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Category: MIL-Submissions

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Listening to nonhumans: What music can teach about humanity’s relationships with nature and the divine

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Jeffers Engelhardt, Professor of Music, Amherst College

    Members of the Alevi Muslim community perform a ritual semah dance during celebrations for Norooz, or the Persian New Year, in Berlin. Adam Berry/Getty Images

    As someone who teaches and researches music and religion, I’ve always been curious about inspiration and how it connects humans to other beings.

    Musicians can be inspired by great artists, living and dead; by technologies that expand their experience, like artist Brian House’s macrophones that capture low-frequency infrasound; by plants and animals; and by the unseen, unheard presence of the supernatural. After all, the word inspiration is rooted in the Latin for “breathing in.” Often, it was associated with spiritual or divine influence – inspiration coming from other realms.

    In my research and teaching, recognizing non-human beings is ethically important and an act of intellectual humility. It ensures that I honor other people’s religious and musical experiences, and it admits that we cannot know precisely what they know. One person’s reality may not translate to our own understanding.

    That’s what led me to design this course: “Music, Sound and Research with Non-Humans.”

    What does the course explore?

    The “with” in the course title is key: I want students to learn about how human knowledge exists in relationship with non-humans. To do this, we read and listen widely.

    In research using Actor-Network Theory, for example, relationships between humans and non-humans are central: musicians, scientists and their instruments; you and your smartphone; humans and gods. In each case, humans and non-humans are both considered actors – beings that make a real difference in the world.

    Music scholar Peter McMurray uses a similar lens in his work on Alevi “semah” ritual, which involves music, movement and poetry. Alevism is a mystical tradition of Islam in Turkey that has long faced discrimination. Some of the sung poetry used for semah is inspired by sacred animals, such as cranes. In semah, participants experience cranelike flight through music and dance, which are central to Alevi ritual.

    Dance is an important part of Alevi semah.

    Or consider traditions of chanting revealed in texts like the Quran, which means “recitation” in Arabic. Spiritually, the purpose is not only to learn the scripture, but to draw closer to its sonic essence. Recitation recalls moments of encounter between humans and the divine, most important being the Prophet Muhammad receiving the Quran through the Angel Gabriel.

    We also look beyond music, to everything from medicine and biology to economics, to study relationships between humans and non-humans. One of our favorite readings, for example, is “The Mushroom at the End of the World” by anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. This is a rich ethnographic account of the relationships between humans and matsutake mushrooms, which are highly prized in Japanese cuisine: the piney forests where matsutake grow, the human activities that make them thrive, the foragers who collect them, and the global markets where they are traded.

    My students Luana Espinoza and Sofia Ahmed Seid describe our course as exploring a kind of symbiosis: the word biologists use to describe close, often mutually beneficial, relationships between species.

    What’s a critical lesson from the course?

    This course readies students to confront serious, challenging forms of intellectual diversity, considering how the possibilities of different truths and paradigms might inform their research.

    Both students this semester are science majors working on senior theses: Espinoza in chemistry and Seid in neuroscience. By reading and listening to others’ accounts of human and non-human relationships, they say they no longer feel required to leave an essential part of themselves at the classroom door.

    Music and sound bridge the physical and metaphysical, the natural and the supernatural. Because of this, they are invaluable for encountering complex truths.

    Amherst College students Sofia Ahmed Seid and Luana Espinoza contributed to the preparation of this article.

    Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

    Jeffers Engelhardt 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. Listening to nonhumans: What music can teach about humanity’s relationships with nature and the divine – https://theconversation.com/listening-to-nonhumans-what-music-can-teach-about-humanitys-relationships-with-nature-and-the-divine-256840

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Is there any hope for the internet?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson College

    Hate and mental illness fester online because love and healing seem to be incompatible with profits. Ihor Lukianenko/iStock via Getty Images

    In 2001, social theorist bell hooks warned about the dangers of a loveless zeitgeist. In “All About Love: New Visions,” she lamented “the lack of an ongoing public discussion … about the practice of love in our culture and in our lives.”

    Back then, the internet was at a crossroads. The dot-com crash had bankrupted many early internet companies, and people wondered if the technology was long for this world.

    The doubts were unfounded. In only a few decades, the internet has merged with our bodies as smartphones and mined our personalities via algorithms that know us more intimately than some of our closest friends. It has even constructed a secondary social world.

    Yet as the internet has become more integrated in our daily lives, few would describe it as a place of love, compassion and cooperation. Study after study describe how social media platforms promote alienation and disconnection – in part because many algorithms reward behaviors like trolling, cyberbullying and outrage.

    Is the internet’s place in human history cemented as a harbinger of despair? Or is there still hope for an internet that supports collective flourishing?

    Algorithms and alienation

    I explore these questions in my new book, “Attention and Alienation.”

    In it, I explain how social media companies’ profits depend on users investing their time, creativity and emotions. Whether it’s spending hours filming content for TikTok or a few minutes crafting a thoughtful Reddit comment, participating on these platforms takes work. And it can be exhausting.

    Even passive engagement – like scrolling through feeds and “lurking” in forums – consumes time. It might feel like free entertainment – until people recognize they are the product, with their data being harvested and their emotions being manipulated.

    Blogger, journalist and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification” to describe how experiences on online platforms gradually deteriorate as companies increasingly exploit users’ data and tweak their algorithms to maximize profits.

    For these reasons, much of people’s time spent online involves dealing with toxic interactions or mindlessly doomscrolling, immersed in dopamine-driven feedback loops.

    This cycle is neither an accident nor a novel insight. Hate and mental illness fester in this culture because love and healing seem to be incompatible with profits.

    Care hiding in plain sight

    In his 2009 book “Envisioning Real Utopias,” the late sociologist Erik Olin Wright discusses places in the world that prioritize cooperation, care and egalitarianism.

    Wright mainly focused on offline systems like worker-owned cooperatives. But one of his examples lived on the internet: Wikipedia. He argued that Wikipedia demonstrates the ethos “from each according to ability, to each according to need” – a utopian ideal popularized by Karl Marx.

    Wikipedia still thrives as a nonprofit, volunteer-ran bureaucracy. The website is a form of media that is deeply social, in the literal sense: People voluntarily curate and share knowledge, collectively and democratically, for free. Unlike social media, the rewards are only collective.

    There are no visible likes, comments or rage emojis for participants to hoard and chase. Nobody loses and everyone wins, including the vast majority of people who use Wikipedia without contributing work or money to keep it operational.

    Building a new digital world

    Wikipedia is evidence of care, cooperation and love hiding in plain sight.

    In recent years, there have been more efforts to create nonprofit apps and websites that are committed to protecting user data. Popular examples include Signal, a free and open source instant messaging service, and Proton Mail, an encrypted email service.

    These are all laudable developments. But how can the internet actively promote collective flourishing?

    What if Wikipedia were less the exception, and more the norm?
    Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

    In “Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want,” sociologist Ruha Benjamin points to a way forward. She tells the story of Black TikTok creators who led a successful cultural labor strike in 2021. Many viral TikTok dances had originally been created by Black artists, whose accounts, they claimed, were suppressed by a biased algorithm that favored white influencers.

    TikTok responded to the viral #BlackTikTokStrike movement by formally apologizing and making commitments to better represent and compensate the work of Black creators. These creators demonstrated how social media engagement is work – and that workers have the power to demand equitable conditions and fair pay.

    This landmark strike showed how anyone who uses social media companies that profit off the work, emotions and personal data of their users – whether it’s TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram or Reddit – can become organized.

    Meanwhile, there are organizations devoted to designing an internet that promotes collective flourishing. Sociologist Firuzeh Shokooh Valle provides examples of worker-owned technology cooperatives in her 2023 book, “In Defense of Solidarity and Pleasure: Feminist Technopolitics in the Global South.” She highlights the Sulá Batsú co-op in Costa Rica, which promotes policies that seek to break the stranglehold that negativity and exploitation have over internet culture.

    “Digital spaces are increasingly powered by hate and discrimination,” the group writes, adding that it hopes to create an online world where “women and people of diverse sexualities and genders are able to access and enjoy a free and open internet to exercise agency and autonomy, build collective power, strengthen movements, and transform power relations.”

    In Los Angeles, there’s Chani, Inc., a technology company that describes itself as “proudly” not funded by venture capitalists. The Chani app blends mindfulness practices and astrology with the goal of simply helping people. The app is not designed for compulsive user engagement, the company never sells user data, and there are no comments sections.

    No comments

    What would social media look like if Wikipedia were the norm instead of an exception?

    To me, a big problem in internet culture is the way people’s humanity is obscured. People are free to speak their minds in text-based public discussion forums, but the words aren’t always attached to someone’s identity. Real people hide behind the anonymity of user names. It isn’t true human interaction.

    In “Attention and Alienation,” I argue that the ability to meet and interact with others online as fully realized, three-dimensional human beings would go a long way toward creating a more empathetic, cooperative internet.

    When I was 8 years old, my parents lived abroad for work. Sometimes we talked on the phone. Often I would cry late into the night, praying for the ability to “see them through the phone.” It felt like a miraculous possibility – like magic.

    I told this story to my students in a moment of shared vulnerability. This was in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the class was taking place over videoconferencing. In these online classes, one person talked at a time. Others listened.

    It wasn’t perfect, but I think a better internet would promote this form of discussion – people getting together from across the world to share the fullness of their humanity.

    Efforts like Clubhouse have tapped into this vision by creating voice-based discussion forums. The company, however, has been criticized for predatory data privacy policies.

    What if the next iteration of public social media platforms could build on Clubhouse? What if they brought people together and showcased not just their voices, but also live video feeds of their faces without harvesting their data or promoting conflict and outrage?

    Raised eyebrows. Grins. Frowns. They’re what make humans distinct from increasingly sophisticated large language models and artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT.

    After all, is anything you can’t say while looking at another human being in the eye worth saying in the first place?

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

    – ref. Is there any hope for the internet? – https://theconversation.com/is-there-any-hope-for-the-internet-259251

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Was the Air India crash caused by pilot error or technical fault? None of the theories holds up – yet

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Guido Carim Junior, Senior Lecturer in Aviation, Griffith University

    Over the weekend, the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report on last month’s crash of Air India flight 171, which killed 260 people, 19 of them on the ground.

    The aim of a preliminary report is to present factual information gathered so far and to inform further lines of inquiry. However, the 15-page document has also led to unfounded speculation and theories that are currently not supported by the evidence.

    Here’s what the report actually says, why we don’t yet know what caused the crash, and why it’s important not to speculate.

    What the preliminary report does say

    What we know for certain is that the aircraft lost power in both engines just after takeoff.

    According to the report, this is supported by video footage showing the deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT), and the examination of the air inlet door of the auxiliary power unit (APU).

    The RAT is deployed when both engines fail, all hydraulic systems are lost, or there is a total electrical power loss. The APU air inlet door opens when the system attempts to start automatically due to dual engine failure.

    The preliminary investigation suggests both engines shut down because the fuel flow stopped. Attention has now shifted to the fuel control switches, located on the throttle lever panel between the pilots.

    This is what the fuel switches look like, with the throttle lever above them.
    Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau

    Data from the enhanced airborne flight recorder suggests these switches may have been moved from “run” to “cutoff” three seconds after liftoff. Ten seconds later, the switches were moved back to “run”.

    The report also suggests the pilots were aware the engines had shut down and attempted to restart them. Despite their effort, the engines couldn’t restart in time.

    We don’t know what the pilots did

    Flight data recorders don’t capture pilot actions. They record system responses and sensor data, which can sometimes lead to the belief they’re an accurate representation of the pilot’s actions in the cockpit.

    While this is true most of the time, this is not always the case.

    In my own work investigating safety incidents, I’ve seen cases in which automated systems misinterpreted inputs. In one case, a system recorded a pilot pressing the same button six times in two seconds, something humanly impossible. On further investigation, it turned out to be a faulty system, not a real action.

    We cannot yet rule out the possibility that system damage or sensor error led to false data being recorded. We also don’t know whether the pilots unintentionally flicked the switches to “cutoff”. And we may never know.

    As we also don’t have a camera in the cockpit, any interpretation of pilots’ actions will be made indirectly, usually through the data sensed by the aircraft and the conversation, sound and noise captured by the environmental microphone available in the cockpit.

    We don’t have the full conversation between the pilots

    Perhaps the most confusing clue in the report was an excerpt of a conversation between the pilots. It says:

    In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.

    This short exchange is entirely without context. First, we don’t know who says what. Second, we don’t know when the question was asked – after takeoff, or after the engine started to lose power? Third, we don’t know the exact words used, because the excerpt in the report is paraphrased.

    Finally, we don’t know whether the exchange referred to the engine status or the switch position. Again, we may never know.

    What’s crucial here is that the current available evidence doesn’t support any theory about intentional fuel cutoff by either of the pilots. To say otherwise is unfounded speculation.

    We don’t know if there was a mechanical failure

    The preliminary report indicates that, for now, there are no actions required by Boeing, General Electric or any company that operates the Boeing 787-8 and/or GEnx-1B engine.

    This has led some to speculate that a mechanical failure has been ruled out. Again, it is far too early to conclude that.

    What the preliminary report shows is that the investigation team has not found any evidence to suggest the aircraft suffered a catastrophic failure that requires immediate attention or suspension of operations around the world.

    This could be because there was no catastrophic failure. It could also be because the physical evidence has been so badly damaged that investigators will need more time and other sources of evidence to learn what happened.

    Why we must resist premature conclusions

    In the aftermath of an accident, there is much at stake for many people: the manufacturer of the aircraft, the airline, the airport, civil aviation authority and others. The families of the victims understandably demand answers.

    It’s also tempting to latch onto a convenient explanation. But the preliminary report is not the full story. It’s based on very limited data, analysed under immense pressure, and without access to every subsystem or mechanical trace.

    The final report is still to come. Until then, the responsible position for regulators, experts and the public is to withhold judgement.

    This tragedy reminds us that aviation safety depends on patient and thorough investigation – not media soundbites or unqualified expert commentary. We owe it to the victims and their families to get the facts right, not just fast.

    Guido Carim Junior has received funding from Boeing R&D Australia to conduct research projects in the past five years.

    – ref. Was the Air India crash caused by pilot error or technical fault? None of the theories holds up – yet – https://theconversation.com/was-the-air-india-crash-caused-by-pilot-error-or-technical-fault-none-of-the-theories-holds-up-yet-261102

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 130 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Hatim Sharif, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio

    A Kerrville, Texas, resident watches the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025. Eric Vryn/Getty Images

    Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills and through rugged valleys. That geography also makes it one of the deadliest places in the U.S. for flash flooding.

    In the early hours of July 4, 2025, a flash flood swept through an area of Hill Country dotted with summer camps and small towns about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio. More than 130 people died in the flooding. The majority of them were in Kerr County, including more than two dozen girls and counselors at one summer camp, Camp Mystic. Dozens more people were still unaccounted for a week later.

    The flooding began with a heavy downpour, with more than 10 inches of rain in some areas, that sent water sheeting off the hillsides and into creeks. The creeks poured into the Guadalupe River.

    A river gauge at Hunt, Texas, near Camp Mystic, showed how quickly the river flooded: Around 3 a.m. on July 4, the Guadalupe River was rising about 1 foot every 5 minutes at the gauge, National Weather Service data shows. By 4:30 a.m., it had risen more than 20 feet. As the water moved downstream, it reached Kerrville, where the river rose even faster.

    Flood expert Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist and civil engineer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, explains what makes this part of the country, known as Flash Flood Alley, so dangerous.

    What makes Hill Country so prone to flooding?

    Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, and by a wide margin. A colleague and I analyzed data from 1959 to 2019 and found 1,069 people had died in flooding in Texas over those six decades. The next highest total was in Louisiana, with 693.

    Many of those flood deaths have been in Hill County. It’s part of an area known as Flash Flood Alley, a crescent of land that curves from near Dallas down to San Antonio and then westward.

    The hills are steep, and the water moves quickly when it floods. This is a semi-arid area with soils that don’t soak up much water, so the water sheets off quickly and the shallow creeks can rise fast.

    When those creeks converge on a river, they can create a surge of water that wipes out homes and washes away cars and, unfortunately, anyone in its path.

    Hill Country has seen some devastating flash floods. In 1987, heavy rain in western Kerr County quickly flooded the Guadalupe River, triggering a flash flood similar to the one in 2025. Ten teenagers being evacuated from a camp died in the rushing water.

    San Antonio, at the eastern edge of Hill Country, was hit with a flash flood on June 12, 2025, that killed 13 people whose cars were swept away by high water from a fast-flooding creek near an interstate ramp in the early morning.

    Why does the region get such strong downpours?

    One reason Hill Country gets powerful downpours is the Balcones Escarpment.

    The escarpment is a line of cliffs and steep hills created by a geologic fault. When warm air from the Gulf rushes up the escarpment, it condenses and can dump a lot of moisture. That water flows down the hills quickly, from many different directions, filling streams and rivers below.

    As temperature rise, the warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the downpour and flood risk.

    A tour of the Guadalupe River and its flood risk.

    The same effect can contribute to flash flooding in San Antonio, where the large amount of paved land and lack of updated drainage to control runoff adds to the risk.

    What can be done to improve flash flood safety?

    First, it’s important for people to understand why flash flooding happens and just how fast the water can rise and flow. In many arid areas, dry or shallow creeks can quickly fill up with fast-moving water and become deadly. So people should be aware of the risks and pay attention to the weather.

    Improving flood forecasting, with more detailed models of the physics and water velocity at different locations, can also help.

    Probabilistic forecasting, for example, can provide a range of rainfall scenarios, enabling authorities to prepare for worst-case scenarios. A scientific framework linking rainfall forecasts to the local impacts, such as streamflow, flood depth and water velocity, could also help decision-makers implement timely evacuations or road closures.

    Education is particularly essential for drivers. One to two feet of moving water can wash away a car. People may think their trucks and SUVs can go through anything, but fast-moving water can flip a truck and carry it away.

    Officials can also do more to barricade roads when the flood risk is high to prevent people from driving into harm’s way. We found that 58% of the flood deaths in Texas over the past six decades involved vehicles. The storm on June 12 in San Antonio was an example. It was early morning, and drivers had poor visibility. The cars were hit by fast-rising floodwater from an adjacent creek.

    This article, originally published July 5, 2025, has been updated with the death toll rising.

    Hatim Sharif 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. Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 130 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding – https://theconversation.com/why-texas-hill-country-where-a-devastating-flood-killed-more-than-130-people-is-one-of-the-deadliest-places-in-the-us-for-flash-flooding-260555

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Hong Kong: Appeal hearing in ‘HK 47’ case a pivotal chance to correct mass injustice – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Ahead of the appeal hearing of 13 people – among 45 individuals convicted in a mass trial last year of “conspiring to subvert state power” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law – Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

    “The Hong Kong 47 case stands as one of the most shocking examples of the crackdown on human rights in the city.  This appeal hearing is a chance for the courts to start righting the wrongs of this unprecedented mass prosecution.

    “Research findings we released earlier this month show that the vast majority of convictions under the National Security Law have targeted legitimate expression. It is appalling that Hong Kong courts could condone a crackdown that leaves more than 80% of defendants wrongfully languishing behind bars.

    “This appeal is a pivotal test—not just for these 13 individuals, but for the future of freedom of expression in Hong Kong. Only by overturning these convictions can Hong Kong’s courts begin to restore the city’s global standing as a place where rights are respected and where people are allowed to peacefully express their views without fear of arrest.”

    Background

    In Hong Kong’s largest prosecution under the National Security Law, which was enacted in June 2020, 47 opposition figures were jointly charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion”. Thirty-one of the 47 pleaded guilty to the charge while 16 pleaded not guilty, two of whom were acquitted.

    On 14 July 2025, Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal will hear the appeal of 13 of those convicted. In the same hearing, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice will also appeal against the acquittal of one of the defendants, Lawrence Lau. The hearing is expected to take 10 days to conclude.

    The charges against the “Hong Kong 47” relate to their organization and participation in self-organized “primaries” for the 2020 Legislative Council elections that were ultimately postponed by authorities on Covid-19 grounds before the Chinese government brought in a new electoral system that strictly vetted who could stand for office.

    The city’s chief executive at the time, Carrie Lam, said the “primaries” were illegal and warned that they could be in breach of the National Security Law that had been enacted only weeks earlier.

    To treat self-organized “primaries” conducted by political parties to select candidates to put forward for elections as a genuine threat to Hong Kong’s existence, territorial integrity or political independence does not meet the high threshold of application for “national security” that international human rights standards require.

    Research published last month by Amnesty International, on the fifth anniversary of the National Security Law’s enactment, found that more than 80% of people convicted under the law have been wrongly criminalized and should never have been charged in the first place.

    Hong Kong’s human rights situation has deteriorated dramatically since 2020, with Amnesty International identifying more than 250 people arrested for violating the National Security Law or a colonial-era “sedition” law. Last year, the Hong Kong parliament itself enacted further national security legislation – the so-called ‘Article 23’ law – which has further deepened repression and silenced opposition voices in the city.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Disasters don’t disappear when the storm ends – cascading hazards, from landslides to floods, are upending risk models

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Brian J. Yanites, Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science. Robert Shrock Professor of Surficial and Sedimentary Geology, Indiana University

    The Carter Lodge hangs precariously over the flood-scoured bank of the Broad River in Chimney Rock Village, N.C., on May 13, 2025, eight months after Hurricane Helene. AP Photo/Allen G. Breed

    Hurricane Helene lasted only a few days in September 2024, but it altered the landscape of the Southeastern U.S. in profound ways that will affect the hazards local residents face far into the future.

    Mudslides buried roads and reshaped river channels. Uprooted trees left soil on hillslopes exposed to the elements. Sediment that washed into rivers changed how water flows through the landscape, leaving some areas more prone to flooding and erosion.

    Helene was a powerful reminder that natural hazards don’t disappear when the skies clear – they evolve.

    These transformations are part of what scientists call cascading hazards. They occur when one natural event alters the landscape in ways that lead to future hazards. A landslide triggered by a storm might clog a river, leading to downstream flooding months or years later. A wildfire can alter the soil and vegetation, setting the stage for debris flows with the next rainstorm.

    Satellite images before (top) and after Hurricane Helene (bottom) show how the storm altered landscape near Pensacola, N.C., in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
    Google Earth, CC BY

    I study these disasters as a geomorphologist. In a new paper in the journal Science, I and a team of scientists from 18 universities and the U.S. Geological Survey explain why hazard models – used to help communities prepare for disasters – can’t just rely on the past. Instead, they need to be nimble enough to forecast how hazards evolve in real time.

    The science behind cascading hazards

    Cascading hazards aren’t random. They emerge from physical processes that operate continuously across the landscape – sediment movement, weathering, erosion. Together, the atmosphere, biosphere and the earth are constantly reshaping the conditions that cause natural disasters.

    For instance, earthquakes fracture rock and shake loose soil. Even if landslides don’t occur during the quake itself, the ground may be weakened, leaving it primed for failure during later rainstorms.

    That’s exactly what happened after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, which led to a surge in debris flows long after the initial seismic event.

    A strong aftershock after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province, China, in May 2008 triggered more landslides in central China.
    AP Photo/Andy Wong

    Earth’s surface retains a “memory” of these events. Sediment disturbed in an earthquake, wildfire or severe storm will move downslope over years or even decades, reshaping the landscape as it goes.

    The 1950 Assam earthquake in India is a striking example: It triggered thousands of landslides. The sediment from these landslides gradually moved through the river system, eventually causing flooding and changing river channels in Bangladesh some 20 years later.

    An intensifying threat in a changing world

    These risks present challenges for everything from emergency planning to home insurance. After repeated wildfire-mudslide combinations in California, some insurers pulled out of the state entirely, citing mounting risks and rising costs among the reasons.

    Cascading hazards are not new, but their impact is intensifying.

    Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of wildfires, storms and extreme rainfall. At the same time, urban development continues to expand into steep, hazard-prone terrain, exposing more people and infrastructure to evolving risks.

    The rising risk of interconnected climate disasters like these is overwhelming systems built for isolated events.

    Yet climate change is only part of the equation. Earth processes – such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – also trigger cascading hazards, often with long-lasting effects.

    Mount St. Helens is a powerful example: More than four decades after its eruption in 1980, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to manage ash and sediment from the eruption to keep it from filling river channels in ways that could increase the flood risk in downstream communities.

    Rethinking risk and building resilience

    Traditionally, insurance companies and disaster managers have estimated hazard risk by looking at past events.

    But when the landscape has changed, the past may no longer be a reliable guide to the future. To address this, computer models based on the physics of how these events work are needed to help forecast hazard evolution in real time, much like weather models update with new atmospheric data.

    A March 2024 landslide in the Oregon Coast Range wiped out trees in its path.
    Brian Yanites, June 2025
    A drone image of the same March 2024 landslide in the Oregon Coast Range shows where it temporarily dammed the river below.
    Brian Yanites, June 2025

    Thanks to advances in Earth observation technology, such as satellite imagery, drone and lidar, which is similar to radar but uses light, scientists can now track how hillslopes, rivers and vegetation change after disasters. These observations can feed into geomorphic models that simulate how loosened sediment moves and where hazards are likely to emerge next.

    Researchers are already coupling weather forecasts with post-wildfire debris flow models. Other models simulate how sediment pulses travel through river networks.

    Cascading hazards reveal that Earth’s surface is not a passive backdrop, but an active, evolving system. Each event reshapes the stage for the next.

    Understanding these connections is critical for building resilience so communities can withstand future storms, earthquakes and the problems created by debris flows. Better forecasts can inform building codes, guide infrastructure design and improve how risk is priced and managed. They can help communities anticipate long-term threats and adapt before the next disaster strikes.

    Most importantly, they challenge everyone to think beyond the immediate aftermath of a disaster – and to recognize the slow, quiet transformations that build toward the next.

    Brian J. Yanites receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Disasters don’t disappear when the storm ends – cascading hazards, from landslides to floods, are upending risk models – https://theconversation.com/disasters-dont-disappear-when-the-storm-ends-cascading-hazards-from-landslides-to-floods-are-upending-risk-models-259502

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Indonesia plans to rewrite its national history: A return to an incomplete narrative?

    Source: The Conversation – Indonesia – By Adrian Perkasa, Peneliti Pascadoktoral, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

    Indonesia’s plan to rewrite its official national history was initially met with positive responses, particularly for its goal of better serving the younger generation. But the project to reshape the country’s mainstream historical narrative soon ignited widespread controversy for overlooking underrepresented groups and reinforcing authoritarian tendencies.

    By incorporating the latest data and expanding the coverage of historical events and figures, the initiative — launched by the Indonesian Historian Association (MSI) and backed by the Culture Ministry on May 2025 — raised hopes for a more inclusive, accurate, and relevant national history.

    However, backlash soon followed, with criticism intensifying after Culture Minister Fadli Zon’s controversial statement) dismissing the 1998 mass rapes as mere rumours.

    Various groups argue that the rewriting of national history is a calculated move to bolster an increasingly authoritarian government, as it relies solely on scholars and historians with ties to those in power.

    Many groups remain underrepresented

    A nation’s relationship with its history is deeply tied to how contemporary narratives are constructed or shaped. For national historiography to carry legitimacy, it must meaningfully include the voices of diverse groups, classes, communities, and entities.

    However, the project’s terms of reference fail to give due attention to space for women’s roles in the Indonesian independence movement].

    Its treatment of historical narratives from regions beyond Java also remains insufficient — let alone its neglect of non-political and non-economic themes, such as the arts or sports.

    Silent affirmation?

    In response to the controversy, few formal statements have been made from either MSI or the historians involved in the project, apart from the minister and the project’s principal editor.

    One notable exception came from a historian via his social media page, where he reflected on the dilemma of being both an intellectual and a public servant involved in the project.

    He argued that speaking from within, rather than criticising from the outside, demands greater courage and careful calculation – a stance he fears is likely to be overlooked.

    As a history-and-culture researcher, his remarks reinforce the perception that many of the historians involved in the revision project are civil servants at state universities or individuals closely aligned with those in power.

    Lessons from the past

    History itself tells us that the writing of national history is deeply intertwined with the interests of ruling authorities and their affiliated groups.

    From its inception, the genre of national history that emerged in 19th-century Europe and the United States was closely tied to efforts to legitimise territorial expansion and colonial rule.

    In the context of Indonesia’s current national history revision project, it is worth revisiting comparisons between how national histories were written under Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and Suharto in Indonesia.

    Historians in both countries should be recognised as active agents with their own interests and authority — not as passive participants or easily influenced figures.

    During Suharto’s regime, one historian even withdrew from the state-led national history writing project due to disagreements, particularly over methodological approaches.

    The project’s director marginalised historian Sartono Kartodirdjo — who championed a multidimensional approach — in favour of a more linear, state-centric narrative. Sartono’s more holistic perspective made space for a broader range of historical actors, including farmers and other often-overlooked communities.

    A similar precedent can be traced back to the early years of Indonesian independence, when the government initiated efforts to document the country’s national history in the 1950s. At the time, the National History Writing Committee — comprising prominent scholars — organised Indonesia’s first National History Seminar.

    Yet the initiative failed to produce an official national history, partly due to the same kind of unresolved methodological debates that resurfaced during Suharto’s rule.

    A project for whom?

    Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman philosopher-turned-statesman, once said, historia magistra vitae est – history is the teacher of life.

    Given the failures and controversies surrounding Indonesia’s earlier attempt to produce an official national history, the current revision project demands critical re-evaluation — and, if necessary, a complete halt.

    Merely involving more historians to boost representation is not an adequate solution either.

    The core issue lies not in revising history, but in advancing Indonesian historiography. Rather than pushing ahead with an extensive national history rewrite, the government should prioritise fostering diverse local history initiatives — through programmes such as the Cultural Endowment Fund or the Indonesiana Fund.

    This approach would enable a more comprehensive and representative account of Indonesian history — one that integrates local perspectives while remaining connected to national and global narratives.

    Saya pernah dan masih berkolaborasi untuk riset dengan beberapa lembaga di lingkungan Kementerian Kebudayaan seperti Museum dan Cagar Budaya Nasional, Balai Pelestarian Kebudayaan, dan lainnya.

    – ref. Indonesia plans to rewrite its national history: A return to an incomplete narrative? – https://theconversation.com/indonesia-plans-to-rewrite-its-national-history-a-return-to-an-incomplete-narrative-260298

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Gaza: Acute malnutrition reaches all-time high in two MSF facilities

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

    Gaza, 12 July 2025— Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are witnessing a sharp and unprecedented rise in acute malnutrition among people in Gaza, Palestine. In Al-Mawasi clinic, in southern Gaza, and in the MSF Gaza City clinic in the north, we are seeing the highest number of malnutrition cases ever recorded by our teams in the Gaza Strip. A sustained flow of food and medical supplies must be urgently allowed into the Strip.

    More than 700 pregnant and breastfeeding women, and nearly 500 children with severe and moderate malnutrition are currently enrolled in ambulatory therapeutic feeding centres in both clinics. Patient enrolment in the MSF Gaza City clinic almost quadrupled in under two months, from 293 cases in May, up to 983 cases at the beginning of July. Of this July cohort, 326 are children between six and 23 months old.

    “This is the first time we have witnessed such a severe scale of malnutrition cases in Gaza,” says Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, MSF deputy medical coordinator in Gaza. “The starvation of people in Gaza is intentional, it can end tomorrow if the Israeli authorities allow food in at scale.”

     

    The existence of malnutrition in Gaza is the result of deliberate, calculated choices by the Israeli authorities: restrict the entry of food to the bare minimum for survival, dictate and militarise the means of its distribution, all while having destroyed the majority of local food production capacity. People are risking their lives in the immediate term to obtain inadequate food rations, as a wider system collapse is ongoing – sewage contamination is occurring because infrastructure is destroyed, restrictions on fuel are limiting the production of clean water, appalling living conditions in overcrowded camps are impacting people’s health and compromising people’s immunity.

     

    “Due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women and poor water and sanitation services, many babies are being born prematurely,” says Joanne Perry, MSF doctor. “Our neonatal intensive care unit [in Al-Helou hospital] is severely overcrowded, with four to five babies sharing a single incubator.”

    “This is my third time in Gaza, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Dr Perry. “Mothers are asking me for food for their children, pregnant women who are six months along often weigh no more than 40 kilogrammes. The situation is beyond critical.”

    Before October 2023, Gaza was heavily reliant on the entry of goods and supplies from outside, with an average of 500 trucks entering the Strip every day. Since 2 March, not even 500 trucks have entered in total. With border crossings for aid frequently closed or operating under heavy limitations, and with local food production nearly impossible due to ongoing hostilities and destruction, markets are either empty, or the available food is unaffordable for most.  

    Inevitably, prices of food have skyrocketed across Gaza, placing even basic staples out of reach for most people. For example, one kilogramme of sugar costs on average US$766, while a kilogramme of potatoes or flour costs nearly $30, according to the World Food Programme. Due to this, many families are surviving on just one portion of food a day – often only rice, lentils, or pasta – with no access to bread, fresh vegetables, or enough protein.

    Parents are also deliberately skipping meals to feed their children. Even malnourished women, who do receive therapeutic food, end up giving their own treatment supplements to their children.

    “I’m a mother, and I can’t blame them because I would do the same,” says Nour Nijim, MSF nursing team supervisor. “But I feel helpless as a healthcare provider. People are hungry and ask us for therapeutic food, but we don’t have enough and can only prescribe them to people diagnosed with malnutrition.”

     

    The malnourished patients we are seeing are only the visible tip of a much larger crisis. At MSF clinics, injured patients beg for food instead of medicine – their wounds failing to heal because of protein deficiency. Our doctors are observing rapid weight loss, prolonged infections, and visible fatigue among patients and their caregivers.

     

    MSF urgently calls for unrestricted humanitarian access, a sustained flow of food and medical aid into Gaza, and the protection of civilians.

     

    MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Africa – ATIDI Guarantee Backs Lending Consortium Led by BPR Bank Rwanda plc for Rwanda’s New International Airport, Boosting Regional Trade and Integration

    Source: Media Fast

    ·       ATIDI has approved a USD $84 million counter-guarantee to support issuance of bonds and guarantees for the construction of Rwanda’s New International Airport in Bugesera District.
    ·       BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, acting as Mandated Lead Arranger and Facility Agent, leads a consortium of lenders enabling the transaction.
    ·       The Project is a vital infrastructure that will accelerate Rwanda’s Vision 2050, its national strategy to become an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income economy by 2050.
    ·       This transaction is aligned with ATIDI’s strategic focus on empowering its member states to deliver impactful, transformative investments that spur growth, sustainability and regional integration.

    Kigali, 11th July 2025 – ATIDI has approved a USD84 million counter-guarantee to support three local Rwandan banks and one regional bank in issuing bonds and guarantees totaling over USD322 million. These guarantees have been extended to a joint venture of three contractors undertaking the construction of the New Bugesera International Airport, a transformative project poised to elevate Rwanda as a strategic hub for trade and logistics in Africa.

    The project, jointly developed by the Governments of Rwanda and Qatar, is a vital infrastructure that will accelerate Rwanda’s Vision 2050, its national strategy to become an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income economy by 2050. The airport is also aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, facilitating the free movement of goods, services and people across the continent.

    The airport, which is valued over USD2 billion, is scheduled for completion by mid-2028. ATIDI’s cover supports the three local banks including BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, Bank of Kigali (BK), and the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), benefitted directly from ATIDI’s risk mitigation, enabling them to issue guarantees beyond their Single Obligor Limits (SOL). The de-risking provided by ATIDI offers banks capital relief while ensuring smoother execution of infrastructure projects.

    The lending consortium led by BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, acting as Mandated Lead Arranger and Facility Agent on behalf of the contractors, also includes KCB Bank Kenya, a regional lender, which participated in the syndicate without recourse to ATIDI’s guarantee.

    Quote from Manuel Moses, Chief Executive Officer, ATIDI

    “ATIDI is proud to partner in Rwanda’s transformation and continental ambitions through this catalytic project, a central piece of the country’s development strategy. The new airport is not just about infrastructure, it’s about unlocking regional value chains and ensuring Africa trades more with itself. Our support demonstrates the value addition of ATIDI’s de-risking solutions in scaling up lending capacity and unlocking financing by banks to Rwanda’s development priorities”

    Quote from BPR (Mandated Lead Arranger)

    Patience Mutesi, Managing Director of BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, remarked “We are honored to lead this transformational financing effort. As Mandated Lead Arranger, BPR Bank Rwanda Plc is proud to play a pivotal role in unlocking capital for a project that will reshape Rwanda’s connectivity and competitiveness. This collaboration with ATIDI and our partner banks reflects our firm commitment to financing national development priorities and enabling long-term value through strategic infrastructure.”

    This transaction is aligned with ATIDI’s strategic focus on empowering its member states to deliver impactful, transformative investments that spur growth, sustainability and regional integration. Rwanda, a founding member of ATIDI, has been a consistent partner in leveraging risk mitigation to unlock capital and de-risk essential sectors.

    Currently, ATIDI has issued policies worth over USD1.45 billion in transaction value and holds a gross exposure of over USD611.9 million in Rwanda. These transactions span multiple sectors vital to the country’s development, including agriculture, forestry; fishing; construction; energy and gas; financial activities; information and communication; manufacturing; other services activities; public administration; trade and transportation; transporting and storage; as well as wholesale and retail trade.

    This broad sectoral engagement demonstrates ATIDI’s critical and transversal role in de-risking investments and catalyzing trade, infrastructure and socio-economic development across Africa.

    About ATIDI

    ATIDI was founded in 2001 by African States to cover trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. ATIDI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and, Surety Insurance. Since inception, ATIDI has supported USD88 billion worth of investments and cross border trade into Africa. For more than a decade, ATIDI has consistently maintained a Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit rating of ‘A/Stable’ from Standard & Poor’s. In 2019, Moody’s assigned ATIDI an A3/Positive rating, which was subsequently upgraded to A2/Stable in 2024 and reaffirmed in 2025, reflecting the organization’s robust financial position and strong risk management practices. In recognition of its growing impact, ATIDI was named the Development Finance Institution (DFI) of the Year at the 2025 African Banker Awards.

    www.atidi.africa

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Women with ADHD three times more likely to experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder – new research

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jessica Agnew-Blais, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Queen Mary University of London

    PMDD causes symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, depressed mood and anxiety. LightField Studios/ Shutterstock

    Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has historically been under-studied in women. This means we still have a limited understanding of how the condition may uniquely affect women – and what effect monthly hormonal changes may have on women with ADHD.

    But a recent study conducted by me and my colleagues has shown that women with ADHD are at higher risk for mental health struggles associated with the menstrual cycle. We found that having ADHD makes women around three times more likely to experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

    Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), is a serious condition that affects about 3% of women worldwide. The condition can seriously interfere with a person’s everyday life, causing symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, depressed mood and anxiety.

    These symptoms occur in the days before menstruation, and resolve after the period starts. For some, PMDD may lead to severe outcomes, such as being at an increased risk of attempting suicide.



    Read more:
    Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: the frightening psychological condition suffered by Dixie D’Amelio

    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.

    We conducted an online survey of 715 women aged 18 to 34 in the UK. We asked them whether they experienced different symptoms of ADHD or PMDD, whether they’d received an ADHD diagnosis from a doctor and how symptoms interfered with their lives.

    We found that about 31% of women with a clinical ADHD diagnosis also had PMDD, as did around 41% of women who scored high for ADHD symptoms (whether they had been formally diagnosed with ADHD or not). In comparison, only about 9% of women without ADHD met the criteria for PMDD. We also found that women who had ADHD and a clinical diagnosis of depression or anxiety had an even greater risk of PMDD.

    The research showed that the most common PMDD symptoms women experienced were irritability, feeling overwhelmed and depression. But women with ADHD may also be more likely to experience insomnia when they have PMDD.

    The PMDD and ADHD link

    Our study isn’t the first to show a link between the two conditions, but it is the first to identify a similar PMDD risk among women with ADHD symptoms, not just among those who were in treatment. We’re also the first to show that people who have ADHD plus depression or anxiety are at an even greater risk of PMDD.

    Other research suggests that women with ADHD may also be at higher risk for mental health problems during other times of hormonal change. For instance, one study found women with ADHD experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety after starting combined oral hormonal contraceptives. Another study found that women with ADHD were more likely to experience depression after giving birth than those without the condition.

    More research is now needed to understand why women with ADHD appear to be more vulnerable to PMDD, and whether this affects what treatments work best.

    It should be noted that our study assesses “provisional PMDD diagnosis”. An official diagnosis requires two months of symptom tracking across the menstrual cycle. But we asked women to remember how they felt across their menstrual cycle rather than tracking how they feel in real-time.

    This means we could be over- or under-estimating PMDD prevalence as we’re relying on participants to recall their symptoms.

    Future research should assess PMDD symptoms among women in real-time as they experience their menstrual cycles to more accurately assess symptoms without having to rely on people’s memory. Additionally, it may be difficult to distinguish PMDD from other disorders that may worsen during the premenstrual period, such as depression or anxiety. Tracking symptoms across the menstrual cycle in real-time would help to disentangle this.

    PMDD can have profoundly negative effects on women’s lives. Some women even report it can make them feel “physically unable to see the joy in things”. Although symptoms can be managed with prescription treatments, this can only happen if the condition is diagnosed by a doctor.

    Our new research shows us that women with ADHD are an at-risk group for PMDD, especially if they also have depression or anxiety. This suggests doctors should consider screening for PMDD among women with ADHD to reduce distress and adverse outcomes associated with the condition.

    Jessica Agnew-Blais receives funding from the UK Medical Research Council and GambleAware for her research.

    – ref. Women with ADHD three times more likely to experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder – new research – https://theconversation.com/women-with-adhd-three-times-more-likely-to-experience-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-new-research-260222

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Don’t let food poisoning crash your picnic – six tips to keep your spread safe

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Edward Fox, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle

    Jenny_Tr/Shutterstock

    Nothing says summer quite like a picnic. Whether you’re lounging on a beach towel, stretched out in a park, or unpacking a hamper in your garden, picnics are a beloved way to enjoy good food in the great outdoors.

    In the UK alone, the picnic food market is worth over £2 billion each year, with millions of us heading out for an alfresco feast with family or friends when the sun is shining.

    But as idyllic as they may seem, picnics come with hidden risks, especially when it comes to food safety. Without access to fridges, ovens or running water, the chances of foodborne illness such as diarrhoea increase. So, how can you keep your spread both delicious and safe?

    Warm, sunny weather is perfect for picnics – and unfortunately, also for bacteria. High temperatures can cause harmful microbes to multiply quickly in certain foods – especially meat, eggs, dairy or salads with creamy dressings. Add in a few flies or some dirty hands, and your picnic could become a recipe for illness.

    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.

    Food poisoning bacteria can find their way into picnic food from several sources: flies that land on uncovered dishes, unwashed hands, cross-contaminated utensils, or even from leaving perishable food out in the sun too long.

    This is not just a theoretical risk. There have been several well-documented outbreaks linked to picnics, including one event in Texas where more than 100 people developed diarrhoea and fever after eating food contaminated with salmonella. In another case at a church picnic in Ohio, clostridium botulinum – a bacterium that can be fatal – contaminated potato salad and led to one death.



    Read more:
    Salmonella cases are at ten-year high in England – here’s what you can do to keep yourself safe

    Six tips to enjoy your picnic safely

    However, with a few simple steps, you can protect yourself and others while enjoying that alfresco feast:

    1. Keep cold food cold. If you’re bringing dishes that normally need refrigeration (think meats, cheese, egg mayo), don’t pack them until the last minute. Use a cool bag or insulated box with ice packs or frozen water bottles to help keep things chilled. Once you’re out, only take food out of the cooler when it’s time to eat, and always try to keep it in the shade.

    2. Watch the clock. On hot days, perishable foods should be eaten within two hours (or four hours if it’s mild). After that, any leftovers should be thrown away. Don’t be tempted to take food home and refrigerate it “just in case” – one family in Belgium did just that with a salad, and ended up with severe food poisoning two days later.

    3. Wash those hands. Picnics often mean touching tables, grass, pets or public benches – all potential sources of bacteria. Hand sanitiser is your best friend. Use it before handling or eating any food.

    4. Cover up. Insects, especially flies, can carry bacteria and leave them behind when they land. Keep food in sealed containers or cover with foil or clean cloths to protect your spread. This helps keep animals (and rogue seagulls) away too.

    5. Prep fresh produce properly. Salads, fruits and veg are picnic staples, but they must be washed thoroughly before being packed. Even pre-washed leaves can benefit from a rinse. Pack them in clean containers and don’t let utensils touch dirty surfaces.



    Read more:
    New study: Salmonella thrives in salad bags

    6. Keep your utensils clean. Bring enough serving spoons, tongs and plates – and avoid putting them down on picnic tables or the ground. A spare clean plate is always a good idea when it comes to safe serving.

    Enjoy the food, not the fallout

    Picnics should leave you with warm memories – not stomach cramps. By following these food safety basics, you can enjoy your outdoor feast without any unwanted after-effects. From chilled pasta salads to hand-cut fruit or that classic homemade quiche, safe food is happy food.

    So, pack a blanket, grab your cool bag, and soak up the sunshine – just keep the bacteria at bay.



    Read more:
    Food safety: are the sniff test, the five-second rule and rare burgers safe?

    Edward Fox has received funding from the Food Safety Research Network.

    – ref. Don’t let food poisoning crash your picnic – six tips to keep your spread safe – https://theconversation.com/dont-let-food-poisoning-crash-your-picnic-six-tips-to-keep-your-spread-safe-260834

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Too much Lena Dunham, Lorde’s new album and a book to break your heart: what to watch, listen to and read this week

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jane Wright, Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture, The Conversation UK

    When I first watched Girls, I remember marvelling at Lena Dunham’s four twenty-something New Yorkers. Sex and the City it was not. I realised wistfully just how much I wished the series had been around when I was in my twenties.

    Dunham’s character Hannah Horvath was like a beacon, illuminating the possibilities of how you could just be yourself in this world – good and bad – without apologising for it. I loved her boldness. Girls was messy, awkward, embarrassing, relatable and real. It was also very funny.

    Now Dunham brings her latest, similarly awkward comedy-drama, Too Much, to Netflix. The series follows the trials and tribulations of Jess (the brilliant Megan Stalter) as she flees New York for London with a broken heart.

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    An American with a romanticised movie-informed idea of Britain, Jess sees Blighty as some kind of fantasy creation fashioned by Jane Austen with a little help from Richard Curtis.

    She spends her days obsessing over her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend on Instagram and trying to fit into London life. And then she meets laconic musician Felix (Will Sharpe), who is determined to demolish her romantic notions of a Notting Hill-esque London. Discovering they have an instant connection, Jess is thrust back into dating again, still reeling from the PTSD of her previous relationship.

    Too Much charts the tumultuous experience of becoming an adult, as Jess experiences all the thrills and vulnerabilities of meeting someone new. Mirroring her own relocation to London, Dunham mines a rich seam of fish-out-of-water comedy as Megan navigates a new city and different culture.

    Reviewer Jane Steventon finds the show is a hopeful paean to womanhood, a declaration that messiness, failure and fear are all part of becoming a woman just as much as joy, love and intimacy.

    The idea of intimacy takes on a much darker and more troubling meaning in David Cronenberg’s latest body horror Shrouds in which the protagonist Karsh (Vincent Kassel) finds that technology can help him with the grieving process.

    Discovering that a piece of wearable tech within a shroud can allow him to watch his wife’s corpse decompose via a video link, Karsh believes this can help reclaim her from her illness. But as the plot progresses, lines blur between Karsh’s dreams and reality and the film becomes darker and more ominous.

    This deeply disturbing premise, says film expert Laura Flanagan, allows Cronenberg to explore issues of technology, control and grief, and is all the more chilling when you learn that he embarked on the film after the death of his own wife.

    Musical autobiography

    Simone de Beauvoir, the great feminist French philosopher, once opined: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Meaning, it is down to each woman to articulate and determine her own path and transcend any limits of “femininity” imposed by a patriarchal society.

    According to our reviewer Lillian Hingley, the New Zealand singer Lorde unveils that process in her latest album Virgin as she musically explores how her body is changed by what she has been through in her life.

    Hingley discovers a multi-layered collection of songs and videos that lead us through a piece of performance art examining identity, sexuality and a female reproductive system that comes fully loaded with both jeopardy and joy.

    Last week, the Disney musical Hercules opened in London so we sent along Emma Stafford, professor of Greek culture at the University of Leeds to give us her take.

    Despite finding Hercules’ trusty steed Pegasus has been written out of the show and Hades has been somewhat toned down, the innovative role of the five muses has been elevated to a spectacular cross between the chorus of a Greek tragedy and a gospel choir. A terrific cast, impressive visuals, slick stagecraft and magical special effects all mean this high-octane production will delight West End audiences.

    The book that won this year’s Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke, has two children at its centre. One is Max Johnson, a healthy nine-year-old whose heart begins to fail, and the other, nine-year-old Keira Ball, a vibrant, pony-mad little girl who is killed in a car accident. Despite their unimaginable grief, Keira’s parents decide to donate her organs. Her precious heart goes to Max, and in that unbearable gift, one child dies, and another child lives.

    Leah McLaughlin, a health services researcher who has spent her career working in the emotionally complex and often obscured world of organ donation, found the book a searingly honest account of the hope and despair of this devastating experience.

    – ref. Too much Lena Dunham, Lorde’s new album and a book to break your heart: what to watch, listen to and read this week – https://theconversation.com/too-much-lena-dunham-lordes-new-album-and-a-book-to-break-your-heart-what-to-watch-listen-to-and-read-this-week-260893

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: What would it take for a new British leftwing party to succeed?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Colm Murphy, Lecturer in British Politics, Queen Mary University of London

    Last week, the MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, made an audacious decision. Having already lost the Labour party whip for opposing the two-child benefit cap, Sultana announced she would co-lead a new leftwing party with Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from Labour in 2024.

    From one angle, her decision may seem simple. Discontent with Keir Starmer’s Labour government, on everything from welfare cuts to Gaza, has never been higher, and Sultana is a vocal critic. Yet, launching a (still unnamed) new party is bold. It tackles head-on an old and vexing question for socialist critics of capitalism in the UK.

    In 1976, the socialist theorist Ralph Miliband (yes, Ed and David’s dad) described the faith in Labour’s capacity to become a socialist vehicle as “the most crippling of all illusions”. But socialists who agree with Miliband senior then have an almighty problem.

    Writing months after the 2019 defeat of Corbyn’s Labour party, the veteran “New Left” academics Colin Leys and Leo Panitch echoed Miliband in their book Searching for Socialism. But they also saw few immediate alternatives with “any prospect of electoral success”. This, they wrote, is the “central dilemma” for British democratic socialists.

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    The reaction to Sultana’s announcement from the British left has been accordingly mixed. Leaks revealed that Corbyn’s team was caught off guard. Responses from prominent potential supporters were reserved. Momentum, the leftwing grassroots organisation, hastily distributed the pamphlet Why Socialists Should Be in the Labour Party.

    It’s too early to know whether these issues are teething problems or portents. But the barriers to Sultana’s venture are formidable. What would it take for a new leftwing party to succeed? What would “success” even look like?

    A careful reading of political history can help us answer these questions. This is not the first time that new parties have emerged from Labour factionalism. Many readers will be aware of the 1981 departure of the “gang of four” Labour figures, who founded the Social Democratic party (SDP) that later merged with the Liberal party to form the Liberal Democrats.

    Nor is it the first time that smaller parties have appeared on Labour’s left. Between 1920 and 1991, the Communist party of Great Britain was a potent force in the trade union movement. From the 1990s to the 2010s, several vehicles contested local and national elections against Labour, from the Socialist Alliance to Left Unity.

    Challenges for a new party

    Each of these iterations had its historical peculiarities. But stepping back, we can identify three recurring challenges that any leftwing insurgent party must confront.

    First, they must agree on an electoral strategy and purpose, given the institutional brutality of British democracy. The UK has some proportional elections, including in Scotland and Wales (expected to be next contested in 2026). Councils are also possible avenues of influence.

    But there is no avoiding the fact that legislative and executive power is hoarded in the House of Commons, elected by first past the post. Labour will discourage possible defectors by warning that a split in the left vote will let in the right. Neil Kinnock, Labour’s former leader who found himself fighting off the SDP while trying to evict Thatcher in the 1980s, dubbed Sultana and Corbyn’s venture the “Farage assistance party”.

    Left of Labour parties are often aware of the risk. Indeed, far left activists have in the past advocated voting Labour, with “varying degrees of (un)enthusiasm”.

    Advocates of a new party will note that Labour is only polling in the low 20s, suggesting a pool of ex-Labour voters potentially interested in shopping around. However, there are others it could torpedo too.

    One recent poll on support for a hypothetical Corbyn-led party – which we should take with some salt – found that its 10% support comes partly from eating into the Green vote. An electoral arrangement with the Greens, on the other hand, may require shared policy platforms, raising the question of why a separate party is needed.

    A poll from More in Common conducted specifically about a Sultana-Corbyn party found 9% of Labour voters and 26% of current Green voters saying that would vote for such a party.

    The Socialist Labour party (SLP) – founded in 1996 by the prominent trade unionist Arthur Scargill in reaction to Tony Blair’s New Labour – is the obvious cautionary tale. Scargill wanted a purer, better Labour party. Yet, Labour looked set to kick out an 18-year-long Conservative government.

    Scargill could not convince many sympathetic activists to join. As historian Alfie Steer argues, the SLP instead became dominated by socialists hostile to the Labour party. The party could not overcome the resultant contradictions in its purpose and collapsed into acrimony.

    The SLP also illustrates the second key consideration: timing. The SLP struggled partly because it launched just as Labour was sweeping triumphantly into power. Sultana’s timing is arguably more astute. She has waited for Starmer’s bubble to burst and for disillusionment to fester.

    However, the broad left within Labour has also just found its voice by rebelling against government policy. The temptation for a risk-averse Labour activist may be to leap onto this critical bandwagon without taking the more dangerous step of defecting.



    Read more:
    The mistakes Keir Starmer made over disability cuts – and how he can avoid future embarrassment

    Keir Starmer, then shadow Brexit secretary, accompanies then-Labour leader Corbyn to Brussels in 2019.
    Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock

    The final challenge is securing institutional durability without debilitating splits. It is telling that Sultana felt compelled to include Corbyn’s name despite his reported reservations.

    Sultana herself has an impressive political profile, especially on TikTok. Any new party will rely heavily on prominent spokespeople to force it into the national conversation. Yet, such vehicles can become trapped by their dependence on individuals. The Respect party of the 2000s, for example, was reliant on the charismatic but polarising figure of George Galloway.

    The fledgling party will also need a lasting structure that determines how candidates are selected and policy is formed. This risks dragging it into dreaded constitutional debates. It is already reportedly divided over the existence of co-leaders.

    Intra-party democracy is off-putting to outsiders. But as constitutional scholar Meg Russell argues, it speaks to fundamental questions about the extent, and limits, of democracy. Such disputes have frequently wracked the left (and the radical right, as Reform’s recent constitutional changes show).

    To what extent should policy be “democratically” decided? Should a new party limit who can join, and if so, on what criteria? How will leaders be selected? From the CPGB to the SLP, these questions have proven divisive in the past. They could easily prove so again.

    The new party faces severe challenges, but it would be unwise to write it off completely. In a volatile context, it has a chance to make its mark if it is clear in its strategic electoral purpose, cultivates an institutional and activist base and times its interventions astutely. But the obstacles to success are enormous – and with Reform currently polling top, the risks are high.

    Colm Murphy is currently a member of the Labour Party, but he is writing purely in an academic capacity.

    – ref. What would it take for a new British leftwing party to succeed? – https://theconversation.com/what-would-it-take-for-a-new-british-leftwing-party-to-succeed-260599

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: IRS says churches may endorse political candidates despite a decades-old federal statute barring them from doing that

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

    Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a church in Harlem during his failed campaign to become the Democratic nominee in the 2025 New York City mayoral race. Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service said in a legal document the tax-collection agency filed on July 7, 2025. This guidance is at odds with a law Congress passed more than 70 years ago that’s known as the Johnson Amendment and applies to all charitable nonprofits, whether they are secular or religious.

    The Conversation U.S. asked Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor who has studied the regulation of churches’ political activities, to explain what this statute is, how the IRS seeks to change its purview and why this matters.

    What’s the Johnson Amendment?

    The Johnson Amendment is a provision that Lyndon B. Johnson added to a tax bill passed by Congress in 1954, when he was a senator. It says that any charity that wants to be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code cannot “participate in, or intervene in … any political campaign on behalf of … any candidate for public office.” In the U.S., all houses of worship are designated as charities by the IRS.

    The IRS has interpreted the Johnson Amendment for more than 70 years to mean that charities cannot speak in favor of political candidates or take any other action that supports or opposes them.

    The IRS is prohibited from publicly disclosing audits of specific tax-exempt nonprofits under taxpayer privacy laws, so there’s no way to know the extent to which the law has been enforced. The public only learns about audits tied to possible Johnson Amendment violations if the nonprofit discloses that information or the IRS revoked their tax-exempt status.

    However, the IRS did conduct a broad enforcement campaign in the 2000s known as the Political Activity Compliance Initiative. The reports it issued for 2004 and 2006 stated that it had audited hundreds of charities, including churches, for possible Johnson Amendment violations. The IRS generally found that most violations were minor and often inadvertent – warranting no more than a warning letter.

    It’s unknown whether any nonprofits lost their tax-exempt status as a result of this initiative, which the IRS appears to have ended in 2008.

    There’s only one known instance of a church losing its tax-exempt status because it violated the Johnson Amendment. In that case, a church in Binghamton, New York, published full-page newspaper ads criticizing Bill Clinton during his 1992 presidential campaign.

    Why does the Trump administration want to change its enforcement?

    The National Religious Broadcasters, two churches and another religious nonprofit sued the IRS in 2024, challenging the constitutionality of the Johnson Amendment on First Amendment free speech and free exercise of religion grounds and on Fifth Amendment due process grounds. The plaintiffs also argued that applying the Johnson Amendment to religious nonprofits violated the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

    The plaintiffs and the IRS filed a joint motion on July 7 to settle the case. They asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to order the IRS not to enforce the Johnson Amendment against the two church plaintiffs. They also asked the court to incorporate in its order a statement that the Johnson Amendment does not apply to “speech by a house of worship to its congregation, in connection with religious services through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith.”

    This represents the first time the IRS has said there’s an exception to the Johnson Amendment for houses of worship. While lawmakers have periodically sought to repeal or modify the statute, neither chamber of Congress has ever passed such legislation.

    President Donald Trump asserted during his first term that he had “gotten rid of” the Johnson Amendment. But that referred to his 2017 executive order that directed the Treasury Department – to which the IRS belongs – to respect freedom of religion with respect to religious organizations speaking about political issues as “consistent with law.”

    Under the IRS interpretation of the Johnson Amendment at the time, it would not have been consistent with law for churches or other religious nonprofits to support or oppose candidates for elected public office.

    How might the IRS treat religious political activity differently?

    If the court approves this new joint motion, that order will only apply to the two churches that are plaintiffs in the case – not other religious nonprofits or the National Religious Broadcasters that joined them in suing the IRS. But the filing tells other houses of worship that the IRS will not enforce the Johnson Amendment against them for speech to their congregations, at least not during the Trump administration.

    I think that the government may have a hard time applying this exception for several reasons.

    The IRS will have to determine when a charity is a “church,” the term the IRS uses for a house of worship of any faith. That has become increasingly difficult in recent years, as some organizations that stretch the conventional definition of a church have won IRS recognition as such.

    The IRS will also have to clarify what constitutes speech made “in connection with religious services” and what are “customary channels of communication.” For example, it’s unclear whether inviting a political candidate to address the congregation about how their religious faith relates to their candidacy falls within the exception.

    Donald Trump participates in a community roundtable at a church in Detroit during his successful 2024 presidential campaign.
    Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

    Will only conservative politicians benefit?

    Establishing this exception does not necessarily give conservative politicians any advantages.

    It is true that recent attempts to repeal or modify the Johnson Amendment are associated with conservative Christian groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the plaintiffs in this lawsuit.

    But historically, many progressive houses of worship have also pushed against the Johnson Amendment, including Black churches that often serve as political as well as religious centers for their communities.

    A Texas Tribune and ProPublica investigation documented apparent violations of the Johnson Amendment in the 2022 midterm elections by almost 20 churches in Texas from across the political spectrum. Interestingly, most of the church leaders involved were aware of the amendment.

    Many said they were not violating it because they avoided explicitly endorsing candidates, while at the same time clearly expressing their support for specific candidates by, for example, praying for an individual who was identified to the congregation as a candidate.

    How could this new guidance change political campaigning?

    Americans generally don’t want to see churches get involved in politics, including majorities in most denominations. Nonetheless, church leaders of all stripes who were already inclined to support particular candidates will probably feel emboldened to explicitly endorse candidates when preaching to their congregations.

    There are two ways that this new exception could do more than that.

    First, it isn’t limited to sermons by pastors, priests, rabbis, imams and other religious leaders. It extends to any speech to a house of worship’s congregation “in connection with religious services through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith.” It therefore almost certainly includes church bulletins and other written materials distributed as part of a religious service.

    What’s less clear is whether “customary channels of communication” includes people who watch religious services streamed over the internet or on TV, rather than just those who attend services in person.

    Second, the change will increase pressure on church leaders to support candidates.

    For example, George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign reportedly sought to recruit thousands of congregations to distribute campaign information. It’s natural to expect such efforts to multiply and become more direct for both Democratic and Republican candidates from now on.

    And church leaders will also likely face pressure from politically active congregants to endorse candidates, and have a harder time resisting it.

    Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer previously worked at the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, including when the firm represented All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, California with respect to an IRS audit of the church for allegedly violating the Johnson Amendment. He was not personally involved in this representation.

    – ref. IRS says churches may endorse political candidates despite a decades-old federal statute barring them from doing that – https://theconversation.com/irs-says-churches-may-endorse-political-candidates-despite-a-decades-old-federal-statute-barring-them-from-doing-that-260854

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Jalees Rehman, Department Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Illinois Chicago

    Poorly functioning blood vessels lead to the characteristic muscle weakness that so many cancer patients experience. Artur Plawgo/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

    Tumors can destroy the blood vessels of muscles even when the muscles are nowhere close to the tumor. That is the key finding of a new study that my colleagues and I recently published in the journal Nature Cancer.

    Muscle loss in cancer patients is a major health problem, but the exact causes of how precisely tumors affect muscles remain an active area of research.

    Scientists in my lab were curious whether one explanation for the muscle loss in cancer patients could be that the cancer impairs the blood vessels that are necessary to supply nutrients and oxygen to muscles. Healthy blood vessels ensure that blood containing oxygen and nutrients is transported from the heart to all tissues and organs in the body, and then circulates back to the heart. Unhealthy blood vessels lose the ability to circulate sufficient blood and develop leaks, with nutrients seeping into the tissue prematurely and thereby cutting off the supply of nutrients to tissues that are further downstream.

    To tackle this question, my colleagues and I worked with several other scientific research teams with expertise in advanced microscopy, cancer research and metabolism. We used animal models to study several kinds of tumors – lung cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer and pancreatic cancer. We consistently observed that the blood vessels in the muscles became fewer and leakier even before the muscle weakness set in.

    We also found that tumors release a protein called Activin-A, which acts on blood vessels to cause the leakiness and, ultimately, loss of blood vessels in the muscle. When we used a gene therapy to restore blood vessel health by counteracting the effects of Activin-A, we were able to prevent the muscle loss.

    So we examined the muscles of patients who had passed away because of cancer and found that the muscles of cancer patients contained fewer blood vessels than expected.

    Why Activin-A matters

    Millions of cancer survivors struggle with muscle weakness, which can be so profound that they may have difficulties walking up a couple of flights of stairs or going shopping for groceries on their own.

    Severe muscle weakness and muscle loss during cancer is called cancer cachexia, which occurs in up to 80% of patients with advanced cancer.

    Recent research indicates that cachexia is far more common among cancer patients than previously suspected, with approximately half the patients who see their cancer doctor for the first time already showing signs of muscle weakness.

    Importantly, cachexia can persist even after the cancer is successfully treated and cured. This can have a devastating impact on the quality of life for cancer survivors.

    Our discovery that the loss of blood vessel function in the muscles occurs early on during the progression of the cancer suggests that fixing blood vessels in cancer patients and cancer survivors could be a new way to prevent or reverse cachexia.

    The reasons for the muscle loss in cancer are complicated and involve poor nutrition due to loss of appetite and inflammation, which are initially caused by the tumor but persist even when the tumor is removed.

    New research shows that lack of sufficient blood vessels could explain why many cancer survivors still experience muscle weakness even after the tumor is removed.
    FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

    What other research is being done

    There are currently no treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cachexia, but new therapies are on the horizon.

    One such therapy is an antibody drug that targets the molecule GDF-15, a protein that is thought to suppress appetite.

    Other studies are using a combination of targeted nutrition and exercise programs to help patients with cancer cachexia regain muscle mass and muscle strength.

    All these studies suggest that we will need a combination of approaches to enhance exercise, nutrition, appetite, muscle regeneration and – as we propose – blood vessel health.

    What’s next

    We are now evaluating drugs and exercise programs that are known to improve blood vessel health. Repurposing these treatments that are traditionally designed for cardiovascular patients could be a rapid way to help cancer patients regain muscle strength.

    We hope that our work highlights how important it is for cancer patients to receive comprehensive medical care, which includes improving cardiovascular health and overall quality of life.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Jalees Rehman receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research – https://theconversation.com/muscle-weakness-in-cancer-survivors-may-be-caused-by-treatable-weakness-in-blood-vessels-new-research-259765

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: AI in health care could save lives and money − but change won’t happen overnight

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Turgay Ayer, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

    AI will help human physicians by analyzing patient data prior to surgery. Boy_Anupong/Moment via Getty Images

    Imagine walking into your doctor’s office feeling sick – and rather than flipping through pages of your medical history or running tests that take days, your doctor instantly pulls together data from your health records, genetic profile and wearable devices to help decipher what’s wrong.

    This kind of rapid diagnosis is one of the big promises of artificial intelligence for use in health care. Proponents of the technology say that over the coming decades, AI has the potential to save hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives.

    What’s more, a 2023 study found that if the health care industry significantly increased its use of AI, up to US$360 billion annually could be saved.

    But though artificial intelligence has become nearly ubiquitous, from smartphones to chatbots to self-driving cars, its impact on health care so far has been relatively low.

    A 2024 American Medical Association survey found that 66% of U.S. physicians had used AI tools in some capacity, up from 38% in 2023. But most of it was for administrative or low-risk support. And although 43% of U.S. health care organizations had added or expanded AI use in 2024, many implementations are still exploratory, particularly when it comes to medical decisions and diagnoses.

    I’m a professor and researcher who studies AI and health care analytics. I’ll try to explain why AI’s growth will be gradual, and how technical limitations and ethical concerns stand in the way of AI’s widespread adoption by the medical industry.

    Inaccurate diagnoses, racial bias

    Artificial intelligence excels at finding patterns in large sets of data. In medicine, these patterns could signal early signs of disease that a human physician might overlook – or indicate the best treatment option, based on how other patients with similar symptoms and backgrounds responded. Ultimately, this will lead to faster, more accurate diagnoses and more personalized care.

    AI can also help hospitals run more efficiently by analyzing workflows, predicting staffing needs and scheduling surgeries so that precious resources, such as operating rooms, are used most effectively. By streamlining tasks that take hours of human effort, AI can let health care professionals focus more on direct patient care.

    But for all its power, AI can make mistakes. Although these systems are trained on data from real patients, they can struggle when encountering something unusual, or when data doesn’t perfectly match the patient in front of them.

    As a result, AI doesn’t always give an accurate diagnosis. This problem is called algorithmic drift – when AI systems perform well in controlled settings but lose accuracy in real-world situations.

    Racial and ethnic bias is another issue. If data includes bias because it doesn’t include enough patients of certain racial or ethnic groups, then AI might give inaccurate recommendations for them, leading to misdiagnoses. Some evidence suggests this has already happened.

    Humans and AI are beginning to work together at this Florida hospital.

    Data-sharing concerns, unrealistic expectations

    Health care systems are labyrinthian in their complexity. The prospect of integrating artificial intelligence into existing workflows is daunting; introducing a new technology like AI disrupts daily routines. Staff will need extra training to use AI tools effectively. Many hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices simply don’t have the time, personnel, money or will to implement AI.

    Also, many cutting-edge AI systems operate as opaque “black boxes.” They churn out recommendations, but even its developers might struggle to fully explain how. This opacity clashes with the needs of medicine, where decisions demand justification.

    But developers are often reluctant to disclose their proprietary algorithms or data sources, both to protect intellectual property and because the complexity can be hard to distill. The lack of transparency feeds skepticism among practitioners, which then slows regulatory approval and erodes trust in AI outputs. Many experts argue that transparency is not just an ethical nicety but a practical necessity for adoption in health care settings.

    There are also privacy concerns; data sharing could threaten patient confidentiality. To train algorithms or make predictions, medical AI systems often require huge amounts of patient data. If not handled properly, AI could expose sensitive health information, whether through data breaches or unintended use of patient records.

    For instance, a clinician using a cloud-based AI assistant to draft a note must ensure no unauthorized party can access that patient’s data. U.S. regulations such as the HIPAA law impose strict rules on health data sharing, which means AI developers need robust safeguards.

    Privacy concerns also extend to patients’ trust: If people fear their medical data might be misused by an algorithm, they may be less forthcoming or even refuse AI-guided care.

    The grand promise of AI is a formidable barrier in itself. Expectations are tremendous. AI is often portrayed as a magical solution that can diagnose any disease and revolutionize the health care industry overnight. Unrealistic assumptions like that often lead to disappointment. AI may not immediately deliver on its promises.

    Finally, developing an AI system that works well involves a lot of trial and error. AI systems must go through rigorous testing to make certain they’re safe and effective. This takes years, and even after a system is approved, adjustments may be needed as it encounters new types of data and real-world situations.

    AI could rapidly accelerate the discovery of new medications.

    Incremental change

    Today, hospitals are rapidly adopting AI scribes that listen during patient visits and automatically draft clinical notes, reducing paperwork and letting physicians spend more time with patients. Surveys show over 20% of physicians now use AI for writing progress notes or discharge summaries. AI is also becoming a quiet force in administrative work. Hospitals deploy AI chatbots to handle appointment scheduling, triage common patient questions and translate languages in real time.

    Clinical uses of AI exist but are more limited. At some hospitals, AI is a second eye for radiologists looking for early signs of disease. But physicians are still reluctant to hand decisions over to machines; only about 12% of them currently rely on AI for diagnostic help.

    Suffice to say that health care’s transition to AI will be incremental. Emerging technologies need time to mature, and the short-term needs of health care still outweigh long-term gains. In the meantime, AI’s potential to treat millions and save trillions awaits.

    Turgay Ayer owns shares in Value Analytics Labs, a healthcare technology company. He received funding from government agencies, including NSF, NIH, and CDC.

    – ref. AI in health care could save lives and money − but change won’t happen overnight – https://theconversation.com/ai-in-health-care-could-save-lives-and-money-but-change-wont-happen-overnight-241551

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Why do so many American workers feel guilty about taking the vacation they’ve earned?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Karen Tan, Assistant Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Middle Tennessee State University

    The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t legally mandate a minimum number of vacation days. Comstock Images/Stockbyte via Getty Images

    “My dedication was questioned.”

    “Managers or upper management have looked down upon taking time off.”

    “People think that maybe you’re not as invested in the job, that you’re shirking your duties or something.”

    These are just a few of the responses to questions I asked during a study I conducted on vacation guilt among American workers.

    More than 88% of full-time, private sector workers in the U.S. receive paid time off. This benefit is ostensibly in place to improve employee morale and well-being.

    Yet a 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that nearly half of American workers don’t take all the vacation days they’ve been allotted. And many of them feel as if they’re discouraged from using their time off. Ironically, what’s supposed to be a source of relaxation and restoration morphs into a stressor: As vacations approach, feelings of doubt and guilt creep in.

    I’m from Singapore. Upon moving to the U.S. in 2016, I was surprised at how pervasive vacation guilt appeared to be.

    Compared with many of the other countries where I’ve lived or worked, American culture seems to prioritize mental health and wellness. I assumed these attitudes extended to the American workplace.

    Surprisingly, though, I noticed that many of my American friends felt guilty about taking time off that they’d earned. So as a scholar of tourism and hospitality, I wanted to understand how and why this happened.

    Vacation guilt

    To carry out the study, I collaborated with tourism scholar Robert Li. We interviewed 15 workers who had experienced feelings of guilt over taking time off. We also administered an online survey to 860 full-time employees who received paid time off from their employers.

    We wanted to know whether employees felt less respected or believed that their bosses and colleagues saw them in a worse light for taking time off. Maybe they feared being seen as slackers or, worse, replaceable.

    We found that 1 in 5 respondents to our survey experienced vacation guilt, and these concerns made them think twice about following through with their vacation plans. For those who eventually did take a vacation, they often tried to ease their guilt by going for fewer days. They might also apologize for taking a vacation or avoid talking about their vacation plans at work.

    Some of the people we interviewed had pushed through their hesitation and taken their vacation as planned. Yet all of these employees believed that they’d been penalized for taking time off and that it led to poor performance reviews, despite the fact that their paid vacation days had been a clearly articulated, earned benefit.

    The US is an outlier

    The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t legally mandate a minimum number of vacation days. On top of that, only a handful of states require workers to be compensated for their unused vacation days.

    Meanwhile, the law in other advanced economies entitles employees to a minimum amount of annual paid leave. The EU, for example, mandates at least 20 days per year on top of paid public holidays, such as Christmas and New Year’s Day, with a number of EU member countries requiring more than 20 days of paid vacation for full-time employees. Even in Japan, which is notorious for its workaholic culture, employees are entitled to a minimum of 10 days of paid leave every year.

    Throughout much of the U.S., whether paid vacation time is offered at all depends on an employer’s generosity, while many employees face a “use-it-or-lose-it” situation, meaning unused vacation days don’t roll over from one year to the next.

    Of course, not all workers experience vacation guilt. Nonetheless, the guilt that so many workers do feel may be symbolic of broader issues: an unhealthy workplace culture, a toxic boss or a weak social safety net.

    For paid time off to serve its purpose, I think employers need to provide more than vacation days. They also need to have a supportive culture that readily encourages employees to use this benefit without having to worry about repercussions.

    The journal publication on which this article was based was supported by the inaugural Seed Funding Forum, Fox
    School of Business, Temple University, USA.

    – ref. Why do so many American workers feel guilty about taking the vacation they’ve earned? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-so-many-american-workers-feel-guilty-about-taking-the-vacation-theyve-earned-254913

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Nathan Meyers, Ph.D. candidate in sociology (September 2025 degree conferral), UMass Amherst

    Demonstrators march outside the U.S. Capitol during the Poor People’s Campaign rally at the National Mall in Washington on June 23, 2018. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

    America has never been richer. But the gains are so lopsided that the top 10% controls 69% of all wealth in the country, while the bottom half controls just 3%. Meanwhile, surging corporate profits have mostly benefited investors, not the broader public.

    This divide is expected to widen after President Donald Trump’s sweeping new spending bill drastically cuts Medicaid and food aid, programs that stabilize the economy and subsidize low-wage employers.

    Moreover, the tax cuts at the heart of the bill will deliver tens of billions of dollars in benefits to the wealthiest households while disproportionately burdening low-income households, according to analyses by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation. By 2033, the bottom 20% will pay more in taxes while the top 0.1% receive $43 billion in cuts.

    I am a sociologist who studies economic inequality, and my research demonstrates that the class-based inequalities exacerbated by the Trump bill are not new. Rather, they are part of a 50-year trend linked to social cleavages, political corruption and a declining belief in the common good.

    The roots of class-based inequality

    The decades following World War II were broadly prosperous, but conditions began changing in the 1970s. Class inequality has increased enormously since then, according to government data, while income inequality has risen for five decades at the expense of workers.

    Economists usually gauge a country’s economic health by looking at its gross domestic product as measured through total spending on everything from groceries to patents.

    But another way to view GDP is by looking at whether the money goes to workers or business owners. This second method – the income approach – offers a clearer picture of who really benefits from economic growth.

    The money that goes to labor’s share of GDP, or workers, is represented by employee compensation, including wages, salaries and benefits. The money left over for businesses after paying for work and materials is called gross operating surplus, or business surplus.

    The share of GDP going to workers rose 12% from 1947 to 1970, then fell 14% between 1970 and 2023. The opposite happened with the business surplus, falling 18% in the early postwar decades before jumping 34% from 1970 to today.

    Meanwhile, corporate profits have outpaced economic growth by 193% since 1970. Within profits, shareholder dividends as a share of GDP grew 274%.

    As of 2023, labor had lost all of the economic gains made since 1947. Had workers kept their 1970 share of GDP, they would have earned $1.7 trillion more in 2023 alone. And no legislation or federal action since 1970 has reversed this half-century trend.

    When more of the economy goes to businesses instead of workers, that poses serious social problems. My research focuses on three that threaten democracy.

    1. Fraying social bonds and livelihoods

    Not just an issue of income and assets, growing class inequality represents the fraying of American society.

    For instance, inequality and the resulting hardship are linked to worse health outcomes. Americans die younger than their peers in other rich countries, and U.S. life expectancy has decreased, especially among the poor.

    Moreover, economic struggles contribute to mental health issues, deaths of despair and profound problems such as addiction, including tobacco, alcohol and opioid abuse.

    Inequality can disrupt families. Kids who experience the stresses of poverty can develop neurological and emotional problems, putting them at risk for drug use as adults. On the other hand, when minimum wages increase and people begin saving wealth, divorce risk falls.

    Research shows inequality has many other negative consequences, from reduced social mobility to lower social trust and even higher homicide rates.

    Together, these broad social consequences are linked to misery, political discontent and normlessness.

    2. Increasing corruption in politics

    Inequality is rising in the U.S. largely because business elites are exercising more influence over policy outcomes, research shows. My related work on privatization explains how 50 years of outsourcing public functions – through contracting, disinvestment and job cuts – threatens democratic accountability.

    Research across different countries has repeatedly found that higher income inequality increases political corruption. It does so by undermining trust in government and institutions, and enabling elites to dominate policymaking while weakening public oversight.

    Since 2010, weakened campaign finance laws driven by monied interests have sharply increased corruption risks. The Supreme Court ruled then in Citizens United to lift campaign finance restrictions, enabling unlimited political spending. It reached an apex in 2024, when Elon Musk spent $200 million to elect Trump before later installing his Starlink equipment onto Federal Aviation Administration systems in a reported takeover of a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon.

    Research shows that a large majority of Americans believe that the economy is rigged, suggesting everyday people sense the link between inequality and corruption.

    Demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington as the court heard arguments on campaign finance in 2013.
    AP Photo/Susan Walsh

    3. Undermining belief in the common good

    National aspirations have emphasized the common good since America’s founding. The Declaration of Independence lists the king’s first offense as undermining the “public good” by subverting the rule of law. The Constitution’s preamble commits the government to promoting the general welfare and shared well-being.

    But higher inequality historically means the common good goes overlooked, according to research. Meanwhile, work has become more precarious, less unionized, more segmented and less geographically stable. Artificial intelligence may worsen these trends.

    This tends to coincide with a drop in voting and other forms of civic engagement.

    The government has fewer mechanisms for protecting community when rising inequality is paired with lower taxes for the wealthy and reduced public resources. My research finds that public sector unions especially bolster civic engagement in this environment.

    Given increasing workplace and social isolation, America’s loneliness epidemic is unsurprising, especially for low earners.

    All of these factors and their contribution to alienation can foster authoritarian beliefs and individualism. When people become cold and distrustful of one another, the notion of the common good collapses.

    Inequality as a policy outcome

    News coverage of the Trump bill and policy debate have largely centered on immediate gains and losses. But zoomed out, a clearer picture emerges of the long-term dismantling of foundations that once supported broad economic security. That, in turn, has enabled democratic decline.

    As labor’s share of the economy declined, so too did the institutional trust and shared social values that underpin democratic life. Among the many consequences are the political discontent and disillusionment shaping our current moment.

    Republicans hold both chambers of Congress through 2026, making significant policy changes unlikely in the short term. Democrats opposed the bill but are out of power. And their coalition is divided between a centrist establishment and an insurgent progressive wing with diverging priorities in addressing inequality.

    Yet democratic decline and inequality are not inevitable. If restoring broad prosperity and social stability are the goals, they may require revisiting the New Deal-style policies that produced labor’s peak economic share of 59% of GDP in 1970.

    Nathan Meyers 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. Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy – https://theconversation.com/inequality-has-risen-from-1970-to-trump-that-has-3-hidden-costs-that-undermine-democracy-259104

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Spotted lanternflies love grapevines, and that’s bad for Pennsylvania’s wine industry

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Flor Acevedo, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Penn State

    Adult spotted lanternflies infest areas of Pennsylvania from July to December. Lauren A. Little/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

    Spotted lanternfly season is back in Pennsylvania. The polka-dotted, gray-and-red-winged adult insects make their appearance each July and tend to hang around until December. It’s an unwelcome summer ritual that started in 2014 when the invasive pests were first detected in the U.S.

    The Conversation U.S. talked to Flor Acevedo, an assistant professor of entomology at Penn State University, about the bugs and her research on how lanternflies are threatening the state’s vineyards and wine industry.

    Does Pennsylvania have many vineyards?

    Pennsylvania has more than 400 wineries with about 14,000 acres planted in vineyards, according to the Pennsylvania Wine Association. The industry generates about US$7 billion in total economic activity. Erie County, where I live, has about 70% of Pennsylvania’s vineyard acreage, with the rest scattered across the state.

    What do lanternflies do to grapevines?

    The spotted lanternfly feeds on many plants, but its preferred hosts are the Tree of Heaven, an invasive plant introduced to Philadelphia from China in 1784, and grapevines.

    Entomologist Flor Acevedo counts spotted lanternflies on a Tree of Heaven plant.
    Flor E. Acevedo

    Extensive feeding by these sap-sucking insects can weaken grapevines and, when combined with other stressors such as diseases or frosty winters, can kill the vines. While spotted lanternflies feed on other important crops such as apple trees, they have been lethal only to grapevines and Tree of Heaven plants.

    Feeding can also reduce yield and fruit quality, which affects juice and wine quality.

    Tell us about your lanternfly experiments

    My lab initially investigated whether spotted lanternflies could survive to adulthood and reproduce when feeding exclusively on grapevines. This would help us determine whether the insects could thrive in regions with extensive grapevine cultivation.

    We found they do survive, but their fitness is severely reduced. Insects feeding solely on grapevines had high mortality, slower development and laid fewer eggs when compared with those that had access to a mixed diet of Tree of Heaven and grapevines.

    Our next question was whether different grapes would be equally suitable for spotted lanternfly survival and reproduction. In the U.S. we grow native grapevines such as Concord and muscadine as well as vines of European origin. We found that spotted lanternflies did not survive to adulthood when they fed only on muscadine grapevines.

    We have also partnered with colleagues specialized in plant science, food science and agricultural economics to investigate the effects of spotted lanternfly feeding on grapevine yield and wine and juice quality.

    This research group enclosed both red and white grapevines – Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay – in mesh cages in the field and infested them with between 20 and 350 spotted lanternflies per vine. We wanted to determine the effect of constant adult insect feeding on grapevine yield, fruit sugars and phenolics, which are chemical compounds that are important for wine color, flavor and aroma. We also wanted to know the density of infestation that would induce changes in yield and fruit and wine quality.

    Researchers infested grapevines with lanternflies to see how they affect yield and fruit quality.
    Flor E. Acevedo

    We found a decrease in sugar content in the fruit within a single season, as well as a decrease in phenolics in red wine. We also found a reduction in yield after the second year of consecutive insect feeding.

    These findings suggest that, if not controlled, spotted lanternfly adult feeding could reduce income to growers by reducing yield and could affect the wine industry by reducing the quality of the drink.

    How worried are Pennsylvania winemakers and how are they responding?

    Perceptions vary depending on whether the winery or vineyard is in an area that has already been infested.

    Those that have been dealing with lanternflies for a few years have established protocols for pest monitoring and applying insecticides. But those that haven’t experienced it yet are concerned about the insect’s arrival on their properties.

    Owners of organic vineyards are also concerned, but there are few of those in this region.

    Wineries are being affected by spotted lanternflies in at least two ways. First, for those that grow grapes, lanternflies have increased their costs due to the extra labor and insecticide applications needed to control them. Second, for wineries that are agrotourism sites, they need to keep outdoor seating spaces neat and free from lanternflies.

    Spotted lanternfly nymphs crawl across a Tree of Heaven stem.
    Natalie Kolb/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

    As an entomologist, what do you find most fascinating about these creatures?

    Most insects that feed on plants lay their eggs close to a food source for the young to feed on when they hatch. But spotted lanternflies lay their eggs on almost anything – car tires, field equipment, rocks, fabrics, old wood, cardboard. This behavior facilitates the insect’s dispersal, as eggs can be easily transported without being noticed. Once the eggs hatch, the nymphs search for young plant shoots or herbaceous plants to eat.

    Anything else people in Pennsylvania should know as they see lanternflies again this summer?

    I think it’s important for the public to know that, as pretty as some of us may find spotted lanternflies, these insects are invasive, damaging and affecting the state economy. Everybody can help stop the spread of these insects by killing and avoiding transporting them at any living stage.

    Spotted lanternflies lay eggs in masses. These masses look like light grayish-brown, mudlike or puttylike patches, typically about an inch long, and they are found on various surfaces. At any life stage the insects can be killed by squishing them, immersing them in hand sanitizer or freezing them for several days.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

    Flor Acevedo has received funding for her research from the USDA Crop Protection and Pest Management program (2023-70006-40597), the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board, the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the Penn State University College of Agriculture, and the John H. and Timothy R. Crouch Endowment Grant for Viticulture, Enology, and Pomology Research.

    – ref. Spotted lanternflies love grapevines, and that’s bad for Pennsylvania’s wine industry – https://theconversation.com/spotted-lanternflies-love-grapevines-and-thats-bad-for-pennsylvanias-wine-industry-260374

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Cambodia: Revocation of citizenship would be heinous violation of international law – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Responding to a National Assembly-approved amendment to the Cambodian Constitution that allows for the revocation of Khmer citizenship, Amnesty International’s Regional Research Director Montse Ferrer said:

    “As the proposal moves closer to becoming reality, anyone who speaks out against or opposes the ruling party will be at risk of having their citizenship revoked. We are deeply concerned that the Cambodian government, given the power to strip people of their citizenship, will misuse it to crackdown on its critics and make them stateless.

    “Revoking citizenship can violate many rights, including the rights to a nationality, to enter your own country and to take part in the conduct of public affairs. Without citizenship, people may not be able to access healthcare, get a job, go to school, migrate or get married. Stateless individuals often face social exclusion, discrimination and are at risk of exploitation and abuse. For many Cambodians, their Khmer citizenship is akin to their identity.  

    “Despite this repressive amendment moving forward, it comes against a backdrop where the Cambodian authorities have completely failed to safeguard the independence and integrity of the country’s courts – a failure further compounded by the Constitutional Council stating an amendment was possible. Judicial independence is key to safeguarding people’s rights including the right to nationality and reversing a culture of impunity. This has enabled the government’s authoritarian practices to continue unchecked, such as its persecution of opposition leaders, activists and independent journalists.

    “Revoking citizenship often violates human rights, and when done in a way that renders people stateless is a dangerous step that is prohibited under international law. Revoking a person’s citizenship must not become a political tool to silence and intimidate critical voices, and Cambodian authorities must immediately reverse the amendment, end their authoritarian practices and uphold their international human rights obligations and the rule of law. The international community should publicly condemn the Cambodian government’s heinous proposed amendment to the constitution.”

     

    Background

    On 11 July, an extraordinary session of the National Assembly was convened in which a draft amendment to the Constitution that would allow for the revocation of Khmer citizenship was debated and approved.

    President of the Senate, Hun Sen, had previously called on Cambodia’s Minister of Justice to consider the proposal to amend the Constitution. On 27 June, he said in a speech that this proposal was to “revoke citizenship from Cambodians who side with foreign nations to harm our country”.

    The National Assembly-approved amendment to the constitution adds in new language to the effect of “[r]eceiving and losing and revoking Khmer nationality shall be determined by law.”

    The Constitutional Council of Cambodia said on 2 July that a proposed amendment to Article 33 of the Cambodian Constitution was possible. Article 33, before amendment, stated that: “Khmer citizens shall not be deprived of their nationality … [and] Khmer citizens residing abroad enjoy the protection of the State. The acquisition of Cambodian nationality is determined by law.”

    Cambodia has been ruled for decades by the Cambodian People’s Party, which controls the judiciary and military.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and academic performance

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Margaret Murray, Associate Professor of Public Communication and Culture Studies, University of Michigan

    New laws that ban smartphones or social media for youth are being introduced across several Western nations. SeventyFour/iStock via Getty Images

    The number of states banning smartphones in schools is growing.

    New York is now the largest state in the U.S. to ban smartphones in public schools. Starting in fall 2025, students will not be allowed to use their phones during the school day, including during lunch, recess or in between classes. This bell-to-bell policy will impact almost 2.5 million students in grades K-12.

    By banning smartphones in schools, New York is joining states across the country. The bans are happening in both traditionally liberal and conservative states.

    Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and West Virginia all passed legislation in 2025 that requires schools to have policies that limit access to smartphones. The policies will go into effect in the 2025-2026 school year. This brings the total to 17 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have phone-free school legislation or executive orders.

    I’m a professor who studies communication and culture, and while writing a book about parenting culture, I’ve noticed the narrative around smartphones and social media shifting over the past decade.

    A turning tide

    Statewide cellphone policies are gaining momentum, with many states aiming to restrict use of the devices in classrooms.
    Thomas Barwick/Digital Vision via Getty Images

    According to the Pew Research Center, 67% of American adults support banning smartphones during class time, although only 36% support banning them for the entire school day. Notably, a majority of Republican, Democratic and independent voters all support bans during class time.

    More broadly, parent-led movements to limit children’s use of smartphones, social media and the internet have sprung up around the country. For example, the Phone-Free Schools Movement in Pennsylvania was launched in 2023, and Mothers Against Media Addiction started in New York in March 2024. These organizations, which empower parents to advocate in their local communities, follow in the footsteps of organizations such as Wait Until 8th in Texas and Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay in Massachusetts, which were formed in 2017.

    The concerns of these parent-led organizations were reflected in the best-selling book “The Anxious Generation,” which paints a bleak picture of modern childhood as dominated by depression and anxiety brought on by smartphone addiction.

    Phone-free schools are one of the four actions the book’s author, Jonathan Haidt, recommended to change course. The other three are no smartphones for children before high school, waiting until 16 for social media access, and allowing more childhood independence in the real world.

    Haidt’s research team collaborated with The Harris Poll to survey Gen Z. They found that almost half of those age 18-27 wish social media had never been invented, and 21% wish smartphones had never been invented. About 40% of Gen Z respondents supported phone-free schools.

    The Pew Research Center found that almost 40% of kids age 8-12 use social media, and almost 95% of kids age 13-17 use it, with nearly half of teens reporting that they use social media almost constantly.

    Phone-free schools are also part of the larger trend of states and nations resisting Big Tech, the large technology companies that play a significant role in global commerce.

    In May 2025, two U.S. senators introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would require mental health warnings on social media.

    New laws that ban smartphones or social media for youth are being introduced across several Western nations. Australia has banned all social media for those under 16.

    After a fatal stabbing at a middle school in eastern France on June 10, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the same day that he wants the European Union to set the minimum age for social media at 15. He argued that social media is a factor in teen violence. If the EU doesn’t act within a few months, Macron has pledged to enact a ban in France as soon as possible.

    The impact on learning

    Research suggests that students are less focused in class when they have access to cellphones.
    isuzek/E+ via Getty Images

    Although this trend of restricting use of phones in school is new, more states may adopt smartphone bans in the future. Bell-to-bell bans are viewed as especially powerful in improving academic performance.

    Some research has suggested that when children have access to a smartphone, even if they do not use it, they find it harder to focus in class. Initial research has found that academic performance improves after the bans go into effect.

    Test scores fell across the U.S. during the pandemic lockdown and have not returned to prepandemic levels. Some states, such as Maine and Oregon, are almost a full year behind grade level in reading. Not a single state has recovered in both math and reading.

    Statewide bans free local school districts from having to create their own technology bans, which can lead to heated debates. Although a majority of adults approve of banning smartphones in class, 24% oppose it for reasons such as wanting to be able to contact their kids throughout the day and wanting parents to set the boundaries.

    However, 72% of high school teachers say that phones are a major distraction. Anecdotally, schools report that students like the bans after getting used to the change.

    I signed the Wait Until 8th pledge mentioned in the article, promising not to give my kids a smartphone or social media until at least the end of 8th grade.

    – ref. School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and academic performance – https://theconversation.com/school-smartphone-bans-reflect-growing-concern-over-youth-mental-health-and-academic-performance-259962

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Economy – Global Barometers rise in July – KOF

    Source: KOF Economic Institute

    For the second consecutive month, the Coincident and Leading Barometers rise in July. However, they have not yet recovered the losses incurred between March and May. Despite these increases, the indicators continue to suggest that the global economic growth rate will remain modest in 2025.

    In July, the Global Economic Coincident Barometer rises by 1.5 points to 95.4 points, and the Leading Barometer increases by 1.0 point to 97.4 points. The results are mainly driven by the Asia, Pacific & Africa region.

    “Although geopolitical risks and the resulting economic uncertainty have not disappeared, the Global Barometers suggest a slight improvement towards long-term averages. However, new information reflecting divergent monetary policies among major central banks, ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the vulnerability of global growth to trade shocks indicates that, while major economies are avoiding recession, growth remains fragile. Elevated policy uncertainty, persistent inflationary pressures in certain regions and geopolitical tensions combine to create a challenging environment for stable economic growth”, comments KOF Director Jan-Egbert Sturm the latest results.

    Coincident Barometer – regions and sectors

    The 1.5-point increase in the Coincident Barometer in July results from positive contributions of 0.9 and 0.5 points from the Asia, Pacific & Africa and Western Hemisphere regions, respectively. The Europe indicator contributes modestly with 0.1 points to the aggregated result. Despite the second consecutive increase, the Western Hemisphere indicator continues to show the lowest level among the regional coincident indicators.

    All five coincident sectoral indicators rise in July, with Services ending a sequence of five consecutive declines and Trade, along with Construction, recording levels above the 100-point mark.

    Leading Barometer – regions and sectors

    In July, the 1.0-point increase in the Global Leading Barometer results from a positive contribution of 1.0 point from the Asia, Pacific & Africa region, while the Western Hemisphere decreases moderately by 0.1 point and Europe remains unchanged. All three regions show moderate growth for the coming months. The Leading Global Barometer leads the world economic growth rate cycle by three to six months on average.

    Among the leading sectoral indicators, only Construction does not rise in the month, recording its third consecutive decrease. Despite this, it continues to show the highest level among the sectors. All leading sectoral indicators remain below the neutral 100-point level.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Crypto – Bitcoin hits all-time high as political will and institutional action accelerate – deVere Group

    Source: deVere Group

    July 10 2025 – Bitcoin surged above $112,000 this week for the first time, driven by mounting political momentum, regulatory repositioning, and strategic allocations from both corporations and sovereign entities, says deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and asset management organizations.

    “The shift is clear and aggressive,” said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group. “Bitcoin is being pulled into the core of national economic thinking in the US – the world’s largest economy – and also corporate treasury policy, and institutional portfolios. This isn’t hype. This is capital following political will.”

    The Trump administration is sending unmistakable signals. Senior Treasury officials have confirmed internal reviews are underway on the potential inclusion of Bitcoin in US reserve strategy.

    Also committees continue to receive Bitcoin contributions, discussions between policymakers and digital asset custodians are ongoing, and new legislation supporting digital asset classification, custody, and tax treatment is gaining bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.

    “When a sitting administration is weighing Bitcoin as part of sovereign reserves, that reshapes the global risk framework,” said Nigel. “It doesn’t just legitimize Bitcoin, it forces others—institutions and governments alike—to act.”

    Elon Musk’s newly formed America Party has pushed Bitcoin further into the national conversation.

    In his Independence Day speech, Musk positioned Bitcoin as the foundation of economic resilience.

    This has reignited interest across retail platforms and triggered increased flows from politically aligned investor groups.

    “Musk is giving Bitcoin further ideological weight and policy relevance,” says the deVere CEO.

    “That moves markets. His reach is unmatched, and he’s aligning it with a monetary vision that resonates with a generation raised on decentralized tech.”

    At the regulatory level, the SEC has softened its stance. Several enforcement actions have been withdrawn, and spot Bitcoin ETFs are moving through review with renewed agency engagement. Regulators are now focused on operational safeguards and disclosure standards. “The era of blanket resistance appears to be over,” notes Nigel Green.

    “Regulatory friction held back institutional involvement for years. Now that it’s easing, we’re seeing fresh inflows from asset managers who were waiting for exactly this moment.”

    Corporates are moving aggressively. MicroStrategy added $2 billion in Bitcoin in June, pushing its total above 300,000 BTC. Seventeen publicly listed companies disclosed Bitcoin holdings in recent filings, with more deploying capital through custodial structures and ETFs. Firms are integrating it into liquidity and risk frameworks.

    “Boards are acting to preserve value through a cycle of rising debt and monetary uncertainty,” explains Nigel Green. “Bitcoin gives them optionality, mobility, and a non-correlated reserve that holds its form under stress.”

    Sovereign institutions are advancing too. Pakistan has begun holding state-mined Bitcoin through its central bank.

    The Czech National Bank is reviewing Bitcoin for potential inclusion in foreign reserves.

    Sovereign wealth funds across Southeast Asia and Latin America are now engaged in operational discussions with digital custodians. While not all activity is being publicized, it is being closely tracked by global capital.

    “These are central banks, state treasuries, and sovereign wealth funds treating Bitcoin as a strategic asset. They’re not chasing headlines. They’re preparing for what comes next.”

    Market data supports the shift. More than $340 million in short liquidations were triggered around the $112,000 breakout, according to data. Spot ETF inflows remain steady. Institutional buyers are dominating recent volume, with fewer retail-driven spikes and more structured accumulation.

     “Governments and political figures are reshaping the environment Bitcoin operates in, and institutions—including corporate treasuries—are responding with deliberate allocation,” concludes Nigel Green.

     “The new all-time highs are being powered by political and regulatory will that are unlocking new channels for capital, and by the growing acceptance that Bitcoin now plays a strategic role in global finance.”

    deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: This tropical plant builds isolated ‘apartments’ to prevent battles among the aggressive ant tenants it relies on for survival

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Guillaume Chomicki, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Durham University

    When aggressive ant species come in contact, deadly conflicts ensue G. Chomicki

    In the middle of the South Pacific, a group of Fijian plants have solved a problem that has long puzzled scientists: How can an organism cooperate with multiple partners that are in turn competing for the same resources? The solution turns out to be simple – compartmentalization.

    Imagine an apartment building where unfriendly neighbors might clash if they run into each other, but smart design keeps everyone peacefully separated. In our new research published in the journal Science, we show how certain plants build specialized structures that allow multiple aggressive ant species to live side by side inside them without ever meeting.

    Ants and plants cooperate in Fijian rainforest

    Squamellaria plants are epiphytes – meaning they don’t have roots attached to the ground, and instead grow on another plant for physical support. They live high up in the rainforest canopy, in the South Pacific.

    Because they don’t have direct access to the soil’s nutrients, Squamellaria plants have evolved an original strategy to acquire what they need: In a mutually beneficial relationship, they grow structures that appeal to ants looking for a place to live. This kind of long-term relationship between species – whether helpful or harmful – is called symbiosis.

    Here’s how it works in this case. The base of the Squamellaria plant stem forms a swollen, hollow structure called a domatium – a perfect place for ants to live. Domatia gradually enlarge to the size of a soccer ball, containing ever more plant-made houses ready for ants to move into. Each apartment can house a colony made up of thousands of ants.

    A multicompartment Squamellaria (S. tenuiflora) in its natural habitat: rainforests in Fiji. This large plant likely contains a dozen or more compartments.
    G. Chomicki

    The relationship between the ants and the plants is mutualistic, meaning both parties benefit. The ants gain a nice sturdy and private nest space, while the plants gain essential nutrients. They obtain nitrogen and phosphorus from the ants’ feces and from detritus – including dead insects, plant bits and soil – that the ants bring inside the domatium.

    However, tropical rainforest canopies are battlegrounds for survival. Ants compete fiercely for nesting space, taking over any hollow branch or space under tree bark. Any Squamellaria ant house would thus be at risk of being colonized and taken over by other incoming ants, disrupting the existing partnership.

    Until now, it was unclear how the cooperative relationships between ants and plants remain stable in this competitive environment.

    Walls keep the peace

    Our first hint about what keeps the peace in the Squamellaria real estate came when we discovered several ant species living in the same plant domatium. This finding just didn’t make sense. How could aggressively competing ant species live together?

    We investigated the structure of domatia using computed-tomography scanning, which revealed an interesting internal architecture. Each plant domatium is divided into distinct compartments, with thick walls isolating each unit. Independent entrances prevent direct contact between the inhabitants of different units. The walls safeguard the peace as they prevent encounters between different ant species.

    A 3D model of a Squamellaria tenuiflora domatiium based on CT-scanning data reveals its compartmentalization. Each color-coded cavity is a distinct ‘ant apartment,’ isolated of the others, but connected to the outside.
    S. Renner & G. Chomicki

    Back in the lab, when we removed the ant apartments’ walls, placing inhabitants in contact with their neighbors, deadly fights broke out between ant species. The compartmentalized architecture is thus critical in preventing symbiont “wars” and maintaining the stability of the plant’s partnership with all the ants that call it home. By minimizing deadly conflicts that could harm the ants it hosts, this strategy ensures that the plant retains access to sufficient nutrients provided by the ants.

    This research reveals a new mechanism that solves a long-standing riddle – the stability of symbioses involving multiple unrelated partners. Scientists hadn’t previously discovered aggressive animal symbionts living together inside a single plant host. Our study reveals for the first time how simple compartmentalization is a highly effective way to reduce conflict, even in the most extreme cases. The ant colonies are living side by side, but not really together.

    What’s next

    The key to conflict-free living of multipartner symbioses discovered in these Fijian plants – compartmentalization – is likely important in other multispecies partnerships. However, it remains unknown whether compartmentalization is widespread in nature. Research on cooperation between species has long focused on pairwise interactions. Our new insights suggest a need to reinvestigate other multispecies mutualistic symbioses to see how they maintain stability.

    Guillaume Chomicki receives funding from UKRI.

    Susanne S. Renner received previous funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG)

    – ref. This tropical plant builds isolated ‘apartments’ to prevent battles among the aggressive ant tenants it relies on for survival – https://theconversation.com/this-tropical-plant-builds-isolated-apartments-to-prevent-battles-among-the-aggressive-ant-tenants-it-relies-on-for-survival-260674

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Justice Department efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans likely violate constitutional rights

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

    New American citizens recite the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony in Miami on Aug. 17, 2018. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

    The Trump administration wants to take away citizenship from naturalized Americans on a massive scale.

    While a recent Justice Department memo prioritizes national security cases, it directs the department to “maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence” across 10 broad priority categories.

    Denaturalization is different from deportation, which removes noncitizens from the country. With civil denaturalization, the government files a lawsuit to strip people’s U.S. citizenship after they have become citizens, turning them back into noncitizens who can then be deported.

    The government can only do this in specific situations. It must prove someone “illegally procured” citizenship by not meeting the requirements, or that they lied or hid important facts during the citizenship process.

    The Trump administration’s “maximal enforcement” approach means pursuing any case where evidence might support taking away citizenship, regardless of priority level or strength of evidence. As our earlier research documented, this has already led to cases like that of Baljinder Singh, whose citizenship was revoked based on a name discrepancy that could easily have resulted from a translator’s error rather than intentional fraud.

    A brief history

    For most of American history, taking away citizenship has been rare. But it increased dramatically during the 1940s and 1950s during the Red Scare period characterized by intense suspicion of communism. The United States government targeted people it thought were communists or Nazi supporters. Between 1907 and 1967, over 22,000 Americans lost their citizenship this way.

    Everything changed in 1967 when the Supreme Court decided Afroyim v. Rusk. The court said the government usually cannot take away citizenship without the person’s consent. It left open only cases involving fraud during the citizenship process.

    After this decision, denaturalization became extremely rare. From 1968 to 2013, fewer than 150 people lost their citizenship, mostly war criminals who had hidden their past.

    Sen. Joseph McCarthy appears at a March 1950 hearing on his charges of communist infiltration at the State Department.
    AP Photo/Herbert K. White

    How the process works

    In criminal lawsuits, defendants get free lawyers if they can’t afford one. They get jury trials. The government must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt” – the highest standard of proof.

    But in most denaturalization cases, the government files a civil suit, where none of these protections exist.

    People facing denaturalization get no free lawyer, meaning poor defendants often face the government alone. There’s no jury trial – just a judge deciding whether someone deserves to remain American. The burden of proof is lower – “clear and convincing evidence” instead of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Most important, there’s no time limit, so the government can go back decades to build cases.

    As law professors who study citizenship, we believe this system violates basic constitutional rights.

    The Supreme Court has called citizenship a fundamental right. Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1958 described it as the “right to have rights.”

    In our reading of the law, taking away such a fundamental right through civil procedures that lack basic constitutional protection – no right to counsel for those who can’t afford it, no jury trial, and a lower burden of proof – seems to violate the due process of law required by the Constitution when the government seeks to deprive someone of their rights.

    The bigger problem is what citizenship-stripping policy does to democracy.

    When the government can strip citizenship from naturalized Americans for decades-old conduct through civil procedures with minimal due process protection – pursuing cases based on evidence that might not meet criminal standards – it undermines the security and permanence that citizenship is supposed to provide. This creates a system where naturalized citizens face ongoing vulnerability that can last their entire lives, potentially chilling their full participation in American democracy.

    The Justice Department memo establishes 10 priority categories for denaturalization cases. They range from national security threats and war crimes to various forms of fraud, financial crimes and, most importantly, any other cases it deems “sufficiently important to pursue.” This “maximal enforcement” approach means pursuing not just clear cases of fraud, but also any case where evidence might support taking away citizenship, no matter how weak or old the evidence is.

    This creates fear throughout immigrant communities.

    About 20 million naturalized Americans now must worry that any mistake in their decades-old immigration paperwork could cost them their citizenship.

    A two-tier system

    This policy effectively creates two different types of American citizens. Native-born Americans never have to worry about losing their citizenship, no matter what they do. But naturalized Americans face ongoing vulnerability that can last their entire lives.

    This has already happened. A woman who became a naturalized citizen in 2007 helped her boss with paperwork that was later used in fraud. She cooperated with the FBI investigation, was characterized by prosecutors as only a “minimal participant,” completed her sentence, and still faced losing her citizenship decades later because she didn’t report the crime on her citizenship application – even though she hadn’t been charged at the time.

    A woman receives a U.S. flag after passing her citizenship interview in Newark, N.J., on May 25, 2016.
    AP Photo/Julio Cortez

    The Justice Department’s directive to “maximally pursue” cases across 10 broad categories – combined with the first Trump administration’s efforts to review over 700,000 naturalization files – represents an unprecedented expansion of denaturalization efforts.

    The policy will almost certainly face legal challenges on constitutional grounds, but the damage may already be done. When naturalized citizens fear their status could be revoked, it undermines the security and permanence that citizenship is supposed to provide.

    The Supreme Court, in Afroyim v. Rusk, was focused on protecting existing citizens from losing their citizenship. The constitutional principle behind that decision – that citizenship is a fundamental right which can’t be arbitrarily taken away by whoever happens to be in power – applies equally to how the government handles denaturalization cases today.

    The Trump administration’s directive, combined with court procedures that lack basic constitutional protections, risks creating a system that the Afroyim v. Rusk decision sought to prevent – one where, as the Supreme Court said, “A group of citizens temporarily in office can deprive another group of citizens of their citizenship.”

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

    – ref. Justice Department efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans likely violate constitutional rights – https://theconversation.com/justice-department-efforts-to-strip-citizenship-from-naturalized-americans-likely-violate-constitutional-rights-260353

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: International students’ stories are vital in shaping Canada’s future

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Emilda Thavaratnam, PhD student, Leadership and Higher Education, University of Toronto

    Over the past decade, international students have navigated a complex and challenging landscape shaped by neoliberal policies.

    Neoliberal economic and political ideology upholds entrepreneurship, individualism, free trade, open markets, minimal government intervention and reduced public services for citizens.



    Read more:
    What exactly is neoliberalism?

    Neoliberal governance has transformed higher education into a mechanism for economic growth, shifting the burden of funding onto students.

    As my doctoral research examines, international students in Ontario’s colleges of applied arts and technology face barriers related to neoliberal restructuring. Drawing on interviews with students and front-line staff, my study examines experiences across five key themes: pre-arrival, housing insecurity, pandemic survival, precarious labour and future aspirations.

    Through these challenges, the resilience and drive of international students to build community reveal powerful forms of everyday resistance.

    This has been seen through their front-line work during the pandemic, their persistent pursuit of education and their collective efforts to challenge marginalization. Their stories are vital in shaping Canada’s social, economic and educational fabric.

    Shifts towards neoliberal education

    Since the late 1970s, higher education in Ontario and elsewhere has experienced significant changes. In the province, public funding per student has steadily declined, shifting the cost onto students, with higher educational institutions adopting models of privatization and corporatization to survive.

    Though higher education continues to serve the public good, these changes reflect a broader adaptation to the new economic realities driven by market principles.

    As David Harvey, a scholar of urban and political economy, explains, neoliberal approaches hold that economic growth and prosperity occur when markets are allowed to operate with minimal government regulation. Over time, these approaches have shaped policies and practices globally across various sectors, including education, media, corporations and international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

    Neoliberal policies are presented as naturally occurring or unavoidable; however, this framing prioritizes market principles over social protections and often masks the deeper political and social dynamics.

    Education as a product serving the job market

    Neoliberal values have reshaped the purpose and practice of higher education. The problem with this market-driven approach is it often prioritizes individual gain and profit over social equity and the public good. This shift aligns learning with market-oriented approaches.

    Scholars concerned with the adverse effects of neoliberal education policy highlight how education is often treated as a product designed to serve economic interests, with measurable outcomes and links to the job market becoming the primary focus.

    This shift is evident when policymakers and institutions prioritize competition, performance, metrics and individual achievement — often at the expense of collaboration, critical thinking and shared goals.

    COVID-19 pandemic

    The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the effects of neoliberal ideology in higher education, revealing both the precarity of post-secondary finance and living conditions for many international students.



    Read more:
    The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of international students in Canada

    When colleges and universities faced pandemic closures and uncertain enrolment, international students came under scrutiny as learners who pay high fees. They contribute more than $21 billion annually to the Canadian economy and pay an average of five times more than domestic students.

    It also became clear that international students make significant contributions to Canada by working on the front lines in sectors such as health care, long-term care and food supply chains.

    At the same time, this situation revealed broader tendencies rooted in the neoliberal market logic.

    During the pandemic, the federal government acknowledged how it has positioned international students as a flexible, commodified labour resource integral to the Canadian economy and essential services. For example, in April 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced it would “temporarily lift the 20 hour per week work restriction on study permit holders working off-campus during their academic session, provided they are working in an essential service or function.”

    While international student contributions are vital, this framing begs deeper questions around the protection of international students’ labour rights, student well-being and potential exploitation.

    Housing, food insecurity, high tuition

    Before the pandemic, many international students struggled with housing, food insecurity and tuition payments due to work restrictions and financial constraints.

    With the current cap in place as of 2024, it’s ironic that international students have been treated as both “essential” and “disposable” simultaneously.

    Despite facing housing insecurity, food shortages and inaccessible health care, international students have continued to demonstrate their resilience and resistance. Their efforts extend beyond individual acts of survival.

    Post-pandemic protest

    International students have also organized petitions, protests and advocacy campaigns to challenge unjust policies.

    For example, in November 2022, hundreds of students (domestic and international) rallied at the Ontario legislature in Toronto under the banner “Need or Greed.” A coalition of student associations representing 120,000 students united to protest.

    The protests were partly a response to unfair and unpredictable jumps in already high tuition fees for international students: the average undergraduate international tuition fees in Ontario rose from about $35,000 to just under $50,000 between 2018 and 2025. The coalition urged the provincial government and Colleges Ontario to freeze tuition for international students.

    Following these efforts, nationwide protests erupted in August 2024 when 70,000 international student graduates faced possible deportation due to tightened immigration rules. Students set up encampments outside the Prince Edward Island legislative assembly for three months to protest the 25 per cent cut in permanent resident nominations, which left many students in limbo.

    A notable aspect of this activism was the solidarity shown from labour organizations and people across the country. Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, joined the protests in solidarity, stating: “Your right is our fight.”

    The Naujawaan Support Network, an advocacy group for youth and international students based in Brampton, Ont., issued a statement declaring:“International students are not the cause of the crisis, but we are being made into scapegoats.”



    Read more:
    International students cap falsely blames them for Canada’s housing and health-care woes

    Power of collective organizing

    Collective organizing and calls for action are powerful acts of resistance that transcend the neoliberal ideology of individualism. Through petitions and protests, international students demonstrate a profound commitment to their education and aspirations.

    As Canada continues to welcome international students, and post-secondary institutions, governments and public sector organizations navigate turbulent economic times, it’s essential to uphold the rights of international students.

    It’s also essential to provide the support necessary for them to succeed and affirm their value as vital members of the community.

    International students’ resilience offers a valuable lesson about the human capacity to reframe challenges and persist. Students and citizens across the country have a role in celebrating their contributions and building bridges to foster more resilient communities.

    Emilda Thavaratnam 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. International students’ stories are vital in shaping Canada’s future – https://theconversation.com/international-students-stories-are-vital-in-shaping-canadas-future-258271

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Gene-edited pigs may soon enter the Canadian market, but questions about their impact remain

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gwendolyn Blue, Professor, University of Calgary

    The Canadian government is currently considering approving the entry of gene-edited pigs into the food system.

    Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, genetic changes can be created precisely and efficiently without introducing foreign genetic material. If approved, these pigs would be the first gene-edited food animals available for sale in Canadian markets. My research examines how including the public in decision-making around emerging applications of genomics can help mitigate potential harms.

    These pigs are resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), a horrible and sometimes fatal disease that affects pigs worldwide. PRRS has significant economic, food security and animal welfare implications.



    Read more:
    What is gene editing and how could it shape our future?

    The United States Food and Drug Administration recently greenlit the commercial production of gene-edited pigs. Will the Canadian government follow suit?

    AquAdvantage and EnviroPig

    In 2016, Canada approved the first transgenic animal for human consumption — an Atlantic salmon called AquAdvantage salmon that contains DNA from other species of fish.

    This approval came more than 25 years after the genetically modified fish was created by scientists at Memorial University in Newfoundland. The approval and commercialization of AquAdvantage salmon faced strong public opposition on both sides of the border, including protests, supermarket boycotts and court battles. In 2024, the company that produced AquAdvantage salmon announced that it was shutting down its operations.



    Read more:
    The science and politics of genetically engineered salmon: 5 questions answered

    In 2012, the Canadian government approved the manufacture of a transgenic pig known by its trade name, EnviroPig. Created by scientists at the University of Guelph, EnviroPigs released less phosphorus than conventionally bred pigs.

    EnviroPig did not make it to market; the same year, the University of Guelph ended the EnviroPig project. Funding for the project had been suspended, in part because of consumer concerns.

    Government regulation

    Some researchers argue that government regulation of gene-edited animals should be less restrictive than for transgenic techniques. Gene editing introduces genetic changes that can occur with conventional animal breeding that is not subject to regulation. Gene-edited crops in Canada are treated the same as conventionally bred crops.

    Others insist that stringent government regulation is necessary for gene editing to identify potential problems and ensure that laws keep up with industry and scientific ambition. Regulation plays a vital role in minimizing risk, encouraging public involvement and building trust.

    Social science research has, for decades, demonstrated that resistance to biotechnology is not because of the public’s lack of knowledge, as is often argued by biotechnology proponents. Public resistance to biotechnology is better understood as a rejection of potential harms imposed by governments and industry without public input and consent.

    Ethical, moral, cultural and political concerns

    At present, little opportunity exists for public engagement in Canadian assessments of gene-edited animals.

    Similar to the U.S., Canada does not have specific gene technology regulation. Rather, the federal government relies on pre-existing environmental and food safety legislation. Canadian regulatory agencies use a risk, novelty and product-based approach to assess animal biotechnology. From a regulatory standpoint, distinctions between technical processes — like transgenic modification versus gene editing — are less important than the safety of the final product.

    The Canadian government has recently updated its federal environmental and health regulations. This includes introducing mandatory public consultations for animals (vertebrates, specifically) created using biotechnology.

    Even with these changes, there’s still room for improvement. Public engagement is limited to consultations conducted within a short time frame. Interested parties are invited to provide scientific information about potential risks of animal biotechnology to human health or the environment, but comments that address ethical, moral, cultural or political concerns are not taken into consideration.

    More broadly, regulatory and academic debates about the gene editing of animals are largely informed by scientists and industry proponents with considerably less input from the public, Indigenous communities and social sciences and humanities researchers.

    Consulting the public

    From a social standpoint, the process by which gene editing is assessed matters as much as the safety of the final product. Inclusive public engagement is essential to ensure that the production of gene-edited food animals aligns with societal needs and values.

    Reactions to gene technologies are based on underlying values and beliefs, and sustained opportunities for public reflection and deliberation are vital for responsible innovation.

    Important questions should be addressed: Who will reap the benefits of gene-editing techniques? Who will bear the costs and harms? What are the potential implications, including hard-to-anticipate social and political changes? How should decision-making proceed to ensure that Canadians have sufficient opportunities for input?

    Currently, for the gene-edited pigs, members of the public can submit comments to the government until July 20, 2025.

    Public reactions to previous biotech food animals in Canada — including AquAdvantage salmon and the EnviroPig — show that lack of inclusive engagement can contribute to the rejection of animal biotechnology.

    Gwendolyn Blue receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is a member of Gene Editing for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability, a multi-university consortium based at McGill University, and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Gene-edited pigs may soon enter the Canadian market, but questions about their impact remain – https://theconversation.com/gene-edited-pigs-may-soon-enter-the-canadian-market-but-questions-about-their-impact-remain-260627

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Returning to the office isn’t the answer to Canada’s productivity problem — and it will add pressure to urban housing

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Dilara Baysal, Research Fellow in Sociology, Concordia University

    As companies face pressure to increase productivity, many are calling workers back to the office — even though there is limited evidence that return-to-office policies actually improve innovation or performance.

    In cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where many major companies are headquartered, this is putting pressure on people to live near expensive downtown areas.

    As of April 2025, average one-bedroom rents were $2,317 in Toronto and $2,536 in Vancouver, with North Vancouver even higher at $2,680. If return-to-office policies continue, more workers may be forced into these pricey city centres, adding pressure to already overheated housing markets.

    Since early 2025, return-to-office policies have added to Canada’s housing stress. The Royal Bank of Canada, for instance, now requires staff in the office four days a week, and Amazon ended remote work in January. While rents haven’t jumped yet, similar policies in the U.S. have already pushed up demand, and may be a sign of what’s to come.

    In Washington, D.C., rents rose 3.3 per cent after federal employees were called back to offices. Cities like New York and San Francisco also saw rent increases linked to companies like JPMorgan Chase, Meta and Salesforce reversed remote work policies.

    The myth of office productivity

    According to the Bank of Canada, Canada’s economy is being negatively affected by low productivity. Low productivity slows Canada’s economic growth and keeps wages low. It also makes inflation worse because supply can’t keep up with demand. A productive economy meets demand more easily, keeping prices stable.

    In response, many companies are pushing return-to-office as the answer. RBC CEO Dave McKay endorsed a return to the office back in 2023, saying that “the absence of working together” has hurt innovation and productivity.

    At Google, under mounting pressure to compete in artificial intelligence, co-founder Sergey Brin also pushed for full-time office work, calling a 60-hour week the “sweet spot” for productivity.

    But recent research shows the story isn’t so simple. A University of Chicago working paper found that strict return-to-office rules can cause senior staff to leave, which hurts innovation.



    Read more:
    Working one day a week in person might be the key to happier, more productive employees

    Another study of 48,000 knowledge workers in India found that hybrid setups — where some people are in the office and others work from home — can make it harder to share ideas and work together.

    Meanwhile, a Stanford-led study found that working in the office just two days a week kept productivity strong and cut employee turnover by 33 per cent.

    The determinants of productivity and their underlying factors. These determinants connect across industries, businesses and places.
    (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), CC BY

    Where people live matters more

    Return-to-office mandates also aren’t a guaranteed way to boost productivity. A 2023 study supported by housing organizations across Canada found that affordable, well-located housing helps people find better jobs and specialize in their work.

    But when housing costs are high and commutes are long, productivity drops, especially for lower-income workers. Long commutes and high living costs create stress, limit mobility and cause people to miss out on job opportunities.

    Studies show that investing in technology and training workers matters much more. Research from the Canadian Research Data Centre Network finds that workplace training improves productivity in most sectors.

    A recent report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation also shows that high housing costs make it harder for many people to live in big cities, which ultimately reduces diversity in the workforce and weakens the economy.

    Affordable housing could boost productivity

    Housing in Canada is often viewed in two ways. One treats it as a commodity, where prices follow supply and demand. In this view, policies focus on increasing supply and offering market incentives. The other sees housing as a public need and a basic right, and calls for government action to ensure affordability and stability.



    Read more:
    Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that’s the problem

    In practice, market forces can undermine policies designed to meet housing needs and ensure affordability. In Toronto, for example, developers resisted inclusionary zoning rules that require or encourage developers to include a certain percentage of affordable housing units within new residential developments. Instead, they delayed projects or chose to build high-end condos in different zones.

    This tension between housing as a commodity and housing as a public good is central to Canada’s current housing strategy. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has pledged to build 500,000 new homes annually by 2035 using tools like public lands, modular housing and tax incentives.

    While this supply-focused strategy targets long-term housing needs, it must also account for today’s complex economic realities such as inflation, increasing unemployment and economic stagnation due to lagging productiviy.

    Without tackling affordability and access directly, building more homes alone won’t be enough.

    Rising home prices and rents have played a major role in driving inflation. In Canada’s Consumer Price Index, shelter makes up about 29 per cent of overall household spending.
    (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), CC BY

    The real foundation of a productive economy

    Return-to-office policies often focus too much on one thing: how much each worker produces. But that narrow view of productivity ignores what really supports good work: access to affordable housing, time for training and flexibility to relocate for better job opportunities.

    To address productivity challenges, companies should invest in job-specific training, digital skills and ongoing learning to help employees adapt to new tools and processes, and the should offer more flexibility. What workers need most are affordable homes, shorter commutes and real opportunities to grow — not added stress and rising costs.

    Dilara Baysal 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. Returning to the office isn’t the answer to Canada’s productivity problem — and it will add pressure to urban housing – https://theconversation.com/returning-to-the-office-isnt-the-answer-to-canadas-productivity-problem-and-it-will-add-pressure-to-urban-housing-260395

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Devil worship, muti and murder: what’s behind the growth of occult gangs in South Africa?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ashwill Ramon Phillips, Lecturer and Postgraduate Supervisor, Department of Criminology, University of the Free State

    Gang-related crime in South Africa is widespread, but is under-reported outside hotspots such as the Cape Flats in Cape Town or Westbury in Johannesburg. In these areas gangs are deeply rooted and contribute to ongoing violence, drug trafficking and territorial conflict.

    But gangs have continued to evolve and gang violence has consistently increased throughout South Africa, particularly in the Gauteng and Free State provinces. In the Free State in the east-central part of the country, devil-worshipping and witchcraft-related gang practices have been reported.

    Gang-related violence is fuelled by poverty, social exclusion, unemployment and the need for protection from rival gangs.



    Read more:
    Here’s how some of Cape Town’s gangsters got out – and stayed out

    In my doctoral study in criminology, I explored the phenomenon of occult-inspired gangs in the Free State. I interviewed 23 active gang members, 16 offenders who weren’t affiliated to gangs, and 18 service providers like social workers and correctional officials working with these groups.

    In a more recent study I developed a typology of occult gangs: a framework that captures their structure, symbolism, hierarchy and spiritual practices.

    This matters because in order to prevent gang-related crime it is essential to understand how they operate.

    The rise of Free State occult gangs

    In 1997, a South African Police Service investigation uncovered a so-called devil worshipping group or “evil church” that had migrated from parts of northern Africa and established itself in Maseru, Lesotho (South Africa’s neighbour). This group reportedly blended occult practices with traditional African witchcraft. This led local communities to label it as a devil-worshipping gang.

    Since 2011, groups like this have expanded across the Free State. There are now about 40 such gangs active in the province, as reported by the police and confirmed in my research. Some of the better known gangs are the Triple 6 (666), Born-To-Kill (BTK), Natural Born Killers (NBK), International Junior Portuguese (IJP), and Maroma (Romans/Romas).

    More typical street gangs are mostly known for expanding their territory through profit from the drug trade and extortion. But these Free State gangs incorporate spirituality and esoterism (special hidden knowledge) to assert dominance, foster cohesion and generate fear within communities.

    They engage in serious crimes including murder, organ trafficking and rape. They are particularly known for acts such as ritual stabbings, cannibalism, and alleged communication with demonic forces.

    The communities in which these groups operate, and gang members themselves, refer to them as “devil worshipping gangs”. This is because of the explicit link between certain gang-related practices and satanism, or the worship of the devil as depicted in the Christian bible.

    Some groups merge beliefs and rituals related to Satan and anti-Christianity with witchcraft. Or they use symbols commonly associated with satanism such as “666” and inverted crosses. But labelling all such groups as “devil worshipping gangs” is misleading. The term “occult gangs” better captures the range of practices involved.

    While both devil worshipping and witchcraft-related practices can play a role in criminal gang activity, they differ in origin and form. Devil worshipping draws from western occult traditions, using symbols and rituals to strengthen gang identity. Witchcraft-based practices typically involve the malicious use of muti (traditional African medicine) and muti murders (murders for body parts to use in muti). As one participant told me:

    Yes, there are gangs that believe in muti. There are also gangs that believe in the devil. IJP and Roma believe in muti, while BTK and Triple 6 believe in getting power from the devil. They say they speak to Lucifer to give them powers.

    So, infamous gangs in the Free State are not only dreaded for their brutality but also for their reported links to ritual murder, blood oaths, the use of muti and the consumption of human organs and blood. According to my research these activities have progressed from being viewed as urban legends and community myths to becoming lived realities.

    Inside the gangs

    My gang typology study sample consisted of 39 male offenders, aged 14 to 38. Participants were either serving sentences or awaiting trial for serious offences such as murder, rape and armed robbery.

    The gang members spoke openly about seeking power through supernatural means. Some believed that consuming blood and participating in occult rituals could make them invisible to police and invincible against their enemies. As one told me:

    The minute you drink blood you are invoking spirits to become part of you, demons to become part of you, and give you the powers that you need to do what you have to do…

    Ritual stabbings, inverted crosses, and the “mark of the beast” (“666”) were part of their gang symbolism – seen in gang graffiti and tattoos and furthered by involvement in spiritual gatherings and the use of muti.

    These elements form part of a shared gang ideology that offers meaning, identity and purpose to marginalised young people. I found that the gang members in my studies often lacked family support, social support or significant formal education.

    To prevent young people from joining gangs, it is crucial to understand what pulls them in. Several participants described joining gangs not only for wealth, protection or status, but for a sense of spiritual power. Especially in communities where traditional religion, ancestral beliefs and Christian teachings coexist and sometimes collide.

    My typology of occult gangs has the potential to inform targeted prevention programmes, rehabilitation efforts and policing strategies that take the spiritual realities of gang members seriously.

    A new approach to fighting crime is needed

    The rise of occult gangs has now progressed beyond the Free State. Similar trends are observed in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape provinces.

    The intersection of faith, fear and violence in these gangs challenges mainstream approaches to crime prevention. Traditional anti-gang strategies assume that gangs are driven mainly by socioeconomic factors or rational incentives. They fail to account for spiritual motivations and metaphysical beliefs.

    The presence of ritual elements complicates investigations and amplifies fear. It makes gangs seem more powerful than they are.

    At the same time, public institutions such as the police and social workers often lack the frameworks and cultural sensitivity to address the spiritual dimensions of the offences perpetrated by these groups.

    The struggle with the occult gangs in South Africa mirrors similar challenges in other countries, like Nigeria, the DRC and Haiti, where spiritual symbolism and ritualised violence are central to gang identity.

    Effective interventions must include culturally grounded strategies to help members disengage from gangs, involving traditional leaders, healers, faith-based actors and mental health professionals.



    Read more:
    Rituals, rites and rumours: how women claim power in Zimbabwe’s informal gold mines

    By addressing the spiritual, social, and psychological dimensions of gang involvement, more sustainable pathways out of these groups can be created.

    Gang violence in South Africa is evolving, and so must the response. It shouldn’t just punish young offenders, but offer them a genuine alternative.

    Ashwill Ramon Phillips 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. Devil worship, muti and murder: what’s behind the growth of occult gangs in South Africa? – https://theconversation.com/devil-worship-muti-and-murder-whats-behind-the-growth-of-occult-gangs-in-south-africa-260141

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: TikTok users in Ghana and Zimbabwe enjoy making fun of government – why it can have a downside

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jacob Nyarko, Lecturer of Communication Studies, University of Cape Coast

    Browse the internet or turn on the global news and chances are the coverage of Africa you find is about war, coups, displaced populations and disease.

    Generally, the west and its media are blamed for this negative, Afropessimistic portrayal of the continent.

    Africans have taken strategic steps to repair this negative narrative. An example is the Africa Rising campaign. It was launched in 2000 by a coalition of African activists and organisations. Its objective was to highlight the role of Africa in global development and encourage Africans at home and the diaspora to contribute positively. Social media platforms played a large role in content distribution and messaging. The success of this campaign is still the subject of debate.



    Read more:
    Western media outlets are trying to fix their racist, stereotypical coverage of Africa. Is it time African media did the same?

    As communication scholars, we were intrigued by the visual appeal of the social media platform TikTok. With our area of expertise being Ghana and Zimbabwe respectively, we were interested in how citizens of these countries were using the popular TikTok app to report on themselves.

    Our study explored the self-critical content that many Africans share on TikTok. We found that TikTok posts and comments by Ghanaian and Zimbabwean creators generated entertaining information. We call this “fun journalism”. TikTokers use it to comment on important issues, but the way they do it could also harm the reputation of the two countries and influence decisions in unintended ways.

    Fun journalism and reputation

    As a creative and innovative platform, TikTok has enabled users to produce multimedia materials and share them across the globe for fun and entertainment. According to the Digital 2025: Ghana report by Datareportal, 81% of Ghanaians aged 16 and over use the internet to access TikTok monthly. That makes it the second most popular platform after WhatsApp (93%). Zimbabwe has 2.05 million TikTok users aged 18 and above, according to tech data aggregator Datareportal.

    Studies show that users tend to “play” with social media, even when they use it for serious things. Our study showed that the fun videos uploaded by TikTokers from Ghana and Zimbabwe covered serious issues like security, education, sanitation, corruption, entertainment, religion and sports.



    Read more:
    Nigerian TikTok star Charity Ekezie uses hilarious skits to dispel ignorance about Africa

    For example, one Ghanaian TikTok video compares how a Ghanaian and a European would react if they picked up money that someone had lost. The video suggests an African would keep the money, while a European would try to locate the original owner.

    In many instances, users ridiculed their countries and fellow citizens. They compared African conditions to the global north in ways that degraded local endeavours. For example, in one TikTok video, a user imitated Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa having difficulties explaining the number of zeroes in a million. This gave the impression that he was semi-literate and out of his depth.

    We found that, generally, the entertaining discourses on TikTok were laden with insults and critiques of government. Though some of the content raised legitimate concerns, it seldom offered solutions to the identified challenges. This suggested that TikTok content that jokingly covered significant national development issues eroded reputational gains made by the two countries by framing them negatively. We cite several examples in the study.

    Comparing this phenomenon to other countries, a study on Chinese uploads onto TikTok showed the following results: 41% positive, 53% neutral and 6% negative.

    Self-ridiculing factors and misinformation

    TikTokers ridiculed the reputation of Ghana and Zimbabwe in three ways:

    • Exaggerated production of video content. This includes emotional background sounds, tone of voice, slang, animation, unfavourable shooting locations and poor video quality

    • comparing African countries to foreign conditions

    • generating unfavourable comments.

    “Fake news” has become an integral part of social media, raising doubts about the credibility of information generally. We argue that such content should no longer be seen as harmless humour.

    link text

    Implications and measures

    As the press freedom rankings of both countries fall, TikTok can be a safe, open space for citizens to raise important public concerns.

    The platform makes space for a diversity of opinions from the youthful populations found in the two countries. This is important for communication and building consensus in development.

    We argue that TikTokers should be encouraged to offer constructive criticisms of their countries and propose solutions instead of insults.

    Policy makers should tap into the vast repository of “fun” information published on TikTok for development. The opinions expressed by citizens online are a helpful reflection of societal needs. This can be taken into consideration when formulating policies.



    Read more:
    How memes in the DRC allow people to laugh at those in power – and themselves

    Mainstream professional media could adopt the fun journalism model to tell serious stories in ways that boost development and reputation. The platform’s wide usage will make information accessible to a large audience.

    Media regulatory bodies, nongovernmental organisations and civil society groups are encouraged to educate netizens to publish critical and progressive stories about their countries. This can help combat misinformation and disinformation on social media, particularly TikTok.

    Finally, governments should take steps to positively project their respective countries to the world. They could run educational programmes to inculcate a sense of patriotism and identity to rekindle the initiatives that Africa Rising advocated.

    Jacob Nyarko receives funding from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana for this work.

    Oswelled Ureke 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. TikTok users in Ghana and Zimbabwe enjoy making fun of government – why it can have a downside – https://theconversation.com/tiktok-users-in-ghana-and-zimbabwe-enjoy-making-fun-of-government-why-it-can-have-a-downside-259734

    MIL OSI –