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  • MIL-OSI USA: Fellows Blog: Meet Science to Action Fellow Emily Nastase!

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Fellows Blog: Meet Science to Action Fellow Emily Nastase!

    Emily shares her experience research on Henslow’s sparrow accounting for the future effects of climate change and to develop risk assessment tools to assist managers in the region with meeting their conservation objectives using prescribed fire.

    This blog was written by Dr. Emily Nastase who defended her dissertation in August 2024 at North Carolina State University. Emily was a 2023 Science to Action Fellow working with Dr. Adam Terando (Southeast CASC) and Dr. Jaime Collazo (NCSU).

    A little about Emily…

    Emily Nastase conducting field work in eastern North Carolina. Credit: Brittany Salmons.

    It was birding that sparked my interest in studying ecology. It took me by surprise—I had never been interested in birds, or even nature, until I took a study abroad course to Panama in the final year of my undergraduate program. On that fateful trip, we trudged through coastal swamps trying to catch and band songbirds… and I’ve been hooked ever since! Ten years later, here I am pursuing a career in ecology, and I couldn’t be happier. 

    In the fall of 2020, I was excited to start my graduate program at North Carolina State University, where I’d study a population of Henslow’s Sparrows (Centronyx henslowii) in eastern North Carolina. The Henslow’s Sparrow is a grassland specialist species in need of conservation due to long term population declines throughout its range. In North Carolina, the species is found at just two sites during the breeding season. 

    These sites are managed as grasslands, which is what makes them appealing to Henslow’s. But without adequate habitat management, the Henslow’s and other grassland species would be lost from the landscape. Variable and extreme future climate conditions pose threats to these habitats and may prove limiting to habitat management, thus requiring decision makers to consider how their conservation objectives will be affected by climate change in the future.

    Henslow’s Sparrow perched on a dead stem. Credit: Diane Nastase. 

    What was my S2A Fellowship about?

    For my Science to Action Fellowship, I proposed a project to expand upon my dissertation research and view Henslow’s Sparrow conservation through a climate lens. My goals were to contextualize how habitat management in eastern North Carolina may be impacted when accounting for the future effects of climate change and to develop risk assessment tools to assist managers in the region meet their conservation objectives using prescribed fire. The outcome of my fellowship was actionable science to help conservation managers meet their habitat goals in a future characterized by changing climate conditions.

    I was paired with Dr. Adam Terando, Southeast CASC Research Ecologist, as my USGS mentor for the fellowship. Together with my academic mentor, Dr. Jaime Collazo, we developed models to quantify how prescribed burn opportunities in eastern North Carolina may change later in the century based on future climate projections and we simulated management scenarios to illustrate how the Henslow’s Sparrow population may respond to various habitat management decisions.

    How was my experience as a Fellow?

    Emily and her mentors, Adam Terando and Jaime Collazo, on a field excursion. Credit: Adam Terando. 

    My experience as a 2023 Science to Action Fellow was a positive one—I accomplished the goals of my proposed project, provided actionable information to assist in the conservation of a vulnerable songbird species, and developed new skills in the process. My favorite part of the past year was learning from my mentors and coding models to test our hypotheses. Learning how to incorporate climate data into analyses will undoubtedly be useful in my career! The greatest challenge during my time as a Fellow was when I hosted a stakeholder workshop for prescribed fire users in the region—the event went well, but coordinating an in-person participatory workshop is a lot of work! I admit that conducting this fellowship during my final year as a graduate student was stressful at times due to the added workload, but I am proud of what I accomplished and grateful for the experience. 

    My advice for current and future S2A Fellows? 

    To all future S2A Fellows: embrace the fellowship and the amazing research you’re doing. Know that your work will have a positive impact on the community or system you’re working in. It’s a unique experience as a graduate student to conduct actionable science, manage an independent research project, and gain working experience with stakeholders and professionals in the field. Overall, the Science to Action Fellowship was a wonderful opportunity and worth the time!

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Mfume, Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $5 Million to Boost Morgan State University’s Research Capabilities

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (all D-Md.) announced $5 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education for Morgan State University (MSU) to strengthen its research capacity to better serve its students, faculty, the Baltimore community, and the nation.

    Morgan State, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Baltimore City, is currently classified as a “high research activity status” (R2) university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; this funding will support the University’s efforts to achieve the Carnegie classification of “very high research activity status,” (R1), by 2030. An R1 classification would provide more opportunities for MSU students and faculty to conduct even more transformative and impactful research. Among the 146 R1-designated colleges and universities in the U.S., none are HBCUs.

    “This announcement for Baltimore’s Morgan State University will further enhance the research capabilities of one of our country’s leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The funding will bolster Morgan in its efforts to attain the prestigious R1 research status – a needed designation to induce additional federal and state investment and empower the school’s student body, faculty, and researchers,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume. “I will always work in the Congress to uplift our nation’s HBCUs that represent a beacon for Black excellence and promise,” he concluded. 

    “Morgan State not only provides a quality education to thousands of students, it also serves as a hub for cutting-edge innovation. With this $5 million in federal funding – along with support from the HBCU RISE Program – we are furthering Morgan State’s goal of becoming one of the first HBCUs to achieve R1 status while diversifying the pipeline of leaders working to solve our most pressing challenges,” said Senator Van Hollen, who introduced legislation and then worked to pass the language to create the HBCU RISE program as a provision of the FY23 national defense bill in order to spur greater research investment in R2 HBCUs such as Morgan State to help them achieve R1 status while strengthening our national defense research.

    “Morgan State has become a central part of our engine of economic growth despite decades of underfunding. The university is leading research that strengthens key industries like technology and health care and prepares students to compete in a global economy,” said Senator Cardin. “This funding will support new and existing programs that will help Morgan State reach new heights and reinforces our commitment to investing in Maryland’s HBCUs.”

    “This generous $5 million federal investment is a crucial accelerator on Morgan’s journey to becoming a nationally recognized very high research (R1) university. It represents a significant step forward for our students, faculty, and community, enabling new opportunities for transformative research that addresses real-world challenges,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University. “Morgan is one of the nation’s fastest-rising universities, and our elected leaders have been instrumental in that ascension. We are deeply grateful to Senator Van Hollen, Senator Cardin, and Congressman Mfume for their steadfast support in empowering Morgan as a national leader in inclusive innovation and knowledge creation.”

    The grant was awarded through the HBCU, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Research and Development Infrastructure Grant Program, which the lawmakers funded at $50 million in fiscal year 2024. With this $5 million investment, MSU will boost its research expenditures in science, engineering, and other fields, recruit new full-time postdoctoral researchers, and increase its research and development capacity. The funds will also help enhance faculty professional development, prepare students for research and teaching assistant roles, and attract doctoral students to new programs and increase doctoral conferrals in STEM and social sciences fields.

    MSU will prioritize efforts to increase diversity among faculty, students, and research topics, ensuring equitable access to research opportunities. Further, the University will actively collaborate with industry, government agencies, and other research institutions to expand research opportunities, leverage resources, and advance solutions to real-world challenges.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As fighting wears on, many in Myanmar are focused on a new government – Radio Free Asia

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    For decades, federalism seemed like a distant dream. The war has made it a possibility.

    By Aye Aye Mon with photos and video by Chan Aung for RFA Burmese 2024.10.09 – This story is the last in a five-part series exploring the war in Myanmar and what might come if the fighting stops. Read this story in Burmese.

    For nearly eight decades, the Myanmar dream has been a federal union that ensures equal rights for its scores of ethnic minorities. Federalism is a form of government where states hold significant power, thus allowing the country’s ethnic minorities an important level of self-governance that a top-down, central government typically can’t support.

    Repeated military coups, justified by the perceived threat of national disintegration, have long ensured federalism remains a dream. But with the country’s ethnic minorities working together as never before to push back at the ruling military junta, many wonder if this time could be different. Radio Free Asia spoke with policy makers and analysts, with soldiers and advisers to learn more about the prospects for a government that is truly by the people and for the people.

    Fight for federalism

    In the wake of the Feb. 2021 coup, young people from diverse backgrounds began mobilizing in large numbers, taking up arms to fight the junta. While the immediate focus was to subdue an undemocratic force that had seized power from the democratically elected civilian government, many soldiers told RFA they were fighting for federalism.

    Among them, Barli, a 25-year-old member of the People’s Defense Forces, holds a steadfast belief in federalism.

    “Our efforts are not driven by speculation on whether federalism will materialize. We are committed to establishing a federal government, and we believe that federalism will inevitably prevail. We are fighting for the federation,” he said.

    Captain Saw Kaw, a 37-year-old commander of the Cobra Column, under the Karen National Union, or KNU, is also confident that a federal union will inevitably be established.

    “When the military council collapses, it is essential that all ethnic brothers and sisters live together in harmony and happiness in this country. This is why I firmly believe that a federal union must be established.”

    Major Da Baw, a 32-year-old leader who commands three columns: The Cobra, The Black Panther, and Venom, has committed to continuing the fight for the establishment of a future federal union for the benefit of the people.

    “We must continue to serve for the benefit of people. Our hope is to build a strong federal union that will foster the development of this country and enable its citizens to live in peace.”

    Composed of a number of members of the former civilian government, the National Unity Government, or NUG, has been serving as a government in exile since the coup.

    On March 31, 2021, less than two months after the coup, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the leading body of the NUG, issued the Federal Democracy Charter. This document systematically outlines the direction, goals, process steps, and transitional measures. And while efforts are ongoing to implement these provisions in practice, the near-immediate issuance of such a charter underscored the NUG’s commitment to federalism.

    Their armed wing, the People’s Defense Force, or PDF, meanwhile declared a “people’s defensive war” against the junta on Sept. 7, 2021. Since then, the PDF has been engaged in combat against the coup army, often working in close collaboration with various ethnic armed groups.

    Apart from the majority Bamar ethnicity, Myanmar is home to seven major ethnic groups: Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan. Prior to the military coup, there were 18 armed forces in the country. Some of these groups are negotiating peace with the military council, while others have joined a resistance movement. These armed groups vary in size from a few hundred to over fifty thousand members. Since the coup, meanwhile, over 300 PDF units have been established nationwide.

    That level of collaboration has resulted in significant battlefield successes.

    According to the Institute for Strategy and Policy about 74 townships have been seized by anti-junta forces since the coup began. In northern Shan state, the joint Operation 1027 managed to seize 60 percent of the region’s townships.

    These successes lend credence to the idea that all parties may indeed manage to create a federal system post-war, said Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asian politics and security at the National War College in Washington, D.C.

    “This won’t be easy to achieve, but the promise is what’s made the concerted effort in a half year war against the military junta possible. And they have seen tremendous battlefield successes,” he said. “So, it’s within reach.”

    Laying the groundwork

    As young people risk their lives in combat, the NUG and a range of ethnic leaders are actively engaged in discussion about the formation of a federal union following the conclusion of the war.

    Currently engaged in discussion with the NUG are the KNU, Karenni National Progressive Party, Kachin Independence Organization, and Chin National Front — known as K3C — and Ta’ang National Liberation Army, along with a number of smaller ethnic groups, political parties, civil society organizations, and democracy activists.

    Min Zayar Oo, NUG deputy finance minister, said preliminary agreements outlining military and political co-operations have been reached with various ethnic groups.

    “On the other hand, we are striving to achieve political agreements, particularly concerning the Federal Democracy Charter and the establishment of a robust federal system. We have secured agreements to advance these objectives.”

    These discussions take place online and in secret meetings in Mae Sot, where representatives of many parties now live — although a number of them remain undocumented. Among the chief points of disagreement are how to roll out a federal system, with the NUG wanting to build a “top-down” centralized government while the ethnic leaders want a completely fresh “bottom-up” system where the power comes from the state level and controls the central government, according to the KNU spokesperson, Padoh Saw Taw Nee and the chairman of Karenni Excecutive Council, Khu Oo Reh.

    Priscilla Clapp, a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace, says the negotiations have clearly been advancing.

    “I would say that federalism is growing right now in the country from the ground up, from the grassroots, and that’s a healthy process. It’s not being imposed from the top.”

    Diverse opinions

    Realizing the federal dream in Myanmar, a nation with 135 ethnic groups including the Bamar, is undeniably challenging after more than 70 years of aspiration.

    Negotiations reached a settlement in early 2021 following the coup, but there has been little progress since then, said Thomas Kean, senior consultant on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group.

    “Discussions about the potential structure of a future federal union are ongoing, but they face significant challenges,” he said. “Mutual distrust has hindered detailed negotiations, and in some cases, it appears that progress has regressed.”

    According to KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee, differences of opinion have emerged from the very beginning.

    “We face challenges with that division of power because extensive top-down centralization has led to hesitations when discussing power sharing. It cannot be resolved in such a manner. To establish a true federal government, we must address and negotiate power-sharing arrangements,” he explained.

    Lway Yay Oo, spokesperson for the The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which now occupies a number of cities in Shan state where they have begun establishing self-government, said that the TNLA supports a federal system with weak central control.

    “In the context of a federal union, it must ensure true federalism, guaranteeing full self-governance and self-determination. The system should feature a weak central control or mechanisms to limit the central government’s power in favor of the federal states,” she explained.

    Aung Myo, a political and military analyst and former military officer, said that the federalism efforts undertaken by the NUG and the ethnic armed groups remain unsubstantiated and have yet to reach any agreement. The military, meanwhile, is unlikely to conduct elections while retaining power.

    Ethnic leaders, he insisted, “actually want the confederacy. Even if we offer them federalism, they are unlikely to accept it, leading to continued disputes,” he said, pointing to the 2008 constitution — created under military rule — which allows for a form of federalism in the form of all states having full power in the education and health care sectors. At the time of the constitution’s promulgation, many ethnic leaders fought against it.

    Scot Marciel, a Myanmar analyst and former U.S. ambassador for Myanmar, said the process will doubtless be slow given the complex dynamics at play between many of the negotiating parties.

    “As for the process of getting there, it’s difficult because you have a lot of different groups with different interests. And as you suggested you have decades of mistrust and sometimes conflict, not only with the military, but even sometimes among the different ethnic groups. So that’s not surprising. It’s not that distrust or mistrust won’t just disappear overnight.”

    Unification at last?

    Those working to build a genuine federal government, hope there will be a thoughtful distribution of power at the state and district levels, as well as significant efforts to protect the rights of small ethnic groups in minority areas.

    But in some regions, there is scant likelihood of even bringing players to the table.

    Thomas Kean of the International Crisis Group said that convincing groups such as the United Wa State Army, which already has full autonomy in Wa state, and the Arakan Army, which has achieved significant success in current ground fighting in Rakhine state, to join the federation will be challenging.

    “One of the major challenges is encouraging ethnic armed groups to participate in federal governance. These groups already possess a degree of autonomy, and joining the federation would require them to relinquish their current power and administration, which they have secured through ground battles,” he said.

    Bringing armies together as a unified force — something the NUG has put in its Federal Democracy Charter — will also prove challenging.

    Tin Lin Aung, a former military officer and participant in the civil disobedience movement against the junta, admitted that achieving the unification of all these forces will pose a significant challenge even if a federal union is established after the war.

    “The establishment of a federal army is highly unlikely,” he said. “As someone with a military background, I am focused on examining the military aspects, and I maintain that the creation of a federal army is improbable.”

    Focus on the future

    Over the course of more than three years of military coup, there have been 14,758 battles in seven KNU-controlled areas alone. According to Saw Thaw Moe Eh, the second-in-command of the KNU’s Central Information Department, at least 454 KNU/KNLA soldiers have been killed and 1,500 injured. In Karenni areas, there have been 1165 battles resulting in at least 578 deaths of allied fighters, according to data from the Progressive Karenni People Force. Although NUG leaders have acknowledged significant casualties among PDFs, they have not disclosed specific numbers, fearing it might demoralize the young fighters.

    Hnin, the mother of Zin Myo Oo, an underground fighter who suffered severe burns while attempting to detonate mines against the military council army at the end of 2021, said that she is sorry for sacrifices made, but she does not regret them.

    “My son was born well, but it’s deeply painful to see what is happening. Sometimes, I think and cry, but I do so in private, with no regrets at all.”

    And for those fighting for federalism, they feel little doubt that their dream will be reality.

    Nyar Kho, a company commander of the Cobra Column, responded with a smile when asked what he would do next if federalism fails to materialize.

    “I see no reason why it shouldn’t happen. If it doesn’t, I will have to continue fighting.”

    Edited by Abby Seiff.

    Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content October not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Bank of Canada webcasts The John Kuszczak Memorial Lecture

    Source: Bank of Canada


















  • MIL-OSI Canada: John Kuszczak Memorial Lecture 2024

    Source: Bank of Canada


















  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada releases draft regulations to cap pollution, drive innovation, and create jobs in the oil and gas industry

    Source: Government of Canada News

    After years of steady progress, Canada’s climate plan is working to deliver greenhouse gas pollution reductions for Canadians

    November 4, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario

    After years of steady progress, Canada’s climate plan is working to deliver greenhouse gas pollution reductions for Canadians. Across the economy, Canadian workers and businesses are innovating to reduce greenhouse gas pollution while creating good jobs and cleaner air.

    Canadians and their communities bear the brunt and pay the costs from increased extreme weather events due to climate change—costs that are reflected in the price of groceries, insurance, and local taxes. They understand that all sectors must do their fair share to decrease pollution and address climate change. The oil and gas sector is Canada’s largest source of greenhouse gas pollution, and emissions from part of the sector continue to grow. As an important part of the Canadian economy supporting 400,000 jobs, the oil and gas sector is well positioned to reinvest record profits into projects that drive cleaner production that will help create and sustain good jobs for generations.

    Today, the Government of Canada introduced draft regulations to put a clear limit on greenhouse gas pollution from oil and gas production. The proposed regulations work by setting a cap on greenhouse gas pollution within the sector, equivalent to 35 percent below 2019 levels. They would create a cap-and-trade system designed to recognize better-performing companies and incentivize those that are higher polluting to invest in making their production processes cleaner.

    The proposed regulations put a limit on pollution, not production, and have been informed by extensive engagement with industry, Indigenous groups, provinces and territories, and other stakeholders. The proposed regulations are carefully designed around what is technically achievable within the sector, while allowing continued production growth. Many oil and gas producers share our commitment to a strong, low-carbon economy, and some have already committed to significant methane emissions reductions and the implementation of carbon capture technology to reduce greenhouse gases.

    Canada is the world’s fourth-largest producer of oil and the fifth-largest producer of gas. As demand for oil and gas peaks in the coming decade and begins to decline, the fuels extracted with the least amount of pollution will be in highest demand. The oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap will help the sector remain competitive as the global economy continues to decarbonize and allow Canada to quickly and effectively respond to shifting global demand.

    The oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap is part of a suite of measures to cut pollution, including significant financial supports for carbon capture and storage and other clean technologies that also support workers, namely through the federal Canada Growth Fund and new investment tax credits.

    The climate decisions we make today will help contribute directly to a cleaner, safer environment and good jobs for future generations. The oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap will stimulate the investment needed to innovate and build a thriving economy that works for everyone. Canada has a historic opportunity to act to combat the climate crisis and create a strong 21st century economy where we continue to be an energy supplier for the world.

    The Government will continue to consult to inform the final regulations, which will be published in 2025.

    • The Government of Canada will continue to consult to inform the final regulations, which it plans to publish next year. Written comments in response to the proposed regulations can be submitted during the formal consultation period from November 9, 2024, to January 8, 2025.  

    • According to Statistics Canada’s latest figures, operating profits in the oil and gas sector increased tenfold after the pandemic, from $6.6 billion in 2019 to $66.6 billion in 2022. Profits have remained strong with consecutive record years, and capital expenditures have been targeting new production rather than decarbonization. The draft regulation will encourage the sector to redirect these record profits into decarbonization.

    • The Canadian Climate Institute estimates that by 2025, Canada will experience annual losses in economic growth of $25 billion as a result of climate change, underlining the need to take urgent action for the sake of our economy, our environment, and our future.

    • According to the most recent National Inventory Report, Canada’s oil and gas sector accounted for 31 percent of national emissions in 2022, making it the largest contributor to Canada’s emissions.

    • Capping the greenhouse gas pollution from the oil and gas sector is one of the key measures outlined in Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, a sector-by-sector roadmap to reduce Canada’s overall emissions to 40–45 percent below our 2005 pollution levels in the most cost-effective way possible while building a stronger economy for the 21st century.

    • The Government of Canada has supported carbon capture projects such as Strathcona Resources, an oil sands company that has a $2 billion project with agreements to store up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The federal government also recently supported Entropy, an Alberta-based company, to scale up its carbon capture and sequestration technology at a natural gas facility, which will reduce emissions by 2.8 million tonnes over 15 years and support more than 1,200 good jobs for Albertans.

    • Early estimates from the Canadian Climate Institute show that Canada’s emissions have started to decline in 2023, the first year since the pandemic when the economy was back in full operation.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada analysis shows that, with the oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap, oil and gas production is projected to grow by 16 percent by 2030–2032 from 2019 levels, provided the sector implements technically achievable decarbonization measures.

    • The oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap would regulate upstream oil and gas facilities, including offshore facilities, and would also apply to liquefied natural gas production facilities. These subsectors represent the majority of emissions from the oil and gas sector, with the upstream subsector representing about 85 percent of sector emissions in 2022. The emissions cap will cover activities such as oil sands extraction and upgrading, conventional oil production, natural gas production and processing, and production of liquified natural gas.

    • The latest analysis from the International Energy Agency shows that global demand for fossil fuels, including oil, will peak by 2030 without any more policy action to reduce emissions. With further policy action, oil demand would peak even sooner.

    Hermine Landry
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
    873-455-3714
    Hermine.Landry@ec.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Environment and Climate Change Canada
    819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
    media@ec.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford Presses Biden-Harris Admin on Destruction of US Immigration Policies

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
    OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter calling out President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for fueling a national security crisis at the southern border through a series of destructive executive orders.
    “Instead of addressing the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs across our borders, your Administration has turned its back on those who wish to immigrate here legally and welcomed illegal aliens with open arms. Instead of directing resources to securing our borders and processing legal immigrant applications, your Administration has crippled our immigration enforcement capabilities and prioritized amnesty applications,” wrote the Senators. “The Administration has one job—to enforce the law of the land. Instead of detaining and deporting illegal aliens, your Administration has shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law and national security.”
    Lankford and Risch are joined by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Tim Scott (R-SC) in demanding the Biden-Harris Administration answer for their direct role in eroding the US immigration system and compromising the safety of American families. 
    The full letter can be read HERE or below. 
    Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris,
    We write to you with serious concerns regarding the failure of your executive leadership to secure our southern border, enforce longstanding immigration policies, and protect the American people. 
    Your Administration has prioritized illegal aliens over the safety of American communities since day one. Within hours of taking office, your Administration weakened our national security and undermined the integrity of US immigration laws through a series of flawed executive orders and proclamations.
    On January 20, 2021, your Administration arbitrarily proclaimed the national emergency at the southern border “unwarranted” and halted construction of the border wall. With one proclamation, your Administration terminated a project critical to fortifying our southern border and pulled security resources—leaving our nation more vulnerable than ever to illegal crossings, drug trafficking, and potential terrorist threats.
    On February 2, 2021, you signed an executive order to “restore faith in our legal immigration systems.” It unequivocally had the opposite effect. The order destabilized immigration enforcement by unilaterally expanding pathways for illegal aliens to stay in the country. It strained resources needed to process legitimate claims, and directly impacted the ability of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to detain and remove illegal aliens. In short, your Administration knowingly undercut CBP and ICE officers’ capacity to execute the law. Your Administration reversed years of progress made under the Trump Administration and fueled a crisis that spread from the southern border to small towns across America.
    Under your Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the decision to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, causing an unprecedented surge at the border. Our CBP and ICE enforcement personnel and border facilities were overrun, allowing thousands of illegal aliens to enter the US with little to no vetting. Your Administration briefly reinstated MPP as a result of litigation—but only further weakened it by reducing the standard migrants had to meet to be exempted from the program. To make matters worse, your Administration suspended and terminated agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras that would have required migrants to seek asylum in those countries.
    In addition to your Administration’s attempts to circumvent Congress by implementing immigration policy through executive orders, your Administration has taken every opportunity to bend existing immigration law in its favor. Now, immigration officials are applying case-by-case processes like humanitarian parole to large classes and groups of people. Under this Administration, the parole process, originally designed to be limited in scope, is now a tool for mass amnesty. 
    Instead of addressing the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs across our borders, your Administration has turned its back on those who wish to immigrate here legally and welcomed illegal aliens with open arms. Instead of directing resources to securing our borders and processing legal immigrant applications, your Administration has crippled our immigration enforcement capabilities and prioritized amnesty applications. The Administration has one job— to enforce the law of the land. Instead of detaining and deporting illegal aliens, your Administration has shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law and national security.
    The border crisis is not an accident—it is a direct result of this Administration’s deliberate choices. As members of Congress, we demand accountability to restore common-sense immigration enforcement policies that prioritize the safety and security of the American people.
    In light of the foregoing facts, and for the purpose of oversight and accountability, we demand comprehensive responses to the following questions by November 30, 2024: 
    1. How many illegal aliens crossed the US southern border between your Administration’s executive order halting border wall construction and the October 2023 determination that existing laws must be waived “to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads” along the southern border?
    2. Has the implementation of the DHS’s rule to terminate the MPP policy significantly impacted the immigration court backlog? Has the number of immigration officials processing asylum applications increased? 
    3. How many DHS personnel were reassigned from other responsibilities specifically to process parole applications?
    4. Describe the responsibilities and locations from where immigration officers have been reassigned to process parole applications as well as the number of officers. 
    5. Did DHS consider the impact the Biden-Harris parole-in-place program would have on US Citizenship and Immigration Services fee revenue? How much will this program cost? 
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Highlights Shelton’s Aspira Women’s Health As “Innovator Of The Month”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    November 04, 2024

    HARTFORD–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Monday that Aspira Women’s Health, a bio-analytical company based in Shelton, was named “Innovator of the Month” for its leadership in the development of blood tests that aid in the detection of ovarian cancer. The company’s flagship products, OvaWatch and Ova1Plus, employ AI technology towards effective ovarian cancer risk assessment and drive higher standard of care for women with ovarian masses. Last month, Aspira was awarded $10 million in federal funding to develop a non-invasive blood test to detect endometriosis, which is currently diagnosed through invasive surgery.
    “For decades, underinvestment in women’s health has meant that women and girls simply aren’t getting access to the treatments and care they deserve. I’m proud to see Aspira’s cutting-edge biomedical research positioning Connecticut as a leader in women’s healthcare and improving lives through earlier risk assessment, more accurate diagnoses, and innovative, personalized care,” said Murphy.
    “We are honored to be Innovator of the Month and proud to represent Connecticut on the national women’s healthcare stage. For far too long, women have been forced to resort to surgical interventions for diagnosis of gynecologic diseases. Aspira aims to change that. We believe all women deserve the opportunity to make healthcare decisions based on facts instead of fear,” said Nicole Sandford, CEO of Aspira Women’s Health. “Endometriosis is a chronic condition that impacts as many as six million women in the United States alone. It alters nearly every facet of a patient’s life, many of whom must wait years for a diagnosis. We believe Aspira is uniquely qualified to solve this problem. Our diagnostic solutions focus on a data-driven approach and powerful AI-enabled algorithms that offer noninvasive alternatives to aid in the detection of gynecologic disease. Our suite of blood tests to assess ovarian cancer risk in women with masses which have been ordered by healthcare providers more than 200,000 times. We believe this experience and experience is critical for the development of a noninvasive endometriosis test.” 
    Aspira Women’s Health Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of noninvasive, AI-powered tests to aid in the diagnosis of gynecologic diseases. OvaWatch® and Ova1Plus® are offered to clinicians as OvaSuiteSM. Together, they provide the only comprehensive portfolio of blood tests to aid in the detection of ovarian cancer risk for the 1.2+ million American women diagnosed with an adnexal mass each year. OvaWatch provides a negative predictive value of 99% and is used to assess ovarian cancer risk for women where initial clinical assessment indicates the mass is indeterminate or benign, and thus surgery may be premature or unnecessary. Ova1Plus is a reflex process of two FDA-cleared tests, Ova1® and Overa®, to assess the risk of ovarian malignancy in women with an adnexal mass planned for surgery.?????? 
    Murphy believes entrepreneurship and innovation are the building blocks for a strong economy. In the U.S. Senate, he has introduced legislation to incentivize angel investors to put more money into startup companies—the Angel Tax Credit Act and the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act. Startup companies create an average of 2 million jobs each year.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Professional Learning: Using Children’s Books to Build STEM Habits of Mind

    Source: NASA

    3 min read

    On October 14, 2024, the Science Activation program’s NASA eClipsTM Education team from the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Education (NIA-CISE) delivered a professional development session entitled “Using Children’s Books to Build STEM Habits of Mind” to 62 Media Specialists and Gifted Teachers from Richmond Public Schools in Virginia.

    The session kicked off with an engaging overview of NASA’s methods for gathering Earth data, including the use of stratospheric balloons. Participants then took part in the Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge 1 & 2. Divided into small groups, the teachers assumed the role of “stratospheric balloon engineers” and were tasked with adjusting helium-filled balloons to achieve neutral buoyancy. Initially, teams analyzed qualitative and quantitative aspects of their balloons before exploring the materials available to help them reach the target height. Once they achieved neutral buoyancy, their next challenge was to guide their balloons around the room using only a straw and a 5×7-inch card. As they completed this task, participants linked the activity to Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Laws of Motion.

    Following the activity, teachers were introduced to NASA eClips’ newly released Guide Lites: Comparing Science and Engineering Practices Using Black Box Models. During this segment, they discussed the distinction between engineering and science, reflecting on the engineering practices applied in the Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge and how scientific concepts influenced their balloon modifications.

    Additionally, teachers explored Favorite STEM Books and Activities: A Literary Collection Curated by the NASA eClips Team and Advisory Board Members, a resource designed to integrate children’s literature with STEM learning. Participants reviewed at least two book entries from the collection, assessing their alignment with educational standards, evaluating associated activities, and offering feedback on strengths and suggested improvements. As a final activity, teams selected a STEM trade book from the curated collection and analyzed it for potential cross-disciplinary connections, including inquiry, engineering, or hands-on activities.

    The event was planned collaboratively with Judy Deichman (Coordinator of Library Services for Richmond Public Schools), Lynn Pleveich (Coordinator for Programs for the Gifted and Talented in Richmond Public Schools), Dr. Sharon Bowers and Joan Harper-Neely (NASA eClips Senior STEM Specialists), and Betsy McAllister (NIA’s Educator in Residence from Hampton City Schools).

    NASA eClips is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB91A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn

    Teacher teams discussed the alignment of STEM books to educational standards and provided feedback for the new activity, Favorite STEM Books and Activities: A Literary Collection Curated by the NASA eClips Team and Advisory Board Members.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Memes, photojournalism and television debates: 3 images that defined the 2024 US election

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Message, Professor of Public Humanities and Director of the ANU Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University

    Visual images often last in historical and popular memory. This is especially the case in presidential campaigns in the United States, which offer a vast mix of spectacle, surprise and drama.

    An historian of political visual culture can no more predict which images are likely to last the test of time than we can know who will win. But we can explain why some historical images from presidential campaigns resonate.

    This election season has produced the most media savvy and diverse campaign imagery of all time. Cable news, social media and artificial intelligence have created a whole new universe of image-based narratives.

    In this rich visual landscape, here are three images likely to last the test of time.

    1. Trump’s ‘fight!’ photo

    The uncontroversial front-runner for defining image has to be Evan Vucci’s photograph of Donald Trump being led off the stage in Pennsylvania after surviving an assassination attempt in July.

    Many people, including Trump, were quick to elevate the photograph to the iconic status of Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of troops raising the flag on Iwo Jima during the second world war.

    Both are photographed from below and feature the national flag above Americans working against adversity to reach a common goal. Both fit squarely into the tradition of wartime photojournalism.

    Both photographs enjoyed instantaneous popularity: Trump’s image went viral and the Iwo Jima image was featured on a US postage stamp before the war’s end.

    But their greatest similarity resides in the cultural symbolism of the images.

    Both accurately represent an historical moment; a specific point in time. But the point in time has been actively selected to fit a narrative. The narratives projected are deeply held mythologised symbols of aspirational patriotism.



    Read more:
    Elevation, colour – and the American flag. Here’s what makes Evan Vucci’s Trump photograph so powerful

    Visual literacy prompts us to think about which images were discounted in the selection of these historically powerful two. Historical legacies and the national mythologies that fuel these lean toward images of success over pictures of wartime death and suffering.

    This image of Trump fits all the criteria we would typically and probably unconsciously apply when assessing if an image is likely to have long-term significance.

    The baseline characteristic of iconic images is a general bipartisan understanding of what an image “says”. Regardless of whether you agree with the message being conveyed, you understand its social context, why the image is provocative, dramatic or funny (or not), as well as its historical references.

    However, contemporary images are not always so straightforward to read – and in a post-truth AI world, it is harder than ever to decipher the visual culture of politics.

    2. Brat summer and coconut memes

    Kamala Harris’s youth and vision for the future headlined her campaign’s creation of “Kamala HQ”. The strategy adopted the bright green branding and font of Charli XCX’s smash album Brat after the pop star posted on X: “kamala IS brat”.

    Social media has been a critical tool in introducing Harris to voters, especially those of voting age for the first time in 2024. The campaign’s use of social media represented young people as engaged and respected decision makers.



    Read more:
    ‘Kamala IS brat’: how the power of pop music has influenced 60 years of US elections

    Voters have had more than a century to become accustomed to photojournalism. In contrast, a lot of social media representation has arisen from community activism over the past few years. Reporting from women’s marches this past weekend showed links to the visual culture of the protests that followed Trump’s 2016 election.

    Arguably, the most historically significant of this “youth vote” image category are the internet memes of coconuts and coconut trees.

    In a 2023 speech, Harris quoted her mother:

    You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

    This moment went viral during the 2024 election, and it was not long before people started signalling their support for Harris by adding a coconut emoji to their profile or comments.

    The popularity of the coconut meme by Harris supporters indicates a rejection of the derogatory use of the term “coconut” against people of colour “acting white”.

    The production and reception of memes by younger voters demonstrates a media literacy and sophistication that also requires continuous fact-checking.

    This point was made in Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris, which urged her followers to do their own “reliability” checking of information in their feeds after Trump and other conservative figures shared AI-generated images of Swift and her fans allegedly supporting Trump.

    3. The televised debate handshake

    A key image from the debate between Harris and Trump came in the first few minutes, when Harris crossed the stage to offer her hand. It was the first debate handshake in eight years.

    This was a bold action given Trump’s prowling movement on the 2016 debate stage against Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and his well documented predilection for firm handshakes.

    The handshake is representative of the campaign, which has been called “a referendum on gender”. It evoked the image of strong and confident leadership – a central theme as Harris spoke passionately about reproductive rights and abortion.

    Televised presidential debates are one of the most keenly watched and analysed moments of the presidential election season. Image is everything.

    Their importance is perhaps best indicated by Justin Sullivan’s photograph of President Joe Biden, mouth agape and looking frail beneath the word “presidential” during the June debate this year.

    While they rarely lead to an outcome as extreme as a candidate exiting the race, as ended up happening with Biden, the images and soundbites they generate can resonate for decades.

    During the first ever nationally televised presidential debate in 1960, Republican candidate Richard Nixon was said to be unwell and refused to wear makeup. Compared to his opponent, Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy, he sweated profusely on stage, creating an image that was disastrous to his eventually unsuccessful campaign.

    Between the staged and “gotcha” moments of every presidential campaign, debates provide a unique – and, in 2024, a singular – window into how the candidates relate to each other as humans across an ever-widening ideological divide.

    Kylie Message has received funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Memes, photojournalism and television debates: 3 images that defined the 2024 US election – https://theconversation.com/memes-photojournalism-and-television-debates-3-images-that-defined-the-2024-us-election-242689

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What happens if you have a HELP debt and kids? The missed opportunity in Labor’s plan to fix student loans

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Warburton, Honorary Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne

    Rogut/Pexels , CC BY

    The Albanese government has announced several significant changes to student loans to start in mid-2025.

    These include wiping 20% off debts, increasing the income threshold for compulsory repayments, and changing the amounts people have to repay.

    As well as encouraging Australians to study, the changes aim to provide cost-of-living relief – or, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday:

    putting more dollars in the pockets of people who feel, justifiably, that they’re getting the rough end of the pineapple.

    The changes are certainly an improvement. Unfortunately, they are not as good as they should be – particularly if you have a HELP debt and a family to support.

    What is the point of HELP?

    My analysis of the most recently released tax statistics indicates more than 70% of those required to make a HELP repayment in 2021–22 earned between A$60,000 and A$120,000. Only 20% earned more than $120,000 and less than 10% earned less than $60,000.

    The HECS (now HELP) system was conceived in the 1980s as a way to generate revenue to help the government pay for an expansion of university places.

    It doesn’t matter if people do not repay all of their loans. The primary purpose is to have students who have benefited, and can afford to contribute to the cost of their education, give something back.

    While fairness has always been a key plank of HECS/HELP, there are some major problems with the system. And the changes announced over the weekend continue to ignore them.

    The HECS/HELP system was designed so students would only repay loans if they had the capacity to do so.
    Enrico Della Pietra/ Shutterstock

    What about families?

    Student loan arrangements have never taken account of other government payments and obligations such as social security, taxation rates, taxation rebates and Medicare levies.

    As I have shown in this analysis, for some family types, HELP repayments combine to produce ridiculous effective tax rates.

    Imagine the following scenarios for someone with a HELP debt, earning between $60,000 and $100,000 and who had a pay increase in this income range.

    In 2022-23, if you were single with no kids, the average effective tax rate on the extra earnings was 51%.

    If you were single with two kids aged four and seven, the average effective tax rate on the extra earnings was 77%. If those children were ten and 13, it was 73%.

    The situation is similar in a couple family with two children where only one parent is able to work. The working parent has little incentive to increase their earned income and this won’t change much under the new proposals.

    The reason people in these situations keep so little of their extra earnings is because as family incomes increase, they lose family tax benefits, they pay more tax and their Medicare levy increases.

    There is not enough attention paid to how all these arrangements interact and how they affect people overall.

    We need to know many families are paying HELP

    The government’s plan to increase the HELP repayment threshold to those with an annual income of $67,000 is a welcome improvement. The system was never intended to take money off people with virtually no capacity to pay.

    The government’s plan to simplify the repayment arrangements is also a positive step. The current system has 18 different repayment rates applied to total income, which means people are repeatedly going backwards when they earn extra money. The new plan to only calculate repayments on dollars over the threshold (the marginal rate approach) stops this from happening.

    But the system continues to disregard how people with HELP debts can be in different family circumstances.

    In my work on HELP, I often get asked how many HELP debtors have dependent children. The answer is I do not know and neither does the government.

    None of the data which the government releases provides any information on family circumstances, despite the fact around $4.6 billion was collected from 1.2 million individuals in 2021-22 (the most recent year we have for this data).

    This is vital information to make good policy and fair decisions but we do not have it.

    Could these problems be fixed?

    We could reduce many of the worst impacts here with a single marginal rate for calculating HELP repayments and thresholds which varied depending on the number of children and partner’s income.

    The repayment rate and thresholds could be adjusted to deliver an acceptable repayment level for individuals and sufficient revenue for government to support university funding.

    There is no point in pretending the current system is one in which people have an insignificant level of debt that is repaid quickly after university.

    Typical students today are finishing their degrees owing around $60,000 and many have debts much larger than this. They will continue to make repayments well into their thirties when they have families.

    It is time we had a system that truly recognised this.

    Mark Warburton is a member of the Australian Labor Party and occasional provider of consultancy services to groups such as Universities Australia and the Australian Technology Network.

    – ref. What happens if you have a HELP debt and kids? The missed opportunity in Labor’s plan to fix student loans – https://theconversation.com/what-happens-if-you-have-a-help-debt-and-kids-the-missed-opportunity-in-labors-plan-to-fix-student-loans-242758

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US. Why does that matter?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC L3 Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

    David MG/Shutterstock

    The United States Department of Agriculture last week reported that a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon was infected with bird flu.

    As the bird flu situation has evolved, we’ve heard about the A/H5N1 strain of the virus infecting a range of animals, including a variety of birds, wild animals and dairy cattle.

    Fortunately, we haven’t seen any sustained spread between humans at this stage. But the detection of the virus in a pig marks a worrying development in the trajectory of this virus.

    How did we get here?

    The most concerning type of bird flu currently circulating is clade 2.3.4.4b of A/H5N1, a strain of influenza A.

    Since 2020, A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b has spread to a vast range of birds, wild animals and farm animals that have never been infected with bird flu before.

    While Europe is a hotspot for A/H5N1, attention is currently focused on the US. Dairy cattle were infected for the first time in 2024, with more than 400 herds affected across at least 14 US states.

    Bird flu has enormous impacts on farming and commercial food production, because infected poultry flocks have to be culled, and infected cows can result in contaminated diary products. That said, pasteurisation should make milk safe to drink.

    While farmers have suffered major losses due to H5N1 bird flu, it also has the potential to mutate to cause a human pandemic.

    Birds and humans have different types of receptors in their respiratory tract that flu viruses attach to, like a lock (receptors) and key (virus). The attachment of the virus allows it to invade a cell and the body and cause illness. Avian flu viruses are adapted to birds, and spread easily among birds, but not in humans.

    So far, human cases have mainly occurred in people who have been in close contact with infected farm animals or birds. In the US, most have been farm workers.

    The concern is that the virus will mutate and adapt to humans. One of the key steps for this to happen would be a shift in the virus’ affinity from the bird receptors to those found in the human respiratory tract. In other words, if the virus’ “key” mutated to better fit with the human “lock”.

    A recent study of a sample of A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b from an infected human had worrying findings, identifying mutations in the virus with the potential to increase transmission between human hosts.

    Why are pigs a problem?

    A human pandemic strain of influenza can arise in several ways. One involves close contact between humans and animals infected with their own specific flu viruses, creating opportunities for genetic mixing between avian and human viruses.

    Pigs are the ideal genetic mixing vessel to generate a human pandemic influenza strain, because they have receptors in their respiratory tracts which both avian and human flu viruses can bind to.

    This means pigs can be infected with a bird flu virus and a human flu virus at the same time. These viruses can exchange genetic material to mutate and become easily transmissible in humans.


    The Conversation, CC BY-SA

    Interestingly, in the past pigs were less susceptible to A/H5N1 viruses. However, the virus has recently mutated to infect pigs more readily.

    In the recent case in Oregon, A/H5N1 was detected in a pig on a non-commercial farm after an outbreak occurred among the poultry housed on the same farm. This strain of A/H5N1 was from wild birds, not the one that is widespread in US dairy cows.

    The infection of a pig is a warning. If the virus enters commercial piggeries, it would create a far greater level of risk of a pandemic, especially as the US goes into winter, when human seasonal flu starts to rise.

    How can we mitigate the risk?

    Surveillance is key to early detection of a possible pandemic. This includes comprehensive testing and reporting of infections in birds and animals, alongside financial compensation and support measures for farmers to encourage timely reporting.

    Strengthening global influenza surveillance is crucial, as unusual spikes in pneumonia and severe respiratory illnesses could signal a human pandemic. Our EPIWATCH system looks for early warnings of such activity, which can speed up vaccine development.

    If a cluster of human cases occurs, and influenza A is detected, further testing (called subtyping) is essential to ascertain whether it’s a seasonal strain, an avian strain from a spillover event, or a novel pandemic strain.

    Early identification can prevent a pandemic. Any delay in identifying an emerging pandemic strain enables the virus to spread widely across international borders.

    Australia’s first human case of A/H5N1 occurred in a child who acquired the infection while travelling in India, and was hospitalised with illness in March 2024. At the time, testing revealed Influenza A (which could be seasonal flu or avian flu), but subtyping to identify A/H5N1 was delayed.

    This kind of delay can be costly if a human-transmissible A/H5N1 arises and is assumed to be seasonal flu because the test is positive for influenza A. Only about 5% of tests positive for influenza A are subtyped further in Australia and most countries.

    In light of the current situation, there should be a low threshold for subtyping influenza A strains in humans. Rapid tests which can distinguish between seasonal and H5 influenza A are emerging, and should form part of governments’ pandemic preparedness.

    A higher risk than ever before

    The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the current risk posed by H5N1 to the general public remains low.

    But with H5N1 now able to infect pigs, and showing worrying mutations for human adaptation, the level of risk has increased. Given the virus is so widespread in animals and birds, the statistical probability of a pandemic arising is higher than ever before.

    The good news is, we are better prepared for an influenza pandemic than other pandemics, because vaccines can be made in the same way as seasonal flu vaccines. As soon as the genome of a pandemic influenza virus is known, the vaccines can be updated to match it.

    Partially matched vaccines are already available, and some countries such as Finland are vaccinating high-risk farm workers.

    C Raina MacIntyre receives funding from NHMRC (L3 Investigator grant and Centre for Research Excellence) and MRFF (Aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 experimentally and in an intensive care setting) currently. She currently receives funding from Sanofi for research on influenza and pertussis. She is the director of EPIWATCH®️, which is a UNSW, Kirby Institute initiative. She has been an invited speaker at the 2024 Options for The Control of Influenza at four symposia organised by Moderna, Pfizer, Sanofi and Seqirus respectively.

    Haley Stone receives funding from The Balvi Filantropic Fund. Haley Stone would like to acknowledge the support through a University International Postgraduate Award from the University of New South Wales.

    – ref. Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US. Why does that matter? – https://theconversation.com/bird-flu-has-been-detected-in-a-pig-in-the-us-why-does-that-matter-242688

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Secretary Blinken’s remarks on Disability Rights as Foreign Policy

    Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

    Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks at Disability Rights as Foreign Policy, an event on using diplomacy to shape a more inclusive world, at the Department of State, on November 4, 2024.

    Transcript: https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-disability-rights-as-foreign-policy/
    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

    The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statedept
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/StateDept
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statedept
    Flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/statephotos/

    Subscribe to the State Department Blog: https://www.state.gov/blogs
    Watch on-demand State Department videos: https://video.state.gov/
    Subscribe to The Week at State e-newsletter: http://ow.ly/diiN30ro7Cw

    State Department website: https://www.state.gov/
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    White House website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
    Terms of Use: https://state.gov/tou

    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbTby6OoQHg

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Marshall and Bipartisan Colleagues Call on Mark Zuckerberg to Remove and Prevent Ads for Illicit Drugs on Meta Platforms

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Overland Park, Kansas – U.S. Roger Marshall, M.D. led a bipartisan letter with U.S. Senators Shaheen (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) calling on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to take action to remove and prevent advertisements for illicit drugs on all Meta platforms. 
    The letter builds on Marshall and Shaheen’s bipartisan Cooper Davis Act, named after a Kansas teen who tragically lost his life to fentanyl poisoning, to hold social media companies accountable for reporting to law enforcement illicit drug and opioid activities occurring on their platforms.  
    In part, the Senators wrote: “The United States is in the midst of a drug epidemic, with more than 100,000 Americans dying from overdoses last year, and an alarming amount of these drugs are sold online. It is crucial that everyone work to ensure these illegal drugs are found and taken off the streets. Therefore, we call on Meta to improve its human automated advertising review and content moderation to address these failures that are placing lives at risk.” 
    According to a Wall Street Journal report from earlier this year, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that Meta has run hundreds of advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that steer users to online marketplaces for illegal drugs. The Shaheen-led letter urges Zuckerberg to support the Cooper Davis Act and work as quickly as possible to prevent further harm. 
    The Senators continued: “When presented with these disturbing findings, Meta took down some advertisements off its platforms. However, Meta’s refusal to prevent illicit drug advertisements, while accepting advertisement payments that are harming families and in clear violation of Meta’s policies, is particularly alarming. Surely, this is not what Meta means when it states its ‘mission to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.’” 
    Text of the letter can be found here. 
    Background on Cooper Davis:
    Cooper Davis – a young, thriving Johnson County teen – tragically lost his life after taking half a fake pill that contained a lethal dose of fentanyl. He was just 16 years old. Cooper and his three friends shared two blue pills they thought were Percocet purchased online. Unfortunately, the blue pills were laced with fentanyl and Cooper died from just half a pill. Following his passing, Cooper’s family launched the non-profit Keepin’ Clean for Coop to keep his memory alive to save lives, raise awareness, and educate students and families.
    Background on the Cooper Davis Act:
    In recent years, organized drug cartels have dominated fentanyl trafficking in the country, and they have set up large, sophisticated distribution networks online via social media. In investigating fentanyl-related poisoning and deaths in teenagers and young adults, law enforcement agencies have found an alarming rate of these deadly pills acquired through platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. Unfortunately, federal agencies do not have the data to intervene and prevent these illegal activities.
    The Cooper Davis Act would require social media companies and other communication service providers to take on a more active role in working with federal agencies to combat the illegal sale and distribution of drugs on their platforms. This critical data will also empower state and local law enforcement to combat fake fentanyl-laced pills and prosecute those who prey on America’s youth.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Yes, burning gas is bad for the climate. But keeping it in Australia’s energy mix is sensible

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Dargaville, Director Monash Energy Institute, Monash University

    Shutterstock

    Both major parties in Australia see a significant role for gas as the world shifts to clean energy in a bid to avert dangerous climate change.

    The Albanese government says new sources of gas are needed to meet demand during the energy transition. And the Coalition, if elected, would expand gas use as it prepares for nuclear power.

    Of course, some people argue that the grave threat of climate change means we should not burn any gas. Others say the strong growth in renewable energy generation and storage means Australia won’t need gas into the future.

    So who is right? As I explain below, renewable energy is a huge part of the solution but doesn’t solve every problem. So keeping some gas-fired generators in the electricity mix, and using them only when necessary, is a sensible compromise.

    Getting to grips with gas

    There are almost 40 large natural gas-fired generators in Australia, and they are an important part of the National Electricity Market.

    According to Open Electricity — a platform for tracking Australia’s electricity transition – the gas facilities generate around 4% of the electricity we consume and comprise about 17% of overall generation capacity.

    The data also shows gas plants in Australia run at just 9% of their overall capacity, meaning they are idle much of the time. Some gas plants get used quite a lot, others only rarely. But when the plants are called on – during times of peak electricity use – their services are vital.

    Overnight, our demand for electricity dips. But when we wake in the morning and start toasting bread and boiling kettles and the like, electricity demand picks up.

    Demand eases off in the middle of the day as the sun rises high in the sky and Australia’s booming rooftop solar reaches its peak electricity output. But when the sun sets and rooftop solar is no longer producing, electricity use peaks. This early-evening demand creates a big challenge to the system.

    That’s why we need technologies that can produce electricity at any time of day or night – and do it quickly. That’s where gas-fired generation – and other “dispatchable” forms of electricity – come in.

    How do gas fired generators work?

    Gas generators come in two main types.

    An “open cycle generator”, also known as a Brayton cycle turbine, is essentially a jet engine. It combusts gas in a chamber to create enormous pressure that spins large fans. This drives a shaft that spins in the generator to produce electricity.

    This technology is relatively cheap to build and can start up very quickly – but it’s also quite inefficient to operate. It uses a lot of expensive fuel, and creates a lot of waste heat.

    The second type is known as a “combined cycle generator”. It also uses a Brayton cycle gas turbine. But it captures exhaust heat from the turbine and uses it to create steam, which in turn powers a second turbine (known as a Rankine cycle). This significantly increases the amount of electricity produced for the same amount of gas burned.

    So while this technology is relatively efficient, it’s also more expensive to build and takes longer to ramp up and down.

    Other types of gas generators exist, but they’re a relatively small part of Australia’s fleet.

    A video explaining how gas turbines work.

    Gas is not the only option

    Gas plants are not the only facilities capable of firming up Australia’s electricity grid as the share of renewables increases.

    Hydro power can also quickly ramp up to meet the evening peak. However the potential for building new conventional hydro in Australia is very limited due to the lack of large river systems and the significant environmental impact on rivers and surrounding areas.

    Coal-fired generators have potential to ramp up production, but are generally not designed to do this every evening. Plus, Australia’s fleet of old coal plants is on a fast path to retirement.

    To maintain the delicate balance of supply and demand, more will be required of gas and hydro, to produce electricity, and batteries and pumped hydro, to store it.

    Pumped hydro works by using excess renewable energy to pump water up a hill. When electricity demand is high, the water is released and passes through a turbine, producing power.

    The potential for pumped hydro energy storage in Australia is large, and some projects are likely to be economically viable. But the projects can face challenges, as demonstrated by delays and cost blowouts facing Snowy 2.0 in New South Wales.

    Large-scale lithium-ion batteries are relatively easy to install. Many projects have been built or are in the pipeline. But batteries are not great for long-duration energy storage.

    All this means gas-fired power generation is likely to have a future in Australia in coming decades.

    The downsides of gas

    Methane is the main component of natural gas. It’s also a potent contributor to global warming.

    During natural gas production and transport, gas leaks inevitably occur. This is a problem for climate change.

    So too is the carbon dioxide produced when the gas is burned to produce electricity.

    To tackle climate change, we must dramatically reduce the amount of gas we use in our electricity system. Gas use should also be eliminated for heating and cooking in our homes and, where possible, in industry.

    So where does that leave us?

    Unfortunately, no perfect solution exists to Australia’s electricity supply-demand conundrum.

    The most likely, most economic and most environmentally acceptable approach is to use a “portfolio” of technologies: lots of batteries and pumped hydro but also some gas.

    Because to keep the system stable and reliable, we need some capacity that will mostly sit idle, getting used on only a few occasions. For that reason, the technologies should be relatively cheap to build and able to run for extended periods when wind and solar generation are abnormally low.

    Gas-fired power – especially open cycle generators – meets that requirement. Pumped hydro and batteries do not.

    The gas plants we keep in the grid will not often be used, and so will produce relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide.

    Nuanced questions remain. What will it cost to keep a gas network operating to serve a fleet of gas generators that run only for a few days a year? Gas pipelines have to be kept pressurised, and the cost of running a gas extraction network for small demand may also be uneconomical.

    Non-fossil options such as biogas, hydrogen or synthetically produced methane are possible longer term options. But they are also expensive. And new technologies – such as flow batteries, thermal energy storage and cryogenic energy storage – are on the horizon.

    So, keeping some gas-fired generators on standby, and using them sparingly as needed, is a reasonable approach. It allows us to reduce emissions as much as possible, and keep our electricity system secure and affordable.

    Roger Dargaville receives funding from the Woodside-Monash Energy Partnership, RACE for 2030 CRC, and he consults for industry and government bodies.

    – ref. Yes, burning gas is bad for the climate. But keeping it in Australia’s energy mix is sensible – https://theconversation.com/yes-burning-gas-is-bad-for-the-climate-but-keeping-it-in-australias-energy-mix-is-sensible-241689

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: How energy companies are using AI to capture and store carbon, even underground

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: How energy companies are using AI to capture and store carbon, even underground

    During a time of both rapid transformation and intense scrutiny, today’s energy industry leaders are increasingly turning to advanced solutions in AI and data management to drive sustainability and efficiency as the global community works to combat climate change. This is a time-sensitive effort, as increased energy demand and the continued role of fossil fuels mean emissions could keep rising through 2035.1 As energy leaders look to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry has become a key component in the approach. Industrial carbon management (ICM) encompasses a range of technologies designed to capture, transport, and store carbon dioxide (CO2) underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Microsoft is actively collaborating with energy companies on industrial carbon management solutions. One example of this collaboration is Northern Lights, a partnership between the Norwegian government and energy companies Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, which is now fully operational. This groundbreaking initiative was established to accelerate decarbonization and address emissions as we all work towards a more sustainable future.  

    Microsoft for energy and resources

    Achieve more in the energy and resources industry with trusted data and AI solutions

    Transforming the global energy industry is not a small feat, nor one that happens without the collective work of dedicated partnerships and innovative technology. The standardized data model and secure data sharing in Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy along with operations data management powered by Azure AI and Microsoft Copilot can accelerate innovation across the end-to-end CCS value chain. Copilot and Azure Data Manager for Energy put data and AI to work, integrating industry datasets, applications, and other cloud services—managing intensive workloads at global scale, and quickly ingesting data for analytics and decision-making. These are high-impact capabilities that ultimately help energy companies accelerate their transition to more sustainable practices by reducing time, costs, and risks associated with their complex operational requirements.     

    Enhancing energy operations with modern data management  

    Data modernization is a critical component in advancing sustainability and CCS efforts within the energy sector. By leveraging Azure Data Manager for Energy, energy companies can efficiently manage and analyze vast amounts of data—enabling more accurate and comprehensive simulations of subsurface reservoirs. This capability is essential for identifying optimal CO2 storage locations and ensuring the safe and efficient injection and storage of carbon dioxide.  

    The platform’s robust, scalable, and secure data management solutions allow for real-time data integration and continuous model refinement, which are crucial for making informed decisions and mitigating risks. Additionally, Azure Data Manager for Energy’s high-performance computing capabilities enable rapid simulations, which significantly reduce the time required for planning studies and optimizing reservoir performance. These high-impact capabilities ultimately help energy companies accelerate their transition to more sustainable practices by reducing time, costs, and risks associated with their complex operational requirements. 

    Harnessing the power of AI with Copilot 

    Along with data modernization and robust data analytics, Azure Data Manager for Energy users will have the option to take advantage of Copilot to interact with well data. Azure Data Manager for Energy helps ingest and organize domain-specific data from across the enterprise data landscape to enhance data access, analysis, and application interoperability. Developed in alignment with OSDU® standards, Azure Data Manager for Energy helps get the right data organized within the right domain workflow while providing trustworthy data delivery that sets the stage for improved and timely analysis.  

    However, the enterprise data landscape for any analysis may extend beyond domain-specific data types and require reports with different file types, as well as images, data and records stored in other databases, spreadsheets, and shared folders. Further, the entire value chain extends into data from operations, supply chain, health, safety and environment (HSE), enterprise resource planning (ERP), legal and compliance, and even social media—some of which may be hosted on external platforms.  

    In these scenarios, generative AI capabilities can help users optimize data for enhanced insights—faster. One example of how to approach this is with Microsoft Fabric, an end-to-end analytics and data platform. Fabric can help integrate the data in Azure Data Manager for Energy with other adjacent data sources, ultimately preparing it for analysis and other interactions through AI and Copilot. This means users can potentially run traditional AI-powered workflows such as automated interpretation of data or event prediction through machine learning-driven algorithms. They can also leverage Copilot to chat with the data or implement intelligent search, domain-based intelligent assistants, or cross-domain intelligent advisors.  

    In doing so, end users—people in roles across geoscience or petrophysics—have an easier and faster way to interact with and query their data, both within and outside Azure Data Manager for Energy. Plus, data engineers and data scientists have a foundation from which to build similar solutions for their end users. The Copilot capabilities also mean simplified research processes and the generation of valuable data insights, enabling enterprise and business unit leaders, as well as data scientists and geophysicists, to make more informed decisions and take advantage of greater efficiencies in reservoir management.  

    Optimize carbon capture and storage and enhance reservoir management 

    Building on the capabilities of Copilot and Azure Data Manager for Energy, we can further optimize CCS to work towards a more sustainable future. Reservoir modeling is a critical aspect of modern energy management, playing a vital role in the underground storage of CO2. This multidisciplinary field involves the integration of geological, geophysical, thermal, and engineering data to create detailed models of subsurface reservoirs. Reservoir engineers create models that simulate the behavior of fluids within the reservoir to predict future performance and optimize injection and production strategies. With global energy demand projected to increase 47% by 2050,2 the need for sustainable energy solutions and CCS is paramount.  

    Microsoft is working with partners to provide the efficiency, predictive power, and speed of reservoir simulations and optimizations. Built on top of Azure Data Manager for Energy, customers can now leverage Azure’s robust enterprise capabilities in security, scalability, and reliability, while accessing its domain-specific solutions and maintaining full control over their data.   

    Traditionally, identifying optimal CO2 storage locations requires lengthy studies, sometimes spanning months or even years. The work Microsoft is doing with partners transforms this process by enabling scalable and efficient simulations. This will enable engineers to run numerous models in parallel, leveraging high-performance computing to quickly analyze vast datasets and identify the best storage locations. The ability to perform rapid simulations at scale significantly reduces the time required for planning studies.

    Explore more energy solutions and resources 

    At Microsoft, our dedication and commitment to accelerating the energy transition to carbon-free resources is matched only by the power of our partner ecosystem and the knowledge-sharing that makes it all possible. With Azure Data Manager for Energy, industry leaders can connect to an open ecosystem of interoperable applications from independent software vendors (ISVs) and the Microsoft ecosystem of productivity tools. By harnessing capabilities and features from across Microsoft and partner solutions, energy leaders can optimize value across their entire enterprise while working towards sustainability goals.  

    Ready to dive deeper? Check out additional resources to learn more. 

    Accelerate the energy transition today

    1McKinsey & Company, Global Energy Perspective 2024, September 2024.

    2S&P Global, Global energy demand to grow 47% by 2050, with oil still top source: US EIA, October 2021.

    Uwa Airhiavbere

    Chief Commercial Officer, Worldwide Energy and Resources Industry

    Uwa Airhiavbere is the Chief Commercial Officer of Microsoft’s Worldwide Energy & Resources Industry group, overseeing commercial strategy and growth initiatives. He previously had a successful career at General Electric in the Oil & Gas Division. Uwa holds an Executive MBA from Cornell University, an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA in Business Economics from Brown University.

    See more articles from this author

    Sverre Brandsberg Dahl

    General Manager, Energy, Microsoft Cloud for Industry

    Sverre is the General Manager for Microsoft Cloud for Industry, Energy team. Here he works with a range of engineering teams to bring the latest technological developments in Cloud Computing and AI to the energy industry. With a passion for technology and innovation, he is helping to position Microsoft with customers, partners, and governments as they accelerate their adoption of cloud technology, while giving equal focus to the transition to clean power and emissions management.

    See more articles from this author

    Neeraj Joshi

    Chief Technology Officer, Energy and Resources, Microsoft

    Neeraj Joshi serves as the Chief Technology Officer for WW Energy & Resources in IPS, where he leads in-depth technical collaborations to drive digital transformation within the Energy sector. With over two decades of experience at Microsoft, he is deeply passionate about data and is committed to assisting strategic customers in modernizing their solutions. Mr. Joshi holds an MBA from the University of Washington and an MS in Computer Engineering from UT Austin.

    See more articles from this author

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Statement From Premier Wab Kinew on the Passing of Former Senator Murray Sinclair

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    November 4, 2024

    Statement From Premier Wab Kinew on the Passing of Former Senator Murray Sinclair

    Murray Sinclair was a great Canadian, a great Manitoban, a great Anishinaabe. 

    His career stands as a legacy of public service and a deep commitment to truth, fairness and dignity for all people. 

    He was the first Indigenous person to be named to the Manitoba provincial court and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. He was the first, but he will be remembered as one of the best. 

    He was appointed co-commissioner of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, which laid bare systemic racism within the justice system and is considered a foundational perspective on the system’s relationship with Indigenous people. He led the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Inquest and his report spurred systematic change in the delivery of pediatric cardiac care in our province. 

    The penultimate moment of his career was his work as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He approached a process that could have been divisive and instead transformed it into Calls to Action for the future of our country, helping all Canadians to learn to walk together into a future of respect and understanding where we live up to the phrase residential school survivors taught us – Every Child Matters. 

    It will be a long time before our nation produces another person the calibre of Murray Sinclair. He showed us there is no reconciliation without truth. We should hold dear in our hearts his words that our nation is on the cusp of a great new era and we must all “dare to live greatly together.” 

    On behalf of the people of Manitoba, I extend my condolences to his family and to all Canadians for the loss of Mazina Giizhik. 

    A sacred fire will be open to the public on the north side of the legislative building grounds until Murray Sinclair’s funeral later this week. 

    – 30 –

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: China Tightens Grip on Critical Minerals – China Digital Times

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    China has extended its dominance at home and abroad over critical minerals that are essential to future high-tech and renewable-energy industries. Amid intensifying geopolitical competition, Western countries are increasing their efforts to claw back market share while countries in the Global South, where many of these minerals are mined, are attempting to capitalize on growing global demand. A recent article on the subject by The Economist stated that in 2023 Chinese companies invested roughly $16 billion in foreign mines, the highest figure in a decade, up from less than $5 billion the year before. This month, Chinese companies have announced plans to invest billions of dollars in mines in Afghanistan, Ghana, Zambia, and the Philippines. Keith Bradsher at The New York Times reported that over the past few weeks, the Chinese government has enacted measures to increase its grip over the mining and refining of rare minerals within China by making it harder for foreign companies to purchase them:

    As of Oct. 1, exporters must provide the authorities with detailed, step-by-step tracings of how shipments of rare earth metals are used in Western supply chains. That has given Beijing greater authority over which overseas companies receive scarce supplies.

    China is also taking greater corporate ownership over the mining and production of the metals. In a deal that has received almost no attention outside the country, the last two foreign-owned rare earth refineries in China are being acquired by one of the three state-owned companies that already run the other refineries in China.

    Beijing’s recent moves to take charge of the supply chain include other obscure chemical elements that are also needed by semiconductor manufacturers. On Sept. 15, China’s Ministry of Commerce restricted exports of antimony, a material used in semiconductors, military explosives and other weaponry. Last year, the ministry imposed export controls on two other chemical elements, gallium and germanium, also needed to make chips.

    National security officials have tightened the flow of information about rare earths. They have labeled rare earth mining and refining as state secrets. Last month, the Ministry of State Security announced that two managers in the rare earths industry had been sentenced to 11 years in prison for leaking information to foreigners. [Source]

    In September, a coalition of 14 Western countries and the European Commission formed the Minerals Security Partnership, a new financing network to support critical mineral projects and break China’s dominance over this sector. Despite initiatives like these, the U.S. has struggled to compete with China for critical minerals, for many reasons. One is that Chinese state-owned companies “have periodically flooded world markets with rare earths to drive down the price whenever Western producers try to ramp up production,” Bradsher wrote. Just this week, Chinese mining giant CMOC announced that it reached its full-year cobalt production target three months ahead of schedule. Eric Olander from the China-Global South Project argued that “CMOC’s strategy is unrelated to pricing conditions and more about keeping Western rivals on the sidelines [,…which] gives China an unrivaled advantage over its rivals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia that are moving aggressively to cut Chinese firms out of their supply chains — which, at least for cobalt, is not going to be possible for a very long time.” Eliot Chen at The Wire China wrote about how American policymakers are considering expanding the U.S. stockpile of critical minerals to compete with China, which has been “the master of the game” when it comes to leveraging its stockpiles:

    “China’s stockpile has a dual purpose: one is defensive and the other is economic, to support domestic industry when prices get too high for downstream industries like the electricity sector, and then conversely when prices are too low and domestic producers like copper smelters have difficulty remaining profitable,” says [Gregory Wischer, principal at Dei Gratia Minerals, a critical minerals consultancy]. 

    What, exactly, China stockpiles is not publicly known, and Chinese authorities are rarely transparent about when they buy up and sell down their stockpiles. But because of the country’s dominance over much of the critical mineral supply chain, even rumors of its intentions can produce wild swings in the price of metals. For example, while Chinese lithium producers account for less than 20 percent of mine production, China refines more than two-thirds of the metal. For other metals like graphite, which has vital defense applications, Chinese refiners control more than 90 percent of the market. 

    China’s outsized influence over the market, combined with its heavy investment in mining assets abroad, have helped it consolidate its control over global supply. An about-face by Chinese policymakers over electric vehicle subsidies in 2018, for example, resulted in a glut of lithium on the market. Chinese companies were then able to step in and acquire distressed lithium miners in Australia and Canada relatively cheaply. [Source]

    China’s monopoly over various critical-mineral supply chains in Africa has motivated the U.S. government to increase engagement in the region. A major component of this U.S. strategy is the $4 billion Lobito Corridor project, which seeks to connect the Port of Lobito in Angola to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, thereby facilitating American and European access to cobalt and copper. But some local observers see selfish motives in this engagement. “This rivalry-driven approach narrows the scope for a partnership with Africa based on mutual benefit and long-term development. The continent, and the DRC in particular, should not be seen merely as a resource base to fuel external interests,” said Carlos Lopes, a professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He added, “Without a genuine commitment to local development, [the Lobito Corridor project] risks perpetuating Africa’s role as a supplier of raw materials rather than fostering economic transformation on the continent.” Analyzing China-Africa critical mineral cooperation in an article last month for the U.S. Institute of Peace, Cobus van Staden explored the potential for U.S.-China cooperation and described how African nations are looking to navigate both sets of relationships to their own benefit:

    The second factor complicating the narrative of direct competition [between the U.S. and China in the region] is the drive from African countries to locate more strategic mineral refining and related manufacturing in Africa. African critical mineral strategies, developed by continental bodies like the African Development Bank, emphasize local refining and value addition, an ambition now enjoying official Chinese support, as well as support from the U.S. through initiatives such as the Minerals Security Partnership among others. For example, the partners involved in the Lobito Corridor have similarly signed agreements with African countries to do more refining locally. These include EU agreements with Zambia and the DRC for mineral-driven value addition, and a trilateral agreement between Zambia, the DRC and the U.S. for domestic electric vehicle supply chain development.

    […] FOCAC 2024 put these complications [including whether Western nations can expand their refining capacities at home despite the potential for environmental and community pushback] in stark relief because it highlighted an increased sense of synergy and coordination around green energy and critical mineral value addition in the China-Africa relationship. A similar focus is developing between the continent and its Western partners. The question now is whether the continent will be able to wield both sets of relationships to its own benefit, even as great-power tensions over critical minerals heat up. [Source]

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Assistance Available for Self-Employed Floridians

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: FEMA Assistance Available for Self-Employed Floridians

    FEMA Assistance Available for Self-Employed Floridians

    FEMA assistance can help people who are self-employed, including artists, musicians and mechanics. Independent contractors are considered self-employed.To be considered for FEMA assistance, you must be a resident of or work in a county designated for FEMA Individual Assistance following Hurricanes Milton, Helene or Debby. You must also have had damage or losses as a result of the Florida hurricanes.Eligible Occupational ToolsFEMA can help replace tools and equipment required for self-employment, or not provided by an employer but required for employment. Eligible tools may include: Computers Equipment such as power tools, art materials, musical instruments, tractors, utility vehicles, lawnmowers and ladders Uniforms You may be reimbursed for these items if they were damaged by the disaster, you do not have another working piece of equipment or item, and the loss was not covered by insurance. An inspection is required to review the damage to essential tools/materials. If you have damage to personal property or essential tools, include this information on your FEMA application and notify the inspector of damage at the time of inspection.Required DocumentsTo be eligible for self-employment assistance, apply for FEMA assistance. When you apply, include: Documentation that proves you’re self-employed, such as a tax return Insurance documents for all potential coverages and benefits Itemized receipts or estimates for repairing or replacing the requested items A written statement that explains you need the items for self-employment How to Apply for FEMA AssistanceHomeowners and renters are encouraged to apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by using the FEMA App. You may also apply by phone at 800-621-3362. If you choose to apply by phone, please understand wait times may be longer because of increased volume for multiple recent disasters. Lines are open every day and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance go to FEMA Accessible: Applying for Individual Assistance – YouTube.If you applied to FEMA after Hurricanes Debby or Helene and have additional damage from Hurricane Milton, you will need to apply separately for Milton and provide the dates of your most recent damage.For the latest information about Hurricane Milton recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4834. For Hurricane Helene recovery information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4828. For Hurricane Debby recovery information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4806. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fema.###FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters.
    wesley.lagenour
    Mon, 11/04/2024 – 18:48

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rubio Calls Out PwC for Appeasing Communist China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

    The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to increase scrutiny of Western auditing and consulting firms, including global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

    Instead of distancing itself from Communist China, PwC has opted to strengthen its relationship with the regime. Notably, PwC’s China division has consulted for government officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Beijing is committing genocide against Uyghurs and other groups, appointed an apparent CCP member to the head of its China operations, and aligned itself with Beijing’s strategic goals by openly supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to PwC Global Chairman Mohamed Khande expressing concern over the company’s ties to the CCP and demanding answers on the threat those ties pose to U.S. interests.  

    • “Simultaneous engagements with foreign adversaries are unacceptable. PwC’s apparent deep connections with CCP-controlled entities raise questions about conflicts of interest that could preclude PwC from executing any contract for U.S. federal and state government agencies with fidelity.
    • “Global firms, such as PwC, who have grown prosperous from a free and democratic order governed by American values, can no longer seek to cater to, and profit from, both sides of this conflict.”

    The full text of the letter is below.

    Dear Mr. Khande:

    I write with regard to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s (PwC) relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government, including Chinese provincial and local government entities, and state-owned companies in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Recently, media outlets have offered noteworthy coverage of the $62 million fine levied on PwC by China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF). While PwC’s questionable auditing work for Evergrande certainly deserves heightened scrutiny, reports have not adequately grappled with conflicts of interest seemingly rising from PwC’s deep entanglements with CCP-controlled and – affiliated entities, and, potentially, the Chinese government.

    PwC and its U.S. subsidiaries have a history of providing consulting services for U.S. federal agencies. Yet, mounting evidence suggests that PwC’s East Asia and China division (PwC China) has consulted government officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where Beijing is engaged in an active genocide against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, contracted for numerous state-owned enterprises in China, and openly supported CCP efforts to undermine U.S. economic interests through support for in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

    It is no secret that Chinese regulatory authorities have heightened scrutiny around PwC in the wake of its failure to identify $78 billion in misreported revenues by Evergrande. Key decisions made by PwC’s global leadership during this time suggest a pattern of catering to CCP goals when met with regulatory hostility. Until recently, PwC China boasted dozens of the largest Chinese state-owned enterprises on its list of auditing clients, including the Bank of China, China Railway Group Ltd., PetroChina Co. Ltd., People’s Insurance Company of China, and many others. PwC has lost many of these contracts in recent months, as Chinese regulators have discouraged China-based companies from contracting with PwC for auditing services amid the Evergrande fallout. Yet, to my surprise, as Chinese regulators have taken an increasingly hostile posture toward your firm—and sought to wrest control over Western auditors’ operations in mainland China—PwC has responded with attempts to appease the CCP, rather than decouple and de-risk from communist influence.

    In July 2024, amidst the height of Chinese regulatory scrutiny over PwC’s flawed Evergrande audits, PwC leadership appointed Daniel Li as Chairman of its China and East Asia practice. Li appears to be a member of the CCP and serves on the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The CPPCC is a political instrument that serves atop the CCP’s “united front” system—which is designed to cultivate ties with the entities the Party views as friendly—and steers the CCP’s policy aims. As such, Li’s appointment was a clear effort by PwC to win the trust of CCP authorities amid heightening tension by placing an individual with deep ties to the CCP at the helm of your firm’s China operations. While Hemione Hudson was selected to replace Li at the helm of PwC China last month, Li retains a significant role for PwC China—overseeing your firm’s auditing efforts in China.

    PwC’s deepening ties with the CCP are also evident in your firm’s consulting client selection. The Wall Street Journal reports that, last month, as PwC China’s auditing practice faced hostile regulatory actions over its Evergrande audits, your firm’s consulting unit signed a $200,000 contract with local government authorities in the XUAR. As you know, Beijing is actively committing genocide against Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the region. China’s abhorrent oppression of Uyghurs includes modern-day concentration camps, cultural reprogramming efforts, forced labor, and physical torture. Years of mounting evidence now places the reality of these atrocities beyond a shadow of doubt.

    Perhaps most concerning, PwC appears to have acted to publicly align its client engagements with CCP ambitions. PwC’s website openly boasts of the firm’s “Belt and Road United” project, started by your firm in 2017, with the expressed purpose of supporting China’s BRI. A document describing the initiative plainly states, “PwC aligns with the strategy through ongoing support for the Belt & Road Initiative.” In the same document, PwC further claims to be an “enabling influence,” and declares that PwC will “assist government departments and regulators in constructing and improving financial markets and regulatory systems in favor of the B&R Initiative.” The document also openly references the global reach of PwC’s client base, professing that “PwC is dedicated to sharing the full range of resources and practical experience sourced from across our expansive global network” to support BRI.

    PwC’s “Belt and Road United” project appears to have generated several spin-off initiatives in other PwC offices across the globe. For example, PwC Italy’s webpage advertises your firm’s “China Business Group”—a division of PwC with the self-described aim to “support Chinese companies doing business in Italy and successfully develop their external growth strategy in the Italian market.” The document claims that PwC stands at the ready to “support Chinese/Italian government organisations” and “introduce investment opportunities in Italy for potential Chinese clients.” This language appears to be a thinly-veiled attempt of PwC to court the favor of the CCP and secure contracts with Chinese state-owned enterprises by working to expand the influence and reach of Communist China around the globe.

    As noted, PwC and its U.S. subsidiaries consult for many leading U.S. industries, and the company has received substantial revenue from contracts with the U.S. government. When U.S. federal agencies hire private entities for consultation, it is an expectation that contractors will prioritize the best interests of the United States above all others. Simultaneous engagements with foreign adversaries are unacceptable. PwC’s apparent deep connections with CCP-controlled entities raise questions about conflicts of interest that could preclude PwC from executing any contract for U.S. federal and state government agencies with fidelity.

    Accordingly, I ask that you provide responses, along with supporting documentation, to the following questions no later than November 15, 2024:

    1. Please describe the extent of any existing contracts retained by PwC, or its U.S. subsidiaries and affiliates, to provide consulting services for U.S. state and federal government agencies.
    2. Do PwC, or any of its U.S. subsidiaries and affiliates, intend to pursue contracts with U.S. federal agencies in the future?
    3. Has the CCP, or any direct subdivision of the CCP, ever been a client of PwC or any of its subsidiaries?
    4. Has PwC ever provided consulting services for a China-based client that has concurrently been included on the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1260H List, the Department of Treasury’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, or the Department of Commerce’s Entity List? If so, please provide the following information for each client:
      • Name of the company
      • Nature of the company’s work
      • Nature of company’s relationship with the PRC and CCP
      • Duration of PwC’s consulting relationship with the company
      • Nature of PwC’s work on behalf of the company
    5. Do any of PwC’s current or past China-based clients work in the following sectors: military and civil defense, aerospace and aviation, energy and power generation, critical mineral mining and refining, steel and aluminum, new materials, shipbuilding, electric or gas combustion vehicle production, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, microelectronics, telecommunications, biotechnology, or high-speed rail? If so, please provide the following information for each client:
      • Name of the company
      • Nature of the company’s work
      • Nature of company’s relationship with the PRC and CCP
      • Duration of PwC’s consulting relationship with the company
      • Nature of PwC’s work on behalf of the company
    6. As noted above, brochures and materials on PwC’s website openly boast about the firm’s support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and its work advancing BRI goals in its consulting engagements abroad. Has PwC ever modified or intentionally crafted its consulting recommendations to U.S. clients, including U.S. federal agencies, in order to recommend cooperation with the BRI or portray the PRC’s BRI in a positive light?
    1. PwC performs hundreds of millions of dollars of work each year on behalf of the U.S.
      Government and American taxpayers. Please describe in detail all policies and safeguards PwC has implemented to ensure that work done on behalf of the United States government does not inform the work that your firm does for Chinese government entities and state-owned enterprises.
    2. PwC’s website lists statistics describing the firm’s work in the “Taiwan region.” Does PwC recognize Taiwan as a free and independent nation state?

    The United States of America, our allies, and Western businesses like PwC, face a fundamental threat. As my office has documented, for more than ten years, the CCP has acted on a concerted plan to supplant the United States as the ascendant global economic power, dominating global trade in the industries that will define the 21st century economy.6 This is not just a conflict over size of economies alone, it is also about which values will define our world. The CCP has been all too willing to commit genocide, oppress and censor citizens, and violate economic norms in its pursuit of power. Yet, it seeks to replace American values for the dignity of the human person and representative government with a global system that reflects its own character. Global firms, such as PwC, who have grown prosperous from a free and democratic order governed by American values, can no longer seek to cater to, and profit from, both sides of this conflict.

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New England Doctor Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution Conspiracy

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    A New England doctor pleaded guilty today to conspiring to illegally distribute controlled substances. This is the first joint prosecution of a doctor by the Justice Department’s New England Strike Force and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont.

    “The defendant, a medical doctor based in New England, prescribed drugs to vulnerable patients in exchange for cash, knowing the patients were diverting the drugs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The cases brought by the New England Strike Force, including today’s conviction, demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to holding accountable medical professionals who endanger local communities by putting profits above their patients’ wellbeing.”

    “When we announced the creation of the New England Strike Force, we said we would be focusing on medical professionals who put profits over their patients,” said U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest for the District of Vermont. “Khan is an example of that — a bad apple in a profession that takes an oath to uphold ethical standards and treat patients as you would want to be treated. Putting profits over patients is a severe violation of that oath, and, in this case, a violation of federal criminal law. Today’s guilty plea is another step in holding Khan liable for his illegal conduct.”

    According to court documents, Adnan S. Khan, M.D., 48, of Grantham, New Hampshire, conspired with others to illegally distribute controlled substances through his business, New England Medicine and Counseling Associates (NEMCA), which operated a network of clinics in New England that purportedly provided clinical treatment services for persons suffering from substance use disorder. Khan and a co-conspirator prescribed controlled substances to NEMCA patients despite knowing that their patients were diverting the prescriptions. Khan admitted that he and others required cash for purported office visits to received controlled substance prescriptions and falsified medical records to justify his illegal prescribing practices.

    During the conspiracy, Khan emailed a co-conspirator a Justice Department press release  announcing the creation of the New England Strike Force, a law enforcement partnership whose purpose is to identify and prosecute health care fraud and other criminal schemes impacting the New England region. In response, the co-conspirator stated that it is “clear that [references in the release to] ‘making profit off of patients’ is geared towards folks like us. Curious where this will lead.” Khan then emailed NEMCA staff and stated that “there is a new task force…[for the New England states] on the lookout for medical professionals who are prescribing scheduled meds irresponsib[ly], etc.” Khan warned his staff that “[i]t is not a matter of if someone from such a task force will visit NEMCA but rather a matter of time.” Khan then ordered his staff “NOT to engage or discuss anything [with the  New England Strike Force] about NEMCA, what we do, what we offer, fees, etc.”

    “Rather than providing responsible addiction treatment to his patients, Khan ran his medical practice with the corruption and recklessness of a common drug dealer,” said Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “His actions put patients and the community at risk. Today’s guilty plea is the result of a coordinated effort with our law enforcement partners as we continue our fight against addiction and the opioid epidemic.”

    “Khan and his co-conspirator exploited vulnerable patients and cashed in on the very dependencies he was entrusted to treat,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office. “Today’s plea proves he is no better than a street level drug dealer motivated by pure greed as opposed to the oath he took to ‘first, do no harm’ to his patients. The FBI will continue to work with our partners on the New England Strike Force and U.S. Attorney’s Office to identify and bring to justice any practitioner looking to line their pockets in complete disregard for patient welfare and viability of our healthcare framework.”

    “Our communities deserve honest and trustworthy medical practitioners,” said Acting Diversion Program Manager George J. Lutz Jr. of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s New England Field Division. “Individuals betraying this trust through the illegal prescribing of controlled substances will be fully investigated by the DEA. Today’s guilty plea reinforces the value of the coordinated efforts with our law enforcement partners working alongside prosecutors to hold corrupt and reckless practitioners accountable for their actions.”

    “So many Vermonters have been impacted by the opioid epidemic, which is why we must hold bad actors accountable, particularly physicians who use their prescribing power and their positions of authority to profit from their patients’ pain and suffering,” said Vermont Attorney General Charity R. Clark on behalf of the office’s Medicaid Fraud & Residential Abuse Unit. “I am proud to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Department of Justice in this effort.”

    Khan and a co-conspirator required patients — many of whom were economically disadvantaged — to pay $250 cash in exchange for drug prescriptions, despite many of these patients’ having health care benefit coverage. If a patient could not afford the full cash payment, Khan would lower the dosage of that patient’s prescription. Khan then used funds that he earned from these patients to, among other things, purchase an airplane and multiple properties in New England. Khan would also personally deposit the cash that he received from patients, including deposits in excess of $10,000, at his bank.

    Khan also admitted that he and a co-conspirator discussed their concern that, because pharmacies were no longer willing to fill the prescriptions, NEMCA might lose “dishonest” patients who were “selling their meds.” Khan said that their “honest patients” were “the smaller part of [NEMCA’s] clientele” and advised a co-conspirator that “it’s the diverters [of the drugs that] we need to try to figure out a way to retain.” A co-conspirator emailed Khan, suggesting that they give $100 “scholarships” to patients who owed them money. Khan responded he was “[s]tuck on ‘who’ should get them. S[******] patients owe me so much that $100 won’t even put a dent on their account and they probably won’t appreciate it. Maybe the borderline ones who are just over the $250 threshold? They would probably get on their knees in gratitude.”

    Khan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to illegally distribute controlled substances. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled on a later date. Khan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    As a condition of Khan’s release, he is prohibited from writing prescriptions for controlled substances.

    The HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and Vermont Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Thomas D. Campbell and Danielle H. Sakowski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Gilman for the District of Vermont are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section partners with federal and state law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country to prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    The Vermont Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit receives 75% of its funding from HHS-OIG under a grant award totaling $1,229,616 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25%, totaling $409,870 for federal fiscal year 2024, is funded by the State of Vermont.

    Anyone needing access to opioid treatment services can contact HHS-OIG’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 24/7 National Helpline for referrals to treatment services at 1-800-662-4359.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Chief of Naval Operations Inducted into Rhode Island Italian American Hall of Fame

    Source: United States Navy

    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, a native of Rochester, N.Y., was presented with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame (RIIAHF), in Providence, R.I., Nov. 2.

    RIIAHF, a non-profit organization, honors individuals who have succeeded at the highest of levels in their respective fields, and awards scholarships annually to rising college freshmen.

    Franchetti was one of three Italian Americans honored this year.

    Her full remarks are below:

    “Well, good evening and Senator Reed, thank you very much for your kind introduction and Grazie Millie to Joe Rocco and the entire team here at the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame for this incredible recognition. I also want to recognize my fellow award recipients and also the scholarship recipients, I know our future is bright when I got to see all that you’ve accomplished and I know what you will do in the future. Thanks in part to the scholarships that you’ll be receiving here this evening. Senator Reed, Provost of the Naval War College Mariano, ladies and gentlemen, and our veterans in the audience. I just got to meet 102 year, old Army artilleryman who fought in the Pacific in WWII and a Vietnam War Army nurse.

    It’s really an incredible honor to be with you all here this evening to receive this lifetime Achievement Award. As you just heard and saw in the video, my great grandparents came to America in search of the American dream, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and new opportunities for their families. They arrived with the firm belief and the strongest of convictions that if you worked hard learned, all you could and always did things the right way that you and your family would find success in this new land. My Grandfather Rebello Franchetti, a seasoned Stone Cutter. He lived those values. As did my grandmother Chiarina Rhea the matriarch of our family. Together, they laid a strong foundation for my father, Lawrence Franchetti to be the very first person in my family, to go to college, to become an engineer and find his own success as a plant manager. Through the example that they set, they passed on to me, the values, the values that I have now passed on to my own college freshman, Isabel Marie Franchetti, Who studied Italian and learned about our Italian Heritage first-hand when we lived in Bella Napoli as part of our Navy Journey. There is no doubt that these values and the love and the support of my family laid the foundation for my success, as a naval officer, and as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. But there’s also no doubt that this award and really my every success is owed to our amazing team of Navy Sailors and civilians, people who come from all across the rich fabric of America. People with whom, I’ve had the opportunity to serve over my 39-year career. And as we sit here tonight, enjoying this wonderful evening. Many of those Sailors and Marines are deployed. They’re standing the watch very far from home. In fact, on any given day, roughly, 110, ships, and 70,000 Sailors and Marines are deployed operating all around the world, all around the clock, to preserve our nation’s security and prosperity, to deter our would-be adversaries, and to stand ready to fight and win decisively if called to do so. I could not be more proud of our Navy and Marine Corps team and I hope you’re proud of them too, so send them a big round of applause.

    And those Sailors Marines are also standing the watch alongside amazing allies and partners including the very capable Marina Militare. The Italian Navy, who I’ve had a chance to work with for many many years. And in case, you didn’t see it in the news, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group recently conducted a series of operations with the Italian Carrier Strike Group, led by ITS Cavour in the Indo-Pacific, and I can say with confidence that the partnership between the United States Navy and the Italian Navy grows stronger every single day. So, I want to say thank you again to Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame for this incredible honor tonight. I could not be more proud of my Italian American heritage or more grateful for my family’s values that have always helped pave my way. Thank you very much.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Security News: Turkish National Arrested for Allegedly Conspiring to Violate Venezuela-Related Sanctions

    Source: United States Department of Justice 2

    Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, on Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company.

    “As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.”

    “This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power.  We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted.”

    Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in January 2019.

    According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil, and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

    Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C. is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Latest update on cases of Clade Ib mpox

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirms 2 additional cases of Clade Ib mpox.

    Two cases of Clade Ib mpox have been detected in household contacts of the first case, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) can confirm. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3.

    The 2 patients are currently under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. The risk to the UK population remains low.

    There has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any further confirmed cases.

    Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said:

    Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.

    The overall risk to the UK population remains low. We are working with partners to make sure all contacts of the cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread.

    Contacts of all 3 cases are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. All contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.

    Previous

    30 October 2024

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox. The risk to the UK population remains low.

    This is the first detection of this Clade of mpox in the UK. It is different from mpox Clade II that has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, primarily among gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (GBMSM).

    UKHSA, the NHS and partner organisations have well tested capabilities to detect, contain and treat novel infectious diseases, and while this is the first confirmed case of mpox Clade Ib in the UK, there has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any confirmed cases.

    The case was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit. They had recently travelled to countries in Africa that are seeing community cases of Clade Ib mpox. The UKHSA and NHS will not be disclosing any further details about the individual.

    Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. Any contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.

    UKHSA is working closely with the NHS and academic partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and further assess the risk to human health. While the existing evidence suggests mpox Clade Ib causes more severe disease than Clade II, we will continue to monitor and learn more about the severity, transmission and control measures. We will initially manage Clade Ib as a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) whilst we are learning more about the virus.

    Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said:

    It is thanks to our surveillance that we have been able to detect this virus. This is the first time we have detected this Clade of mpox in the UK, though other cases have been confirmed abroad.

    The risk to the UK population remains low, and we are working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce the risk of any potential spread. In accordance with established protocols, investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases.

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said:

    I am extremely grateful to the healthcare professionals who are carrying out incredible work to support and care for the patient affected.

    The overall risk to the UK population currently remains low and the government is working alongside UKHSA and the NHS to protect the public and prevent transmission.

    This includes securing vaccines and equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools they need to respond to cases safely.

    We are also working with our international partners to support affected countries to prevent further outbreaks.

    Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccination and screening, said:

    The NHS is fully prepared to respond to the first confirmed case of this clade of mpox.

    Since mpox first became present in England, local services have pulled out all the stops to vaccinate those eligible, with tens of thousands in priority groups having already come forward to get protected, and while the risk of catching mpox in the UK remains low, if required the NHS has plans in place to expand the roll out of vaccines quickly in line with supply.

    Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent months and there have been cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany.

    Clade Ib mpox was detected by UKHSA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

    Common symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last 2 to 4 weeks. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

    The infection can be passed on through close person-to-person contact with someone who has the infection or with infected animals and through contact with contaminated materials. Anyone with symptoms should continue to avoid contact with other people while symptoms persist.

    The UK has an existing stock of mpox vaccines and last month announced further vaccines are being procured to support a routine immunisation programme to provide additional resilience in the UK. This is in line with more recent independent JCVI advice.

    Working alongside international partners, UKHSA has been monitoring Clade Ib mpox closely since the outbreak in DRC first emerged, publishing regular risk assessment updates.

    The wider risk to the UK population remains low.

    UKHSA has published its first technical briefing on clade I mpox which provides further information on the current situation and UK preparedness and response.

    Updates to this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Committee updated on new waste management collection services

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    At today’s (Monday 4 November) meeting of the Black Isle and Easter Ross Committee members were provided with an update on the phased implementation of the Recycling Improvement Funded waste and recycling service change project.

    Black Isle and Easter Ross was the first area where service change was introduced earlier this year. In April and May householders received a new grey 140 litre non-recyclable waste bin and silver food waste caddies were delivered to properties in food waste areas:

    Muir of Ord 1251; Strathpeffer 497; Munlochy 264; Avoch 531; Fortrose and Rosemarkie 1158; Culbokie 337; Invergordon 1767; Alness 2816; Dingwall 2396; Evanton 612; Maryburgh and Conon Bridge 1491; North Kessock 608.

    In other non-food waste areas, a new grey 180 litre non-recyclable waste bin was provided. In all areas, the green bin was successfully changed to a mixed plastic and metal containers recycling bin, and the blue bin was changed to a paper, card and cardboard recycling bin.

    The Committee members were told that the overall response from householders and businesses has been very positive, demonstrating the communication and engagement with the public has been well received and understood. 

    Importantly, early data shows an encouraging reduction in non-recycling waste being sent for disposal.

    Since the service change, there has been a reduction of around 30% in the amount of kerbside non-recyclable waste collected in Easter Ross. Participation in the new weekly food waste collection service is also very high

    Chair of the Committee, Councillor Lynsey Johnston said: “Now the rollout of the new collection service changes in our area is complete, I’d like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of the waste and recycling team and to thank the public for their support.

    “I think we have all got into the new swing of what goes in what bin and when they are collected. It is very encouraging to see from the figures, that in a relatively short time the changes are reducing the amount of waste that is being sent for disposal.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Dingwall & Seaforth place planning community event 

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    A public drop-in session is being held on Thursday 7 November from 12 noon until 7pm in The Royal British Legion, Dingwall with displays of options for the future masterplanning for the Dingwall & Seaforth area.  Council officers and other partners will be on hand to explain the proposals and answer any questions.  

    An integral part of the day includes the Mid-Ross Community Partnership hosting its Community Networking Event from 2pm – 4pm.  Local groups and organisations will be available to showcase their activities and projects, with the opportunity to network, connect and explore potential partnership working. 

    Communities & Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: “The collaborative community event this Thursday is an excellent opportunity for the public to come along and find out more about the future masterplanning for the area and ask questions and suggest ideas. It also opens the opportunity to connect and discuss further partnership working within our communities.”

    Plans on display and for discussion are:

    Highland Investment Plan – A Masterplan for Dingwall – In May 2024 Highland Council approved the £2.1 billion twenty-year Highland Investment Plan.

    This is a highly significant, long term infrastructure investment programme for the Highland area and is a radical solution to the significant challenges the Council faces in reducing, maintaining, and renewing our asset base, and is closely linked to plans to modernise Council service delivery.  A key element of this approach will be to establish Community Points of Delivery which will be places where a wide range of Council services, including education, can be delivered alongside other partner and community services as part of a future integrated operating model for partnership working.

    Dingwall has been selected as one of the priority locations to develop a local place-based masterplan and this event will provide an opportunity to view the work that has been carried out to date and to gather feedback from members of the community.

    There will be short presentations on the Highland Investment Plan (HIP) at 12.30pm and 4.30pm.  As well as the drop-in event on 7 November, two virtual online public events have also been arranged for 12 and 13 November at 7pm on MS Teams. A presentation will be shown online and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Anyone wishing to join can request a link to the meetings from CLestates@highland.gov.uk 

    For those unable to attend the session on Thursday or the on-line events, there will be information available at https://engagehighland.co.uk/hub-page/dingwall-and-seaforth where you can answer questions or leave ideas

    Highland Local Development Plan (HLDP) – The Highland Council is gathering evidence including the views of the public and local organisations to help formulate a new, statutory land use plan for Highland. This Plan will shape future planning application and other building investment decisions. This event will display and present the information we think is relevant to the future planning of Dingwall, Conon Bridge, Maryburgh, Muir of Ord, Tore and the wider area but we want your views on what else we should consider. Planning staff will be available to discuss the Plan and explain how to find out more and make comment. There will be short presentations on the HLDP at 1pm and 5pm.  For those that can’t make the event then more details of the Plan are available via www.highland.gov.uk/hldp

    Dingwall & Seaforth Area Place Plan (APP) – Final drafts of the Dingwall & Seaforth Area Place Plan will be available.  This plan captures the priorities for the area set out in other plans and those identified through the past 5 months community engagement sessions.  The APP provides the basis for place-centred service delivery and will act as a tool for funders, guiding investment into the area.  There will be timed presentations on the APP at 2.30pm and 6pm.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Hearing of Commissioner-designate Maroš Šefčovič

    Source: European Parliament

    On Monday, the International Trade and Constitutional Affairs committees questioned Šefčovič, Slovak candidate for Trade and Economic Security/ Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.

    The committee chairs and political group coordinators will meet without delay to assess the performance and qualification of the Commissioner-designate.

    In his introductory statement, Mr Šefčovič reminded MEPs that trade is “marked by stark competition over disruptive new technologies,  and the weaponisation of economic dependencies”, making trade a “geostrategic tool”.  With the US election imminent, the Commissioner-designate said: “Regardless of the outcome of the US elections, I will put forward an offer of cooperation”. He added that the EU will have to solve its disputes with the US, citing steel and aluminium, and protectionist elements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

    On inter-institutional relations, he committed to enhancing the Commission’s cooperation with Parliament, not least through the soon to be revamped Framework Agreement. Mr Šefčovič also referred to a Commission’s commitment to follow-up on Parliament’s indirect legislative initiatives, ensure that comprehensive justification would be provided for the use of the extraordinary procedure of Article 122, and facilitate progress on Parliament’s call for a full right of inquiry. Further, he announced an expansion of the EU’s Transparency Register’s scope “to all managers”.

    China

    Mr Šefčovič described China as the most challenging trading partner, one with which the EU needs to rebalance its relationship. He told MEPs that, after EU’s duties on electric vehicles made in China, in place since last week, Commission negotiators are now in talks with Chinese counterparts on price undertakings. “EU is not interested in trade wars, we are looking for rebalancing our relationship with China in areas where we feel our relationship is not fair,” Mr Šefčovič said, citing overcapacity, subsidies, and the lack of level playing field.

    Mercosur, Israel  and FTAs

    MEPs grilled the Commissioner-designate over the ongoing negotiations with Mercosur countries, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Mr Šefčovič pledged to continue work on free trade agreements (FTA) with Mexico and Australia, and said he wants the EU to be more present in Thailand, the Philippines and India. Responding to MEPs, he pointed to the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) with Angola and the Economic Partnership Agreement with Kenya as new types of agreements that could help the EU.

    Asked by MEPs if the EU was breaching international law as it keeps its trade ties with Israel under the EU-Israel association agreement, Mr Šefčovič said that the agreement “can be changed only by unanimity” among member states.

     

    Priorities for interinstitutional relations

    Many MEPs highlighted the importance of treaty change based on Parliament’s proposals which were inspired by the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Commissioner-designate said that the key to moving forward on this is getting a clear position by the European Council: they will work with the new presidency of Antonio Costa to this aim.

    The debate revolved around the need for reforms to prepare for enlargement and to activate the “passerelle” clause in key policy areas, as well as transparency, with some MEPs bringing up worrying reports about Commission practices. Other topics included better cooperation with national parliaments and applying the findings of the Draghi report in the EU’s institutional architecture.

    Press point

    At the end of the hearing, the Chair of the Committees of International Trade, Bernd Lange, and Constitutional Affairs, Sven Simon, held a press point outside the meeting room: watch it here.

    Next steps

    Based on the committee recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (EP President Metsola and political group chairs) is set to conduct the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, the evaluation letters will be published.

    The election by MEPs of the full college of Commissioners (by a majority of the votes cast, by roll-call) is currently scheduled to take place during the 25-28 November plenary session in Strasbourg.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Water security in the EU – E-002133/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    17.10.2024

    Question for written answer  E-002133/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Dan-Ştefan Motreanu (PPE)

    According to an October 2024 report by the European Environment Agency[1], only 37 % of the EU’s surface water bodies have reached a ‘good’ or ‘high’ ecological status, which reflects the overall health of the EU’s aquatic ecosystems.

    Surface waters face multiple threats, including air pollution from sources such as coal burning and vehicle emissions, as well as pollution from agricultural activity, which releases harmful waste into the soil.

    What actions does the Commission plan to take to strengthen efforts aimed at restoring the EU’s rivers, lakes, coastal waters and other key bodies of water, to ensure the long-term security and resilience of this essential resource?

    Submitted: 17.10.2024

    • [1] European Environment Agency, Europe’s state of water 2024: the need for improved water resilience, 15 October 2024, https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/europes-state-of-water-2024.
    Last updated: 4 November 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thales: Launch of the 2024 Employee Share Ownership Plan

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Thales: Launch of the 2024
    Employee Share Ownership Plan

    Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) announces the launch of its 2024 employee share ownership plan, running from Monday 4 November to Friday 24 November 2024. This offer is available to Thales employees across 36 countries who are participants in the Group Savings Plan and have at least three months of seniority as of 24 November 24 2024, as well as to the company’s retirees. ​

    The plan offers a 20% discount on the Thales share price, along with a 50% matching contribution on personal investment up to a maximum of €500, funded by Thales. ​

    The objective of this plan is to strengthen the bond between Thales and its employees by providing them with the opportunity to become more closely associated with the Group’s goals, performance, and future successes.

    Terms of the 2024 Employee Share Ownership Plan

    This share offer is available to employees in France, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey who are eligible and participate in the Group Savings Plan. ​

    In the United Kingdom, Thales shares will be offered through a Share Incentive Plan (SIP).

    Offered Shares ​

    The Thales share offer to Group employees will be conducted through the transfer of existing treasury shares previously repurchased by Thales under a share buyback programme authorised by the shareholders’ general meeting in accordance with Article L. 22-10-62 of the French Commercial Code. The transfer of shares to employees and retirees participating in the Group Savings Plan will be carried out under the provisions of Articles L. 3332-18 and following of the French Labour Code, except for the offer in the United Kingdom, where it will be conducted under an SIP. ​

    On 3 April 2024, the Board of Directors decided to implement this employee share ownership plan and delegated the necessary powers to the Chairman and CEO for its execution. In line with the Board’s decision, the offer will cover a maximum of 600,000 shares, with a cost cap of €31 million (including the discount and matching contributions in the employee share ownership plan and SIP matching contributions).

    The Chairman and CEO, by delegation from the Board of Directors, set the subscription period dates and acquisition price by decision on 28 October 2024. The acquisition price is set at 80% of the reference price. ​

    The reference price, noted by the Chairman and CEO on 28 October 2024, is the average of Thales’s opening share prices on the Euronext Paris market over the twenty (20) trading days preceding this date, amounting to €149.61. Accordingly, the acquisition price for employees is €119.69. For the offer in the United Kingdom, the acquisition price will be determined in accordance with the applicable SIP rules. ​

    The shares acquired by offer participants, being existing ordinary shares, are fully assimilated with the existing ordinary shares that make up Thales’s share capital. ​

    Offer Conditions

    • Eligible Offer Participants: The offer is open to employees of the included companies who are part of the Group Savings Plan, regardless of their employment contract (permanent or fixed-term, full-time or part-time) and with a minimum of three months’ seniority. Retirees and early retirees from Thales’s French companies who joined the Group Savings Plan prior to their departure are also eligible, provided they have maintained holdings in the Group Savings Plan since retirement or early retirement. ​
    • Included Companies:
      • Thales, with share capital of €617 825 739, headquartered at 4 rue de la Verrerie, 92190 Meudon, France, and ​
      • Thales Group companies in which Thales holds, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the share capital, with headquarters in France, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey, who are (or will be) participants in the Group Savings Plan.
    • Participation Methods: Shares will be acquired through employee mutual funds (FCPE) or directly, depending on the country, and via a Trust within the SIP framework. ​
    • Share Purchase Formula: Employees may acquire Thales shares through a classic subscription formula. Employees will receive a 50% matching contribution from their employer on their subscription amount, capped at a maximum contribution of €500. ​
    • Voting Rights: Voting rights attached to the shares will be exercised by the FCPE supervisory board in FCPE countries, and directly by employees in countries where shares are held directly.
    • Subscription Cap: Annual contributions by offer beneficiaries to the Group Savings Plan may not exceed a quarter of their gross annual salary, in accordance with Article L.3332-10 of the French Labour Code. ​
    • Share Retention Requirement: Employees participating in the offer must retain their corresponding FCPE shares or directly held shares for five years, except in cases of early release as defined by Article R. 3334-22 of the French Labour Code or local regulations. For shares acquired through the SIP in the United Kingdom, the retention conditions differ depending on the share type (partnership or matching shares).

    Indicative Operation Timeline ​

    • Subscription Period: From 4 November 2024 (inclusive) to 24 November 2024 (inclusive). ​
    • Offer Settlement Delivery: Scheduled for 17 December 2024. ​

    Listing ​

    Thales shares are listed on the Euronext Paris market (ISIN Code: FR0000121329).

    This press release has been prepared in accordance with the exemption from publication of a prospectus provided for in Article 1.4(i) of Prospectus Regulation 2017/1129.

    International Notice

    This release does not constitute a sales offer or a solicitation to acquire Thales shares. The Thales employee share offer will be conducted only in countries where such an offer has been registered or notified to the relevant local authorities and/or approved by a local authority prospectus, or where an exemption applies regarding the need for a prospectus or offer registration or notification. ​

    More generally, the offer will only take place in countries where all required registration procedures and notifications have been completed, and necessary authorisations obtained. For residents of Israel, the offer is conducted in accordance with the Information Document available on the website dedicated to the offer.

    About Thales

    Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies specialized in three business domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Cybersecurity & Digital identity.

    It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.

    The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key innovation areas such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, cloud technologies and 6G.

    Thales has close to 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Whitehorse — RCMP investigate a vehicle entering open water on Lake Laberge

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Content warning this information may be distressing.

    Whitehorse RCMP received a report on January 25, 2025 at 1:06 am that a vehicle had submerged in Lake Laberge with occupants inside. Whitehorse RCMP, Whitehorse Fire Department, and Yukon Emergency Medical Services responded.

    A group of people using two separate vehicles were ice fishing on Lake Laberge. It was reported to police that one vehicle drove into open water with three occupants inside. The vehicle submerged and only two occupants were able to safely make it from the vehicle.

    Police continue to investigate this tragic event with the assistance of the Yukon Coroner’s Service.

    Whitehorse Detachment General Investigation Section recommends, if possible, to avoid Lake Laberge while investigators are on scene. This investigation will involve a complex and lengthy recovery operation that will likely span over several days and will involve assistance of the British Columbia RCMP Underwater Recovery Team.

    Our thoughts go out to the family, and those involved, at this most difficult time.

    MIL Security OSI –