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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why people rebuild in Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas despite the risks

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kristina P. Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, Penn State

    Parts of the North Fork of the Kentucky River flooded in July 2022, and again in February 2025. Arden S. Barnes/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

    On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels. Emergency teams conducted over 1,000 water rescues. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were displaced from homes, and entire business districts filled with mud.

    For some, it was the third time in just four years that their homes had flooded, and the process of disposing of destroyed furniture, cleaning out the muck and starting anew is beginning again.

    Historic floods wiped out businesses and homes in eastern Kentucky in February 2021, July 2022 and now February 2025. An even greater scale of destruction hit eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in September 2024, when Hurricane Helene’s rainfall and flooding decimated towns and washed out parts of major highways.

    Scenes of flooding from several locations across Appalachia in February 2025.

    Each of these events was considered to be a “thousand-year flood,” with a 1-in-1,000 chance of happening in a given year. Yet they’re happening more often.

    The floods have highlighted the resilience of local people to work together for collective survival in rural Appalachia. But they have also exposed the deep vulnerability of communities, many of which are located along creeks at the base of hills and mountains with poor emergency warning systems. As short-term cleanup leads to long-term recovery efforts, residents can face daunting barriers that leave many facing the same flood risks over and over again.

    Exposing a housing crisis

    For the past nine years, I have been conducting research on rural health and poverty in Appalachia. It’s a complex region often painted in broad brushstrokes that miss the geographic, socioeconomic and ideological diversity it holds.

    Appalachia is home to a vibrant culture, a fierce sense of pride and a strong sense of love. But it is also marked by the omnipresent backdrop of a declining coal industry.

    There is considerable local inequality that is often overlooked in a region portrayed as one-dimensional. Poverty levels are indeed high. In Perry County, Kentucky, where one of eastern Kentucky’s larger cities, Hazard, is located, nearly 30% of the population lives under the federal poverty line. But the average income of the top 1% of workers in Perry County is nearly US$470,000 – 17 times more than the average income of the remaining 99%.

    This income and wealth inequality translates to unequal land ownership – much of eastern Kentucky’s most desirable land remains in the hands of corporations and families with great generational wealth.

    When I first moved to eastern Kentucky in 2016, I was struck by the grave lack of affordable, quality housing. I met families paying $200-$300 a month for a small plot to put a mobile home. Others lived in “found housing” – often-distressed properties owned by family members. They had no lease, no equity and no insurance. They had a place to lay one’s head but lacked long-term stability in the event of disagreement or disaster. This reality was rarely acknowledged by local and state governments.

    Eastern Kentucky’s 2021 and 2022 floods turned this into a full-blown housing crisis, with 9,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the 2022 flood alone.

    “There was no empty housing or empty places for housing,” one resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me. “It just was complete disaster because people just didn’t have a place to go.”

    Most homeowners did not have flood insurance to assist with rebuilding costs. While many applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, the amounts they received often did not go far. The maximum aid for temporary housing assistance and repairs is $42,500, plus up to an additional $42,500 for other needs related to the disaster.

    The federal government often provides more aid for rebuilding through block grants directed to local and state governments, but that money requires congressional approval and can take months to years to arrive. Local community coalitions and organizations stepped in to fill these gaps, but they did not necessarily have sufficient donations or resources to help such large numbers of displaced people.

    Affordable rental housing is hard to find in much of Appalachia. When flooding wipes out homes, as Jackson, Ky., saw in July 2022 and again in February 2025, it becomes even more rare.
    Michael Swensen/Getty Images

    With a dearth of affordable rentals pre-flood, renters who lost their homes had no place to go. And those living in “found housing” that was destroyed were not eligible for federal support for rebuilding.

    The sheer level of devastation also posed challenges. One health care professional told me: “In Appalachia, the way it usually works is if you lose your house or something happens, then you go stay with your brother or your mom or your cousin. … But everybody’s mom and brother and cousin also lost their house. There was nowhere to stay.” From her point of view, “our homelessness just skyrocketed.”

    The cost of land – social and economic

    After the 2022 flood, the Kentucky Department for Local Government earmarked almost $300 million of federal funding to build new, flood-resilient homes in eastern Kentucky. Yet the question of where to build remained. As another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me, “You can give us all the money you want; we don’t have any place to build the house.”

    It has always been costly and time-intensive to develop land in Appalachia. Available higher ground tends to be located on former strip mines, and these reclaimed lands require careful geotechnical surveying and sometimes structural reinforcements.

    If these areas are remote, the costs of running electric, water and other infrastructure services can also be prohibitive. For this reason, for-profit developers have largely avoided many counties in the region. The head of a nonprofit agency explained to me that, because of this, “The markets have broken. … We have no [housing] market.”

    Eastern Kentucky’s mountains are beautiful, but there are few locations for building homes that aren’t near creeks or rivers. Strip-mined land, where mountaintops were flattened, often aren’t easily accessible and come with their own challenges.
    Posnov/Moment via Getty Images

    There is also some risk involved in attempting to build homes on new land that has not previously been developed. A local government could pay for undeveloped land to be surveyed and prepared for development, with the prospect of reimbursement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development if housing is successfully built. But if, after the work to prepare the land, it is still too cost-prohibitive to build a profitable house there, the local government would not receive any reimbursement.

    Some counties have found success clearing land for large developments on former strip mine sites. But these former coal mining areas can be considerable distances from towns. Without robust public transportation systems, these distances are especially prohibitive for residents who lack reliable personal transportation.

    Another barrier is the high prices that both individual and corporate landowners are asking for properties on higher ground.

    The scarcity of desirable land available for sale, combined with increasingly urgent demand, has led to prices unaffordable for most. Another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts explained: “If you paid $5,000 for 30 acres 40 years ago, why won’t you sell that for $100,000? Nope, [they want] $1 million.” That makes it increasingly difficult for both individuals and housing developers to purchase land and build.

    One reason for this scarcity is the amount of land that is still owned by outside corporate interests. For example, Kentucky River Properties, formerly Kentucky River Coal Corporation, owns over 270,000 acres across seven counties in the region. While this landholding company leases land to coal, timber and gas companies, it and others like it rarely permit residential development.

    But not all unused land is owned by corporations. Some of this land is owned by families with deep roots in the region. People’s attachment to a place often makes them want to stay in their communities, even after disasters. But it can also limit the amount of land available for rebuilding. People are often hesitant to sell land that holds deep significance for their families, even if they are not living there themselves.

    Rural communities are often tight-knit. Many residents want to stay despite the risks.
    AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley

    One health care professional expressed feeling torn between selling or keeping their own family property after the 2022 flood: “We have a significant amount of property on top of a mountain. I wouldn’t want to sell it because my papa came from nothing. … His generation thought owning land was the greatest thing. … And for him to provide his children and his grandchildren and their great-grandchildren a plot of land that he worked and sweat and ultimately died to give us – people want to hold onto that.”

    She recognized that land was in great demand but couldn’t bring herself to sell what she owned. In cases like hers, higher grounds are owned locally but still remain unused.

    Moving toward higher ground, slowly

    Two years after the 2022 flood, major government funding for rebuilding still has not resulted in a significant number of homes. The state has planned seven communities on higher ground in eastern Kentucky that aim to house 665 new homes. As of early 2025, 14 houses had been completed.

    Progress on providing housing on higher ground is slow, and the need is great.

    In the meantime, when I conducted interviews during the summer and fall of 2024, many of the mobile home communities that were decimated in the 2022 flood had begun to fill back up. These were flood-risk areas, but there was simply no other place to go.

    Last week, I watched on Facebook a friend’s live video footage showing the waters creeping up the sides of the mobile homes in one of those very communities that had flooded in 2022. Another of my friends mused: “I don’t know who constructed all this, but they did an unjustly favor by not thinking how close these towns was to the river. Can’t anyone in Frankfort help us, or has it gone too far?”

    With hundreds more people now displaced by the most recent flood, the need for homes on higher grounds has only expanded, and the wait continues.

    Kristina Brant has received funding from the National Science Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture to support her past and ongoing research in rural Appalachia.

    – ref. Why people rebuild in Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas despite the risks – https://theconversation.com/why-people-rebuild-in-appalachias-flood-ravaged-areas-despite-the-risks-240429

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Parrotfish support healthy coral reefs, but they’re not a cure-all, and sometimes cause harm

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Professor of Marine Ecology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

    Rainbow and midnight parrotfish feed at Alacranes Reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, CC BY-ND

    After two years of record-breaking ocean heat, scientists are assessing the impacts of the world’s fourth mass bleaching event on coral reefs around the globe. At least 74 countries and territories are confirmed to have experienced coral bleaching since the spring of 2023.

    As coastal development, pollution and climate change put increasing stress on the world’s oceans, tropical reefs are losing reef-building corals at unprecedented rates. These corals – species with rigid skeletons, such as elkhorn and brain corals – are the architects of these ecosystems, providing the foundations for coral reef communities.

    Coral reefs perform many important functions, such as buffering coastlines and providing habitat for one-fourth of all marine species. In the U.S. alone, these ecological services are worth an estimated US$3.4 billion yearly.

    Over the past several decades, many studies have spotlighted the role of “grazers” – fish who feed on algae – in keeping coral reefs clean and healthy. Protecting parrotfish, a family of some 90 species of large, colorful grazers, has become a tenet of reef conservation policies.

    We have analyzed indicators of reef health and resilience and assessed the roles parrotfish play in controlling seaweed, promoting coral growth and eroding reefs. While it is clear that parrotfish are an important part of coral reef communities, management strategies focusing on them, in our view, have not fully proved effective. In a review of recent science, we showed why conservation programs need to rethink the role parrotfish can play as a conservation tool to improve reef health.

    The coral bleaching event that started in 2024 is the largest such episode on record.

    The parrotfish paradigm

    Corals and the reef bottom they live on need to stay clean to prevent seaweed from growing on their surfaces. Excessive seaweed growth on reefs can block sunlight from corals’ surfaces, release chemicals that affect coral survival, slow the corals’ growth and make it harder for new corals to establish themselves and build reef structures.

    When disease or bleaching kills corals on a reef, other fast-growing organisms, including seaweed, rapidly colonize the dead corals’ skeletons. This impedes new corals from settling and surviving on the reef, and locks the ecosystem into a state of low growth and poor recovery.

    In this context, it is easy to see why protecting algae-eating fish has become a cornerstone of coral reef conservation. This paradigm assumes that restoring populations of “grazing” species by protecting them from fishing is essential for controlling seaweeds, improving reef health and promoting coral recovery.

    This strategy has spurred governments in many countries, including Belize, Bermuda, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia and the U.S., to create marine protected areas, restrict fishing in designated zones and ban parrotfish harvesting.

    Fishermen in Indonesia with a green humphead parrotfish.
    Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images

    Missing pieces of parrotfish protection

    Evidence shows that conservation measures have increased parrotfish populations in some places, such as Bonaire and Belize, with positive effects on reefs. However, parrotfish increases have not always reduced algae growth or increased coral cover. In our review, we highlight three main factors that may be hindering the success of this approach in the Caribbean.

    First, parrotfish management has traditionally treated all species as if they consume the same amount of algae. This notion leads to using measures like the total number or total weight of parrotfish present in a given reef as proxies for seaweed consumption.

    However, not all parrotfish are the same. Some species, such as the redband parrotfish, effectively remove algae, while others, such as the blue parrotfish, barely eat it. More precise and targeted conservation measures would consider each species’ specific impact on seaweed growth.

    Second, while parrotfish help reefs to grow by keeping them clean, they also can cause gradual erosion of reef structures. Some parrotfish species graze by biting off chunks of coral, especially from dead skeletons, and grinding it in their digestive systems, excreting it as sand.

    Humphead parrotfish are among the species that consume coral, grinding it in their powerful jaws and excreting fine sand that creates tropical beaches.

    This bioerosion process is natural and essential. But on highly degraded reefs with low coral cover, large numbers of eroding parrotfish can accelerate reef breakdown.

    Increases or declines in populations of parrotfish influence the intensity of erosion. But focusing so closely on parrotfish has unintentionally overlooked the erosive capacity of these fishes by assuming all parrotfish have the same effect on the ecosystem. This raises an important question: Which species are favored by restrictions on harvesting parrotfish?

    Our research shows that key bioeroding species that break down dead coral, such as the queen parrotfish and the stoplight parrotfish, are more vulnerable to overfishing because they are larger and take longer to mature. This means that reducing or restricting their catch might unintentionally increase bioerosion. For these ecosystems, increasing parrotfish numbers might not reduce algae growth enough to fully offset higher rates of bioerosion.

    A stoplight parrotfish breaks down dead coral while feeding.

    Conservation strategies that evolve

    As science progresses and new evidence emerges, it is crucial to reexamine conservation strategies and see whether they need to be updated or even scrapped. This ongoing process of refining plans based on evolving knowledge is known as adaptive management and is widely used in ecology and conservation.

    We are not calling for an end to protecting parrotfish. However, no single strategy can be a comprehensive tool for conserving coral reefs, which are very complex ecosystems.

    Rather, we want to encourage people – especially reef managers and scientists – to recognize the different roles that various parrotfish species play and the varying challenges each species faces, and tailor reef protection efforts accordingly. We also believe it is critical to do more to counter the causes of coral mortality, including climate change, coastal development and water pollution. Along with grazers to keep them clean, coral reefs need cleaner waters and cooler oceans to ensure their long-term survival.

    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. Parrotfish support healthy coral reefs, but they’re not a cure-all, and sometimes cause harm – https://theconversation.com/parrotfish-support-healthy-coral-reefs-but-theyre-not-a-cure-all-and-sometimes-cause-harm-242270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: States that impose severe prison sentences accomplish the opposite of what they say they want

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By John Leverso, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati

    Prison doors close, but for most people convicted of crimes, they eventually open again. Hans Neleman/Stone via Getty Images

    Across the U.S., tough-on-crime policies are surging again, despite research showing they do little to reduce crime, particularly violent offenses.

    Before the early 1990s, people who were sentenced to 10 years in prison might be released after serving roughly half that long. That’s because of policies that allowed incarcerated individuals to earn credit for good behavior or, in some states, to avoid losing credits they already held toward an early release. These so-called “good time” policies were created by states to encourage good behavior and rehabilitation and to reduce prison overcrowding.

    But in the 1990s, when national politics was focused on crime rates, Congress encouraged states to adopt so-called “truth-in-sentencing” laws, which required people to serve at least 85% of their prison sentence.

    As research highlighted the inefficacy and unintended consequences of these laws, states rolled them back or modified them, mostly by partially repealing them or reducing the severity of mandatory sentences.

    Some efforts to roll back harsh sentencing rules continue: In Illinois, traditionally a leader in criminal justice reform, one bill that would soften truth-in-sentencing requirements has stalled, though another was introduced in January 2025.

    But in many other states, truth-in-sentencing laws and other similar laws that impose longer sentences are making a comeback, particularly for violent crimes.

    Since 2023, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Dakota and Tennessee have passed truth-in-sentencing laws. North Dakota is now considering similar legislation. In November 2024, Colorado voters required people convicted of violent crimes to serve higher percentages of their sentences, which is a similar move, though it didn’t bear the “truth-in-sentencing” label.

    A personal lens on the topic

    These laws have real effects on real people.

    In 1998, I was sentenced to 22 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a gang-related violent crime I committed as a juvenile. I served just 11 of those years under a long-standing policy that allowed individuals to serve half their sentence with good behavior.

    But if I had been arrested just 100 days later, a truth-in-sentencing law would have taken effect, and I would have had to serve the full 22 years.

    Eleven years is a long time. Since my release in 2012, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. I’m now a college professor, author, husband and father.

    If I had been required to serve my full sentence, I would have been released in 2023, older and with fewer opportunities for education, rehabilitation and rebuilding my life.

    Instead of being able to start my education at the age of 30, I would have entered the world in my forties, making it much harder to pursue a decade of schooling to become a professor. The delay would have also made it harder to start a family, forcing me to balance career-building with the difficulties of having children later in life.

    Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony in May 2023.
    AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

    Not deterring crime

    Supporters of truth-in-sentencing laws say they are intended to increase accountability for wrongdoing and deter crime. The logic can seem reasonably intuitive: If people know they will receive a harsher punishment, they will be less likely to commit particular crimes.

    But research finds that those are not the results. There is no compelling evidence that punitive sentencing policies discourage individuals from engaging in criminal activity.

    And states without truth-in-sentencing laws have seen their crime rates fall to roughly the same degree as states that have the laws.

    Harming society at large

    Research also finds that truth-in-sentencing laws cause far-reaching harms to people convicted of crimes and to society at large, undermining both rehabilitation and public safety.

    Because truth-in-sentencing laws focus on deterrence, they do not address the causes of criminal behavior, such as poverty and childhood trauma.

    These laws also make prisons less safe: They remove incentives for people in prison to follow the rules, get an education, participate in psychotherapy or otherwise engage in positive activities while behind bars.

    The vast majority of incarcerated people – six out of every seven inmates – are released into society again. Under truth-in-sentencing laws, they emerge from prison less prepared to follow the laws than they would have been if they had access to educational programs, therapy and an incentive structure that encouraged rehabilitation while incarcerated.

    A study in Georgia, for instance, found that after stricter sentencing requirements were enacted, inmates subject to the new rules committed more disciplinary infractions and participated in fewer rehabilitation programs in prison. And once released, they were more likely to commit new crimes than released inmates who had not been subject to the stricter sentences.

    Costing taxpayers dearly

    Additionally, the financial burden of these laws is significant.

    For example, Arkansas’ truth-in-sentencing law, passed in 2023, is projected to cost the state’s taxpayers at least US$160 million over the next decade to pay for increased prison capacity and staffing.

    Instead of deterring crime, truth-in-sentencing laws lock more people up for longer periods of time without addressing the underlying factors, which strains already overburdened correctional systems.

    These laws also disproportionately affect people of color, exacerbating systemic inequities in the criminal justice system.

    These people incarcerated in a California prison are learning computer programming.
    AP Photo/Eric Risberg

    A different path

    For me, the possibility of earning good-time credit was a powerful motivator to engage in rehabilitative activities and regain lost time after disciplinary infractions.

    When I began my sentence, Illinois law allowed people to receive a 50% reduction in their sentence through good-time credit: I might need to serve only half of my original 22-year sentence, and be released after 11 years, if I maintained good behavior.

    Breaking the rules would cost credit, extending my time in prison beyond that 50% mark. Early in my sentence, I broke the rules and was placed in isolation – also called segregation or restrictive housing, in a cell for 24 hours a day, except for six hours of exercise a week – for a total of 18 months, resulting in a significant loss of my good-time credit. As a result, instead of serving 11 years, my expected time in prison increased to approximately 12.5 years.

    This setback was a turning point. I knew that my actions had directly affected the length of time I would have to spend in prison. I became determined to earn back my lost time. I focused on staying out of trouble, earning my GED, completing my associate degree and enrolling in available programs. I was able to regain my time credit and had to serve only 11 years.

    Under today’s truth-in-sentencing laws, none of this would have been possible. I would have been required to serve my full sentence, regardless of whether I chose to change, rehabilitate or prepare for life after prison. The ability to reduce my sentence through good behavior and educational achievement gave me a tangible incentive to turn my life around, an opportunity that truth-in-sentencing laws eliminate.

    A way forward

    By contrast, investing in rehabilitation not only improves outcomes for those incarcerated but also makes communities safer by reducing the cycle of crime.

    Research shows that in-prison rehabilitation programs – particularly those centered on education and vocational training programs and social-support services such as housing help, mental health care and job placement assistance – reduce recidivism rates. While in prison, people are held accountable while also having opportunities to grow and learn, preparing for successful reintegration into society after their release.

    I believe that in the overwhelming majority of people in prison, there is potential for redemption – but that potential is most likely to emerge when they have opportunities to learn and grow and receive benefits for making changes in their lives.

    Unfortunately, many states are choosing to spend millions locking up more people for longer periods – while giving them less opportunity to improve themselves and their lives, reducing their potential for change and safe, productive reintegration into society upon release.

    John Leverso 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. States that impose severe prison sentences accomplish the opposite of what they say they want – https://theconversation.com/states-that-impose-severe-prison-sentences-accomplish-the-opposite-of-what-they-say-they-want-247550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ian Anson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Even in polarized times, some American voters still cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

    With the 2024 U.S. election over and done with, political analysts and both major parties are already turning their attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2026.

    All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate seats will be up for grabs. The Democrats are as desperate to retake control of Congress as Republicans are to keep it. A Democratic-controlled Congress in 2026 would do everything in its power to halt President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in its tracks.

    To edge out their opponent, candidates in highly competitive districts will have to win over some voters who rejected their own party’s presidential candidate in 2024. Democratic candidates will need to get support from at least some Trump voters; Republicans will need some support from Kamala Harris voters.

    Despite the intensely polarized U.S. political environment, a significant number of Americans routinely cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates at the polls. When it happens on the same ballot, this is called ticket-splitting.

    Just who are these voters, and when do they choose to split their tickets?

    I am a political scientist who studies American voting behavior. I see these questions as key to understanding how long Trump’s total control of government will last.

    Split tickets in North Carolina and Arizona

    Ticket-splitting created some surprising election returns in 2024, mostly benefiting down-ballot Democrats.

    For instance, Republican Donald Trump won North Carolina by around 3 percentage points, but voters elected a Democrat, Josh Stein, for governor by a margin of almost 15 percentage points. Several hundred thousand North Carolinians split their tickets to produce this outcome.

    More than 100,000 Arizonans likewise split their tickets in 2024, electing Trump with 52% of the vote, yet rejecting the Trump-aligned Senate candidate Kari Lake in favor of Democrat Ruben Gallego.

    Many experts believe that candidates such as Gallego and Stein were simply perceived as less extreme than their opponents, and so they lured moderate voters and even some Republicans.

    In this theory, extreme MAGA-aligned candidates win primary elections because they attract the most partisan voters. But they turn off many people in the general electorate.

    Marylanders split their tickets

    One of the most extreme examples of ticket-splitting in 2024 was in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland.

    Partyliners or ticket-splitters? Maryland voters cast their ballots in Baltimore on Nov. 5, 2024.
    J. Countess/Getty Images

    Cardin was a retiring three-term Democrat who had last won reelection in 2018 by an astronomical margin of over 34 percentage points. Initially, many expert analysts saw the seat as safe for Democrats.

    Then, in February 2024, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had previously ruled out a Senate run, surprised political analysts by entering the Republican primary. After winning the primary handily, Hogan eventually squared off against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, in the general election.

    Suddenly, a matchup that should have been Alsobrook’s to lose got competitive.

    Hogan, who left office in 2023, was a successful Republican governor who won election twice in reliably blue Maryland. Perceived by many voters as an ideological moderate, he was also a vocal Trump opponent in a state that supported Biden over Trump in 2020 by around 33 percentage points. During his governorship, Hogan routinely outperformed MAGA-aligned Republicans who ran for Congress in Maryland.

    Ultimately, Hogan did lose to Alsobrooks. She became Maryland’s first female U.S. senator and first Black U.S. senator. Yet Hogan came an incredible 17 percentage points closer to winning than Trump did. Kamala Harris beat Trump by 1.9 million votes, winning 63% of the electorate to Trump’s 34%.

    This means that Hogan exceeded Trump’s vote total by over 300,000 votes. That’s an immense amount of ticket-splitting by Marylanders in 2024.

    Who are the Hogan Democrats?

    To better understand ticket-splitting in Maryland’s 2024 election, I analyzed a survey that my university conducted in Baltimore County. Baltimore County is a bellwether county that has backed the winning gubernatorial candidate in every election since 2006.

    The UMBC Battleground Exit Poll surveyed 1,119 voters at election precincts across Baltimore County during early voting and on Election Day 2024. The results were weighted to ensure demographic representativeness.

    This extensive survey shows that around 10% of all voters in Baltimore County supported the surprising combination of the Democrat Harris and the Republican Hogan.

    In contrast, fewer than 2% of Trump voters split their tickets to back the Democratic Senate candidate Alsobrooks.

    My team’s data analysis shows that roughly half of Harris-Hogan voters – 51% – were Democrats. These ticket-splitters included a higher percentage of white voters than the Democrats who supported both Harris and Alsobrooks. Around 37% of Harris-Hogan voters identified as Black, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern or another nonwhite racial category, compared with 55% of Harris-Alsobrooks voters.

    We found virtually no gender differences between Democrats who split their tickets to back a woman for president and a man for Senate and those who backed two women candidates.

    Harris-Hogan Democrats tended to be better educated than other voting groups. Around 68% reported having a college degree, compared with around 51% of all survey respondents.

    Perhaps the most striking feature of Harris-Hogan voters is their self-declared moderation.

    On a seven-point ideological scale ranging from “very liberal” to “very conservative,” around 61% of Harris-Hogan ticket-splitters put themselves at the exact midpoint of the scale. Only around 42% of the full sample of Maryland voters categorized themselves as centrist.

    Can moderates survive in Trump’s shadow?

    As our study shows, Hogan’s popularity in Maryland is due in part to his appeal among moderates. This finding helps to explain how this Republican has remained popular among Democrats and independent voters.

    However, Hogan still lost. Unlike in Arizona, where the Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego won by wooing moderate Republicans, the tenuous balance of power in the U.S. House and Senate may have prevented some Democratic and independent voters in Maryland from crossing the aisle to support a moderate Republican.

    Of course, Hogan also faced a formidable opponent. Alsobrooks had already emerged victorious in a tight primary against a well-funded and popular incumbent U.S. House representative, David Trone. I suspect a less-skilled Democratic candidate would have created even more Harris-Hogan voters.

    Ultimately, my analysis of ticket-splitting in 2024 reveals that even in an era of entrenched polarization, many voters approach congressional and presidential races with different mindsets.

    This dynamic will likely influence the next election cycle, too.

    The party of the president often takes heavy losses in midterm elections. In 2026, congressional candidates – and Democrats in particular – will be doing everything they can to woo moderates.

    This will be especially true if Trump’s aggressive policies, such as widespread government layoffs and mass deportations, prove unpopular.

    Let the campaigning begin.

    Ian Anson 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. How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms – https://theconversation.com/how-ticket-splitting-voters-could-shape-the-2026-midterms-246017

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cutting Medicaid and federal programs are among 4 key Trump administration policy changes that could make life harder for disabled people

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Borus, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    Disabled people’s employment rights and access to free health care are among the policy issues that the Trump administration is aiming to change. Catherine McQueen/Moment/Getty Images

    While policy debates on immigration, abortion and other issues took center stage in the 2024 presidential election, the first months of the Trump administration have also signaled major changes in federal disability policy.

    An estimated 20% to 25% of Americans have a disability of some kind, including physical, sensory, psychological and intellectual disabilities.

    Disability experts, myself included, fear that the Trump administration is creating new barriers for disabled people to being hired at a job, getting a quality education and providing for basic needs, including health insurance.

    Here are four key areas of disability policy to watch over the coming years.

    People hold signs at a protest in June 2024 demanding subway elevator reliability for disabled people in New York.
    Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

    1. Rights at work

    The Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990, requires that employers with more than 15 employees not discriminate against otherwise qualified candidates on the basis of their disability. It also requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to disabled workers. This means, for instance, that a new or renovated workplace should have accessible entrances so that a worker who uses a wheelchair can enter.

    Despite these protections, I have spoken to many disabled workers in my research who are reluctant to ask for accommodations for fear that a supervisor might think that they were too demanding or not worth continuing to employ.

    Trump’s actions in his first days in office have likely reinforced such fears.

    In one of the many executive orders Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, he called for the relevant government agencies to terminate what he called “all discriminatory programs,” including all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies, programs and activities that Trump deems “immoral.”

    The next day, Trump put workers in federal DEIA and accessibility positions on administrative leave.

    The following week, a tragic plane crash outside Washington, D.C., killed 67 people. Trump, without any evidence, blamed the crash on unidentified disabled workers in the Federal Aviation Administration, enumerating a wide and seemingly unrelated list of disabilities that, in his mind, meant that workers lacked the “special talent” to work at the FAA.

    Advocates quickly pushed back, pointing out that disabled workers meet all qualifications for federal and private sector jobs they are hired to perform.

    2. The federal workforce

    Many government disability programs have complex rules designed to limit the number of people who qualify for support.

    For instance, I study supplemental security income, a federal program that provides very modest cash support – on average, totaling US$697 a month in 2024 – to 7.4 million people who are disabled, blind or over 65 if they also have very low income and assets.

    It can take months or even years for someone to go through the process to initially document their disability and finances and show they qualify for SSI. Once approved, many beneficiaries want to make sure they don’t accidentally put their benefits at risk in situations where they are working very limited hours, for example.

    To get answers, they can go to a Social Security office or call an agency phone line. But there are already not enough agency workers to process applications or answer questions quickly. I spoke in 2022 with more than 10 SSI beneficiaries who waited on hold for hours while they tried to get more information about their cases, only to receive unclear or conflicting information.

    Such situations may grow even more severe, as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk try to eliminate large numbers of federal employee positions. So far, tens of thousands of federal workers have been laid off from their jobs in 2025. More layoffs may be coming – on Feb. 12, 2025, Trump instructed federal agency heads to prepare for further “large-scale reductions in force.”

    At the same time, multiple Social Security Administration offices have also been marked for closure since January 2025. An overall effect of these changes will be fewer workers to answer questions from disabled citizens.

    3. Educational opportunities

    Students with disabilities, like all students, are legally entitled to a free public education. This right is guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, passed in 1975. IDEA is enforced by the federal Education Department.

    But Trump is reportedly in the process of dismantling the Education Department, with the goal of eventually closing it. It is not clear what this will mean for Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act enforcement, but one possibility is laid out in the Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, a policy blueprint with broad support in Trump’s administration.

    Project 2025 proposes that Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act funds “should be converted into a no-strings formula block grant.” Block grants are a funding structure by which federal funds are reduced and each state is given a lump sum rather than designating the programs the funds will support. In practice, this can mean that states divert the money to other programs or policy areas, which can create opportunities for funds to be misused.

    With block grants, local school districts would be subject to less federal oversight meant to ensure that they provide every student with an adequate education. Families who already must fight to ensure that their children receive the schooling they deserve will be put on weaker footing if the federal government signals that states can redirect the money as they wish.

    4. Health care

    Before President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, many disabled people lived with the knowledge that an insurer could regard a disability as a preexisting condition and thereby deny them coverage or charge more for their insurance.

    The ACA prohibited insurance companies from charging more or denying coverage based on preexisting conditions.

    Republicans have long opposed the ACA, with House Speaker Mike Johnson promising before the 2024 election to pursue an agenda of “No Obamacare.”

    About 15 million disabled people have health insurance through Medicaid, a federal health insurance program that covers more than 74 million low-income people. But large Medicaid cuts are also on the Republican agenda.

    These deep cuts might include turning Medicaid into another block grant. They could also partly take the form of imposing work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, which could serve as grounds on which to disqualify people from receiving benefits.

    While proponents of work requirements often claim that disabled people will be exempt, research shows that many will still lose health coverage, and that Medicaid coverage itself often supports people who are working.

    Medicaid is also a crucial source of funding for home- and community-based services, including personal attendants who help many people perform daily activities and live on their own. This helps disabled people live independently in their communities, rather than in institutional settings. Notably, Project 2025 points to so-called “nonmedical” services covered under Medicaid as part of the program’s “burden” on states.

    When home- and community-based services are unavailable, some disabled people have no options but to move into nursing homes. One recent analysis found that nursing homes housed roughly 210,000 long-term residents under age 65 with disabilities. Many nursing facilities are understaffed, which contributed to the brutal toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes.

    In response to both the pandemic and years of advocacy, the Biden administration mandated higher staffing ratios at nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. But Republicans are eyeing repealing that rule, according to Politico’s reporting.

    U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, right, speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19, 2025, on efforts to protect Medicaid from cuts.
    Nathan Poser/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Daunting task

    Tracking potential changes to disability policy is a complicated endeavor. There is no federal department of disability policy, for example.

    Instead, relevant laws and programs are spread throughout what we often think of as separate policy areas. So while disability policy includes obvious areas such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is also vitally relevant in areas such as immigration and emergency response.

    These issues of health care, education and more could impact millions of lives, but they are far from the only ones where Trump administration changes threaten to harm disabled people.

    Different programs have their own definitions of disability, which people seeking assistance must work to keep track of.

    This was a daunting task in 2024. Now it may become even more difficult.

    Matthew Borus received funding in the past from ARDRAW, a small grant program for graduate students working on disability research. The program was run by Policy Research, Inc. and funded by the Social Security Administration. The opinions and conclusions expressed here are solely the author’s.

    – ref. Cutting Medicaid and federal programs are among 4 key Trump administration policy changes that could make life harder for disabled people – https://theconversation.com/cutting-medicaid-and-federal-programs-are-among-4-key-trump-administration-policy-changes-that-could-make-life-harder-for-disabled-people-244458

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudice

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Linn Washington, Jr., Professor of Journalism, Temple University

    Philadelphians attend a meeting at Germantown’s Center in the Park on Feb. 25, 2025, to strategize a new Black agenda. Linn Washington Jr. , CC BY-NC-ND

    A meeting in Philadelphia, held at a senior center on a bitter cold Saturday afternoon in late January 2025, drew nearly 300 people.

    They came for two key reasons.

    One was to voice outrage at the upsurge in policies and proposals nationwide that attack the advances of African Americans – many of which were secured in part through 1960s-era civil rights protests.

    The other was to begin to develop a “Black agenda” to counter those attacks in Philadelphia.

    In gathering communally to voice their concerns, attendees continued a legacy of Black-led protest meetings that spans over two centuries in the city.

    I am a professor of journalism at Temple University and a reporter who has covered racial inequities in America and abroad for 50 years. I was invited to attend the Philadelphia meeting to talk about the history of protest meetings in the city.

    That’s a history of successes and shortfalls that helped shape both Philadelphia and the nation.

    First mass meeting

    Over 200 years ago, what is considered the first mass protest meeting ever held in the United States by African Americans took place in Philadelphia.

    That little-known meeting, held in January 1817, drew 3,000 African Americans to Philadelphia’s historic Mother Bethel AME Church. The attendees came to denounce efforts by the American Colonization Society to relocate free Black Americans to a colony in West Africa. That group, with a predominately white membership that included prominent politicians and preachers, believed free Blacks could not be integrated into white America.

    The attendees at Mother Bethel in 1817 saw relocation as a forced removal of Black Americans from the homeland they supported as patriotically as white Americans. The unanimous opposition that attendees expressed helped change the stance of local Black leaders, such as Mother Bethel founder Richard Allen, from lukewarm supporters of relocation to opponents.

    Successes and shortfalls

    The tradition of mass meetings to address the adversity impacting Philadelphia’s African American community continued from the 19th century into the 20th and now the 21st century.

    The results have been mixed.

    For example, after members of the Pennsylvania state legislature proposed inserting a white-males-only voting restriction into the state’s constitution in 1838, denying voting rights for free Black men, Black Philadelphians held mass meetings to demand the provision be deleted.

    But those demands failed. Pennsylvania restricted voting to white men until 1870 when ratification of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote.

    However, mass meetings during the 1860s that had an agenda to desegregate trolleys in Philadelphia were successful. A law signed in 1867 banned segregated seating on public transit statewide.

    Renowned scholar and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois credited “public meetings and repeated agitation” for that statewide ban in his seminal 1899 book “The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study.”

    Demands to end police brutality have been the focus of mass meetings in the city at least since the 1918 formation of Philadelphia’s now-defunct Association for the Protection of Colored People. Abusive policing practices that continue in Philadelphia to this day point to a shortfall in fulfilling those demands.

    And yet, momentum from the key agenda item of mass meetings in the early 1970s – to increase political power – ultimately led to the election of the city’s first Black mayor, Wilson Goode, in 1983.

    Unfinished business

    Since 1817, Black-led protest meetings in Philadelphia have sought to end discrimination against African Americans. That consistent goal remains unrealized.

    The first national political conventions that African Americans staged in the U.S., beginning in September 1830, castigated discrimination. Convention attendees in 1831 sought an end to cruel and oppressive laws devised to disadvantage free Blacks.

    Nearly 150 years later, the “Human Rights Agenda” developed during a Philadelphia mass meeting in December 1978 and later the report from Philadelphia’s 2015 Black Political Summit Coalition both decried racial prejudice against African Americans.

    An observation that Du Bois made in “The Philadelphia Negro” about discrimination against African Americans in the so-called City of Brotherly Love retains contemporary relevance.

    A mural dedicated to Du Bois and the Old Seventh Ward is painted on the corner of 6th and South streets in Philadelphia.
    Paul Marotta/Getty Images Entertainment Collection via Getty Images

    Race prejudice “is a far more powerful social force than most Philadelphians realize,” Du Bois wrote. Most white Philadelphians, he noted, “are quite unconscious” regarding the prejudice that impacts Black residents. Their impulse is emphatically to deny such discrimination.

    Such denial allowed prejudice to persist then – and today.

    To begin to develop a new Black agenda, the organizers of the meeting at the senior center collected suggestions that attendees filed on note cards. They promised to publicly announce an action plan that is expected to involve economic boycotts and actions to strengthen the economic infrastructure in Philadelphia’s African American community.

    Defending rights and progress aroused attendees at that January meeting in 2025 as strongly as denouncing forced colonization aroused attendees at the mass meeting 208 years earlier.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    Linn Washington, Jr. 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. Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudice – https://theconversation.com/philadelphia-continues-long-history-of-black-led-protest-meetings-aimed-at-fighting-racial-inequity-and-prejudice-249117

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Tech’s Answer to Pollution | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Biotech, AI and other advanced technologies are opening new possibilities in material science and resource circularity.

    What are the most promising technologies and how can they address pollution in the air, land, or marine ecosystems?

    Speakers: Takayuki Morita, Ronaldo Lemos, Manuela Kasper-Claridge, Jessika Roswall

    The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

    This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
    YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
    X ► https://twitter.com/wef
    LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
    TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
    Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65MqMlg71A0

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Greens press government to act on Grenfell oversight

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    Responding to the government’s announcement that it will accept all the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (1), Green MP Carla Denyer urged the government to accept her Private Members’ Bill on preventing future deaths. 

    Carla’s Bill calls for the creation of a National Oversight Mechanism which would have responsibility for ensuring that recommendations made following inquests and inquiries are followed. Currently, there is no body which has this responsibility. 

    Reacting to the government’s statement, Carla Denyer MP said: 

    “The deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell tower fire was an unimaginable tragedy, but worse, it was an avoidable tragedy. We owe it to those who lost their lives to make sure nothing like this happens again. 

    “I welcome the Government’s commitment to taking forward all of the report’s recommendations, a vital first step towards justice. 

    “The Grenfell Inquiry recognised a failure of the state to properly follow up on the recommendations made by inquests and inquiries – meaning that too often, changes needed to prevent people from harm are simply not made. Time and time again, bereaved families go through the trauma of reliving the circumstances of a loved one’s death at an inquest only for the lessons from that death to be forgotten.

    “We urgently need an organisation responsible for making sure that recommendations from inquests and inquiries are actually followed, rather than being forgotten. I have put forward a Bill to create a National Oversight Mechanism for state-related deaths, which would do just that. It would be an independent body, able to scrutinise government action so bereaved families don’t have to be the ones fighting for change.

    “The National Oversight Mechanism proposal has the support of over 70 organisations, including Grenfell United, Amnesty, the Mayor of London, and the Institute for Government. It recently featured as a recommendation in the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report on deaths of mental health patients. It’s clear that this is badly needed, and I hope the government will support my Bill.” 

    (1) Government responds in full to Grenfell Tower Inquiry, setting out tough new reforms to fix building safety and strengthen accountability  – GOV.UK

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Enhanced registration service to reduce requisitions and delays

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Enhanced registration service to reduce requisitions and delays

    HM Land Registry is introducing enhanced digital checks to support our customers to submit error-free applications.

    MMD Creative/Shutterstock.com

    • Simple administrative errors, such as name or title number errors, will be highlighted on submission for all digital applications submitted through Business Gateway and the Digital Registration Service in the portal.
    • The enhanced service will be delivered in autumn 2025. We will be working with our existing third-party integrators to migrate to the new service in the following months.
    • Customers will be prompted to resolve highlighted errors before resubmitting applications.
    • By resolving these errors before accepting applications, we will save our customers thousands of hours spent on unnecessary administrative tasks and enable an improved speed of service by allowing caseworkers to focus on the more complex areas of land registration.

    From autumn 2025, customers submitting applications through the Digital Registration Service, on both the HM Land Registry portal and through third-party software providers, will be unable to submit applications containing simple errors. We’ll be working with third-party integrators to support the adoption of this new service. 

    Many of these checks are already being performed in the Digital Registration Service on the portal and will soon be available for all Business Gateway-enabled software. 

    By 2028 this could save customers an estimated 300,000 hours a year, waiting for an unnecessary, manual, administrative process, and end annoying requisitions that can be resolved much earlier. This is roughly 150 people, working full time, for a year.

    Mark Gray, Chief Transformation & Technology Officer, said

    This is another key milestone in improving our customer service and our processing times. By preventing errors up-front, automating routine tasks and removing unnecessary correspondence, we will save time for our customers and our caseworkers alike. And this is just the next step in modernising and automating more of our work, there is much more to come.

    HM Land Registry is focusing on easily avoidable, administrative errors to save customers’ time but also to enable further automation of HM Land Registry processes – removing time-consuming administrative work and improving overall service speeds.

    The organisation will continue to enhance the registration service by introducing further checks on the data contained in transfer and charge deeds in late 2026.

    Read through the full list of checks.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Latest CarGurus Brand Campaign Celebrates Life’s Big Deal Moments, Like Buying a Car

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The “Big Deal” campaign pays tribute to the momentous experience of car shopping, along with the trusted digital tools from CarGurus that help consumers find the best deal on their big deal

    BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CarGurus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CARG), the fastest-growing automotive shopping site in Canada1, today announced the launch of its latest national brand campaign, “Big Deal”, recognizing the important role cars play in people’s lives. The new spots empathize with the big decisions drivers make along the buying journey, underscoring CarGurus’ role in helping consumers find the best deal on their big deal.

    “CarGurus has helped drivers along this important journey for nearly two decades, developing the best tools and information to help consumers feel confident in their decisions,” noted Dafna Sarnoff, CarGurus Chief Marketing Officer. “As a result, CarGurus has earned the trust of millions of Canadian users who turn to our site each month to make sure they find the best deal for their needs.”

    CarGurus connects buyers to the best deals by providing complete vehicle history and unbiased deal ratings on a wide selection of new and used vehicles. Added tools like an easy-to-use app, price drop alerts, and the ability to start financing online enable confident decision-making in one of the biggest purchases of a person’s life. The platform also supports sellers with car pricing tools and the ability to receive an instant offer to sell their car completely online.

    “Although CarGurus makes the process easy with all the tools and information you need to get the best deal, we don’t want to lessen the gravity of the purchase and its significant impact on people’s lives,” said Carter Collins, Partner and Managing Director of Bindery. “Buying or selling a car is a huge decision, an emotional experience that we wanted to reflect in this campaign.”

    The “Big Deal” campaign will run across TV networks and connected TV providers. The spots will be supplemented with digital and social executions throughout the year. View the full campaign video library here.

    Creative Credits:

    CarGurus

    • Dafna Sarnoff, Chief Marketing Officer
    • Evan Jones, Creative Director
    • Allison Conroy, Brand Marketing Director
    • Carli Riibner, Sr Brand Marketing Specialist
    • Maggie Meluzio, Director of Public Relations

    Creative and Production – Bindery

    • Carter Collins, Partner, Managing Director
    • Kim Devall, Executive Creative Director
    • Laura Hockstad, Producer
    • Chris Hilk, Editor

    Production – Ruffian

    • Bubble & Squeak, Director
    • Robert Herman, Founder, EP
    • Leslie Vaughn, Line Producer
    • Paul Meyers, Director of Photography
    • Craig Pinckes, 1st Assistant Director

    Production Services – Habitant

    • Arturo Arroyo, Managing Director
    • Montserrat Becerril, Chief of Staff
    • Elizabeth Tapia, Head of Production
    • Ivan Perez, Executive Producer
    • Andrea Fumero, Line Producer
    • Rodrigo Sánchez, Production Manager

    Color + VFX – Trafik

    • Daniel de Vue, Senior Colorist
    • Ali Soofi, Assistant Colorist
    • Geoff Linville, Color Producer
    • Greer Bratschie, Head of Production
    • Karena Ajamian, Executive Producer
Ciaran Birks, VFX Producer
    • Jaime Aguirre, Flame Lead
    • Ben Fall, Flame Assist

    Animation and Text Graphics – Buff Motion

    Sound – Antfood

    • Wilson Brown, Partner, Executive Creative Director
    • Sue Lee, Executive Producer
    • Joshua Heath, Creative Lead
    • Dalton Harts, Composer, Mix Engineer
    • Linton Smith, Mix Engineer
    • Trevor Haimes, Senior Producer
    • Charlie Blasberg, Music Supervisor
    • Katie Hansen, Production Coordinator

    About CarGurus, Inc.
    CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) is a multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles that is building upon its industry-leading listings marketplace with digital retail solutions. The CarGurus platform gives consumers the confidence to purchase and/or sell a vehicle either online or in-person, and it gives dealerships the power to accurately price, effectively market, and quickly sell vehicles, all with a nationwide reach. The company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms, and data analytics to bring trust, transparency, and competitive pricing to the automotive shopping experience. CarGurus is the fastest-growing automotive shopping site in Canada. 1

    CarGurus operates online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in the U.K., Canada, and U.S., where it is the most visited automotive shopping site2. The CarGurus network of brands also includes PistonHeads, the largest online motoring community in the U.K.3; Autolist, a U.S.-based online marketplace; and CarOffer, a digital wholesale marketplace serving the U.S.

    To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.ca.

    CarGurus® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc., and CarOffer® is a registered trademark of CarOffer, LLC. All other product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    1Similarweb: Traffic Insights, Q4 2024, Canada
    2Similarweb: Traffic Report [Cars.com, Autotrader, TrueCar, CARFAX Listings (defined as CARFAX Total visits
    minus Vehicle History Reports traffic)], Q4 2024, U.S.
    3Similarweb: Traffic Insights, Q4 2024, U.K.

    Media Contact:
    Maggie Meluzio
    Director, Public Relations & External Communications
    pr@cargurus.com

    Investor Contact:
    Kirndeep Singh
    Vice President, Investor Relations
    investors@cargurus.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1267674-ed08-44a3-a107-cde3ff19ccdb

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Michael S Barr: Managing financial crises

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I note that the objectives of the Program on Financial Stability include “supporting the world’s financial authorities in refining proven crises management tools and strategies.” Speaking as a representative of one of those authorities, I thought I would further the program’s goals by focusing these remarks on the principles and practice of crisis management. I am favored in that task with what one might call the luck of having been regularly confronted with crises in each of my three stints as a public servant, over a career divided between government and academia. In noting how often my arrival in government was accompanied by crisis, it might be reasonable to wonder if this is correlation or causation.

    Kidding aside, crisis management is central to all management because it demands the very best from managers when it is most needed. Anyone who spends time in government can expect that some of the most memorable and challenging experiences will be managing through tough situations, when the answers to problems are unclear but the mission of the organization comes into acute focus. The financial system is in a perpetual state balancing risk and reward. Sometimes the system falls out of balance, and vulnerabilities turn into stress or even crisis. This moment is when it is crucial to mitigate spillovers from the financial system that can hurt businesses and households and wreak havoc on the economy at large.

    Some of the most important features of modern economies were developed to prevent and mitigate financial crises. The first central banks, and eventually the Federal Reserve, were created to provide stable currencies and banking systems in support of the long-term stability of the provision of credit necessary to foster growth and rising living standards. Regulation of financial markets, regulation and supervision of banks, federal deposit insurance, and laws to protect investors, consumers, and businesses were developed over time to promote both financial stability and durable economic growth. I have spoken previously about how monetary policy and financial stability are inextricably linked and how the tools we use to conduct monetary policy and support financial stability work together.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour: Transforming banking and advancing sustainability

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Since its inception 58 years ago, ASEAN has evolved to become a significant force in global trade, investment and diplomacy. ASEAN now stands as the world’s fourth-largest economic bloc, with an estimated GDP of USD4.13 trillion.1 Looking ahead to 2025, ASEAN is poised for another strong year. GDP is expected to grow by 4.7%,2 significantly outperforming the global average. Much has been said about ASEAN’s pivotal role in global supply chains, our geopolitical neutrality and our strategic location for global trade. However, ASEAN’s driver for sustainable economic growth also comes from within: robust domestic consumption from a youthful demographic, strong growth of individual member states and increasing regional integration. In 2023, for example, intra-ASEAN trade accounted for 21.5% of the region’s total trade in goods.

    Let me touch briefly on Malaysia’s growth outlook. After a strong performance last year, Malaysia is expected to record steady growth going into 2025 despite the challenging global environment. The diversified export structure will help cushion against external demand shocks. But, more importantly, key factors within the economy, particularly the robust expansion in investment activity and resilient household spending, will be important to drive growth this year. Exports are also expected to continue expanding with support from tech upcycle and forthcoming tourist arrivals. We acknowledge that the growth outlook is highly subject to risks from trade and investment restrictions. However, growth could potentially be higher from greater spillovers from the tech upcycle, more robust tourism activities and faster implementation of investment projects in the country.

    The financial sector lies at the core of ASEAN’s progress over the years. The sector acts as the central engine to our economy, facilitating financial flows within ASEAN. Indeed, over the last few decades, we have made progress in facilitating regional capital flows, connecting our payment infrastructure and introducing a framework to support the integration of our banking system through the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF). However, the potential for intra-ASEAN investments remains untapped, and there is still much to be done to achieve regional regulatory coherence. My vision is for the financial sector to become the critical enabler for the next phase of economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2045. This would require the sector to strategically harness the three driving forces: funding, technology and talent.

    Mobilising funds to unlock new growth sectors, bridge financing gap and drive sustainable growth for ASEAN

    Let’s start with funding, which is a crucial driver of ASEAN economic growth. ASEAN is facing significant funding gaps that demand our urgent attention. Let me share a few examples. The Asian Development Bank reports that ASEAN economies will need infrastructure investments of at least USD2.8 trillion from 2023 to 2030 to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty and respond to climate change. Key projects in the region that require large financing include the ASEAN Power Grid, which is pivotal to advancing the region’s climate and energy security agenda, and various ASEAN highway and railway projects, such as the Asian Highway Network, which are cornerstones of regional economic development and integration. Our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also face a daunting financing gap, exceeding USD300 billion annually.3

    These figures underscore the urgent need for strategic investments and collaborative efforts to secure a resilient and sustainable future for ASEAN. This need is even more pressing in a region where over 90% of all social infrastructure development has traditionally relied on public resources,4 and public funding faces increasing constraints. How, then, can the financial sector step in as a catalyst to crowd in diverse sources of funding and facilitate long-term investments to ensure sustainable economic expansion and build more resilient supply chains and communities?

    This is where blended finance, the strategic use of public, private, and philanthropic finance sources and development finance, can be a critical tool to mobilise additional private capital flows toward sustainable development in ASEAN. The financial sector is pivotal in advancing blended finance to meet funding gaps in ASEAN, by enabling acceptable risk-taking levels based on various funding sources. This approach leverages the willingness of development finance and philanthropic funders, including sovereign funds within ASEAN to assume greater risk exposure, utilising tools like partial credit guarantees to attract additional investors. Multilateral development banks and development finance institutions play a critical role by offering concessional financing and technical assistance, which supports local companies in accessing capital markets and structuring deals, thereby encouraging participation by private financial institutions through co-funding arrangements.

    I also believe that this is an opportunity for Islamic finance to demonstrate its unique role and impact. In recent years, Islamic finance has gained momentum within the ASEAN region. It offers alternative solutions to conventional financial structures through the use of risk sharing and social finance instruments that can be mobilised towards the development of productive economic sectors such as healthcare, transportation and green sectors. Notably, the deployment of blended capital using instruments such as waqf and zakat in Malaysia and a few neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Brunei have significantly contributed to financial inclusion for the underserved and strengthened support for the MSMEs. An example of this is Malaysia’s iTEKAD initiative, a social blended finance programme for low-income microentrepreneurs that provides social and commercial funding, which comes together with training and mentorship to empower them in generating sustainable income. In the capital market structure, Islamic finance has also been mobilised for infrastructure, climate and green projects. In Malaysia, for example, a total of USD56 billion of sukuk was issued in 2023 to fund real economic sectors with a high concentration in renewable energy and green real estate.

    Embracing innovative financing structures will involve navigating various complexities that demand careful consideration, collaboration and adaptation. Hence, advancing capacity building within the financial sector is very crucial. In Malaysia, the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) continues to serve as a key focal point in supporting the financial preparedness for climate change. As part of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Bank Negara Malaysia is committed to supporting the region’s transition efforts. During the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Governors Meeting week from 7 to 10 April this year in Kuala Lumpur, we will host several side events to advance these discussions. These events include a closed-door investor roundtable focused on innovative financing solutions for sizeable ASEAN green and transition projects, as well as pitching sessions on sustainable ASEAN Projects. We invite the financial industry to contribute and participate in these events.

    Responsible deployment of technology in financial services is key to maximise its potential while minimising risk

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    There is an immense potential for ASEAN to also leverage technology. This is the second point. With a median age of about 30 and a substantial portion under 35,5 ASEAN’s population is digitally proficient. Indeed, the adoption of digital financial services can be a game-changer in addressing challenges within the region, which include to better serve the needs of large unbanked and underbanked populations in our region.

    The outlook for digital financial services in ASEAN is very bright. Through innovations such as mobile wallets, digital payments and micro-lending, digital finance is expanding access to financial services for individuals who previously had limited options. These services are not just filling gaps – they are creating new pathways to financial inclusion, thereby allowing individuals to save, invest and access credit with unprecedented ease.

    While digital financial services hold tremendous promise, it comes with its own set of risks. Today’s technological advances are progressing at an unprecedented pace, making our response to these developments very crucial. For financial institutions, deployment of technology must be done thoughtfully and responsibly with holistic consideration of the impacts and value to the broader environment and community. This unwavering commitment to enhance financial services and preserve consumer confidence includes addressing cybersecurity risks, strengthening climate resilience, promoting financial literacy and ensuring that digital financial services are secure and accessible to all segments of society.

    As regulators, our commitment is for our policies to strike a balance between embracing technological innovation and, at the same time, preserving financial stability. Our Regulatory Sandbox allows for experimentation and contributes to the recalibration of regulatory policies such as eKYC. We also adapt our regulations to welcome new players into the market, those that have strong value propositions on inclusion, as demonstrated by the issuance of our licensing and regulatory framework for digital banks and digital insurers and takaful operators.

    Investing in talent strategies that not only creates a more agile and adaptive workforce, but also paves the way for regional talent mobility

    Let me move on to the third point. At the heart of economic growth and development lies talent. ASEAN is blessed with a vibrant, young and dynamic workforce. To capitalise on this potential, the financial sector will need to create an environment that nurtures the next generation of leaders and innovators in finance who carry a unique ASEAN identity – one that is not only tech-savvy, but also adept at navigating the complexities of regional regulations and global economic shifts while championing social equity and environmental sustainability.

    I would like to also take this opportunity to share Malaysia’s efforts in developing talent in our financial sector. In July last year, the industry launched the Financial Sector Future Skills Framework, and this is to empower individuals to take charge of their professional development, while creating new talent pipelines and succession pools. I reiterate the call I made during the launch of the framework for the industry to work closely with training institutes, professional bodies and industry associations to ensure that training programmes meet the established quality assurance standards and set high standards in new skill areas.

    Complementing this is a dynamic talent development hub, offering tailored learning programmes and certifications. For example, the Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) targets fresh graduates interested in launching their career in financial services, while globally recognised financial certifications are available for seasoned professionals.

    Malaysia is also home to regional research and learning hubs such as the SEACEN Centre and is recognised globally as a leader in Islamic finance. With a multitude of well-established talent development institutions and capacity-building providers in Islamic finance, we offer a fertile ground for nurturing specialised skills and thought leadership in this field.

    To truly capitalise on the large working-age population in ASEAN, we need to go beyond domestic efforts. Financial institutions across the region should pursue collaborative initiatives that enhance talent mobility, such as through mutual recognition of qualifications and expertise sharing. ABIF can also be leveraged to intensify efforts to promote greater regulatory coherence through capacity-building initiatives. By doing so, we can improve connectivity across ASEAN markets, paving the way for a more integrated and resilient future for the region.

    In closing, today’s discourse reaffirms the financial sector’s commitment to turning AEC 2045 into a reality. The challenge lies in ensuring that the ASEAN financial sector has the capacity to do so by mobilising funds, leveraging technology, and developing regional talent.

    As I conclude my speech, I leave you with a thought from Peter Drucker: ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ Together, let’s create a future where the financial sector empowers ASEAN’s growth and integration. On that note, I wish you all productive discussions during the rest of the Summit.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Joachim Nagel: Presentation of the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Annual Report 2024

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Check against delivery 

    1 Welcome

    Ladies and gentlemen, 

    I would like to welcome you to our press conference, at which we will present our annual accounts.

    First Deputy Governor Sabine Mauderer will explain our annual accounts to you in more detail in just a few moments. 

    To begin, however, I would like to take a look at current developments in economic activity and prices. I will then explain what conclusions I draw for our monetary policy stance. And, at the end of my statement, I will present the most important figures from our profit and loss account.

    2 Need for economic policy action in Germany

    Two days on from the snap Bundestag election, the election results are at the focus of attention among the media and the public as a whole.

    There is a clear government mandate and a likely option for a coalition. In view of this, I hope that a new government will be formed swiftly.

    I am sure that all of the parties involved are cognisant of their responsibility: Germany needs an effective government as soon as possible. A government that uses smart economic policy to enable the economy to get back on track. That puts the German economy on a path to higher growth. By ensuring greater certainty of planning and improving supply-side conditions.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How tourism and fish farming can thrive together

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mausam Budhathoki, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling

    The tourism and aquaculture sectors have been working together in Oban, on Scotland’s west coast. Rab Woods/Shutterstock

    In many coastal regions, tourism and fish farms are vital industries that drive economic growth. Yet, they often compete for space, raising concerns about how to balance these two sectors without compromising the environment or local livelihoods.

    In Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, the twin industries of tourism and aquaculture are learning to coexist – and even thrive together. Coastal communities can face economic challenges due to the seasonal nature of tourism as well as often limited job options. Their reliance on coastal resources, which are increasingly affected by environmental changes, can heighten the difficulties.

    Aquaculture in high-income countries hasn’t always had the best reputation. Public perception can be negative due to concerns about the environmental impact and resource use. But when it’s practised sustainably, aquaculture can in fact help meet global food demands and contribute to the UN’s sustainable development goals, a blueprint for economic growth that’s equitable and environmentally aware.

    Our recent study explored how tourists perceive aquaculture during their holiday and whether exposure to fish farms influences their willingness to consume locally farmed seafood. The results suggest that integrating aquaculture and tourism can increase awareness of sustainable seafood and create economic opportunities.

    Oban’s coastline is home to salmon farms, shellfish cultivation, including mussels and oysters, and new seaweed farms. All of these sit in waters popular for marine tours. The tours attract visitors eager to learn more about local wildlife and history. But, aquaculture often faces criticism due to its impact on the landscape and marine ecosystems.

    This tension is not unique to Oban. Across Europe, aquaculture growth has stagnated despite its potential to improve food security and sustainability. Regulatory challenges and conflicts over space are significant hurdles. This is especially true in coastal communities where the acceptance and support of the community – known as a “social licence to operate” – is crucial.

    But our study offers a promising solution: aquaculture–tourism integration. By showcasing aquaculture as part of the tourism experience, Oban can educate visitors, encourage greater acceptance of sustainable farming practices and boost the local economy.

    What tourists think about aquaculture

    We surveyed 200 tourists on marine tours in Oban to understand how they view aquaculture. The responses revealed three main types of tourists. These are those with multiple motivations (visitors drawn by nature, socialising and learning); “relaxers” (tourists seeking rest and relaxation, often with little previous knowledge of aquaculture); and outgoing nature enthusiasts (active travellers who value wildlife and environmental conservation).

    Despite their different motivations, most tourists responded positively to seeing fish farms during their tours. The most notable shift was among the “relaxers”, who were more interested in eating locally farmed seafood after learning about sustainable farming practices. This shows how education and direct experience can reshape the way seafood production is perceived.

    Aquaculture sites are often viewed as eyesores, but our findings show that when framed as part of local culture, they can actually enrich the tourist experience. Tourists appreciated learning about sustainable seafood production as the boats approached floating net cages and began to view aquaculture as a positive part of the community.

    Marine tours could include stops at aquaculture sites to let visitors see the operation, hear from farmers and even sample the products. This would present an opportunity to engage tourists and encourage a connection with the industry – potentially building trust with the public.

    A successful hybrid venture in the seas around Rhodes, Greece.

    This kind of integration offers several advantages. First, it can drive economic growth by attracting tourists interested in sustainable food and environmental practices. This can create a new revenue stream for both the aquaculture and tourism sectors. For example, a small farm on the Greek island of Rhodes partners with a diving centre to offer marine biology tours and dives around its site. Visitors learn about sustainable aquaculture and swim with sea bream in net pens, exploring how these practices support environmental conservation.

    Beyond the economic benefits, it can also raise environmental awareness. As tourists learn about sustainable seafood farming, they are more likely to support more environmentally friendly food production in general.

    By understanding how aquaculture contributes to food security, public perceptions could shift, leading to broader acceptance of aquaculture as a solution for global food challenges. And positive experiences of aquaculture not only shift perceptions but also make it easier for operators to win support from the community and encourage a more responsible approach to farming practices. However, it’s important that these efforts are honest and truly focused on environmental and social responsibility.

    While many of the benefits are clear, there are challenges. Both aquaculture and tourism can damage the environment. Tourism can lead to habitat disruption and pollution, while poorly managed aquaculture can affect water quality and marine biodiversity.

    But when farms are regularly visited as part of tourism activities such as boat tours or guided farm visits, there is a greater incentive to maintain high environmental standards. Nonetheless, careful planning and regulation are essential to ensure both sectors operate sustainably without harming ecosystems.

    Another challenge is the aesthetic impact of aquaculture, a common issue with industrial food production. Fish farms inevitably alter coastal landscapes, but operators can choose design solutions that balance production needs with preserving the outlook.

    Finally, competition for resources and space can lead to conflicts between tourism and aquaculture. Coastal communities must manage these demands carefully to ensure both sectors can thrive. This requires collaboration between tourism operators and aquaculture farmers to prevent clashes over infrastructure and resources.

    Oban’s successful integration of aquaculture and tourism offers a model that can could be replicated by coastal communities globally. But barriers, such as the remoteness of some farms or regulatory requirements, may limit feasibility. However, by transforming fish farms into educational attractions, Oban demonstrates how sustainable practices can benefit both sectors.

    With a focus on cooperation, education and responsible farming, an integrated approach between tourism operators and aquaculture companies could strengthen the reputation of local seafood. Ultimately, it offers a sustainable model for coastal communities.

    Mausam Budhathoki receives funding from the EATFISH project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant 956697).

    Dave Little receives funding from EATFISH project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant 956697).

    – ref. How tourism and fish farming can thrive together – https://theconversation.com/how-tourism-and-fish-farming-can-thrive-together-249835

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Starmer announces aid cuts to fund defence – but Britain’s days as an aid superpower are already long over

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Balazs Szent-Ivanyi, Reader in Politics and International Relations and Deputy Director Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University

    Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK will cut foreign aid in order to fund more defence spending seems like smart politics. With the US’s commitment to European security in question, it is clear that European countries, including the UK, need to spend more on defence.

    The US president, Donald Trump, with whom the prime minister is meeting on Thursday, has long called out Europeans for free-riding on America’s security guarantee. Credible promises of more British defence spending (including on American kit) may also deter Trump from introducing tariffs on UK imports.

    Building up the UK’s and Europe’s defence capabilities comes with a hefty price tag, and finding the money is tricky. The UK economy has weak growth prospects, and Labour has made a pledge not to increase taxes “on working people”. This leaves budget cuts in other areas as the only approach. The government seems to have decided that cutting foreign aid may be the least painful option for voters.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

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    Foreign aid has generally been seen as an area of government spending which has relatively weak groups of domestic supporters. Charities and companies that directly benefit from aid spending through government contracts are a smallish group, and many receive funding from several sources.

    Hostility to aid among the general public is relatively high. According to a 2024 survey by the British Foreign Policy Group, 46% of Britons surveyed thought that UK aid should not return to its previous high of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI), or should be cut even further below the 0.5% at the time of that survey.

    A frequent argument made by successive British governments is that aid, by targeting poverty and conflict, can address the root causes of migration. The public, however, is sceptical about aid’s ability to reduce irregular migration or make the UK safer.



    Read more:
    Why many policies to lower migration actually increase it

    Although Labour voters are more positive about aid’s benefits, it is unlikely that the government would see any major electoral harm from reductions to the aid budget.

    Where aid is really used

    While cutting aid may be a smart move politically, it will have longer-term consequences for the UK’s global influence and its ability to achieve positive change in the world. Many charities were quick to point this out, arguing that it will hurt the lives of the poorest across the world.

    Aid is now set to shrink from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3%, which implies the UK will still have a substantial aid programme. On average, rich countries spent 0.37% of their GNI on aid in 2023 – not much more than what the UK will spend now.

    In practice, however, 23% of the British aid budget in 2023 was made up by Home Office spending on housing refugees in the UK. This is unlikely to decline quickly, even though the government has said it aims to reduce it. A further 34% consisted of contributions to multilateral organisations like the United Nations and World Bank. While there is scope to cut some of this, large savings are difficult without the UK leaving some organisations.

    Given these two fixed items, very little will remain for “genuine” development programmes in partner countries – the kind of funding that is actually visible as UK aid.



    Read more:
    The UK spent a third of its international aid budget on refugees in the UK – what it’s paying for, and why it’s a problem

    Such a small genuine aid programme will undoubtedly mean lower development impact and lower British influence. But the UK’s standing and soft power, particularly in poorer countries, was already in tatters well before Starmer’s announcement.

    The merger between the Foreign Office and Department for International Development in 2020, followed by budget cuts and the re-allocation of aid to the Home Office, has destroyed the UK’s reputation as an “aid superpower” and champion of the global poor.

    Across-the-board cuts have even devastated programmes which the UK has declared as priority areas, such as support for women and girls. Some would argue that after these cuts, the UK did not have much of a reputation left to lose.

    But this story of UK aid is not unique. Indeed, the world has entered a new era of aid fatigue. The populist right portrays aid as wasteful and ineffective, as shown by the Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.



    Read more:
    USAID’s freeze has thrust the entire global aid system into uncertainty

    Many Africans see aid as a neocolonial enterprise aimed at spreading western ideologies, a sentiment often echoed by the progressive left. Western countries themselves are increasingly open about their selfish reasons for providing aid, such as boosting business, while many non-western donors have emerged as alternatives.

    It is not a surprise that the west’s influence in the world has waned, as evidenced by its failure to build a global anti-Russia coalition following the invasion of Ukraine.

    The UK will need to adapt to these realities. Designing a smarter and highly targeted aid programme, perhaps from the ground up, is now more important than ever to rebuild Britain’s reputation.

    Balazs Szent-Ivanyi 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. Starmer announces aid cuts to fund defence – but Britain’s days as an aid superpower are already long over – https://theconversation.com/starmer-announces-aid-cuts-to-fund-defence-but-britains-days-as-an-aid-superpower-are-already-long-over-250873

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine war: why negotiations depend on trust

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David J. Wilcox, Part-Time Teaching Fellow, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Birmingham

    Donald Trump may have begun discussions with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over a possible end to the war in Ukraine, but there currently appears to be something of a stalemate.

    Russia’s stated objectives of holding on to five regions of Ukraine (including Crimea) as well as ensuring Ukraine’s permanent neutrality is unlikely to be acceptable to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Zelensky and Trump had a very public falling out, with the US president calling Zelensky a “dictator”.

    This seems to have been resolved somewhat now that the pair appear to have agreed a deal for the US to jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources. But serious further negotiation to actually end the war will depend on whether the key players can trust each other as well as whether Zelensky perceives anything Putin and Trump have to say as believable.

    Broadly speaking, trust and its development between leaders offers a potential route to overcoming international conflict and bringing about diplomatic agreement. Indeed, a minimum level of trust is needed to enable states to work together.

    An example of this was how the relationship between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president Ronald Reagan developed. Arguably it was regular face-to-face interactions between Gorbachev and Reagan (four summits in just over three years) which allowed them to develop a level of understanding and increase trust, allowing them to reduce nuclear weapon stockpiles.

    Nevertheless, it still took time to develop their trust and this remained fragile.

    How is trust won?

    Trust is an important element in effective negotiations and can shape their outcome and influence whether peace talks are successful. The importance of trust in a negotiation can be found throughout history.

    US talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, February 2025.

    Even if trust has potentially developed between leaders, if other individual decision-makers, such as military leaders, do not share that trust, it can seriously damage negotiations. One example of this is how the Lahore peace process between India and Pakistan in 1999 was undermined by Pakistani military action.

    General Pervez Musharraf, head of the armed forces, conducted a military incursion into the Jammu and Kashmir area, violating the treaty between the two states and leading to a breakdown in trust, undermining the peace deal signed earlier that year between the Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his Indian counterpart, Atal Bihari Vajpayee

    Who do you trust?

    In international relations terms the key factors that create trust are considered by scholars to be capacity, peaceful intention, integrity and predictability . Trump seems to believe that Putin is a trustworthy negotiating partner because he perceives him as sincere in his desire for peace. This view is not shared by Zelensky, who questions Putin’s sincerity, intentions and integrity .

    Zelensky suggests that Putin’s past actions (including leading a full-scale invasion of Ukraine) point towards his future untrustworthiness. This may be underlined by Russia’s dismissal of the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which were an attempt to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine but were never properly implemented. Instead of pursuing implementation, Russia chose further military action against Ukraine in 2022.

    To move forward with negotiations, Zelensky will need to be convinced that Putin is serious in his intentions and willing to act with integrity. The Ukrainian leader will also need to be convinced that Trump is trustworthy and that he can trust that the US will ensure that Putin honours any agreement reached.

    If Trump is to achieve his aim of bringing the war to an end, then he will clearly need to address this lack of trust. One temptation may emerge to simply exclude Zelensky from face-to-face meetings (to sidestep the issue altogether) but there are risks in leaders not meeting opponents.

    When it came to trying to reach an agreement with the Palestinians in the 1990s, the then Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, regretted not having met the PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, before reaching agreement on the framework for the Oslo accords because he would have better understood how Arafat saw the negotiations. The implication was that Rabin would have proceeded differently if he had known Arafat better.

    Alternatively, Trump could leverage his own relationship with Putin to “encourage” the Russian leader to take steps that demonstrate to Zelensky that he is a trustworthy negotiating partner. Crucially, it will be for Putin to demonstrate his seriousness and sincerity towards meaningful negotiations and a peaceful resolution. Gestures of conciliation could hold the key.

    One famous examples of this is when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem in 1978, becoming the first Arab leader to speak to the Israeli parliament. This was seen as vital to peace talks between the two countries and resulted in the 1979 Camp David accords.

    Face-to-face interactions between Putin and Zelensky could provide a way of reassuring the Ukrainian leader. However, much more is required to demonstrate that an individual or even a state is trustworthy than not.

    As Deborah Larson, professor of political science at the University of California, once said,: “People believe that a good person will never do anything bad, whereas a bad person can do occasional good as well as bad deeds. As a result, just one misdeed indicates that an actor is immoral, whereas one good act does not demonstrate much.”

    Another approach would be to start Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at a much lower level and develop them upwards (or in parallel to higher-level negotiations). Individuals representing the key decision makers could develop their own interpersonal relations, while working out how to bridge gaps between the different leaders.

    Any negotiations to end the war will rest ultimately on those two states and their leaders. Ignoring the interpersonal relationships and lack of trust between the two people who will sign off any agreement makes any agreement almost impossible.

    David J. Wilcox 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. Ukraine war: why negotiations depend on trust – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-why-negotiations-depend-on-trust-250102

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump and Europe: US ‘transactionalism on steroids’ is the challenge facing leaders now

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Glencross, Directeur d’ESPOL, Professeur de Science Politique, Institut catholique de Lille (ICL)

    Donald Trump has always been an avowed transactionalist rather than a transatlanticist. The author of The Art of the Deal made it clear during his first term as US president that he thought Nato was a bad deal for the US. He publicly berated European allies, notably Germany, for not spending enough on defence and leaving the US to pick up the tab.

    But with his Ukraine policy, Trump 2.0 is forcing Europeans to confront the previously unthinkable: an international order where the US is no longer an automatic ally of European security.

    Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of Nato, quipped that the purpose of the transatlantic alliance was to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. For the following decades, Nato worked pretty much as intended. It provided the political and organisational basis for a significant US military presence, including an active US nuclear deterrent.

    The transatlantic alliance nevertheless witnessed some significant disagreements. In 1966, French president Charles de Gaulle forced US and other allied troops to leave French soil and withdrew from Nato’s integrated military command. The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq generated enormous tension among Nato allies as France and Germany opposed American attempts to get UN backing for military action. Yet within months, these two countries made a major commitment to the Nato force that was deployed to Afghanistan for 20 years.

    Like any international organisation, Nato’s history thus reflects a mix of success, failure, and muddling through. Ukraine-Nato relations encapsulate this reality. In 2008, the US was pushing European allies to welcome Ukraine as a Nato member. Back then, it was the leaders of France and Germany who refused to back the proposal.

    No longer an ally

    In the aftermath of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Ukraine pursued a twin track of seeking EU and Nato membership. This strategy is based on the longstanding complementary nature of European integration and transatlantic collective security. Central and eastern European countries embraced this arrangement after the collapse of the Soviet Union, much to the displeasure of Vladimir Putin.

    But Trump’s actions since January have fundamentally called into question the reliability of the US as a European ally. His insistence on doing a minerals deal to guarantee that Ukraine pays back US support for the war effort is transactionalism on steroids. It is also a unilateral move that contradicts the multilateral approach for supporting Ukraine that the US coordinated via the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of 57 nations founded in 2022.

    More worrying still is Trump’s break with the underlying common values underpinning Nato. An alliance committed to defending its territorial integrity, including through the use of its nuclear arsenal, requires a commitment to a higher political goal. Since the end of the cold war, that overriding objective has been defined as freedom and democracy.

    The second Trump administration does not even seem to want to pay lip service to these transatlantic values. Trump has labelled Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator”. And at the latest UN summit, the US delegation voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea against a resolution condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.



    Read more:
    US says European security no longer its primary focus – the shift has been years in the making

    EU defence without the US

    Shell-shocked European leaders are adapting to this harsh new reality. An initial reaction, as illustrated by UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron, has been to promise more money for defence spending. This move constitutes a hedge: it ought to please Trump, while providing a platform for a future reconfiguration of European security.

    How to defend Europe is now an existential question rather than a purely material one. De Gaulle always insisted that Europe’s defence and foreign policy needed to serve its own interests rather than America’s. He lost that battle, but the newly elected German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is sounding rather Gaullist in his recent calls for a more independent European security policy.

    Another move taken from de Gaulle’s playbook is the EU’s focus on defence industrial strategy. A strong technological and industrial base is a pre-requisite of an independent security policy, and with this in mind, the EU’s defence industry programme was announced in spring 2024. The details of this new policy are currently being hashed out, but are likely to include some type of “made in Europe” requirement.



    Read more:
    Ukraine: prospects for peace are slim unless Europe grips the reality of Trump’s world

    Europe has to renew its purpose

    What is clear is that an independent security policy for Europe is both costly and a political minefield – one reliable estimate puts the cost at 250 billion euros per year. Getting public backing for this big spending increase is not impossible, yet it means tough choices, as shown by Starmer’s cuts to the UK’s foreign aid budget.

    Trickier still is finding the leadership to coordinate defence spending and strategy. European decision-makers and the parties they represent are far from aligned over the need to find an alternative to the US security guarantee. Indeed, Polish president Andrzej Duda responded to Merz’s calls for greater EU independence from the US by offering to host the US troops currently based in Germany.

    Trump has shattered a number of European illusions. Creating a new European security architecture will depend on finding more than just cash – it needs a new shared objective, not just a repudiation of grubby transactionalism.

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

    – ref. Trump and Europe: US ‘transactionalism on steroids’ is the challenge facing leaders now – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-europe-us-transactionalism-on-steroids-is-the-challenge-facing-leaders-now-250836

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: The Dawn of Artificial General Intelligence? | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Artificial general intelligence could possess the versatility to reason, learn and innovate in any task.

    But with rising concerns about job losses, surveillance and deepfakes, will AGI be a force for progress or a threat to the very fabric of humanity?

    This session was developed in collaboration with The Atlantic.

    Speakers: Andrew Ng, Yoshua Bengio, Nicholas Thompson, Yejin Choi, Jonathan Ross, Thomas Wolf

    The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

    This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
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    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1BUaLo67ac

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ESFA Update: 26 February 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    ESFA Update: 26 February 2025

    Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

    Applies to England

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    ESFA Update further education: 26 February 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: 39 bypasses built and reconstructed thanks to the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Lobnya Bypass, Moscow Region

    February 26, 2025

    Bypass of Verkh-Tula village, Novosibirsk region

    February 26, 2025

    Bypass of Ruzaevka, Republic of Mordovia

    February 26, 2025

    Bypass of the village of Chikola, Republic of North Ossetia – Alania

    February 26, 2025

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    Lobnya Bypass, Moscow Region

    Construction and reconstruction of bypasses of populated areas allow to create alternative routes for transit transport. Over the six years of the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”, 39 bypasses have been built and reconstructed. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

    “In road activities, we pay great attention to the construction of bypasses around populated areas. Such roads help to significantly relieve cities and towns from transit transport, and also improve the environmental situation there. This undoubtedly has a positive effect on the quality of life of people and increases the efficiency of transport communications in the regions. From 2019 to 2024 inclusive, 39 bypasses were built and reconstructed under the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”. This work will continue, including under the new national project “Infrastructure for Life”. By 2030, on the instructions of the President of Russia, it is planned to build more than 50 bypasses around populated areas,” said Marat Khusnullin.

    Bypass roads solve a number of important social and economic problems.

    “In 2024, eight bypass sections were put into operation on the federal road network of Rosavtodor, their total length was 367.7 km. In particular, a bypass was built around five settlements (Isametovo, Verkhneyarkeevo, Layashty, Ishkarovo and Asyanovo) on the M-7 Volga highway in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Thanks to such facilities, a number of important tasks are solved: they allow transit transport to leave the boundaries of the settlement, and drivers can get to their destination faster. Bypass roads help reduce the risk of accidents and, importantly, improve the environmental situation in the settlement itself. In addition, the construction of such facilities can stimulate the development of adjacent territories, creating new opportunities for business,” said Transport Minister Roman Starovoit.

    A great deal of work on the construction and reconstruction of bypasses around populated areas is also being carried out on the regional road network.

    “In 2024, four sections of bypass roads around populated areas were put into operation, which is almost 135 km. In addition, construction and installation work has been completed on several more bypass roads: traffic on them has already opened, the facilities will be put into operation this year. The implementation of such large-scale projects became possible thanks to the effective work of the road workers’ team, as well as the constructive interaction of federal and regional authorities. It is this approach that allows us to successfully solve problems of improving the quality of life of people,” said Igor Kostyuchenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Road Agency.

    In 2024, the construction of the third stage of the northern bypass of Lobnya – a roundabout on Rogachevskoye Highway – was completed in the Moscow Region. The length of the facility is 1.5 km, the total length of the northern bypass of Lobnya is 16.5 km. There are six traffic lanes, the capacity of the highway is over 120 thousand cars per day.

    In 2024, the Republic of Mordovia opened traffic on the second stage of the Ruzayevka bypass (4.1 km). It became one of the connecting links to ensure non-stop high-speed communication in the advanced development area. The road allows connecting two important transport arteries of the republic – the federal highway R-158 and the regional Saransk – Ruzayevka. The bypass significantly reduces the travel time of residents, and also takes the transit freight flow outside the city.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Mental Health Australia calls for free mental health care for all children and young people in Australia

    Source: Mental Health Australia

    Peak mental health body Mental Health Australia (MHA) is urging all political parties to commit to free mental health care for everyone under the age of 25 as part of their federal election platforms. MHA Director of Policy and Advocacy, Emma Greeney, said that with two-thirds of mental health to guarantee all children and young people the chance to thrive.

    See full media release at the PDF attached below. 

    For further information and references see: Mental Health Australia’s website and Federal Election Platform: Case for Change – Free mental health support for children and young people  

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: MHA’s Federal Election Platform

    Source: Mental Health Australia

    Mental Health Australia is urging all political parties to commit to implement pathways to free mental health care for everyone under the age of 25 as part of their election platforms. This ambitious move could change the trajectory for mental health in Australia, by investing in accessible care, earlier in life, during the most critical phase of growth and development. 

    We need further investment to ensure availability of mental health supports in the community that GPs can refer people to, as well as appropriate alternate pathways online, through schools and walk-in community hubs, so that all children and young people can access the mental health supports they need. 

    This targeted call to action forms the third component of Mental Health Australia’s Federal Election platform, building on our Vision Statement released in December, and Sector Sustainability Statement (link to PDF below) also released today.  

    Mental Health Australia’s Sector Sustainability Statement outlines seven key actions to improve funding and contracting arrangements to ensure certainty for the community and sector providing mental health support. We will call on Federal Election candidates to pledge to support the Statement to and deliver these changes if elected for the next term of government. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Berkeley County Man Admits to Role in Drug Trafficking Organization

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James Reyes, age 55, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to working with others in a large-scale drug operation in the Eastern Panhandle. 

    Reyes pled guilty to the distribution of cocaine. According to court documents and statements made in court, Reyes was selling drugs for the drug trafficking organization

    Reyes is facing 20 years to life in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

    The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force was the lead investigative unit. Other investigative agencies that assisted include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Juan, and Philadelphia Field Offices; United States Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; United States Postal Service; Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisville and Chicago Divisions; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; West Virginia State Police; Martinsburg Police Department; Ranson Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; West Virginia Air National Guard; Mineral County Sheriff’s Office; Grant County Sheriff’s Office; Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department; Keyser Police Department; Northwest Regional Drug Task Force, Virginia; Pennsylvania State Police; Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania; Winchester Police Department, Virginia; Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia; Virginia State Police; Sunnyvale Police Department, California. 

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Morgantown Physician Sentenced for Tax Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – David M. Anderson, age 64, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for filing false tax returns.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Anderson, a physician, filed false tax returns that understated his taxable income and made false claims to lessen his tax burden, causing a loss to the IRS of $143,599 over a four-year period.

    Anderson will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Eleanor Hurney prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

    The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jefferson County Man Sentenced for Cocaine Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jamie Green, age 47, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General intercepted a package containing more than two pounds of cocaine mailed from Los Angeles, California, to Green’s address in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Investigators arrested Green at his home. He has prior convictions for drugs, aggravated assault by a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and firearms convictions.

    Green will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Kane prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

    Investigative agencies include the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the West Virginia State Police, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

    U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Scality sees record channel partner and revenue growth as demand for cyber-resilient storage soars

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced significant growth of its global partner ecosystem, which has doubled in size year-over-year. A channel-first strategy fueled Scality’s exceptional growth rate, with Q4 2024 alone seeing a record breaking 60% of sales driven by the VAR community. Scality’s VAR channel is now the top driver of sales for the ARTESCA product line, augmenting the continued strong business growth seen through its strategic alliance with HPE. Coinciding with this impressive channel growth, Scality also announced winners of its second annual 2024 Partner Awards Program (listed below) that recognizes partners in global regions that have demonstrated outstanding promise and customer engagement.

    The Scality global partner ecosystem includes a range of VARs, Cloud and Service Providers, hardware alliance, application solution providers and strategic distributors committed to delivering industry-leading, cyber-resilient storage backup solutions to customers worldwide. The unprecedented growth of the company is 100% directly driven by its partner go-to-market strategy, which includes strategic partners such as HPE and Veeam Software, and now sees the VAR ecosystem playing a more prominent role in the company’s growth.

    “Our partners are essential to our success, and we’re committed to helping them grow by unlocking new revenue streams,” said Eric LeBlanc, Channel Chief & GM of Scality’s ARTESCA Business. “With 400+ channel partners and over 1,000 Scality certified partner personnel worldwide, we empower them through innovation, simplicity, and partner-focused solutions. Partners can sell both RING and ARTESCA, with ARTESCA specifically driving a high-velocity sales model for simple ransomware protection through industry leaders like Veeam, making it easier to drive incremental revenue and pipeline growth.”

    Scality partner milestones that contributed to doubling the company’s qualified pipeline which resulted in record sales in 2024 include:

    • The number of certified partners doubled in EMEA and APAC, significantly expanding the company’s global reach.
    • Signed 3 of the top worldwide distribution partners, including Ingram Micro, TD SYNNEX, and Arrow Electronics to bolster market presence.
    • The launch of the ARTESCA hardware appliance and the introduction of a Pay-As-You-Go pricing model through distribution created new revenue stream opportunities for partners. The Scality Cloud and Service Provider (SCSP) program allows partners to submit monthly consumption reports to Scality, enabling automated invoicing and streamlined agreements. Distribution partners operate this model seamlessly, ensuring efficiency.

    Scality expands ‘channel partner of the year’ honors in 2024
    To showcase the exceptional results achieved by partners, Scality also announced winners of its second annual global partner awards program. Building on last year’s initiative that honored 10 global partners, this year’s winners showcase 22 out of more than 400 worldwide partners as either a Top Performer or Rising Star Award winner this year. The expanded list of partner winners this year reflects the explosive growth of the company’s partner network. Ten partners were named as 2024 Top Performers, demonstrating their strategic alignment to Scality’s go-to-market objectives and resulted in direct contribution to revenue growth through successful sales engagements. These partners also helped customers go beyond immutability to achieve end-to-end cyber resilience with their backup storage solution. Twelve partners received the 2024 Rising Star nod, showcasing an exceptional commitment to growth and innovation. These partners also implemented effective marketing campaigns that drove growth in sales engagement. Please see the full list of Scality’s 2024 Partner Award winners below and here on LinkedIn.

    Scality is the only 100% software-defined storage company leading the Gartner Magic Quadrant for distributed file systems and object storage for nine consecutive years. Scality RING was recently ranked as #1 on the 2024 GigaOm Radar for Enterprise Object Storage — achieving the highest scores across Key Features, Emerging Features and Business Criteria categories, well ahead of 17 competing vendors. This market validation, coupled with Scality’s disruptive product innovation and partner-first growth strategy, has accelerated Scality solutions’ deployment, anchored by a growing list of global distribution partners and across a variety of industries, including banking, healthcare and government entities to name a few.

    Scality Partner of the Year Award Winners

    Top Performers
            ACP Gruppe
            ATK (Kazakhstan)
            Bechtle Schweiz AG
            C-DATA
            CONVERGE S.r.l.
            DTP Group
            MONT Azerbaijan
            M2 Technology Inc.
            Perfekt Pty Ltd
            Trustteam Belgium

    Rising Stars
            Autodata
            Infinitum S.A.
            Infradax
            IT Global
            NetPlans GmbH
            Novulutions, Inc.
            ODB Trade
            Roseware Corp.
            Savaco
            TeraSky
            Thein Digital s.r.o
            Virtualflex Solutions Limited

    https://www.scality.com/find-a-channel-partner/

    About Scality
    Scality solves organizations’ biggest data storage challenges for the new AI-era — security, performance, and cost. Designed to provide the strongest form of immutability plus end-to-end cyber resilience, Scality solutions safeguard data at five core levels for unbreakable ransomware protection. Delivering utmost resilience, Scality makes storage infrastructures limitlessly scalable in all critical dimensions. The world’s most discerning companies trust Scality so they can grow faster and execute AI data-driven ideas quicker — while increasing efficiency and avoiding lock-in. Scality S3 object storage software is reliable, secure and sustainable. Follow us on LinkedIn. Visit www.scality.com and our blog.

    Media Contact:
    Lisa Williams
    A3 Communications
    +1 339-788-0067
    lisa.williams@a3communicationspr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government responds in full to Grenfell Tower Inquiry, setting out tough new reforms to fix building safety and strengthen accountability 

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Government responds in full to Grenfell Tower Inquiry, setting out tough new reforms to fix building safety and strengthen accountability 

    In the full response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report today (26 February), the government has accepted the findings and sets out its plans to act on all 58 recommendations.

    • Sweeping construction, building and fire safety reforms set out as government accepts findings and takes action on all 58 recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report   

    • Tough new rules on construction product safety, backed by a strengthened regulator to stamp out bad practice and drive higher standards 

    • Debarment investigations to be launched for seven organisations named in the report using tough new procurement powers 

    • Stronger, more enhanced protections for social tenants, including by empowering them to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing 

    Tough new reforms to ensure all homes are safe, secure and built to the highest standards will benefit millions of people across the country as the government takes decisive action to tackle the failures that led to the devastating Grenfell Tower tragedy – which resulted in the loss of lives of 72 innocent people. 

    In the full response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report today (26 February), the government has accepted the findings and sets out its plans to act on all 58 recommendations, driving a sweeping transformation to enhance building and fire safety standards.   

    Under the proposals, industry will be held to account for failure, with new regulatory measures to prevent a tragedy like the events at Grenfell Tower from ever happening again.   

    The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:   

    The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. The final report exposed in stark and devastating detail the shocking industry behaviour and wider failures that led to the fire, and the deep injustices endured by the bereaved, survivors, and residents. 

    We are acting on all of the Inquiry’s findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.   

    That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.

    The Grenfell Inquiry’s final report exposed a system that ignored safety risks and failed to listen to residents. The report laid bare ‘systemic dishonesty’ in the industry, failures in the construction sector and by successive governments, and poor regulation in the run up to the disaster. 

    The government has apologised on behalf of the British state for its part in these failings and introduced significant changes to fix the worst issues exposed by the tragedy.   

    Reforms set out today include:

    • A new single construction regulator to ensure those responsible for building safety are held to account.   

    • Tougher oversight of those responsible for testing and certifying, manufacturing and using construction products with serious consequences for those who break the rules. 

    • A legal duty of candour through a new Hillsborough Law, compelling public authorities to disclose the truth, ensuring transparency in major incidents, and holding those responsible for failures to account.  

    • Stronger, clearer, and enforceable legal rights for residents, making landlords responsible for acting on safety concerns. 

    • Empowering social housing residents to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing, by expanding the Four Million Homes training programme. Make it easier for tenants to report safety concerns and secure landlord action by taking forward the Make Things Right campaign. 

    • Ensuring lasting transparency and accountability by creating a publicly accessible record of all public inquiry recommendations. 

    As well as changes in regulation, in December 2024, the government launched its Remediation Acceleration Plan which sets out tough new measures to get buildings fixed quicker and ensure rogue freeholders are held to account.   

    Building Safety Minister Alex Norris said:   

    The Grenfell Tower fire was a preventable tragedy, and the failings it exposed demanded fundamental change. 

    Our response today to the Inquiry’s findings sets out a comprehensive plan to reform the construction sector, strengthen oversight and make sure that residents are the priority when deciding on building safety issues. 

    We will continue working closely with industry, local authorities and the Grenfell community to make sure these reforms deliver real, lasting change and rebuild trust.

    Supplier Accountability  

    Today the government set out the next steps of its review to identify where the Inquiry’s report found failings by specific named organisations in relation to the Grenfell fire. 
     
    New powers under the Procurement Act will be used to investigate seven of the organisations criticised in the report. If certain grounds are met, their names will be added to a published debarment list which must be taken into account by contracting authorities when awarding new contracts.  

    A legacy of justice for the Grenfell community   

    The government remains fully committed to supporting the bereaved families, survivors and residents long-term, as well as to working with the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission to ensure a fitting and lasting memorial, determined by the community. This will serve as a permanent tribute to honour those lives lost and those whose lives were changed forever.   

    The transformation set out today is not only about fixing the failures of the past but about ensuring a safer future for generations to come. The highest safety standards will be embedded into the 1.5 million homes the government is committed to delivering this Parliament, ensuring that every new home meets robust safety requirements.  

    The government response makes clear there is still much more to do and is committed to taking decisive action in response to every recommendation.    

    Notes to editors:

    • The government’s progress towards implementing Inquiry recommendations will be published every quarter from mid-2025. We will also provide an annual update to Parliament to ensure wider scrutiny of the pace and direction of work.  

    • We will deliver reform using a phased approach over the course of this Parliament, bringing together the recommendations directed at government and wider reform as coherent packages. The first phase (2025 to 2026) will focus on making sure that we effectively deliver our current programme of regulatory reform and change. The second phase (2026 to 2028) will focus on having fully developed proposals to deliver recommendations and wider reform, including via legislation. From 2028 onwards, the Government will focus on implementing these reforms.   

    • We will keep the new system under review to evaluate its effectiveness and ensure it is delivering the intended improvements to residents’ lives. We will make sure that we are taking on residents’ feedback as part of this.  

    • This response marks the start of a new relationship between government and industry that is based on transparency, clarity, collective responsibility and external scrutiny. We will hold actors in the system to account, effectively enforce standards, steward the highest standards of culture and behaviour and facilitate transparent conversations. However, we also expect industry to take responsibility to instil this change.  

    • Safe housing is not a privilege but a fundamental right, and these reforms will ensure that right is upheld in every community. A green paper is also being launched today which includes detailed proposals for system wide reform of the construction products regime.  

    • Debarment investigations into the organisations are set out in today’s Written Ministerial Statement.  

    • The government will continue to support for the Metropolitan Police’s independent investigation, ensuring that those responsible for the failures leading to the tragedy are held to account. 

    Other measures include:

    • Raising standards by consulting on a new College of Fire and Rescue later in 2025 to improve training and professionalism of firefighters. 

    • Stopping unqualified individuals from making critical fire safety decisions, by legally requiring fire risk assessors to have their competence certified. 

    • Continuing implementation of new Residential PEEPs policy to improve the fire safety and evacuation of disabled and vulnerable residents in high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings, engaging with relevant stakeholders on the implementation.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Media Release – Hustings Thurs 6 March 2025 Wednesday 26 February 2025

    Source: Channel Islands – States of Alderney

    Hustings on Thursday 6 March 2025 for election of two States Members

    I will be hosting a Hustings on the 6th of March in the Island Hall.

    The candidates will be available in the Anne French Room at the Island Hall from 5.30pm to 6.45pm, to answer questions on a one-to-one basis.

    At 7.00pm I will chair a “Question Time” format for a maximum of 90 minutes.

    Members of the community are invited to submit questions in advance to me.

    The topics that receive the most number of questions will, time permitting, be put by one member of the community on behalf of all those who have submitted a question on the same topic.  All four candidates will be asked to respond to each question.  Members of the community are invited to submit their questions to my office on president.alderney@gov.gg by 5pm on Tuesday 4th of March.

    It is not intended to share the questions in advance.  This will enable those who attend to assess the strengths and potential weaknesses of each candidate in order to assist in deciding where to place their votes.

    It is hoped that the combination of both formats will provide the best opportunity for the candidates to persuade the members of the community who attend to vote for them.

    Whether selected to ask a question or not, all members of the community are invited to attend.

    William Tate, President

    Note to editors:For further information please contact The President’s Office by telephoning 01481 820001 or by email topresident.alderney@gov.gg.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: HSBC Leader Encourages York Businesses to embrace ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

    Source: City of York

    HSBC UK’s Head of Technology Sector has encouraged York businesses to adapt to thrive in the climate of ‘functional disruptive change’ represented by the rapid development of AI.

    In his keynote address to over 60 businesses at the first York Tech Forum on 13 February, Roland Emmans from HSBC UK explored the fast-moving tech landscape and underlined the importance for businesses of all shapes and sizes of keeping pace with rapid technological change.

    Roland Emmans said:

    AI has vast potential to help businesses solve challenges and serve their customers better. The pace of change is increasing day by day, we need to embrace this change, its impact on technology, our teams and consumer demands.

    “A combination of great technology and great people is key – leveraging complementary strengths like AI’s processing power alongside expert human judgement.”

    The event, held at City of York Council’s West Offices headquarters on Thursday 13 February, began with a welcome from Cllr Pete Kilbane, the council’s portfolio holder for Economy and Culture, who reflected on how York’s tech sector has thrived in recent years.

    Cllr Kilbane highlighted major local developments, from the Institute for Safe Autonomy, a £45 million purpose-built facility which launched at the University of York in 2023, to the 6G Lab of the North, which works with the next generation of innovative telecommunications systems.

    Attendees also heard from Doug Winters, Founder and CTO of Isotoma Ltd, a York-based software development agency. Doug shared challenges and lessons from his business’ 20 year-journey, advising businesses that AI technologies, while useful for businesses, need to be used according to the situation, and are not a ‘silver bullet’ Doug also shared tips on the value of continuous planning throughout a project. 

    Cllr Pete Kilbane, Executive Member for Economy and Culture at City of York Council, said:

    We have big ambitions for York as a vibrant tech hub. Tech sector investment will bring well-paid jobs and marked economic benefits.

    “To truly embrace the benefits of rapid technological change, we need to help businesses in all sectors, from retail to rail, adapt to using technology to become more efficient, innovative, resilient and sustainable. This event is part of a series which includes our upcoming AI skills training for retail and hospitality businesses, delivered by our partners at the Coders Guild, and the Reignite events which have bolstered York’s status as a UNESCO City of Media Arts.

    “I’d like to thank all of our speakers and everyone who joined us for this inspiring and thought-provoking session. To find out more about how we can support businesses to grow and adapt to technological change, start a conversation with our Business Growth Managers at economicgrowth@york.gov.uk.”

    This event was funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Open Forum: Powering Progress | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Nearly 1 billion people live without electricity, while others suffer from its production. Energy access is a crucial enabler for economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability.

    How can the energy transition be leveraged to overcome these obstacles and ensure equitable energy access for all?

    Speakers: Stefanie Ólives, Ipeleng Selele, John Defterios, Joyeeta Gupta, Johanna Hoffman, Gill Scheltjens

    The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

    This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
    YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
    X ► https://twitter.com/wef
    LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
    TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
    Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI3JRitkubo

    MIL OSI Video –