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  • MIL-OSI Global: 15 million South Africans don’t get enough to eat every day: 4 solutions

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Stephen Devereux, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies

    At least 15 million South Africans suffer from food insecurity. That means they don’t have enough nutritious food to live healthy lives.

    This is due to a combination of factors, including unemployment, poverty, inequality and food system failures.

    More than 1,000 children die from malnutrition each year. This compares unfavourably with 350 child deaths from malnutrition in Brazil, which has more than three times South Africa’s population, and 269 child deaths in Colombia, which has about the same per capita income as South Africa.

    A robust indicator of chronic hunger is child stunting. Stunting in South Africa has flatlined at around 25%, or one in four children, since the early 1990s. Other middle-income countries such as Brazil and Peru have made impressive progress. Peru halved its rate from 28% in 2008 to 13% in 2016, after the president committed to reducing stunting.



    Read more:
    South Africa’s hunger problem is turning into a major health crisis

    How can South Africa’s government deliver on the right to food and begin the urgent process of eradicating hunger?

    We have worked on food security and food justice for many years. We’ve researched the links between social protection and hunger and between food systems and nutrition, and the cost of hunger.

    Based on this experience, our view is that food shortages are not a cause of hunger in South Africa. The country produces and imports all the food it needs. Instead, the problem is unequal access to food. While some South Africans live in a world of abundance, with no budget constraints, millions more survive below the food poverty line, unable to afford even a basic nutritious diet for their families.

    We believe that the government must deliver on the constitutional right to food and begin the urgent process of eradicating hunger. It can do this by expanding the social grant system, extending the school nutrition programme, reducing food waste, and ensuring access to land for low-income rural and peri-urban households.

    Above all, a coherent and coordinated strategy for tackling hunger is needed, led by a minister of food, following models like Brazil’s Zero Hunger initiative. In December 2024, Brazil handed over the G20 presidency to South Africa, after it launched the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. South Africa should embrace the embrace the spirit and focus of the alliance to develop its own Zero Hunger strategy.

    Four steps to end hunger

    The South African government pays out 19 million social grants a month, or 26 million if the 9 million recipients of the special social relief of distress grant are included. Without these cash transfers, poverty and malnutrition in the country would be even higher. But they are inadequate, especially in a context of high and rising food prices.



    Read more:
    South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work

    Firstly, the following changes should be made to social grant payments.

    • An immediate increase in the child support grant, followed by further increases. The goal should be to get this grant, which is currently below the food poverty line at R530 a month (US$28), to R1,634 (US$34). This is the minimum amount of money needed to meet basic needs, including nutritious food, clothing and shelter.

    • Pregnant women should receive a maternal support grant from 12 weeks of pregnancy, to reduce the risk of low birth weight.

    • Social grants should increase to match inflation every year.

    Secondly, the National School Nutrition Programme, which provides one nutritious meal to all learners in poorer primary and secondary schools, has limited impact because meals are provided only on weekdays during school terms.

    The programme should be boosted in the following ways:

    • The Department of Basic Education must deliver adequate nutrition to all children in early learning programmes, all year round.

    • Programmes for school-age children should be extended to ensure that they all receive at least one nutritious meal every day, including on weekends and school holidays.

    • Adequate funding should be given to school food gardens and nutrition education. Moreover, the national school nutrition programme starts too late to address under-5 stunting. It only begins when children enter grade R, aged 5.



    Read more:
    Malnutrition in South Africa: how one community wants resources to be spent

    Thirdly, interventions are needed in the food system.

    • Prices of essential food items should be regulated, to keep them affordable for low-income South Africans and to encourage shifts in consumption choices towards healthier, more nutritious diets.

    • Positive dietary choices can also be promoted through the use of subsidies, discounts or vouchers on “best buy” foods, either for all consumers or for shoppers receiving social grants. They could be given vouchers for nutritious food items along with their cash transfers. Food subsidies or vouchers must include foods that are protein-rich (meat, fish, eggs, dairy), since protein is highly inaccessible to the poor.



    Read more:
    How do people choose what food to buy? Answers depend on what you ask – so we built a research tool for African countries

    • Government must extend social security protections to seasonal and informal workers during periods of unemployment and underemployment. Seasonal hunger requires specific attention. Seasonal farm workers – most of whom are women – have low incomes, few savings, and limited access to unemployment insurance. They face food insecurity and hunger during the off-season winter months.

    • The government’s land redistribution programme should prioritise securing access to land for poor agrarian or peri-urban households, and providing support (water, inputs, extension advice) to farm that land. This would help vulnerable groups which derive most of their food from production.

    Agrarian households (smallholder farmers, farm workers, farm dwellers) are poorer and more food insecure, especially the female-headed households who survive below the food poverty line. When farm women with food gardens have direct access to fresh vegetables, their dietary diversity improves, and they earn income by selling produce to meet their basic needs.

    Lastly, steps must be take to reduce loss and waste in the food system.

    A third of food produced in South Africa, 10 million of 31 million tons, goes to waste each year. This is equivalent to 30 billion meals, in a context where an estimated 20 billion meals would be enough to end hunger. The government has committed to halving food waste by 2030, in its draft food losses and waste strategy of 2023. It must be finalised and operationalised.

    Next steps

    These interventions would cost money. And the government will argue that it is doing all it can to address hunger with the resources available.

    There are many options for raising additional resources to address the hunger crisis – as seen when the government found R500 billion (US$33 billion) to address the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.

    The government should also consider raising additional revenue by introducing a wealth tax targeting high-net-worth individuals. This could be used to increase social grants or subsidise nutritious foods.



    Read more:
    Urban food gardens produce more than vegetables, they create bonds for young Capetonians – study

    Finally, government needs to tackle hunger in a coordinated way. Several government departments, including agriculture, social development and health, address issues related to food security. However, no government ministry focuses specifically on hunger.

    The president should appoint a minister of food to address the hunger crisis along the lines of the special minister of electricity position established in 2023 to deal with the country’s energy supply problem.



    Read more:
    South Africa needs to change direction on maternal health to solve child malnutrition

    At the same time, a national food commission should be established, to monitor and coordinate all initiatives that focus on the goal of eradicating hunger.

    The government should be guided by the priorities set down by a new coalition – the Union Against Hunger – which is due to be launched on 26 February. The initiative is a coalition of civil society organisations and academics (the authors are among the founding members). It has compiled a list of 10 demands that reflect our analysis of the causes of hunger and recommended solutions. They include realising everyone’s constitutional right to food, halving child stunting by 2030 and making nutritious food accessible to all.

    Stephen Devereux receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). He holds a Research Chair in Social Protection for Food Security, affiliated to the DSI–NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security and the Institute for Social Development at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

    Busiso Moyo previously received funding from the Centre of Excellence in Food Security – UWC and the IDRC-Canada. He is affiliated with the Union Against Hunger (UAH) initiative.

    Mark Heywood previously headed Section 27, which receives funding and received funding for the Justice and Activism Hub. He is affiliated with the Union Against Hunger initiative.

    – ref. 15 million South Africans don’t get enough to eat every day: 4 solutions – https://theconversation.com/15-million-south-africans-dont-get-enough-to-eat-every-day-4-solutions-250700

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK must make big changes to its diets, farming and land use to hit net zero – official climate advisers

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Neil Ward, Professor of Rural and Regional Development at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia

    William Edge / shutterstock

    If the UK is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, over one-third of its sheep and cows will have to go, with their fields being replaced by huge new areas of woodland. That’s one conclusion of the latest report by the the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK government’s independent advisor on climate change.

    The CCC is tasked with outlining how much greenhouse gas the UK can emit if it is to achieve its climate targets – its “carbon budget”. The committee also recommends how the country might reduce its emissions to get within that budget. It sets future budgets every five years or so. This latest report, the seventh carbon budget, looks at emissions in the period 2038 to 2043. It updates the sixth carbon budget produced in 2020.

    The UK has almost halved its greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, but that was the easy half. Most dirty industries are long gone, for instance, and coal power plants have been replaced with gas and renewable energy.

    Next, the country will be grappling with the most challenging sectors including the focus of my academic research: agriculture and land use. This challenge will be worsened by the impacts of climate change and geopolitical uncertainties that raise doubts about the UK’s food security.

    Currently, agriculture makes up about 11% of UK emissions, but this proportion will rise considerably over the next 15 years as other sectors decarbonise further. Cattle and sheep contribute most of these emissions, and the latest carbon budget suggests their numbers will have to be reduced by 22% by 2035 and by over 38% by 2050.

    This is principally to release land to plant tens of thousands of hectares of new woodland each year (60,000 hectares a year by 2040) and to grow energy crops (38,000 hectares a year by 2040). It will also mean fewer emissions from the animals themselves and from growing animal feed.

    The UK needs a lot more of this.
    Callums Trees / shutterstock

    Less meat and dairy

    The latest carbon budget suggests that dietary change is key to this anticipated change in farming and land use. While British people won’t need to give up meat entirely, they will need to reduce consumption of meat and dairy products by around 35% by 2050 compared to 2019 levels.

    Meat and dairy consumption are already falling, however, and the trend has accelerated since 2020. To meet the budget, the decline would need to continue but more rapidly than the long-term trend.

    The CCC is in the business of advising on what government should do to address climate change, not in the business of telling people what to eat. It hopes that food labels with additional information about emissions will help people make better choices for themselves.

    Emphasising non-meat options and altering the layout of supermarkets may also help change the “choice environment” and so change consumption practices. Nevertheless, before long, the UK and devolved governments will have to grasp the nettle of diet change, land use and livestock. There have already been successful legal challenges for having inadequate plans in this area.

    It helps that diets good for the planet are also good for people’s health. In October 2024, the House of Lords food, diet and obesity committee estimated diet-related ill health and obesity cost £98 billion a year. This is a significant drag on productivity and places acute pressures on the NHS.

    Plant-based foods are better for food security

    Energy security is currently prompting much thought and action, but food security has not. Dietary change can also help improve the UK’s food security, however, since meat and dairy take up more land per calorie than healthier alternatives. A large-scale shift in diet and land use could render the UK more resilient to future wars, pandemics or anything else that causes shocks to food prices and supplies.

    For farmers and landowners there has been increasing interest in greener approaches to production, sometimes called regenerative farming. Some within, or clustered around, farming will protest about the scale of reduction in animal numbers implied by net zero.

    Faced with the basic maths, a marked reduction looks unavoidable. The sooner the conversation can shift from whether change is needed to how it might best be fairly and equitably pursued, the better.

    This carbon budget brings positive opportunities for nature restoration, diversifying rural economies and improving the appearance and ecology of the countryside. But for net emissions to come down enough, the amount of wooded land will need to increase from 13% to 19% by 2050 – that’s over a million extra hectares, or roughly equivalent to Cornwall, Devon and Dorset combined.

    These are very stretching targets, and tree planting over the past few years has fallen far short of the rates required. Because afforestation is such an important factor in the carbon budget, if the UK fails to meet its targets, the dietary changes may need to be even greater.

    Heightened international instability threatening UK food security could mean the same. Indeed, some food, health and environmental organisations will point to the seventh carbon budget and say the CCC has not gone far enough.

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

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

    Neil Ward receives funding from UKRI in his role as Co-lead of the AFN (AgriFood4NetZero) Network+.. He is a member of the Labour Party and the National Trust.

    – ref. The UK must make big changes to its diets, farming and land use to hit net zero – official climate advisers – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-must-make-big-changes-to-its-diets-farming-and-land-use-to-hit-net-zero-official-climate-advisers-250158

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: AI-detection software isn’t the solution to classroom cheating — assessment has to shift

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michael Holden, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Winnipeg

    Two years since the release of ChatGPT, teachers and institutions are still struggling with assessment in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

    Some have banned AI tools outright. Others have turned to AI tools only to abandon them months later or have called for teachers to embrace AI to transform assessment.

    The result is a hodgepodge of responses, leaving many kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary teachers to make decisions about AI use that may not be aligned with the teacher next door, institutional policies, or current research on what AI can and cannot do.

    One response has been to use AI detection software, which rely on algorithms to try to identify how a specific text was generated.

    AI detection tools are better than humans at spotting AI-generated work. But they’re a sufficiently imperfect solution, and they do nothing to address the core validity problem of designing assessments where we can be confident in what students know and can do.

    Teachers using AI detectors

    A recent American survey, based on nationally representative surveys of K-12 public school teachers published by the Center for Democracy and Technology, reported that 68 per cent of teachers use AI detectors.

    This practice has also founds its way into some Canadian K-12 schools and universities.

    AI detectors vary in their methods. Two common approaches are to check for qualities described as “burstiness,” referring to alternating and short and long sentences (the way humans tend to write) and complexity (or “perplexity”). If an assignment does not have the typical markers of human-generated text, the software may flag it as AI-generated, prompting the teacher to begin an investigation for academic misconduct.

    To its credit, AI detection software is more reliable than human detection. Repeated studies across contexts show humans — including teachers and other experts — are incapable of reliably distinguishing AI-generated text, despite teachers’ confidence that they can spot a fake.

    Teachers should not be confident they can spot AI-generated text. Icons for apps DeepSeek and ChatGPT on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2025.
    (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

    Accuracy of detectors varies

    While some AI detection tools are unreliable or biased against English language learners, others seem to be more successful. However, what success rates should really signal for educators is questionable.

    Turnitin boasts that their AI detector has a 99 per cent success rate, vis-à-vis their near one per cent rate of false positives (that is, the number of human-generated submissions their tool incorrectly flags as AI-generated). This accuracy has been challenged by a recent study that found Turnitin only detected AI-generated text about 61 per cent of the time.

    The same study suggested how different factors could shape accuracy results. For example, GPTZero’s accuracy may be as low as 26 per cent, especially if students edit the output an AI tool generates. Yet a different study of the same detector suggested a wide range of results (for example, between 23 and 82 per cent accuracy or 74 and 100 per cent accuracy).

    Considering numbers in context

    The value of a percentage depends on its context. In most courses, being correct 99 per cent of the time is exceptional. It’s above the most common threshold for statistical significance in academic research, which is often set at 95 per cent.

    But a 99 per cent success rate would be atrocious in air travel. There, a 99 per cent success rate would mean around 500 accidents every day in the United States alone. That level of failure would be unacceptable.

    To suggest what this could look like: at an institution like mine, the University of Winnipeg, about 10,000 students submit multiple assignments — we could ballpark five, for argument’s sake — for around five courses every year.

    That would be about 250,000 assignments every year. There, even a 99 per cent success rate means roughly 2,500 failures. That’s 2,500 false positives where students did not use ChatGPT or other tools, but the AI detection software flags them for possible use of AI, potentially initiating hours of investigative work for teachers and administrators alongside stress for students who may be falsely accused of cheating.

    Time wasted investigating false positives

    While AI detection software merely flag possible problems, we’ve already seen that humans are unreliable detectors. We cannot tell which of these 2,500 assignments are false positives, meaning cheaters will still slip through the cracks and precious teacher time will be wasted investigating innocent students who did nothing wrong.

    This is not a new problem. Cheating has been a major concern long before ChatGPT. Ubiquitous AI has merely shed a spotlight on a long-standing validity problem.

    When students can plagiarize, hire contract cheaters, rely on ChatGPT or have their friend or sister write the paper, relying on take-home assessments written outside class time without any teacher oversight is indefensible. I cannot presume that such forms of assessment represent the student’s learning, because I cannot reliably discern if the student actually wrote them.

    Need to change assessment

    The solution to taller cheating ladders is not taller walls. The solution is to change how we are assessing — something classroom assessment researchers have been advocating for long before the onset of AI.

    Just as we don’t spend thousands of dollars on “did-their-sister-write-this” detectors, schools should not rest easy simply because AI detection companies have a product to sell. If educators want to make valid inferences about what students know and can do, assessment practices are needed that emphasize ongoing formative assessment (like drafts, works-in-progress and repeated observations of student learning).

    These need to be rooted in authentic contexts relevant to students’ lives and their learning that centre comprehensive academic integrity as a shared responsibility of students, teachers and system leaders — not just a mantra of “don’t cheat and if we catch you we will punish you.”

    Let’s spend less on flawed detection tools and more on supporting teachers to develop their assessment capacity across the board.

    Michael Holden 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. AI-detection software isn’t the solution to classroom cheating — assessment has to shift – https://theconversation.com/ai-detection-software-isnt-the-solution-to-classroom-cheating-assessment-has-to-shift-246102

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: USAID’s apparent demise and the US withdrawal from WHO put millions of lives worldwide at risk and imperil US national security

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nicole Hassoun, Professor of Philosophy, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    USAID was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as a way to consolidate existing foreign aid programs. JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    On his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump began a drastic reshaping of the United States’ role in global health as part of the first 26 executive orders of his new term.

    He initiated the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which works to promote and advance global health, following through on his first attempt in 2020. He also ordered staff members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cut off all communications with WHO representatives.

    In his first week, Trump also issued a stop-work order pending a 90-day review on nearly all programs of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.

    Many experts view this as a first step in dismantling the organization, which facilitates global efforts to improve health and education and to alleviate poverty. The sweeping move left aid workers and the people who depend on them in a panic and interrupted dozens of clinical trials across the world.

    President Trump’s executive order sparked legal action from international health care organizations, resulting in a federal judge ordering a temporary halt to the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid. Ultimately, that legal action was unsuccessful.

    On Feb. 23, the Trump administration put nearly all of USAID’s 4,700 workers on paid administrative leave globally and stated that it would be terminating 1,600 of those positions.

    Most recently, on Feb. 25, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to allow some USAID funding to resume and required that it pay all of its invoices for work completed before the foreign aid freeze went into effect.

    I am the executive director of the Global Health Impact project, an organization that aims to advance access to essential medicines in part by evaluating their health consequences around the world, and a researcher focusing on global health and development ethics and policy.

    In my view and that of many other public health scholars, closing down USAID will imperil our national security and put millions of lives at risk.

    Because of the USAID stop-work order, 500,000 metric tons of food are at risk of spoiling.

    20 million with HIV treated

    USAID works with both nongovernmental organizations and private companies to help distribute medicines and vaccines around the world. The agency also helps improve government policies and invest in research and development to contain and address epidemics and pandemics.

    Starting in the late 1960s, for instance, USAID helped lead the effort to eliminate smallpox and has also helped fight polio and other devastating diseases over the past six decades.

    The smallpox pandemic was one of the worst of all time – it killed one-third of the people infected, causing an estimated 300 million to 500 million deaths worldwide in the 20th century. By contrast, COVID-19 killed less than 1% of those infected.

    These efforts have brought immense financial as well as health benefits to the U.S. and the rest of the world. Some economists estimate that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, created in 1988, alone saved the world more than US$27 billion as of 2017, and that it will save a total of $40 billion to $50 billion by 2035.

    USAID also plays an important role in promoting global health equity. The agency works to increase access to primary health care, combat hunger and strengthen health systems – ultimately saving lives. In addition, USAID has provided a great deal of funding to fight infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

    For instance, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, provides treatment for 20 million people living with HIV in Africa. Trump’s federal aid freeze has halted funding for PEPFAR projects.

    While the limited waiver under which the agency must now operate means some PEPFAR activities may eventually resume, many are now left without federal funding indefinitely. Unless another organization fills the gap, millions will die without USAID assistance.

    A 2022 photo of men in Afghanistan lining up to receive a monthly food ration, largely supplied by USAID.
    Scott Peterson/Getty Images News via Getty Images

    Mistakes made

    This is not to deny that USAID has made some grave errors in its history.

    For instance, USAID provided significant funding to the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) during the murderous regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, who was in power from 1965 to 1997.

    But USAID also has done an immense amount of good. For instance, it has helped contain the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2018. USAID’s work in preventing epidemics from spreading helps people everywhere, including in the U.S.

    If anything, there is a strong argument for increasing USAID funding. China has invested heavily in Asia and Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative, which is an attempt to recreate ancient trade routes by investing in roads, trains and ports. Some researchers argue that this has shifted diplomatic relations in favor of China. They believe that if the U.S. does not make similar investments and instead cuts foreign aid, it will affect the United States’ ability to achieve its foreign policy objectives.

    Similarly, there is a strong argument for increasing U.S. support for the WHO rather than withdrawing from the organization.

    Trump’s withdrawal order cites what he sees as the organization’s failures in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic as the rationale. But the WHO helped lead efforts to accelerate vaccine development and distribution, and retrospective reports claim that even more deaths could have been avoided with greater international cooperation.

    While dismantling USAID will cause irreparable harm to global health, these actions taken together are likely to deal a devastating blow to efforts to protect Americans and everyone else in the world from sickness and death.

    Alyssa Figueroa, an undergraduate student at Binghamton University, contributed to this article.

    Nicole Hassoun has received funding for research from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. She is the executive director of Global Health Impact (global-health-impact.org) which participates in the Pandemic Action Network.

    – ref. USAID’s apparent demise and the US withdrawal from WHO put millions of lives worldwide at risk and imperil US national security – https://theconversation.com/usaids-apparent-demise-and-the-us-withdrawal-from-who-put-millions-of-lives-worldwide-at-risk-and-imperil-us-national-security-249260

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Trump’s Gaza reconstruction proposal is unlikely to work

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ali Asgary, Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies & Director, CIFAL York, York University, Canada

    There have been many conversations around U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal to permanently displace Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries and turn the strip into a luxury resort development. Criticisms of Trump’s comments often focus on the proposal’s illegality, immorality and impracticality.

    However, little has been discussed from the perspective of post-disaster and post-war reconstruction. Post-conflict reconstruction, as part of post-disaster reconstruction studies, has a very long history, scholarly literature, lessons learned and is one of the well-studied phases of disaster and emergency management.

    Where to rebuild

    When it comes to where to rebuild or reconstruct after disasters, including human-made disasters such as war and conflict, there are three main options:

    1) reconstruction in the original location;

    2) reconstruction in a new location; and

    3) reconstruction and integration in existing settlements.

    Each of these approaches has its advantages, disadvantages and challenges. One of the key principles of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction is minimizing post-disaster relocation.

    While a significant majority of post-disaster reconstruction happens in the original locations, there has been reconstruction and resettlement to new locations and beside or inside existing settlements.

    For example, after the 1974 conflict in Cyprus, the city of Famagusta was abandoned and residents were relocated to new areas. Relocation after the 1995 volcano eruption that buried Plymouth in Montserrat is another example. After the 1990 Manjil earthquake in Iran, many villages were relocated and rebuilt in new locations.

    Rebuilding in the original location

    Studies show that reconstruction in the original location is generally the most preferred and effective option. People impacted and displaced by war and disasters usually prefer to live in their original community.

    In some cases, reconstruction in the original location may still require some forms of temporary resettlement. This temporary relocation is a preferred option when the affected areas do not have enough space or ability to support the population during the reconstruction period, particularly during debris removal and infrastructure restoration.

    Past reconstruction efforts in developed and developing countries, show that recovery and reconstruction are more effective, democratic and faster when the impacted population is in charge of the reconstruction process, and remain close to their damaged homes.

    The closer a temporary settlement is to the reconstruction site, the better. Proximity allows the impacted population to participate effectively, monitor and benefit from the reconstruction process without distance and accessibility barriers.

    Rebuilding in new locations

    Reconstruction in a new location is usually considered as one of the last options when rebuilding in the original place is not possible due to various hazards like landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, flooding or volcanos.

    This usually occurs when mitigation measures are neither possible nor feasible. This option requires relocating the impacted population and rebuilding everything from scratch. Its success very much depends on the availability of land, resources and the willingness of the impacted population to relocate.

    Even when relocation is the only viable option, impacted people must be fully involved and given discretion regarding their place of relocation. Involuntary resettlement programs are impracticable. Even when the population is displaced, studies show that people return to their original homes if they can.

    Rebuilding near existing settlements is an extension of this option except that instead of rebuilding in a new location, reconstruction happens beside existing settlements to minimize infrastructure costs.

    This option can still be challenging. Implementation can be very complex even when new settlements are in the same country or area. Reintegrating people into a new place, even when they are willing to be relocated, requires many livelihood support initiatives, land availability, legal frameworks for land distribution and dispute resolution.

    Rebuilding options for Gaza

    Trump’s proposal is close to that last option, with three major differences. The first difference is that there is no consultation with Palestinians in Gaza.

    The second difference is that the impacted population will be forcefully and involuntarily relocated to settlements in other countries (Egypt and Jordan).

    The third difference is that the United States would “own” Gaza, and rebuild it for other purposes and uses, not for the benefit of Palestinians.

    As mentioned above, one key justification for rebuilding in a new location is that the original place is not permanently safe. Trump’s proposal assumes that Gaza is not safe for Palestinians but somehow safe for others.

    Post-disaster and conflict reconstruction is not just a physical reconstruction project. Rather, it is a complex, multidimensional process, with potentially very high negative impact if not properly planned and implemented.

    Top-down approaches in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction often fail because these approaches ignore the complexity of the built environment, the local conditions, and the needs of the affected population.

    Displacing entire populations, their economic activities and their social networks and relations can have significant impacts — direct and indirect — on the population and on governments. Community relocation fails because it disrupts social networks, and increases negative sentiments and dissatisfaction with living conditions in new location.

    Post-war reconstruction programmes must be multi-dimensional and based on a clear understanding of local conditions and careful consultation with the affected people. The alternative to large-scale resettlement is to reduce the risks people face in their current location.

    In the past, international solidarity has played an important role in reconstruction. Such solidarity increasingly exists for the Palestinians of Gaza, and with that, rebuilding in the same location can still be a viable and preferred option.

    Ali Asgary 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. Why Trump’s Gaza reconstruction proposal is unlikely to work – https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-gaza-reconstruction-proposal-is-unlikely-to-work-249680

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: More than just a game: How sports are reflecting Canada-U.S. tensions

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven, PhD Candidate, Political Science, Western University

    Canada emerged victorious in the 4 Nations Face-off hockey tournament on Feb. 20, but the event was overshadowed by growing political tensions between Canada and the United States.

    In the lead-up to the final game, American fans booed the Canadian national anthem, likely in response to Canadian fans booing the American national anthem ahead of a game between the two teams on Feb. 15.

    This was not the first recent airing of grievances from Canadian fans at a sporting event. Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs against Canada and repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state, fans at a Toronto Raptors game and Ottawa Senators game booed the American national anthem.



    Read more:
    How Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada are stoking a new Canadian nationalism

    Despite the proposed tariffs being postponed for 30 days, Trump’s antagonistic vision for Canada-U.S. relations has stoked anti-American sentiments among Canadians, including calls to boycott American goods and a deteriorating belief in close Canada-U.S. relations.

    Those anti-American sentiments boiled over again when Canada faced the U.S. in Montréal, showcasing how sport can be used as an expression of nationalism — especially at a time of increased tensions between the two countries.

    Why sports matter politically

    It’s not surprising that sport has become an arena for nationalist political rhetoric. Sport possesses powerful symbolism that can be exploited to great affect in forming a coherent national identity.

    In this way, sporting events are a way fandoms can reinforce national identity as an objective symbol that connects to primitive forms of national ideology.

    Sport is also a powerful psychological setting for national rhetoric. A person’s social identity, or how they see themselves in relation to others, can be reinforced through sport. This can happen, for instance, when someone views themselves as a member of a team and celebrates their success, or views a rival team or country in a negative light after a loss.

    Additionally, the outcome of a game can boost in-group favouritism, which can influence whether consumers buy goods from a specific vendor.

    Nationalism versus patriotism

    Generally, research suggests sports reinforce a national in-group identity that is more patriotic than nationalistic. However, the vitriol Canadians have expressed during the American national anthem leans towards expressing nationalist views rather than patriotic ones.

    Patriotism typically focuses on why a country is great without necessarily disparaging outsiders or other countries. Nationalism, on the other hand, tends to play up why one’s country is great while vilifying another country or group.

    Trump’s focus on using tariffs to bully Canada into increasing security at the border has undoubtedly soured relations between the two countries. If Trump decides to flex the United States’ capacity to be a bully in U.S.-Canadian relations, Canada is stuck with limited options.

    But are Canadians playing right into Donald Trump’s hand by leaning into an adversarial relationship?

    How Trump uses sports for political gain

    Trump has a history of using major sporting events to his political benefit. During his last presidential campaign, he attended the Army-Navy football game and became the first sitting president to attend the recent Super Bowl in New Orleans.

    Trump also considered attending the 4 Nations final between the U.S. and Canada in Boston, but couldn’t attend due to a scheduled speech with U.S. governors. Still, he made his presence felt by calling the American team the morning before the game to wish them luck.

    Looking ahead, Trump may continue to use international sporting events to assert his vision for U.S. relations with Canada and Mexico.

    In January, Trump invited Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, to his inauguration, just as preparations have begun for the 2026 World Cup, which is to be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

    With Infantino and Trump becoming increasingly friendly, it seems likely Trump will use the upcoming World Cup to influence North American relations. At the very least, he will likely try to insert himself into its coverage.

    Trump using sport to reinforce his image

    Beyond politics, Trump uses sports to play into his crafted image as a hyper-masculine man. This image has played a large part in Trump’s popularity among young men and helped him win a second term as president.

    Yet Trump does not necessarily fit the masculine norms his supporters lionize. Trump is fairly tall, which has been shown to be preferred among American voters. However, unlike past presidents such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, who played college football, Trump’s athletic background is limited to high school football.

    Nor did Trump serve in the military like previous presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, both of whom served in the Second World War. Trump, by contrast, avoided service during the Vietnam war for medical and educational reasons.

    Despite a lack of traditional masculine bonafides, Trump has shown an ability to use sporting events for his political gain. He has used sporting events as potent media environments to insert his talking points and burnish his masculine image.

    In the end, the boos from Canadian fans may be music to Donald Trump’s ears. He wants to be hated by outsiders so he can turn around to his supporters and say that the U.S. is under attack at its borders. He wants the sporting accomplishments of the American men’s teams to reflect on his strength.

    It can still go against him, as we saw Thursday night with Canada beating the U.S. in overtime. Justin Trudeau wasted no time using that moment to respond with strong rhetoric in a tweet.

    What happened on the ice was out of Trump’s control. But he used the event to serve his own goals, sowing greater divisiveness across borders. The shadow of his combative rhetoric loomed large over the entire event.

    Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven 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. More than just a game: How sports are reflecting Canada-U.S. tensions – https://theconversation.com/more-than-just-a-game-how-sports-are-reflecting-canada-u-s-tensions-250385

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Donald Trump is a relentless bullshitter

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Tim Kenyon, Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Brock University

    There have been many questions raised about the intentions behind Donald Trump’s spate of radical public statements about Canada, in which he claims trade deficits amount to subsidies, massive amounts of fentanyl are flowing across the border and the country should become the 51st American state, among other things.

    The U.S. president’s comments have fuelled speculation about what he means when he makes these kinds of false claims — or whether he means anything at all.

    After all, rounded to the nearest percentage point, zero per cent of illicit fentanyl entering the U.S. comes from Canada, trade deficits are not subsidies and annexing Canada is an absurd proposal.

    So why say things that are so untrue?

    Is Trump serious about any of this?

    Ignore Trump? Or fear him?

    The aggregate opinion seems to be both an unhelpful no and a yes, so the answer remains unclear.

    If we take every provocation seriously, we’re falling for the “flood the zone” strategy as Trump spews out outlandish claims as a form of distraction.

    If we shrug off his claims, we’re ignoring the potential danger.

    But there are patterns and incentives behind Trump’s flouting of basic communicative norms. One illustrative example dates back to 2018 talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when Trump complained about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada. Later, he told prospective donors in Missouri that he’d made this claim up on the spot.

    Why make up a claim like that? And, having done so, why admit and even brag about it, and then renew this knowingly false claim six years later?

    My colleague Jennifer Saul and I are scholars in the political philosophy of language. We’re among those who cite this example of Trump bullshit in our work on bullshit in authoritarian political speech and how bullshit can succeed even though everyone recognizes that it is, in fact, bullshit.



    Read more:
    Bullshit is everywhere. Here’s how to deal with it at work

    Why Trump bullshits

    Our notion of bullshit is a refinement of the term that was the subject of American philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s seminal 2005 book On Bullshit.

    Most liars care enough about the truth to try to conceal it. But simply not caring either way is a different vice, which Frankfurt called bullshitting.

    An example would be claiming a trade deficit without having any idea whether that’s true or false. Other examples include uttering falsehoods that are so obvious they couldn’t possibly be intended to deceive anyone.

    Really obvious bullshit can succeed politically, we proposed, because there are many audiences in mass communication. Bullshit targeted at Audience A can be a big hit with Audience B, if B thinks A deserves it.

    Then it becomes a display of power over A, with B enjoying the spectacle. This overt bullshitting lends itself to authoritarian politics for someone cultivating a strongman image. It marks an opponent for disrespectful treatment, and advertises that the bullshitter cannot be held to account.

    So Trump’s admission that he bullshitted Trudeau in 2018 was a successful strategy because he revealed it to a sympathetic audience, who got to see themselves as part of the performance and not as its target. Asking: “Does Trump really mean this?” is often less revealing than: “How does this promote Trump’s image as an authority figure, and to which audience?”

    Similarly, Trump falsely remarked in 2019 that Hurricane Dorian’s projected path included Alabama. He responded to fact-checking by showing an official storm track map that he literally altered by hand, with a marker.

    Such a ridiculous invention couldn’t be meant to deceive. But it showed Trump’s base, many of whom distrust mainstream information sources, that he couldn’t be made to back down for reporters, no matter the facts.

    Some claims appear deceptive lies to one audience and bullshit to another, like Trump’s recent claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a dictator who started the war in Ukraine.

    Some audiences might believe it. Others will see it as false and designed to be deceptive, yet recognize it as a threat to treat Ukraine as an aggressor with American demands for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals at stake.



    Read more:
    Ukraine’s natural resources are at centre stage in the ongoing war, and will likely remain there

    Credibility matters in unexpected ways

    Even conservative pundits initially worried that Trump’s propensity to bullshit would diminish the finite resource that is credibility.

    They didn’t recognize that credibility is a dubious virtue in strongman politics. Its absence can even be an asset. Acting without credibility is a chance to flex — to show that you can compel others to take you seriously whether they believe you or not.

    These incentives link frivolous outbursts of bullshit with very serious doubling-downs. Trump first spoke about Canada becoming the 51st state in a meeting with Trudeau in late November so offhandedly that it was not immediately mentioned in news reports.

    Once Fox News seized upon it, Trudeau was forced to publicly dismiss the comment as a joke.

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in November 2024. Trudeau apparently thought Trump was just bullshitting when he made mention of Canada becoming a 51st state during the dinner.
    (X/@JustinTrudeau)

    A great deal more commentary revealed liberal-leaning Canadians and Americans were angry and even frightened by this sort of talk — conditions that made it attractive for Trump to double down rather than back down.



    Read more:
    Canada as a 51st state? Republicans would never win another general election

    Combing through Trump’s speech and actions towards Canada to discover what he really means may just be an attempt to “sane-wash” them; meaning trying to figure out if they reflect a stable and sincere attitude, or even a stable and insincere negotiating strategy.

    What makes Trump’s bullshit so dangerous is that it rarely reflects fixed, coherent meanings or convictions. It lurches from triviality to deadly seriousness, depending on how his various audiences provide the approval and the outrage Trump seeks for his performances of strength.

    Tim Kenyon 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. Why Donald Trump is a relentless bullshitter – https://theconversation.com/why-donald-trump-is-a-relentless-bullshitter-249896

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How hockey’s politics played out at the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Braeden McKenzie, Postdoctoral Fellow & Equity Data and Research Analyst, University of Victoria

    The National Hockey League’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament captured attention across North America as hockey’s first best-on-best competition since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

    The tournament, which featured competitive round-robin games between Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden, was a massive success for the league. The final game between Canada and the U.S. averaged 9.25 million viewers with Canada defeating the United States 3-2 in overtime.

    The recent rise in political tensions between Canada and the U.S., amid continued threats of a trade war, have made their way onto the ice. Canadian fans in Montréal loudly booed the Star-Spangled Banner before both of Team USA’s round robin games.

    In response, Bill Guerin, Team USA’s general manager, encouraged U.S. President Donald Trump to attend the championship game in Boston. For his part, Trump used the tournament to reiterate his threat to annex Canada in a Truth Social post.

    An apolitical image

    Historically, hockey has been marketed as an apolitical space. The culture celebrates players that demonstrate a willingness to do their talking on the ice, praising their quiet reverence for the game’s traditions above all else.

    Superstar players like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby have been admired for being modest, respectful and even bland in their conduct, approach to the game and leadership style.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, when players and coaches for the American and Canadian teams were asked about the political context the tournament had been thrust into, most reiterated that hockey should not be political and instead should operate as a space for people to escape.

    However, such notions belie a culture of masculinity that is decidedly white, and which ingrains expectations about tradition, professionalism and respect and works to uphold hockey’s political status quo.

    Fans boo American national anthem ahead of a showdown between Canada and the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. (The Canadian Press)

    Hockey’s preferred political acts

    In reality, hockey has always been a political space. Acts like playing national anthems, saluting flags or honouring military service are all inherently political. So, too, are displays of gigantic national flags in stadiums or arenas, military jet flyovers and public subsidies for professional sports facilities.

    It is noteworthy that those political acts are seen as acceptable in sports, while others — like booing or kneeling during an anthem — have faced widespread criticism from players, coaches and management.

    Performances of nationalism and militarism are somehow seen as apolitical, while expressions of protest are unpatriotic and too political. Such distinctions are less about preserving hockey as an apolitical space and more about maintaining unity and consensus in support of the brand of politics that is celebrated throughout the culture.

    Because the game’s history is largely based in white masculinities and traditions, political positions which reflect those ideologies (such as Don Cherry’s brand of nostalgic working-class populism and the MAGA movement’s views on nationalism, family structure or race) have been whole-heartedly accepted within hockey culture.

    A false neutrality

    Framing hockey as somehow neutral or apolitical simply reinforces the politics of the status quo, which benefits those in power and is, in itself, a clear expression of politics.

    Wayne Gretzky, perhaps Canada’s best ever player, has become an example of this very political reality. Gretzky recently faced criticism for attending the U.S. election night celebrations at Mar-A-Lago and Trump’s inauguration. Trump himself has suggested that Gretzky could be Canada’s governor if it becomes the 51st state.

    P.K. Subban, a gold medal-winning Canadian defenseman, was also criticized after he tweeted a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post, suggesting Trump may make the difference in the final game’s result.

    While many Canadians might disapprove of Gretzky attending the inauguration and Subban’s post, the acts are not likely to receive any major push-back within hockey itself (with the exception of former Canadian NHL player Akim Aliu calling out Subban).

    Having historically developed as a symbol of white masculinity, hockey will continue to represent a haven for ideologies rooted in inequity, division and extreme nationalism. While silence from players and coaches throughout the tournament is not wholly ill-intentioned, it without question represents complicity in the face of growing hatred, extremism and political turmoil.

    In contrast, acts of resistance or dissent are likely to continue to be cast off as too political by management, coaches and players. These individuals seem fine with politics in sport — just not politics that challenge their own.

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

    – ref. How hockey’s politics played out at the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament – https://theconversation.com/how-hockeys-politics-played-out-at-the-4-nations-face-off-tournament-250602

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Nutriset, a French company, has helped alleviate hunger and create jobs in some of the world’s poorest places

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nicolas Dahan, Professor of Management, Seton Hall University

    Michel Lescanne, founder and president of the French company Nutriset, holds Plumpy’nut packets in 2005. Robert Francois/AFP via Getty Images

    About 19 million children under 5 around the world suffer from severe acute malnutrition every year. This life-threatening condition kills 400,000 of them – that’s one child every 10 seconds.

    These numbers are staggering, especially because a lifesaving treatment has existed for nearly three decades: “ready-to-use therapeutic food.”

    Nutriset, a French company, was founded by Michel Lescanne. He was one of two scientists who invented this product in 1996. A sticky peanut butter paste branded Plumpy’nut, it’s enriched with vitamins and minerals and comes in packets that require no refrigeration or preparation.

    Health care professionals were quickly convinced of its promise. What was harder to figure out was how to manufacture as many packets as possible while cutting costs. In 2008, ready-to-use therapeutic food producers like Nutriset charged US$60 for one box of 150 packets – the number needed to treat one severely malnourished child for the 6-8 weeks needed for their recovery.

    In a study we published in the Journal of Management Studies in October 2024, we explained how the international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, activists and for-profit companies involved in the product’s distribution managed to resolve a public controversy over the use of Nutriset’s patent and its for-profit business model.

    Contrary to the expectations of activists and many humanitarian NGOs, this for-profit company managed to reduce its prices down to $39 per box of Plumpy’nut packets by 2019 and keep them consistently lower than any nonprofit or for-profit competitors could, all the while enforcing its patent rights.

    We interviewed Jan Komrska, a pharmacist then serving as the ready-to-use therapeutic food procurement manager at UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children; Tiddo von Schoen-Angerer, a pediatrician who was leading the access to medicines campaign at Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity; and Thomas Couaillet, a Nutriset executive. We also studied documents issued over the course of a decade to find out why this company’s unusual approach to intellectual property protection was so successful.

    Helping franchisees in low-income countries get started

    Nutriset and humanitarian organizations disagreed at the start over how to proceed with the production of ready-to-use therapeutic food.

    Doctors Without Borders at first accused Nutriset of behaving like a big drugmaker, shielding itself from competition by aggressively enforcing its patents to charge excessively high prices. The nongovernmental organization demanded that Nutriset allow any manufacturer to make its patented packets, without any compensation for that intellectual property.

    By 2012, Nutriset had changed course. It had stopped being almost the sole producer of ready-to-use therapeutic food and instead allowed licensees and franchisee partners, chiefly located in low-income countries, to make the packets without having to pay any royalties. It did, however, make an exception for the United States. It allowed Edesia, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit, to become a Nutriset franchisee.

    It also provided these smaller producers with seed funding and technical advice.

    Nutriset is still the world’s largest ready-to-use therapeutic food producer, we have determined through our research. It’s responsible for about 30% to 40% of the world’s annual production, down from more than 90% in 2008.

    There are some other U.S. manufacturers, such as Tabatchnick Fine Foods, but they aren’t Nutriset partners.

    Nutriset produced this video in 2012 to explain the scale of hunger around the world and how its ready-to-use therapeutic food packets can help.

    Threatening legal action

    At the same time, the company continued to threaten to take legal action against potential rivals located in developed countries that were replicating their recipe without authorization. Usually, cease-and-desist letters were sufficient.

    Nutriset implemented this strategy to ward off competition from big multinational corporations that might try to establish their brands in new markets, gaining a foothold before flooding them with imported ultraprocessed food. A big risk, had that occurred, would have been less breastfeeding for newborns and the disruption of local diets.

    Nutriset’s strategy of opening access to its patent selectively has enabled UNICEF to double the share of packets it buys from producers located in the Global South.

    UNICEF, the world’s biggest buyer of ready-to-use therapeutic food, bought less than one-third of its supplies from those nations in 2011. That share climbed to two-thirds in 2022.

    Nutriset’s reliance on local franchisees has helped create over 1,000 jobs in hunger-stricken regions while strengthening the supply chain and reducing the carbon emissions of transportation, according to UNICEF.

    Nutriset’s creative patent strategy also helped its partner producers in low-income countries, which include nonprofit and for-profit ventures, compete with large corporations in developed countries by the time its patent expired in 2018.

    In this instance, a for-profit company not only managed to keep its prices lower than its competitors, including nonprofits, but used its patent to support economic development in developing countries by shielding startup producers from international competition.

    As a result of these successes, we found that nongovernmental organizations eventually stopped criticizing the French company and recognized that high prices were actually not due to Nutriset’s patent policy but rather to global prices of the packets’ ingredients.

    In recognition of its contributions and innovation, Nutriset won the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patents for Humanity Award in 2015.

    Offering a cheap, convenient and effective treatment

    One of the biggest advantages of ready-to-use therapeutic food is that parents or other caregivers can give it to their kids at home or on the go. That’s more convenient and cheaper than the alternative: several months of hospitalization where children receive a nutrient-dense liquid called “therapeutic milk.”

    The at-home treatment works most of the time. More than 80% of the children who get three daily food packets recover within two months.

    Severe acute malnutrition deaths remain high because historically only 25% to 50% of children suffering from it get treated with ready-to-use therapeutic food, due to insufficient funding. The treatment programs are run by governments, UNICEF and other international agencies, and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders.

    USAID’s funding role

    The U.S. government spent about $200 million in 2024 through the U.S. Agency for International Development on ready-to-use therapeutic food, enough packets to treat 3.9 million children. That’s nearly as much as UNICEF, which treats about 5 million children annually.

    It’s unclear whether the Trump administration, which is trying to dismantle USAID, will discontinue its funding of ready-to-use therapeutic food that the U.S. government has purchased exclusively from U.S. manufacturers with U.S.-sourced ingredients.

    At a time when the flow of development aid from several wealthy countries is declining, the precedent Nutriset set suggests that humanitarian organizations, by teaming up with international agencies, governments and for-profit companies, can help drive down the costs of saving lives threatened by hunger while increasing the nutritional autonomy of the Global South.

    But the funding for ready-to-use therapeutic food and its distribution has to come from somewhere, whether it is from governments, foundations or other donors.

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

    – ref. How Nutriset, a French company, has helped alleviate hunger and create jobs in some of the world’s poorest places – https://theconversation.com/how-nutriset-a-french-company-has-helped-alleviate-hunger-and-create-jobs-in-some-of-the-worlds-poorest-places-249258

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the Victorians started the modern health obsession with collagen

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol

    Dream79/Shutterstock

    Shimmering, wobbling and painstakingly prepared, jelly was a staple of elite Victorian dining tables. But beneath its elegant presentation lay a deeper significance – one that reveals much about the era’s understanding of bone, health and scientific progress.

    By examining what jelly meant to the Victorians, we gain a fascinating insight into how food, science, and social status were entwined, and why our modern fascination with bone broth and collagen supplements is nothing new.

    To the Victorians, food was not merely sustenance but spectacle, and few dishes displayed culinary prowess as effectively as jelly.

    The ability to produce a flawless, quivering mould showed not only a cook’s technical skill but also a household’s refinement and affluence. A beautifully set table featuring jewel-toned jellies and savoury aspics signified sophistication, wealth and control over one’s domestic sphere.

    Despite its seemingly effortless appearance, jelly was among the most labour-intensive dishes a Victorian cook could prepare. Before the advent of commercially available gelatin, creating the perfect jelly required hours of patient work, beginning with the extraction of gelatin from animal bones.

    Beneath the quivering surface of a Victorian jelly lies a remarkable structural conversion that begins deep within bone.

    The key to jelly is collagen, the most abundant protein in the body and a fundamental component of bone. Collagen provides bone with tensile strength and flexibility, working alongside hydroxyapatite, a crystalline form of calcium phosphate, which lends bone its rigidity.

    In its natural state, collagen exists as a tightly wound triple-helix structure – a molecular arrangement that resists breakdown under normal conditions. However, through prolonged exposure to heat and water, this resilient protein undergoes hydrolysis, breaking apart into gelatin — a substance capable of setting liquids into the delicate, tremulous form so prized by the Victorians.

    The process begins with the slow simmering of bones, a practice familiar to both culinary and medical traditions.

    When bones are boiled in water over extended periods, heat disrupts the hydrogen bonds stabilising the collagen fibrils, causing them to unravel. This process, known as thermal denaturation, leads to the gradual breakdown of collagen’s highly ordered triple helix, transforming it into smaller, soluble protein fragments.

    The longer the bones are boiled, the more collagen dissolves, releasing a rich, proteinaceous broth — the precursor to both gelatin and the contemporary trend of bone broth, a healthy soup made by boiling animal bones.

    As hydrolysis progresses, collagen loses its fibrous structure, forming a loose network of protein chains that remain suspended in the liquid. Unlike intact collagen, which is rigid and insoluble, these denatured fragments possess the unique ability to trap water molecules within a gel matrix when cooled.

    This transformation is the defining characteristic of gelatin: once heated, it dissolves readily into a liquid, but upon cooling, the reformation of weak intermolecular bonds allows it to set into a flexible, semi-solid state.

    The final stages of gelatin extraction involve purification and clarification. Victorian kitchens employed traditional methods of refining the broth, often using egg whites to bind to impurities, which were then skimmed from the surface. Once sufficiently clarified, the liquid was left to cool, allowing the gelatin to set into its characteristic wobbly structure.

    Unlike modern commercial gelatin, which undergoes industrial processing for uniformity and ease of use, Victorian gelatin varied in strength and purity depending on the bones used and the duration of boiling.

    Some bones yielded a stronger gelatin than others, influencing both its setting properties and clarity. Calves’ feet were among the most prized sources, rich in collagen and capable of producing a firm, well-setting jelly.

    In contrast, ox bones, though commonly used for broths, contained less collagen and required prolonged boiling to extract enough gelatin, often resulting in a weaker set.

    Boiling time was critical in determining gelatin strength. A long, slow simmer (12–24 hours) was optimal. Shorter boiling times, often used for poultry or lighter broths (and lighter bones), resulted in weaker gelatin. However, overboiling (beyond 24–36 hours) risked breaking down the protein structure too much, preventing the gelatin from setting properly.

    Collagen and health

    The link between gelatin and bone health was not lost on Victorian society. Medical texts of the period frequently recommended gelatin-rich broths for invalids, children, and the elderly, reinforcing the belief that consuming gelatin could replenish and strengthen the body’s own systems.

    This intuitive logic mirrors contemporary claims that bone broth supports joint health, digestion and skin elasticity. However, while broth provides collagen and minerals, scientific evidence for its direct functional benefits remains limited.

    Collagen from food is broken down during digestion and does not directly restore cartilage or connective tissue. Despite its nutrient content, bone broth is no more beneficial than other protein sources, with its resurgence driven more by slow food and wellness trends than firm scientific backing.

    In many ways, the gelatinous dishes that graced Victorian dining tables were as much a product of scientific curiosity as they were of culinary tradition. The transformation of bone into jelly encapsulated an era fascinated by both anatomy and domestic mastery, offering a rare but not exclusive intersection between the dinner table and the laboratory.

    Michelle Spear 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 the Victorians started the modern health obsession with collagen – https://theconversation.com/how-the-victorians-started-the-modern-health-obsession-with-collagen-249215

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s claim that US debt calculation may be fraudulent could put the economy in danger

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gabriella Legrenzi, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Finance, Keele University

    Deacons docs/Shutterstock

    The US president, Donald Trump, is challenging official figures around the country’s federal debt, suggesting possible fraud in its calculation. The president’s remarks have added a controversial twist to an issue that is both complex and consequential for the United States. And it has implications for the global economy and financial markets too.

    US federal debt is the total amount of money the US government owes from years of borrowing to cover budget deficits (spending beyond its revenues). Over time, this amount has grown significantly, becoming a focal point for political debates and economic forecasts.

    The US debt clock indicates an amount of debt of above US$36 trillion (£28.5 trillion), corresponding to US$107,227 (£84,795) per US citizen.

    This figure is based on the US total public debt series. It is undeniable that the US debt has grown remarkably since the 2008 recession, with a further acceleration during the COVID pandemic. This brings the US federal debt in at around 121% of the size of the entire economy (GDP). For comparison, the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility puts British national debt at 99.4% of GDP in 2024.

    This pattern is common across advanced economies, given the necessity to spend to support their economies during recessions.

    Trump has also claimed that, as the result of this alleged fraud, the US might have less debt than was thought. Potential fraud aside, it is common knowledge that the headline debt figure overstates the amount of federal debt. This is because it includes debt that one part of the US government owes to another part, as well as debt held by the Federal Reserve Banks.

    Subtracting these debts from the US federal debt data gives us the debt held by the public. This is much lower but it still shows a similar growing pattern over time.

    How US national debt has grown as a share of GDP:

    The conventional wisdom (courtesy of Mr Micawber, a character in Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield) is that an income greater than expenditure equals happiness, while the opposite results in misery. But this does not necessarily apply to public debt.

    This is ultimately a debt we have with ourselves (and our future generations). What really matters is its long-term sustainability, meaning that the debt-to-GDP ratio is not following an explosive pattern. This kind of pattern could increase the risk premium (effectively the interest) demanded by investors, with a negative impact on private investments and growth prospects. Also, it potentially raises the risk of default.

    Our research has shown that there is no universally accepted threshold where debt becomes unsustainable. Instead, each case requires context-specific analysis looking at macroeconomic fundamentals such as inflation and unemployment, financial crises as well as the (potentially self-fulfilling) market expectations.

    Trump’s take

    Recently, Trump has questioned not only the size of federal debt but also the integrity of the methods used to calculate it, without presenting any evidence. He claims that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has uncovered potential fraud. If confirmed, these findings could significantly alter perceptions of the country’s financial position.

    Reports have also highlighted his controversial allegation that the US is “not that rich right now. We owe US$36 trillion … because we let all these nations take advantage of us.” These claims are puzzling, as the large size of US debt reflects decades of fiscal policy decisions in the wake of numerous shocks to the economy. Debt itself is not a cause of alarm for analysts.

    While the amount of US federal debt held by foreign stakeholders has risen over time, it is currently less than 30% of GDP. This is down from an all-time high of 35% during Trump’s first term back in 2020 during the pandemic.

    Of the US federal debt held by foreign countries, the largest amounts are owned by Japan, China, and the UK. Yet, when other countries hold US federal debt, it has nothing to do with “taking advantage” of the US.

    In fact, the US dollar is the world’s dominant vehicle currency. It is on one side of 88% of all trades in the foreign exchange market, which has a global daily turnover of US$7.5 trillion.

    As such, the US benefits from a so-called “exorbitant privilege”. This advantage comes from the international demand for the “safe haven” status of US Treasury securities and the US dollar, and has allowed the US to issue debt at a relatively low interest rate.

    Research suggests that this “safe haven” status of the US dollar has increased the maximum sustainable debt for the US by around 22%. What’s more, it’s estimated to have saved the US government 0.7% of GDP in annual interest payments.

    These advantages rely on the fact that US Treasury bonds are traditionally viewed as risk-free assets. This is particularly the case during times of global financial stress, as they are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. The US has a longstanding record of meeting its debt obligations.

    But Trump’s comments risk shaking the confidence of financial markets, leading traders to reassess the reliability of official data and the potential risks associated with US Treasury bonds. Whether truth or tale, such remarks touch on sensitive issues regarding fiscal responsibility and transparency in government.

    Any suggestion that the US government’s debt figures are unreliable could be destabilising. This is because they could call into question the reliability of the US fiscal system among the international investors and foreign governments that hold these securities.

    Much like Trump’s tariff threats, alleging other countries who hold a substantial portion of US federal debt have been opportunistic could be risky.

    The president could end up straining diplomatic bilateral relations with key creditors, which may cause broader uncertainties in global financial markets.

    With Trump in the White House, distinguishing between politically charged rhetoric and fiscal sustainability of the US federal debt will be essential for maintaining trust in the US economy and the health of the global financial system.

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

    – ref. Trump’s claim that US debt calculation may be fraudulent could put the economy in danger – https://theconversation.com/trumps-claim-that-us-debt-calculation-may-be-fraudulent-could-put-the-economy-in-danger-250538

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK farmer protests you probably haven’t heard about

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alex Heffron, PhD Candidate in Geography, Lancaster University

    Fruit pickers and farm workers protesting labour abuses on British farms. Peter Marshall

    Farm owners have besieged parliament with tractors in order to protest new subsidy schemes and inheritance tax arrangements. The farm workers who milk cows, drive machinery and pick crops have grievances too, yet their demands have been less publicised. So, what do they want?

    I am a farmer based in the south-west of Wales and a researcher of farming policy. I recently joined a protest by a group of Latin American farm workers known as “Justice is Not Seasonal”, outside the Home Office in London.

    The group accused soft fruit supplier Haygrove, which operates farms on three continents and supplies veg box delivery schemes including Riverford and Abel and Cole, of presiding over poor living and working conditions, failing to pay workers and charging inflated flight costs for overseas workers. Haygrove has an annual turnover in excess of £50 million.

    Haygrove denies these allegations. In response to a case brought forward by the trade union United Voices of the World and the charity Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit, the Home Office has made an interim decision stating there are reasonable grounds that one of the affected workers, Julia Quecaño Casimiro, has been subjected to human trafficking and modern slavery.

    The case tribunal is due to be held soon although it has been a slow, arduous process reaching this point.

    In an article for the BBC, a spokesperson for Haygrove said that Casimiro’s claims were “materially incorrect and misleading”. Haygrove’s practices are audited by third-party organisations including the Home Office, and the company takes “great care” in ensuring fair recruitment and working processes, the spokesperson said.

    Various trade unions and organisations attended the protest, including the Landworkers’ Alliance, United Voices of the World, Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain, Unite and Solidarity Across Land Trades.

    Conspicuously absent was the National Farmers’ Union, which predominantly represents farm owners. This highlights the divergent class interests that exist within terms like “farmer”.

    More workers and more exploitation

    There are 160,000 UK farm workers (as opposed to owners and managers). Of these, some of the most gruelling agricultural work is done by around 45,000 seasonal migrant workers, either in fields in all weather or in the sweltering heat of polytunnels.

    The UK attracts migrant farm workers with six-month temporary visas. A United Nations special rapporteur, Tomoya Obokata, an expert in human rights law and modern slavery, has suggested that the UK is breaking international law with its seasonal work scheme by failing to investigate instances of forced labour. Claims of exploitation and bullying on UK farms are also becoming more common. Meanwhile, in an effort to appease farm managers, the UK government recently announced a five-year extension of this scheme.

    Food and farming organisations have urged the UK to produce more fruit and vegetables as part of a wider shift towards a less carbon-intensive food system.

    To scale up domestic production will require more workers harvesting crops in poor conditions, especially migrant workers who don’t have the same legal rights as British citizens.

    Seasonal migrant workers, for example, cannot bring family members to the UK and have no access to benefits, while their visas are often tied to one place of work which typically includes accommodation which leaves them particularly vulnerable to abuse. A call for increased labour, without a call for improved conditions, could mean more exploitation on British farms.

    Exploitation is not limited to the allegations of a few bad apples either. It is so widespread that it threatens the resilience of the UK’s food system.

    A recent report found that more than half of migrants at risk of labour abuse work in the food system. A more resilient food supply will require better working conditions, pay and housing for workers in this sector, the report concludes.

    Higher prices don’t mean better welfare

    It’s tempting to ask consumers to pay more for their food so that farm workers might earn more. However, higher prices are no guarantee of better conditions. Leaving aside rising inflation and stagnating wages which make it harder for consumers to buy ethically, organic farms already sell produce at a premium and some are also among those accused of mistreating workers.

    This is even a problem among small-scale organic food producers, as documented by Solidarity Across Land Trades. A report by this land worker’s union found that some small farms use bogus traineeships to justify paying workers as little as £1.41 per hour. This is despite the produce usually being sold for more than conventional supermarket prices.

    Greener diets depend on increased fruit and vegetable production.
    Framarzo/Shutterstock

    The structural problems of the food system are more complicated than the price consumers pay for food. There is also the question of who gets to be heard, who is valued and who is deemed worthy of rights and dignity when food production takes place under a system of class-based exploitation. These challenges cannot be solved at the checkout alone.

    The ecological crisis demands transitions away from diesel-powered machinery and chemical fertilisers and herbicides produced with fossil fuels. Farm workers are needed to carry out the transition towards more sustainable practices, but there will be no green transition unless these workers have a stake in it.

    This idea of “a just transition” has gained traction in recent years, and it is just as relevant to farmers and farm workers as it is to workers in other sectors, such as oil and gas. But what might it look like?

    The demands made by Justice Is Not Seasonal are a good place to start: an end to forced labour and exploitation on UK farms and full accountability for those responsible, fair wages and safe working conditions, residency rights and access to justice and remediation.

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

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

    Alex Heffron 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. The UK farmer protests you probably haven’t heard about – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-farmer-protests-you-probably-havent-heard-about-249414

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mexico’s drug corruption has more to do with US demand than crooked politicians

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nathaniel Morris, Honorary Lecturer in the Department of History, UCL

    The US president, Donald Trump, asserted in early February that Mexican drug-trafficking organisations have an “intolerable alliance” with the government of Mexico. His remarks have cast a pall over bilateral relations already strained by recent talk of tariffs and military interventions.

    Although the two nations have sometimes clashed in the past, Mexico is today a close US ally. It is America’s top trading partner, with two-way commerce totalling US$807 billion (£640 billion) in 2023. And joint US-Mexican anti-narcotics collaborations stretch back nearly a century.

    Trump’s accusation was, therefore, as unexpected as it was explosive. It has brought figures from across the Mexican political spectrum together in condemnation of what Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, called “baseless slander”.

    The Mexican government is, on paper, a resolute enemy of the drug trade. However, the undeniable existence of drug-related corruption in Mexico means the reality is a little more complex.

    Since the birth of the Mexico-US drug trade in the early 20th century, certain government officials have turned a blind eye to the activities of drug traffickers in exchange for bribes. This “indirect” government involvement in the drug trade has always been by far the most prevalent form of drug-related corruption in Mexico.

    From the 1930s onwards, political bosses, police chiefs and military commanders in Mexico’s so-called “golden triangle” states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua taxed illicit opium production in the areas under their authority.

    They also sabotaged anti-drugs campaigns waged by other branches of government, in order to avoid conflict with their constituents and take a cut of their profits. Similar intrigues took place in the key trafficking hubs on the US-Mexico border, like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo.



    Read more:
    How the ‘Mexican miracle’ kickstarted the modern US–Mexico drugs trade

    Over the second half of the 20th century, Mexican and US drug enforcement efforts created an ever-more profitable black market. Low-level corruption accompanied the expansion of drug production and trafficking south into other areas of Mexico like Nayarit, Michoacán and Guerrero.

    Nowadays, the indirect involvement of local representatives of the Mexican government in the drug trade has become a fact of life in such places. But zones of drug production or trafficking still constitute only a fraction of Mexico’s total territory. This means corrupt local officials comprise a tiny minority of the overall government workforce.

    There are, however, also cases in which higher-level representatives of the Mexican state – or even entire government institutions – have participated directly in the production, transport or sale of illegal drugs.

    Such cases are relatively rare. But, they are inherently higher profile than the more routine, “looking the other way” kind of corruption. They are, therefore, more likely to make headlines in the US and from there inform popular and even national political discourse.

    The earliest such case is probably that of revolutionary military commander Esteban Cantú. Between 1915 and 1920, Cantú constructed a powerful political regime and funded important local development projects in the northern state of Baja California. He did so by taxing the import, sale and production of smoking opium first legally and then, when President Venustiano Carranza banned the practice, illegally.

    High-level official involvement in the drug trade became more frequent as the trade itself became ever more illicit and profitable. In 1940, Sinaloa governor Rodolfo Loaiza cut a series of deals with the up-and-coming drug trafficking organisations of his native state. An attempt to double-cross them cost Loaiza his life in 1944.

    Around the same time, political campaign manager Carlos Serrano looked to regional drug smugglers to help fund Miguel Alemán’s successful run for the presidency. Serrano was rewarded with command of the newly created, US-backed Federal Directorate of Security (DFS) secret police force. He soon used this position to move directly into opium trafficking himself.

    After US president Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” on both sides of the border in 1971, increasing crackdowns provided more opportunities for the same Mexican officials charged with enforcing prohibition to cut deals with traffickers. Resulting squeezes on supply also caused prices to soar and made such deals increasingly lucrative for government officials.

    By the mid-1980s, the DFS had become so deeply immersed in the drug trade that several of its agents were implicated in the Guadalajara Cartel’s murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The agency was disbanded soon after.

    But US demand for drugs continued unabated through the 1990s and into the 21st century. The profits offered by involvement in the drug trade proved hard to resist for a select number of high-ranking government officials, including members of the federal cabinet and state governors.

    Even Genaro García Luna, the architect of Mexico’s modern “war on drugs” ended up on the take. He is now serving 38 years in a US prison for colluding with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel.

    Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán being led away by Mexican law enforcement personnel after his arrest in 2014.
    Octavio Hoyos / Shutterstock

    An ‘intolerable alliance’?

    The indirect involvement of Mexican government officials remains far more common than direct or institutional involvement in the drug trade.

    Such corruption is largely opportunistic, rather than systematic, which is why it remains concentrated in areas where drug production and trafficking are particularly prevalent. It is also not limited to the Mexican side of the border. Plenty of crooked American cops and politicians have cut deals with traffickers over the years, too.

    Trump’s recent attacks on the Mexican government are not an accurate diagnosis of a uniquely Mexican problem. They are more of a headline-grabbing shot across the bows in the context of the renegotiation of many different aspects of the US-Mexico relationship.

    In the end, the issue of drug-related corruption in Mexico has less to do with its own government and more to do with American society’s own insatiable demand for drugs. Crackdowns on the cartels inevitably cause the price of drugs to rise, increasing the temptation of Mexican officials to try and grab a piece of the pie.

    As a businessman like Trump should be able to see, it’s not government corruption that drives the US-Mexican drug trade, but the iron laws of supply and demand.

    Nathaniel Morris has previously received funding from the Leverhulme Trust, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and University College London for research that has fed into this article. He is also a member of Noria Research.

    – ref. Mexico’s drug corruption has more to do with US demand than crooked politicians – https://theconversation.com/mexicos-drug-corruption-has-more-to-do-with-us-demand-than-crooked-politicians-249991

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Trump really wants Ukraine’s minerals – China has put theirs off limits

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dafydd Townley, Teaching Fellow in International Security, University of Portsmouth

    Donald Trump is demanding reparations from Ukraine for the assistance that it has given to Kyiv during the Russian invasion. Trump has demanded Ukraine sign a US$500 billion (£394 billion) deal that would give the US access to, and revenue from, Ukraine’s rare and critical minerals, an essential resource in 21st century economy.

    Trump has said that this would form part of a repayment of the aid given by the US to Ukraine. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has so far refused to sign such an agreement stating that the aid was a grant and not a loan, as agreed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and the Republican-controlled Congress.

    A key reason behind Trump’s push for this mineral deal is the US reliance on rare minerals such as gallium, which is critical for advanced defence technologies but is not readily available domestically.

    China, a leading supplier of gallium, has used its control over the resource as leverage against the US. It has imposed a ban on rare minerals being exported to the US, as part of its retaliation to increased US tariffs on Chinese goods.

    Other minerals are crucial for military technology such as missile system, electronics and electric vehicles. In Ukraine, there are deposits for 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical.

    The problem for the US is that China currently accounts for a high proportion of certain crticial mineral imports.

    So Trump sees a resolution to the Ukraine war as an opportunity to secure alternative sources of critical minerals, reducing US dependency on China and allowing Trump to take a more aggressive approach towards it. He also may not have predicted that China would hit back against the US tariffs with restrictions on these vital resources quite so quickly.

    Gallium is valued by the defence manufacturing industry because it is reliable and durable. In particular, the element is seen as a crucial tool enhancing radar, satellite communication systems, and electronic warfare systems. It is also used in multi-chip modules utilised by navigation and air traffic control systems.

    In addition to gallium, Ukraine has vast resources of graphite, an element that is used in the construction of electric vehicles and nuclear reactors, and a third of Europe’s supply of lithium, which is used in batteries.

    Trump’s focus on critical minerals has also influenced his interest in Greenland which possesses significant reserves of critical minerals, making it a potential alternative to Chinese-controlled resources.



    Read more:
    Trump’s Greenland bid is really about control of the Arctic and the coming battle with China

    Which minerals does Trump want?

    Why is China so important?

    Trump’s concern over China is also driving his negotiations with Russia more generally. One of Trump’s core concerns is China’s partnership with Russia. There is no doubt that China is now the dominant force in the Sino-Russian alliance.

    Given the increasing cooperation between the two nations in military, economic, and technological areas, Trump believes that China’s influence in global affairs needs to be countered aggressively. The Trump administration has sought to undermine the alliance by softening the US’s approach to Russia, a move that has shocked European leaders.

    Trump has long viewed China as the major threat to the US, considering it their biggest economic rival and a significant obstacle to making America “great again”.

    His economic policies have targeted Chinese trade practices, supply chain dependencies and geopolitical manoeuvres. One of his key trade advisers has argued American businesses are at a disadvantage from China’s state-controlled economy, intellectual property theft and trade imbalance.

    The recent tariffs imposed by the US on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, were intended to make US products more competitive by driving up the cost of Chinese imports, thereby encouraging businesses and consumers to buy domestic goods instead.

    At the same time, Trump sought to weaken China’s export economy by making it more difficult for Chinese companies to sell goods in the US. His tariff policies extended beyond China, with similar measures being considered for Europe.

    By targeting multiple regions, Trump aimed to shift global supply chains and solidify the US as a manufacturing powerhouse. By ending the war in Ukraine, Trump believes the US can redirect funds and resources used in Europe toward countering China’s growing influence.

    Trump has tried to justify the tariffs on China by claiming Chinese manufacturers are responsible for the mass production of fentanyl, which is then trafficked into the US through various channels. Trump has proposed stricter measures to curb the flow of fentanyl, including sanctions and tariffs on Chinese firms allegedly involved in its production.

    Following China’s retaliation, Trump needs peace in Ukraine and the consequential mineral agreement with Kyiv before China’s ban on exports to the US affects critical US manufacturing. Such an agreement would then allow him to take an even more aggressive posture with China with fewer consequences.

    However, Zelensky recently claimed that Russia has taken control of 20% of Ukraine’s minerals since the invasion. And it’s possible it will be years before any American investor gets any return on their money due to a chronic lack of investment in Ukraine’s minerals sector for almost a decade.

    Even if Trump does get the deal he wants, he will have to wait a while before Ukraine’s minerals will fulfil all of the US’s needs.

    Dafydd Townley 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. Why Trump really wants Ukraine’s minerals – China has put theirs off limits – https://theconversation.com/why-trump-really-wants-ukraines-minerals-china-has-put-theirs-off-limits-250546

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Labour’s Mike Amesbury has been jailed for punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Caygill, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Nottingham Trent University

    Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for ten weeks after he pleaded guilty to punching a man in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. The incident happened in October of last year. Amesbury had the Labour whip withdrawn and has sat as an independent MP since.

    What happens to MPs who are accused and found guilty of wrongdoing? While it does depend on how we define “wrongdoing”, as it can vary in terms of the scale of offence, there are several options available to parliamentary parties, the House of Commons itself and the public. In the case of Amesbury, neither parliament nor the Labour party can stop him from remaining as an MP under the current rules, either while in prison or after he comes out. But his constituents do have a say.

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

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    The ultimate power parliamentary parties have (particularly the leader) is to remove the whip. In effect, this means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and may not sit with their colleagues, nor be reelected under the party banner should the whip remain withdrawn at an election.

    There is a distinction between the whip being withdrawn and it being suspended. To have the whip withdrawn suggests it is final and will not be returned. To have it suspended suggests its removal is only temporary and can be returned. This was the case with the seven Labour MPs who voted against the party line over the two-child benefit cap.

    Amesbury had the whip withdrawn after the allegations and video evidence (which was circulated widely on social media) emerged. However, he remains an independent MP, at least for now.

    The House of Commons has the power to suspend MPs from the chamber for a specified period of time. Where an MP is found to have broken the code of conduct or committed a contempt of the House (for example, misleading the House), the committee on standards may recommend a period of suspension which leads to a motion being tabled in the House of Commons.

    This is what was going to happen to Boris Johnson after he was found to have misled parliament over “partygate” allegations. He resigned before the suspension could take effect.

    The parliamentary commissioner for standards, (an independent officer of the House of Commons), can also investigate complaints made against MPs (including over breaching lobbying rules). In serious cases it can report to the standards committee to recommend a sanction, including suspension from the House.

    The only way an MP can be expelled by the House of Commons completely (rather than having their membership suspended) is if they are sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment. In this case, Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks, so well below that threshold.

    Prior to 2015, this would have been the end of the process. Amesbury would have had the whip withdrawn. After completing his ten-week sentence he would have been free to continue to sit as an MP until the end of his current term.

    The role of the public

    As things stand in 2025, this is no longer the end of the line for these kinds of offences. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Recall of MPs Act, which has provided a route for the electorate to remove sitting MPs who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.

    Recall refers to a process whereby the electorate in a constituency can trigger a byelection to remove a sitting MP before the end of their term of office. MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:

    • if they are convicted in the UK of any offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted

    • if an MP is suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the committee on standards for a specified period: at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified (we saw a number of these kind of recalls during the 2019 Parliament, particularly following lobbying scandals)

    • if an MP is convicted of making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims (under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009).

    In the case of Amesbury, his sentence is close to meeting the conditions of the first point. I use the word “close” as he is planning on appealing the sentence, and the criteria cannot be formally met until those appeals are exhausted.

    If any of the criteria are met, then the speaker must notify the local returning officer (who oversees elections). A recall petition is then automatically launched and remains open for six weeks. Under the act, electors must sign the petition in person, by post or by proxy. For a petition to be successful and a byelection triggered, 10% of the eligible registered voters must sign it.

    At the time of writing, there have been six recall petitions launched against various MPs. Four of those were successful and saw the sitting MP lose their seat, one petition failed and the MP remained in place and in one case the MP resigned while the petition was open, automatically triggering a byelection.

    Given Amesbury is appealing, this process has not yet begun. However, he is under pressure, particularly from opposition MPs, to resign immediately and trigger a byelection now.

    While there is potentially a way back for Amesbury in terms of remaining an MP (should his appeal be successful or if a recall petition goes ahead and fails to meet the 10% threshold) it is unlikely there is a way back for him in terms of having the Labour whip restored.

    Either way, he may be on borrowed time. Even if he remains an MP, without a party whip he most likely faces defeat at a subsequent general election.

    This is what happened to former Labour MP Claudia Webbe. She had the whip withdrawn by the Labour Party in 2021 following a conviction for harassment. However, she appealed her sentence and was given community service instead – failing to trigger the Recall of MPs Act. She remained as an independent MP until the 2024 general election, where she was defeated by the Conservative candidate.

    There is an onus on political parties to ensure they respond to credible allegations of wrongdoing appropriately, including suspending the whip and removing it where necessary. In Amesbury’s case, Labour acted quickly.

    But given the scandals we have seen in recent years, the public have limited patience. And wrongdoing, by what is a small minority of MPs, can tar the reputation of all MPs and parliament itself.

    Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324241256)

    – ref. Labour’s Mike Amesbury has been jailed for punching a man – here’s why he’s still an MP – https://theconversation.com/labours-mike-amesbury-has-been-jailed-for-punching-a-man-heres-why-hes-still-an-mp-250707

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘I thought about escaping every day’: how survivors get out of Southeast Asia’s cybercrime compounds – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 3

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

    Every day that he was locked up in a scam compound in Southeast Asia, George thought about how to get out. “We looked for means of escaping, but it was hard,” he told The Conversation.

    George, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, managed to secretly contact a rescue organisation in Myanmar, where he was being held. That set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to his freedom, but it would take months before he made it back home to his family in Uganda.

    Hundreds of thousands of people like George are estimated to have been caught up in the brutal scamming industry in Southeast Asia, many forced into criminality against their will.

    Scam Factories is a podcast series from The Conversation Weekly taking you inside these brutal fraud compounds. It accompanies a series of multimedia articles on The Conversation.

    In our third and final episode, Great Escapes, we find out the different ways people manage to escape and at what costs, what it takes for them to get home, and what is being done to clamp down on the industry.

    The Conversation collaborated for this series with three researchers: Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne; Ling Li, a PhD candidate at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and Mark Bo, an independent researcher.

    They’ve spent the past few years researching the expansion of scam compounds in the region for a forthcoming book. They’ve interviewed nearly 100 survivors of the compounds, analysed maps and financial documents related to the scam industry and tracked scammers online to find out how these compounds work.

    Read an article by Ivan Franceschini and Ling Li which accompanies this episode.

    The Conversation contacted all the companies mentioned in this multimedia series for comment, except Jinshui who we could not contact. We did not receive a response from any of them.

    This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware, with assistance from Mend Mariwany and Katie Flood. Leila Goldstein was our producer in Cambodia and Halima Athumani recorded for us in Uganda. Hui Lin helped us with Chinese translation. Sound design by Michelle Macklem and editing help from Ashlynee McGhee and Justin Bergman.

    Newsclips in this episodes are from CNA, Reuters and Al Jazeera English.

    Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.

    Mark Bo, an independent researcher who works with Ivan Franeschini and Ling Li, is also interviewed in this podcast series. Ivan, Ling, Mark, and others have co-founded EOS Collective, a non-profit organisation dedicated to investigating the criminal networks behind the online scam industry and supporting survivors.

    – ref. ‘I thought about escaping every day’: how survivors get out of Southeast Asia’s cybercrime compounds – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 3 – https://theconversation.com/i-thought-about-escaping-every-day-how-survivors-get-out-of-southeast-asias-cybercrime-compounds-scam-factories-podcast-ep-3-250673

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alcohol ingestion by animals is surprisingly widespread – and we’re starting to understand its impact

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Christina Bowland, PhD Candidate in Biosciences, University of Exeter

    Humans may not be the only animals that ingest alcohol, research is suggesting. Studies on animals are showing they may be eating natural ethanol for its medicinal or nutritional properties.

    Humans drink alcohol in almost every part of the world, apart from places where people abstain for religious reasons. In the past, many people believed alcohol consumption was unique to humans, but growing evidence is showing we aren’t alone in our taste for booze.

    It has long been known that vinegar flies are closely linked to alcohol given their tendency to breed on fermented fruits. However, it turns out they are not an outlier.

    When you think of alcohol, you may think of a pint of beer or a glass of wine. But there are many types of alcohol, most of which are extremely toxic. For example, isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), which is commonly used as a disinfectant.

    Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, but ethanol is also prevalent in nature. Yeasts, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as brewer’s yeast, are widespread in the natural environment and produce ethanol (possibly to defend the plant’s sugary resource from competing microorganisms), when they metabolise sugars via fermentation. Many fruits, nectars and saps contain an abundance of sugars. Some of this sugar becomes ethanol when colonised by yeast.

    Fruit from plants in Panama, Costa Rica, Singapore, Israel and Finland have been found to contain ethanol, as well as some nectars and saps. The concentration of ethanol in naturally fermenting fruit is typically much lower than those in human-made alcoholic beverages, but some overripe fruit, such as fruits of the black palm (Astrocaryum standleyanum) have ethanol levels similar to a standard beer (5%).

    If fruit, nectars and saps ferment in the wild, it is not surprising that some animals may ingest ethanol. Studies, experimental and in the wild, have confirmed insects (including honeybees and butterflies) ingest it, as well as birds (such as hummingbirds, cedar waxwings and bohemian waxwings) and mammals (for example, pen-tailed tree shrews and the slow loris). Non-human primates, including one of our closest living relatives the chimpanzee, ingest it too.

    Although examples in the wild are rare, this may be due to lack of research rather than prevalence. Researchers are developing methods that make it easier to measure ethanol in the field, and as more research is conducted, more examples will probably be discovered.

    Do animals get drunk?

    There are many anecdotes of “drunk” animals, from moose to elephants, but none of these cases have actually been validated. From an evolutionary standpoint, being drunk is disadvantageous. Intoxicated animals could be more susceptible to injury or predation, and less likely to survive.

    Instead, many scientists expect natural selection would favour adaptations for increased ethanol metabolism to avoid becoming “drunk”. This allows animals to eat fermented foods while minimising the negative effects of intoxication.

    In animals, including humans, the primary metabolic route for ethanol is similar. Ethanol is first oxidised to acetaldehyde (a toxic intermediate) by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase.

    Acetaldehyde is then converted to acetate (which is less toxic) by aldehyde dehydrogenase. Yet, the efficiency at which different animals metabolise ethanol varies. It can vary between humans too.

    Some animals appear to have enhanced ethanol metabolism. Much like humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos share a mutation that make them particularly efficient at metabolising ethanol.

    Interestingly, the only Asian great ape (orangutan), which is highly arboreal (tree-dwelling), doesn’t share this mutation. This may be because orangutans did not experience the same evolutionary pressures as the more terrestrial (ground-dwelling) African great apes.

    For example, orangutans primarily feed in trees where fruit is expected to be less fermented than when it falls to the ground.

    Adult female chimpanzee feeding on ripe Spondias mombin
    Kimberley Hockings, CC BY-NC-ND

    It is possible that if sugary foods ferment naturally, then animals that eat these foods may consume ethanol without meaning to. Ethanol may have some benefits. It has antimicrobial properties and vinegar flies are known to use it to self-medicate against parasites. However, not much is known on whether other animals also use ethanol for medicinal purposes.

    There are confirmed sightings of many animals, from chimpanzees to orangutans using plants for medication, so the use of ethanol in this way could be widespread. Animals may also ingest food with ethanol in it because ethanol itself is a source of calories and its presence indicates sugar and nutrient content.

    Ambrosia beetles use the smell of ethanol as a cue to find suitable host trees to colonise. The ethanol increases the growth of fungi which the beetles feed on.

    Many of us are keenly aware of ethanol’s cognitive impact, including feelings of relaxation. Ethanol might play a significant role in promoting sociality among humans. This may also apply to other species, but has yet to be studied in a natural context.

    We still have much to learn about wild animals’ natural use of ethanol. Many
    hypotheses remain untested, and we know little about whether animals seek out ethanol and fermented foods. But many animals ingest it. It is clear the party is growing, and we are just one of many species that partake in ethanol.

    Anna Christina Bowland has received funding from the Primatological Society of Great Britain (PSGB) and the University of Exeter.

    – ref. Alcohol ingestion by animals is surprisingly widespread – and we’re starting to understand its impact – https://theconversation.com/alcohol-ingestion-by-animals-is-surprisingly-widespread-and-were-starting-to-understand-its-impact-246638

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Child given detention for getting less than 90% on a test – psychology shows there are far better ways to motivate students

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hannah Wilkinson, Lecturer in Educational Psychology, University of Manchester

    Connect Images – Legacy/Shutterstock

    An 11-year-old at a school in Essex was recently reported to have been given a detention for not achieving 90% on his maths homework (he got 81%). This measure by his school comes in an environment when schools in England seem to be increasingly reaching for severe methods of punishment: more and more children are being suspended or excluded. But the 11-year-old’s detention suggests a use of sanctions not only to deal with bad behaviour, but also to drive improved academic achievement.

    While this is a particularly overt example, many schools adopt strict behavioural policies in part to improve results. And the 2019 Timpson review of school exclusion in England reported allegations that a small number of schools were excluding pupils in order to boost the school’s academic attainment by removing them.

    But research in educational psychology shows there are better ways to motivate learners than the threat of sanctions.

    Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, which offered parents preference for their children’s schools and placed increased emphasis on measurable data, the education system has become a market in which schools compete against one another.

    Today, you can view a host of statistics for schools. These include how much progress students have made since joining secondary school and how many students received a pass in English and maths GCSE, as well as the percentage of students who have stayed in education or gained employment after leaving Year 11. These results can be compared with local schools and the national average.

    While the introduction of this visible data was introduced in a bid to improve schools and student outcomes, perhaps it is time to take stock of how this has changed the ways schools operate.

    The toll on schools and pupils

    The costs for schools failing to deliver on these statistics are high. They have included increased Ofsted inspections, the removal of the headteacher and the forced move of a school from local authority control into an academy trust.

    These accountability measures may lead schools to more punitive, pressuring approaches in order to push students to work hard to achieve good results, as well as to remove disruptive pupils from classrooms so as not to jeopardise the attainment of others.

    The headteacher of the boy given a detention over his maths score told the BBC that the school was under pressure after receiving a “requires improvement” rating from Ofsted.

    But increasing the focus on achievement and punishing students when they do not meet set standards comes with a cost. Pupils are at risk of becoming disengaged and unhappy at school, and may suffer damage to their self-esteem.

    When students feel their self-esteem is at risk they are more likely to engage in what are known as “defensive strategies” in a bid to protect their self-esteem. For example, students may decrease their effort or procrastinate. This allows them to attribute their potential poor performance to factors such as not trying hard enough, rather than it being a reflection of their own poor ability.

    Often feeling like a failure can lead to learned helplessness. This happens when, following a series of negative results or stressful situations, people can feel that the outcomes of their life are beyond their control and that negative events are unavoidable.

    These perceptions can result in beliefs that there is little point in trying to change the inevitable. It can lead to helpless behaviour and reduced motivation and belief in their own ability.

    A different strategy

    Self-determination theory is a psychological theory that offers a perspective beyond the traditional reward and punishment approach to motivation. It posits that as humans we are naturally keen to learn and grow, but environmental conditions can diminish this innate drive.

    To feel in control of our own actions and therefore motivated to act, we need to feel that we are competent, with opportunities to exercise our capabilities. We need to feel that we have autonomy – that we are responsible for our own behaviour. And we need to have a sense of belonging with others.

    When these three “needs” are satisfied, we are more likely to be highly motivated and to engage in tasks with enthusiasm. However, these needs can be thwarted if we receive high levels of criticism and negative performance feedback, are set work which is too challenging, or face threats and imposed goals.

    When success criteria is too high, students will not feel competent in their ability to achieve these high standards. Working just to avoid punishment means students’ behaviour is being driven by external influences and therefore they will not feel autonomous.

    Furthermore, harsh punishments will reduce students’ sense of belonging within their school environment as they will not feel valued. These punitive behaviours are more likely to result in decreased effort and disengagement.

    While it’s not an easy task for schools and teachers working in a high-stakes, results-based system, there are ways to amend practices to support rather than thwart students’ innate motivation.

    This can include ensuring that work is set at an appropriate level and expectations for success are achievable. Schools can try to foster an environment which promotes respect and care, by acknowledging students’ views and providing them with opportunities to offer their voice and provide feedback.

    In order to support students’ autonomy, where possible, schools could provide them with choice. This could include deciding what topic they want to carry out a project on. Students could choose the format for presenting their homework, such as bullet points or a letter, or handwritten or digital, that allows them to work to their strengths.

    Even providing students with a clear rationale for decisions – such as why a class is focusing on a certain topic – can help to make them feel more involved and engaged.

    By encouraging students to set their own targets which suit personal goals and aspirations for their future, rather than those set by governments and schools, we can help them to redefine their view of success and prioritise their efforts on being the best that they can be. This can help protect their self-esteem and support their motivation towards working towards these goals.

    If schools are able to focus more on the individual needs and goals of their students this could harness their natural motivation to learn and thrive.

    Hannah Wilkinson 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. Child given detention for getting less than 90% on a test – psychology shows there are far better ways to motivate students – https://theconversation.com/child-given-detention-for-getting-less-than-90-on-a-test-psychology-shows-there-are-far-better-ways-to-motivate-students-249804

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Demi Moore: the Oscar nominee with a career defined by defiance

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Caroline Ruddell, Reader in Film and Television, Brunel University of London

    Demi Moore won the Golden Globe for best actress in January for her performance in the horror sci-fi film, The Substance. In her acceptance speech, she shared that, 30 years ago, a producer told her she was a “popcorn actress”. The implication was that she was not the kind of “serious” actor who might win awards.

    Having now also received an Oscar nomination for the role, it seems her work is finally being taken seriously. During the 1980s and 1990s, Moore was a huge star and renowned for appearing in mainstream, big budget films – hence the “popcorn” label. If you go back to the films she is best known for, however, an interesting trend emerges.

    As a researcher of gender in film and television, I’ve long been interested in Moore’s work. That’s because, while it is perhaps most explicit in The Substance, the majority of her oeuvre interrogates womanhood and power.

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

    In The Substance, Moore plays the fading celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle with ferocity. But the plaudits for her performance don’t mean this is something new – that ferociousness has always been there in her onscreen roles.

    As femme fatale Meredith in Disclosure (1994), for example, she dominated every scene with an aggressive power that is rare to behold. Writing about Moore’s work in 2004, film researcher Linda Ruth Williams described that power as a “dangerous sexiness”.



    Read more:
    The Substance: Demi Moore is ferocious in gloriously gory satire on Hollywood’s female ageism

    Meredith is a woman from senior executive Tom’s (Michael Douglas) past. When she walks back into his life, she comes close to derailing it entirely through a concoction of manipulative and cunning behaviour, an impressive business sense, and outright pure and simple aggression.

    At one point, Tom even says he would in no way be a physical match for her due to the amount of time she spends exercising on a StairMaster machine. Though she doesn’t win out in the end, Meredith is by far the most powerful and compelling character in the film.

    Moore’s Golden Globe acceptance speech.

    Even in Moore’s more passive roles, such as Molly in Ghost (1990), she steals the show. A big part of that is her uncanny ability to make her eyes flit between intense dark fury and overwhelming grief.

    And I can’t ignore G.I. Jane (1997). In that film, Moore shaved herself a buzzcut on camera and yelled the unforgettable line “suck my dick” at Master Chief Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen) upending, or at least unsettling, social expectations of women in the military. Much of the power of Moore’s performance in this film is in the way she physically transformed for the role. Williams described the role as a work of “corporeal shapeshifting” due to the intense physical training Moore undertook for the part.

    In A Few Good Men (1992), her character, Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway, rivals all others with her fierce intellect and knowledge of the law. While Tom Cruise’s Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee wows in the courtroom, it is Galloway’s knowledge of the case and refusal to bow to patriarchal power (largely embodied by Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessep) that sees them through.

    Ageing in Hollywood

    In September 2024, I was interviewed for an article about older women in film and television by the journalist Christobel Hastings.

    In it, Hastings stated that “Hollywood has a long history of ignoring female actors”. Citing several research studies, she noted that women’s careers peak at age 30 in the industry, while men’s peak 15 years or more later.

    But she also made the case that there has been an increase in the diversity of roles available to older actresses both in film and television. Such movement for female actresses has long been championed by the Geena Davis Institute, a research organisation focusing on equitable representation in media, for over 20 years.

    If I were to sum up Moore’s career with one word, it would be defiance. And now, with The Substance, she has defied expectations once again by joining the (thankfully increasing) ranks of female actresses who are finding meaty roles as they head into middle or older age.

    Caroline Ruddell 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. Demi Moore: the Oscar nominee with a career defined by defiance – https://theconversation.com/demi-moore-the-oscar-nominee-with-a-career-defined-by-defiance-249765

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Understanding the cultural experience of keeping warm can help us embrace clean energy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Becky Shaw, Professor in Fine Art, Birmingham City University

    The way we heat our homes is a major contributor to the greenhouse gases that are heating up the planet. So moving to more sustainable home heating is vital for decarbonisation and meeting emissions targets.

    Campaigns usually offer technological solutions as well as environmental and economic incentives. But they rarely recognise that the way we heat our homes is a way of life – connected to our identities, relationships, communities, culture, values and the “practice” of making a home.

    Changing something as fundamental as heating can bring up complex feelings. To understand how people are connected to the way they heat their homes, we – a group of academics at Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and universities in Finland, Sweden and Romania – embarked on a project that combined history, art, and social science research to find out how cultures and histories of heating can inform fair and effective change.

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    The Justheat research project explores the experience of eight communities in four nations that have had different heating transition journeys. These are: Sweden, which is at an advanced stage of energy transition; Finland, where a culture of burning wood is in conflict with decarbonisation; Romania, with a hesitant energy plan where experiences of heating poverty make change unpopular; and the UK which has a “lagging” uptake of low carbon heating sources.

    We gathered oral histories from selected communities to encourage personal reflection on the past through the perspective of the present. Oral histories encourage people to decide what is important to tell – not the researcher. We collected more than 300 accounts of changes in the way people heated their homes since 1940.

    Artists were appointed in each country to create artworks that highlighted various aspects of the oral histories. This included Finnish painter and textiles artist Henna Aho, Romanian photographer Denise Lobont and video artist Ram Krishna Ranjan, who lives in Sweden. I am both the project UK artist and co-ordinator of the other artists. All were selected because they had an existing interest in home heating and had experience of collaboration.

    When listening to people’s stories, the artists noted how detailed descriptions or emotional intensity stood out. These included reflections on how children found fires to be a source of play (one participant described “crashing” toy planes into the flames), a son’s guilt for not helping his mother with making the fire, and a woman’s memory of a friend becoming ill from severe cold. The artists were inspired by the creative ways people mixed past, present and future in their stories.

    Each nation and story is unique, but the tension between government (or other forms of authority) and communities was a common theme. For example, in Finland people value wood as a secure fuel that they can grow and control themselves – but this means some people move away from the efficient and sustainable networked heating solutions that are already in use there.

    In Sweden, oral histories showed a strong trust in government energy policy, but renters struggled with the ways that landlords can limit heating. In Romania, a severe lack of energy during the fall of Communism in 1989 and austerity measures to pay off national debt led to desperate households burning furniture to keep warm.

    In Romania and some other countries, descriptions of past distrust in the government often accompanies a negative reaction to current policies, fearing that they will reduce individual control and benefit.

    In the UK the last mining pits closed as recently as 2013, so the pain of losing livelihoods and communities is still felt. Some of our UK oral histories documented how coal provided people with a sense of security because they could control how long the fuel would last.

    Coal was described as a total way of life, linking home, family, work, community, love, food, safety and care. Despite the dirt and drudgery of coal home heating, the joy of getting warm by the fire was seared into people’s memory. While there were stories of feeling cold, they often described feeling joy in the contrast of being cold and then getting warm. This was seen as part of the intense joy of radiant heat.

    When gas central heating was rolled out in the 1970s and 1980s, our oral histories described it as “marvellous” in its speed and cleanliness, but some participants also felt that it lacked the comfort, cheer and invitation to gather together that a solid fuel fire offers.

    Despite Sweden’s successful electric heating network, the Swedish oral histories recorded an enduring joy in the use of wood-burning stoves to heat their summer houses. This did not counter their appreciation of electric networked heating, but the delight of an additional fire and its capacity to draw people together, persists.

    Combined, the oral histories and the artworks inspired by them let us understand how past changes to the way we heat our homes have affected us. We are currently sharing the artists’ work with communities and local energy leaders, and we are interested to see how artworks might encourage discussion.

    Current research and policy focuses on technological change to generate rapid decarbonisation. However, no change can be made without getting households on board. As part of this, we need to understand how past experiences influence communities’ response to energy change.

    Changing the way we heat our homes is likely to be attractive only if it offers a significant improvement in the experience of keeping warm, rather than merely appealing to us in economic terms, or for environmental reasons.

    Becky Shaw receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council and Birmingham City University.

    – ref. Understanding the cultural experience of keeping warm can help us embrace clean energy – https://theconversation.com/understanding-the-cultural-experience-of-keeping-warm-can-help-us-embrace-clean-energy-244710

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine war: game theory reveals the complexities (and fragility) of a nuclear deterrent

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University

    Since the cold war, deterrence has been a fundamental principle underpinning peace between global superpowers. The idea is that if two sides have nuclear weapons, the consequences of actually using them mean the button never gets pressed.

    But the strategy goes beyond the countries which own the weapons. In practice, for instance, most of Europe relies on the US for a nuclear “umbrella” of deterrence. And any country with nuclear weapons can offer guarantees of peace to others.

    This is what happened in 1994 when Russia, the UK and the US signed the Budapest memorandum in which Ukraine renounced its nuclear weapons from the Soviet era in exchange for a promise to “respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine”. This was widely seen as a good idea for Ukraine and the world, reducing the risk of a nuclear accident.

    But that memorandum has not served Ukraine well. As North Korea, India, Pakistan or Israel know, owning nuclear weapons – even against international agreements – ensures your protection. A piece of paper does not.

    And now, across the world, the ability to offer the equivalent of a Budapest memorandum to other countries has vanished. A key part of the theory behind a successful nuclear deterrent has fallen away.

    This is described in game theory – the mathematical study of strategic interactions – as the idea of a “credible commitment”. To deter a military invasion, the country offering protection must be ready to do something that hurts its own interests if it happens.

    In the case of Ukraine, this has so far involved allies sending costly military equipment, financial support and enduring the small risk of further escalation of the conflict. Being a trustworthy guarantor is a matter of international reputation: a country that delivers is considered credible. But no one will trust a guarantor that breaks its promises.



    Read more:
    Ukraine war: what is the Budapest Memorandum and why has Russia’s invasion torn it up?

    And while credible retaliation is important, so too is avoiding escalation. For it is also in everyone’s interest to reduce the probability of a catastrophic outcome.

    Over the years, the small number of countries with internationally accepted nuclear arsenals (the US, UK, France, Russia and China) have developed nuclear doctrines. These are sophisticated and often deliberately opaque rules for escalation and deescalation.

    The Nobel prize-winning economist, Thomas Schelling, argues that the uncertainty around these rules is what makes them so effective. It strengthens a system in which protection can be offered to other countries in exchange for them not developing their own nuclear capabilities.

    War games

    Game theory research has also shed light on the complexity of these rules of engagement (or non-engagement), such as the expectation (and necessity) of credible retaliation against an attack.

    Imagine, for example, that China launches a nuclear bomb that completely destroys Manchester. A rational British prime minister may prefer to end hostilities and accept the destruction of a major city rather than retaliate and risk the total destruction of human life.

    But for the deterrent to actually work, they must retaliate – or expect to see Birmingham and London disappear.

    Another difficulty comes in finding the appropriate response to varying levels of provocation. When Russian-affiliated soldiers were found guilty by Dutch courts of downing a Malaysian Airlines civilian flight with 298 people onboard, including 196 Dutch nationals, there was no talk of proportional retaliation. No one seriously contemplated shooting down a Russian plane or bombing a small Russian city.

    Nor was there any retaliation to Russian interventions in European elections, or to the sabotage of infrastructure in Baltic states, or to murders and attempted murders on European soil.

    And after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the reaction of the west was consistent with principles designed to avoid escalation. Sanctions were imposed on Russia, military aid was sent to Ukraine.

    But to abandon Ukraine now, forcing it to cede territory after three years of fighting, death, and destruction, would be a significant shift. It would represent a clear and deliberate abandonment of the international guarantees Ukraine thought it had.

    Arsenals and agreements

    Game theory also suggests that the most likely consequence of abandoning those commitments is that no country will repeat Ukraine’s mistake of giving up its nuclear capabilities. And no country will want to place their trust in potentially unreliable allies.

    Europe for instance, will aim to develop its own nuclear umbrella, potentially combining French and British capabilities. It will also hasten to integrate the next likely targets of Moscow’s military ambitions.

    This will include the parts of Ukraine not annexed by Russia, but also Georgia, already invaded by Russia in 2008, and Moldova, partly occupied by Russia.

    The second consequence is that the west will no longer have a good reason to convince countries to abandon their nuclear ambitions. That means no credible deal for North Korea, no convincing offer for Iran, and even fewer prospects to end the nuclear programmes of Pakistan, India or Israel.

    Looking at the ruins of Mariupol or Gaza City, and comparing them to Pyongyang, Tel Aviv or Tehran, many countries will conclude that a nuclear weapon is a better way to ensure security than any piece of paper.

    So if the west does abandon Ukraine, game theory suggests that the world should expect a proliferation of nuclear powers. Each will need to learn, as Russia and the US have, to live on the threshold of diastrous confrontation. But research shows that establishing a situation of reduced risk takes time.

    And that could be a time filled with increased potential for events reminiscent of the Cuban missile crisis – and a growing belief that nuclear war is inevitable.

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

    – ref. Ukraine war: game theory reveals the complexities (and fragility) of a nuclear deterrent – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-game-theory-reveals-the-complexities-and-fragility-of-a-nuclear-deterrent-249995

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Five tips to find what really brings you joy outside of work

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alison Bishop, Lecturer in Positive Psychology Coaching, University of East London

    Not long ago I attended a concert. It was a band that I had been waiting a while to see and so I was excited to be there in the crowd. Part way through, they played my favourite song and I noticed that I felt something different.

    It felt like a pinnacle moment where the emotion of joy felt expansive and unstoppable. In that moment, I felt more alive with all my senses of my surroundings heightened and yet so much more connected to the core of who I know myself to be.

    I first set out to write about finding joy, as if joy was out there in the world waiting for us to find it. However, the story of the concert shows us that this is not the case.

    Not everyone likes the band that I saw and not everyone in the concert had the same experience as me. This tells us that joy is more personal, an inside job, rather than something to find outside ourselves.

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    Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    The psychologist Chris Meadows suggests that joy is a feeling that comes from viewing an event in our lives as being meaningful to us or good for us.

    Joy is not just a singular experience, there are different types of joy, according to Meadows. In his study of joy he writes about the muted experience of “serene joy”, which aims at restoring or maintaining equilibrium in the body. Then there is “excited joy”, which is linked to pursuing goals.

    “Individuated joy” is felt while alone while “affiliative joy” is shared with others. Meadow’s study into the phenomenon of joy suggests that social experiences of joy occur more often than solo ones and result in what we know as bonding experiences.

    “Anticipatory joy” occurs when the fulfilment of a goal is imminent and then “consummatory joy” happens when the goal has been achieved. There is also an element of feeling blessed or that what has been achieved has exceeded expectations.

    In addition to the thought processes that lead to joy, there are many other elements that need to be in place. Safe, familiar surroundings are key in enabling us to be present in the moment to support relaxed equilibrium. When we feel safe and relaxed, we are more able to laugh and play and explore new ideas.

    Playfulness that’s aimless but results in fairly predictable outcomes, allows us to switch off our inner critic and focus on the good feelings of being in the moment with joy. This brings a sense of ease in that whatever happens, requires very little effort on our part.

    Here are five tips on how to find what brings you joy in its many forms:

    1. Be present

    “Be in the moment” is easy to say but harder to do.

    Joy exists in the present, therefore, we need to be there to experience it. This might mean that sometimes we need to ditch the phone and not video something to post or watch later as doing that prevents us becoming immersed in the here and now. This is about making our own experience more important than the “likes” of others.

    2. Listen to your inner voice

    Next, turn up the volume on your inner voice.

    As joy is unique to each of us, we need to hear our own voice to find out what will bring us joy. To do this, it helps to create specificity around the goals that we aspire to in the future so that we are clear about what we want to achieve.

    I love the theme tune for The Pirates of the Caribbean and want to be able to play it on the piano. To make this goal specific, I need to decide what my success criteria is. It might be, I want to play to the end without stopping, or I want to get to the end without stopping and to play all of the notes on the sheet music without mistakes. Only I can know whether I would feel more joyful by achieving the second goal over the first.

    Being specific means we will clearly know when that goal fulfilment is either imminent or achieved. So, the more specific we are the better. The same goes for looking at the experiences that have brought us joy in the past. By reflecting on these experiences, we can learn things about ourselves that lead to us being able to create more joy.

    3. Don’t listen to your inner critic

    It helps to switch off your inner critic, or at least turn the volume on this down.

    It is not possible to be playful and feel safe and free, while we constantly are censoring ourselves. So, tell the inner critic that it is OK for you to be you.

    4. Find your tribe

    These are people who enjoy the same things as you. Being with other people who are like us enables us to feel freer to express ourselves in ways that are congruent with who we are.

    5. Tune into the little things

    Finally, pay attention to the little things, as they actually are the big things. Joy comes from the most unexpected places. By noticing when we feel joy we can create more of those experiences in our lives so that we can truly experience that joie de vivre (the joy of living).

    Alison Bishop 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. Five tips to find what really brings you joy outside of work – https://theconversation.com/five-tips-to-find-what-really-brings-you-joy-outside-of-work-238722

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Land reform in South Africa doesn’t need a new law: the state should release property it owns – economists

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Johann Kirsten, Director of the Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch University

    South Africa’s new Expropriation Act, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2025, has been at the centre of a political storm set off by the new US administration under President Donald Trump.

    The Expropriation Act is not entirely new. It mainly updates the existing legislation from 1975 to align it with the constitution of democratic South Africa. But some have misinterpreted it as making room for land grabs by the state. That’s not what it does in reality. Property rights remain intact in South Africa.

    Hot on the heels of this furore has been a notice from the minister of land reform and rural development, Mzwanele Nyhontso, that the government is embarking on a new bit of legislation, the “Equitable Access to Land Bill”.

    There have been discussions over the last 10 years about developing a land reform framework bill or land redistribution bill. The main idea is to foster conditions that enable citizens to get access to land equitably. Land ownership was heavily skewed towards white people under apartheid.

    The parliamentary committee heard from the minister on 20 February 2025 that there were gaps between the white paper on South African land policy and existing legislation. The bill seeks to close the gaps. It would provide for, among other things, principles for access to land, access to land by the state and citizens, the identification and selection of beneficiaries, applications and records for land allocations, a register of agricultural land, notification of present land ownership, land ownership ceilings, a land tribunal and regulations.

    Based on our years of work on land reform and agricultural policy it’s unclear to us why such a bill is necessary. We believe there are two reasons a new law would be superfluous. Firstly, South Africa already has roughly 16 laws that address the issue of land. Secondly, policymakers tend to ignore the facts on land reform progress.

    It is hard not to view the obsession with new legislation by every new minister as a distraction from the core issues. The minister should be focusing on distributing the land the government has acquired to black farmers and give them title deeds. This will be sufficient effort to build an inclusive agricultural sector, while continuing with existing programmes of land acquisition from the open market.

    There are also other areas that should be reformed that would make a difference. These include making more finance available to aspirant black farmers and fixing the deeds office to reduce land registration times.

    What’s in place

    There should be no need for new legislation if one considers all the different pieces of legislation and government programmes that are already aimed at a more equitable distribution of land. There are at least 16 laws related to farm land and the restitution and redistribution process. These include:

    • Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Act, signed into
      law in January 2025

    • State Land Disposal Act, 1961 (Act No. 48 of 1961)

    • Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No. 47 of 1937)

    • Land Reform: Provision of Land and Assistance Act, 1993 (Act No. 126 of
      1993)

    • Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994)

    • Communal Property Associations Act, 1996 (Act No. 28 of 1996)

    • Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 1996 (Act No. 3 of 1996)

    • Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, 1996 (Act No. 31 of 1996)

    • Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act No. 62 of 1997).

    In addition, South African policymakers tend to ignore the facts on land reform progress.

    As we have argued before, the mix of government programmes to restore land rights and redistribute land has already addressed 25% of the total area of farm land defined and registered by formal title deeds. This means that 19.5 million hectares of the 77.5 million hectares of South Africa’s farm land have been affected by the government land reform programmes.

    There is an important nuance here: 2.5 million hectares have been acquired by the state and are now owned by the State Land Holding Account.

    Calls for the state to redistribute this land to black farmers have been falling on deaf ears, and black farmers continue to despair.

    The government has been slow to distribute the land it has acquired. This shows that the problem of South Africa’s land reform is not only about acquisition but also the distribution of land with title deeds to beneficiaries.

    Included in the total of 19.5 million hectares are private purchases of farm land by black South Africans. We estimate a total of 2.4 million hectares have been acquired in this way up to the end of 2024.

    These individuals used their own funds or borrowed funds to acquire the land without using any of the state programmes.

    Some answers

    We have always argued that the private transactions where no bureaucrats are involved happen much quicker than any government programmes. The table below shows the relevant statistics for the last four years and confirms the argument.

    The table shows that over the last four years private land transactions (that is without any involvement of bureaucrats) have contributed 32% to the total area of farmland transferred or restituted. The land claims process, in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, has made the biggest contribution of 60% (with 36% of land restituted via financial compensation and 24% of land transferred to claimants). Other government land reform programmes made a very small contribution.

    Do we have more equitable access to farm land (or rural land) after 30 years of democracy? To answer this question, we need to take into account the occupation of farm land under traditional tenure arrangements and occupation on land owned by the state, including the South African Development Trust land as well as the land recently acquired by the state under the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy programme, which is in most cases leased to black beneficiaries for short terms.

    In addition, we account for the land redistribution programme and the land transferred back to land claimants. The numbers below provide an interesting picture of black ownership of rural land in South Africa. In some provinces, equitable access has shown remarkable progress, as shown in the table below.

    Instead of a new law, this is what’s needed

    First, access to affordable and preferential finance for land acquisition by black farmers would make an important contribution to equitable access. But no new law is needed to enable this. The answer lies in changing the way the Land Bank is funded so that it can provide affordable finance to aspirant farmers. This would be a game changer.

    Secondly, government should act on the president’s proposal to establish the Land Reform Agency, release more unused state land for agricultural use and change the regulations to facilitate private land donations to beneficiaries.

    Thirdly, fix the processes and data issues in the deeds office, which could reduce the time and costs to register property transfers.

    Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

    Johann Kirsten 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. Land reform in South Africa doesn’t need a new law: the state should release property it owns – economists – https://theconversation.com/land-reform-in-south-africa-doesnt-need-a-new-law-the-state-should-release-property-it-owns-economists-250674

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What do I do with expired medicine? Don’t use it, for a start…

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Renier Coetzee, Associate Professor, University of the Western Cape

    There are many risks associated with taking expired medicine and with not properly disposing of medication. JGI/Tom Grill

    When last did a headache have you reaching into your medicine cabinet – and finding a bottle of aspirin that expired three years ago? Did you take it anyway? And, if you decided instead to get rid of those out-of-date painkillers, how did you do it? If you chose to throw it in the garbage or flush it down the toilet, you’re far from alone: a 2020 research review found that “disposal of pharmaceuticals by garbage and sewer is still the most common method in many countries with the absence of the proper disposal of expired medications from the patient side”.

    The problem is that both using expired medication and disposing of it unsafely comes with significant health, economic and environmental risks.

    The Conversation Africa asked pharmacy professor Renier Coetzee, who is also the vice-president of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa, about the risks posed by using expired medication, and how to safely dispose of expired and surplus medicines.

    Why is it dangerous to take expired medication?

    Expiration dates for medicines are determined through stability testing. This involves assessing how long a medicine remains safe and effective under various storage conditions. Manufacturers typically provide conservative estimates of expiration dates to ensure a medicine’s quality and safety.

    Medications degrade over time. That means they may not work as intended once they reach and pass their expiry date. This is of particular concern with medicines like antibiotics: subtherapeutic doses (those which are too low to work properly and so do not fully treat the illness or infection) can contribute to antimicrobial resistance.



    Read more:
    Antibiotic resistance threatens to “undo a century of medical progress”: 5 essential reads

    Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses or fungi stop responding to medicines (like antibiotics). This makes infections harder to treat. And that, in turn, increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

    Reduced potency in chronic disease medications like insulin or heart medication is also a worry, since this can have serious health consequences.

    Some expired medications can break down into harmful compounds. One example is ciprofloxacin. This antibiotic is used mostly to treat infections in the urinary and upper and lower respiratory tracts. Studies have shown that it can degrade into toxic byproducts that may harm the kidneys (and be hazardous to the environment if not properly disposed of).

    Exposure to heat, humidity and light can accelerate the breakdown of active ingredients. This applies to both scheduled medicines, prescribed by a doctor, and over-the-counter medicines.

    Consider paracetamol, which anyone can buy for pain and fever. A year-old paracetamol tablet may not seem dangerous – but if it’s degraded, it could be less effective in treating pain or fever, leading to unintended consequences like delayed treatment or overuse in an attempt to achieve relief. If potency is reduced, users might take a higher dose than needed, increasing the risk of overdose or side effects.

    It’s not just tablets and capsules that expire. Liquid medications, such as cough syrups and eye drops, are particularly vulnerable to contamination once expired, as the preservatives they contain lose their potency. This increases the risk of bacterial growth, which could lead to infections.

    Expired medications left in the home, particularly in unmarked containers, also increase the risk of accidental ingestion, especially by children.

    While some expired medications may still retain potency, there is no guarantee of safety. Safe disposal is essential to prevent misuse and potential harm to both individuals and the environment.

    Can I throw expired or surplus medicine in the bin or flush it down the toilet?

    I strongly discourage it. So do professional bodies like the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa and the South African Pharmacy Council.

    For starters, it’s bad for the environment. Medications discarded in household trash can leach active pharmaceutical ingredients into soil and groundwater, potentially contaminating sources of drinking water.

    Flushing medicines down the sink or toilet introduces these substances directly into sewage systems. They often bypass conventional wastewater treatment processes; in Cape Town, South Africa, for example, many wastewater facilities don’t perform tertiary treatments. That allows poorly treated effluents, chemical compounds and pharmaceutical pollution to enter aquatic ecosystems. That’s bad news for wildlife and can disrupt ecosystems.



    Read more:
    Marine life in a South African bay is full of chemical pollutants

    Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in water supplies pose risks to human health, too. Such low concentrations are generally considered to pose minimal direct health risks to humans. But there are concerns about their potential impact on antimicrobial resistance and endocrine disruption. Endocrine disruption refers to the interference caused by certain chemicals which can mimic, block, or alter the human body’s natural hormones. The process can lead to various adverse health effects.

    What are the safest, most responsible disposal methods?

    The preferred method for disposing of unused or expired medications is through drug take-back programmes or authorised collection sites. These programmes are designed to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means for individuals to dispose of unused or expired medications.

    In South Africa, the South African Pharmacy Council mandates that only authorised personnel, such as pharmacists or designated officials, may dispose of medicines, and they must produce a certificate of destruction to be stored for at least five years.

    However, a study among healthcare professionals in the country revealed that only 23.5% participated in proper medicine destruction within their facilities. This, as well as similar research I conducted with some colleagues in Australia, indicates a need for improved education and practices regarding pharmaceutical waste disposal.

    In other African countries, formalised medication take-back programmes are less common. Safe disposal methods must be established and promoted across the continent.



    Read more:
    We found traces of drugs in a dam that supplies Nigeria’s capital city

    If more formal options are unavailable, you could mix medications with unappealing substances (like used coffee grounds or cat litter) and seal the mixture in a plastic bag before throwing it away. This can help to prevent accidental ingestion by children or animals. It also keeps medications away from toilets or drains, thereby lessening water pollution and harm to aquatic life.

    However, this approach is less than ideal and should only be a last resort.

    Renier Coetzee is affiliated with TB Proof and Touching Nations.

    – ref. What do I do with expired medicine? Don’t use it, for a start… – https://theconversation.com/what-do-i-do-with-expired-medicine-dont-use-it-for-a-start-248919

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 500 years ago, German peasants revolted – but their faith that the Protestant Reformation stood for freedom was dashed by Martin Luther and the nobility

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michael Bruening, Professor of History, Missouri University of Science and Technology

    A sketch of groups of peasants wandering around the countryside during the German Peasants’ War. Warwick Press via Wikimedia Commons.

    Five hundred years ago, in the winter of 1524-1525, bands of peasants roamed the German countryside seeking recruits. It was the start of the German Peasants’ War, the largest uprising in Europe before the French Revolution. The peasants’ goal was to overturn serfdom and create a fairer society grounded on the Christian Bible.

    For months, they seized their landlords’ monasteries and castles. By March 1525, the peasant armies had grown to encompass tens of thousands of peasants from Alsace to Austria and from Switzerland to Saxony.

    The peasants had economic grievances, to be sure, but they also drew inspiration from the message of freedom, or “Fryheit” in German, being preached by theologian Martin Luther, who had recently launched the Protestant Reformation.

    Luther’s rejection of the peasants’ cause, however, would help lead to their crushing defeat.

    I am a scholar of the Reformation, and I included the peasants’ list of demands in my book on the debates of the era. The question of the legitimacy of the peasants’ uprising was one of the most consequential debates of the era.

    Luther’s message of freedom

    In 1517, eight years before the German Peasants’ War, Luther launched the Reformation with his 95 Theses. The theses reflected Luther’s belief that the pope and the Catholic Church were preying on the poor by selling them indulgences, taking their money for a false promise that their sins would be forgiven.

    Luther taught instead that God freely forgives the sins of believers. In one of his most famous early treatises, “The Freedom of a Christian,” written in 1520, Luther argued that because they are saved or “justified” by faith alone, Christians are entirely free from the need to do works to merit salvation. This included fasting, going on pilgrimages and buying indulgences.

    Luther’s attacks on the Catholic Church, clergy and monks quickly grew more vehement. He and his allies lambasted them for fleecing the peasants and the poor through usury, a practice of lending money at high rates of interest. Since the Bible provided no support for such practices, they argued, the poor should be free of them.

    The Twelve Articles

    In her 2025 book “Summer of Fire and Blood,” Reformation scholar Lyndal Roper argues that the religious element of the peasants’ war was central. The German peasants were among the first to try to unlock the revolutionary potential of Reformation teachings to fight social and economic injustice.

    The peasants’ efforts to do so can be seen in the most important statement of their demands: The Twelve Articles. The articles are rooted in Reformation ideas and demanded, among other things, each village’s right to elect its own pastor and to be exempt from payments and duties not found in the Bible.

    A pamphlet that peasants distributed with their Twelve Articles in 1525.
    Otto Henne am Rhyn: Cultural History of the German People, via Wikimedia Commons

    Most important was the message of freedom in the third article: “Considering that Christ has delivered and redeemed us all, without exception … it is consistent with Scripture that we should be free.” It was a cry for equality based on Christ’s redemption of all, rich and poor alike.

    The Twelve Articles were hugely successful, going through 25 printings in just two months. Since the vast majority of peasants were illiterate, this was an astounding number.

    For the lower classes, the Reformation promised to break up not just the spiritual monopoly held by the Catholic Church but the entrenched feudal system that kept them oppressed. Their desire for freedom was at the same time a denunciation of serfdom.

    The peasants were willing to take up arms to secure their freedom. In winter 1524-1525, the peasants were able to capture castles and monasteries without much bloodshed. But starting in the spring of 1525, the uprising became increasingly violent. On Easter Sunday, the peasants shockingly slaughtered two dozen knights in the city of Weinsberg, Germany. A torrent of bloodshed would follow.

    Luther’s rejection of the peasants

    Although Luther may have provided the initial inspiration for the peasants, he denounced their revolt in the harshest terms. In his treatise “Admonition to Peace,” Luther complained that the peasants had made “Christian liberty an utterly carnal thing,” which “would make all men equal … and that is impossible.”

    Responding to the revolt, Luther produced a tract entitled “Against the Murdering and Robbing Hordes of Peasants.” “Let everyone who can,” he infamously wrote, “smite, slay, and stab” the rebellious peasants. The rulers did just that.

    The nobility had been slow to react to the peasants’ initial incursions, but when they finally organized their own armies, the peasants didn’t stand a chance. On the battlefield, the nobles’ cavalry and superior artillery brutally cut down the rebels. Many who escaped the battlefield were hunted down and executed.

    The exact number of those killed are not known, but estimates place the number at around 100,000. As Roper notes, “this was slaughter on a vast scale.”

    Consequences for the Reformation

    English historian A. G. Dickens famously described the Reformation as an “urban event”, meaning that the movement’s important developments took place in cities. The German Peasants’ War shows the idea to be wrong.

    In its first years, the Reformation galvanized the hopes and dreams of Germans in both town and country. To peasants and townsfolk, it seemed to promise the chance for a complete reordering of an unjust society.

    Luther’s rejection of the peasants had important long-term consequences. His decision to side with the princes transformed the Reformation from a grassroots movement into an act of state. Everywhere the Protestant reformers went, they sought to work with the proper authorities. The close cooperation of Christian leaders and secular authorities would last for centuries.

    For their part, the European peasantry grew wary of the Christian leaders who seemed to have abandoned them. Social uprisings over the next centuries lost the religious character of the 1525 conflict and would climax in the decidedly secular French Revolution.

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

    – ref. 500 years ago, German peasants revolted – but their faith that the Protestant Reformation stood for freedom was dashed by Martin Luther and the nobility – https://theconversation.com/500-years-ago-german-peasants-revolted-but-their-faith-that-the-protestant-reformation-stood-for-freedom-was-dashed-by-martin-luther-and-the-nobility-246378

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers − and prostitutes: The women working behind the scenes in papal Avignon

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joelle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island

    The papal palace in Avignon, where the pope’s court was based for much of the 14th century. Jean-Marc Rosier from http://www.rosier.pro/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    In the medieval church, women’s roles were limited – usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress walled up alone for life, or a nun in a classic convent. On the other extreme were a few dramatic examples of women who made history for the church while flying in the face of gender norms: heroes such as Joan of Arc.

    The full truth, though, is more complicated. Medieval women were there all along, even in priests’ own houses. In her book “The Manly Priest,” historian Jennifer Thibodeaux reminds us that while celibacy was always the church’s ideal, it was not truly enforced until later in the Middle Ages. At least until the 11th century, some priests had wives and children who were not considered illegitimate. Even after the 14th-century Black Death, clerical households with wives and children thrived in Italy.

    As the church’s notions of illicit sex and illegitimacy hardened, however, its attitudes toward women did, too. Medieval scholars – all men – defined women’s temperament in negative terms: Women were libidinous, frivolous, unfaithful, capricious, unpredictable and easily tempted. They required constant surveillance and were kept away from clerics, at least in theory. They certainly could not hold overt positions in the pope’s court unless they were his mother or sister.

    Still, another reality emerges. The church may not have seen women as equals, but nevertheless, their work was key to the workings and finances of the papal court and its surroundings. The fact is made obvious in the archives by simply following the money. It was hardly glamorous work but necessary for the functioning of the papal court.

    A page from a 15th-century edition of ‘The Decameron’ shows a laundress working on the beach.
    Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal via Wikimedia Commons

    Vatican payroll

    The Vatican Archives’ account registers make it possible to trace who was paid and for what at the medieval papal court in Avignon, where the papacy was based for most of the 14th century. Amid the tedious task of deciphering various medieval shorthand systems, which organize expenses into categories such as “extraordinary wages,” “liturgical ornaments,” “war expenses” or “wax account,” I encountered surprises: Women appear in the lists of salaried employees at the medieval papal court.

    Furthermore, they were involved in tasks that “touched” the leader of the church. Even a pope’s clothes need making, mending and washing. Women crafted an ornate style highly appreciated by the pontiffs – glorifying them with pure white linen and gold embroidery. The Vatican Apostolic Archives’ Introitus and Exitus, medieval financial records, provide substantial evidence that women made sacerdotal ornaments and garments.

    Between 1364-1374, the registers recorded the pope’s launderesses – women otherwise lost to history. Among them were Katherine, the wife of one Guillaume Bertrand; Bertrande of St. Spirit, who washed all the papal linens upon his election; and Alasacie de la Meynia, the wife of Peter Mathei, who did the pope’s laundry for the Christmas festivities of 1373 and is mentioned again in 1375.

    These women were all wives of officers at the papal court. Records identified them by their full name, which was not the case for everyone on the pope’s payroll. This is important: The records gave them real presence, unlike most female laborers.

    A woman doing laundry appears in the Codices Palatini germanici, a German medieval manuscript.
    Heidelberg University Library

    Later records were less clear. Between the 1380s and 1410s, liturgical garments were made and washed by various women, including the unnamed wife of Peter Bertrand, a doctor of law; Agnes, wife of Master Francis Ribalta, a physician of the pope; another Alasacie, wife of carpenter John Beulayga; and the unnamed wife of the pope’s head cook, Guido de Vallenbrugenti – alias Brucho.

    Only one woman, Marie Quigi Fernandi Sanci de Turre, appears without a male relative. As time progressed, women’s names were not systematically recorded.

    Most of these later women, too, were married to curial officers who maintained rank at court by working in trade, medicine or the military. Women were never paid directly; their husbands collected their salaries. Still, this was not “unseen” labor but a salaried occupation, explicitly recorded.

    A 15th-century painting of the papal palace in Avignon, from the artist workshop of Maître de Boucicaut.
    Bibliothèque Nationale via Wikimedia Commons

    Working day – and night

    Many other women immigrated to work in Avignon. According to a partial survey of the city’s heads of households in 1371, about 15% were women. Most had traveled far and wide – from elsewhere in present-day France, as well as Germany and Italy – to reach the papal court and a chance at employment.

    Of the total female heads of household, 20% declared an occupation. The range of these women’s trades is staggering. There were fruit-sellers, tailoresses, tavern-keepers, butchers, candlemakers, carpenters and stonecutters. Women in Avignon worked as fish-sellers, goldsmiths, glove-makers, pastry-bakers, spice merchants and chicken-sellers. They were sword-makers, furriers, booksellers, bread-resellers and bath-keepers.

    An illustration from ‘Theatrum sanitatis,’ a 13th-century Latin manuscript by Giovannino de Grassi.
    De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images

    Bathhouses, the “stews,” were often brothels. Prostitution was considered a legal occupation in Avignon and controlled by the church. Marguerite de Porcelude, known as “the Huntress,” paid an annual tax to the diocese for her lodging. Several prostitutes rented tenements from the convent of St. Catherine, and Marguerite Busaffi, daughter of a prominent banker, owned a brothel in the city.

    In 1337, the marshal of the Roman court – the highest secular judicial officer – taxed prostitutes and procurers two sols per week. Pope Innocent VI, scandalized by the practice, annulled it in 1358.

    Still, because of the general taint associated with the sex trade, the church attempted to reform prostitutes and convert them into nuns. The Avignon popes locked them up in a special convent, the Repenties, set up far from the center of town.

    A brothel scene illustrated by Maïtre François in a 15th-century edition of St. Augustine’s book ‘City of God.’
    National Library of the Netherlands via Wikimedia Commons

    Eventually, the establishment became a form of prison for “unruly” women – those who were pregnant out of wedlock. But for some hundred years, groups of ladies of the night took vows and lived as nuns there, controlling the affairs of their own convent with an iron fist.

    In the 1370s, Pope Gregory XI offered the nuns and their donors a plenary indulgence, a forgiveness of sins. They followed a rule emphasizing that regardless of their pasts, abstinence and continence could make them spiritually “chaste.”

    The ladies of the convent left detailed records of the properties they acquired. In 1384, its leaders petitioned the papal treasury, demanding arrears they were owed from a priest’s donation – and received what was due. Few medieval women had the chutzpah to petition a court for past dues, much less the pope’s. The Repenties did.

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

    – ref. Butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers − and prostitutes: The women working behind the scenes in papal Avignon – https://theconversation.com/butchers-bakers-candlestick-makers-and-prostitutes-the-women-working-behind-the-scenes-in-papal-avignon-249345

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Colorado is tackling air pollution in vulnerable neighborhoods by regulating 5 air toxics

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jenni Shearston, Assistant Professor of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder

    The Suncor Refinery in Commerce City, Colo., is a known air polluter. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

    The Globeville, Elyria-Swansea and Commerce City communities in metro Denver are choked by air pollution from nearby highways, an oil refinery and a Superfund site.

    While these neighborhoods have long suffered from air pollution, they’re not the only ones in Colorado.

    Now, Colorado is taking a major step to protect people from air pollutants that cause cancer or other major health problems, called “air toxics.” For the first time, the state is developing its own state-level air toxic health standards.

    In north Denver, the 80216 ZIP code has been named one of the most polluted in the country. Rocky Mountain PBS created a two-part documentary about the history of this area and the impact the pollution has on current residents.

    In January 2025 Colorado identified five air toxics as “priority” chemicals: benzene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium compounds and hydrogen sulfide.

    The state is in the process of setting health-based standards that will limit the amount of each chemical allowed in the air. Importantly, the standards will be designed to protect people exposed to the chemicals long term, such as those living near emission sources. Exposure to even low amounts of some chemicals, such as benzene, may lead to cancer.

    As a researcher studying chemical exposure and health, I measure and evaluate the impact of air pollution on people’s well-being.

    Colorado’s new regulations will draw on expert knowledge and community input to protect people’s health.

    Communities know what needs regulation

    In your own community, is there a highway that runs near your house or a factory with a bad odor? Maybe a gas station right around the corner? You likely already know many of the places that release air pollution near you.

    When state or local regulators work with community members to find out what air pollution sources communities are worried about, the partnership can lead to a system that better serves the public and reduces injustice.

    For example, partnerships between community advocates, scientists and regulators in heavily polluted and marginalized neighborhoods in New York and Boston have had big benefits. These partnerships resulted in both better scientific knowledge about how air pollution is connected to asthma and the placement of air monitors in neighborhoods impacted the most.

    In Colorado, the process to choose the five priority air toxics included consulting with multiple stakeholders. A technical working group provided input on which five chemicals should be prioritized from the larger list of 477 toxic air contaminants.

    The working group includes academics, members of nongovernmental organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund – local government and regulated industries, such as the American Petroleum Institute.

    Community members often know which air toxics they want regulated.
    Hyoung Chang/Denver Post via GettyImages

    There were also opportunities for community participation during public meetings.

    At public hearings, community groups like GreenLatinos argued that formaldehyde, instead of acrolein, should be one of the prioritized air toxics because it can cause cancer.

    Additionally, formaldehyde is emitted in some Colorado communities that are predominantly people of color, according to advocates for those communities. These communities are already disproportionately impacted by high rates of respiratory disease and cancer.

    Other members of the community also weighed in.

    “One of my patients is a 16-year-old boy who tried to get a summer job working outside, but had to quit because air pollution made his asthma so bad that he could barely breathe,” wrote Logan Harper, a Denver-area family physician and advocate for Healthy Air and Water Colorado.

    How is air quality protected?

    At the national level, the Clean Air Act requires that six common air pollutants, such as ozone and carbon monoxide, are kept below specific levels. The act also regulates 188 hazardous air pollutants.

    Individual states are free to develop their own regulations, and several, including California and Minnesota, already have. States can set standards that are more health-protective than those in place nationally.

    Four of the five chemicals prioritized by Colorado are regulated federally. The fifth chemical, hydrogen sulfide, is not included on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous air pollutant list, but Colorado has decided to regulate it as an air toxic.

    State-level regulation is important because states can focus on air toxics specific to their state to make sure that the communities most exposed to air pollution are protected. One way to do this is to place air pollution monitors in the communities experiencing the worst air pollution.

    For example, Colorado is placing six new air quality monitors in locations around the state to measure concentrations of the five priority air toxics. It will also use an existing monitor in Grand Junction to measure air toxics. Two of the new monitors, located in Commerce City and La Salle, began operating in January 2024. The remainder will start monitoring the air by July 2025.

    When Colorado chose the sites, it prioritized communities that are overly impacted by social and environmental hazards. To do this, officials used indexes like the Colorado EnviroScreen, which combines information about pollution, health and economic factors to identify communities that are overly burdened by hazards.

    The Commerce City monitor is located in Adams City, a neighborhood that has some of the worst pollution in the state. The site has air toxics emissions that are worse than 95% of communities in Colorado.

    Air toxics and health

    The five air toxics that Colorado selected all have negative impacts on health. Four are known to cause cancer.

    Benzene, perhaps the most well known because of its ability to cause blood cancer, is one. But it also has a number of other health impacts, including dampening the ability of the immune system and impacting the reproductive system by decreasing sperm count. Benzene is in combustion-powered vehicle exhaust and is emitted during oil and gas production and refinement.

    Ethylene oxide can cause cancer and irritates the nervous and respiratory systems. Symptoms of long-term exposure can include headaches, sore throat, shortness of breath and others. Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize medical equipment, and as of 2024, it was used by four facilities in Colorado.

    Formaldehyde is also a cancer-causing agent, and exposure is associated with asthma in children. This air toxic is used in the manufacture of a number of products like household cleaners and building materials. It is also emitted by oil and gas sources, including during fracking.

    Hexavalent chromium compounds can cause several types of cancer, as well as skin and lung diseases such as asthma and rhinitis. A major source of hexavalent chromium is coal-fired power plants, of which Colorado currently has six in operation, though these plants are scheduled to close in the next five years. Other sources of hexavalent chromium include chemical and other manufacturing.

    Finally, long-term exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause low blood pressure, headaches and a range of other symptoms, and has been associated with neurological impacts such as psychological disorders. Some sources of hydrogen sulfide include oil refineries and wastewater treatment plants.

    Read more of our stories about Colorado.

    Jenni Shearston has received funding from the United States National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Colorado is tackling air pollution in vulnerable neighborhoods by regulating 5 air toxics – https://theconversation.com/colorado-is-tackling-air-pollution-in-vulnerable-neighborhoods-by-regulating-5-air-toxics-248520

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How early voting on campuses can boost election turnout – not only for students but for residents, too

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Stephen C. Phillips, Lecturer in Political Science, Clemson University

    NextGen, a youth and democracy group, encouraging University of Central Florida students to vote early on campus in the 2018 midterms, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 25, 2018. Willie J. Allen Jr./AP Images

    Republican-led legislatures in several U.S. states, from Indiana to Oklahoma, are considering imposing restrictions on early voting, from shortening the number of days to tightening ID requirements for voters.

    Florida, by contrast, offers several tools to increase voting access, including for young people – a historically low-turnout group. Floridians may preregister to vote at age 16 and request vote-by-mail ballots with no justification needed. And starting in 2018, Florida election officials began offering in-person early-voting sites on college and university campuses after a federal judge nullified a 2014 rule barring higher education facilities from serving as early-voting sites.

    I am a lecturer of political science who studies American political development and public law, and my research suggests that expanding on-campus early-voting sites can boost turnout in U.S. elections by making voting more convenient – not only for students but for residents of surrounding communities too.

    Campus voting is popular

    I have been tracking votes cast at on-campus early-voting sites in Florida since 2018. The data shows these voting sites are increasingly popular.

    My research shows that 59,205 votes were cast across 12 Florida campuses hosting early-voting sites in 2018. That number increased to 92,344 at 11 locations in 2020 and jumped again – by about 50,000 votes – during the 2024 election.

    During 14 days of early voting in October and November 2024, 142,085 Floridians cast ballots across 16 on-campus early-voting sites across the state. One-quarter of them – 35,245 voters – took advantage of three campus sites in Miami-Dade County, the state’s most populous county.

    A 2019 study by the Andrew Goodman Foundation, a nonprofit promoting youth participation in democracy, determined that overall voter turnout in Florida increased during the 2018 election, in comparison with previous midterm elections, in part “due to the added convenience” of on-campus voting.

    Greater access to in-person early voting also increases the likelihood of a person’s ballot counting, since mail-in ballots tend to be rejected at higher rates than in-person votes.

    Who votes on campus?

    On-campus early voting makes elections more accessible for all voters.

    My data from 2024 shows that 35% of voters at Florida’s 16 on-campus early-voting sites were registered Democrats and 32% were registered Republicans. The remaining 33% registered with minor parties or had no party affiliation.

    These results differ from voter registration data from 2024 in Florida, which shows 40% of registered voters as Republicans, 31% as Democrats and 29% as other. That is to be expected, because studies of on-campus early voters in Florida find that these voters are younger and more diverse than those at other polling places.

    Both students and local residents may vote at on-campus polling sites in Florida.

    A 2019 report from the Andrew Goodman Foundation found “Hispanic and Black voters disproportionately cast ballots” at campus locations alongside college-age voters. It also said that 56% of early voters at campus sites were under age 30.

    Differences in party turnout at tracked sites, then, may reflect the higher share of Gen Z voters registered as Democrats or with no party affiliation.

    Obstacles to voting access

    Before casting a ballot, voters face four decisions. First, whether to register to vote. Second, whether to vote in an election. Third, how to vote: early in-person, vote-by-mail or on Election Day. Fourth, whom or what to vote for.

    Turnout rates among young voters vary widely across states, but in states where on-campus voting locations are frequent – such as Arizona, Florida and North Carolina – youth turnout tends to be higher.

    In the 2024 election, people ages 18 to 29 represented 14% of overall Florida voters – roughly on par with their proportion of the state’s population. It is difficult to make a direct comparison between the voting age population and voter turnout rates because of voter eligibility rules.

    But, for reference, 18-to-29-year-olds made up 14% of voters in Texas in 2024, too – yet are estimated to be nearly 17% of the population.

    Several states have rules seemingly designed to hinder young people from voting. After the 2020 election, Ohio passed a law making it harder for out-of-state students to vote by restricting the documents voters may use to prove their residency. Data from the Campus Vote Project shows several states, including Texas, Iowa and Missouri, do not accept student IDs as valid identification to vote. Oklahoma is currently considering similar legislation.

    While turnout rates reflect many factors, including the popularity of the candidates, low voter turnout is often associated with increased difficulty in casting a ballot.

    Florida shows that college campuses play an important role in increasing access to voting, not just for students but for residents in the surrounding communities, too. Nearly 3% of the 5.4 million people who voted early in person statewide in 2024 cast their ballot at a campus polling site, up from 2.2% in 2018.

    Election officials, university leaders and lawmakers know that having on-campus early-voting sites is a successful method for engaging voters. As one first-time voter at York Technical College in South Carolina told South Carolina Public Radio in 2024, the convenient location “definitely encourages me to vote.”

    Across the country, from Iowa to Texas, many schools and election officials host early on-campus voting.

    In other places, however, state and local laws, or decisions by local officials, prevent many campuses from hosting polling sites.

    For example, Ohio limits the number of early-voting sites to one per county. That meant that, in 2024, Ohio State University had no campus early-voting sites, and for its students the closest place to vote in person was about 6 miles (10 kilometers) away.

    In South Carolina, though some campuses do host polling sites, the university where I teach, Clemson, does not. In 2024, students had to travel four miles to reach the nearest in-person early-voting location in Pickens County.

    A recent study found that long distances and travel times to polling locations constitute “a barrier to voting.” And students, as a population, often have particularly limited access to transportation.

    Further studies will show more precisely how on-campus early voting expands the voter universe. But my vote tracking and other new research provides some clues, suggesting that early in-person voting on campus increases early voting and diversifies the electorate.

    Expanding on-campus early voting, then, is not just about convenience. It is about empowering the next generation of voters and strengthening democracy.

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

    – ref. How early voting on campuses can boost election turnout – not only for students but for residents, too – https://theconversation.com/how-early-voting-on-campuses-can-boost-election-turnout-not-only-for-students-but-for-residents-too-247161

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s claims of vast presidential powers run up against Article 2 of the Constitution and exceed previous presidents’ power grabs

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Claire B. Wofford, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston

    How much power does the president really have? fotojog-iStock/Getty Images Plus

    Those who wrote and wrangled over America’s Constitution might be troubled by the second presidency of Donald J. Trump.

    While almost all modern presidents flex their muscles in the initial stages of their administration, the first weeks of the second Trump presidency have seen a rapid-fire, often dizzying array of executive actions that have sparked heated, even virulent, disputes among politicians, the media and citizens about how much power the president of the United States should have.

    Historians differ about the framers’ precise intent regarding the executive branch. But the general consensus is twofold: First, domestic lawmaking power, including the critical “power of the purse,” would rest with Congress; second, the president would not be the equivalent of a king.

    Fresh off the coercion of King George III, the framers were in no mood to recreate the British system. They debated extensively about whether the executive branch should be led by more than one person. A single chief executive was eventually favored in part because other institutional checks, including the selection of the president by the American people and Congress’ ability to impeach, seemed sufficient. And, of course, Congress would retain lawmaking powers.

    Almost immediately, however, Congress began delegating some of that power to the presidency. As the nation grew and Congress found itself unable to manage the ensuing demands, it put more and more policymaking powers into the executive branch.

    Congress frequently passed vaguely worded statutes and left important details largely to the president about how to manage, for instance, immigration or the environment. President-as-policymaker and the development of an immense federal bureaucracy that is now in the crosshairs of Trump and Elon Musk was one unintended result.

    Whether the current American president has become a king, particularly after the sweeping grant of immunity in 2024 by the Supreme Court and the seeming acquiescence by Congress to Trump’s latest directives, remains up for debate.

    In 2019, Trump said, “And then I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as President.”

    I’m a constitutional law scholar, and I can comfortably respond: With all due respect, Mr. President, no. Article 2 does not grant the president unlimited power.

    Here’s what the Constitution does say – and doesn’t say – about the power of the president.

    An 1881 depiction of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
    Alfred Kappes and Frederick Juengling, New York Public Library Digital Collections

    Exploiting imprecise language

    The Constitution divides power among the three branches of the federal government – executive, legislative and judicial.

    Article 1 specifies in great detail the structure and powers of Congress. In comparison, Article 2 is relatively short, outlining the powers of the executive branch, which now encompasses the president, his advisers and various departments and agencies.

    There is no extensive laundry list of enumerated powers for the executive branch. Instead, there is a smattering. The president is given the power to “grant reprieves and pardons,” to “receive ambassadors,” and, with the consent of the Senate, “make treaties” and “appoint” various federal officials. The president is also the “Commander in Chief.”

    Aside from the ability to veto legislation and “recommend” policies to Congress, the president was intended to serve primarily as an administrator of congressional statutes, not a policymaker.

    It is other, much less precise language in Article 2 that undergirds much of what Trump claims he can do – and what opponents say he cannot.

    Specifically, Section 1 states, “The Executive power shall be vested in a President,” and Section 3 requires the President to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

    On their face, these “vesting” and “take care” clauses seem relatively innocuous, reflecting the framers’ view that the President would implement rather than create the nation’s public policy. Congress would have that prerogative, with the president generally confined to ensuring those laws were carried out appropriately.

    Trump and his allies, however, have seized on these words as authorizing unlimited control over each of the 4 million employees of the executive branch and, through program changes and spending freezes, allowing him to exert significant policymaking power for the nation.

    The administration has now surpassed what even the strongest proponents of presidential power may have once argued. Trump adviser Stephen Miller has said, “All executive power is vested in the one man elected by the whole nation. No unelected bureaucrat has any ‘independent’ authority.”

    Yet the overriding goal of the framers at the Constitutional Convention was to avoid creating an American version of the British monarchy, with a single, unaccountable ruler in charge of national policymaking, free to implement his vision at will.

    In the view of Trump’s critics, this is precisely what has occurred.

    President Donald Trump signs an executive order on Feb. 14, 2025, at the White House.
    Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Going around Congress

    Trump is not the first president to use Article 2’s ambiguity to push the boundaries of executive authority.

    Particularly since the end of World War II and the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, presidents have seized upon the same phrases in the Constitution to put their particular political agendas into action.

    Barack Obama, for instance, famously touted his “phone and pen” as a way to make policy when Congress refused.

    The vehicle for most executive branch policymaking, including by Trump, has been the executive order. Executive orders are mentioned nowhere in the Constitution, but presidents have, since the very earliest days of the republic, issued these directives under their “executive” and “take care” power. Since the founding, there have been tens of thousands of executive orders, used by Democratic and Republican presidents alike.

    Often, executive orders are relatively minor. They form commissions, set holiday schedules or brand an agency with a new seal. Dozens are signed unnoticed during every administration.

    In other instances, they have sweeping and substantive effect.

    Among those, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed Southern slaves, Franklin Roosevelt placed Japanese Americans in internment camps, Harry S. Truman integrated the military, and Joe Biden forgave student loans. Trump has attempted to redefine birthright citizenship – a move which, for now, has been stopped by federal courts.

    Because they have the force of law and remain in place until revoked by a subsequent president, executive orders have often faced legal challenges. Currently, there are more than 80 lawsuits challenging Trump’s executive orders for violating both federal law and the Constitution. Some orders, but not all, have been halted by lower courts.

    But if many presidents have believed that Article 2 of the Constitution gives them the power to make policy via executive order, the nation’s highest court hasn’t always agreed.

    Out of bounds?

    Requests to the high court to rule on Trump’s executive orders are a virtual certainty.

    Historically, the Supreme Court has struck down some executive orders as outside the scope of Article 2. As the court wrote in 1952, “In the framework of our Constitution, the President’s power to see that the laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a lawmaker.”

    Whether Trump’s various directives are within his Article 2 authority or violate both the letter and spirit of the Constitution awaits determination, most likely by the U.S. Supreme Court. Much of the genius of that document is its often ambiguous language, letting the government adapt to a changing nation.

    Yet that very ambiguity has allowed both sides of today’s political divide to claim that their version of executive power is faithful to the framers’ vision. As with the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movements, such a dispute could very well drive the U.S. to the breaking point.

    Congress or the American people may eventually decide that Trump has gone too far. The next presidential election is years away, but Congress still retains the power of impeachment. More realistically, they could rein him in via legislation, as they did with President Richard Nixon.

    For now, it is up to the judicial system to evaluate what the administration has done. Courts will need to use their constitutionally mandated authority to evaluate whether Trump has exceeded his.

    In 2022, I donated $20 to ActBlue.

    – ref. Trump’s claims of vast presidential powers run up against Article 2 of the Constitution and exceed previous presidents’ power grabs – https://theconversation.com/trumps-claims-of-vast-presidential-powers-run-up-against-article-2-of-the-constitution-and-exceed-previous-presidents-power-grabs-249662

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting prioritizes ‘real’ independence from the US − but what does that mean and is it achievable?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Garret Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service

    Germany’s presumptive new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, faces challenges both at home and overseas following his conservative alliance’s election victory on Feb. 23, 2025.

    A strong showing from the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) – which Merz, in line with other mainstream German parties, refuses to countenance as a coalition party as part of an unofficial “firewall” against extremism – will make forming a functioning government tricky.

    But in the moments after the election results, it was the future of the European Union and its relationship with America that was his immediate focus: “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”

    To understand why that is such a concern for Germany now and what “real independence” from Washington means, The Conversation U.S. turned to Garret Martin, an expert on U.S.-Europe relations at American University, for answers.

    What prompted Merz’s ‘real independence’ line?

    Presumably it was a response to a series of recent announcements and actions by the Trump administration that have shocked the German political establishment. This includes the sudden revelation that the U.S. would negotiate directly with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, but seemingly without the Europeans or Ukrainians involved. That development went down like a lead balloon in Berlin, especially considering Germany’s significant financial support of Kyiv since 2022.

    Moreover, the German establishment has also frowned at a series of recent declarations by members of the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, in which he harshly criticized Europe for allegedly undermining freedom of expression, provoked clear pushback from German leaders. Trump, for his part, hardly endeared himself to his German allies when he denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator.”

    And, of course, Elon Musk’s interference in the German elections – as well as his open support for the far-right Alternative for Germany – provoked a fierce response from Merz. The then-candidate promised that Musk would need to be prepared for legal consequences for his meddling.

    Elon Musk addresses, via videolink, the election campaign launch rally of the far-right Alternative for Germany on Jan. 25, 2025.
    Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    How would this ‘real independence’ be achieved?

    Defining what “real independence” means and being able to implement such a drastic change in transatlantic relations will be a tall order. If by “real independence” Merz means that Germany would no longer rely on the U.S. for its security, then that would require several major steps.

    Merz would first need to convince his likely coalition partners, the Social Democrats, that this is the right goal. After all, German governments are bound by very detailed coalition agreements. Second, Merz would need to significantly increase German defense spending. As it stands, Germany’s annual defense budget is slightly over US$90 billion, or 2% of its GDP. But a recent study by the economic think tank Bruegel suggests Berlin would need to increase its budget by $145 billion annually to defend Europe without the assistance of the U.S.

    But to achieve this, Merz will likely need to increase defense spending by such a level that it will contravene the country’s “debt brake.” This 2009 constitutional rule essentially caps the annual deficit that the government can take on. But overturning this mechanism would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the German Parliament. Merz’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union party won 28.6% of the vote – and even with the support of the country’s main center-left party, the Social Democrats, Merz will fall short of the parliamentary votes needed.

    Finally, “real independence” would also require convincing other European Union partners to join him down that path. Assuming that the Trump administration continues its current trajectory and further undermines NATO, the EU would have to step in to become a more prominent security actor for the continent. It might also require, as Merz hinted, that the United Kingdom and France be ready to share their nuclear weapons, since the U.S. may not be trusted anymore to defend NATO countries.

    All of these steps would cover “real independence” only in the security sphere and not touch other crucial policy areas, such as trade and energy. And that would be an equally tall order given the level of economic ties binding Germany to the U.S., as well as the looming threat of tariffs.

    What does this mean for German-US relations?

    Merz’s “real independence” statement would have been noteworthy coming from any German chancellor. But it is even more striking when one considers the fact that Merz is a committed transatlanticist who deeply admires the U.S. and counts Ronald Reagan as one of his role models.

    At 69, Merz came of age during the final years of the Cold War, when the U.S. played a key role in enabling German reunification. He worked for years for Atlantik-Brücke, a lobbying group pushing for closer transatlantic ties. And he has, by his own account, traveled more than 100 times to the U.S.

    Independence will not likely mean a complete divorce between the U.S. and Germany – the ties binding the two countries, whether economic, cultural or political, run too deep. However, we can expect that Berlin will not hesitate to take a more combative approach toward Washington when necessary, so to protect German and European interests. As Merz pointed out, it is clear that the Trump administration does “not care much about the fate of Europe.”

    What does this signal for Merz’s view of Germany’s position in the EU?

    Merz’s win will certainly lead to important shifts in Germany’s position in the EU, and could be a major boost for a union in need of leadership. His predecessor, Olaf Scholz, was hampered by a weak economy, divisions within his coalition and indecisive leadership in Europe. Moreover, poor relations with French President Emmanuel Macron also stalled the Franco-German partnership, normally a key engine of leadership in the EU.

    Merz certainly plans to take a very distinct approach toward the EU than his predecessor. His calls for “real independence” will certainly be very welcome in France, which has long called for Europe to be more responsible for its own security. As such, it opens up the possibility of far closer ties between Paris and Berlin than we saw in recent years. Moreover, Merz, with his more hawkish position toward Russia, could be counted on to provide greater support for Ukraine.

    Garret Martin receives funding from the European Union for the Transatlantic Policy Center, which he co-directs.

    – ref. Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting prioritizes ‘real’ independence from the US − but what does that mean and is it achievable? – https://theconversation.com/germanys-chancellor-in-waiting-prioritizes-real-independence-from-the-us-but-what-does-that-mean-and-is-it-achievable-250708

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –