NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-Evening Report: Jim Chalmers wants to fix Australia’s broken road tax system. Here’s what one solution might look like

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology

    Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock

    Australia’s road tax system has a problem. Revenue from the fuel excise – the primary way we tax motoring – has been declining steadily as a proportion of government revenue over the past two decades.

    Politicians, policy experts and business leaders have all long called for reform. Now, change could be on the horizon.

    The Australian Financial Review reports that at a closed-door dinner with business leaders in Canberra last week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers hinted that addressing falling fuel excise revenue would be a tax reform priority if Labor is re-elected.

    One option would be a road user charge on electric vehicles (EVs), which obviously don’t pay fuel excise. But singling them out would undermine the government’s own efforts in promoting EVs to help meet the nation’s emissions reduction targets.

    There are also other inequities in the way the current fuel excise works. Our previous research has shown Australia is ready for a rational and transparent discussion about road-user charging on all vehicles, not just electric ones.

    How we tax roads today

    Currently, Australian motorists pay several government taxes and other fees on their vehicles.

    One is the fuel excise. This tax, collected by the Commonwealth, is paid per litre of fuel purchased and is indexed every six months to account for inflation.

    Australia’s existing fuel excise is charged per litre of fuel.
    Daria Nipot/Shutterstock

    Then there are registration fees, typically paid every six or 12 months and collected by state and territory governments.

    Vehicle owners also have to pay compulsory third-party insurance, which in some states is bundled with registration fees.

    When buying or transferring ownership of a vehicle, other fees can apply. These include stamp duty as well as the luxury car tax on vehicles priced above a certain threshold.

    The system isn’t working

    As a proportion of Australian taxation revenue, revenue from the fuel excise has dwindled from 7.4% in 2000 to 3.9% in 2025.

    It might be tempting to blame electric cars for this decline. But this share began declining steadily long before EVs were introduced in Australia, and is projected to fall further.

    Falling fuel excise revenue can be attributed to a range of other factors. Improvements in engine fuel consumption have had a substantial impact on the number of litres used to travel the same distances.

    In Australia, the average fuel consumption of passenger cars in 2005 was 11.3 litres per 100 kilometres. In 2024, this figure was around 6.9 litres.

    Fuel consumption rates are expected to improve further and match those in other nations with the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which came into effect at the start of this year.

    Public transport usage has also been trending upwards in many of Australia’s major cities since the turn of the millennium, reducing reliance on private cars.

    Need for an alternative

    Australia’s current road taxes are blunt instruments that don’t reflect the true societal costs of driving.

    The fuel excise, for example, does not properly account for traffic congestion or emissions. A driver who travels in regional Victoria or in an outer suburb of Sydney for local shopping or school drop-offs will pay the same excise as a driver who contributes to congestion by travelling into the city centre.

    Similarly, car registration fees are not related to the number of kilometres travelled, congestion created, or emissions produced by driving.

    One of the most widely known alternatives alternatives to a fuel excise tax is a pay-per-distance road user charge. Such charges work by charging vehicles a fee per kilometre travelled.

    This would not be a new tax on top of existing taxes – it would replace current fuel excise and car registration fees.

    Adjustments to this model can include exempting some groups from the charges (such as low-income families, taxis and emergency service vehicles), adjusting charges for different categories of vehicles, and applying congestion charges under certain conditions.

    Failed attempts

    Targeting electric vehicles with a road user charge has been an acute priority for many states, as they are currently completely exempt from paying the fuel excise.

    In 2021, the Victorian government introduced a controversial distance-based charge for EVs. But this scheme was challenged in the High Court and ruled unconstitutional.

    Victoria’s measure was found to be a form of excise, and only the Commonwealth can impose such a tax.

    Following the ruling, the treasurer asked state and territory treasurers to look into the design of a national scheme in December 2023. But this process reportedly stalled.

    Support for reform

    Today, there are about 300,000 EVs on Australian roads (including around 248,000 battery electric cars and 53,500 plug-in hybrids).

    That’s only a tiny fraction of the 21 million cars registered across the nation. Over coming decades, as EVs take a greater share of total vehicles on the road, the hit to already flagging fuel excise revenue will become acute.

    In the meantime, our own previous research and public surveys show Australia is ready for a rational and transparent discussion about road-user charging on all vehicles, not only electric vehicles.

    We found most respondents would support such charges if they were transparent, equitable and replace or reduce other road taxes.


    The Conversation, CC BY

    There have already been several Australian studies around the shape and form of road user charges that can inform the discussions and public consultations.

    We also found willingness to pay a road-user charge varies with the level of expected savings. Most respondents were willing to pay a road-user charge if it saved them on registration fees and fuel taxes.

    If well planned and implemented, a national approach to road-user charges can raise enough revenue to replace the fuel excise tax. It will also ease congestion, promote sustainable transport and help achieve Australia’s targets for cutting transport emissions.

    Hussein Dia receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the iMOVE Australia Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, and Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

    Hadi Ghaderi receives funding from the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, IVECO Trucks Australia limited, Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Victoria Department of Education and Training, Australia Post, Bondi Laboratories, Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Sphere for Good, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, City of Casey, 460degrees and Passel.

    – ref. Jim Chalmers wants to fix Australia’s broken road tax system. Here’s what one solution might look like – https://theconversation.com/jim-chalmers-wants-to-fix-australias-broken-road-tax-system-heres-what-one-solution-might-look-like-249477

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Further cyber sanctions in response to Medibank Private cyberattack

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

    The Albanese Government has imposed additional cyber sanctions in response to the 2022 cyberattack against Medibank Private.

    The attack affected millions of Medibank’s customers whose personal and sensitive medical information was stolen. Some records were published on the dark web.

    This is the first time that Australia has imposed cyber sanctions on an entity and the first time Australia has imposed sanctions on those providing the network infrastructure and services that make cyberattacks like this possible.

    The Government is imposing these cyber sanctions on the Russian entity, ZServers, and five Russian cybercriminals who provided the network infrastructure and services used to host and release the data stolen from Medibank. The individuals are ZServers’ owner, Aleksandr Bolshakov, and employees Aleksandr Mishin, Ilya Sidorov, Dmitriy Bolshakov and Igor Odintsov.

    ZServers and the five sanctioned individuals also provided enabling services that supported a range of other cybercrimes, including ransomware activities conducted by affiliates of LockBit and BianLian and other ransomware groups.

    The sanctions announced today make it a criminal offence to provide assets to ZServers or the five sanctioned individuals, or to use or deal with their assets, with penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or heavy fines. The sanctions also ban the individuals from entering Australia.

    Today’s sanctions follow the Government’s decisive action to sanction Aleksandr Ermakov, announced in January 2024, for his role in the Medibank Private data breach.

    They are a result of the close collaboration between the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), other Commonwealth agencies and key international partners, including the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), who have all worked tirelessly to unmask these cybercriminals.

    The UK and the US have also imposed sanctions on these malicious cyber actors, demonstrating our collective resolve to combat cybercrime.

    These sanctions reflect the Albanese Government’s commitment in the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity, including by using sanctions to hold cybercriminals to account.

    Malicious cyber actors continue to target Australian governments, critical infrastructure, businesses and individuals. Australia’s autonomous cyber sanctions framework is a key tool in imposing costs on cyber actors and protecting Australians from this threat.

    Australians should report cybercrimes, incidents or vulnerabilities to the Australian Signals Directorate at 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371) or https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.

    Australian businesses can help protect themselves from ransomware by updating devices, regularly backing up files and ensuring staff know to never visit suspicious websites, open emails from unknown sources or click on suspicious links. More information can be found at cyber.gov.au/ransomware

    Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles:

    “These sanctions send a clear message to malicious cyber actors that there are consequences of trying to do Australians harm.

    “The Albanese Government continues to take decisive action to hold to account those responsible for one of Australia’s largest cyber incidents.

    “Importantly, this is the first cyber sanction against an enabler of cybercrime. Disrupting the criminal ecosystem in this way impacts hundreds of cybercriminals at once.”

    Quotes attributable to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong:

    “The Albanese Government is using all elements of our national power to make Australia more secure and to keep Australians safe.

    “We are preventing, deterring and disrupting malicious cyber activity through attributions and targeted sanctions in the national interest.

    “We will continue to work with our international partners to impose costs on cyber criminals and protect Australians from cyber threats.”

    Quote attributable to Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke:

    “This Government established the cybersecurity portfolio because national security requires cybersecurity. This strong action is about keeping Australians safe.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Great Outdoors Colorado Award $1.17 Million to Coalitions Throughout Colorado

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) announced grant recipients for the Outdoor Regional Partnerships Initiative (RPI) awarding $1.17 million dollars to coalitions around the state. Regional Partnerships convene community leaders from across outdoor recreation and conservation sectors to ensure that Colorado’s wildlife, recreation opportunities, and outdoor resources thrive into the future. This round of awards will support eight Regional Partnerships located across the state, including one new Regional Partnership for the Wet Mountain Valley covering Custer County. 

    “These investments support Colorado’s Outdoor Regional Partnerships, which show how we work together in Colorado to strengthen our lands, waters and wildlife that we value,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    This seventh round of funding brings the total number of Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships to 21, covering 79% of the state. Since 2021, CPW and GOCO have awarded $6.07 million to Colorado’s Outdoor Regional Partnerships to support coalition building, conservation and outdoor recreation planning, research, and community engagement. The next grant funding round will take place in the spring of 2025. 

    “CPW celebrates the successes shared by Colorado’s Outdoor Regional Partnerships, which includes new outdoor recreation opportunities, stewardship of some of our most iconic mountain trails, and greater collaboration among outdoor sectors. This work ensures that we are taking care of the beautiful places and wildlife that define Colorado and draw us into the outdoors,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. 

    “It’s incredibly exciting to watch the Regional Partnerships network grow,” said GOCO Executive Director Jackie Miller. “Every coalition brings invaluable knowledge of the resources and opportunities in their corners of the state. By collaborating, they make it possible for us to move together towards statewide goals, while securing the outdoors assets that make each region unique.” 

    This announcement follows a celebration held on Monday by one of Colorado’s Regional Partnerships, the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, and Governor Polis to recognize new recreation management opportunities on Pikes Peak. 

    Regional Partnership Fall 2024 Grant Cycle Funding Recipients: 

    Eagle County Community Wildlife Roundtable (ECCWR) ($100,000) 
    Community members and organizations established the ECCWR in 2020, leveraging diverse values, creativity, and resources to move toward positive action and enduring solutions to the complex wildlife issues in Eagle County. With this award, ECCWR is using a new Conservation Summary mapping tool to inform a regional recreation and conservation plan that will identify collaborative projects to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities while considering high-priority habitat and wildlife migration corridors. 

    NoCo Places ($150,000) 
    NoCo Places is an established group of nine federal, state, and county land agencies collaborating to more effectively manage the impact of increased demand for outdoor recreation and visitation in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Larimer counties. Continued funding supports training and mapping workshops and sustained communication and marketing strategies that reach visitors to the NoCo Places region. With this award, Noco will also advance projects to map social trails and explore common management approaches to campground management. 

    Outside 285 ($130,000) 
    The Outside 285 coalition seeks to conserve wildlife habitat while improving trail-based recreation experiences within the US-285 corridor, which includes Clear Creek, Douglas, Jefferson, and Park counties. This award will support continued collaboration across outdoor interest groups and land managers to advance habitat restoration projects and new opportunities for outdoor recreation at the popular mountain destinations in this region. 

    San Luis Valley Great Outdoors (SLV GO!) ($181,000) 
    Formed in 2013, SLV GO! brings together 45 organizations, businesses, municipalities, and agencies who recognize the importance of enhancing outdoor recreational experiences, improving wellness, and protecting the environment across the six-county region of the San Luis Valley. This funding award will support partnership coordination, marketing and communication and the coalition’s capacity as it finalizes a regional conservation and recreation vision for the San Luis Valley. 

    Southwest Colorado Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (SCCORR) ($110,000) 
    SCCORR is building on the initial groundwork laid by the Southwest Colorado Outdoor Recreation Alliance, formed in 2018 by a group of outdoor recreation professionals focused on growing the region’s outdoor recreation economy and resources in a sustainable, collaborative manner. Upon joining the RPI, SCCORR has built a broader constituency of outdoor and conservation interests to support sustainable recreation and natural resources conservation. With this award, SCCORR will finalize a regional recreation and conservation plan informed by mapping, community engagement and collaboration among outdoor interest groups, local governments and land managers. 

    Spanish Peaks Outdoor Coalition (SPOC) ($250,000) 
    SPOC was formed in the spring of 2024, building on the momentum created by CPW’s partnership with the City of Trinidad, the Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, and GOCO to establish Fishers Peak State Park. SPOC builds on the development of the Las Animas County Recreation and Economic Impact Study and Huerfano County’s Community Action Plan, convening diverse stakeholders to advance regional priorities and expand collaborative recreation and conservation planning. With this award, SPOC will develop a comprehensive, community-driven plan that prioritizes balanced approaches to wildlife conservation and the preservation of the region’s cultural and agricultural heritage.

     Summit County Outdoor Coalition (SCOC) ($125,000) 
    Established in 2023, SCOC convenes local, state, and federal land managers and nonprofit leaders to advance equitable outdoor recreation opportunities while protecting and conserving natural and cultural resources. With this award, SCOC will strengthen their coalition and engage outdoor interests from across the county, laying the foundation for a regional conservation and recreation plan.

    Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors (WMVO) ($126,825) 
    This new Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors coalition spans Custer County, connecting the Sangre de Cristo and the Wet Mountain ranges. This award will support a facilitated process to establish a new coalition informed by stakeholder conversations and listening sessions with community members and outdoor interests. This work will lay the foundation to inform recreation and conservation strategies that achieve the community’s vision. 

    For more information and a list of all the Regional Partnerships, please see the Regional Partnerships Initiative page on the CPW website. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Tesla’s sales slump down to Elon Musk?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Obiegbu, Lecturer in Experiential Marketing and Management, Bournemouth University

    Frederic Legrand – COMEO/Shutterstock

    Over the past couple of years, the seemingly steady rightward drift of Elon Musk has culminated in actions and statements that have sparked broad controversy. Musk – visionary CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and founder of X Corp – is a man on a mission to get humanity to Mars. He is also the wealthiest person on the planet.

    Most recently, these controversies include his endorsement and support of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, gestures interpreted as a Nazi salute during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and accusations of election interference.

    In January, sales of Tesla cars slumped across five European countries – the UK, France, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. Sales were down too in California – the US state with the largest car market. And according to at least one survey, Musk and his politics could be a significant part of the problem.

    When CEOs are in the public eye, their personal brands and values, and those of the companies they represent, can be hard to separate. Our research has found that, often, human identity and reputation will influence the CEO’s brand identity and reputation – and vice versa. As a human being, Musk’s personal actions and statements directly affect the companies he represents. His high-profile persona makes it difficult to separate the two.

    This is why Musk’s controversial comments and political endorsements have alienated some Tesla consumers, particularly in progressive markets such as Europe and California. In these places, Tesla has historically been popular with environmentally aware consumers. When the profiles of a CEO and his or her brand are not aligned, it’s a problem that can undermine the brand value of both the CEO and the company.

    Artists, politicians, CEOs and other public figures tend to attract fans whose personal values can at times deviate from those of the figurehead. Where this happens, devoted fans might be left at an impasse on how to respond to these figures or the products of companies or businesses they are associated with.

    A common misconception is that smitten fans are too obsessed to express their distaste. Instead, they are likely to follow blindly and defend the actions of their heroes. Intense actions of “fan armies” on social media platforms have not helped with these assumptions.

    But in fact, our research has shown that devoted fans can be critical. We found they are more likely than less devoted consumers to respond in extreme opposition when they feel betrayed by the behaviour of personalities they identify with or hold in high regard.

    In the case of personalities like Musk, whose companies produce physical products, loyal fans and consumers could respond in a number of ways. A few hardcore Tesla fans and Musk loyalists might dismiss critiques against his behaviour as attacks against free speech or their own beliefs. They are likely to continue buying Teslas regardless – and may even adjust their own beliefs to align with those of their “hero”.

    Out of step

    For other consumers, owning a Tesla may no longer signal purely their beliefs about sustainability. There may be a nod to political or ideological affiliations that do not align with their own.

    Some consumers may want to dissociate with Tesla if Musk’s behaviour is seen as problematic in their social circle. However, as a purchase requiring high involvement and commitment, switching from Tesla to another EV might be difficult. The recent trend of Tesla owners placing apology stickers on their vehicles is a way of negotiating the tension between owning a Tesla and the behaviour of the CEO they do not agree with.

    The stickers provide a means of separating themselves from Musk’s actions while managing the fear of being perceived negatively within their social groups. This is likely to result in a gradual brand erosion rather than an immediate sales drop.

    On the other hand, customers of companies such as craft beer brand BrewDog – a firm that has in the past been accused of fostering a culture of fear – may be more responsive to bad CEO behaviour. They at least can switch to an alternative brand at little cost. (BrewDog, for its part, apologised and said it was “committed to doing better”.)

    And if Remain voters dislike inventor James Dyson’s stance on Brexit, they might be annoyed but still able to justify keeping a mid-value item like a vacuum cleaner (that is used privately in the home after all) until it breaks, perhaps switching for future purchases rather than abandoning outright.

    Consumers can respond in a variety of ways when a figurehead CEO disappoints them. But brands taking blind, uncritical loyalty as a given – even from devoted fans – do so at their peril.

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

    – ref. Is Tesla’s sales slump down to Elon Musk? – https://theconversation.com/is-teslas-sales-slump-down-to-elon-musk-248727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hassan, Shaheen, Pappas Join Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Facility to Increase Efficiency and Support Shipyard Workforce

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan
    (Portsmouth, NH) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (NH-01) delivered remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s new Waterfront Production Facility. The facility will house training and production facilities at the shipyard and construction was funded through the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). This and other projects under SIOP will increase maintenance capacity at public shipyards. Shaheen secured full authorization for SIOP projects at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 NDAA. You can view photos from the event here.  
    “One of the real advantages we have over our adversaries is our attack submarines, and we want to make sure that those nuclear submarines are on the water as much as possible. This new facility makes our shipbuilding workforce more efficient, saving time and money, which is exactly what we need to strengthen our national security,” said Senator Shaheen. “It also reaffirms the key role that Portsmouth Naval Shipyard plays not only in our local economy, but also in our nation’s shipbuilding industry, bringing and keeping good-paying jobs for Granite Staters.” 
    “With the construction of the new Waterfront Production Facility, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard remains equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” said Senator Hassan. “The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is an indispensable pillar of our national security and today’s ribbon cutting marks the latest chapter in the history of Portsmouth helping keep America safe, secure, and free.” 
    “I was pleased to take part in the ribbon cutting of this state-of-the-art facility that will help the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard continue to achieve America’s national security goals well into the future while preserving this installation’s storied history. It is an honor to represent the Shipyard and the men and women who serve there in Congress, and I remain committed to ensuring that they always have the support and resources needed to do the job and complete the mission,” said Congressman Pappas.
    Senator Shaheen has long advocated for New England’s shipbuilding industry and workforce, including through authorizing funding and workforce development for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Through the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Shaheen secured full authorization for the Shipbuilding Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) projects at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which will expand the Shipyard’s capacity to maintain America’s fast-attack submarine fleet. As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, Senator Shaheen helped secure this funding beginning in the FY 2019 funding legislation, which she has continued in ensuing years. Additionally, in the FY 2025 government funding bills, Shaheen worked to include a $9.5 million Congressionally Directed Spending add for a new parking structure at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard—which will contribute to quality of life for Shipyard’s workforce. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Following Deadly DCA Collision, Virginia & Maryland Lawmakers Request Answers From FAA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-MD), along with U.S. Reps. Don Beyer, Gerald Connolly, Suhas Subramanyam (all D-VA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today requested answers and commitments from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on its plans to protect the flying public in the wake of the January 29 collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines airplane. In the letter, the lawmakers applauded the precautionary safety measures put in place by the FAA, as well as the agency’s collaboration with the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the causes and factors behind the collision. They also stressed the need to carefully review existing protocols to ensure that flight operations do not simply return to business as usual.
    The lawmakers also expressed serious concern with potential interference with the FAA by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has caused mayhem across the government, from attempting to push out nonpartisan civil servants, to reportedly accessing the U.S. Treasury’s payment system, as well as systems at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
    “While we applaud FAA for early actions taken to bolster safety, recent actions indicate that your agency is inviting inexperienced individuals with intense partisan leanings into a process that should be objective and expert driven,” wrote the lawmakers, citing an Elon Musk tweet. “We are extremely concerned that an ad hoc team of individuals lacking any expertise, exposure, certifications, or knowledge of aviation operations being invited, or inserting themselves, to make ‘rapid’ changes to our nation’s air traffic systems. This the wrong course of action to take.”
    They continued, “We want the safest skies in the world, and any efforts to weaken standards will not be tolerated. Aviation safety is not an area to “move fast and break things”. Proven, methodical, and deliberate action is what is called for when any changes are considered to safety. We express in the strongest possible terms our alarm at allowing Musk’s cadre of unvetted, untrained, and unaccountable individuals the ability to make changes to complicated and sensitive FAA policies at a time when serious and knowledgeable people should be in charge.”
    Stressing the need to prioritize safety and to base any future measures on the knowledge of aviation experts, the lawmakers requested answers to the following questions:
    The FAA’s current restrictions on helicopter flights at National Airport are tied to the release of NTSB’s preliminary report. What factors will FAA consider as it reassesses the need for extending or modifying the restrictions? Please provide details on, and documentation sufficient to substantiate, additional safety measures that are being contemplated and/or will be proposed to deconflict or otherwise improve safety in the air space over National Airport. 
    As you assess the need for additional measures, will you commit to consulting recognized aviation experts – both in and out of the federal government – to identify requirements or operational changes for civil and military aviation in the National Capital Region?
    On February 4, less than one week from the incident, reports emerged that FAA directed its personnel to cease participating in Federal advisory or aviation rulemaking committees. Were FAA personnel directed to cease participating in these committees?
    If true, please describe the rationale for such a decision and provide documentation sufficient to substantiate any directives received from other Federal government officials, other individuals acting under the direction of the President, or who are otherwise asserting a legal authority to direct or influence decision-making at the FAA.
    On February 5, 2025, Elon Musk and Secretary Duffy each announced that DOGE would “upgrade our aviation system”.
    Were you informed of this decision in advance of either social media posting?
    What engagement have you had with DOGE at this time?
    What engagement has been discussed or is planned for the future?
    Do you have knowledge of what comprises the “rapid safety upgrades” Musk tweeted about?
    Do you commit to timely report to Congress any actions that the FAA is directed to undertake at the direction of the President, DOGE, or by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation regarding any aspect of aviation safety?
    Do you commit to providing the public with details about what recommendations DOGE staff and representatives provide to you in relation to aviation safety? Will you notify Congress if you elect to follow through on any recommendations provided to you by DOGE staff and representatives?
    In your prior experience at FAA, has any special government employee been directed or otherwise empowered to influence FAA officials on safety decisions?
    Will you commit the full cooperation and support of the FAA to the NTSB investigation and to swiftly implement its recommendations?
    Will you commit to examining the communication processes and protocols between FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other stakeholders that are used during aviation operations in and around National Airport and the National Capital Region?
    Will you commit to working with the U.S. Department of Defense to evaluate training protocols for required missions in the National Capital Region, particularly those around National Airport and during high-traffic periods, and enact any modifications needed to reduce risk?
    Will you commit to briefing us on the implementation of changes to the slot (i.e., high density) rule included in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, given that the first of the routes authorized under that legislation will become operational this week?
    A copy of the letter is available here and below.
    Dear Mr. Rocheleau: 
    In the aftermath of the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision between a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) RJ Aviation (Bombardier) CRJ700 and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (“National Airport”), we write to request information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on plans to protect the public during the investigations and once the investigations are complete. As the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the causes and factors behind the collision is carried out, the FAA should identify and implement immediate steps to improve safety for aviation industry personnel, the flying public, and the communities that surround National Airport. 
    As we mourn the victims of this tragedy, we must work together to ensure that collisions like this one do not happen again in honor of the memory of those lost. We applaud the FAA’s decision to restrict helicopter traffic near National Airport until the NTSB preliminary report is released and to pause of the use of two of the smaller runways at the airport. Your collaboration thus far with the NTSB as it carries out an independent, fact-based, and thorough investigation into this incident is appreciated. While the NTSB works to complete their investigation, it is crucial that we thoroughly review and scrutinize the protocols that govern flight operations near the airspace over National Airport, and ensure that we are not simply restarting “normal” operations. This is of further importance in light of the FAA’s steps to ensure airspace safety after Congress’s decision last year to add additional traffic to this airspace.
    While we applaud FAA for early actions taken to bolster safety, recent actions indicate that your agency is inviting inexperienced individuals with intense partisan leanings into a process that should be objective and expert driven. On February 5, 2025, Elon Musk announced via X (formerly known as Twitter) that “With the support of President @realDonaldTrump, the @DOGE team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system. Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, also on X, stated “Big News – Talked to the DOGE team. They are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”
    We are extremely concerned that an ad hoc team of individuals lacking any expertise, exposure, certifications, or knowledge of aviation operations being invited, or inserting themselves, to make “rapid” changes to our nation’s air traffic systems. This the wrong course of action to take. 
    We want the safest skies in the world, and any efforts to weaken standards will not be tolerated. Aviation safety is not an area to “move fast and break things”. Proven, methodical, and deliberate action is what is called for when any changes are considered to safety. We express in the strongest possible terms our alarm at allowing Musk’s cadre of unvetted, untrained, and unaccountable individuals the ability to make changes to complicated and sensitive FAA policies at a time when serious and knowledgeable people should be in charge.
    Safety must not be compromised, and FAA’s actions must be based on knowledgeable and accountable experts. Given our shared goal of promoting safety along with our expressed concerns about how DOGE’s involvement could jeopardize that safety, we request your attention and response to the following questions:
     The FAA’s current restrictions on helicopter flights at National Airport are tied to the release of NTSB’s preliminary report. What factors will FAA consider as it reassesses the need for extending or modifying the restrictions? Please provide details on, and documentation sufficient to substantiate, additional safety measures that are being contemplated and/or will be proposed to deconflict or otherwise improve safety in the air space over National Airport.
    As you assess the need for additional measures, will you commit to consulting recognized aviation experts – both in and out of the federal government – to identify requirements or operational changes for civil and military aviation in the National Capital Region?
    On February 4, less than one week from the incident, reports emerged that FAA directed its personnel to cease participating in Federal advisory or aviation rulemaking committees. Were FAA personnel directed to cease participating in these committees?
    If true, please describe the rationale for such a decision and provide documentation sufficient to substantiate any directives received from other Federal government officials, other individuals acting under the direction of the President, or who are otherwise asserting a legal authority to direct or influence decision-making at the FAA.
    On February 5, 2025, Elon Musk and Secretary Duffy each announced that DOGE would “upgrade our aviation system”
    Were you informed of this decision in advance of either social media posting?
    What engagement have you had with DOGE at this time?
    What engagement has been discussed or is planned for the future?
    Do you have knowledge of what comprises the “rapid safety upgrades” Musk tweeted about?
    Do you commit to timely report to Congress any actions that the FAA is directed to undertake at the direction of the President, DOGE, or by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation regarding any aspect of aviation safety?
    Do you commit to providing the public with details about what recommendations DOGE staff and representatives provide to you in relation to aviation safety? Will you notify Congress if you elect to follow through on any recommendations provided to you by DOGE staff and representatives?
    In your prior experience at FAA, has any special government employee been directed or otherwise empowered to influence FAA officials on safety decisions?
    Will you commit the full cooperation and support of the FAA to the NTSB investigation and to swiftly implement its recommendations?
    Will you commit to examining the communication processes and protocols between FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other stakeholders that are used during aviation operations in and around National Airport and the National Capital Region?
    Will you commit to working with the U.S. Department of Defense to evaluate training protocols for required missions in the National Capital Region, particularly those around National Airport and during high-traffic periods, and enact any modifications needed to reduce risk?
    Will you commit to briefing us on the implementation of changes to the slot (i.e., high density) rule included in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, given that the first of the routes authorized under that legislation will become operational this week?
    In addition to the above questions, we request that you provide us with a briefing on FAA’s implementation of critical aviation safety and air traffic controller tower staffing provisions in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act and on the implementation of Section of 502 of that Act.
    We look forward to your swift response and to working together for the best interests of the public, the National Capital Region, and the United States of America.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Speaks Out Against Attorney General Bondi’s Actions To Weaponize DOJ

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    February 11, 2025
    Durbin’s floor speech comes after the Trump Administration forced out dozens of DOJ and FBI officials and is now threatening additional action against thousands of employees across the country who worked on investigations related to January 6 and President Trump
    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke out against Attorney General Pam Bondi forher work to undermine the integrity and credibility of the Department of Justice, including creating a so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” a task force to investigate “the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States over the last four years.” Durbin’s concerns are especially pertinent as the Trump Administration purged dozens of senior career civil servants at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—including longtime nonpartisan leaders of the government’s counterterrorism and counterespionage efforts—further exemplifying the need for an independent DOJ. After Attorney General Bondi was confirmed, President Trump said, “I know I’m supposed to say she’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats… I’m not sure if there’s a possibility of totally.”
    Durbin said, “On day one in office, Attorney General Bondi created a so-called ‘Weaponization Working Group,’ a task force to investigate, ‘the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States over the last four years.’ Bondi said that she would ‘investigate the investigators,’ and ‘prosecute the prosecutors,’ and now she’s doing exactly that to seek ‘retribution’ against his [Trump’s] political enemies—real and perceived.”
    Durbin continued, “I wish I could say I am surprised by Attorney General Bondi’s actions, but last week, I stood in this very spot, sounding the same alarm just before her confirmation vote—the writing was on the wall. Attorney General Bondi has made it clear that her foremost loyalty is to one person—President Trump. And she kept her promise to him on day one after being sworn into office by Justice Clarence Thomas. Bondi’s directive is only one step in misusing the powers of government to carry out President Trump’s retribution against those he perceives to be his enemies.”
    Durbin went on to outline that his concerns are even more pressing because, over the last 22 days, the Trump Administration has purged dozens of senior career law enforcement officials at the Department of Justice and FBI. This purge has been particularly focused on dedicated, nonpartisan prosecutors and investigators working in the National Security Division and the FBI. Last week, FBI law enforcement personnel across the country had little over 48 hours to answer a survey about their work on any case related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol—including whether they handled arrests, led operations, testified in trials, and more.
    “The Acting Attorney General had also issued a memo firing a dozen career DOJ prosecutors, stating, ‘Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.’ The Bureau’s acting leaders are career FBI public servants who have reportedly resisted the push from Trump Administration officials to punish FBI agents who were simply doing the work that was assigned to them to investigate the January 6 attack,” Durbin said.
    Last Friday, the FBI turned over the names of thousands of FBI personnel. A temporary court order was issued on Friday that is keeping DOJ from revealing those names for now. Tomorrow, FBI probationary agents and personnel stationed around the world are required to submit justifications for their continued employment. This could lead to firing up to 3,000 federal law enforcement officials.
    “These mass layoffs, forced retirements, and involuntary reassignments of experienced DOJ and FBI officials represent an outright attack on public safety by President Trump—America will be less safe because of this political charade that’s going on in the Department of Justice… The purge is already leading to widespread disruption and delay in prosecutions, investigations, and sensitive operations. Joint-Terrorism Task Forces have been asked to focus on President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives, which means valuable resources and personnel have been shifted away from state, local, and federal partners fighting foreign and domestic terrorism,” Durbin continued.
    “As America faces a heightened threat landscape, these removals and reassignments are crippling not only to the Justice Department and the FBI, but the 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 55 FBI Field Offices across the country. The loss of potentially thousands of federal law enforcement jobs will overburden local field offices; slow ongoing case work; increase the unemployment rates nationwide; and harm local economies. President Trump may claim to ‘back the blue,’ but apparently he is only interested in doing so when it is politically convenient for his political agenda,”Durbin said.
    Durbin concluded, “Before Ms. Bondi’s confirmation, my concerns about how she would lead the Department were based on her history as President Trump’s lawyer. But the leadership of Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, is no longer hypothetical—her directives and actions are now impacting innocent people and good Americans who dedicate their lives to public service. We need to work together on a bipartisan basis to push back against these attacks on the Department of Justice and FBI to protect the national security of the United States.”
    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville, Scott Introduce Legislation Sanctioning the Communist Cuban Regime

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) announced the reintroduction of the Denying Earnings to the Military Oligarchy in Cuba and Restricting Activities of the Cuban Intelligence Apparatus (DEMOCRACIA) Act to hold the illegitimate communist Cuban regime accountable through severe sanctions and unprecedented financial pressure.
    “Thanks to President Trump, we have strength in the White House again,” said Sen. Tuberville. “The United States will not stand by while the Cuban communist regime commits heinous human rights abuses and takes political prisoners. If Cuba wants to continue committing these crimes, they should be sanctioned. I am proud to join my colleagues in standing up against this evil regime.”
    “Cuba is the root of instability in Latin America and a constant threat to the national security of the United States, only emboldened by the past four years of Biden-Harris appeasement policies,” said Sen. Scott.“The illegitimate, communist Castro/Díaz-Canel regime harbors terrorist groups, denies freedom and democracy to the Cuban people while providing a secret police force to Maduro to oppress the Venezuelan people, and hosts a Chinese Communist Party spy station 90 miles from Florida. The Cuban regime props up ruthless dictators and allows a foothold in Latin America for Russia, Iran and Communist China to spread their influence. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have already taken action to hold the Cuban regime accountable, including reversing Biden’s dangerous decision to remove them from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List, but we must keep the pressure going. My DEMOCRACIA Act will build on their efforts by implementing severe sanctions against Communist Cuba and closes existing sanctions gaps. It will also authorize the president to provide unrestricted internet service to the people of Cuba that is not censored by the Cuban regime. The United States continues to stand with the Cuban people, and this bill will send a powerful message as we work to bring a new day of freedom and democracy to Cuba and the entire western hemisphere.”
    Read full text of the legislation here. 
    BACKGROUND:
    Authorizes the president to impose sanctions—blocking assets and denying entry into the United States—on a foreign person if the president determines that the person knowingly engages in an activity with Cuba’s defense sector, security sector, intelligence sector, or any other sector involved in carrying out human rights abuses or providing support for international terrorism.
    A foreign person or senior official that provides significant financial, material or technological support to, or engages in a significant transaction with Cuba’s defense, security or intelligence sector or any entity or individual affiliated with that sector (including their immediate adult family member),
    Any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 25% or more by one or more designated persons are also subject to sanctions,
    Any foreign person that is a military contractor, mercenary or paramilitary force knowingly operating in a military, security, or intelligence capacity for or on behalf of the Cuban regime.

    Authorizes the President to impose sanctions with respect to human rights abuse and corruption in Cuba including:
    Members of the Communist Party of Cuba, to include the Office of Religious Affairs and members of the Politburo and the Central Committee,
    Members of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers,
    Ministry of the Interior of Cuba, to include, the National Revolutionary Police Force,
    Members of the committee for the Defense of the Revolution,
    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba,
    Office of the President of Cuba,
    Any official of the Cuban regime who works with the Ministry of Justice or the Office of the Attorney General and who violates due process rights of an individual in Cuba,
    The spouse and children of any of these blocked individuals are also subject to these sanctions.

    Authorizes the President to terminate these sanctions only if he certifies to Congress that the Government of Cuba:
    Has released all political prisoners,
    Legalized all political parties,
    Establishes a free press, and
    Free, fair, multiparty internationally observed elections are scheduled in a timely manner.

    Authorizes the president to immediately use all means possible to provide unrestricted, reliable internet service to the people of Cuba that is not censored or blocked by the Cuban regime
    Requires the President to establish a taskforce to develop long-term solutions for providing reliable internet service to the people of Cuba that is not censored or blocked by the Cuban regime
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Relief Still Available to Native Village of Kwigillingok Private Nonprofits Affected by the August Storm

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in the Native Village of Kwigillingok of the March 11, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset physical damage caused by the severe storm and flooding that occurred Aug. 15-18, 2024.

    Under this disaster declaration, PNPs that provide services of a governmental nature are eligible to apply for business physical disaster loans. Eligible PNPs may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. 

    Applicants may also be eligible for a loan amount increase of up to 20% of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements might include insulating pipes, walls and attics, weather stripping doors and windows, and installing storm windows to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by any disaster.

    PNPs are also eligible to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the PNP suffered any physical property damage.

    The SBA encourages applicants to submit their loan applications promptly. Applications will be prioritized in the order they are received, and the SBA remains committed to processing them as efficiently as possible.

    For more information and to apply online visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    The deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 11. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Oct. 10.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: S. 246, Interstate Transport Act of 2025

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    S. 246 would allow people to transport a knife between state and local jurisdictions where it is legal to possess and carry such a knife under certain conditions. That authority would not apply to people who are otherwise prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving knives under federal law. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have no effect on federal spending because it would not change any federal laws related to possessing or transporting knives.

    S. 246 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by preempting certain state and local laws related to the possession and transportation of knives. The bill would allow people to transport knives through states that prohibit them so long as the knife is secured or if it is a safety blade designed for cutting seatbelts. CBO estimates the costs for state and local governments to comply with the mandate would not exceed the intergovernmental threshold established in UMRA ($103 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).

    S. 246 contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.

    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeremy Crimm (for federal costs) and Erich Dvorak (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

    Phillip L. Swagel

    Director, Congressional Budget Office

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Deadline Fast Approaching for Retirees Education and Strategy Program

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    The deadline is fast approaching to register for the Retirees Education and Strategy Program (RESP) to be held at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Md. from April 13-18, 2025.

    Read the call letter here.
    Registrations must be received by Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.

    The RESP program, offered by the IAM Retirees and Membership Assistance Department, includes resources and education for retired and nearly retired members on topics impacting their lives. RESP equips IAM retirees with skills and resources to assist other retirees who are seeking help for issues such as:

    – Organizing and maintaining Retirees Clubs

    – Legislative and political strategies

    – Social Security and Medicare programs

    – Create Retiree Club action plan

    – Alliance for Retired Americans activities

    – Retired member organizing volunteers

    If you have any questions about this program, please contact the Retirees and Membership Assistance Department at 301-967-4717.

    Share and Follow:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Even as polarization surges, Americans believe they live in a compassionate country

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy, Tufts University

    Most Americans responding to a survey said compassion is declining but still strong. stellalevi/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

    Compassion comes easily to me.

    As the granddaughter of immigrants from Lithuania and Poland who spoke little English, I understand what it’s like to be treated as a stranger in America.

    As a journalist, I covered stories of war and trauma in the 1990s, including the crushing of Chinese protests in Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, followed by the Soviet Union’s collapse two years later. I covered the war between Iraq and Iran. I witnessed ethnic strife in South Africa and the toll poverty takes in Mexico.

    As a professor of cultural engagement and public diplomacy, I have watched and studied how compassion can help build and strengthen civil society.

    And having worked in senior levels of the U.S. government for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on international conflict resolution, I have learned that compassion is a key ingredient of peacemaking.

    Especially now, as President Donald Trump seeks to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization and to stop funding the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has long spent billions of dollars a year helping the world’s poorest people, compassion seems lacking among U.S. leaders.

    Perhaps that all explains my curiosity about a new study on the state of compassion in America – part of the glue that holds communities together.

    Defining compassion

    Sociologists define compassion as the human regard for the suffering of others, and the notion of using action to alleviate this pain.

    The report that caught my eye was issued in January 2025 by the Muhammad Ali Center, which the late boxer co-founded 20 years ago in Louisville, Kentucky, to advance social justice.

    As the Ali Center explains, compassion starts with the individual – self-care and personal wellness. It then radiates out to the wider community in the form of action and engagement.

    You can see compassion at work in the actions of a Pasadena, California, girl, who started a donation hub for teens affected by fires that ripped through the Los Angeles region in early 2025. She began collecting sports bras, hair ties and fashionable sweaters – helping hundreds of her peers begin to recover from their losses in material and emotional ways.

    It’s also visible in the estimated 6.8 million people in the U.S. who donate blood each year, according to the American Red Cross.

    Resilience in America

    While Ali is best known for his battles in the ring and his outspoken political views, he also helped those in need in the U.S. and other countries through large charitable donations and his participation in United Nations missions to countries like Afghanistan, where he helped deliver millions of meals to hungry people.

    The researchers who worked on the Ali Center report interviewed more than 5,000 U.S. adults living in 12 cities in 2024 in order to learn more about the prevalence of compassionate behaviors such as charitable giving, volunteering and assisting others in their recovery from disasters.

    They found that the desire to help others still animates many Americans despite the nation’s current polarization and divisive politics.

    The center has created an index it calls the “net compassion score.” It approximates the degree to which Americans give their time and money to programs and activities that nurture and strengthen their communities.

    Cities with high compassion scores have more community engagement and civic participation than those with low scores. A higher-scoring community performs better when it comes to things like public housing and mental health resources, for example. Its residents report more career opportunities, better communications between local government and citizens, more community programs and more optimism around economic development where they live.

    The report provides some clues as to what drives compassionate behavior in a city: a sense of spirituality, good education, decent health care, resources for activities like sports, and opportunities to engage in local politics.

    All told, Americans rate their country as a 9 on a scale that runs from minus 100 to 100.

    The report also identified some troubling obstacles that stand in the way of what it calls “self-compassion” – meaning how volunteers and donors treat their own mental and physical health. Frequent struggles with self-care can lead to rising levels of isolation and loneliness.

    Jeni Stepanek, left, chair of the Muhammad Ali Index; Lonnie Ali, co-founder and vice chair of the Muhammad Ali Center; and DeVone Holt, the center’s president and CEO, at the launch of the Muhammad Ali Index on Jan. 16, 2025.
    Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Muhammad Ali Center

    Doubting their own capacity

    The 2025 Compassion Report’s findings show that many Americans still want to live in a compassionate country but also that Americans view the country as less compassionate today than four years ago.

    The report delves into gaps in compassion. About one-third of those interviewed acknowledged that there are groups toward whom they feel less compassionate toward, such as people who have been convicted of crimes, immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization and the rich.

    Only 29% said they feel compassion toward everyone.

    The report also identifies gender gaps. Despite expressing greater awareness of systemic challenges, the women surveyed reported less self-compassion than men.

    It’s not the first compassion study ever done. But I believe that this one is unique due to its focus on specific cities, and how it assessed limits on the compassion some people feel toward certain groups.

    Helping health and humanity

    The Compassion Institute, another nonprofit, seeks to weave compassion training into health care education to “create a more caring and humanitarian world.” It cites the benefits of compassion for human beings, with everything from reducing stress to alleviating the effects of disease on the mind and body.

    Academic institutions, including Stanford University, have conducted many studies on how teaching compassion can guide health care professionals to both treat patients better and achieve better outcomes.

    A team of Emory University researchers examined how training people to express more compassion can reduce stress hormones levels, triggering positive brain responses that improve immune responses.

    Offering an advantage

    Although there are plenty of adorable videos of dogs and cats behaving kindly with each other or their human companions, historically compassion has differentiated humans from animals.

    Human beings possess powers of emotional reasoning that give us an edge.

    Scholars are still working to discover how much of human compassion is rooted in emotional reasoning. Another factor they’ve identified is the aftermath of trauma. Studies have found evidence that it can increase empathy later on.

    You might imagine that in a world of hurt, there’s a deficit of compassion for others. But the Ali Center’s report keeps alive the notion that Americans remain compassionate people who want to help others.

    My experiences around the world and within the U.S. have taught me that human beings both have the power to be violent and destructive. But despite it all, there is, within all of us, the innate ability and desire to be compassionate. That is a net positive for our country.

    Tara Sonenshine 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. Even as polarization surges, Americans believe they live in a compassionate country – https://theconversation.com/even-as-polarization-surges-americans-believe-they-live-in-a-compassionate-country-247677

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Protect Beaches in Oregon and Nationwide

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    February 11, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today introduced bipartisan legislation that would preserve coastal beaches in Oregon and nationwide by providing funding for state, local, and tribal governments to test, monitor, and identify recreational waters that are contaminated.

    “The Oregon Coast offers unmatched opportunities for visitors to make fond memories and for residents of one of America’s most iconic coastlines to live and work in and next to the Pacific Ocean,”  Wyden said. “But the ongoing threat of pollution piling up on our coastal beaches every year demands commonsense solutions that help protect this treasure and keep Oregonians healthy. This bill accomplishes those goals by protecting, preserving, and improving our beaches in every corner of Oregon and America for generations to come.”

    Currently, there’s dedicated federal funding for monitoring and notifying beachgoers of contaminated coastal waters–but there is no money allocated towards identifying contaminated sites. Wyden’s new bill, the BEACH Act, would reauthorize this $30 million program over the next four years to allocate funding for identifying contaminated beaches and trace the source of the contamination.

    Wyden’s bill would also expand testing locations to include shallow recreational waters near the beaches, where children and seniors often play and swim, who are  more at risk of experiencing health issues from contamination.  

    The legislation is endorsed by Environment America, Surfrider, the America Shore & Beach Preservation Association, and the Coastal States Organization. 

    “Kudos to Senators Tillis and Wyden for moving to renew the BEACH Act – a critical step forward in safeguarding the health of our communities. This bipartisan legislation will ensure that families know when our waters are safe for swimming and help states pinpoint pollution sources,” said Caroline Wagar, Federal Legislative Associate at Environment America.

    “Everyone deserves access to clean water to swim, surf, and play in. The BEACH Act ensures that people have the information they need to protect themselves and the health of their families when recreating at the beach and in our coastal waterways. The Surfrider Foundation wholeheartedly supports the reauthorization bill sponsored by Senators Tillis and Wyden,” said Mara Dias, Senior Manager of Surfrider’s Water Quality Initiative. 

    “ASBPA is proud to support reauthorization of the BEACH Act. We applaud Senator Wyden and Senator Tillis for continuing to prioritize this policy which empowers US coastal communities’ with information needed to elevate water quality at the nation’s beaches and shores,” said Annie Mercer, Blue Flag Program Coordinator for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association. 

    “For over two decades the BEACH Act has helped keep swimmers healthy and safe every summer. This reauthorization helps ensure beachgoers will be notified as quickly as possible if water is unsafe to swim in, and gives coastal states and communities greater flexibility to identify and address sources of contamination,” said Derek Brockbank, Executive Director of Coastal States Organization.

    Text of the bill is here. A one-page summary of the bill is here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Latin America is moving fast to protect democracy from excesses of big tech

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sebastian Smart, Senior Research Fellow in Access to Justice, Law and Technology, Anglia Ruskin University

    Brazil’s president Lula da Silva is one of the Latin American leaders who are concerned about misinformation being used to undermine democracy. Focuspix/Shutterstock

    Bosses of tech giants Meta, Google and X had front row seats at Donald Trump’s recent presidential inauguration. This special treatment highlighted the increasingly cosy relationship between leaders of technology companies and the White House.

    Just a few weeks before the ceremony, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg had pledged to “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more”.

    Zuckerberg also highlighted, and criticised, the restrictions that the European Union and Latin American nations had put in place to legally restrict the social media giants. These include liability for moderation and limiting targeted advertising.

    However, Latin America is emerging as the region which is moving fast to protect democratic institutions from misuse of social media, and other technology.

    For instance, Brazil’s proposed fake news bill (Lei das Fake News) seeks to regulate social media and curb misinformation. It has faced strong opposition from Google. The bill is still under consideration by Brazil’s Congress.



    Read more:
    Meta’s shift to ‘community notes’ risks hurting online health info providers more than ever

    Other examples include how, in August 2024, Brazil’s Supreme Court temporarily banned X for failing to comply with legal requirements, including blocking social media accounts accused of spreading misinformation linked to the 2022 election. X had also failed to appoint a local legal official.

    The platform remained suspended until October 8 2024, when X complied with the court’s orders, paid fines totalling 28 million reals (£3.9 million), and appointed a legal representative.

    Brazil temporarily banned social media network X.

    The court decision has been part of a broader effort in Brazil to protect its democracy and restrict potential disruption from use of technology or social media.

    This push intensified after allies of then president Jair Bolsonaro used social media to spread misinformation (ahead of the 2022 elections), and then attack democratic institutions, and mobilise supporters in the lead-up to the January 8 2023 attacks on government buildings.

    Digital platforms were used to spread false claims of voter fraud and discredit mainstream media as well as spread misinformation about Bolsonaro’s opponents. These efforts fuelled conspiracy theories and protests, which later turned violent. In response, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court tightened regulations, ordering platforms to remove false election claims.



    Read more:
    Elon Musk’s feud with Brazilian judge is much more than a personal spat − it’s about national sovereignty, freedom of speech and the rule of law

    But the region’s regulatory efforts extend beyond social media into other emerging technologies. Colombia, Ecuador and Chile – among others – are currently debating regulations of artificial intelligence (AI) and looking at AI’s human rights and environmental impact.

    Chile was the first country to recognise neurorights (brain rights) in its constitution, ensuring protections against the misuse of neurotechnology, such as brain-computer interfaces that could read or manipulate thoughts, emotions or cognitive processes. These developing technologies could be used in medicine, but also raise ethical concerns about privacy and cognitive freedom.

    Political leaders across Latin America also regularly challenge global technology leaders over their effect on society. Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, has criticised Elon Musk’s support for far-right movements. Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva, said the world did not have to put up with Musk’s “far-right free-for-all just because he is rich”. Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, was even more direct. During a global summit on social media regulation, she declared: “I’m not afraid of you, fuck you, Elon Musk.”

    History of authoritarianism

    Many people in Latin America remember how political power was abused in the recent past to undermine democracy. During the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, many businesses supported repressive regimes.

    After the coup in Chile in 1973, Augusto Pinochet’s authoritarian government privatised industries and cut social protections with help from the Chicago Boys, a group of US-trained Latin American economists. The regime crushed dissent through state violence, and imprisoned and tortured thousands of people.

    In the early 1970s, Chilean president Salvador Allende had tried to establish the Cybersyn Project, an ambitious initiative to create an economic planning system using networked telex machines and an early form of algorithmic decision-making. It was designed to enhance state control over the economy, while reducing dependence on foreign corporations. But Cybersyn was dismantled after the US-backed military coup that installed Pinochet’s dictatorship.

    Today, Latin America may be better positioned to counter foreign influence than it was in the 1970s. Brazil’s leadership at the recent G20 global summit, where it successfully pushed for social media and artificial intelligence regulation, showed that there is a regional will to push back against the demands, and power, of Silicon Valley’s technology giants.

    The question is whether these countries can sustain their efforts against pressure from big companies, economic pressure (such as tariffs) and shifting geopolitical alliances. If they do, Latin American nations could provide a much-needed counterweight to corporate influence, and an example to the rest of the world of what could be achieved.

    Sebastian Smart receives funding from FONDECYT-Chile

    – ref. Latin America is moving fast to protect democracy from excesses of big tech – https://theconversation.com/latin-america-is-moving-fast-to-protect-democracy-from-excesses-of-big-tech-248487

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is it true you need to love yourself before you can find romantic love? Here’s what philosophers say

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tony Milligan, Research Fellow in the Philosophy of Ethics, King’s College London

    The Dreamer by Cecilia Beaux (1894). Wiki Commons

    Consider the popular idea that you need to love yourself first, before you can find love from others. It was set out in the German psychologist Erich Fromm’s book The Art of Loving in 1956 and has been popularised in recent years by drag queen RuPaul’s catchphrase “if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”

    But is it actually true? If we think of self-love in an extreme sense, as raging egocentricity, then the answer is a resounding “no”. Philosophers who reject self-love do so for this reason. Iris Murdoch is a case in point. She warned her readers that the proper direction of attention should always be outwards. Love others, not yourself.

    This is a very sacrificial way of thinking about love. If we think about love as the most important way of valuing anything, then of course self-love is desirable. The person who has no self-love has no proper sense of their own worth as a unique, feeling being.

    Looking for love this Valentine’s Day? Whether you want to improve your relationship with others or with yourself, The Quarter Life Glow-up can help.

    This six-week newsletter course from The Conversation will bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    This is the insight captured by the idea that we must love ourselves first. It’s endorsed by the classical philosophical tradition and is especially evident in discussions of friendship by Aristotle and Cicero where a friend is “another self” – someone who is due the same love that we have for ourselves.

    They treat love for ourselves as a basic background to a good life, and hold that something has gone badly wrong when any of us lacks such an attitude. This is a far less sacrificial way of thinking. One in which being loved and loving ourselves turn out to be inseparable.

    This is the insight that the catchphrase about loving yourself first plays upon. But it puts things the wrong way around. Coming to love ourselves often happens as a result of being loved by another person. It is an outcome, not a first step.

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

    In your 20s and 30s, you may find that all around you people have paired off. There is a game going on, played out with varying degrees of success. Some people find themselves always on the outside of this game. They have never had a girlfriend or boyfriend. Never even received a Valentine’s Day card. They may have wanted these things, and waited for them, but nothing has happened.

    Many people live like this, with an exclusion from romantic love that makes it feel almost impossible to form an appropriate sense of self-worth. Those in this position cannot will themselves into self-love as a way of propelling themselves into the game. And they also cannot educate themselves into self-love.

    In your 20s and 30s, you may find that all around you, people have paired off. Detail from Hesperus, the Evening Star, Sacred to Lovers by Joseph Noel Paton (1857).
    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

    Even philosophers cannot do so. Immanuel Kant argued in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) that we are all autonomous rational agents and that this makes us equally valuable. But for those without a romantic history, their experience is not one of being equally valued.

    What they need is not a special effort of will but the experience of being loved. Or of having been loved by someone that they themselves have loved. We cannot draw a sense of our own value from the love of someone we do not admire, or from the kind of abusive person who systematically undermines our sense of self-esteem. Being loved by someone dreadful, or just wildly unpleasant, is unlikely to fill any of us with warm fuzzy feelings. No matter how smitten we are. No matter what flowers and chocolate they send.

    Being loved by someone we love, someone we value, is a different matter. Nothing shows us our own value so effectively.

    A good deal of my own sense of value, for example, does not come from a recognition of my autonomy or from a self-willed effort to think nice thoughts about myself. It stems instead from being loved by my wife Suzanne. Without this experience of being loved, everything else would be diminished.

    Being lovable

    Most of us enjoy an approximation to this experience of being loved long before we ever experience actual romantic love.

    Most of us have been loved by our parents, and up to a point by our siblings and friends. We even may have been loved by our pets – or at least by the dog, if not by the cat. But at a certain point, we want love of a more intimate and grownup sort. Love from someone who could simply pass us by in the street, but who does not do so. Without it, an adult sense of self-worth may remain permanently out of reach.

    This does not mean to say that that every day must be a whirlwind of romance, or even that we have to be continuously in a relationship.

    Suzanne and myself seem to have mated for life. We still buy one another flowers and chocolates for Valentine’s Day rather than gift vouchers and lawnmowers. Suzanne gets the flowers, I get the chocolates. It is a ritual in which we both win. But many people are just as content moving from one relationship to another.

    What seems to matter in each case is seeing ourselves as lovable. Whether we are serial daters, or hibernate with a lifelong partner like two creatures in a burrow. What we really need is the experience of having been loved romantically, at some point in time. And the knowledge that it could happen again. A recognition that we may sometimes have bad romantic luck, and may have made mistakes – but that we remain fundamentally lovable.

    Tony Milligan 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. Is it true you need to love yourself before you can find romantic love? Here’s what philosophers say – https://theconversation.com/is-it-true-you-need-to-love-yourself-before-you-can-find-romantic-love-heres-what-philosophers-say-247298

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump tariffs: there may be silver linings in the trade war storm clouds

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Mahadeo, Senior Lecturer in Macroeconomics, University of Portsmouth

    bella1105/Shutterstock

    US tariffs – both threatened and imposed – on trade partners including China, Canada, Mexico and the EU quickly set off waves of retaliatory measures. The latest commodities in the sights of president Donald Trump are steel and aluminium – with tariffs of 25% announced for all imports. But not only do these taxes disrupt well-established trade flows, they ignite concerns over the very future of globalisation.

    Yet amid this uncertainty, it’s possible that there may be a silver lining. Trump may inadvertently be paving the way for a realignment of trade relationships and the emergence of new economic blocs. Such partnerships could foster more resilient and regionally focused economic cooperation.

    Trump’s decision to levy tariffs on its major trading partners disrupts the fundamental tenets of the gravity model of trade. According to this theory, trade between two nations is largely determined by their economic size and proximity. For instance, introducing tariffs to the close economic relationship between the US and Canada, underpinned by their shared border, effectively increases the distance between the two by raising costs and reducing the volume of bilateral trade.

    However, these disruptions can inadvertently encourage diversification of trade relationships. As companies and governments seek to mitigate the risks associated with tariffs, they may begin to explore new markets and alternative supply chains. This could ultimately lead to a more dispersed and – potentially – more stable global trade system.

    Yet as Trump continues to test the limits of his power, he is learning it is not so easy to defy gravity. Already, the president has dialled down tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while China has struck back with retaliatory measures.

    One positive spin-off of the trade war may be the reinforcement of regional alliances. With traditional trade flows disrupted, countries are increasingly incentivised to strengthen ties with neighbouring economies.

    North American outlook

    Canada and Mexico, long considered natural trading partners of the US, might pivot towards deepening their economic cooperation. They may also look to bilateral agreements with other partners as well as seeking new markets, strengthening ties with China and Japan.

    The USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) provides a strong foundation for trade. But attempts to dismantle this arrangement could see Canada and Mexico accelerating efforts to build closer economic ties with other regions, reducing their exposure to the US market.

    Trump reveals his plans for sweeping steel tariffs on “everybody”.

    Trump’s planned tariffs on steel threaten to undermine the USMCA. After all, it is designed to foster integrated supply chains and low-tariff economic cooperation among the three countries. This is likely to escalate trade tensions across the bloc, forcing a reassessment of the trade agreement’s key terms and destabilising the established relationships.

    European Union outlook

    The imposition of tariffs on the EU could lead to deepening integration among its member states. Faced with new pressures from the US, the EU might accelerate initiatives aimed at consolidating internal trade, harmonising regulations and promoting intra-European supply chains.

    Member states, with France at the forefront, are already advocating for a united response to counteract US protectionism. They hope to signal a strong political commitment to resist the pressures from Trump.

    Asia-Pacific outlook

    China, as the world’s second-largest economy behind the US, may seek to expand its trade relationships in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. As China’s economic growth model is export-led, it may seek stronger partnerships with regional players and invest in new trade agreements. This could potentially give rise to an even more integrated Asian economic community.

    A new economic order

    Whatever else plays out, these tariff wars signal a reordering of the global economic landscape. Such disruptions, though painful in the short term, can create long-term changes that rebalance economic systems. The natural trading partner hypothesis reinforces this view by highlighting how countries with shared cultural, historical and geographical ties are likely to deepen their economic relationships in the face of external shocks.

    Table of US trade

    Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis (2025)
    Author provided

    In this new order, traditional superpowers may find themselves challenged by unified responses from other nations. By imposing tariffs, the US risks isolating itself from these emerging alliances, while its major trading partners may become united in their efforts to counterbalance rising American protectionism.



    Read more:
    Brics: growth of China-led bloc raises questions about a rapidly shifting world order

    The ripple effects of the US tariff row extend well beyond the directly involved countries, with significant implications for global trade networks. For the UK, already coping with the aftermath of Brexit, this new environment offers both challenges and opportunities.

    With US-led protectionism disrupting traditional trade channels, the UK could seize the opportunity to diversify its export markets by forging stronger ties with the EU and digging deeper into its Commonwealth alliances. It could reinforce its position as a hub for international commerce while continuing to cultivate its relationship with the US. Managing Trump is a delicate balancing act for prime minister Keir Starmer, as both are expected to be in office for four years.

    A word of caution – negotiating international trade agreements is a complex and lengthy process. This is the hard lesson learned by the UK. Its trade with the EU (its most important commercial partner) shrank after Brexit, driving the quest for new trading partners and agreements. But these fruits are slow to materialise.

    The UK formally requested accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in February 2021, but only signed the accession protocol in July 2023.

    And we should not forget that in 2024 the UK halted its trade talks with Canada after two years of negotiations, due to disagreements over the standards on some agricultural products.

    Tariffs come with challenges, but they might also be the beginning of a slow and painful change towards a more balanced and robust global economic order.

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

    – ref. Trump tariffs: there may be silver linings in the trade war storm clouds – https://theconversation.com/trump-tariffs-there-may-be-silver-linings-in-the-trade-war-storm-clouds-249526

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wisconsin Universities Share Dire Consequences of Illegal Funding Cuts for Lifesaving Research

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is highlighting the dire consequences for lifesaving research at Wisconsin’s Universities after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be making significant, illegal cuts to critical funding used to discover medical breakthroughs. The NIH announced that it is arbitrarily capping indirect cost rates at 15%, which will slash funding that helps research institutions, like the University of Wisconsin, conduct research, operate their facilities and labs, pay staff, and buy equipment needed for groundbreaking work to find cures for diseases and treatments for patients.

    “Cutting funding for lifesaving cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and cancer will hurt Wisconsin families. Period. These illegal cuts will not only mean fewer treatment options for Americans down the road, but it also will cost Wisconsinites their jobs across our state,” said Senator Baldwin. “Elon Musk and Donald Trump are stripping away investments that help Wisconsin families to make room for their tax cut for billionaires and the biggest corporations. I’m standing up for Wisconsin and doing everything I can to push back on this illegal funding cut that will cost American lives and livelihoods.”

    “For decades, the federal government and research universities have had a deep and extremely successful partnership to produce important research for the good of the nation.?UW–Madison has long been a research powerhouse, and this effort is central to our purpose. Federal funding has contributed to a wide variety of critical innovations and discoveries at UW–Madison, from weather satellites that save lives during natural disasters to the ‘UW Solution’ that advanced the practice of organ transplantation by extending the viability of human organs,” said the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Today, campus researchers are leading a major national NIH grant to unlock the mysteries surrounding Alzheimer’s disease in a quest for better treatments, and ultimately, a cure. Work done here saves lives with innovations like cell therapies to treat cancer and heart attacks, improvements in medical imaging, and new treatments for diabetes. Our research enterprise is at the heart of the Wisconsin Idea, our commitment to innovating for the public good and doing work that makes a difference for Wisconsin and the world.”

    “As we continue to assess the situation and its potential impact on our university, we recognize the significant role of NIH-funded research at UW-Milwaukee, totaling $7.9 million from 2019 to 2027. These projects support critical research that enhance quality of life by improving physical and mental health interventions, disease prevention strategies and public health policies. Examples of these projects include studies on genetic mutations linked to birth defects in children, the neuroscience of aging and the effects of wheelchair use on shoulder pain,” said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone.

    Indirect costs are necessary expenses for universities that support research, including paying key support staff, maintaining equipment, and operating labs, among other activities. Slashing this funding will shift billions of dollars in burdens to states and their taxpayers, who cannot afford to pay the difference. According to a lawsuit filed by 22 states including Wisconsin to block the Trump Administrative directive, this cut to NIH funding at UW-Madison would eliminate approximately $65 million in funding – which would mean layoffs and immediately halting research programs including potentially terminating clinical trials. UW-Madison could be forced to not only stop admitting new patients to some clinical trials, but to scale back ongoing clinical trials. This means slower and fewer treatments for adult and pediatric cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, degenerative neurologic diseases, and more. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the NIH funding cuts from going into effect, issuing a temporary restraining order, and setting a hearing for February 21.

    Implementing the Trump Administration’s 15% cap on indirect costs would mean an immediate loss of billions of dollars that have already been committed at research institutions across the country to employ tens of thousands of researchers and other workers. It would mean an immediate halt of life-saving health research and cutting-edge biomedical innovations that produce vaccines and cures for diseases like cancer and addiction. It would have a ripple effect across the private sector as it disrupts partnerships with private institutions, causing some of them to go bankrupt. Business communities, mayors, governors, and Chambers of Commerce across the country have all expressed concerns about the devastating impact imposing this illegal, arbitrary policy would have on local and state economies.

    Research institutions in Wisconsin, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, among other University of Wisconsin System schools, will be impacted by these funding cuts.

    As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies, Senator Baldwin is responsible for writing the bill that funds the NIH, which explicitly prohibits NIH from taking this arbitrary action.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California Teenager Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nationwide Swatting Spree

    Source: US State of Vermont

    Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for making interstate threats to injure the person of another.

    According to the plea agreement, from approximately August 2022 to January 2024, Filion made over 375 swatting and threat calls, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs in the targeted locations or threatened to detonate bombs and/or conduct mass shootings at those locations. Filion targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, government officials, and numerous individuals across the United States.

    Filion intended his calls to cause large-scale deployment of police and emergency services units to the targeted locations. During these calls, he provided information to law enforcement and emergency services agencies that he knew to be false, such as false names, false claims that he and others had placed explosives in particular locations, false claims that he and others possessed dangerous weapons, including firearms and explosives, and false claims that he and other individuals had committed, or intended to imminently commit, violent crimes.

    In some instances, armed law enforcement officers approached and entered a targeted residence with their weapons drawn and detained individuals that occupied the residence. Indeed, Filion claimed in a post on Jan. 20, 2023, that when he swats someone, he “usually get[s] the cops to drag the victim and their families out of the house cuff them and search the house for dead bodies.” Additionally, Filion’s calls caused law enforcement officers and dispatchers to respond, and to be unavailable in response to other emergencies.

    Filion became a serial swatter for both profit and recreation. He claimed in a Jan. 19, 2023, online post that his “first” swatting was like “2 to 3 years ago” and that “6-9 months ago [he] decided to turn it into a business. . .” On several occasions, Filion placed posts on social media channels advertising his services and swatting-for-a-fee structure.

    On Jan.18, 2024, Filion was arrested in California on Florida state charges arising from a May 2023 threat he made to a religious institution in Sanford, Florida. In that threat, he claimed to have an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. He said that he was going to imminently “commit a mass shooting” and “kill everyone” he saw. He pleaded guilty in federal court to making that threat.

    Filion also pleaded guilty to making three other threatening calls: an October 2022 call to a public high school in the Western District of Washington, in which he threatened to commit a mass shooting and claimed to have planted bombs throughout the school; a May 2023 call to a Historically Black College or University in the Northern District of Florida, in which he claimed to have placed bombs in the walls and ceilings of campus housing that would detonate in about an hour; and a July 2023 call to a local police department dispatch number in the Western District of Texas, in which he falsely identified himself as a senior federal law enforcement officer, provided the federal law-enforcement officer’s residential address to the dispatcher, claimed to have killed the federal officer’s mother, and threatened to kill any responding police officers.

    The FBI and U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Seminole County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office; the Anacortes (Washington) Police Department; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the California Department of Justice; the Los Angeles County (California) Sheriff’s Office; and the Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; the State Attorney’s Office for Seminole County, Florida, 18th Judicial Circuit; and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Western District of Washington, Northern District of Florida, Western District of Texas, and District of Columbia. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How smarter greenhouses could improve the UK’s food security

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sven Batke, Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange – Reader in Plant Science, Edge Hill University

    A tomato greenhouse in north-west England. Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    When was the last time you walked into a supermarket and marvelled at the abundance of exotic fruits and vegetables, even in the dead of winter? This luxury, now an expectation, only became common in the mid-20th century, reaching the UK some decades later.

    Not long ago, winter produce in UK supermarkets was limited; root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and parsnips, alongside hardy greens such as kale and cabbage. Fruits were even scarcer, mostly apples and pears. Today’s variety owes much to advances in global trade and smarter greenhouses, which help extend growing seasons and bring once seasonal produce to shelves all year round.

    Fast forward just one generation, and now supermarket shelves are stocked with dragon fruit, bananas, coconuts, avocados, and a variety of exotic nuts and vegetables. These items not only hail from the farthest reaches of the globe, but have also been bred to offer consumers unique sensory experiences or health benefits, such as higher concentrations of antioxidants. It’s no surprise that most of these exotic foods are often not grown locally or even within Europe.

    According to the latest government figures from 2023, 53% of the vegetables consumed in the UK are imported, and only 17% of fruits are grown locally. The contrast is stark when you look at exports, which remain relatively small (about 100,000 tonnes in 2023).

    UK food security could be improved by growing more produce inside smart greenhouses.
    Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    How often do you eat a UK-grown strawberry or tomato outside summer? Many such vegetables come from the Netherlands, Morocco and Spain, while most fruit comes from Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. No surprise, given their warmer climates. The UK averages 9-12°C annually, compared to Morocco’s 18-20°C.

    Increasing demand for exotic foods available year-round has made the UK’s food system vulnerable to external market fluctuations. Disruptions, such as trade barriers following Brexit or global hikes in energy prices due to the Ukraine war have placed supply chains under strain.

    Empty supermarket shelves could become more common if we see disruptions in supply chains, putting further pressure on the undervalued domestic growing sector. But could the UK grow more of its own food and reduce reliance on volatile global markets?

    Hi-tech solutions

    Protected horticulture (specifically in the food sector, as opposed to ornamental plants) involves growing fruits and vegetables year-round in controlled environments, such as polytunnels, greenhouses and indoor vertical farms.

    These facilities regulate temperature, humidity and light, and in some cases, even atmospheric gases like CO₂. Water and nutrient inputs are also tightly controlled, reducing waste by up to 95% compared to traditional field-grown methods. This allows year-around protection from the elements. They are often overlooked despite holding the key to solving some of the current food security challenges.



    Read more:
    Four myths about vertical farming debunked by an expert

    As part of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium, my team of biologists, geographers and I recently mapped over 12,000 greenhouses in Britain. Estimates suggest that around 70% of these structures are more than 40 years old.

    So why haven’t we seen more UK-grown fruits and vegetables on supermarket shelves if we have the technology to produce them? One major reason is the high energy demand of indoor growing, especially in cold and cloudy weather – something we are all too familiar with in the UK. For example, 2024 has seen one of the worse years in total recorded sun hours.

    The UK’s horticulture sector has also received very little government support over the years. There are few incentives for growers to adopt new technology or upgrade infrastructure. Many UK growers still have not adopted technologies like automatic harvest robots or AI-controlled systems, and even simple upgrades like LED growing lights could boost yield by over 50%. However, resource management in this sector requires experience and making these changes is a fine balancing act.

    Most British greenhouses are more than 40 years old so investment is needed to upgrade them.
    Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    But the future can be bright – if we choose to make it so. To grow more produce all year round without compromising on flavour, the sector needs more investment in local expertise and cutting-edge facilities.

    From precision horticulture to advanced AI-controlled greenhouses, with the right drive and investment, the UK could move towards a more sustainable food production system. Sweden for example is currently investing over £700 million into horticulture.

    While achieving 100% self-sufficiency may not be feasible due to other demands on land, such as housing, conservation, and industry, creating a more resilient and less dependent food sector would benefit everyone (not to mention reducing food miles).

    The UK’s food future doesn’t have to rely on global markets. With investment and innovation, the country can build a resilient, sustainable food system. Year-round demand for exotic produce has exposed supply chain fragility, but fostering domestic growth and technology can change the narrative.

    It’s not about turning back the clock, but about making the most of what the UK has while driving forward the solutions that make sense for the country’s future. The answer is not just more local food. It’s smarter, more resilient food systems that can weather whatever challenges lie ahead.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Sven Batke works together with industry growers and manufactures in the horticulture industry. The work we are doing is part of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium, which aims to support local growers in the UK.

    – ref. How smarter greenhouses could improve the UK’s food security – https://theconversation.com/how-smarter-greenhouses-could-improve-the-uks-food-security-248719

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What is Sudan virus and how similar is it to Ebola?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton

    The Ugandan government and the World Health Organization recently confirmed an outbreak of Sudan virus disease. The index (first-known) case of this outbreak is thought to be a 32-year-old male nurse from a hospital in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

    The WHO reported two main clusters, related to the patient’s family and a hospital cluster. At the time of writing, the index case is the sole recorded death. The second case was the patient’s wife, and as of February 11, there were nine confirmed cases.

    Outbreaks of this virus are relatively rare. This new outbreak is the ninth to have been recorded since 1976 when the virus was first identified and – as was practice at the time – named after the location where this first outbreak took place, southern Sudan.

    A 2022 Sudan virus outbreak also in Uganda resulted in 164 cases and 77 deaths (a fatality rate of 47%). There are no treatments or vaccines against the Sudan virus.

    Sudan virus disease is essentially a disease very similar to Ebola. The Ebola virus has caused several high-profile outbreaks. The west Africa 2014-16 outbreak was the largest with 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths.

    The Sudan and Ebola viruses both come from the orthoebolavirus family, but they have different proteins and genetic components, so the immune response to each virus is different. As such, it’s thought that the Ebola vaccines will not be effective against the Sudan virus.

    For the current Sudan virus outbreak, there are efforts to deploy vaccine candidates and also monoclonal antibody medicines. These medicines create antibodies that aim to stop the virus from replicating.

    In 2022, the WHO recommended two monoclonal antibodies for use against Ebola. There is enthusiasm for similar research related to treatments for the Sudan virus.

    A phase 1 vaccine trial, the earliest phase of testing in humans, is underway.

    The similarities in structure between these two types of orthoebolavirus mean that the symptoms in patients are similar. The illness for both viruses may typically begin with fever, aches and fatigue with potential progression onto diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.

    Laboratory testing is needed to differentiate between the diseases, though the urgent need for isolation remains.

    Early supportive treatment has been shown to reduce mortality rates of Sudan and Ebola virus disease, giving the patient time for their body to recover. This usually involves replacing fluids and treating pain, fever and other possible infections, such as malaria.

    The reporting of the 2022 Sudan virus disease outbreak described how patients would first visit care facilities that were outside of the mainstream health service. There were many new infections across late August 2022 from within private health facilities that drove transmission early on in the outbreak. This suggested a low level of infection prevention and control, and quite possibly a lack of equipment and good practice to contain serious infections.

    When cases were confirmed, most known contacts who developed symptoms were referred to specialist units for testing and hospital care. These referrals typically happened in October, and the outbreak was declared over by the end of November 2022. Although we lack vital tools such as effective vaccines and drugs, contact tracing and appropriate infection control can contain serious outbreaks such as these.

    Climate change driving distribution

    Climate change will have an effect on the geographical distribution of new and emerging infections, such as Ebola and Sudan virus disease and the Crimean-Congo virus. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever, will find new habitats while dengue and West Nile virus are already becoming more common in Europe and North America.

    International cooperation for addressing global health threats is vital. However, these efforts will be hindered by the volatility and lack of coherence from key stakeholders such as the US government. The world faces uncertain times, and these are ideal circumstances for the Sudan virus and other infectious diseases to thrive.

    Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Research England and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation.

    – ref. What is Sudan virus and how similar is it to Ebola? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-sudan-virus-and-how-similar-is-it-to-ebola-249312

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘When you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate’: teachers on the food banks they run in schools

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sharon Vince, Lecturer in Education and Early Years, University of West London

    Anna Kuzmenko/Shutterstock

    Across England, schools are running food banks to help the children and their families. Research suggests that 21% of schools in England now offer some form of food charity.

    In our recently published book, we carried out research at 12 schools and nurseries with food banks across England, interviewing 30 teachers, headteachers and school staff who ran the food banks. We wanted to explore why there has been such considerable growth in the education sector offering food to families, and the impact it has on children, parents and school staff.

    Many of the schools and nurseries that we visited as part of our research initially set up the food bank in response to the COVID pandemic. This is in keeping with findings from previous research, although the cost-of-living crisis was the stimulus for others.

    Learning better

    Staff in the schools we visited told us that children could not learn if they were hungry. “You know what it’s like when you have nothing to eat and you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate,” one teacher said.

    Through addressing children’s hunger, the school staff we spoke to believed, schools can improve children’s concentration and motivation to learn.

    This echoed the views of almost 18,000 teachers in a 2023 National Education Union survey: 87% of school staff in the survey said that pupils they taught were unable to concentrate as a result of poverty, and over half said that they or their school were providing extra food for children during the school day.

    One headteacher in our study talked about the impact of the food bank on one of the children in their school:

    So he came in all full of beans. ‘I’ve got all gold. Look at my work. Can I have a sticker? ’ And I was like, ‘Someone’s had their Weetabix,’ and they’re like, ‘Yeah, I did. I had that special Weetabix’, … And then it turned out the dad had been into the food bank … that’s why, that’s why I’m doing this.

    The teachers believed that having a food bank at school also led to an improvement in learning and wellbeing through other means, such as reduced family stress. “If you meet the need of the parent, they’re then available to meet the need of the child,” one school staff member said.

    The food banks also helped build closer relationships between families and the school. Teachers told us that families appreciated the support and became more willing to approach the school for help with other issues.

    The caring role of schools

    Beyond the need to improve learning outcomes, however, the main justification for running a food bank was the moral imperative to support families who needed it and could not access help anywhere else. In the words of one teacher: “We’re humans and our natural instinct is to care. That’s why I came into this profession. It’s a caring profession.”

    The teachers felt a moral imperative to care for their pupils and their families.
    Irina Gutyryak/Shutterstock

    The school staff told us about the work that went into running the foodbanks. They sourced food from local food redistribution charities, companies and other families at the school. Often, food was delivered, but sometimes it required collection. In some cases, parent volunteers helped pick up donations. A headteacher told us about how she collected food from a distribution centre:

    I would have literally had to go and root around and find what I needed … At least I am not teaching all day every day. So actually, I can take an hour and a half out – even though it’s only in term – to go and drive there, park up, open my boot, get the two pallets. And it was all heavy stuff – tins – [to] get here.

    We asked the people in our research whether schools should run food banks. Most replied positively, restating the impact that the food bank had upon the learning and wellbeing of children. Others were pragmatic, accepting that right now, there is no alternative support. However, some were critical, suggesting that the government should find alternative solutions to the issue of child poverty.

    While the provision of food for children and families in education settings may be having a beneficial effect, it is not sustainable.

    The burden of child poverty does not fall evenly on schools. Those that provide food banks are disproportionately located in areas with more pupils from deprived backgrounds, and schools with more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to receive poor Ofsted grades. Operating a food bank requires significant time, energy and funding, none of which are recognised in education policy, or by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate.

    The work that education staff are doing to support children in this way should be celebrated and rewarded, although it is not currently recognised in measures of a school’s effectiveness. But this also risks normalising the presence of food banks in schools. One teacher argued: “Our job is to look after them and educate them and care for them while they’re at school, not to feed them at the weekends or holidays, but we can’t help but be concerned about that.”

    The government should recognise the work that schools and early years settings are doing in this area and ensure that they have the resources needed. Government action to abolish the two-child benefit cap would also support families, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty.

    The government is currently developing a child poverty strategy. These measures would be welcome inclusions.

    Sharon Vince received funding from the British Education Research Association and the Monday Charitable Trust for the projects on food banks.

    Alice Bradbury receives funding from the Helen Hamlyn Trust which funds the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy at UCL. She has also received research funding from the British Education Research Association and the Monday Charitable Trust for the projects on food banks. She is a member of the Labour Party and the Universities and College Union.

    – ref. ‘When you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate’: teachers on the food banks they run in schools – https://theconversation.com/when-youve-got-nothing-in-your-belly-you-cant-concentrate-teachers-on-the-food-banks-they-run-in-schools-248507

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Angola vaccinates over 1 million people as it bolsters cholera outbreak control efforts

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    LUANDA, Angola, February 11, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Antonio Morais, from Paraíso neighborhood in Cacuaco, one of Luanda’s nine municipalities, has witnessed friends and neighbours succumb to cholera. So, when Morais heard about an oral cholera vaccination campaign as part of Angola’s efforts to step up outbreak control, he was first in line to receive a vaccine. “I feel relieved, as I know that vaccines save lives,” he says.

    More than 1 million people have been vaccinated in the three hardest-hit provinces in a five-day campaign to complement the ongoing public health measures to halt the spread of the infectious disease.

    Health facilities and other public places such as markets, churches and schools were used as vaccination posts, while mobile teams visited communities to ensure widespread reach during the 3–7 February campaign. At least 99.5% of the targeted population received the vaccine in a drive led by the Ministry of Health, with support from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank.

    Around 2000 teams were deployed, including health professionals and community volunteers, under the supervision of around 500 coordinators. In total, more than 6400 staff were involved in the operation, to ensure wide coverage and the success of the campaign. As they conducted vaccinations, health workers provided information on preventive measures, such good hygiene practices and promoted access to safe drinking water, which are fundamental to preventing new cases.  

    Together with key partners such as UNICEF, World Bank, Red Cross, and the private sector, WHO supported the Government in procuring 978 000 vaccine doses through the International Coordinating Group for Vaccine Provision, microplanning, ensuring efficient resource allocation and vaccination coverage. The joint efforts also supported training almost 2000 vaccinators to enhance their capacity to administer the vaccine safely and effectively and provided supportive supervision during the campaign.

    “In this fight against cholera, we acknowledge the role of our development partners and thank them for their unwavering cooperation and support, including WHO and other partners and friends, who have been strong allies in the fight to control this disease,” says Minister of Health Dr Silvia Lutucuta.

    Oral cholera vaccines are an additional tool for cholera control, complementing others such as use of safe water, good hygiene, surveillance, and early treatment. As of 11 February 2025, 3047 cases and 180 deaths had been reported in eight provinces, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 3.4%. During cholera outbreaks, a CFR lower than 1% is commonly considered as acceptable threshold.

    “WHO congratulates the government leadership and reiterates its commitment to continue supporting Angola in its response to the cholera outbreak,” says Dr Zabulon Yoti, WHO Representative in Angola. “We will continue to collaborate with other UN agencies and partners, including the private sector, to support the government in developing sustainable initiatives that guarantee prevention, response, and protection of the population against cholera and other preventable diseases.”

    WHO and key partners have also supported other aspects of the cholera response in Angola, facilitating the drafting of a National Cholera Response Plan, procuring medical supplies, strengthening the capacity of health professionals, distributing water treatment solutions, implementing basic sanitation measures and community mobilization.

    Back in Paraíso, Morais has encouraged everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. “With this vaccine, I know we’ll be better protected. With the availability of drinking water and if we all comply with basic sanitation measures, our community can resume activities and live without fear,” he says. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke in the State Duma during government hour

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke in the State Duma as part of a government hour dedicated to the development of the Education Development Strategy for the period up to 2036 with a perspective up to 2040.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and the entire deputy corps for the productive dialogue and noted the effectiveness of the government hour format.

    As part of the development of the Strategy for the Development of Education for the Period up to 2036 with a Prospect up to 2040, more than 1.5 thousand experts analyzed over 600 documents from the times of the Russian Empire to the present day.

    In preparing the draft strategy, the systemic instructions of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin are taken into account.

    For the first time, strategies for leading engineering universities are being developed at the Government level, and an institute of chief designers is being created.

    The content of educational programs is synchronized with the tasks for the OGE and the USE. The child must receive all the knowledge to pass these exams at school.

    A comprehensive plan of measures to improve the quality of mathematical and natural science education for the period up to 2030 has been approved.

    A system of initial vocational education will be introduced in a pilot mode in a number of regions.

    The strategy will state that artificial intelligence and digitalization will not replace live contact between student and teacher.

    “It is important for us to increase the influx of young specialists, this is influenced by the reduction of the bureaucratic burden, and the number of children in the class, and the protection of teachers – their honor and dignity, wages, housing. We have already begun to fight the bureaucratic burden at the legislative level,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    The strategy should provide opportunities for the participants of the SVO: obtaining a sought-after profession, employment and involving veterans in educational work in educational organizations.

    The Deputy Prime Minister proposed:

    • together with deputies, within the framework of the Education Development Strategy, consider the issue of transferring schools from the municipal to the regional level;

    • The Ministry of Education should work out the issue of teachers completing additional professional education programs at state universities, regional institutes for advanced training, and leading educational centers (Sirius and Innopolis);

    • Rosobrnadzor must ensure monitoring and quality of implementation of these programs.

    In addition, the Ministry of Education and the Russian Academy of Education have been instructed to work on the issue of balancing the workload of students.

    “On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, the development of the strategy will continue throughout this year. The draft of this fundamental document should be considered by the Council for Science and Education under the President in the second half of the year,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The event was also attended by the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov, the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov, the head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev, the president of the All-Russian public organization “Russian Union of Rectors” Viktor Sadovnichy, and the president of the Russian Academy of Education Olga Vasilyeva.

    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 United Nations: Secretary-General, at Action Summit, Urges Working Together so Artificial Intelligence Expedites Sustainable Development, Not Creates World of ‘Haves and Have-Nots’

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, in Paris today: 

    Let me begin by thanking President Macron and Prime Minister Modi for convening this AI Action Summit.  Let’s get straight to the point.  Let’s look at the world around us beyond those who are in this room.

    This meeting poses a fundamental question about our relationship with artificial intelligence:  Are we ready for the future?  The answer is easy.  No.  We may not even be ready for the present.

    In what seems like the blink of an eye, AI has gone from the stuff of science fiction to a powerful force that is transforming our world. Reshaping the way we live, work and interact.  Fuelling breakthroughs in education, healthcare, agriculture, but also testing our shared values and rights.

    The power of AI carries immense responsibilities.  Today, that power sits in the hands of a few.  While some companies and some countries are racing ahead with record investments, most developing nations find themselves left out in the cold.  This growing concentration of AI capabilities risks deepening geopolitical divides.

    We must prevent a world of AI “haves” and “have-nots”.  We must all work together so that artificial intelligence can bridge the gap between developed and developing countries — not widen it. It must accelerate sustainable development — not entrench inequalities.

    The United Nations offers an inclusive, transparent and effective platform for AI solidarity.  And we are working to strengthen that platform.  The Global Digital Compact, adopted at the Summit of the Future, established the first universal agreement on the governance of AI.

    It brings the world together around a shared vision:  One where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.  The creation of an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI will be central to translating this vision into reality.

    By pooling global expertise, this Scientific Panel will promote a common understanding of AI risks, benefits, opportunities and capabilities, and help bridge knowledge gaps.  I urge everyone to support its creation without delay.

    Member States also agreed to establish a Global Dialogue on AI Governance — within the United Nations — to ensure that all countries have a voice in shaping the future of AI.  Through the Global Dialogue, we can align governance efforts around the world and reinforce their interoperability, uphold human rights in AI applications and prevent misuse.

    The UN provides an inclusive forum for cooperation, complementing existing mechanisms such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) AI Principles, Group of 7 (G7) and the Global Partnership on AI — as well as regional efforts by the African Union, European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Council of Europe.  And I am confident that discussions at this Summit will help enrich this Dialogue.

    The Compact also calls for building AI capacity in developing nations.  This is not only about technology diffusion.  We need concerted efforts to build sustainable digital infrastructure at an unprecedented scale; foster talent and train workforces to develop, deploy and maintain AI systems; and ultimately, empower peoples and nations to become not just users, but active participants in the AI revolution.

    A global AI capacity-building network, as proposed by my High-Level Advisory Body on AI, is an economic necessity and a moral imperative. Today’s launch of the AI Foundation for Public Interest is an important contribution.

    I will soon present a report on innovative voluntary financing models and capacity-building initiatives to help all countries harness AI as a force for good.

    Finally, we know that AI can be a force for climate action and energy efficiency.  But, we also know AI power-intensive systems are already placing an unsustainable strain on our planet.  So, it is crucial to design AI algorithms and infrastructures that consume less energy and integrate AI into smart grids to optimize power use.  From data centres to training models, AI must run on sustainable energy so that it fuels a more sustainable future.

    I began with a question.  Let me end with a few more.  Who decides what problems AI should or should not solve?  Who benefits most from its deployment?  Who bears the cost of its mistakes?  These questions affect everyone — so the answers must also involve everyone.

    It is in all our interests for Governments and technology leaders to commit to global guardrails, share best practices and shape fair policy and business models.  The whole world benefits when development banks and the philanthropic community provide catalytic funding to jumpstart capacity-building worldwide.  And we all stand to gain when academia and thought leaders help us navigate through this complex landscape.

    AI is not standing still.  Neither can we.  Let us move for an AI that is shaped by all of humanity, for all of humanity.  In other words, let’s make sure we are ready for the future.  Right now.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: EIA revises forecast for 2025 U.S. natural gas prices, leaves other forecasts largely unchanged

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
    WASHINGTON DC 20585

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    February 11, 2025

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), revising its forecast for 2025 average U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot prices upward following a cold end to January.

    U.S. energy market indicators 2024 2025 2026
    Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $81 $74 $66
    Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.30 $3.20 $3.10
    U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.2 13.6 13.7
    Natural gas price at Henry Hub (dollars per million British thermal units) $2.20 $3.80 $4.20
    U.S. liquefied natural gas gross exports (billion cubic feet per day) 12 14 16
    Shares of U.S. electricity generation       
    Natural gas 43% 40% 39%
    Coal 16% 16% 15%
    Renewables 23% 25% 27%
    Nuclear 19% 19% 19%
    U.S. GDP (percentage change) 2.8% 2.1% 2.0%
    U.S. CO2 emissions (billion metric tons) 4.8 4.8 4.8
    Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 2025

    Some key highlights from the February STEO include:

    • Natural gas prices: Cold weather at the end of January increased demand for space heating and contributed to a 12% increase in U.S. natural gas consumption over the previous five-year average for the month. Higher natural gas consumption led to above-average inventory withdrawals, and EIA now expects the benchmark Henry Hub spot price to average $3.80 per million British thermal units in 2025, about 20% higher than previously forecast.
    • Crude oil production and prices: EIA continues to expect growth in global oil production and significant decreases in crude oil prices through 2026. EIA completed its January forecasts before additional sanctions against Russia’s oil and shipping sectors were announced, which created additional uncertainty in outlooks for crude oil supply. EIA does not expect the sanctions to have significant impact on global oil production or prices, although trade flows could be affected.
    • U.S. refinery operations: EIA expects U.S. production of refined petroleum products to decrease by about 190,000 barrels per day in 2025 and by 180,000 barrels per day in 2026 as two refineries close operations. LyondellBasell began closing its Houston refinery on January 27 and Phillips 66 plans to close its Los Angeles refinery at the end of the year. EIA expects that in 2026, the United States will begin importing more gasoline and jet fuel than it exports while remaining a net exporter of distillate fuel oil.
    • Residential electricity prices: EIA forecasts that retail electricity prices for the U.S. residential sector will grow by 2% in 2025, which would be the smallest annual increase in residential electricity prices since 2020. The modest price increase, similar to the expected rate of inflation growth, reflects relatively low natural gas prices over the past year offset by continuing expenses for improvements in grid infrastructure.
    • U.S. coal exports: EIA expects the United States to export about 100 million short tons of coal in both 2025 and 2026, about 2% less than EIA’s January forecast. EIA expects that China’s tariffs against the United States will affect U.S. coal exports, but exporters are likely to find customers in other markets, limiting the tariff’s impact.

    The full February 2025 Short-Term Energy Outlook is available on the EIA website.

    The product described in this press release was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA’s data, analysis, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government. The views in the product and this press release therefore should not be construed as representing those of the U.S. Department of Energy or other federal agencies.

    EIA Program Contact: Tim Hess, STEO@eia.gov
    EIA Press Contact: Chris Higginbotham, EIAMedia@eia.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: California Teenager Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nationwide Swatting Spree

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for making interstate threats to injure the person of another.

    According to the plea agreement, from approximately August 2022 to January 2024, Filion made over 375 swatting and threat calls, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs in the targeted locations or threatened to detonate bombs and/or conduct mass shootings at those locations. Filion targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, government officials, and numerous individuals across the United States.

    Filion intended his calls to cause large-scale deployment of police and emergency services units to the targeted locations. During these calls, he provided information to law enforcement and emergency services agencies that he knew to be false, such as false names, false claims that he and others had placed explosives in particular locations, false claims that he and others possessed dangerous weapons, including firearms and explosives, and false claims that he and other individuals had committed, or intended to imminently commit, violent crimes.

    In some instances, armed law enforcement officers approached and entered a targeted residence with their weapons drawn and detained individuals that occupied the residence. Indeed, Filion claimed in a post on Jan. 20, 2023, that when he swats someone, he “usually get[s] the cops to drag the victim and their families out of the house cuff them and search the house for dead bodies.” Additionally, Filion’s calls caused law enforcement officers and dispatchers to respond, and to be unavailable in response to other emergencies.

    Filion became a serial swatter for both profit and recreation. He claimed in a Jan. 19, 2023, online post that his “first” swatting was like “2 to 3 years ago” and that “6-9 months ago [he] decided to turn it into a business. . .” On several occasions, Filion placed posts on social media channels advertising his services and swatting-for-a-fee structure.

    On Jan.18, 2024, Filion was arrested in California on Florida state charges arising from a May 2023 threat he made to a religious institution in Sanford, Florida. In that threat, he claimed to have an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. He said that he was going to imminently “commit a mass shooting” and “kill everyone” he saw. He pleaded guilty in federal court to making that threat.

    Filion also pleaded guilty to making three other threatening calls: an October 2022 call to a public high school in the Western District of Washington, in which he threatened to commit a mass shooting and claimed to have planted bombs throughout the school; a May 2023 call to a Historically Black College or University in the Northern District of Florida, in which he claimed to have placed bombs in the walls and ceilings of campus housing that would detonate in about an hour; and a July 2023 call to a local police department dispatch number in the Western District of Texas, in which he falsely identified himself as a senior federal law enforcement officer, provided the federal law-enforcement officer’s residential address to the dispatcher, claimed to have killed the federal officer’s mother, and threatened to kill any responding police officers.

    The FBI and U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Seminole County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office; the Anacortes (Washington) Police Department; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the California Department of Justice; the Los Angeles County (California) Sheriff’s Office; and the Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; the State Attorney’s Office for Seminole County, Florida, 18th Judicial Circuit; and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Western District of Washington, Northern District of Florida, Western District of Texas, and District of Columbia. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: EIA revises forecast for 2025 U.S. natural gas prices, leaves other forecasts largely unchanged

    Source: US Energy Information Administration – EIA

    Headline: EIA revises forecast for 2025 U.S. natural gas prices, leaves other forecasts largely unchanged

    U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
    WASHINGTON DC 20585

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    February 11, 2025

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), revising its forecast for 2025 average U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot prices upward following a cold end to January.

    U.S. energy market indicators 2024 2025 2026
    Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $81 $74 $66
    Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.30 $3.20 $3.10
    U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.2 13.6 13.7
    Natural gas price at Henry Hub (dollars per million British thermal units) $2.20 $3.80 $4.20
    U.S. liquefied natural gas gross exports (billion cubic feet per day) 12 14 16
    Shares of U.S. electricity generation       
    Natural gas 43% 40% 39%
    Coal 16% 16% 15%
    Renewables 23% 25% 27%
    Nuclear 19% 19% 19%
    U.S. GDP (percentage change) 2.8% 2.1% 2.0%
    U.S. CO2 emissions (billion metric tons) 4.8 4.8 4.8
    Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 2025

    Some key highlights from the February STEO include:

    • Natural gas prices: Cold weather at the end of January increased demand for space heating and contributed to a 12% increase in U.S. natural gas consumption over the previous five-year average for the month. Higher natural gas consumption led to above-average inventory withdrawals, and EIA now expects the benchmark Henry Hub spot price to average $3.80 per million British thermal units in 2025, about 20% higher than previously forecast.
    • Crude oil production and prices: EIA continues to expect growth in global oil production and significant decreases in crude oil prices through 2026. EIA completed its January forecasts before additional sanctions against Russia’s oil and shipping sectors were announced, which created additional uncertainty in outlooks for crude oil supply. EIA does not expect the sanctions to have significant impact on global oil production or prices, although trade flows could be affected.
    • U.S. refinery operations: EIA expects U.S. production of refined petroleum products to decrease by about 190,000 barrels per day in 2025 and by 180,000 barrels per day in 2026 as two refineries close operations. LyondellBasell began closing its Houston refinery on January 27 and Phillips 66 plans to close its Los Angeles refinery at the end of the year. EIA expects that in 2026, the United States will begin importing more gasoline and jet fuel than it exports while remaining a net exporter of distillate fuel oil.
    • Residential electricity prices: EIA forecasts that retail electricity prices for the U.S. residential sector will grow by 2% in 2025, which would be the smallest annual increase in residential electricity prices since 2020. The modest price increase, similar to the expected rate of inflation growth, reflects relatively low natural gas prices over the past year offset by continuing expenses for improvements in grid infrastructure.
    • U.S. coal exports: EIA expects the United States to export about 100 million short tons of coal in both 2025 and 2026, about 2% less than EIA’s January forecast. EIA expects that China’s tariffs against the United States will affect U.S. coal exports, but exporters are likely to find customers in other markets, limiting the tariff’s impact.

    The full February 2025 Short-Term Energy Outlook is available on the EIA website.

    The product described in this press release was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA’s data, analysis, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government. The views in the product and this press release therefore should not be construed as representing those of the U.S. Department of Energy or other federal agencies.

    EIA Program Contact: Tim Hess, STEO@eia.gov
    EIA Press Contact: Chris Higginbotham, EIAMedia@eia.gov

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    As United States President Donald Trump relentlessly threatens to annex Canada, some Canadians are worried that an American invasion could one day become a reality.

    How would that scenario play out? Looking at the sheer size of the American military, many people might believe that Trump would enjoy an easy victory.

    That analysis is wrong. If Trump ever decides to use military force to annex Canada, the result would not be determined by a conventional military confrontation between the Canadian and American armies. Rather, a military invasion of Canada would trigger a decades-long violent resistance, which would ultimately destroy the United States.

    But in this nightmare scenario, could Canadians successfully resist an American invasion? Absolutely. I know this because I have studied insurgencies around the world for more than two decades, and I have spent time with ordinary people who have fought against powerful invading armies.



    Read more:
    Attempting to annex Canada would spell disaster for the U.S. at home and abroad

    How insurgencies begin

    The research on guerrilla wars clearly shows that weaker parties can use unconventional methods to cripple a more powerful enemy over many years. This approach treats waging war as a secret, part-time job that an ordinary person can do.

    Guerrillas use ambushes, raids and surprise attacks to slowly bleed an invading army, and local communities support these fighters by giving them safe havens and material support. These supporting citizens can also engage in forms of “everyday resistance,” using millions of passive-aggressive episodes of sabotage to frustrate and drain the enemy.

    Trump is delusional if he believes that 40 million Canadians will passively accept conquest without resistance. There is no political party or leader willing to relinquish Canadian sovereignty over “economic coercion,” and so if the U.S. wanted to annex Canada, it would have to invade.

    That decision would set in motion an unstoppable cycle of violence. Even if we imagine a scenario in which the Canadian government unconditionally surrenders, a fight would ensue on the streets. A teenager might throw a rock at invading soldiers. That kid would get shot, and then there would be more rocks, and more gunfire. An insurgency would be inevitable.

    The myth of Canadian ‘niceness’

    This idea may shock Canadians today because they see themselves as friendly and affable people. However, Canada’s current self-image of “niceness” only exists because they’re at peace. War changes people very quickly, and Canadians are no more innately peaceful than any other human beings.

    When your child is dying in your arms, you become capable of violence. Once you lose what you love, resistance becomes as natural as breathing.

    Except for a few collaborators and kapos, my research suggests many Canadians would likely engage in various forms of everyday resistance against invading forces that could involve steal, lying, cutting wires and diverting funds.

    Meanwhile, the insurgents would unleash physical devastation on American targets. Even if one per cent of all resisting Canadians engaged in armed insurrection, that would constitute a 400,000-person insurgency, nearly 10 times the size of Taliban at the start of the Afghan war. If a fraction of that number engaged in violent attacks, it would set fire to the entire continent.

    Canada’s geography would make this insurgency difficult to defeat. With deep forests and rugged mountains, Canada’s northern terrain could not be conquered or controlled. That means loyalists from the Canadian Armed Forces could mobilize civilian recruits into decentralized fighting units that could strike, retreat into the wilderness and blend back into the local communities that support them.

    The Canada-U.S. border is also easy to cross, which would give insurgents access to American critical infrastructure. It costs tens of billions of dollars to build an energy pipeline, and only a few thousand to blow one up.

    What about American air strikes?

    But wouldn’t the Americans crush the rebellion with missiles and drone strikes? They would try, but that approach to counterinsurgency won’t work.

    In fact, it is a well-known booby trap of insurgent warfare. The harder more powerful nations strike, the larger and more fragmented the insurgency becomes, making it impossible to achieve either a military victory or negotiated agreement. Canada’s rugged terrain would protect insurgents from those types of attacks, while global outrage at the bombings would only boost support for the rebellion.

    Americans have already been defeated by insurgents in many parts of the world because they could not escape this trap. If they dare to invade Canada, they would create this unsolvable security problem on their own soil.

    Russia and China rise to power

    How could Canadians pay for this decades-long insurgency? The answer lies in every single historical example of the old adage: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

    The prospect of Americans becoming trapped by an insurgency on their own continent would delight Moscow and Beijing, which could easily establish covert northern passages to send weapons to the insurgency. Financing an insurgency is an effective way to ensnare and bankrupt a rival power, as counter-insurgency operations are exponentially more expensive than the price of a few arms shipments.

    A chronic violent insurrection in North America could financially and militarily pin down the U.S. for decades, ultimately triggering economic and political collapse. Russia and China, meantime, would enjoy an uncontested rise to power.

    Forewarned

    This scenario would guarantee the destruction of both Canada and the United States. No one in their right mind would choose this gruesome future over a peaceful and mutually beneficial alliance with a friendly neighbour.

    Nevertheless, if Trump is reckless enough to think the violent annexation of Canada is an achievable goal, then let it be known that all these horrifying outcomes were predictable well in advance, and that he was forewarned.

    Aisha Ahmad has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States – https://theconversation.com/why-annexing-canada-would-destroy-the-united-states-249561

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We hear about the health impact of climate-related events. But what about the health-care workers who respond to them?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Christopher Buse, Assistant Professor, Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

    In British Columbia, like elsewhere in Canada, the impacts of climate change on health and health services are apparent. In recent years, the province has experienced a range of climate change-related extreme weather events, with considerable negative consequences.

    The 2021 heat dome caused wide disruptions to emergency services and led to more than 600 heat-related deaths. Wildfires have resulted in increased reports of illness and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from their homes.

    B.C.’s health system, still recovering from the staffing issues and burnout of the COVID-19 pandemic, has stepped up to respond to these emergencies.



    Read more:
    Wildfire smoke is an increasing threat to Canadians’ health

    Health systems are made up of people who are often members of the same disaster-stricken communities they serve. However, to date, existing studies have focused primarily on health service provision during climate-related emergencies, rather than their specific impacts on health system workers.

    In order to understand the unique challenges they face during these events, we interviewed health service workers from across B.C. and in a wide range of roles, including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and emergency responders.

    Mental and physical health risks

    Although the nature of their experiences varied depending on their position, a majority of our interviewees reported experiencing some form of physical or mental health threat during and after climate-related emergencies.

    These health service workers — and particularly those in front-line positions like paramedics, home health workers and clinical staff — described being exposed to heat and poor air quality. This was the case for those working in the community as well as in health facilities, especially when facilities were not equipped with cooling and air filtration technologies.

    Health service workers also described suffering negative mental health impacts like stress, trauma and anxiety. Participants reported experiencing burnout due to the challenges related to organizing logistics during an emergency, compounded by long hours and back-to-back periods of intense activity.

    Climate-related events that overwhelmed infrastructure — such as the 2021 heat dome, during which wait times for an ambulance stretched up to 16 hours in some areas — caused trauma to health service workers, who were placed in situations where they were unable to provide sufficient care to all who needed it.

    System problems aggravate impact

    Interviewees also explained that these mental and physical health impacts were aggravated by pre-existing health system challenges, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages. As described by one interviewee, concerns about COVID-19 transmission complicated clinical decision-making and created ethical dilemmas:

    “It was really challenging during the heat dome to provide adequate cooling for people when you’re supposed to follow infection prevention and control guidelines about not having fans… How do I prioritize the acute risk of heat versus the more delayed risk of COVID infection?”

    Meanwhile, staffing shortages meant health service workers had to work longer shifts and with greater frequency during climate-related events. They also experienced challenges getting to and from work because of flooded or blocked roads, or concerns for their family and homes. All of these factors can contribute to burnout.

    Adaptations to protect workers

    The good news is that adaptations are being implemented to protect against the risks shouldered by health service workers during climate-related emergencies. In our interviews, we heard about measures like facility upgrades, emergency response training, climate change education, mental health supports and the development of occupational health and safety plans.

    However, these adaptations are not happening uniformly across B.C.’s health system. In many cases, participants knew of occupational health, safety and emergency response plans for climate-related events, but were unfamiliar with or had not received direct guidance on how to follow them.

    Moreover, while the growing focus by B.C.’s health-care leaders on reducing carbon emissions is laudable, going “all-in” on mitigation may compete with resources needed to help health service workers adapt to the ongoing climate crisis. An overly technocratic approach focused exclusively on reducing carbon emissions risks undermining necessary preparation for the people responsible for keeping health systems going in emergencies.

    Building resilience and reducing systems risk

    Recognizing health service workers as community members, and understanding how they are impacted by climate-related events in their work and personal lives, is essential to building resilience.

    Our research suggests that central to building this resilience in health service workers is an organizational culture led by transformative leadership that:

    • Fosters a sense of trust;
    • Prioritizes open communication, flexibility and training; and
    • Encourages the use of mental health supports.

    In our interviews, we were heartened to hear this type of leadership within health systems is emerging.

    But there are, of course, limits to personal resilience. It is both unrealistic and unfair to expect health service workers to shoulder alone the burden of increasingly frequent and severe climate-related emergencies in the absence of systemic change, including the energy transition required to reduce emissions.

    Ultimately, the health system must continue to shift towards a culture of risk reduction to prepare for climate-related emergencies, increasing co-ordination and collaboration within and among health regions and authorities, governments and communities. This includes addressing chronic health system issues such as work-life balance and staffing shortages.

    Creating organizational cultures that are proactive and mindful that health service workers are community members first is key to adapting health systems to climate change, in B.C. and beyond.

    Christopher Buse receives funding from the Michael Smith Health Research BC, the BC Ministry of Health, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

    Sandra Smiley is affiliated with UBC Medical Students for Climate Action and the UBC Political Advocacy Committee.

    Tim K. Takaro receives funding from Health Canada. He is affiliated with Protect the Planet, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

    – ref. We hear about the health impact of climate-related events. But what about the health-care workers who respond to them? – https://theconversation.com/we-hear-about-the-health-impact-of-climate-related-events-but-what-about-the-health-care-workers-who-respond-to-them-249267

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: NNIT A/S: NNIT RELEASES UNAUDITED FINANCIAL FIGURES FOR 2024, 2025 OUTLOOK AND ADJUSTS FINANCIAL ASPIRATIONS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Today, NNIT releases its preliminary financial key figures for 2024, the financial outlook for 2025 and announces an adjustment of the group’s financial aspirations.

    Preliminary financial figures for 2024
    Based on unaudited financial figures, NNIT delivered results in line with the latest outlook for organic growth of around 6-7% and group operating profit margin excluding special items of 6-7%. Group revenue amounted to DKK 1,851m corresponding to organic growth of 6.0% and reported growth of 7.1%. Group operating profit excluding special items was DKK 117m equating to a margin of 6.3%. Special items amounted to DKK 69m.

    Financial outlook for 2025
    Although market conditions and the geopolitical landscape have become more uncertain, NNIT expects to continue growing its underlying business across the Life Science, Public and Private verticals in 2025. Organic growth is expected to be 7-10% with profitability anticipated to increase driven by top line growth, improving billability and cost optimization. The group operating profit margin excluding special items is expected to be 7-9%. Special items are anticipated to be at a lower level than 2024. 

    Financial aspirations adjusted
    NNIT remains committed to its strategic direction of becoming a pure-play IT consultancy company with strong positions in globally attractive markets and ample opportunities to profitably grow its business.

    NNIT adjusts its financial mid-term aspirations based on lower-than-initially-expected financial performance in 2024, the impact on expectations for 2025 and beyond from continued macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty combined with a significant downgrade of the market outlook for the Life Science industry1 from around 8% CAGR in 2023-2026 to around 5% CAGR in 2024-2028. For the mid-term strategy period 2025-27, NNIT aspires to deliver profitable growth with annual organic revenue growth between 7 to 10%, and an operating profit margin before special items above 10% in 2027.

    NNIT will release its Annual Report 2024 on February 18, 2025, and host a webcast on the following day as planned.

    1Source: Gartner data from 2023 and latest data from Everest Group, November 2024

    For more information, please contact:
    Investor Relations
    Carsten Ringius
    EVP & CFO
    Tel: +45 3077 8888
    carr@nnit.com

    Media Relations
    Sofie Mand Steffens
    Senior Communications Consultant
    Tel: +45 3077 8337
    smst@nnit.com

    ABOUT NNIT
    NNIT is a leading provider of IT solutions to life sciences internationally, and to the public and private sectors in Denmark.

    We focus on high complexity industries and thrive in environments where regulatory demands and complexity are high.

    We advise on and build sustainable digital solutions that work for the patients, citizens, employees, end users or customers.

    We strive to build unmatched excellence in the industries we serve, and we use our domain expertise to represent a business first approach – strongly supported by a selection of partner technologies, but always driven by business needs rather than technology.

    NNIT consists of group company NNIT A/S and the subsidiary SCALES. Together, these companies employ more than 1,700 people in Europe, Asia and USA.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –