NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jefferson, U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Professor Smith. It is an honor to be speaking to you today here at Lafayette College.1 I am glad to have the opportunity to return to such a historically important place as Easton, Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley. This area was part of this country’s colonial beginnings, it was instrumental in the rising of the industrial age, and, as the home to Crayola, it very literally played a role in coloring how we see the world. Today, this region is leading the way forward with its many outstanding institutions of higher education, very prominently including, of course, Lafayette College.

    Today, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my outlook for the U.S. economy and my views of appropriate monetary policy. This is a useful time to do that, as my colleagues and I on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve’s primary monetary policymaking body, held our first meeting of 2025 just last week.
    Overall, the U.S. economy is starting the year in a good position. I expect inflation’s slow descent to continue, and I anticipate that economic growth and labor market conditions will remain solid. I have learned, however, that it is wise to be humble about my projections. There is always a great deal of uncertainty around any economic forecast, and currently we face additional uncertainties about the exact shape of government policies, as well as their economic implications.
    Last week, my FOMC colleagues and I discussed the latest economic developments and reviewed data that arrived since our previous policy meeting in December. At the conclusion of that meeting, I voted in support of the Committee’s decision to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. This decision was made in support of our goals to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. I remain focused on setting policy to achieve the dual-mandate goals given to us by Congress: maximum employment and stable prices. Sound monetary policy and positive supply-side developments have contributed to the achievement of sustained economic growth in recent years, the return of low unemployment, and inflation moving sustainably toward our 2 percent objective. I remain committed to returning inflation to our target while sustaining the solid labor market. Now is an appropriate time to assess the path forward for the economy. I am happy to be here today to share my views with you.
    Economic ActivityThe U.S. economy appears to be maintaining its momentum after growing at a solid pace last year. Last year’s growth was notable because many private forecasters in 2023 projected a significant downturn sometime in 2024.2 However, data over the past year painted a very different picture. GDP grew 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to last week’s data release.3 As you can see in figure 1, that extends a stretch of solid quarterly growth over the past couple of years. Shortly, when I discuss the labor market, I will say more related to the large swing in GDP growth in 2020 that stands out in this chart. For all of 2024, the economy grew 2.5 percent, which is a modest slowing from the 3.2 percent growth in 2023. The economy has been benefiting from positive supply developments, including more workers joining the labor force and higher labor productivity.
    The resilience of American consumers is the driving force behind the solid economic growth seen in recent quarters. Household spending, adjusted for inflation, grew 3.2 percent in 2024, slightly stronger than in 2023. The consumer spending data we have received recently have surprised me to the upside. As you can see in figure 2, personal consumption increased at a faster pace each quarter last year. Nominal retail sales rose briskly in the second half of last year. Private-sector data are consistent with GDP figures. According to private surveys of businesses, activity in the services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of all consumer spending, has been on a general upward trajectory since mid-2020.4
    Elsewhere in the economy, growth has been less robust. Residential investment has been fairly flat over the past three quarters, and growth of business fixed investment cooled last year from its strong 2023 pace. Much of the equipment investment that did take place came from imports. Indeed, domestic manufacturing industrial production was flat last year. Overall, I see the economy as continuing to grow at a healthy pace this year, though I anticipate growth to be slightly lower than what we observed in 2024. Households and firms face an uncertain environment, and that tends to lower consumer spending and business investment. If consumer spending continues to grow at the same pace as it has in the past two years, however, that could cause me to revise up my outlook for overall economic growth.
    Labor MarketTurning to employment, I see the labor market as being in a solid position, with conditions broadly returning to balance after a period of being overheated. It’s helpful to step back and look at the labor market’s path over the past five years. Looking at figure 3, you can see that the unemployment rate surged in early 2020, peaking at 14.8 percent in April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold and a wide swath of the global economy was shutdown. The unemployment rate subsequently fell swiftly as the economy recovered. By April 2023, it touched 3.4 percent, a half-century low. At that point, many employers reported that they were struggling to fill openings. Then, over the latter part of 2023 and early 2024, the unemployment rate rose nearly a percentage point, an unusual pattern outside of a recession. As a policymaker, I took note of this rise when considering our dual-mandate objectives. Now, I have also taken note that the unemployment rate has effectively held steady since the middle of last year. I view that as a sign that downside risks in the labor market have abated.
    The latest jobs report showed that the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in December, the same reading as in June 2024.5 That is low by historical standards and close to estimates of the longer-run rate that is consistent with our employment mandate. In the three months ending in December, payrolls rose by an average of 170,000 jobs a month. While employment growth has eased somewhat from the early part of last year, the steady unemployment rate suggests that payroll gains have been sufficient to absorb new entrants to the labor market. The general moderation in hiring is consistent with other measures showing that the demand for labor has come into better balance with the supply of workers.
    Looking at figure 4, you can see that as of November, there were 1.2 job openings for every unemployed person seeking work. That ratio is down from 2.0 in 2022, when the labor market was overheated. Also notice that the current vacancy-to-unemployment ratio is just a little below its value before the pandemic took hold. And while hiring has eased from the pace in 2023, layoffs have not increased. As you can see in figure 5, the number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment benefits has trended at historically low levels for the past three years. Consistent with a moderation in hiring and a steady unemployment rate, workers’ wage gains have slowed from when the labor market was overheated. Still, the pace of increase in average hourly earnings has been healthy, increasing 3.9 percent during the 12 months ending in December, and shows that, on average, worker pay has grown at a faster rate than the rate of inflation.
    Looking broadly across the past several months, I see a labor market that is in solid condition and not a source of significant inflationary pressure. While the downside risks of a rapidly weakening labor market appear to have lessened, I expect some further softening that could cause the unemployment rate to edge just slightly higher this year but stay in a range consistent with recent readings.
    InflationThinking about the other component of our dual mandate, inflation has come down a great deal over the past two and a half years but remains somewhat elevated relative to our 2 percent objective. Inflation, as measured by the 12-month change in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, peaked at 7.2 percent in June 2022. Looking at the blue line in figure 6, you can see that it has since come down to 2.6 percent as of this past December. Economists also pay close attention to core inflation, which excludes often volatile food and energy costs. That core PCE inflation figure, shown by the red dashed line, peaked at 5.6 percent in 2022. By December 2024, it had eased to 2.8 percent. Annualized inflation over the past three months has been closer to our 2 percent objective. As you can see, the path of disinflation has been bumpy. I expect that to continue to be the case.
    I find it helpful to look at the components of inflation to better understand underlying trends. Looking at figure 7, core goods inflation, the blue line, is running close to pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a better alignment between supply and demand after pandemic-related distortions. Nonhousing services inflation, the red dashed line, has cooled largely in line with slower wage growth. Housing services inflation, the purple dotted line, remains somewhat elevated, but I expect more progress in that category as the earlier slowing in growth of rents for new tenants feeds through into growth of average rents.6
    With supply and demand conditions having moved into better balance, wage growth slowing to a more sustainable pace, and longer-term inflation expectations remaining well anchored, I see a path for inflation to continue its progress toward our longer-run goal. While the easing of overall inflation in recent years has been encouraging, the fact is that it remains above our 2 percent objective. Monthly inflation readings tend to be volatile, consistent with the bumpy path I described, but the 12-month readings have held in a fairly consistent range somewhat above our target over the second half of last year.
    Monetary PolicyIn the current environment, I attach a high degree of uncertainty to my projections. As I have already mentioned, there have been notable recent instances where forecasters have been surprised. That said, I see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as being roughly in balance, and I am attentive to the risks to both sides of our mandate. That better balanced position is partly a result of the monetary policy actions over the past few years, which I will review briefly.
    As you can see in figure 8, the FOMC responded to elevated inflation by raising the policy rate 5-1/4 percentage points over about 15 months, starting in March 2022, and then holding the rate at that restrictive level for more than a year. This contributed to inflation easing from a 40-year high to near current levels while maintaining a solid labor market. That outcome was historically unusual but greatly welcomed. By September of last year, I had growing confidence that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the labor market could be maintained in a context of moderate economic growth and inflation moving sustainably down to 2 percent. The FOMC reduced the federal funds rate by a full percentage point over the course of our final three meetings last year. As a result of those actions, our policy stance is now significantly less restrictive than it was when we began lowering the federal funds rate. Given current economic conditions—specifically, inflation that remains modestly above our target and a labor market that is solid—and my projections of future economic conditions, I voted last week to maintain our current policy stance. As long as the economy and labor market remain strong, I see it as appropriate for the Committee to be cautious in making further adjustments.
    Over the medium term, I continue to see a gradual reduction in the level of monetary policy restraint placed on the economy as we move toward a more neutral stance as the most likely outcome. That said, I do not think we need to be in a hurry to change our stance. In considering additional adjustments to the federal funds rate, I will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. As is always the case, monetary policy is not on a preset course. To that end, I could envision a range of scenarios for future policy. For example, if the economy remains strong and inflation does not continue to move sustainably toward 2 percent, we can maintain policy restraint for longer.
    Alternatively, if the labor market were to weaken unexpectedly or inflation were to fall more quickly than anticipated, it may be appropriate to reduce the policy rate more quickly. Our current stance of policy is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties that we face in pursuing both sides of our dual mandate.
    As I conclude, I want to assure you that I am mindful that monetary policy decisions affect communities, families, and businesses across the country. I highly value opportunities to visit places like Lafayette College and Easton to share my views, hear from you, and see how the economy is experienced firsthand in your community. I remain fully committed to supporting maximum employment and bringing inflation sustainably to our 2 percent goal. Our success in delivering on these goals matters to all Americans.
    Thank you.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See Harriet Torry and Anthony DeBarros (2023), “A Recession Is No Longer the Consensus,” Wall Street Journal, October 15. Return to text
    3. See Bureau of Economic Analysis (2025), “Gross Domestic Product, 4th Quarter and Year 2024 (Advance Estimate) (PDF),” news release, January 30. Return to text
    4. See the December 2024 Services ISM Report on Business, which is available on the Institute for Supply Management’s website at https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/services/december. Return to text
    5. See Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), “The Employment Situation—December 2024 (PDF),” news release, January 10. Return to text
    6. See Philip N. Jefferson (2024), “U.S. Economic Outlook and Housing Price Dynamics,” speech delivered at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Secondary and Capital Markets Conference and Expo 2024, New York, May 20. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Statement on Vote Against Pam Bondi as Attorney General

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement:

    “I’ve known Pam Bondi for years and have had the opportunity to work with Ms. Bondi on various issues in the past, including advancing the First Step Act and police accountability and reform efforts during the first Trump administration. My experiences with her have been very positive and constructive. She became someone I could trust and rely upon. I was grateful to work with her in efforts to reform our broken criminal justice system and improve public safety.

    “Should Pam Bondi be confirmed, I am committed to working with her on issues where we can find common ground and that advance the ideals of justice and create safer and stronger communities in New Jersey and our country.

    “Unfortunately, President Trump’s unacceptable, unprecedented, and dangerous attacks on the independence of the Department of Justice since taking office are antithetical to democratic values and cause grave concern for anyone who believes in a justice system free from politics. By purging prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, firing top level FBI officials, and demanding a list of thousands of agents who investigated him, Donald Trump is attempting to dismantle entire systems of accountability and oversight, and extract payback against those who he feels have wronged him.

    “Given Trump’s actions and the clear attacks on the independence, transparency, and accountability of the Justice Department, I cannot support his nominees for key leadership positions at the Justice Department. I will vote against Ms. Bondi for attorney general as an express condemnation of Trump’s larger actions against the important norms and traditions of the Justice Department.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Estee Lauder to cut up to 7,000 jobs as sales slide

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Estee Lauder, the U.S. multinational cosmetics company manufacturing and marketing makeup, skincare, perfume and hair care products, may trim as many as 7,000 jobs by fiscal 2026, more than 11 percent of its workforce, after it lost money in its most recent quarter as reported a 6 percent sales slump.

    “The New York-based company behind such brands as MAC, La Mer and Aveda tempered its profit outlook as the economies of China and Korea slow, in addition to global geopolitical uncertainty,” reported The Associated Press on Tuesday.

    Estee Lauder expects to book restructuring and other charges related to the job cuts of between 1.2 billion U.S. dollars and 1.6 billion dollars, before taxes.

    As of June 30, 2024, Estee Lauder had roughly 62,000 employees worldwide, according to the company’s latest annual filing.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Teaching Council elections 2025

    Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

    Elections for the Teaching Council are now open. Seven of the 13 Governing Council members are elected by the profession during elections held every three years. Election voting opens on Wednesday 5 February 2025.

    PPTA Te Wehengarua encourages members to vote in these elections and we support members stepping up to these positions. Four PPTA Te Wehengarua members are putting themselves forward  to be the secondary teachers’ representative.

    Ava Asby

    Science and Chemistry teacher, Western Heights High School, Rotorua

    Profile statement:

    I am a dedicated educator driven to help secondary students reach their fullest potential in New Zealand’s education system. Since arriving in NZ over 20 years ago, I have become a fully qualified and experienced science teacher in Rotorua, committed to fostering lifelong learning.
    If elected, I will prioritize policies that empower middle management to lead effectively, enhancing team communication and collaboration to improve student outcomes, particularly in applied sciences.
    My goal is to link modern, relevant science education with everyday experiences, preparing students for today’s job market. I am also passionate about advancing teacher training policies, supporting high-quality classroom management, and efficient resource planning across schools to ensure the best educational experience possible. Let’s work together to make meaningful, positive changes for our students and educators.

    Simon Curnow

    Curriculum Leader Languages at Marlborough Girls’ College, Blenheim

    Profile statement:

    Kia ora koutou, no Kernowek oku tipuna. 
    I would like to use this position to advocate for a reduction in fees for Teacher Registration. There must be creative ways for doing this through the Ministry of Education and School Boards. If budgeted for, the real costs for the average school would not be prohibitive on a yearly basis. 
    A simplification of the Standards for the Teaching Profession and the Educational Leadership Capability Framework is needed. Too often these documents are used in a pedantic manner to create a rod for hard-working teachers’ backs. Accountability needs to go both ways – bottom up as well as top down. 
    The Teacher’s Council should work, in conjunction with NZQA, to attract teachers from different parts of the world to the profession. Recognition of overseas qualifications needs to be re-examined and expanded.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: One Sentenced, Two Admit to Roles in Ohio Valley Drug Trafficking Organization

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Three men appeared in federal court this week for their involvement with a drug trafficking operation in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

    James Kidder, also known as “Jamey,” 47, of Martins Ferry, Ohio, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He has a criminal history that includes domestic violence, assault, theft, drug trafficking, and burglary.

    James Galloway, 28, of Bellaire, Ohio, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and cocaine base. Matthew Clemont, 32, of Wheeling, West Virginia, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

    According to court documents, the three men were distributors in a larger drug trafficking operation that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Ohio Valley. 

    Kidder will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Galloway and Clemont each face up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Nogay is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

    The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, all HIDTA-funded initiatives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; West Virginia State Police; Wheeling Police Department; Ohio County Sheriff’s Office; and the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.

    Press release on the associated case: www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-twenty-six-drug-trafficking

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Watching the doom loop: Sydney Festival artists witness climate change, and imagine our post-apocalyptic future

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blake Lawrence, PhD Candidate (Design) and Performance Artist, University of Technology Sydney

    Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania. Giacomo Cosua/Sydney Festival

    The first weeks of 2025 have seen catastrophic wildfires locally and internationally, record global ocean temperatures, and unprecedented coral bleaching events.

    Trump has signed executive orders to exit from the Paris Agreement, and locally, the Coalition continues its decades-long campaign of climate denial

    Species fall swiftly and silently to extinction. The language of bird-song collapses. For many peoples, and for many species, apocalypse is past tense.

    For climate risk researchers Laurie Laybourn and James Dyke, politics illustrates a doom loop, a political diving-towards apocalypse.

    Artists in this year’s Sydney Festival imagine exit strategies from this doom loop – and dream of taking root in its post-apocalyptic rubble.

    Anito

    Phasmahammer is the alter-ego and ongoing creative project of artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder. Anito is the latest in a series of their theatre-scale works that blend live performance with mythology, story-telling, costume and ceremony.

    We begin in the cavernous Carriageworks foyer with a living miniature fig tree.

    Damun (as it is known in the Gadigal language), Ficus rubingosa (Latin), the Port Jackson fig, is known for establishing itself insurgently in the pavements and gutters of the city’s colonial (apocalyptic) architecture.

    Here, the bonsai sits like a welcome party, stifled and vibrant in its little pot.

    In an introductory speech, Shoulder’s collaborator Matthew Stegh acknowledges the city of Sydney as “a theatre and a prison” – tripling in reference to both the experience of producing theatre for institutions, and the stunted experience of our little fig.

    Anito blends live performance with mythology, story-telling, costume and ceremony.
    Sarah Walker/Sydney Festival

    He pays homage to the ecological and cosmological traditions of Gadigal Country, and to the ancestral Philippines of Shoulder. In the next breath Stegh shifts his homage to Sydney’s histories of queer and counter-cultural performance, to sex workers, strippers, clowns, club kids and drag queens.

    He offers reflections on apocalypse and ruin, referring to the “cultish suicide pact” of white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism and colonialism – to doom loops.

    We are led into the auditorium, where Shoulder and fellow performer Eugene Choi animate a series of hallucinatory images.

    Using their bodies, costume pieces, puppetry and inflatable set design, they work with immaculate sound (Corin Ileto) and lighting (Fausto Brusamolino).

    A ghostly hologram of the buttress of a great tree fills the stage. Metallic roots writhe at its foundation. Shoulder and Choi emerge, and from there, eruptions: the first man and woman, a pair of thunder-lizards, bickering, a quadruped. A scale-bending colonial ghost smothered in lace searches tragically for something among planetary ruins. A stony reef of polyps and anemones blooms and dances. A single clap by three pairs of hands. The Big Bang.

    It is often hard to discern exactly how the images are performed. They are both magic and bewildering.
    Liz Ham/Sydney Festival

    By design, it is often hard to discern exactly how these images are performed. They are both magic and bewildering.

    For philosopher Ben Ware, thinking about the horizon of the extinction of all biological life on Earth poses a paradoxical opportunity. The only thing that can thwart the end of this world – “a world of converging and multiplying catastrophes” – is the recognition that the politics of this time have one outcome: “the slow unravelling of intimately entangled forms of life”.

    The fantasy theatre of Anito makes those intimate entanglements visual. We must begin from understanding that the way the world is organised produces its own end.

    Like Shoulder, artist communities of the Pacific know this intimately.

    Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania

    Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania is an exhibition led by artists of the South Pacific Ocean.

    Originally conceived for the Venice Biennale, and curated by Taloi Havini, the exhibition comprises two commissions by Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta and Latai Taumoepeau.

    This is a space for conversation, performance, song and activism.
    Giacomo Cosua/Sydney Festival

    The rooms of a freshly-renovated Artspace in Woolloomooloo are transformed by Heta’s architectural interventions. In one, a mass of bricks creates an altar-like structure, on which bowls of coconut milk sit in concentric circles. In another, pavers form a platform for a circle of seats. They function as stages or gathering places for conversation, performance, song and activism.

    Within these happenings, Havini and her artists speak to the narrative and politics that have produced and compounded catastrophe in the South Pacific.

    Taumoepeau’s interactive installation Deep Communion sung in minor (ArchipelaGO, THIS IS NOT A DRILL) requires visitors to row on standing-paddle-board-like treadmills, which activate immersive songs sung by Taumoepeau and her collaborators.

    The physical exacerbation and the ecological trauma on the screens coalesce in our bodies.
    Giacomo Cosua/Sydney Festival

    In conversation with Heta’s installation, these songs rise and fall, the edges of the artworks and activations become blurry. Visitors paddle towards projections visualising the rubble of marine-ecological wastelands produced by regional deep-sea extraction.

    The physical exacerbation and the ecological trauma on the screens coalesce in our bodies. To drop the oar enacts the fading of the song from the speakers. We are left with reflections of the connections between bodies and calamity, and the labour of working towards futures beyond ruin.

    Plant a Promise

    Henrietta Baird’s Plant a Promise, like Anito and Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania, is a performance with blurry edges. Its roots spread out of Bangarra’s Studio Theatre to incorporate installation, in-situ yarns (storytelling and conversation) and tree-planting projects across the city.

    Inside the theatre, three contemporary dancers animate recorded stories of Indigenous experiences of bushfires beside frustrations with the surrounding political footballing. The sentiment is clear: less talk, more action.

    Plant a Promise beckons audiences into attentiveness to the lives of trees, fire and people.
    Stephen Wilson Barker/Sydney Festival

    At its finale, audience members are invited to the stage to collaborate in the transformation of the set. We are led to take handfuls of verdant eucalyptus and acacia leaves and implant them into large woven columns that have functioned theatrically as abstracted tree-forms. The stage is transformed into a forest of our making together.

    Through its many stories, Plant a Promise beckons audiences into attentiveness to the lives of trees, fire and people.

    In the shadows of catastrophe, the roots of Indigenous knowledge systems and environmental science cross-pollinate to share and enact care for Country.

    The stage is transformed into a forest of our making together.
    Stephen Wilson Barker/Sydney Festival

    Generously, we receive a gift as we exit the theatre. The exchange of a native sapling invites us into casual conversation – into reflections on Country, and how we might, all of us, commit to it.

    Again, we begin, from the recognition of an end. More rubble. More roots.

    Putricia

    At the time of writing, Sydneysiders are enamoured with the life of another plant, gathered around livestreams and making excited trips to the city’s Botanic Gardens.

    Putricia, the resident titan arum, or corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanium), has thrown her immense flower spike into the air. She has commenced her slow strip-tease after a week of tantalising her admirers.

    In a few weeks we have become attentive to her story of life and renewal. She will likely have bloomed, wilted and returned to the soil before this text goes live.

    Performances like Putricia’s blooming, Anito, Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania and Plant a Promise offer new vantage points from which to understand ourselves in relation to the natural world, and to glimpse myriad alternatives to what feels like a diving towards our own demise.

    Performances of aliveness beside and within the ecologies we inhabit move us beyond what Ben Ware sees as a naïve sense of “hope”. Instead, these stories make material, make cultural, make real, the impossible task of imagining what comes next.

    Amid the smell of rotting corpses, the pillowy puppetry of a theatrical coral spawning event, the planting of a forest or the singing of invocations for the protection of the planet’s oceans, we might yet find ourselves. This is not a drill.

    Blake Lawrence 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. Watching the doom loop: Sydney Festival artists witness climate change, and imagine our post-apocalyptic future – https://theconversation.com/watching-the-doom-loop-sydney-festival-artists-witness-climate-change-and-imagine-our-post-apocalyptic-future-249017

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fairer compensation and safeguards for Māori landowners

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government is beginning its overhaul of the Public Works Act by addressing inequities faced by Māori landowners, Land Information Minister Chris Penk has announced. 
    “Sweeping reforms are coming to modernise this nearly 50-year-old legislation, and we are starting by acknowledging injustices of the past – and taking concrete steps to prevent them from happening again,” Mr Penk says. 
    “Last year’s independent, targeted review of the Act has highlighted significant issues with how successive governments have acquired land for public projects like roads, rail and water services. 
    “The historic confiscation of Māori land remains a deep source of pain for many New Zealanders. For this reason, and due to the special significance of Māori freehold land, the Government reaffirms its commitment that acquiring Māori land for public works is and will remain a last resort. 
    “The current Act has added injury by undervaluing Māori freehold land compared to other land types. The Government is ending this discrepancy and making it law that Māori freehold land must be valued equally, ensuring landowners finally receive fair compensation. 
    “Furthermore, in recognition of the communal nature of Māori land ownership, compensation will no longer be provided as a single lump sum – but will be extended to all separately owned dwellings on the land. 
    “Where compulsory acquisition is unavoidable, the process will now require the joint approval of both the Minister for Land Information and the Minister responsible for the relevant Māori portfolio – a safeguard that ensures decisions about Māori land are considered from all appropriate ministerial perspectives. 
    “For generations, these laws have not treated Māori landowners fairly. Today, we take a step toward putting that right.  
    “More changes to simplify and accelerate infrastructure delivery will be announced in coming weeks as we prepare to introduce the Public Works Act Amendment Bill to Parliament around mid-year.”
    The public will have an opportunity to provide feedback during the select committee process. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New Matildas mural officially unveiled at Accor Stadium

    Source: New South Wales Premiere

    Published: 5 February 2025

    Released by: The Premier, Minister for Sport, Minister for Women

    The Minns Labor Government has today unveiled the artist and artwork that will be projected onto Accor Stadium to celebrate the Matildas’ history-making campaign at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

    This is the first mural in a new series that will commemorate the greatest moments in sport and entertainment at Australia’s home of major events at Accor Stadium, which is celebrating 25 years since the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    In their first World Cup on home soil, the Matildas progressed through to the semi-final smashing all records in the process across crowds, TV viewership and inspiring a new generation with rapidly increasing participation rates.

    Artist Kirthana Selvaraj has painted a striking artwork that captures the key players who inspired a nation. The artwork will be transformed into a 57-metre-long immersive mural that extends across the exterior of Accor Stadium’s Cathy Freeman Stand.

    Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s wonder strike and celebration against England has been illustrated in the mural, as has Mackenzie Arnold’s brilliance in goals and young star Courtney Vine’s composure to kick the winning penalty goal against France in the quarter-final, among other key moments.

    The public will have an opportunity to view the mural for the first time in April to celebrate the team’s two upcoming Sydney and Newcastle games which have been announced for April 4 (Allianz Stadium) and April 7 (McDonald Jones Stadium).

    Sydney was the main host city of the tournament, with 11 games and more than 600,000 fans hosted across Accor and Allianz stadiums.

    This mural further builds on the Minns Labor Government’s acknowledgement of great female athletes in our sporting venues including through the renaming of Accor Stadium’s eastern grandstand in honour of sporting legend Cathy Freeman OAM.

    Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:

    “It’s long overdue that our nation’s inspirational female athletes are provided with recognition of some of the greatest sporting achievements in our nation’s history.

    “The Matildas captivated the nation like never before smashing all kinds of records and inspiring a new generation of sports stars, participants and fans.

    “Their game-changing tournament will be perfectly honoured with this mural which will be fittingly projected onto the exterior of the Cathy Freeman Stand – the first grandstand in a major Australian stadium to be named after a female athlete.”

    Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said:

    “The saying goes, you can’t be what you can’t see. It’s fair to say the Matildas World Cup campaign opened the eyes of a generation.

    “The Matildas effect is still being felt today with more girls and women playing the game thanks to the team’s achievement at the Women’s World Cup.

    “This mural will forever celebrate the success of the Matildas who inspired us all.”

    Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said:

    “The Matildas are one of our most admired national sporting teams and have inspired a whole generation of women and girls to participate in sports and dream big.

    “This mural is a great way to immortalise an incredible sporting moment, as well as public recognition of women’s sporting achievements.

    “It also symbolises the NSW government’s ongoing commitment to recognising and empowering women and girls to have full access to opportunity and choice, and excel in the world of sport.”

    Artist Kirthana Selvaraj said:

    “It has been an honour to create this painting commemorating the Matildas during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

    “Women in sport have always been a vital part of the game’s history, and this work is a celebration of their enduring legacy.

    “Through this piece, I hoped to capture not only the strength and grace of the Matildas but also the unyielding spirit and unity they inspire in all of us.

    “I hope this artwork stands as a permanent reminder of the impact women have made – and continue to make – not just on the field but in shaping the broader public’s connection to sport. It’s a tribute to the trailblazers who came before, the athletes who shine today, and the young people who will carry their legacy forward.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New research funded to find plastic waste solutions

    Source: New South Wales Premiere

    Published: 5 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Environment and Heritage

    Three pioneering projects have been awarded $1.25 million by the NSW Government to tackle plastic pollution through innovative and impactful solutions.

    Previous governments left Greater Sydney on the brink of a waste crisis. Without new waste and recycling solutions, Greater Sydney’s landfill capacity will be exhausted by 2030.

    The Minns Labor Government is committed to solving the waste challenges and supporting future technologies that will continue to drive us to a circular economy where nothing is wasted.

    Universities and government research institutions were invited to apply for funding under the Plastic Research Program.

    Following a competitive process, three exciting projects were successful in securing funding:

    • Research to develop ways to reliably collect and analyse microplastics in soil, compost and treated sewage (NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and CSIRO).
    • A project to create tools to identify and prioritise harmful chemicals from plastics in agricultural soils (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and CSIRO).
    • Study into plastic fabrics like polyester to track harmful chemicals in new and recycled textiles (University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures).

    The Plastic Research Program is focused on making NSW a leader in managing plastic waste and the findings from these projects will guide future policies, regulations, and actions.

    Each project will receive between $308,000 and $493,000, and completion is expected by 31 May 2027.

    For more information, visit the webpage of the Plastics Research Program. 

    Quote attributable to Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe:

    “NSW is facing a landfill crisis. New solutions are needed and needed quickly.

    “Hidden chemicals in plastic waste make recycling harder.

    “This investment into cutting edge research will help uncover hidden chemicals in soils and everyday fabrics, to assist in finding better solutions to get rid of them.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Announces 6.3% Increase in Net Earnings for the Year Ended December 31, 2024, and Fourth Quarter Earnings Per Share of $0.57. Declares Cash Dividend of $0.21 per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Manhattan, KS, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Landmark Bancorp, Inc. (“Landmark”; Nasdaq: LARK) reported diluted earnings per share of $0.57 for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $0.68 per share in the third quarter of 2024 and $0.46 per share in the same quarter last year. Net income for the fourth quarter totaled $3.3 million, compared to $2.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $3.9 million in the prior quarter. For the three months ended December 31, 2024, the return on average assets was 0.83%, the return on average equity was 9.54% and the efficiency ratio was 70.0%.

    For the year ended December 31, 2024, diluted earnings per share totaled $2.26 compared to $2.13 during 2023. Net earnings for 2024 totaled $13.0 million, compared to $12.2 million in 2023, or an increase of 6.3%. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the return on average assets was 0.83%, the return on average equity was 10.01% and the efficiency ratio was 69.1%.

    2024 Performance Highlights

      ● Fourth quarter loan growth totaled $50.5 million or an annualized increase of 20.1% over the prior quarter.
      ● For the year, gross loans grew $103.7 million or 10.9%.
      ● Net interest margin improved 21 basis points to 3.51% compared to 3.30% in prior quarter.
      ● Deposits increased $53.3 million, or 16.6% annualized, from the prior quarter.
      ● Total borrowings decreased $34.7 million in the fourth quarter.
      ● A pre-tax loss of $1.0 million was realized in the fourth quarter to reposition a portion of the investment portfolio.
      ● Credit quality remained good with net charge-offs totaling $219,000 in the fourth quarter.
         

    In making this announcement, Abby Wendel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Landmark, commented, “During 2024, we experienced strong loan demand, especially for residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans. In the fourth quarter 2024, we saw strong growth in virtually all loan categories, with total gross loans increasing by $51 million or 20% (annualized). Total deposits also increased in the fourth quarter by more than $53 million, mostly due to seasonal growth in money market and interest checking accounts. The increase in deposits coupled with investment securities sales and maturities this quarter helped fund loan growth and reduce expensive short-term borrowings. For the year, net interest income grew 5.6% over the previous year while in the fourth quarter 2024 our net interest margin improved to 3.51%. Strategic investments in our people and product offerings resulted in higher non-interest expenses, particularly in the fourth quarter. Credit quality remained solid overall.”

    Landmark’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share, to be paid March 5, 2025, to common stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2025. On December 16, 2024, the Company issued a 5% stock dividend to common stockholders, representing the 24th consecutive year that a stock dividend has been paid.

    Management will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results at 10:00 a.m. (Central time) on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. Investors may participate via telephone by dialing (833) 470-1428 and using access code 296482. A replay of the call will be available through February 12, 2025, by dialing (866) 813-9403 and using access code 817329.

    Net Interest Income

    Net interest income in the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to $12.4 million representing an increase of $795,000, or 6.9%, compared to the previous quarter. The increase in net interest income was due mainly to lower interest expense on deposits and other borrowed funds. The net interest margin increased to 3.51% during the fourth quarter from 3.30% during the prior quarter. Compared to the previous quarter, interest income on loans increased $22,000 to $16.0 million due to higher average balances but partially offset by lower yields on loans. Average loan balances increased $24.5 million while the average tax-equivalent yield on the loan portfolio decreased 15 basis points to 6.28%. Interest on investment securities declined slightly due to lower balances while partially offset by higher earning rates. Compared to the third quarter 2024, interest on deposits decreased $480,000, or 8.2% mainly due to lower rates, while interest on other borrowed funds declined by $363,000, due to lower rates and balances. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits decreased 23 basis points to 2.25% while the average rate on other borrowed funds decreased 51 basis points to 5.10% in the fourth quarter.

    Non-Interest Income

    Non-interest income totaled $3.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $882,000 from the previous quarter. The decrease in non-interest income during the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to a $1.0 million loss on the sales of lower yielding investment securities mentioned above, while the third quarter of 2024 did not include any sales of investment securities. Additionally, lower sales of residential mortgages this quarter resulted in a decline of $182,000 in gains on sales of these mortgages. The decline in other non-interest income of $221,000 this quarter compared to the prior quarter resulted from sales of premises, equipment and foreclosed assets that did not re-occur in the current quarter. Partially offsetting those declines was an increase of $722,000 in bank owned life insurance income.

    Non-Interest Expense

    During the fourth quarter of 2024, non-interest expense totaled $11.9 million, an increase of $1.3 million compared to the prior quarter. The increase in non-interest expense was primarily due to increases of $470,000 in professional fees and $461,000 in compensation and benefits. The increase in professional fees this quarter was primarily due to higher consulting costs on several initiatives. The increase in compensation and benefits was attributable to an increase in employees and higher incentive compensation costs.

    Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

    Landmark recorded an income tax benefit of $886,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to income tax expense of $867,000 in the prior quarter. The effective tax rate was (37.0%) in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 18.1% in the third quarter of 2024. The fourth quarter of 2024 included the recognition of $1.0 million of previously unrecognized tax benefits, which reduced the effective tax rate.

    Balance Sheet Highlights

    As of December 31, 2024, gross loans totaled $1.1 billion, an increase of $50.5 million, or 20.1% annualized since September 30, 2024. During the quarter, loan growth was primarily comprised of commercial real estate (growth of $21.1 million), commercial (growth of $10.7 million), agriculture (growth of $8.6 million) and one-to-four family residential real estate (growth of $7.8 million) loans. Investment securities decreased $38.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2024 and included sales of $36.0 million in low-rate U.S. treasury securities offset by purchases of $18.0 million in market rate U.S. treasury securities. Pre-tax unrealized net losses on the investment securities portfolio increased from $13.3 million at September 30, 2024 to $20.9 million at December 31, 2024 mainly due to higher market rates for these securities at year end.

    Period end deposit balances increased $53.3 million to $1.3 billion at December 31, 2024. The increase in deposits was mainly driven by an increase in money market and checking (increase of $71.3 million) but partially offset by declines in certificates of deposit (decrease of $9.2 million) and non-interest-bearing demand deposits (decrease of $8.6 million). The increase in money market and checking accounts was mainly driven by seasonal growth in public fund deposit account balances. Total borrowings decreased $34.7 million during the fourth quarter 2024. At December 31, 2024, the loan to deposits ratio was 78.2% compared to 77.6% in the prior quarter.

    Stockholders’ equity decreased to $136.2 million (book value of $23.59 per share) as of December 31, 2024, from $139.7 million (book value of $24.18 per share) as of September 30, 2024. The decrease in stockholders’ equity was due to an increase in accumulated other comprehensive losses as the unrealized net losses on investments securities increased during the fourth quarter. The ratio of equity to total assets decreased to 8.65% on December 31, 2024, from 8.93% on September 30, 2024.

    The allowance for credit losses totaled $12.8 million, or 1.22% of total gross loans on December 31, 2024, compared to $11.5 million, or 1.15% of total gross loans on September 30, 2024. Net loan charge-offs totaled $219,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $9,000 during the third quarter of 2024. A provision for credit losses for loans of $1.5 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $650,000 in the third quarter of 2024.

    Non-performing loans totaled $13.1 million, or 1.25% of gross loans at December 31, 2024 compared to $13.4 million, or 1.34% of gross loans at September 30, 2024. Loans 30-89 days delinquent declined to $6.2 million, or 0.59% of gross loans, as of December 31, 2024, compared to $7.3 million, or 0.73% of gross loans, as of September 30, 2024.

    About Landmark

    Landmark Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Landmark National Bank, is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “LARK.” Headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas, Landmark National Bank is a community banking organization dedicated to providing quality financial and banking services. Landmark National Bank has 29 locations in 23 communities across Kansas: Manhattan (2), Auburn, Dodge City (2), Fort Scott (2), Garden City, Great Bend (2), Hoisington, Iola, Junction City, La Crosse, Lawrence (2), Lenexa, Louisburg, Mound City, Osage City, Osawatomie, Overland Park, Paola, Pittsburg, Prairie Village, Topeka (2), Wamego and Wellsville, Kansas. Visit www.banklandmark.com for more information.

    Contact:
    Mark A. Herpich
    Chief Financial Officer
    (785) 565-2000

    Special Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of Landmark. Forward-looking statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and assumptions of our management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should” or other similar expressions. Additionally, all statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and Landmark undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. A number of factors, many of which are beyond our ability to control or predict, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: (i) the strength of the local, national and international economies, including the effects of changing inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints on such economies; (ii) changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning banking, securities, consumer protection, insurance, monetary, trade and tax matters, including changes in interpretation or prioritization; (iii) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of our assets; (iv) increased competition in the financial services sector and the inability to attract new customers, including from non-bank competitors such as credit unions and “fintech” companies; (v) timely development and acceptance of new products and services; (vi) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (vii) our risk management framework; (viii) interruptions in information technology and telecommunications systems and third-party services; (ix) changes and uncertainty in benchmark interest rates, including the timing of additional rate changes, if any, by the Federal Reserve; (x) the economic effects of severe weather, natural disasters, widespread disease or pandemics, or other external events; (xi) the loss of key executives or employees; (xii) changes in consumer spending; (xiii) integration of acquired businesses; (xiv) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation; (xv) changes in accounting policies and practices, such as the implementation of the current expected credit losses accounting standard; (xvi) the economic impact of past and any future terrorist attacks, acts of war, including the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflict in Ukraine, or threats thereof, and the response of the United States to any such threats and attacks; (xvii) the ability to manage credit risk, forecast loan losses and maintain an adequate allowance for loan losses; (xviii) fluctuations in the value of securities held in our securities portfolio; (xix) concentrations within our loan portfolio, large loans to certain borrowers, and large deposits from certain clients; (xx) the concentration of large deposits from certain clients who have balances above current FDIC insurance limits and may withdraw deposits to diversify their exposure; (xxi) the level of non-performing assets on our balance sheets; (xxii) the ability to raise additional capital; (xxiii) cyber-attacks; (xxiv) declines in real estate values; (xxv) the effects of fraud on the part of our employees, customers, vendors or counterparties; and (xxvi) any other risks described in the “Risk Factors” sections of reports filed by Landmark with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Additional information concerning Landmark and its business, including additional risk factors that could materially affect Landmark’s financial results, is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    LANDMARK BANCORP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)

        December 31,     September 30,     June 30,     March 31,     December 31,  
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024     2024     2024     2024     2023  
    Assets                                        
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 20,275     $ 21,211     $ 23,889     $ 16,468     $ 27,101  
    Interest-bearing deposits at other banks     4,110       4,363       4,881       4,920       4,918  
    Investment securities available-for-sale, at fair value:                                        
    U.S. treasury securities     64,458       83,753       89,325       93,683       95,667  
    Municipal obligations, tax exempt     107,128       112,126       114,047       118,445       120,623  
    Municipal obligations, taxable     71,715       75,129       74,588       75,371       79,083  
    Agency mortgage-backed securities     129,211       140,004       142,499       149,777       157,396  
    Total investment securities available-for-sale     372,512       411,012       420,459       437,276       452,769  
    Investment securities held-to-maturity     3,672       3,643       3,613       3,584       3,555  
    Bank stocks, at cost     6,618       7,894       9,647       7,850       8,123  
    Loans:                                        
    One-to-four family residential real estate     352,209       344,380       332,090       312,833       302,544  
    Construction and land     25,328       23,454       30,480       24,823       21,090  
    Commercial real estate     345,159       324,016       318,850       323,397       320,962  
    Commercial     192,325       181,652       178,876       181,945       180,942  
    Agriculture     100,562       91,986       84,523       86,808       89,680  
    Municipal     7,091       7,098       6,556       5,690       4,507  
    Consumer     29,679       29,263       29,200       28,544       28,931  
    Total gross loans     1,052,353       1,001,849       980,575       964,040       948,656  
    Net deferred loan (fees) costs and loans in process     (307 )     (63 )     (583 )     (578 )     (429 )
    Allowance for credit losses     (12,825 )     (11,544 )     (10,903 )     (10,851 )     (10,608 )
    Loans, net     1,039,221       990,242       969,089       952,611       937,619  
    Loans held for sale, at fair value     3,420       3,250       2,513       2,697       853  
    Bank owned life insurance     39,056       39,176       38,826       38,578       38,333  
    Premises and equipment, net     20,220       20,976       20,986       20,696       19,709  
    Goodwill     32,377       32,377       32,377       32,377       32,377  
    Other intangible assets, net     2,578       2,729       2,900       3,071       3,241  
    Mortgage servicing rights     3,061       3,041       2,997       2,977       3,158  
    Real estate owned, net     167       428       428       428       928  
    Other assets     26,855       23,309       28,149       29,684       28,988  
    Total assets   $ 1,574,142     $ 1,563,651     $ 1,560,754     $ 1,553,217     $ 1,561,672  
                                             
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity                                        
    Liabilities:                                        
    Deposits:                                        
    Non-interest-bearing demand     351,595       360,188       360,631       364,386       367,103  
    Money market and checking     636,963       565,629       546,385       583,315       613,613  
    Savings     145,514       145,825       150,996       154,000       152,381  
    Certificates of deposit     194,694       203,860       192,470       191,823       183,154  
    Total deposits     1,328,766       1,275,502       1,250,482       1,293,524       1,316,251  
    FHLB and other borrowings     53,046       92,050       131,330       74,716       64,662  
    Subordinated debentures     21,651       21,651       21,651       21,651       21,651  
    Repurchase agreements     13,808       9,528       8,745       15,895       12,714  
    Accrued interest and other liabilities     20,656       25,229       20,292       20,760       19,480  
    Total liabilities     1,437,927       1,423,960       1,432,500       1,426,546       1,434,758  
    Stockholders’ equity:                                        
    Common stock     58       55       55       55       55  
    Additional paid-in capital     95,051       89,532       89,469       89,364       89,208  
    Retained earnings     56,934       60,549       57,774       55,912       54,282  
    Treasury stock, at cost     –       (396 )     (330 )     (249 )     (75 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (15,828 )     (10,049 )     (18,714 )     (18,411 )     (16,556 )
    Total stockholders’ equity     136,215       139,691       128,254       126,671       126,914  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 1,574,142     $ 1,563,651     $ 1,560,754     $ 1,553,217     $ 1,561,672  


    LANDMARK BANCORP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Consolidated Statements of Earnings (unaudited)

        Three months ended,     Year ended,  
        December 31,     September 30,     December 31,     December 31,     December 31,  
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)   2024     2024     2023     2024     2023  
    Interest income:                                        
    Loans   $ 15,955     $ 15,933     $ 14,223     $ 61,400     $ 51,753  
    Investment securities:                                        
    Taxable     2,210       2,301       2,453       9,298       9,594  
    Tax-exempt     738       747       761       3,008       3,094  
    Interest-bearing deposits at banks     49       41       49       193       242  
    Total interest income     18,952       19,022       17,486       73,899       64,683  
    Interest expense:                                        
    Deposits     5,350       5,830       4,879       22,310       15,254  
    FHLB and other borrowings     737       1,100       1,203       3,886       4,048  
    Subordinated debentures     389       416       422       1,635       1,590  
    Repurchase agreements     77       72       96       344       499  
    Total interest expense     6,553       7,418       6,600       28,175       21,391  
    Net interest income     12,399       11,604       10,886       45,724       43,292  
    Provision for credit losses     1,500       500       50       2,300       349  
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses     10,899       11,104       10,836       43,424       42,943  
    Non-interest income:                                        
    Fees and service charges     2,710       2,880       2,763       10,742       10,220  
    Gains on sales of loans, net     522       704       255       2,386       2,269  
    Bank owned life insurance     976       254       242       1,723       913  
    Losses on sales of investment securities, net     (1,031 )     –       (1,246 )     (1,031 )     (1,246 )
    Other     194       415       240       924       1,074  
    Total non-interest income     3,371       4,253       2,254       14,744       13,230  
    Non-interest expense:                                        
    Compensation and benefits     6,264       5,803       5,756       23,103       22,681  
    Occupancy and equipment     1,550       1,429       1,429       5,663       5,565  
    Data processing     452       464       462       1,889       1,940  
    Amortization of mortgage servicing rights and other intangibles     240       256       437       1,164       1,844  
    Professional fees     1,043       573       730       2,912       2,452  
    Valuation allowance on real estate held for sale     –       –       –       1,108       –  
    Other     2,325       2,034       1,748       8,240       7,501  
    Total non-interest expense     11,874       10,559       10,562       44,079       41,983  
    Earnings before income taxes     2,396       4,798       2,528       14,089       14,190  
    Income tax expense (benefit)     (886 )     867       (111 )     1,086       1,954  
    Net earnings   $ 3,282     $ 3,931     $ 2,639     $ 13,003     $ 12,236  
                                             
    Net earnings per share (1)                                        
    Basic   $ 0.57     $ 0.68     $ 0.46     $ 2.26     $ 2.13  
    Diluted     0.57       0.68       0.46       2.26       2.13  
    Dividends per share (1)     0.20       0.20       0.19       0.80       0.76  
    Shares outstanding at end of period (1)     5,775,198       5,776,282       5,751,475       5,775,198       5,751,475  
    Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic (1)     5,775,227       5,765,348       5,755,175       5,758,056       5,751,585  
    Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted (1)     5,789,764       5,770,514       5,755,175       5,764,282       5,754,840  
                                             
    Tax equivalent net interest income   $ 12,574     $ 11,777     $ 11,017     $ 46,428     $ 44,040  
    (1 ) Share and per share values at or for the periods ended September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2024 have been adjusted to give effect to the 5% stock dividend paid during December 2024.
         

    LANDMARK BANCORP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Select Ratios and Other Data (unaudited)

        As of or for the three months ended,     As of or for the year ended,  
        December 31,     September 30,     December 31,     December 31,     December 31,  
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)   2024     2024     2023     2024     2023  
    Performance ratios:                                        
    Return on average assets (1)     0.83 %     1.01 %     0.67 %     0.83 %     0.80 %
    Return on average equity (1)     9.54 %     11.95 %     9.39 %     10.01 %     10.70 %
    Net interest margin (1)(2)     3.51 %     3.30 %     3.11 %     3.28 %     3.17 %
    Effective tax rate     -37.0 %     18.1 %     -4.4 %     7.7 %     13.8 %
    Efficiency ratio (3)     70.0 %     66.5 %     71.9 %     69.1 %     71.2 %
    Non-interest income to total income (3)     25.9 %     25.5 %     24.3 %     25.3 %     25.1 %
                                             
    Average balances:                                        
    Investment securities   $ 409,648     $ 428,301     $ 463,763     $ 432,928     $ 486,268  
    Loans     1,010,153       985,659       934,333       974,293       891,487  
    Assets     1,568,821       1,562,482       1,555,742       1,558,236       1,535,694  
    Interest-bearing deposits     944,969       936,218       910,610       938,223       892,373  
    FHLB and other borrowings     57,507       77,958       84,408       70,226       74,210  
    Subordinated debentures     21,651       21,651       21,651       21,651       21,651  
    Repurchase agreements     12,212       10,774       13,785       12,216       18,361  
    Stockholders’ equity   $ 136,933     $ 132,271     $ 111,560     $ 129,944     $ 114,339  
                                             
    Average tax equivalent yield/cost (1):                                        
    Investment securities     3.03 %     2.99 %     2.86 %     3.00 %     2.76 %
    Loans     6.28 %     6.43 %     6.04 %     6.30 %     5.81 %
    Total interest-bearing assets     5.34 %     5.38 %     4.97 %     5.28 %     4.71 %
    Interest-bearing deposits     2.25 %     2.48 %     2.13 %     2.38 %     1.71 %
    FHLB and other borrowings     5.10 %     5.61 %     5.65 %     5.53 %     5.45 %
    Subordinated debentures     7.15 %     7.64 %     7.73 %     7.55 %     7.34 %
    Repurchase agreements     2.51 %     2.66 %     2.79 %     2.82 %     2.72 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     2.52 %     2.82 %     2.54 %     2.70 %     2.13 %
                                             
    Capital ratios:                                        
    Equity to total assets     8.65 %     8.93 %     8.13 %                
    Tangible equity to tangible assets (3)     6.58 %     6.84 %     5.98 %                
    Book value per share   $ 23.59     $ 24.18     $ 22.07                  
    Tangible book value per share (3)   $ 17.53     $ 18.11     $ 15.87                  
                                             
    Rollforward of allowance for credit losses (loans):                                        
    Beginning balance   $ 11,544     $ 10,903     $ 10,970     $ 10,608     $ 8,791  
    Adoption of CECL     –       –       –       –       1,523  
    Charge-offs     (246 )     (153 )     (442 )     (659 )     (850 )
    Recoveries     27       144       80       476       894  
    Provision for credit losses for loans     1,500       650       –       2,400       250  
    Ending balance   $ 12,825     $ 11,544     $ 10,608     $ 12,825     $ 10,608  
                                             
    Allowance for unfunded loan commitments   $ 150     $ 300     $ 200                  
                                             
    Non-performing assets:                                        
    Non-accrual loans   $ 13,115     $ 13,415     $ 2,391                  
    Accruing loans over 90 days past due     –       –       –                  
    Real estate owned     167       428       928                  
    Total non-performing assets   $ 13,282     $ 13,843     $ 3,319                  
                                             
    Loans 30-89 days delinquent   $ 6,201     $ 7,301     $ 1,582                  
                                             
    Other ratios:                                        
    Loans to deposits     78.21 %     77.64 %     71.23 %                
    Loans 30-89 days delinquent and still accruing to gross loans outstanding     0.59 %     0.73 %     0.17 %                
    Total non-performing loans to gross loans outstanding     1.25 %     1.34 %     0.25 %                
    Total non-performing assets to total assets     0.84 %     0.89 %     0.21 %                
    Allowance for credit losses to gross loans outstanding     1.22 %     1.15 %     1.12 %                
    Allowance for credit losses to total non-performing loans     97.79 %     86.05 %     443.66 %                
    Net loan charge-offs to average loans (1)     0.09 %     0.00 %     0.15 %     0.03 %     -0.01 %
    (1 ) Information is annualized.
    (2 ) Net interest margin is presented on a fully tax equivalent basis, using a 21% federal tax rate.
    (3 ) Non-GAAP financial measures. See the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this press release for a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP equivalent.
         

    LANDMARK BANCORP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Non-GAAP Finacials Measures (unaudited)

        As of or for the three months ended,     As of or for the year ended,  
        December 31,     September 30,     December 31,     December 31,     December 31,  
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)   2024     2024     2023     2024     2023  
                                   
    Non-GAAP financial ratio reconciliation:                                        
    Total non-interest expense   $ 11,874     $ 10,559     $ 10,562     $ 44,079     $ 41,983  
    Less: foreclosure and real estate owned expense     (13 )     (23 )     (40 )     (47 )     (61 )
    Less: amortization of other intangibles     (151 )     (171 )     (174 )     (663 )     (765 )
    Less: valuation allowance on real estate held for sale     –       –       –       (1,108 )     –  
    Adjusted non-interest expense (A)     11,710       10,365       10,348       42,261       41,157  
                                             
    Net interest income (B)     12,399       11,604       10,886       45,724       43,292  
                                             
    Non-interest income     3,371       4,253       2,254       14,744       13,230  
    Less: losses on sales of investment securities, net     1,031       –       1,246       1,031       1,246  
    Less: gains on sales of premises and equipment and foreclosed assets     (62 )     (273 )     –       (326 )     (1 )
    Adjusted non-interest income (C)   $ 4,340     $ 3,980     $ 3,500     $ 15,449     $ 14,475  
                                             
    Efficiency ratio (A/(B+C))     70.0 %     66.5 %     71.9 %     69.1 %     71.2 %
    Non-interest income to total income (C/(B+C))     25.9 %     25.5 %     24.3 %     25.3 %     25.1 %
                                             
    Total stockholders’ equity   $ 136,215     $ 139,691     $ 126,914                  
    Less: goodwill and other intangible assets     (34,955 )     (35,106 )     (35,618 )                
    Tangible equity (D)   $ 101,260     $ 104,585     $ 91,296                  
                                             
    Total assets   $ 1,574,142     $ 1,563,651     $ 1,561,672                  
    Less: goodwill and other intangible assets     (34,955 )     (35,106 )     (35,618 )                
    Tangible assets (E)   $ 1,539,187     $ 1,528,545     $ 1,526,054                  
                                             
    Tangible equity to tangible assets (D/E)     6.58 %     6.84 %     5.98 %                
                                             
    Shares outstanding at end of period (F)     5,775,198       5,776,282       5,751,475                  
                                             
    Tangible book value per share (D/F)   $ 17.53     $ 18.11     $ 15.87                  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: It’s the most American of sports, so why is the NFL looking to Melbourne for international games?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney

    Melbourne’s status as the sporting capital of Australia is well-established: the Victorian city hosts annual events such as the Australian Open tennis tournament, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup horseracing carnival, Boxing Day cricket Test and more.

    Now the United States’ National Football League (NFL) is set to join the party.

    In May last year, the NFL earmarked Australia as a future host for an international game.

    Now it has been reported the NFL is set to lock-in three regular season games in Melbourne at the MCG, starting in October 2026, just after the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final.

    The teams set to feature in the first game are 2022 Super Bowl winners the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will play in next week’s Super Bowl and feature an Australian, Jordan Mailata, on their team.

    The Rams and the Eagles both have international marketing rights to Australia – giving the clubs an opportunity to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the US through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.

    What’s in it for Victoria?

    The NFL contests would pour millions of dollars into the Victorian economy; each team would travel with hundreds of staff, while thousands of fans would likely travel from interstate and overseas.

    The Victorian government has not revealed any revenue estimates but last year’s Super Bowl week in Las Vegas generated more than $US1 billion ($A1.61 billion) in economic impact.

    Given the NFL’s love of razzmatazz, it would likely host a week-long procession of activities and fan zones across the city before almost certainly filling the MCG with 100,000 spectators.

    However, the choice of the MCG as a venue was not without controversy.

    The MCG boasts the biggest capacity of any stadium in Australia, but it is an oval shape, not rectangular, which makes the viewing experience more difficult when it hosts sports such as soccer, rugby – or NFL.

    Critics have suggested Accor Stadium in Sydney’s west or Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (both rectangular venues) would be better for these games.

    What’s in it for the NFL?

    The NFL has broadened its international presence during the past decade or so, and now hosts eight games internationally each season.

    But why did NFL decide on Australia to join the likes of England, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Mexico?

    It chose places with strong sports consumer marketplaces, where streaming is popular and destinations where US fans are likely to travel to.

    Australia, while not as popular as in the days of Paul Hogan, is still a popular destination for many Americans, especially those who like sports.

    American football is far from a dominant sports code in Australia but is still a significant global market for the NFL, with an estimated fan base of more than six million supporters across the country.

    But principally, it’s about the money.

    The NFL’s media broadcast deal is one of, if not the, most lucrative in world sports: the TV and streaming media rights are said to be worth more than $US100 billion ($A161 billion).

    Analysts estimate the NFL’s international games will collectively add $US1 billion ($A1.61 billion) to the league’s TV rights.

    This has helped the NFL build a huge global audience, which Commissioner Roger Goodell has said is a key strategy:

    The media platforms are essential – we want to reach the most people we can through our media partners, because that’s how most people experience football. But when we bring games (to international markets), it is […] the spark that lights the flame. Playing the games is a big part of making our game global.

    The NFL is also looking to Australia for future athletic talent.

    In recent years, NFL and college football teams have regularly recruited Australian athletes as punters (specialist kickers), who grew up kicking balls and can transfer their skills to the American game.

    The NFL also recently set up a talent academy on the Gold Coast to encourage talented youngsters from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to pursue their NFL dream.

    What fans can expect

    Melbourne is not Las Vegas, but even so, if confirmed, the games will deliver some old-fashioned American showbiz to the state.

    The MCG will likely be packed with fans (both hardcore and casual) for the contest, and of course the sport’s famous half-time shows.

    And then there’s the athletic brilliance of the players: the game is considered by some to be as intellectual as chess but with enormous physical prowess required. The chance to see these massive athletes up close will no doubt be a huge drawcard.

    NFL fans in Australia – and very likely New Zealand, the Pacific and even further abroad – will no doubt be waiting with bated breath for the league to confirm the games, and then try to find a way to secure sought-after tickets.

    Tim Harcourt supports both the Green Bay Packers to keep his Wisconsin in laws happy and the Minnesota Vikings as he once lived in Minneapolis.

    – ref. It’s the most American of sports, so why is the NFL looking to Melbourne for international games? – https://theconversation.com/its-the-most-american-of-sports-so-why-is-the-nfl-looking-to-melbourne-for-international-games-248870

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall, Rep. Van Duyne Reintroduce Legislation to Reduce Overbearing Regulations for America’s Small Businesses

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., and U.S. House Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24) introduced the bicameral Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act to protect our small businesses from the financial burden of top-down federal regulations. 
    When Washington, D.C. imposes regulations, it often comes at a significant cost to our locally-owned businesses. In 2022 alone, complying with regulations cost American small businesses an average of $15,133.57 (adjusted for 2024 dollars) per employee on their payroll. The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act alleviates these costs and requires the Administration to submit an annual report to Congress outlining the impacts of regulations on small businesses. 
    “I will always stand with Main Street over Wall Street, and remain laser-focused on supporting our nation’s small businesses. That means making it easier for them to do their jobs and keeping the federal government out of the way!” said Senator Marshall. “It’s time to slash the red tape and create a regulatory environment that ensures America’s small businesses, the backbone of our economy, thrive.”
    “After Biden-Harris imposed more than $1.7 trillion in regulatory costs and inflicted 20% inflation, America’s small businesses are in desperate need of relief. I’m glad to partner with Senator Marshall to reintroduce the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act to slash burdensome regulations for our job creators as we work to keep the American Dream alive for the next generation,” said Rep. Van Duyne (R-TX-24). 
    “The first rule of economic growth is to stop stifling entrepreneurs. Yet, that’s exactly what Washington does to small businesses. Startups and mom-and-pops can’t afford full-time staff dedicated to regulatory compliance they way bigger companies can. Capping regulatory costs for small businesses at current levels is an important step towards better regulatory policy, as are the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act’s improved transparency requirements.” said Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Economist.
    “The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act directs the SBA Administrator to quantify and monitor regulatory costs on small businesses, which is greatly needed as the cumulative costs are overwhelming small firms and undermining their competitiveness. Quantifying these costs on an annual basis and determining whether rules cumulatively exceed a zero-based regulatory budget provide a framework that promotes accountability and sensible regulation. SBE Council strongly supports this legislation, as it will help Congress with critical oversight and help to inform and educate regulators about the need to consider small business impact as they propose and advance their regulatory initiatives.” said Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
    “Small businesses often deeply suffer the effects of federal regulations because they have limited resources for compliance. This bill from Senator Roger Marshall and Representative Beth Van Duyne would ensure these burdens are minimized and tallied,” said Nicholas Johns, Senior Policy and Government Affairs Manager, National Taxpayers Union. “National Taxpayers Union applauds this bill because it would prevent the Small Business Administration from hindering companies under their purview and create a government-wide report detailing the regulatory costs on small businesses.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Waitangi Treaty Grounds address

    Source: ACT Party

    Government Powhiri Address
    David Seymour, Leader ACT New Zealand
    Wednesday 5th February, 2025

    E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e rau Rangatira

    Two years ago here, I set out my party’s three goals for the Treaty.

    Tuatahi, ki a maimoatia te reo me te ahurea Māori

    (one, to cherish the Māori language and culture).

    Tuarua, ki a whakatika ngā hapa o mua.

    (two, to put right the wrongs of the past)

    Tuatouru, ki a ōrite ai te āhei atu o ngā Tamariki katoa ki a puāwaitia.

    (three, to give every child an equal chance to flourish)

    Since then I’ve held to these goals and promises. Some who heard my words here and understood them have tried to pretend they didn’t.

    Instead they’ve poured poison in the ears of young people. They’ve said that I want to take away their mana, their reo, and their culture.

    Some of the poison goes so far it’s actually funny. Rawiri Waititi even wrote in the newspaper that I want to take away people’s outdoor hobbies.

    What is the point of these claims. It cannot be seeking the truth, because the things they say are not true.

    Perhaps blaming me is a convenient distraction from other failures.

    The numbers don’t lie.

    Māori home ownership. Māori school attendance. Māori crime victimization. Māori unemployment. Māori incomes. Māori life expectancy.

    None of it is good news, and none of it’s getting better because people think the Treaty is a partnership.

    If this is what a Treaty partnership looks like, how is it working out for Māori?

    What is good news is we now have a Government with practical solutions to these problems, and the ACT Party is proud to play its part.

    New resource management laws and building laws will make it easier for the next generation to build a place of their own in this country.

    Charter schools, and curriculums and assessments with rich content will provide young New Zealanders with useful maps for navigating the twenty first century.

    We’ve got the values right on crime. Now the Government stands beside the victims, who are disproportionately Māori.

    We know there’s no mana in dependency, it’s a trap, and traps Māori the most. That’s why the Government is bringing back mutual obligation in welfare.

    Getting off welfare means jobs in a growing economy. I’m proud to lead the charge against the red tape that crushes the wairua of our economy.

    The Government is funding more medicine than ever, by a lot. It’s setting ambitious targets to get health wait times down. The biggest health benefits will go to those with the biggest needs.

    That is the mahi. Kia ōrite ai te āhei atu o ngā tamariki katoa ki a puāwaitia.

    My critics need to explain why these problems can’t be solved under a treaty that granted equal rights.

    They need to explain why divisive identity politics is necessary to solve these problems, especially when it’s going out of fashion around the world.

    That’s my wero to you,

    Ngā mihi.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New robots lead the way in bomb disposal innovation

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Cutting-edge trial featured robotic canines defusing bombs. This new technology is set to reduce risk to personnel working on bomb disposals.

    Image of bomb disposal robot.

    Robot dogs that can defuse explosives are set to revolutionise bomb disposal operations and significantly reduce the risk to military personnel, whether operating in the UK or overseas.

    A new live trial led by Ministry of Defence scientists has seen advanced robotic systems, including robot dogs, successfully detecting, and defusing bomb threats. 

    The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) trials took place over four days and included:   

    • Remote classification and identification of threats using sensors on robots;  
    • Defusing of bombs from a robot dog;  
    • Drones with AI autonomous threat and people detection;   
    • And robots conducting tasks such as opening doors and climbing stairs.  

    The trial supports key components of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, safeguarding national security whilst rapidly advancing new technologies – showing defence as an engine for growth.  

    Dstl worked alongside British and international industry, L3Harris, Marlborough Communications Ltd and AeroVironment (Tomahawk Robotics) on the trials which showed that they could enhance Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capability by:  

    • Reducing the need to put a bomb disposal operator in harm’s way by increasing the number of tasks that robots can perform remotely;  
    • Improving the effectiveness of robots, reducing the burden to the operator, allowing delicate and precision movements to be completed reliably; 
    • Using drones equipped with AI to identify threats and monitor safety cordons, increasing the pace of operations and reducing disruption to the public.  

    The trials involved a series of scenarios, where the robot was asked to perform various tasks including opening and closing doors autonomously, navigating stairs, inspecting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and consequently firing disruptors at the IEDs to render them safe. 

    These innovations will transform EOD operations by minimising the human exposure to danger, improving operational efficiency and maintaining public safety.  

    Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle, said:

    This advanced technology demonstrates our commitment to protecting the military personnel who keep our nation safe, at home and abroad.   

    By working with industry and combining cutting-edge robotics with existing expertise, we’re ensuring our bomb disposal teams have the best possible tools to carry out their vital work safely and effectively.

    These advancements help the government deliver our Plan for Change and ensure defence is an engine for growth – protecting our national security while supporting rapidly evolving technologies.

    Bomb disposal operators praised the technology demonstrated in the trial and provided beneficial feedback to shape the next phase of Dstl investment in robotics for the bomb disposal community. Dstl will use this feedback to continue to develop and enhance technology that provides increased security for the nation.  

    Chief Science and Technology Officer, Dstl, Prof Andy Bell, said:  

    This is a great example of how Defence can achieve an advantage through the exploitation of technology, fusing together military and commercial systems to keep our people and country safe from deadly threats. 

    Working in partnership with industry and academia, Dstl is delivering mission success through science and technology advantage.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Birmingham scores transformative investment into new Sports Quarter

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    US company Knighthead have invested £100m to build new Sports Quarter in East Birmingham.

    • Following on from the Chancellors plans to go ‘further, faster on growth’ US company Knighthead has invested £100m in regeneration project in East Birmingham.
    • The Sports Quarter project will include a 60,000-seat stadium, sporting facilities and commercial and residential spaces, creating 8,400 new jobs and driving further investment.
    • Announcement is the latest in a series of job-boosting investments across the country showing the Plan for Change is working.

    US company Knighthead has invested £100 million into East Birmingham, showing how the Government’s Plan for Change is boosting jobs and opportunities in the West Midlands.

    The new site is estimated to create 8,400 new jobs annually in Birmingham while also supporting the wider city and West Midlands. The investment will pave the way for a new 60,000-seater stadium alongside a sports campus of training facilities, a new academy, and community pitches. Beyond sport, the campus plans also include leisure, commercial, and residential development.

    Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will visit the site and learn about how the new Sports Quarter and surrounding area is projected to provide £370 million in growth each year.  

    Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off as part of our Plan for Change.

    Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

    The West Midlands is a powerhouse for investment, and this project will not only play a vital role in bringing thousands of new jobs into the area but will put more money into the pockets of the local community here in East Birmingham.

    Seeing global investors put billions in the UK economy shows the Plan for Change is working, with more and more companies choosing Britain. This is another vote of confidence in our plans to deliver growth that supports skilled jobs and raises living standards across the country.

    This is the latest in a series of investment projects into the West Midlands, as the region continues to be a powerhouse for investment. The West Midlands attracted over 130 Foreign Direct Investment Projects in 2024, creating 7,581 jobs.

    Unleashing the full potential of the UK’s cities and regions is a core objective of the government’s Industrial Strategy. Facilitating investments like this is central to achieving this goal.

    Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy said:

    The Birmingham Sports Quarter is an exciting venture that highlights how sport can be an important driver for regeneration and growth.

    Across the divisions, our professional football clubs are vital community assets at the heart of towns and cities around the country, so it is fantastic to see investment directly benefiting residents of Birmingham and the wider region.

    Investment continues to flow into the UK sports sector on an unprecedented level. The UK is an appealing destination for investors aiming to capitalise on diverse revenue streams and long-term growth prospects.

    The commercial attractiveness of the UK sports sector is underpinned by both legacy and heritage and its position at the cutting edge of innovative subsectors such as sports-tech and women’s sports.

    The Business Secretary’s visit comes after Birmingham City Football Club’s Chairman Tom Wagner’s meeting with Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson OBE at One Goal, the government’s annual sports investment conference. The Department for Business and Trade continues to support transformational institutional investment into UK sport and local communities.

    Co-founder of Knighthead & Chairman of Birmingham City Football Club Tom Wagner said:

    Birmingham and the West Midlands have huge untapped potential for growth, and we intend to seize that opportunity. With the support of government, the Sports Quarter can be a catalyst for regeneration, transforming the prospects for people in of one of the poorest parts of the UK and crowding in interest and investment from around the globe.

    Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

    This investment is a huge vote of confidence in Birmingham and the West Midlands. It was made possible by strong partnerships with Knighthead and others committed to our region’s growth.

    We’ve worked to create the perfect conditions to attract investment, and this will bring thousands of jobs, new opportunities, and a major economic boost.

    Working with Tom Wagner and Knighthead, we’ll unlock our region’s full potential – delivering the Sports Quarter and lasting change for the region.

    The announcement comes after the Chancellor vowed to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth last week, as the government wants to help put more money in people’s pockets.

    The Budget in the Autumn fixed the foundations of the UK’s economy by putting in place measures to support economic and fiscal stability and long-term investment in national infrastructure.

    Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off as part of our Plan for Change.

    The government’s new modern Industrial Strategy will deliver long-term, sustainable, inclusive growth right across the UK by driving investment into the economy and hardwire stability for investors, giving them the confidence to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.

    Notes to editors

    • Today’s announcement comes off the back of Knighthead announcing its £3 billion regeneration project last March and also follows the company’s acquisition of Birmingham City Football Club in 2023.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New reforms to support victims of child sexual abuse

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Victims of child sexual abuse will be better supported with new reforms that prioritise their rights.

    • Three-year limit for compensation claims to be axed – enabling victims to come forward when ready
    • Burden of proof to shift from survivors to defendants – protecting victims from reliving trauma
    • Measures deliver recommendations of Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

    The Government is delivering on recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) to make it easier for victims to gain an apology and to pursue claims in the civil court.

    The three-year time limit for victims to bring personal injury claims will be removed. So will the burden of proof that currently rests on victims’ shoulders, who must prove it is possible to hold a fair trial for one to go ahead. Now, that burden is lifted off victims and placed on defendants, who must show a fair trial cannot proceed if they intend to block one. This will enable cases to be heard more easily, and protect victims from reliving their trauma.

    The Law of the Apologies will also be amended to encourage employers to apologise to people wronged by their employees, where currently they fear doing so because of institutional liability, meaning that victims are likelier to receive apologies from schools, care facilities or hospitals for abuse carried out by an individual at these institutions.

    The Government has listened to victims, survivors and experts through two consultations – and they have said they want action.

    Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood said:

    Child sexual abuse causes lifelong trauma and these important changes, recommended by Professor Jay, are long overdue.

    These measures help survivors pursue their path to justice. They build on the Government’s mission of halving violence against women and girls and support our Plan for Change.

    Currently civil child sexual abuse claims must be brought within three years of turning 18, unless the victim can prove a fair trial can proceed despite the time lapse. But as the IICSA heard, a “significant number” of claims are being rejected because it can take “decades for survivors to feel able to discuss their sexual abuse”.

    As a direct result of today’s reforms, all cases brought will proceed unless the defendant proves that a fair hearing cannot take place, for example due to lack of evidence.

    IICSA also heard that in many child sexual abuse cases, an apology by an institution was desired but never delivered, blocking victims’ path to closure.

    Often organisations are reluctant to apologise because of concerns it may be interpreted by individuals such as insurers, as an admission of fault. The Government will clarify, as per the IICSA recommendation, that apologies could and should be offered by employers for the actions of current or former employees.

    Justice Minister Sarah Sackman KC said:

    The courts must work for the public they serve – and we recognise that victims and survivors need time to process their trauma.

    By changing the law, it will now be possible for victims to come forward, and seek justice, when they feel ready to do so.

    The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse heard the powerful testimonies of more than 7,000 victims and made 20 final recommendations.

    The measures announced today build on action already taken across government to respond to horrific child sexual abuse crimes, including providing £10 million to drive change at a local level to protect children across the country from grooming gangs, and a suite of legislative measures to tackle online child sexual abuse, including two world leading measures on AI-generated child sexual abuse material. These measures form part of our commitment – underscored by our Plan for Change – to halve violence against women and girls this decade.

    Legislation will also be brought forward to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences, and introduce a new Mandatory Reporting duty, in the Crime and Policing Bill to be put before Parliament this Spring. A new offence will also be created so anyone covering up child sexual abuse will face criminal sanctions.

    Changes to the Law of Apologies and Limitation Law, follow two Government consultations in 2024.

    Gabrielle Shaw, Chief Executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), said:

    This is a watershed moment for survivors of child sexual abuse. These reforms recognise the long-term impact of trauma and ensure survivors are not excluded from seeking redress simply because of the time taken to come forward.

    NAPAC also welcomes greater clarity on apologies. A sincere apology, when freely given and supported by meaningful action, is invaluable – especially as part of wider efforts to ensure accountability and prevent future harm.

    These important changes reflect the growing understanding of what survivors need to access justice and healing, and we welcome the government’s commitment to making them a reality.

    Civil claims are made where someone feels that they have suffered a harm or a wrong which another person or organisation is accountable for. It is made by issuing a claim form at the relevant court (such as the County Court), and serving it on the defendant. 

    Further information:

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Work progressing to address seafarer wage theft

    Source: Australian Ministers 1

    The Albanese Government’s work to address seafarer wage theft has taken an important step forward, with the signing of an enhanced Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Fair Work Ombudsman and Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

    The MoU paves the way for these agencies to improve seafarer wage compliance monitoring, share regional contacts, and conduct joint inspections of foreign-flagged vessels suspected of wage non-compliance.  

    This will help level the playing field for Australian crewed vessels by preventing foreign vessels from undercutting Australian legal requirements to pay correct wages. 

    It forms part of our Government’s commitment to ensuring seafarers on foreign vessels operating under a temporary licence in Australian waters are paid the wages they are owed. 

    It also helps deliver on our priority of ensuring all employers comply with the Fair Work Act, and our commitment to protecting workers from wage theft.

    This MoU is an important milestone in our $2.7 million compliance program pilot, which is allowing the Fair Work Ombudsman, Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development  to ramp up monitoring activities of seafarer wages on foreign-flagged vessels – as well as investigations into potential non-compliance by employers.

    We look forward to seeing this work continue and to support all seafarers and our maritime industry. 

    Quotes attributable to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King:

    “The Albanese Government is committed to rebuilding Australia’s shipping capabilities and supporting its current and future seafarers. 

    “That is why we have committed to the establishment of a strategic fleet and appointed a taskforce to provide recommendation to government on its establishment. Additional funding for increased compliance activity related to the payment of wages was one of the recommendations.

    “We are delivering on our commitments to build Australia’s future.”

    Quotes attributable to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt: 

    “The Albanese Government is committed to standing up for Australian workers so to ensure they earn more and keep more of what they earn.

     “This work builds on the workplace relations changes we’ve already delivered, including criminalising wage theft.

     “The MoU is an important step towards better protecting seafarers from wage theft and ensuring no worker is underpaid.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Superseding Indictment Charges Chinese National in Relation to Alleged Plan to Steal Proprietary AI Technology

    Source: US State of California

    Note: View the superseding indictment here. 

    A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.

    Ding was initially indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment returned today describes seven categories of trade secrets stolen by Ding and charges Ding with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.

    According to the superseding indictment, Google hired Ding as a software engineer in 2019. Between approximately May 2022 and May 2023, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 unique files containing Google confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account, including the trade secrets alleged in the superseding indictment.

    While Ding was employed by Google, he secretly affiliated himself with two People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based technology companies. Around June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer for an early-stage technology company based in the PRC.  By May 2023, Ding had founded his own technology company focused on AI and machine learning in the PRC and was acting as the company’s CEO. 

    The superseding indictment alleges that Ding intended to benefit the PRC government by stealing trade secrets from Google. Ding allegedly stole technology relating to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models. The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and systems and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems, the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrates thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The trade secrets also pertain to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU, high performance, and cloud networking products.  

    As alleged, Ding circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of his technology company citing PRC national policies encouraging the development of the domestic AI industry. He also created a PowerPoint presentation containing an application to a PRC talent program based in Shanghai. The superseding indictment describes how PRC-sponsored talent programs incentivize individuals engaged in research and development outside the PRC to transmit that knowledge and research to the PRC in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives. Ding’s application for the talent program stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

    If convicted, Ding faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each trade-secret count and 15 years in prison and $5,000,000 fine for each economic-espionage count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Boome and Molly K. Priedeman for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

    Today’s action was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states.

    A superseding indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitdeer Announces Strategic Acquisition of 101 MW Site and Gas-fired Power Project in Alberta to Deliver the Industry’s First Fully-Vertically Integrated Bitcoin Mining Site

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SINGAPORE, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR) (“Bitdeer” or the “Company”), a world-leading technology company for blockchain and high-performance computing, today announced the successful close of the acquisition of a fully licensed and permitted 101 MW site and gas-fired power project situated on 19 acres of land near Fox Creek, Alberta in an all-cash transaction for $21.7 million. The site has potential to scale to 1 GW of power, reflecting Alberta’s abundant energy resources, supportive regulatory posture and pro-business environment.

    The 101 MW gas-fired power project includes all permits and licenses required to construct an on-site natural gas power plant, as well as approval for a 99 MW grid interconnection with Alberta Electric System Operator (“AESO”). Bitdeer will develop and construct the power plant in partnership with a leading Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) company and is expected to be energized by Q4 2026.

    Concurrently, the Company plans to build 99 MW of datacenter capacity for Bitcoin mining. This newly acquired site and power generation project provides the Company a unique opportunity to become the world’s first fully-vertically integrated Bitcoin miner at scale and potentially achieve some of the lowest Bitcoin mining production costs in the industry.

    Strategic Benefits

    • Full vertical integration: The Company will have control of the land, power generation, electrical and datacenter infrastructure as well as using its own internally developed and manufactured Bitcoin mining machines. The Company can deploy approximately [9] EH/s of its SEALMINER A3 mining machines upon completion, which are anticipated to have industry leading machine-level efficiency of 11-12 J/TH.
    • Low Power Costs: Projected energy production costs of approximately $20 to $25 per MWh1, based on current gas prices.
    • Sustainability & Potential Carbon Credit Upside: As part of the project acquisition, Bitdeer will deploy a carbon utilization system that captures CO2 making the project a net zero carbon producer. This initiative aims to offset Canada’s carbon tax obligations and may generate future revenue through carbon credits.
    • Energy Cost Optimization & Revenue Flexibility: The Company expects to curtail and sell power back to the Alberta grid to stabilize prices during periods of high demand. The Company estimates this could potentially optimize costs even further.

    “We are really excited about planting roots in Alberta, our first site in Canada. This acquisition is the culmination of extensive collaboration with multiple government agencies and the Canadian Blockchain Consortium. It marks a significant step in our strategy to become the first fully-vertically integrated Bitcoin miner, giving us unmatched control over costs, energy efficiency, and scalability,” said Haris Basit, Chief Strategy Officer at Bitdeer. “By combining our own power generation, SEALMINER mining machines and opportunistic grid participation, we believe this site will set a new benchmark for industry unit economics.”

    Regarding the project, Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta said, “We are so pleased to welcome the world’s first net-zero, fully integrated off-grid Bitcoin mining facility — right here in Alberta. Today’s investment is another sign that Alberta continues to be a leader in technology and innovation not only across the country, but across the world. If you want to do business and have a plan to bring your own power, then Alberta is the place for you.”

    Estimated Costs and Development Timeline
    The Company plans to commence site preparation and initial infrastructure development in Q2 2025 and energization in Q4 2026.

    Asset Actual and Estimated Costs
    101 MW Fox Creek Site and 19-acre land near Fox Creek, Alberta $21.7 million cash
    Gas-fired power plant ~$90 million
    Electrical & datacenter infrastructure $300K per MW or ~$30 million
     

    About Bitdeer Technologies Group
    Bitdeer is a world-leading technology company for blockchain and high-performance computing industry. Bitdeer is committed to providing comprehensive computing solutions for its customers. The Company handles complex processes involved in computing such as equipment procurement, transport logistics, datacenter design and construction, equipment management, and daily operations. The Company also offers advanced cloud capabilities to customers with high demand for artificial intelligence. Headquartered in Singapore, Bitdeer has deployed datacenters in the United States, Norway, and Bhutan. To learn more, visit https://ir.bitdeer.com/ or follow Bitdeer on X @ BitdeerOfficial and LinkedIn @ Bitdeer Group.

    Investors and others should note that Bitdeer may announce material information using its website and/or on its accounts on social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Therefore, Bitdeer encourages investors and others to review the information it posts on the social media and other communication channels listed on its website.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “look forward to,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Bitdeer’s annual report on Form 20-F, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Bitdeer’s subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. Bitdeer specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether due to new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers should not rely upon the information on this page as current or accurate after its publication date.

    For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

    Investor Relations
    Orange Group
    Yujia Zhai
    bitdeerIR@orangegroupadvisors.com

    Public Relations
    BlocksBridge Consulting
    Nishant Sharma
    bitdeer@blocksbridge.com

    1 Assumes natural gas costs of ~$2.06 / GJ, plus regular maintenance and O&M

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Lee Introduces Resolution Affirming USA Creation and Protection of the Panama Canal

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee

    WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced a resolution recognizing the great American achievement of creating the Panama Canal, the vital importance of the Canal in trade, national security, and geopolitics, and the necessity to ensure the neutrality of the Canal from interference by global adversaries like China. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

    RESOLUTION

    Expressing the vital importance of the Panama Canal to the United States.

    Whereas early efforts of the Colombian government and French investors to construct a canal across Panama were unsuccessful and resulted in bankruptcy by 1889;

    Whereas, as a condition of United States Government support for Panama’s independence from Colombia, including the positioning of United States troops in the then-territory of Panama, the United States was to be assured access to construct and control a canal in perpetuity, an agreement that culminated in the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, signed at Washington November 18, 1903;

    Whereas the Panama Canal was never initiated, engineered, or built by the Panamanian government;

    Whereas the United States Government funded, pioneered, and built the Panama Canal over a 10-year period from 1904 to 1914, at a cost of $375,000,000 and 10,000 lives, and raised the canal above sea level through construction of a lock system;

    Whereas, historically, the Panama Canal has been distinct from the sovereign territory of Panama;

    Whereas the Panama Canal serves as a vital connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, connecting the east and west coasts of the United States and providing passage for more than 14,000 vessels in 2023;

    Whereas approximately 72 percent of vessels traveling through the Panama Canal are traveling to or from United States ports;

    Whereas, without the Panama Canal, vessels would have to pass through the notoriously dangerous Cape Horn, extending transit by nearly 8,000 miles;

    Whereas, in 1977, President Carter surrendered United States control over the Panama Canal in a series of trea- ties with Panama known as the ‘‘Torrijos-Carter Trea- ties’’;

    Whereas one of those treaties, the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, signed at Washington September 7, 1977, otherwise known as the ‘‘Neutrality Treaty’’, reserved the right of the United States to use armed force to defend the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal;

    Whereas, for nearly a decade, the People’s Republic of China has steadily increased its footprint in the Panama Canal;

    Whereas, in 2016, Panama ceded control of Margarita Island, the Panama Canal’s largest Atlantic port, to the People’s Republic of China-affiliated Landbridge Group in a $900,000,000 agreement;

    Whereas, in 2018, Panama entered into a $1,400,000,000 agreement for the China Communications Construction Company and the China Harbor Engineering Company to construct the fourth bridge across the Panama Canal;

    Whereas CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, manages two of the Panama Canal’s five ports, including the Balboa port along the Pacific and Cristobal port along the Atlantic;

    Whereas the rapid acceleration of Chinese influence in the Panama Canal poses a high risk of intelligence-gathering and surveillance by the People’s Republic of China;

    Whereas Chinese law requires the assets of civilian firms to be made available to support the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China;

    Whereas the Panama Canal would serve as a logistics point between the east and west coasts of the United States in the event of a conflict involving United States Armed Forces, cementing its value to homeland and hemispheric defense;

    Whereas the ability of the People’s Republic of China to control major entry and exit points of the Panama Canal would provide the People’s Republic of China with a significant military advantage relevant to United States Armed Forces in the event of a conflict:

    Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate—

    (1) recognizes the ingenuity and labor of Americans that made the Panama Canal possible for future generations, with special regard for those Americans who lost their lives in pursuit of the Panama Canal project;

    (2) expresses that the Panama Canal is vital to United States regional security, hemispheric hegemony, and economic interests;

    (3) assesses that a pattern of Chinese-backed investment in port infrastructure and canal operations in Panama constitutes a violation of the Neutrality Treaty; and

    (4) urges the Trump administration to ensure that the canal remains neutral and to take all appropriate measures to enforce the Neutrality Treaty.

    The text of the resolution may be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barrasso: Pam Bondi Will Usher in a New Era of Safety, Sanity, and Justice

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, spoke on the Senate Floor as the Senate prepares to vote on the confirmation of Pam Bondi, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Attorney General.

    Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.

    Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:

    “The Justice Department needs a leader who has the qualifications, the experience, the determination, and the moral clarity to keep America safe.

    “Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is that leader. She has my vote and my vocal support.

    “The Attorney General is America’s top prosecutor. The role should be filled by an experienced prosecutor.

    “Attorney General Bondi has prosecution experience. A lot of it.

    “She spent almost 30 years as a criminal prosecutor and then as a state attorney general. She has more trial experience than any modern U.S. Attorney General.

    “Attorney General Bondi is the most experienced career criminal prosecutor ever to be America’s chief law enforcement officer. She is ready to lead on Day One.

    “In Florida, Attorney General Bondi prosecuted a range of violent crimes. She locked up the worst of the worst. Her signature achievements were in fighting illegal drugs and human trafficking.

    “When she became Florida Attorney General in 2011, the state was overrun with pill mills and opioid overdoses.

    “Pam Bondi shut down the pill mills. She locked up the drug dealers. She pushed for stronger laws to stop the spread of synthetic opioids.

    “Under her leadership, Florida led the fight against this deadly epidemic.

    “Attorney General Bondi also protected victims of human trafficking in Florida. She pledged to make combatting human trafficking a top priority at the Department of Justice.

    “Pam Bondi is a fierce advocate for safety. She is also a skilled leader.

    “The Department of Justice is a huge agency. It controls 40 separate organizations. It employs more than 115,000 people. It oversees all 94 U.S. Attorneys across the country.

    “Leading the DOJ is an enormous undertaking. Pam Bondi is up to the challenge.

    “The Florida Attorney General’s office is one of the largest in the country.

    “It handles a broad scope of civil and criminal investigations, just like the Department of Justice. She led that office effectively and efficiently.

    “Attorney General Bondi has received overwhelming support from across the country.

    “More than 100 former senior DOJ officials wrote a letter to the Judiciary Committee in support of Pam Bondi. Here is what they said about Bondi’s track record: It shows ‘the no-nonsense, law-and-order, pro-law enforcement approach she will bring to the Department of Justice.’

    “The Fraternal Order of Police also urged the Senate to confirm Pam Bondi. This is an organization of more than 377,000 members of law enforcement.

    “Attorney General Bondi has also earned the support of Second Amendment advocates.

    “United States Attorney General Pam Bondi will stand in stark contrast to the prior administration’s Justice Department.

    “The previous administration gave us two tiers of justice.

    “It labeled parents as ‘domestic terrorists.’ It brought charges against pro-life protestors, then threw them in prison. It worked with left-wing judges and prosecutors to try to throw President Trump in jail.

    “This doesn’t begin to get into the Russiagate Hoax or covering up for Hunter Biden. In both cases, you saw rogue federal agents try to subvert the democratic process.

    “At her hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Bondi promised a different path.

    “Instead of playing politics, Pam Bondi pledged to enforce the law fairly,
    fully, and faithfully.

    “As she said in her opening statement, she will return the DOJ to its ‘core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law.’

    “Her commitment to the Constitution, public safety, and equal justice under the law is exactly what America needs.

    “The partisan, politicized, and polarizing prosecutions are over. Pam Bondi will usher in a new era of safety, sanity, and justice. Pam Bondi has my vote to be United States Attorney General.

    “The Senate should confirm her without delay.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: UN Women International Women’s Day Parliamentary Breakfast

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Thank you very much Simone.

    Can I, in her absence, thank Aunty Violet for her welcome and wisdom – she’s had to go do school drop off. I told her it was much more important than listening to me.

    I acknowledge also the traditional owners, the Ngunnawal people, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

    And I offer that acknowledgement as a mark of respect for our history and an expression of hope for our future.

    First Nations people were this continent’s first diplomats, first traders and they are connected to our region – it is a connection that makes our nation stronger.

    Thanks UN Women for all you do. Thank you Christine, thank you Georgina for all you do here and in the world.

    To my Ministerial colleagues, particularly the Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, to the Leader of the Opposition, Members and Senators, friends – it’s really great to be here.

    The Prime Minister just talked about progress. He talked about the work we have done – the community has done, the Government has done – to make Australia a more equal country, as part of the “march forward” on gender equality.

    But I regret to report that the situation around the world is not quite as encouraging.

    More than 380 million women and girls worldwide are living in extreme poverty.

    We talk a lot about economic empowerment, 2.4 billion women of working age do not have equal economic opportunities.

    In countries like Iran and Afghanistan, repressive authorities deplete their nations’ souls but also their prospects, by denying the rights of women and girls.

    Across the world, women are facing more sexual and gender-based violence, and less access to sexual and reproductive health services.

    An estimated one in three women experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime globally.

    Closer to home, that figure is even more stark – two in three women experience physical or sexual violence in the Pacific.

    And as we have seen a surge in conflict and humanitarian crises internationally, we see devastating effects on women and girls.

    Last year alone, cases of conflict-related sexual violence surged by 50 percent – almost a third of these cases involved girls.  

    These terrible facts and they underline the costs of gender inequality.

    We know that gender equality is as a stronger predictor of peace than a nation’s wealth or political system.

    We know that peace agreements are more likely to last when women can participate in them.

    And we know that gender equality reduces poverty, strengthens social cohesion, unlocks economic productivity and enhances prosperity for current and future generations.

    If women participated in the economy on equal terms with men, it could add up to US$28 trillion to the international economy.

    So the whole world pays the price for the lack of gender equality.

    We pay that price in a world that is more dangerous, more divided, less stable, and poorer.

    And so it is in this context that today I release Australia’s International Gender Equality Strategy.

    The Strategy outlines how Australia is driving gender equality with action to end sexual and gender-based violence.

    Action to protect and advance women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

    Action to increase the security of women and girls and to ensure our humanitarian responses integrate the needs of women and girls.

    Action to improve women’s economic security, through social protection, financial inclusion, reform to workplace gender equality…

    And action to support women’s leadership, to drive change that benefits everyone.

    Now I’m sure some will try to delegitimise this strategy as being about a “special interest”.

    So I want to emphasise one thing the Prime Minister said – and something I believe passionately.

    Gender equality is not a “special interest”. Gender equality is a matter of national interest.

    Australia is always better off if our region and world is more prosperous and more secure.

    So as we advance our interests in the world, policies that contribute to the women and girls’ empowerment are not simply an appendix to the rest of our foreign policy.

    This Strategy reaffirms the centrality of Australia’s commitment to gender equality.

    Because gender equality benefits everyone.

    And when women march forward, the whole world makes progress.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy in the New York Post: Congress must defend freedom of dissent after Biden’s outrageous “debank” scandal

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today penned this op-ed in the New York Post arguing that Congress must stop federal regulators from pressuring banks to remove the accounts of their political adversaries.

    Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:

    “It’s not a crime to dissent from the woke agenda, but that didn’t stop the Biden administration’s financial regulators from treating people who disagree with it like terrorists.

    “For the past four years, the federal government has placed major banks under immense pressure to close accounts owned by conservative individuals and businesses with little notice or transparency. 

    “This practice—known as debanking—used to be reserved for crime organizations and money launderers.

    “Under President Biden, though, debanking became one of the federal government’s most effective censorship tools.

    “Without a bank account, Americans cannot receive direct deposits, pay many bills or securely transfer money.

    “In an increasingly cashless world, debanking doesn’t just shut a person out of his bank account—it shuts him out of society.

    “On Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing so Congress can begin to understand how widespread this abusive practice has become.”

    . . .

    “Fair-minded Americans know the federal government should not be enticing major banks to treat law-abiding citizens like terrorists.

    “That’s why I’ve introduced the No Red and Blue Banks Act, which would prohibit the federal government from contracting with banks that refuse to do business with companies solely because of political differences.” 

    . . . 

    “In America, you can believe what you want.

    “Congress must protect all law-abiding citizens from religious and political discrimination, including their ability to bank.”

    Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.

    The full text of the No Red and Blue Banks Act is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Risch, Crapo, Daines Lead Bill to Defend Firearm Businesses and the Second Amendment

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch

    Bill Prohibits Federal Government from Using Taxpayer Dollars to Enter into Contracts with Anti-Second Amendment Corporations?

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) introduced the Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination (FIND) Act to prohibit the federal government from entering into contracts with groups that discriminate unfairly against firearm associations or businesses.

    “We cannot allow businesses with anti-Second Amendment policies and rhetoric to benefit from taxpayer-funded government contracts,” said Risch.“The FIND Act ensures the federal government doesn’t line the pockets of businesses working against Idahoans’ right to keep and bear arms.”

    “Taxpayer dollars should not support businesses that unfairly target law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights. Full stop,” said Crapo.

    “Democrats and woke corporations have proven over and over again that they want to carry out an unconstitutional, overreaching gun-grabbing agenda, and under no circumstances should our federal government use taxpayer dollars for these efforts. Doing business with anti-Second Amendment corporations erodes Americans’ trust and infringes on law-abiding citizens’ Constitutional rights. It must stop,” said Daines.

    The legislation was cosponsored by Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Sabra Lane, AM on ABC Radio

    Source: Minister for Trade

    Sabra Lane: The US-China trade war is escalating, with Beijing imposing retaliatory tariffs and restrictions on critical mineral exports. Where does Australia stand? Senator Don Farrell is Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister and Special Minister of State. Minister, thanks for joining the program.

    Minister for Trade: Nice to be with you, Sabra.

    Sabra Lane: China has announced retaliatory action to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. They’re both Australia’s friends, but only one is an ally. Does the government back Mr Trump?

    Minister for Trade: We want to have a cool, calm and collected approach to this issue. We believe that we have a very strong argument to defend free and fair trade, and that’s the argument that we put to the Chinese Government. And at the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those impediments, namely crayfish, were sent back into China. When the opportunity arises, I’ll be putting exactly the same argument to my American counterpart that we support free and fair trade and it’s in the best interests of both our countries to continue to do that.

    Sabra Lane: Some say it’s shakedown diplomacy. You argue, and the government says, Australia is prepared, but a slowdown in China could affect Australia. How hard could this be?

    Minister for Trade: Well, it’s always possible that higher tariffs on Chinese products going into the United States will have an impact on the Australian economy. As I say, what Australia needs to do is to push issues that are in our national interest. We’re an island. We rely on trade to produce our prosperity. It’s been very successful in recent years. We’ve had record trade. One thing that this government has managed to do is to diversify our trading relationship. So, we now have new free trade agreements with the with the United Kingdom, with India. In fact, in the last few days, India made us a fresh offer to extend our free trade agreement. We’ve negotiated a new free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates. So, all around the world, we’re looking to diversify our trading relationship so that we’re not simply reliant on one or two countries to provide for our prosperity. We’re looking for a much broader relationship and we’ve been successful in that.

    Sabra Lane: Mr. Trump’s choice of Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick has not been confirmed just yet. Have you spoken with him yet or when do you expect to meet with him to discuss trade?

    Minister for Trade: No, I haven’t spoken with him yet, Sabra, but I have approached the person who will be his Chief of Staff. We’ve indicated that we are very keen to talk. under their system until you get approved by the Senate, you’re not in a position to discuss with other countries. But we’ve made it very clear, and the message that’s come back from Mr Lutnick is that he is very happy to talk with us as soon as he’s legally able to do that. And I hope to be, if not the first person or first overseas minister to speak with him, to be one of the first. And when we get that opportunity, we will push our argument in our national interests that we believe in free and fair trade. That there is no reason for the American Government to impose tariffs on Australia.

    Sabra Lane: We avoided them last time round on steel and aluminium. Are you confident that we can do that again?

    Minister for Trade: What I’m confident about, Sabra, is that we will push the issues that are in our national interest. One of the points I’ll be making to Mr Lutnick is that since President Trump was last in the White House, American sales to Australia have virtually doubled. So, free trade has been very good for the American businesses in Australia. Of course, it’s been good for us because we have increased our trade with the United States. But right at the moment, the balance is very much in the United States’ favour. We buy almost twice as much from the United States as we sell to them. So, I pose this question; why would you impose a tariff on a country where you’ve got a surplus? And, of course, that was the argument that former Prime Minister Turnbull used with Mr Trump last time. So, I think we’ve got a very strong argument. In Singapore mid-last year, we signed another trade agreement with the United States, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. So, we’ve been building strong relations with the United States over the last few years. And I think we have a very, very good and strong argument. And I want to do, I want to present that argument to the United States and ask for their serious consideration about what further action they might take.

    Sabra Lane: We have heard this morning with your Special Minister of State hat on, the group Advance is sending out material right now to voters that the Electoral Commission ruled at the last election was misleading. The group says it’s legal right now because it’s being sent before the writs have been issued. Do our laws need tightening to stop this kind of misleading material being sent all the time?

    Minister for Trade: Well, we’ve got laws to deal with the issue of truth in advertising in the electoral context.

    Sabra Lane: Well, this is getting through right now.

    Minister for Trade: Well, those laws haven’t yet passed. We’ve got legislation before the Parliament that’s coming on this Thursday. They’re trying to put downward pressure on the cost of Australian elections. We want every ordinary Australian to be able to participate in the electoral process. And as you saw earlier in the week, Sabra, there’s massive amounts of money going into the Australian electoral system. We want to stop that.

    Sabra Lane: Have you got to deal with the Coalition to get this passed?

    Minister for Trade: Well, I’m talking to everybody, Sabra, as I have been for the last couple of years. And I’m hopeful that this Senate, this week will see the merit in putting downward pressure on the amount of money that’s being spent in Australian elections. It’s interesting over the break, President Biden himself warned that we can’t have a situation where the billionaire oligarchs simply determine who gets into the Australian Parliament. Ordinary Australians, people like you and me, Sabra, have to be able to participate in the electoral process without having billionaire sponsors determining who will and won’t get into the Parliament. So, I’m hopeful that all the discussions I’ve had and I’ve, you know, met with all of the serious players in this space and I’m hopeful that the arguments that we’re presenting for putting downward pressure on the cost of Australian elections will be successful.

    Sabra Lane: Minister, thanks for joining us this morning.

    Minister for Trade: Nice talking with you, Sabra.

    Sabra Lane: That’s Don Farrell, the Minister for Trade and Tourism and the Special Minister of State.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Superseding Indictment Charges Chinese National in Relation to Alleged Plan to Steal Proprietary AI Technology

    Source: United States Attorneys General 12

    Note: View the superseding indictment here. 

    A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.

    Ding was initially indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment returned today describes seven categories of trade secrets stolen by Ding and charges Ding with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.

    According to the superseding indictment, Google hired Ding as a software engineer in 2019. Between approximately May 2022 and May 2023, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 unique files containing Google confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account, including the trade secrets alleged in the superseding indictment.

    While Ding was employed by Google, he secretly affiliated himself with two People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based technology companies. Around June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer for an early-stage technology company based in the PRC.  By May 2023, Ding had founded his own technology company focused on AI and machine learning in the PRC and was acting as the company’s CEO. 

    The superseding indictment alleges that Ding intended to benefit the PRC government by stealing trade secrets from Google. Ding allegedly stole technology relating to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models. The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and systems and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems, the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrates thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The trade secrets also pertain to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU, high performance, and cloud networking products.  

    As alleged, Ding circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of his technology company citing PRC national policies encouraging the development of the domestic AI industry. He also created a PowerPoint presentation containing an application to a PRC talent program based in Shanghai. The superseding indictment describes how PRC-sponsored talent programs incentivize individuals engaged in research and development outside the PRC to transmit that knowledge and research to the PRC in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives. Ding’s application for the talent program stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

    If convicted, Ding faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each trade-secret count and 15 years in prison and $5,000,000 fine for each economic-espionage count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Boome and Molly K. Priedeman for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

    Today’s action was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states.

    A superseding indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen of Denmark: 4 February 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Prime Minister hosted the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, at Downing Street this evening.

    The Prime Minister hosted the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, at Downing Street this evening.

    The leaders reflected on the EU Council dinner last night, and the Prime Minister said he was pleased to have been able to set out his vision for a closer UK and EU relationship that would benefit all sides through greater growth and enhanced defence and security cooperation.

    Both agreed on the need to strengthen European defence capabilities, including through NATO.

    Turning to security in the High North and Arctic region, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the important role Denmark was playing and welcomed their recent announcement of a new military package to defend the Arctic from hostile activity. 

    Both leaders agreed to step up joint cooperation to address threats in the Arctic and High North, working with allies through NATO and JEF Partners. 

    Turning to Ukraine, the Prime Minister welcomed the Danish Prime Minister’s reflections on the current battlefield situation and the leaders underscored the importance of supporting Ukraine’s forces for the long term, putting them in the strongest possible position.

    The Prime Minister welcomed Denmark’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, adding he looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Frederiksen during this time, including on the shared challenge of migration.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: PM meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen of Denmark: 4 February 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    The Prime Minister hosted the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, at Downing Street this evening.

    The Prime Minister hosted the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, at Downing Street this evening.

    The leaders reflected on the EU Council dinner last night, and the Prime Minister said he was pleased to have been able to set out his vision for a closer UK and EU relationship that would benefit all sides through greater growth and enhanced defence and security cooperation.

    Both agreed on the need to strengthen European defence capabilities, including through NATO.

    Turning to security in the High North and Arctic region, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the important role Denmark was playing and welcomed their recent announcement of a new military package to defend the Arctic from hostile activity. 

    Both leaders agreed to step up joint cooperation to address threats in the Arctic and High North, working with allies through NATO and JEF Partners. 

    Turning to Ukraine, the Prime Minister welcomed the Danish Prime Minister’s reflections on the current battlefield situation and the leaders underscored the importance of supporting Ukraine’s forces for the long term, putting them in the strongest possible position.

    The Prime Minister welcomed Denmark’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, adding he looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Frederiksen during this time, including on the shared challenge of migration.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Owning the Wrong Stuff

    Source: ACT Party

    The Haps

    David Seymour’s speech at the Treaty Grounds today is widely anticipated. This week’s Free Press covers other matters, but for a preview of ACT’s Treaty approach, you can read Seymour’s column in the Herald.

    The COVID Royal Commission, Mark II, designed by Brooke van Velden, is open to public submissions, and now there’s an online portal to make it easy. After Labour’s attempted whitewash, ACT campaigned for people to be able to say what they think about the lockdowns, mandates, and other public health measures. There will be another pandemic, probably not this decade but almost certainly this century, and lessons learned from this one could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

    If you don’t normally listen to Radio New Zealand, we understand. However Kathryn Ryan interviewed David Seymour for half an hour on the Regulatory Standards Bill, and we think it’s worth an exception.

    Owning the Wrong Stuff

    Last Monday we shared David Seymour’s State of the Nation speech. This week it is still in the headlines. How is this possible? The speech said two things people know deep down are true, but politicians are afraid to say.

    The Government owns the wrong stuff. Its books show $570 billion worth of assets, enough to build a four-lane highway from Whangarei to Invercargill six times, but you wouldn’t know it. The Government is having to downsize hospitals while the rest of the world is buying military hardware, and our roads and pipes need attention.

    Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the Government is invested in houses (60,000), a property valuation firm, farms, electricity generators, and sunset industries such as mail and television, among many other weird and wonderful things.

    Could it be an idea to, just maybe, just ask the question, without anyone getting their knickers in a knot: Does the Government own the right stuff. And if not, should it try selling some shares in power companies to invest in some roads and water treatment plants?

    Perhaps all Governments should think of ownership like this. Every year we ask what we own, what benefits the public get from it, and could the Government own something with greater public benefits for the same money? If the answer is yes, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change, then sell the thing that doesn’t pay and buy something that does.

    As for healthcare and education, the Government shells out a fortune, nearly $6,000 in healthcare for every single person each year. That’s up from $4,000 five years ago, but nobody’s happy. Perhaps it is time to say, if you want to take your $6,000 to a private insurer like Southern Cross, you can.

    There would have to be rules. The company would need to accept any patient who applied, without discrimination. The company could never cancel anyone’s policy. They would become responsible for all of the person’s care. Hospitals still owned by the Government would need to accept patients from any insurer at the same price.

    If this all sounds out there, fear not. It’s roughly how most healthcare systems in Europe work. It means that there would be people with an incentive to sort out the endless waste and dysfunction in what’s been described as our third world system run by first world medics.

    The Left say in a private system the poor miss out. Europeans would be surprised to hear this. What the Left don’t seem to get is this: You can have equal public funding, but allow competition to provide the service. Some would say the best of all worlds.

    Of course there is a reason why few politicians dare to raise these questions. The media have demanded to know from David Seymour exactly what he will sell tomorrow. They want a list. The hard Left say this is another Seymourian conspiracy, but they can’t say what. The Opposition have called on the Chris Luxon to rule out ever selling anything. Luxon says he won’t now but might in the future.

    There’s another reason why there are still articles in today’s papers, ten days after the speech was given. People know that, while New Zealand is a success story, as countries go, we’re not holding our ground at the moment. What we’re doing isn’t working.

    If we want to remain a first world nation and an island paradise—most countries can only do one—we need to work differently. That’s the other thing about Seymour’s speech, it told the truth we avoided all through the Clark-Key-Ardern era.

    As goes the Treaty Principles Bill, so goes this speech. This country needs a party that’s brave, articulate, and patriotic, and we’re glad we have ACT.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Massachusetts Member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Sentenced to 44 Years in Prison for Terrorism Offenses

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    Minh Quang Pham, also known as “Amim”, 41, of Massachusetts, was sentenced today to 44 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for attempted suicide bombing in alliance with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

    “The defendant was sentenced for an attempt to commit an act of terrorism and plotting a suicide bombing on behalf of AQAP,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will not rest in seeking justice for acts of terrorism and will continue to thwart any attempt to jeopardize global security.”

    “Pham coordinated with known terrorist Anwar al-Aulaqi on a plot to conduct a suicide bombing at Heathrow International Airport which could have killed or injured many people, but fortunately that plan was stopped,” said Assistant Director David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Pham also tried to recruit others to commit acts of terrorism. The FBI will work with our partners to hold accountable those who align themselves with terrorist organizations and attempt to carry out acts of violence.”

    “Minh Quang Pham’s actions were not just an affront to the safety of this country, but to the principles of peace and security that we hold dear,” said U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon for the Southern District of New York. “Today’s sentencing underscores our collective resolve to stop terrorism before it occurs, and place would-be terrorists in prison.”

    According to court documents, in December 2010, Pham informed others that he planned to travel to Ireland while residing in London. From Ireland, he traveled to Yemen, the principal base of operations for AQAP. Pham traveled to Yemen in order to join AQAP, wage jihad on behalf of AQAP, and martyr himself for AQAP’s cause. After arriving in Yemen, he swore an oath of loyalty to AQAP in the presence of an AQAP commander.

    While in Yemen in 2010 and 2011, Pham provided assistance to and received training from Anwar al-Aulaqi, a U.S.-born senior leader of AQAP. Al-Aulaqi advised Pham to return to the U.K. for the purpose of finding and making contact with individuals who, like Pham, wanted to travel to Yemen to join AQAP. Al-Aulaqi also provided Pham with money, as well as a telephone number and e-mail address that Pham was to use to contact al-Aulaqi upon his return to the U.K. In addition, Pham exchanged his laptop computer with al-Aulaqi, who provided him with a new “clean” laptop to take with him when he returned to the U.K. so that the authorities would not find anything if they searched his computer.

    In or about June 2011, prior to his departure from Yemen, Pham approached al-Aulaqi about conducting a suicide attack whereby he would “sacrifice” himself on behalf of AQAP. Al-Aulaqi personally taught Pham how to create a lethal explosive device using household chemicals and directed Pham to detonate such an explosive device at the arrivals area of Heathrow International Airport following Pham’s return to the U.K. in 2011. Al-Aulaqi instructed Pham to carry an explosive in a concealed backpack and target the area where flights arrived from the U.S. or Israel. During this time, Pham made videos depicting his preparation to carry out that attack. In one video, Pham is shown wiring an electrical device for the use of making an explosive device. In another video, he sketches an explosive device to be contained in a backpack, and in a third, Pham wears a backpack with wiring for explosives on it, which he turns on in the video.

    During this time, around June or July 2011 — shortly before Pham returned from Yemen to the U.K. — Pham recorded a video in which he attempted to recruit and encourage individuals in the West to engage in violent jihad abroad or in their home countries. In this video, he also expresses a desire to martyr himself. At the outset of this video, consisting of an approximately 13-minute-long monologue, Pham states that, “America itself is not fighting a war with a group or an organization, they are fighting with the army of Allah, the believers.” He continues, in part, “We have that opportunity, that ability to be in their midst, in their land . . . and I advise the brothers inshallah to, whatever you can, to gather and prepare and strike the enemy in their own land . . . The saying, a thousand cuts, you hit them with as much as you can until inshallah the enemy will bleed to death.” During his time in Yemen, Pham also assisted with the preparation and dissemination of AQAP’s propaganda magazine, Inspire. Pham, who has college degrees in both graphic design and animation, worked directly with now-deceased U.S. citizen, Samir Khan, who was a prominent member of AQAP responsible for editing and publishing Inspire.  

    Pham also received a six-page document entitled “Your Instructions” from al-Aulaqi in Yemen, which provided detailed instructions on how Pham was to commit his suicide attack at Heathrow. The document from al-Aulaqi instructed Pham, “[d]o not do anything for the first three months” and “[y]ou should target Christmas/ New Year season[.]” The instructions from al-Aulaqi provided explicit direction about the importance of using shrapnel to kill as many people as possible, including that “[t]he proper use of shrapnel is as important as the main charge itself. The detonation wave from a main charge of AP by itself is most likely not going to cause the death of anyone except those who are in its immediate vicinity. It is the shrapnel that would do the job. You may imagine this IED as a shotgun that is firing in all directions.” The document therefore instructed Pham to take “special care” with the “proper arrangement and choice of shrapnel,” and to “poison” it to inflict maximum death.

    On July 27, 2011, Pham returned to the U.K. Upon his arrival at Heathrow, U.K. authorities detained Pham, searched him, and recovered various materials from him, including a live round of 7.62mm caliber armor-piercing ammunition, which is consistent with ammunition that is used in a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a type of weapon for which Pham received training from AQAP in Yemen. U.K. authorities released Pham and cautioned him for his possession of the live round of ammunition, before, in December 2011, arresting him pursuant to their authorities under U.K. immigration law. In searches of Pham’s residence, other locations, and vehicles, U.K. authorities recovered several pieces of electronic media. Among other things, a forensic analysis of Pham’s electronic media showed that he was accessing speeches and writings of al-Aulaqi as late as December 2011 — months after Pham’s return to the U.K.

    On May 24, 2012, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Pham with terrorism offenses and U.S. authorities sought Pham’s extradition from the U.K. He was provisionally arrested with a view towards extradition on June 29, 2012, and he was extradited to the United States on Feb. 26, 2015. On Jan. 8, 2016, Pham pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses related to certain of the same underlying conduct. On May 27, 2016, Pham was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan principally to a term of 40 years in prison. On Sept. 12, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Pham’s conviction and sentence. Thereafter, Pham made a motion that, based on intervening Supreme Court decisions, resulted in the vacatur of one of the counts of his conviction. Ultimately, the government, with Pham’s consent, moved to vacate Pham’s earlier convictions. On April 8, 2021, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment, reinstating certain charges and filing other new charges against Pham, and which formed the basis for Pham’s May 11, 2023, guilty plea and conviction.

    The FBI Washington and New York Field Offices investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Metropolitan Police Service/SO 15 Counter Terrorism Command at New Scotland Yard, Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office provided assistance in the investigation, extradition, and prosecution of the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob H. Gutwillig for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney John Cella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. 

    MIL OSI USA News –