NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pulsed Laser Metrology Workshop

    Source: US Government research organizations

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology is sponsoring a one-and-a-half-day workshop bringing together international experts from industry, academia, and government organizations to identify key optical metrology needs for extreme pulsed lasers (high peak power Terawatt to Petawatt class or high pulse energies).

    Goals:

    • Develop a list of key optical measurements for these pulsed lasers including achievable measurement uncertainty.
    • Identify the roadblocks preventing researchers from being able to report trusted error bars for these measurements.
    • Outline next steps to improving these measurement capabilities.
    • Generate a publicly available report from the information gathered above.

    Format: A series of invited talks on extreme pulsed laser metrology needs along with break-out groups to generate recommendations. All talks are “Invited” with an emphasis on discussion. In this true workshop format the attendees will be as important as the speakers. Attendance is limited to 30-50 participants.

    Workshop program committee:

    • Luis Miaja-Avila (Co-chair, NIST)
    • Paul Williams (Co-chair, NIST)
    • David Garand (Sydor Technologies)
    • Bryan Holtsberry (U.S. Army)
    • Hiromitsu Kiriyama (QST)
    • Daniel Kramer (ELI Beamlines)
    • Mike Litos (University of Colorado)
    • Marco Lopez (PTB)
    • Daniel Short (U.S. Army)

    Boulder Courtyard by Marriott 
    4710 Pearl E Cir, Boulder, CO 80301
    Room Block for Pulse laser Metrology Workshop

    Courtyard Boulder for 173.00 USD per night – Last Day to Book : Wednesday, July 16, 2025

    Please use this link to book your room 

    Link:
    Book your group rate for NIST Pulsed Lase Metrology Wkshp

    Note: for questions regarding your reservation please reach out to Jennifer Ford | jennifer.g.ford [at] marriott.com (jennifer[dot]g[dot]ford[at]marriott[dot]com)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Trump imposes 50% tariffs on Brazil after spat with Lula

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. would impose a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil after a spat this week with his Brazilian counterpart who called him an unwanted “emperor.”

    Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired back on Wednesday, saying new tariffs would be met with reciprocal measures.

    In a letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup to stop Lula from taking office in 2023.

    The levies were imposed due “in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans,” the letter said.

    Brazil’s real currency added to earlier losses to fall over 2% against the dollar after the announcement, and companies such as planemaker Embraer EMBR3.SA and oil major Petrobras PETR4.SA also suffered setbacks in the stock market.

    Lula, his vice-president, his finance minister, and others held an emergency meeting in Brasilia on Wednesday night to discuss the new levies.

    In a lengthy post to social media after the meeting, Lula said Trump’s accusations that trade between the two countries was unfair to the U.S. were false, stressing the U.S. runs a trade surplus against Brazil.

    “Sovereignty, respect, and the unwavering defense of the interests of the Brazilian people are the values that guide our relationship with the world,” Lula wrote.

    The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China and the tariffs are a major increase from the 10% announced in April. Trump’s letter said the 50% tariff will start August 1 and will be separate from all sectoral tariffs.

    On Monday, Lula pushed back against Trump after the U.S. leader threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on the BRICS group of developing nations, which he called “anti-American.”

    “The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor,” Lula told reporters when asked at a BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro about the possible BRICS tariff.

    BOLSONARO ‘WITCH HUNT’

    Tensions between the United States and Brazil had already intensified on Wednesday after Brazil’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. Embassy chargé d’affaires over a statement defending Bolsonaro.

    Around the same time, Trump, speaking to reporters at an event with West African leaders at the White House, said Brazil “has not been good to us, not good at all,” adding the tariff rates would be based on “very, very substantial facts” and past history.

    The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia confirmed on Wednesday its chargé d’affaires had a meeting with officials from Brazil’s foreign ministry, though it declined to share details about the conversation.

    Trump’s support for Bolsonaro echoed his support for other global leaders who have faced domestic legal cases like French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has called cases against those leaders a “witch hunt,” a term he used for cases he faced himself in the U.S. after the end of his first term in office.

    Trump said in a social media post on Monday that Bolsonaro was the victim of such a “witch hunt.” The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia issued a statement on Wednesday to the local press echoing his remarks.

    “The political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his family and his supporters is shameful and disrespectful of Brazil’s democratic traditions,” it said.

    In a post on social media, Bolsonaro did not mention Trump, but said he “is persecuted because he remains alive in the public consciousness. Even out of power, he remains the most remembered—and most feared—name.”

    In his letter, Trump also directed U.S. Trade Representative James Greer to initiate a probe into what he called unfair trade practices by Brazil, particularly on U.S. companies’ digital trade. Trump also criticized decisions from Brazil’s Supreme Court that he said censored social media firms.

    Brazil’s Supreme Court has long been criticized by Bolsonaro’s allies for ordering social media websites to take down content from leaders of their far-right movement. The court also imposed more responsibilities on those companies last month.

    In his post on Wednesday, Lula rebuffed Trump’s accusations of a witch hunt and said the case against Bolsonaro was up for the courts to decide and not subject to any “threats that could compromise the independence of national institutions.”

    Lula also defended his country’s Supreme Court and its ruling on social media and said “freedom of expression must not be confused with aggression or violent practice.”

    IMPACT ON FOOD EXPORTS

    The tariffs on Brazil could have a significant impact on food prices in the United States. Around a third of the coffee consumed in the U.S., the world’s largest drinker of the beverage, comes from Brazil, which is the world’s largest coffee grower. Annual Brazilian coffee exports to the U.S. are close to 8 million bags, according to industry groups.

    More than half of the orange juice sold in the U.S. comes from Brazil, which has an 80% share of the juice’s global trade. The South American agricultural powerhouse also sells sugar, beef and ethanol to the U.S., among other products.

    “This measure impacts not only Brazil, but the whole U.S. juice industry that employs thousands of people and has had Brazil as its main supplier for decades,” said Ibiapaba Netto, the executive director of Brazilian orange juice industry group CitrusBR.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-Evening Report: Envoy’s plan to fight antisemitism would put universities on notice over funding

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has recommended universities that fail to properly deal with the issue should have government funding terminated.

    In her Plan to Combat Antisemitism, launched Thursday, Segal says she will prepare a report card “assessing each university’s implementation of effective practices and standards”.

    This would cover complaints systems and whether the campus and online environment “is conducive to Jewish students and staff participating actively and equally in university life”.

    “Should significant problems remain at universities by the start of the 2026 academic year, as assessed by the Envoy’s report card, a dedicated judicial inquiry should be undertaken to address systemic issues,” the Envoy’s report says.

    That should include “investigation of foreign sources of funding for antisemitic activities and academics at universities”.

    “Universities must embrace cultural change to end their tolerance for anti-semitic conduct,” the Segal report says.

    It says the envoy will work with government to enable funding “to be withheld, where possible, from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism”.

    The envoy also wants public grants to university centres, academics or researchers to be subject to termination if the recipient engages in antisemitic or other hateful speech or actions.

    In the wake of the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israelis, and Israel’s military response in Gaza, a number of Australian universities saw big pro-Palestinian protests, including encampments. At some universities Jewish students and staff felt unsafe going to classes or to their offices.

    More generally, antisemitism has been rife since the October attacks, with most recently a spate of incidents in Melbourne in the last week. These included setting fire to the door of a synagogue and protesters rampaging through a restaurant that is part of an Israeli chain.

    The envoy’s report was launched at a joint press conference attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, and Segal.

    The ambitious plan is broad, also covering security, law enforcement, and online regulation among other areas.

    But it is unclear how much of it the government will take up.

    Asked whether the government was committed to the plan “in full”, Albanese was noncommittal.

    “We welcome the plan, to be very clear. Some of the plan requires a long-term approach, some of it requires action by state governments, some of it requires action by society.

    “What we will do is work constructively with the envoy,” he said.

    “This isn’t something that is okay on the 10th of July, done, tick, and we move on. This will be a process.”

    The plan includes embedding Holocaust and antisemitism education in school curricula.

    Research the envoy commissioned found a substantial difference between the attitudes of Australians under 35 and those older. These reflected differences between the generations in media consumption and perceptions younger people have of the Middle East the the Jewish community.

    “There also appears to be generational differences in the understanding of the Holocaust and its impacts on society,” the report says.

    The envoy flags her intention, with the support of government, to “review, and where appropriate strengthen federal, state and territory legislation addressing antisemitism and other hateful or intimidatory conduct”.

    Among the recommendations is the removal of tax deduction status from any charitable institution which promotes speakers or engages in conduct that promotes antisemitism.

    The report says that from October 2023 to September 2024 antisemitic incidents increased by 316%, with more than 2,000 cases reported. These included threats, assaults, vandalism and intimidation.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Envoy’s plan to fight antisemitism would put universities on notice over funding – https://theconversation.com/envoys-plan-to-fight-antisemitism-would-put-universities-on-notice-over-funding-259685

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Politics with Michelle Grattan: Larissa Waters on why we deserve more than a government that just tinkers

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The Greens had a poor election. They lost three of their four lower house seats including that of their leader Adam Bandt. This despite their overall vote remaining mostly steady. But they did retain all their Senate spots – though later they lost a senator through her defection to Labor – and they now effectively have the sole balance of power in the Senate.

    The Greens last term played hard ball on various pieces of legislation like the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), wanting to gain more concessions from the government. They prioritised issues such as the difficulties facing renters as well as the war in Gaza.

    With the government’s big win at the election, how hard will the Greens push on legislation this term, and how will the party fare under new leadership?

    To answer these questions and to tell us about her plans, the greens new leader, Larissa Waters, joins the podcast.

    On what drives her Waters says,

    I’ve certainly spent my working life trying to empower the community, to protect the planet. And I’m a really proud feminist and I’ve been really excited by the work that I’ve been able to do on gender equality and women’s safety for the last 10 years in that portfolio. But I’m a really strong advocate for a fairer society.

    On reforms she wants to get done in parliament, Waters says the focus should be on delivery,

    I would like for the parliament to not just spend its time as a kind of peacocking about, talking about ourselves, and actually spend its time delivering for people. I think that’s the least people could expect is that the collective focus of the parliament be about how we can help community members and nature.

    We remain willing to work on reforms that will help people and will help the planet. And I think there’s a lot of people who are waiting to see how this parliament works and who are really hoping that with such an overwhelming number of seats […] the Labor Party will use their numbers in the parliament to do good things. And I think there’ll be a lot of broken hearts if they don’t find the courage to do what’s needed.

    Asked about the recent antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and the broader issue of pro-Palestine protests, Waters explains where she stands.

    Well firstly, can I say that the places of worship should always be off-limits for protest activity and I think that’s not a controversial statement. But can I also say that a lot of people feel really strongly about human rights and Gaza and Palestine and the Greens are really proud that we have always stood to end the genocide. And we think that Australia should play a stronger role in terms of sanctioning [Benjamin Netanyahu’s] war cabinet and that regime and for there to be a lasting peace in that region.

    On AUKUS and the US alliance more broadly Water’s isn’t shy with her criticism,

    We are wasting A$370 billion on nuclear submarines that actually may never even eventuate and that the US is now reconsidering their provision to us anyway. The whole thing is speculative and a massive waste of money, importantly, that makes us less safe. I think hitching our wagon to the increasingly unstable US administration under particularly the current president, is not how we make ourselves safe. And I certainly don’t think we should be taking any lectures from Donald Trump about how much money we should spending on defence.

    We remain of the view, as we have been for decades, that Australia deserves an independent foreign policy, one that shamelessly puts our own interests at heart and front and centre, and is not just when the US says jump we say how high, that doesn’t make the world safer.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Larissa Waters on why we deserve more than a government that just tinkers – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-larissa-waters-on-why-we-deserve-more-than-a-government-that-just-tinkers-260812

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chair Ernst Leads Senate in Confirming William Briggs at SBA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) urged her Senate colleagues to confirm Mr. William Briggs to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration to continue restoring strong leadership at the agency.
    After she spoke, the Senate confirmed Briggs by a vote of 49-45.
    Earlier this year, Ernst led the charge to advance Briggs’ nomination out of committee and touted the new direction at the SBA as the driving force behind renewed optimism on Main Street.
    Watch Chair Ernst’s full remarks here.
    Ernst full remarks:
    “Today the Senate will have the opportunity to advance the nomination of Mr. William Briggs to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
    “I strongly urge my colleagues to vote yes in support of his nomination.
    “As Chair of the Small Business Committee, I have had the honor of getting to know Mr. Briggs and have seen firsthand what he brings to the table.
    “He is sharp, he is steady, and he is the right person for this job. 
    “Throughout the Committee’s rigorous nomination process, Mr. Briggs showed up prepared, he was respectful, and ready to engage.
    “The professionalism and seriousness with which he approached the Committee made it clear that he would be ready to lead on day one.  
    “In fact, Mr. Briggs is no stranger to the responsibilities of SBA leadership, having previously served as the Acting Administrator of the Office of Capital Access. 
    “During his nomination hearing, he emphasized how his previous work rolling out the Paycheck Protection Program equipped him with practical knowledge and the necessary experience to effectively root out fraud and waste throughout the SBA.
    “As we continue to uncover and pursue fraud, it is critical that we have a Deputy Administrator who can identify and evade pitfalls while simultaneously ensuring the agency’s day-to-day operations are running smoothly.
    “Mr. Briggs has also committed to working hand-in-hand with SBA’s field offices to ensure that small businesses from any community – instead of just certain demographics – can access the support that they deserve. 
    “This position isn’t just professional for Mr. Briggs, but it’s also personal.
    “As a former entrepreneur who ran two small businesses, he knows what it’s like to balance the books, tackle red tape, and manage employees.
    “He also understands the pressures and uncertainty that so many small business owners face every single day. 
    “The one-two punch of his government experience and private sector entrepreneurship makes Mr. Briggs the perfect candidate to help Administrator Loeffler make the SBA more accountable, more efficient, more transparent, and more focused on its core mission: which is helping America’s job creators succeed.  
    “Let’s give Main Street America someone who will fight with them, and for them.
    “Again, I urge all of my colleagues to support Mr. Briggs’ nomination for Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Charged with Smuggling Protected Toucans

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Carlos Abundez of San Ysidro, California, appeared in federal court today to face charges that he smuggled 14 live, bound Keel-billed toucans concealed inside the dashboard of his Volkswagen Passat.

    Federal agents detained Abundez at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry after a Customs and Border Protection canine showed a change of behavior while screening the car. When a CBP officer further inspected the car, the officer found a bound bird, wrapped in cloth, duct taped to the underneath of the dash.

    At the time, the officer did not know what the object was until it began to move and flutter. Officers then pried open the side panel of the dashboard and discovered a total of 14 sedated juvenile Keel-billed toucans concealed within the compartment.

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents and inspectors responded to the scene.  A wildlife inspector identified the birds as Keel-billed toucans of the species Ramphastos sulfuratus. The 14 birds were identified as juveniles. Some had injuries including broken tails and a broken leg.

    The birds were initially cared for by Veterinary Services at the southern border, before being transferred to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine. The birds are now reported to be in stable condition.

    Keel-billed toucans are native to southern Mexico down through Ecuador, including Venezuela, Columbia and Nicaragua. Because of their threatened status as a species, Keel-billed toucans are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (“CITES”), an international treaty among approximately 183 governments, including the United States and Mexico, to protect fish, wildlife, and plants that may become threatened with extinction. They are illicitly sold as pets and can cost up to $5,000 per bird.

    The arrest follows the recent prosecution of three other individuals caught smuggling Amazon parrots and parakeets through the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry, highlighting a troubling pattern of illegal wildlife trade through Southern California.

    “Smuggling endangered birds by sedating them, binding their beaks, and hiding them in car compartments is not just cruel—it’s criminal,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “This disturbing trend of trafficking exotic wildlife through Southern California ports poses a serious threat to public health and agriculture. These birds bypass mandatory quarantine and screening, potentially carrying devastating diseases like avian influenza. We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who treat living creatures as contraband and put our communities and ecosystems at risk.”

    Avian influenza (bird flu), for instance, can spread through feathers, droppings, or even airborne particles and has previously caused massive culls of farm birds in the U.S. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia and death in humans and other birds including birds in United States poultry farms.  Many other diseases that can be transmitted from different animals and can have disastrous effects, that is why it is necessary to quarantine animals entering the United States to limit and safeguard against this potential disease transmission.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Jimenez.

    DEFENDANT                                                Case Number 25-mj-3726                           

    Carlos Abundez                                              Age: 35                                   San Ysidro, CA

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Smuggling Merchandise – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    Importation Contrary to Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    INVESTIGATING AGENCY

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Charged with Smuggling Protected Toucans

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Carlos Abundez of San Ysidro, California, appeared in federal court today to face charges that he smuggled 14 live, bound Keel-billed toucans concealed inside the dashboard of his Volkswagen Passat.

    Federal agents detained Abundez at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry after a Customs and Border Protection canine showed a change of behavior while screening the car. When a CBP officer further inspected the car, the officer found a bound bird, wrapped in cloth, duct taped to the underneath of the dash.

    At the time, the officer did not know what the object was until it began to move and flutter. Officers then pried open the side panel of the dashboard and discovered a total of 14 sedated juvenile Keel-billed toucans concealed within the compartment.

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents and inspectors responded to the scene.  A wildlife inspector identified the birds as Keel-billed toucans of the species Ramphastos sulfuratus. The 14 birds were identified as juveniles. Some had injuries including broken tails and a broken leg.

    The birds were initially cared for by Veterinary Services at the southern border, before being transferred to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine. The birds are now reported to be in stable condition.

    Keel-billed toucans are native to southern Mexico down through Ecuador, including Venezuela, Columbia and Nicaragua. Because of their threatened status as a species, Keel-billed toucans are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (“CITES”), an international treaty among approximately 183 governments, including the United States and Mexico, to protect fish, wildlife, and plants that may become threatened with extinction. They are illicitly sold as pets and can cost up to $5,000 per bird.

    The arrest follows the recent prosecution of three other individuals caught smuggling Amazon parrots and parakeets through the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry, highlighting a troubling pattern of illegal wildlife trade through Southern California.

    “Smuggling endangered birds by sedating them, binding their beaks, and hiding them in car compartments is not just cruel—it’s criminal,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “This disturbing trend of trafficking exotic wildlife through Southern California ports poses a serious threat to public health and agriculture. These birds bypass mandatory quarantine and screening, potentially carrying devastating diseases like avian influenza. We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who treat living creatures as contraband and put our communities and ecosystems at risk.”

    Avian influenza (bird flu), for instance, can spread through feathers, droppings, or even airborne particles and has previously caused massive culls of farm birds in the U.S. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia and death in humans and other birds including birds in United States poultry farms.  Many other diseases that can be transmitted from different animals and can have disastrous effects, that is why it is necessary to quarantine animals entering the United States to limit and safeguard against this potential disease transmission.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Jimenez.

    DEFENDANT                                                Case Number 25-mj-3726                           

    Carlos Abundez                                              Age: 35                                   San Ysidro, CA

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Smuggling Merchandise – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    Importation Contrary to Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    INVESTIGATING AGENCY

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • PM Modi greets Rajnath Singh on his birthday, praising his hard work and wisdom

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended greetings to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on his birthday and said that he has distinguished himself for his hardworking nature and wisdom. PM Modi praised the Defence Minister’s efforts to make India self-reliant in defence.

    “Best wishes to Union Minister Shri Rajnath Singh Ji on his birthday. He’s distinguished himself for his hardworking nature and wisdom. His efforts to make India self-reliant in defence and strengthen our armed forces are commendable. Praying for his long and healthy life,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

    Rajnath Singh was born on this day in 1951 in the Bhabhuara village of Uttar Pradesh. He is one of the senior-most political leaders in the country, having entered politics in 1974 and in 1977 was elected as an MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. In October 2000, he became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He was the Union Minister of Surface Transport in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre. In 2003, Singh became Minister of Agriculture in Vajpayee’s cabinet at the Centre.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) elected Rajnath Singh as the party president for the term 2013 to 1015. As the BJP National President, he embarked on the Bharat Suraksha Yatra.

    In 2014, he became the Union Minister of Home Affairs in the Narendra Modi government, and in 2019, he was made the Defence Minister of the country. He continued with the portfolio in 2024 when the PM Modi-led NDA retained power at the Centre for the third term.

    Extending his birthday greetings, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Rajnath Singh was an epitome of ideals, integrity, and restraint in Indian politics.

    “ … heartfelt birthday greetings to the Honorable Defense Minister Shri @rajnathsingh ji! Your public life of over five decades is a shining example of national policy, national security, and ethical politics. May the grace of Lord Shri Ram remain upon you. May you be blessed with excellent health and a long life,” wrote CM Yogi on his X handle

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior: A reminder of the power of persistence and resistance, hope and action, to change the world

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Auckland, New Zealand – 40 years ago today, Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk in Auckland Harbour by French secret service agents in an operation that murdered photographer Fernando Pereira. The commemoration coincides with Greenpeace resisting a new wave of attacks from the billionaires and corporate polluters who plunder our precious planet. 

    The bombing was an attempt to silence anti-nuclear protests in the Pacific. It backfired, igniting a global outcry and galvanising a movement. “You Can’t Sink a Rainbow” became a rallying call for resistance. It was a call to courage, putting hope into action for a better world.

    Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International Executive Director, said:

    “Whether forty years ago or today, Greenpeace will resist, we will persist, and we will win. Alongside our allies, and inspired by the courage of those who came before us, the global community of people working together in hope and for each other will prevail over those who plunder the planet for profit and power.”

    “This anniversary is a moment to remember Fernando Pereira. It is a moment to remember that when we join together, we can, and have changed the world for the better.”

    “In 1985, the French government wasn’t just trying to sink a ship – it was attempting to sink a movement, to attack activism, and to silence the voice of hope. They failed. They blew wind in our sails.”

    “Greenpeace and the movement refused to back down and continued to campaign against nuclear testing until, in 1996, we won.”

    “In 2025, civil society is under increased attacks from billionaires and fossil fuel companies trying to silence dissent, but we will show again that hope rises as we join together to meet this moment with increased unity and courage”.

    In 1985, the Rainbow Warrior had just helped relocate the people of Rongelap to Mejatto. The 300 Marshall Islanders were suffering severe health effects – including radiation sickness, birth defects, and high cancer rates – as a consequence of the fallout from the notorious 1954 US Castle Bravo nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll.

    The crew then sailed to Auckland to join protests against French nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific. The Rainbow Warrior was to lead a flotilla of boats into the test zone to disrupt and draw international attention to atmospheric nuclear tests.

    In the wake of the bombing protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the Rainbow Warrior II.

    In 1995 the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to President Jacques Chirac announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing and signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996.

    ENDS

    Notes:

    Pictures and video of the Rainbow Warrior lit up as a “beacon of resistance”

    Contacts:

    Simon Black, Greenpeace International:  +61 420 488 219, [email protected]

    Nick Young, Greenpeace Aotearoa: +6421707727, [email protected]

    Greenpeace International Press Desk, [email protected], phone: +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand launches Anti-Scam Alliance

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Important progress in the fight against online financial scams has been made with the launch of a new initiative between government, industry and consumer groups, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson says. 
    “It is unacceptable that so many Kiwis are swindled by scammers every day,” Mr Simpson says. 
    “Some reports suggest scams cost the economy up to $2 billion annually, and it is crucial we get on top of the problem. 
    “That is why I’m pleased to announce the New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance – a new national effort that seeks to reduce the number of Kiwis falling victim to online financial scams.
    “Up until this point New Zealand’s anti-scam efforts have developed in an ad-hoc way and suffered from a lack of coordination. We frequently hear that real-time information on scams is sourced from different areas across government and the private sector, making for a fragmented, and often, slow response.
    “The Alliance addresses this by establishing a formal structure for government agencies, banks, telecommunications companies, digital platforms sectors, and consumer groups to share data about scams and shut them down in real-time. 
    “By better coordinating our efforts across industry and government, we should be able to seal up the cracks that scammers are slipping through.
    “The Alliance has also agreed to take coordinated action to update industry codes, strengthen consumer protections and educate Kiwis about how to protect themselves from scams.
    “The Anti Scam Alliance represents a significant step forward and is the first in a series of actions that will strengthen New Zealand’s scam defences. However, there is more work to do.
    “The Government is also exploring other initiatives to support this work, including amending the Fair Trading Act so that government and industry can have the confidence to proactively share scam-related intelligence and collaborate on disruption initiatives without breaching competition or privacy laws.
    “There is no silver bullet to address scams, but by working together across sectors to disrupt scams, we can significantly shift the dial.”
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Yemen: Escalation threatens fragile stability amid Red Sea attacks | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (video statements)

    Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg recognized that “for some – on both sides of the conflict – the appetite for a military escalation remains.”

    Briefing the Security Council today (9 Jul) Grundberg said, “We are now with grave concern seeing an escalation in the Red Sea with attacks on two commercial ships earlier this week by Ansar Allah, resulting in civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage. These were the first attacks on commercial vessels in over seven months. In response, Israeli air strikes have hit Sana’a earlier in the reporting period as well as the ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and Salif and a power station on Sunday.”

    He added, “Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country. The stakes for Yemen are simply too high.”

    He highlighted, “There has been a continuation of military activity in governorates such as Al Dhale’a, Al Jawf, Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Sa’dah. I am also concerned about troop movements towards Al Dhale’a, Ma’rib and Ta’iz. I recognise that for some – on both sides of the conflict – the appetite for a military escalation remains. A military solution, however, remains a dangerous illusion that risks deep ening Yemen’s suffering.”

    He stressed, “It is urgent to move forward as time is not on our side. The longer the conflict is drawn out, the more complex it becomes.”

    Turning to economy, Grundberg stated that across Yemen, “the little money people do have in their hands is either falling in value or literally falling apart.”

    Grundberg stressed, “A positive shift towards greater stability in the region would certainly be welcome and could help create an environment for Yemen to move forward — but this cannot be a precondition for change. Yemen must advance regardless.”

    He concluded by reiterating his call for the unconditional and immediate release “by Ansar Allah of all those arbitrarily detained from the United Nations, national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions. The number of cases requiring urgent medical attention are increasing. They need access to medical assistance. They need to be home with their families. We will not let this issue drop. Our detained colleagues are not forgotten, not by me or my mission, nor by all of us in the UN working tirelessly for the sake of the Yemeni population.”

    According to the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher the food security crisis in Yemen has been steadily accelerating since late 2023.

    “Today, more than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry. That number could climb to over 18 million between September and February,” he said

    Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, stated, “We reaffirm that the success of any political approach to achieving peace and ending the Yemeni crisis requires addressing the roots of this crisis—particularly, the coup by the Houthi militias against the state, its constitutional institutions, the national consensus, and the aspirations of the Yemeni people—and therefore there is a need to stop the destructive approach of these militias destabilizing Yemen, the region, and the world.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCwOUnnG9TE

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: D. Trump announced the introduction of 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    NEW YORK, July 9 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday afternoon that goods imported from Brazil will be subject to a 50 percent tariff starting Aug. 1.

    D. Trump posted a letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his social media platform Truth Social, in which he said that “in part because of Brazil’s insidious attacks on free elections and the fundamental rights of Americans to free speech… we will be imposing a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian goods shipped to the United States.”

    Trump announced new tariffs on 14 countries on Monday and another seven on Wednesday, with rates ranging from 20 percent to 40 percent. Brazil’s tariff was the highest so far in this round. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Australian clean energy innovators showcase solutions in India

    Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies

    The latest of the Albanese Labor Government’s new trade and investment missions took place in India this week building on the government’s commitment to create jobs and drive growth through stronger international partnerships.

    This mission, one of five announced by the Prime Minister in April, will be attended by 30 delegates from across 22 innovative Australian companies, showcasing Australia’s cutting-edge clean energy solutions.

    Led by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in partnership with the New South Wales and Victorian Governments, and supported by Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, the mission will deepen our energy cooperation with one of our most important trade and investment partners.

    Australia is a world leader in clean energy innovation, and businesses are well placed to partner with India as it transitions to a low-emissions future. India has set a commendable target to install 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, and Australian companies can play a key role in supporting that growth while opening up significant export opportunities.

    Trade missions such as these are a critical part of the Government’s strategy to diversify and strengthen Australia’s trade and investment relationships. They showcase the best of Australian innovation to the world and deliver concrete commercial outcomes for our exporters.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Breakout Sessions, Speakers Finalized for 2025 Governor’s Summit in Kearney

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    . Breakout session topics and speakers are now finalized for Thursday, Aug. 14 — the main day of the event. Breakout session information is listed on the Governor’s Summit agenda at govsummit.nebraska.gov/agenda.

    This year, the Governor’s Summit will feature three breakout tracks: (1) Workforce, (2) Manufacturing, and (3) the Bioeconomy. Gov. Pillen will host a roundtable for manufacturers during the 9:00 a.m. breakout session. The Governor will also lead a panel of state leaders over the lunch hour. The panel will highlight process improvements in state government that are translating into savings for Nebraskans.

    The 2025 Governor’s Summit kicks off on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 13 with an update on the 6 Regions, One Nebraska initiative. The Governor’s Office, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, and Nebraska Department of Economic Development co-launched the initiative in 2024 to encourage cooperation, rather than competition, among neighboring communities. Over the past 12+ months, each region has undertaken initial projects, supported by state funding, to tackle issues like housing, workforce, and childcare shortages.

    On Wednesday evening, the Nebraska Diplomats will host their annual awards banquet at the Governor’s Summit. Gov. Pillen will provide remarks and present awards to individuals, businesses, and communities who have made significant contributions to the state’s growth.

    Husker football coach Matt Rhule will headline Thursday morning’s plenary session of the Governor’s Summit. Participants will then attend breakout sessions, both before and after lunch, on various topics related to workforce development, manufacturing, and the bioeconomy.

    This year’s Governor’s Summit will coincide with the first-ever Youth Summit for high school students and recent graduates. The Youth Summit is designed to connect students with rewarding career opportunities in Nebraska. Attendees will meet one-on-one with colleges and employers, gaining privileged access to internships, scholarships, and jobs available within the state.

    For the Governor’s Summit agenda and registration information, go to govsummit.nebraska.gov.

    More information about the Youth Summit is available at govsummit.nebraska.gov/youth.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 10, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 10, 2025.

    How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity laws
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University Moor Studio / Getty Images Last week, Australian airline Qantas announced cyber attackers had accessed personal data about some of its customers. The company later confirmed that 5.7 million customer records were involved. The attackers targeted an

    Cyber crime and real-world crime are converging in a dangerous new way – here’s how to stay safe
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jongkil Jay Jeong, Senior Fellow, School of Computing and Information System, The University of Melbourne It starts with a call from someone claiming to be your bank. They know your name. They know your bank. They even know your credit card number. There’s been “unusual activity” on

    Labor leads in two Victorian state polls, but Premier Jacinta Allan’s approval tanks
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Labor leads in Victorian state polls by Newspoll and Redbridge, but Premier Jacinta Allan is very unpopular. Two federal polls give Labor big leads and a Tasmanian

    Cannabinoid products may reduce total sleep time in adults with insomnia: new study
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camilla Hoyos, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Macquarie University Lysenko Andrii/Shutterstock You might have heard cannabis and cannabinoid products can help people sleep. Data shows one of the top reasons people use cannabis is to help them sleep. But there’s a dearth of

    Planning a ‘Euro summer’ or cruise? Why another flu shot might save your holiday
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Janetzki, Lecturer in Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South Australia DavideAngelini/Shutterstock Are you escaping a southern hemisphere winter by heading off for a “Euro summer”? Maybe you’re planning a cruise through the Mediterranean. Or you’re dreaming of a white Christmas overseas later in the year. Maybe

    Melting ice will strengthen the monsoon in northern Australia – but cause drier conditions north of the Equator
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Node Leader in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Flinders University Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images Almost two-thirds of the world’s population is affected by the monsoon – the annual

    Earth’s ‘oldest’ impact crater is much younger than previously thought – new study
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Cavosie, Senior Lecturer, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Outcrops of shocked rocks from the Miralga impact structure. Aaron Cavosie Ever been late because you misread a clock? Sometimes, the “clocks” geologists use to date events can also be misread. Unravelling Earth’s 4.5-billion-year

    Where do giant volcanic eruptions come from? New study finds missing link to ‘blobs’ deep within Earth
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicolas Flament, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, Environmental Futures, School of Science, University of Wollongong Volcanic eruptions at Earth’s surface have significant consequences. Smaller ones can scare tourists on Mount Etna or disrupt air traffic. Giant, large-scale eruptions can have more serious impacts. One such event

    Defence spending is like insurance – how will NZ pay the higher premiums?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hickson, Lecturer in Economics and Director, Business Taught Masters Programme, University of Canterbury Getty Images Defence spending is like insurance – you have to pay for it but you hope you never have to use it. And the higher the risk you face, the higher your

    The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives shatters the church’s century-long effort to curate its own image
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Casual Lecturer and Tutor in History, Indigenous Studies, and Politics, Flinders University Hulu Reality TV series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows a number of social media influencers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who rose to prominence through social media,

    We interviewed 205 Australians convicted of murder and manslaughter. Alcohol’s role was alarming
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Li Eriksson, Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University We’ve long known there’s a link between alcohol and violence, but when it comes to homicide the stories behind the statistics are harder to grasp. Our study sheds rare light on what actually happens when

    Thirsty future: Australia’s green hydrogen targets could require vastly more water than the government hopes
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madoc Sheehan, Adjunct Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering, James Cook University totajla/Shutterstock Green hydrogen is touted by some as the future – a way for Australia to slowly replace its reliance on fossil fuel exports. The energy-dense gas has the potential to reduce emissions in sectors challenging

    Israel’s Rafah camp – ‘humanitarian city’ or crime against humanity?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has announced a controversial plan to move up to 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza into a designated “humanitarian area” on the ruins of the southern city of Rafah. Access to the camp would be through

    Ice baths are booming in popularity – but they come with health risks
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health & Community Medicine, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Michele Ursi/Getty Images Walk through any trendy suburb and you might find a new “wellness” studio offering ice baths or “contrast therapy” (a sauna and ice bath combo). Scroll social media,

    Can’t fill your ADHD script? Here’s why, and what to do while the shortage persists
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Janetzki, Lecturer in Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South Australia Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses are rising across Australia. But after finally getting a diagnosis, many people are discovering the medicine they’ve been prescribed isn’t available at the pharmacy. Australia faces a nation-wide shortage of methylphenidate

    Medicinal cannabis is big business. But the latest clampdown won’t curb unsafe prescribing
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carmen Lim, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland Nuva Frames/Shutterstock Australia’s key regulator of health professionals has announced it’s clamping down on unsafe prescribing of medicinal cannabis in the wake of surging patient demand. The Australian Health Practitioner

    Are ‘ghost stores’ haunting your social media feed? How to spot and avoid them
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology CC BY The offer pops up in your social media feed. The website is professional and the imagery illustrates an Australian coastal region, or chic inner-CBD scene. The brand name indicates this exclusive fashion retailer

    NZ Post is the latest company to drop its climate targets – another sign business is struggling to decarbonise
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pii-Tuulia Nikula, Associate Professor, School of Business, Eastern Institute of Technology Getty Images NZ Post committed to cutting its emissions by 32% by 2030 (based on 2018 levels), but recently announced it would abandon its climate target. The company was part of the Science Based Target initiative

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Senate Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases, Including for New Outpatient Clinic in Hampton Roads

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases, including a proposed lease for an outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:
    “We are very encouraged to see the Senate EPW Committee heed our request to quickly reauthorize 18 VA medical facility leases, including one for a new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This facility would fill a critical gap, providing broader access and more convenient services for veterans on the south side of the region, who currently represent over 60 percent of the Hampton VA Medical Center’s patient base. We will continue to press our colleagues in the House of Representatives to finalize the reauthorization process and ensure that our nation’s veterans are not forced to endure unacceptable wait times or travel burdensome distances to access the high-quality care they have earned through their sacrifice and dedication.”
    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. To date, the leases have been reapproved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. One final approval, from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, remains.
    Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Warner and supported by Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity laws

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University

    Moor Studio / Getty Images

    Last week, Australian airline Qantas announced cyber attackers had accessed personal data about some of its customers. The company later confirmed that 5.7 million customer records were involved.

    The attackers targeted an offshore IT call centre, which enabled them to gain access to a third-party system.

    The airline contacted affected customers shortly after the announcement, and sent a follow-up email a week later. The email apologised to customers and informed them attackers had accessed information about customers’ names as well as frequent flyer numbers and tier status.

    The email may have felt familiar to Australians impacted by the 2022 Optus Breach or the 2024 Medisecure Hack — a routine apology, an assurance that immediate steps have been taken, and a statement that the company takes seriously the trust placed in it to safeguard personal information.

    It’s an adequate response. But it ignores something that might genuinely make customer data safer in the future: stronger cybersecurity laws to prevent these kinds of breaches from happening in the first place.

    How should we respond to data breaches?

    If your data were involved in the Qantas breach, you might be wondering what to do about it.

    The first sensible step might be to find out what personal information was compromised. Next, you might research the potential harm that could come from your name, Qantas Frequent Flyer number, and tier status being accessed.

    You may learn about the risks of identity theft, account hijacking, and scams.

    After that, you might want to figure out what actions you could take to protect yourself – that is, how to best secure your data. Plenty of websites offer advice along these lines.

    If you are a Qantas customer, and received the follow-up email, you may have noticed a section titled “What steps can I take to protect myself?”. This part encourages users to stay alert, use two-factor authentication, stay informed about the latest threats, visit IDCARE’s Learning Centre, and never share passwords or sensitive information (stating that Qantas will never ask for them).

    While these are helpful suggestions, they place a significant burden on the customer. They also imply that if our data becomes compromised, we may be partially to blame for not doing more to protect ourselves.

    Is this fair or useful? Rather than just trying to protect ourselves after data breaches, we might be better off focusing our attention on why breaches occur and the legislators who make the rules for the companies that hold our data.

    Does the law have an unhealthy obsession with data breaches?

    It may seem that, to improve cybersecurity laws, we need to pay more attention to Qantas-like data breaches and impose bigger fines on companies when they occur. However, this is not necessarily the best solution.

    As US privacy scholars Daniel Solove and Woodrow Hartzog point out in their 2022 book Breached!: “Data privacy law has an obsession with data breaches.”

    Ironically, the authors claim, “this obsession has […] been the primary reason why the law has failed to stop the deluge of data breaches. The more obsessed with breaches the law has become, the more the law has failed to deal with them.”

    Solove and Hartzog argue that focusing solely on the breaches themselves prevents us from concentrating on prevention.

    How effective is Australian cyber security law?

    In Australia, recent reforms to the Cyber Security Act 2024 introduced the Cyber Incident Review Board, which can:

    make recommendations to government and industry about actions that could be taken to prevent, detect, respond to or minimise the impact of, cyber security incidents of a similar nature in the future.

    These reforms are an important step in addressing prevention, and the Cyber Incident Review Board will undoubtedly draw many lessons from the Qantas case when it performs its post-incident review – such as identifying potential weaknesses at the offshore IT call centre.

    However, we shouldn’t have to wait until an incident occurs to start thinking about how to protect against breaches. There are also concerns about whether the recommendations it offers will be put into law.

    Ideally, we need legislation that focuses on prevention, not just post-incident responses. If we had laws that required companies to conduct audits, provide legally binding safety checks applicable to all relevant stakeholders, and impose penalties for non-compliance with these standards, it would genuinely improve prevention.

    Revising our flight path

    Our response to the Qantas breach will no doubt follow a familiar pattern: first, we panic! Then we get angry at the company. Next, we attempt to follow privacy advice – at least for a short while – changing a password or two before becoming complacent and then lowering our privacy vigilance. And then the cycle repeats the next time a breach occurs.

    We don’t need to accept this eternal pattern, however. If we focus our attention on lawmakers, rather than these immediate responses we are all too familiar with, prevention becomes a possibility.

    Adam Andreotta 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. How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity laws – https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-stay-safe-after-data-breaches-step-1-is-to-change-the-cybersecurity-laws-260816

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xizang high-altitude apples gain global market share

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows a view of Basum Tso, a lake in Nyingchi, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

    At an apple base in Bepa Town of Nyingchi, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, which sits at an altitude over 3,000 meters, Lin Chuanqing, head of a local apple business, was busy inspecting the growth of apples.

    “A wave of orders poured in from overseas,” said Lin. “Beyond our existing exports to Nepal, this year will mark Xizang’s first-ever local apple shipments to Singapore.”

    “Apples here are favored by foreign markets,” Lin said. His company owns over 4,000 mu (about 266.6 hectares) of apple orchards in Nyingchi, exporting 490 tonnes of apples to Nepal last year and over 137 tonnes so far this year.

    However, when Lin and his team arrived in Xizang three years ago, the local apple industry operated in a rudimentary and unsystematic manner.

    At that time, many local farmers mainly grew apples in their backyards and sold them in bulk without sorting or grading them. The unsold apples were stored in earthen cellars with plastic film, which was not effective for properly preserving them for more than two months.

    Now, Lin’s company has invested 158 million yuan (about 22 million U.S. dollars), building a complete industrial chain from seedling research and development to cold chain logistics.

    Apples grown on the plateau enjoy unique advantages. The region’s intense sunlight and dramatic temperature fluctuations between day and night contribute to their exceptional sweetness and firmness, setting them apart from those cultivated in other areas of the country.

    “Apples of the same size here are 15 percent heavier than others of the same variety and our apple yield will reach 3,000 kilograms per mu during peak season,” said Lin. The unique environment also boosts the sugar content of Nyingchi apples to 12 percent, with vitamin levels 30 percent higher than ordinary apples.

    Despite the plateau’s vast territory and relatively high transportation costs, growing apples here actually works out cheaper. Eligible local businesses benefit from a series of government subsidies for freight.

    “Transporting apples from Nyingchi to south China’s Guangdong Province is cheaper than from east China’s Shandong Province to Guangdong, for the government subsidies cover nearly half of the transport costs,” added Lin.

    Additionally, there are fewer pests on the plateau. In other areas of China, apple cultivation requires bagging to avoid pests, which alone adds 1.2 yuan per kilogram in labor costs.

    “In Xizang, we don’t need to bag our apples, and pesticide use is minimal,” said Lin. Nyingchi apples have obtained GLOBAL Good Agricultural Practice certifications and have met the EU’s 533-item pesticide residue testing standards. Even in dried apple products, residue levels are undetectable.

    The apples are also precisely categorized into 16 different grades based on sugar content, size and color. Now, people in Xizang are sharing Nyingchi apples with the world, introducing a new market-recognized apple variety.

    Apart from Nyingchi, there are 10,000-mu apple orchards in Shannan’s Dranang County and 2,000-mu in Qamdo. A growing number of people beyond the plateau are falling in love with apples grown in Xizang.

    “In November, when the apples are ripe, consumers in Singapore will be able to taste the apples from Nyingchi,” Lin said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: RI Delegation Welcomes $1.5 Million In TRIO Funds to Help RI College Students Succeed

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – As Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation continues working to make college more affordable and protect Pell grants from budget cuts, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today announced $1.5 million in federal funding to support existing college success and completion programs at Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and Rhode Island College (RIC) through the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program.  For fiscal year 2025, CCRI will receive $949,145 and RIC will receive $544,728 in TRIO funding.

    TRIO is a federal grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.  TRIO represents the largest federal investment aimed at assisting low-income or first-generation college students or individuals with disabilities to successfully advance through the academic pipeline and navigate academic and financial barriers.

    First-generation college students, those who meet low-income qualifications, or those with a disability are eligible to apply for TRIO.  In order to help these students navigate college life, the SSS program offers specialized tutoring, along with workshops on issues like financial literacy, leadership development, and finding a career path.  The federal program is designed to increase graduation rates and help students transfer from two-year to four-year colleges.

    Last year, Congress appropriated $1.2 billion for the program.  This year, the Trump Administration is seeking to eliminate federal funding for TRIO programs.

    “TRIO helps students not only get on the college track, but succeed once they are on campus.  It helps them acclimate to college life and prepares them to overcome key higher education hurdles.  Through skills workshops, summer learning, and other support services, this program can be a real lifeline for first-generation college students.  It teaches them things like time management, good study habits, and helps set them up for success in the college classroom and beyond.  I am proud of the work CCRI and RIC are doing and will continue working to ensure more deserving students have the opportunity to attend college and the resources to afford it,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, who got into a notable back and forth with Education Secretary Linda McMahon over TRIO funding at a recent hearing.  Reed had to set the record straight and disabuse the Secretary of Education of the incorrect notion that the federal government has spent over $1 trillion on TRIO programs.

    “TRIO programs have opened the door to higher education for many first-generation college students and students facing other obstacles,” said Whitehouse.  “This federal funding will support the outstanding work CCRI and RIC do to bring higher education within reach for more Rhode Islanders.”

    “Every student deserves a fair shot at college success, and the TRIO Student Support Services program provided at CCRI and RIC help make that possible by providing the mentorship, tools, and support students need to thrive,” said Magaziner. “I will keep fighting to protect federal education funding and expand programs like TRIO that open the doors of opportunity for more Rhode Islanders and strengthen the state’s workforce.”

    “Every student deserves the tools to reach their full potential. Today’s federal TRIO grant brings $1.5 million to support first-generation and low-income students at the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “But let’s be clear, Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate TRIO funding is a direct threat to these students and the progress we’ve made. I’m fighting in Congress to protect these programs, defend educational opportunity, and ensure that Rhode Islanders aren’t left behind.”

    CCRI’s successful TRIO SSS program, known as “Access to Opportunity,” was first launched in 1980 and serves approximately 440 CCRI students annually.  Previous graduates have gone on to a variety of careers, including some current full-time and adjunct faculty and staff at CCRI.

    Rhode Island College offers its TRIO programs through the Center for Scholar Development.  These programs are designed to provide educational pathways in an affirming environment for first-generation scholars.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Welcomes $7M Federal Grant for URI Microplastics Research

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Researchers have estimated that the bottom of Narragansett Bay is now covered with a layer of tiny plastic particles, commonly referred to as ‘microplastics,’ that is about 2 inches deep.

    While microplastics are found everywhere these days, from products on the shelves to streams across the planet, experts are racing to better understand and inform the public about the impacts that these pollutants have on public health, ecosystems, and the environment.

    These scientists include URI associate professor of chemical, biomolecular, and materials engineering, Daniel Roxbury, who is leading a URI research team dedicated to informing local communities about the dangers of microplastics and key steps to take in reducing plastics pollution. Roxbury’s research team was just awarded $7 million in federal research funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR E-RISE Program.

    Senator Reed, a longtime proponent of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program at NSF, welcomed the funding and thanked URI researchers for helping to increase knowledge about microplastics and better inform local, state, and national mitigation plans for plastics pollution.

    “Microplastics are a macro-problem. We need comprehensive, coordinated action to help protect people, communities, and public and environmental health.  Researchers at URI have been on the cutting-edge of this kind of discovery,” said Senator Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who advocates each year for increased NSF research funding and has led efforts to ensure Rhode Island’s eligibility for the EPSCoR program since 2004.  “This federal investment in URI’s important research comes at a time when the Trump Administration’s attacks on higher education and federal research funding threatens our understanding of science and the world we live in.  But developing a better understanding of microplastics is not a partisan issue – it’s a public health, economic, and environmental imperative.  I’m proud of the top-notch work Rhode Island scientists are doing and will continue fighting to support their work with federal research investments.”

    EPSCOR is designed to fulfill NSF’s mandate to promote scientific progress nationwide.  Through the program, NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state’s or region’s academic research infrastructure, research and development (R&D) capacity, and hence, its national R&D competitiveness.

    Researchers and scientists at URI will use the $7 million federal grant to advance a four year project in partnership with local stakeholders and other colleges and universities, such as Brown University, Roger Williams University, and Rhode Island College, to educate Rhode Islanders about microplastics in the coastal ecosystem and develop better tracking, modeling, and research processes that help identify sources of pollution.

    The research project also aims to better understand the impact of microplastics on the livelihoods of Rhode Islanders who work on the Bay or in other local coastal waters.  

    Last August, Senator Reed joined Save the Bay and top researchers from Roger Williams University and URI to discuss the threat of microplastics and outline steps that households, communities, and elected officials can take to better protect people from the threat of microplastic pollution and preserve access to clean, safe water. Reed and the advocates called for stepped-up research, regulation, and coordinated action around plastic pollution.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Campaign takes aim at tour operators

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    China is taking action against tour operators who engage in illegal practices — including forcing travelers to shop at designated stores — with the aim of protecting consumers and ensuring a safe and more enjoyable travel experience.

    The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, together with the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation, has launched a yearlong campaign to tighten supervision and enforcement over “forced shopping” practices, which involve pressuring tourists to buy goods at specific stores in exchange for rebates.

    The culture and tourism ministry on Wednesday also published a list of 12 companies and three individuals accused of violating tourism regulations, including operating without licenses, forcing tourists to shop and organizing low-priced tours with hidden additional payments. The ministry said it will continue updating the list to deter dishonest operators.

    “The practice of forced shopping has severely infringed upon tourists’ rights, and stronger government action is required,” Yu Changguo, deputy director of market management at the ministry, said at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

    Authorities will work together to crack down on operators that lure travelers with unusually low-priced tours, then pressure them into shopping at designated stores while collecting commissions. Other illegal activities, including unauthorized business operations, fraudulent advertising and price manipulation, will also incur strict punishment, officials said.

    With the summer travel peak underway during the July-August school vacation period, the ministry said it will send undercover inspection teams to online travel platforms, brick-and-mortar agencies and popular destinations to check for forced shopping practices and potential safety hazards at entertainment sites.

    The Ministry of Transport said that railway passenger trips from July 1 to Aug 31 are expected to reach 953 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.8 percent.

    Liu Nan, an official at the culture and tourism ministry, said the government will intensify efforts to tackle tourism-related cases involving large sums of money or that have a significant social impact.

    “We hope that tourists whose rights have been violated can keep their tourism contracts, travel itineraries, payment records and chat or video evidence, and report promptly to the authorities,” Liu said.

    Yu also warned travelers to watch out for fraudulent tourism ads and low-priced tours that may not disclose additional fees or risks of property loss. He advised travelers to check the credentials of travel agencies and qualifications of guides and avoid booking tours without standard contracts.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor leads in two Victorian state polls, but Premier Jacinta Allan’s approval tanks

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    Labor leads in Victorian state polls by Newspoll and Redbridge, but Premier Jacinta Allan is very unpopular. Two federal polls give Labor big leads and a Tasmanian poll suggests Tasmanians would support Labor seeking to form a government with the Greens and independents.

    The next Victorian state election will be held in November 2026. The first Newspoll since the 2022 election was conducted June 23–30, but no sample size was given. It gave Labor a 53–47 lead (55.0–45.0 to Labor at the last election). Primary votes were 35% Labor, 35% Coalition, 12% Greens and 18% for all Others.

    Despite the clear Labor lead on voting intentions, Labor Premier Jacinta Allan’s net approval was a dismal -31, with 61% dissatisfied and 30% satisfied. Liberal leader Brad Battin led Allan as preferred premier by 41–36. Battin had a net approval of -5.

    Just 25% said Labor deserved to be re-elected, while 59% said it was time to give someone else a go. But by 60–40, voters were not confident the Coalition was ready to govern.

    The Poll Bludger said that by 59–32, voters supported the Suburban Rail Loop, but they were worried rather than confident by huge margins on four policy areas: state debt (78% worried, 13% confident), law and order (76–20), hospitals (71–25) and housing (78–16).

    A Victorian Redbridge poll for The Herald Sun, conducted June 19–30 from a sample of 1,183, gave Labor a 51.5–48.5 lead, a 2.5-point gain for Labor since the last Victorian Redbridge poll in April. Primary votes were 38% Coalition (down three), 33% Labor (up four), 14% Greens (up one) and 15% for all Others (down two).

    By 55–27, voters did not think the Allan government had the right focus and priorities. But by 45–26, they did not think Battin and the Coalition had done enough to deserve to win the next election.

    Labor has held government in Victoria since they won the 2014 election, and for all but one term (2010–14) since they won the 1999 election. By November 2026, Labor will have governed for the last 12 years and 23 of the last 27 years. It’s reasonable to expect an “it’s time” factor at the next election.

    It’s plausible that federal Labor’s surprise landslide at the May 3 election has assisted Labor at other levels of government. Normally a government with a premier at -31 net approval would be way behind on voting intentions.

    The Coalition will hope that any boost for state Labor from the federal election will be temporary. There’s still a long time until the next state election, so Labor could fall back as voters focus more on state politics.

    Another possible explanation for Labor’s lead despite a very unpopular premier is the infighting within the Liberals over the fallout between John Pesutto and Moira Deeming.

    Redbridge and DemosAU federal polls have big Labor leads

    A national Redbridge poll, conducted in late June from a sample of 4,036, was reported by The Financial Review. Labor led by 55.5–44.5, almost unchanged from the election result (55.2–44.8 to Labor). Primary votes were 37% Labor, 31% Coalition, 11% Greens and 21% for all Others. One Nation is likely to have made up a high proportion of Others, otherwise Labor’s two-party lead would be higher.

    This poll gave Labor a 68–32 lead with those aged 18–34 and a 57–43 lead with those aged 35–49. With those aged 50–64, there was a 50–50 tie, while the Coalition led by 55–45 with those aged 65 and older. The Greens’ primary vote was 24% with the youngest demographic, but just 2% with the oldest.

    A national DemosAU poll, conducted July 5–6 from a sample of 1,199, gave Labor a 59–41 lead, from primary votes of 36% Labor, 26% Coalition, 14% Greens, 9% One Nation and 15% for all Others. Education breakdowns had Labor winning by 55–45 with school-educated people, 61–39 with those with a TAFE education and 59–41 with the university educated.

    After their landslide re-election, Labor is getting a second honeymoon in the polls. One Nation was overstated at the election, but perhaps their increase from 6.4% then reflects dissatisfaction on the right with Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Liberals.

    YouGov Tasmanian poll on hung parliament options

    The Tasmanian state election will be held on July 19, only 16 months after the previous election in March 2024. Tasmania uses a proportional system for its lower house elections, and polls suggest another hung parliament is likely. A YouGov poll, conducted June 12–16 from a sample of 842 for The Australia Institute, was reported by The Tasmanian Times on Wednesday.

    Voting intentions were not released, but results of questions were released on whether Labor or the Liberals should seek to form a government with the Greens and independents if they were not elected in their own right.

    For Labor, by 55–31 voters agreed they should seek to form such a government, including 61–25 agree with Labor voters. For the Liberals, by 48–37 voters agreed they should try to form such a government, but Liberal voters disagreed by 46–45.

    Adrian Beaumont 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. Labor leads in two Victorian state polls, but Premier Jacinta Allan’s approval tanks – https://theconversation.com/labor-leads-in-two-victorian-state-polls-but-premier-jacinta-allans-approval-tanks-260553

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: BusinessNZ – Relevant skills in short supply

    Source: BusinessNZ

    Legislation aimed at improving NZ’s vocational education and training system needs to focus on delivering the right skills needed for business and employment growth, BusinessNZ says.
    BusinessNZ says New Zealand’s new vocational education system should not be dominated by polytechnics to the detriment of work-based training and should focus on delivering better-skilled graduates who are more likely to get a job.
    BusinessNZ’s submission to the Education & Workforce Select Committee on the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill says many of the skills that people currently get trained in are not the skills needed by business, and this is holding back graduates from successfully gaining employment – an industry-led, government-enabled vocational system for setting standards is required, to allow for more relevant, up-to-date skills to be taught.
    The Bill also allows for a training levy to be imposed on businesses, however BusinessNZ says its members strongly oppose this provision, as they believe the system first requires significant improvement to achieve the business and employment outcomes required from vocational training. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hagerty Announces Staff Additions, Trump Admin Appointments

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
    WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) announced 6 additions to his staff in Tennessee and Washington, D.C. Hagerty’s team continues to be fully operational and serving the great state of Tennessee.
    Brian McCormack will soon assume the role of Chief of Staff. McCormack is currently serving as the Chief of Staff for the National Security Council at the White House. Previously, he served at the White House Office of Management and Budget responsible for nearly a dozen agencies and as the Chief of Staff at the Department of Energy. The current Chief of Staff, Adam Telle, was nominated in March by President Trump to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works where he will oversee the Corps of Engineers.
    “I’m glad to have someone of Brian’s caliber and experience to lead this exceptional team. He brings a set of highly-relevant perspectives to the role where the paramount focus is to serve the people of Tennessee and the interests of our nation,” said Senator Bill Hagerty. “Brian’s background and relationships within the Trump Administration will support my objective of making the federal government work for the American people.”
    “I’m thankful for the many years of service Adam has put in leading our team from day one in the Senate, which has helped me build a strong foundation for success here in the U.S. Senate going forward,” said Senator Bill Hagerty. “I’m so proud of the opportunity he’s been given to once again serve as an outstanding member of President Trump’s administration, and his management of the Corps of Engineers will bring the responses we’ve seen in my Senate office to bear on an organization central to Tennessee and our nation.”
    Robert Donachie is now serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. Donachie served as Vice President of a Washington, DC-based public relations and literary agency. He spent several years working in the House of Representatives. He also served as the White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner and as a political reporter for The Daily Caller. Donachie has appeared on Fox News Channel, nationally syndicated radio programs, and provided commentary for The New York Times, POLITICO, Newsweek, The Hill, and other outlets.
    Tiffany Delgado recently joined as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, replacing Jim Durrett.  Delgado served as Senior Vice President of a Washington, DC-based marketing agency specializing in custom targeted voter contact, fundraising and issue advocacy programs, where she was recognized with the Rising Star Award from Campaigns and Elections.  Previously she worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee as the Director of Direct Response.  Tiffany holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, and is currently pursuing her MBA from Georgetown University.
    Michael Sullivan will become Senior Advisor to Senator Hagerty, where he will continue to be involved in state operations while also providing strategic advice on the Senator’s larger operation, leveraging Sullivan’s experience to benefit Hagerty’s broader mandate.
    Alec Richardson will become the State Director for Senator Hagerty. Currently, he serves as Senior Advisor to Governor Bill Lee and Director of External Affairs at the State of Tennessee. In this role, Richardson is responsible for overseeing strategic operations, managing federal relations, and advising on key legislative issues. He formerly served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Personal Aide to the Governor. He resides in Nashville with his wife and their one-year-old son.
    Kalleigh Ahern is now serving as Press & Digital Assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty. Prior to joining the Senate, she worked as a Public Relations and Communications Intern at a national PR agency, where she contributed to strategic campaign planning, media monitoring and cross-sector client research. Ahern also gained firsthand experience in federal outreach and constituent services while working in her home congressional district in Tennessee. She graduated summa cum laude from The University of Alabama with a focus in public relations and political science.
    Serving in the Trump Administration
    Adam Telle has been advanced out of the Armed Services Committee and Environment and Public Works Committee to lead the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Telle has served as Hagerty’s Chief of Staff over the last four years and will continue to serve Hagerty while his nomination is pending before the Senate. Telle served during the first Trump Administration as the White House’s Senate lead in its Office of Legislative Affairs.  Prior to that role, Telle served as the top staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security and as the top policy advisor to the late Senator Thad Cochran. Telle holds degrees in computer science and journalism from Mississippi State University.
    Jim Durrett is now the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President and Deputy Assistant to the President. Previously, he served as Deputy Chief of Operations for Senator Hagerty. Durrett is a native of Clarksville, Tennessee.
    Luke Pettit has been advanced out of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions. Pettit has served as Senator Hagerty’s Senior Policy Advisor and will continue to serve Hagerty while his nomination is pending before the Senate. Previously, he worked at the Senate Banking Committee, Bridgewater Associates, and the Federal Reserve. Luke holds a B.A from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Johns Hopkins University.
    Jonathan Greenstein is nominated to be Deputy Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Finance. Previously, he served as Senator Hagerty’s Senior Policy Advisor. Greenstein is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale Law School.
    Daniel Zimmerman has been confirmed to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Zimmerman previously served in a Congressional Executive Fellowship in the office of Senator Hagerty. He previously has held many roles in the agency realm, and holds both a bachelor’s degree from Asbury University and a master’s degree from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky.
    Julia Hahn is serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department for the Office of Public Affairs. Hahn joins the Department after serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for Senator Hagerty. Prior to the Senate, Hahn served in the first Trump White House over all four years, most recently as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Communications Director. Before that, she served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Rapid Response and Surrogate Operations. Hahn has also worked in media as the Executive Producer of The Laura Ingraham Show and a reporter at Breitbart News. She also worked on Capitol Hill as Press Secretary to former Congressman Dave Brat. Hahn graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in Philosophy.
    Clark Milner is serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Policy, focusing primarily on domestic policy. Milner formerly served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Chief Counsel to Senator Bill Hagerty. Milner previously served as Deputy Counsel to Governor Bill Lee.
    Natalie McIntyre currently serves as a Special Assistant to the President for the Office of Legislative Affairs where she handles the Healthcare, Education, Labor, Banking, and Agriculture portfolio. Previously, she was Senator Hagerty’s Legislative Director overseeing the legislative team and managing the Health, Education, Labor, Pension, and Veterans portfolio. Prior to her role in Hagerty’s office, she was part of the legislative office at OMB where she managed the Senate offices. She also served as a Senior Policy Advisor and White House liaison at ONDCP.
    Jason Hoffman is currently the Executive Secretary at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Hoffman formerly served as a Policy Advisor for Senator Hagerty, focusing on homeland security and judiciary issues. Previously, he worked at the Office of Management and Budget during President Trump’s first term and as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.Nels Nordquist is serving as Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. Nordquist was Senior Fellow for Economic Policy in the office of Senator Hagerty. In addition, his prior service includes as Staff Director for the National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. From 2018-2021, Nordquist worked in the National Security Council and National Economic Council, first as Director for Trade & Investment and later as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Policy. Nordquist graduated from Stanford and earned an MBA from the University of Virginia.
    Joel Rayburn is the Trump Administration’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He is a historian, former diplomat, and retired military officer who previously served as special advisor for Middle East affairs in the office of Senator Hagerty. Rayburn is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. In the first Trump Administration, he served as a senior director on the National Security Council staff and, from July 2018 to January 2021, as the U.S. special envoy for Syria. Before joining the State Department, Rayburn served 26 years as a US Army officer and co-authored the Army’s official history of the Iraq War. He holds an MA in history from Texas A&M University and an MS in strategic studies from the National War College.
    Kevin Kim serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He previously worked as a National Security Fellow for Senator Hagerty. Kim was also the Senior Advisor to the Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea as part of the U.S. delegation to the 2020 U.S.-Russia arms control negotiations.  From 2018 to 2020, he served as the Chief of Staff to the Special Representative for North Korea and the Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and worked closely with then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan Hagerty as he participated in various rounds of U.S.-DPRK nuclear negotiations. Kim received a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
    Daniel Tirosh now serves on the National Security Council. Tirosh previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Counsel for Senator Hagerty. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz, and graduated from Stanford Law School.
    Walton Stivender Mears has taken on a new role as scheduler for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. Mears joined HUD earlier this year after serving as Director of Scheduling for Senator Hagerty. She previously handled scheduling and assisted the chief of staff for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and as a Staff Assistant for Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). Mears is a graduate of Auburn University.
    J. Cal Mitchell is serving as Special Advisor for the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury. He joins the Treasury Department after serving as Personal Aide to Senator Hagerty. Mitchell is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College.
    Nick Checker, a former national security fellow for Senator Hagerty, currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary on the National Security Council. In that role, Checker provides senior-level review of NSC products for substance, policy relevance, and appropriateness for the President and senior White House officials. Checker has spent the last decade prior to his service on Senator Hagerty’s staff at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a military analyst covering conflicts in the greater Middle East. Most recently, Checker worked in CIA’s office of Congressional Affairs, where he supported the confirmation process for Director John Ratcliffe. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University.
    Nicholas Elliot is the Confidential Assistant and Policy Advisor to the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets. Previously, Elliot worked on Senator Hagerty’s 2020 campaign team and spent nearly four years working for Senator Hagerty on the Senator’s financial services and banking portfolio, where he advanced the Senator’s work on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Elliot is a graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he received a BS in Business Administration with a major in Finance and a minor in Mandarin.
    Taylor Asher serves as Senior Policy Advisor to Chairman Paul Atkins. From April 2023 to January 2025, Asher served as Policy Advisor and Confidential Assistant to Commissioner Uyeda. Prior to his time at the SEC, Asher was Personal Aide to Senator Hagerty. His tenure in public service began with Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s Office, where he served as Staff Assistant and Intern Manager. Asher is currently pursuing a Master of Economics at George Mason University. He holds a Master of Finance with an Energy Specialization as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from Tulane University. He is originally from Nashville, Tennessee.
    Cole Bornefeld will be serving as Director of Correspondence for the Office of the Vice President. He previously served as a Legislative Aide to Hagerty, assisting in the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Rules portfolio. Bornefeld previously served as a Legislative Correspondent, Staff Assistant, and Intern in Senator Hagerty’s office. He graduated from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public relations.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal Support Legislation to Fund Community Violence Intervention

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    July 09, 2025

    WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) co-sponsored the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, legislation that would create a new Office of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) and a new grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services to award $5 billion in grants to community-based, nonprofit organizations and eligible units of local government to create or support evidence-based and prevention programs to interrupt cycles of violence. U.S. Representative Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04) introduced companion legislation in the House.

    “Community violence intervention programs work – we’ve seen proof of that in Connecticut and in cities across the country. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act made a historic $250 million investment in these programs, helping lead to the largest two-year drop in gun violence rates in our country’s history. This legislation doubles down on that investment and makes sure we keep putting federal dollars behind evidence-based strategies that save lives and make communities safe,” said Murphy.

    “The gun violence epidemic requires tested and true community-centered solutions to break tragic cycles of violence. Here in Connecticut, dozens of organizations are saving lives through community violence intervention programs, but they do so with severely limited resources. While the Trump Administration slashes the life-saving grants these organizations depend on, our Break the Cycle of Violence Act makes investments that will save lives and make our communities safer,” said Blumenthal.

    Murphy’s past support for robust community-based violence intervention programs includes his Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which provided millions in grants to community-based nonprofits that directly provided counseling and support to at-risk youth, and families traumatized by gun violence. On day one of his presidency, President Trump shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention responsible for coordinating efforts across the federal government and working with states and local governments to identify available resources for impacted communities. On April 30th, the Department of Education (ED) notified grant recipients of the School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) and Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Grant Programs, which BSCA funded, that their funding would not be continued after this fiscal year.

    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act provisions include:

    • $5 billion investment in anti-violence programs to create and support violence interruption and crisis management initiatives.
    • $1.5 billion investment in workforce training and job opportunities, including improved youth employment and training activities, paid work experience for school aged youth, and partnerships with community-based organizations to serve youth in high-crime and high-poverty areas.
    • An Office of Community Violence Intervention at HHS to implement evidence-based violence reduction initiatives.
    • A Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee to ensure people with expertise in community violence intervention have a voice in CVI policies.
    • A National Community Violence Response Center to provide technical assistance for implementing community violence intervention and prevention programs.

    The bill is endorsed by Community Justice, Sandy Hook Promise, Giffords Gun Violence Prevention & Advocacy, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

    To read the full text of the bill, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal Support Legislation to Fund Community Violence Intervention

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    July 09, 2025

    WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) co-sponsored the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, legislation that would create a new Office of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) and a new grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services to award $5 billion in grants to community-based, nonprofit organizations and eligible units of local government to create or support evidence-based and prevention programs to interrupt cycles of violence. U.S. Representative Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04) introduced companion legislation in the House.
    “Community violence intervention programs work – we’ve seen proof of that in Connecticut and in cities across the country. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act made a historic $250 million investment in these programs, helping lead to the largest two-year drop in gun violence rates in our country’s history. This legislation doubles down on that investment and makes sure we keep putting federal dollars behind evidence-based strategies that save lives and make communities safe,” said Murphy.
    “The gun violence epidemic requires tested and true community-centered solutions to break tragic cycles of violence. Here in Connecticut, dozens of organizations are saving lives through community violence intervention programs, but they do so with severely limited resources. While the Trump Administration slashes the life-saving grants these organizations depend on, our Break the Cycle of Violence Act makes investments that will save lives and make our communities safer,” said Blumenthal.
    Murphy’s past support for robust community-based violence intervention programs includes his Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which provided millions in grants to community-based nonprofits that directly provided counseling and support to at-risk youth, and families traumatized by gun violence. On day one of his presidency, President Trump shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention responsible for coordinating efforts across the federal government and working with states and local governments to identify available resources for impacted communities. On April 30th, the Department of Education (ED) notified grant recipients of the School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) and Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Grant Programs, which BSCA funded, that their funding would not be continued after this fiscal year.
    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act provisions include:
    $5 billion investment in anti-violence programs to create and support violence interruption and crisis management initiatives.
    $1.5 billion investment in workforce training and job opportunities, including improved youth employment and training activities, paid work experience for school aged youth, and partnerships with community-based organizations to serve youth in high-crime and high-poverty areas.
    An Office of Community Violence Intervention at HHS to implement evidence-based violence reduction initiatives.
    A Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee to ensure people with expertise in community violence intervention have a voice in CVI policies.
    A National Community Violence Response Center to provide technical assistance for implementing community violence intervention and prevention programs.
    The bill is endorsed by Community Justice, Sandy Hook Promise, Giffords Gun Violence Prevention & Advocacy, and Everytown for Gun Safety.
    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
    To read the full text of the bill, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal Support Legislation to Fund Community Violence Intervention

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    July 09, 2025

    WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) co-sponsored the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, legislation that would create a new Office of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) and a new grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services to award $5 billion in grants to community-based, nonprofit organizations and eligible units of local government to create or support evidence-based and prevention programs to interrupt cycles of violence. U.S. Representative Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04) introduced companion legislation in the House.

    “Community violence intervention programs work – we’ve seen proof of that in Connecticut and in cities across the country. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act made a historic $250 million investment in these programs, helping lead to the largest two-year drop in gun violence rates in our country’s history. This legislation doubles down on that investment and makes sure we keep putting federal dollars behind evidence-based strategies that save lives and make communities safe,” said Murphy.

    “The gun violence epidemic requires tested and true community-centered solutions to break tragic cycles of violence. Here in Connecticut, dozens of organizations are saving lives through community violence intervention programs, but they do so with severely limited resources. While the Trump Administration slashes the life-saving grants these organizations depend on, our Break the Cycle of Violence Act makes investments that will save lives and make our communities safer,” said Blumenthal.

    Murphy’s past support for robust community-based violence intervention programs includes his Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which provided millions in grants to community-based nonprofits that directly provided counseling and support to at-risk youth, and families traumatized by gun violence. On day one of his presidency, President Trump shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention responsible for coordinating efforts across the federal government and working with states and local governments to identify available resources for impacted communities. On April 30th, the Department of Education (ED) notified grant recipients of the School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) and Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Grant Programs, which BSCA funded, that their funding would not be continued after this fiscal year.

    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act provisions include:

    • $5 billion investment in anti-violence programs to create and support violence interruption and crisis management initiatives.
    • $1.5 billion investment in workforce training and job opportunities, including improved youth employment and training activities, paid work experience for school aged youth, and partnerships with community-based organizations to serve youth in high-crime and high-poverty areas.
    • An Office of Community Violence Intervention at HHS to implement evidence-based violence reduction initiatives.
    • A Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee to ensure people with expertise in community violence intervention have a voice in CVI policies.
    • A National Community Violence Response Center to provide technical assistance for implementing community violence intervention and prevention programs.

    The bill is endorsed by Community Justice, Sandy Hook Promise, Giffords Gun Violence Prevention & Advocacy, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

    The Break the Cycle of Violence Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

    To read the full text of the bill, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Representatives Laurel Lee and Gus Bilirakis Respond to the Eighth Circuit Court’s Decision

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Laurel Lee – Florida (15th District)

    Tampa, FL – Yesterday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the FTC’s final Negative Option Rule put in place by Lina Khan, October 2024. The rule was set to be implemented in 2025.  

    In June, Congresswoman Laurel Lee introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Biden-Harris Administration rule. Congresswoman Lee and her colleague, Congressman Gus Bilirakis, CMT Subcommittee Chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, were pleased by the Eighth Circuit Court’s ruling to dismiss the unlawful rule. Their reactions below:  

    “The Federal Trade Commission’s Negative Option Rule far exceeded the agency’s consumer protection mandate. By imposing sweeping and costly new requirements—estimated to exceed $100 million annually—the rule would have driven up costs for consumers rather than protecting them.

    As the Eighth Circuit rightly noted, the FTC rushed this partisan rule through just before the 2024 election, bypassing key steps in the rulemaking process and ignoring legitimate concerns raised by stakeholders. That is why I introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution months ago to overturn the rule, and called on the FTC to delay implementation until the courts could review its legality.

    I’m grateful the Eighth Circuit recognized the serious economic harm this rule would have caused and acted to vacate it. Moving forward, I remain committed to reining in executive overreach and collaborating with my colleagues on thoughtful reforms to ensure subscription practices are fair, transparent, and protect both consumers and businesses,” said Congresswoman Lee. 

    “The Eighth Circuit’s decision to vacate the FTC’s ‘negative option’ rule is a necessary check on regulatory overreach. In her rush to regulate, Lina Khan failed to follow appropriate procedures – undermining transparency and due process for stakeholders and consumers alike. This ruling reinforces the importance of accountability and adherence to the rule of law in regulatory actions. It’s now time to restore trust in the Federal Trade Commission and protect American consumers without unduly burdening legitimate business activity” said Congressman Bilirakis, Chairman of the House Commerce, Manufacturing, & Trade Subcommittee.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Looking out for families, friends, and carers of those in suicidal distress

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    As part of ACT Government’s ‘One Government, One Voice’ program, we are transitioning this website across to our . You can access everything you need through this website while it’s happening.

    Released 10/07/2025

    The ACT Government has launched ‘Minds Together’, a free online program to support families, friends, and carers of those experiencing suicidal distress.

    People in support roles often provide life-saving practical and emotional support, Minds Together provides additional support and tailored resources for those support people when a loved one is experiencing suicidal distress.

    Minister for Mental Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said the program benefits the person experiencing distress, while also reducing distress and enhancing coping mechanisms for the carers themselves.

    “There are many complexities and challenges that friends, families and carers navigate when supporting those in suicidal distress, or after a suicide attempt,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.

    “The Minds Together program provides free access to information, lived experience stories and targeted low-intensity modules to help support people when they are supporting someone who is experiencing suicidal distress or has attempted suicide. It also connects users with information about aftercare services available in the ACT.”

    If you are supporting a loved one, friend, or are a carer of someone experiencing suicidal distress or who has attempted suicide, please visit Minds Together for more information at https://mindstogether.org.au/supporting-someone-in-the-act/

    The Minds Together program is funded under the ACT and Commonwealth Government Bilateral National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.

    Quotes attributable to the Hon. Emma McBride, Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention:

    “Support for carers and loved ones of those experiencing suicide distress is vital. With today’s launch of Minds Together, Canberrans will now have tailored support for those who need it most.

    “Minds Together will deliver low intensity online support to loved ones and carers of those experiencing suicidality for free.

    “The Albanese Labor Government is proud to support the ACT Government through the bilateral agreement to deliver quality care in the heart of communities.”

    Quotes attributable to Dr Jaelea Skehan OAM, Director of Everymind:

    “Everymind is pleased to be working with the ACT Government and local suicide prevention and carer services to ensure that free and accessible support is available to family, friends and carers across the ACT.

    “Together, we’re making it easier for family, friends and carers to access support while also strengthening the broader aftercare and suicide prevention system in a way that’s sustainable, inclusive and responsive to community needs.

    “Minds Together has been designed with people who have a lived experience of suicide and provides family, friends and carers with the information and confidence to support someone experiencing suicidal distress while also looking after their own wellbeing. Combining online learning and face-to-face supports, the program provides practical information and tools that people can immediately apply in their own lives.”

    – Statement ends –

    Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Media Releases

    «ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases

    MIL OSI News –