Category: Universities

MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 18, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 18, 2025.

Saving species starts at home: how you can help Australia’s 1,000 threatened invertebrates
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Umbers, Associate Professor in Zoology, Western Sydney University Atlas Moth (_Attacus wardi_) Garry Sankowsky/flickr, CC BY When we think about animals, we tend to think of furry four-legged mammals. But 95% of all animal species are invertebrates – bees, butterflies, beetles, snails, worms, octopuses, starfish, corals,

Matariki and our diminishing night sky: light pollution from cities and satellites is making stars harder to see
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shea Esterling, Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, University of Canterbury Zhang Jianyong/Xinhua via Getty Images This week, Aotearoa New Zealand officially celebrates Matariki for the fourth time, marked by the reappearance in the night sky of the star cluster also known as the Pleiades. Yet, ironically, the

Why a US court allowed a dead man to deliver his own victim impact statement – via an AI avatar
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James D Metzger, Senior Lecturer in Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney Composite image: Arrington Watkins Architects / AI avatar: YouTube/StaceyWales, CC BY In November 2021, in the city of Chandler, Arizona, Chris Pelkey was shot and killed by Gabriel Horcasitas in a road rage altercation. Horcasitas was

What’s the difference between food poisoning and gastro? A gut expert explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic Gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock If you’ve got a dodgy tummy, diarrhoea and have been vomiting, it’s easy to blame a “tummy bug” or “off food”. But which is it? Gastro or food poisoning? What’s the difference anyway? What’s gastroenteritis?

Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes. But they all follow a centuries-old mathematical rule
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodie L. Rummer, Professor of Marine Biology, James Cook University Rachel Moore From hand-sized lantern sharks that glow in the deep sea to bus-sized whale sharks gliding through tropical waters, sharks come in all shapes and sizes. Despite these differences, they all face the same fundamental challenge:

Iran war: from the Middle East to America, history shows you cannot assassinate your way to peace
ANALYSIS: By Matt Fitzpatrick, Flinders University In the late 1960s, the prevailing opinion among Israeli Shin Bet intelligence officers was that the key to defeating the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was to assassinate its then-leader Yasser Arafat. The elimination of Arafat, the Shin Bet commander Yehuda Arbel wrote in his diary, was “a precondition to finding

Solomon Islanders safe but unable to leave Israel amid war on Iran
RNZ Pacific The Solomon Islands Foreign Ministry says five people who completed agriculture training in Israel are safe but unable to come home amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. The ministry said in a statement that the Solomon Islands Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was closely monitoring the situation and maintaining

We tracked Aussie teens’ mental health. The news isn’t good – and problems are worse for girls
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scarlett Smout, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use and Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank, University of Sydney skynesher/Getty Images We know young people in Australia and worldwide are experiencing growing mental health challenges. The most recent national survey

Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels – here’s how
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Australian National University Photo by Jie Zhao/Corbis via Getty Images Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of gas and second largest exporter of coal. When burned overseas, these exports result

Would a corporate tax cut boost productivity in Australia? So far, the evidence is unclear
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University The Conversation, CC BY-NC The first term of the Albanese government was defined by its fight against inflation, but the second looks like it will be defined by a need to kick start Australia’s sluggish productivity growth. Productivity is essentially

How high can US debt go before it triggers a financial crisis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Hartigan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney rarrarorro/Shutterstock The tax cuts bill currently being debated by the US Senate will add another US$3 trillion (A$4.6 trillion) to US debt. President Donald Trump calls it the “big, beautiful bill”; his erstwhile policy adviser Elon Musk called it

Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Cole, Composer and Lecturer in Screen Composition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney Universal Pictures Our experience of the world often involves hearing our environment before seeing it. Whether it’s the sound of something moving through nearby water, or the rustling of vegetation, our fear

As Luxon heads to China, his government’s pivot toward the US is a stumbling block
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago Ahead of his first visit to China, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been at pains to present meetings with Chinese premier Xi Jinping and other leaders as advancing New Zealand’s best interests. But there is arguably a

The story of the journalist on the Rainbow Warrior’s last voyage, David Robie
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – In April 2025, several of the Greenpeace crew visited Matauri Bay, Northland, the final resting place of the original flagship, the Rainbow Warrior. This article was one of the reflections pieces written by an oceans communications crew member. COMMENTARY: By Emma Page I was on the

As Israeli attacks draw tit-for-tat missile responses from Iran and shuts Haifa refinery, Gaza genocide continues
Israeli media report that Iranian missile strikes on Haifa oil refinery yesterday killed 3 people and closed down the installation. The Israeli death toll has risen to 24, with 400 injured and more than 2700 people displaced. Israeli authorities report 370 missiles fired by Iran in total, 30 reaching their targets. Iranian military report they

View from the Hill: Cancelled Albanese-Trump meeting a setback on tariffs, AUKUS
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese’s failure to get his much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump is not the prime minister’s fault, nor should it be characterised as a “snub” by the president. There was always a risk of derailment by outside events,

Decoding PNG leader Marape’s talks with French President Macron
ANALYSIS: By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG’s geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence of national interests. The “deepening relationship” is less about a single personality and more about a calculated alignment of

There’s a new ban on vaping in childcare centres, but what else do we need to keep kids safe?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harper, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney On Monday, the federal government announced new rules to boost safety in the early childhood sector. From September there will be mandatory reporting of any allegations or incidents of child physical or sexual abuse within

Regime change wouldn’t likely bring democracy to Iran. A more threatening force could fill the vacuum
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University The timing and targets of Israel’s attacks on Iran tell us that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s short-term goal is to damage Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to severely diminish its weapons program. But Netanyahu has made clear another

Why is there so much concern over Iran’s nuclear program? And where could it go from here?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Zala, Senior Lecturer, Politics & International Relations, Monash University Maxar satellite imagery overview of the Fordow enrichment facility located southwest of Tehran. Maxar/Contributor/Getty Images Conflict between Israel and Iran is intensifying, after Israeli airstrikes on key nuclear sites and targeted assassinations last week were followed by

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 18, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 18, 2025.

Saving species starts at home: how you can help Australia’s 1,000 threatened invertebrates
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Umbers, Associate Professor in Zoology, Western Sydney University Atlas Moth (_Attacus wardi_) Garry Sankowsky/flickr, CC BY When we think about animals, we tend to think of furry four-legged mammals. But 95% of all animal species are invertebrates – bees, butterflies, beetles, snails, worms, octopuses, starfish, corals,

Matariki and our diminishing night sky: light pollution from cities and satellites is making stars harder to see
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shea Esterling, Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, University of Canterbury Zhang Jianyong/Xinhua via Getty Images This week, Aotearoa New Zealand officially celebrates Matariki for the fourth time, marked by the reappearance in the night sky of the star cluster also known as the Pleiades. Yet, ironically, the

Why a US court allowed a dead man to deliver his own victim impact statement – via an AI avatar
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James D Metzger, Senior Lecturer in Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney Composite image: Arrington Watkins Architects / AI avatar: YouTube/StaceyWales, CC BY In November 2021, in the city of Chandler, Arizona, Chris Pelkey was shot and killed by Gabriel Horcasitas in a road rage altercation. Horcasitas was

What’s the difference between food poisoning and gastro? A gut expert explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic Gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock If you’ve got a dodgy tummy, diarrhoea and have been vomiting, it’s easy to blame a “tummy bug” or “off food”. But which is it? Gastro or food poisoning? What’s the difference anyway? What’s gastroenteritis?

Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes. But they all follow a centuries-old mathematical rule
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodie L. Rummer, Professor of Marine Biology, James Cook University Rachel Moore From hand-sized lantern sharks that glow in the deep sea to bus-sized whale sharks gliding through tropical waters, sharks come in all shapes and sizes. Despite these differences, they all face the same fundamental challenge:

Iran war: from the Middle East to America, history shows you cannot assassinate your way to peace
ANALYSIS: By Matt Fitzpatrick, Flinders University In the late 1960s, the prevailing opinion among Israeli Shin Bet intelligence officers was that the key to defeating the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was to assassinate its then-leader Yasser Arafat. The elimination of Arafat, the Shin Bet commander Yehuda Arbel wrote in his diary, was “a precondition to finding

Solomon Islanders safe but unable to leave Israel amid war on Iran
RNZ Pacific The Solomon Islands Foreign Ministry says five people who completed agriculture training in Israel are safe but unable to come home amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. The ministry said in a statement that the Solomon Islands Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was closely monitoring the situation and maintaining

We tracked Aussie teens’ mental health. The news isn’t good – and problems are worse for girls
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scarlett Smout, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use and Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank, University of Sydney skynesher/Getty Images We know young people in Australia and worldwide are experiencing growing mental health challenges. The most recent national survey

Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels – here’s how
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Australian National University Photo by Jie Zhao/Corbis via Getty Images Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of gas and second largest exporter of coal. When burned overseas, these exports result

Would a corporate tax cut boost productivity in Australia? So far, the evidence is unclear
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University The Conversation, CC BY-NC The first term of the Albanese government was defined by its fight against inflation, but the second looks like it will be defined by a need to kick start Australia’s sluggish productivity growth. Productivity is essentially

How high can US debt go before it triggers a financial crisis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Hartigan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney rarrarorro/Shutterstock The tax cuts bill currently being debated by the US Senate will add another US$3 trillion (A$4.6 trillion) to US debt. President Donald Trump calls it the “big, beautiful bill”; his erstwhile policy adviser Elon Musk called it

Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Cole, Composer and Lecturer in Screen Composition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney Universal Pictures Our experience of the world often involves hearing our environment before seeing it. Whether it’s the sound of something moving through nearby water, or the rustling of vegetation, our fear

As Luxon heads to China, his government’s pivot toward the US is a stumbling block
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago Ahead of his first visit to China, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been at pains to present meetings with Chinese premier Xi Jinping and other leaders as advancing New Zealand’s best interests. But there is arguably a

The story of the journalist on the Rainbow Warrior’s last voyage, David Robie
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – In April 2025, several of the Greenpeace crew visited Matauri Bay, Northland, the final resting place of the original flagship, the Rainbow Warrior. This article was one of the reflections pieces written by an oceans communications crew member. COMMENTARY: By Emma Page I was on the

As Israeli attacks draw tit-for-tat missile responses from Iran and shuts Haifa refinery, Gaza genocide continues
Israeli media report that Iranian missile strikes on Haifa oil refinery yesterday killed 3 people and closed down the installation. The Israeli death toll has risen to 24, with 400 injured and more than 2700 people displaced. Israeli authorities report 370 missiles fired by Iran in total, 30 reaching their targets. Iranian military report they

View from the Hill: Cancelled Albanese-Trump meeting a setback on tariffs, AUKUS
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese’s failure to get his much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump is not the prime minister’s fault, nor should it be characterised as a “snub” by the president. There was always a risk of derailment by outside events,

Decoding PNG leader Marape’s talks with French President Macron
ANALYSIS: By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG’s geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence of national interests. The “deepening relationship” is less about a single personality and more about a calculated alignment of

There’s a new ban on vaping in childcare centres, but what else do we need to keep kids safe?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harper, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney On Monday, the federal government announced new rules to boost safety in the early childhood sector. From September there will be mandatory reporting of any allegations or incidents of child physical or sexual abuse within

Regime change wouldn’t likely bring democracy to Iran. A more threatening force could fill the vacuum
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University The timing and targets of Israel’s attacks on Iran tell us that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s short-term goal is to damage Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to severely diminish its weapons program. But Netanyahu has made clear another

Why is there so much concern over Iran’s nuclear program? And where could it go from here?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Zala, Senior Lecturer, Politics & International Relations, Monash University Maxar satellite imagery overview of the Fordow enrichment facility located southwest of Tehran. Maxar/Contributor/Getty Images Conflict between Israel and Iran is intensifying, after Israeli airstrikes on key nuclear sites and targeted assassinations last week were followed by

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Matariki and our diminishing night sky: light pollution from cities and satellites is making stars harder to see

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shea Esterling, Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, University of Canterbury

Zhang Jianyong/Xinhua via Getty Images

This week, Aotearoa New Zealand officially celebrates Matariki for the fourth time, marked by the reappearance in the night sky of the star cluster also known as the Pleiades.

Yet, ironically, the accompanying celebrations and the legislation that declares Matariki a public holiday miss the mark. They fail to promote and protect the country’s dark skies, which are crucial to seeing the stars in this small constellation.

While the law recognises Matariki’s significance to Māori culture and heritage as the beginning of the Māori New Year, it does not acknowledge that it is predicated on the visual presence of the star cluster.

Even where Matariki is not visible owing to weather conditions, the ability to see other celestial markers is important (for example Puanga/Puaka, also known as Rigel). Light pollution is a visual barrier to experiencing these important stars.

Since the passage of the legislation, local councils across the country have marked the public holiday with various light displays. This year will be no different, with illuminated artworks, projections and lightboxes at Matariki festivals in several cities.

Tirama Mai (bringing the light) will return to Ōtautahi Christchurch with brightly lit displays. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland will see some of its most popular sites, including Queen Street, lit up as part of Tūrama, a series of large-scale, illuminated art installations.

In Rotorua, Whakatū Nelson and Ōtepoti Dunedin, Matariki festivities include spectacular drone light shows which will light up the night sky.

After initially ignoring Māori advice that fireworks are not appropriate to celebrate Matariki, many local councils have now abandoned them. But festivities will no doubt continue to contribute to light pollution and ignore the need to protect dark skies at night.

These ill-conceived festivities are not surprising given the legislation fails to even mention dark skies. This is exacerbated by New Zealand emerging as a major player in the increasingly commercialised space sector which has developed rapidly since the first rocket lifted off from Mahia peninsula in 2017.

Matariki light displays illuminate Wellington’s waterfront.
Shutterstock/1124265605

Fewer people can now see the Milky Way

Much of Aotearoa’s landmass has some of the darkest skies on the planet. Based on land area, 74% of the North Island and 93% of the South Island rest beneath night skies that are either pristine or degraded only near the horizon. Indeed, the area affected by direct illumination is very low.

Yet, intense urbanisation means only 3% of the population regularly experience such skies. About half of all New Zealanders can no longer see the Milky Way in winter.

Globally, the visibility of stars (an indicator of the level of light pollution) decreased by 7-10% per year from 2011 to 2022. The visibility of the night sky in New Zealand appears to be following a similar trend. Between 2012 and 2021, the area affected by light pollution grew at a rate of 4.2% above the global average.

Advertising and tourism campaigns reinforce the perception that Aotearoa has dark skies, but visible satellites could soon outnumber the stars people can see, from New Zealand and worldwide.

No legal protection of dark skies

At present, there is no explicit domestic law protecting dark skies, nor any international laws. The law declaring Matariki a public holiday missed an important opportunity to provide such protection.

To address this issue, a petition was presented to parliament in January 2023 calling for national legislation to promote and protect dark skies. In March this year, parliament responded it would not take further actions “due to other priorities on the government’s resource management reform work programme”.

This is not surprising. Nevertheless, we call on the government to develop legislation for the governance of dark skies in Aotearoa New Zealand that incorporates mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge).

While there are a variety of ways this could be achieved, controlling light pollution is the crux of the issue. Light pollution emanates both from unmitigated urban lighting as well as the expansion of satellite constellations, which is steadily forming a global net of moving points of light in space.

An incremental approach could be a government-backed education programme to raise awareness of light pollution, followed by the development of a national policy for its control. An amendment to the Matariki public holiday law could then follow in recognition of the national interest.

We are aware the challenges ahead are many. Yet, protecting dark skies is vital from a Māori perspective. Practically, such protections are crucial to the enjoyment and honouring of Matariki as we continue to risk disconnection from one of our most important natural features.

Shea Esterling receives funding from the Borrin Foundation.

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

– ref. Matariki and our diminishing night sky: light pollution from cities and satellites is making stars harder to see – https://theconversation.com/matariki-and-our-diminishing-night-sky-light-pollution-from-cities-and-satellites-is-making-stars-harder-to-see-258169

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Saving species starts at home: how you can help Australia’s 1,000 threatened invertebrates

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Umbers, Associate Professor in Zoology, Western Sydney University

Atlas Moth (_Attacus wardi_) Garry Sankowsky/flickr, CC BY

When we think about animals, we tend to think of furry four-legged mammals. But 95% of all animal species are invertebrates – bees, butterflies, beetles, snails, worms, octopuses, starfish, corals, spiders and many many more. These creatures make us happy, pollinate flowers, keep soils healthy, clean water, build reefs, maintain oceans and bring colour and wonder to our homes, cities, farms and wild places.

Sadly, almost 1,000 Australian invertebrates are threatened with extinction and need protecting. These species are on one or more official lists, including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Species IUCN Red List, Australia’s national list of threatened fauna, and state and territory lists. Many more unnamed and unassessed species are likely in trouble.

When a mammal or bird goes extinct in Australia, it’s big news. But invertebrates have gone extinct much more frequently – and with much less attention. Since colonisation, an estimated 9,000 invertebrates have gone extinct – and one or two more go extinct every week.

Invertebrates face five big challenges: climate change, habitat destruction, natural resource extraction, pollution and invasive species. For the most part, efforts to conserve them are in their infancy in Australia, likely due to the historic undervaluing of smaller animals and little critters. There are shining exceptions such as the incredible conservation success of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, but such examples are vanishingly rare.

The good news? Because invertebrates live everywhere, the opportunity to help is often literally on our doorsteps. Simple actions can help, such as planting native species, leaving logs in the garden and avoiding insecticides.

Meet some of the threatened one thousand

Threatened invertebrates live in every Australian state and territory and in our major cities. Of the almost 1,000 threatened species, 27% are snails and slugs, 25% are insects, 19% are corals, 17% are crayfish and 5% are spiders. Here are some you may come across.

Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa). These moths once filled the night skies in their billions. Now they’re listed as endangered because the cool alpine caves they rely on to escape summer heat are warming with climate change. These migratory moths fly across southern Australia, navigating to their mountain refuges each summer using the stars and earth’s magnetic field. Help map their migration to protect them.

Bogong moths migrate to cool caves in the Australian Alps in summer.
Kate Umbers, CC BY

Atlas moth (Attacus wardi). This giant tropical moth with a 22 cm wingspan is now considered vulnerable due to habitat destruction and introduced weeds. If you live near Darwin, planting the native Atlas Croton tree will help feed its very hungry caterpillars.

Mangrove ant-blue butterfly (Acrodipsas illidgei). These endangered butterflies lay eggs on grey mangrove trees home to acrobat ants (Crematogaster species), which carry the eggs into its nests. When the caterpillars hatch, they eat ant larvae while in turn nourishing the ant colony with sugary secretions. Mangrove destruction, pesticide runoff and threats to their ant partners pose real threats. Protecting mangroves in southeast Queensland and reporting sightings of butterflies and ants on iNaturalist will help.

Illidge’s ant-blue butterfly lives only in mangroves in south-east Queensland.
Braden McDonald/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC-ND

Sydney Hawk dragonfly (Austrocordulia leonardi). This strikingly coloured endangered dragonfly is largely found in Sydney. Changes to local waterways and the deep pools its aquatic larvae need threaten the species. Restoring local waterways will help.

Dural land snails (Pommerhelix duralensis). These endangered snails are found only in north-western Sydney and the lower Blue Mountains. They cruise through leaves and rocks munching on fungi and helping add compost to forest soils. You might catch a glimpse during light rain. Help them by leaving large patches of undisturbed native undergrowth – habitat loss poses the biggest threat.

Dural land snails are found only in northwestern Sydney and the lower Blue Mountains.
Liz Noble/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC-ND

Hairy bee (Leioproctus douglasiellus). This critically endangered burrowing bee lives only in and around Perth. Its numbers have fallen due to habitat loss and pesticides. Leaving patches of open soil in your garden and planting shallow flowers can help these short-tongued bees get nectar.

Giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis). This iconic earthworm can grow up to 1.5 metres long. It only lives in a patch of southern Gippsland in Victoria and is endangered in part due to farming practices such as ploughing. These gentle giants famously gurgle as they move through their tunnels keeping soil healthy. Local landholders can help by leaving patches of land along stream banks as worm conservation habitat.

Tasmanian live-bearing sea stars (Parvulastra vivipara). Most sea stars lay eggs. Not this species, which gives birth to live young. They’re endangered because they live in intertidal waters of south-eastern Tasmania affected by shoreline development and invasive species. Look carefully and you might see one as it grazes on algae-covered rocks. Join local events to tackle invasive species and log any sightings on iNaturalist.

The Tasmanian live-bearing sea star gives birth to live young.
John Eichler/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC-ND

A brighter future for bugs

Invertebrates bring us delight and wonder. Here’s how we can help those in trouble.

Plant flowers. Providing food for pollinators and other wonderful flower-visiting insects can help year-round.

Keep part of your garden a bit wild. If you leave logs, leaves and open soil in your garden, you make space for shiny beetles, singing crickets, native bees and other ground-dwellers.

The creek is beautiful. Help restore waterways, make a pond, learn about local water bugs and support local wetlands.

Be clever with pest control. Avoid snail baits and cancel regular broad-spectrum sprays, as these can harm many non-target species. Use critter-friendly alternatives to protect the whole food chain.

Let the stars shine. Switch off lights at night if safe or close your curtains to help nocturnal creatures such as moths and orb-weaving spiders.

Log your sightings. Conservation scientists need as much data as possible on invertebrates to understand how they are doing out there. Upload your bug photos to iNaturalist.

Kate Umbers receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Commonwealth DCCEEW, Hermon Slade Foundation, and Holsworth Foundation. She is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia, Biodiversity Council, co-chair of the IUCN Grasshopper Specialist Group, and is on the Conservation Committee for the Australian Entomological Society.

Kenny Wolfe is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia.

Megan Head is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia.

Shawan Chowdhury is affiliated with Monash University and Invertebrates Australia.

Tanya Latty co-founded and volunteers for conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Saving our Species, and Agrifutures Australia

– ref. Saving species starts at home: how you can help Australia’s 1,000 threatened invertebrates – https://theconversation.com/saving-species-starts-at-home-how-you-can-help-australias-1-000-threatened-invertebrates-258285

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What’s the difference between food poisoning and gastro? A gut expert explains

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic Gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University

Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock

If you’ve got a dodgy tummy, diarrhoea and have been vomiting, it’s easy to blame a “tummy bug” or “off food”.

But which is it? Gastro or food poisoning?

What’s the difference anyway?

What’s gastroenteritis?

Gastroenteritis, or gastro for short, is a gut infection caused by a virus, bacterium or other microbe.

The gut is teeming with cells including healthy microbes and the cells lining the gut. But when viruses, bacteria and other microbes start to invade your gut, they colonise, build up in large numbers and eventually cause the cells lining the gut to inflame. The “-itis” at the end of gastroenteritis means inflammation.

Gastroenteritis is extremely common. In Australia there are an estimated 17.2 million cases a year.

So where do these gastro-causing microbes come from? Eating contaminated food is often the source.

However you can acquire these microbes in other ways. For example, if you touch a surface where someone sick from viral gastroenteritis had vomited on, that virus could transfer to your hands. And if your hands touched your mouth, you in turn could contract viral gastroenteritis.

What’s food poisoning?

Food poisoning refers to getting sick from eating food contaminated with chemicals, microbes or toxins.

For example if you ate food contaminated with insecticides or methyl alcohol (methanol) that would count as food poisoning. If you ate puffer fish or poisonous mushrooms that would count too. But food poisoning doesn’t include the effects of eating a food you’re allergic to.

The vast majority of food poisonings are as a result of food contaminated by microbes and their toxins. When you eat or drink them it’s like a missile strike. The toxins in particular can rapidly cause inflammation and damage the lining of the gut.

To add to the confusion, food poisoning is often referred to as foodborne gastroenteritis.

Food poisoning (or foodborne gastroenteritis) is also common in Australia. It accounts for about one-third of all cases of gastroenteritis or an estimated 5.4 million cases every year.

How can we tell the two apart?

Both gastroenteritis and food poisoning have symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps, fever and headaches. But these symptoms can come on in different ways.

Viral gastroenteritis, such as with norovirus, usually causes symptoms 24–48 hours after exposure, which can last for one to two days.

But food poisoning after eating microbial toxins can come on very quickly. For example, toxins from the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus can cause symptoms within 30 minutes of eating contaminated food, such as undercooked meat. Fortunately, symptoms usually get better within 24 hours.

Symptoms don’t always come on so quickly in all cases of bacterial food poisoning. For example, it can take as long as 70 days between exposure to Listeria and symptoms occurring, although, on average it’s about three weeks. This long incubation period can make it difficult to work out if a particular food is responsible for someone getting sick.

As a general guide food poisoning occurs quite quickly (within hours of eating contaminated food) while gastroenteritis can take a day or more after eating to get sick. But there is no hard and fast rule.

It can take weeks from eating soft cheese contaminated with Listeria before you have symptoms.
In Green/Shutterstock

How do I prevent them?

The same precautions when handling food apply to preventing both gastroenteritis and food poisoning. These steps not only lower your risk of being affected in the first place, they lower your risk of you infecting others.

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before preparing food. Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw and cooked foods to help avoid cross-contamination. Cook food thoroughly and store it at safe temperatures.

Gastroenteritis can involve transmission of microbes through means other than food, for instance, via poo on your hands if you don’t wash your hands after using the toilet or after changing a child’s nappy. So wash your hands afterwards.

To prevent others from becoming sick, make sure you quickly disinfect contaminated surfaces thoroughly after someone vomits or has diarrhoea. First, put on gloves and wash surfaces with hot water and a detergent. Then disinfect using household bleach containing 0.1% hypochlorite.

How can I get better?

Treating both gastroenteritis and food poisoning focuses on preventing dehydration and relieving symptoms.

To avoid dehydration, drink plenty of fluids. For moderate or severe cases, you can buy commercial oral rehydration solution from a pharmacy.

You can also make your own oral rehydration solution by adding 6 teaspoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to a litre of water. You can splash in some cordial for taste.

If symptoms are severe or persist you should see your GP or go to the emergency department.

Read more:
Got gastro? Here’s why eating bananas helps but drinking flat lemonade might not

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

– ref. What’s the difference between food poisoning and gastro? A gut expert explains – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-food-poisoning-and-gastro-a-gut-expert-explains-252730

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes. But they all follow a centuries-old mathematical rule

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodie L. Rummer, Professor of Marine Biology, James Cook University

Rachel Moore

From hand-sized lantern sharks that glow in the deep sea to bus-sized whale sharks gliding through tropical waters, sharks come in all shapes and sizes.

Despite these differences, they all face the same fundamental challenge: how to get oxygen, heat and nutrients to every part of their bodies efficiently.

Our new study, published today in Royal Society Open Science, shows that sharks follow a centuries-old mathematical rule – the two-thirds scaling law – that predicts how body shape changes with size. This tells us something profound about how evolution works – and why size really does matter.

What is the two-thirds scaling law?

The basic idea is mathematical: surface area increases with the square of body length, while volume increases with the cube. That means surface area increases more slowly than volume, and the ratio between the two – crucial for many biological functions – decreases with size.

This matters because many essential life processes happen at the surface: gas exchange in the lungs or gills, such as to take in oxygen or release carbon dioxide, but also heat loss through skin and nutrient uptake in the gut.

These processes depend on surface area, while the demands they must meet – such as the crucial task of keeping the body supplied with oxygen – depend on volume. So, the surface area-to-volume ratio shapes how animals function.

Whale sharks are as big as buses, while dwarf lanternsharks (pictured here) are as small as a human hand.
Chip Clark/Smithsonian Institution

Despite its central role in biology, this rule has only ever been rigorously tested in cells, tissues and small organisms such as insects.

Until now.

Why sharks?

Sharks might seem like an unlikely group for testing an old mathematical theory, but they’re actually ideal.

For starters, they span a huge range of sizes, from the tiny dwarf lantern shark (about 20 centimetres long) to the whale shark (which can exceed 20 metres). They also have diverse shapes and lifestyles – hammerheads, reef-dwellers, deep-sea hunters – each posing different challenges for physiology and movement.

Plus, sharks are charismatic, ecologically important and increasingly under threat. Understanding their biology is both scientifically valuable and important for conservation.

Sharks are ecologically important but are increasingly under threat.
Rachel Moore

How did we test the rule?

We used high-resolution 3D models to digitally measure surface area and volume in 54 species of sharks. These models were created using open-source CT scans and photogrammetry, which involves using photographs to approximate a 3D structure. Until recently, these techniques were the domain of video game designers and special effects artists, not biologists.

We refined the models in Blender, a powerful 3D software tool, and extracted surface and volume data for each species.

Then we applied phylogenetic regression – a statistical method that accounts for shared evolutionary history – to see how closely shark shapes follow the predictions of the two-thirds rule.

Sharks follow the two-thirds scaling rule almost perfectly, as seen in this 3D representation.
Joel Gayford et al

What did we find?

The results were striking: sharks follow the two-thirds scaling rule almost perfectly, with surface area scaling to body volume raised to the power of 0.64 – just a 3% difference from the theoretical 0.67.

This suggests something deeper is going on. Despite their wide range of forms and habitats, sharks seem to converge on the same basic body plan when it comes to surface area and volume. Why?

One explanation is that what are known as “developmental constraints” – limits imposed by how animals grow and form in early life – make it difficult, or too costly, for sharks to deviate from this fundamental pattern.

Changing surface area-to-volume ratios might require rewiring how tissues are allocated during embryonic development, something that evolution appears to avoid unless absolutely necessary.

But why does it matter?

This isn’t just academic. Many equations in biology, physiology and climate science rely on assumptions about surface area-to-volume ratios.

These equations are used to model how animals regulate temperature, use oxygen, and respond to environmental stress. Until now, we haven’t had accurate data from large animals to test those assumptions. Our findings give researchers more confidence in using these models – not just for sharks, but potentially for other groups too.

As we face accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, understanding how animals of all sizes interact with their environments has never been more urgent.

This study, powered by modern imaging tech and some old-school curiosity, brings us one step closer to that goal.

Jodie L. Rummer receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with the Australian Coral Reef Society, as President.

Joel Gayford receives funding from the Northcote Trust.

– ref. Sharks come in many different shapes and sizes. But they all follow a centuries-old mathematical rule – https://theconversation.com/sharks-come-in-many-different-shapes-and-sizes-but-they-all-follow-a-centuries-old-mathematical-rule-259050

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Computers tracking us, an ‘electronic collar’: Gilles Deleuze’s 1990 Postcript on the Societies of Control was eerily prescient

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Cameron Shackell, Sessional Academic, School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology

Our cultural touchstones series looks at influential works.

Gilles Deleuze was one of the most original and imaginative thinkers of postwar France. A lifelong teacher, he spent most of his career at the University of Paris VIII, influencing generations of students but largely shunning the mantle of public intellectual.

His complex, creative books mix philosophy, literature, film and politics – not to give clear answers, but to spark new ways of thinking.

Postscript on the Societies of Control, published 35 years ago in the countercultural L’Autre Journal is Deleuze at his most accessible and prophetic.

Written at a time when the Cold War was ending, computers were becoming more common, and the internet was beginning to connect institutions, the essay describes the emergence of a new kind of society – one not ruled by a single stern voice but by the soft hum of networks.

How societies work

Postscript was written as an update to the work of Deleuze’s contemporary Michel Foucault, who had died in 1984. Deleuze called it a “postscript” not just because of its brevity (it’s only around 2,300 words in English translation) but to highlight he wasn’t refuting Foucault, just building on his work.

Gilles Deleuze.
Tintinades/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA

From the 18th to early 20th centuries, Foucault had argued, Western societies were “disciplinary societies”. Schools, factories, prisons and hospitals – institutions with walls, schedules, routines and clear expectations – moulded behaviour. People were trained, observed, tested and corrected as they passed from one institution to the next.

Read more:
‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50

But in the late 20th century, Deleuze saw something shifting. He thought the stodgy old disciplinary institutions were “in a generalized crisis” due to technological advances and a new form of capitalism that demanded more flexibility in workers and consumers.

New systems of management and technology were starting to reshape people without sending them through traditional institutions. Deleuze wrote presciently, for example, that “perpetual training tends to replace the school, and continuous control to replace the examination”.

In business, he saw a growing idea of “salary according to merit”, transforming work into “challenges, contests, and highly comic group sessions” – something much at odds with the old model of the standard wage and the assembly line. Traditional government institutions like hospitals and the classic factory were embracing the model of the corporation, driven always by a profit motive and the need for better human tools.

To Deleuze, all this meant people were becoming more “free-floating” – they could be still playing socially useful roles but were being gently steered into them. This greater freedom, however, required a new system to keep everyone in line. He called this “modulation” to underline its dynamic, enveloping nature.

Like nudging, but everywhere

Deleuze described modulation as “a self-deforming cast that will continuously change from one moment to the other”. He meant that people were beginning to live in an environment where everything shape-shifts to encourage or discourage us in the right direction without explicitly putting up walls.

A prime example of how modulation has since become commonplace is nudging – the use of psychological techniques, often subtle and data-driven, to shape people’s behaviour.

Nudging didn’t really exist in 1990, but governments and tech companies use nudges all the time now. We’re nudged to eat healthier, buy, save, recycle, donate. Web sites use “dark patterns” – tricky designs that steer (or nudge) us toward certain choices. Social media feeds use algorithms to exclude us if we say the wrong thing. In fact, entire teams of behavioural scientists operate behind the scenes to manipulate many aspects of our lives.

Nudges can be good and can save us from poor choices, but their newfound moral acceptability (sometimes called libertarian paternalism) is very much a clue that Deleuze’s control society has arrived.

Control in your pocket

Deleuze, who died in 1995, wrote Postscript before the advent of the smartphone, but he foresaw that an “electronic collar” would assume a central role in society. He envisaged a “computer that tracks each person’s position – licit or illicit – and effects a universal modulation.”

Smartphones more than fit the bill. In the old disciplinary ways, they track where we go, what we search for, what we buy, how many steps we take, even how well we sleep. But if we apply Deleuze’s ideas to these phones, detailed surveillance is no longer their most important function. Our phones present and curate options.

In effect, they shape how we see the world. When you scroll through news or social media, for instance, you’re reading about a version of the world built just for you, designed to keep you looking, clicking and reacting – and keep you very finely attuned to what is acceptable or dangerous behaviour.

In Deleuze’s terms, this is pure modulation: not a forceful “No” but a softly spoken, “How about this?” Your phone doesn’t lock you in – it draws you in. It shapes what you see, rewards your cooperation, ignores your silence, and always keeps score. And it does this 24/7. You might unlock it hundreds of times a day. And each time it’s updated to guide your next move more precisely.

At the same time our phones quietly turn us into a set of credentials useful for regulating physical access to workplaces, bank accounts, information: In the societies of control, writes Deleuze, “what is important is no longer either a signature or a number, but a code: the code is a password.”

Data points not people?

Deleuze warned that, in a control society: “Individuals have become ‘dividuals,’ and masses have become samples, data, markets, or ‘banks.’” A dividual to Deleuze is a person transformed into a set of data points and metrics.

You are your credit rating, your search history, your likes and clicks – a different dataset to every institution. Such fragments are used to make decisions about you until they effectively replace you. In fact, for Deleuze a dividual has internalised this treatment and thinks of themselves as a net worth, a mortgage size, a car value – psychological anchors for control.

He illustrates this point with healthcare, predicting a

new medicine ‘without doctor or patient’ that singles out potential sick people and subjects at risk, which in no way attests to individuation.

How many health decisions are now made for us collectively before we ever see a doctor? We should be grateful for advances in public health and epidemiology, but this has certainly impacted our individuality and how we are treated.

Hard to detect

An unsettling part of Deleuze’s perspective is that control doesn’t usually feel like control. It’s often dressed up as convenience, efficiency or progress. You set up internet-linked video cameras because then you can work from home. You agree to long terms and conditions because your banking app won’t work otherwise.

One problem is there are no longer clear barriers we can rail against. As Deleuze said:

In disciplinary societies one was always starting again (from school to the barracks, from the barracks to the factory), while in control societies one is never finished with anything.

Control doesn’t always crush – it can enable. Digital networks bring real freedom, economic possibility, even joy. We move more easily – both mentally and geographically – than ever before. But while we move, it always inside a kind of invisible map shaped by capitalism.

It’s no conspiracy because nobody has the whole map. So it’s difficult to work out exactly what action, if any, to take. As Deleuze concludes: “The coils of a serpent are even more complex than the burrows of a molehill.”

So what can we do?

Postscript doesn’t offer a political program beyond the sardonic comment that:

Many young people strangely boast of being ‘motivated’ […] It’s up to them to discover what they’re being made to serve.

There are ways to resist control. Some people demand more privacy or digital rights. Others opt out selectively – logging off, turning off, refusing to be nudged. Some look to art as a way of resisting its smooth grip. These acts – however small – may offer what Deleuze and his collaborator, the French psychiatrist and philosopher Félix Guattari, called lines of flight: creative ways to move not just against control, but beyond it.

The real message of Postscript, however, is its invitation to consider a timeless perspective. Any society must have a way to make people useful. So, what kind of society do we want? What kinds of restrictions are we willing to live under? And, crucial to this current age, how explicit should control be?

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

– ref. Computers tracking us, an ‘electronic collar’: Gilles Deleuze’s 1990 Postcript on the Societies of Control was eerily prescient – https://theconversation.com/computers-tracking-us-an-electronic-collar-gilles-deleuzes-1990-postcript-on-the-societies-of-control-was-eerily-prescient-254579

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: How does Israel’s famous air defence work? It’s not just the ‘Iron Dome’

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By James Dwyer, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania

Israeli defence systems intercept Iranian missiles over the city of Haifa Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images

Late last week, Israel began a wave of attacks on Iran under the banner of Operation Rising Lion, with the stated goal of crippling the Islamic republic’s nuclear program and long-range strike capabilities. At the outset, Israel claimed Iran would soon be able to build nine nuclear weapons, a situation Israel regarded as completely unacceptable.

Following Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and key members of the Iranian armed forces, Iran retaliated with a large barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The first wave consisted of some 200 ballistic missiles and 200 drones.

The conflict continues to escalate, with population centres increasingly being targeted. Israel’s missile defence systems (including the vaunted Iron Dome) have so far staved off most of Iran’s attacks, but the future is uncertain.

Ballistic missiles and how to stop them

Iran possesses a large arsenal of ballistic missiles and long-range drones, alongside other long-range weapons such as cruise missiles. Ballistic missiles travel on a largely fixed path steered by gravity, while cruise missiles can adjust their course as they fly.

Iran is approximately 1,000km from Israel, so the current strikes mostly involve what are classified as medium-range ballistic missiles, alongside long-range drones. It is not clear exactly what type of missile Iran has used in its latest strikes, but the country has several including the Fattah-1 and Emad.

It is very difficult to defend against ballistic missiles. There is not much time between launch and impact, and they come down at very high speed. The longer the missile’s range, the faster and higher it flies.

An incoming missile presents a small, fast-moving target – and defenders may have little time to react.

Israel’s missile defence and the Iron Dome

Israel possesses arguably one of the most effective, battle-tested air defence systems in service today. The system is often described in the media as the “Iron Dome”, but this is not quite correct.

Israel’s defences have several layers, each designed to address threats coming from different ranges.

Iron Dome is just one of these layers: a short range, anti-artillery defence system, designed to intercept short-range artillery shells and rockets.

In essence, Iron Dome consists of a network of radar emitters, command and control facilities, and the interceptors (special surface-to-air missiles). The radar quickly detects incoming threats, the command and control elements decide which are most pressing, and the interceptors are sent to destroy the incoming shells or rockets.

Ballistic defence systems

The other layers of Israel’s defence system include David’s Sling, and the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors. These are specifically designed to engage longer-range ballistic missiles, both within the atmosphere and at very high altitudes above it (known as exoatmospheric interception).

Spectacular footage has been captured of what are likely exoatmospheric interceptions taking place during this latest conflict, demonstrating Israel’s capacity to engage longer-range missiles.

The US military has comparable missile defence systems. The US Army has the Patriot PAC-3 (comparable to David’s Sling) and THAAD (comparable to Arrow 2), while the US Navy has the Aegis and the SM-3 (comparable to Arrow 3) and the SM-6 (comparable again to Arrow 2).

The US deployed Aegis-equipped warships to support Israel’s defence against missile attacks in 2024, and appears to be preparing to do the same now.

Iran possesses some air defence systems such as the Russian S300 which has some (very limited) ballistic missile defence capabilities, but only against shorter range (and thus slower) ballistic missiles. Further, Israel has been focusing on degrading Iran’s air defences, so it is not clear how many are still operational.

Iran has been focusing on developing technology such as maneuverable warheads, which are harder to defend against. However, it is not clear whether these are yet operational and in Iranian service.

A THAAD interceptor launched during a US Army test in 2013.
The U.S. Army Ralph Scott/Missile Defense Agency/U.S. Department of Defense/Wikimedia Commons

Can missile defences last forever?

Missile defences are finite. The defender is always limited by the number of interceptors it possesses.

The attacker is also limited by the number of missiles it possesses. However, the defender must often assign multiple interceptors to each attacking missile, in case the first misses or otherwise fails.

The attacker will plan for some losses to interceptors (or mechanical failures) and send what it determines to be enough missiles for at least some to penetrate the defences.

When it comes to ballistic missiles, the advantage lies with the attacker. Ballistic missiles can carry large explosive payloads (or even nuclear warheads), so even a handful of missiles “leaking” past defensive systems can still wreak significant damage.

What now?

Israel’s missile defences are unlikely to stop working completely. However, as attacks deplete its stocks of interceptors, the system may become less effective.

As the conflict continues, it may become a race to see who runs out of weapons first. Will it be Iran’s stocks of ballistic missiles and drones, or the interceptors and anti-air munitions of Israel, the US and any other supporters?

It is impossible to say who would prevail in such a race of stockpile attrition. Some reports suggest Iran has fired approximately 1,000 ballistic missiles of an estimated 3,000. However, this still leaves it with an enormous stockpile to use, and it is unclear how fast Iran can make new missiles to replenish its resources.

But we should hope it doesn’t come to that. Beyond the tit-for-tat exchange of missiles, the latest conflict between Israel and Iran risks escalating. If it is not resolved soon, and if the US is drawn into the conflict more directly, we may see broader conflict in the Middle East.

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

– ref. How does Israel’s famous air defence work? It’s not just the ‘Iron Dome’ – https://theconversation.com/how-does-israels-famous-air-defence-work-its-not-just-the-iron-dome-259029

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: How does Israel’s famous air defence work? It’s not just the ‘Iron Dome’

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By James Dwyer, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania

Israeli defence systems intercept Iranian missiles over the city of Haifa Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images

Late last week, Israel began a wave of attacks on Iran under the banner of Operation Rising Lion, with the stated goal of crippling the Islamic republic’s nuclear program and long-range strike capabilities. At the outset, Israel claimed Iran would soon be able to build nine nuclear weapons, a situation Israel regarded as completely unacceptable.

Following Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and key members of the Iranian armed forces, Iran retaliated with a large barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The first wave consisted of some 200 ballistic missiles and 200 drones.

The conflict continues to escalate, with population centres increasingly being targeted. Israel’s missile defence systems (including the vaunted Iron Dome) have so far staved off most of Iran’s attacks, but the future is uncertain.

Ballistic missiles and how to stop them

Iran possesses a large arsenal of ballistic missiles and long-range drones, alongside other long-range weapons such as cruise missiles. Ballistic missiles travel on a largely fixed path steered by gravity, while cruise missiles can adjust their course as they fly.

Iran is approximately 1,000km from Israel, so the current strikes mostly involve what are classified as medium-range ballistic missiles, alongside long-range drones. It is not clear exactly what type of missile Iran has used in its latest strikes, but the country has several including the Fattah-1 and Emad.

It is very difficult to defend against ballistic missiles. There is not much time between launch and impact, and they come down at very high speed. The longer the missile’s range, the faster and higher it flies.

An incoming missile presents a small, fast-moving target – and defenders may have little time to react.

Israel’s missile defence and the Iron Dome

Israel possesses arguably one of the most effective, battle-tested air defence systems in service today. The system is often described in the media as the “Iron Dome”, but this is not quite correct.

Israel’s defences have several layers, each designed to address threats coming from different ranges.

Iron Dome is just one of these layers: a short range, anti-artillery defence system, designed to intercept short-range artillery shells and rockets.

In essence, Iron Dome consists of a network of radar emitters, command and control facilities, and the interceptors (special surface-to-air missiles). The radar quickly detects incoming threats, the command and control elements decide which are most pressing, and the interceptors are sent to destroy the incoming shells or rockets.

Ballistic defence systems

The other layers of Israel’s defence system include David’s Sling, and the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors. These are specifically designed to engage longer-range ballistic missiles, both within the atmosphere and at very high altitudes above it (known as exoatmospheric interception).

Spectacular footage has been captured of what are likely exoatmospheric interceptions taking place during this latest conflict, demonstrating Israel’s capacity to engage longer-range missiles.

The US military has comparable missile defence systems. The US Army has the Patriot PAC-3 (comparable to David’s Sling) and THAAD (comparable to Arrow 2), while the US Navy has the Aegis and the SM-3 (comparable to Arrow 3) and the SM-6 (comparable again to Arrow 2).

The US deployed Aegis-equipped warships to support Israel’s defence against missile attacks in 2024, and appears to be preparing to do the same now.

Iran possesses some air defence systems such as the Russian S300 which has some (very limited) ballistic missile defence capabilities, but only against shorter range (and thus slower) ballistic missiles. Further, Israel has been focusing on degrading Iran’s air defences, so it is not clear how many are still operational.

Iran has been focusing on developing technology such as maneuverable warheads, which are harder to defend against. However, it is not clear whether these are yet operational and in Iranian service.

A THAAD interceptor launched during a US Army test in 2013.
The U.S. Army Ralph Scott/Missile Defense Agency/U.S. Department of Defense/Wikimedia Commons

Can missile defences last forever?

Missile defences are finite. The defender is always limited by the number of interceptors it possesses.

The attacker is also limited by the number of missiles it possesses. However, the defender must often assign multiple interceptors to each attacking missile, in case the first misses or otherwise fails.

The attacker will plan for some losses to interceptors (or mechanical failures) and send what it determines to be enough missiles for at least some to penetrate the defences.

When it comes to ballistic missiles, the advantage lies with the attacker. Ballistic missiles can carry large explosive payloads (or even nuclear warheads), so even a handful of missiles “leaking” past defensive systems can still wreak significant damage.

What now?

Israel’s missile defences are unlikely to stop working completely. However, as attacks deplete its stocks of interceptors, the system may become less effective.

As the conflict continues, it may become a race to see who runs out of weapons first. Will it be Iran’s stocks of ballistic missiles and drones, or the interceptors and anti-air munitions of Israel, the US and any other supporters?

It is impossible to say who would prevail in such a race of stockpile attrition. Some reports suggest Iran has fired approximately 1,000 ballistic missiles of an estimated 3,000. However, this still leaves it with an enormous stockpile to use, and it is unclear how fast Iran can make new missiles to replenish its resources.

But we should hope it doesn’t come to that. Beyond the tit-for-tat exchange of missiles, the latest conflict between Israel and Iran risks escalating. If it is not resolved soon, and if the US is drawn into the conflict more directly, we may see broader conflict in the Middle East.

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

– ref. How does Israel’s famous air defence work? It’s not just the ‘Iron Dome’ – https://theconversation.com/how-does-israels-famous-air-defence-work-its-not-just-the-iron-dome-259029

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: What is uranium enrichment and how is it used for nuclear bombs? A scientist explains

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kaitlin Cook, DECRA Fellow, Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Australian National University

Uranium ore. RHJPhtotos/Shutterstock

Late last week, Israel targeted three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, killing several Iranian nuclear scientists. The facilities are heavily fortified and largely underground, and there are conflicting reports of how much damage has been done.

Natanz and Fordow are Iran’s uranium enrichment sites, and Isfahan provides the raw materials, so any damage to these sites would limit Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.

But what exactly is uranium enrichment and why does it raise concerns?

To understand what it means to “enrich” uranium, you need to know a little about uranium isotopes and about splitting the atom in a nuclear fission reaction.

What is an isotope?

All matter is made of atoms, which in turn are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. The number of protons is what gives atoms their chemical properties, setting apart the various chemical elements.

Atoms have equal numbers of protons and electrons. Uranium has 92 protons, for example, while carbon has six. However, the same element can have different numbers of neutrons, forming versions of the element called isotopes.

This hardly matters for chemical reactions, but their nuclear reactions can be wildly different.

The difference between uranium-238 and uranium-235

When we dig uranium out of the ground, 99.27% of it is uranium-238, which has 92 protons and 146 neutrons. Only 0.72% of it is uranium-235 with 92 protons and 143 neutrons (the remaining 0.01% are other isotopes).

For nuclear power reactors or weapons, we need to change the isotope proportions. That’s because of the two main uranium isotopes, only uranium-235 can support a fission chain reaction: one neutron causes an atom to fission, which produces energy and some more neutrons, causing more fission, and so on.

This chain reaction releases a tremendous amount of energy. In a nuclear weapon, the goal is to have this chain reaction occur in a fraction of a second, producing a nuclear explosion.

In a civilian nuclear power plant, the chain reaction is controlled. Nuclear power plants currently produce 9% of the world’s power. Another vital civilian use of nuclear reactions is for producing isotopes used in nuclear medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

What is uranium enrichment, then?

To “enrich” uranium means taking the naturally found element and increasing the proportion of uranium-235 while removing uranium-238.

There are a few ways to do this (including new inventions from Australia), but commercially, enrichment is currently done with a centrifuge. This is also the case in Iran’s facilities.

Centrifuges exploit the fact that uranium-238 is about 1% heavier than uranium-235. They take uranium (in gas form) and use rotors to spin it at 50,000 to 70,000 rotations per minute, with the outer walls of the centrifuges moving at 400 to 500 metres per second.

This works much like a salad spinner that throws water to the sides while the salad leaves stay in the centre. The heavier uranium-238 moves to the edges of the centrifuge, leaving the uranium-235 in the middle.

This is only so effective, so the spinning process is done over and over again, building up the percentage of the uranium-235.

Most civilian nuclear reactors use “low enriched uranium” that’s been enriched to between 3% and 5%. This means that 3–5% of the total uranium in the sample is now uranium-235. That’s enough to sustain a chain reaction and make electricity.

What level of enrichment do nuclear weapons need?

To get an explosive chain reaction, uranium-235 needs to be concentrated significantly more than the levels we use in nuclear reactors for making power or medicines.

Technically, a nuclear weapon can be made with as little as 20% uranium-235 (known as “highly enriched uranium”), but the more the uranium is enriched, the smaller and lighter the weapon can be. Countries with nuclear weapons tend to use about 90% enriched, “weapons-grade” uranium.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has enriched large quantities of uranium to 60%. It’s actually easier to go from an enrichment of 60% to 90% than it is to get to that initial 60%. That’s because there’s less and less uranium-238 to get rid of.

This is why Iran is considered to be at extreme risk of producing nuclear weapons, and why centrifuge technology for enrichment is kept secret.

Ultimately, the exact same centrifuge technology that produces fuel for civilian reactors can be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Inspectors from the IAEA monitor nuclear facilities worldwide to ensure countries are abiding by the rules set out in the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. While Iran maintains it’s only enriching uranium for “peaceful purposes”, late last week the IAEA board ruled Iran was in breach of its obligations under the treaty.

Kaitlin Cook receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. What is uranium enrichment and how is it used for nuclear bombs? A scientist explains – https://theconversation.com/what-is-uranium-enrichment-and-how-is-it-used-for-nuclear-bombs-a-scientist-explains-259031

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Iran war: from the Middle East to America, history shows you cannot assassinate your way to peace

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University

In the late 1960s, the prevailing opinion among Israeli Shin Bet intelligence officers was that the key to defeating the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was to assassinate its then-leader Yasser Arafat.

The elimination of Arafat, the Shin Bet commander Yehuda Arbel wrote in his diary, was “a precondition to finding a solution to the Palestinian problem.”

For other, even more radical Israelis – such as the ultra-nationalist assassin Yigal Amir – the answer lay elsewhere. They sought the assassination of Israeli leaders such as Yitzak Rabin who wanted peace with the Palestinians.

Despite Rabin’s long personal history as a famed and often ruthless military commander in the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli Wars, Amir stalked and shot Rabin dead in 1995. He believed Rabin had betrayed Israel by signing the Oslo Accords peace deal with Arafat.

It’s been 20 years since Arafat died as possibly the victim of polonium poisoning, and 30 years after the shooting of Rabin. Peace between Israelis and the Palestinians has never been further away.

What Amnesty International and a United Nations Special Committee have called genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza have spilled over into Israeli attacks on the prominent leaders of its enemies in Lebanon and, most recently, Iran.

Since its attacks on Iran began on Friday, Israel has killed numerous military and intelligence leaders, including Iran’s intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi; the chief of the armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri; and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami. At least nine Iranian nuclear scientists have also been killed.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said:

We got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran.

Iran, predictably, has responded with deadly missile attacks on Israel.

Far from having solved the issue of Middle East peace, assassinations continue to pour oil on the flames.

A long history of extra-judicial killings

Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman’s book Rise and Kill First argues assassinations have long sat at the heart of Israeli politics.

In the past 75 years, there have been more than 2,700 assassination operations undertaken by Israel. These have, in Bergman’s words, attempted to “stop history” and bypass “statesmanship and political discourse”.

This normalisation of assassinations has been codified in the Israeli expression of “mowing the grass”. This is, as historian Nadim Rouhana has shown, a metaphor for a politics of constant assassination. Enemy “leadership and military facilities must regularly be hit in order to keep them weak.”

The point is not to solve the underlying political questions at issue. Instead, this approach aims to sow fear, dissent and confusion among enemies.

Thousands of assassination operations have not, however, proved sufficient to resolve the long-running conflict between Israel, its neighbours and the Palestinians. The tactic itself is surely overdue for retirement.

Targeted assassinations elsewhere

Israel has been far from alone in this strategy of assassination and killing.

Former US President Barack Obama oversaw the extra-judicial killing of Osama Bin Laden, for instance.

After what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch denounced as a flawed trial, former US President George W. Bush welcomed the hanging of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as “an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy”.

Current US President Donald Trump oversaw the assassination of Iran’s leader of clandestine military operations, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020.

More recently, however, Trump appears to have baulked at granting Netanyahu permission to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And it’s worth noting the US Department of Justice last year brought charges against an Iranian man who said he’d been tasked with killing Trump.

Elsewhere, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, it’s common for senior political and media opponents to be shot in the streets. Frequently they also “fall” out of high windows, are killed in plane crashes or succumb to mystery “illnesses”.

A poor record

Extra-judicial killings, however, have a poor record as a mechanism for solving political problems.

Cutting off the hydra’s head has generally led to its often immediate replacement by another equally or more ideologically committed person, as has already happened in Iran. Perhaps they too await the next round of “mowing the grass”.

But as the latest Israeli strikes in Iran and elsewhere show, solving the underlying issue is rarely the point.

In situations where finding a lasting negotiated settlement would mean painful concessions or strategic risks, assassinations prove simply too tempting. They circumvent the difficulties and complexities of diplomacy while avoiding the need to concede power or territory.

As many have concluded, however, assassinations have never killed resistance. They have never killed the ideas and experiences that give birth to resistance in the first place.

Nor have they offered lasting security to those who have ordered the lethal strike.

Enduring security requires that, at some point, someone grasp the nettle and look to the underlying issues.

The alternative is the continuation of the brutal pattern of strike and counter-strike for generations to come.

Matt Fitzpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Iran war: from the Middle East to America, history shows you cannot assassinate your way to peace – https://theconversation.com/iran-war-from-the-middle-east-to-america-history-shows-you-cannot-assassinate-your-way-to-peace-259038

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: The Middle East is a major flight hub. How do airlines keep passengers safe during conflict?

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Natasha Heap, Program Director for the Bachelor of Aviation, University of Southern Queensland

Screenshot June 17 2025, Courtesy of Flightradar24

The Middle East is a region of intense beauty and ancient kingdoms. It has also repeatedly endured periods of geopolitical instability over many centuries.

Today, geopolitical, socio-political and religious tensions persist. The world is currently watching as longstanding regional tensions come to a head in the shocking and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

The global airline industry takes a special interest in how such tensions play out. This airspace is a crucial corridor linking Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Middle East is now home to several of the world’s largest international airlines: Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways. These airlines’ home bases – Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, respectively – have become pivotal hubs in international aviation.

Keeping passengers safe will be all airlines’ highest priority. What could an escalating conflict mean for both the airlines and the travelling public?

Safety first

History shows that the civil airline industry and military conflict do not mix. On July 3 1988, the USS Vincennes, a US navy warship, fired two surface-to-air missiles and shot down Iran Air Flight 655, an international passenger service over the Persian Gulf.

More recently, on July 17 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine as the battle between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists continued.

Understandably, global airlines are very risk-averse when it comes to military conflict. The International Civil Aviation Organization requires airlines to implement and maintain a Safety Management System (SMS).

One of the main concerns – known as “pillars” – of the SMS is “safety risk management”. This includes the processes to identify hazards, assess risks and implement risk mitigation strategies.

The risk-management departments of airlines transiting the Middle East region will have been working hard on these strategies.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, the International Civil Aviation Organization has strict requirements and protocols to keep passengers safe.
meunierd/Shutterstock

Route recalculation

The most immediate and obvious evidence of such strategies being put in place are changes to aircraft routing, either by cancelling or suspending flights or making changes to the flight plans. This is to ensure aircraft avoid the airspace where military conflicts are flaring.

At the time of writing, a quick look at flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows global aircraft traffic avoiding the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. The airspace over Ukraine is also devoid of air traffic.

Rerouting, however, creates its own challenges. Condensing the path of the traffic into smaller, more congested areas can push aircraft into and over areas that are not necessarily equipped to deal with such a large increase in traffic.

Having more aircraft in a smaller amount of available safe airspace creates challenges for air traffic control services and the pilots operating the aircraft.

More time and fuel

Avoiding areas of conflict is one of the most visible forms of airline risk management. This may add time to the length of a planned flight, leading to higher fuel consumption and other logistical challenges. This will add to the airlines’ operating costs.

There will be no impact on the cost of tickets already purchased. But if the instability in the region continues, we may see airline ticket prices increase.

It is not just the avoidance of airspace in the region that could place upward pressure on the cost of flying. Airliners run on Jet-A1 fuel, produced from oil.

If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, the “world’s most important oil transit chokepoint”, this could see the cost of oil, and in turn Jet-A1, significantly increase. Increasing fuel costs will be passed on the paying passenger. However, some experts believe such a move is unlikely.

A major hub

The major aviation hubs in the Middle East provide increased global connectivity, enabling passengers to travel seamlessly between continents.

Increased regional instability has the potential to disrupt this global connectivity. In the event of a prolonged conflict, airlines operating in and around the region may find they have increased insurance costs. Such costs would eventually find their way passed on to consumers through higher ticket prices.

The Middle East is a major connecting hub for global aviation.
Art Konovalov/Shutterstock

Passenger confidence

Across the globe, airlines and governments are issuing travel advisories and warnings. The onus is on the travelling public to stay informed about changes to flight status, and potential delays.

Such warnings and advisories can lead to a drop in passenger confidence, which may then lead to a drop in bookings both into and onwards from the region.

Until the increase in instability in the Middle East, global airline passenger traffic numbers were larger than pre-pandemic figures. Strong growth had been predicted in the coming decades.

Anything that results in falling passenger confidence could negatively impact these figures, leading to slowed growth and affecting airline profitability.

Despite high-profile disasters, aviation remains the safest form of transport. As airlines deal with these challenges they will constantly work to keep flights safe and to win back passenger confidence in this unpredictable situation.

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

– ref. The Middle East is a major flight hub. How do airlines keep passengers safe during conflict? – https://theconversation.com/the-middle-east-is-a-major-flight-hub-how-do-airlines-keep-passengers-safe-during-conflict-259034

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Dopamine can make it hard to put down our phone or abandon the online shopping cart. Here’s why

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney

Vardan Papikyan/Unsplash

Ever find yourself unable to stop scrolling through your phone, chasing that next funny video or interesting post?

Or maybe you’ve felt a rush of excitement when you achieve a goal, eat a delicious meal, or fill your online shopping cart.

Why do some experiences feel so rewarding, while others leave us feeling flat? Well, dopamine might be responsible for that. Here’s what it does in our brains and bodies.

It’s a chemical messenger

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter – a chemical messenger that facilitates communication between the brain and the central nervous system. It sends messages between different parts of your nervous system, helping your body and brain coordinate everything from your movement to your mood.

Dopamine is most known for its role in short-term pleasure, and the boost we get from things such as eating tasty foods, drinking alcohol, scrolling social media or falling in love.

Dopamine also assists with learning, maintaining focus and attention, and helps us store memories.

It even plays a role in kidney function by regulating the levels of salt and water we excrete.

Conversely, low levels of dopamine have been linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

How dopamine motivates us to pursue pleasure

Dopamine is not just active when we do pleasurable things. It’s active beforehand and it drives us to pursue pleasure.

Say I go to a cafe and decide to buy a doughnut. When I bite into the doughnut, it tastes fantastic. Dopamine surges and I experience pleasure.

The next time I walk past the cafe, dopamine is already active. It remembers the doughnut I had last time and how delicious it was. Dopamine drives me to walk back into the cafe, purchase another doughnut and eat it.

Dopamine drives us to do things that felt good last time.
Fotios Photos/Pexels

From an evolutionary perspective, dopamine was incredibly important and it ensured survival of the species. It motivated behaviours such as hunting and foraging for food. It reinforced the pursuit of finding shelter and safety and keeping away from predators. And it motivated people to seek out mates and to reproduce.

However, modern technology has amplified the effects of dopamine, leading to negative consequences. Activities such as excessive social media use, gambling, consuming alcohol, drug use, sex, pornography and gaming can stimulate dopamine release, creating cycles of addiction and compulsive behaviours.

Our dopamine levels can vary

Our brain is constantly releasing small amounts of dopamine at a “baseline” rate. This is because dopamine is crucial to the functioning of our brain and body, irrespective of pleasure.

Everyone has a different baseline, influenced by genetic factors such as our DRD2 dopamine receptor genes. Some people produce and metabolise dopamine faster than other people. Our baseline levels can also be influenced by sleep, nutrition and stress in our lives.

Given we all have a baseline of dopamine, our experience of pleasure at any given time is relative to our baseline rate and relative to what has come before.

If I play games on my phone all morning and get a dopamine release from that, then I eat something tasty for morning tea, I may not experience the same level of fulfilment or enjoyment that I would have had I not played those games.

The brain works hard to regulate itself and it won’t allow us to be in a constant state of dopamine “highs”. This means we can build a tolerance to certain exciting activities if we seek them out too much, as the brain wants to avoid being in a state of constant dopamine “highs”.

Healthy ways to get a dopamine boost

Thankfully, there are healthy, non-addictive ways to boost your dopamine levels.

Exercise is one of the most effective methods for boosting dopamine naturally. Physical activities such as walking, running, cycling, or even dancing can trigger the release of dopamine, leading to improved mood and greater motivation.

Running can also give you a dopamine boost.
Leandro Boogalu/Pexels

Research has shown listening to music you enjoy makes your brain release more dopamine, giving you a pleasurable experience.

And of course, spending time with people whose company we enjoy is another great way to activate dopamine.

Incorporating these habits into daily life can support your brain’s natural dopamine production and help you enjoy lasting improvements in motivation, mood and overall health.

Anastasia Hronis is the author of The Dopamine Brain: Your Science-Backed Guide to Balancing Pleasure and Purpose, published by Penguin Books Aus & NZ.

– ref. Dopamine can make it hard to put down our phone or abandon the online shopping cart. Here’s why – https://theconversation.com/dopamine-can-make-it-hard-to-put-down-our-phone-or-abandon-the-online-shopping-cart-heres-why-254811

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Alison Cole, Composer and Lecturer in Screen Composition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

Universal Pictures

Our experience of the world often involves hearing our environment before seeing it. Whether it’s the sound of something moving through nearby water, or the rustling of vegetation, our fear of the unseen is rooted in our survival instincts as a species.

Cinematic sound and music taps into these somewhat unsettling instincts – and this is exactly what director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams achieved in the iconic 1975 thriller Jaws. The sound design and musical score work in tandem to confront the audience with a mysterious killer animal.

In what is arguably the film’s most iconic scene, featuring beach swimmers’ legs flailing underwater, the shark remains largely unseen – yet the sound perfectly conveys the threat at large.

Creating tension in a soundtrack

Film composers aim to create soundscapes that will profoundly move and influence their audience. And they express these intentions through the use of musical elements such as rhythm, harmony, tempo, form, dynamics, melody and texture.

In Jaws, the initial encounter with the shark opens innocently with the sound of an offshore buoy and its clanging bell. The scene is established both musically and atmospherically to evoke a sense of isolation for the two characters enjoying a late-night swim on an empty beach.

But once we hear the the low strings, followed by the central two-note motif played on a tuba, we know something sinister is afoot.

This compositional technique of alternating between two notes at an increasing speed has long been employed by composers, including by Antonín Dvořák in his 1893 work New World Symphony.

John Williams reportedly used six basses, eight cellos, four trombones and a tuba to create the blend of low frequencies that would go on to define his entire Jaws score.

The bass instruments emphasise the lower end of the musical frequency spectrum, evoking a dark timbre that conveys depth, power and intensity. String players can use various bowing techniques, such as staccato and marcato, to deliver dark and even menacing tones, especially in the lower registers.

Meanwhile, there is a marked absence of tonality in the repeating E–F notes, played with increasing speed on the tuba. Coupled with the intensifying dynamics in the instrumental blend, this accelerating two-note motif signals the looming danger before we even see it – tapping into our instinctive fear of the unknown.

The use of the two-note motif and lower-end orchestration characterises a composition style that aims to unsettle and disorientate the audience. Another example of this style can be heard in Bernard Herrmann’s car crash scene audio in North by Northwest (1959).

Similarly, in Sergei Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite, the opening of the second movement (Dance of the Pagan Gods) uses an alternating D#–E motif.

The elasticity of Williams’ motif allows the two notes to be played on different instruments throughout the soundtrack, exploring various timbral possibilities to induce a kaleidoscope of fear, panic and dread.

The psychology behind our response

What is it that makes the Jaws soundtrack so psychologically confronting, even without the visuals? Music scholars have various theories. Some suggest the two notes imitate the sound of human respiration, while others have proposed the theme evokes the heartbeat of a shark.

Williams explained his approach in an interview with the Los Angeles Times:

I fiddled around with the idea of creating something that was very … brainless […] Meaning something could be very repetitious, very visceral, and grab you in your gut, not in your brain. […] It could be something you could play very softly, which would indicate that the shark is far away when all you see is water. Brainless music that gets louder and gets closer to you, something is gonna swallow you up.

Williams plays with the audience’s emotions throughout the film’s score, culminating in the scene Man Against Beast – a celebration of thematic development and heightened orchestration.

The film’s iconic soundtrack has created a legacy that extends beyond the visual. And this suggests the score isn’t just a soundtrack – but a character in its own right.

By using music to reveal what is hidden, Williams creates an intense emotional experience rife with anticipation and tension. The score’s two-note motif showcases his genius – and serves as a sonic shorthand that has kept a generation behind the breakers of every beach.

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

– ref. Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation – https://theconversation.com/jaws-at-50-how-two-musical-notes-terrified-an-entire-generation-258068

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Computers tracking us, people as data points: Gilles Deleuze’s 1990 Postcript on the Societies of Control was eerily prescient

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Cameron Shackell, Sessional Academic, School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology

Our cultural touchstones series looks at influential works.

Gilles Deleuze was one of the most original and imaginative thinkers of postwar France. A lifelong teacher, he spent most of his career at the University of Paris VIII, influencing generations of students but largely shunning the mantle of public intellectual.

His complex, creative books mix philosophy, literature, film and politics – not to give clear answers, but to spark new ways of thinking.

Postscript on the Societies of Control, published 35 years ago in the countercultural L’Autre Journal is Deleuze at his most accessible and prophetic.

Written at a time when the Cold War was ending, computers were becoming more common, and the internet was beginning to connect institutions, the essay describes the emergence of a new kind of society – one not ruled by a single stern voice but by the soft hum of networks.

How societies work

Postscript was written as an update to the work of Deleuze’s contemporary Michel Foucault, who had died in 1984. Deleuze called it a “postscript” not just because of its brevity (it’s only around 2,300 words in English translation) but to highlight he wasn’t refuting Foucault, just building on his work.

Gilles Deleuze.
Tintinades/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA

From the 18th to early 20th centuries, Foucault had argued, Western societies were “disciplinary societies”. Schools, factories, prisons and hospitals – institutions with walls, schedules, routines and clear expectations – moulded behaviour. People were trained, observed, tested and corrected as they passed from one institution to the next.

Read more:
‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50

But in the late 20th century, Deleuze saw something shifting. He thought the stodgy old disciplinary institutions were “in a generalized crisis” due to technological advances and a new form of capitalism that demanded more flexibility in workers and consumers.

New systems of management and technology were starting to reshape people without sending them through traditional institutions. Deleuze wrote presciently, for example, that “perpetual training tends to replace the school, and continuous control to replace the examination”.

In business, he saw a growing idea of “salary according to merit”, transforming work into “challenges, contests, and highly comic group sessions” – something much at odds with the old model of the standard wage and the assembly line. Traditional government institutions like hospitals and the classic factory were embracing the model of the corporation, driven always by a profit motive and the need for better human tools.

To Deleuze, all this meant people were becoming more “free-floating” – they could be still playing socially useful roles but were being gently steered into them. This greater freedom, however, required a new system to keep everyone in line. He called this “modulation” to underline its dynamic, enveloping nature.

Like nudging, but everywhere

Deleuze described modulation as “a self-deforming cast that will continuously change from one moment to the other”. He meant that people were beginning to live in an environment where everything shape-shifts to encourage or discourage us in the right direction without explicitly putting up walls.

A prime example of how modulation has since become commonplace is nudging – the use of psychological techniques, often subtle and data-driven, to shape people’s behaviour.

Nudging didn’t really exist in 1990, but governments and tech companies use nudges all the time now. We’re nudged to eat healthier, buy, save, recycle, donate. Web sites use “dark patterns” – tricky designs that steer (or nudge) us toward certain choices. Social media feeds use algorithms to exclude us if we say the wrong thing. In fact, entire teams of behavioural scientists operate behind the scenes to manipulate many aspects of our lives.

Nudges can be good and can save us from poor choices, but their newfound moral acceptability (sometimes called libertarian paternalism) is very much a clue that Deleuze’s control society has arrived.

Control in your pocket

Deleuze, who died in 1995, wrote Postscript before the advent of the smartphone, but he foresaw that an “electronic collar” would assume a central role in society. He envisaged a “computer that tracks each person’s position – licit or illicit – and effects a universal modulation.”

Smartphones more than fit the bill. In the old disciplinary ways, they track where we go, what we search for, what we buy, how many steps we take, even how well we sleep. But if we apply Deleuze’s ideas to these phones, detailed surveillance is no longer their most important function. Our phones present and curate options.

In effect, they shape how we see the world. When you scroll through news or social media, for instance, you’re reading about a version of the world built just for you, designed to keep you looking, clicking and reacting – and keep you very finely attuned to what is acceptable or dangerous behaviour.

In Deleuze’s terms, this is pure modulation: not a forceful “No” but a softly spoken, “How about this?” Your phone doesn’t lock you in – it draws you in. It shapes what you see, rewards your cooperation, ignores your silence, and always keeps score. And it does this 24/7. You might unlock it hundreds of times a day. And each time it’s updated to guide your next move more precisely.

At the same time our phones quietly turn us into a set of credentials useful for regulating physical access to workplaces, bank accounts, information: In the societies of control, writes Deleuze, “what is important is no longer either a signature or a number, but a code: the code is a password.”

Data points not people?

Deleuze warned that, in a control society: “Individuals have become ‘dividuals,’ and masses have become samples, data, markets, or ‘banks.’” A dividual to Deleuze is a person transformed into a set of data points and metrics.

You are your credit rating, your search history, your likes and clicks – a different dataset to every institution. Such fragments are used to make decisions about you until they effectively replace you. In fact, for Deleuze a dividual has internalised this treatment and thinks of themselves as a net worth, a mortgage size, a car value – psychological anchors for control.

He illustrates this point with healthcare, predicting a

new medicine ‘without doctor or patient’ that singles out potential sick people and subjects at risk, which in no way attests to individuation.

How many health decisions are now made for us collectively before we ever see a doctor? We should be grateful for advances in public health and epidemiology, but this has certainly impacted our individuality and how we are treated.

Hard to detect

An unsettling part of Deleuze’s perspective is that control doesn’t usually feel like control. It’s often dressed up as convenience, efficiency or progress. You set up internet-linked video cameras because then you can work from home. You agree to long terms and conditions because your banking app won’t work otherwise.

One problem is there are no longer clear barriers we can rail against. As Deleuze said:

In disciplinary societies one was always starting again (from school to the barracks, from the barracks to the factory), while in control societies one is never finished with anything.

Control doesn’t always crush – it can enable. Digital networks bring real freedom, economic possibility, even joy. We move more easily – both mentally and geographically – than ever before. But while we move, it always inside a kind of invisible map shaped by capitalism.

It’s no conspiracy because nobody has the whole map. So it’s difficult to work out exactly what action, if any, to take. As Deleuze concludes: “The coils of a serpent are even more complex than the burrows of a molehill.”

So what can we do?

Postscript doesn’t offer a political program beyond the sardonic comment that:

Many young people strangely boast of being ‘motivated’ […] It’s up to them to discover what they’re being made to serve.

There are ways to resist control. Some people demand more privacy or digital rights. Others opt out selectively – logging off, turning off, refusing to be nudged. Some look to art as a way of resisting its smooth grip. These acts – however small – may offer what Deleuze and his collaborator, the French psychiatrist and philosopher Félix Guattari, called lines of flight: creative ways to move not just against control, but beyond it.

The real message of Postscript, however, is its invitation to consider a timeless perspective. Any society must have a way to make people useful. So, what kind of society do we want? What kinds of restrictions are we willing to live under? And, crucial to this current age, how explicit should control be?

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

– ref. Computers tracking us, people as data points: Gilles Deleuze’s 1990 Postcript on the Societies of Control was eerily prescient – https://theconversation.com/computers-tracking-us-people-as-data-points-gilles-deleuzes-1990-postcript-on-the-societies-of-control-was-eerily-prescient-254579

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels – here’s how

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Australian National University

Photo by Jie Zhao/Corbis via Getty Images

Australia is among the world’s top three exporters of LNG and second-largest exporter of coal. When burned overseas, these exports result in 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year – almost three times Australia’s domestic emissions.

Emissions embedded in Australia’s exports do not count towards our national emissions targets. But they contribute to climate change – and they’re the reason for Australia’s international reputation as a fossil-fuel economy.

On the bright side, Australia boasts huge potential for low-cost renewable energy and a knack for resource industries.

We can, and should, become a “renewable energy superpower”. This term refers to the potential for Australia to use its bountiful renewable energy resources to make commodities such as iron, ammonia and other products and fuels in “green” or low-emissions ways.

So how does Australia give salience to this idea on the global stage, while our fossil fuel exports continue? The solution could be a new net-zero target for Australia, in which emissions from green exports are tallied up against those from fossil fuel exports.

Australia can become a renewable energy superpower.
Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Reinvigorating Australia’s climate policy

If the clean energy transition eventuates, green exports from Australia will rise over time. This will help reduce the use of coal, gas and oil elsewhere in the world.

Meanwhile, coal exports – and later, gas exports – will fall. This will happen irrespective of Australia’s policies, as the world economy decarbonises and demand for fossil fuels slows.

At some point, we can expect emissions avoided by our green commodity exports to surpass those from remaining coal and gas exports. Australia would then reach what could be termed “net-zero export emissions”.

Adopting this net-zero target as a national policy would give a concrete yardstick to Australia’s green-export ambitions. It could also invigorate Australia’s climate policy and boost investor confidence.

A different approach would be to set targets only for green exports, and this could be how we get started. Ultimately, a net-zero target wrapping up both green and fossil-fuel exports would speak most directly to the goal of tackling climate change, and is likely to have more impact on the international stage.

A net-zero export target would give a concrete yardstick to Australia’s ambition to develop green export industries.
Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Getting to net-zero exports

The below chart shows an illustrative decline in emissions embedded in Australia’s coal and LNG (liquified natural gas) exports, out to 2050.*

Authors’ calculations based on Australian Energy Update 2024, Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2024, IEA World Energy Outlook 2024

It’s hard to pin down when Australia might reach net-zero exports. It depends on several factors. How quickly will the cost of clean energy and green-commodity technologies fall? How competitively can Australia produce green goods compared to other nations? What policies will be adopted in Australia and overseas – and will they work?

The magnitudes are sobering. Take iron, for example. Australia currently exports 900 million tonnes of iron ore a year. This is processed overseas to about 560 million tonnes of iron.

To fully compensate for emissions currently embedded in Australia’s coal and gas exports, Australia would need to process about the same amount of green iron – around 550 million tonnes – on home soil every year.

To reach this figure, we assume 0.1 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent is created per tonne of green iron, compared to about 2.1 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per tonne of iron resulting from conventional blast furnace production.

Achieving this would require keeping iron ore production at current levels and processing it all in Australia, which is unlikely to be realistic.

Thankfully, the task of reaching net-zero export emissions will be smaller in future, as global coal and gas demand falls. But exactly how this will translate to Australian exports is highly uncertain.

Let’s suppose Australia’s exports evolved on the same trajectory as they might under current climate policies and pledges for the global coal and gas trade.

In this case, embedded emissions from Australia’s coal and gas exports would be about 360 million tonnes in 2050. This includes about 120 million tonnes from LNG exports – much of it locked in by the extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf project off Western Australia.

Hypothetically, the 360 million tonnes of emissions could be negated by a mix of green exports. They include 102 million tonnes of green iron (saving 204 million tonnes of CO₂), and 11 million tonnes of green ammonia (saving about 23 million tonnes of CO₂), and the remainder covered by a combination of green aluminium, silicon, methanol and transport fuels.

Judgement calls would be needed about which commodities to include in the target. The composition of green exports suggested above is akin to assumptions about Australia’s potential global market share outlined by The Superpower Institute.

Importantly, it’s hard to predict with certainty the greenhouse gas emissions displaced elsewhere in the world by Australia’s green exports. So, the estimates should be understood as broad illustrations, and not as exact as the accounting used to calculate countries’ domestic emissions.

The precise year chosen for reaching a net-zero target for export emissions may well be less important than the commitment that, at some point, Australia’s green energy exports will exceed fossil fuel exports. This would establish the notion that Australia has the capacity and willingness to help the world decarbonise.

At some point, Australia’s green energy exports will exceed fossil fuel exports.
David Gray/Getty Images

A positive agenda for change

The export target could be part of Australia’s updated emissions pledge due to be submitted to the United Nations by September this year. The pledge, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), is required by signatories to the Paris Agreement.

Each nation is expected to detail its national emissions target for 2035. But nations can make additional pledges towards the world’s climate change effort. You could call it an “NDC+”.

So Australia could outline an indicative goal for net-zero exports – perhaps alongside other pledges such as leveraging climate change finance for developing countries, or helping our Pacific neighbours adapt to climate change impacts.

As a large fossil fuels exporter, Australia would earn kudos for showing it has a positive agenda for change.

And if Australia wins the bid to host the COP31 climate conference next year, a plan to reduce export emissions could be a major rallying point.

* Underlying data for the chart showing an expected decline in future emissions embedded in Australia’s coal and LNG exports:

Exports in 2022–23: coal, 9.6 exajoules (EJ); LNG, 4.5 EJ, from Australian Energy Update. This was multiplied by an emissions factor 90.2 for coal (MtCO₂-e/EJ) and 51.5 for LNG (MtCO₂-e/EJ), as drawn from the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors

Exports for 2035 and 2050: this assumes a trend aligned with the IEA’s Announced Pledges Scenario, as outlined in the World Energy Outlook 2024. Note the percentage changes from 2023 to 2035 and 2050 for coal (-45% and -73% respectively) and for LNG (+9% and -47% respectively.) These figures do not distinguish between steam coal for power and metallurgical coal.

Frank Jotzo leads research projects on climate, energy and industry policy. He is a commissioner with the NSW Net Zero Commission and chairs the Queensland Clean Economy Expert Panel.

Annette Zou works on research projects on climate policy and decarbonisation and has previously worked with The Superpower Institute

– ref. Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels – here’s how – https://theconversation.com/australia-could-become-the-worlds-first-net-zero-exporter-of-fossil-fuels-heres-how-259037

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: How high can US debt go before it triggers a financial crisis?

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Luke Hartigan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney

rarrarorro/Shutterstock

The tax cuts bill currently being debated by the US Senate will add another US$3 trillion (A$4.6 trillion) to US debt. President Donald Trump calls it the “big, beautiful bill”; his erstwhile policy adviser Elon Musk called it a “disgusting abomination”.

Foreign investors have already been rattled by Trump’s upending of the global trade system. The eruption of war in the Middle East would usually lead to “flight to safety” buying of the US dollar, but the dollar has barely budged. That suggests US assets are not seen as the safe haven they used to be.

Greg Combet, chair of Australia’s own sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, outlined many of the new risks arising from US policies in a speech on Tuesday.

As investors turn cautious on the US, at some point the surging US debt pile will become unsustainable. That could risk a financial crisis. But at what point does that happen?

The public sector holds a range of debt

When talking about the sustainability of US government debt, we have to distinguish between total debt and public debt.

Public debt is owed to individuals, companies, foreign governments and investors. This accounts for about 80% of total US debt. The remainder is intra-governmental debt held by government agencies and the Federal Reserve.

Public debt is a more correct measure of US government debt. And it is much less than the headline total government debt amount that is frequently quoted, which is running at US$36 trillion or 121% of GDP.

Are there limits to government debt?

Governments are not like households. They can feasibly roll over debt indefinitely and don’t technically need to repay it, unlike a personal credit card. And countries such as the US that issue debt in their own currency can’t technically default unless they choose to.

Debt also serves a useful role. It is the main way a government funds infrastructure projects. It is an important channel for monetary policy, because the US Federal Reserve sets the benchmark interest rate that affects borrowing costs across the economy. And because the US government issues bonds, known as Treasuries, to finance the debt, this is an important asset for investors.

There is probably some limit to the amount of debt the US government can issue. But we don’t really know what this amount is, and we won’t know until we get there. Additionally, the US’s reserve currency status, due to the US dollar’s dominant role in international finance, gives the US government more leeway than other governments.

Interest costs are surging

What is important is the government’s ability to service its debt – that is, to pay the interest cost. This depends on two components: growth in economic activity, and the interest rate on government debt.

If economic growth on average is higher than the interest rate, then the government’s effective interest cost is negative and it could sustainably carry its existing debt burden.

The interest cost of US government debt has surged recently following a series of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to quell inflation.

The US government is now spending more on interest payments than on defence – about US$882 billion annually. This will soon start crowding out spending in other areas, unless taxes are raised or further spending cuts made.

Recent policy decisions not helping

The turmoil caused by Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and heightened uncertainty about future government policy are expected to weaken US economic growth and raise inflation. This, coupled with the recent credit downgrade of US government debt by ratings agency Moody’s, is likely to put upward pressure on US interest rates, further increasing the servicing cost of US government debt.

Moody’s cited concerns about the growth of US federal debt. This comes as the US House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which seeks to extend the 2017 tax cuts indefinitely while slashing social spending. This has caused some to question the sustainability of the US government’s fiscal position.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add a further US$3 trillion to government debt over the ten years to 2034, increasing debt to 124% of GDP. And this would increase to US$4.5 trillion over ten years and take debt to 128% of GDP if some tax initiatives were made permanent.

Also troubling is Section 899 of the bill, known as the “revenge tax”. This controversial provision raises the tax payable by foreign investors and could further deter foreign investment, potentially making US government debt even less attractive.

A compromised Federal Reserve is the next risk

The passing of the tax and spending bill is unlikely to cause a financial crisis in the US. But the US could be entering into a period of “fiscal dominance”, which is just as concerning.

In this situation, the independence of the Federal Reserve might be compromised if it is pressured to support the US government’s fiscal position. It would do this by keeping interest rates lower than otherwise, or buying government debt to support the government instead of targeting inflation. Trump has already been putting pressure on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, demanding he cut rates immediately.

This could lead to much higher inflation in the US, as occurred in Germany in the 1920s, and more recently in Argentina and Turkey.

Luke Hartigan receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DP230100959)

– ref. How high can US debt go before it triggers a financial crisis? – https://theconversation.com/how-high-can-us-debt-go-before-it-triggers-a-financial-crisis-258812

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Terracotta Warriors take center stage in new XR experience

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

A new extended reality (XR) experience based on the Terracotta Warriors, titled “The Empire Code: Terracotta Warriors – Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum,” was unveiled on June 14 at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).

Wang Yuan, general producer and chairwoman of Xi’an Hongwen Digital Technology Co., introduces “The Empire Code” at the opening of the XR section during the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival, June 14, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Xi’an Hongwen Digital Technology]

“The Empire Code,” the first XR project officially authorized by Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, draws on the famous Terracotta Warrior pits and other archaeological discoveries from the UNESCO World Heritage site in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. The interactive underground tomb experience is designed to set a new standard for presenting Chinese civilization in the digital age.

The project was unveiled at the launch of the festival’s SIFF XR section. Wang Yuan, general producer and chairwoman of Xi’an Hongwen Digital Technology, a joint venture between Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group and HTC, said the team was not using technology to resurrect cultural relics, but to allow them to “open history’s door through technology.”

“Virtual reality serves as a radiant bridge across time, connecting ancient wisdom, eternal art and future imagination,” she added.

A poster for “The Empire Code: Terracotta Warriors – Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum.” [Image courtesy of Xi’an Hongwen Digital Technology]

Along with a trailer and poster launched in Shanghai, audiences can preview a five-minute immersive experience during the festival. The full version is set to open this summer in Beijing and Xi’an.

The project will also be presented at the festival’s International Film & TV Market, where organizers aim to showcase China’s digital cultural solutions and technological expertise to a global audience.

“The Empire Code” brings together specialists in archaeology, filmmaking and virtual reality. Historical accuracy is overseen by Zhang Weixing, a researcher at Northwest University’s Collaborative Research Center for Archaeology of the Silk Roads and former head of Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site excavation team. Acclaimed director Jin Tiemu crafts the narrative, while production designer Huo Tingxiao recreates authentic Qin dynasty visuals. The project also draws on technical expertise from HTC Vive Arts, which has partnered with more than 70 museums worldwide, and Wevr, known for its work in 3D and game development.

A man experiences a preview of “The Empire Code” during the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 14, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SIFF Organizing Committee]

The project uses XR technology such as 5K ultra-high-definition rendering, six degrees of freedom motion tracking and gesture controls to create an immersive experience aimed at minimizing motion sickness.

Producers say the cross-disciplinary effort combines cultural, artistic and technological elements, providing an interactive way to share China’s history while maintaining cultural authenticity.

“The Empire Code” was announced alongside several upcoming projects at SIFF XR, including virtual reality adaptations of China’s animated blockbuster “Chang An,” Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and the historical VR film “Creation of the Gods Prequel: A Female General in Shang Dynasty’s Golden Age.”

Other highlights include the sci-fi VR experience “The Devourer,” based on renowned writer Liu Cixin’s short story in which players defend Earth from aliens, and the location-based mixed reality piece “A Tapestry of a Legendary Land,” adapted from the popular dance drama that immerses audiences in Song dynasty artistry.

The opening of the XR section at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival, June 14, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Xi’an Hongwen Digital Technology]

SIFF XR, a collaboration between the 27th SIFF and the Putuo Culture and Tourism Bureau, ran from June 14 to 16. The event showcased 16 domestic and international feature films, including several global and Asian premieres.

Highlights included “Mnemosyne,” inspired by the classical Chinese opera “The Peony Pavilion,” and “Golog Unbounded,” which explores the natural landscapes of Qinghai province. Attendees could also explore the anime universe of “Gundam” and experience narrative-driven works such as “Nana Lou” and “Jack & Flo.”

By combining film, gaming, performance and tourism, SIFF XR offered immersive experiences that blurred the line between cinema and reality.

MIL OSI China News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities and Trade – Strengthening ties to China during Prime Minister’s trade delegation
Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Launching new study abroad and research collaboration partnerships with top Chinese universities and research institutes is the focus of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s involvement in the Prime Minister’s trade delegation to China.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Nic Smith is delighted to be participating in this visit to China to formalise these arrangements which offer exciting opportunities to future students interested in coming to study in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as forge new research collaborations.

These partnerships include a major research partnership with Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University, focused on public health, biotechnology, and climate science, as well as articulation and study abroad agreements with one of China’s largest universities, Zhengzhou University.

This visit provides an important opportunity for Victoria University of Wellington to position itself as a top choice for students to consider when looking at studying overseas, says Professor Smith.

“We are committed to deepening our partnerships with China’s leading institutions—united by a shared ambition to blend academic excellence with global citizenship.

“Together, we are preparing the next generation to lead with knowledge, empathy, and purpose.”

“Being part of this delegation reflects New Zealand’s recognition of universities as engines of innovation, diplomacy, and enduring global relationships. It is a privilege to represent our sector and reinforce education’s vital role in connecting nations.”

Prime Minister Rt Hon Christopher Luxon says New Zealand’s education sector is globally respected for its quality, innovation, and commitment to partnership.

“Our universities, including Victoria University of Wellington, play a key role in fostering long-term academic and research collaborations with countries like China. These connections not only support student mobility and world-class research but also strengthen the broader relationship between our two countries.”

Victoria University of Wellington already maintains deep connections and a broad reach across China through longstanding research partnerships, student mobility programmes, and alumni networks.

The University first signed an agreement with Xiamen University in the 1980s, and its Confucius Institute was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to New Zealand in 2010. It is a founding partner of the New Zealand Centre at Peking University and hosts the pre-eminent New Zealand Contemporary Chinese Research Centre.

In 2023, Victoria University of Wellington welcomed its first cohort of students enrolled at a Joint Institute through a partnership with China’s largest university—Zhengzhou University, a globally ranked university with around 73,000 students. 

Professor Smith says universities play a crucial role in international dialogue as the world faces increasingly complex challenges.

“In a world facing complex, interconnected challenges—from climate change to public health—our researchers are advancing global solutions. This delegation is a powerful opportunity to showcase how collaboration across borders strengthens those efforts.”

“At Victoria University of Wellington, we see education not simply as a journey, but as a launchpad—for discovery, for leadership, and for impact. We are proud to support the aspirations of students who will shape the future of our world.”

The University will also be launching the Kitea Impact Programme—a leadership development initiative for future global changemakers—and a work integrated learning programme which provides students with hands-on experience in real-world projects while offering New Zealand businesses deeper insights into the Chinese market and access to top talent.

Professor Smith will participate in official events and meetings in Beijing and Shanghai and will reinforce Victoria University of Wellington’s commitment to China by signing partnership agreements with a number of prestigious Chinese universities.

About the partnerships

Research collaboration with Fudan University, Shanghai—one of China’s most prestigious and research-intensive universities—in the areas of public health, biotechnology, and climate science.

Student mobility agreements with Communication University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou—one of the two leading universities in China specialising in cultivating professionals for China’s media and broadcast industries. Students will be provided a pathway into Victoria University of Wellington’s Master’s degrees in Computer Science, and Intercultural Communication and Applied Translation.

Research collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences—a leading research centre in Beijing in the fields of philosophy and social sciences. The research collaboration with Victoria University of Wellington’s New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre focuses on climate change, diaspora studies, and modern Chinese history.

Student mobility agreements with Yantai University, a comprehensive university in Shandong with more than 29,000 students, which will see students transfer to complete a Victoria University of Wellington Bachelor degree in Language Sciences.

Study abroad agreement with Zhengzhou University in Henan. With around 73,000 students, it is the largest university in China. The agreement will allow students from ZZU to study at VUW for one or two trimesters.
MIL OSI New Zealand News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Williams, Pressley Introduce Resolution Condemning Anti-Abortion Laws that Continue to Harm People including Adriana Smith
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53)

June 17, 2025

Today, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced a resolution recognizing the tragic and deeply disturbing case of Adriana Smith, a Black mother who was declared brain dead in February 2025 and has since been kept on artificial life support without her family’s consent. On Friday, June 13, 2025, her infant son, named Chance, was born prematurely at approximately 4:41 a.m. via emergency Cesarean section. Chance weighs about 1 pound, 13 ounces and is currently in the NICU. Adriana Smith is being taken off life support today, Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

The resolution calls for urgent legislative and policy changes to protect the rights, autonomy, and dignity of pregnant people — particularly Black women, who are disproportionately impacted by systemic medical neglect and restrictive anti-abortion laws.

Representative Sara Jacobs said: “My heart breaks for Adriana Smith, her family, and new baby Chance, who had to enter the world this way. Georgia’s fetal personhood law denied Adriana Smith’s family the ability to say goodbye to her on their own terms. Instead, she was kept on life support, breathing through machines for nearly four months to serve as an incubator. Women are worth more than their ability to get pregnant and give birth – we are human beings who should be trusted to make our own health care decisions. It’s devastating that Adriana is the latest casualty of our nation’s Black maternal health crisis and anti-abortion laws – but let’s ensure she’s the last. This needs to be the watershed moment to end anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws and guarantee the rights and dignity of everyone to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families.”

Congresswoman Nikema Williams said: “I extend my sympathies to Adriana Smith’s family as they spend their final moments with Adriana on their terms. Adriana Smith deserved better at every point of this tragedy. Her family, along with baby Chance, remain in my family’s prayers as they navigate life after this unimaginably devastating situation that Georgia’s laws imposed on them.

“From my service in the State Senate when the LIFE Act was passed in 2019, I know that the bill was drafted in a way that created uncertainty among medical providers and my constituents in Georgia’s 5th District about what is permitted under the law and how the law would be enforced. The clear intention of this was to create a chilling effect on doctors providing essential maternal healthcare services and on patients seeking lifesaving medical treatment. We are now seeing this lack of clarity result in unimaginable cruelty to Adriana Smith and her family.”

“Adriana Smith was a beloved daughter, a devoted mother, and a compassionate nurse denied dignity and basic human rights,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “She and her family were failed by a broken system that ignored her pain and then forced them to endure months of trauma under cruel, dehumanizing laws. These laws stripped Adriana of her dignity and denied her family the right to make deeply personal medical decisions. I hope their experiences compel Congress and the states to finally end cruel abortion bans, end fetal personhood laws, and confront the Black maternal morbidity crisis once and for all. I am proud to join Congresswoman Williams and our colleagues on this resolution to honor Adriana’s life, uplift her family, and recommit ourselves to fighting for reproductive freedom, Black maternal health, the right to abortion care and the bodily autonomy of every person who calls this country home. We join Adriana’s family members in praying for strength for baby Chance and mourning the loss of Adriana.”

Adriana Smith, a nurse and mother, sought medical care for symptoms, including an extreme headache, in early February but was not given adequate treatment. She returned the next day as her condition worsened and was declared brain dead while nine weeks pregnant on February 19. She has been kept on artificial support until her pregnancy reaches 32 weeks and the fetus can be delivered, meaning her bodily functions will have been supported for more than 5 months. Due to Georgia’s LIFE Act and uncertainty surrounding fetal personhood laws, Emory University Midtown Hospital began maintaining Adriana’s bodily functions without consent from her family.

The resolution urges the government to:
- Repeal state laws that ban or criminalize abortion and abortion-related services;
- Repeal laws that exclude pregnant people from having their advance directives come into effect;
- Clarify how anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws should be interpreted in medical settings;
- Reaffirm and guarantee autonomy and dignity to pregnant people over their lives, well-being, and medical needs.
While Georgia’s Attorney General has stated that nothing in the LIFE Act explicitly mandates keeping a brain-dead patient on life support, the lack of a formal legal opinion or prosecutorial guidance leaves families and doctors in limbo.

Anti-abortion laws deprive people who can become pregnant of their autonomy by prioritizing the life of the fetus over the health, medical decisions, and rights of the pregnant person — a dehumanizing practice that violates their civil rights and reinforces systemic control over their bodies.

Out of fear of criminalization, family separation, or mistreatment like what Adriana Smith is experiencing, many pregnant people avoid healthcare settings even when they desire care, putting their health and the health of their fetus at risk.

The resolution declares that the House of Representatives stands with Adriana Smith’s family in their efforts to return dignity and justice to their family, condemns giving fetuses rights and taking them away from pregnant people in our laws, and condemns the troublingly common experience that Black women face in medical settings of having their pain not given full credence or treatment.

Read the full resolution here.

Read a one-pager on the resolution here.

MIL OSI USA News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Williams, Pressley Introduce Resolution Condemning Anti-Abortion Laws that Continue to Harm People including Adriana Smith
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53)

June 17, 2025

Today, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced a resolution recognizing the tragic and deeply disturbing case of Adriana Smith, a Black mother who was declared brain dead in February 2025 and has since been kept on artificial life support without her family’s consent. On Friday, June 13, 2025, her infant son, named Chance, was born prematurely at approximately 4:41 a.m. via emergency Cesarean section. Chance weighs about 1 pound, 13 ounces and is currently in the NICU. Adriana Smith is being taken off life support today, Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

The resolution calls for urgent legislative and policy changes to protect the rights, autonomy, and dignity of pregnant people — particularly Black women, who are disproportionately impacted by systemic medical neglect and restrictive anti-abortion laws.

Representative Sara Jacobs said: “My heart breaks for Adriana Smith, her family, and new baby Chance, who had to enter the world this way. Georgia’s fetal personhood law denied Adriana Smith’s family the ability to say goodbye to her on their own terms. Instead, she was kept on life support, breathing through machines for nearly four months to serve as an incubator. Women are worth more than their ability to get pregnant and give birth – we are human beings who should be trusted to make our own health care decisions. It’s devastating that Adriana is the latest casualty of our nation’s Black maternal health crisis and anti-abortion laws – but let’s ensure she’s the last. This needs to be the watershed moment to end anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws and guarantee the rights and dignity of everyone to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families.”

Congresswoman Nikema Williams said: “I extend my sympathies to Adriana Smith’s family as they spend their final moments with Adriana on their terms. Adriana Smith deserved better at every point of this tragedy. Her family, along with baby Chance, remain in my family’s prayers as they navigate life after this unimaginably devastating situation that Georgia’s laws imposed on them.

“From my service in the State Senate when the LIFE Act was passed in 2019, I know that the bill was drafted in a way that created uncertainty among medical providers and my constituents in Georgia’s 5th District about what is permitted under the law and how the law would be enforced. The clear intention of this was to create a chilling effect on doctors providing essential maternal healthcare services and on patients seeking lifesaving medical treatment. We are now seeing this lack of clarity result in unimaginable cruelty to Adriana Smith and her family.”

“Adriana Smith was a beloved daughter, a devoted mother, and a compassionate nurse denied dignity and basic human rights,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “She and her family were failed by a broken system that ignored her pain and then forced them to endure months of trauma under cruel, dehumanizing laws. These laws stripped Adriana of her dignity and denied her family the right to make deeply personal medical decisions. I hope their experiences compel Congress and the states to finally end cruel abortion bans, end fetal personhood laws, and confront the Black maternal morbidity crisis once and for all. I am proud to join Congresswoman Williams and our colleagues on this resolution to honor Adriana’s life, uplift her family, and recommit ourselves to fighting for reproductive freedom, Black maternal health, the right to abortion care and the bodily autonomy of every person who calls this country home. We join Adriana’s family members in praying for strength for baby Chance and mourning the loss of Adriana.”

Adriana Smith, a nurse and mother, sought medical care for symptoms, including an extreme headache, in early February but was not given adequate treatment. She returned the next day as her condition worsened and was declared brain dead while nine weeks pregnant on February 19. She has been kept on artificial support until her pregnancy reaches 32 weeks and the fetus can be delivered, meaning her bodily functions will have been supported for more than 5 months. Due to Georgia’s LIFE Act and uncertainty surrounding fetal personhood laws, Emory University Midtown Hospital began maintaining Adriana’s bodily functions without consent from her family.

The resolution urges the government to:
- Repeal state laws that ban or criminalize abortion and abortion-related services;
- Repeal laws that exclude pregnant people from having their advance directives come into effect;
- Clarify how anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws should be interpreted in medical settings;
- Reaffirm and guarantee autonomy and dignity to pregnant people over their lives, well-being, and medical needs.
While Georgia’s Attorney General has stated that nothing in the LIFE Act explicitly mandates keeping a brain-dead patient on life support, the lack of a formal legal opinion or prosecutorial guidance leaves families and doctors in limbo.

Anti-abortion laws deprive people who can become pregnant of their autonomy by prioritizing the life of the fetus over the health, medical decisions, and rights of the pregnant person — a dehumanizing practice that violates their civil rights and reinforces systemic control over their bodies.

Out of fear of criminalization, family separation, or mistreatment like what Adriana Smith is experiencing, many pregnant people avoid healthcare settings even when they desire care, putting their health and the health of their fetus at risk.

The resolution declares that the House of Representatives stands with Adriana Smith’s family in their efforts to return dignity and justice to their family, condemns giving fetuses rights and taking them away from pregnant people in our laws, and condemns the troublingly common experience that Black women face in medical settings of having their pain not given full credence or treatment.

Read the full resolution here.

Read a one-pager on the resolution here.

MIL OSI USA News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to Dutch study looking at sexual function in transgender adults who had had puberty blockers in adolescence and then cross-sex hormones

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

June 18, 2025

A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine & Research looks at sexual function of transgender adults who had taken puberty blockers during adolescence.

Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, said:

“I should start by saying that I’m no expert in sexual medicine, and certainly not in the sexual problems and issues faced by trans people. It does seem to me, as a non-expert, that much of the information in this new study will be useful to those who do work with trans people on these matters (and to trans people themselves).

“I do, however, have expertise in the design and interpretation of research studies, and because of that I have some doubts about the interpretation of some of the findings, including how they are described in the press release. (The press release does generally match what is said in the research paper.)

“The research paper tells us that, of their group who had been treated with puberty blockers and later with gender-affirming hormones, 58% of the trans men and 50% of the trans women reported at least one sexual dysfunction. 52% of the trans men and 40% of the trans women said they were satisfied with their sex lives. My doubts are mostly about some comparisons within these groups in the study, and particularly about comparisons with other groups that weren’t in the study (trans people who did not have puberty blockers, and cis people).

“The first issue to note is that the number of participants was pretty small for trans men (50 of them) and very small for trans women (just 20). This in itself limits how far the findings can be generalized beyond people attending the clinic where the research was done.

“But how do these rates of sexual dysfunction compare to other groups? Are those percentages large or small? Some comparisons between groups are made in the research paper and reported in the press release, and here I have some doubts.

“Some comparisons are made within the participants in the study. For instance, a quote in the release says, “There was also no difference between people who started puberty blockers early or later in puberty.” That does generally match what the research paper says. However, this was an observational study. In observational studies, there are always doubts about what is causing what. That’s because there will be differences between the groups being compared in terms of other factors, and perhaps the other factors are causing any observed differences in the outcomes. This extends to doubts about whether a lack of difference between people who got puberty blockers at different stages is because the stage of starting the blockers has no real effect – maybe it does have an effect but that is masked by some other factors.

“Typically in this kind of study, the researchers would make statistical adjustments to try to allow for the effects of other factors that differed between subgroups of the participants. But in this study, that could not be done because the number of participants was too small. So there must remain some doubt about whether the puberty stage when puberty blockers began does affect the level of sexual problems later. It might not, or it might.

“However, the researchers make comparison with other groups too, groups on which this study did not itself collect any data. It’s always very awkward to make comparisons between findings from different studies that might use different measurement methods – different questionnaires in this case – and possibly very different populations of participants, where differences in other factors may be very important.

“In the research paper, the researchers make informal comparisons about the level of sexual problems between the people in their own study, who all had puberty blockers and then, later, gender-affirming hormones, with people in a different study who had gender-affirming treatment that started in adulthood, and so had no puberty blockers. They report that the other study (reference 26 in the new paper) found that 54% of sexually active trans men and 69% of sexually active trans women reported at least one sexual difficulty. Those rates are higher than the rates in the new study, but (as the paper points out) there are several differences between the new study and the one used for comparison. But nevertheless the press release says, “The frequency of sexual problems was consistent with previous studies among transgender adults who did not start hormone therapy until adulthood.” Given the small numbers of participants, and the fact that there are reasonably substantial differences between the two studies in terms of sexual difficulties, I think that’s going a bit too far.

“Also, part of a quote in the press release says, “This [the level of satisfaction with their sex lives of the participants in the new study] corresponds to the sexual satisfaction of the cisgender population.” I think that’s going too far as well: The research article quotes rates of sexual dysfunction in cis women in young women in the Netherlands and adult women in the US as 42% and 43% respectively, and in the new study, 50% of the trans women reported at least one sexual dysfunction. (But remember there were only 20 trans women in the new research.) For adult cis men in the US and England, the researchers quote that 31% and 34% reported sexual dysfunction. In the new study, 58% of the trans men reported at least one sexual dysfunction.

“I think the best we can say is that all these percentages are in roughly the same ballpark. But does it make sense to say that they ‘correspond’? How far does it make sense at all to compare data on adults, on average much older than the people in the new study, and to compare recent data (in the new study) with data going back to1998 and 2000 for the UK and US results? And anyway, to what extent might all these figures represent what participants want to tell researchers, rather than what they truly think about their own sex lives?”

Dr Channa Jayasena, Associate Professor in Reproductive Endocrinology, Imperial College London, said:

“Puberty blockers ‘switch off’ a hormone signal from the brain which tells the body to develop male or female adult characteristics. Puberty blockers are approved in many countries to stop puberty in children with gender dysphoria who do not want to go through puberty aligned with their birth sex. In the UK, puberty blockers cannot be given, and a clinical trial is planned to investigate how well they treat symptoms in children with gender dysphoria.

“The current study used questionnaires to investigate rates of sexual problems in patients who had been treated with puberty blockers starting from the ages of 11-18 years. The size and design of the study is like other studies investigating sexual symptoms in patients. The authors found that about half of transgender individuals who were given puberty blockers between ages 11 and 18 years reported sexual satisfaction as adults; the authors state that levels of sexual satisfaction reported in their study were similar to levels of satisfaction reported previously for individuals starting treatment for gender dysphoria as adults. It would have been helpful to have included another group of young people without gender dysphoria, to judge how much gender dysphoria affects sexual satisfaction. In addition, we currently do not know whether puberty blockade alters sexual satisfaction for young people with gender dysphoria if given

‘Sexual satisfaction and dysfunction in transgender adults following puberty suppression treatment during adolescence’ by Isabelle S. van der Meulen et al. was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine & Research at 01:01 UK time on Wednesday 18 June 2025.

Declared interests

Prof Kevin McConway: “No conflicts.”

Dr Channa Jayasena: “None.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Statement on Adriana Smith
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Adriana Smith’s Family Was Denied the Right to Make Medical Decisions for Months, After She Was Declared Brain Dead, Due to Georgia Abortion Ban

Pressley Joins Williams, Jacobs in Introducing Resolution Condemning Anti-Abortion Laws that Denied Smith’s Dignity and Human Rights

Adriana’s Son Chance was Delivered via Postmortem Emergency C-Section and Adriana Will be Taken Off Life Support

Resolution Text (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) released the following statement on the tragic case of Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Georgia mother who was declared brain dead in February and had been kept on artificial life support without her family’s consent. The Georgia hospital where Adriana died indicated that the state’s extreme abortion ban mandated Adriana remain on life support because she was 9 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. On Friday, June 13, 2025, her infant son, named Chance, was born prematurely at approximately 4:41 a.m. via a postmortem emergency Cesarean section. Chance weighs about 1 pound, 13 ounces and is currently in the NICU. Adriana is being taken off life support today.

“Adriana Smith was a beloved daughter, a devoted mother, and a compassionate nurse denied dignity and basic human rights,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “She and her family were failed by a broken system that ignored her pain and then forced them to endure months of trauma under cruel, dehumanizing laws. These laws stripped Adriana of her dignity and denied her family the right to make deeply personal medical decisions. I hope their experiences compel Congress and the states to finally end cruel abortion bans, end fetal personhood laws, and confront the Black maternal morbidity crisis once and for all. I am proud to join Congresswoman Williams and our colleagues on this resolution to honor Adriana’s life, uplift her family, and recommit ourselves to fighting for reproductive freedom, Black maternal health, the right to abortion care and the bodily autonomy of every person who calls this country home. We join Adriana’s family members in praying for strength for baby Chance and mourning the loss of Adriana.”

In light of this solemn update, Congresswoman Pressley joined Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51) in introducing a resolution recognizing the deeply disturbing case of Adriana Smith.

The resolution calls for urgent legislative and policy changes to protect the rights, autonomy, and dignity of pregnant people — particularly Black women, who are disproportionately impacted by systemic medical neglect and restrictive anti-abortion laws.

“I extend my sympathies to Adriana Smith’s family as they spend their final moments with Adriana on their terms. Adriana Smith deserved better at every point of this tragedy. Her family, along with baby Chance, remain in my family’s prayers as they navigate life after this unimaginably devastating situation that Georgia’s laws imposed on them. From my service in the State Senate when the LIFE Act was passed in 2019, I know that the bill was drafted in a way that created uncertainty among medical providers and my constituents in Georgia’s 5th District about what is permitted under the law and how the law would be enforced. The clear intention of this was to create a chilling effect on doctors providing essential maternal healthcare services and on patients seeking lifesaving medical treatment. We are now seeing this lack of clarity result in unimaginable cruelty to Adriana Smith and her family,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams.

“My heart breaks for Adriana Smith, her family, and new baby Chance, who had to enter the world this way. Georgia’s fetal personhood law denied Adriana Smith’s family the ability to say goodbye to her on their own terms,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “Instead, she was kept on life support, breathing through machines for nearly four months to serve as an incubator. Women are worth more than their ability to get pregnant and give birth – we are human beings who should be trusted to make our own health care decisions. It’s devastating that Adriana is the latest casualty of our nation’s Black maternal health crisis and anti-abortion laws – but let’s ensure she’s the last. This needs to be the watershed moment to end anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws and guarantee the rights and dignity of everyone to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families.”

Adriana Smith, a nurse and mother, sought medical care for symptoms, including an extreme headache, in early February but was not given adequate treatment. She returned the next day as her condition worsened and was declared brain dead while nine weeks pregnant on February 19. She has been kept on artificial support until her pregnancy reaches 32 weeks and the fetus can be delivered, meaning her bodily functions will have been supported for more than 5 months. Due to Georgia’s LIFE Act and uncertainty surrounding fetal personhood laws, Emory University Midtown Hospital began maintaining Adriana’s bodily functions without consent from her family.

The resolution urges the government to:
- Repeal state laws that ban or criminalize abortion and abortion-related services;
- Repeal laws that exclude pregnant people from having their advance directives come into effect;
- Clarify how anti-abortion and fetal personhood laws should be interpreted in medical settings;
- Reaffirm and guarantee autonomy and dignity to pregnant people over their lives, well-being, and medical needs.
While Georgia’s Attorney General has stated that nothing in the LIFE Act explicitly mandates keeping a brain-dead patient on life support, the lack of a formal legal opinion or prosecutorial guidance leaves families and doctors in limbo.

Anti-abortion laws deprive people who can become pregnant of their autonomy by prioritizing the life of the fetus over the health, medical decisions, and rights of the pregnant person — a dehumanizing practice that violates their civil rights and reinforces systemic control over their bodies.

Out of fear of criminalization, family separation, or mistreatment like what Adriana Smith is experiencing, many pregnant people avoid healthcare settings even when they desire care, putting their health and the health of their fetus at risk.

The resolution declares that the House of Representatives stands with Adriana Smith’s family in their efforts to return dignity and justice to their family, condemns giving fetuses rights and taking them away from pregnant people in our laws, and condemns the troublingly common experience that Black women face in medical settings of having their pain not given full credence or treatment.

A copy of the resolution text can be found here.

On June 5, Rep. Pressley delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor demanding justice for Adriana Smith and sharing her family’s story. Pressley connected the horrific mistreatment of Adriana Smith to the brutal history of medical violence Black women have faced in America for centuries.

Last month, as Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Rep. Pressley and Co-Chair Diana DeGette (CO-01) released a statement calling for the state of Georgia and the hospital in question to respect the fundamental rights of Adriana Smith and her family and condemned GOP abortion bans.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: New York ETO promotes biotechnology and academic ties with Boston (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

New York ETO promotes biotechnology and academic ties with Boston
At the June 15 (Boston time) welcome dinner for the Hong Kong delegation at BIO 2025, Ms Ho highlighted Hong Kong’s status as a global hub for biotech innovation and fundraising. She also noted Hong Kong’s strong presence at BIO 2025, showcasing the depth and diversity of the city’s biotechnology sector, including pharmaceuticals, immunotherapies, gene editing, diagnostics and stem cell technologies.

The Hong Kong delegation included representatives from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and its delegation of 16 leading biotech portfolio companies, the medical faculties of the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as representatives from the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, Invest Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. At the Hong Kong Pavilion, they showcased the city’s life and health sciences capabilities, aiming to attract global enterprises, talent, and investment, and reinforcing Hong Kong’s status as a global biotech hub.

At the “Hong Kong x Boston Biotech Disrupt Night” on June 16 (Boston time) hosted by Invest Hong Kong, Ms Ho spoke on Hong Kong’s strategic advantages in biotechnology, citing world-class infrastructure, strong intellectual property protection, top-tier universities, and a vibrant start-up ecosystem. She also emphasised government support, funding and initiatives such as InnoLife Healthtech Hub and the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme. The event, attended by over 140 biotech industry representatives and investors, also featured a panel discussion featuring Hong Kong and Boston’s biotech leaders where they had an insightful exchange on the potential of Boston biotech companies in leveraging Hong Kong for their Asian market expansion.

“Hong Kong offers a nurturing environment for life sciences—combining policy support, research excellence, and regulatory certainty. As the world’s second-largest fundraising hub for biotech IPOs, we also offer deep access to capital and a highly international talent pool. With our world-class infrastructure, common law system, robust IP protections, and proximity to Mainland China and Asia, we serve as a gateway and global launchpad for biotech companies aiming to scale and internationalise”, she said.

While in Boston, Ms Ho also met with representatives of the academia to explore areas of mutual interests and promoted Hong Kong’s various talent admission schemes and the city’s commitment to become an international education and research hub. Her meetings included discussions with Visiting Fellow of Practice at Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Mr Mitchell Presnick; and representatives from the University of Massachusetts Boston, including the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Mr Joseph B. Berger; the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Ms Karen Ferrer-Muñiz; and the Vice Provost of Research and Strategic Initiatives, Mr Bala Sundaram. She also attended a reception hosted by the Mayor of Boston Ms Michelle Wu for key international biotech leaders and stakeholders.
Issued at HKT 7:40

NNNN

CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Concerned Stockholders Affirm Nomination of Director Candidates to Drive Change at Ionic

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Reiterate Commitment to Fight for Liquidity and Transparency Against Entrenched Incumbents

Set Record Straight on Ionic’s Most Recent Misleading Statements

Urge Their Fellow Stockholders to Learn More About Their Plan for Change at www.ionicvote.com

SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tony Vejseli, Chris Villinger, and Brett Perry (the “Concerned Stockholders”), stockholders of Ionic Digital Inc. (“Ionic” or the “Company”), today issued a public letter to their fellow stockholders announcing that, pursuant to the ruling of the Delaware Court of Chancery that the Ionic board of directors breached its fiduciary duty and ordering the Company to reopen its nomination window for director candidates, the Concerned Stockholders have submitted a new nomination of their two highly qualified candidates, Mike Abbate and Oliver Wiener, for the two Class I Board seats up for election at the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled for July 2, 2025.

The full text of the letter can be found on the Concerned Stockholder’s website at www.ionicvote.com and below:

Fellow Ionic Digital Stockholders:

Tony Vejseli, Chris Villinger, and Brett Perry (together, the “Concerned Stockholders,” “we,” or “us”) are stockholders of Ionic Digital Inc. (“Ionic” or the “Company”) and have long been committed to fighting for the rights of our fellow stockholders. We believe our recent victory in the Delaware Court of Chancery, in which the court found that the Ionic board of directors (the “Board”) breached its fiduciary duties in seeking to entrench itself by reducing the size of the Board as a defensive tactic in the midst of a proxy contest. This ruling against each of the current Board members vindicates many of our concerns regarding the disgraceful lack of oversight and disregard for stockholder rights at Ionic.

Pursuant to the court’s order that the Company reopen its nomination window for director candidates for election to the two open Class I Board seats at the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled for July 2, 2025 (the “Annual Meeting”), we are pleased to announce that we have re-nominated Mike Abbate and Oliver Wiener, two highly-qualified candidates whom we have vetted thoroughly and are confident possess the background and experience in capital markets, corporate finance and the cryptocurrency space that we believe is necessary drive the much-needed change highlighted by the Delaware Court of Chancery’s decision and finally put stockholder value first at Ionic. The bios of our candidates are below, and interested stockholders can learn more at www.ionicvote.com.

We also feel it is critical to set the record straight regarding certain misleading claims made by Ionic in its latest stockholder communication. While we are confident that no stockholder of Ionic would take the current Board’s statements at face value, given its long history of obfuscation and documented failure to focus on stockholder interests, we believe that stockholders deserve the whole truth, and that the election at the Annual Meeting should be made on a fully-informed basis and not be manipulated by misleading insinuations and distortions.

For instance, the Board purports to believe that our interests conflict with those of our fellow stockholders. But nothing could be further from the truth – our only interests, and the only interests of our director candidates, are in creating stockholder value and generating liquidity after the long and undeserved drought spearheaded by the incumbent Board. Neither we nor any of our director candidates have any commitment to pursuing any particular liquidity pathway, and if elected, Messrs. Abbate and Wiener would consider all options for liquidity consistent with their fiduciary duties to stockholders – something the incumbent Board is clearly and demonstrably incapable of doing itself.

Ionic also attempts to smear Mr. Wiener’s stellar reputation as a successful veteran of fintech and blockchain-based investments by focusing exclusively on his experience as a member of the advisory board of FTX, an advisory position of platitude, not fiduciary duty. Ionic refuses to acknowledge Mr. Wiener’s deep experience with and understanding of the cryptocurrency industry, a depth of expertise not possessed by a single member of the incumbent Board.

Ionic falsely claims that Elizabeth LaPuma is the only nominee with decades of experience in capital markets, corporate finance and corporate transformation – but Mr. Wiener, not Ms. LaPuma, is the only candidate for election to the Board who served as senior leadership of an investment bank for two decades and founded a private equity firm, bringing more capital markets and finance experience to the table than the entire incumbent Board, including Ms. LaPuma. We further emphasize that among the many impressive and relevant items on Mr. Wiener’s resume, there is not a single judgment by a court that he ever breached a fiduciary duty to his stockholders, nor any period of failure in which he sat on a board for a year and a half collecting obscene board fees and juggling a rotating cast of executives, consultants, and auditors while failing to deliver on repeated promises of liquidity for long-suffering stockholders – which is more than can be said for any member of the Ionic Board.

Finally, we note that Ionic’s most recent stockholder communication includes some limited scraps of operational data, and we applaud the Company for recognizing, if only belatedly and only as a result of our hard-fought engagement, that it needs to communicate with stockholders. But we emphasize that these communications remain sporadic, opportunistic, and incomplete. It should be highly concerning to all Ionic stockholders that the Company has failed to produce an annual report or any standard financial disclosures. Critically, over a year and a half of existence, Ionic has still never released a single data point regarding its costs and expenses. In fact, we understand the Company has engaged three separate investment banks, but has failed to disclose exactly how much it is paying these expensive advisors. Stockholders deserve to know how much of our money is being burned by a Board that has already demonstrated that it doesn’t care about its duties to its stockholders.

The Concerned Stockholders believe that the incumbent Board has had more than adequate opportunity to prove itself, and it has failed. Over the last year and a half, the incumbent Board has proven only that it lacks the necessary experience to oversee the business of Ionic. As Scott Flanders himself testified in the Delaware Court of Chancery, regarding the operations of the Company:

“…material safety issues, just gross negligent construction, not adhering to any kind of best practices, the performance, and lack of responsiveness from Hut 8.”

Stockholders deserve real change – we urge you to throw away your WHITE proxy card and vote for Mike Abbate and Oliver Wiener on the GOLD Proxy Card today to cast a vote for restoring transparency, accountability, and liquidity to Ionic.

Learn more at www.ionicvote.com

Contact Information
Investor Contact:
Saratoga Proxy Consulting LLC
John Ferguson / Ann Marie Mellone
(888) 368-0379
(212) 257-1311
info@saratogaproxy.com

Our Candidates:

Michael Abbate, age 46, currently serves as an Advisor to Figure Markets Holdings, Inc. (“Figure Markets”), a decentralized custody and exchange for financial assets, since February 2025. Previously, Mr. Abbate served as Chief Investment Officer of Figure Markets, from January 2024 to January 2025. Prior to Figure Markets, Mr. Abbate served as Managing Partner of NovaWulf Digital Management, LP (“NovaWulf”), an investment manager focused on digital assets, from August 2021 to January 2024 and as a private investor from January 2021 to August 2021. Earlier in his career, Mr. Abbate worked for over 16 years at King Street Capital Management, L.P., a leading global alternative asset manager, most recently as a Member, from March 2004 to December 2020. Mr. Abbate started his career as an investment banker in global technology at Morgan Stanley and received a Bachelor of Computer Science and Engineering from Dartmouth College.

Oliver Wiener, age 47, has served as Founder and Managing Partner of Kensington Merchant Partners, a merchant bank, investment management and corporate development advisory business focused on Financials, Fintech, Insurance, Insuretech and Blockchain verticals, since January 2023. Previously, he served as a Portfolio Manager at Standard Investments LLC, an investment platform focused on the intersection of industry and technology, from May 2021 to December 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Wiener served as Co-Founder and Partner at BTIG, LLC, a global financial services firm, from March 2003 to May 2021. Mr. Wiener currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Chain Bridge I, a special situations fund focused on convertible bonds, SPAC securities, PIPEs, warrants and public equities, since February 2024, and The National Security Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, since October 2024. He has also served as a board observer at Figment Inc., a leading provider of blockchain infrastructure, since 2022, an advisory board member at Extend, an AI enabled post purchase protection Insurtech since 2021 and an advisor at Figment Capital, a Web3 infrastructure investment fund, since July 2021, Hangar, a private equity sponsor focused on technology and public sector markets, since March 2023, and the Opportunity Network, a non-profit focused on providing access to college and professional mobility for underrepresented students, since January 2021. He is also an active member of the Economic Club of New York and the University of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science Board of Visitors, as well as the UW Technology Entrepreneurship Office Advisory Council. Previously, he served as a member of the board of directors of Interchecks Technologies, Inc., a payment technology company, from January 2022 to January 2023, and as an advisory board member at Anchor Labs Inc., a software developer, from the spring of 2020 to the winter of 2023. Mr. Wiener also served as a founding member and President of the board of the Association for Digital Asset Markets, a private, non-profit, industry-led, broad-based association of firms operating in the digital asset space, from November 2018 to May 2021, and was a member of Prince’s Trust US Finance Committee from January 2019 to December 2023. Mr. Wiener began his career as an equities analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer. He received a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New plans to supercharge UK cyber sector
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

New plans to supercharge UK cyber sector

The UK’s growing cyber security sector will be boosted by millions in new investment and a new Cyber Growth Action Plan, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
New Cyber Growth Action Plan to boost jobs and innovation, growing the UK’s £13.2 billion cyber sector.

Up to £16 million in new funding to turn cutting edge innovation into new business, and boost cyber startups

Cyber experts from defence and big tech set to advise government on public sector cybersecurity, amid growing threats.

The UK’s growing and cutting edge cyber security sector will be boosted by millions in new investment and a roadmap for growth, as part of the Plan for Change.

The government has today [Wednesday 18 June] set out the Cyber Growth Action Plan that will chart a course for the UK’s thriving cyber industry, including the technologies, processes, and services designed to protect digital systems, to continue to grow – with the sector already generating £13.2 billion in annual revenue and supporting over 67,000 jobs in 2024.

Led by independent experts at University of Bristol and Imperial College London’s Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance, the Plan will examine the strengths of the UK’s cyber sector and provide a roadmap for its future growth. This will culminate with a set of recommendations later this summer for government to plot out what steps can be taken to deliver maximum impact.

On top of this, up to £16 million in new investment has been announced in 2 cyber sector programmes to kickstart growth. Up to £10 million in additional funding will be invested in the CyberASAP programme over the next 4 years, which will support the UK’s cutting edge academic cyber sector to turn their research into commercial companies. The programme has already supported the creation of 34 spin-out companies which have raised over £43 million in investment. The new funding aims to generate a further 25 spin-outs by 2030 and attract £30 million in additional investment.

To build on the work of the government’s current cyber accelerator Cyber Runway, up to £6 million will be also allocated to support cyber startups and SMEs – helping firms scale, access new markets through trade missions, and strengthen the UK’s wider cyber ecosystem. By backing researchers and entrepreneurs, these programmes will ensure the UK remains a global leader in cyber innovation and growth. This investment will unlock more jobs, support innovation, and bolster Britain’s cyber security.

Cyber Security Minister Feryal Clark said:

Cyber security is essential to our economic strength and national resilience. Today’s announcement is backed by investment showing we’re serious about making the UK a global leader in cyber innovation and protection.

Through our Plan for Change, we’re backing the sector to create high-quality jobs through the Cyber Growth Action Plan and ensuring our public services are built on secure foundations with the expert support of the Government Cyber Advisory Board.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said:

Today’s investment will help to turn innovative ideas into successful businesses up and down the country, and the new research will support our mission to grow the economy.

Recent cyber attacks show just how important it is we foster the development of the sector – delivering the double dividend of high paying jobs as well as strengthening the country’s cyber security.

The Growth Action Plan is due to report later this summer and will feed into the forthcoming National Cyber Strategy, ensuring the UK remains resilient and competitive in an increasingly interconnected world. This is central to the government’s Plan for Change, aimed at driving innovation, creating high-quality jobs and securing long-term economic resilience.

The review is set to cover the supply and demand of cyber goods and services such as protective monitoring and encryption, to understand opportunities for growth. The research will aim to spot new trends and potential areas to capitalise on – as well as explore emerging technologies including AI and Quantum, and identify opportunities to strengthen Britain’s competitive edge. This will in turn protect our digital economy and the new growth which is fundamental to the government’s Plan for Change.

Simon Shiu, Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Bristol and leading the project, said:

The UK Cyber Sector is successful and growing, but so too are the challenges as demonstrated by recent events which have affected businesses and consumers. Based on input from all parts of the Cyber Sector, this project will make independent recommendations to accelerate growth in Cyber, but also to increase cyber-resilience in the other sectors critical to UK security, industry, and prosperity.

Professor Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial, said:

The Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance (CSEP) at Imperial is uniquely placed to work with the University of Bristol on this important work in a rapidly growing and key sector for the UK economy. This work is aligned with our ambition to help drive economic growth by boosting the UK’s innovation capacity, productivity and competitiveness.

Senior cybersecurity experts from defence, big tech companies, AI labs, academia and more are also advising the government on public sector cybersecurity. Cyber leaders from BAE Systems, Santander, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google DeepMind will form the new iteration of the Government Cyber Advisory Board, which will play a key role in supporting the government’s goal to strengthen the public sector’s cyber resilience. This aligns with the government Cyber Security Strategy and underpins the delivery of secure digital services across government.

The cyber sector will be a key focus of the upcoming Industrial Strategy – becoming a central pillar of the government’s Plan for Change to kick-start growth and put more money in people’s pockets across the UK. Cyber security has become a central part of the government’s plans to secure the economy and drive growth across the country as part of its Plan for Change.

Earlier this year, the Technology Secretary set out his ambition for the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill which includes proposals to protect the UK’s supply chains, critical national services, and IT service providers and suppliers and is expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year.

As part of the new measures, hospitals and energy suppliers are set to boost their cyber defences, protecting public services and safeguarding growth.

Notes to editors

You can find the Terms of Reference for the growth review here.

The new board members of the Government Cyber Advisory Board include:

Daniel Cuthbert (co-chair), Global Head of Cyber Security Research, Santander

Bella Powell (co-chair), Government Cyber Director, Government Digital Service

Daniel Card, Cyber Security Consultant

Cate Pye, Global Partner Lead for Digital Trust and Cyber Security, PA Consulting

Heather Bedson, Head of Information Security, BPP

Jeff Moss, President of DEF CON Communications Inc

Jen Ellis, Cyber Security Consultant

Asif Matadar, CEO and Founder, cyberwargames.ai

Dr Simon Parkinson, Professor of Cyber Security, University of Huddersfield

Julia Spain, Partner, Ashurst Risk Advisory

Nicole Fowler, Chief Information Security Officer, Bank of Ireland UK

Thomas Harvey, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Santander UK

Richard Palk, Managing Director Security, Accenture UK

Sam Kirby-French, Group CISO, BAE Systems

Phil Legg, Professor in Cyber Security, University of the West of England

Mark Evans, Principal Security Strategist, Amazon Web Services

Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft

Ian Thompson, Senior Government Cyber Advisor, Middle East and North Africa, Google

Eleanor Sim, Director Security Strategy and Architecture, Chief Security Architect, Bupa

Euan Birch, Head of Cyber Security Operations, SP Energy Networks

Vijay Bolina, Chief Information Security Officer, Head of Cybersecurity Research, DeepMind

Daniel Cuthbert (industry co-chair):

It is an honour to co-chair the UK Government Cyber Advisory Board (GCAB). Our strength comes from the close partnership between public and private sector experts, drawing on a wide range of experience to help protect the UK. As cyber threats continue to evolve, strong cyber security is essential to safeguarding our economy, protecting public services, and supporting everyday life. The diversity of expertise on the board plays a vital role in ensuring the UK remains resilient, innovative and secure.

Ian Thompson:

The Government Cyber Advisory Board plays a vital role in bringing together expertise from across government and a wide set of industry sectors. This cross-sector collaboration not only accelerates the sharing of best practices and experience but also ensures balanced perspectives and mutual learning — something I’m personally finding invaluable.

Sarah Armstrong-Smith:

From laggards to leaders – in an era where cyber-attacks are coming thick and fast, GCAB has the opportunity to take a commanding role, setting the right path and principles for how the UK should respond to this systemic threat. This requires a whole-of-society approach to build collective resilience that inspires confidence in times of uncertainty.

Cate Pye:

I’m delighted to be part of the GCAB, it is a really pivotal part of making sure that the whole of the UK contribute to our cyber security as this becomes increasingly essential to the way we live and work. It is also an exemplar of how government and industry can work as one team to really change the way both government and the private sector pragmatically address cyber challenges together, building trust and competency in both.

Asif Matadar:

It has been an absolute honour to serve as an inaugural member of the Government Cyber Advisory Board. This initiative has already delivered concrete improvements in how government organisations anticipate and mitigate cyber threats, embedding best practice across government. I am therefore delighted that my term has been extended for a further year, during which I will continue to apply my expertise in incident response, cyber skills development and emerging technologies to support the UK government’s mission of building a world‑class, resilient cyber estate by 2030.

Euan Birch:

GCAB reflects the best of trusted public-private partnerships, embedding strategic collaboration and shared responsibility at the heart of government. As a member, I value the opportunity to support government in its mission to strengthen the UK’s resilience to cyber attacks and help secure its position as a global leader.

Heather Bedson:

Being part of the GCAB is an opportunity to drive change and improve the Government’s cyber resilience by using expertise from a wide range of industries. I enjoy being part of the GCAB, as it’s an opportunity to share my experiences while collaborating with colleagues across the sector who I might not have otherwise met.

DSIT media enquiries

Email press@dsit.gov.uk

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm 020 7215 3000

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 18 June 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Norcross Announces National Science Foundation Grant for Rowan University

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Donald Norcross (1st District of New Jersey)

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Representative Donald Norcross announced that Rowan University was awarded a $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

“This is an exciting investment to expand cutting-edge research in South Jersey,” said Congressman Don Norcross. “Supporting research in our community creates opportunities, spurs economic growth, and drives innovation that benefits our communities. I’m dedicated to continuing to transform South Jersey into a leading hub for higher education and medical research.”

The funding that was granted through the NSF CAREER award will support research on how oxygen levels and inflammation affect the development and spread of diseases in the body. The NSF CAREER award is one of the top honors for early-career faculty and supports a highly skilled workforce.

The NSF supports innovative scientific research to strengthen our nation’s economy and skilled workforce. Read more about the NSF here.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Announces More Than $1.3 Million for AmeriCorps Seniors Programs in Maine
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

Published: June 17, 2025
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that three organizations in Maine will receive a total of $1,373,395 through the Fiscal Year 2025 AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and the Senior Companion Program (SCP). The funding will support the work of 149 older volunteers across the State of Maine who provide aid, companionship, and guidance to seniors, young people, and children.

“These grants will help older Mainers remain active and engaged in their communities while providing critical support to some of the most vulnerable people in our state,” said Senator Collins. “Whether it’s mentoring and providing guidance to students or helping older adults continue to live independently, foster grandparents and senior companions make a real difference in the lives of those they serve.”

The funding is allocated as follows:

The Opportunity Alliance (South Portland)

$583,373 Foster Grandparent Program award to support 65 volunteers.

Penquis CAP (Bangor)

$399,717 Foster Grandparent Program award to support 44 volunteers

University of Maine System (Orono)

$390,305 Senior Companion Program award to support 40 volunteers

According to AmeriCorps, the FGP engages volunteers age 55 and over to serve in communities as role models, mentors, and friends to children. The SCP engages volunteers to provide assistance and companionship primarily to elderly individuals—and also to people with disabilities—who have difficulty with daily living tasks.

Senator Collins is a longstanding member of the National Service Congressional Caucus and has cosponsored legislation to exclude the AmeriCorps Education Award from federal income tax. In recognition of her strong support for AmeriCorps, Senator Collins received the Edward M. Kennedy National Service Lifetime Leadership Award in 2023. She joined a bipartisan group in introducing legislation to expand national service programs significantly to help the country recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 public health emergency.
MIL OSI USA News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Historic Investment at SUNY Downstate Hospital
Source: US State of New York

[embedded content]

[embedded content]
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “Governor Hochul is making a historic investment in SUNY Downstate and Central Brooklyn, which will create a state-of-the-art, modern teaching hospital for generations of Brooklynites. This more than $1 billion investment, as part of a reasonable, scalable, and fiscally responsible plan, will ensure SUNY Downstate’s hospital moves forward and maintains all essential inpatient and outpatient services, as it expands to continue serving the needs of the community.”

The advisory board’s task was to consider recommendations to establish a reasonable, scalable and fiscally responsible plan for the financial health, viability, and sustainability of SUNY Downstate within a range of available funds. Over the course of their deliberations, the advisory board:
- Held four public hearings (one more than statutorily required) on January 22, February 27, March 13, and April 28, with two in Community Board #9 and two in Community Board #17
- Met with numerous community stakeholders including the SUNY Downstate Medical School Department Chairs, the Brooklyn for Downstate advocacy group (twice), the leadership at SUNY Downstate, and other regional health care providers
- Carefully reviewed analysis of the community health needs (including the Brooklyn for Downstate data needs analysis and recommendations for the future of SUNY Downstate, the Community Health Needs Assessment 2022 prepared by the NYC Health & Hospitals, and the New York State Department of Health’s Study of Healthcare System Inequities and Perinatal Access in Brooklyn report), Downstate Hospital’s financials, and the condition of Downstate Hospital’s physical plant
- Engaged a team of consultants to provide expert analysis, infrastructure assessment, financial modeling, architectural and engineering scenarios, and coordination to independently assess the reasonableness of the financial modeling and identify options to reduce the ongoing operating deficit.
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University President Dr. Wayne J. Riley said, “This plan represents an extraordinary investment in SUNY Downstate’s teaching hospital–University Hospital at Downstate–and a brighter future for our patients, students, faculty, and staff. I thank Governor Hochul, the Brooklyn legislative delegation, the SUNY Board of Trustees, Chancellor King, the faculty and staff of SUNY Downstate, and the faith leaders, labor organizations, and other community stakeholders who have worked together to envision a strong and achievable future for SUNY Downstate.”

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “Governor Hochul has committed significant resources to ensure that SUNY Downstate can do more for the health and wellbeing of the Brooklyn community. We are grateful to the Governor, the Downstate Community Advisory Board, including SUNY Chancellor John King, as well as to Senior Vice Chancellor for Health and Hospital Affairs Valerie Grey, and all those who provided comments during this comprehensive review.”

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James V. McDonald said, “This historic investment will transform the landscape of accessible, affordable health care services at SUNY Downstate Hospital for years to come. As a vital community hospital, SUNY Downstate has consistently led efforts to address health disparities and emerging health care needs of the New Yorkers it serves. With Governor Hochul’s investment and the support and collaboration of SUNY and the community, this investment will bring about sustainable improvements that will modernize the facility, ensuring the hospital has the capacity to deliver quality health care for years to come.”

SUNY Downstate Chair of the Department of Community and Family Health Dr. Enitza George, M.D., MBA, MSAI. said, “After six months of working with the DCAB members, I believe these recommendations truly reflect our commitment to listening to the community. We carefully considered what’s needed and balanced it with what’s possible given the current funding. I’m genuinely excited about what’s next—for Brooklyn as a whole and for Downstate in particular.”
“Every New Yorker deserves access to innovative, high-quality care. This historic $1 billion investment into SUNY Downstate’s hospital will contribute to modernization and infrastructure efforts that will lead to a brighter future for this community.”

Governor Kathy Hochul

SUNY Downstate Community Advisory Board Member Pastor Louis Hilton Straker Jr. said, “Reinvesting in Downstate will not only mean improved care, it will also mean a sense of safety and dignity for Central Brooklynites. Over the last year, we’ve seen how different voices and perspectives can enter a room and come together to deliver for our communities. Let Downstate serve as a sign of hope on what we can do when New Yorkers stand by each other and insist on solutions.”

SUNY Downstate Community Advisory Board Member Dr. Lesly Kernisant said, “In my decades of caring for Brooklyn patients, a simple fact is clear: modern facilities and comprehensive services lead to improved care. This investment in SUNY Downstate’s future–which includes vital support for maternal health care–marks an important moment in the collective effort to reduce health disparities and secure a better future for our community.”

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “Securing this historic $1 billion investment in SUNY Downstate is a major victory for Brooklyn. It preserves critical services, modernizes the hospital, and reaffirms our commitment to equitable, high-quality care. SUNY Downstate is not only a vital healthcare provider, but a lifeline and anchor in Brooklyn. I’m proud that the Senate Majority worked closely with Governor Hochul to deliver the funding needed to fully revitalize this essential institution, and I applaud Senator Myrie and all my Brooklyn colleagues whose tireless advocacy made this moment possible.”

Senator Kevin Parker said, “This historic investment demonstrates the impact of government that truly listens to the people it serves. SUNY Downstate’s inpatient and outpatient services are not just critical—they are life-saving resources for thousands of Brooklyn residents. Preserving these essential programs while committing to their modernization and expansion is a bold affirmation of our community’s right to accessible, high-quality care. It reflects a deep and overdue investment in the health, dignity, and future of Central Brooklyn. I applaud Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, and the entire Brooklyn delegation for their leadership in securing this transformative win.”

Senator Roxanne J. Persaud said, “This historic investment in SUNY Downstate is not only a commitment to health equity but a powerful example of what happens when government truly listens to the community,” said Senator Roxanne J. Persaud. “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership and the tireless work of the Community Advisory Board, we now have a fiscally responsible plan to modernize Downstate Hospital and ensure it remains a pillar of care, education, and opportunity in Central Brooklyn for generations to come.”

Senator Zellnor Myrie said, “Last year, Central Brooklyn fought back against a proposal that would have closed SUNY Downstate and sent its patients elsewhere for care. Instead, we secured a commitment to invest in Downstate’s future, modernizing its facilities and preserving its services. I am grateful to the Advisory Board members for their work, to the community for demanding world-class healthcare, and to the Governor and SUNY Chancellor for committing to implement these recommendations. Downstate has been there for Central Brooklyn in our hour of need, and we will always work to protect and strengthen Downstate.”

Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, “For decades, marginalized communities have been forced to accept crumbling infrastructure and underfunded care. This $1 Billion investment in SUNY Downstate is a people-powered win, driven by community voices, labor, and public health advocates fighting for what we deserve: high-quality, publicly funded care that puts patients and workers first. Thank you to the Governor for her work with the Advisory Board and her commitment to increasing funding for healthcare access with our state legislature. We look forward to seeing shovels in the ground.”

Assemblymember Maritza Davila said, “I commend Governor Hochul for this historic $1 billion investment in SUNY Downstate Hospital. This commitment ensures that Brooklyn retains access to critical inpatient and outpatient services while advancing health equity through long-overdue infrastructure upgrades. As teaching hospital that provides staffing for hospitals all over Brooklyn and beyond, it is vital to keep SUNY Downstate as a full-service hospital.”

Embedded Flickr Album

Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn said, “SUNY Downstate was founded 165 years ago, and served as a vital healthcare institution and safety-net hospital, helping over 300,000 Brooklynites annually, regardless of their ability to pay. In recent years, our borough’s only academic medical center kept trying to provide innovative, high-quality-care for all, while its 19th century infrastructure crumbled; putting the Downstate Hospital in serious peril; while leaving our most vulnerable constituents with next-to-nothing for healthcare. Gov. Hochul took decisive action, when other leaders swept this problem under the rug, and worked with the Brooklyn Delegation and our communities to deliver a one billion-dollar solution ensuring a bright future for SUNY Downstate and the Brooklynites who depend on it. Thank you to the Advisory Board for providing a blueprint to revitalize SUNY Downstate into a world-class, state-of-the-art health center that will truly save the lives of Brooklynites today and for decades to come.”

Assemblymember Jo Ann Simon said, “The historic $1 billion investment in SUNY Downstate ensures what the community has long fought for: a full-service state hospital that meets the needs of the people it serves. I’m proud that community leaders, along with the Downstate Advisory Board and Governor Hochul, shaped a plan that centers around patient care, preserves vital services, and invests in health equity. This is a critical step forward, and we will continue working to ensure that the voices of patients, workers, and neighbors remain at the forefront.”

Assemblymember Latrice Walker said, “The release of the Downstate Community Advisory Board’s proposal for the reinvestment of more than $1 billion is a victory for the entire Central Brooklyn community, including the constituents of my district who rely on SUNY Downstate Hospital. I’d like to thank all the people who have fought so hard to get us to this point. That includes advocates, lawmakers, union leaders, and members of the faith and medical communities. And, of course, we would not be at this critical juncture without the leadership of Gov. Kathy Hochul and SUNY Chancellor John King. The proposal, which follows months of community input, retains kidney transplant and maternity services – which are priorities for my community, as we battle high rates of diabetes and fight for better Black maternal health outcomes. I look forward to the modernization of the emergency department, infrastructure upgrades and many other improvements stemming from the proposal. We have collectively struck a decisive blow in the ongoing effort to combat health disparities in Brooklyn communities of color. The quality of one’s care should not be determined by zip code.”

Assemblymember Jamie Williams said, “I’m glad to see the governor securing an additional $1 billion for SUNY Downstate’s Hospital. This critical investment will allow for much-needed infrastructure repairs and upgrades, and support for the wide variety of programs SUNY Downstate offers patients throughout New York City. I applaud the governor and look forward to seeing the benefits this investment in our healthcare system will have on our communities.”

Assemblymember Robert Carroll said, “I was proud to join my colleagues in voting to invest in SUNY Downstate in the State’s budget and commend Governor Hochul for the commitment of $1 billion in total as recommended by the SUNY Downstate Advisory Board. With this investment we are ensuring the modernization and sustainability of this institution, which is vital to the health and wellbeing of Brooklyn’s diverse communities and an important center for medical education and research.”

Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman said, “This $1 billion investment in SUNY Downstate will help close longstanding health equity gaps, preserve critical medical services, and strengthen a trusted institution that trains the next generation of healthcare professionals,” said Assemblymember Stefani L. Zinerman (56th District). “Central Brooklyn owes a debt of gratitude to the unions, healthcare workers, clergy, and community leaders who fought tirelessly for a plan that will serve our families for generations to come.”

Assemblymember Brian Cunningham said, “This is what it looks like when government shows up for neighborhoods too often left behind. This $1 billion reinvestment in SUNY Downstate reflects the power of advocacy, partnership, and persistence. I am proud to have stood alongside Governor Hochul and the community to help deliver the resources this hospital has needed for far too long.”

Assemblymember Monique Chandler-Waterman said, “For decades, SUNY Downstate’s University Hospital has served as a lifeline—providing critical care, training for our next generation of healthcare professionals, and anchoring the wellbeing of communities that have historically been underserved, but this historic investment will shift the trajectory for healthcare in our state, in unprecedented ways. With this investment, we are making a bold commitment in people and in the future of our public health system, while providing access that transcends zipcodes. Thank you to Governor Hochul for working with us to secure an allocation of over $1 billion to support significant infrastructure improvements and the overall modernization of this institution that we have advocated for, for much time.

New York City Council Member Farah N. Louis said, “I wholeheartedly applaud Governor Hochul for this historic and transformative $1 billion investment in SUNY Downstate Medical Center—a bold commitment that demonstrates extraordinary leadership and responsiveness to the urgent needs of Central Brooklyn residents. Knowing that this funding will restore full inpatient and outpatient care over 200 beds is a massive achievement in our fight to save this institution. As our community continues to advocate for a transformative and responsive investment, I am proud that our concerns were heard to bring modernized facilities and high-quality services to the working-class families of Central Brooklyn. Governor Hochul listened to the needs of our neighborhoods and I look forward to the strengthening of this essential institution.”

New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse said, “This $1 billion investment and the restoration of 225 beds are crucial steps in ensuring Downstate stays open and continues to serve our community. I am deeply grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership and unwavering commitment to preserving this essential healthcare institution in Central Brooklyn. By implementing the majority of the Downstate Community Advisory Board’s recommendations, we are listening to those who know best and ensuring a brighter, healthier future for all who rely on Downstate.”

Bishop Orlando Findlayter said, “We’ve seen private hospitals across the city close or limit services in recent years, which has been a rising threat to the healthcare of New Yorkers in underserved communities. But thanks to leadership from the Governor and our local community, Downstate will ensure the long-term commitment of all existing inpatient and outpatient services, and will serve as a beacon of care and community.”

To review the Executive Summary Slides click here. For more information please visit downstateadvisoryboard.org/.

MIL OSI USA News –
June 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Cole, Composer and Lecturer in Screen Composition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

Universal Pictures

Our experience of the world often involves hearing our environment before seeing it. Whether it’s the sound of something moving through nearby water, or the rustling of vegetation, our fear of the unseen is rooted in our survival instincts as a species.

Cinematic sound and music taps into these somewhat unsettling instincts – and this is exactly what director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams achieved in the iconic 1975 thriller Jaws. The sound design and musical score work in tandem to confront the audience with a mysterious killer animal.

In what is arguably the film’s most iconic scene, featuring beach swimmers’ legs flailing underwater, the shark remains largely unseen – yet the sound perfectly conveys the threat at large.

Creating tension in a soundtrack

Film composers aim to create soundscapes that will profoundly move and influence their audience. And they express these intentions through the use of musical elements such as rhythm, harmony, tempo, form, dynamics, melody and texture.

In Jaws, the initial encounter with the shark opens innocently with the sound of an offshore buoy and its clanging bell. The scene is established both musically and atmospherically to evoke a sense of isolation for the two characters enjoying a late-night swim on an empty beach.

But once we hear the the low strings, followed by the central two-note motif played on a tuba, we know something sinister is afoot.

This compositional technique of alternating between two notes at an increasing speed has long been employed by composers, including by Antonín Dvořák in his 1893 work New World Symphony.

John Williams reportedly used six basses, eight cellos, four trombones and a tuba to create the blend of low frequencies that would go on to define his entire Jaws score.

The bass instruments emphasise the lower end of the musical frequency spectrum, evoking a dark timbre that conveys depth, power and intensity. String players can use various bowing techniques, such as staccato and marcato, to deliver dark and even menacing tones, especially in the lower registers.

Meanwhile, there is a marked absence of tonality in the repeating E–F notes, played with increasing speed on the tuba. Coupled with the intensifying dynamics in the instrumental blend, this accelerating two-note motif signals the looming danger before we even see it – tapping into our instinctive fear of the unknown.

The use of the two-note motif and lower-end orchestration characterises a composition style that aims to unsettle and disorientate the audience. Another example of this style can be heard in Bernard Herrmann’s car crash scene audio in North by Northwest (1959).

Similarly, in Sergei Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite, the opening of the second movement (Dance of the Pagan Gods) uses an alternating D#–E motif.

The elasticity of Williams’ motif allows the two notes to be played on different instruments throughout the soundtrack, exploring various timbral possibilities to induce a kaleidoscope of fear, panic and dread.

The psychology behind our response

What is it that makes the Jaws soundtrack so psychologically confronting, even without the visuals? Music scholars have various theories. Some suggest the two notes imitate the sound of human respiration, while others have proposed the theme evokes the heartbeat of a shark.

Williams explained his approach in an interview with the Los Angeles Times:

I fiddled around with the idea of creating something that was very … brainless […] Meaning something could be very repetitious, very visceral, and grab you in your gut, not in your brain. […] It could be something you could play very softly, which would indicate that the shark is far away when all you see is water. Brainless music that gets louder and gets closer to you, something is gonna swallow you up.

Williams plays with the audience’s emotions throughout the film’s score, culminating in the scene Man Against Beast – a celebration of thematic development and heightened orchestration.

The film’s iconic soundtrack has created a legacy that extends beyond the visual. And this suggests the score isn’t just a soundtrack – but a character in its own right.

By using music to reveal what is hidden, Williams creates an intense emotional experience rife with anticipation and tension. The score’s two-note motif showcases his genius – and serves as a sonic shorthand that has kept a generation behind the breakers of every beach.

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

– ref. Jaws at 50: how two musical notes terrified an entire generation – https://theconversation.com/jaws-at-50-how-two-musical-notes-terrified-an-entire-generation-258068

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 18, 2025