical to the mission of keeping people out of harm’s way―out of jeopardy, you might say.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: COLUMN: Senator Davenport: A Warm Welcome to the 2025 Legislative Session

    Source: US State of Georgia

    By: Sen. Gail Davenport (D – Jonesboro)

    The 2025 Legislative Session is officially underway! On Monday, January 13, the Georgia General Assembly reconvened under the Gold Dome, marking the start of this year’s legislative session and the beginning of a new biennium. This legislative session, I am once again fighting for policies that create a more equitable and inclusive Georgia. 

    I am honored to now serve the residents of Senate District 17 after previously serving the residents of Senate District 44. I want to extend a warm greeting to my new constituents in Henry County and my longstanding constituents in Clayton County. It is my privilege to serve as your senator, and I am committed to addressing the issues and concerns of our communities at the state level.  

    I am pleased to continue serving on the Senate Committees on Appropriations, State Institutions and Property, Natural Resources and the Environment, Retirement and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee this legislative session. 

    The first week of a new biennium is always filled with important events and meaningful connections. This year was no exception, with highlights including the annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast and Governor Kemp’s ‘State of the State’ address, where we accounted for the perspectives of our local businesses and citizens. These gatherings remind us of the collaborative spirit needed to address our communities’ challenges. 

    On Thursday, January 16, Governor Brian P. Kemp delivered his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Senate and House chambers. While I welcome some of his proposals, including pay raises for teachers, state employees, and first responders and efforts to strengthen our healthcare workforce, I believe we must go further. We must ensure every Georgian has access to affordable healthcare, expand opportunities for quality public education, invest in renewable energy solutions and tackle the growing need for affordable housing across the state. These priorities are essential for creating a Georgia where every family can thrive.

    I am proud to have co-sponsored several resolutions and bills during our first week, including Senate Bill 19, sponsored by Senator David Lucas (D–Macon). The Brady Law Regulations would create a ten-day waiting period for the purchase or transfer of firearms and address the gun violence epidemic in recent legislation.  

    The second week of our Legislative Session was quite unconventional due to a winter storm that halted operations across our entire state for nearly the entire week. Leaders from state agencies will instead present their budgetary needs to legislators in the weeks to come before our House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen help lead the decision-making process on how funding is allocated for the next year. 

    Budget Week is not just about providing funding; it’s about best serving the state of Georgia through state programs like public education, health services, and infrastructure repairs.  This is our chance to advocate for funding that reflects the needs of working families, invests in underserved communities and ensures every Georgian has the resources they need to build a better future. 

    Speaking of our future, I want to invite students between 12 and 18 to serve as Senate Page. This opportunity allows students to participate in the state legislative process at our State Capitol for a day. Interested students may apply for the program by following the link here.  

    Thank you for trusting me to represent you under the Gold Dome. Your voice matters, and I encourage you to share your ideas and concerns as we work together to build a stronger, fairer Georgia. 

    # # # #

    Sen. Gail Davenport represents the 17th Senate District which includes portions of Clayton and Henry County.  She may be reached by phone at 404.463.5260 or by email at Gail.Davenport@senate.ga.gov

    For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: CanREA celebrates successful bids in Nova Scotia Green Choice Program’s expanded RFP

    Source: – Press Release/Statement:

    Headline: CanREA celebrates successful bids in Nova Scotia Green Choice Program’s expanded RFP

    CanREA congratulates members and Indigenous partners for their successful bids in the Nova Scotia Green Choice Program’s expanded 625 MW wind RFP. 

    Ottawa, January 27, 2025—The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) congratulates its members RES, ABO Energy, SWEB, and Glooscap Energy (Glooscap First Nation), as well as all the other Indigenous partners, Eskasoni, Potlotek, We’koqma’q L’nue’kati, Wagmatook, Paq’tnkek and Pictou Landing First Nations, for their successful bids in the Nova Scotia Green Choice Program RFP, as announced today by Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau.

    The resulting projects will deliver 625 MW of wind, nearly double the original call for 350 MW, which was launched in 2023.

    “Our members are ready to support the energy transition and help grow Nova Scotia’s new green economy,” said Jean Habel, CanREA’s Senior Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada. “We are especially pleased that Nova Scotia’s RFP was expanded from 350 MW to 625 MW. All Nova Scotians will benefit from these new wind projects, which will supply affordable, clean and reliable renewable energy starting in late 2028.”       

    The Green Choice Program is unique in allowing participating customers to purchase up to 100% of the electricity they use from local renewable energy sources. It is part of Nova Scotia’s 2030 Clean Power Plan, aiming to reach 80% renewable energy by 2030 by adding a substantial amount of wind, solar and energy storage into the Nova Scotia’s grid.  

    “These new wind energy projects will contribute to sustainable development in Nova Scotia,” said Habel. “They will significantly reduce greenhouse gases by adding more renewable energy to the provincial grid, and what’s more they will create economic opportunities in communities, ensure the protection of the environment, and help enhance Reconciliation, as each wind farm is co-owned by one or more Mi’kmaw community.”      

    CanREA is eager to continue working with the government and all stakeholders to ensure the success of this unique program, as a priority of our Atlantic Network.  

    Quotes 

    “Our members are ready to support the energy transition and help grow Nova Scotia’s new green economy.”  

    “We are especially pleased that Nova Scotia’s RFP was expanded from 350 MW to 625 MW. All Nova Scotians will benefit from these new wind projects, which will supply affordable, clean and reliable renewable energy starting in late 2028.”            

    “These new wind energy projects will contribute to sustainable development in Nova Scotia. They will significantly reduce greenhouse gases by adding more renewable energy to the provincial grid, and what’s more they will create economic opportunities in communities, ensure the protection of the environment, and help enhance Reconciliation, as each wind farm is co-owned by one or more Mi’kmaw community.”  
    —Jean Habel, Senior Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) 

    For media inquiries or interview opportunities, please contact:

    Communications  Canadian Renewable Energy Association  communications@renewablesassociation.ca  

    About CanREA

    The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) is the voice for wind energy, solar energy and energy storage solutions that will power Canada’s energy future. We work to create the conditions for a modern energy system through stakeholder advocacy and public engagement. Our diverse members are uniquely positioned to deliver clean, low-cost, reliable, flexible and scalable solutions for Canada’s energy needs. For more information on how Canada can use wind energy, solar energy and energy storage to help achieve its net-zero commitments, consult “Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA’s 2050 Vision.” Follow us on  LinkedIn and X. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Become a member here. Learn more at renewablesassociation.ca.   

    The post CanREA celebrates successful bids in Nova Scotia Green Choice Program’s expanded RFP appeared first on Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NZ-Kiribati fallout: Maamau govt minister says ‘impacts to be felt by the people’

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Bulletin editor/presenter

    Kiribati President Taneti Maamau was unable to meet New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters because he had “a pre-planned and significant historical event”, a Cabinet minister in Kiribati says.

    Alexander Teabo, Education Minister in Maamau’s government, told RNZ Pacific that “it is important for the truth to be conveyed accurately” after the “diplomatic tiff” between the two nations was confirmed by Peters as reported.

    Maamau is currently in Fiji for his first state visit to the country.

    Peters said New Zealand could not commit to ongoing monetary aid in Kiribati after three cancelled or postponed visits in recent months.

    A spokesperson from Peters’ office said the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to Tarawa was set to be the first in over five years and took a “month-long effort”. However, the NZ government was informed a week prior to the meeting that Maamau was no longer available.

    His office announced that, as a result of the “lack of political-level contact”, Aotearoa was reviewing its development programme in Kiribati. It is a move that has been described as “not the best approach” by Victoria University’s professor in comparative politics Dr Jon Fraenkel.

    Minister Teabo said that Peters’ visit to Kiribati was cancelled by the NZ government.

    “It is correct that the President was unavailable in Tarawa due to a pre-planned and significant historical event hosted on his home island,” he said.

    Date set ‘several months prior’
    “This important event’s date was established by the Head of the Catholic Church several months prior.”

    He said Maamau’s presence and support were required on his home island for this event, and it was not possible for him to be elsewhere.

    Teabo pointed out that Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister was happy to meet with Kiribati’s Vice-President in a recent visit.

    “The visit by NZ Foreign Minister was cancelled by NZ itself but now the blame is on the President of Kiribati as the reason for all the cuts and the impacts to be felt by the people.

    “This is unfair to someone who is doing his best for his people who needed him at any particular time.”

    ‘Tried several times’ – Luxon
     The New Zealand aid programme is worth over NZ$100 million, but increasingly, Kiribati has been receiving money from China after ditching its diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the country was keen to meet and work with Kiribati, like other Pacific nations.

    Luxon said he did not know whether the lack of communication was due to Kiribati and China getting closer.

    “The Foreign Minister has tried several times to make sure that as a new government, we can have a conversation with Kiribati and have a relationship there.

    “He’s very keen to meet with them and help them and work with them in a very constructive way but that hasn’t happened.”

    New Zealand’s Minister of Defence Judith Collins agrees with Peters’ decision to review aid to Kiribati.

    Collins said she would talk to Peters about it today.

    “I think we need to be very careful about where our aid goes, how it’s being used and I agree with him. We can’t have a disrespectful relationship.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth, Durbin Statement On Trump’s Mass Deportation Actions In Chicago

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    January 26, 2025
    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, (D-IL) today issued the following statement after President Donald Trump’s administration started mass deportation actions in and around Chicago: 
    “We can all agree that we must remove any dangerous individuals from our country who are here illegally. But the mass deportation actions being undertaken by President Trump’s administration go far beyond those important goals. These actions have the potential to sweep up Dreamers who came to the United States as children, Veterans who have served our nation, and essential workers who care for our family members, build our homes, and ensure we have food on our tables.
    “Instead, we should focus on deporting those who pose a danger to our country. And we should give the rest a chance to earn legal status. They would have to register with the government, pay their dues, and submit to background checks. 
    “We stand with the immigrant community in Chicago and across the country, and our offices and caseworkers are ready to help those who are improperly caught up in these raids.”
    Last month, as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin held a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy.” The hearing examined the consequences of mass deportations, as well as stressed the need to shift congressional efforts toward sensible solutions that bring order to the border and provide a path to citizenship to longtime residents with no serious criminal convictions.
     
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, Myers Tree Farm

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Myers Tree Farm of Des Moines County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.
    “For over 35 years, Myers Tree Farm has rooted itself in the Sperry community, sprucing things up with their variety of houseplants, succulents, and home decor,” said Chair Ernst. “Home to over 5,000 Christmas trees, this family-owned and operated small business continues to bring holiday joy to families across Iowa!”
    In 1987, Robert and Patti Myers planted a group of Christmas trees on an acre of land in hopes to sell them and pay for their kids college education. After Chad graduated from Iowa State University in 1993 with a degree in horticulture, he joined the business full-time and eventually took over with his wife. The couple expanded Myers Tree Farm to include full-service landscaping and a potting shed that houses flowers, garden and vegetable plants, and succulents. In 2019, the Myerses fully renovated their barn to host weddings ceremonies. The business hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration that attracts over 5,000 people to the family farm. This year, Myers Tree Farm will celebrate 38 years in Iowa. 
    Stay tuned as Chair Ernst recognizes more Iowa small businesses across the state with her Small Business of the Week award.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Section 106 affordable housing: call for next level support to new clearing service as registrations near 300 in first 50 days

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Home builders and providers looking to sell or buy homes, built as part of Section 106 planning agreements, urged to maximise use of new service.

    Nearly 300 organisations from across England have signed up to the new Section 106 Affordable Housing Clearing Service to help unlock delivery.

    More than 70 housebuilders have registered to provide details of affordable homes they have planning permission to build, alongside private homes, but have been unable to find a buyer for.

    They join 140 Registered Providers (RPs) and more than 70 Local Authorities (LAs) who have already registered for the service as potential buyers, and are viewing available information about potential opportunities on a regular basis.

    Registered users, especially sellers, are urged to continue their support by providing crucial details in addition to basic registration information; such as site location, construction progress, number of homes and types of tenure.

    It is hoped the service, created and managed by Homes England in response to sector feedback, will play its part in facilitating and accelerating the sale of uncontracted and unsold affordable homes across England, excluding London.

    Homes England Chief Customer Officer Ian Workman, said:

    This is a relatively simple but potentially impactful service that means greater visibility of opportunities to get affordable homes sold and occupied. I would urge house builders in particular to register and add as much detail as they can.

    Over 200 registered providers and local authorities have already signed up, and regularly checking for potential opportunities to acquire homes for the communities they serve.

    Listening, acting and working hand-in-glove with partners is fundamental, if we are to move forward and find solutions together to the challenges the sector is facing.  I am grateful to all those who have helped to shape this service so far, with promising early signs of uptake.

    Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, said:

    We recognise the challenge posed by the reduced appetite of registered providers of social housing to buy affordable homes delivered under section 106 agreements.

    The new clearing service we have worked in partnership with Homes England to establish will help improve the functioning of the market and unblock the delivery of section 106 affordable housing.

    Hundreds of developers and providers have already come forward to engage with this new service and real progress is being made as a result.

    Cllr Adam Hug, LGA housing spokesperson said:

    Councils urgently want to deliver more affordable housing including those affordable homes agreed in Section 106 agreements with developers in local planning applications.

    This service is a positive step to promoting stalled sites to registered providers of affordable housing, and the LGA encourages all local authorities to engage with it. But it is just one tool which will help bring forward more affordable housing. Much more needs to be done.

    Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, says:

    This clearing service is a welcome tool in tackling the current issue in the delivery of Section 106 affordable homes. Building new relationships between developers and social housing providers is important in overcoming the immediate challenges, as well as helping developers to understand the requirements of housing associations in the future.

    Housing associations are facing significant competing financial pressures, which is also impacting their ability to both buy Section 106 homes and build other new affordable homes. In the longer term, housing associations are committed to working in partnership with the government on a long-term housing strategy to rebuild their capacity and deliver more much needed social and affordable homes.

    Notes to editors

    1. Homes England is the government’s homes and regeneration agency. We drive the creation of more high-quality homes and thriving places so that everyone – no matter their background – has a place to live and thrive. We work in partnership with thousands of public and private bodies including local authorities, home builders, developers, affordable housing providers, commercial real estate companies  and financial institutions to make this happen. For more information visit: Homes England – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
    2. A Section 106 agreement is a planning obligation that requires developers to contribute to local infrastructure and community facilities, such as affordable housing, schools, parks, or transport improvements, as a condition of planning permission.
    3. For more information about the service or to register visit: The Section 106 Affordable Housing Clearing Service – GOV.UK
    4. The service does not include London, where the Greater London Authority has responsibility for affordable housing delivery.
    5. For further information or interview requests please contact media@HomesEngland.gov.uk or 0207 874 8262.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Pension reforms to go further to unlock billions to drive growth and boost working peoples’ pension pots

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Working people and businesses are set to benefit from new rules that will give more flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed, as the government continues to remove blockages that are inhibiting its growth agenda that will improve lives of working people across the UK.

    • Prime Minister and Chancellor to tell leading CEOs that Britain is back and open for business.
    • Changes to pension rules will allow trapped surplus funds to be invested in the wider economy, fuelling economic growth.
    • Move is part of government action to remove blockages that are stopping growth – from regulation to planning processes.

    Working people and businesses are set to benefit from new rules that will give more flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed, as the government continues to remove blockages that are inhibiting its growth agenda that will improve lives of working people across the UK. 

    Hosting a meeting with leaders of Britain’s biggest businesses in the City of London today (Tuesday 28 January), the Prime Minister and the Chancellor will set out the details of changes and tell some of the country’s leading CEOs that Britain is back and open for business.

    At the roundtable, the PM and Chancellor will outline how restrictions will be lifted on how well-funded, occupational defined benefit pension funds that are performing well will be able to invest their surplus funds. 

    This follows action taken by the government last week to bring a renewed focus on growth from some of the UK’s biggest regulators, a shake-up to legal challenges on planning applications, and new “brownfield passports” to speed up housing in commuter hotspots.

    Prime Minister, Keir Starmer said: 

    The number one mission of my government is to secure growth, drive higher living standards for everyone, and get more money into people’s pockets.

    To achieve the change our country needs requires nothing short of rewiring the economy. It needs creative reform, the removal of hurdles, and unrelenting focus. Whether it’s how public services are run, regulation or pension rules, my government will not accept the status quo. Today’s changes will unlock billions of investment, pushing forward in delivering my Plan for Change.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:

    I know this government and businesses are united on growth being the top priority for our economy, which is why I am fighting every day to tear down the biggest barriers to growth, taking on regulators, planning processes and opposition to this urgent mission.

    The Prime Minister and Chancellor will tell CEOs from some of the UK’s most successful companies that that the government is seeking to create the best possible conditions for the private sector to thrive. They will promise to work in partnership with businesses, to deliver high-quality jobs across the country, and the economic growth that will fund the schools, hospitals and roads that we all rely on.

    Pension trustees and the sponsoring employers could then use this money to increase the productivity of their businesses – to boost wages and drive growth or unlock more money for pension scheme members. 

    High growth and more productive businesses boost the size of the economy which in turn will fund our vital public services.

    This more efficient approach demonstrates that the government has been listening to business, and will give businesses more flexibility, allowing trapped surplus funds to be invested into the wider UK economy, or given to scheme members as additional benefits.

    Where trustees agree to share a portion of scheme surplus with a sponsoring employer, the employer may choose to invest these funds in their core business, for example to purchase equipment or supplies, and/or provide additional benefits to members of the pension scheme.

    Approximately 75% of schemes are currently in surplus, worth £160 billion, but restrictions have meant that businesses have struggled to invest them.

    These reforms build on the Chancellor’s Mansion House reforms which will create pension megafunds as part of the biggest set of pension reforms in decades, unlocking billions of pounds of investment in exciting new businesses and infrastructure and local projects.     

    Over £1.1 trillion is held by pension funds in the UK and defined contribution pension schemes are set to manage £800 billion worth of assets by the end of the decade. This Government is determined to encourage these pension funds to deliver investment and drive economic growth – which is the only way to make people better off.    

    Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy & Innovation at the Investment Association said:

    Unlocking surplus capital from defined benefit schemes has the potential to both boost UK growth by opening up investment opportunities for companies and their stakeholders, as well as the possibility of higher pensions for scheme members. With around £1.1 trillion in assets, defined benefit schemes already make a significant contribution to the funding of the UK economy and public services. 

    With the right guardrails in place, the government’s proposals could help channel more funding into the economy, by enabling schemes to invest more widely and take on greater risk, while allowing for members to receive an uplift to pension benefits.

    Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Saving Association, said: 

    The PLSA backs surplus release, with the right protections in place to ensure member benefits are secure. Surpluses could be used to increase DB scheme benefits or could be redirected to fund contributions to sponsoring employers’ defined contribution workplace schemes.

    Lowering the legislative threshold for allowing returns of surplus could potentially encourage trustees, in conjunction with their employers, to adopt a more ambitious mindset and take on slightly riskier investment strategies for their DB assets, including greater investment in UK assets.

    Patrick Heath-Lay, Chief Executive Officer for The People’s Pension, said:

    It is positive news to see the government is looking at the pension industry as a whole. This will help unlock more of the £2.9trillion that is held in UK pension savings, to benefit savers and the economy alike.

    We look forward to other pension schemes following our plans and outlining how they will invest in private markets.

    The roundtable discussion will focus on the government’s partnership approach to growth with business, including how regulation can better support the Growth Mission, and the role of business in achieving the UK’s ambitions in AI which the Prime Minister unveiled earlier this month. Every regulator has a role to play in the Growth Mission and the Chancellor is hosting a series of roundtables with the 17 regulators that the Prime Minister wrote to in December, to discuss their proposals to support growth in the coming year. 

    The meeting with CEOs comes days after the Chancellor’s return from the World Economic Forum, where she pitched Britain’s investment credentials and let global business leaders know that the UK is open for business again. She championed early reforms to planning, pensions, and regulation that make it easier to do business in Britain and remove barriers investors from overseas face.

    On Wednesday, the Chancellor will make a speech where she will set out plans to push through further planning reforms to get Britian building again, rip up regulatory barriers so we can encourage more investment into the UK and announcements to boost trade and investment.

    The government will set out the details of the surplus policy in its response to the Options for Defined Benefits consultation, due this Spring.

    Further information: 

    • Currently DB scheme surplus can only be accessed where schemes passed a resolution by 2016, so not all schemes can access surplus even if trustees and sponsors both want to do so. 
    • Legislative changes could enable all DB schemes to change their rules to permit surplus extraction where there is trustee-employer agreement. This allows trustees to assess the suite of options available in striking a deal with employers on how best scheme members can also benefit – linked to improving member outcomes. 
    • Trustees have an overarching fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their members. When considering surplus extraction, trustees must fund the scheme and invest its assets in a way that leads to members receiving their full benefits.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: Pension reforms to go further to unlock billions to drive growth and boost working peoples’ pension pots

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    Working people and businesses are set to benefit from new rules that will give more flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed, as the government continues to remove blockages that are inhibiting its growth agenda that will improve lives of working people across the UK.

    • Prime Minister and Chancellor to tell leading CEOs that Britain is back and open for business.
    • Changes to pension rules will allow trapped surplus funds to be invested in the wider economy, fuelling economic growth.
    • Move is part of government action to remove blockages that are stopping growth – from regulation to planning processes.

    Working people and businesses are set to benefit from new rules that will give more flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed, as the government continues to remove blockages that are inhibiting its growth agenda that will improve lives of working people across the UK. 

    Hosting a meeting with leaders of Britain’s biggest businesses in the City of London today (Tuesday 28 January), the Prime Minister and the Chancellor will set out the details of changes and tell some of the country’s leading CEOs that Britain is back and open for business.

    At the roundtable, the PM and Chancellor will outline how restrictions will be lifted on how well-funded, occupational defined benefit pension funds that are performing well will be able to invest their surplus funds. 

    This follows action taken by the government last week to bring a renewed focus on growth from some of the UK’s biggest regulators, a shake-up to legal challenges on planning applications, and new “brownfield passports” to speed up housing in commuter hotspots.

    Prime Minister, Keir Starmer said: 

    The number one mission of my government is to secure growth, drive higher living standards for everyone, and get more money into people’s pockets.

    To achieve the change our country needs requires nothing short of rewiring the economy. It needs creative reform, the removal of hurdles, and unrelenting focus. Whether it’s how public services are run, regulation or pension rules, my government will not accept the status quo. Today’s changes will unlock billions of investment, pushing forward in delivering my Plan for Change.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:

    I know this government and businesses are united on growth being the top priority for our economy, which is why I am fighting every day to tear down the biggest barriers to growth, taking on regulators, planning processes and opposition to this urgent mission.

    The Prime Minister and Chancellor will tell CEOs from some of the UK’s most successful companies that that the government is seeking to create the best possible conditions for the private sector to thrive. They will promise to work in partnership with businesses, to deliver high-quality jobs across the country, and the economic growth that will fund the schools, hospitals and roads that we all rely on.

    Pension trustees and the sponsoring employers could then use this money to increase the productivity of their businesses – to boost wages and drive growth or unlock more money for pension scheme members. 

    High growth and more productive businesses boost the size of the economy which in turn will fund our vital public services.

    This more efficient approach demonstrates that the government has been listening to business, and will give businesses more flexibility, allowing trapped surplus funds to be invested into the wider UK economy, or given to scheme members as additional benefits.

    Where trustees agree to share a portion of scheme surplus with a sponsoring employer, the employer may choose to invest these funds in their core business, for example to purchase equipment or supplies, and/or provide additional benefits to members of the pension scheme.

    Approximately 75% of schemes are currently in surplus, worth £160 billion, but restrictions have meant that businesses have struggled to invest them.

    These reforms build on the Chancellor’s Mansion House reforms which will create pension megafunds as part of the biggest set of pension reforms in decades, unlocking billions of pounds of investment in exciting new businesses and infrastructure and local projects.     

    Over £1.1 trillion is held by pension funds in the UK and defined contribution pension schemes are set to manage £800 billion worth of assets by the end of the decade. This Government is determined to encourage these pension funds to deliver investment and drive economic growth – which is the only way to make people better off.    

    Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy & Innovation at the Investment Association said:

    Unlocking surplus capital from defined benefit schemes has the potential to both boost UK growth by opening up investment opportunities for companies and their stakeholders, as well as the possibility of higher pensions for scheme members. With around £1.1 trillion in assets, defined benefit schemes already make a significant contribution to the funding of the UK economy and public services. 

    With the right guardrails in place, the government’s proposals could help channel more funding into the economy, by enabling schemes to invest more widely and take on greater risk, while allowing for members to receive an uplift to pension benefits.

    Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Saving Association, said: 

    The PLSA backs surplus release, with the right protections in place to ensure member benefits are secure. Surpluses could be used to increase DB scheme benefits or could be redirected to fund contributions to sponsoring employers’ defined contribution workplace schemes.

    Lowering the legislative threshold for allowing returns of surplus could potentially encourage trustees, in conjunction with their employers, to adopt a more ambitious mindset and take on slightly riskier investment strategies for their DB assets, including greater investment in UK assets.

    Patrick Heath-Lay, Chief Executive Officer for The People’s Pension, said:

    It is positive news to see the government is looking at the pension industry as a whole. This will help unlock more of the £2.9trillion that is held in UK pension savings, to benefit savers and the economy alike.

    We look forward to other pension schemes following our plans and outlining how they will invest in private markets.

    The roundtable discussion will focus on the government’s partnership approach to growth with business, including how regulation can better support the Growth Mission, and the role of business in achieving the UK’s ambitions in AI which the Prime Minister unveiled earlier this month. Every regulator has a role to play in the Growth Mission and the Chancellor is hosting a series of roundtables with the 17 regulators that the Prime Minister wrote to in December, to discuss their proposals to support growth in the coming year. 

    The meeting with CEOs comes days after the Chancellor’s return from the World Economic Forum, where she pitched Britain’s investment credentials and let global business leaders know that the UK is open for business again. She championed early reforms to planning, pensions, and regulation that make it easier to do business in Britain and remove barriers investors from overseas face.

    On Wednesday, the Chancellor will make a speech where she will set out plans to push through further planning reforms to get Britian building again, rip up regulatory barriers so we can encourage more investment into the UK and announcements to boost trade and investment.

    The government will set out the details of the surplus policy in its response to the Options for Defined Benefits consultation, due this Spring.

    Further information: 

    • Currently DB scheme surplus can only be accessed where schemes passed a resolution by 2016, so not all schemes can access surplus even if trustees and sponsors both want to do so. 
    • Legislative changes could enable all DB schemes to change their rules to permit surplus extraction where there is trustee-employer agreement. This allows trustees to assess the suite of options available in striking a deal with employers on how best scheme members can also benefit – linked to improving member outcomes. 
    • Trustees have an overarching fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their members. When considering surplus extraction, trustees must fund the scheme and invest its assets in a way that leads to members receiving their full benefits.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Awards and Recognition – Site Safe Announces 2025 Health and Safety Award Finalists

    Source: Site Safe

    Site Safe today announced the finalists for its 2025 Health and Safety Awards, celebrating excellence in workplace safety across Aotearoa New Zealand.
    The finalists, representing a diverse range of industries, will now compete at the largest health and safety event of the year, the Evening of Celebration, for top honours at a gala evening held at the Due Drop Event Centre in Auckland on 5 March 2025, attended by hundreds of industry leaders and safety professionals.
    “We are incredibly proud to announce these outstanding finalists,” said Brett Murray, Chief Executive of Site Safe.
    “The record number of entries received this year underscores the importance industry places on effectively managing health and safety risks in their workplaces. It’s inspiring to see the dedication and innovation showcased by these individuals, teams, and organisations.”
    The judging panel, comprised of respected industry representatives and safety professionals, were highly impressed by the calibre of entries.
    The judges commented, “Selecting the finalists was a challenging task, as the level of innovation, dedication, and positive impact demonstrated by all applicants was truly exceptional.”
    Here are the 2025 Site Safe Award Finalists:
    The  Safety Innovation Award:
    • Beon  Energy Solutions: Beon’s new Pile Extractor revolutionises solar farm construction by safely and efficiently removing piles. Unlike traditional methods, which are dangerous and inefficient, the Pile Extractor is operated by one person, applies controlled forces, and eliminates the need for heavy machinery. This innovation enhances worker safety, increases productivity, and promotes a safer work culture within the renewable energy sector.
    • Fulton  Hogan: The SH1 Brynderwyns Recovery Project faced challenges due to the terrain, environmental concerns, and a major slip. Despite these obstacles, the team innovated, employing remote-controlled machinery to safely clear unstable slopes. This approach ultimately ensured a safer and more efficient recovery effort.
    • Traffic  Safe NZ: Traffic Safe developed a robotic system to eliminate the dangerous manual placement of road cones. This system uses cameras, sensors, and a robotic arm mounted on a truck to automatically deploy and retrieve cones, significantly reducing worker risk.
    The  Safety Leadership Award:
    • The  DEI team, New Zealand Defence Force: Defence Estate and Infrastructure (DEI) manages health and safety for numerous contractors across NZ. DEI developed the CHESS framework, outlining minimum H&S requirements for all contractors, with a focus on high-risk work. This framework is successfully implemented and fully supported by NZDF leadership. DEI prioritises H&S in all projects, striving to ensure all personnel return home safely each day.
    • Yolanda  Oosthuizen – Horizon Energy Group: As the Horizon Energy Group GM for HSEQ, Yolanda has led safety, wellness, quality, and sustainability. She champions their ESG agenda, fostering a Switched-ON safety culture. Her focus is on visionary leadership, aligning safety with organisational goals. Effective communication and measurable impact drive initiatives like the implementation of the ecoPortal Safety System. She also mentors’ future leaders, positioning Horizon as an industry leader in safety and sustainability.
    • Jamie  Greentree – Kinetic Electrical Wellington: Jaime started an electrical business with minimal health and safety focus initially. However, post-COVID, Jaimie prioritised compliance, investing in staff training and achieving a NZ Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety Practice (Level 3). As the sole director, Jaimie led this change, influencing other franchisees. As a small business, he adapted to the economic climate by diversifying.
    The  Safety Contribution Award (Team):
    • Canterbury  Aluminium Ltd: Chris and Nicky Averill acquired Canterbury Aluminium in 2022, prioritising staff health and safety. They believe a strong health and safety culture leads to happy staff and satisfied clients. The company’s Health & Safety Committee fosters a collaborative environment where all employees are encouraged to prioritise safety in their work. This award nomination recognises the committee’s efforts to improve health and safety outcomes for all staff.
    • Mason  Clinic Project – Southbase: Southbase Construction implemented numerous safety initiatives on the Mason Clinic project, fostering a strong safety culture. These measures included Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention, Health15 Program, Collaboration with Safety Brands and Organisations, Working at Height/Dropped Objects, Emergency Scenario Drills, and Health and Safety Recognition.
    • Tradestaff  Group Ltd: Tradestaff’s Safety Team has successfully fostered a safety-first culture within the construction sector. They’ve addressed challenges specific to on-hire labour, including short-term placements and diverse demographics. By focusing on candidates, clients, and consultants, they’ve implemented initiatives that promote safer onsite outcomes and drive cultural change in health and safety.
    The  Safety Contribution Award (Individual):
    • Glen  Sturgess, Naylor Love: Glen is a dedicated Health & Safety Champion. He consistently goes above and beyond to ensure site safety. Glen excels in logistics, effectively communicating safe movement of vehicles and personnel.
    • Shelley  Compston – Apprentice Training Trust: Shelley is a Health & Safety Co-ordinator and excels in improving workplace safety. She fosters a strong safety culture, inspires colleagues, and drives continuous improvement. Through effective collaboration and communication, she encourages best practices among hosts, staff, and apprentices. Shelley’s leadership, innovation, and dedication to protecting workers are exemplary.
    • Mark  Nicholas – Accent Construction: Mark utilises weekly toolbox meetings to upskill his construction team beyond basic safety. He develops workshops and bulletins on diverse topics like site access, hot works, and mental wellbeing. These initiatives enhance worker awareness and knowledge, leading to a stronger safety culture within the company and among subcontractors. Workers are better equipped to identify and manage hazards onsite.

    The  Mental Health and Wellbeing Award:

    • Workforce  Central Dunedin: Dunedin Hospital Outpatients workers enjoy exceptional onsite care. Services include free haircuts, health screenings, physio, GP consultations, and mental health support. Recreational activities like cornhole and billiards are provided. The site promotes a positive work-life balance and worker well-being through initiatives like Maori Language Week and Suicide Awareness Day. Workers consistently praise the unique and supportive environment.
    • Anita  Teo-Tavita – Programmed: Anita leads the Programmed Mental Health First Aid training, both internally and in the community. She’s a key figure in promoting worker wellbeing, taking a holistic approach. Anita not only facilitates training but also supports workers with initiatives outside of work hours, demonstrating her commitment to their overall wellbeing.
    • Tūpore: At Tūpore, prioritising mental wellbeing is core. They have created a supportive whanau culture, with initiatives like the “Raranga Oranga” role and the Big Buds programme. These efforts, combined with tikanga Māori practices and community partnerships, foster a thriving and connected workforce. This focus on mental health has significantly improved employee wellbeing and reduced the impact of high suicide rates in Hawke’s Bay.

    The  Future Safety Leader Award:

    • Aimee  Daw – Programmed: Aimee, initially a HSEQ Administrator at AIMs, quickly advanced to HSEQ Coordinator at Programmed, providing key HSEQ support. Despite her short tenure and lack of HSEQ background, her contributions have been significant, particularly in improving safety systems and processes. She is recognized for her dedication, resilience, and impactful safety leadership.
    • Fern  Harper – Naylor Love: Fern’s outstanding contributions to health & safety and her dedication, leadership, and commitment to safety excellence have inspired others. Fern’s inclusive approach and proactive nature make her an exceptional Emerging Practitioner in the field of health and safety.
    • Fiona  Brabant – Cook Brothers Construction: Fiona, or Fi, is a passionate Health & Safety leader at Cook Brothers Construction in Queenstown and Wanaka. Joining recently, she prioritises team wellbeing, viewing colleagues as people, not just workers. Her background in health drives innovation and motivation. From onsite care to wellness initiatives, Fi strives to ensure everyone returns home safely, despite the challenges.

    The Site Safe Awards recognise and celebrate individuals, teams, and organisations that have made significant contributions to improving workplace safety in New Zealand. These awards provide valuable recognition and inspire others to prioritise safety in their workplaces. About Site Safe Site Safe is a leading provider of health and safety training and consultancy services in New Zealand. We are committed to empowering New Zealanders to work safely and return home safely every day. For more information about Site Safe’s Evening of Celebration, click HERE: https://www.sitesafe.org.nz/about/news-and-events/events/2025-auckland-evening-of-celebration/

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Housing Sector – Affordable housing project for Wānaka seniors receives $100k grant

    Source: Queenstown Lakes Housing Community Trust (QLCHT)

    A Wānaka housing project that will provide affordable rentals to seniors has received a $100,000 grant from a local trust that assists people in need in the Upper Clutha.

    The housing project, which is being developed and managed by Queenstown Lakes Housing Community Trust (QLCHT), received the six-figure donation from the Elsie and Ray Armstrong Charitable Trust recently. The financial contribution will go towards the development of 10 affordable, one-bedroom units along with two three-bedroom family units on the corners of Upton and McDougall Streets in central Wānaka.
     
    The concept first began in November 2022 when QLCHT purchased a section on McDougall Street – beside five council-owned rental properties – with the intent of developing the vacant lot into affordable rental units for seniors.
     
    Last year, the Queenstown Lakes District Council approved the transfer of ownership and operational management of the five neighbouring properties to QLCHT, following public consultation. Currently in the planning phase, the housing project will contain 12 units across both sites, with stage one consisting of civil works and new builds on the empty section, followed by the redevelopment of the existing site.
     
    Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust chief executive Julie Scott says the grant is greatly appreciated, especially in the current economic climate. QLCHT will fund the project, estimated to be around $5m-$6m, but grants like this one are vital to ensure ongoing costs to residents can be kept to a minimum.
     
    “There is not a lot of funding for these types of projects at the moment, and we are so grateful to the Elsie and Ray Armstrong Charitable Trust for their generous donation,” she says. “It will allow us to provide additional features such as solar panels, a communal laundry space and shared services, including a highly efficient hot water heating system to the 12-units.
     
    “These extra infrastructure benefits will provide substantial financial support to the occupants by significantly reducing power costs,” Scott adds.
     
    Elsie and Ray Armstrong Charitable Trust trustee Simon Telfer says the group is excited to contribute towards the important community project.
     
    “The elderly are an important demographic in our local community who need support and we are thrilled about what this project will provide them,” he says. “We’re pleased this grant helps to kickstart the development and hope it leads to others supporting our fellow Wānaka residents.”
     
    The site is located within 200 metres of the Wānaka Community Hub, which provides critical services and amenities to many local seniors.
     
    QLCHT Wānaka tenancy manager Emma Roberts says the demand for affordable senior housing is growing.
     
    “We have a lot of people aged over 60 living in the district, and some encounter unfortunate and unexpected circumstantial changes, which are outside of their control,” Roberts explains. “For many of these people, their only option is to upheave their lives and leave town.
     
    “By offering an alternative rental option it allows them to have a greater sense of security, which is important as the local population grows and ages. And with 250 eligible Wānaka households currently on our waiting list today, we have significant demand for this type of housing,” she says.
     
    “Tenants living in the five existing units will be cared for by our team throughout the build process and will have the opportunity to shift into one of the new units, before stage two starts,” Scott says. “All going to plan, we hope to break ground on the first stage in the middle of this year.”

    About the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust:
    QLCHT is a not-for-profit, registered community housing provider created to manage and deliver affordable housing solutions to those vital to the community who cannot afford it. Initiated by Queenstown Lakes District Council in 2007, which recognised the affordability issue and acted upon it, the Trust is an independent entity operating throughout the Queenstown Lakes District.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murkowski and Chemnitz: Greenland “Ally, not an Asset”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski
    01.27.25
    Washington, DC – Today, United States Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska and Co-Chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region) and Aaja Chemnitz (Member of Danish Parliament representing Greenland for Inuit Ataqatigiit and Chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region), released the following joint statement:
    “In recent weeks, as President Trump has suggested the U.S. should purchase Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, attention has rapidly turned to what the future may hold. The appeal of Greenland is easy to understand. It is strategically located for defense, shipping, and more. It is also a storehouse for all sorts of minerals, the building blocks of society that will determine who leads—and controls—the industries of the future.
    “Of course, a businessman turned president would be interested. But Greenland is not for sale. The question has been asked and firmly answered by the government of Greenland, Naalakkersuisut.
    “As legislators representing Greenland in Denmark and the United States, we see a better path forward. The United States, like Denmark, should recognize that the future will be defined by partnership, not ownership. To ensure our alliance reaches its full potential, Americans must view Greenland as an ally, not an asset. Open for business, but not for sale.
    “From our work on Arctic Parliamentarians, we are certain that U.S. ambitions for national security can be achieved without altering Greenland’s autonomy. We see that in Pittufik Space Base. Dialogue and cooperation can strengthen our ties; diplomacy can pave the way for a relationship and alliance that fulfills our mutual interests. 
    “We can also affirm that Greenland welcomes increased cooperation with the U.S. on defense, mineral development, trade, and our common values of freedom and democracy. The U.S. should embrace that. And it should be paired with a larger acceptance of the Arctic as a region of shared responsibility whose opportunities cannot be seized, and whose challenges cannot be overcome, by any one nation on its own.
    “Let’s remember that the U.S. portion of the Arctic—Alaska—shares more than lines of latitude with Greenland. Whether you’re in Nuuk or Nome, you will see and hear familiar words, a reflection of our Inuk and Iñupiaq peoples’ common history. Alaska has the same advantages as Greenland, from strategic location to abundant resources. We can form the heart of this union throughout the 21st century and beyond.
    “We work hard to ensure prosperity, peaceful and respectful collaboration and protection of our people. We do so through international cooperation including through the Arctic Council which is the main Arctic cooperative governance body. We call on continued support and engagement in the peaceful dialogue through the Arctic Council, and we look forward and support the incoming chairship of Kingdom of Denmark, and recognize the leading role of Greenland in the chairship.
    “The future does not require us to redraw the borders on that map, but to work harder than ever across them. The respectful, consensus partnership is the only way to truly foster the ties that will bind Greenland and the United States together for the long haul. We call the Arctic our home. We work hard to ensure prosperity, peaceful and respectful collaboration and protection of our people. We believe in a stronger partnership for a brighter future across the Arctic.”
    Yesterday, the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) met in Tromsø, Norway, for the organization’s winter meeting. Senator Murkowski participated virtually.

    MIL OSI USA News –