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Category: Trumpism

  • MIL-OSI Global: How discussion becomes discord: Three avoidable steps on the path to polarization

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Emma Lei Jing, Assistant Professor, People and Organizations, Neoma Business School

    From tariffs and sovereignty to politics and conflict, there’s no shortage of controversial topics for us to grapple with. (Shutterstock)

    Many of us have become immersed in debates with family about a contentious political issue, or found ourselves on the other side of a political divide than our friends. In these contentious times, it can be all too easy for courteous debate to devolve into polarized discord.

    From tariffs and sovereignty to politics and conflict, there’s no shortage of controversial topics for us to grapple with. Canada just emerged from a divisive federal election, while in the United States, President Donald Trump signed a record 143 executive orders in his first 100 days in office, many of which touched on contentious topics.

    We recently conducted a study on the debate around harm reduction. Here in Canada, supervised consumption sites is one issue that has generated support and opposition from community members, healthcare and government agencies, police, addiction services and many others. And it has led to some becoming entrenched in polarized positions.

    Our research traced a path which led participants farther apart. Eventually, opposing camps became deeply divided and unwilling to engage with anyone holding different views, and it didn’t happen at random.

    What went wrong, and what set opposing groups on the path to discord?

    Signposts on the path to polarization

    Through an in-depth qualitative case study of addiction services in Alberta, our analysis showed that when the topic of harm reduction was first introduced, arguments were based mostly on evidence and reason.

    Harm reduction proponents pointed to the life-saving benefits of harm reduction and the inadequacies of traditional approaches, whereas opponents talked about the effectiveness of more traditional approaches.

    We saw genuine, and sometimes successful, efforts to persuade those who disagreed to change their minds.

    However, we identified a systematic progression from civil discourse to the formation of echo chambers. From that, we offer ways to steer conversations from developing into irreconcilable echo chambers.

    When emotions rise, people talk less about the pros and cons of an approach and more about what should be the right approach.
    (Shutterstock)

    Phase 1: Emotion deepens the divide

    In the case of the harm reduction debate, an opioid crisis shook Alberta. A steep increase in overdose deaths heightened urgency and intensity around the debate and ushered in more emotionally charged arguments. Before long, a moral component developed in the debate.

    When emotions rise, people talk less about the pros and cons of an approach and more about what should be the right approach.

    Disagreements escalate as the discussion veers away from logic and arguments become more morally and emotionally charged. This heightened a sense of being right, and the opposite view being wrong, provides fertile ground for polarization.

    This phase is where there is the greatest opportunity to change course. Be aware of the rising emotional energy. If the debate is getting heated, avoid framing arguments in terms of what’s right and wrong and stay focused on evidence and reason.

    Phase 2: Heightened hostility

    This is where things get personal.

    As emotional rhetoric takes hold, participants pull farther apart and animosity grows. They start characterizing people on either side of the debate as morally right or wrong.

    Just as we saw in phase one, a watershed event deepened the divide in Alberta. A newly elected provincial government took a distinctly different approach than the previous government, leaving advocates on one side feeling vindicated and their opponents shocked, dismayed and angry.

    In phase two, the issue itself takes a back seat, and participants started blaming their opponents for making matters worse. There is less dialogue about an approach being right or wrong, and more about the people involved being right or wrong.

    This is possibly the last chance to turn things around. At this point, we should be mindful about the importance of neutral and respectful language. One way to do this is by avoiding making things personal, such as blaming one another for a situation.

    Disagreements escalate as a discussion veers away from logic and arguments become more morally and emotionally charged.
    (Shutterstock)

    Phase 3: Disdain, disgust and self-isolation

    By now, logical arguments have been abandoned, replaced with intense expressions of disgust and disdain for opponents. No longer interested in persuading the other side, the focus shifts to solidifying a position as both sides withdraw from debate and only engage with like-minded people.

    In our study, this phase, like the previous phases, was brought on by a distinct event. A second provincial election ushered in an abrupt reversal in leadership and harm reduction policies. Any attempts to work together were abandoned and participants started entrenching themselves in self-constructed echo chambers.

    In this most devastating and possibly irreparable phase, we noted that the rhetoric wasn’t even about what was right or wrong anymore. It was more about expressing disgust toward one another, leaving no room for facts, evidence or even different opinions, firmly establishing two entrenched sides.

    Moral convictions and emotions play a critical role in escalating disagreements. The damage caused when civil arguments are subtly replaced with moral convictions and moral emotions can impact how we co-operate and interact with one another, even in our day-to-day conversations with families and friends.

    In the context of addiction services in Alberta, there has now been an extended period of “cooling down” where both sides are taking a wait-and-see approach. We suggest that this is creating a climate where an engaged discussion with fact-based arguments can again be possible.

    But even better would be a more proactive approach where participants of a debate recognize the warning signs and take actions early.

    Trish Reay received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council that supported this research.

    Elizabeth Goodrick, Emma Lei Jing, and Jo-Louise Huq do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How discussion becomes discord: Three avoidable steps on the path to polarization – https://theconversation.com/how-discussion-becomes-discord-three-avoidable-steps-on-the-path-to-polarization-257709

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Spotlight Forum, Durbin Exposes Republicans’ Plan To Slash Funding For Medicaid, SNAP Benefits To Pay For Tax Cuts For Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    June 18, 2025

    In a spotlight forum on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Durbin slammed Republicans for proposing $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid, at least $200 billion in cuts to SNAP

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a spotlight forum entitled “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While the Mega Rich Profit.”  The forum, which was hosted by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), focused on how the Republican tax bill funds massive tax breaks for the ultrawealthy by making the largest cuts in history to health care and food assistance programs that Americans rely on.  During the hearing, Durbin questioned witnesses about Republicans’ false argument that SNAP and food assistance programs, which offers nutrition assistance to 42 million Americans, are riddled with fraud or waste, especially given the critical, but modest, average SNAP benefit of $6 per day.

    “I asked my staff, ‘how does a person apply for SNAP, food stamps, in my home state of Illinois?’  They handed me a 19-page application.  Nineteen page application for $6 a day.  And the twentieth page is all the possible ways they can challenge what you put in the nineteen pages,” Durbin said.

    Laura Lester, who serves as the CEO of Feeding Alabama, replied, “There is no more thorough program in terms of the application process, the verification process.  It is complicated and hard to apply forand receive SNAP.”

    “In some states, you just can’t file one of these forms and then walk away from it.  You have to renew the filing on a regular basis to prove you are continuing to meet the work requirements.  Has that been your experience?” Durbin asked Ms. Lester.

    Ms. Lester explained that able-bodied adults without dependents must regularly provide updates about their work status in order to continue receiving benefits.

    “So we’re taking people who are struggling who have limited income… And we’re telling them, fill out this form and be prepared to renew it on a regular basis to avoid the possibility that somebody is trying to game the system and get $6 a day.  Is that it?” Durbin asked, underscoring the existing rigorous application process for families who need a helping hand to put food on the table.

    Ms. Lester affirmed Durbin’s point, noting that SNAP’s qualification and intake process is so thorough that it is used to screen applications for other programs.

    Durbin then focused his questioning on Republicans’ claim that their reconciliation bill is simply a continuation of the tax cuts from President Trump’s first term.

    “The Republicans are arguing we’re just continuing the tax cuts from Trump’s first term in office.  Is that true?” Durbin asked Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

    Ms. Hanauer explained that the Republicans’ reconciliation bill not only includes extensions of tax cuts that primarily support wealthy Americans, but it also creates new tax breaks for billionaires.  Ms. Hanauer pointed out that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts is extremely costly and will increase the national deficit while depriving the federal government from its ability to fund critical social programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

    Durbin emphasized that President Trump added more to the national debt than any president in history, and if this legislation is passed, he will surpass his own record by adding $2.8 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years.  “And because of that, we could get into something called sequestration, which says your budget’s too far out of balance.  And as a result of that, there could be cutbacks in Medicare.  Is that a possibility?” Durbin asked Ms. Hanauer.

    “It is certainly a possibility,” Ms. Hanauer replied.

    “So the promise to never touch Medicare is broken in this bargain as well?” Durbin asked.

    Ms. Hanauer agreed.

    Video of Durbin’s remarks is available here.

    Audio of Durbin’s remarks is available here.

    Both the Senate and House versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the ultrawealthy paid by cutting hundreds of billions to programs, including $200 billion in cuts to SNAP in the Senate version of the bill while the House version would slash $300 billion in SNAP funding, that will result in loss of health care coverage and nutrition assistance for millions of Americans.  Under the Republican plan, people earning $40,000 a year will see an average tax decrease of $442 per year while people making more than $1 million will see their taxes go down by $79,000 per year.  The Congressional Budget Office’s latest analysis found that the lowest-income households in the U.S. would lose $1,600 a year in federal resources while the highest-income households would see a $12,000 annual boost from tax cuts paid for by slashing Medicaid and SNAP benefits.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Wake Up America on Newsmax to Discuss Conflict in Middle East, Budget Reconciliation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

    WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Wake Up America on Newsmax to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, along with the budget reconciliation package.

    *Click the photo above or here to watch*

    Partial Transcript

    Hagerty on the stark contrast between Biden’s and Trump’s posture toward Iran: “What the Democrats did when they were in power is, actually, embolden Iran to do exactly what they’re doing. If you think about it, I worked in President [Donald] Trump’s first administration as U.S. Ambassador. We put the ‘Maximum Pressure Campaign’ on Iran. They were running out of money; they were broke. What does [former President Joe] Biden do? [He] comes back in and reimplements the Obama policies, flush with cash. Iran begins to pedal terror throughout the Middle East. That brought us the October 7th, 2023, massacre in Israel. The Houthis, basically, shut down the Red Sea. The Iranians have been fomenting terror all around the region. The time has come for this to stop. Israel has stepped up and put Iran in a very difficult situation. President Trump has some very important cards right now, and I don’t think the Senate should be interfering with him. I think this can be resolved in days.”

    Hagerty on Iran’s weak negotiating position: “I think the Iranian hand gets weaker by the day. Every missile they shoot [is] one less that they have in their stockpiles. They can’t replenish every time they shoot. They’re identifying a launch site that the Israelis can take out. The story is getting worse and worse and worse for the Iranian regime. I think the Ayatollahs need to hear it loud and clear: President Trump has been consistent in what he’s said for both the 45 term and the 47 term. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. The Ayatollahs now need to figure out what their best path is, but they need to come to the table very quickly. This needs to come to an end.”

    Hagerty on the need to resolve the situation quickly: “President Trump is tired of the carnage. He’s told me so himself. He wants to see this come to an end. He wants to see it come to an end swiftly. But you know that President Trump will take decisive action when need be. He’s the one who decided to take out Soleimani. What did that do? It actually calmed the region. He’s letting the Ayatollahs know that this is serious. He wants this resolved. He’s given them every chance to do it, but they have very limited time window left.”

    Hagerty on the budget reconciliation package negotiations:     “The biggest sticking point of all is the fact that if we don’t get this done, the American public’s going to feel a tax increase like we’ve never felt before, north of $4 trillion. The White House budget model suggests that if that were to happen, we would see the GDP of the United States decline by six percent in 2026. We can’t let that happen. This bill is designed to stimulate more investment, more capital investment in America, which will create more jobs and more economic activity. The sooner we can make that happen, the sooner our economy takes off. So, I think one of the critical elements here that we need to talk about is, frankly, the speed to get this to the President’s desk. So, I’m all for getting this done by the 4th of July. Let him sign it. There are improvements that are underway right now here in the Senate. The senators that have been very focused on this are trying to make the bill more conservative. I’m all for that. We’ve got a real spending problem here in America, but we also have a problem of uncertainty. That uncertainty is, basically, forcing U.S. employers to hold back on the investments that they would normally make. I want to make certain that we get this done quickly, that certainty is returned to the marketplace, and we see capital investment moving, yet again, so that the America that we all know and love, under President Trump’s first term, will come back growing at twice the rate of any other major economy in the world […] I know that Leader [John] Thune is in very close contact with the House of Representatives, and it’ll probably be close on both sides because we’re going to make it as conservative as we possibly can, yet still hold 50 votes here and hold the House. So, that’s the negotiation that’s taking play. It’s complicated, but I think everybody understands the timelines, and I think everyone understands how crucial it is to get this done.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Small Business Initiative Helps Western North Carolina Businesses Rebuild Businesses

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: WATCH: Small Business Initiative Helps Western North Carolina Businesses Rebuild Businesses

    WATCH: Small Business Initiative Helps Western North Carolina Businesses Rebuild Businesses
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Last month Governor Josh Stein announced that the Western North Carolina Small Business Initaitve had distributed $55 million in funding from the Dogwood Health Trust, the Duke Endowment, and the State of North Carolina to 2,182 North Carolina small businesses. 

    Hear from some of the grants recipients below: 

    Pig and Grits Barbecue, Burnsville 

    “What it did for us here was it allowed us to buy some equipment, to take care of some of our employees that needed some help, and helped us rebuild our inventory and pay for some of the flooring and repairs and stuff that insurance didn’t cover completely.”

    “But as far as the community goes, everybody’s jumped in. Volunteers have come from all over, and we want to say thank you for that. We are open for business and would look forward to serving anyone.” 

    Henry River Farms, Morganton 

    “So we lost our seasonal crop, our strawberries … And then it also affected like our tourism side of things, our agritourism … And then we also lost field trips, which we rely on throughout the week for our fall season.”

    “So receiving the grant helped us with our operating cost and our repair cost for some of our infrastructure that was lost during the storm. The main crop that was affected was our strawberry crop, which covers about a third of our income for our farm. So just having access to funds to help us keep, you know going as we’re going to have this through the spring where we don’t have our normal income has been a huge help.”

    Carolina Native Nursery, Burnsville 

    “We had damage to over 100 greenhouses. Like anybody else would say, it’s like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. Without the Dogwood Grant, it would just take us that much more time to recover.”

    “It allowed us to keep people on payroll. At a height of our season, we have 20 people on payroll, so it aided with that and to achieve the size that we had, it’d taken us a lot. So this $50,000 really goes a long way to jump us forward, to get us back to where we’re going to be.”

    Governor Stein remains committed to western North Carolina’s recovery. The Governor continues to advocate to the Trump Administration and the U.S. Congress to send $19 billion to western North Carolina for disaster relief and to improve FEMA by reducing red tape and making disaster response efforts more efficient. Governor Stein’s second Hurricane Helene budget proposal also includes $891 million directed toward economic recovery, strengthening critical infrastructure, and getting western North Carolinians back into their homes. Governor Stein continues to encourage people from across the country to visit western North Carolina this summer and support small businesses 

    Jun 18, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: After celebrating State Parks Week, Newsom administration calls out federal assault on public lands

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 18, 2025

    What you need to know: After more than 170 events last week celebrating California’s state parks, Governor Newsom and his administration are calling out federal cuts to National Parks and public lands.

    SACRAMENTO – As the Trump administration threatens the future of federal public lands, California is celebrating its thriving state park system, the largest in the nation, and its commitment to expanding access to the outdoors. This comes after the state celebrated its fourth annual California State Parks Week with more than 170 events last week, highlighting the people, places and programs that make California’s 280 state parks truly unique.

    On Friday, the Newsom administration sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior warning of public safety risks and reduced access due to major cuts proposed to staff and programs that support National Parks and other federal public lands. In contrast, California is expanding access to the outdoors, investing in communities and laying the groundwork for further expansion.

    As the saying goes, national parks are America’s best idea – and putting them on the chopping block has to be one of the worst. As the Trump administration threatens our public lands, California continues to expand access to achieve our vision of outdoors for all.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    As outlined in the letter, the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to federal agencies like the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs threaten public lands, water supply, wildlife, and tribal sovereignty. These cuts would lead to reduced staff, services, public access, and increased risks such as wildfires and jeopardized public safety. 

    “While we support efforts to improve the efficiency of federal services, current and proposed cuts raise serious concerns regarding public safety, water supplies, public access, and outdoor recreation across California,” wrote California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “Additionally, these cuts impact the national economy as agriculture and outdoor recreation are critical and powerful economic engines for the country.”

    Outdoors For All

    Connecting people to nature is critical for our physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Outdoor spaces also help communities adapt to climate change, can be good for wildlife and biodiversity, and are reliably a powerful economic engine for the state. Unfortunately, outdoor access and its many benefits are not equitably distributed to all communities.

    Under the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a historic investment of more than $1 billion has been dedicated to expanding parks and nature access, including to Californians who live in underserved communities.

    From the otherworldly beauty of Joshua Tree, to the soul-stirring splendor of Yosemite, our parks are part of our national story. Their very existence reflects the best in us: a century-long, bipartisan tradition to preserve our iconic natural wonders for the next generation — and make them accessible to all.

    In California, we’re not only standing to protect these sacred spaces, we’re working to open them up to even more children, including through our California State Park Adventure Pass, which gives fourth graders in the state and their families free access to 54 California State Parks.

    First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

    The administration’s Outdoor Access for All and California Natural Resources Agency’s Outdoors for All initiatives have created innovative access programs for children and families to explore California’s state parks, mitigated impacts from climate change, and helped the economy.

    Here are some key accomplishments:

    • Free park passes: Three new state park pass programs were created for Californians to access participating park units for free. As of June 1, over the life of these programs more than 104,000 eligible Californians have received a Golden Bear Pass, 83,000-plus fourth graders have signed up for a California State Park Adventure Pass, and more than 33,000 free passes can be checked out at libraries throughout the state.
    • New state park: After more than a decade, California added a new park to the state park system. Located near Modesto in the San Joaquin Valley, Dos Rios is a multi-benefit park providing outdoor recreation opportunities for underserved communities, providing habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife, and advancing the state’s innovative efforts to combat the climate crisis using nature-based solutions. Nearly 10,000 people have visited Dos Rios since its official opening in June 2024, and the park has steadily increased public access to the approximately 1,600-acre property.
    • Cutting green tape: One year after the opening of Dos Rios, the Newsom administration continues to remove bureaucratic hurdles by cutting the green tape to lay the groundwork for potential future expansion of the state park system.  
    • Climate bond: In November 2024, a majority of voters across California approved a $10 billion Climate Bond to ensure resources are available to strengthen the resiliency of California communities to a changing climate. Specifically, the climate bond supports the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, Nature-Based Solutions Climate Targets, 30X30, and Outdoors for All. The administration is committed to rolling out these funds in a way that is strategic, coordinated, accessible, accountable, and prioritizes multi-benefit projects when possible.
    • Community investments: It is not just about state parks. State Parks has provided grants to local communities to establish indoor and outdoor recreation in every corner of the state, building trails, acquiring and restoring sensitive habitat, building natural and cultural interpretative facilities, and fostering outdoor natural experiences for thousands of children, youth, and families. This is just a small sampling of what community investments can accomplish.

    State Parks protects the best of the state’s natural and cultural history; more than 340 miles of coastline; the tallest, largest and among the oldest trees in the world; and deserts, lakes, rivers and beaches. There are more than 5,200 miles of trails, and 15,000 campsites, prehistoric and historic archeological sites, ghost towns, historic homes and monuments — all waiting to be explored.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jun 18, 2025

    News What you need to know: Two sites in San Francisco are the latest to be transformed under Governor Newsom’s executive order converting excess and underutilized state land into affordable housing.  SAN FRANCISCO — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the…

    Jun 17, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom recently wrote an op-ed on the dangers of President Trump’s reach at authoritarianism, as well as the solution that lies within the power of each citizen to hold their electeds accountable to the Constitution they have sworn…

    Jun 17, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – El Gobernador Gavin Newsom escribió recientemente un artículo de opinión sobre los peligros del autoritarismo del Presidente Trump, así como la solución que reside en el poder de cada ciudadano de exigir a sus elegidos que rindan cuentas…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Green Party reaction to escalating crisis between Israel and Iran

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    / by Green Party

    The Green Party has called on the UK government to press for de-escalation, push for an immediate ceasefire and hold all parties to the same international standards, in response to the escalating situation in the Middle East.

    Co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay MP, said:

    “The escalating crisis between Israel and Iran is gravely concerning, not just for regional stability, but for the safety of civilians – there have already been hundreds of casualties. Calls for the total evacuation of central Tehran are deeply alarming indicating people’s homes and hospitals and children’s schools are at risk of attack, not just military targets.

    “We are witnessing a pattern of Israel acting with impunity. In Gaza, military objectives have become indistinguishable from the mass suffering of civilians with little or no critique, let alone sanctions from the international community. And now, we are seeing a similar playbook with Israel appearing to pursue regime change in Iran through unilateral military action, without any international mandate or clear justification.

    “The UK government must urgently press for de-escalation, push for an immediate ceasefire across all fronts, and hold all parties to the same international standards – holding to account Israel for its aggressive unilateral actions and Iran for its well-documented human rights violations.

    “Furthermore, Donald Trump’s warmongering rhetoric is fanning the flames of this conflict. The UK must stand firmly against such a gung-ho approach to military intervention and call on the US to instead prioritise genuine diplomatic engagement and humanitarian relief.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schakowsky, Warren Hit Five Big Pharma Companies for Paying Zero in Federal Taxes, Lobbying to Extend Trump Tax Loopholes

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

    “Our tax code has been skewed to benefit wealthy pharmaceutical corporations, enabling them to profit off Americans, charging them the highest drug prices in the world, without paying their fair share of taxes.”

    Full Text of Letters (PDF)

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to five major pharmaceutical companies, calling them out for paying $0 in federal taxes for profit earned last year, despite earning billions of dollars. These companies, which are Abbvie, Pfizer, Amgen, Merck, and Johnson & Johnson, have taken advantage of tax loopholes created by President Trump’s 2017 tax bill and have lobbied for even more tax giveaways.

    “This alarming fact illustrates just one of the ways in which our tax code has been skewed to benefit wealthy pharmaceutical corporations, enabling them to profit off Americans, charging them the highest drug prices in the world, without paying their fair share of taxes,” wrote the lawmakers.

    The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) by President Donald Trump created new incentives for pharmaceutical companies to avoid paying taxes by holding their profits and intellectual property abroad. As a result, pharmaceutical companies have engaged in complex tax planning to move their intellectual property and production facilities out of the United States to tax shelters like Ireland and Bermuda to take advantage of this new regime.

    Thanks to President Trump’s international taxation regime, these top pharmaceutical companies have paid almost nothing in U.S. taxes since 2018 while raking in billions of dollars in profit.

    • Johnson & Johnson paid zero dollars in federal taxes since 2018, while raking in over $594 billion in profits during that time.
    • Abbvie paid zero dollars in federal taxes since 2018, while raking in over $330 billion in profits during that time.
    • Pfizer paid zero dollars in federal taxes since 2018, while raking in over $429 billion in profits during that time.
    • Amgen paid zero dollars in federal taxes since 2018, while raking in over $186 billion in profits during that time.
    • Merck paid zero dollars in federal taxes since 2018, while raking in over $355 billion in profits during that time.

    “Now, pharmaceutical companies want to extend these tax giveaways from the TCJA, and they are lining up to make their case on Capitol Hill,” wrote the lawmakers.

    Indeed, lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry rose in 2024 compared to 2023, as the fight over extending the TCJA began. 

    “Congress should not slash Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or other assistance to Americans trying to afford their prescription medication in order to pay for massive tax breaks for Big Pharma companies making record profits,” concluded the lawmakers.

    Representative Schakowsky and Senator Warren are pushing the companies for answers on their role in extending massive tax cuts for the pharmaceutical industry.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Israel-Iran tensions might not raise prices at the pump as much as feared (for now)

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adi Imsirovic, Lecturer in Energy Systems, University of Oxford

    GreenOak/Shutterstock

    The unexpected attack by Israel on Iran, a major oil-producing nation, may undermine anaemic global economic growth and hinder central banks’ ability to cope in an already uncertain market.

    Iran exports up to 2 million barrels of oil and refined petroleum products per day (million barrels per day – mbd). Due to long-standing sanctions, most of this oil is sold to China at discounted prices.

    Normally, a sudden loss of the Iranian exports (equivalent to around 2% of global oil supply) would trigger panic. But Opec (the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is in the process of reversing the production cuts imposed early in the COVID pandemic (and subsequently). This leaves the organisation with an unusually large spare capacity of at least four million barrels per day, most of which is held by Saudi Arabia (up to 3.5 million) and the UAE (about one million).

    On top of that, the International Energy Agency (IEA) holds more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency reserves across OECD countries, ready to be deployed if needed. China, too, has significant reserves, though the line between its commercial and strategic stocks is less clear.

    Additionally, some 40 million barrels of Iranian oil are stranded aboard anchored ships near China, unsold due to declining industrial demand and electric vehicles hitting petrol consumption. In May, China’s refinery throughput fell 1.8% year-on-year, with no signs of a swift rebound. What’s more, the IEA is expecting global oil production to exceed 1.8 mbd, compared to its earlier projection of only 0.72 mbd, leaving a massive surplus of supply over demand.

    China has proven to be an opportunistic buyer. It did not buy the excess Iranian oil supplies at US$65 (£48) a barrel earlier this year, and whether it buys at US$75 (at the time of writing) or higher, may be a signal of how seriously it views the Middle East tensions. Meanwhile, other Asian importers have been quick to secure prompt shipments from west Africa, and have eyes on US supplies as well.

    Thanks to this surplus capacity and stagnant demand, the oil market’s reaction has been more muted than many feared. Prices briefly spiked by US$10 but have since eased. It appears that the market is assessing whether the hostilities will escalate. If so, the impact on energy prices and inflation could be more significant.

    A conflict of convenience

    It remains somewhat unclear why Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose this moment to strike Iran, especially in the middle of peace negotiations between Iran and the United States. In a recent interview, former Israeli leader Ehud Barak admitted that even a full-scale attack would only delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions by weeks or months at best, with US support.

    Diplomacy, then, may remain the more effective route. This was the rationale behind the Iran nuclear deal brokered under US president Barack Obama, a deal later dismantled by Trump under pressure from Netanyahu.



    Read more:
    Why are the US and Israel not on the same page over how to deal with Iran? Expert Q&A

    So, Netanyahu’s endgame might be political survival and diverting attention from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

    If Iran feels sufficiently cornered, it may retaliate by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic chokepoint through which up to 20 million barrels of oil pass daily. A lot of that oil can be diverted through alternative supply routes such as a large (6 mbd) Saudi East-West pipeline leading to the Red Sea. There is also the UAE pipeline, which avoids the Strait of Hormuz and leads to the port of Fujairah, in the Gulf of Oman.

    Iran could close off the Strait of Hormuz, causing widespread disruption.
    CeltStudio/Shutterstock

    Nevertheless, the increased risk and higher shipping costs would certainly result in much higher prices at the pump. The cost of insurance for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz have jumped 60% since the start of the conflict. That, combined with the broader economic fallout, could have global repercussions.

    The World Bank recently downgraded its global growth forecast to 2.3% for 2025 – nearly half a percentage point below previous estimates. While a worldwide recession is not yet predicted, the bank warned that growth this decade could be the slowest since the 1960s.

    Among the leading culprits is Trump’s tariff policy, which has strained global trade, reduced efficiency and effectively imposed a tax on consumers both in the US and elsewhere. The fear of inflation has led to rising long-term bond yields.

    Expectations of higher inflation and high bond yields, in turn, constrain central banks from stimulating the economy by cutting interest rates. This is a key tool used by the US Federal Reserve to influence the cost of borrowing throughout the US economy and thus attempt to stimulate economic activity.

    And in spite of the recent US-UK trade agreement, the deal includes a 10% tariff on imports from the UK – with steel still at 25%.

    UK economic growth had already slipped into negative territory before the conflict began. Now, with the added strain of geopolitical instability, households are bracing for higher petrol prices at the pump, sluggish wage growth and rising unemployment. The conflict in the Middle East may not have sparked a global oil crisis yet, but it certainly won’t improve anyone’s cost of living.

    Adi Imsirovic is affiliated with Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

    – ref. Why Israel-Iran tensions might not raise prices at the pump as much as feared (for now) – https://theconversation.com/why-israel-iran-tensions-might-not-raise-prices-at-the-pump-as-much-as-feared-for-now-259211

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King Highlights Administration Hypocrisy: Slashing IRS Funding Will Balloon Federal Deficit

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is joining efforts to highlight the hypocrisy of White House policy slashing funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resulting in diminished enforcement for “wealthy tax cheats.” In a letter to IRS Commissioner Billy Long, King and his colleagues suggest that plans to slash IRS funding would balloon the federal deficit and result in $2.4 trillion in lost revenue over the next decade. 

    In June last year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was “alarmed by the size of [the government’s] deficit,” and publicly championed a plan to cut the annual deficit from just over six percent of GDP to three percent. In an interview in April, Deputy Treasury Secretary Faulkender reiterated that the Administration’s intent is to “bring the deficit down.” When pressed by Senators in written questions, Secretary Bessent affirmed his commitment to lowering the deficit to three percent of GDP by the end of President Trump’s term.

    The Senators began, “We write to you with concern regarding the Trump Administration’s hollowing out of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For too long, the IRS has been underfunded and operating with outdated technology and inadequate staffing – resulting in unacceptable levels of service to taxpayers and enabling wealthy tax cheats to evade taxes. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2021, finally provided the IRS with the resources the agency needed to modernize and improve efficiency, but Congressional Republicans quietly slashed that funding in recent years. It is critical that we protect and build on the IRA’s investments. Otherwise, we risk failing honest, hardworking taxpayers while ballooning the federal deficit.”

    “Reducing the tax gap by ensuring that high-income individuals pay the taxes they owe should be an obvious bipartisan approach to making progress on the federal deficit,” the Senators continued. “Further, it is a good investment – one study found that $1 spent on auditing the highest earners yields $12 in returns to revenues. And after recent investments in enforcement targeted at high earners, the IRS collected over $1 billion in back taxes from just 1,600 wealthy taxpayers.”

    “All of this is occurring at the same time that the Administration and Congressional Republicans are teeing up another huge deficit-busting reconciliation bill that includes massive tax cuts for the wealthy, which the House of Representatives recently approved. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, an extension of the 2017 Republican tax bill, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would add $52 trillion to the national debt over the next 30 years, adding more debt to the nation’s balance sheet in three decades than in the previous 249- year history of our country’s existence. This extension is only one component of this larger bill. These actions are inconsistent with your public commitments to meaningfully reduce the federal deficit and will undo the improvements made to the IRS’s taxpayer services,” the Senators concluded.

    Treasury Secretary Bessent last week took a victory lap touting increased IRS revenue in the most recent filing season. Yet, earlier this year, the Trump administration began workforce reductions at the IRS, including a plan to reduce IRS employee headcount by 40 percent. Tens of thousands of workers have left the agency since President Trump took office. More specifically, the auditing division of the IRS division has lost 38 percent of its employees. These cuts could drive up the deficit and lead to $2.4 trillion in lost revenue over the next decade.

    In addition to King, the letter is signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

    The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

    +++

    Dear Secretary Bessent and Commissioner Long:

    We write to you with concern regarding the Trump Administration’s hollowing out of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For too long, the IRS has been underfunded and operating with outdated technology and inadequate staffing – resulting in unacceptable levels of service to taxpayers and enabling wealthy tax cheats to evade taxes. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2021, finally provided the IRS with the resources the agency needed to modernize and improve efficiency, but Congressional Republicans quietly slashed that funding in recent years. It is critical that we protect and build on the IRA’s investments. Otherwise, we risk failing honest, hardworking taxpayers while ballooning the federal deficit.

    Trump administration officials have repeatedly claimed a desire to lower the deficit. In June last year, Treasury Secretary Bessent said he was “alarmed by the size of [the government’s] deficit,” and publicly touted a plan to cut the annual deficit from 6.4 percent of GDP to three percent. In an interview in April, Deputy Treasury Secretary Faulkender reiterated that the Administration’s intent is to “bring the deficit down.” When pressed by Senators in written questions, Secretary Bessent affirmed his commitment to lowering the deficit to three percent of GDP by the end of President Trump’s term. Despite these commitments, the Administration’s signature tax priorities—gutting the IRS and passing significant tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy—will massively drive up the deficit and place a greater burden on future generations.

    American workers pay their taxes on time and in full, often through automatic withholdings on their paychecks. A small subset of high-income taxpayers, though, find complicated workarounds to shield income from the taxes that they owe. This has resulted in a massive gap between revenue owed and revenue collected – known as the “tax gap.” The latest IRS estimate was that this tax gap was nearly $700 billion in 2022 – or 17 percent of the total taxes owed. This shifts more of the tax burden on hardworking Americans who abide by the law.

    Reducing the tax gap by ensuring that high-income individuals pay the taxes they owe should be an obvious bipartisan approach to making progress on the federal deficit. Further, it is a good investment – one study found that $1 spent on auditing the highest earners yields $12 in returns to revenues. And after recent investments in enforcement targeted at high earners, the IRS collected over $1 billion in back taxes from just 1,600 wealthy taxpayers.

    Investments in the IRS also make it easier for law-abiding taxpayers to file their taxes. Decades of underfunding and lack of investment at the agency left customer service in a poor state prior to passage of the IRA. For years, taxpayers struggled to get through on customer service lines or find an in-person assistance center to receive help with their tax return. Recent investments in the IRS have finally allowed the agency to start investing in long-overdue improvements, allowing for significant new and enhanced services for taxpayers. As of June 2024, call wait-times had dropped from 28 minutes to 3 minutes, the agency had opened 54 new taxpayer assistance centers, and online services had started expanding.

    But the Trump administration is planning to turn back the clock on this progress. When reductions in force began at the IRS this spring, personnel essential to the filing season operations were required to continue working until mid-May, which limited the impact of staffing losses on tax revenue for the 2025 season. But the continuing layoffs at the IRS will kneecap the agency’s ability to do its basic job. President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have executed massive cuts to the IRS workforce—including a plan to reduce IRS employee headcount by 40 percent. Tens of thousands of workers have left the agency since President Trump’s inauguration. The IRS division that audits billionaires and the ultrawealthy has already lost 38 percent of its employees and had its funding rescinded by President Trump and Congressional Republicans. Even before these massive layoffs, IRS audits were already at a 23-year low. Further cutting IRS staff means less staff to monitor wealthy tax cheats and collect the tax revenue that will help offset our budget deficit. If IRS staffing levels are nearly halved, as the Administration has promised, these cuts could lead to $2.4 trillion in lost revenue over the next decade. And layoffs of this magnitude will significantly damage the agency’s customer service capacity.

    All of this is occurring at the same time that the Administration and Congressional Republicans are teeing up another huge deficit-busting reconciliation bill that includes massive tax cuts for the wealthy, which the House of Representatives recently approved. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, an extension of the 2017 Republican tax bill, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would add $52 trillion to the national debt over the next 30 years, adding more debt to the nation’s balance sheet in three decades than in the previous 249- year history of our country’s existence. This extension is only one component of this larger bill. These actions are inconsistent with your public commitments to meaningfully reduce the federal deficit and will undo the improvements made to the IRS’s taxpayer services.

    Accordingly, we ask that you provide responses to the following questions by June 30, 2025:

    1. Given the proven return on investment from increasing staffing levels at the IRS, how did the Administration determine that a 40 percent across-the-board cut in the IRS workforce was prudent?

    2. What analyses did the Administration conduct on the impact of IRS workforce cuts on deficit reduction goals, including nearly halving the division of the IRS that investigates tax evasion? Please share the revenue impact of these workforce cuts.

    3. In anticipation of the 2026 tax filing season, what metrics are the IRS using to ensure that revenue collections are maintained at equal or greater levels and do not decrease?

    4. The Administration has instituted a prolonged hiring freeze for the IRS. The National Taxpayer Advocate noted that IRS customer service positions have an attrition rate of 19 percent. With additional workforce reductions, how does the IRS intend to sustain adequate levels of customer service? Please share relevant documentation, including performance metrics for casework, phone service, and in-person assistance centers.

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump breaks from western allies at G7 summit as US weighs joining Iran strikes

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex

    Working alongside western democratic allies has not been a natural fit for Donald Trump. The US president left the recently concluded G7 summit in Canada early, with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron assuming this was to work on addressing the most severe escalation between Iran and Israel in decades.

    But Trump offered little communication with other G7 members, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, of what his plans were. He said he had to leave the summit “for obvious reasons”, though failed to elaborate on what he meant.

    After exiting the summit, he lambasted Macron on social media. Trump wrote: “Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire”. Trump continued by saying his exit was due to something “much bigger than that”, adding: “Emmanuel always gets it wrong.”

    This has prompted discussion over whether US forces may join Israel’s strikes on Iran. Despite initially distancing the US from the Israeli attacks, Trump said on June 17: “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”

    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.

    He has since demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”, while also issuing a chilling threat to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing him as an “easy target”.

    The pressure campaign employed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to convince Trump that the time is right for a military assault on Iran seems to be working.

    Exploiting Trump’s impulsive nature, Netanyahu may soon be able to convince Trump to give Israel what it needs to destroy Iran’s underground uranium enrichment sites: a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb and a B-2 bomber to carry it.

    The US’s western allies have been left scrambling to interpret Trump’s social media posts and figure out the real reason he left the G7 summit early.

    The only aircraft capable of carrying ‘bunker-buster’ bombs is the B-2.
    Mariusz Lopusiewicz / Shutterstock

    This wasn’t the first time that Trump has left a G7 forum early. In 2018, the last time such a meeting was held in Canada, Trump also left early after Macron and the then Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, promised to confront Trump over the imposition of tariffs on US allies.

    The latest G7 summit also wasn’t the first time Trump has treated traditional US allies with suspicion. Trump has cast doubt on US willingness to defend Nato allies if they don’t pay more for their own defence. He has repeatedly threatened to leave the alliance and has frequently denigrated it – even calling alliance members “delinquent”.

    Trump thinks the US gains an advantage by abandoning relationships with “free riders”. But experts have made clear alienating allies makes the US weaker. While the alliance system has given the US unprecedented influence over the foreign policies of US allies in the past, Trump’s pressure to increase their defence spending will make them more independent from the US in the long-term.

    Trump seems to prefer a world guided by short-term self-interest at the expense of long-term collective security. Indeed, with an “America first” agenda, multilateral cooperation is not Trump’s strong suit. With the G7, Trump is yet again making clear that he does not fit in, nor does he want to.

    Because the G7 is small and relatively homogenous in membership, meetings between members are supposed to promote collective and decisive decision-making. However, even the task of coming up with a joint statement on the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel proved challenging.

    Trump eventually joined other leaders in calling for deescalation in the Middle East, and the G7 was in agreement that Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons. But Trump’s social media activity since then has left US allies in the dark over what role the US might play in the conflict.

    Trump also alarmed G7 members with calls for Russia to return to the forum. He claimed that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had Moscow not been ejected from the former G8 grouping in 2014.

    Then, on his way out of the summit, Trump bragged to reporters that Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, “doesn’t speak to anybody else” but him. Trump added that Putin was insulted when Russia was thrown out of the G8, “as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be”.

    Following weeks of frustration over Russia’s refusal to engage in serious peace talks about ending the war in Ukraine, Trump seems to have returned to being Putin’s most loyal advocate.

    Hostility toward multilateralism

    During Trump’s first term, he pushed multilateralism to the brink. But he did not completely disengage. The US withdrew from the Paris climate accords, the nuclear deal with Iran, negotiations for a trade deal with Pacific nations, and imposed sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court.

    However, when multilateral initiatives served Trump’s short-term objectives, he was willing to get on board. A trade deal struck with Canada and Mexico that Trump described as “the most important” ever agreed by the US. He said the deal would bring thousands of jobs back to North America.

    The second Trump administration has been even more hostile to multilateralism. Not only has the trade deal with Canada and Mexico been undermined by Trump’s love of tariffs, his administration has been more antagonistic toward almost all of the US’s traditional allies. In fact, most of Trump’s ire is reserved for democracies not autocracies.

    In contrast to the G7, where he clearly felt out of place, Trump was in his element during his May trip to the Middle East. Trump has a more natural connection to the leaders of the Gulf who do not have to adhere to democratic norms and human rights, and where deals can get done immediately.

    Trump left the Middle East revelling in all of the billion dollar deals he made, which he exaggerated were worth US$2 trillion (£1.5 trillion). The G7, on the other hand, doesn’t offer much to Trump. He sees it as more of a nuisance.

    The G7 forum is supposed to reassure the public that the most powerful countries in the world are united in their commitment to stability. But Trump’s antics are undermining the credibility of that message. It is these antics that risk dragging the west into a dangerous confrontation with Iran.

    Natasha Lindstaedt 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 breaks from western allies at G7 summit as US weighs joining Iran strikes – https://theconversation.com/trump-breaks-from-western-allies-at-g7-summit-as-us-weighs-joining-iran-strikes-259214

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Kaine Host “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While the Mega-Rich Profit” Spotlight Forum

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    June 18, 2025

    WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Tuesday hosted “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit,” a spotlight forum to highlight how President Donald Trump and Republicans’ tax bill would make major spending cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs that families across the country rely on in order to pay for a massive tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. The forum featured individuals who could be affected by the tax bill’s massive cuts to government programs and subject-matter experts.

    Murphy emphasized the Republican tax bill will disproportionately harm working class Americans, while directly benefiting the top 1%: “Why this bill feels like a betrayal is because, as written, it makes life infinitely harder for the very people that we are supposed to be fighting hardest for: the people who are working every day, playing by the rules, often dealing with traumas and difficult life circumstances… Upwards of 40% of all American households, if this bill is implemented, will be poorer – poorer – because of it, while the very rich and the very affluent will be much richer. The very richest families in this country will get an average $270,000 tax cut because of this bill.”

    Murphy stressed that tens of thousands of Americans will die due to the Republican tax bill’s cuts to Medicaid: “When you’re talking about almost $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, when you’re talking about throwing upwards of 16 million people off of their health care, you are talking about life and death stakes. This isn’t just about impacting the quality of someone’s life. This is about ending people’s lives. One research estimate is that 42,000 lives could be lost each year because of the disenrollments in [Medicaid] and the marketplace coverage.”

    Murphy additionally highlighted that rural communities will be among those hardest hit by the Republican tax bill: “Up to 340 rural hospitals could close. 33 hospitals in Louisiana could close, 35 hospitals in Kentucky could close, 40% of the rural hospital capacity in Alaska could disappear if this bill is passed. So even if you keep your coverage, even if you are lucky enough not to be one of the people that are thrown off their care, your life could be impacted because your ability to get your loved one to an emergency room when you need it could disappear.” 

    Murphy concluded: “This is bad policy, but it’s fundamentally immoral. It’s a moral abomination. And what we know is that we have power, that this bill has not passed, it has not been signed by the president. And until it has passed and until it is on the way to the White House, then we need to use every bit of leverage that we have to try to stop something that is this deeply unethical and immoral, contrary to the very best traditions of this country, from becoming law.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Crapo Releases Finance Committee Reconciliation Text

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today released legislative text within the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction for inclusion in Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill.
    “This bill prevents an over-$4 trillion tax hike and makes the successful 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, enabling families and businesses to save and plan for the future. 
    “It delivers additional tax relief to middle-class families still recovering from record inflation under the Biden Administration.  It powers the economy by permanently extending critical pro-growth provisions and introduces new incentives for domestic investment, providing certainty for American job creators to spur domestic economic activity and invest in their workers.
    “The legislation also achieves significant savings by slashing Green New Deal spending and targeting waste, fraud and abuse in spending programs while preserving and protecting them for the most vulnerable. 
    “I look forward to continued coordination with our colleagues in the House and the Administration to deliver President Trump’s bold economic agenda for the American people as quickly as possible.”
    Click HERE to view bill text.
    Click HERE for a section-by-section.
    Click HERE for a bill overview.
    Click HERE to view the 2025 Tax Reform landing page.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo: Senate Republican Plan Powers Economic Growth, Delivers Tax Relief

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business to talk about Senate Republicans’ plans to prevent the largest tax hike in U.S. history, power the economy through pro-growth tax policy, provide additional tax relief for working families and address wasteful spending.

    Click here or above to watch the interview

    On the importance of making pro-growth tax policy permanent: 

    [T]he Council of Economic Advisors has indicated that—together with some regulatory reform that President Trump is doing and some of the DOGE activities—we ought to generate somewhere between 4 and 6 percent growth in GDP, and what that translates into with regard to our tax bill is trillions of dollars for growth in capital formations, jobs, wages, benefits and new revenue to the treasury to pay down our deficits.

    This tax package will stop a $4.3 trillion tax increase, and it will make these taxes cuts permanent so that we don’t have to face another tax cliff like this in the future.

    Bonus depreciation—permanent; R&D—permanent; and the EBITDA accounting rules—permanent.  Those three business taxes that are now permanent are a big part of what is going to generate that capital formation in this country and help us grow back to the strength we did when we originally passed the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act].

    . . .

    [The] 20 percent small business deduction is now permanent.  Our passthrough entities can get treated fairly like corporations do, and be a part of that incredible capital formation and growth that our country is going to see.

    On additional tax relief for American workers, seniors and businesses:

    [I]n addition to stopping a $4.3 trillion tax increase, we’ve got full factory expensing, as President Trump has asked for as well, and a number of other tax cuts. 

    We’ve got no tax on tips, an increase in the deduction for seniors, and we also have no tax on overtime.

    On Republican efforts to reduce spending: 

    We reduce actual spending in our entitlement programs by somewhere between one-and-a-half and $2 trillion, and that spending, as well as the growth element of these tax policies is going to generate a deficit reduction, not a deficit increase.

    The $1.5 to $2 trillion in actual spending reduction is the biggest entitlement reform that has ever been done by Congress.

    Legislative text within the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction can be found here, a section-by-section here and summary here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against $225M in Funds Involved in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Money Laundering

    Source: US State of Vermont

    The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency. According to the complaint, law enforcement used blockchain analysis and other investigative techniques to determine that the cryptocurrency is connected to the theft and laundering of funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly referred to as “cryptocurrency confidence scams.”

    The complaint alleges that the cryptocurrency addresses that held the over $225.3 million in cryptocurrency were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network that executed hundreds of thousands of transactions and was used to disperse proceeds of cryptocurrency investment fraud across many cryptocurrency addresses and accounts on the blockchain to conceal the source of the illegally obtained funds. 

    “Today’s civil forfeiture complaint is the latest action taken by the Department to protect the American public from fraudsters specializing in cryptocurrency-based scams, and it will not be the last,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These schemes harm American victims, costing them billions of dollars every year, and undermine faith in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our investigators and prosecutors are relentlessly pursuing these scammers and their ill-gotten gains, and we will relentlessly pursue recovery of victim funds.”

    “Under my leadership, with the support of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is taking a leading role in the fight against crypto-confidence scams, partnering with law enforcement throughout the country to seize and forfeit stolen funds and rip them from the hands of foreign criminals, all with the eye toward making victims whole,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia.

    “The forfeiture of these illicit funds is a powerful tool in the FBI’s toolbox to stop the fraudsters who are operating online from stealing from the American people,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Division. “The FBI will not standby while these criminals target unsuspecting victims who believe they are making legitimate investments. The hard work of the FBI and our partners continues as we work with victims and potential victims across the country to put an end to these scams and warn others about their devastating effects.”

    “This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service (USSS) history,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the USSS San Francisco Field Office. “These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims. The USSS, FBI, and our private partners worked diligently to trace these illicit transactions, identify victims and seize these funds so that they can eventually be returned to their rightful owners.”

    As part of the investigation of the laundering network, over 400 suspected victims are believed to have lost funds after being duped into believing that they were making legitimate cryptocurrency investments. The complaint recounts millions of dollars in victim losses. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone. The USSS San Francisco Field Office and FBI San Francisco Field Offices investigated the case. The Department of Justice thanks Tether for its proactive assistance in this investigation.

    Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz and Ethan Cantor of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Rick Blaylock Jr. for the District of Columbia are handling the matter.

    Members of the public who believe they are victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and other cyber-enabled crime should contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. If you believe you may be a victim of one of the scams alleged in the government’s complaint, add the code “BT06182025” in the narrative of your complaint, and if you have previously filed a related complaint, make note of the prior complaint in the narrative.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against $225M in Funds Involved in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Money Laundering

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency. According to the complaint, law enforcement used blockchain analysis and other investigative techniques to determine that the cryptocurrency is connected to the theft and laundering of funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly referred to as “cryptocurrency confidence scams.”

    The complaint alleges that the cryptocurrency addresses that held the over $225.3 million in cryptocurrency were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network that executed hundreds of thousands of transactions and was used to disperse proceeds of cryptocurrency investment fraud across many cryptocurrency addresses and accounts on the blockchain to conceal the source of the illegally obtained funds. 

    “Today’s civil forfeiture complaint is the latest action taken by the Department to protect the American public from fraudsters specializing in cryptocurrency-based scams, and it will not be the last,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These schemes harm American victims, costing them billions of dollars every year, and undermine faith in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our investigators and prosecutors are relentlessly pursuing these scammers and their ill-gotten gains, and we will relentlessly pursue recovery of victim funds.”

    “Under my leadership, with the support of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is taking a leading role in the fight against crypto-confidence scams, partnering with law enforcement throughout the country to seize and forfeit stolen funds and rip them from the hands of foreign criminals, all with the eye toward making victims whole,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia.

    “The forfeiture of these illicit funds is a powerful tool in the FBI’s toolbox to stop the fraudsters who are operating online from stealing from the American people,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Division. “The FBI will not standby while these criminals target unsuspecting victims who believe they are making legitimate investments. The hard work of the FBI and our partners continues as we work with victims and potential victims across the country to put an end to these scams and warn others about their devastating effects.”

    “This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service (USSS) history,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the USSS San Francisco Field Office. “These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims. The USSS, FBI, and our private partners worked diligently to trace these illicit transactions, identify victims and seize these funds so that they can eventually be returned to their rightful owners.”

    As part of the investigation of the laundering network, over 400 suspected victims are believed to have lost funds after being duped into believing that they were making legitimate cryptocurrency investments. The complaint recounts millions of dollars in victim losses. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone. The USSS San Francisco Field Office and FBI San Francisco Field Offices investigated the case. The Department of Justice thanks Tether for its proactive assistance in this investigation.

    Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz and Ethan Cantor of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Rick Blaylock Jr. for the District of Columbia are handling the matter.

    Members of the public who believe they are victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and other cyber-enabled crime should contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. If you believe you may be a victim of one of the scams alleged in the government’s complaint, add the code “BT06182025” in the narrative of your complaint, and if you have previously filed a related complaint, make note of the prior complaint in the narrative.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ezell, Miller-Meeks Introduce the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mike Ezell (Mississippi 4th District)

    Representatives Mike Ezell (MS-04) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) introduced H.R. 4018, the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources Act, legislation that codifies President Trump’s Executive Order 14285 to support and expand domestic seabed mineral development.

    The bill strengthens America’s economic and national security by accelerating the responsible development of critical mineral resources found on the ocean floor. These minerals are essential for producing advanced technologies, renewable energy infrastructure, and defense systems — yet the U.S. remains dangerously reliant on foreign supply chains.

    “President Trump was right to prioritize seabed minerals, and I’m proud to carry that effort forward in Congress,” Ezell said. “My Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act will help secure our mineral supply chains, create American jobs, and keep our nation competitive in the global economy. Mississippi’s Gulf Coast understands the importance of energy, infrastructure, and national defense, and this bill supports all three. It’s about putting America first, reducing our dependence on adversaries like China, and making sure our innovation and security are never held hostage by foreign supply chains. We have vast resources right off our shores — it’s time we take full advantage of them, and do it responsibly.”

    “The United States cannot afford to remain dependent on adversarial nations for the critical minerals that power our economy, energy systems, and national defense,” Miller-Meeks said. “By codifying President Trump’s executive order, the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act takes an important step toward strengthening our supply chains and securing access to essential resources found right off our coasts. This legislation will help protect American jobs, enhance our economic security, and ensure the United States remains competitive on the global stage — all while maintaining strong environmental safeguards. I’m proud to join Rep. Ezell in introducing this commonsense, strategic bill.”

    “Tapping into America’s rich critical mineral resources is vital to support our national security and eliminate our dependence on foreign adversaries for vital resources,” House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman said. “Representatives Ezell and Miller-Meeks’ Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act will codify President Trumps executive order on this issue and ensure the United States can lead the world in offshore mineral development.”

    “We applaud Congressman Ezell’s leadership in championing the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act,” Oliver Gunasekara, CEO of Impossible Metals said. “The global race for critical minerals is on, and the United States can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. This bill recognizes the urgent need to unlock our own seabed resources and lead the world with responsible, American innovation.”

    By codifying the President’s Executive Order, the bill provides regulatory certainty for developers while ensuring environmental protections and U.S. strategic interests remain a priority. It also directs key federal agencies to streamline permitting, identify high-potential seabed areas, and collaborate with private industry to safely unlock these resources.

    The legislation is expected to receive strong support from industry leaders, energy advocates, and national security experts.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ezell, Miller-Meeks Introduce the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mike Ezell (Mississippi 4th District)

    Representatives Mike Ezell (MS-04) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) introduced H.R. 4018, the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources Act, legislation that codifies President Trump’s Executive Order 14285 to support and expand domestic seabed mineral development.

    The bill strengthens America’s economic and national security by accelerating the responsible development of critical mineral resources found on the ocean floor. These minerals are essential for producing advanced technologies, renewable energy infrastructure, and defense systems — yet the U.S. remains dangerously reliant on foreign supply chains.

    “President Trump was right to prioritize seabed minerals, and I’m proud to carry that effort forward in Congress,” Ezell said. “My Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act will help secure our mineral supply chains, create American jobs, and keep our nation competitive in the global economy. Mississippi’s Gulf Coast understands the importance of energy, infrastructure, and national defense, and this bill supports all three. It’s about putting America first, reducing our dependence on adversaries like China, and making sure our innovation and security are never held hostage by foreign supply chains. We have vast resources right off our shores — it’s time we take full advantage of them, and do it responsibly.”

    “The United States cannot afford to remain dependent on adversarial nations for the critical minerals that power our economy, energy systems, and national defense,” Miller-Meeks said. “By codifying President Trump’s executive order, the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act takes an important step toward strengthening our supply chains and securing access to essential resources found right off our coasts. This legislation will help protect American jobs, enhance our economic security, and ensure the United States remains competitive on the global stage — all while maintaining strong environmental safeguards. I’m proud to join Rep. Ezell in introducing this commonsense, strategic bill.”

    “Tapping into America’s rich critical mineral resources is vital to support our national security and eliminate our dependence on foreign adversaries for vital resources,” House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman said. “Representatives Ezell and Miller-Meeks’ Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act will codify President Trumps executive order on this issue and ensure the United States can lead the world in offshore mineral development.”

    “We applaud Congressman Ezell’s leadership in championing the Unleash America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Act,” Oliver Gunasekara, CEO of Impossible Metals said. “The global race for critical minerals is on, and the United States can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. This bill recognizes the urgent need to unlock our own seabed resources and lead the world with responsible, American innovation.”

    By codifying the President’s Executive Order, the bill provides regulatory certainty for developers while ensuring environmental protections and U.S. strategic interests remain a priority. It also directs key federal agencies to streamline permitting, identify high-potential seabed areas, and collaborate with private industry to safely unlock these resources.

    The legislation is expected to receive strong support from industry leaders, energy advocates, and national security experts.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Deborah de Lange, Associate Professor, Global Management Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

    The G7 summit in Alberta, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has ended with only passing mention of fighting climate change, including a statement on wildfires that is silent on the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    This is puzzling. Canadians didn’t opt for Conservative Pierre Poilievre, considered by some to be an oil and gas industry mouthpiece, in the last federal election. Instead, voters gave Carney’s Liberals a minority government.

    Carney was the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and was behind the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, so some Canadians might have assumed he’d prioritize climate action if he won the election. Instead, Carney has described developing fossil fuel infrastructure as “pragmatic.”

    But it’s unclear how a country grappling with abysmal air quality due to wildfires fuelled by global warming will benefit from further global fossil fuel development and its related emissions.



    Read more:
    Wildfire smoke can harm your brain, not just your lungs

    Warming rapidly

    Canada is warming faster than most of the globe. Its leaders should be laser-focused on mitigating climate change by reducing fossil fuel use to the greatest extent possible, as soon as possible.

    This decades-long understanding of how to approach climate action has been repeatedly explained by experts and is well known to governments globally. Canada’s prime minister was once one of those experts.

    Carney now has a tremendous opportunity to lead by steering Canada in a clean direction.

    Canada is at the forefront of clean technology, with numerous business opportunities emerging, particularly in areas like circular economy international trade. These opportunities not only support Canada’s commitment to meeting its Paris Agreement targets but also help expand and diversify its global trade.

    Eco-industrial parks

    Canada already has exemplar eco-industrial parks — co-operative businesses located on a common property that focus on reducing environmental impact through resource efficiency, waste reduction and sharing resources. Such industrial communities are in Halifax and in Delta, B.C. They represent significant investment opportunities.

    Vacant urban land could be revitalized and existing industrial parks could boost their economic output and circular trade by building stronger partnerships to share resources, reduce waste and cut emissions.



    Read more:
    A sustainable, circular economy could counter Trump’s tariffs while strengthening international trade

    Canada would benefit economically and environmentally by building on existing expertise and expanding successful sustainability strategies to achieve economic, environmental and social goals.

    But by continuing to invest in fossil fuels, Canada misses out on opportunities to diversify trade and boost economic competitiveness.

    The secret to China’s success

    Real diversification makes Canada less vulnerable to economic shocks, like the ones caused by the tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump.

    Fossil fuel reliance increases exposure to global economic risks, but shifting to cleaner products and services reduces climate risks and expands Canada’s global trade options. China’s economic rise is partly a result of this strategy.

    That’s seemingly why Trump is so fixated on China. China today is a serious competitor to the U.S. after making smart trade and economic decisions and forging its own path, disregarding American pressure to remain a mere follower.

    Investing in its huge Belt and Road Initiative, China also aligned itself with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It’s building diplomatic bridges with many Belt and Road countries in southeast Asia as Trump’s America alienates its partners, pulling out of the Paris Agreement and cutting foreign aid.

    As another one of the America’s mistreated partners, Canada was poised to forge its own path under Carney. Instead, Carney is supporting American oil and gas by encouraging Canadian pipeline projects.

    Clean innovation is the path forward

    Canadian oil and gas is a concentrated industry controlled by a wealthy few, primarily Americans. More pipelines would therefore mean more sales of fossil fuels to other countries, with the beneficiaries mostly American.

    Fossil fuel investments reduce Canada’s diversification because the resources used to further these projects could go elsewhere — toward clean diversification. With almost unlimited clean economy options across many sectors, clean diversification would broaden Canada’s economic and trade portfolios and reduce American control.



    Read more:
    Why Canada’s Strong Borders Act is as troublesome as Donald Trump’s travel bans

    This is International Business 101, and would make the Canadian economy more competitive through innovation, while reducing the country’s climate risk.

    California, often targeted by Trump for its policies, has been a leader in clean innovation, making its economy the envy of the world.



    Read more:
    California is planning floating wind farms offshore to boost its power supply – here’s how they work

    My recent research shows that clear, decisive choices like those made in California will be key to Canada’s future success. Canada must make choices aligned with goals — a core principle of strategic management.

    My research also suggests Canada must restructure its energy industry to focus on renewable energy innovation while reducing fossil fuel reliance. Increased renewable energy innovation, as seen in patent numbers, leads to higher GDP.

    Contrary to common beliefs, pollution taxes boost the economy in combination with clean innovation. But when the government supports both the fossil fuel industry and clean industries, it hinders Canada’s transition to a cleaner future.

    Trapped by the fossil fuel industry?

    Do Canadian taxpayers truly want to keep funding an outdated, polluting industry that benefits a wealthy few, or invest in clean industries that boost Canada’s economy, create better jobs and protect the environment? To differentiate Canada from the United States, it would make sense to choose the latter.

    Carney should consider refraining from pushing for the fast-tracking of polluting projects. If he doesn’t, Canada will become more uncompetitive and vulnerable, trapped by the fossil fuel industry.



    Read more:
    Mark Carney wants to make Canada an energy superpower — but what will be sacrificed for that goal?

    Carney’s support for pipelines may have stemmed from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s implicit support for Alberta sovereignty. She made veiled threats to Canada at a critical juncture, when Trump was making repeated assertions about annexing Canada.

    Alberta didn’t vote for Carney. But Canadians who care about mitigating climate change did.

    Banks that felt pressure to at least recognize sustainable finance during the Joe Biden administration joined Carney’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

    But as soon as Trump came to power a second time and walked away from the Paris Agreement, many American banks abandoned the alliance. Canadian banks followed suit, and Carney remarkably missed another moment to show Canadian leadership by stopping their exit.

    In fact, Carney seems to have abandoned his own organization to appease Trump as the president made multiple 51st state threats. The prime minister had the chance to differentiate Canada and demonstrate his own leadership. Instead, he seems to have easily turned his back on his principles under pressure from Trump.

    Deborah de Lange receives funding from SSHRC and ESRC. She is affiliated with The Liberal Party of Canada and The Writers’ Union of Canada.

    – ref. Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action? – https://theconversation.com/is-mark-carney-turning-his-back-on-climate-action-258737

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Democratic Colleagues in Urging Rubio to Preserve the State Department’s Human Rights Bureau 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Jeanee Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight Democratic colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to preserve the staff and programs administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) amid the Department’s proposed reorganization.   
    “The proposed reorganization of DRL raises serious concerns about the Department’s prioritization of democracy and human rights and the role of DRL in advancing U.S. national security priorities—concerns that were the basis for Congress’s bipartisan codification in statute an Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the directive ‘to promote the increased observance of internationally recognized human rights by all countries’ as a principal goal of U.S. foreign policy,” wrote the Senators. “The proposed reorganization would result in a structural and substantive demotion of human rights promotion that runs counter to the spirit of the law and your personal legacy working on these issues.”  
    “Over 80% of DRL’s programs support human rights defenders working in closed, anti-democratic societies, including Cuba, China, Nicaragua, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and others which the Trump Administration has identified as adversaries of the U.S.,” continued the Senators.  
    The Senators concluded: “As you stated in the subcommittee hearing previously mentioned, ‘millions of people around the world who live in societies dominated by fear and oppression look to the United States of America to champion their cause to fully exercise their God-given rights. There are no greater champions more capable of advancing this noble cause than the dedicated staff in DRL. We need these champions in the Department.”  
    In addition to Senators Welch and Shaheen, the letter is cosigned by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). 
    Read and download the full text of the letter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul is a Guest on “The Briefing With Jen Psaki”

    Source: US State of New York

    ast night, Governor Hochul was a guest on MSNBC’s “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”

    AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

    A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

    (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

    Governor Hochul:  Do you want to know what I really think?

    Rebecca Lewis, City & State: Please.

    Governor Hochul: It’s bullshit. How dare they—

    (END VIDEO CLIP)

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: Couldn’t have said it better myself. That was New York Governor Kathy Hochul, today, reacting to the arrest of New York City Comptroller and Mayoral candidate Brad Lander. And Governor Kathy Hochul joins me. Now, Governor, thank you so much for being here with me tonight.

    You rushed down to the courthouse today after Brad Lander was arrested to demand his release. We heard a little bit from him earlier. Can you just walk us through what happened today, including your interaction with officers at the building?

    Governor Hochul: Yes, and thank you for your coverage of this deeply troubling story that seems to be unfolding all across our country, Jen. I literally was in a part of Brooklyn, known as Little Haiti. I was walking the streets talking to people who were so frightened — living in the shadows of a once vibrant street was now almost a ghost town because people are terrified. And then while I’m out there trying to meet these people, let them know we’re, we see them, we’re gonna support them.

    Then I get the word that one of our elected officials for the City of New York has been arrested. And I know Brad Lander. I went right down there. And I wanted to see him. I went up to the ninth floor. And they wouldn’t let me come in. But I had a chance to talk to ICE officers and the people in charge, and my Head of Homeland Security came down and Head of my Counterintelligence and all the professionals that I work with. We all stood there and I said, “I’m not leaving until you let him out. I want him released. Because what are the charges? What are you possibly saying? We all saw the video.”

    And after about an hour of me waiting and talking to a lot of people, they said they’d release him without charges, but Brad Lander has all the attorneys and attention on this he needs. I mean, he can take care of himself. I’m confident of that, but what I cannot get out of my mind are all the people that are so terrified right now are the ones who go into those courtrooms following the law and the procedure — told, show up this date for your court appearance. And then they’re sitting ducks while they’re in the courtroom. They withdraw their legal status and they walk out and they’re captured.

    This is beyond the pale, and we have to stand up and call it out for what it is and say we are a better country than this. And the voices that we heard during the marches over the last weekend, the people who stood up there, the elected officials who are doing their part — we have to stand up and say no more. And I’ll tell you this, as I said, under eight hours of questioning in Congress just a few days ago — I will work with the Trump administration to remove the people he said he was going after. I will help you get the criminals out of here, the ones who are violent criminals who are hurting other people, the human traffickers, the people who are dealing in drugs, people with guns — I want them gone.

    I’ll help you but don’t take care of the home healthcare aides, the 160 who are gonna lose their jobs that I’ve met today and talked to. They’ll lose their jobs and they lose their status. And you know what? That means there’s 160 vulnerable New Yorkers who are gonna lose their caregivers and the people who work in the restaurants and hospitality, let them get jobs, pay their taxes, be part of our communities – like my grandpa was a migrant farm worker. Everybody comes and starts out and struggles. But you know what? Over time it works. It’s the American dream, and that dream is dissipating by the moment here in this country, and we cannot let it go.

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: No question about it. And I know, and I just mentioned that you had announced today the State is dedicating $50 million for legal assistance for immigrants. And I want to ask you about that in one moment.

    I think one of the things that was so striking about today, many things was that, you know, Brad Lander was released without charges. You said earlier today that to your knowledge, the charges have been dropped and that he walks out of there free man.

    But the US Attorney’s Office said that it is investigating his action still and would decide later whether to charge him with a crime. This is all on video, which we played the full video. Are you confident there won’t be charges? And I raise this because he’s just escorting immigrants to the courthouses who are trying to abide by their court hearings.

    Governor Hochul: That’s all he is doing, and he did it without any fanfare over a number of times. Just a lot of people are volunteering. These people are terrified. I mean, these are our neighbors. These are people who’ve lived among us for many, many years sometimes. And people are just doing the right thing. They’re showing their humanity. He showed up and just escorting someone and speaking to him and just trying to let him know it’s going to be okay. The best we can. And then you have them ripped apart and terrorized the way they were and go after elected officials. I mean, no, no. It’s wrong. It’s wrong.

    And again, we will help the Trump administration — we have been doing this for years — get rid of the true criminals. But coming here to seek asylum as they have for the last few years, or coming with temporary protected status like 300,000 Venezuelans did. And people from Haiti. They had legal status when they came. So when you take it away, once they’re here, it’s just like a cruel joke on them.

    So, they’re not the criminals. Let’s find them a legal pathway. Let’s give them work authorization. I know the Trump administration is capable of doing this. They can do this, and there’ll be a lot of employers, including the people in my State, New York — I have 400,000 open jobs as we speak. They’re not taking someone’s job. They’ll be doing an important service to us.

    Let’s have a conversation. Let’s ask Congress. Why you won’t do something as simple as passing common sense, bipartisan legislation to reform our immigration laws, find legal pathways. Yes, we have to secure our borders. No one doubts that, but the people who are here and already contributing, come on. We’re a nation of immigrants. That’s why we’re so great.

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: I mentioned a couple times that you announced the $50 million for legal assistance, which is very powerful and as Brad Lander mentioned, a lot of these people don’t have legal representation.

    Governor Hochul: That’s right.

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: This tactic though, which I called dirty earlier because I think it’s dirty of these agents showing up at courthouses and kind of stalking people who don’t have criminal records are not trying to, are just trying to abide by what they’re supposed to be doing. Is there anything you can do as Governor to stop those tactics or other Governors can ban together and do?

    Governor Hochul: No, they’re not allowed in New York state courts. You know, and, and let’s think about this, when this was passed a few years ago, law enforcement supported this because people who’ve been victims of the crimes are witnesses of crimes, if they think that if they go in to be involved in the criminal justice system to maybe to solve a crime, that they could be removed instantaneously. We want to make sure that we are working to protect our community. People are safer when people feel they can come forward, but apparently in federal courthouses, here in New York City and all across America, they’re basically staking out people who walk in the front door to keep an appointment they were given. They’re told to go before this judge on this date or check in.

    I mean, a heartbreaking story just a couple weeks ago. A mom takes her two boys, 19 and 20-year-old down to make sure they’re legally checking in as they’re told to do. Guess what? She walks out without them. Because they took them away from her. And she doesn’t know where they are. We’re all human beings.

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: Yeah.

    Governor Hochul: If we can’t find some compassion in our hearts at this moment and do what’s right, history will judge us very poorly. That’s why we’re urging the administration — go after the really bad ones like you said you would. That’s my plea. Go after the bad ones. We’ll help you. Every state will help you. But can we just leave these law abiding people alone? Can we just do that?

    Jen Psaki, MSNBC: There are so many stories, like the ones you mentioned and the ones we saw play out today. Governor Kathy Hochul, I know you’ve had a day, so thank you so much for being here with us, helping explain all of the video footage we’ve just showed everybody watching. Really appreciate you being here.

    Governor Hochul: Alright, thank you, Jen.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Germany’s young Jewish and Muslim writers are speaking for themselves – exploring immigrant identity beyond stereotypes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Agnes Mueller, Carol Kahn Strauss Fellow in Jewish Studies at the American Academy in Berlin, Professor of German and American Literature, University of South Carolina

    A Muslim guest sits next to a Jewish one during an ordination ceremony at the Rykestrasse Synagogue in Berlin in September 2024. Omer Messinger/Getty Images

    The consequences of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s war in Gaza have reverberated far beyond the zones of conflict.

    In the United States, for example, a growing number of people, including some Jewish groups, assert that political leaders are exploiting concerns about antisemitism for their own political goals, from cracking down on academic freedom to deporting pro-Palestinian activists.

    Debate about the war in Gaza feels fraught in Germany, too, where concerns about rising antisemitism have been used to criticize some Muslim communities. The Holocaust looms over discussions about Israel, with many claiming the country’s sense of historical guilt has made it, until recently, reluctant to criticize Israeli politics.

    In the wake of the country’s reunification in the early 1990s, about 200,000 Jews from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union came to Germany. In more recent years, waves of predominantly Muslim refugees from the Middle East have entered a space that already had a large population of Turkish immigrants and their descendants. However, many Germans oppose these more open immigration policies, with widespread backlash against Muslim migrants.

    In recent decades, some of Germany’s migrants and their children – some Jewish, and some Muslim – have used fiction to explore their identity and these contested issues in new ways, challenging simple narratives. As a scholar of German literature and Jewish studies, I have studied how literature creates new spaces for readers to explore the similarities between their experiences, building solidarity beyond stereotypes.

    ‘The Prodigal Son’

    Many of today’s young Jewish writers were born in the former Soviet Union and arrived in Germany with their parents as part of the “quota refugee” program. Initiated in the early 1990s, this program invited Jewish migrants into a newly unified Germany – intended to show that the country was taking responsibility for the atrocities of the past. The newcomers were flippantly called “Wiedergutmachungsjuden,” “make-good-again Jews,” referring to Germans’ desire to atone.

    One of them was Olga Grjasnowa. Born in 1984, Grjasnowa came from Azerbaijan to Germany at age 11. She has written about Holocaust memory, as in her 2012 novel “All Russians Love Birch Trees,” and said in a 2018 interview that all her books are “Jewish books.”

    Olga Grjasnowa during the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Aug. 22, 2019, in Scotland.
    Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images

    Her 2021 book “Der verlorene Sohn,” “The Prodigal Son,” echoes Holocaust memory, but in a historical novel set in 19th-century Russia.

    The protagonist Jamaluddin – the name derives from the Arabic word for “beauty of the faith” – is born in the Caucasian region of Dagestan, as the son of a powerful Muslim imam. To negotiate a peace deal, the boy is given as a hostage to Russia, where he grows up in the Orthodox Christian court of the czar. Though initially treated as an outsider, Jamaluddin assimilates and becomes a high-ranking officer, a life that ends when he must return to Dagestan. But there, too, he now feels homeless, regarded with suspicion as a stranger.

    “The Prodigal Son” deals with abduction, deportation, exile and constant wandering. Jamaluddin’s fate is shaped by authoritarianism, repression, war and discrimination – themes that are familiar in Holocaust literature, though here they befall a Muslim boy in another time and place.

    Repeatedly, the novel makes mention of Jewish communities and their own suffering under the czar. As Jewish boys are being forced to march from remote villages to Saint Petersburg, Jamaluddin is “furious and ashamed” of his fellow officers. But he also begins to feel self-pity, flooded with memories of his own departure from home.

    This scene depicts a historical reality under Czar Nicholas I, who ruled from 1825-1855: Russian Jewish boys were conscripted, sometimes kidnapped, to serve in the army. For contemporary audiences, the description can also evoke the death marches of Jewish prisoners during the Shoah, the Hebrew term for the Holocaust. Several additional moments in the book connect Jamaluddin’s experiences with images of Jewish flight and expulsion.

    New conversations

    Jamaluddin’s fate as an outsider between cultures can also bring to mind migrants’ experiences and emotions today. In 2022, one-quarter of Germans were either migrants themselves or had a parent who was not born in Germany. The largest minority group are Muslim-born Germans of Turkish descent, who are still routinely discriminated against.

    Antisemitism, meanwhile, is pervasive but less obvious. The Germans’ relationship with Jews was long dominated by silence and guilt – and Jews themselves were mostly invisible until the end of the Cold War, when Jewish migration from the former Soviet states picked up. My 2015 book “The Inability to Love” describes how mainstream German authors, fueled by guilt and shame over the Nazi past, fell into a philosemitic antisemitism: Outward displays of repentance for the Holocaust and public policies that ostensibly embraced Jews clashed with privately held prejudice.

    Many examples of new German literature show contemporary Jewish and Muslim characters with complex identities – protagonists who are not seen as simply Jewish, Muslim or belonging to only one culture, pushing back on reductive stereotypes.

    For example, Kat Kaufmann’s 2015 novel “Superposition” tells the story of the young, popular and charismatic Izy, a Russian Jew who lives in Berlin as a jazz pianist. Her love interest is Timur, an Eastern European man with a typically Muslim name. When Izy thinks of her and Timur’s future son, she imagines him growing up with the luxury to conceal where he is from – to define his identity as he wishes, unlike previous generations.

    Writer Fatma Aydemir speaks at a reading in Cologne, Germany, on March 21, 2022.
    Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Stories by novelists such as Dmitrij Kapitelman, Lena Gorelik, Marina Frenk and Dana Vowinckel also depict moments of connection between Jews and other Germans, or between Jews and Muslims.

    Turkish and/or Muslim writers such as Fatma Aydemir and Nazlı Koca – who now lives in America, writing in English – tell similar stories of young characters navigating German culture as marginalized individuals. They often depict young women who struggle to reconcile their culture of origin with German social expectations and xenophobia today.

    “I wanted to question the idea that we all have one single identity and that’s it,” Aydemir told the literary site K24 about her novel “Ellbogen,” whose protagonist finds herself fleeing to Turkey, her family’s original home, after a personal crisis. “I think things are way more complex, more fluid than most of us want to believe.”

    This younger generation of German Jewish and Muslim writers is recasting entrenched debates, showing characters whose identities are multidimensional and more open than the burdened past or fraught present politics would suggest. Today’s young writers are creating new, brave spaces for conversation and empathy.

    Agnes Mueller 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. Germany’s young Jewish and Muslim writers are speaking for themselves – exploring immigrant identity beyond stereotypes – https://theconversation.com/germanys-young-jewish-and-muslim-writers-are-speaking-for-themselves-exploring-immigrant-identity-beyond-stereotypes-252968

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Gay Men’s Health Crisis showed how everyday people stepped up when institutions failed during the height of the AIDS epidemic – providing a model for today

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sean G. Massey, Associate Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    GMHC was the world’s first AIDS service organization.
     Sean Massey, CC BY-ND

    The story of the AIDS movement is one of regular people: students, bartenders, stay-at-home mothers, teachers, retired lawyers, immigrants, Catholic nuns, newly out gay men who had just arrived in New York, and many others. Some had lost friends or lovers. Some felt a moral calling. Some were just trying to balance their sexual karma. Many were angry. Most had no medical background or professional credentials – just a sense of urgency, tenacity and an unwillingness to look away.

    When Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the world’s first AIDS service organization, was founded in 1982, it was regular people trying to meet the needs of all people living with AIDS. Its workforce of volunteers provided HIV prevention education as well as physical, emotional and legal support.

    At the start of the epidemic, AIDS was considered a “gay plague,” and to be openly queer was to risk abandonment, eviction, assault or worse. Families disowned their children. Hospitals turned patients away. Funeral homes refused bodies. And many people with AIDS found themselves alone and in need.

    Public officials didn’t just fail to act – they refused to acknowledge that anything was happening at all. Elected leaders such as President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Jesse Helms stoked the moral panic guiding public policy by declaring people with AIDS “perverted human being(s).”

    In 2025, with the Trump administration cutting federal funding for HIV research and support services and restricting protections and services for LGBTQ+ people, studying how everyday people approached the early AIDS crisis provides a model for surviving through innovation, commitment and community.

    Stories informing the present

    “I think 26,000 people died before (Reagan) even bothered to utter the word ‘AIDS,’” said Tim Sweeney, former executive director of Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

    This quote is featured in the GMHC Stories Oral History Project, a collection of over 100 interviews with former volunteers, staff and donors from the first 15 years of the organization. Along with our colleague Julia Haager, we and our team at Binghamton University’s Human Sexualities Lab compiled these interviews. Acquired by the Manuscripts and Archives Division of The New York Public Library, the collection is scheduled to open in fall 2025, showcasing how everyday people responded to the AIDS crisis.

    These stories document how a community presented with a set of circumstances threatening their very existence built a self-sustaining organization to advocate for and provide care to each other outside institutional support. They did this while enduring grief, standing up to external threats and navigating internal tensions.

    The GMHC stood up for the community when other institutions would not.
    Sean Massey, CC BY-ND

    Improvisation for survival

    The work was an ongoing challenge. Organizations dedicated to aiding people affected by AIDS such as Gay Men’s Health Crisis were left to fund their own survival – and defend their right to do the work. When North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms moved in 1988 to eliminate federal support for AIDS service programs that mentioned homosexuality, it severely limited AIDS prevention efforts nation wide. However, GMHC had the foresight to fund its more explicit education materials with private donations.

    At the beginning of the epidemic, queer New Yorkers and their allies had to improvise new systems of care in the absence of state and federal support. “People often (ask) me, what was the model you worked off of?” said Sweeney. “And I said, there was no model, there was just a muddle. We just made it up the whole time.”

    What they created almost overnight was staggering. “There were over 1,000 volunteers in the agency,” recalled staff member Tom Weber, who started at GMHC as an office volunteer in 1988. “We would have orientations every single week, and they would flood in.”

    One of the most well-known expressions of that volunteer labor was the buddy program, where lay caregivers provided emotional and practical support to people living with AIDS. “A lot of people were not alone in their death because of the work that we did,” said Barbara Danish, who led the buddy program from 1996 to 2002.

    Community members took it upon themselves to educate each other about AIDS.
    AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler

    Education and prevention were also grounded in queer culture and community. Unlike early depictions of AIDS in the media that reduced patients to “vectors” of transmission, it was defiantly sex-positive. “We came up with shit that no one in the world had ever done,” Sweeney said. “Because finally it was gay men saying … we’re going to talk to each other about how to stay safe, healthy and sexy.”

    When that sense of mission extended to emotional survival, humor and unapologetically queer culture were critical to bearing the weight of the work. “Sometimes you just break down and cry for an hour. But that’s how you survive it – by staying authentic to your emotions,” said Tommy Thomson, former director of client programs. She recalled how staff member “Carolotta,” or Carl, would sometimes put condoms and chocolate in a basket and go from office to office, frequently in drag. He would offer either or both to make people feel better. “He’d make you remember that you weren’t alone, and that we all know how hard it is. That’s part of what held you together.”

    Internal tensions

    Although Gay Men’s Health Crisis remained mission-driven, its internal politics were never simple. As it grew in size and national stature, it confronted the limits of its founding identity.

    Founded by, and initially serving, primarily white gay men, GMHC sometimes struggled to adapt to the emerging realities of the epidemic. While AIDS also affected people of color, women and intravenous drug users from the outset, much of the agency’s early prevention and outreach work was designed with gay men in mind.

    By the late 1980s, the increase in AIDS cases among white gay men had begun to plateau, while rates among Black and Latino people, women and IV drug users continued to rise sharply into the next decade. Women and people of color who were deeply embedded in GMHC’s operations nonetheless had to navigate assumptions about whose needs were prioritized – assumptions that often manifested in how resources were allocated and services were designed. As GMHC expanded its outreach to Black and Latino populations, it struggled to be culturally responsive and build trust in communities that had long been underserved and stigmatized.

    Racial disparities in HIV persist.

    As GMHC grew, it became more and more successful in fundraising and visibility, while smaller organizations sometimes struggled to access resources. This led to growing tensions, particularly in communities of color, where local groups feared that GMHC’s expansion would limit funding and undercut their efforts at community-specific approaches to care and prevention. In addition, efforts to address racism, sexism and cultural insensitivity encountered both support and indifference.

    Yet, staff and volunteers continued to push – reshaping messaging, fighting for inclusive programming, and holding conversations about race, gender, power and public health. For staff and volunteers, the agency was a complicated institution that could both empower and marginalize. Its strength, and its struggle, was learning how to expand without losing sight of the legacy and history it was built on.

    A guide for today

    Forty years later, LGBTQ+ people face a new set of crises in a landscape riddled with dangers.

    Trans health care is being banned in multiple states. Book bans and surveillance laws are targeting queer youth. Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is fueling violence and censorship. Funding for HIV prevention and research is disappearing even as new infections persist. Black and brown communities still face disproportionate barriers to health care and housing. Decades of scientific progress and medical discoveries are coming to a halt with funding cuts under the Trump administration.

    Protesters at the Iowa state Capitol in February 2025, demonstrating against a bill that would remove protections based on gender identity from the state civil rights code.
    AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

    And yet many of the same questions and challenges remain: Who gets left behind when public health systems collapse under political pressure or moral panic? Who will do the work when institutions fail? What does it mean to care for one another in the midst of the wreckage? How do people come together across differences?

    The history of GMHC is more than memory – it is a lesson in the possibility of care, creativity and community, especially in the face of fear and uncertainty today. It shows how people can come together – not just to demand policy change, but to directly meet one another’s needs with whatever resources they have. It is a reminder that mutual aid is powerful; that grief can coexist with joy; and that queer resilience has always included laughter, desire and shared vulnerability. In a time of renewed political backlash and public health failures, GMHC’s story is more than history – it’s a guide. Today, the staff and volunteers at GMHC continue their work to confront the epidemic and uplift the lives of all people affected by AIDS.

    “We’d say to them, ‘You’re just ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things,’” Sweeney said. “And we really meant that.”

    Sean G. Massey was a volunteer and staff member at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the organization that is being discussed in this article, from 1988-1998.

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

    – ref. Gay Men’s Health Crisis showed how everyday people stepped up when institutions failed during the height of the AIDS epidemic – providing a model for today – https://theconversation.com/gay-mens-health-crisis-showed-how-everyday-people-stepped-up-when-institutions-failed-during-the-height-of-the-aids-epidemic-providing-a-model-for-today-258139

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Miller-Meeks Highlights Local Wins During One Big Beautiful Main Street Tour in Muscatine County

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ (IA-02)

    Muscatine, IA – Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a former small business owner, visited Muscatine County to meet with small business owners and community leaders to hear directly from Iowans about how the One Big Beautiful Bill is delivering for them.

    “Iowa’s Main Streets are the heartbeat of our communities,” said Miller-Meeks. “From the family-owned diner to the corner pharmacy, these businesses aren’t asking for favors. They work hard, serve their neighbors, and do everything right. They deserve a government that fights for them. That’s why I proudly voted for President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. It cuts taxes, eliminates red tape, and gives working families and small businesses the freedom to grow and thrive. I’ll never stop fighting to protect Iowa’s values and way of life.”

    Stops on the tour included:

    1. Wester Drug
    2. Relion Insurance
    3. Carpet One
    4. Bobby’s Asian Restaurant
    5. Sal Vitale’s Italian Restaurant

    Throughout the tour, Miller-Meeks heard directly from business owners about the impact of tax relief, pro-growth reforms, and expanded support for rural communities. The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the largest tax cut for working families and small businesses in American history, relief that Iowa needs and deserves.

    Miller-Meeks remains committed to defending Iowa values, restoring prosperity, and ensuring the voices of rural America are heard loud and clear in Washington.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Southeast Asian nations look to hedge their way out of troubled waters in the South China Sea

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By John Rennie Short, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    A Philippine coast guard vessel patrols near Pagasa, part of the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The South China Sea has long been a bubbling geopolitical hot spot. Recently, a series of moves by the various nations claiming a stake in the waters has stirred up yet more trouble.

    Malaysia has of late reaffirmed its commitment to oil and gas exploration in waters claimed by China while quietly building up its military on the islands off Borneo.

    Meanwhile, Chinese coast guard vessels have deployed water cannons against Filipino fishing boats. And the accidental grounding of a Chinese boat in shallow waters around the Philippines’ Thitu Island on June 8, 2025, was enough to put Filipino forces on alert.

    Vietnam, too, has been active in the disputed waters. A Beijing-based think tank on June 7 flagged that Vietnamese engineers had been busy reclaiming land and installing military-related ports and airstrips around the Spratly Islands.

    What the three Southeast Asian nations of Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have in common is that they, along with others in the region, are trying to navigate a more assertive China at a time when the U.S. policy intentions under the second Trump Administration are fluid and hard to read. And in lieu of a coordinated response from the regional body Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, each member nation has been busy charting its course in these choppy waters.

    US-China relations all at sea

    Why is China trying to assert control in the South China Sea? In a 2023 speech, President Xi Jinping noted that “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all round containment, encirclement and suppression of China.”

    This fear has been long held in Beijing and was reinforced by a U.S. Indo-Pacific policy announced in 2011 of rebalancing military forces away from Europe and toward Asia to confront China.

    In response, China has in recent years embarked on an ambitious policy of attempting to outmuscle U.S. naval power in the South China Sea.

    China is now the world’s leading builder of naval vessels and is estimated to have 440 battleships by 2030, compared with the United States’ 300.

    And it comes at a time when U.S. naval power is spread around the world. China’s, meanwhile, is concentrated around the South China Sea where, since 2013, Chinese vessels have pumped sand onto reefs, turning them into islands and then weaponizing them.

    Satellite imagery shows the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, part of the Spratly Islands group, being built by Chinese dredges.
    Maxar via Getty Images

    Then there is the activity of China’s maritime militia of approximately 300 nominally fishing boats equipped with water cannons and reinforced hulls for ramming. This so-called gray zone fleet is increasingly active in confronting Southeast Asia nations at sea.

    The U.S. response to China’s militarization in the sea has been through so-called “freedom of navigation” exercises that often deploy carrier groups in a show of force. But these episodic displays are more performative than effective, doing little to deter China’s claims.

    The U.S. has also strengthened military alliances with Australia, India, Japan and the Philippines, and has increased coast guard cooperation with the Philippines and Japan.

    A fleet from the U.S. Navy patrolling the Pacific Ocean.
    Sean M. Castellano US Navy via Getty Images

    The sea is a valuable resource

    Yet the battle over control of the South China Seas is more than just geopolitical posturing between the two superpowers.

    For adjoining countries, the sea is a valuable biological resource with rich fishing grounds that provide a staple of fish protein for close to 2 billion people. There are estimates of 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil.

    The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, guarantees a nation an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles from around its coastline.

    China is a signatory of the UNCLOS. Yet it views ownership of the South China Sea through the lens of its nine-dash line, a reference to the boundary line that Beijing has invoked since 1948. While the claim has no legal or historical basis, the delineation makes major incursions into waters around Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia and, to a lesser extent, Brunei and Indonesia as well.

    Despite China’s expansive claim to the South China Sea being dismissed in 2016 by the international Permanent Court of Arbitration, Beijing continues to assert its claim.

    Hedging positions

    As I explore in my recent book “Hedging and Conflict in the South China Sea,” part of the problem Southeast Asian nations face is that they have failed to forge a unified position.

    ASEAN, the regional bloc representing 10 nations in Southeast Asia, has long been governed by the principle that major decisions need unanimous agreement. China is a major trading partner to ASEAN nations, so any regional country aligning too close to the U.S. comes with the real risk of economic consequences. And two ASEAN members, Cambodia and Laos, are especially close to China, making it difficult to generate a unified ASEAN policy that confronts China’s maritime claim.

    Instead, ASEAN has promoted a regional code of conduct that effectively legitimizes China’s maritime claims, fails to mention the 2016 ruling and ignores the issue of conflicting claims.

    Further complicating a united front against China is the competing claims among ASEAN nations themselves to disputed islands in the South China Sea.

    In lieu of a coordinated response, Southeast Asian nations have instead turned to hedging — that is, maintaining good relationships with both China and the U.S. without fully committing to one or other.

    A balancing act for Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines

    Malaysia’s approach sees its government partition off the South China Sea dispute from its overall bilateral ties with China while continuing to promote an ASEAN code of conduct.

    Until recently, Malaysia’s oil and gas activities were well within Malaysia’s EEZ and not far enough out to fall into China’s nine-dash claim.

    But as these close-to-shore fields become exhausted, subsequent exploration will need to extend outward and into China’s nine-dash claim, putting Malaysia’s dealings with China under pressure.

    China’s nine-dash line claims a significant amount of Vietnam’s EEZ, and the contested maritime area is a source of friction between the two countries; China’s maritime militia regularly harasses Vietnamese fishermen and disrupts drilling operations in Vietnam’s EEZ .

    But Vietnam has to tread carefully. China plays a significant role in the Vietnamese economy as a major destination of exports and an important provider of foreign investment. China also has the ability to dam the Mekong River upstream of Vietnam — something that would disrupt agricultural production.

    As a result, Vietnam’s hedging involves a careful calibration to avoid angering China. However, part of Vietnam’s heavy hedging involves the promotion of the South China Sea dispute as a core issue for domestic public opinion, which limits the Vietnamese government’s ability to offer concessions to China.

    A Philippine coast guard ship and fishing boats are seen in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, on May 26, 2025.
    Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDaniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images

    China’s nine-dash claim also includes a wide swath of the Philippines’ EEZ.

    The Philippines has zigzagged in its dealings with China. The presidencies of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–2010) and Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022) pursued a pro-China tack that downplayed Filipino claims in the South China Sea. Presidents Benigno Aquino (2010-2016) and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (2022-present), in contrast, have given U.S. forces greater access to its maritime bases and mobilized national and international opinion in favor of its claims.

    Since coming to power, Marcos has also pursued even closer naval ties with the U.S.. But this has come at a cost: China now views the Philippines as a U.S. ally. As such, Beijing sees little to be gained by pulling back from its assertive activity in and around its waters.

    The future

    In the shadow of two major powers battling for power in the South China Sea, Southeast Asian nations are making the best of their position along a geopolitical fracture line by advancing their claims and interests while not overly antagonizing a more assertive China or losing the support of the U.S.

    This may work to tamp down tensions in the South China Sea. But it is a fluid approach not without risk, and it could yet prove to be another source of instability in a geopolitically contested and dangerous region.

    John Rennie Short received funding from Fulbright Foundation

    – ref. Southeast Asian nations look to hedge their way out of troubled waters in the South China Sea – https://theconversation.com/southeast-asian-nations-look-to-hedge-their-way-out-of-troubled-waters-in-the-south-china-sea-257092

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future is so uncertain

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University; and Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone beyond his initial aim of destroying Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons. He has called on the Iranian people to rise up against their dictatorial Islamic regime and ostensibly transform Iran along the lines of Israeli interests.

    United States President Donald Trump is now weighing possible military action in support of Netanyahu’s goal and asked for Iran’s total surrender.

    If the US does get involved, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s tried to instigate regime change by military means in the Middle East. The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and backed a NATO operation in Libya in 2011, toppling the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, respectively.

    In both cases, the interventions backfired, causing long-term instability in both countries and in the broader region.

    Could the same thing happen in Iran if the regime is overthrown?

    As I describe in my book, Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic, Iran is a pluralist society with a complex history of rival groups trying to assert their authority. A democratic transition would be difficult to achieve.

    The overthrow of the shah

    The Iranian Islamic regime assumed power in the wake of the pro-democracy popular uprising of 1978–79, which toppled Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s pro-Western monarchy.

    Until this moment, Iran had a long history of monarchical rule dating back 2,500 years. Mohammad Reza, the last shah, was the head of the Pahlavi dynasty, which came to power in 1925.

    In 1953, the shah was forced into exile under the radical nationalist and reformist impulse of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. He was shortly returned to his throne through a CIA-orchestrated coup.

    Despite all his nationalist, pro-Western, modernising efforts, the shah could not shake off the indignity of having been re-throned with the help of a foreign power.

    The revolution against him 25 years later was spearheaded by pro-democracy elements. But it was made up of many groups, including liberalists, communists and Islamists, with no uniting leader.

    The Shia clerical group (ruhaniyat), led by the Shah’s religious and political opponent, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, proved to be best organised and capable of providing leadership to the revolution. Khomeini had been in exile from the early 1960s (at first in Iraq and later in France), yet he and his followers held considerable sway over the population, especially in traditional rural areas.

    When US President Jimmy Carter’s administration found it could no longer support the shah, he left the country and went into exile in January 1979. This enabled Khomeini to return to Iran to a tumultuous welcome.

    Birth of the Islamic Republic

    In the wake of the uprising, Khomeini and his supporters, including the current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, abolished the monarchy and transformed Iran to a cleric-dominated Islamic Republic, with anti-US and anti-Israel postures. He ruled the country according to his unique vision of Islam.

    Khomeini denounced the US as a “Great Satan” and Israel as an illegal usurper of the Palestinian lands – Jerusalem, in particular. He also declared a foreign policy of “neither east, nor west” but pro-Islamic, and called for the spread of the Iranian revolution in the region.

    Khomeini not only changed Iran, but also challenged the US as the dominant force in shaping the regional order. And the US lost one of the most important pillars of its influence in the oil-rich and strategically important Persian Gulf region.

    Fear of hostile American or Israeli (or combined) actions against the Islamic Republic became the focus of Iran’s domestic and foreign policy behaviour.

    A new supreme leader takes power

    Khomeini died in 1989. His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ruled Iran largely in the same jihadi (combative) and ijtihadi (pragmatic) ways, steering the country through many domestic and foreign policy challenges.

    Khamenei fortified the regime with an emphasis on self-sufficiency, a stronger defence capability and a tilt towards the east – Russia and China – to counter the US and its allies. He has stood firm in opposition to the US and its allies – Israel, in particular. And he has shown flexibility when necessary to ensure the survival and continuity of the regime.

    Khamenei wields enormous constitutional power and spiritual authority.

    He has presided over the building of many rule-enforcing instruments of state power, including the expansion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its paramilitary wing, the Basij, revolutionary committees, and Shia religious networks.

    The Shia concept of martyrdom and loyalty to Iran as a continuous sovereign country for centuries goes to the heart of his actions, as well as his followers.

    Khamenei and his rule enforcers, along with an elected president and National Assembly, are fully cognisant that if the regime goes down, they will face the same fate. As such, they cannot be expected to hoist the white flag and surrender to Israel and the US easily.

    However, in the event of the regime falling under the weight of a combined internal uprising and external pressure, it raises the question: what is the alternative?

    The return of the shah?

    Many Iranians are discontented with the regime, but there is no organised opposition under a nationally unifying leader.

    The son of the former shah, the crown prince Reza Pahlavi, has been gaining some popularity. He has been speaking out on X in the last few days, telling his fellow Iranians:

    The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation. The regime’s apparatus of repression is falling apart. All it takes now is a nationwide uprising to put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

    Since the deposition of his father, he has lived in exile in the US. As such, he has been tainted by his close association with Washington and Jerusalem, especially Netanyahu.

    If he were to return to power – likely through the assistance of the US – he would face the same problem of political legitimacy as his father did.

    What does the future hold?

    Iran has never had a long tradition of democracy. It experienced brief instances of liberalism in the first half of the 20th century, but every attempt at making it durable resulted in disarray and a return to authoritarian rule.

    Also, the country has rarely been free of outside interventionism, given its vast hydrocarbon riches and strategic location. It’s also been prone to internal fragmentation, given its ethnic and religious mix.

    The Shia Persians make up more than half of the population, but the country has a number of Sunni ethnic minorities, such as Kurds, Azaris, Balochis and Arabs. They have all had separatist tendencies.

    Iran has historically been held together by centralisation rather than diffusion of power.

    Should the Islamic regime disintegrate in one form or another, it would be an mistake to expect a smooth transfer of power or transition to democratisation within a unified national framework.

    At the same time, the Iranian people are highly cultured and creative, with a very rich and proud history of achievements and civilisation.

    They are perfectly capable of charting their own destiny as long as there aren’t self-seeking foreign hands in the process – something they have rarely experienced.

    Amin Saikal 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. Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future is so uncertain – https://theconversation.com/irans-long-history-of-revolution-defiance-and-outside-interference-and-why-its-future-is-so-uncertain-259270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future is so uncertain

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University; and Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone beyond his initial aim of destroying Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons. He has called on the Iranian people to rise up against their dictatorial Islamic regime and ostensibly transform Iran along the lines of Israeli interests.

    United States President Donald Trump is now weighing possible military action in support of Netanyahu’s goal and asked for Iran’s total surrender.

    If the US does get involved, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s tried to instigate regime change by military means in the Middle East. The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and backed a NATO operation in Libya in 2011, toppling the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, respectively.

    In both cases, the interventions backfired, causing long-term instability in both countries and in the broader region.

    Could the same thing happen in Iran if the regime is overthrown?

    As I describe in my book, Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic, Iran is a pluralist society with a complex history of rival groups trying to assert their authority. A democratic transition would be difficult to achieve.

    The overthrow of the shah

    The Iranian Islamic regime assumed power in the wake of the pro-democracy popular uprising of 1978–79, which toppled Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s pro-Western monarchy.

    Until this moment, Iran had a long history of monarchical rule dating back 2,500 years. Mohammad Reza, the last shah, was the head of the Pahlavi dynasty, which came to power in 1925.

    In 1953, the shah was forced into exile under the radical nationalist and reformist impulse of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. He was shortly returned to his throne through a CIA-orchestrated coup.

    Despite all his nationalist, pro-Western, modernising efforts, the shah could not shake off the indignity of having been re-throned with the help of a foreign power.

    The revolution against him 25 years later was spearheaded by pro-democracy elements. But it was made up of many groups, including liberalists, communists and Islamists, with no uniting leader.

    The Shia clerical group (ruhaniyat), led by the Shah’s religious and political opponent, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, proved to be best organised and capable of providing leadership to the revolution. Khomeini had been in exile from the early 1960s (at first in Iraq and later in France), yet he and his followers held considerable sway over the population, especially in traditional rural areas.

    When US President Jimmy Carter’s administration found it could no longer support the shah, he left the country and went into exile in January 1979. This enabled Khomeini to return to Iran to a tumultuous welcome.

    Birth of the Islamic Republic

    In the wake of the uprising, Khomeini and his supporters, including the current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, abolished the monarchy and transformed Iran to a cleric-dominated Islamic Republic, with anti-US and anti-Israel postures. He ruled the country according to his unique vision of Islam.

    Khomeini denounced the US as a “Great Satan” and Israel as an illegal usurper of the Palestinian lands – Jerusalem, in particular. He also declared a foreign policy of “neither east, nor west” but pro-Islamic, and called for the spread of the Iranian revolution in the region.

    Khomeini not only changed Iran, but also challenged the US as the dominant force in shaping the regional order. And the US lost one of the most important pillars of its influence in the oil-rich and strategically important Persian Gulf region.

    Fear of hostile American or Israeli (or combined) actions against the Islamic Republic became the focus of Iran’s domestic and foreign policy behaviour.

    A new supreme leader takes power

    Khomeini died in 1989. His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ruled Iran largely in the same jihadi (combative) and ijtihadi (pragmatic) ways, steering the country through many domestic and foreign policy challenges.

    Khamenei fortified the regime with an emphasis on self-sufficiency, a stronger defence capability and a tilt towards the east – Russia and China – to counter the US and its allies. He has stood firm in opposition to the US and its allies – Israel, in particular. And he has shown flexibility when necessary to ensure the survival and continuity of the regime.

    Khamenei wields enormous constitutional power and spiritual authority.

    He has presided over the building of many rule-enforcing instruments of state power, including the expansion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its paramilitary wing, the Basij, revolutionary committees, and Shia religious networks.

    The Shia concept of martyrdom and loyalty to Iran as a continuous sovereign country for centuries goes to the heart of his actions, as well as his followers.

    Khamenei and his rule enforcers, along with an elected president and National Assembly, are fully cognisant that if the regime goes down, they will face the same fate. As such, they cannot be expected to hoist the white flag and surrender to Israel and the US easily.

    However, in the event of the regime falling under the weight of a combined internal uprising and external pressure, it raises the question: what is the alternative?

    The return of the shah?

    Many Iranians are discontented with the regime, but there is no organised opposition under a nationally unifying leader.

    The son of the former shah, the crown prince Reza Pahlavi, has been gaining some popularity. He has been speaking out on X in the last few days, telling his fellow Iranians:

    The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation. The regime’s apparatus of repression is falling apart. All it takes now is a nationwide uprising to put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

    Since the deposition of his father, he has lived in exile in the US. As such, he has been tainted by his close association with Washington and Jerusalem, especially Netanyahu.

    If he were to return to power – likely through the assistance of the US – he would face the same problem of political legitimacy as his father did.

    What does the future hold?

    Iran has never had a long tradition of democracy. It experienced brief instances of liberalism in the first half of the 20th century, but every attempt at making it durable resulted in disarray and a return to authoritarian rule.

    Also, the country has rarely been free of outside interventionism, given its vast hydrocarbon riches and strategic location. It’s also been prone to internal fragmentation, given its ethnic and religious mix.

    The Shia Persians make up more than half of the population, but the country has a number of Sunni ethnic minorities, such as Kurds, Azaris, Balochis and Arabs. They have all had separatist tendencies.

    Iran has historically been held together by centralisation rather than diffusion of power.

    Should the Islamic regime disintegrate in one form or another, it would be an mistake to expect a smooth transfer of power or transition to democratisation within a unified national framework.

    At the same time, the Iranian people are highly cultured and creative, with a very rich and proud history of achievements and civilisation.

    They are perfectly capable of charting their own destiny as long as there aren’t self-seeking foreign hands in the process – something they have rarely experienced.

    Amin Saikal 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. Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future is so uncertain – https://theconversation.com/irans-long-history-of-revolution-defiance-and-outside-interference-and-why-its-future-is-so-uncertain-259270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • Russia warns US not to help Israel militarily against Iran

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days.

    In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical.

    Ryabkov warned the U.S. against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such “speculative options,” according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

    “This would be a step that would radically destabilise the entire situation,” it cited him as saying.

    Earlier, a source familiar with U.S. internal discussions said President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, including joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

    On Tuesday, Trump openly mused on social media about killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but said “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

    Israel launched air strikes last Friday against Iran’s nuclear sites, scientists and top military leaders in a surprise attack that Russia condemned as unprovoked and illegal. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in January signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, has called for a cessation of hostilities between the two sides.

    (Reuters)

  • Russia warns US not to help Israel militarily against Iran

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days.

    In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical.

    Ryabkov warned the U.S. against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such “speculative options,” according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

    “This would be a step that would radically destabilise the entire situation,” it cited him as saying.

    Earlier, a source familiar with U.S. internal discussions said President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, including joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

    On Tuesday, Trump openly mused on social media about killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but said “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

    Israel launched air strikes last Friday against Iran’s nuclear sites, scientists and top military leaders in a surprise attack that Russia condemned as unprovoked and illegal. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in January signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, has called for a cessation of hostilities between the two sides.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Global: China positions itself as a stable economic partner and alternative to ‘unpredictable’ Trump

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chee Meng Tan, Assistant Professor of Business Economics, University of Nottingham

    After the second world war, the US and its western allies created a set of international agreements and institutions to govern attitudes to mutual defence, economics and human rights. For decades this created stable alliances and predictable economic plans.

    But, unlike his predecessors, Donald Trump believes that international organisations undermine US interests and sovereignty. He has withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization, and there is speculation he could reduce US commitment to the UN. US investment in Nato’s mutual defence pact remains under discussion.

    But while Washington is busy sounding the retreat from the very world order it had a hand in building, Beijing is looking to increase its international role. Chinese leadership in international agencies affiliated with the UN has increased over the years, and so has its financial commitment to international institutions.

    That’s not all. China is also a prominent member of trade coalitions such as the
    15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the ten-member Brics group (led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). These groups not only promote greater economic integration among its members, but may reduce members’ reliance on the US economy and the US dollar. Amid an increasingly volatile US, China’s presence as the second largest economy in the world in these trade groups would be useful.

    Now with the whole world negotiating new US trade deals, most nations see their relationship with the US as unstable. China sees this as a golden opportunity to position itself as a global counterbalance to the US. One of its policies is to “deliver greater security, prosperity and respect for developing countries”, and this is particularly relevant in African nations, where US aid is being reduced rapidly.

    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.

    A US-Sino trade deal was reached in London on June 10 2025. US tariffs on Chinese goods now stand at 55%, while Chinese tariffs on US imports will remain at 10%. But how long this trade deal will last remains uncertain, when Trump has a tendency to change his mind.

    There are few details of the US trade deal with China so far.

    Just a month earlier, on May 12, Washington and Beijing concluded a major trade accord in Geneva aimed at diffusing massive trade tensions. Unfortunately, this deal only lasted for 18 days before Trump started accusing China of violating the agreement.

    But Trump’s tendency to escalate trade tensions and then diffuse them is not just China’s problem. His allies are also a victim of his frequent wavering. This leaves nations around the world, whether traditional US partners or not, in a crisis of not knowing what the US’s next move will be, and whether their economy will suffer.

    In February 2025, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada but temporarily called off the tariffs a month later. Then in early April 2025, Trump raised tariffs on 60 countries and trading blocs, including traditional US allies such as the EU (20%), Japan (24%), South Korea (25%) and Taiwan (32%). Hours later, Trump unexpectedly rescinded these tariffs, but that caused massive damage to the global economy.

    If there is a time that the world needs a more predictable partner it would be now. But it isn’t a Trump-helmed US. A recent annual report on democracy and national attitudes indicates that for first time, respondents across 100 countries view China more favourably than they do the US. So, could China be the partner that the world seeks?

    Why China needs trade

    While the world needs a stable environment to promote economic growth, Beijing needs this stability for reasons that go beyond economics.

    Unlike liberal democracies that derive their legitimacy through elections, a large part of Beijing’s legitimacy comes from its ability to deliver sustained economic prosperity to the Chinese people. But with a battered economy that was first triggered by a real estate crisis in 2021, this task of maintaining legitimacy has become more difficult.

    Exporting its way of out the economic slump may have been on Beijing’s books, as this was one of China’s traditional methods for promoting economic growth. But Trump’s trade war has made this an increasingly difficult prospect, especially to the US which imports 14.8% of total Chinese exports.

    As a result, fixing China’s economy has become a priority for the Chinese government, and it is because of this that Xi tours neighbouring Asean countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia to promote trade and strategic plans to maintain economic stability.

    Obstacles for China

    Despite everything that China is doing, its image remains a problem, for some. For instance, China has claimed sovereignty over the South China Sea and has built ports, military installations and airstrips on artificial islands across the region, despite territorial disputes with its neighbours including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

    But there are other concerns about China. The country’s rapid advancements in military technology, for example, have the potential to destabilise security within the Indo Pacific, potentially allowing China to take control of strategically placed islands to use as bases for its navy. China is also becoming a dominant hacking threat, according to UK cyber expert Richard Horne, which is likely to cause problems for worldwide cybersecurity.

    Polish prime minister Donald Tusk once remarked: “With a friend like Trump, who needs enemies?” Many other national leaders are likely to share Tusk’s sentiment today, and may see opportunities to extend trade deals with China as an alternative to a turbulent relationship with Trump.

    Chee Meng Tan 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. China positions itself as a stable economic partner and alternative to ‘unpredictable’ Trump – https://theconversation.com/china-positions-itself-as-a-stable-economic-partner-and-alternative-to-unpredictable-trump-258443

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Smartphones are once again setting the agenda for justice as the Latino community documents ICE actions

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Allissa V. Richardson, Associate Professor of Journalism, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

    Smartphone witnessing helped spur the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Ethan Swope

    It has been five years since May 25, 2020, when George Floyd gasped for air beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer at the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Five years since 17-year-old Darnella Frazier stood outside Cup Foods, raised her phone and bore witness to nine minutes and 29 seconds that would galvanize a global movement against racial injustice.

    Frazier’s video didn’t just show what happened. It insisted the world stop and see.

    Today, that legacy continues in the hands of a different community, facing different threats but wielding the same tools. Across the United States, Latino organizers are raising their phones, not to go viral but to go on record. They livestream Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, film family separations and document protests outside detention centers. Their footage is not merely content. It is evidence, warning – and resistance.

    Here in Los Angeles where I teach journalism, for example, several images have seared themselves into public memory. One viral video shows a shackled father stepping into a white, unmarked van as his daughter sobs behind the camera, pleading with him not to sign any official documents. He turns, gestures for her to calm down, and blows her a kiss. In another video, filmed across town, Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback charge into crowds of peaceful protesters, swinging wooden batons with chilling precision.

    In Spokane, Washington, residents form a spontaneous human chain around their neighbors mid-raid, their bodies and cameras erecting a barricade of defiance. In San Diego, a video shows white allies yelling “Shame!” as they chase a car full of National Guard troops from their neighborhood.

    The impact of smartphone witnessing has been immediate and unmistakable – visceral at street level, seismic in statehouses. On the ground, the videos helped inspire a “No Kings” movement, which organized protests in all 50 states on June 14, 2025.

    Lawmakers are intensifying their focus on immigration policy as well. As the Trump administration escalates enforcement, Democratic-led states are expanding laws that limit cooperation with federal agents. On June 12, the House Oversight Committee questioned Democratic governors about these measures, with Republican lawmakers citing public safety concerns. The hearing underscored deep divisions between federal and state approaches to immigration enforcement.

    The legacy of Black witnessing

    What’s unfolding now is not new – it is newly visible. As my research shows, Latino organizers are drawing from a playbook that was sharpened in 2020 and rooted in a much older lineage of Black media survival strategies that were forged under extreme oppression.

    In my 2020 book “Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest Journalism,” I document how Black Americans have used media – slave narratives, pamphlets, newspapers, radio and now smartphones – to fight for justice. From Frederick Douglass to Ida B. Wells to Darnella Frazier, Black witnesses have long used journalism as a tool for survival and transformation.

    Latino mobile journalists are building on that blueprint in 2025, filming state power in moments of overreach, archiving injustice in real time, and expanding the impact of this radical tradition.

    Their work also echoes the spatial tactics of Black resistance. Just as enslaved Black people once mapped escape routes during slavery and Jim Crow, Latino communities today are engaging in digital cartography to chart ICE-free zones, mutual aid hubs and sanctuary spaces. The People Over Papers map channels the logic of the Black maroons – communities of self-liberated Africans who escaped plantations to track patrols, share intelligence and build networks of survival. Now, the hideouts are digital. The maps are crowdsourced. The danger remains.

    Likewise, the Stop ICE Raids Alerts Network revives a civil rights-era tactic. In the 1960s, organizers used wide area telephone service lines and radio to circulate safety updates. Black DJs cloaked dispatches in traffic and weather reports – “congestion on the south side” signaled police blockades; “storm warnings” meant violence ahead. Today, the medium is WhatsApp. The signal is encrypted. But the message – protect each other – has not changed.

    Layered across both systems is the DNA of the “Negro Motorist Green Book,” the guide that once helped Black travelers navigate Jim Crow America by identifying safe towns, gas stations and lodging. People Over Papers and Stop ICE Raids are digital descendants of that legacy. Where the Green Book used printed pages, today’s tools use digital pins. But the mission remains: survival through shared knowledge, protection through mapped resistance.

    The People Over Papers map is a crowdsourced collection of reports of ICE activity across the U.S.
    Screenshot by The Conversation U.S.

    Dangerous necessity

    Five years after George Floyd’s death, the power of visual evidence remains undeniable. Black witnessing laid the groundwork. In 2025, that tradition continues through the lens of Latino mobile journalists, who draw clear parallels between their own community’s experiences and those of Black Americans. Their footage exposes powerful echoes: ICE raids and overpolicing, border cages and city jails, a door kicked in at dawn and a knee on a neck.

    Like Black Americans before them, Latino communities are using smartphones to protect, to document and to respond. In cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and El Paso, whispers of “ICE is in the neighborhood” now flash across Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram. For undocumented families, pressing record can mean risking retaliation or arrest. But many keep filming – because what goes unrecorded can be erased.

    What they capture are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader, shared struggle against state violence. And as long as the cameras keep rolling, the stories keep surfacing – illuminated by the glow of smartphone screens that refuse to look away.

    Allissa V. Richardson receives funding from the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

    – ref. Smartphones are once again setting the agenda for justice as the Latino community documents ICE actions – https://theconversation.com/smartphones-are-once-again-setting-the-agenda-for-justice-as-the-latino-community-documents-ice-actions-258980

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –