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  • MIL-OSI Africa: RESPECT Unveiled: Makes it Easy for EdTech Stakeholders to Embrace African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (AUDA-NEPAD) Africa EdTech 2030 Vision

    Source: APO – Report:

    RESPECT™ (https://Respect.World), a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Education, was announced today during the STEMtastic Adventures! Africa symposium. RESPECT was developed by the Spix Foundation to make it easy for Africa’s EdTech stakeholders to embrace AUDA NEPAD’s Africa EdTech 2030 Vision and Plan (https://apo-opa.co/4kYulLY), announced earlier this month. AUDA NEPAD’s Vision proposes that, by 2030, “every African student should have access to the world’s best interactive digital courseware—developed in Africa by Africans—on smartphones already present in their pockets, households, and/or schools”.

    With today’s release of RESPECT Version 1, Africa has gained a multi-year head start over the rest of the world. The United Nations has only this year started talking seriously about the need for a DPI for Education (https://apo-opa.co/4m5Xm9h). Africa has already released it. Africa is already ahead. To accomplish the Vision, Africa need only leverage its new advantage to the hilt.

    Speaking at the launch, John Kimotho, EdTech Consultant, Spix Foundation and Head of RESPECT Africa Office, said: “Much of EdTech is pilot-driven and disconnected from education systems, leaving developers without clear growth pathways and teachers with tools that don’t last. RESPECT makes it easy for policymakers, educators, and developers, to build solutions that align with real classroom needs and can grow and last.”

    The launch coincides with AUDA-NEPAD’s release of sobering statistics (https://apo-opa.co/3UfrwLH): only 40% of African primary schools have internet access, an estimated 30 million primary-age children remain out of school, and the continent will need 17 million additional teachers by 2030 just to maintain universal access. Meanwhile, billions in education technology investment have resulted in fragmented, unsustainable pilot projects rather than scalable solutions.

    “Africa has a unique opportunity to simultaneously drive access to free localised edtech solutions that can reach all parts of the education ecosystem, even those offline, while making it profitable and sustainable to develop the world’s best interactive digital courseware, right here in Africa;” said John Kimotho. “The system has been failing the innovators, not the other way around, and RESPECT makes it easy for those innovators to deliver the education technology solutions that Africa’s children need.”

    The scale of market fragmentation

    Recent analysis by the mEducation Alliance (https://apo-opa.co/46VaNEG) revealed that developers must navigate different rules, requirements, and procurement protocols in nearly every African country, resulting in what researchers term “small-batch deployment” – a Kenya pilot here, a Senegal district project there, with each requiring complete retooling.

    The consequence is a paradox: whilst Africa has produced world-class educational technology – from Kenya’s classroom management systems to Senegal’s Wolof-language XamXam platform serving 1.2 million users – these innovations remain largely isolated within their countries of origin.

    “Teachers are experiencing ‘tool fatigue’ from juggling multiple siloed applications with no central access or data integration,” notes the mEducation Alliance’s 2024 report on digital courseware in low- and middle-income countries. “This discourages adoption, even when individual apps are excellent.”

    Key problems – and solutions

    AUDA NEPAD’s Vision and Plan notes two key problems: (1) the lack of real-time, reliable data about what digital courseware works best for different learners, and (2) barriers to scale including policy, commercial, and technological obstacles.

    “AUDA-NEPAD observes that if Africa solves these two problems—by making it easy for courseware to generate real-time data for ranking and research, and by lowering policy, technical, and commercial barriers—then market forces will do the rest,” according to the Vision and Plan.

    All RESPECT Compatible™ apps send data on every learner-app interaction to the relevant authority – within the bounds of the jurisdiction’s data privacy, security, and sovereignty laws – enabling that authority to implement data-dependent techniques such as Teaching at the Right Level and Structured Pedagogy. This data, federated at the continental level, enables courseware ranking and research.

    RESPECT lowers the aforementioned policy barriers by implementing AUDA-NEPAD’s new Policy Framework for Standards-Based, Vendor-Neutral EdTech, a draft of which was released for public comment today.

    RESPECT lowers the technical barriers through the implementation of a range of on-device technologies from data compression, web caching, proxy servers, and mesh networking to make it easy for courseware app developers to write a single app that works online, offline, and intermittently online. Likewise, it has early support for systematic text localization and, eventually, curriculum standards mapping, that are expected to provide easy technological fixes for complex scaling problems. Also, RESPECT enforces interoperability through internationally-standardized APIs such as xAPI, OneRoster, and OAuth.

    RESPECT lowers the commercial barriers by providing all RESPECT Compatible™ apps for free to all students and intermediaries, while paying the developers and localizers of said apps based on those apps’ usage (and later, impact). RESPECT’s revenue, derived from sponsorships, will go primarily to these developers and localizers. Think of it as “YouTube meets PBS Kids” (https://apo-opa.co/3IJTrAC) for EdTech apps.

    Looking ahead

    “The opportunity is historic, but time is short,” concluded Kimotho. “We need to stop lamenting the barriers and start dismantling them systematically.”

    – on behalf of Africa Practice Ltd.

    Note to editors:
    RESPECT and RESPECT Compatible are trademarks of the Spix Foundation.
    RESPECT: https://Respect.World
    Full African EdTech 2030: Vision & Plan: https://apo-opa.co/3UfrwLH
    mEducation Alliance Report – Leading Perspectives on the State of Digital Courseware in Low Resource Countries: https://apo-opa.co/4195XzU

    For interviews, please contact:
    Joslyne Muthoni
    Africa Practice
    jmuthoni@africapractice.com

    Follow RESPECT:
    Website: https://Respect.World
    LinkedIn: https://apo-opa.co/4kQiD5N

    About RESPECT:
    RESPECT is an open source digital library for EdTech apps. It makes it easier for educators to discover and use high-quality apps in all settings, while giving developers the platform they need to grow their impact globally.

    RESPECT sets strong interoperable technical standards, while enabling developers to monetise their tools through a simple sponsor supported revenue model.

    What RESPECT offers:
    By aligning incentives across policy, pedagogy, and technology, RESPECT makes it easier to access,  build, scale and sustain resilient edtech innovations.

    At its core, RESPECT connects the needs of developers and educators, supporting high quality, locally contextualised tools that reflect real classroom conditions and align with local languages and curriculum goals. It’s about building EdTech that lasts, where it matters most.

    About AUDA-NEPAD:
    The African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) is the continental development agency of the African Union, established to coordinate and execute priority regional and continental development projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated achievement of Agenda 2063.

    Full African EdTech 2030: Vision & Plan: https://apo-opa.co/3UfrwLH 

    About STEMtastic Adventures! Africa:
    STEMtastic Adventures! Africa is hosted by the Centre for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) from July 22-25, 2025, bringing together leading thinkers, activists, and implementers to advance STEM education across the continent.

    mEducation Alliance Report – Leading Perspectives on the State of Digital Courseware in Low Resource Countries: https://apo-opa.co/4195XzU

    Media files

    .

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Freshwater fishing licence sales streamlined to B.C.’s WILD system

    Recreational freshwater anglers will soon be able to buy B.C. freshwater fishing licences through the Wildlife Information and Licensing Data system (WILD), bringing fishing and hunting licensing into one convenient online platform.

    Starting in fall 2025, people who are not already registered in the WILD system can create a profile and obtain a free Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID) in preparation for the 2026–27 licence year. An FWID will be needed to purchase a freshwater fishing licence when sales open in WILD in spring 2026.

    Currently, people access WILD using a Basic BCeID. This fall, B.C. residents and people who reside in Canada outside of B.C. will also have the option to log in using their BC Services Card account. This secure and convenient new method automates identity and residency verification, helping reduce administrative workload, reduce wait times and enhance the user experience. People who do not reside in Canada will need to use or create a Basic BCeID to access and obtain an FWID online in WILD.

    Since its launch in 2016, WILD has improved public access to hunting applications and authorizations and helped government process applications faster. Over the past five years, roughly 93% of all limited entry hunting applications and 30% of all hunting licences were purchased online through WILD.

    B.C. is home to some of the world’s most renowned freshwater fishing destinations, attracting residents and visitors alike. Recreational fishing also supports local economies, particularly in rural and tourism-dependent communities.

    Expanding WILD to include freshwater fishing licence sales will further streamline the licensing process for stakeholders and government, improve data collection, and support informed decision-making for fish and wildlife management.

    Quick Facts:

    • Licence fees for freshwater fishing licences help fund research, conservation and education programs, improve angler access and the provincial stocking program through the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. (https://www.gofishbc.com/).
    • Conservation surcharge fees provide grants for fish conservation projects through the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (https://hctf.ca/).
    • A Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID) is mandatory and will provide access to licences for approximately 350,000 anglers who fish in B.C. each year.
    • Anglers can register for their FWID online through WILD or in person at retailers.

    Learn More:

    To read details about WILD System Quick Reference Guides, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/sports-culture/recreation/fishing-hunting/hunting/wild-system/quick-reference-guides

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Labrador Commends Life Sentences for Bryan Kohberger

    Source: US State of Idaho

    Home Newsroom Attorney General Labrador Commends Life Sentences for Bryan Kohberger

    BOISE — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued the following statement after Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Bryan Kohberger to four consecutive fixed life sentences for the 2022 murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Kohberger also received an additional fixed ten-year sentence for burglary, stemming from his unlawful entry into the students’ home with the intent to kill. The four life sentences imposed by Judge Hippler are for fixed terms and will run consecutively.
    The Office of the Attorney General supported Latah County’s prosecution for more than two years through a formal cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson retained full authority over the case, including plea negotiations, while the State provided legal resources that came in the form of pre-trial litigation conducted by three Deputy Attorneys General: Jeff Nye, Chief of the Criminal Law Division; Ingrid Batey, Lead Deputy Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Unit; and Madison Gourley, the current Lead Deputy Attorney General who replaced Batey when she became the Senior Chief Deputy in the Canyon County Prosecutor’s office.
    “Our hearts are with the victims and their families. While no sentence can bring full justice to this kind of evil, today’s sentence ensures that Bryan Kohberger will never see the outside of a prison and will never again harm innocent families,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Under Idaho law, the fixed prison sentences mean Kohberger will never be eligible for parole. I’m especially grateful to Prosecutor Bill Thompson and my Criminal Division Chief, Jeff Nye, whose leadership, judgment, and tireless efforts brought this case to a just conclusion. Their teams served the State of Idaho with distinction, and our families and the public are safer because of their hard work.”
    The Attorney General’s attorneys focused on key legal briefing and arguments to give Latah County prosecutors the ability to concentrate on discovery and prepare for trial. The Deputy Attorneys General protected the grand jury indictment from dismissal, fended off more than a dozen motions challenging the death penalty, and defended law enforcement’s use of investigative genetic genealogy.
    The use of investigative genetic genealogy helped first identify Kohberger as a suspect and was the first time it had been used in Idaho. After extensive briefing and argument, Judge Hippler ruled that law enforcement’s use of the technique did not violate Kohberger’s constitutional rights.
    Kohberger will spend the rest of his life behind bars and will be housed at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Immigration courts hiding the names of ICE lawyers goes against centuries of precedent and legal ethics requiring transparency in courts

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

    Some immigration courts have allowed ICE attorneys to conceal their names during proceedings. Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock via Getty Images

    Something unusual is happening in U.S. immigration courts. Government lawyers are refusing to give their names during public hearings.

    In June 2025, Immigration Judge ShaSha Xu in New York City reportedly told lawyers in her courtroom: “We’re not really doing names publicly.” Only the government lawyers’ names were hidden – the immigrants’ attorneys had to give their names as usual. Xu cited privacy concerns, saying, “Things lately have changed.”

    When one immigration lawyer objected that the court record would be incomplete without the government attorney’s name, Xu reportedly refused to provide it. In another case, New York immigration Judge James McCarthy in July referred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, attorney as merely “Department” throughout the hearing.

    New York immigration Judge Shirley Lazare-Raphael told The Intercept that some ICE attorneys believe it is “dangerous to state their names publicly.” This follows a broader pattern of ICE agents wearing masks during arrests to hide their identities.

    This secrecy violates a fundamental principle that has protected Americans for centuries: open courts. Here’s how those courts operate and why the principle governing them matters.

    Hiding of ICE attorneys’ names in court fits a broader pattern seen here outside a New York immigration courtroom of ICE agents wearing masks.
    AP Photo/Olga Fedorova

    ‘Presumption of openness’

    The U.S. legal system is built on openness, with multiple layers of legal protection that guarantee public access to court proceedings.

    This tradition of open courts developed as a direct rejection of secret judicial proceedings that had been used to abuse power in England. The notorious Star Chamber operated in secret from the 15th to 17th centuries, initially trying people “too powerful to be brought before ordinary common-law courts.”

    But the Star Chamber eventually became a tool of oppression, using torture to obtain confessions and punishing jurors who ruled against the Crown. Parliament abolished it in 1641 after widespread abuses.

    By the time American colonial courts were established, the reaction against the Star Chamber had already shaped English legal thinking toward openness. American courts adopted this principle of transparency from the beginning, rejecting the secretive proceedings that had enabled abuse.

    Today, the term “star chamber” refers to any secret court proceeding that seems grossly unfair or is used to persecute individuals.

    In the U.S., courts have repeatedly emphasized that “justice faces its gravest threat when courts dispense it secretly.” The First Amendment gives the public a right to observe judicial proceedings. The Supreme Court has ruled that “a presumption of openness inheres in the very nature of a criminal trial under our system of justice.”

    Every federal appeals court has recognized that this constitutional right extends to civil cases too, with some exceptions such as protecting “the parties’ privacy, confidential business information, or trade secrets.” Federal court rules require that trials be “conducted in open court” and that witness testimony be “taken in open court unless otherwise provided.”

    Many state constitutions also guarantee open courts – such as Oregon’s mandate that “no court shall be secret.”

    While there’s no explicit law requiring attorneys to be publicly named, there’s also no policy allowing their names to be kept secret. The presumption is always toward openness.

    In response to these recent developments, law professor Elissa Steglich said that she’d “never heard of someone in open court not being identified,” and that failing to identify an attorney could impair accountability “if there are unethical or professional concerns.”

    Rules for anonymity

    Courts sometimes allow anonymity, but only in specific circumstances.

    Juries can be anonymous when there’s “substantial danger of harm or undue influence,” as legal expert Michael Crowell writes – like in high-profile organized crime cases or when defendants have tried to intimidate witnesses before. Even then, the lawyers still know the jurors’ names.

    Similarly, parties to a lawsuit can sometimes use pseudonyms like “Jane Doe” when the case involves highly sensitive matters such as sexual abuse, or when there’s a real risk of physical retaliation.

    But these rare exceptions require careful court review.

    What’s happening with ICE attorneys is different. There’s no formal court ruling allowing it, no specific safety findings and no established legal process.

    Immigration courts have fewer protections

    Immigration courts operate differently from regular federal courts. They are so-called “administrative courts” that are part of the executive branch, not the judicial branch.

    These courts decide claims involving an individual’s right to stay in the U.S., either when the government seeks to remove someone from the country for violating immigration law or when an individual seeks to stay in the country through the asylum process.

    Immigration judges lack the lifetime job protections that regular federal judges have. As executive branch government employees, they can be hired and fired, just like other Department of Justice employees.

    People in immigration court also have fewer procedural protections than criminal defendants. They have no right to court-appointed counsel and must represent themselves unless they can afford to hire an attorney. The majority of immigrants appear without an attorney. Outcomes are better for those who can afford to hire counsel.

    Immigration court records are also less accessible to the public than other federal court proceedings.

    For years, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the nation’s highest immigration court, made less than 1% of its opinions publicly available. A federal court ruled that public disclosure was required; the Board of Immigration Appeals now posts its decisions online.

    However, lower immigration court decisions are rarely made public.

    Because immigration courts operate with less oversight than regular federal courts, public observation becomes more critical.

    Open courts aren’t just about legal procedure – they’re about democracy itself. When the public can observe how justice is administered, it builds confidence that the system is fair.

    Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on July 21, 2025, in New York City.
    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Court watching protects transparency

    Court watching has become an important way for citizens to ensure due process is honored, especially in immigration cases.

    Observers can monitor whether proper legal procedures are being followed. They can watch for signs that attorneys are prepared, treating people respectfully and following court rules – regardless of whether those attorneys identify themselves.

    Observers help track trends such as lack of legal representation, language barriers or procedural unfairness that can inform advocacy for reforms. This kind of public oversight is especially important in immigration court, where people often don’t have lawyers and may not understand their rights.

    When community members bear witness to these proceedings, it helps ensure the system operates fairly and transparently.

    Professional ethics and accountability

    As a law professor who runs a law school’s Center for Professional Ethics, I can say that while there’s no specific law forcing ICE attorneys to identify themselves, they are still bound by rules of professional conduct that require accountability and transparency.

    State bar associations have clear standards about attorney conduct in court proceedings. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct emphasize that lawyers are “officers of the legal system” with duties to uphold its integrity.

    Immigration judges, despite being government employees rather than lifetime-tenured federal judges, are also bound by judicial conduct codes that require them to uphold public confidence in the justice system. When judges allow or encourage anonymity without formal procedures or safety findings, they risk violating these ethical obligations.

    Bar associations can investigate professional conduct violations and impose sanctions ranging from reprimands to suspension or disbarment. While enforcement against federal government lawyers has historically been uncommon, sustained documentation by court observers can provide the evidence needed for formal complaints.

    While government attorneys, judges and other court personnel may face real safety concerns, hiding their identities in open court is unprecedented and breaks with centuries of legal tradition that requires accountability and transparency in our justice system.

    As pressure mounts to process immigration cases quickly, courts are ethically and legally bound to ensure that speed doesn’t come at the expense of fundamental fairness and transparency.

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

    – ref. Immigration courts hiding the names of ICE lawyers goes against centuries of precedent and legal ethics requiring transparency in courts – https://theconversation.com/immigration-courts-hiding-the-names-of-ice-lawyers-goes-against-centuries-of-precedent-and-legal-ethics-requiring-transparency-in-courts-261452

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Immigration courts hiding the names of ICE lawyers goes against centuries of precedent and legal ethics requiring transparency in courts

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

    Some immigration courts have allowed ICE attorneys to conceal their names during proceedings. Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock via Getty Images

    Something unusual is happening in U.S. immigration courts. Government lawyers are refusing to give their names during public hearings.

    In June 2025, Immigration Judge ShaSha Xu in New York City reportedly told lawyers in her courtroom: “We’re not really doing names publicly.” Only the government lawyers’ names were hidden – the immigrants’ attorneys had to give their names as usual. Xu cited privacy concerns, saying, “Things lately have changed.”

    When one immigration lawyer objected that the court record would be incomplete without the government attorney’s name, Xu reportedly refused to provide it. In another case, New York immigration Judge James McCarthy in July referred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, attorney as merely “Department” throughout the hearing.

    New York immigration Judge Shirley Lazare-Raphael told The Intercept that some ICE attorneys believe it is “dangerous to state their names publicly.” This follows a broader pattern of ICE agents wearing masks during arrests to hide their identities.

    This secrecy violates a fundamental principle that has protected Americans for centuries: open courts. Here’s how those courts operate and why the principle governing them matters.

    Hiding of ICE attorneys’ names in court fits a broader pattern seen here outside a New York immigration courtroom of ICE agents wearing masks.
    AP Photo/Olga Fedorova

    ‘Presumption of openness’

    The U.S. legal system is built on openness, with multiple layers of legal protection that guarantee public access to court proceedings.

    This tradition of open courts developed as a direct rejection of secret judicial proceedings that had been used to abuse power in England. The notorious Star Chamber operated in secret from the 15th to 17th centuries, initially trying people “too powerful to be brought before ordinary common-law courts.”

    But the Star Chamber eventually became a tool of oppression, using torture to obtain confessions and punishing jurors who ruled against the Crown. Parliament abolished it in 1641 after widespread abuses.

    By the time American colonial courts were established, the reaction against the Star Chamber had already shaped English legal thinking toward openness. American courts adopted this principle of transparency from the beginning, rejecting the secretive proceedings that had enabled abuse.

    Today, the term “star chamber” refers to any secret court proceeding that seems grossly unfair or is used to persecute individuals.

    In the U.S., courts have repeatedly emphasized that “justice faces its gravest threat when courts dispense it secretly.” The First Amendment gives the public a right to observe judicial proceedings. The Supreme Court has ruled that “a presumption of openness inheres in the very nature of a criminal trial under our system of justice.”

    Every federal appeals court has recognized that this constitutional right extends to civil cases too, with some exceptions such as protecting “the parties’ privacy, confidential business information, or trade secrets.” Federal court rules require that trials be “conducted in open court” and that witness testimony be “taken in open court unless otherwise provided.”

    Many state constitutions also guarantee open courts – such as Oregon’s mandate that “no court shall be secret.”

    While there’s no explicit law requiring attorneys to be publicly named, there’s also no policy allowing their names to be kept secret. The presumption is always toward openness.

    In response to these recent developments, law professor Elissa Steglich said that she’d “never heard of someone in open court not being identified,” and that failing to identify an attorney could impair accountability “if there are unethical or professional concerns.”

    Rules for anonymity

    Courts sometimes allow anonymity, but only in specific circumstances.

    Juries can be anonymous when there’s “substantial danger of harm or undue influence,” as legal expert Michael Crowell writes – like in high-profile organized crime cases or when defendants have tried to intimidate witnesses before. Even then, the lawyers still know the jurors’ names.

    Similarly, parties to a lawsuit can sometimes use pseudonyms like “Jane Doe” when the case involves highly sensitive matters such as sexual abuse, or when there’s a real risk of physical retaliation.

    But these rare exceptions require careful court review.

    What’s happening with ICE attorneys is different. There’s no formal court ruling allowing it, no specific safety findings and no established legal process.

    Immigration courts have fewer protections

    Immigration courts operate differently from regular federal courts. They are so-called “administrative courts” that are part of the executive branch, not the judicial branch.

    These courts decide claims involving an individual’s right to stay in the U.S., either when the government seeks to remove someone from the country for violating immigration law or when an individual seeks to stay in the country through the asylum process.

    Immigration judges lack the lifetime job protections that regular federal judges have. As executive branch government employees, they can be hired and fired, just like other Department of Justice employees.

    People in immigration court also have fewer procedural protections than criminal defendants. They have no right to court-appointed counsel and must represent themselves unless they can afford to hire an attorney. The majority of immigrants appear without an attorney. Outcomes are better for those who can afford to hire counsel.

    Immigration court records are also less accessible to the public than other federal court proceedings.

    For years, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the nation’s highest immigration court, made less than 1% of its opinions publicly available. A federal court ruled that public disclosure was required; the Board of Immigration Appeals now posts its decisions online.

    However, lower immigration court decisions are rarely made public.

    Because immigration courts operate with less oversight than regular federal courts, public observation becomes more critical.

    Open courts aren’t just about legal procedure – they’re about democracy itself. When the public can observe how justice is administered, it builds confidence that the system is fair.

    Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on July 21, 2025, in New York City.
    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Court watching protects transparency

    Court watching has become an important way for citizens to ensure due process is honored, especially in immigration cases.

    Observers can monitor whether proper legal procedures are being followed. They can watch for signs that attorneys are prepared, treating people respectfully and following court rules – regardless of whether those attorneys identify themselves.

    Observers help track trends such as lack of legal representation, language barriers or procedural unfairness that can inform advocacy for reforms. This kind of public oversight is especially important in immigration court, where people often don’t have lawyers and may not understand their rights.

    When community members bear witness to these proceedings, it helps ensure the system operates fairly and transparently.

    Professional ethics and accountability

    As a law professor who runs a law school’s Center for Professional Ethics, I can say that while there’s no specific law forcing ICE attorneys to identify themselves, they are still bound by rules of professional conduct that require accountability and transparency.

    State bar associations have clear standards about attorney conduct in court proceedings. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct emphasize that lawyers are “officers of the legal system” with duties to uphold its integrity.

    Immigration judges, despite being government employees rather than lifetime-tenured federal judges, are also bound by judicial conduct codes that require them to uphold public confidence in the justice system. When judges allow or encourage anonymity without formal procedures or safety findings, they risk violating these ethical obligations.

    Bar associations can investigate professional conduct violations and impose sanctions ranging from reprimands to suspension or disbarment. While enforcement against federal government lawyers has historically been uncommon, sustained documentation by court observers can provide the evidence needed for formal complaints.

    While government attorneys, judges and other court personnel may face real safety concerns, hiding their identities in open court is unprecedented and breaks with centuries of legal tradition that requires accountability and transparency in our justice system.

    As pressure mounts to process immigration cases quickly, courts are ethically and legally bound to ensure that speed doesn’t come at the expense of fundamental fairness and transparency.

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

    – ref. Immigration courts hiding the names of ICE lawyers goes against centuries of precedent and legal ethics requiring transparency in courts – https://theconversation.com/immigration-courts-hiding-the-names-of-ice-lawyers-goes-against-centuries-of-precedent-and-legal-ethics-requiring-transparency-in-courts-261452

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hinson Introduces the Save Our Bacon Act to Block California’s Radical Prop 12, Protect Interstate Commerce

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01)

    Bill ensures all Americans can continue to enjoy Iowa Ag Products & blocks blue-state bacon bans

    Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-02) introduced the Save Our Bacon Act to protect access to interstate commerce for Iowa family farmers and lower grocery prices for consumers. California and Massachusetts have proposed arbitrary mandates on production practices for farmers in other states. The Save Our Bacon Act would alleviate this overregulation by prohibiting state and local governments from interfering with the production of livestock in other states. 

    “California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 pose a major threat to family farms and food security—both in Iowa and across the country. The Save Our Bacon Act reaffirms livestock producers’ right to sell their products across state lines, without interference from arbitrary mandates. This legislation will stop out-of-touch activists—who don’t know the first thing about farming—from dictating how Iowa farmers do their job.

    “Since day one in Congress, I’ve fought to keep food affordable and protect local producers. Under the Trump Administration, rural America will continue to be at the forefront of policy conversations that impact producers’ ability to feed and fuel the world—and there will be no bacon ban on my watch.” – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson

    “With Proposition 12, California has set out-of-touch, arbitrary requirements for how producers should operate their farming businesses. California activists now claim to know what’s best for the producers who have raised livestock from generation to generation. The Save Our Bacon Act will allow Iowa’s farmers to continue doing what they do best – feeding our country and the world.” – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds

    “California needs to keep its hands off our bacon. No other state should dictate how Iowans farm, let alone California’s bureaucrats. The Save Our Bacon Act stops California’s overreach, protects hog farmers, and lets states like Iowa regulate how their own farmers raise livestock. I want to thank Representative Hinson for her work on this important legislation, and I urge Congress to pass it and stand up for livestock producers across the nation.” – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird
     
    “I applaud Congresswoman Hinson for introducing legislation to address the overreach of California’s Prop 12 and restore robust interstate commerce. As the nation’s leading pork-producing state, Iowa plays a critical role in maintaining the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply in the world. Allowing states like California to dictate farming practices only creates a patchwork of requirements that drive up production costs and food prices for consumers. This important legislation, which previously earned bipartisan support in the House Agriculture Committee’s passage of last year’s Farm Bill, is essential to safeguarding Iowa’s agriculture and preventing any single state from setting a precedent that undermines the foundation of our food supply. This legislation would protect Iowa’s farmers from burdensome out-of-state regulations that threaten our rural economies and communities, and I urge the House and Senate to send this legislation to President Trump for his signature.” – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig
     
    “We sincerely appreciate Representative Hinson for consistently engaging with family farmers and championing legislation that provides the certainty we need to pass along our farms to the next generation. Without legislation to shield America’s 60,000+ pork-producing family farms from heavy-handed, multi-state regulations, many producers otherwise would be faced with business-crushing decisions.” – National Pork Producers Council President Duane Stateler, a pork producer from McComb, Ohio
      
    “We appreciate Rep. Hinson’s leadership in fighting to protect Iowa pig farmers, who work hard every day to care for their animals and produce safe, high-quality pork. The Supreme Court made it clear the best option is for Congress to address California’s Prop 12 to prevent a patchwork of conflicting state regulations. Since Prop 12 took effect, the law has negatively impacted both consumers and producers. We urge Congress to act this year and support Rep. Hinson’s efforts to stop this burdensome mandate.” – Aaron Juergens, a pig farmer from Carroll County who serves as president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. 
     
    “Iowa Farm Bureau members are thankful for Rep. Hinson’s unwavering support for Iowa agriculture and being a champion for fair interstate commerce through the introduction of the Save Our Bacon Act. When states enact laws that restrict or ban the sale of any type of goods from other states, they hinder market access for both farmers and businesses. This creates a negative ripple effect, as these entities struggle with arbitrary business standards and increased costs. Farm families and consumers are grappling with record-high prices, and without congressional action to strengthen the Interstate Commerce Clause, consumers will face fewer choices and higher costs at the grocery store.” – Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

    Background: 

    • In 2018, California passed Proposition 12, which prohibits the sale of certain meat and poultry products unless they are produced in compliance with the state’s arbitrary animal housing requirements.
    • In May 2023, the US Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12 in a 5 – 4 decision, with the Court noting that Congress has the authority to determine how states may interfere with interstate commerce.
    • California makes up nearly 15% of the national market for pork, leading many Iowa livestock producers to choose between complying with another state’s mandate and losing access to a major market for their products. Similar state-level mandates – such as Massachusetts’ Question 3 – create further uncertainty for livestock producers and risk an unworkable patchwork of state regulations for American farmers.  
    • Research from economists has shown that mandates like Prop 12 come at a significant cost to both producers and consumers. Following the implementation of Prop 12, the cost per pound of pork loin in California increased by 41%. Estimates also show that pork producers face costs of up to $4,000 per sow to comply with California’s arbitrary mandate.
    • Rep. Hinson has been a tireless champion for Iowa pork producers against this overreach.   
      • In December 2023, Rep. Hinson testified before the House Agriculture Committee to share stories from farmers in Iowa about the negative impact that mandates like Prop 12 would have on their operation.
      • In a recent House Appropriations Committee hearing, Hinson asked USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins about the potential consequences of laws like Prop 12. Secretary Rollins called mandates like Prop 12 “unsustainable.”
    • On July 9, the Trump Administration’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of California over state laws that have caused grocery prices to skyrocket, including Prop 12.

    This bill was introduced with Representatives Feenstra, Nunn, Miller-Meeks, Sam Graves, Rouzer, Murphy, Messmer, Adrian Smith, Flood, LaMalfa, Alford, Dusty Johnson, Bost, Newhouse, Mark Harris, Finstad, Wied, and Rose.

    The bill text can be found here. Click here to read exclusive reporting by Bloomberg News. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Subsidising e-bikes instead of cars could really kick the electric vehicle transition into high gear

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Noel Flay Cass, Research Fellow in Energy Demand Behaviour, University of Leeds

    If you’re thinking of buying a new electric car worth up to £37,000, the UK government has offered to knock up to £3,750 off the price. The measure adds up to £650 million in grants for people to buy EVs (electric vehicles), but as a researcher who studies transport policy and climate change, I think this money would be better spent subsidising e-bikes.

    Numerous questions surround the new government policy. Might people who can afford a new car buy one anyway, without the 10% discount? Might car dealers simply reduce the discounts they offer by a similar amount? Given the 20% VAT on an EV, doesn’t a sale actually result in a 200% immediate return for the government? And isn’t this mainly a bung to car manufacturers and company fleets?

    The grants come on top of financial assistance for replacing cars, vans, taxis and motorbikes with electric options, announced in February – £120 million in total, including £500 grants for e-motorbikes. But almost no subsidies are available for two-wheeled, pedal-assisted EVs: e-bikes and e-cargo bikes.

    The main financial help for buying e-bikes is the cycle to work salary-sacrifice scheme. The employer buys the bike and then instalments are deducted from a participant’s pay before tax, but the scheme’s eligibility is limited to employees on standard payroll tax (PAYE workers) whose sacrifices don’t drop their pay below minimum wage.

    This also excludes those who are out of work, the low-paid, the self-employed and retired, arguably people who might benefit most from an e-bike.

    Benefits beyond carbon savings

    We know that e-bike owners replace lots of trips and miles driven by cars. We also know the upfront cost of around £2,000-£3,000 is a barrier to more people owning one, despite e-bikes being much cheaper than cars.

    Estimates of annual carbon savings from e-bikers avoiding car trips vary, from as little as 87kg CO₂ in a 2016 study to 394kg in research published the following year. Estimates published in 2020 and 2023 put the annual climate dividend at 225kg and 168kg of CO₂ respectively – roughly in line with emissions for one person making a return short-haul flight.

    E-bikes provide extra propulsion to make long or arduous journeys easier for more riders.
    Umomos/Shutterstock

    These might seem small savings compared to the tonnes of CO₂ that an EV can save. However, e-bike incentives would have two big advantages.

    First, policies that encourage active travel, including cycling, have been assessed by the government multiple times to determine the payoff from investment. It turns out that they have huge benefit to cost ratios – 9:1 on average (internationally it’s 6:1).

    Conservatively, policies to encourage cycling pay back £5.50 in social benefits for every £1 invested. These benefits are largely savings for the healthcare system. In a project I worked on, in which we lent e-cargo bikes for free to 49 households in Leeds, Brighton and Oxford for several months, e-cargo bike users cycled up to three times more than non-users in our surveys.

    E-cargo bike borrowers also reported mental-health benefits on top of satisfaction at being able to combine fitness with functional everyday trips, which were longer than they would attempt on a conventional bike. The cargo bikes especially helped with combining trips – commutes with shopping and school runs, for instance – meaning that more than 50% of trips and miles replaced car usage.

    Precious cargo.
    R.Classen/Shutterstock

    Second, e-bike incentives can be designed to appeal especially to the lower-paid, who have been found to use their e-bikes more than wealthier buyers, which would also replace more car trips. The highest of a sliding scale of means-tested incentives in a Canadian study attracted poorer first-time e-bike buyers with existing high car-use.

    This reaped average annual carbon savings of 1,456kg for those in receipt of the maximum CAN$1,600 (£868). As the authors suggest, these incentives may have helped low-income households realise their preferences for less dependence on cars.

    E-bike grants could get more people out of cars

    But how many drivers want to drive less? According to research that groups people into camps based on travel preferences, up to 50% of travellers in the UK are “malcontented motorists” and “active aspirers” (to travel differently).

    Research has shown great potential for wider e-bike ridership.
    Halfpoint/Shutterstock

    Our research also found that guilt, or trying to minimise car use, was a major motivator for nearly all of our participants. While the government has funded free e-(cargo) bike trials like ours, the main cycling organisations we talked to pointed out that use would “fall off a cliff” when the trial ends because of the cost barrier. Those who would struggle to buy one were back in the same position as before.

    A government evaluation of free e-bike loans concluded they were poor value for money, but it tracked purchases made soon after with a tiny response rate. Our project followed up after a year and found 20% of our borrowers had bought an e-cargo bike. Trial loans and grants together might achieve even more.

    The new EV grant money could provide nearly 750,000 e-bike or e-cargo bike purchase-incentives the size of the Canadian ones, which could lead to annual carbon savings of 1.125 million tonnes of CO₂, according to the weekly average savings they found in that group.

    Given the conservative benefit to cost ratio of 5.5:1 from such a UK scheme, this investment could also reap more than £3.6 billion in social benefits – especially from a fitter car-dependent population. There would potentially be a massive boost to the struggling UK e-bike and e-cargo bike market as well.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Noel Flay Cass receives funding from UK Research & Innovation grant EP/S030700/1 through the Elevate project: (Innovative Light ELEctric Vehicles for Active and Digital TravEl).

    – ref. Subsidising e-bikes instead of cars could really kick the electric vehicle transition into high gear – https://theconversation.com/subsidising-e-bikes-instead-of-cars-could-really-kick-the-electric-vehicle-transition-into-high-gear-261429

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump’s budget cuts could shut down local news outlets and reduce reporting on emergencies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Colleen Murrell, Chair of the Editorial Board, and Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City University

    Donald Trump’s campaign against the “fake news” media continues largely unchecked, with a decision that is expected to reduce reporting and close down some local news stations around the US.

    This follows a House of Representatives decision on July 18 to agree with the Senate and slash US$1.1 billion (£813 million) funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which manages the money for National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and their member stations. These cuts will affect the next two years of their operations.

    There are fears that some local and rural stations will be forced to lay off staff and may even have to close, if they haven’t amassed significant cash reserves or receive other funding. Don Dunlap, the president of KEDT-TV/FM in Texas, said in an interview: “There are ten public TV stations in Texas, and we’re thinking probably six of them will close down within a year.”

    Experts are warning that in national emergencies such as wild fires and floods, local news media are “absolutely essential services” – and that they may not be able to help keep citizens well informed in future. “Nearly three-in-four Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher said .

    Trump has had these media outlets in his sights for a while, claiming they are a waste of taxpayers’ money and are ideologically biased against Republicans – a claim denied by NPR and PBS.



    Read more:
    PBS and NPR are generally unbiased, independent of government propaganda and provide key benefits to US democracy

    Public broadcasting regularly sends out alerts related to extreme weather and emergency news. This appears particularly pertinent after the recent Texas floods which killed 135 people. Kate Riley, CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said local news outlets provide “essential lifesaving public safety services, proven educational services and community connections to their communities every day for free”.

    Republican senator from Alaska Lisa Murkowski said she recently received a tsunami warning from her local radio station after an earthquake. Murkowski has tried to introduce an amendment to reduce the cuts to local stations.

    The more-than-1,000 NPR stations around the US are vulnerable precisely because significant funding comes from federal sources. According to figures from news organisation Politico: “Approximately 19% of NPR member stations count on CPB funding for at least 30% of their revenue.”

    Ed Ulman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media, told Politico that over a third of public media stations in his state will shut down “within three-to-six months”. He has begun a renewed public funding campaign on social media.

    Small rural US radio stations are facing tough budget cuts.

    Even at well-funded TV stations such as Arizona PBS, owned by Arizona State University and run by its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, some curtailing of plans is afoot. The station provides daily programming to the region, and has trained generations of journalism students to enter careers in TV and radio. Following the announcement of these federal cuts, I spoke to Scott Woelfel, the station’s general manager, who said:

    Arizona PBS will lose about US$2.3 million per year over the next two years. That represents around 13% of our total budget. While that is a significant percentage, its loss will not prevent us from operating. In fact, we prepared a reduced budget in the likely event that the rescission would occur, and have been operating under it since July 1 … It contains cuts across the board in an equal amount to the lost revenue.

    Following these federal cuts, 60% of the station’s funding will derive from charitable giving, 16% from corporate support and a further 24% from state grants for education services. Woelfel doesn’t plan on making any staff cuts, but said some unstaffed positions will remain open indefinitely – and that the station will be “delaying major new initiatives until new funding is found”.

    What happens next?

    Overall, these cuts are likely to create additional “news deserts” – regions of the US which don’t have access to important local news and information.

    After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 into law to give funds to public broadcasting, he said: “While we work every day to produce new goods and to create new wealth, we want most of all to enrich man’s spirit. That is the purpose of this act.” But such touching sentiments now seem old-school in this era of Trump’s loud media wars.

    In the past week, the US president has also announced he would sue “the ass off” Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp, and the Wall Street Journal, which News Corp owns. This follows the WSJ’s publication of a story concerning a 2003 birthday letter framed around the outline of a naked woman that Trump allegedly sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump said the letter was fake. His US$10 billion lawsuit also takes in the WSJ’s owner, Dow Jones, and two of its reporters.

    As Trump pushes forward with significant changes to the media landscape, he is no doubt hoping that friendly television stations such as Fox News – also a part of Murdoch’s empire – as well as his influencer following will stay loyal to his brand.

    His Maga followers will undoubtedly be supportive of budget cuts and his anti-PBS and NPR statements. But when it comes to reporting from a flood or fire, influencers tend not to be on the ground supplying local residents with up-to-date information. Voters may find those important, and sometimes life-saving, services hard to replace.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Colleen Murrell received funding from Irish regulator Coimisiún na Meán (2021-4) for research for the annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland.

    – ref. Trump’s budget cuts could shut down local news outlets and reduce reporting on emergencies – https://theconversation.com/trumps-budget-cuts-could-shut-down-local-news-outlets-and-reduce-reporting-on-emergencies-261493

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How the UK’s immigration system splits families apart – by design

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nando Sigona, Professor of International Migration and Forced Displacement and Director of the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham

    arda savasciogullari/Shutterstock

    The letter that arrived for eleven-year-old Guilherme in June 2025 was addressed personally to him. The UK Home Office was informing him that he and his eight-year-old brother Luca must return to Brazil. Their parents, an academic and a senior NHS nurse, both long-term UK residents with valid visas were not included in the order.

    “Whilst this may involve a degree of disruption in family life,” the letter stated, “this is considered to be proportionate to the legitimate aim of maintaining effective immigration control.”

    The family’s difficulties with the Home Office began after the parents divorced a few years after arriving in the UK. Mother and children arrived in the UK as dependants on the father’s visa. After the divorce, the mother secured her own skilled worker visa, while the father was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2024.

    Under current rules, skilled workers must wait five years before applying for settlement. For the children to qualify for settlement, both parents must be settled or one must have sole responsibility – neither condition applies here. Only after media attention did the Home Office reconsider the decision.

    This case is just the latest example of how barriers to migrants’ family life are embedded in the UK’s immigration system – something I have been studying for years. The Labour government’s recently announced immigration plans extend and bolster these barriers.

    Current rules require migrants to earn at least £29,000 to sponsor a spouse or child – a figure set to rise to £38,700 in early 2026 after changes introduced by the last government. The newest immigration plans propose doubling the path to settlement from five to ten years. And they restrict the rights to family reunion to only “nuclear” families: divorced parents, adult children and extended kin are left out.

    These changes are aimed at reducing migration and restoring “public trust”. But in practice, they make family unity a luxury — harder to achieve for low-paid migrant workers and even for working-class British citizens with foreign partners.



    Read more:
    ‘Just the rich can do it’: our research shows how immigration income requirements devastate families

    The price of family life

    Recent research my colleagues and I conducted — based on over 50 interviews with migrant domestic and food delivery workers and other experts — shows how the immigration system fractures families and puts children at risk.

    Faith, a Zimbabwean domestic worker, explained how she was unable to bring her eldest daughter to the UK due to age restrictions on dependant visas. Her daughter was later trafficked into the UK and, though she eventually rejoined her mother, hasn’t recovered from the trauma of separation: “She’s struggling to sleep, can’t eat … always emotional, saying she feels dizzy, scared to be around people.”

    Faith had been trapped in an abusive relationship for a long time because her visa was tied to her partner. When she eventually left her partner, her visa was withdrawn – leaving her in breach of immigration rules. Her younger child was placed in care while Faith was detained for breaching the terms of her visa.

    Jamal, a food delivery rider from Eritrea, had a similar experience of legal dependency. He came to the UK on a dependant visa linked to his British wife. After their relationship deteriorated, his ability to remain in the country was threatened: “If we have problems, she can cancel my visa. This was her weapon.”

    Susan, a Zimbabwean woman working in the care and cleaning sector, moved to the UK to look after her adult daughter who had cancer. When her six month visitor visa expired, she applied for asylum, but her application was refused and eventually she was detained for almost a month.

    She faced deportation but was released after a legal aid lawyer helped her submit strong evidence of her daughter’s condition. Reflecting on her experience, she explained: “When it benefits them, they say I’ve had no contact [with my family in the UK]. When they want to deport me, they say I have family to return to [in Zimbabwe].”

    Immigration status doesn’t just define one’s own legal position, it can determine who gets the right to have a family in the UK and who does not. While some of our interviewees secured status through a partner’s EU citizenship and reunited with family members already in the UK, others who rely on temporary visas are excluded.

    Changes to the immigration in recent years have placed a higher value on how migrants can contribute or provide “value” – seeing them as workers (or students) first, not members of families. Many are allowed in the UK for a limited time and without the right to bring with them even the closest family members. The effect is particularly harsh on women in domestic work, whose visas are short-term and not renewable.

    Many interviewees reported that immigration barriers delayed or obstructed their children’s education or healthcare. Samantha’s daughter waited over two months for a school placement because their legal status was still pending. Adriana was charged £8,000 for NHS maternity services because of her undocumented status, which restricts access to free healthcare to GP and emergency care.

    Even in less extreme cases, legal insecurity takes a toll. Children grow up hearing their parents talk about “papers”, “Home Office letters” or the risk of being “sent back”.

    That the Home Office sent a removal letter to an eleven-year-old is not a clerical error. It is the system working as designed. And even when public outrage forces a reversal — as in Guilherme’s case — the wider machinery of enforcement continues.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Nando Sigona is Scientific Coordinator of “Improving the Living and Working Conditions of Irregularised Migrant Households in Europe” (www.i-claim.eu), a three-year six-country research project, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe and UKRI.

    – ref. How the UK’s immigration system splits families apart – by design – https://theconversation.com/how-the-uks-immigration-system-splits-families-apart-by-design-261134

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump takes lead role in Cold War Steve’s reimagining of Hogarth’s 18th-century satire, The Rake’s Progess

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Anne Barr, Associate Professor in English Literature, University of Cambridge

    A reimagining of the sixth cartoon in William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress depicting Trump pleading for divine assistance at a gambling den. Cold War Steve

    British satirist Cold War Steve has published a series of images based on the British painter William Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress (1733-35). Hogarth’s 18th-century original charts the catastrophic decline of an affluent young man, Tom Rakewell. Cold War Steve’s 2025 reimagining substitutes the foolish rake with the US president, Donald Trump.

    Hogarth’s eight densely packed images are a forerunner of the modern comic script, a kind of condensed graphic novel. The works swarm with life and hidden meanings for viewers to decode.

    Tom starts out in high life, flashing his cash and enjoying himself. But he is rapidly drawn into a vortex of late-night drinking, gambling and prostitution. Desperate to save himself from extreme poverty, he sells himself in marriage to an older woman (no cougar, alas, but a rather decrepit heiress).

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

    But he still cannot control his behaviour. Tom is eventually imprisoned for debt, loses his mind – either to syphilis or sorrow – and dies in Bedlam, the notorious 18th-century madhouse.

    Hugely popular and culturally influential, A Rake’s Progress is a modern morality tale. It’s a warning against the perils of self-indulgence, and a devastating critique of those too wealthy and foolish to care about the damage they do.

    The Gaming House, the sixth engraving in The Rake’s Progress, depicts the protagonist back to his profligate ways after marrying an older wealthy woman.
    Wikimedia

    Political satire as tragicomedy

    Keeping close to the original narrative, Cold War Steve uses the 18th-century paintings as backdrops, while altering the object of the satire by making Trump the main target. Renamed Trump’s Progress, this is a pointed political satire, directed at those in power.

    Steve’s is a 21st-century reimagining, not a pious homage. Instead, Trump’s Progress has an irreverent punk aesthetic: a horde of Trump-supporting celebrities (such as Don King, Hulk Hogan and Liberace) are photoshopped into his digital canvases, cavorting crazily alongside Trump as he moves from his immense wealth to political pre-eminence.

    Cold War Steve’s reimagining of A Rake’s Progress with Trump as its protagonist.
    Cold War Steve

    Both funny and dark, this is political satire as tragicomedy. The contemporary satirist takes Hogarth as precedent, suggesting a bad end lies in store for the president.

    Just as the 18th-century rake ends up in the madhouse, Cold War Steve ends his sequence with an aged Trump lying in a prison cell. Trump is tended to by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his daughter Ivanka, while his other erstwhile friends look less than pleased to be incarcerated along with him.

    Hogarth was a key figure in 18th-century culture. His images of late-night drunkenness , sleazy politicians, and the cheek-by-jowl of luxury living and extreme poverty encapsulated the irrepressible messiness of modern life.

    Hogarth reflected Britain’s aspirations to liberty and progress, but also its ongoing struggles with consumerism, luxury, corruption, and greed. These are issues that dominate our present day too, and give Hogarth’s satires an urgent and unsettling relevance.

    This is not the first time Cold War Steve has used historical images from the 18th century to indict the present. In a recent article, I explored how Hogarth became a powerful visual source for the satirist during the COVID-19 crisis.

    Hogarth’s Beer Street and Gin Lane.
    Wikimedia

    In May 2020, Steve published an update of Hogarth’s famous print, Gin Lane. The original shows London as a drunken dystopia, as the poor turned to cheap imported gin to ease their daily grind.

    But Cold War Steve’s version dramatically altered the image’s moral message. By populating the city street with members of the Tory party and Britain’s business elite, he accused the government of gross moral negligence in treating the pandemic as an opportunity to make money.

    The choice of Hogarth is not accidental. Not merely familiar to students of art history, Hogarth has a cultural legibility that makes his work an influential satirical template for artists who want to comment on the social malaise of their times.

    Being in conversation with Hogarth gives contemporary works added gravitas. The veteran cartoonist Steve Bell created numerous parodies of Hogarth throughout his time at the Guardian and other publications.

    The penultimate scene in A Rake’s Progress, The Prison Scene, shows the vices of the protagonist having caught up with him.
    Wikimedia

    In 2016, English artist Thomas Moore created a version in which the 18th-century gin craze has been replaced by the obesity epidemic. Hogarth’s impoverished city street is now full of fast food shops, pubs and pawnbrokers. The manic energy and cultural anxiety of Hogarth’s satires resonates with our own accelerated culture and widespread sense of moral and social decline.

    In his study of the cultural afterlives of the 18th century, scholar James Ward has shown that postmodern popular culture often invokes Hogarth to question the assumption that our distance from the past is the same as progress.

    By splicing together images of the past with the present, Cold War Steve’s visual satires make the serious political point that society has failed to progress since the enlightenment. In his eyes, the vices that Hogarth showed ravaging his society are still part of a culture of political shamelessness, personified by Trump.

    Steve’s energetically subversive reworking of 18th-century material shows how Hogarth’s satires continue to be understood and appreciated by diverse audiences.

    Former prime minister Boris Johnson portrayed Hogarth as a patriotic British product. But by successfully translating Hogarth’s satires for a transatlantic audience, Cold War Steve shows that his appeal transcends both national and political divides. Current politics might be almost beyond parody on both sides of the pond, but Steve’s bleak humour shows us that satire is thriving.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

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

    – ref. Trump takes lead role in Cold War Steve’s reimagining of Hogarth’s 18th-century satire, The Rake’s Progess – https://theconversation.com/trump-takes-lead-role-in-cold-war-steves-reimagining-of-hogarths-18th-century-satire-the-rakes-progess-261701

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Vice Chairman Warner on DNI Gabbard’s Release of Partisan HPSCI Russia Report

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the following statement on DNI Gabbard’s release of a partisan report prepared by Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence regarding Russia’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election:

    “It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files. The desperate and irresponsible release of the partisan House intelligence report puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods our Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia and keep Americans safe. And in doing so, Director Gabbard is sending a chilling message to our allies and assets around the world: the United States can no longer be trusted to protect the intelligence you share with us.

    “Let’s be clear: the bipartisan, unanimous finding of the Senate Intelligence Committee, after years of painstaking investigation, more than 200 witness interviews, and millions of documents, was that Russia launched a large-scale influence campaign in the 2016 election in order to help then-candidate Donald Trump. Nothing in this partisan, previously scuttled document changes that. Releasing this so-called report is just another reckless act by a Director of National Intelligence so desperate to please Donald Trump that she is willing to risk classified sources, betray our allies, and politicize the very intelligence she has been entrusted to protect.

    “The American people are right to continue asking: What are they trying to hide?”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Centre steps up measures to improve health and well-being of women

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Centre has undertaken a series of initiatives aimed at improving women’s health, hygiene, and overall well-being, with a particular focus on reducing hardship, ensuring access to essential services, and promoting safety and dignity for women across the country.

    In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur outlined several schemes that have played a crucial role in this regard, including Ujjwala Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. These programmes, she said, have significantly reduced the drudgery and time poverty faced by women, while also improving health outcomes.

    As part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, over 11.8 crore individual household latrines have been constructed nationwide. The Jal Jeevan Mission, meanwhile, has facilitated the provision of tap water connections to approximately 15.6 crore rural households.

    To enhance access to affordable healthcare products for women, the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). Over 16,000 Janaushadhi Kendras have been established under this initiative, offering essential medicines and oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins branded as Suvidha, priced at ₹1 per pad.

    The government has also introduced the ‘Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene’ for adolescent girls aged 10-19, under the National Health Mission. The scheme provides subsidised sanitary napkin packs through Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and includes training for field workers as well as awareness drives. National guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), developed under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, further aim to address behavioural change related to sanitation and hygiene, particularly in rural areas.

    Addressing the needs of working women and girl students, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been implementing the Sakhi Niwas scheme-also known as the Working Women Hostel scheme-under the broader Mission Shakti initiative. The scheme is designed to provide safe and accessible accommodation for working women, as well as those pursuing higher education or training, across urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. It also includes provision for day-care facilities for the children of residents.

    In a push to expand infrastructure for women’s accommodation, the Ministry of Finance has allocated ₹5,000 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme for construction of new working women hostels. So far, approval has been granted for the construction of 254 hostels across 28 States, with a total capacity of 52,991 beds at an estimated cost of ₹4,826.31 crore. Of this, ₹3,147.66 crore has already been disbursed to the States for the financial year 2024-25.

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Maria Strack, Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo

    The Grande Plée Bleue bog, near Québec City in June 2023. This peatland with pools is one of the largest wetlands in eastern Québec. (Maria Strack)

    Though Canada is often known as a land of lakes, it is also a country of wetlands. Stretching like a necklace of emeralds, sapphires and rubies across the Canadian landscape, wetlands cover 14 per cent of the Canadian land mass, accounting for almost twice as much area as lakes.

    Canada is home to a quarter of the world’s remaining wetlands, yet they remain like hidden treasures that most Canadians rarely pay a second thought.

    The importance of wetlands to a sustainable future has been recognized internationally. Signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, the Convention on Wetlands — often called the Ramsar Convention — supports international collaboration and national action for the conservation of wetlands.

    This week, delegations from contracting parties to the convention, including Canada, have come together in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, for the 15th Conference of the Parties.

    Despite decades of efforts, wetlands continue to be under threat around the world. Delegates will work this week to chart a path forward that further elevates wetlands in the global consciousness, highlighting the need to protect these ecosystems and meet international goals to safeguard biodiversity and slow climate warming.

    Canada currently has 37 Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, covering more than 13 million hectares. Yet many of Canada’s wetlands remain unprotected.

    Canada’s wetlands

    The term “wetland” usually conjures an image of a shallow pond bordered by cattails. In fact, Canadian wetlands come in a range of shapes and sizes, all of which provide valuable services. Those reedy marshes provide critically important habitat and water storage, particularly in the Prairies, southern Ontario and Québec.

    The vast majority of Canada’s wetlands are made up of swamps, fens and bogs, most of which also hold deep deposits of organic soils called peat. Bogs and fens can resemble vast mossy carpets. But they can also look a lot like forests, hiding their soggy soils beneath a canopy of trees.

    This wetland diversity contributes to their value. At the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, wetlands are often biodiversity hotspots.

    They are home to weird and wonderful species, including carnivorous plants like sundews, pitcher plants and bladderworts. And if you’re hungry, peatlands are a great place for berry picking.

    Interwoven in our boreal landscape, wetlands also support iconic Canadian species like beavers, moose and woodland caribou and are key habitats for waterfowl and other migratory birds.

    Preserving wetlands is also a key flood mitigation strategy. Storm water can fill up pore spaces in mossy peat soils, or spread out across the flat expanse of swamps and marshes, reducing peak flows and helping to protect downstream infrastructure. As the water slows, water quality can also be improved. Sediments have time to settle, while plants and microbes can remove excess nutrients.

    Carbon storage

    In recent decades, wetlands have gained international attention for their role in carbon storage. Waterlogged sediment and soil lead to slow rates of decomposition. When plant litter falls in a wetland, it builds up over time, creating a bank of carbon that can be stored for millennia.

    Peatlands are particularly good at accumulating carbon, as they are home to plants that inherently decompose slowly. Because of this, peatlands store twice the carbon of the world’s forests. Keeping this carbon stored in wetland soils, and out of the atmosphere, is important to climate change mitigation.

    Yet, the buildup of carbon in wetlands is slow. Many of these ecosystems have been adding to this carbon bank since the last ice age; digging through metres of peat is like travelling back through time, with the deposits at the bottom often thousands of years old.

    This means that the carbon stored in wetlands is irrecoverable within human lifetimes. Once lost, it will be many generations before the full value of this treasure can be returned.

    The economic value of the water-filtering and carbon storage that Canadian wetlands provide has been estimated at $225 billion per year. It’s clear: healthy wetlands contribute to our society’s well-being.

    But just as important, they are an integral component of the Canadian landscape. Wetlands are interwoven with our forests, fields, lakes and now even our cities. They link us to the land and water. They are places of wonder and spiritual connection.

    Impact of climate change

    Despite their value, wetlands in Canada face many threats. In southern regions of Canada, most wetlands have already been lost to drainage for agriculture and urban development. Further north, up to 98 per cent of Canadian peatlands remain intact.

    However, climate change and resource development are already exacerbating wetland disturbance and loss. Warming temperatures have contributed to larger and more severe wildfire that also impact peatlands and lead to large carbon emissions.

    Thawing permafrost is further changing wetland landscapes and how they function. Warming also allows for northward expansion of agriculture with the potential for loss of even more wetland area to drainage.

    Natural resource extraction further contributes to wetland disturbance, often with unexpected consequences. Geologic exploration used to map oil and gas reserves has left a network of over one million kilometres of linear forest clearing across the boreal forest, much of which crosses peatlands.



    Read more:
    How climate change is impacting the Hudson Bay Lowlands — Canada’s largest wetland

    This has contributed to declines in woodland caribou populations and led to increases in methane emissions from these ecosystems.

    Mining often involves regional drainage or excavation of peatlands, resulting in the loss of their services. The recent push to fast-track production of critical minerals in Canada is putting vast areas of our wetlands at risk.

    Wetland restoration research is ongoing, with some promising results. However, given the long time-scale of wetland development, avoiding disturbances in the first place is the best way to safeguard wetlands.

    As stewards of a quarter of world’s wetland treasures, policymakers and everyday Canadians need to ensure wetlands are safeguarded and preserved for a prosperous future.

    Maria Strack receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Imperial Oil Ltd., Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, ConocoPhillips Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute.

    – ref. Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection – https://theconversation.com/canadian-wetlands-are-treasures-that-deserve-protection-261433

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ICJ ruling leaves UK with duty to speed up green transition

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    by Green Party

    Reacting to the International Criminal Court’s first-ever ruling on climate change, co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said:

    “In a landmark ruling today the ICJ has made clear that failure to take decisive action to protect the climate, through continued fossil fuel production and consumption and granting fossil fuel exploration licences, can be considered as acting ‘wrongfully’. This means the UK has a legal duty to speed up the transition towards a cleaner, greener economy and block any new licences for the extraction of fossil fuels. 

    “The ruling also made clear that human rights must be at the heart of climate action because climate breakdown affects our rights to health, homes, and livelihoods.

    “The court has recognised that rich countries like the UK, responsible for ongoing and historic pollution, have a special responsibility to act, and to offer compensation to countries and communities already suffering from floods, droughts, and rising sea levels.

    “Today’s ruling should be the moment we draw a line. Governments that fail to act and polluters that refuse to clean up their act must no longer be allowed to harm communities either at home or across the globe with impunity.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Newhouse To Host Telephone Town Hall

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)

    Headline: Newhouse To Host Telephone Town Hall

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) will host a telephone town hall session next week to hear from constituents of Washington’s Fourth District.  

    WHEN: Monday, July 28, 5:30-7:00 PM PT.

    Any constituents interested in joining the session should RSVP here by 12:00 PM PT this Sunday, July 27. 

    Constituents will receive an automated phone call 10 minutes before the session begins with instructions on how to join and ask a question. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: CORRECTION: Affluenz Magazine Unveils Commemorative Issue Spotlighting United Arab Emirates (UAE) Founding Father Sheikh Zayed, Noura Al Kaabi, and African Visionary Elvis Abuyere

    Source: APO

    Affluenz Magazine (www.Affluenz.com), International’s leading global luxury, leadership, and impact publication, has officially released its much-anticipated July/August 2025 issue — a special edition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates.

    This commemorative edition features a powerful trio of cover stories — spotlighting the enduring legacy of Sheikh Zayed, the cultural diplomacy of UAE’s Minister of State, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, and the entrepreneurial excellence of Elvis Abuyere, CEO of Skywise Group, one of Africa’s most innovative investment firms.

    This historic issue celebrates Sheikh Zayed’s vision of unity, progress, and inclusion — a legacy that continues to define the modern UAE. Affluenz Magazine delves into his leadership, values, and role in positioning the Emirates as a hub of diplomacy, innovation, and tolerance.

    Also on the cover is Noura Al Kaabi, a global advocate for cultural dialogue and creative economies. In her exclusive interview, she discusses the UAE’s mission to foster global cultural exchange and its investment in youth empowerment across the Arab world and Africa.

    Rounding out the trio is Elvis Abuyere, the young African magnate who has risen to prominence through Skywise Group’s diversified holdings in key industries such as automobiles, finance, travel, real estate, and philanthropy. His story of resilience, reinvention, and corporate leadership offers inspiration for a new generation of African entrepreneurs.

    Beyond the covers, the issue features in-depth profiles on several influential leaders and institutions across Africa and the Middle East — from oil and gas executives and royalty to social innovators and philanthropists — all of whom are making measurable impact in their sectors and communities.

    Beyond its striking covers, the July/August 2025 edition of Affluenz Magazine delivers an enriching array of exclusive features and compelling interviews that spotlight transformative figures shaping Africa and the global stage.

    Among the celebrated personalities is Ameera Abraham, the trailblazing founder of The Nail Bar, who shares her journey in redefining luxury wellness and empowering a new wave of African beautypreneurs. Equally inspiring is Tonya Lawani, the formidable force behind SEAL Group, whose strategic leadership continues to drive innovation and empowerment across industries.

    Linda Turner, founder of Linda Hope Initiatives and CEO of Jat Holdings, exemplifies the powerful blend of business acumen and humanitarian spirit. With ventures spanning real estate, fashion, interior design, and hospitality, she personifies resilience and compassion, balancing her roles as a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and advocate—all grounded in her unwavering commitment to uplifting lives.

    Adunni Rinwa emerges as a beacon of integrity and innovation in Nigeria’s real estate sector. As founder and CEO of Rinwa Realty, she has revolutionized property investment and homeownership, raising the bar for transparency and delivery in the industry.

    The issue also features Hassan Imam, Managing Director of Keystone Bank, recognized for his strategic role in redefining digital banking and financial inclusion in Nigeria. From the UAE, Hussain Abdulrahman Khansaheb is profiled for his contributions to sustainable urban development and visionary leadership in construction and infrastructure.

    Adding to the intellectual gravitas of the edition is Peace Hyde, celebrated media entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Aim Higher Africa. Her voice continues to inspire a generation to dream big and build boldly.

    Together, these stories reflect the essence of Affluenz Magazine: a publication committed to elevating Africa’s voices, capturing legacies in the making, and connecting excellence across continents.

    Founded in 2011 as Pleasures Magazine and rebranded as Affluenz Magazine in 2024, the publication has evolved into a world-class platform that highlights African and Middle Eastern excellence, entrepreneurship, and culture. With editorial offices in Abuja, Dubai,Riyadh Accra, Washington DC and London, the magazine reaches readers in over 103 countries and maintains syndication through platforms like Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and Washington Times.

    Speaking about the new edition, Executive Publisher Adedotun Olaoluwa remarked:
    “This special issue is not just a tribute to Sheikh Zayed, but a celebration of global visionaries — individuals building bridges across continents. Affluenz continues to be a vessel for celebrating our shared humanity and transformative leadership from Africa to the Middle East.”

    The July/August 2025 issue is now available in digital and print formats across select global outlets, including Barnes & Noble (US), WHSmith (UK), and Virgin Megastore (UAE), as well as through Affluenz’s official website: www.Affluenz.com and Selar (https://apo-opa.co/45fvREG).

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Affluenz (formerly Pleasures Magazine).

    Contact:
    Dotmount Communications
    Email: info@affluenz.com
    Instagram: @ affluenzmag
    Phone: +234 816 090 6918
    https://apo-opa.co/45fvREG

    Media files

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    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LEADER JEFFRIES: “THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND HOUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

    Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference with Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar ahead of the August District Work Period where they highlighted the commitment of House Democrats to delivering for the American people, while Donald Trump and Rubber Stamp Republicans celebrate their devastating cuts to healthcare and food assistance.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning, everyone. Honored to be joined today by Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar as we prepare to depart for the August District Work Period. The Trump administration and House Republicans have been a complete and total failure. These MAGA extremists promised they were going to lower costs in the United States of America. In fact, they promised the American people that costs would go down on day one. But costs haven’t gone down. They are on the way up. Inflation is up. It’s the quality of life of everyday Americans that is deteriorating. And Donald Trump and House Republicans are making things worse.

    The One Big Ugly Bill will rip away healthcare from millions of Americans. Hospitals will close. Nursing homes will shut down. Community-based health clinics will be unable to operate. And as a result of the inability of everyday Americans to get the medical care that they need, people will die. This is a direct result of action taken by Donald Trump and House Republicans connected to the One Big Ugly Bill. It’s extraordinary that as we prepare to leave for the August District Work Period, what House Republicans can point to is a toxic and extreme Republican budget that will cause millions of Americans to be broke, sick and hungry. That’s the legislative accomplishment of House Republicans. And all of this was done to reward billionaires with massive tax breaks.

    The One Big Ugly Bill is deeply unpopular. Donald Trump is deeply unpopular. And House Republicans haven’t done a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people. During the August District Work Period, House Democrats will hold events all across the country talking about our efforts to build an affordable economy that lowers the high cost of living in the United States of America, to protect the healthcare of the American people and to combat the cultural corruption that exists in this town that undermines the ability to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We’re looking forward to holding town hall meetings across the country, at the same time that Republicans will continue to run away from town hall meetings. But we will fill the void that they are leaving and engage aggressively with the American people, all in service of building a country where everyone can experience the American dream.

    Full press conference can be watched here.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: From Epping to Powrunna – fourth translocation successful

    Source: Tasmania Police

    Issued: 23 Jul 2025

    Open larger image

    Eleven wombats were taken from Epping Forest National Park (Scientific) to Powrunna State Forest.

    An additional 11 northern hairy-nosed wombats have been transported from Epping Forest National Park (Scientific) in Queensland’s central west to Powrunna State Forest in the state’s southwest.

    This translocation project is an integral component of the Queensland Government’s northern hairy-nosed wombat recovery program which aims to establish a third population of the endangered marsupial.

    The project began in May 2024 after extensive preparation of the site at Powrunna and 37 wombats have already successfully been translocated.

    In June 2025, rangers from across Queensland gathered at Epping Forest National Park (Scientific) to carefully trap six females and five males for relocation to their new home.

    Principal Conservation Officer Samantha Ryan said there were now 21 females and 16 males at Powrunna, which had been specifically chosen for the third population of wombats.

    “Monitoring by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation shows the wombats have embraced their new home with plenty of new burrows,” Ms Ryan said.

    “We have already seen some young-at-foot on trail cameras, and our ultimate goal is to create another self-sustaining population of northern hairy-nosed wombats.

    “Transportation takes around ten hours during the day when the wombats are usually sleeping, and they’re released early in the evening into artificial burrows.

    “Our goal is to translocate up to sixty wombats to Powrunna by 2026, and there is much hope that the population there will grow as it has at Epping.”

    Senior Program Officer David Field had never seen a northern hairy-nosed wombat prior to the translocation, and said it was wonderful to be involved.

    “It was great to be involved in the planning, trapping, relocation and release of this endangered species and it’s an experience I’ll never forget,” Mr Field said.

    “I’ve learnt so much by working alongside experts, and the wombats were in excellent condition and were bigger and softer than you’d expect.”

    Rangers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service have used radio trackers and remote cameras to monitor wombats at Powrunna, and site inspections show they have moved on from starter burrows and have dug multiple burrows of their own.

    Northern hairy-nosed wombats previously ranged from New South Wales and into Queensland. In the eighties, the population of wombats at Epping Forest National Park was estimated to be around 35 and is now estimated to be at least 400.

    Richard Underwood Nature Refuge near Wycombe is managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and is home to a small population of northern hairy-nosed wombats.

    The Gunggari Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (GNTAC) and Gunggari Native Title Holders, Glencore, The Wombat Foundation and Australian Wildlife Conservancy have provided ongoing support for this project.

    In Queensland, some national parks are designated as “scientific” and are either fully or partially closed to the public to protect their natural values.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor secures additional federal flooding assistance – Federal resources and funding available for Lincoln County response   

    Source: US State of New Mexico

    SANTA FE – The state of New Mexico today announced that the federal government has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for New Mexico communities damaged by flooding, unlocking federal funds to support response and recovery efforts in Lincoln County. 

    “This federal declaration delivers the action we sought for a community that has shown incredible resilience through repeated disasters.” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “The people of Lincoln County deserve every resource we can provide, and we will continue working until every family and business in New Mexico has fully recovered.”  

    The declaration will make financial assistance available to individuals, households and businesses in Lincoln County with losses or damage caused by the flooding on July 8. Residents can apply for assistance online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. MST.  

    The declaration also approves funding for emergency work and debris removal for Lincoln County. This will come in the form of reimbursement for 75 percent of costs for response operations, emergency work, and debris removal from public property.  

    The state continues to push for additional federal resources for permanent repairs to public infrastructure and to add more counties including Chaves, Otero and Valencia counties.   

    A state Disaster Recovery Center is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the ENMU-Ruidoso Annex, 709 Mecham Dr., Ruidoso, N.M. 88345. State disaster case managers are on site, along with representatives from state agencies who can help with FEMA assistance applications, document replacement, insurance questions and other resources. Residents may also call the State Disaster Helpline at 1-833- 663-4736 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or visit the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s website for additional information.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Safeguarding Lake Champlain with Wastewater Upgrades

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Hochul today announced the completion of a critical $3.1 million wastewater infrastructure improvement project in the Town of Westport, Essex County. The improvements not only protect public health and the environment but also help preserve Lake Champlain’s role as a vital driver of the local tourism economy. State, federal, and local investments are minimizing the financial impact of this critical project on local ratepayers.

    “Every New Yorker deserves access to affordable clean water and reliable infrastructure,” Governor Hochul said. “This investment in Westport is a win for families, local businesses, and the millions who visit Lake Champlain each year. By making critical upgrades affordable for small communities, we’re protecting public health, supporting a vital tourism economy and building a more sustainable future for the Adirondacks, North Country and beyond.”

    Project Overview

    The project focused on rehabilitating Sewer District No. 1 to address critical infrastructure needs. Deteriorated pipes and manholes had allowed excessive stormwater and groundwater to infiltrate the wastewater collection system. This excess flow strained the wastewater treatment plant and threatened the local watershed.

    By lining and replacing deteriorated gravity sewers and manholes, the town achieved a substantial reduction in key areas of the district; the town has substantially reduced inflow and infiltration. This crucial improvement significantly enhances the reliability and resiliency of its wastewater treatment operations, ensuring long-term compliance with state environmental regulations, and directly contributing to improved water quality in Lake Champlain, a vital regional resource.

    Funding Breakdown

    To help Westport affordably undertake this project, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provided a grant, and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation provided a grant and interest-free financing package:

    • $1.9 million Water Quality Improvement Project grant
    • $100,000 Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grant to jumpstart the project. Planning grants set the framework to advance fiscally sound and well-designed projects to construction by supporting completion of an approvable engineering report for the project
    • $309,000 Water Infrastructure Improvement grant
    • $928,000 interest-free hardship financing from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund

    The financial assistance provided to Westport through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund is projected to save local ratepayers over $1.3 million in debt service compared to traditional financing. In the short-term, loans subsidized through the State Revolving Funds can save communities as much as 75 percent in interest payments compared to borrowing in the municipal bond market.

    In the long-term, State Revolving Fund loan repayments to EFC create a self-sustaining source of recurring revenue to meet the never-ending need to rehabilitate, replace and modernize aging infrastructure in the State. The State Revolving Funds are New York’s primary financial mechanism for advancing its clean water goals, delivering over $1 billion annually to communities statewide. Combined with targeted State grants, the State Revolving Funds are part of New York’s broader strategy to maximize the impact of infrastructure dollars, ensuring every region benefits from cleaner water, safer systems, and long-term sustainability.

    Fully funded State Revolving Funds are necessary for New York to be prepared to meet the never-ending need for communities to repair, rehabilitate and modernize aging infrastructure in the future. Access to affordable financing increases investment in water infrastructure, which can prevent costly catastrophic system failures and alleviate pressure on utilities to raise rates, providing relief to many families already struggling to pay their water bills.

    Investing in the Adirondacks

    This project is part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s comprehensive affordability and clean water agenda to help ensure communities statewide have access to safe and sustainable water systems. The State allocated 22 percent of its financial assistance through the State Revolving Funds to Adirondack communities this year, totaling $263 million. In the past decade, EFC has awarded $623 million in financing and State and federal grants to projects in the Blue Line. This amount includes $316 million in State Water Infrastructure Improvement grants, reinforcing the State’s commitment to helping small, rural communities affordably invest in water infrastructure. These strategic investments are helping to modernize aging systems, safeguard natural resources, and reduce the financial burden on rural ratepayers.

    In the last 10 years, DEC funded 76 projects in the Adirondacks through WQIP alone, totaling more than $71 million to upgrade critical water and sewer infrastructure and protect water quality and the environment. At least $75 million is currently available through DEC’s WQIP program and up to $3 million is available through DEC’s Non-Agriculture Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Mapping Grant (NPG) program.

    Applications for these grants are available through the New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) through July 31, 2025, at 4 p.m.

    Supporting Small and Rural Communities

    Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, EFC is currently accepting applications for $325 million in grants, including enhanced awards for sewer projects in small and rural communities. Even with substantial state support for water infrastructure, many small municipalities still face financial barriers. To address this, Governor Hochul once again directed EFC to double grants from 25 percent to 50 percent of the net eligible project costs for small struggling communities. This enhanced funding will significantly reduce the financial impact on local ratepayers.

    EFC’s Community Assistance Teams are available to help local governments complete funding applications and encourage communities to reach out to receive help in addressing their local water infrastructure needs. This targeted outreach helps ensure that small, rural communities can successfully compete for funding and implement urgently needed projects.

    EFC President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman said, “Modern, reliable wastewater systems are essential to community health and environmental protection. EFC is pleased to support the Town of Westport’s strategic investments in its water infrastructure, making this project affordable for ratepayers and ensuring that Lake Champlain continues to thrive as both an ecological asset and a cornerstone of the local tourism economy.”

    DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York is making record investments to enhance water quality in Lake Champlain and in communities throughout the state. Overhauling Westport’s aging infrastructure and updating wastewater treatment operations reduce pollution and phosphorus that impairs Lake Champlain, threatens drinking water, and contributes to harmful algal blooms. DEC looks forward to continuing to make these essential investments to reduce the financial burden on New Yorkers, safeguard drinking water, and ensure our natural resources are well protected.”

    Senator Charlies Schumer said, “Lake Champlain is a crown jewel of the North Country and boosts our local tourism economy. I’m proud to have delivered nearly $1 million in federal funding to modernize the Town of Westport’s wastewater system. This upgrade will help keep Lake Champlain clean by cleaning up the gravity sewers and manholes, preserving the lake’s crucial role for tourism in the North Country – all while creating good-paying jobs, jobs, jobs. I’m grateful for Governor Hochul’s partnership in the fight to turn the tide on our state’s aging water sewer infrastructure to keep our communities economically safe, healthy and vibrant.”

    Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “The health and safety of our communities is dependent on access to safe and reliable water infrastructure. Far too many across the country lack access to the functional and efficient water systems they need, and I am proud that this project will help protect the welfare of Westport families and the millions who visit Lake Champlain every year. I will continue fighting in the Senate to bring home more funding to modernize our aging infrastructure so that all New Yorkers have access to the clean and efficient water systems they deserve.

    Town of Westport Supervisor Michael “Ike” Tyler said, “This project was essential for our community. With State support, we were able to take on a critical infrastructure challenge in a way that was financially responsible for our residents. These upgrades will protect our residents, our environment, and the lake we all depend on.”

    Essex County Chairman Shaun Gillilland said, “This project is a showcase example of teamwork at all levels of New York and local government to combat and alleviate the most challenging stresses on rural infrastructure; namely modernizing and improving older public wastewater systems to ensure they improve and not deteriorate our natural water resources and drinking water.”

    New York’s Commitment to Water Quality
    New York State continues to increase its nation-leading investments in water infrastructure. The next round of EFC’s Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants is now open at www.efc.ny.gov. This round reflects New York’s continued leadership in investing in affordable, community-driven clean water solutions.

    With $500 million allocated for clean water infrastructure in the FY26 Enacted Budget announced by Governor Hochul, New York will have invested a total of $6 billion in water infrastructure since 2017. Any community needing assistance with water infrastructure projects is encouraged to contact EFC. New Yorkers can track projects benefiting from EFC’s investments using the interactive project impact dashboard.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Little Eagle Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Killing Hunka Brother Within the Standing Rock Reservation

    Source: US FBI

    ABERDEEN – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on July 15, 2025.

    Evan John Bobtail Bear, age 35, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    Bobtail Bear was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2025. He pleaded guilty on February 12, 2025.

    On May 14, 2024, Bobtail Bear argued with his brother at a gathering outside a home in Little Eagle, South Dakota, which lies within the Standing Rock Reservation. Bobtail Bear punched his brother in the head. Bobtail Bear’s brother, unconscious, keeled over and struck his head on a concrete driveway. When Bobtail Bear saw his brother was seriously injured, he pleaded with him to wake up. He never did, succumbing to his injuries on June 8, 2024, in a hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota.

    This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.

    This case was investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

    Bobtail Bear was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Chicago Man Sentenced to Nearly Two Years in Prison for Violating Conditions of Court-Supervised Release Following Imprisonment

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

    CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison for violating the conditions of court-supervised release following his imprisonment for a firearms offense.

    KEESHON SAMSON, 31, was released from federal prison in 2023 after being convicted of illegally possessing a loaded semiautomatic handgun on Chicago’s South Side.  The gun had been reported stolen in a burglary of a licensed firearms dealer.  Samson remained under court-supervised release for three years following imprisonment.

    In February 2025, Samson was accused of breaking windows out of an acquaintance’s house and threatening the physical safety of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) investigator in a series of harassing telephone calls from a masked phone number.

    On July 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey found that Samson threatened the DCFS investigator and thus violated the supervised release conditions, one of which prohibited him from committing a federal, state, or local crime while under supervision.  Judge Blakey sentenced Samson to 21 months in federal prison.

    The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Snell.

    “In our federal system of justice, supervised release is a critically important part of the sentencing process,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.  “It is designed to help offenders transition back into society while also ensuring public safety.  When a defendant on supervised release chooses to violate clear conditions designed to protect the community, my Office will not hesitate to prosecute the violation and hold the defendant accountable.”

    “The defendant’s conduct while on supervised release demonstrated a reckless disregard for the law, the safety of others, and the Court’s orders,” said ATF SAC Amon.  “This sentence sends a clear message that violations of Court-imposed conditions of release will not be tolerated.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Active Citizen project has updated the “Pulse of the Capital” section

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The Active Citizen project has introduced an updated section “Pulse of the Capital”Now it is a colorful strip of photographs of Moscow, in the creation of which the residents themselves participate.

    Anyone can show the brightest moments from the life of the city. Every month, “active citizens” will be asked to send photos on certain topics dedicated to city events, projects, festivals and more. In addition, there is a permanent thematic section “Choice of Muscovites”: it is already accepting photos of city streets, metro stations, VDNKh pavilions, sports complexes and other city objects that appeared, changed or became better thanks to the decisions of the capital’s residents made during the voting in the “Active Citizen” project. These objects are published on online map.

    For example, Muscovites have determined what it will look like after reconstruction Northern River Terminal, voted for a new design for entry groupsVDNKh and improvement of the area around them.

    How to get to “Pulse of the Capital”

    To take part in the creation of the section “Pulse of the Capital”, users need to familiarize themselves with map of objects, then open the Active Citizen mobile app on your smartphone and go to the Photopulse section. Then you need to take a bright photo and upload the photo, adding a description of several words to it. After moderation, the photos will be published in the general section feed, where other users will be able to rate them by giving them a like.

    The 10 photos that receive the most ratings during the thematic period will be put to a citywide vote, based on the results of which the three best photos will be selected. Their authors will receive points for the city loyalty program. “A Million Prizes”: for first place – three thousand, for second – two thousand, for third – one thousand points. The winners will be able to use them to receive goods and services from the program partners or donate them to charity.

    Project “Active Citizen” has been operating since 2014. During this time, more than seven million people have joined it, and more than seven thousand votes have been held. Every month, 30 to 40 decisions are implemented in the city. The project is being developed by the State Institution “New Management Technologies” and the capital Department of Information Technology.

    The creation, development and operation of the e-government infrastructure, including the provision of mass socially significant services, as well as other services in electronic form, corresponds to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” and the regional project of the city of Moscow “Digital Public Administration”.

    Get the latest news quicklyofficial telegram channel the city of Moscow.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Discover Sask Parks: July 23 – August 6

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on July 23, 2025

    Visitors can enjoy an entire summer of camping, glamping, hiking and fun at the lake in Saskatchewan Provincial Parks. Engaging family programming is also scheduled each week to fill everybody’s calendar.

    Take a moment to create new memories and experience nature to the fullest. Here are a few special events and programs occurring over the next two weeks; all are free with a valid Park Entry Permit:

    Bison Day
    July 24, Buffalo Pound Provincial Park
    4 to 8 p.m.

    Head to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park and discover the vital role that bison has in prairie ecosystems and learn more about a new bison tracking system that supports the herd in the park. Join Park Interpreters on a guided hike to gain insider knowledge about this unique keystone species.

    Learn more.

    Cannington Fair
    August 3, Cannington Manor Provincial Historic Park
    12 to 4 p.m.

    Step back in time and let history come to life as you experience what village life was like at the turn of the twentieth century. Enjoy afternoon tea and treats, meet special guests, make rope, play classic picnic games and taste hand-churned ice cream! Do not forget to snap a selfie at our well-stocked photo station.

    Learn more.

    UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROGRAMS

    Tri-Loon-Athon
    August 9, Makwa Lake Provincial Park
    8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    Head to Makwa Lake for the 2nd annual Tri-Loon-Athon! Swim 300 metres in open water right off of Stabler Point Beach, bike 10 kilometres (km) along the shore, then run 2.5 km to finish off the race strong. Surround yourself with beautiful scenery to get your heart rate pumping and your body moving. Kids can join in on the fun too, with the youth route, which involves a 200-metre swim, a 5-km bike ride, and a 2.5-km run.

    Learn more.

    Festival in the Forest
    August 9, Meadow Lake Provincial Park
    1 to 8:30 p.m.  

    Step into the forest and embrace your inner artist at Meadow Lake Provincial Park! Experience a day of art and culture surrounded by nature in the beautiful Boreal Forest through workshops, an artist market, crafts, an evening concert and more. 

    Learn more.

    Sask Parks Summer Cinema
    August 9, Douglas Provincial Park
    9 to 11 p.m.

    Join us at Sask Parks Summer Cinema: Garfield (2024) for an outdoor movie experience at Douglas Provincial Park, presented by Fresh Air Cinema. Arrive before the show for activities with our Park Interpreters.

    Learn more.

    There are many other things to do and see in Saskatchewan Provincial Parks. Visit the Sask Parks Event Calendar to find all events and programs.

    Make memories close to home this summer in Saskatchewan Provincial Parks. To book a campsite, visit the SaskParks.com

    -30-

    For more information, contact: 

    PCS Media
    Parks, Culture and Sport
    Regina
    Phone: 306-798-1020
    Email: pcsmedia@gov.sk.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan Sees Further Progress on Oil and Gas Emissions Reduction

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on July 23, 2025

    Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from Saskatchewan’s upstream oil and gas sector saw a fifth-straight year of reductions in 2024, according to the Ministry of Energy and Resources’ Oil and Gas Emissions Management Regulations (OGEMR) Annual Report. The report’s 2024 data shows provincial emissions from venting and flaring at upstream oil facilities fell by 71 per cent compared to 2015 levels, and by 13 per cent compared to 2023 levels.

    “Our made-in-Saskatchewan approach to lowering GHG emissions is working, and these numbers show it,” Energy and Resources Minister Colleen Young said. “Investment and innovation in the oil and gas sector has led to the significant reduction in the emissions we have seen since OGEMR was introduced in 2019. The Ministry of Energy and Resources will continue to take a regulatory approach that facilitates growth and ensures responsible resource development.” 

    The OGEMR annual report found that emissions from reported venting and flaring at upstream oil facilities have been reduced by 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) since 2015. That is equivalent to taking 1.7 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year. 

    Multiple activities contributed to the 2024 reductions, but there were two primary drivers: oil companies installing combustion equipment at wells and facilities to burn off gas that would otherwise have been vented; and companies using vented gas on site as fuel for a beneficial industry-related purpose.

    The OGEMR annual report monitors progress in implementing OGEMR with the intent to reduce GHG emissions from the upstream oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 per cent by 2025 compared to 2015 levels.

    The 2024 OGEMR Annual Report shows Saskatchewan has surpassed the 40 to 45 per cent goal and is on track to far exceed this target in 2025. This achievement underscores the province’s regulatory leadership and industry innovation in lowering GHG emissions.

    For more information about the Government of Saskatchewan’s Oil and Gas Emissions Management Regulations and to view a full copy of the report, please visit saskatchewan.ca.

    To view the Oil and Gas Emissions Management Regulations Annual Report, visit: https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/126693/formats/148784/download.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Scientists Find a “Silver Lining” to Adult House Flies’ Filthy Behavior

    Source: US Agriculture Research Service

    Scientists Find a “Silver Lining” to Adult House Flies’ Filthy Behavior

    By: Maribel Alonso
    Email: Maribel.Alonso@usda.gov

    Researchers at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are investigating the microbial communities carried by house flies to enhance disease monitoring and reduce the risk of disease transmission by fly-borne pathogens in livestock, ultimately protecting our food supply and public health.

    House flies play a crucial role in transferring harmful bacteria, viruses, and other microbes among cattle. They also have the potential to spread these pathogens from farms to nearby livestock operations and residential areas.

    Adult house flies often have unrestricted access to farm waste, cattle manure, and animal excretions. Flies can pick up microbes from these sources and then spread them, potentially affecting livestock health, welfare, and production efficiency. This can contribute to significant economic losses. According to a previous study, it is estimated that U.S. producers spend over $1 billion annually on implementing fly control programs alone.

    Effective fly management can mitigate the spread of disease-causing bacteria and viruses, thereby improving livestock health and reducing potential risks to human health.  

    Photo by Dustin Swanson (USDA-ARS)

    ARS researchers, university partners, and cattle producers are collaborating to study the types and numbers of microbes carried by adult house flies to assess their role as sources and disseminators of bacteria and viruses within confined dairy farms and, potentially, to neighboring operations.

    In a study conducted in collaboration with Kansas State University (KSU), researchers determined that examining the genomic DNA (the complete set of genetic material in an organism) extracted from pools of individual adult female house flies in a specific location can provide a comprehensive overview of the microbes present in their local environment. House flies act as natural “flying swabs,” collecting microbial samples from diverse sources like sick animals or their waste. This innovative approach could potentially serve as a new tool to monitor and study microbes in the environment by allowing scientists to efficiently and safely analyze microbes in the field.

    “The numbers of animals, their health status, the composition, and volume of cattle manure, and other environmental conditions at dairy cattle operations vary from month to month, which in turn affects the abundance and types of microbes that will be present and therefore accessible by house flies,” said Dana Nayduch, a research leader and entomologist at the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan, KS.

    “By looking at what flies are carrying within and on their bodies over time, we can directly assess what is going on in their surrounding environment on the farm, as they acquire those microbes from these sources all day, every day. In fact, if there is a sick animal on a farm, a fly is attracted to it and will find that needle in the haystack for you, potentially among thousands of animals, and feed upon it and collect its microbes in the process,” explained Nayduch.

    The insights gained from these ongoing studies can offer farm managers early warnings about the presence of harmful bacteria and viruses in their operations, enabling them to take preventive measures to protect cattle against potential severe illnesses or even outbreaks.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

    ###

    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Scientists Find a “Silver Lining” to Adult House Flies’ Filthy Behavior

    Source: US Agriculture Research Service

    Scientists Find a “Silver Lining” to Adult House Flies’ Filthy Behavior

    By: Maribel Alonso
    Email: Maribel.Alonso@usda.gov

    Researchers at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are investigating the microbial communities carried by house flies to enhance disease monitoring and reduce the risk of disease transmission by fly-borne pathogens in livestock, ultimately protecting our food supply and public health.

    House flies play a crucial role in transferring harmful bacteria, viruses, and other microbes among cattle. They also have the potential to spread these pathogens from farms to nearby livestock operations and residential areas.

    Adult house flies often have unrestricted access to farm waste, cattle manure, and animal excretions. Flies can pick up microbes from these sources and then spread them, potentially affecting livestock health, welfare, and production efficiency. This can contribute to significant economic losses. According to a previous study, it is estimated that U.S. producers spend over $1 billion annually on implementing fly control programs alone.

    Effective fly management can mitigate the spread of disease-causing bacteria and viruses, thereby improving livestock health and reducing potential risks to human health.  

    Photo by Dustin Swanson (USDA-ARS)

    ARS researchers, university partners, and cattle producers are collaborating to study the types and numbers of microbes carried by adult house flies to assess their role as sources and disseminators of bacteria and viruses within confined dairy farms and, potentially, to neighboring operations.

    In a study conducted in collaboration with Kansas State University (KSU), researchers determined that examining the genomic DNA (the complete set of genetic material in an organism) extracted from pools of individual adult female house flies in a specific location can provide a comprehensive overview of the microbes present in their local environment. House flies act as natural “flying swabs,” collecting microbial samples from diverse sources like sick animals or their waste. This innovative approach could potentially serve as a new tool to monitor and study microbes in the environment by allowing scientists to efficiently and safely analyze microbes in the field.

    “The numbers of animals, their health status, the composition, and volume of cattle manure, and other environmental conditions at dairy cattle operations vary from month to month, which in turn affects the abundance and types of microbes that will be present and therefore accessible by house flies,” said Dana Nayduch, a research leader and entomologist at the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan, KS.

    “By looking at what flies are carrying within and on their bodies over time, we can directly assess what is going on in their surrounding environment on the farm, as they acquire those microbes from these sources all day, every day. In fact, if there is a sick animal on a farm, a fly is attracted to it and will find that needle in the haystack for you, potentially among thousands of animals, and feed upon it and collect its microbes in the process,” explained Nayduch.

    The insights gained from these ongoing studies can offer farm managers early warnings about the presence of harmful bacteria and viruses in their operations, enabling them to take preventive measures to protect cattle against potential severe illnesses or even outbreaks.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

    ###

    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: INTERPOL-led operation dismantles criminal networks behind fake goods

    Source: Interpol (news and events)

    8 December 2016

    LYON, France – An INTERPOL-led operation has resulted in police across the Americas dismantling 34 criminal networks involved in the production and distribution of fake and illicit goods worth tens of millions of dollars.

    An INTERPOL-led operation has resulted in police across the Americas dismantling 34 criminal networks involved in the production and distribution of fake  and illicit goods worth tens of millions of dollars.

    “Operation Jupiter provides an opportunity to harmonize our efforts in combating the criminal networks behind counterfeiting and smuggling operations across the region,” said Vicente Romero Fernandez, Director General of the Peruvian National Police.

    With millions of dollars in profits at stake, the criminal groups do not hesitate to use force in defending their networks and operational bases, meaning many of the interventions had to be conducted with support from specialized armed riot forces.

    As part of the INTERPOL-led Operation Jupiter 2016, hundreds of interventions at a range of locations including shops, warehouses and market were made by police and customs across eight countries.

    Food, mobile phones, toys, alcohol and electronic components were among the more than three million fake items worth an estimated USD 93 million seized alongside drugs, guns and ammunition during Operation Jupiter 2016.

    Police and customs officers in Brazil conducted joint operations and checks  in the tri-border area resulting in the seizure of tobacco, medicines, drugs and arms.

    In Chile, police dismantled two illegal workshops, one broadcasting paid TV channels without authorisation and the other counterfeiting music.

    Operation Jupiter 2016 was preceded by a planning meeting and capacity building training course where 40 investigators from nine countries and private sector partners shared intelligence and investigative techniques against counterfeiting and illicit trade.

    More than 650 interventions were made by police and customs officials across eight countries during Operation Jupiter 2016, with nearly 240 individuals arrested or placed under investigation.

    Intelligence gathered by officers in Colombia enabled investigators to identify five criminal groups producing, smuggling and distributing fuel, alcoholic drinks and clothing.

    Information shared via I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure police communications network, during the operation is now being analysed against the Organization’s databases to identify potential links with other criminal networks.

    More than one million items were seized by Peruvian National Police which dismantled 25 illicit workshops producing goods including clothing and drinks.

    More than 650 interventions were made by police and customs officials across eight countries during the two-week (1 – 15 October) Operation Jupiter 2016, with nearly 240 individuals arrested or placed under investigation.

    With millions of dollars in profits being made through smuggling and counterfeiting operations, the criminal groups do not hesitate to use force in defending their networks and operational bases, meaning many of the interventions had to be conducted with support from specialized armed riot forces.

    Food, mobile phones, toys, alcohol and electronic components were among the more than three million fake items worth an estimated USD 93 million seized alongside drugs, guns and ammunition. Information shared via I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure police communications network, during the operation is now being analysed against the Organization’s databases to identify potential links with other criminal networks.

    In Argentina officers intercepted two containers marked as a charitable donation of hospital equipment and supplies, but which also held USD 1 million worth of illegally imported computers, professional film making equipment and drones. Checks of the hospital supplies showed them to be either expired or in poor condition and some containing clinical waste substances posing a serious risk of infection.

    Officers in Brazil seized more than 10,000 illegally imported used car batteries, many of which were improperly stored and leaking sulphuric acid and lead – both carcinogenic substances – into the soil, risking contamination of the local water supply.

    In Chile, police dismantled two illegal workshops, one broadcasting paid TV channels without authorisation and the other counterfeiting music. In Colombia, intelligence gathered during the operation led to the identification of five criminal groups involved in the production and smuggling of fuel, clothes, alcohol and food.

    Officials in Paraguay identified and shut down an illicit tobacco factory and Peruvian National Police dismantled a total of 25 workshops producing a range of illicit goods including clothing, soft drinks, alcohol as well as fake designer labels and tags.

    “Operation Jupiter provides an opportunity to harmonize our efforts in combating the criminal networks behind counterfeiting and smuggling operations across the region,” said Vicente Romero Fernandez, Director General of the Peruvian National Police.

    “Peru is committed to tackling this form of criminality and also engaging the public to make them aware that buying fake or illicitly traded goods are not bargains, but potentially life-threatening products which fund organized crime networks,” added Director General Fernandez.

    The operation was preceded by a planning meeting and capacity building training course at INTERPOL’s Regional Bureau in Buenos Aires. The session, supported by the US Patent and Trademark Office, brought together 40 investigators from nine countries and private sector partners to share intelligence and investigative techniques against counterfeiting and illicit trade.

    Countries which took part in Operation Jupiter 2016: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Scott Statement on Safe Return of Spartanburg Family

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) issued the following statement regarding the safe return of a Spartanburg family from Syria: 

    “I am thrilled that Desiree Gomez, her husband Mohamad Shokair, and their 18-month-old daughter Salma have been safely extracted from Syria and are returning home to the Upstate. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Grey Bull Rescue and all federal agencies and partners who worked tirelessly to bring this South Carolina family home safely. We are grateful they are home safe and our thoughts remain with them as they reunite with their loved ones.”

    Senator Scott’s office has been actively engaged with the State Department throughout the process to facilitate the family’s safe return.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Scott Statement on Safe Return of Spartanburg Family

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) issued the following statement regarding the safe return of a Spartanburg family from Syria: 

    “I am thrilled that Desiree Gomez, her husband Mohamad Shokair, and their 18-month-old daughter Salma have been safely extracted from Syria and are returning home to the Upstate. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Grey Bull Rescue and all federal agencies and partners who worked tirelessly to bring this South Carolina family home safely. We are grateful they are home safe and our thoughts remain with them as they reunite with their loved ones.”

    Senator Scott’s office has been actively engaged with the State Department throughout the process to facilitate the family’s safe return.

    MIL OSI USA News –