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Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson Demands Immediate Stay of Execution for Robert Roberson

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Jonathan Jackson – Illinois (1st District)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson Demands Immediate Stay of Execution for Robert Roberson

    Washington, D.C. –Congressman Jonathan Jackson today called for an immediate stay of execution for Robert Roberson, who is scheduled to be executed in Texas. 

    Congressman Jackson emphasized the urgent need for a thorough review of Roberson’s case, citing significant concerns about the fairness of his trial and the 

    evidence used to convict him.

    “Robert Roberson’s case raises serious questions about the integrity of our justice system,” said Congressman Jackson. 

    “We cannot allow an execution to proceed when there are substantial doubts about the validity of the conviction. It is imperative that we ensure 

    every individual receives a fair trial, and that justice is truly served.”

    Congressman Jackson highlighted several key issues in Roberson’s case, including the use of outdated and discredited forensic science, 

    as well as the lack of adequate legal representation. He urged the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Greg Abbott 

    to grant a stay of execution and allow for a comprehensive review of the case.

    “Our justice system must be based on fairness and accuracy,” Congressman Jackson continued. “Executing Robert Roberson without 

    addressing these critical concerns would be a grave miscarriage of justice. I implore the authorities to halt this execution and ensure that justice is upheld.”

    Congressman Jackson remains committed to advocating for justice and fairness in the criminal justice system and will continue to fight for the rights of 

    those who have been wrongfully convicted.

    Contact:

    Office of the Director of Communications

    Office of Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson (D-IL-01)
    1641 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515 

    Official Website | 202-225-4372 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: The AI opportunity: Updates to our Gemini and Knowledge & Information teams

    Source: Google

    Editor’s note: Today, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai shared the following note to employees.

    Hi Googlers, 

    It’s been an exciting few days for AI across our products. We saw NotebookLM with Audio Overviews go viral, added more ways to find information in Search and Lens, and launched a revamped Google Shopping for the AI era. We also just shared a big milestone in our work to help doctors use AI to detect diabetic retinopathy: 600,000 screenings and counting, and we’re expanding access to more people across India and Thailand. There’s a lot more to come.

    AI moves faster than any technology before it. To keep increasing the pace of progress, we’ve been making shifts to simplify our structures along the way, including the creation of Google DeepMind and the joining of the Platforms & Devices teams. As a next step, Prabhakar and I have been thinking through how to structure our Knowledge & Information team for the Gemini era, and today we shared the following changes:

    • The Gemini app team led by Sissie will join Google DeepMind under Demis. As the name suggests, the Gemini app is the direct consumer interface to the latest and greatest Gemini models. Bringing the teams closer together will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app, make our post-training work proceed more efficiently and build on our great product momentum. 
    • The Assistant teams focused on devices and home experiences will move to Platforms & Devices so they can sit closer to the product surfaces they’re building for and bring our AI-powered home initiatives into one team and focus on improving user experience.

    In parallel to this, Prabhakar has decided it’s time to make a big leap in his own career. After 12 years leading teams across Google, he’ll return to his computer science roots and take on the role of Chief Technologist, Google. In this role, he’ll partner closely with me and Google leads to provide technical direction and leadership and grow our culture of tech excellence. Nick Fox, a longtime Googler and member of Prabhakar’s leadership team, will be stepping up to lead K&I, which includes our Search, Ads, Geo, and Commerce products.

    Prabhakar’s leadership journey at Google has been remarkable, spanning Research, Workspace, Ads, and K&I. He led the Gmail team in launching Smart Reply and Smart Compose as early examples of using AI to improve products, and took Gmail and Drive past 1 billion users. Across K&I, Prabhakar and team have achieved significant growth and innovation: from launching AI Overviews, a groundbreaking advancement in Search that benefits hundreds of millions of users worldwide to introducing new search modalities like Circle to Search, video understanding, and “shop what you see” in Lens — all while improving core Search functionality. Maps and Shopping have transformed with AI-driven features like immersive view and virtual try-on. And in Ads, we’ve made real progress with AI-powered ad formats and streamlined campaign management, while continuing to innovate with Performance Max to empower millions of businesses. 

    I’m so grateful to Prabhakar for the strong foundation and leadership bench he’s built across K&I. That includes his incredible senior leaders and Nick who is ready to hit the ground running in his new role as SVP of K&I!

    Over the past few years, Nick has been instrumental in shaping Google’s AI product roadmap and collaborating closely with Prabhakar and his leadership team on K&I’s strategy. And throughout his career, Nick has demonstrated leadership across nearly every facet of K&I, from Product and Design in Search and Assistant, to our Shopping, Travel, and Payments products. He was also a pioneering leader in Ads, where he helped establish a rigorous quality and user-focused approach that remains key to our success. Nick has launched innovative consumer products like Google Fi and spearheaded complex initiatives such as RCS messaging. I frequently turn to Nick to tackle our most challenging product questions and he consistently delivers progress with tenacity, speed, and optimism.

    Congratulations to Nick, and a heartfelt thank you to Prabhakar for his leadership through numerous technology shifts and for building a strong foundation for the future.

    – Sundar

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: A golden age for research: broader scope, faster cycles, greater impact

    Source: Google

    We live in a golden age for research.

    Never before have we had the opportunity to make such rapid advances in computer science, and apply them so quickly to global-scale challenges, in a way that can help people in their daily lives. Since the start of my career, I’ve been excited by the “magic cycle” of research, where real-world challenges motivate new foundational and applied research, which in turn has a positive impact in the real world. Today, with the right infrastructure, talent and approach, we’re able not only to make rapid breakthroughs in everything from AI to algorithms to computing infrastructure, but to put those technologies to work to improve people’s daily lives and have societal impact faster than ever before, sometimes in a matter of months.

    I’m seeing this firsthand as I’ve recently stepped up to lead Google Research, so I wanted to share a perspective on the incredible progress we’re seeing — and how important research is in driving helpful innovation.

    Our approach: impact-driven curiosity

    Google itself in fact began with research. “The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual Web search engine,” published in 1998, explored how PageRank could provide a fundamentally better way to find info on the web, But it didn’t stop with a research paper — it was applying that research that produced Google. Over the past 26 years, that approach to implementing research — quickly — has transformed not only our company, but also how people can interact with the world’s information. Indeed, much of the rapid progress in AI we see all around us today grew from Google Research’s invention of the Transformer.

    In all of our research, we ask ourselves: How can we make a step change, not just incremental? What’s impossible today, that we could make possible? And what is the greatest impact we can have — how can this make a real difference in the world?

    Google Research today includes fundamental and applied work in foundational machine learning and algorithms, computing systems and quantum AI, and science, AI & societal impact. And across all these domains, we run initiatives on efficiency in machine learning, factuality & grounding in AI systems, and new data techniques.

    Breakthroughs for the benefit of people and the planet

    We motivate our research by going after the biggest questions that matter to advance science and make a difference to people and to communities globally. What are the most effective ways to mitigate climate change? How can we help make billions of people healthier? How can we enable new experiences? And to do all this, can we break through limitations in computing and AI systems? Each of those becomes an inspiring research challenge — and in so many cases we’ve already translated research into solutions.

    For example, to address climate change, in a trial with American Airlines we used AI to help reduce contrails by 54%, demonstrating that airlines can verifiably avoid contrails and thereby reduce their climate impact. To help address the growing wildfire crisis, we partnered with leading wildfire authorities to develop FireSat, an upcoming AI-powered global satellite constellation to detect and track wildfires the size of a classroom — within 20 minutes. And consider flood forecasting — when our team at Google Research began the project in 2018, experts I met with said it was likely impossible to forecast riverine floods. But by developing AI that can build a global hydrologic model, we’ve not only proven it’s possible, but applied it to provide communities accurate early warnings and help save lives.

    Meanwhile, to support health and wellbeing, we’ve developed AI that can help screen for breast cancer and colorectal cancer, help prevent blindness at scale, spot potential skin conditions and detect diseases based on the sound of coughs. We’re still in the earliest days of AI breakthroughs and genomics research, and yet we’ve made progress with Large Language Models for the medical domain and we’re already poised to improve the health care for hundreds of millions of people.

    But perhaps one of the biggest undertakings involves advancing computing itself, and how it can fundamentally alter the scope of problem-solving. We’ve developed state-of-the-art attention models and use graph mining to improve retrieval quality. We’re also working on approaches to grounding large language models, such as by training models to rely on source documents for summarization and evaluating factual consistency. This research has led to improvements like the double-check feature in the Gemini app. We’ve made AI more efficient with research on speculative decoding, efficient inference techniques, and cascades, and we’ve helped improve privacy with federated learning and differential privacy. And our quantum computing team just published new results in Nature affirming that as we reduce the error rate in our quantum processors, we reach levels of computation that can’t be matched by even the world’s most powerful classical computers — putting us on track to crack open an entirely new computational capability for the world.

    These are just a few examples of the type of work done across Google Research.

    Why partnership is crucial for turning research into impact

    Of course, as we turn research towards impact, we’re acutely aware that technology is not automatically beneficial — you can’t “invent it and forget it,” simply releasing powerful technologies on the naive assumption that they will be helpful. It requires careful stewardship, partnership and a fundamentally human-centric view of how to design and guide emerging technologies. That’s one reason we do our research in partnership with a multitude of researchers in academia and many others, while creating tools and best practices that support a truly global research ecosystem with the aim of steering new technologies towards beneficial outcomes. We actively engage in advancing socio-technical research to bolster our AI principles — including on equitable datasets, interpretability, and algorithmic fairness — and there’s important work ahead to make our AI models even more efficient, factual, robust and safe.

    We have the greatest impact when we’re working with research partners. Since 2005, Google has worked with more than 1,000 research institutions and invested over $400 million dollars in academic research worldwide, much of this led by Google Research. We find experts across disciplines, roll up our sleeves, dive into the research, and make scientific advances together. In our connectomics research, we’ve partnered with Harvard to use AI to make the most detailed mapping yet of neurons in the human brain, revealing newly discovered structures — all towards helping scientists understand fundamental processes such as thought, learning and memory. Google Research also engaged in a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Howard University and other HBCUs to build a high-quality African-American English (AAE) speech dataset that Google — and others — will use to improve speech products. This is related to our overall effort to reduce barriers and better serve communities by enabling technology to work in many more languages.

    With our partners, and through Google’s own products, we use our research advances to benefit billions of people. For example, as populations swell and shift in the Global South, millions of people’s buildings aren’t represented on any map, and they risk missing out on essentials like electricity, healthcare and mail delivery. So Google Research in Africa has used AI to make big improvements to the Open Buildings dataset — transforming blurry, low-res satellite imagery into useful, high-res building outlines so partners like the World Bank, the World Resources Institute, UN Habitat, WorldPop and Sunbird AI can use it to ensure global development includes everyone. Along with our SKAI effort, this has helped our partnership with the UN to boost damage assessment.

    In another sphere, our Operations Research team recently showed how cargo shippers could double their profit, deliver 13% more containers and use 15% fewer ships. This is not only helpful for businesses, but good for supply chains globally.

    Finally, we of course partner extensively with product teams to drive innovation across Google — and our responsibility also includes keeping an eye on the horizon, exploring the art of the possible, and imagining how we can apply our breakthrough technologies for maximum benefit in years to come.

    Towards the future

    We feel great urgency given the scope of problems facing humanity — but also great optimism because of what we’ve been able to do already. Our multi-decade track record shows that Google Research is second-to-none in delivering helpful advances. We’ve delivered breakthroughs that have shaped Google’s identity as a company, helped inaugurate new fields in computer science, and advanced the frontiers of innovation and technology with thousands of publications. The advances we’ve shared are already assisting people – from their everyday tasks, to their most ambitious and imaginative endeavors — and addressing society’s most pressing challenges, from healthcare to education to climate change and climate science.

    We’ll keep sharing our breakthroughs on our Google Research blog, at conferences and at other events. We’re eager to explore — and invent — the future alongside all the partners and communities we work with.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rubio Urges Domestic Terrorism Investigation of Pro-Hamas Group

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

    Rubio Urges Domestic Terrorism Investigation of Pro-Hamas Group
    Oct 17, 2024 | Press Releases

    Unity of Fields, a self-proclaimed pro-Hamas, anti-American “direct action network,” promotes acts of militant violence and propaganda against supporters of Israel. The pro-terrorist beliefs and actions of this group, including encouraging attacks on buildings and individuals, prompt a thorough investigation.    
    U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick Garland urging a full investigation into Unity of Fields for acts of domestic terrorism before additional harm or actions jeopardize the United States or its citizens.
    “Unity of Fields runs counter to any of the beliefs and rights which underpin our country’s constitutional system and endangers citizens. As such, I look forward to your prompt investigation into Unity of Fields as you hold them accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”
    The full text of the letter is below. 
    Dear Attorney General Garland:
    I write with concern about the increasing violence promoted by groups such as Unity of Fields, formerly Palestine Action U.S., which explicitly support Palestinian terrorism and other anti-Israel, anti-American, and antisemitic terrorist organizations. I request that you immediately open a domestic terrorism investigation into Unity of Fields and utilize all resources available to hold this group accountable under the law.
    As you may know, Unity of Fields is an “anti-Zionist ‘direct action network’” focused on promoting acts of violence and protest against individuals or organizations that the group considers supportive of Israel, Zionism, or American imperialism. Prior to August 2024, the organization was called Palestine Action U.S. and served as a chapter for the United Kingdom-based Palestine Action. In an article originally published in May 2024, Unity of Fields highlighted several beliefs that underpin their movement. Specifically, the group calls for increased escalation in its activities, including no longer disavowing any action in pursuit of its Marxist, anti-Zionist, anti-American agenda, building up militancy infrastructure, and adherence to the belief that the “revolution will come within our lifetimes” as they “will make sure of it.”
    Further, the group encourages the study of revolutionary material in preparation for continued action against the United States and Israel. Specifically, Unity of Fields promotes the writings of Palestinian revolutionary and suspected terrorist Bassel Al-Araj, Mao Zedong’s On Guerilla Warfare, the United States Army Counterinsurgency Manuel as well as numerous other works focused around promoting and conducting insurgencies. The ultimate purpose of the group and its readings is “to open a new front against the US Empire [and] to build the international popular cradle of resistance.”
    Unsurprisingly, Unity of Fields’ efforts have contributed to a recent trend in increasing violence and vandalism against private property and individuals. On their X account, Unity of Fields promoted and encouraged violence in the name of Palestine and anti-Zionism, including a recent attack on the CCNY Advanced Science Research Center and individuals adhering to the belief that “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” even while claiming their organization “doesn’t do actions.”
    Under 18 U.S. Code § 2331, “domestic terrorism” is defined as any activity which “involves acts dangerous to human life that are in violation of the criminal laws” and includes the intent “to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or “to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.” Further, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed various terms and methodologies for investigating domestic terrorism threats and plots. Specifically, the FBI views a domestic terrorism plot “as a combination of criminal activity and planning that collectively reflect steps toward criminal action in furtherance of a domestic ideological goal.” A historical view of the Palestinian Resistance Movement demonstrates that violence has become a crucial element of the movement, especially between 1970 and 1973. This is seen among various terrorist spokes of the movement: Hamas, the PLFP, and the Islamic Jihad. Unity of Fields have been outspoken in transitioning into a militant propaganda organization and have cited Houthi Ansar Allah saying, “[t]he meaning of the unity of the fields is that we are all one hand, one leadership, one direction, one goal, and one approach, and any attack on any of the components of the Axis [including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Houthis, and various Shi’ite groups in Iraq and Syria] is considered a direct attack on us.”
    When comparing Unity of Fields’ own statements and actions to existing government standards for investigating these threats, I believe Unity of Fields should be investigated for any violations of the law before additional harm or actions jeopardizes the United States or its citizens. By rejecting nonviolent means and fully embracing revolutionary and insurgent related tactics as a means of pursuing its hateful beliefs, Unity of Fields runs counter to any of the beliefs and rights which underpin our country’s constitutional system, and endangers citizens. As such, I look forward to your prompt investigation into Unity of Fields as you hold them accountable to the fullest extent under the law.
    Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. 
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Forest fires are shifting north and intensifying – here’s what that means for the planet

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matthew William Jones, NERC Independent Research Fellow in Climate Science, University of East Anglia

    Fires have long been a natural part of forest ecosystems, but something is changing. Our new study shows that forest fires have become more widespread and severe amid global heating, particularly in the high northern latitudes such as Canada and Siberia where fires are most sensitive to hotter, drier conditions.

    The implications of this are alarming, not just for the ecosystems affected or the cities engulfed by smoke downwind, but for the planet’s ability to store carbon and regulate the climate. The trend we discovered contrasts with declining fire extent in savannah grasslands, which may reflect the expansion of farming and changing rainfall patterns.

    We established the leading causes of forest fires in different parts of the world using an AI algorithm. It grouped forest regions into distinct zones with similar fire patterns and underlying causes, uncovering the worrying extent to which climate change is fuelling the expansion of forest fires in Earth’s high northern latitudes.

    More fires in ‘extratropical’ forests

    Since 2001, emissions from fires in forests outside of the tropics, like parts of the boreal forest in the far north of North America and Eurasia, have nearly tripled. This rise is largely the result of hotter, drier weather occurring more frequently, combined with forests growing more efficiently in places where the cold once stunted their growth.

    Climate change is creating ideal conditions for larger, more intense fires, which accelerate climate change in turn by releasing more carbon to the atmosphere. In fact, we found that global carbon emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% over the past two decades. The largest contributions come from fires in Siberia and western North America.

    A conifer forest in north-western Canada after the 2023 fire season in which more than 6,000 fires burned through 15 million hectares.
    Stefan Doerr

    This trend shifts the focus of forest fire emissions from tropical forests, where fires set to make room for farmland have long contributed carbon to the atmosphere. Conservation policies have reduced deforestation rates since the early 2000s in some regions, particularly Amazonia. By contrast, increasing fires in northern forests, such as the taiga – the forest of the cold sub-arctic region – are driven by changing climate conditions and generally started by lightning, which makes them harder to prevent.

    Not only is the area affected by fires expanding but the fires themselves are growing more severe and releasing more carbon, according to our new findings. This corresponds with an earlier study that found fires are doing more damage to ecosystems globally than in the past. Fires are burning through drier and more flammable vegetation as global temperatures rise and droughts become more frequent.

    In northern forests, more severe fires can burn deep into the soil and release carbon that has accumulated over centuries. Forests can remain net carbon emitters for decades after burning and the more severe fires become, the longer it takes forests to rebound and recapture carbon lost during the fire.

    What does this mean for the planet?

    The steep rise in fire emissions from forests outside the tropics is a clear signal that the capacity of Earth’s forest to store carbon is at increasing risk.

    Forests, particularly in northern regions, absorb and store CO₂ from the atmosphere. But as fires expand and become more severe, these vital carbon sinks are weakened. This undermines the global effort to tackle climate change as forests offset emissions from human activities that burn fossil fuels.

    Forest fires, long considered part of the natural carbon cycle, are increasingly driven by human-caused climate change. Yet, international reporting standards don’t differentiate between “natural” levels of forest fire emissions and the higher emissions we’re seeing due to climate change.

    This allows excess fire emissions caused by humans to fall outside the scope of national carbon budgets tracked by organisations like the United Nations. Gaps emerge between the carbon emissions we think we’re managing and the actual amount that’s passing between the land and the atmosphere.

    What drives fires in different regions varies, so addressing this growing threat requires tailored approaches. Outside of the tropics, proactive forest management is essential. Carefully managed fires and thinning out vegetation can mean fires ultimately cause less damage when they do ignite. Monitoring vegetation growth, alongside fire-favourable weather conditions, can help identify and prioritise areas for intervention.

    In tropical forests, reducing ignitions (especially during droughts) and preventing forest fragmentation is key to protecting these ecosystems and their carbon stocks. This may help prevent the more extreme fires that turn tropical forests from carbon sinks into sources.

    Increasing fires are a symptom of climate change

    Limiting the burning of fossil fuels is central to minimising future fire risk. Without drastic cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, more severe and widespread forest fires are likely, with increasing damage to ecosystems, biodiversity and the climate.

    Our study also highlighted the importance of updating international reporting standards on carbon emissions. As forest fires become more closely linked to human-driven climate change, it’s crucial that fire emissions be included in national carbon budgets to provide a more accurate picture of the planet’s carbon fluxes.

    There is also a risk of overestimating how much carbon is stored by reforesting areas, especially outside the tropics. Many carbon offset schemes rely on planting new trees or delaying the harvest of existing ones to absorb CO₂, but if the growing threat of forest fires isn’t properly accounted for, these projects could fail to deliver the carbon savings they promise.

    Forest fires are no longer just a natural occurrence. As they shift north and intensify, these fires are a clear symptom of human-caused climate change.

    It’s essential to recognise the growing role that fires play in the carbon cycle. By doing so, we can better manage fire risks, safeguard forests and ensure a more resilient future for the planet.


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

    Get our award-winning 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 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Matthew William Jones receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

    Stefan H Doerr receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the FirEUrisk project funded via the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101003890.

    Crystal A. Kolden 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. Forest fires are shifting north and intensifying – here’s what that means for the planet – https://theconversation.com/forest-fires-are-shifting-north-and-intensifying-heres-what-that-means-for-the-planet-241337

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Díaz-Balart and Wasserman Schultz in the Miami Herald: Latino-Jewish Communities Working Toward a Better Future

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District of FLORIDA)

    Miami Herald

    Op-ed: Mario Díaz-Balart, Debbie Wasserman Schultz

    October 17, 2024

    Read the full op-ed here:

    As co-chairs of the Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus, we write to highlight the vital role that the Jewish and Latino communities both play in our nation and South Florida, which we have the honor of representing, but also to the American identity as a whole. Within the framework of Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the close partnership that exists between both of our communities and urge cooperation to address the common challenges that make this partnership so crucial.

    Immigration has played a pivotal role in America’s social fabric. Our families and many of our constituents escaped repressive regimes, whether in Cuba, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, or Venezuela, to pursue life in a land with freedom and opportunity. Latinos and Jews have contributed greatly to American business, culture, science, sports, public service enhancing every aspect of our diverse society.

    And while we’re proud of the success we’ve achieved as Americans, we haven’t forgotten our roots, including those still struggling for freedom and opportunity. We are proud diaspora communities with strong ties to our ancestral lands. Shared values of family, faith, and respect for human rights have united our communities and animated Jewish and Latino leadership from the civil rights movement to the fight for a fair and lawful immigration system. These close bonds to our nations of origin position our communities to play a crucial role in driving the United States’ pursuit of justice at home and abroad.

    We still have work to do.

    Here in the U.S., we are committed to working to ensure that our communities are safe from anti-Jewish and anti-Latino hate. As members of Congress, we’ve worked on bipartisan legislation to combat such hate, including the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act, which became law in 2021. This important legislation provides grants to state and local governments to enforce hate laws, and to keep more accurate records on hate crimes.

    According to surveys, 87% of American Jews have observed increased antisemitism in the U.S. since the Oct. 7 attacks. Both antisemitic and anti-Latino/Hispanic hate crimes reached record highs in 2023. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2023 Hate Crimes Statistics Report found that hate crimes against Jews increased a staggering 63% year over year, while those targeting Latinos surged by 10.7% last year as well. We’ve seen the horrific damage that can be inflicted by individuals radicalized by hateful conspiracy theories, from the murderous rampage that killed eleven Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh to the vicious attack against Latinos at an El Paso Walmart that killed 23 people.

    Additionally, we must work together to bring home the hostages held by the foreign terrorist organization Hamas, a proxy of the terrorist state of Iran. It is unconscionable that a year later, nearly 100 hostages remain in brutal Hamas captivity. Some of these hostages are both Israeli and Latino— holding dual citizenship from countries like Argentina and Colombia. We call on Hamas to release them now.

    In Latin America, the democratic opposition movements in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua continue to be persecuted by brutal, authoritarian regimes.

    In Cuba, courageous activists demand human rights and democratic change, but many of the July 11, 2021 protesters remain imprisoned.

    In Venezuela, despite all available evidence pointing to the election victory by the opposition, Maduro refuses to face the truth. We strongly condemn the Maduro regime’s actions to subvert Venezuela’s once-democratic institutions, which has resulted in nearly eight million Venezuelans being forced into exile—many of whom have resettled in our communities.

    In Nicaragua, religious freedom has been quashed, with clergy forced into exile in unprecedented numbers, including the forced exit of the entirety of Mother Theresa’s order in Nicaragua.

    We also roundly denounce these regimes’ shameful persecution, antisemitism, and delegitimization of their small Jewish communities, sentiments that are unfortunately reflected by other leftist governments in the region like Colombia.

    Additionally, Russia and Iran, which support transnational repression and amplify racist and antisemitic extremism to sew divisions, have made our world a more dangerous place.

    That’s why our communities must continue working in partnership and solidarity to combat hate, promote freedom and oppose dictators and violent organizations that defy our values. We’ll keep building bridges between Jewish and Latino Americans because we believe they can help guide our nation toward a just future.

    Within the framework of Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s celebrate our common bonds while continuing to look out for one another.

    Mario Díaz-Balart is a U.S. representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District, a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations and chairman of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee. Debbie Wasserman Schultz represents Florida’s 25th Congressional District and is ranking member on the House Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s IXPE Helps Researchers Determine Shape of Black Hole Corona

    Source: NASA

    New findings using data from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission offer unprecedented insight into the shape and nature of a structure important to black holes called a corona.
    A corona is a shifting plasma region that is part of the flow of matter onto a black hole, about which scientists have only a theoretical understanding. The new results reveal the corona’s shape for the first time, and may aid scientists’ understanding of the corona’s role in feeding and sustaining black holes.

    Many black holes, so named because not even light can escape their titanic gravity, are surrounded by accretion disks, debris-cluttered whirlpools of gas. Some black holes also have relativistic jets – ultra-powerful outbursts of matter hurled into space at high speed by black holes that are actively eating material in their surroundings.
    Less well known, perhaps, is that snacking black holes, much like Earth’s Sun and other stars, also possess a superheated corona. While the Sun’s corona, which is the star’s outermost atmosphere, burns at roughly 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a black hole corona is estimated at billions of degrees.
    Astrophysicists previously identified coronae among stellar-mass black holes – those formed by a star’s collapse – and supermassive black holes such as the one at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy.
    “Scientists have long speculated on the makeup and geometry of the corona,” said Lynne Saade, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and lead author of the new findings. “Is it a sphere above and below the black hole, or an atmosphere generated by the accretion disk, or perhaps plasma located at the base of the jets?”
    Enter IXPE, which specializes in X-ray polarization, the characteristic of light that helps map the shape and structure of even the most powerful energy sources, illuminating their inner workings even when the objects are too small, bright, or distant to see directly. Just as we can safely observe the Sun’s corona during a total solar eclipse, IXPE provides the means to clearly study the black hole’s accretion geometry, or the shape and structure of its accretion disk and related structures, including the corona.
    “X-ray polarization provides a new way to examine black hole accretion geometry,” Saade said. “If the accretion geometry of black holes is similar regardless of mass, we expect the same to be true of their polarization properties.”
    IXPE demonstrated that, among all black holes for which coronal properties could be directly measured via polarization, the corona was found to be extended in the same direction as the accretion disk – providing, for the first time, clues to the corona’s shape and clear evidence of its relationship to the accretion disk. The results rule out the possibility that the corona is shaped like a lamppost hovering over the disk.  
    The research team studied data from IXPE’s observations of 12 black holes, among them Cygnus X-1 and Cygnus X-3, stellar-mass binary black hole systems about 7,000 and 37,000 light-years from Earth, respectively, and LMC X-1 and LMC X-3, stellar-mass black holes in the Large Magellanic Cloud more than 165,000 light-years away. IXPE also observed a number of supermassive black holes, including the one at the center of the Circinus galaxy, 13 million light-years from Earth, and those in galaxies NGC 1068 and NGC 4151, 47 million light-years away and nearly 62 million light-years away, respectively.
    Stellar mass black holes typically have a mass roughly 10 to 30 times that of Earth’s Sun, whereas supermassive black holes may have a mass that is millions to tens of billions of times larger. Despite these vast differences in scale, IXPE data suggests both types of black holes create accretion disks of similar geometry.
    That’s surprising, said Marshall astrophysicist Philip Kaaret, principal investigator for the IXPE mission, because the way the two types are fed is completely different.
    “Stellar-mass black holes rip mass from their companion stars, whereas supermassive black holes devour everything around them,” he said. “Yet the accretion mechanism functions much the same way.”
    That’s an exciting prospect, Saade said, because it suggests that studies of stellar-mass black holes – typically much closer to Earth than their much more massive cousins – can help shed new light on properties of supermassive black holes as well.
    The team next hopes to make additional examinations of both types.
    Saade anticipates there’s much more to glean from X-ray studies of these behemoths. “IXPE has provided the first opportunity in a long time for X-ray astronomy to reveal the underlying processes of accretion and unlock new findings about black holes,” she said.
    The complete findings are available in the latest issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
    More about IXPE
    IXPE, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. IXPE is led by Marshall. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
    Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here:
    https://www.nasa.gov/ixpe
    Elizabeth LandauNASA Headquarterselizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov202-358-0845
    Lane FigueroaNASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center256-544-0034lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Just Keep Roving

    Source: NASA

    2 min read

    Image from Perseverance’s Right Navigation Camera, looking back towards rover tracks from past drives, into Jezero crater. The camera is located high on the rover mast, and here the rover is looking back in the direction of the Jezero crater floor. This image was acquired on October 4th, 2024 (Sol 1288) at the local mean solar time of 12:51:26.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Throughout the past week, Perseverancehas continued marching up the Jezero crater rim. This steep ascent through the Martian regolith (soil) can prove to be slow driving for the rover, as the wheels can slip on the steepest areas. This is like trying to run up a hill of sand on a beach – with every step forward, you also slip back a little way down the hill! This just means the Science and Engineering teams work together closely to plan slow and steady drives through this tricky terrain.

    Driving through the Mount Ranier quadrangle, the team identified a relatively obstacle-free path to reach the crater rim which they designated Summerland Trail, aptly named from a very popular hiking trail that ascends Mount Ranier. Perseverance is trekking to the next waypoint near an outcrop of rocks called Pico Turquino, where the science team hopes to perform its next proximity science investigations with its instruments PIXL and back-online SHERLOC.

    While roving along Summerland Trail, Perseverance is constantly observing the surrounding terrain. SuperCam and Mastcam-Z have been observing rocks on the ground and on a distant hill, called Crystal Creek. In addition, during this time Perseverance can put its eyes to the sky to make observations of the sun and atmosphere. Last week, the Mastcam-Z camera captured images of Phobos (one of Mars’ two moons) transiting in front of the sun!

    This image, showing Phobos transiting in front of the sun, was acquired using Perseverance’s Left Mastcam-Z camera. Acquired on September 30th, 2024 (Sol 1285) at the local mean solar time of 11:10:04.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

    While the Mars2020 team is itching to reach the ancient stratigraphy exposed in the crater rim, for now, the focus is on documenting our surroundings while navigating the ascent. 

    Written by Eleanor Moreland, Ph.D. Student Collaborator at Rice University

    Reference Links

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pesticides affect the health of wild bees, important plant pollinators

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Native wild bees native play a critical role in ecosystems, pollinating countless plant species, including agricultural crops. Pollination from wild and managed bees benefits some 75% of crop species and 88% of flowering plant species.

    Now, scientists supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation have found that a factor in the decline of wild bee populations is the use of pesticides. Bee populations have declined some 43% in areas with high pesticide use. The results are reported in the journal Nature Sustainability. 

    “The decline of many wild bee species has major consequences for pollination in natural and agro-ecosystems,” state the scientists in their paper. “One hypothesized cause of the declines is pesticide use; neonicotinoids and pyrethroids in particular have been shown to have pernicious effects in laboratory and field experiments and have been linked to population declines.”

    The researchers write that they discovered “that the negative effects of pesticides are widespread; the increase in neonicotinoid and pyrethroid use is a major driver of changes in occupancy across hundreds of wild bee species.” The scientists suggest that reducing pesticide use may help conservation of these important pollinators.

    Using advanced computational methods, the researchers reviewed more than 200,000 observations of more than 1,000 bee species. “The use of biological collections data to understand where organisms occur, or no longer occur, is an increasingly societally important research topic,” says Reed Beaman, a program director in the NSF Division of Biological Infrastructure.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dead coral skeletons left by bleaching events hinder reef recovery

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Coral reefs are like underwater cities, with myriad species forming a thriving ocean metropolis. That complexity, however, can hinder a reef’s survival, scientists funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have found. 

    After bleaching events, the dead coral skeletons left behind allow seaweed to outgrow new young coral, preventing reefs from recovering. The results are published in the journal Global Change Biology.

    The research was conducted at the NSF Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research site in Tahiti, one of more than two dozen such sites funded by NSF and located in ecosystems ranging from forests to deserts and lakes to oceans.

    Seaweed, or macroalgae, competes with corals for space on the reef and for light. The algae grow faster than the coral, so seaweed can overrun a reef, preventing new corals from settling and shading out colonies that do. Young coral is especially vulnerable. Once a reef turns from being covered by coral to being covered by algae, the change can be hard to reverse.

    The research team, led by Russ Schmitt of the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that dead coral skeletons could help young coral that settle on a reef shortly after a bleaching event. But corals usually spawn once a year, while many algae reproduce continually, giving seaweed the advantage in colonizing newly available substrate.

    “If the corals had died in a typhoon that removed both the corals and their skeletons, there’s a good chance new corals would have come in and the reef would have recovered,” says Dan Thornhill, a program director in the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences. “With bleaching, however, the skeletons are left behind. This legacy of dead corals is an ideal habitat for algae to take over.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Surfing atmospheric waves with tiny satellites

    Source: US Government research organizations

    A U.S. National Science Foundation-supported team is designing and building three identical CubeSats, or shoebox-sized satellites, to study space weather and demonstrate new technologies.

    The CubeSats are part of the Space Weather Atmospheric Reconfigurable Multiscale Experiment (SWARM-EX). “The thermosphere and ionosphere system — the start of what we often think of as ‘outer space’ — is a highly variable and complex region of our atmosphere contributing to space weather,” said Scott Palo, a professor at the University of Colorado.

    The ionosphere consists of charged particles and overlaps with the neutral thermosphere. During space weather storms, charged particles collide with high-latitude atoms and molecules in the thermosphere, releasing photons, which we can observe as bright, colorful auroral displays. But space weather can also interfere with satellite electronics, radio communications, GPS signals, spacecraft orbits and even electrical power grids on Earth. ”SWARM-EX will collect data to improve space weather forecasting through a fundamental understanding of the key processes, thus reducing the potential negative impact of space weather on critical space systems,” said Palo.

    SWARM-EX’s three CubeSats will have specialized instruments to measure both the neutral and charged components of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Their onboard radios will allow all three satellites to simultaneously send back data to a single ground station when flying in close formation. Each CubeSat will also have a cold gas propulsion system that the SWARM-EX team will use to control the relative position of the satellites to avoid any potential space debris and deorbit at the end of the science mission.

    The team is working with over 150 students from six collaborating universities to integrate and test all of the spacecraft components in a “flat-sat” configuration, which is a deconstructed version of the satellite used for testing electronics and software. The team expects to start the final spacecraft assembly and integration in the summer of 2025 with a launch target of 2026.

    Since 2008, NSF has awarded over a dozen university-led CubeSat missions for research and education in space science. “CubeSats, which are light and inexpensive compared to typical satellites, offer a unique way to advance observations in space weather and atmospheric and geospace sciences,” NSF program director Mangala Sharma said. “They also allow us to experiment with novel technologies and engage students in exciting space missions.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: RI Delegation Announces $600,000 to Reduce Forensic DNA Backlog, Deliver Justice to Victims of Crimes Statewide

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02)

    Providence, RI – U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed and Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs has awarded $600,000 in funding to the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Center for Forensic Sciences to reduce the backlog of DNA casework and ensure justice can be served for victims of both violent and non-violent crimes.  With this funding, the state’s crime lab expects to typically process cases within 30 days for violent crimes and 90 days for non-violent crimes.  

    “No victim of a crime should have to wait for justice to be served because of insufficient resources to analyze DNA evidence in a timely fashion,” said Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former U.S. Attorney and Rhode Island Attorney General.  “This federal funding will help retain qualified forensic scientists, make upgrades to the state’s laboratory, and bring justice and closure to victims throughout Rhode Island.”

    “This federal funding will help the state’s crime lab effectively process DNA samples, solve more cases, and help law enforcement bring perpetrators to justice,” said Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

    “Justice ought to be delivered swiftly to victims of crime and their families, and this federal funding will make this a reality for Rhode Islanders by reducing the backlog of DNA casework and holding perpetrators accountable,” said Congressman Magaziner.

    “As forensic technology advancements help investigators better match DNA found at crime scenes, it’s critically important that we invest in new instruments and training to help secure justice for victims of crime in Rhode Island — no matter how much time has elapsed,” said Congressman Amo. “This federal investment by the Department of Justice will reduce the casework backlog and bolster our state’s capacity to process incoming DNA cases quickly and efficiently.”

    This grant funding,which comes through the Department of Justice’s DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program, will help the Center for Forensic Sciences’ Forensic Biology and DNA Laboratory continue to reduce the backlog of DNA casework.  Funding will also prevent future backlogs with the purchase of new DNA analysis instruments, an upgraded laboratory information management system, and increased education and training opportunities for scientists.  With these investments, the Forensic Biology and DNA Laboratory expects to reduce the DNA casework backlog by at least 125 cases and continue to be able to process incoming cases within an average 90-day time frame for non-violent crimes and a 30-day time frame for violent crimes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Canadians want politicians who reflect their views. Is that what they get?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jack Lucas, Professor of Political Science, University of Calgary

    Right now, in provincial election campaigns across Canada, voters are trying to work out which political parties and local candidates might be their best representatives.

    In British Columbia, the NDP and Conservative parties are running neck and neck ahead of this weekend’s election. In New Brunswick, the race between the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives is equally tight. In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe’s lead over the NDP appears to be more comfortable.

    In each of these elections — and in the important municipal elections that are also happening across the country in weeks and months ahead — voters face the task of working out which candidate is best equipped to serve as their representative.

    In the work that our politicians do on our behalf — their legislative votes, their policy advocacy, their casework, their community service — we want them to behave in ways that reflect our policy attitudes and priorities.

    But do they?

    Pathways to representation

    In political science research, the relationship between politicians and citizens is typically thought to arise through one of two pathways.

    In the first pathway, politicians represent their constituents’ preferences because they share those preferences — they agree with their constituents. We call this the “congruence” pathway.

    In the second pathway, politicians represent their constituents’ preferences because they know those preferences and choose to represent them. This is the “knowledge” pathway.

    Both pathways are thought to lead to the same destination: representation of constituents’ preferences by politicians.

    But think for a moment about which pathway you would prefer for your representative to take: congruence or knowledge? Which option do you think provides the best representation for citizens?

    We’ll tell you our own answers to these questions shortly. But first we need to understand just how different these pathways really are.

    Measuring policy representation

    In an upcoming article, our goal was to explore how well politicians perform on the congruence pathway and how many perform well on the knowledge pathway.

    To answer these questions, we began with a very large survey of the Canadian public, asking more than 10,000 Canadians for their opinions on nine policy issues. These included gun control, immigration, trade with China, taxes, public transit investment and climate change — a wide variety of important policies.

    We used this survey to make an estimate of the proportion of people who supported and opposed each policy statement across hundreds of municipalities.

    Then, using the Canadian Municipal Barometer’s annual survey of municipal politicians, we asked politicians to guess the percentage of their constituents who support each policy statement. We also asked for each politician’s personal opinion on each statement.

    These two surveys — one of the Canadian public, and the other of hundreds of Canadian municipal politicians — allowed us to measure and compare the two pathways.

    Two pathways or one?

    Let’s start with the good news: In general, politicians do a good job on both pathways. Across nine issues and hundreds of politicians, we found that nearly 60 per cent of politicians performed well on both pathways, and another 19 per cent performed well on at least one pathway.

    The bad news is that politicians’ performance on both pathways is highly variable. On some policy issues, like gun control, nearly all politicians perform extremely well. On other issues, like immigration, politicians struggle.

    But the most striking thing we discovered in our data was that the two pathways are closely related: Politicians who performed well on one pathway also tended to perform well on the other.

    It turns out that these “pathways to representation” may not be very distinct after all.

    Choosing your pathway

    So, returning to our earlier question:

    Which should you prefer? Should citizens choose politicians who represent their views through the congruence pathway or the knowledge pathway?

    Our research suggests that most of the time, citizens don’t have to make the choice, because the two skills are so strongly connected. But suppose you did have to choose — what should you prioritize?

    Personally, we’d choose congruence and would recommend focusing on finding a candidate who agrees with you on the things you care about, and support them.

    Why prefer congruence? Because recent research shows that politicians struggle to think beyond their own beliefs when making guesses about their constituents’ attitudes. When politicians think about what their constituents want, they tend to assume that their constituents agree with them on various issues.

    Our research has shown that they’re often right — congruence and knowledge are closely related. But this isn’t always the case, and politicians tend to think (much like the rest of us) that other people agree with them even when, sometimes, they don’t.



    Read more:
    Power to the people: How Canada can build a more connected and responsive Parliament

    Ask policy questions

    The good news is that politicians do tend to do reasonably well on both pathways, according our findings, so in real-world elections, you won’t typically be faced with this choice.

    But when a political candidate comes to your door asking for your vote, here’s our advice: don’t quiz them about local public opinion, or ask them how often they’d conduct public opinion polls after they get elected.

    Instead, ask them some questions about policy issues you care deeply about, and pick the candidate who shares your views.

    You’ll be making your choices based on congruence — one of the two possible pathways to representation. But our research suggests that if your local representative aligns well with constituents, they’ll be a good performer on knowledge as well.

    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. Canadians want politicians who reflect their views. Is that what they get? – https://theconversation.com/canadians-want-politicians-who-reflect-their-views-is-that-what-they-get-241331

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Addressing online gender violence requires both culture and policy change

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jaigris Hodson, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads University

    Many young women and girls report facing gender-based violence online. Appropriate responses need to be created within this dire landscape. (Shutterstock)

    More and more of our lives are being spent on digital platforms. And, as we spend more time online, we are more vulnerable to a wide range of risks. This fact is particularly true for women and girls.

    A 2024 global survey by Microsoft found that women are more likely than men to experience any type of risk online. And 25 per cent of teen girls reported experiencing sexual risks in their online lives, compared to 19 per cent of teen boys.

    When online violence or abuse occurs to people because of their gender or gender presentation, it falls under the umbrella term gender-based online violence and abuse, also known as tech-facilitated gender-based violence. Unfortunately, incidents of this type of online violence seem to be increasing.

    Appropriate responses need to be created within this dire landscape.

    Some governments are creating policies to address gender-based online violence and abuse. For example, Australia has passed legislation mandating dating apps to update and enforce codes of conduct that address instances of sexual abuse.

    The Canadian government tabled the Online Harms Act in February 2024, which, if passed, would introduce a regulatory framework that demands social media platforms moderate violent content. These legislative acts aim to hold digital platforms accountable for creating methods for reporting and deleting violent content by requiring them to assume full responsibility.

    Governments must hold digital platforms accountable for the violence that happens on them, but are such approaches enough?

    Our recent research suggests that some men might not even recognize if and how they are complicit in gender-based online violence. Cultural ideas, like rape myths, may influence their spheres of understanding. And, in these cases, they may not be compelled to follow a code of conduct set up by government or platform policy.

    Governments must hold digital platforms accountable for the violence that happens on them, but it is also important to address prevalent narratives and myths about rape and sexual abuse.
    (Shutterstock)

    Rape myths

    Rape myths are prejudicial and false beliefs that shape societal attitudes towards gendered violence. Examples of such myths are seen, for instance, when blame is put on the victim, the rapist is excused, and the rape is minimized and even sometimes justified.

    In our study, we took a validated psychological scale for measuring the presence of rape myths and adapted it to understand how myths about gender-based online violence might influence behaviours that cause it, or at least prevent people from intervening.

    The rape myths acceptance scale shows the degrees to which people accept certain myths that normalize sexual violence (such as, “she was asking for it” or “he didn’t mean to”). This scale is used to show how taken-for-granted assumptions contribute to cultures where victims of sexual violence are blamed or subject to disbelief when they come forward.

    We adapted the rape myth acceptance scale because responses to it can reveal the cultural narratives that normalize many forms of gendered violence.

    Indeed, research on rape myth acceptance points to the fact that we cannot fully address the acts of gender-based violence without first addressing these narratives. And gender-based online violence and abuse is not an exception.

    What we found

    Once we had adapted the rape myths acceptance scale to account for gender-based online violence and abuse, we used it in a survey of 1,297 Canadian men between 18 and 30 years old.

    We used a likert scale to determine the degree to which young men agreed with statements like “claims of online gender-based violence are often weaponized against men” or “people who post about gender are sexuality are looking to start arguments.” We found that certain toxic myths and cultural narratives are prevalent among some respondents.

    We found that certain rape myths were prevalent among some respondents.
    (Shutterstock)

    In particular, we found four myths that were more strongly endorsed: 1. It wasn’t really gender-based online abuse; 2. he didn’t mean to; 3. gender-based online abuse is a deviant event, and 4. she lied. These myths trivialize the impact of the violence, minimize the blame of those enacting the harm and discredit the voices of targets.

    We noticed that as many as 30 per cent of our survey respondents agreed with many of these myths — a significant number of young Canadian men taking these regressive attitudes towards gender-based online violence.

    As we looked to other research to explain the prevalence of these ideas, we also found that similar ideas are found in manosphere-related influencers — people like Andrew Tate, who are a growing source of hateful ideas about women and gender-nonconforming people.

    Thinking ahead

    We cannot address gender-based online violence and abuse by simply reporting and deleting offensive content. It also won’t stop by simply mandating that platforms have codes of conduct in place. In order to tackle the problem, we must addressing the cultural narratives that sustain it.

    Everyone — from academics to policymakers to the public — needs to think about how we can address toxic beliefs to create long-lasting change and foster safer online communities. We can aim for such change in multiple ways.

    We can create educational initiatives that promote inclusive and accessible narratives about the nature and importance of gendered violence. We can encourage citizens to engage in bystander intervention when they encounter these narratives. And finally, we need to understand why some young men take comfort in ideas that promote toxic expressions of masculinity.

    Practitioners and researchers must keep exploring the nature and prevalence of myths surrounding gender-based online violence and abuse. We need to spend time with young men and ask them questions about what they think it is to be a man, and we need to provide positive examples of masculinity in order to make manosphere-style ideas less attractive.

    Jaigris Hodson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She is a resident Fellow of the Cascade Institute, and a Research Advisor for the Clarity Foundation.

    Esteban Morales receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

    Kaitlynn Mendes receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Canada Research Chairs Program.

    Yimin Chen receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

    – ref. Addressing online gender violence requires both culture and policy change – https://theconversation.com/addressing-online-gender-violence-requires-both-culture-and-policy-change-240636

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates India’s first Airport based self-powered indoor air quality monitoring facility at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates India’s first Airport based self-powered indoor air quality monitoring facility at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport

    We are now preparing for the next industrial revolution through initiatives like Bio E3 policy: Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh

    Union Minister addresses SC/ST farmers and artisans meet at Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Biotechnology

    Posted On: 17 OCT 2024 5:09PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of State for Science and Technology (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh today unveiled Pavana Chitra, India’s first Airport based self-powered indoor air quality monitoring facility at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport today.

    The off-grid air quality monitor is powered by indigenous indoor solar cells developed by CSIR-NIIST, crafted from locally available materials.

    While addressing 300 SC/ST farmers and artisans meet who are beneficiaries of different projects spearheaded by Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) and Swadeshi Science Movement-Kerala (SSM-K) in an event later, at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology campus, Thiruvananthapuram, the Union Minister said that time has come for India to lead in the biotechnology sector.

    Union Minister said that India is now preparing for the next industrial revolution, and initiatives like Bio E3 policy will help for that. It is time for India to rise globally with primary emphasis given to biotechnology, space, agriculture sectors. Dr. Jitendra Singh further said that it is time to creatively think how to add value for the products cultivated by our farmers. Union Minister also described Thiruvananthapuram as the science capital of India.

    Union Minister, while attending the event, released two books published as part of Science Heritage Project. The minister also launched six community projects under the Tribal Heritage Project of BRIC-RGCB and felicitated award winning farmers in the event. RGCB Director Chandrabhas Narayan, who presided over the function, handed over a momento to the Union Minister.

    Former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri V.Maraleedharan, VSSC Director, Dr. S Unnikrishnan, CSIR- NIIST Director, C. Anandharamakrishnan, Swadeshi Science Movement-Kerala (SSM-K) Presiden,t Sri.K Muraleedharan, Swadeshi Science Movement-Kerala (SSM-K) Secretary, Rajeev C Nair, were also present.

    *****

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Tech can help kids connect with nature and go outdoors – here are tips to make it work

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kellie Vella, Postdoctoral researcher in Human-Computer Interaction, Queensland University of Technology

    RasaBasa/Shutterstock

    Young children’s lives are increasingly spent indoors. They have less access to green spaces, their parents are concerned about safety, and there’s also the draw of digital entertainment. This shift away from the natural world has been evocatively named “the extinction of experience”.

    By being in green spaces, children benefit in many ways, including greater physical activity and improved concentration and self-control. The outdoors is also good for children’s learning. Benefits such as these have fuelled the rise of forest schools and the integration of nature play in early childhood education.

    The things that play the biggest role in limiting children’s time in nature are urbanisation and parental attitudes. Despite this, digital devices are often blamed for keeping kids indoors.

    Digital entertainment is widely perceived as addictive and detrimental. While the concept of screen time is contested, most Australian children are exceeding the current recommended guidelines.

    Our research took a different approach, asking: could digital technologies be designed to foster nature connection? After looking at studies of digital technologies used by children aged eight years and under, we found a wide range of ways technology can help children find their way back into the great outdoors.

    Being in nature

    The ways children connect to nature go through several phases: “being in nature, being with nature, and being for nature”. Key experiences that boost this connection include free time in nature, seeing others like oneself in natural settings, recording nature experiences, and gaining confidence and a sense of agency outdoors.

    We found technologies that help children to

    • have social and playful experiences outdoors
    • discover nature
    • show their care for and learn about other species and the environment, and
    • focus their creative and artistic abilities on the world around them.

    The most commonly used technology were digital cameras in various forms: handheld, GoPros, or built into smartphones or prototype devices.

    Case studies from all around the world show how digital imagery opens doors into the natural world. In São Paulo, Brazil, photography helped children notice urban nature they had overlooked. In the United States, it allowed them to collect images of species to learn about.

    In Australia, children took photos in parks for creative manipulation later, while in Finland, an augmented reality “forest elf” encouraged imaginative nature exploration that children could photograph. In Italy, the ABBOT prototype used a screenless camera device linked to a tablet application, enabling nature exploration without the distraction of screens.

    Julle, the augmented reality ‘forest elf’ used in the Finnish study.
    Kumpulainen et al. (2020), CC BY

    Young citizen scientists

    Nature photography is also a gateway to citizen science. Apps like QuestaGame, though not a subject of our research, bridge the appeal of photography and the game design of Pokémon Go. The goal of the game is to collect images of species for science.

    Our study found one citizen science project with seven- and eight-year-old children text logging seashore species they found. While the youngest children needed parental support to do this, they were reportedly the most enthusiastic.

    Sound technologies can also help connect kids with nature. The Ambient Birdhouse plays nature videos in the home so that children are sensitised to bird sounds when outside. Another tool, the Eko nature sound collector, pairs with an app to let children manipulate sounds they’ve collected outdoors.

    Like photography, sound technologies are an entry point to noticing the natural world. And children can use these even if they can’t yet read.

    How can we use tech to connect children with nature?

    There are many ways to appropriate existing technologies and make new ones to help children connect with nature. Parents and educators can use accessible technologies like cameras, and applications such as QuestaGame, including their schools-oriented challenge.

    To add mystery and excitement by having to look at the images later – much like with film cameras – parents can cover up the screen of a smartphone or digital camera. (A few inches of painter’s masking tape can do the trick.)

    Going out to check an automatic nature camera can also be exciting. It can even turn into a daily ritual. These cameras are available both commercially and DIY. To find the best places to put them, children can engage in backyard experimentation, adding another dimension to this activity.

    To further encourage their children’s creative and scientific learning, parents can help children make digital stories out of nature photos, or learn about species together.

    Finally, tech developers can use all this evidence to design dedicated tech tools for children to use in nature. These designs should be easy for young children to use, engage more senses than sight, and encourage outdoor play, wonder and care for nature.

    If such technologies are designed in collaboration with children, families and educators, they have the chance to be widely embraced, both at home and in the classroom.

    Our work shows there are ways to use technology to build kids’ interest in the outdoors. By listening to parents’ concerns about addiction to smart devices and children’s safety, we can ensure a world where children play outdoors freely, without veering towards surveillance.

    Kellie Vella is a Research Fellow with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.

    Madeleine Dobson is an Associate Investigator with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.

    – ref. Tech can help kids connect with nature and go outdoors – here are tips to make it work – https://theconversation.com/tech-can-help-kids-connect-with-nature-and-go-outdoors-here-are-tips-to-make-it-work-240442

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Preventing falls: Google Street View offers a quick way to assess risks for older New Zealanders

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Curl, Senior lecturer, Department of Population Health, University of Otago

    Google Street View has fast become a tool for people trying to get the feel for a community, look at real estate – and sometimes prank the tech giant when its mapping car drives by. But it also has the potential to help prevent falls and injuries in New Zealand’s urban environments.

    Falls are a leading cause of injury and accidental death among older adults, but identifying the location of risks outside is labour and time intensive.

    In our new research, we have created a tool using Google Street View to audit the places where people walk.

    The goal of our new tool – Fall-SAFE – is to identify the risks in New Zealand’s built environments and create a database for local councils and community groups to understand where an older person might fall – and why.

    A costly risk

    Annually, one-in-three people over 65 are injured in a fall. This figure rises to one-in-two for people over 80.

    In 2023 alone, ACC received 236,985 new claims for falls from people over the age of 60. Many of these falls resulted in serious injury, such as a hip fracture, hospitalisation or even death.

    It’s not just older people who are at risk of falling – though they are, by far, the largest group. Last year, ACC paid out NZ$2.15 billion to cover claims for falls.

    The flow-on effect from falls extends further than just medical recovery. Older people who have fallen outside, or who fear falling due to perceived risks, may be less willing to go for walks. They then miss out on the physical, mental and social benefits of this sort of activity.

    Assessing the environment

    Using data from ambulance service Hato Hone St John, we identified 2,117 falls between July 2016 and June 2018 in urban areas involving adults aged 65 and over. Wellington was excluded as the city uses a different ambulance service.

    Auditors then used Google Street View to assess the locations of these falls and identify risks in the built environment that might have contributed. These risks included trip hazards, uneven foot paths, obstructions (such as overgrown bushes) and slopes.

    Auditors used a “drop-and-spin” approach to their assessment, where they completed a 360° audit of the fall location. The Google Maps imagery was set to be as close to the date of the accident as possible.

    Drop-and-spin virtual audits are quicker than physical audits, but similarly reliable. Furthermore, drop-and-spin virtual audits enable assessment over large geographic areas that would be difficult to examine in person.

    Understanding New Zealand’s streets

    After examining the different fall sites, we gained a better understanding of where falls happened and the hazards that could have contributed to the falls.

    Half of all the falls had occurred in residential locations (49.1%) and one quarter occurred in commercial locations (22.4%). A further 16.2% of the falls had occurred in “other” locations (such as rural or industrial areas).

    Over 60% of fall sites had at least one trip hazard due to poorly maintained footpaths. The most common obstructions were manholes, service covers or grates (71.5 %), poles (65.4%), utility boxes (46.6%) and overhanging vegetation (39.5%). Other obstructions such as bus shelters, chairs and tables, or drains were noted at 64.5% of the sites.

    Three-quarters of the falls had occurred in locations that had a flat or gentle slope (76.3%). Only 15.5% of the falls had occurred on a moderate slope, while 8.2% had occurred on a steep slope.

    Most (95.6%) of the fall locations had a normal kerb height (ten centimetres). Few locations had no kerbs (2.3%) or storm drains (2%). Streetlights were present in most fall locations, either on one side of the street (including partial or very sparse locations) (54%) or on both sides (44%). Streetlights were not visible in 0.9% of sites.

    Of all the locations we assessed, just under 6% had no obvious risk whatsoever. This seems to indicate that external hazards were a contributing factor to the vast majority of falls – though without information from the person who fell, it is hard to know for sure.

    A cheaper and faster option

    The current approach to assessing the safety of urban environments – sending people out to physically look at a footpath to identify issues – can be time consuming and costly.

    And the money to do the work is simply unavailable. Several councils, including Hamilton and Masterton, have announced significant cuts in funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency to maintain and repair footpaths and cycle lanes.

    Another problem is that these assessors may not fully understand the experiences of older people in these locations. A hazard for someone aged 65+ may not seem like one for someone in their 30s or 40s.

    Understanding the factors that contribute to a fall for older people – such as obstructions and trip hazards – allows city planners to address problems in the built environment.

    Our free auditing tool provides a way for councils and advocacy groups to look at environments to understand the risks. Our research applied this to places where we know people had fallen, but the tool can be used to assess the risk of any environment.

    Investing the time and effort now to address these fall risks early could save money – and lives – further down the track.

    Angela Curl receives funding from Healthier Lives and Ageing Well National Science Challenges and Lotteries Health.

    – ref. Preventing falls: Google Street View offers a quick way to assess risks for older New Zealanders – https://theconversation.com/preventing-falls-google-street-view-offers-a-quick-way-to-assess-risks-for-older-new-zealanders-241343

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cheap grog, new drunkenness offence and mandatory rehab: why 9 experts think proposed NT alcohol reforms would be a disaster

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Wright, Alcohol and other Drugs Program Lead, Menzies School of Health Research

    logoboom/Shutterstock

    The new Northern Territory government is planning a swathe of changes to alcohol policy.

    If implemented, these changes fly in the face of what evidence shows works to reduce alcohol-related harms. Some are also out of step with the rest of Australia.

    Among our concerns are plans that would lead to harmful alcohol products becoming cheaper, alcohol becoming more easily available, criminalising public drunkenness, and a particularly worrying type of mandatory alcohol treatment – all of which evidence suggests will cause more harms.

    No one is downplaying the magnitude and complexities of alcohol-related issues in the NT. But we hope the territory government will pay more heed to the evidence and voices of those most impacted.

    Alcohol-related harm in the NT is complex

    Alcohol-related harms in the NT are significantly higher (for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) than elsewhere in Australia.

    In the territory, these harms contribute to health and social outcomes costing at least A$1.4 billion a year. Alcohol harms result in costs related to health care, deaths, crime, policing and child protection.

    Aboriginal communities in the NT have for decades cried out for solutions and services that effectively respond to alcohol-related harm. Instead, they found their lives made part of a political football match on law and order. Policies have been reactive and mostly ineffective. They’ve been overturned at each election.

    Now, the new NT government is discussing changes that promise to exacerbate the very issues it aims to address.

    1. Cheap alcohol that contributes most harm would be on the market

    The World Health Organization recognises that raising the price of alcohol is one of the most effective ways for governments to reduce alcohol-related harm.

    So some governments around the world, including in the NT, have set a price below which alcohol cannot be sold, known as the minimum or “floor price”. This targets cheap, high-strength alcohol associated with patterns of drinking that cause the most harm.

    The new NT government plans to repeal this, despite evidence showing this works to reduce harms.

    Since the NT alcohol floor price was set at $1.30 per standard drink in 2018, there has been a:

    • 14% reduction in alcohol-related assaults in Darwin and Palmerston

    • 11% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults

    • 21% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults involving alcohol

    • 19% reduction in alcohol-related emergency department attendances.

    Originally, experts recommended a $1.50 floor price but this was reduced to $1.30 after a backlash from alcohol industry lobbyists. Had the policy not been watered down, evidence suggests the impacts above would likely have been greater.

    The floor price has likely also lost some of its initial impact as it has never been indexed for inflation.

    The best available research shows the floor price has reduced alcohol-related harms with no evidence of unintended consequences or negative impacts on the alcohol industry, despite claims otherwise.

    Researchers and experts from around the world have been writing to NT ministers urging them to reconsider repealing this effective policy.

    This includes researchers from the United Kingdom and Canada, who have coauthored this article. In these countries, evidence on the effectiveness of minimum pricing has been used to increase the floor price by 30%, not abolish it.

    2. Bottle shops could be open longer

    There are also proposals to repeal current restrictions on bottle shop trading hours. Such restrictions are highly effective in reducing alcohol harms, including violence.

    Our paper from earlier this year found that in the town of Tennant Creek, restrictions to reduce trading hours and introduce purchase limits at bottle shops resulted in a 92% reduction in alcohol-involved domestic and family violence assaults.

    Preliminary analyses of the reduced trading hours introduced in Alice Springs following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit in early 2023 also suggest a clear reduction on violence rates.

    Bottle shops would be open for longer, making alcohol more easily available.
    AustralianCamera/Shutterstock

    3. New public drunkenness offence

    Ministers were also set to pass laws to create a new offence for “nuisance” public intoxication (also known as public drunkenness). This would allow police officers to arrest people and fine them up to $925, in addition to current powers to seize and tip out alcohol from people drinking in prohibited areas.

    This is at the time when nearly every other jurisdiction in Australia is in the process of decriminalising public drunkenness, making the NT out of step with the rest of the nation.

    The NT’s proposed new laws on public drunkenness would criminalise more people who are already locked out from our society, placing them at risk of the negative, intergenerational and preventable impacts that often arise from contact with the justice system.

    4. Mandatory rehab

    Mandatory alcohol treatment was also an election commitment.

    In its previous term of government, mandatory alcohol treatment was focused on people with a public intoxication offence rather than providing quality care to people with alcohol dependence in life-saving circumstances. If the same model is reintroduced, this is potentially harmful and at best ineffective.

    In the NT, this model of mandatory alcohol treatment had no better outcomes than for those who may not have received any treatment at all. But it cost the taxpayer three times as much.

    Where to from here?

    Researchers, health professionals and partner organisations have urged the NT government to reconsider these decisions, as we have well-founded concerns these may worsen the very issues the government aims to address.

    There’s no need to guess the outcomes of changing, repealing or introducing alcohol policies. We can draw on robust evidence, including extensive research from the NT, on what works in our communities.

    Cassandra Wright receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission and Commonwealth government Department of Health.

    Beau Jayde Cubillo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Fisheries Research Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Commonwealth.

    John Holmes receives funding from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research and has previously received funding from UK Research & Innovation, the Wellcome Trust, Alcohol Change UK and other similar public health charities and government bodies. He has received funding from NHS Health Scotland (now part of Public Health Scotland) to evaluate the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland. He has also received funding from UK and international governments to model the potential impact of minimum unit pricing in various jurisdictions.

    Mark Mayo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Ian Potter Foundation, Ramaciotti Foundation.

    Mark Robinson currently receives, or has previously received, funding from Health and Wellbeing Queensland, Queensland Health, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Australian government Department of Health and Aged Care. He was a member of the Consumption and Health Harms Evaluation Advisory Group for the evaluation of minimum unit pricing led by Public Health Scotland.

    Michael Livingston receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, HealthWay, VicHealth and the Commonwealth Department of Health. He is on the board of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

    Nicholas Taylor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Cancer Council, VicHealth, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Northern Territory government, and the Queensland government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability.

    Sarah Clifford receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, and NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission.

    Tim Stockwell receives funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, the the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He has accepted travel expenses from IOGT-Sweden, the Swedish temperance society. He has been an expert witness in court cases in Canada relating to contested liquor licence applications and damages for the victims of alcohol-related violence and road crashes. He has received research funds, travel expenses and minor personal fees for conducting public health related research for government-owned alcohol retail monopolies in Finland, Sweden and Canada.

    – ref. Cheap grog, new drunkenness offence and mandatory rehab: why 9 experts think proposed NT alcohol reforms would be a disaster – https://theconversation.com/cheap-grog-new-drunkenness-offence-and-mandatory-rehab-why-9-experts-think-proposed-nt-alcohol-reforms-would-be-a-disaster-241373

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Wicker Announces Nearly $130 Million to Improve Mississippi Infrastructure

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    MISSISSIPPI – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., announced $127,296,812 to improve freight corridors in Jackson and on the Gulf Coast. The funding stems from the infrastructure bill that Senator Wicker helped negotiate as the then highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

    The funding will upgrade SR 67 to a Superstreet Corridor on the Gulf Coast. It will also resurface approximately 32 linear miles and update bridge structures along the Interstate 20/ Interstate 55 Freight Corridor in Jackson.

    “Infrastructure investments make Mississippi an even better place to live, work, and visit. These improvements will help attract more people and economic development to the Gulf Coast and Jackson area,” Senator Wicker said. “Supporting infrastructure will continue to be one of my top priorities in Congress.”

    Senator Wicker sent letters of support to the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for these projects.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The B.C. election could decide the future of the province’s species at risk laws

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Courtney W. Mason, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Rural Livelihoods and Sustainable Communities, Thompson Rivers University

    With British Columbians going to the polls this week, a whole host of key issues are on the agenda. Among these issues stands the future of species at risk legislation in B.C. — and perhaps with it Canada as a whole.

    Canada, with its vast area, is home to 18 terrestrial and 13 aquatic ecozones and a staggering 140,000 plant and animal species. However, Canada’s abundant biodiversity is under threat from ongoing human-caused extinctions.

    As polar regions warm at an accelerated rate, Canada’s species face increased peril.

    Canada’s current laws aren’t doing enough to protect species at risk, and the time for action to make new laws or strengthen the existing ones is now.



    Read more:
    B.C. election: Party proposals on climate action point in opposite directions

    Gaps in existing law

    Now, you may be wondering, “doesn’t Canada already have species at risk laws?”

    The federal government enacted the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2002, however, its impacts have been far from perfect.

    A major issue with SARA is that it does not apply everywhere. Canada’s legal system divides power between federal and provincial governments. Wildlife, including species at risk, are mostly the provinces’ responsibility. SARA only applies to aquatic species, migratory birds and species on federal land (like national parks).

    Unfortunately, most animals are not adept at reading maps, and a SARA-protected species can lose its protection simply by crossing a jurisdictional boundary. SARA does include exceptions where the federal government can intervene if a province is not doing enough to protect a particular species. But in practice the provinces have mostly been left to their own devices.

    These jurisdictional dynamics, characteristic of Canadian federal politics, have created variations in species protection efforts across the country.

    Of Canada’s nine common law provinces (excluding Québec and the territories), five have designated species at risk laws. The other four — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island — have only limited protections within other laws.

    So, does it matter that only some provinces have species at risk legislation? To address this question, we compared the protections provisions of each province, and found that those with designated species at risk laws consistently provided much more robust protection frameworks than those that didn’t.



    Read more:
    B.C. election: Debate over the rights of gender-diverse youth continues as their school safety declines

    ‘Endangered’ does not mean protected

    Species protection efforts are marked by numerous momentous decision-points. Perhaps the most significant decision of all is whether to list a species as at risk.

    Most Canadian jurisdictions use committees of experts — including Indigenous knowledge holders and conservation scientists — to evaluate the risk to a species. In some provinces, like Nova Scotia, this becomes the official species at risk list.

    In others, including federally, the committee decision is only a recommendation and the relevant minister has final discretion on listing. Ministerial discretion has led to certain types of species — particularly ones whose harvest or habitats are economically important — to repeatedly not be listed.

    Discretion is not limited to listing decisions. In jurisdictions with species at risk laws, discretion allows governments to not enforce protections that interfere with other priorities. For example, a provincial government deeply invested in forestry could use ministerial discretion to de-emphasize protections for old growth forests, despite providing critical habitats for species at risk.

    Where species at risk laws are insufficient, leaving room for discretion only weakens already limp protections. The only way to improve conditions for species at risk is to support governments that promise to prioritize the environment, and continually hold them to those promises.

    Promises without progress

    B.C. has over 2,000 plants, animals and habitats listed at risk. This is eight times more than Ontario, which has the second most listed species at risk with just over 250. Despite this, B.C. has some of the least complete legal protections, barely edging out Alberta to not come last in our scoring comparison. The province also has a history of promising species at risk law reform with no concrete action.

    B.C. clearly illustrates how promises do not always lead to results.

    In 2017, the B.C. NDP formed the province’s government under an agreement with the B.C. Green Party to prioritize environmental issues — including protecting species at risk. The 2017 mandate letter charged George Heyman, the Minister of Environment, to develop species at risk legislation.

    After 2020’s mid-coronavirus snap election, the B.C. NDP gained a majority government without needing support from the B.C. Green Party. Consequently, 2020’s mandate letter showed weakening environmental priorities. The letter signalled a move away from species at risk legislation and instead directed the minister with “continuing to work with partners to protect species at risk”.

    Perhaps realizing this language could not be further softened, new premier David Eby made no mention of species at risk or wildlife in the 2022 mandate letter.

    Nonetheless, species at risk protections are back on the political agenda in the ongoing election, with both the B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservative parties promising “made-in-B.C.” and “science-based” biodiversity initiatives and species at risk legislation.

    However, the result of the election will have a significant impact on the strength of any new laws, as the NDP’s platform focuses on overall biodiversity and increasing protection to critical habitats such as old-growth forests, while the Conservative’s seems mostly aimed at working with hunters to increase ungulate populations to allow larger hunting quotas.

    Uncertain future

    In recent legislative debates, B.C.’s ministers responsible for species at risk (and their habitats) have explained delays in making a species at risk law by increasingly emphasizing that they are taking the time to include Indigenous perspectives.

    While it is positive that legislators are acknowledging the necessity of collaborating with Indigenous Nations on environmental laws, it is hard not to read repeated references to the length of consultation as deflecting responsibility for government inaction onto Indigenous communities.



    Read more:
    Swing state voters along the Great Lakes love cleaner water and beaches − and candidates from both parties have long fished for support there

    Elections are impending across the country and environmental interests are back in the conversation. However, any progress could easily be lost if new governments are not committed to support environmental interests, both during and after the election cycle.

    It is vital to support political parties with an environmental platform aimed at protecting biodiversity. Canada’s species at risk need voters to keep them in mind at the ballot boxes.

    Courtney W. Mason receives funding from SSHRC; Canadian Mountain Network; BC Parks; Braiding Knowledge Canada.

    Jordyn Maria Bogetti receives funding from SSHRC; Canadian Mountain Network.

    – ref. The B.C. election could decide the future of the province’s species at risk laws – https://theconversation.com/the-b-c-election-could-decide-the-future-of-the-provinces-species-at-risk-laws-239550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Rogers Announces $10 Million Earmark to Expand Morehead State University’s Space Science Network

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Harold Hal Rogers (KY-05)

    Recognizes U.S. Lunar Mission “Saviors” with Congressional Tribute

    MOREHEAD, KY (Oct. 17, 2024) – U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) visited Morehead State University’s Space Science Center on Thursday to announce a federal earmark totaling nearly $10 million in Community Project Funding to broaden the region’s highly competitive deep space network. The funding will be used to enhance the two space tracking stations on campus to support future government-funded and commercial space programs.
     
    “The staff and students at Morehead State are now involved in some of the United States’ most innovative and historic space missions. This project will allow the space science center to support future NASA programs, including NASA’s Near Space Network, Artemis and the Moon to Mars Program,” said Congressman Rogers, chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds science-related federal agencies. “This means that students here at MSU will have first-hand access to more lunar and deep space tracking services that they cannot get anywhere else in the country.” 
     
    “We are incredibly grateful for the support and leadership of Congressman Hal Rogers in securing this critical funding for Morehead State’s Space Science Program. His dedication to advancing science and technology in our region has been instrumental in positioning MSU as a leader in space research and exploration,” said Dr. Jay Morgan, President of Morehead State University. “This funding will allow us to expand our capabilities, provide our students with unmatched hands-on experiences, and contribute to the growing space economy in our region and in Kentucky. It’s an exciting time for Morehead State, and we thank Congressman Rogers for helping make this possible.”
     
    Congressman Rogers also requested a $7.5 million Community Project Funding earmark for fiscal year 2025 MSU’s Space Science Center to provide payload operations for government and commercial space stations. The funding request was approved by the House Appropriations Committee and is pending on-going budget negotiations.
     
    “This funding is a game-changer for Morehead State’s Space Science Program. It enables us to further enhance our research and technological capabilities, allowing our students and faculty to participate in groundbreaking projects that contribute directly to the future of space exploration,” said Dr. Ben Malphrus, Director of the MSU Space Science Center. “We’re deeply thankful to Congressman Hal Rogers for his vision and continued support, which is helping us shape the next generation of space scientists and engineers right here in Eastern Kentucky.”
     
    To highlight the importance of investing in Morehead State’s work at the Space Science Center, Congressman Rogers recognized the staff and students who saved the United States’ latest mission to the moon after a troubled landing damaged the Odysseus Lander, “Odie,” cutting-off communications back to Earth. 
     
    “Morehead State was the only conduit between NASA and the private company that sent the lunar lander to the moon to conduct research. The multi-million-dollar mission was in jeopardy of failure, until the staff and students here in our Appalachian Mountains worked around the clock for 72 hours to save that historic mission,” said Congressman Rogers. “I submitted a tribute in the Congressional Record to commemorate the team that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson dubbed as the ‘saviors’ of the nation’s first lunar landing since the Apollo era.”
     
    The Congressional Record is preserved in the Library of Congress, recognizing the work of MSU staff members, Dr. Malphrus, Chloe Hart from Ashland, Emily Walter from Pikeville, Nathan Fite, Christopher Smith and Seifala Moustaffa, as well as students Mila Shearer and Carrie Bruce. 
     
    For more information about Congressman Rogers work in Washington and at home in Kentucky, visit halrogers.house.gov and follow him on social media. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Visits KCK Community College EMT and Paramedics Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Senator Marshall Visits KCK Community College EMT and Paramedics Program
    Salina, KS – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. visited Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) to tour their EMT and Paramedics Program.
    KCKCC serves a diverse student population in Wyandotte County, with over 50% of their students being the first in their families to attend college. KCKCC’s EMT and Paramedics Program are at the heart of the college’s health science program, preparing students for fast-paced, life-saving careers in emergency medical services. KCKCC provides an entry-level EMT program for those seeking certification, as well as an advanced paramedic program that builds up certified EMTs and equips first responders with higher-level skills. 
    “First responders are vital to Kansas’ success and safety,” said Senator Marshall. “KCKCC’s state-of-the-art EMT and paramedics programs are doing a great job teaching our next generation of first responders and equipping them with the necessary skills they need to keep Kansans safe.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Ferrada to announce new support for Jasper’s recovery

    Source: Government of Canada News

    On October 18, the Honourable Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, will announce new support from the Government of Canada to help Jasper’s tourism industry recover and rebuild following last summer’s devastating wildfire.

    October 17, 2024 – Jasper, Alberta 

    On October 18, the Honourable Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, will announce new support from the Government of Canada to help Jasper’s tourism industry recover and rebuild following last summer’s devastating wildfire. Minister Ferrada will be joined by her Alberta counterpart, the Honourable Joseph Schow, Minister of Tourism and Sport, as well as other local officials.The announcement follows the Minister’s tour of the region and the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers (CCTM).

    Date: Friday, October 18, 2024

    Time: 10:00 am (MT)

    Location: Jasper, Alberta

    Members of the media are asked to contact ISED Media Relations at media@ised-isde.gc.ca to receive event location details and confirm their attendance.

    Media representatives interested in one-on-one interviews with Minister Ferrada can reach out to Marie-Justine Torres.

    Marie-Justine Torres
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
    613-327-5918
    Marie-Justine.TorresAmes@ised-isde.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
    media@ised-isde.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: H.R. 9722, CATCH Fentanyl Act

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    H.R. 9722 would require Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish a pilot program to test technology enhancements for inspecting vehicles and cargo at land ports of entry. The bill would require CBP to evaluate the effectiveness of at least five technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum information sciences, to detect contraband and increase the efficiency of inspections. H.R. 9722 also would require CBP to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the technologies in the program and their effect on privacy and civil rights and liberties.

    Using information from CBP, CBO estimates that the agency currently deploys three technologies that are compliant with the bill’s requirements and would need to purchase two additional types of technologies. Based on the costs of similar projects, CBO estimates that CBP would incur an additional cost of about $8 million annually to procure, deploy and evaluate those technologies. Additionally, CBO estimates that it would cost less than $500,000 to comply with the bill’s reporting requirements. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 9722 would cost $40 million over the 2025-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canadian tourism ministers join forces to propel tourism forward

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Tourism is a key industry and economic driver in every province and territory, supporting over 2 million jobs, or about 10 percent of all employment in Canada in 2023.

    October 17, 2024 – Banff, Alberta

    Tourism is a key industry and economic driver in every province and territory, supporting over 2 million jobs, or about 10 percent of all employment in Canada in 2023. In several jurisdictions, tourism is the top or one of the top service exports. Today, the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for tourism participated in the 2024 Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers (CCTM) meeting in Banff National Park. The meeting was held in Alberta with the Honourable Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, as well as the Honourable Joseph Schow, Alberta Minister of Tourism and Sport, co-chairing and recognizing the traditional Treaty 7 territory.

    In 2023, tourism industries represented nearly 6 percent of Canada’s total economy and almost 8 percent of the Canadian service economy. Tourism revenues reached $113.4 billion in 2023 and the positive experiences international tourists have in Canada enhance the country’s brand abroad. Tourism has strong growth potential in every province and territory, and ministers recognized that strategic and collaborative actions will propel the sector forward.

    Throughout the meeting, ministers heard from tourism stakeholders on the areas of destination development, investment attraction, workforce development and retention, air access, parks and recreation, and emergency management. Ministers acknowledged the importance of having consistent dialogue with experts in these fields to capitalize on trends, glean critical operational insights, and work collaboratively with industry partners to find solutions for the most pressing challenges facing the sector. Ministers sought an international perspective by inviting a speaker from the Government of Australia to discuss experiences and best practices in attracting workers to careers in tourism. Ministers also heard from Alberta officials about their successes in supporting the recovery and relaunch of the tourism sector, while bringing attention to ambitious strategic plans for the future, which aim to more than double the size of the province’s visitor economy within the next decade. Alberta demonstrated leadership within Canada’s overall tourism economy, ushering in a return to pre-pandemic levels of visitor spending two years ahead of schedule.

    Ministers also acknowledged the economic impact of this summer’s wildfires across Canada, particularly in the Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park, as well as the critical importance of effective emergency management and disaster preparedness. Ministers also noted that emergency management is paramount for all jurisdictions as, like other countries, Canada faces the potential of a range of emergency events year-round. Maintaining Canada’s brand and reputation are important components of the collaborative work of jurisdictions to respond to events as they arise.

    Ministers were pleased with the work accomplished by the CCTM Working Groups throughout 2024 to address the topics of destination access and economic growth, as well as the important connections forged with external organizations. Ministers took the opportunity to discuss areas that impact the growth of tourism in Canada, such as limited transportation connectivity in some regions, barriers to raising private capital for investments, fees and regulations impacting the competitiveness of domestic air travel, and associated challenges including the seasonal nature of tourism. Recognizing the critical importance of the link between tourism and transportation, there was a desire to invite the Federal Minister of Transport to next year’s CCTM meeting.

    In 2025, the CCTM will seek to refresh the mandates of the Working Groups to ensure their work addresses emerging priorities while effectively leveraging inter-governmental collaboration. To that end, jurisdictions will be focusing on the responsiveness and preparedness of the sector to emergency events, and ensuring capacity for strong economic growth of the industry. Efforts will be made to look at new mandate areas from different angles, while also engaging broadly across the sector to ensure CCTM priorities align with industry.

    Canada’s provinces and territories continue to showcase their diverse tourism offerings globally, ranging from parks and attractions in the great outdoors, to major festivals and events, and Indigenous tourism. Successes are evident with Canada’s overall position on the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index improving to 11th place in the 2024 ranking, up from 13th place in 2021. Going forward, ministers are keen to work collaboratively to tackle persistent issues and showcase Canada’s leadership in tourism on the world stage. 

    Marie-Justine Torres
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
    613-327-5918
    marie-justine.torresames@ised-isde.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
    media@ised-isde.gc.ca

    Amber Edgerton
    Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Tourism and Sport
    Government of Alberta
    780-222-6113
    amber.edgerton@gov.ab.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Visits Chicago State University to Discuss Efforts to Support Student Parents

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    October 17, 2024
    [CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today visited Chicago State University (CSU) to tour their campus child care center and meet with Chicago Alderwoman Michelle Harris, Illinois State Representative Marcus Evans Jr. (IL-HD-33), CSU leadership and parents. Last month, Duckworth reintroduced her Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act, legislation which builds on her previous efforts to help increase access to on-campus child care for the more than 4 million parenting students currently enrolled in postsecondary education programs. Duckworth and University leadership also discussed funding for CSU, including $800,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending Duckworth secured for the University. Photos from today’s visit are available on the Senator’s website. “As college costs continue to skyrocket, we can’t simply stay on the sidelines as it gets even harder for parenting students to afford higher education,” said Duckworth. “The more than 4 million college students who are also raising children already have enough to worry about—child care should not be one of them. It was great to visit Chicago State today and see the University’s efforts to support its students to help them provide a better, stronger future for their families.”  The CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act would help increase the rate of parenting students attending postsecondary education by reauthorizing and fully funding the only federal program that exclusively supports on-campus child care services and ensure the U.S. Department of Education is meeting the needs of parenting students. Duckworth originally introduced this legislation when she was in the U.S. House of Representatives. In Fiscal Year 2023, Duckworth secured $800,000 in federal funding through a Congressionally Directed Spending Request for Chicago State University. This federal investment supported redesigning the CSU curriculum and increasing access to the internet by improving and expanding computer facilities. In August, Duckworth and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) secured $22.7 million for the Strengthening Predominately Black Institutions (PBI) program as a part of their Illinois priorities for FY25 advancing through the Senate Appropriations Committee. This funding will support the Strengthening PBIs program by helping to expand their capacity to serve low- and middle-income students, especially Black students. Chicago State University is a PBI. Chicago State University is a predominantly black public university in Chicago. It includes an honors program for undergraduates, and offers bachelors and masters degrees in the arts and sciences. CSU was founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, an innovative teachers college. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: October 17th, 2024 JEC Chairman Martin Heinrich Hosts “Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Opportunities” Roundtable

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    PHOTOS & VIDEO
    Heinrich highlights how federal legislation is expanding pathways to in-demand jobs in New Mexico
    ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee (JEC), hosted a “Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Opportunities” roundtable to talk directly with New Mexicans about how federal legislation he helped pass into law is creating careers in high-demand sectors and strengthening New Mexico’s health care, skilled trades, early childhood education, and union workforce.   

    Heinrich Hosts “Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Opportunities” Roundtable on October 17, 2024.
    “The manufacturing and clean energy renaissance driven by historic investments from the Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act is creating career opportunities across New Mexico. We need to build on this momentum by expanding access to apprenticeships, supporting new, high-quality jobs in the building and skilled trades, growing pathways to health care careers, and strengthening our early childhood education workforce. I will continue fighting to address workforce shortages, build the middle class, grow our economy, and provide more New Mexicans with the careers they can build their families around in their home communities,” said Heinrich.
    Thanks to recently enacted legislation that Heinrich helped pass into law, like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Law, New Mexico is now at the center of a clean energy “manufacturing renaissance,” which is creating hundreds of jobs in New Mexico that people can build their families around.  
    Heinrich discussed his work with community leaders to create more pathways to in-demand careers, including through jobs training and registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. He also highlighted the success of the domestic manufacturing tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act that have expanded clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing in New Mexico.
    Through his role as Chairman of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee (JEC), Heinrich has held hearings on job training in the clean energy sector, the domestic boom in manufacturing, and investing in early childhood education. Heinrich has also released reports on growing registered apprenticeship programs, job training for the clean energy transition, the manufacturing renaissance, addressing rural health worker shortages, the economic benefits of early childhood education, employing women in the clean energy sector, and growing the labor force in New Mexico.
    Heinrich has long been committed to creating new pathways to careers for New Mexicans in the communities where they grew up, while tackling shortages in in-demand sectors like health care and early childhood education.  
    Heinrich introduced the Apprenticeship Pathways Act, legislation to create pathways to careers for high school students by expanding access to apprenticeship programs for occupations with high need, including the building trades, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, and early childhood education. 
    Earlier this year, Heinrich introduced the Pre-Apprenticeships To Hardhats (PATH) Act, legislation to strengthen the pipeline for careers in New Mexico, address rising workforce shortages, and grow the state’s economy through quality pre-apprenticeship programs.  
    In March, Heinrich introduced the Providing Resources and Opportunities for Health Education and Learning (PRO-HEAL) Act, legislation that will tackle the health care provider shortage in New Mexico and nationwide by expanding pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers that medical professionals can access in their communities. Specifically, the PRO-HEAL Act addresses medical provider shortages by incentivizing states and institutions of higher education to expand or create health care provider pipeline programs, particularly in underserved and rural communities. The legislation is inspired by the success of the Combined BA/MD Degree Program at the University of New Mexico, where over 65% of students who have graduated from their program practice medicine in New Mexico.   
    Last year, Heinrich introduced the Pathways to Health Careers Act, legislation that reauthorizes and modernizes the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to help address health care shortages in New Mexico and across the country and create pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers.  
    The HPOG program has a proven track record of successfully educating workers for jobs in the health care industry, while also providing career coaching, job placement, and a mix of other support services. The Pathways to Health Careers Act would restart and expand the HPOG Program, providing $425 million to make HPOG available nationwide from FY2024 through FY2028 and includes set asides for Tribes and U.S. Territories. 
    In 2021, Heinrich introduced the Championing Apprenticeships for New Careers and Employees in Technology (CHANCE in Tech) Act, legislation to create earlier pathways to high-paying careers in the information technology (IT) industry. 
    Investments in Clean Energy and Advanced Manufacturing:
    Heinrich has been fighting hard to pass legislation and secure investments that are growing the state’s economy, building the middle class, and expanding high-quality jobs New Mexicans can build their families around.  
    In 2022, Heinrich helped author and pass into law the landmark Inflation Reduction Act,which has created a manufacturing renaissance in the state and established New Mexico at the center of the nation’s clean energy future. Heinrich marked the two-year anniversary of the legislation being signed into law in August, highlighting how its incentives have expanded and spurred a number of new clean energy projects across New Mexico. 
    Earlier this year, Heinrich highlighted $20 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for Pajarito Powder to scale production of components for electrolyzers and fuel cells. Heinrich invited the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to tour the facilities of Pajarito Powder in Albuquerque, N.M. 
    In June, the N.M. Delegation welcomed $23.9 million from the CHIPS and Science Act for SolAero, an Albuquerque, N.M.-based manufacturing company, to increase its production of compound semiconductors for spacecraft and satellites, as part of an expansion and modernization of their facility. Heinrich, Luján, and Stansbury, along with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, welcomed U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and White House CHIPS Coordinator Ryan Harper to New Mexico to highlight this investment.  
    In April, Heinrich and Luján welcomed Energy Secretary Granholm to break ground on a new 216,000-square-foot Array Technologies manufacturing campus — a $50+ million investment located on Albuquerque’s Westside — which will employ over 300 additional New Mexicans to facilitate the production, assembly, design, engineering, and customer service of solar tracking technology.  
    That same day, Heinrich, Granholm, and Vasquez participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the production of the first wind towers coming off the Arcosa Wind Towers manufacturing line. The ribbon-cutting ceremony came nearly nine months after Heinrich welcomed President Biden to the Belén manufacturing facility — a $60 million investment that will have a $314 million economic impact and create 250 jobs in the region.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: Vice premier urges improved policy implementation to hit yearly growth targets

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

    NANJING, Oct. 17 — Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang has called for more effective implementation of both existing and incremental policies to fulfill the country’s annual social and economic development targets.

    Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during an investigation and research tour of Henan and Jiangsu, two provinces in central and eastern China, respectively.

    The tour, spanning from Monday to Thursday, focused on economic operations, sci-tech innovation and industry development.

    In Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, Ding visited places including an academy of science, a university and a digital technology firm, calling for concerted efforts to promote projects aligned with major national strategies. He underscored the need to cultivate the digital economy and develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions.

    While visiting a housing project in the city, Ding also urged strengthened financial support for the country’s real-estate market.

    In Suzhou and Jiangyin, two cities of Jiangsu, Ding learned about local efforts to attract foreign investment, develop the integrated circuit sector and promote vocational education. He said it is crucial to integrate sci-tech innovation and industry innovation to create momentum for high-quality development.

    Work should also be done to maximize the use of local government special-purpose bonds, improve the business environment for the private businesses, and enhance services for foreign investors, he added.

    MIL OSI China News –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Virtual reality and wearable technology pilot to cut drug deaths

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The government will fund research into wearable technology, virtual reality and artificial intelligence in a bid to support people with drug addictions.

    • Government funds research into wearable technology, virtual reality and artificial intelligence to support people with drug addictions and save lives
    • Projects include body-worn devices which alert emergency services if overdose is expected
    • 11 projects across UK could be rolled out more widely if successful

    Thousands of lives could be saved through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and wearable technology designed to reduce drug deaths and improve outcomes.

    The government has awarded £12 million to projects across the UK that are researching innovative technology to support people with addictions.

    One of the chosen projects, called PneumoWave ALERT, pairs a chest-worn sensor that monitors breathing to a mobile device that sends out an immediate alert to nearby antidote carriers and emergency services if an overdose is detected, helping people get potentially life-saving treatment as soon as possible.

    Another study will look at using virtual reality to help people overcome their triggers for cocaine addiction. People will be assessed using watch-like devices to determine which cues in their environment lead to a drug craving, by measuring physical changes to the body.

    Virtual reality will then be used to create realistic situations to repeatedly expose people to triggers in a safe environment. Previous research shows cue exposure treatment (CET) can significantly reduce the level of craving and relapse among alcoholics, but it has not yet been fully explored for people experiencing a cocaine addiction until now.

    Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne said:

    Drug addiction devastates lives and rips apart families, and this government is committed to gripping this problem.

    We’re determined to harness the full potential of cutting-edge technology to save thousands of lives across the country. I want the UK to lead the way in championing innovation to end the harmful effects of addiction.

    The research is being funded through the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme, which is run by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS). Around £12 million has been awarded to 11 projects across eight organisations in the UK. The projects were selected as part of the Reducing Drug Deaths Challenge and the NIHR i4i Addiction: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards, which are being run in partnership with the Scottish government and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).  

    The funding will also support research to improve the accessibility of the life-saving drug naloxone. Naloxone rapidly reverses heroin and opioid overdose but is typically available as an injection or nasal spray which have limitations and cannot always be used in time. Kings College London is looking into naloxone wafers which melt in the mouth and provide rapid access to this emergency medicine and can fit easily in a wallet or purse.

    Several of the projects are based in Scotland which has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe.

    These include a wristband to monitor vital signs such as blood oxygen levels, heart rate and body temperature. If an overdose is suspected, the device, named “Saving Sam”, will send out an alert to a trusted contact. This research is being run by the University of Edinburgh and NHS Fife.

    The technology being researched could be rolled out to more sites across the UK if successful. The projects support the government’s Health Mission – building an NHS fit for the future – by helping to embed a greater focus on prevention and supporting services.

    It also helps establish the UK as a global leader for innovative treatments and technologies, supporting the UK’s Growth Mission – for sustained economic growth, good jobs and increased productivity across the country – by inspiring healthcare companies to invest in the UK, while supporting people back into stable work.

    Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

    The UK’s life sciences sector plays a critical role in finding new ways to tackle the biggest challenges facing healthcare, including the devastating impact of addiction. The Addiction Healthcare Goals Programme is testament to our commitment to bringing together researchers, clinicians, and innovators to create real change.

    From wearable technology to AI-powered tools, these innovative projects highlight the power of collaboration in delivering life-saving treatments. By investing in these partnerships, we are tackling addiction head-on and ensuring that cutting-edge science reaches those who need it most, improving public health across the UK.

    Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR’s Scientific Director for Innovation, said: 

    Innovation in managing addiction is needed to break the pattern of prison relapse and rebound and the wider impacts of addiction on society.

    Through the NIHR i4i Addiction: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards, successful projects have been awarded funding to develop approaches to improve treatment and recovery outcomes.

    Interventions, including AI, that allow management in the community need this research to validate their potential so we can implement them at scale.

    Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Chief Scientific Advisor for Health, Scottish Government, said:

    Tackling drug-related deaths is a priority for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland and we are committed to tackling these issues through targeted research, innovation and support.

    As part of phase two of the Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Competition, funding has been awarded to develop seven prototypes aimed at reducing drug deaths.

    These innovative solutions include wearable sensors, digital monitoring and alert applications as well as novel antidote delivery systems.

    By harnessing the expertise we have in Scotland and across the rest of the UK, we can continue to develop new technologies to drive prevention initiatives.

    Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, Chair of the Addiction Healthcare Goals, said: 

    New approaches to treat drug addiction and reduce drug related deaths, particularly from overdose, are urgently needed. The Addiction Healthcare Goals programme is pleased to fund promising innovations that have brought together partnerships between industry, academia and organisations involved in delivering treatment and care for those experiencing drug addictions.

    Establishing such collaborations also enhances the UK’s research capacity and ability to deliver novel patient research. This lays firm foundations for the UK to accelerate the development and testing of effective innovations to use in routine care to save lives, reduce harms, and benefit society.

    Notes to editors:

    Further information on some of the projects is available below:

    Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge

    Pneumowave ALERT

    PneumoWave ALERT is a remote monitoring platform designed to make opioid usage safer by detecting the onset of life-threatening respiratory problems caused by opioid-induced overdose. The platform consists of a discreet, chest-worn biosensor paired with a mobile device, which allows for the immediate alerting of nearby naloxone carriers and emergency medical services. The research involves conducting end-to-end monitoring, detection, and alerting in 200 high-risk patients residing in homeless accommodation, in collaboration with the University of Dundee, King’s College London, and Third Sector partners HumanKind, Thames Reach, and Hillcrest Futures.

    NOMW Health

    NOMW Health, in collaboration with Greater Glasgow and Clyde Innovation Hub and The University of Southampton, previously conducted a feasibility study on LifeSavr, an innovative wearable device aimed at addressing the opioid overdose crisis. The Scotland-based team is now advancing the development of LifeSavr to prepare it for consumer availability in the UK, Europe, and globally. LifeSavr features monitoring of oxygen saturation, heart rate, body movements and respiratory rate for accurate overdose detection. It is based on NASA research and uses a self-contained design that eliminates the need for a mobile phone. The device aims to reduce the burden on emergency services and long-term care.

    Kings College London

    Kings College London is developing rapid-dispersal naloxone wafers to improve the accessibility and portability of this life-saving emergency antidote medication. Naloxone rapidly reverses heroin/opioid overdose, but current forms (injection and nasal spray) have limitations, such as requiring healthy nasal passages and consistent carrying by users. The proposed naloxone wafers disintegrate within seconds and can easily fit into a wallet or purse, addressing the current low carriage rates which are around 15-20%.

    EMoodie – Saving SAM System for Alert and Monitoring of Potential Overdoses  

    ‘Saving SAM’ is an innovative, low-cost digital tool developed by eMoodie Limited to help prevent drug overdoses and save lives. The tool consists of a wristband that monitors vital signs such as blood oxygen levels, heart rate, body temperature, and movement patterns to detect potential overdose risks. If an overdose is suspected, the wristband sends an alert to the Saving SAM app on the user’s smartphone, alerting a trusted contact. The app also offers mental health support and well-being programs for people who use drugs. Co-created with people with lived experience, “Saving SAM” is an overdose detection tool that combines wearables, remote monitoring, artificial intelligence (AI), and a smartphone app with gamified digital therapeutics.

    Mesox-Ltd

    MESOX has developed a wearable patch of the antidotes Naloxone and Flumazenil for the rising number of drug deaths from mixed overdosing of opioids and benzodiazepines. The skin patch is designed for wide application by non-professionals in the community, avoiding the challenges of existing routes of administration and complexity of injectable antidotes. In the next phase of development on the programme, MESOX will work closely with NHS Fife and other sub-contractors to design acceptability studies with patients across all four UK nations.

    Science & Engineering Applications Ltd (Scienap)

    Scienap, in collaboration with ambulance services led by the Scottish Ambulance Service, has designed a low-cost alert and responder pathway to create effective responses to potentially fatal overdose events. The project includes a new Alert App for self-monitoring by drug users, automatically raising an alarm if they become unresponsive, and a Care & Respond App for trusted supporters to provide coordinated help, administer life-saving drugs, and be supported by emergency services when appropriate.

    University of Glasgow

    The University of Glasgow presents a significant advancement in wearable sensor technology for detecting and preventing overdoses. The soft sensor, designed for seamless body integration, provides real-time respiratory monitoring to identify early signs of overdose episodes. The team will test the usability and acceptability of the refined prototype with people with lived/living experience of substance use through an iterative co-design process supported by the West of Scotland NHS Innovation Hub.

    NIHR i4i Addiction Innovation: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards

    Kings College London – is developing a Virtual Reality-enhanced cue exposure treatment integrated with a wearable device to address craving, prevent relapse and improve treatment outcomes of people with cocaine dependence.

    A key challenge in helping people to recover for cocaine addiction (or dependence) is their craving for the drug that can be triggered by ‘cues’ in their environment, such as situations or objects, which remind them of the pleasurable effects of cocaine. This process is known as ‘classical conditioning’ and the aim of this study is to reduce the risk of relapse to cocaine through use of novel technologies to reduce craving. This research will test the ability of technology-enhanced CET to reduce craving and relapse to cocaine use, compared to people receiving usual care.

    Another project led by Kings College London, The Prison Release Engagement Trial will refine and test an interactive smartphone app to improve Continuity of Care post-release for prisoners working to stay drug free. 

    For the full list of projects that have been successful in receiving funding across both competitions, please see the NIHR publications and the Scottish Government  publications.

    Further information

    The Addiction Healthcare Goals is being delivered by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) alongside the Dementia, Mental Health, Cancer and Obesity Healthcare Goals. The Addiction Healthcare Goals programme is working to make the UK a globally leading location for researchers and industry to develop, trial and deploy innovative treatments and technologies which will help people recover from drug and alcohol addictions, save lives, and benefit society.

    Alongside funding innovative research, the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme is aiming to support the training of research leaders across the UK and is exploring ways to make better use of addiction healthcare data to enable researchers to develop better treatments. The programme has also been working with the James Lind Alliance to identify the key research priorities within the UK community and will be publishing this list in 2025 with the aim of influencing future research funding priorities.

    The projects were selected as part of the Reducing Drug Deaths Challenge and the NIHR i4i Addiction: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards, which were run in partnership with the Scottish government and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The successful Reducing Drug Deaths projects builds on feasibility funding awarded through phase 1 of the Reducing Drugs Deaths Challenge last year.

    The Addiction Healthcare Goals form a part of the Department of Health and Social Care’s ambition to deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system for people experiencing drug and alcohol addictions.

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    Published 18 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 24, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: How did public service leaders talk to staff about Robodebt? What they said – or didn’t – is revealing

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Casey, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University

    In July 2023, after the release of the damning Robodebt Royal Commission report, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared:

    it was wrong, it was illegal, it should never have happened and it should never happen again.

    A major finding was some senior public servants were overly responsive to the wishes of ministers, to the detriment of the general public. The report describes an environment that was:

    fraught […] characterised by a powerful drive for savings, strongly expressed ministerial policy positions […] and intense pressure experienced by public servants.

    Investigating the scheme, which ran under the Morrison government, Commissioner Catherine Holmes was disturbed by “the lengths to which public servants were prepared to go to oblige ministers”, undermining the concept of impartiality and frank and fearless advice.

    The release of Rick Morton’s new book Mean Streak brings a renewed focus on the lessons from Robodebt. To learn from such a serious crisis, organisations need to openly confront what happened, discuss and understand what the failure means. What were the systemic causes? What cultural failings did it expose? How can we ensure a similar disaster does not happen again?

    Our research found little evidence these questions were being asked by many public service leaders immediately after the royal commission.

    In the six months after the royal commission report’s release, almost half of the heads of Australian Public Service (APS) agencies apparently decided they didn’t need to communicate with their staff about Robodebt and explain what it meant for them.

    What did department leaders do?

    Learning from the failure of Robodebt will take time. In 2024, the public service is investigating and punishing some of those involved and implementing a new integrity plan.

    Our research focuses on the six months after the release of the royal commission report: July to December 2023. Research shows the immediate post-crisis period is crucial to effective learning.

    But before organisations can respond, they have to interpret and understand the meaning of the failure.

    Just as the public turns to political leaders in a crisis, employees look to management. Leaders’ communication, whether by email, an all staff video, or a town hall meeting, is crucial.

    These messages set the organisational narrative that explains what happened and why, what the repercussions are, how it can be resolved, and what lessons (if any) should be drawn from the crisis.

    Three days after the royal commission report was released, the secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Glyn Davis, and Australian Public Service Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer, emailed all public service employees saying:

    we are committed to working through the findings in an open and constructive way with you — the APS — and with the Australian public.

    Our focus, however, is on how leaders of individual departments and agencies responded. Using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, we asked how leaders communicated with staff in the crucial period straight after the commission reported.

    Departments are where policy development occurs and they often work closely with ministers.

    But only half of all public servants work for departments. The rest work across the 100 or so agencies.

    While most department heads communicated with their staff about Robodebt, only 54% of agencies’ leaders did.

    The 50 agencies that did not communicate with their staff about the meaning of Robodebt in the months following the report employ more than 45,000 people, more than 25% of the public service.

    Not my problem mentality

    Three large departments told us that “no documents were identified” or “the Department does not hold documents […] that meet the terms of the request”. This indicates they did not communicate with staff in the first six months after the Robodebt report was handed down. The departments were:

    • defence

    • home affairs

    • infrastructure, transport, regional development, communications and the arts.

    It is not clear why those secretaries decided not to write to their staff directly about Robodebt, but the absence of communication sends a message.

    This was explicit in some responses. For example, in declining our request, we were told that the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority:

    […] is not an outwardly facing organisation and as such does not provide payments to individual recipients. Consequently, it is not required to respond to the Royal Commission and there are no documents that are relevant to your request.

    Even when there was some communication, agencies were not necessarily addressing the cultural issues. For example, the Clean Energy Regulator was focused on public perception:

    there is a heightened sense of scrutiny on regulators […] please be vigilant if you are approached by anybody working for a media outlet.

    In such circumstances, it is unlikely cultural change will occur.

    Some positive signs

    On the positive side, there were examples of agencies that addressed the serious implications of Robodebt for their work, which is likely to improve their organisational culture.

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) identified a number of recommendations “albeit directed at other agencies […] that ASIC should act on”. They noted that “given most of our people come from the private sector”, there was a need to improve training on “our obligations as public servants”.



    Read more:
    Two former federal departmental heads breached public service code 25 times in Robodebt scandal

    Similarly, Australian statistician David Gruen emphasised creating a culture where “people feel supported if and when they seek to raise difficult issues with their colleagues or superiors”. Similar discussions were had at AUSTRAC.

    Departments are closest to ministers, so we hoped their communications would address problems in the relationships between senior public servants and ministers, a key issue exposed in the Robodebt case.

    Unfortunately, only four departments discussed over-responsiveness with their staff or in executive meetings, in the period studied.

    The department of industry and science was the most comprehensive. Secretary Meghan Quinn wrote to staff several times, reflecting that the “findings go to the heart of leadership and culture and this should be our focus going forward”. The department’s integrity branch wrote to staff:

    public servants [must] […] provide the government with advice that is frank and honest. If you ever feel pressured to do or sign something you are not comfortable with, it’s important you speak with your supervisors […] you have the Executive’s backing not to put your name to anything that is not true or not in the public interest.

    However, this was one of the few departments where senior staff confronted these core issues directly in the early months after the royal commission reported. Most departments did not name or discuss the underlying cause of the failures: over-responsiveness to ministers at the expense of protecting the public.

    While many of the errors of Robodebt can be solved through new procedures and rules, changing public service culture is a bigger learning project.

    It requires a shift in norms and reweighting the competing duties of public servants. They must serve elected ministers, but equally, they must serve the public by ensuring probity, fairness and legality.

    Robodebt illustrated the harm that occurs when the balance tips too far towards ministers and away from the public interest.

    That this was rarely part of the communication from public service leaders to their staff in the immediate aftermath of the royal commission does not bode well for lessons being learnt from the crisis.

    Daniel Casey worked in the Department of Social Services during the period of Robodebt, but did not work on the Robodebt program.

    Maria Maley received funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. How did public service leaders talk to staff about Robodebt? What they said – or didn’t – is revealing – https://theconversation.com/how-did-public-service-leaders-talk-to-staff-about-robodebt-what-they-said-or-didnt-is-revealing-240015

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    January 24, 2025
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