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Category: Universities

  • MIL-Evening Report: How visionary Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson changed music – and my life

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jadey O’Regan, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

    The Beach Boys in 1962 in Los Angeles, California. Brian Wilson is on the left. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    Brian Wilson, leader, songwriter and producer of the Beach Boys, has passed away at age 82.

    He leaves behind a legacy of beautiful, joyous, bittersweet and enduring music, crafted over a career spanning six decades.

    While this news isn’t unexpected – Wilson was diagnosed with dementia last year and entered a conservatorship after the loss of his wife, Melinda – his passing marks the end of a long and extraordinary chapter in musical history.

    A life of music

    Formed in the early 1960s in Hawthorne California, the Beach Boys were built on a foundation of family and community: brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine.

    Growing up, the Wilson household was a turbulent place; their father, Murry Wilson, was strict and at times violent. Music was the one way in which the family could connect.

    During these early years Brian discovered the sounds that would shape his musical identity: Gershwin, doo wop groups, early rock and roll, and, a particular favourite, the vocal group the Four Freshmen, whose tight-harmony singing style Wilson studied meticulously.

    The Beach Boys in rehearsal in 1964; Brian Wilson sits at the piano .
    Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    It was an unexpected combination of influences for a pop band. Even from the Beach Boys’ earliest recordings – the surf, the cars, the girls – the stirrings of the complexity and musical adventurousness Wilson is known for is audible. Listen to the unexpected structure of The Lonely Sea (1962), the complex chords of The Warmth of the Sun (1963), or the subtle modulation in Don’t Worry Baby (1964).

    These early innovations hinted at a growing creativity that would continue to evolve over the rest of the 1960s, and beyond.

    A story of resilience

    In later years, Brian Wilson often appeared publicly as a fragile figure. But what stands out most in his story is resilience.

    His ability to produce such an expansive and diverse catalogue of work while navigating difficult family relationships, intense record label pressures, misdiagnosed and mistreated mental health conditions, addiction and much more, is extraordinary. Wilson not only survived, but continued to create music.

    Brian Wilson on the piano and Al Jardine on guitar perform in Los Angeles in 2019.
    Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

    He eventually did something few Beach Boys’ fans would have imagined – he returned to the stage.

    Wilson’s unexpected return to public performance during the Pet Sounds and SMiLE tours in the early 2000s began a revival interest in the Beach Boys, and a critical reconsideration of their musical legacy. This continues with a consistent release of books, documentaries, movies and podcasts about Wilson and the legacy of the Beach Boys’ music.

    The focus of a thesis

    I grew up near Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Their early songs about an endless summer had a particular resonance to my hometown, even if, like Brian Wilson, I only admired the beach from afar.

    I chose to study the Beach Boys’ music for my PhD thesis and spent the next few years charting the course of their musical development from their early days in the garage to creating Pet Sounds just five years later.

    The Beach Boys perform onstage around 1963. Brian Wilson is on the left.
    Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    I was fascinated by how a band could create such a groundbreaking volume of work and progress so quickly from the delightful, yet wobbly Surfin’ to the complex arrangements of God Only Knows.

    To understand their music, I spent years listening to Beach Boys’ tracking sessions, take after take, to hear how their songs were so cleverly and delicately put together.

    What struck me just as powerfully as the music itself was the sound of Brian Wilson’s voice in those recordings. Listening to Wilson leading hours of tracking sessions was to hear an artist at the top of their game – decisive, confident, funny, collaborative and deeply driven to make music that would express the magic he heard in his mind, and connect with an audience.

    One of the more unexpected discoveries in my analysis of the Beach Boys’ music came from their lyrics. Using a word frequency tool to examine all 117 songs in my study, I found that the most common word was “now”.

    The Beach Boys pose for a portrait around1964. Brian Wilson stands at the back.
    Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    In many cases, it appears in a conversational sense – “Well, she got her Daddy’s car, and she cruised through the hamburger stand now” – but on a broader level, it perfectly encapsulates what Brian Wilson’s music offered so many listeners.

    He created an endless present: a world where the sun could always be shining, where you could feel young forever, and you could visit that world any time you needed to.

    Jadey O’Regan with Brian Wilson, Enmore Theatre, Sydney 2010.
    Jadey O’Regan

    In 2010, I had the remarkable experience of meeting Brian Wilson in his dressing room before his performance at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. He was funny and kind. He sat at a small keyboard, taught me a harmony and for a moment, we sang Love and Mercy together.

    It was one of the most magical moments of my life. It is also one of Wilson’s most enduring sentiments: “love and mercy, that’s what we need tonight”.

    Farewell and thank you, Brian. Surf’s up.

    Jadey O’Regan 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 visionary Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson changed music – and my life – https://theconversation.com/how-visionary-beach-boys-songwriter-brian-wilson-changed-music-and-my-life-258794

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How visionary Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson changed music – and my life

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Jadey O’Regan, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

    The Beach Boys in 1962 in Los Angeles, California. Brian Wilson is on the left. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    Brian Wilson, leader, songwriter and producer of the Beach Boys, has passed away at age 82.

    He leaves behind a legacy of beautiful, joyous, bittersweet and enduring music, crafted over a career spanning six decades.

    While this news isn’t unexpected – Wilson was diagnosed with dementia last year and entered a conservatorship after the loss of his wife, Melinda – his passing marks the end of a long and extraordinary chapter in musical history.

    A life of music

    Formed in the early 1960s in Hawthorne California, the Beach Boys were built on a foundation of family and community: brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine.

    Growing up, the Wilson household was a turbulent place; their father, Murry Wilson, was strict and at times violent. Music was the one way in which the family could connect.

    During these early years Brian discovered the sounds that would shape his musical identity: Gershwin, doo wop groups, early rock and roll, and, a particular favourite, the vocal group the Four Freshmen, whose tight-harmony singing style Wilson studied meticulously.

    The Beach Boys in rehearsal in 1964; Brian Wilson sits at the piano .
    Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    It was an unexpected combination of influences for a pop band. Even from the Beach Boys’ earliest recordings – the surf, the cars, the girls – the stirrings of the complexity and musical adventurousness Wilson is known for is audible. Listen to the unexpected structure of The Lonely Sea (1962), the complex chords of The Warmth of the Sun (1963), or the subtle modulation in Don’t Worry Baby (1964).

    These early innovations hinted at a growing creativity that would continue to evolve over the rest of the 1960s, and beyond.

    A story of resilience

    In later years, Brian Wilson often appeared publicly as a fragile figure. But what stands out most in his story is resilience.

    His ability to produce such an expansive and diverse catalogue of work while navigating difficult family relationships, intense record label pressures, misdiagnosed and mistreated mental health conditions, addiction and much more, is extraordinary. Wilson not only survived, but continued to create music.

    Brian Wilson on the piano and Al Jardine on guitar perform in Los Angeles in 2019.
    Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

    He eventually did something few Beach Boys’ fans would have imagined – he returned to the stage.

    Wilson’s unexpected return to public performance during the Pet Sounds and SMiLE tours in the early 2000s began a revival interest in the Beach Boys, and a critical reconsideration of their musical legacy. This continues with a consistent release of books, documentaries, movies and podcasts about Wilson and the legacy of the Beach Boys’ music.

    The focus of a thesis

    I grew up near Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Their early songs about an endless summer had a particular resonance to my hometown, even if, like Brian Wilson, I only admired the beach from afar.

    I chose to study the Beach Boys’ music for my PhD thesis and spent the next few years charting the course of their musical development from their early days in the garage to creating Pet Sounds just five years later.

    The Beach Boys perform onstage around 1963. Brian Wilson is on the left.
    Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    I was fascinated by how a band could create such a groundbreaking volume of work and progress so quickly from the delightful, yet wobbly Surfin’ to the complex arrangements of God Only Knows.

    To understand their music, I spent years listening to Beach Boys’ tracking sessions, take after take, to hear how their songs were so cleverly and delicately put together.

    What struck me just as powerfully as the music itself was the sound of Brian Wilson’s voice in those recordings. Listening to Wilson leading hours of tracking sessions was to hear an artist at the top of their game – decisive, confident, funny, collaborative and deeply driven to make music that would express the magic he heard in his mind, and connect with an audience.

    One of the more unexpected discoveries in my analysis of the Beach Boys’ music came from their lyrics. Using a word frequency tool to examine all 117 songs in my study, I found that the most common word was “now”.

    The Beach Boys pose for a portrait around1964. Brian Wilson stands at the back.
    Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    In many cases, it appears in a conversational sense – “Well, she got her Daddy’s car, and she cruised through the hamburger stand now” – but on a broader level, it perfectly encapsulates what Brian Wilson’s music offered so many listeners.

    He created an endless present: a world where the sun could always be shining, where you could feel young forever, and you could visit that world any time you needed to.

    Jadey O’Regan with Brian Wilson, Enmore Theatre, Sydney 2010.
    Jadey O’Regan

    In 2010, I had the remarkable experience of meeting Brian Wilson in his dressing room before his performance at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. He was funny and kind. He sat at a small keyboard, taught me a harmony and for a moment, we sang Love and Mercy together.

    It was one of the most magical moments of my life. It is also one of Wilson’s most enduring sentiments: “love and mercy, that’s what we need tonight”.

    Farewell and thank you, Brian. Surf’s up.

    Jadey O’Regan 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 visionary Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson changed music – and my life – https://theconversation.com/how-visionary-beach-boys-songwriter-brian-wilson-changed-music-and-my-life-258794

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘He stopped me from talking to male colleagues’: new research shows how domestic violence so often starts with isolation and control

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth McLindon, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    When it comes to domestic violence, cases involving catastrophic physical violence are the ones that most often make it into the media.

    But our new research shows there are often signs of trouble long before such tragic outcomes – before couples move in together or get married.

    We asked a large group of women about how domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence) they’d experienced had started and escalated.

    A general pattern emerged. First came psychological abuse, then physical abuse, then sexual abuse.

    So if women, health workers and others can recognise the signs of psychological abuse early on, there’s a chance to intervene before abusive behaviour progresses.

    How does this relate to coercive control?

    The types of psychological abuse women told us about indicate they’d experienced coercive control.

    Coercive control is defined as a pattern of restrictive, manipulative and dominating behaviours used to undermine a partner’s autonomy and freedom. While it can occur in any type of relationship, it is most commonly perpetrated by men against women partners and is underpinned by inequitable gender roles and misogynistic attitudes.

    Another way of describing coercive control is a pattern of behaviours that aim to prevent a partner from being in charge of their life. For instance, this could mean controlling who a partner can see, what they can wear, or where they can go. Or it could mean questioning a partner’s sanity when they raise concerns about abusive behaviour.

    There’s been growing awareness of the impact of coercive control and domestic violence more broadly on women’s health and wellbeing. There’s also growing awareness that coercive control can escalate to catastrophic abuse against women and children, including homicide.

    So, Australian states and territories have scrambled to tackle the issue legally. Queensland recently joined New South Wales in making coercive control a standalone criminal offence.

    What we did and what we found

    We wanted to know more about the progression of domestic violence and if there were key stages to intervene to help prevent the worst harms.

    So we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 815 Australian women who had experienced domestic violence in the past five years and asked them to create a timeline of their relationship.

    Women started with the earliest warning signs that something was wrong and then added what happened around important life events, such as moving in together, having children, seeking help or leaving. Women could describe their experiences in their own words.

    When we analysed all the timelines together, we created a summary of the general sequence of abuse over time.

    First, there were attacks to a survivor’s mind, then her physical body, then her sexual self.

    How behaviours escalated, from the earliest sign something was wrong.
    Author provided

    Psychological abuse an early sign

    Psychological abuse was present in almost all relationships early in the timeline. It usually emerged before moving in together or getting married.

    The earliest indicator of abuse was being isolated from others, as one woman said:

    He stopped me from talking to male colleagues.

    Controlling a woman’s day-to-day activities happened next. One survivor told us how her money and car were used against her:

    He kept my belongings from me […] to prevent me from leaving.

    Then, as one woman said, there was other emotional abuse:

    If I said anything he didn’t like, a brick wall would be erected […] I wouldn’t be spoken to for two to three days.

    Another said:

    He called me crazy when he had done something wrong.

    On average, women told us physically abusive behaviours first appeared after a major life commitment, such as marriage or moving in together.

    In general, sexual abuse by a partner first emerged after the psychological and physical abuse started.

    For survivors who had a child during the relationship and whose partner was sexually abusive, the worst of that sexual violence generally came sometime after giving birth.

    For many survivors, a growing concern about the impact of abuse on their children occurred around the same time as leaving their relationship and trying to get help.

    What next?

    This research sets out clear opportunities for prevention and early intervention.

    We need to train health professionals to look for signs and ask about psychological abuse when their patients are contemplating life transitions. This includes raising awareness and targeted resources for staff working in pregnancy care.

    Future research should see if these patterns of abuse apply in different diverse groups of survivors.

    We also need better community education, particularly for young women, about the features of psychological abuse that occur early in relationships, before physical and sexual abuse.

    As one participant told us:

    More domestic violence campaigns should focus on emotional abuse. We focus so much on the physical, but I can feel immediately when I am hit. It takes longer to feel gaslighting, manipulation and other emotionally heavy abuse. It lingers with you. It alters the way you think and traps you far worse than the physical does.

    The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Service – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

    Elizabeth McLindon received funding from Oak Foundation for this research. She is affiliated with The Royal Women’s Hospital, Victoria, where she is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Family Violence Prevention.

    Kelsey Hegarty receives funding from Oak Foundation, Medical Research Futures Fund, and National Health and Medical Research Council.

    – ref. ‘He stopped me from talking to male colleagues’: new research shows how domestic violence so often starts with isolation and control – https://theconversation.com/he-stopped-me-from-talking-to-male-colleagues-new-research-shows-how-domestic-violence-so-often-starts-with-isolation-and-control-257457

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: From farm to plate, China steps up push to reduce food waste

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

    At a bustling restaurant in Tianjin’s Xiqing District, signs reading “Save Food” catch the eye. After lunch with her family, a woman surnamed Wang carefully packs up a half-eaten bowl of congee to take home.

    “I want my child to learn the value of food from an early age,” she said, tucking the container into her bag, a small act echoing a nationwide push to reduce food waste.

    From public awareness campaigns to industry overhauls, China is undergoing a green transformation in how it grows, prepares and consumes food.

    Restaurant manager Guo Ke said the nationwide “Clear Your Plate” campaign has led to tangible change in diners’ behavior, while the food service industry is also improving its practices.

    “We follow a purchase-on-demand model to avoid overstocking ingredients,” Guo said. “Scientific management in storage and food preparation helps us make the most of every item.”

    The restaurant also offers half-size and small portions to encourage customers to order more reasonably, he added.

    At the policy level, China has passed a landmark anti-food waste law, forming a robust legal framework to tackle waste from farm to chopsticks. Under the law, catering service providers are required to remind customers to avoid excessive ordering and can charge a disposal fee for large amounts of leftovers.

    Additionally, a food security law, implemented in 2023, includes provisions to promote grain conservation, reinforcing the legal foundation for nationwide efforts against waste.

    Authorities have also introduced national standards, such as the credit rating evaluation standard for the restaurant industry and the general principles for food waste reduction management in catering services.

    “China now boasts one of the world’s most comprehensive anti-food waste systems,” said Wu Bo, associate professor at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics.

    Under policy guidance, cities across the country are embracing the shift.

    In Beijing, “food banks” have been piloted to give a second life to near-expiry groceries by redistributing them to communities in need. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, the “Clear Your Plate” campaign has taken root in the restaurant industry, helping slash kitchen waste by nearly 50 percent.

    By the end of last year, Shanghai had certified 2,950 “green restaurants,” where food safety, low-carbon practices and ethical business standards are taken into consideration.

    Beyond the “Clear Your Plate” campaign, efforts to curb food waste now stretch across the entire supply chain, from smarter farming to greener logistics.

    At a modern agricultural farm in Tianjin, drones and transplanters work in sync with satellite data to manage rice fields more efficiently, where less grain is wasted during the production.

    “A six-person team can manage over 1,300 hectares of rice fields, with yields improving year after year thanks to tailored, eco-friendly solutions,” said Dai Renqiang, farm manager.

    Yet, on a macro level, challenges still remain. Data from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shows 8 percent of China’s grain is lost in the process from production and harvesting to storage, transport and consumption.

    To address such issues, China launched a national action plan in late 2024 to build a long-term mechanism for food saving. The plan aims to keep grain production, storage, transport and processing loss rates below the international average by 2027.

    “Going beyond simple conservation, China’s green dining transformation reflects a deeper commitment to sustainability — and a vision for safeguarding the future of food and society,” Wu Bo believed. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the potential effect of sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anton Moiseienko, Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian National University

    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK this week announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli cabinet: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

    This is a momentous development. The governments concerned make it clear that they consider Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to be involved in “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, including “a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

    This is an allegation rarely levelled against sitting ministers of a democratic state, predictably causing the Israeli government to protest.

    While diplomatic consequences play out, what are sanctions anyway, and what do they mean for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?

    3 direct consequences

    “Sanctions” is a broad umbrella term. Whole countries can be sanctioned, but so can be individuals.

    Sanctions on individuals are imposed by means of a government placing them on its national sanctions list, such as Australia’s Consolidated List (which now features both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich).

    Three direct consequences flow from such a sanctions designation.

    First, all of the sanctioned person’s assets in the relevant country are frozen. This means that, while in principle they remain the sanctioned person’s property, they cannot be used or sold. This places those assets in limbo, potentially for a very long time.

    Second, no person within the sanctioning state’s jurisdiction – that is, no one in its territory, nor any of its citizens or residents – is allowed to make money or other resources available for the benefit of the sanctioned person.

    So, it is an offence for anyone in Australia to send funds to anyone on the Consolidated List. Interestingly, there is no prohibition on receiving money from sanctioned persons.

    Third, sanctioned persons are subject to an entry ban.

    So, if a foreigner is sanctioned by the Australian government, their permission to enter Australia will be denied or revoked.

    Legal challenges are possible. For example, in 2010, the daughter of a Burmese general studying at Western Sydney University unsuccessfully sued the foreign minister for sanctioning her and cancelling her visa based on her family ties.

    The sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are what’s known as “Magnitsky” sanctions.

    This refers not to the substance of sanctions, but rather the reasons for their adoption, namely alleged corruption or human rights abuse, rather than other forms of wrongdoing. The imposition of sanctions on those grounds was pioneered by two US statutes named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower killed in a Moscow prison.

    In the case of the Israeli ministers, human rights abuses are alleged.

    Sanctions can hurt in other ways, too

    But what is the practical effect of these kinds of sanctions designations?

    After all, many people sanctioned by Australia will not have any property in the country, will never receive any money from Australia, and may never contemplate visiting.

    One might be tempted to conclude that, in those circumstances, sanctions are ineffectual. But the reality is more complicated.

    In 2023, together with the London-based International Lawyers Project, I conducted the first study of the effect (or impact) of “Magnitsky” sanctions, focussing on the first 20 individuals sanctioned for alleged corruption under the US Global Magnitsky Act 2016.

    We found there were no less than ten types of effects that sanctions might have.

    And in at least two-thirds of the case studies we looked at, sanctions had an impact.

    This may be skewed by the high-profile nature of those first 20 corruption-related designations under the 2016 act, which included former heads of states and major businesspeople. Still, sanctions can mean more than their direct impact.

    Of these categories of effects, private sector action is especially important. This involves businesses globally dropping the targeted person as a customer even when not legally required to do so.

    For example, non-Australian banks are not bound by Australian sanctions. But, once Australian sanctions are in place, they feed into major private-sector sanctions databases that are used by banks worldwide.

    Global banks may well decide that – once someone is accused of human rights abuse, corruption or other misconduct by a credible government – keeping the targeted person on the books is no longer worthwhile, not least reputationally.

    For US sanctions, this effect is turbocharged by the fact virtually all banks need to route US dollar transactions via the US financial system, and they cannot do so on behalf of a sanctioned person. Banks soon drop such customers.

    In a famous example, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, complained of having to keep piles of cash at home due to US sanctions precluding any Hong Kong bank from taking her on as a customer. (To be clear, the US has not imposed any sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and has opposed their designation by Australia and others.)

    Could Ben-Gvir and Smotrich fight these sanctions?

    Australian sanctions would not have such a profound impact, but they are a reputational irritant at the very least.

    This may account for the (failed) judicial challenges brought against Australian sanctions by two Russian oligarchs, Alexander Abramov and Oleg Deripaska, as well as another billionaire’s more successful petitioning of Australia’s foreign minister to lift the sanctions against him.

    In general, contesting sanctions in court is exceedingly difficult. Few claimants succeed, in Australia or elsewhere.

    It is far more likely the sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will result in diplomatic discussions and lobbying behind the scenes.

    Anton Moiseienko has received funding from the Open Society Foundations in connection with the research cited in this article.

    – ref. What’s the potential effect of sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-potential-effect-of-sanctions-on-israeli-ministers-heres-what-my-research-shows-258692

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What will be the effect of Australia’s sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anton Moiseienko, Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian National University

    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK this week announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli cabinet: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

    This is a momentous development. The governments concerned make it clear that they consider Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to be involved in “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, including “a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

    This is an allegation rarely levelled against sitting ministers of a democratic state, predictably causing the Israeli government to protest.

    While diplomatic consequences play out, what are sanctions anyway, and what do they mean for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?

    3 direct consequences

    “Sanctions” is a broad umbrella term. Whole countries can be sanctioned, but so can be individuals.

    Sanctions on individuals are imposed by means of a government placing them on its national sanctions list, such as Australia’s Consolidated List (which now features both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich).

    Three direct consequences flow from such a sanctions designation.

    First, all of the sanctioned person’s assets in the relevant country are frozen. This means that, while in principle they remain the sanctioned person’s property, they cannot be used or sold. This places those assets in limbo, potentially for a very long time.

    Second, no person within the sanctioning state’s jurisdiction – that is, no one in its territory, nor any of its citizens or residents – is allowed to make money or other resources available for the benefit of the sanctioned person.

    So, it is an offence for anyone in Australia to send funds to anyone on the Consolidated List. Interestingly, there is no prohibition on receiving money from sanctioned persons.

    Third, sanctioned persons are subject to an entry ban.

    So, if a foreigner is sanctioned by the Australian government, their permission to enter Australia will be denied or revoked.

    Legal challenges are possible. For example, in 2010, the daughter of a Burmese general studying at Western Sydney University unsuccessfully sued the foreign minister for sanctioning her and cancelling her visa based on her family ties.

    The sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are what’s known as “Magnitsky” sanctions.

    This refers not to the substance of sanctions, but rather the reasons for their adoption, namely alleged corruption or human rights abuse, rather than other forms of wrongdoing. The imposition of sanctions on those grounds was pioneered by two US statutes named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower killed in a Moscow prison.

    In the case of the Israeli ministers, human rights abuses are alleged.

    Sanctions can hurt in other ways, too

    But what is the practical effect of these kinds of sanctions designations?

    After all, many people sanctioned by Australia will not have any property in the country, will never receive any money from Australia, and may never contemplate visiting.

    One might be tempted to conclude that, in those circumstances, sanctions are ineffectual. But the reality is more complicated.

    In 2023, together with the London-based International Lawyers Project, I conducted the first study of the effect (or impact) of “Magnitsky” sanctions, focussing on the first 20 individuals sanctioned for alleged corruption under the US Global Magnitsky Act 2016.

    We found there were no less than ten types of effects that sanctions might have.

    And in at least two-thirds of the case studies we looked at, sanctions had an impact.

    This may be skewed by the high-profile nature of those first 20 corruption-related designations under the 2016 act, which included former heads of states and major businesspeople. Still, sanctions can mean more than their direct impact.

    Of these categories of effects, private sector action is especially important. This involves businesses globally dropping the targeted person as a customer even when not legally required to do so.

    For example, non-Australian banks are not bound by Australian sanctions. But, once Australian sanctions are in place, they feed into major private-sector sanctions databases that are used by banks worldwide.

    Global banks may well decide that – once someone is accused of human rights abuse, corruption or other misconduct by a credible government – keeping the targeted person on the books is no longer worthwhile, not least reputationally.

    For US sanctions, this effect is turbocharged by the fact virtually all banks need to route US dollar transactions via the US financial system, and they cannot do so on behalf of a sanctioned person. Banks soon drop such customers.

    In a famous example, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, complained of having to keep piles of cash at home due to US sanctions precluding any Hong Kong bank from taking her on as a customer. (To be clear, the US has not imposed any sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and has opposed their designation by Australia and others.)

    Could Ben-Gvir and Smotrich fight these sanctions?

    Australian sanctions would not have such a profound impact, but they are a reputational irritant at the very least.

    This may account for the (failed) judicial challenges brought against Australian sanctions by two Russian oligarchs, Alexander Abramov and Oleg Deripaska, as well as another billionaire’s more successful petitioning of Australia’s foreign minister to lift the sanctions against him.

    In general, contesting sanctions in court is exceedingly difficult. Few claimants succeed, in Australia or elsewhere.

    It is far more likely the sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will result in diplomatic discussions and lobbying behind the scenes.

    Anton Moiseienko has received funding from the Open Society Foundations in connection with the research cited in this article.

    – ref. What will be the effect of Australia’s sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows – https://theconversation.com/what-will-be-the-effect-of-australias-sanctions-on-israeli-ministers-heres-what-my-research-shows-258692

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University

    The Pentagon has announced it will review the massive AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to ensure it’s aligned with US President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda.

    The US undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, is reportedly going to oversee the review.

    The announcement has raised concern in Australia, but every government is entitled to review policies that their predecessors have made to consider whether or not there’s a particular purpose.

    The UK has launched a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS too, so it’s not actually unreasonable for the US to do the same.

    There’s a degree of nervousness in Australia as to what the implications are because Australia understandably has the biggest stake in this.

    But we need to consider what Colby has articulated in the past. In his book, The Strategy of Denial: American Defence in the Nature of Great Power Conflict, he made the case the US could “prepare to win a war with China it cannot afford to lose – in order to deter it from happening”.

    So, with a deterrent mindset, he sees the need for the US to muscle up militarily.

    He’s spoken about the alliance with Australia in very positive terms on a couple of occasions. And he has called himself an “AUKUS agnostic”, though he has expressed deep concern about the ability of the submarine industrial base in the US to manufacture the ships quickly enough.

    And that leads to the fear the US Navy would not have enough submarines for itself if Washington is also sending them to Australia.

    As part of the deal, Australia would eventually be able to contribute to accelerating the production line. That involves Australian companies contributing to the manufacture of certain widgets and components that are needed to build the subs.

    Australia has already made a nearly A$800 million (US$500 million) down payment on expanding the US industrial capacity as part of the deal to ensure we get some subs in a reasonable time frame.

    There’s also been significant legislative and industrial reforms in the US, Australia and UK to help facilitate Australian defence-related industries unplug the bottleneck of submarine production.

    There’s no question there’s a need to speed up production. But we are already seeing significant signs of an uptick in the production rate, thanks in part to the Australian down payment. And it’s anticipated the rate will significantly increase in the next 12–18 months.

    Even still, projects like this often slide in terms of timelines.

    Why the US won’t spike the deal

    I’m reasonably optimistic that, on balance, the Trump administration will come down on the side of proceeding with the deal.

    There are a few key reasons for this:

    1) We’re several years down the track already.

    2) We have more than 100 Australian sailors already operating in the US system.

    3) Industrially, we’re on the cusp of making a significant additional contribution to the US submarine production line.

    And finally, most people don’t fully appreciate that the submarine base just outside Perth is an incredibly consequential piece of real estate for US security calculations.

    Colby has made very clear the US needs to muscle up to push back and deter China’s potential aggression in the region. In that equation, submarines are crucial, as is a substantial submarine base in the Indian Ocean.

    China is acutely mindful of what we call the “Malacca dilemma”. Overwhelmingly, China’s trade of goods and fossil fuels comes through the Malacca Strait between Malaysia and Indonesia’s island of Sumatra. The Chinese know this supply line could be disrupted in a war. And the submarines operating out of Perth contribute to this fear.

    This is a crucial deterrent effect the US and its allies have been seeking to maintain. And it has largely endured.

    Given nobody can predict the future, we all want to prevent a war over Taiwan and we all want to maintain the status quo.

    As such, the considered view has been that Australia will continue to support the US to bolster its deterrent effect to prevent such a scenario.

    Could Trump be angling for a deal?

    As part of the US review of the deal, we could see talk of a potential slowdown in the delivery rate of the submarines. The Trump administration could also put additional pressure on Australia to deliver more for the US.

    This includes the amount Australia spends on defence, a subject of considerable debate in Canberra. Taking Australia’s overall interests into account, the Albanese government may well decide increasing defence spending is an appropriate thing to do.

    There’s a delicate dance to be had here between the Trump administration, the Australian government, and in particular, their respective defence departments, about how to achieve the most effective outcome.

    It’s highly likely whatever decision the US government makes will be portrayed as the Trump administration “doing a deal”. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a bad thing. This is what countries do.

    We talk a lot about the Trump administration’s transactional approach to international relations. But it’s actually not that different to previous US administrations with which Canberra has had to deal.

    So I’m reasonably sanguine about the AUKUS review and any possible negotiations over it. I believe the Trump administration will come to the conclusion it does not want to spike the Australia relationship.

    Australia has been on the US side since federation. Given this, the US government will likely make sure this deal goes ahead. The Trump administration may try to squeeze more concessions out of Australia as part of “the art of the deal”, but it won’t sink the pact.

    However, many people will undoubtedly say this is the moment Australia should break with AUKUS. But then what? What would Australia do instead to ensure its security in this world of heightened great power competition in which Australia’s interests are increasingly challenged?

    Walking away now would leave Australia more vulnerable than ever. I think that would be a great mistake.

    From 2015 to 2017 John Blaxland received funding from the US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative (subsequently disbanded by the Trump administration). This was used to write a book (with Greg Raymond) entitled “The US Thai Alliance and Asian International Relations” (Routledge, 2021). John currently is a fulltime employee of the ANU.

    – ref. Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it – https://theconversation.com/trump-may-try-to-strike-a-deal-with-aukus-review-but-heres-why-he-wont-sink-it-258798

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 12, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 12, 2025.

    Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University The Pentagon has announced it will review the massive AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to ensure it’s aligned with US President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda. The US undersecretary of defence

    Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chloe Wilkins, Associate Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Solar Physics, University of Newcastle nelo2309/Shutterstock If you live in the southern hemisphere and have been stopped in your tracks by a recent sunset, you may have noticed they seem more vibrant lately. The colours are brighter and bolder, and

    After weeks of confusion and chaos, Tasmania heads back to the polls on July 19
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania The Tasmanian government has called a state election for July 19, the fourth in a little over seven years. Following days of high drama, Governor Barbara Baker finally granted Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s election request, saying there

    Goodbye to all that? Rethinking Australia’s alliance with Trump’s America
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Beeson, Adjunct professor, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney Even the most ardent supporters of the alliance with the United States – the notional foundation of Australian security for more than 70 years – must be having some misgivings about the second coming of Donald

    A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Downie, Professor, Australian National University President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition. The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is a

    ‘Hard to measure and difficult to shift’: the government’s big productivity challenge
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Higher productivity has quickly emerged as an economic reform priority for Labor’s second term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laid down some markers for a productivity round table in August, saying he wants it to build the “broadest possible

    Extreme weather could send milk prices soaring, deepening challenges for the dairy industry
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, Lecturer, Sustainability and Environment, University of Technology Sydney Australia’s dairy industry is in the middle of a crisis, fuelled by an almost perfect storm of challenges. Climate change and extreme weather have been battering farmlands and impacting animal productivity, creating mounting financial strains and mental

    201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Schweinberger, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of Queensland Our brains swear for good reasons: to vent, cope, boost our grit and feel closer to those around us. Swear words can act as social glue and play meaningful roles in how people communicate, connect and express

    Were the first kings of Poland actually from Scotland? New DNA evidence unsettles a nation’s founding myth
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University An illustration from a 15th-century manuscript showing the coronation of the first king of Poland, Boleslaw I. Chronica Polonorum by Mathiae de Mechovia For two centuries, scholars have sparred over the roots of the Piasts, Poland’s first documented royal

    Medical scans are big business and investors are circling. Here are 3 reasons to be concerned
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University wedmoments.stock/Shutterstock Timely access to high-quality medical imaging can be lifesaving and life-altering. Radiology can confirm a fractured bone, give us an early glimpse of our baby or detect cancer. But behind the x-ray, ultrasound,

    ‘Microaggressions’ can fly under the radar in schools. Here’s how to spot them and respond
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Leslie, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy with a focus on Educational Psychology, University of Southern Queensland Klaus Vedfelt/ Getty Images Bullying is sadly a common experience for Australian children and teenagers. It is estimated at least 25% experience bullying at some point in their schooling. The

    New Zealand’s ‘symbolic’ sanctions on Israel too little, too late, say opposition parties
    By Russell Palmer, RNZ News political reporter Opposition parties say Aotearoa New Zealand’s government should be going much further, much faster in sanctioning Israel. Foreign Minister Winston Peters overnight revealed New Zealand had joined Australia, Canada, the UK and Norway in imposing travel bans on Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar

    More deaths reported out of Sugapa in West Papua clashes with military
    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Further reports of civilian casualties are coming out of West Papua, while clashes between Indonesia’s military and the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement continue. One of the most recent military operations took place in the early morning of May 14 in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya in Central

    Q+A follows The Project onto the scrap heap – so where to now for non-traditional current affairs?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Two long-running television current affairs programs are coming to an end at the same time, driving home the fact that no matter what the format, they have a shelf life. The Project on Channel

    Sanctioning extremist Israeli ministers is a start, but Australia and its allies must do more
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Whyte, Scientia Associate Professor of Philosophy and ARC Future Fellow, UNSW Sydney The Australian government is imposing financial and travel sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers: Itamar Ben-Gvir (the national security minister) and Bezalel Smotrich (finance minister). This is a significant development. While Australia has previously

    Malaria has returned to the Torres Strait. What does this mean for mainland Australia?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Aspect Drones/Shutterstock Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases spread by mosquitoes. Each year, hundreds of millions of people worldwide are infected and half a million people die from the disease. While mainland Australia was

    Is regulation really to blame for the housing affordability crisis?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Gurran, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Sydney ymgerman/Shutterstock The Albanese government has a new mantra to describe the housing crisis, which is showing no signs of abating: homes have simply become “too hard to build” in Australia. The prime minister and senior ministers

    NZ’s goal is to get smoking rates under 5% for all population groups this year – here’s why that’s highly unlikely
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago Getty Images Next week is “scrutiny week” in parliament – one of two weeks each year when opposition MPs can hold ministers accountable for their actions, or lack thereof. For us, it’s a good time to take stock

    Labor’s win at the 2025 federal election was the biggest since 1943, with its largest swings in the cities
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne We now have the (almost!) final results from the 2025 federal election – with only Bradfield still to be completely resolved. Labor won 94 of the 150

    What are the ‘less lethal’ weapons being used in Los Angeles?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samara McPhedran, Principal Research Fellow, Griffith University After United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested multiple people on alleged immigration violations, protests broke out in Los Angeles. In response, police and military personnel have been deployed around the greater LA area. Authorities have been using

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chloe Wilkins, Associate Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Solar Physics, University of Newcastle

    nelo2309/Shutterstock

    If you live in the southern hemisphere and have been stopped in your tracks by a recent sunset, you may have noticed they seem more vibrant lately. The colours are brighter and bolder, and they linger longer in the sky.

    Why are sunsets “better” at some times of the year compared to others? We can use science to explain this.

    There are many ingredients for a “good” sunset, but the main three are clear skies, low humidity, and the Sun sitting low in the sky.

    In winter, sunsets sometimes look much more vivid that in summer – and yes, temperature plays a role.
    Jeremy Bishop/Unsplash

    From light to colour

    To understand why we get such vibrant sunsets in the colder months of the year, we first need to know how colours appear in the sky.

    All visible light is actually energy that travels in waves; the length of those waves determines the colour that our eyes see.

    Although sunlight might look white to us, it’s actually a mix of different wavelengths of light that make up all the visible colours – from fiery reds and oranges (longer wavelengths) to deep blues and purples (shorter wavelengths).

    The wavelength of light determines the colour we see. At shorter wavelengths, the colours are purple and blue, while at longer wavelengths they are red and orange.
    DrSciComm/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    These individual colours become visible when sunlight is “scattered”, which is precisely what happens when it passes through the invisible gas molecules in Earth’s atmosphere – mostly nitrogen and oxygen.

    When sunlight hits these molecules, it’s absorbed and shot back out (scattered) in different directions. Blue and violet light is scattered more strongly than red and orange light – this is also why the sky looks blue during the day.

    The path of the Sun

    In the middle of the day when the Sun is high in the sky, sunlight travels a more direct path through the atmosphere.

    The path of the Sun’s light through the atmosphere is longer at sunset than it is at noon.
    The Conversation

    But when the Sun is closer to the horizon, the path is less direct. This means that during sunrises and sunsets, sunlight travels through more of Earth’s atmosphere. And more atmosphere means more scattering.

    In fact, during sunsets, the blue and violet light encounters so many oxygen and nitrogen molecules that it is completely scattered away. What we’re left with is the longer wavelengths of light – the reds and oranges. In other words, more atmosphere means more fiery sunsets.

    But why are sunsets especially magnificent during winter? One reason is the Sun’s position in the sky during different times of the year.

    The Sun travels a longer and higher path in the sky in summer compared to winter. This affects the duration of sunsets.
    The Conversation, Shutterstock

    Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours, giving us day and night. But this axis isn’t perfectly “upright” relative to the Sun – it’s tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees. This tilt is why we have seasons. The southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun around the start and end of the calendar year (southern summer), and away from the Sun around the middle of the year (southern winter).

    Because of this tilt, the Sun sits lower in the sky during winter, which is why the days are shorter. And because the Sun sits lower, it spends more time near the horizon as it rises and sets. That’s why winter sunsets often seem to last longer.

    Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted. The axis always points in the same direction as our planet orbits the Sun.
    Bureau of Meteorology

    The quality of the air

    Humidity and air quality also play a big role when it comes to vibrant winter sunsets.

    In winter, humidity is typically much lower than in the warmer summer months, meaning there’s less moisture in the air. Humid air often contains tiny water droplets, which can scatter incoming sunlight. This scattering is slightly different to how the oxygen and nitrogen molecules scatter light – here, even red and orange light can be affected.

    When humidity is high, the extra scattering by these small water droplets can cause sunsets to appear softer or more washed out.

    Even on a clear summer’s night, the sunset will appear more muted if the air humidity is high.
    Doug Bagg/Unsplash

    In drier winter air, with fewer of these water droplets in the way, sunlight can travel through the atmosphere with less interference. This means the colours can shine through more vividly, making for crisper and more vibrant sunsets.

    If you’re looking to a catch a spectacular sunset, you’ll want to wait for a nice, clear winter’s evening. Cloud cover and air pollution can block the sunlight and mute the colours we see.

    So the next time you find yourself wrapped up in a warm jumper at dusk, be sure to look up – there could be a spectacular light show playing out just above you.

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

    – ref. Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation – https://theconversation.com/why-are-sunsets-so-pretty-in-winter-theres-a-simple-explanation-258192

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Chloe Wilkins, Associate Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Solar Physics, University of Newcastle

    nelo2309/Shutterstock

    If you live in the southern hemisphere and have been stopped in your tracks by a recent sunset, you may have noticed they seem more vibrant lately. The colours are brighter and bolder, and they linger longer in the sky.

    Why are sunsets “better” at some times of the year compared to others? We can use science to explain this.

    There are many ingredients for a “good” sunset, but the main three are clear skies, low humidity, and the Sun sitting low in the sky.

    In winter, sunsets sometimes look much more vivid that in summer – and yes, temperature plays a role.
    Jeremy Bishop/Unsplash

    From light to colour

    To understand why we get such vibrant sunsets in the colder months of the year, we first need to know how colours appear in the sky.

    All visible light is actually energy that travels in waves; the length of those waves determines the colour that our eyes see.

    Although sunlight might look white to us, it’s actually a mix of different wavelengths of light that make up all the visible colours – from fiery reds and oranges (longer wavelengths) to deep blues and purples (shorter wavelengths).

    The wavelength of light determines the colour we see. At shorter wavelengths, the colours are purple and blue, while at longer wavelengths they are red and orange.
    DrSciComm/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    These individual colours become visible when sunlight is “scattered”, which is precisely what happens when it passes through the invisible gas molecules in Earth’s atmosphere – mostly nitrogen and oxygen.

    When sunlight hits these molecules, it’s absorbed and shot back out (scattered) in different directions. Blue and violet light is scattered more strongly than red and orange light – this is also why the sky looks blue during the day.

    The path of the Sun

    In the middle of the day when the Sun is high in the sky, sunlight travels a more direct path through the atmosphere.

    The path of the Sun’s light through the atmosphere is longer at sunset than it is at noon.
    The Conversation

    But when the Sun is closer to the horizon, the path is less direct. This means that during sunrises and sunsets, sunlight travels through more of Earth’s atmosphere. And more atmosphere means more scattering.

    In fact, during sunsets, the blue and violet light encounters so many oxygen and nitrogen molecules that it is completely scattered away. What we’re left with is the longer wavelengths of light – the reds and oranges. In other words, more atmosphere means more fiery sunsets.

    But why are sunsets especially magnificent during winter? One reason is the Sun’s position in the sky during different times of the year.

    The Sun travels a longer and higher path in the sky in summer compared to winter. This affects the duration of sunsets.
    The Conversation, Shutterstock

    Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours, giving us day and night. But this axis isn’t perfectly “upright” relative to the Sun – it’s tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees. This tilt is why we have seasons. The southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun around the start and end of the calendar year (southern summer), and away from the Sun around the middle of the year (southern winter).

    Because of this tilt, the Sun sits lower in the sky during winter, which is why the days are shorter. And because the Sun sits lower, it spends more time near the horizon as it rises and sets. That’s why winter sunsets often seem to last longer.

    Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted. The axis always points in the same direction as our planet orbits the Sun.
    Bureau of Meteorology

    The quality of the air

    Humidity and air quality also play a big role when it comes to vibrant winter sunsets.

    In winter, humidity is typically much lower than in the warmer summer months, meaning there’s less moisture in the air. Humid air often contains tiny water droplets, which can scatter incoming sunlight. This scattering is slightly different to how the oxygen and nitrogen molecules scatter light – here, even red and orange light can be affected.

    When humidity is high, the extra scattering by these small water droplets can cause sunsets to appear softer or more washed out.

    Even on a clear summer’s night, the sunset will appear more muted if the air humidity is high.
    Doug Bagg/Unsplash

    In drier winter air, with fewer of these water droplets in the way, sunlight can travel through the atmosphere with less interference. This means the colours can shine through more vividly, making for crisper and more vibrant sunsets.

    If you’re looking to a catch a spectacular sunset, you’ll want to wait for a nice, clear winter’s evening. Cloud cover and air pollution can block the sunlight and mute the colours we see.

    So the next time you find yourself wrapped up in a warm jumper at dusk, be sure to look up – there could be a spectacular light show playing out just above you.

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

    – ref. Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation – https://theconversation.com/why-are-sunsets-so-pretty-in-winter-theres-a-simple-explanation-258192

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Thursday’s Forecasted High Temperatures

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today reminded New Yorkers to stay safe this summer during periods of elevated temperatures. Higher than normal temperatures are forecast for New York City for tomorrow, June 12. The National Weather Service HeatRisk index forecasts potential heat risks for the New York City area which will impact most individuals sensitive to heat. In addition to the heat risks, an Air Quality Health Advisory is being issued for Thursday for the Long Island, New York City Metro, and Lower Hudson Valley regions due to fine particulate matter pollution caused by wildland fires in Western Canada.

    “With summer almost here, New Yorkers should make plans to stay cool and safe, and sensitive groups should take steps to especially avoid potential health issues from high temperatures, humidity, and air quality,” Governor Hochul said. “I encourage everyone to be prepared for periods of warmer weather, including making a preparedness plan and knowing the location of local cooling centers.”

    New York State provides resources on the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services website to help residents stay cool and to help prepare for extreme heat ahead of the summer season. In addition, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today released preliminary urban heat island maps to help communities plan and adapt to extreme heat in the future.

    New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Governor Hochul, DEC, and our partnering agencies are working together to help protect the air we breathe, educate the public on how to prepare and stay healthy, and ensure resources are available to address extreme heat and other harmful climate impacts. DEC’s updated heat maps are the latest step in helping New Yorkers in disadvantaged communities and statewide better understand heat threats, inform climate solutions, support actions to address urban heat islands, and protect public health.”

    New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “Extreme heat can have a significant impact on people’s health, especially older people. Take steps to stay cool ahead of the hot weather including installing air conditioners and locating cooling centers in your area that will be open. People should also familiarize themselves with the symptoms and treatments for heat-related illnesses. During high heat drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned space and out of the sun, monitor your local forecast and check in on friends and neighbors who live alone or may be at risk.”

    New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Pro Tem Randy Simons said, “Our New York State Park pools, beaches and spraygrounds are gearing up to help people cool off in the summer heat. Remember to always keep safety in mind for yourself and your loved ones while enjoying a day at the beach or the pool.”

    Air Quality Advisory

    An Air Quality Health Advisory for PM2.5 is being issued for tomorrow, June 12, 2025, for the Long Island, New York City, and Lower Hudson Valley regions due to the impact of smoke from wildfires in Canada.

    New Yorkers are encouraged be “Air Quality Aware” and check airnow.gov for accurate information on air quality forecasts and conditions. Information about exposure to smoke from fires can be found on DOH’s website.

    Staying Safe During Higher Temperatures

    The dangers of hot temperatures can affect everyone, regardless of age, physical shape, or existing health conditions. The body works extra hard to maintain a normal temperature during extreme heat and, without taking proper measures, this can lead to heat-related illness or even death. Governor Hochul recently announced a suite of actions to help New Yorkers stay cool during extreme heat events this summer.

    Pools and beaches at New York State Parks are available for swimming, dependent on location. Prior to making a trip, visitors should call ahead to the park they plan to visit or  check the New York State Parks website  for any updates as weather and water conditions may affect swimming status. Park status updates are also available on the free New York State Parks Explorer mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

    New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Pro Tem Randy Simons said, “Our New York State Park pools, beaches and spraygrounds are gearing up to help people cool off in the summer heat. Remember to always keep safety in mind for yourself and your loved ones while enjoying a day at the beach or the pool.”

    New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “As extreme heat events and air quality issues become more frequent due to climate change, it’s important that people know what resources are available to help them stay safe. Poor air quality can pose serious health risks, especially for people with asthma and heart conditions. New Yorkers can visit airnow.gov for the latest air quality forecast. Be alert for signs of heat related illness, like dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be life threatening. I also encourage everyone to keep an eye on one another and take action if you think someone is experiencing heat or air quality related illness.”

    Learn more about heat related illness, including signs and symptoms and when to take action on the State Department of Health website here.

    The New York state Department of Health’s interactive Heat Risk and Illness Dashboard allows the public and county health care officials to determine the forecasted level of heat-related health risks in their area and raise awareness about the dangers of heat exposure.

    Information about what the public can do during hot weather and how to  locate cooling centers  can be found on  DOH’s Extreme Heat website.

    For a complete listing of weather watches, warnings, advisories and latest forecasts,  visit the National Weather Service website.

    To view the latest DEC air quality forecasts, visit the DEC website.

    Implementing the Extreme Heat Action Plan

    DEC today released preliminary Urban Heat Island maps to help communities better understand, plan for, and adapt to extreme heat exposures on the neighborhood level. DEC worked in partnership with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the Davey Tree Expert Company to help identify, model, and map urban heat islands, assess extreme heat impacts and responses, and support climate actions to address urban heat island effects and extreme heat, particularly where New Yorkers are disproportionately burdened by the impacts of climate change.   

    Links to the maps, as well as additional information and data, can be found on DEC’s Extreme Heat Action Plan webpage  and posted at nys-heat.daveyinstitute.com/hottest-hour. Over the next year, more comprehensive heat exposure maps will be developed and released. Unlike the preliminary maps showing the single hottest hour based on past data, the final maps will incorporate both historical and future data based on climate change projections. The project advances a key action in the Extreme Heat Action Plan and advances a 2022 law signed by Governor Hochul directing DEC to study the impacts of disproportionate concentrations of extreme heat in disadvantaged communities across the state.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Australian Antarctic Program appoints Chief Scientist

    Source: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

    The Australian Antarctic Program has appointed Professor Nerilie Abram from the Australian National University as its new Chief Scientist.
    Professor Abram is a professor of climate science, and was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2024.
    “I’m incredibly excited and honoured to be taking up the role of Chief Scientist of the AAD,” Professor Abram said.
    “Antarctica is such a special place, and the science that the Australian Antarctic Program does is critical for protecting Antarctica, and for preparing Australia and the world for how changes in Antarctica will affect us all.”

    Professor Abram has extensive experience as a climate and Antarctic scientist, most recently taking part in the Denman Terrestrial Campaign.
    She is a former Chair of the Academy of Science National Committee on Antarctic Research, where she served as Australia’s delegate to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) and on Australia’s Antarctic Science Council.
    “It is great to be coming into this role with a new and ambitious Decadal science strategy,” she said.
    “One of my first priorities will be to work with the community to develop the plans for how we will implement this strategy within the AAD, and through bringing together the expertise that we have across the whole of the Australian Antarctic science community.”
    Professor Abram said she is taking up the role of Chief Scientist at an incredibly exciting time for Australian Antarctic science.
    “Major investments in Australia’s new icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, the Million Year Ice Core traverse and our national climate modelling capabilities are opening up research possibilities that we haven’t seen before,” she said.
    “The way that the Australian Antarctic science community has come together around major campaign-style research priorities offers a new way of tackling really big and important science problems.”
    The Head of the Australian Antarctic Division, Emma Campbell, said Professor Abram will be a welcome addition to the Science branch of the Division.
    “Professor Abram will be playing a key role in what will be a crucial time for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science,” she said.
     “We are planning the first environmental management voyage to Heard Island and McDonald Islands in over 20 years, which will have a significant Southern Ocean and sub-Antarctic science component,” she said.
    “We are also making excellent progress in the Million Year Ice Core campaign, as we chase the longest ice core climate record in history.
    “And the monitoring work done by our seabird teams will be crucial as we prepare for the arrival of avian influenza.”
    Professor Abram will take up the Chief Scientist posting in August.
    This content was last updated 16 minutes ago on 12 June 2025.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: After weeks of confusion and chaos, Tasmania heads back to the polls on July 19

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania

    The Tasmanian government has called a state election for July 19, the fourth in a little over seven years.

    Following days of high drama, Governor Barbara Baker finally granted Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s election request, saying there was no other course of action to break the deadlock gripping Tasmanian politics:

    I make this grant because I am satisfied there is no real possibility that an alternative government can be formed.

    The ballot will be the second state election in just 16 months.

    So how did we get here? And what happens next?

    Dark political mofo

    The Dark Mofo festival kicked off last week, bringing to Hobart its usual mix of weird, dark, and violent modern art. But in the halls of Tasmanian parliament, a similarly macabre and vicious spectacle was playing out.

    I have written a more detailed analysis of events previously, but here’s the quick version.

    On June 3, the Labor opposition moved a motion of no confidence in Rockliff. After two days of acrimonious parliamentary debate, the motion passed on the casting vote of the speaker.

    An election looked inevitable because Rockliff refused to step aside and Opposition Leader Dean Winter ruled out doing a deal with the Greens to govern in minority.

    Parliament returned briefly to pass emergency supply bills, which were needed after the no confidence motion derailed the recent state budget.

    Shortly afterwards, Rockliff asked the governor to dissolve parliament and call an election. This request has now been granted after a few days of deliberation.

    How did it come to this?

    It’s been a rocky road for the Liberal government since the
    last state election in March 2024. Holding only 14 of the House of Assembly’s 35 seats, it has governed in minority thanks to confidence and supply deals with five crossbenchers.

    This tenuous arrangement was under constant pressure. Labor and the crossbench installed Michelle O’Byrne as speaker, and in the second half of 2024 passed three pieces of legislation against the government’s will.

    In August 2024, the implosion of the Jacqui Lambie Network and the forced resignation of Michael Ferguson as deputy premier and treasurer added further complications.

    Against this backdrop, the government has faced a rapidly
    deteriorating fiscal situation    . This is partly the legacy of the COVID pandemic, compounded by recent global uncertainty. However, as economist Saul Eslake notes, the roots of the problem can be found in the policy choices made by previous state Liberal governments.

    Policy setbacks

    Even considering the challenging context, the government has
    done itself few favours. The ongoing project to replace the ageing Spirit of Tasmania ferries has been mired in cost blowouts and poor planning.

    An abrupt about-face on nation-leading gambling reforms, tentative explorations of privatising state assets – since abandoned – and radical changes to the planning system also caused concern.

    And of course, there is the saga over the highly contentious $945 million stadium to support a Tassie team in the AFL.

    Most importantly, though, there has been little progress on the deep structural reforms needed to address the state’s poor health and education outcomes, housing crisis, cost-of-living challenges, and worsening budget situation.

    On the positive side, the government points to achievements recruiting much-needed frontline healthcare workers, increasing the supply of social and affordable housing, and a historically low unemployment rate.

    What happens now?

    The campaign will be a political version of a classic children’s party game: pin the blame on the party.

    Liberal and Labor will both claim the early election is the fault of the other, while the debate over the stadium will likely continue to distract from Tasmania’s other, far more important challenges.

    The election result is hard to predict. In the past, Tasmanians
    have punished minority governments at elections, and in the latest available polling, support for the Liberal Party was at a 16-year low of 29%.

    But the circumstances of this election mean we can’t rely too much on previous trends. The drop in Liberal support is partly driven by northern Tasmanians’ dislike of the Hobart stadium. However, that won’t necessarily help Labor, because they also remain committed to the project.

    Labor will be energised by the federal party’s recent victory. But the most recent polling shows the state branch is barely more popular than the Liberals. Winter lags Rockliff as preferred premier 44%-32%, with a high “never heard of” rating of 24%.

    The Greens could benefit from being the only notable party opposed to the stadium, but will be fighting relentless Labor and Liberal warnings about the perils of forming another minority government.

    None of this points to the July 19 election producing a stable majority government. In fact, there is a strong likelihood the Tasmanian electorate – grumpy about being forced to the polls in mid-winter – will punish both major parties.

    This could result in an even larger and more diverse crossbench, requiring deft and collaborative negotiations to stitch together the numbers to form government.

    While the theatre of the campaign plays out, the ambitious structural reforms that Tasmania desperately needs seem further away than ever.

    The drama is worthy of Dark Mofo, but Tasmanians are already tired of the performance.

    Robert Hortle 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. After weeks of confusion and chaos, Tasmania heads back to the polls on July 19 – https://theconversation.com/after-weeks-of-confusion-and-chaos-tasmania-heads-back-to-the-polls-on-july-19-258597

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Martin Schweinberger, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of Queensland

    Our brains swear for good reasons: to vent, cope, boost our grit and feel closer to those around us. Swear words can act as social glue and play meaningful roles in how people communicate, connect and express themselves – both in person, and online.

    In our new research published in Lingua, we analysed more than 1.7 billion words of online language across 20 English-speaking regions. We identified 597 different swear word forms – from standard words, to creative spellings like “4rseholes”, to acronyms like “wtf”.

    The findings challenge a familiar stereotype. Australians – often thought of as prolific swearers – are actually outdone by Americans and Brits, both in how often they swear, and in how many users swear online.

    Facts and figures

    Our study focused on publicly available web data (such as news articles, organisational websites, government or institutional publications, and blogs – but excluding social media and private messaging). We found vulgar words made up 0.036% of all words in the dataset from the United States, followed by 0.025% in the British data and 0.022% in the Australian data.

    Although vulgar language is relatively rare in terms of overall word frequency, it was used by a significant number of individuals.

    Between 12% and 13.3% of Americans, around 10% of Brits, and 9.4% of Australians used at least one vulgar word in their data. Overall, the most frequent vulgar word was “fuck” – with all its variants, it amounted to a stunning 201 different forms.

    We focused on online language that didn’t include social media, because large-scale comparisons need robust, purpose-built datasets. In our case, we used the Global Web-Based English (GloWbE) corpus, which was specifically designed to compare how English is used across different regions online.

    So how much were our findings influenced by the online data we used?

    Telling results come from research happening at the same time as ours. One study analysed the use of “fuck” in social networks on X, examining how network size and strength influence swearing in the UK, US and Australia.

    It used data from 5,660 networks with more than 435,000 users and 7.8 billion words and found what we did. Americans use “fuck” most frequently, while Australians use it the least, but with the most creative spelling variations (some comfort for anyone feeling let down by our online swearing stats).

    Teasing apart cultural differences

    Americans hold relatively conservative attitudes toward public morality, and their high swearing rates are surprising. The cultural contradiction may reflect the country’s strong individualistic culture. Americans often value personal expression – especially in private or anonymous settings like the internet.

    Meanwhile, public displays of swearing are often frowned upon in the US. This is partly due to the lingering influence of religious norms, which frame swearing – particularly religious-based profanity – as a violation of moral decency.

    Significantly, the only religious-based swear word in our dataset, “damn”, was used most frequently by Americans.

    Research suggests swearing is more acceptable in Australian public discourse. Certainly, Australia’s public airing of swear words often takes visitors by surprise. The long-running road safety slogan “If you drink, then drive, you’re a bloody idiot” is striking – such language is rare in official messaging elsewhere.

    Australians may be comfortable swearing in person, but our findings indicate they dial it back online – surprising for a nation so fond of its vernacular.

    In terms of preferences for specific forms of vulgarity, Americans showed a strong preference for variations of “ass(hole)”, the Irish favored “feck”, the British preferred “cunt”, and Pakistanis leaned toward “butt(hole)”.

    The only statistically significant aversion we found was among Americans, who tended to avoid the word “bloody” (folk wisdom claims the word is blasphemous).

    Being fluent in swearing

    People from countries where English is the dominant language – such as the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland – tend to swear more frequently and with more lexical variety than people in regions where English is less dominant like India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Ghana or the Philippines. This pattern holds for both frequency and creativity in swearing.

    But Singapore ranked fourth in terms of frequency of swearing in our study, just behind Australia and ahead of New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. English in Singapore is increasingly seen not as a second language, but as a native language, and as a tool for identity, belonging and creativity. Young Singaporeans use social swearing to push back against authority, especially given the government’s strict rules on public language.

    One possible reason we saw less swearing among non-native English speakers is that it is rarely taught. Despite its frequency and social utility, swearing – alongside humour and informal speech – is often left out of language education.

    Cursing comes naturally

    Cultural, social and technological shifts are reshaping linguistic norms, blurring the already blurry lines between informal and formal, private and public language. Just consider the Aussie contributions to the July Oxford English Dictionary updates: expressions like “to strain the potatoes” (to urinate), “no wuckers” and “no wucking furries” (from “no fucking worries”).

    Swearing and vulgarity aren’t just crass or abusive. While they can be used harmfully, research consistently shows they serve important communicative functions – colourful language builds rapport, expresses humour and emotion, signals solidarity and eases tension.

    It’s clear that swearing isn’t just a bad habit that can be easily kicked, like nail-biting or smoking indoors. Besides, history shows that telling people not to swear is one of the best ways to keep swearing alive and well.

    Martin Schweinberger has received funding from from the Centre for Digital Cultures and Society and the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Queensland. He is currently funded by the Language Data Commons of Australia, which has received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons, funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

    Kate Burridge 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. 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears – https://theconversation.com/201-ways-to-say-fuck-what-1-7-billion-words-of-online-text-shows-about-how-the-world-swears-257815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bipartisan House Members Urge Secretary Rubio to Save Program Tracking Kidnapped Ukrainian Children

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

    This follows a bipartisan appropriations request to reunite children with their families while holding war criminals accountable.

    Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov

    Washington, D.C.—Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), an active member of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, led a bipartisan group of colleagues in urging State Secretary Marco Rubio to maintain funding for the Conflict Observatory at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab. Months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Conflict Observatory began collecting, analyzing, and preserving information related to Russian war crimes, including Putin’s abduction and concealment of Ukrainian children within Russia’s adoption system.

    “Without your immediate action, the Conflict Observatory will be forced to shutter by July 1st, and its ongoing research identifying more kidnapped Ukrainian children will end. Although the Conflict Observatory’s database of children has been transferred to Europol, it will quickly become out-of-date in a matter of weeks—hindering efforts to ensure every child is returned to family. No explanation has been given to us as to why funding for the Conflict Observatory has been terminated. We are part of a bipartisan effort to seek the relatively modest amount of appropriations necessary to continue this invaluable work during the next fiscal year. We ask that you utilize your authority to keep the Conflict Observatory open until our appropriation request can become law,” wrote the lawmakers.

    Earlier this year, the Trump administration illegally terminated Congressionally authorized funding for the Conflict Observatory before reinstating a six-week funding allotment to transfer all research and data to Ukrainian organizations and Europol, the European Union’s agency for law enforcement cooperation. The lawmakers note that Europol and other organizations do not have the specific expertise and resources needed to successfully navigate open-source intelligence and Russian websites to locate missing children.

    “Research must continue unabated to maintain the rigorous process of identifying every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia. The Conflict Observatory has verified that at least 19,500 children have been forcibly deported from occupied areas of Ukraine, funneled into reeducation camps or adopted by Russian families, and their identities erased. The actual number of children remaining in Russia is presumably significantly higher, with a Russian official stating in July 2023 that Russia had brought 700,000 children from conflict zones in Ukraine to Russia. Many kidnapped Ukrainian children have not yet been identified due to the Kremlin changing their names, place of birth, and date of birth,” the lawmakers continued.

    To ensure the United States upholds its core democratic values, Rep. Doggett and more than 50 colleagues submitted a bipartisan request last month to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State and Related Programs calling for no less than $8 million to be included in its Fiscal Year 2026 government funding bill to continue tracking kidnapped Ukrainian children. With President Trump cruelly terminating funding for critical foreign and domestic programs, the forced closure of the Conflict Observatory is yet another abhorrent example of this administration dismantling our nation’s status as a global superpower.

    Today’s full letter can be read here. Rep. Doggett’s bipartisan appropriations request can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at the association between prolonged use of progestogen contraceptive pill (desogestrel) and risk of brain tumour

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in The BMJ looks at the use of the progesterone contraceptive pill and brain tumour risk. 

    Dr Karen Noble, Director of Research, Policy and Innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said:

    “This study adds to the growing body of evidence around hormone-related risk factors for brain tumours. While it identifies a small increased risk of intracranial meningioma associated with long-term use of desogestrel oral contraceptives, it’s vital to stress that this is a correlation, not proof of causation. Most women taking desogestrel will not develop a brain tumour, and the overall risk remains low. However, the findings do reinforce the critical importance of sustained investment in research into brain tumours, which historically has received just 1% of the national spend on cancer research since records began in 2002.”

    Dr Mangesh Thorat, Honorary Reader in Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London and Consultant Breast Surgeon, Homerton University Hospital, said:

    “This large study using French national database is second in the series of studies by the same group, addressing some of the limitations of their previous study published last year. It shows association between taking a certain progestogen (desogestrel) continuously for more than five years and meningioma risk, however, the magnitude of increase in the risk is small, and short-term use is not associated with increased risk and that the excess risk ceases to exist once the use is stopped for more than a year. These results however do not give any reasons for women using progestogens to panic.”

    What are progestogens?

    “Progestogens are medicinal analogues of naturally produced female hormone progesterone. These are a common component of contraceptive agents, hormone replacement therapy and other hormonal treatments. Two important things to know about these are: first, effects of different formulations vary sometimes substantially and second, the effect of individual drug varies on different organs within our body. Therefore, it is important to consider which specific drug is being used by an individual.”

    What is meningioma?

    “Meningioma is a tumour of coverings of our brain and more than 90% of these are not cancerous. This is a rare tumour, for example, breast cancer is 10-times more common and it is even rarer in young individuals. A proportion of these need to be treated surgically as they increase pressure on the brain and / or nerves. The most common symptoms are persistent headache, and feeling sick all the time often with drowsiness.”

    How much of the risk is attributable to these drugs?

    “Recent studies and a similar study by the same group last year showed that 6 out of more than a dozen progestogen formulations to be associated with significant increase in the risk of developing meningioma. However, these 6 drugs put together account for just over 10% of all meningiomas in women. This study shows that 1 additional drug to be associated with meningioma risk, but the magnitude of increase in the risk is much smaller. In other words, a vast majority of meningioma would occur without use of such drugs.

    “Importantly, this study also shows that many progestogens, for example commonly used tablets like Microgynon or the morning after pill to be completely safe, without any increase in the risk of meningioma.”

    What should individuals using progestogens do?

    “Talk to your healthcare provider regarding the drug you are using. If it is associated with an increased risk of meningioma, this can be changed to a safer alternative. There is no reason to panic as the risk is very small and even in those who developed meningioma, stopping the specific drug has shown to cause regression in the size of meningioma.”

    More research is needed:

    “Although this is a large study, all studies have limitations. This study could not investigate the over-the-counter use of contraceptives. Furthermore, the study cannot provide information on the formulations not commonly used in France but used in other countries. This therefore underscores the need for further research using similar databases in other nations.”

    ‘Oral contraceptives with progestogens desogestrel or levonorgestrel and risk of intracranial meningioma: national case-control study’ by Noémie Roland et al. was published in The BMJ at 23:30 hours UK time Wednesday 11 June 2025.

    DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-083981

    Declared interests

    Dr Mangesh Thorat: No conflicts.

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Goodbye to all that? Rethinking Australia’s alliance with Trump’s America

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Beeson, Adjunct professor, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney

    Even the most ardent supporters of the alliance with the United States – the notional foundation of Australian security for more than 70 years – must be having some misgivings about the second coming of Donald Trump.

    If they’re not, they ought to read the two essays under review here. They offer a host of compelling reasons why a reassessment of the costs, benefits and possible future trajectory of the alliance is long overdue.

    Review: After America: Australia and the new world order – Emma Shortis (Australia Institute Press), Hard New World: Our Post-American Future; Quarterly Essay 98 – Hugh White (Black Inc)

    And yet, notwithstanding the cogency and timeliness of the critiques offered by Emma Shortis and Hugh White, it seems unlikely either of these will be read, much less acted upon, by those Shortis describes as the “mostly men in suits or uniforms, with no democratic accountability” who make security policy on our behalf.

    White, emeritus professor of strategic studies at the ANU, was the principal author of Australia’s Defence White Paper in 2000. Despite having been a prominent member of the defence establishment, it is unlikely even his observations will prove any more palatable to its current incumbents.

    Shortis, an historian and writer, is director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program. She is also a young woman, and while this shouldn’t matter, I suspect it does; at least to the “mostly men” who guard the nation from a host of improbable threats while ignoring what is arguably the most likely and important one: climate change.

    The age of insecurity

    To Shortis’s great credit, she begins her essay with a discussion of a “world on fire” in which the Trump administration is “locking in a bleaker future”.

    This matters for both generational and geographical reasons. While we live in what is arguably the safest place on the planet, the country has the rare distinction of regularly experiencing once-in-100-year floods and droughts, sometimes simultaneously.

    If that’s not a threat to security, especially of the young, it’s hard to know what is. It’s not one the current government or any other in this country has ever taken seriously enough.

    White gives a rather perfunctory acknowledgement of this reality, reflecting an essentially traditional understanding of security – even if some of his conclusions will induce conniptions in Canberra.

    While suggesting Trump is “the most prodigious liar in history”, White thinks he’s done Australia a favour by “puncturing the complacency” surrounding the alliance and our unwillingness to contemplate a world in which the US is not the reliable bedrock of security.

    Shortis doubts the US ever was a trustworthy or reliable ally. This helps explain what she calls the “strategy of pre-emptive capitulation”, in which Australian policymakers fall over themselves to appear useful and supportive to their “great and powerful friend”. Former prime minister John Howard’s activation of the ANZUS alliance in the wake of September 11 and the disastrous decision to take part in the war in Iraq is perhaps the most egregious example of this unfortunate national proclivity.

    White reminds us that all alliances are always transactional. Despite talk of a “history of mateship”, it’s vital to recognise if the great power doesn’t think something is in its “national interest”, it won’t be doing favours for allies. No matter how ingratiating and obliging they may be. While such observations may be unwelcome in Canberra, hopefully they won’t come as a revelation.

    Although White is one of Australia’s most astute critics of the conventional wisdom, sceptics and aspiring peace-builders will find little to cheer in his analysis.

    A good deal of his essay is taken up with the strategic situations in Europe and Asia. The discussion offers a penetrating, but rather despair-inducing insight into humanity’s collective predicament: only by credibly threatening our notional foes with nuclear Armageddon can we hope to keep the peace.

    The problem we now face, White argues, is the likes of Russia and China are beginning to doubt America’s part in the “balance of resolve”. During the Cold War both sides were confident about the other side’s ability and willingness to blow them to pieces.

    Now mutual destruction is less assured. While some of us might think this was a cause for cautious celebration, White suggests it fatally undermines the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons.

    Even before Trump reappeared, this was a source of angst and/or uncertainty for strategists around the world. The principle underpinning international order in a world in which nuclear weapons exist, according to White, is that

    a nuclear power can be stopped, but only by an unambiguous demonstration of willingness to fight a nuclear war to stop it.

    Trump represents a suitably existential threat to this cheery doctrine. Europeans have belatedly recognised the US is no longer reliable and they are responsible for their own security.

    Likewise, an ageing Xi Jinping may want to assure his position in China’s pantheon of great leaders by forcibly returning Taiwan to the motherland. It would be an enormous gamble, of course, but given Trump’s admiration for Xi, and Trump’s apparent willingness to see the world carved up into 19th century-style spheres of influence, it can’t be ruled out.

    Australia’s options

    If there’s one thing both authors agree on it’s that the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, the notional centrepiece of Australia’s future security is vastly overrated. It’s either a “disaster” (Shortis) or “insignificant” (White).

    Likewise, they agree the US is only going to help Australia if it’s judged to be in America’s interest to do so. Recognising quite what an ill-conceived, ludicrously expensive, uncertain project AUKUS is, and just how unreliable a partner the US has become under Trump, might be a useful step on the path to national strategic self-awareness.

    Shortis thinks some members of the Trump administration appear to be “aligned with Russia”. Tying ourselves closer to the US, she writes, “does not make us safer”. A major rethink of, and debate about, Australia’s security policy is clearly necessary.

    Policymakers also ought to take seriously White’s arguments about the need to reconfigure the armed forces to defend Australia independently in an increasingly uncertain international environment.

    Perhaps the hardest idea for Australia’s unimaginative strategic elites to grasp is that, as White points out,

    Asia’s future, and Australia’s, will not be decided in Washington. It will be decided in Asia.

    Former prime minister Paul Keating’s famous remark “Australia needs to seek its security in Asia rather than from Asia” remains largely unheeded. Despite plausible suggestions about developing closer strategic ties with Indonesia and even cooperating with China to offer leadership on climate change, some ideas remain sacrosanct and alternatives remain literally inconceivable.

    Even if we take a narrow view of the nature of security – one revolving around possible military threats to Australia – US Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth’s demands for greater defence spending on our part confirm White’s point that,

    it is classic Trump to expect more and more from allies while he offers them less and less. This is the dead end into which our “America First” defence policy has led us.

    Quite so.

    Australia’s strategic elites have locked us into the foreign and strategic policies of an increasingly polarised, authoritarian and unpredictable regime.

    But as Shortis observes, we cannot be confident about our ability, or the world’s for that matter, to “just ride Trump out”, and hope everything will return to normal afterwards.

    It is entirely possible the international situation may get worse – possibly much worse – with or without Trump in the White House.

    The reality is American democracy may not survive another four years of Trump and the coterie of startlingly ill-qualified, inhumane, self-promoting chancers who make up much of his administration.

    A much-needed national debate

    Both authors think attempts to “smother” a serious national debate about defence policy in Australia (White), and the security establishment’s obsession with secrecy (Shortis), are the exact opposite of what this country needs at this historical juncture. They’re right.

    Several senior members of Australia’s security community have assured me if I only knew what they did I’d feel very differently about our strategic circumstances.

    Really? One thing I do know is that we’re spending far too much time – and money! – acting on what Shortis describes as a “shallow and ungenerous understanding of what ‘security’ really is”.

    We really could stop the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza if Xi had a word with Putin and the US stopped supplying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the weapons and money to slaughter women and children. But climate change would still be coming to get us.

    More importantly, global warming will get worse before it gets better, even in the unlikely event that the “international community” (whoever that may be) agrees on meaningful collective action tomorrow.

    You may not agree with all of the ideas and suggestions contained in these essays, but in their different ways they are vital contributions to a much-needed national debate.

    An informed and engaged public is a potential asset, not something to be frightened of, after all. Who knows, it may be possible to come up with some genuinely progressive, innovative ideas about what sort of domestic and international policies might be appropriate for an astonishingly fortunate country with no enemies.

    Perhaps Australia could even offer an example of the sort of creative, independent middle power diplomacy a troubled world might appreciate and even emulate.

    But given our political and strategic elites can’t free themselves from the past, it is difficult to see them dealing imaginatively with the threat of what Shortis calls the looming “environmental catastrophe”.

    No wonder so many of the young despair and have little confidence in democracy’s ability to fix what ails us.

    Mark Beeson 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. Goodbye to all that? Rethinking Australia’s alliance with Trump’s America – https://theconversation.com/goodbye-to-all-that-rethinking-australias-alliance-with-trumps-america-258066

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Schweinberger, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of Queensland

    Our brains swear for good reasons: to vent, cope, boost our grit and feel closer to those around us. Swear words can act as social glue and play meaningful roles in how people communicate, connect and express themselves – both in person, and online.

    In our new research published in Lingua, we analysed more than 1.7 billion words of online language across 20 English-speaking regions. We identified 597 different swear word forms – from standard words, to creative spellings like “4rseholes”, to acronyms like “wtf”.

    The findings challenge a familiar stereotype. Australians – often thought of as prolific swearers – are actually outdone by Americans and Brits, both in how often they swear, and in how many users swear online.

    Facts and figures

    Our study focused on publicly available web data (such as news articles, organisational websites, government or institutional publications, and blogs – but excluding social media and private messaging). We found vulgar words made up 0.036% of all words in the dataset from the United States, followed by 0.025% in the British data and 0.022% in the Australian data.

    Although vulgar language is relatively rare in terms of overall word frequency, it was used by a significant number of individuals.

    Between 12% and 13.3% of Americans, around 10% of Brits, and 9.4% of Australians used at least one vulgar word in their data. Overall, the most frequent vulgar word was “fuck” – with all its variants, it amounted to a stunning 201 different forms.

    We focused on online language that didn’t include social media, because large-scale comparisons need robust, purpose-built datasets. In our case, we used the Global Web-Based English (GloWbE) corpus, which was specifically designed to compare how English is used across different regions online.

    So how much were our findings influenced by the online data we used?

    Telling results come from research happening at the same time as ours. One study analysed the use of “fuck” in social networks on X, examining how network size and strength influence swearing in the UK, US and Australia.

    It used data from 5,660 networks with more than 435,000 users and 7.8 billion words and found what we did. Americans use “fuck” most frequently, while Australians use it the least, but with the most creative spelling variations (some comfort for anyone feeling let down by our online swearing stats).

    Teasing apart cultural differences

    Americans hold relatively conservative attitudes toward public morality, and their high swearing rates are surprising. The cultural contradiction may reflect the country’s strong individualistic culture. Americans often value personal expression – especially in private or anonymous settings like the internet.

    Meanwhile, public displays of swearing are often frowned upon in the US. This is partly due to the lingering influence of religious norms, which frame swearing – particularly religious-based profanity – as a violation of moral decency.

    Significantly, the only religious-based swear word in our dataset, “damn”, was used most frequently by Americans.

    Research suggests swearing is more acceptable in Australian public discourse. Certainly, Australia’s public airing of swear words often takes visitors by surprise. The long-running road safety slogan “If you drink, then drive, you’re a bloody idiot” is striking – such language is rare in official messaging elsewhere.

    Australians may be comfortable swearing in person, but our findings indicate they dial it back online – surprising for a nation so fond of its vernacular.

    In terms of preferences for specific forms of vulgarity, Americans showed a strong preference for variations of “ass(hole)”, the Irish favored “feck”, the British preferred “cunt”, and Pakistanis leaned toward “butt(hole)”.

    The only statistically significant aversion we found was among Americans, who tended to avoid the word “bloody” (folk wisdom claims the word is blasphemous).

    Being fluent in swearing

    People from countries where English is the dominant language – such as the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland – tend to swear more frequently and with more lexical variety than people in regions where English is less dominant like India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Ghana or the Philippines. This pattern holds for both frequency and creativity in swearing.

    But Singapore ranked fourth in terms of frequency of swearing in our study, just behind Australia and ahead of New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. English in Singapore is increasingly seen not as a second language, but as a native language, and as a tool for identity, belonging and creativity. Young Singaporeans use social swearing to push back against authority, especially given the government’s strict rules on public language.

    One possible reason we saw less swearing among non-native English speakers is that it is rarely taught. Despite its frequency and social utility, swearing – alongside humour and informal speech – is often left out of language education.

    Cursing comes naturally

    Cultural, social and technological shifts are reshaping linguistic norms, blurring the already blurry lines between informal and formal, private and public language. Just consider the Aussie contributions to the July Oxford English Dictionary updates: expressions like “to strain the potatoes” (to urinate), “no wuckers” and “no wucking furries” (from “no fucking worries”).

    Swearing and vulgarity aren’t just crass or abusive. While they can be used harmfully, research consistently shows they serve important communicative functions – colourful language builds rapport, expresses humour and emotion, signals solidarity and eases tension.

    It’s clear that swearing isn’t just a bad habit that can be easily kicked, like nail-biting or smoking indoors. Besides, history shows that telling people not to swear is one of the best ways to keep swearing alive and well.

    Martin Schweinberger has received funding from from the Centre for Digital Cultures and Society and the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Queensland. He is currently funded by the Language Data Commons of Australia, which has received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons, funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

    Kate Burridge 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. 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears – https://theconversation.com/201-ways-to-say-fuck-what-1-7-billion-words-of-online-text-shows-about-how-the-world-swears-257815

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Extreme weather could send milk prices soaring, deepening challenges for the dairy industry

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, Lecturer, Sustainability and Environment, University of Technology Sydney

    Australia’s dairy industry is in the middle of a crisis, fuelled by an almost perfect storm of challenges.

    Climate change and extreme weather have been battering farmlands and impacting animal productivity, creating mounting financial strains and mental health struggles for many farmers.

    Meanwhile, beyond the farm gate, consumer tastes are shifting to a range of dairy substitutes. Interest and investment in alternative dairy proteins is accelerating.

    Earlier this month, industry figures warned consumers to prepare for price rises amid expected shortages of milk, butter and cheese. Already mired in uncertainty, the dairy industry is now being forced to confront some tough questions about its future head on.

    Dairy under pressure

    Dairy is Australia’s third-largest rural industry. It produces more than A$6 billion worth of milk each year, and directly employs more than 30,000 people.

    But the sector has been under sustained pressure. This year alone, repeated extreme weather events have affected key dairy-producing regions in southern and eastern parts of Australia.

    In New South Wales, dairy farmers face increased pressure from floods. In May, many regions had their monthly rainfall records broken – some by huge margins.

    In Victoria, drought and water shortages are worsening. Tasmania, too, continues to endure some of the driest conditions in more than a century.

    Conditions have prompted many farmers to sell down their cattle numbers to conserve feed and water.

    All of this heavily impacts farm productivity. Agriculture has long been predicated on our ability to predict climate conditions and grow food or rear animals according to the cycles of nature.

    As climate change disrupts weather patterns, this makes both short and long-term planning for the sector a growing challenge.

    High costs, low profits

    Climate change isn’t the only test. The industry has also been grappling with productivity and profitability concerns.

    At the farm level, dairy farmers are feeling the impacts of high operating costs. Compared to other types of farming (such as sheep or beef), dairy farms require more plant, machinery and equipment capital, mostly in the form of specialised milking machinery.

    The price of milk also has many farmers concerned. The modest increase in farmgate milk prices – just announced by dairy companies for the start of the next financial year – left many farmers disappointed. Some say the increase isn’t enough to cover rising operating costs.

    Zooming out, there are concerns about a lack of family succession planning for dairy farms. Many young people are wary of taking on such burdens, and the total number of Australian dairy farms has been in steady decline – from more than 6,000 in 2015 to just 4,163 in 2023.

    What’s the solution?

    Is there a way to make the dairy industry more productive, profitable and sustainable? Australian Dairy Farmers is the national policy and advocacy group supporting the profitability and sustainability of the sector.

    In the lead up to this year’s federal election, the group called for $399 million in government investment to address what it said were key priorities. These included:

    • investment in on-farm technologies to improve efficiencies
    • funding for water security
    • upskilling programs for farmers
    • support for succession planning.
    Industry figures have warned consumers to brace for possible increases in the cost of dairy products.
    wisely/Shutterstock

    However, as the industry struggles to grapple with a changing climate, financial strain and mental health pressures, there should also be pathways for incumbent farmers to transition, either to farming dairy differently (such as by reducing herd sizes) or exiting out of dairy farming and into something else.

    Dairy without the cows

    The push to make dairy production more sustainable and efficient faces its own competition. A number of techniques in development promise dairy products without the cows, through cellular agriculture – and more specifically, “precision fermentation”.

    Australian company Eden Brew, in partnership with dairy giant Norco, has plans to produce and commercialise precision fermentation dairy proteins.

    And last year, Australian company All G secured approval to sell precision fermentation lactoferrin (a key dairy ingredient in baby formula) in China – another animal-free milk product.

    It is important to note that cost and scalability for cellular agriculture remains a challenge.

    Nonetheless, Australia’s rapidly growing non-dairy milk market – soy, oat, and so on – is now worth over $600 million annually. This reflects the global shift towards plant-based options driven by health, environmental, and ethical concerns.

    Is there a win-win outcome?

    Is there a possible future where more funding is given to produce milk at scale through precision fermentation while we also look after incumbent dairy workers, farms and the rural sector at large to diversify or leave the sector altogether?

    Some believe this future is possible. This is what researchers call “protein pluralism” – a market where traditional and alternative proteins coexist. Long-term planning from both the dairy industry and government would be needed.

    Remember, while techniques like precision fermentation offer the promise of animal-free dairy products, their benefits are largely yet to materialise. How they will ultimately benefit the whole of society remains speculative.

    What we can do now

    For this reason, some scholars have argued we should prioritise actions that can be taken now. This includes support for practices such as agroecology, which seek to address injustice and inequity in food systems to help empower primary food producers.

    A recent study found Australian dairy farmers were interested in financial and technical advice to make decisions about where they take their business in future.

    Despite growing recognition of the challenges facing the dairy sector, responses from government and alternative dairy remain uneven. A more coordinated approach is needed for affected farmers, helping them adapt or diversify with guidance from government and industry experts.

    Milena Bojovic volunteers with Farm Transitions Australia, a registered charity which helps Australian dairy and beef farmers facing hardship and seeking a transition from the industry. She is affiliated with ARC Centre for Excellence in Synthetic Biology.

    – ref. Extreme weather could send milk prices soaring, deepening challenges for the dairy industry – https://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-could-send-milk-prices-soaring-deepening-challenges-for-the-dairy-industry-258175

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Hard to measure and difficult to shift’: the government’s big productivity challenge

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra

    Higher productivity has quickly emerged as an economic reform priority for Labor’s second term.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laid down some markers for a productivity round table in August, saying he wants it to build the “broadest possible base” for further economic reform.

    The government is right to focus on productivity. Improving economic efficiency will increase real wages, help bring down inflation and interest rates, and improve living standards.

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers is flagging a broad productivity agenda, but acknowledges the rewards will take time to percolate through the economy:

    Human capital, competition policy, technology, energy, the care economy – these are where we are going to find the productivity gains, and not quickly, but over the medium term.

    Making the economy operate more efficiently is simple in concept. But Albanese and Chalmers would be well aware productivity is hard to measure, and even more difficult to shift.

    The numbers are fraught

    What do we mean by productivity growth? And how will it help lift the economy? The authors of the bestselling new book Abundance offer this neat explanation:

    People need to think up new ideas. Factories need to innovate new processes. These new ideas and new processes must be encoded into new technologies. All this is grouped under the sterile label of productivity: How much more can we produce with the same number of people and resources?

    At its most basic, productivity measures outputs divided by inputs – what we produce compared to the resources such as labour and capital used to produce it.

    But large parts of the “non-market” economy including the public service, health care and education are excluded from the official productivity figures.

    The Australian Bureau of Statistics is working to address the gap in the data. For example, it is developing “experimental estimates” for the health sector, which suggests hospital productivity has fallen.

    However measurement is fraught. If a nurse, for instance, who previously cared for four patients now looks after eight, is that a productivity improvement? Or a drop in standard of care?

    Flatlining productivity

    Australian productivity growth has averaged just 0.4% a year since 2015 – the lowest rate in 60 years.

    The exception was during COVID, when industries with low productivity, such as accommodation and food, were shut down and those with high productivity – such as IT and communications – thrived.

    The objective must be to return to, or even surpass, historical levels of productivity. However, it won’t be easy given economists have no clear idea why productivity growth has fallen in Australia and overseas.

    Theories include:

    • measurement problems
    • new industries
    • decline in business investment in equipment and technology
    • more service industries, where productivity is lower
    • the easy reforms have all been done.

    No shortage of advice

    Productivity is multidimensional, with an absurd number of moving parts. It depends on skills, technology, investment, knowledge, management, and a host of other factors. Like the movie, it’s “everything, everywhere all at once”.

    The government has a plethora of advice on how to improve productivity. Scientists argue for more scientific research; business lobbies for more investment breaks;
    innovators for more technological advances.

    This poses a dilemma for the Treasurer. Most suggestions on their own would make some difference. Doing all of them would make a huge difference. Alas, government cannot do everything. It must choose where to apply its limited resources.

    Beyond money and time, the government must also have appetite for the fight.

    Interest groups typically support productivity reforms in principle, but resist them if they are directly affected. Every inefficient regulation or program has a supporter somewhere.

    Five pillars

    Jim Chalmers does not need another shopping list. He needs help to sort through options and set priorities for which fights to pick. To this end, in December year he tasked the Productivity Commission with new inquiries into the five main drivers – “pillars” – of higher productivity.



    Read more:
    Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial

    Yet the Albanese government has already been handed a comprehensive blueprint for productivity reform.

    In March 2023, the Productivity Commission released the Advancing Prosperity report, which it described as a “road map”.

    However, it had more of a shopping list feel, incorporating 71 recommendations and 29 “reform directives”. Many were of the “should” variety, lacking a detailed plan of how to do them.

    Roughly speaking, any government only has bandwidth for one big and a few small reforms a term. It cannot implement more than 70, even if that’s ideal.

    Productivity reform will succeed if it involves only a few changes – preferably those that deliver the most improvement for the least complaint.

    Some proposed measures are desirable but controversial. The tax system, for example, is crying out for improvement, but the government is unlikely to take it on.

    Reforming occupational licences to make it easier for tradies to move states is a more modest aim. It would not generate the same productivity gains, but politically would be simpler to implement.

    Nothing to fear

    Finally, some words of caution.

    Productivity is not code for exploiting workers. As The Guardian recently noted:

    When most people hear the word ‘productivity’ they think of their boss wanting them to take on more duties for the same pay. That’s not the case. It’s about getting more out of the hours you work.

    Working harder to get the same result is in fact a drop in productivity. Working shorter hours for the same outputs is productivity growth, with the benefits seen in better work-life balance.

    Nor is productivity just about producing more outputs. Who needs more useless stuff?

    And statistics can mislead, because they measure the value of production, not the quality. A broader accounting for production, incorporating society and the environment, would help the productivity debate avoid this trap.

    Albanese and Chalmers readily acknowledge the government can do more on productivity. Anyone with an interest in driving a more efficient economy, higher real wages and better living standards will hold them to their word.

    This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the productivity dilemma.

    Stephen Bartos 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. ‘Hard to measure and difficult to shift’: the government’s big productivity challenge – https://theconversation.com/hard-to-measure-and-difficult-to-shift-the-governments-big-productivity-challenge-257968

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Downie, Professor, Australian National University

    President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition.

    The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is a A$530 billion suite of measures that aims to turbocharge clean energy investment and slash emissions in the US. Once hailed as a game-changer for the global clean energy transition, it set in train a fierce international competition for renewable energy investment.

    But the policy is now hanging by a thread, after the US House of Representatives last month narrowly passed a bill to repeal many of its clean energy measures.

    Should the bill pass the Senate, billions of dollars in renewables investment once destined for the US could be looking for a new home. Now is the time for the Albanese government to woo investors with a bolder program of climate action in Australia.

    The Trump administration is seeking to wind back Biden’s signature climate policy.
    Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Climate Power 2020

    What is the Inflation Reduction Act?

    The Inflation Reduction Act passed US Congress in 2022. It legislated billions of dollars in tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and geothermal plants, among other technologies.

    It included around A$13 billion in rebates for Americans to electrify their homes, tax credits of almost A$11,000 to electrify their cars, and billions more to establish a “green bank” and target agricultural emissions.

    The money flowed. Last year, almost A$420 billion was invested in the manufacture and deployment of clean energy – double that in 2021, the year before the legislation passed.

    Even in the first quarter of this year, under a Trump presidency, A$103 billion was invested in clean energy tech – an increase on the first quarter results of 2024. Electric vehicle manufacturing projects, especially batteries, were standout performers.

    Then US president Joe Biden in August 2023, celebrating the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. The policy aimed to turbocharge the clean energy transition.
    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    But then came the proposed repeal. The Trump administration wants to gut tax credits for clean energy technologies. The measures passed the House of Representatives and must now clear the US Senate, where the Republicans have a margin of three votes.

    Initial modelling suggests the bill, if passed, could derail clean energy manufacturing in the US – including in Republican states where new projects were planned.

    The potential economic damage has sparked concern even among Trump’s own troops. Some Republicans last week reportedly urged the scaling back of the cuts, despite voting for the bill in the House.

    Opportunities for Australia

    After the IRA was enacted, many countries followed the US’ lead – including Australia’s Albanese government, which legislated the A$22.7 billion Future Made in Australia package.

    So how will Trump’s unravelling of the policy affect the rest of the world?

    The economic impacts are still being modelled. Some studies suggest the US could cede A$123 billion in investment to other countries.

    The US axing of tax credits for battery and solar technology paves the way for nations such as China and South Korea to capitalise – given, for example, they already dominate battery manufacturing.

    Australia should be doing its utmost to attract investors that no longer see the US as an option. Our existing policies are a start, but they are not sufficient.

    In February this year, Labor increased the investment capacity of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation – Australia’s “green bank” – by A$2 billion. But more will be needed if the government is serious about crowding-in private investment in low-emission technologies exiting the US.

    The government would also be wise to remove incentives that increase fossil fuel use. This includes the diesel fuel rebate, which encourages the use of diesel-powered trucks on mine sites. Fortescue Metals this week announced a push for the subsidy to be wound back – potentially providing the political opening Labor needs.

    What about nuclear?

    Trump has also promised a “nuclear renaissance”, signing four executive orders designed to reinvigorate the US nuclear energy industry.

    But those measures are likely to fail, just as Trump’s 2016 promise to revive the coal industry never eventuated.

    In fact, his cuts to the Loan Programs Office – which helps finance new energy projects including nuclear – threaten to undermine the viability of new nuclear plants. The office has been the guarantor for every new US nuclear plant this century, bar one.

    If the US is struggling to scale up its existing nuclear industry, this does not bode well for the technology’s hopes in Australia. Here, the prospect of a nuclear energy policy still appears alive in the Coalition party room, even though the technology remains politically unpopular, and the economics don’t stack up.

    What’s next?

    Predicting US climate and energy policy is a fool’s errand, given the potential IRA repeal, flip-flopping tariff announcements and daily social media tirades from Trump, including a social media bust-up with former ally Elon Musk over the merits of the repeal itself.

    Stepping back from the politics, we cannot ignore the climate harms flowing from a walk-back on US climate action.

    The US is the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As climate change reaches new extremes, the policy vacuum created by Donald Trump must urgently be filled by the rest of the world.

    Christian Downie receives funding from the Australian Research Council

    – ref. A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits – https://theconversation.com/a-reversal-in-us-climate-policy-will-send-renewables-investors-packing-and-australia-can-reap-the-benefits-258388

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The final of the national stage of the “Chinese Language is a Bridge” competition was held in Armenia

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Yerevan, June 11 (Xinhua) — The final of the national stage of the World Chinese Language Proficiency Contest among students and secondary school pupils “Chinese is a Bridge” was held in the capital of Armenia on Wednesday. It was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Armenia and the Confucius Institute of the Yerevan State University of Foreign Languages named after Valery Bryusov.

    Five students from the country’s leading universities and 10 schoolchildren from different grades from three cities took part in the competition. They delivered welcoming speeches, recited poems, sang songs and performed short stage productions in Chinese.

    Welcoming the participants, Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Li Xinwei noted that even the simplest communication clearly highlights the important role of language as an intercultural bridge and reflects the sincere friendship between the peoples of China and Armenia.

    “Learning Chinese helps people gain a deeper understanding of the rich Chinese culture, penetrate the spiritual world of the Chinese people, and become ambassadors of people-to-people exchanges between our countries. It also creates a solid foundation for cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Armenia,” Li Xinwei said.

    Rector of Yerevan State University of Foreign Languages named after V. Bryusov David Gyurjinyan admitted that he was impressed by the results of the competition.

    The winners of the competition were Yerevan State University student Laura Arakelyan, Gyumri Academic College student Sos Vardanyan and Nor Hachin school student Robert Zakharyan. They will travel to China to participate in the global stage of the “Chinese Language is a Bridge” competition. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Files Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to the Trump Administration’s Unlawful Freeze to Federal Research Funding for Harvard

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta this week, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in support of Harvard University’s motion for summary judgment in President and Fellows of Harvard College v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s freeze of federal funding for research grants at Harvard University. In their brief, the attorneys general argue that the freezing and termination of Harvard’s research grants would pose an existential threat to universities, disrupt state’s economies, public health efforts, and the pipeline for the next generation of researchers. 

    “The Trump Administration is going after Harvard because it refused to bend to its unprecedented – and blatantly unlawful – demands,” said Attorney General Bonta. “In California, we remain committed to upholding and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of our educational institutions and their students. I’m proud to stand with Harvard in ensuring that we continue to protect our students, their wellbeing, and their freedom of speech.”

    In April 2025, Harvard filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts arguing that the Trump Administration exceeded its statutory and constitutional authority and violated the First Amendment in freezing, terminating, and refusing to issue or continue research and other grants in retaliation for Harvard’s refusal to restructure its internal governance, change its hiring and admissions practices, and modify what it teaches its students to align with the government’s views.

    In the amicus brief, the coalition urges the court to grant Harvard’s motion for summary judgment, arguing that the Trump Administration’s unlawful freeze of federal funding poses an existential threat to the university which will (1) impact the state’s economy, (2) threaten current jobs and businesses, (3) halt career development for promising new scientists debilitating the pipeline for future innovators, and (4) prevent research for lifesaving medicines and transformative technologies with the potential to improve the health and lives of residents.

    Harvard’s contributions to Massachusetts are a prime example of the significant impact research universities can have. Since its founding in 1636, Harvard has been critical to Massachusetts’s flourishing, directing billions of dollars to the state’s businesses and organizations and driving countless of innovations in medicine and technology. In addition, Harvard is one of Massachusetts’s largest employers and frequently collaborates with state and local partners on initiatives that support the local economy.

    In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys generals of Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

    A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: The leading risk factor for cancer isn’t what you think

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kristen Haase, Associate Professor, Nursing, University of British Columbia

    International guidelines say that all older adults should have a geriatric assessment prior to making a decision about their cancer treatment. (Shutterstock)

    If you were to ask most people what causes cancer, the answer would probably be smoking, alcohol, the sun, hair dye or some other avoidable element. But the most important risk factor for cancer is something else: aging. That’s right, the factor most associated with cancer is unavoidable — and a condition that we will all experience.

    Why is this important? Older adults are the fastest growing population in Canada and globally. By 2068, approximately 29 per cent of Canadians will be over age 65. With cancer being one of the most common diseases in older adults and one of the most common diseases in Canada, it means we need to think about how to provide the best cancer care for older adults.

    Demographic shift

    So how are we doing so far? The answer is: not great. This may be surprising, but we also have a great opportunity to innovate and prepare for this demographic shift in cancer care.

    International guidelines — including those from the American Society of Clinical Oncology — say that all older adults should have a geriatric assessment prior to making a decision about their cancer treatment. The most widely used models of geriatric assessment involve a geriatrician.

    With cancer being one of the most common diseases in older adults and one of the most common diseases in Canada, it means we need to think about how to provide the best cancer care for older adults.
    (Shutterstock)

    Consultation with a geriatrician for an older adult allows the oncologist and older adult to engage in a conversation about cancer treatment armed with information. Things like how treatment might affect their cognition, their function, their existing illnesses (which most older adults have when they are diagnosed with cancer), and the years of remaining life.

    Importantly, geriatricians centre their assessment on what matters most to patients. This approach anchors any decision about cancer around the wishes of older adults and their support system. When diagnosed with cancer, older adults undergo many tests and measures of function, but the evidence supports that these are not as accurate as geriatric assessment for identifying problems that may be below the surface.

    Care in Canada

    In Canada, there are currently only a handful of specialized geriatric oncology clinics. The oldest clinic is in Montréal at the Jewish General Hospital, followed closely by the Older Adult with Cancer Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, led by Shabbir Alibhai, one of the authors of this story. As researchers, we are in touch with clinics in Ontario and Alberta that have told us they have geriatric oncology services under development, so we hope to see new programs soon.

    These clinics aren’t just good for patients. In fact, a study led by Shabbir Alibhai demonstrated a cost savings of approximately $7,000 per older adult seen in these clinics. If we map this onto the number of older adults diagnosed with cancer in Canada every year, this represents a huge cost savings for our public health system. Despite this overwhelming evidence, this is still not routine care.

    In Canada, there are currently only a handful of specialized geriatric oncology clinics.
    (Shutterstock)

    In British Columbia, there are currently no specialized services for older adults with cancer. Over the last five years, Kristen Haase — also an author of this story — has been working with colleagues to understand whether these services are needed and how they could help older adults with cancer in B.C.

    This work involved conversations with more than 100 members of the cancer community. The research team spoke with older adults undergoing cancer treatment, who sometimes had to relocate for cancer treatment. Other participants included caregivers who cared for elderly family members during their cancer treatment and described numerous challenges they faced, and volunteers who ran a free transportation service — a service also mostly staffed by older adult volunteers.

    The research team also heard from health-care professionals: oncologists, nurses, physiotherapists and social workers. The latter group coalesced around the need for additional supports within the cancer care system so they could do their job well, and best support older adults.

    The results indicate that both those working in the system and those using the system want and need better support.

    Barriers to care

    So where are we now and why don’t we have these services across Canada?

    Cost is obviously a barrier to any health-care service. But with evidence that any costs will be offset by demonstrated cost savings, this is a non-starter.

    Health human resources are one huge restriction. Geriatricians are in high demand and there is low supply. However, nurse-led models have also been shown to be successful. With the expanding role of nurse practitioners across Canada, this option has huge potential to innovate care, and at a lower cost.

    There is an opportunity to innovate models of care that are targeted to those who need services the most: those who are most frail, are most likely to benefit from tailored care, and will reap the most benefit in terms of quality of life.
    (Shutterstock)

    Another reason is good old inertia. Our clinical care model in oncology has remained mostly intact for over three decades. It is primarily a single physician-driven model. Although modern therapies for cancer have emerged at a breathtaking pace and have been introduced into clinical practice, it is much harder to change the model of care, particularly for strategies such as geriatric assessment that are harder to implement than a new drug or surgical/radiation technique.

    The last, and perhaps the most difficult to pin down of all potential reasons for the absence of specialized cancer services for older adults, is agism. Agism is discrimination based on age. It is one of the most common forms of discrimination and it is deeply embedded in many of our systems. Imagine a scenario where children diagnosed with cancer couldn’t access a pediatrician. We would collectively be outraged. Yet somehow, we accept this for older adults.

    Due to the overwhelming number of older adults who are and will be diagnosed with cancer in the coming years, it will never be possible for all of them to receive specialized geriatric services. But there is an opportunity to innovate models of care that are targeted to those who need services the most: those who are most frail, are most likely to benefit from tailored care, and will reap the most benefit in terms of quality of life.

    Stratifying these programs around those who need them the most will also have the greatest financial impact. And if personal stories of improving quality of life for older adults with cancer or international guidelines don’t move decision-makers, hopefully cost savings will.

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

    – ref. The leading risk factor for cancer isn’t what you think – https://theconversation.com/the-leading-risk-factor-for-cancer-isnt-what-you-think-253834

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Sanctuary cities can’t protect people from ICE immigration raids − but they don’t actually violate federal law

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Benjamin Gonzalez O’Brien, Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University

    While sanctuary policies for immigrants have grown in the U.S. since the 1980s, the Trump administration is the first to challenge them. Marcos Silva/iStock/Getty Images Plus

    The Trump administration plans to send special response teams of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct immigration raids in four cities run by Democratic mayors, NBC news reported on June 11, 2025, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the planning process.

    NBC reports that New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago and Seattle are four of the five places that would be affected by this deployment, as well as northern Virginia. These cities are also among the other major metropolitan hubs – as well as more than 200 small towns and counties and a dozen states – that over the past 40 years have adopted what are often known as sanctuary policies.

    Special response teams are tactical units under ICE that are trained to respond to extreme situations such as drug and arms smugglers. These units have been used to respond to recent immigration protests in Los Angeles in response to ICE raids. President Donald Trump has also deployed 4,000 National Guard troops, as well as about 700 Marines, to quell protests in that city. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have said the presence of troops is exacerbating the situation and are challenging the legality of these deployments in court.

    While sanctuary policies often prohibit local participation in immigration enforcement or cooperation with ICE, if large-scale raids take place in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Seattle, their designation as sanctuary cities offers little protection to immigrants living without legal authorization from deportation.

    There is not a single definition of a sanctuary policy. But it often involves local authorities not asking about a resident’s immigration status, or not sharing that personal information with federal immigration authorities.

    So when a San Francisco police officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation, the officer will not ask if the person is living in the country legally.

    American presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, have chosen to leave sanctuary policies largely unchallenged since different places first adopted them in the 1970s. This changed in 2017, when President Donald Trump first tried to cut federal funding to sanctuary places, claiming that their policies “willfully violate Federal law.” Legal challenges during his first term stopped him from actually withholding the money.

    At the start of his second term, Trump signed two executive orders in January and April 2025 which again state that his administration will withhold federal money from areas with sanctuary policies.

    “Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!” Trump said, according to an April White House statement. This statement was immediately followed by his April executive order.

    These two executive orders task the attorney general and secretary of homeland security with publishing a list of all sanctuary places and notifying local and state officials of “non-compliance, providing an opportunity to correct it.” Those that do not comply with federal law, according to the orders, may lose federal funding.

    San Francisco and 14 other sanctuary cities, including New Haven, Connecticut, and Portland, Oregon, sued the Trump administration in February on the grounds that it was illegally trying to coerce cities to comply with its policies. A U.S. district court judge in California issued an injunction on April 24 preventing the administration – at least for the time being – from cutting funding from places with sanctuary policies.

    However, as researchers who have studied sanctuary policies for over a decade, we know that Trump’s claim that sanctuary policies violate federal immigration law is not correct.

    It’s true that the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over immigration. Yet there is no federal requirement that state or local governments participate or cooperate in federal immigration enforcement, which would require an act of Congress.

    A sign is seen at the Nogales, Ariz., and Mariposa, Mexico, border crossing.
    Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images

    What’s behind sanctuary policies

    In 1979, the Los Angeles Police Department was the first to announce a prohibition on local officials asking about a resident’s immigration status.

    However, it was not until the 1980s that the sanctuary movement took off, when hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Nicaraguans fled civil war and violence in their home countries and migrated to the U.S. This prompted a number of cities to declare solidarity with the faith-based sanctuary movement that offered refuge to Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Nicaraguan asylum seekers facing deportation.

    In 1985, Berkeley, Calif., and San Francisco pledged that city officials, including police officers, would not report Central Americans to immigration authorities as long as they were law abiding.

    Berkeley also banned officials from using local money to work with federal immigration authorities.

    “We are not asking anyone to do anything illegal,” Nancy Walker, a supervisor for San Francisco, said in 1985, according to The New York Times. “We have got to extend our hand to these people. If these people go home, they die. They are asking us to let them stay.”

    Today, there are hundreds of sanctuary cities, towns, counties and states across the country that all have a variation of policies that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

    Sometimes – but not always – places with sanctuary policies bar local law enforcement agencies from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the country’s main immigration enforcement agency.

    A large part of ICE’s work is identifying, arresting and deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. In order to carry out this work, ICE issues what is known as “detainer requests” to local law enforcement authorities. A detainer request asks local law enforcement to hold a specific arrested person already being held by police until that person can be transferred to ICE, which can then take steps to deport them.

    While places without sanctuary policies tend to comply with these requests, some sanctuary jurisdictions, like the state of California, only do so in the cases of particular violent criminal offenses.

    Yet local officials in sanctuary places cannot legally block ICE from arresting local residents who are living in the country illegally, or from carrying out any other parts of its work.

    Can Trump withhold federal funding?

    Trump claimed in 2017 that sanctuary policies violated federal law, and he issued an executive order that tried to rescind federal grants that these jurisdictions received.

    However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2018 case involving San Francisco and Santa Clara County, California, that the president could not refuse to “disperse the federal grants in question without congressional authorization.”

    Federal courts, meanwhile, split over whether Trump could freeze funding attached to a specific federal program called the Edward Byrne Memorial Assistance Grant Program, which provides about US$250 million in annual funding to state and local law enforcement.

    These cases were in the process of being appealed to the Supreme Court when the Department of Justice, under Biden, asked that they be dismissed.

    Other Supreme Court rulings also suggest that the Trump administration’s claim that it can withhold federal funding from sanctuary places rests on shaky legal ground.

    The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 and again in 1997 that the federal government could not coerce state or local governments to use their resources to enforce a federal regulatory program, or compel them to enact or administer a federal regulatory program.

    Under pressure

    The first Trump administration was not generally successful, with the exception of the split over the Edward Byrne Memorial Assistance Grant Program, at stripping funding from sanctuary places. But cutting federal funding – even if it happens temporarily – can be economically damaging to cities and counties while they challenge the decision in court.

    Local officials also face other kinds of political pressure to comply with the Trump administration’s demands.

    A legal group founded by Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff in the Trump administration, for example, sent letters to dozens of local officials in January threatening criminal prosecution for their sanctuary policies.

    Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, a sanctuary city, testifies during a House committee hearing on sanctuary city mayors on March 5, 2025, in Washington.
    Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The real effects of sanctuary policies

    One part of Trump’s argument against sanctuary policies is that places with these policies have more crime than those that do not.

    But there is no established relationship between sanctuary status and crime rates.

    There is, however, evidence that when local law enforcement and ICE work together, it reduces the likelihood of immigrant and Latino communities to report crimes, likely for fear of being arrested by federal immigration authorities.

    Sanctuary policies are certainly worthy of debate, but this requires an accurate representation of what they are, what they do, and the effects they have.

    This is an updated version of a story originally published on May 28, 2025.

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

    – ref. Sanctuary cities can’t protect people from ICE immigration raids − but they don’t actually violate federal law – https://theconversation.com/sanctuary-cities-cant-protect-people-from-ice-immigration-raids-but-they-dont-actually-violate-federal-law-255831

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Labonte named Associate Vice President for University Safety

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Dear Colleagues,

    I’m pleased to announce that I have appointed UConn Police Chief Gene Labonte to the position of Associate Vice President for University Safety following a national search. Gene has served as our Chief of Police since July 2023, and going forward he will serve as both police chief and AVP.

    At UConn, those who have had the opportunity to work with Chief Labonte know that his service to the university in this critical role is defined by integrity, professionalism, and outstanding leadership.

    As chief, he brings a thoughtful, well-informed approach to his work reflecting his decades-long experience in law enforcement matched with a thorough understanding of the complexities and nuances involved in overseeing a police department at a large public research university with campuses throughout the state.

    Chief Gene Labonte (contributed photo).

    One of the many reasons he was an exceptional candidate for AVP is because of that understanding, which allows him to see the university not through the lens of law enforcement alone, but also through the larger and more expansive lens of “public safety” more generally, a strength that is essential to being effective in both of these positions.

    In addition, Chief Labonte’s open, transparent style of communication, collegiality, and responsiveness are highly valued by his colleagues throughout the institution.

    Prior to his arrival at UConn, Chief Labonte served as Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Risk Management/Chief of Police and Salem State University in Salem, Mass., which is part of the commonwealth’s public university system. He began his law enforcement career in 1990 with the Connecticut State Police, serving until 2012 and departing at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

    He succeeds Hans Rhynhart, who is retiring after more than three decades at UConn that included rising from a police officer to Chief of Police and later AVP for University Safety. His last day at UConn is June 30.

    I would like to thank the search committee, which was chaired by Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Jeffrey Hines. It also included Mansfield Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth, Assistant Vice President for Student Life Cyndi Costanzo, Deputy General Counsel Nathan LaVallee, UConn Health Chief of Staff Andrea Keilty, interim Vice President for Communications Mike Kirk, African American Cultural Center Director Alicia McKenzie, Hartford Campus Dean Mark Overmyer-Velazquez, Vice President for Quality and Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer/JDH Chief Operating Officer Caryl Ryan, Vice Provost Dan Schwartz, and Director of Business Services for University Safety Darshana Sonpal.

    Thanks also to Maryann Markowski from the President’s Office and Michelle Fournier from Human Resources for supporting the search committee and search process.

    Please join me in congratulating and thanking Chief Labonte for his willingness to step into this additional role and in offering thanks, gratitude, and our very best wishes to Hans for his long and dedicated service to UConn.

    Sincerely,
    Radenka Maric
    UConn President

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Microaggressions’ can fly under the radar in schools. Here’s how to spot them and respond

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Leslie, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy with a focus on Educational Psychology, University of Southern Queensland

    Klaus Vedfelt/ Getty Images

    Bullying is sadly a common experience for Australian children and teenagers. It is estimated at least 25% experience bullying at some point in their schooling.

    The impacts can be far-reaching and include depression and anxiety, poorer school performance, and poorer connection to school.

    The federal government is currently doing a “rapid review” of how to better prevent bullying in schools. This do this, we need a clear understanding of the full spectrum of aggressive behaviours that occur in schools.

    We already know bullying can be physical, verbal and social, and can occur in person and online. But there is less awareness among educators and policymakers of “microaggressions”. These can be more subtle but are nonetheless very damaging.



    Read more:
    With a government review underway, we have to ask why children bully other kids

    What’s the difference between bullying and microaggressions?

    Bullying is unwanted aggressive behaviour by a person or group against a targeted victim, with the intent to harm. The behaviour is repeated and there is a power imbalance between the perpetrator and victim.

    Microaggressions are a form of aggression that communicate a person is less valued because of a particular attribute – for example, their race, gender or disability.

    Microaggressions are repeated, cumulative and reflect power imbalances between social groups. A key difference with traditional bullying is microaggressions are often unconscious on the part of the perpetrator – and can be perpetrated with no ill intent.

    For example, traditional bullying could include a child always excluding another child from the group, always pushing them when they walk past them, or calling them a rude name.

    Microaggressions could include:

    • saying “you don’t look disabled” to a student with an invisible disability

    • mispronouncing a student’s name with no attempt to correct the pronunciation

    • saying to a student of colour, “wow, you’re so articulate”, implying surprise at their language skills

    • minimising a student with disability’s experience by saying “it can’t be that difficult. Just try harder.”

    We don’t have specific statistics on prevalence within Australia, although there is ample research to say those from minority groups frequently experience microaggressions.

    For example, studies of young people in the United States found incidents of microaggressions, often focused on racism, homophobia, transphobia and fat stigma. Students who held more than one identity (for example, a minority race and sexual orientation), were more likely to be targets.

    Microaggressions in schools

    My 2025 research on microaggressions towards dyslexic students in Australia found both students and parents can be on the receiving end. Teachers, school support officers and other students could be perpetrators.

    These interactions minimised the students’ experiences of dyslexia and made them feel like second class students compared to their peers.

    Some of the children reported comments from peers such as “oh yeah, reading, writing is hard already” which minimised the difficulties caused by dyslexia. Another student recalled how a peer had corrected her spelling “by snatching my book and re-writing it”, assuming she couldn’t do it herself. One student was made to feel bad for using a laptop in class as “someone said it was cheating”.

    The impact of microaggressions

    Schools where microaggressions occur are not safe spaces for all students.

    This can have serious implications for students’ school attendance, harm their mental health and ability to learn and socialise.

    Research on US university students, showed students may also become hypervigilant waiting for future microaggressions to occur.

    One Australian study found microaggressions can be so bad for some school students, they change schools in search of environments where staff and peers are more accepting.

    How to address microaggressions

    Research suggests addressing microaggressions can work as a prevention strategy to reduce other forms of bullying before it starts.

    Studies also show teacher awareness of microaggressions is key to preventing and addressing incidents.

    So a first step step is to make sure schools, teachers and students are aware of microagressions. Teachers should be educated about the relationship between microaggressions and bullying.

    Schools need to create environments where microaggressions are understood, recognised and addressed. All students need to be taught how to respond appropriately as bystanders if they see microaggressions happening in the classroom, playground or online.

    If a student feels that they or a friend has been made to feel less because of their identity, then they should be encouraged to seek help from an appropriate adult.

    Schools also need proactive programs to foster inclusion in schools. Research shows school psychologists can help by delivering programs in mental health and social and emotional development.

    Just as schools, teachers and school psychologists can be proactive in addressing microaggressions, so too can the federal government – by including microaggressions in its anti-bullying review.

    If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

    Rachel Leslie is a committee member for the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools association.

    – ref. ‘Microaggressions’ can fly under the radar in schools. Here’s how to spot them and respond – https://theconversation.com/microaggressions-can-fly-under-the-radar-in-schools-heres-how-to-spot-them-and-respond-258684

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Medical scans are big business and investors are circling. Here are 3 reasons to be concerned

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

    wedmoments.stock/Shutterstock

    Timely access to high-quality medical imaging can be lifesaving and life-altering. Radiology can confirm a fractured bone, give us an early glimpse of our baby or detect cancer.

    But behind the x-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI machines is a growing, highly profitable industry worth almost A$6 billion a year.

    Corporate ownership dominates the sector. In our new study, we show how for-profit corporations own about three in every five private radiology clinics.

    As radiology becomes an increasingly attractive target for investors, are we letting business interests reshape a key part of our health-care system?

    30 million scans and counting

    In 2023–24, two in five Australians had an x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan or MRI. That’s about 30.8 million scans in total (individuals may have two or more scans).

    Medicare funds most of this imaging. In fact, imaging is now Medicare’s second-largest area of spending, behind only GP visits.

    But a growing number of scans are not bulk billed and patients are out of pocket on average about $125 per scan. An estimated 274,000 Australians are delaying or forgoing scans each year because of the cost.

    There have also been dramatic changes behind the scenes. Since the early 2000s, for-profit corporations have been buying small radiologist-owned clinics.

    Today, 65% of private radiology practices are owned by publicly listed shareholders or private investors, including private equity firms. This marks a significant shift from clinician-led to investor-driven health care.

    Need an ultrasound? You may end up at a private radiology clinic.
    Inside Creative House/Shutterstock

    Why should we care?

    Advocates of corporate ownership suggest this business-focused approach can make the system more efficient through economies of scale. They say this allows consolidation of administration tasks and a reduction in overheads.

    Easy access to finance can help buy expensive imaging machines. It can also provide investment towards new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

    Yet, there are three main reasons why corporate ownership of the radiology sector may be cause for concern.

    1. It reduces competition

    Large corporations buying up a bunch of smaller practices ultimately leads to less competition. In Tasmania, for example, 11 of the 17 private radiology clinics are owned by one company, significantly limiting patient choice.

    We also found limited competition among radiology providers in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory.

    When a single company dominates a local market, it creates the conditions for higher fees and reduced incentives to bulk bill. However, objective data on the impact of reduced competition on the affordability of scans is scarce.

    2. It may lead to too many expensive scans

    High-cost scans, such as MRIs and CTs, are lucrative. Medicare expenditure on MRI scans alone has doubled since 2012.

    This may reflect improved access and a recommended shift towards more sensitive tests for some conditions. However, for-profit corporations now own about 76% of MRI machines in private clinics. These corporations may be financially incentivised to offer more costly imaging over equally effective, lower-cost options.

    With profits tied to the number of scans, there’s growing unease financial motives may be influencing when and how often these scans are used.

    While radiology corporations are not the ones requesting scans, there is little incentive for them to address overuse of radiology services, an issue for high-income countries such as Australia.

    Low-value imaging may also generate overdiagnosis (when something shows up on imaging but will never cause the patient any health issues, for example). It can lead to unnecessarily exposing patients to radiation and cause unwarranted patient (and doctor) anxiety. This can ultimately lead to more tests and unnecessary treatment.

    Is an MRI scan really necessary? Sometimes cheaper imaging is best.
    illustrissima/Shutterstock

    3. Radiology clinics become an asset

    Private equity firms view radiology clinics as a commodity to be bought, their value increased, then sold over a relatively short time frame (typically three to seven years).

    These firms generate profit not from delivering care, but from boosting the clinic’s value and charging them annual “management fees”.

    A prime example is unfolding. I-MED, Australia’s largest radiology provider, is considering listing the business on the Australian Stock Exchange after failing to sell at a reported $3 billion. Its UK private equity owner bought I-MED for about $1.26 billion in 2018. If sold, this would be the latest of multiple owners since delisting from the stock exchange in 2006.

    If there are debts, health-care companies can collapse, as we’ve seen recently with hospital chain Healthscope, which is owned by a Canadian-based private equity firm.

    Experience of private equity’s role in health care in the United States also offers a cautionary tale. Reductions in the quality of care, asset stripping and ultimately the closure and bankruptcy of vital health-care providers have prompted Congressional investigations. The state of Oregon is on the verge of blocking private equity firms from controlling health-care providers.

    What next?

    As radiology becomes an increasingly attractive target for investors, questions are mounting about whether this profit-driven model can coexist with the public’s need for affordable, accessible health care.

    Medicare was designed to guarantee affordable access to quality health care for all Australians, not guarantee revenue for corporations.

    While unwinding corporate participation in the radiology sector is near impossible, there is still time to implement safeguards that prevent wealthy investors from prioritising financial gain over Australians’ health and wellbeing.

    Stronger oversight and greater transparency from these corporations are needed to ensure Medicare dollars deliver real value for patients and the public.

    We would like to acknowledge Jenn Lacy-Nichols (University of Melbourne) and Martin Hensher (University of Tasmania) who co-authored the paper mentioned in this article.

    Sean Docking is a member of UniSuper (Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd) as part of his superannuation; Unisuper is an investor in PRP Diagnostic Imaging. He has no direct investments in any diagnostic imaging companies.

    Rachelle Buchbinder has received grant funding from NHMRC, MRFF, Arthritis Australia and HCF Foundation. She receives royalties from UpToDate for writing and editing ‘Plantar fasciitis’. She also receives royalties for her book entitled ‘Hippocrasy: How doctors are betraying their oath’. She has not received funding from for-profit industry, including from radiology companies.

    – ref. Medical scans are big business and investors are circling. Here are 3 reasons to be concerned – https://theconversation.com/medical-scans-are-big-business-and-investors-are-circling-here-are-3-reasons-to-be-concerned-257820

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Were the first kings of Poland actually from Scotland? New DNA evidence unsettles a nation’s founding myth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

    An illustration from a 15th-century manuscript showing the coronation of the first king of Poland, Boleslaw I. Chronica Polonorum by Mathiae de Mechovia

    For two centuries, scholars have sparred over the roots of the Piasts, Poland’s first documented royal house, who reigned from the 10th to the 14th centuries.

    Were they local Slavic nobles, Moravian exiles, or warriors from Scandinavia?

    Since 2023, a series of genetic and environmental studies led by molecular biologist Marek Figlerowicz at the Poznań University of Technology has delivered a stream of direct evidence about these enigmatic rulers, bringing the debate onto firmer ground.

    Digging up the dynasty

    Field teams have now opened more than a dozen crypts from the Piast era. The largest single haul came from Płock Cathedral in what is now central Poland.

    The exhumed bones were dated between 1100 and 1495, matching written records. Genetic analysis showed several individuals were close relatives.

    “There is no doubt we are dealing with genuine Piasts,” Figlerowicz told a May 2025 conference.

    The Poznań group isolated readable DNA from 33 individuals (30 men and three women) believed to span the dynasty’s full timeline.

    Surprise on the Y chromosome

    The male skeletons almost all carry a single, rare group of genetic variants on the Y chromosome (which is only carried and passed down by males). This group is today found mainly in Britain. The closest known match belongs to a Pict buried in eastern Scotland in the 5th or 6th century.

    These results imply that the dynasty’s paternal line arrived from the vicinity of the North Atlantic, not nearby.

    Mieszko I, the first Piast ruler documented in written sources.
    Jan Matejko, c. 1893 (via Wikimedia)

    The date of that arrival is still open: the founding clan could have migrated centuries before the first known Piast, Mieszko I (who died in 992), or perhaps only a generation earlier through a dynastic marriage. Either way, the new data kill the notion of an unbroken local male lineage.

    Yet genetics also shows deep local continuity in the wider population. A separate survey of Iron Age cemeteries across Poland, published in Scientific Reports, revealed that people living 2,000 years ago already shared the genetic makeup seen in early Piast subjects.

    Another project that sequenced pre-Piast burials drew the same conclusion: local Poles were part of the broader continental gene pool stretching from Denmark to France.

    In short, even if the Piasts were exotic rulers, they governed a long-established community.

    A swamp tells its tale

    While the DNA work progressed, another Poznań team dug into the history of the local environment via samples from the peaty floor of Lake Lednica near Poznań, the island-ringed stronghold often dubbed the cradle of the Piast realm.

    Their study of buried pollen, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows an abrupt switch in the 9th century: oak and lime pollen plummet, while cereal and pasture indicators soar. Traces of charcoal and soot point to widespread fires.

    The authors call the shift an “ecological revolution”, driven by slash-and-burn agriculture and the need to feed concentrated garrisons of soldiers guarding local trade routes carrying amber and slaves.

    Modelling boom and bust

    Using this environmental data, historians and complexity scientists constructed a feedback model of population, silver paid as tribute to rulers, and fort-building. As fields expanded, tributes rose; as tributes rose, chiefs could hire more labour to clear more forest and build forts.

    The model reproduces the startling build-out of ramparts at Poznań, Giecz and Gniezno around 990. It also predicts collapse once the silver stopped flowing.

    Pollen data indeed show the woodlands recovered to some extent after 1070, while archaeological surveys record abandoned hamlets and shrinking garrisons.

    The early Piast state rode a resource boom as the Piasts controlled part of the amber and slave trade routes that linked the shores of the Baltic Sea to Rome.

    The impact of Mieszko’s conversion to Christianity on that lucrative trade remains subject to scholarly debate.

    Reconciling foreigners and locals

    How do these strands fit together? Evidence of a Scottish man in the Piast paternal line does not necessarily imply a foreign conquest. Dynasties spread by marriages as well as by swords.

    For example, Świętosława (the sister of the first Piast king, Bolesław the Brave), married the kings of both Denmark and Sweden, and her descendants ruled England for a time. The networks of Europe’s nobility were highly mobile.

    Conversely, the stable genetic profile of ordinary folk suggests that, whoever sat on the ducal bench, most people remained where their grandparents had farmed.

    The broader research engine

    None of this work happens in isolation. Poland’s National Science Centre has bankrolled a 24-person team across archaeology, palaeoecology and bioinformatics since 2014, generating 16 peer-reviewed papers and a public database of ancient genomes.

    Conferences at Lednica and Dziekanowice now bring historians and molecular biologists to the same table. The methodological pay-off is clear: Polish labs can now process their own ancient DNA rather than exporting it to Copenhagen or Leipzig.

    What still puzzles researchers

    Three questions remain. First, does that British-leaning male line really start with a Pict? The closest known match to the Piasts may change as new burials are sequenced.

    Second, how many commoners carried the same genetic variant? Spot samples from Kowalewko and Brzeg hint that it was rare among locals, but the data set is small.

    Third, why did the silver dry up so fast? Numismatists suspect a shift in Viking routes after 1000 AD, yet the matter is far from settled.

    A balanced verdict

    Taken together, the evidence paints a nuanced picture. The Piasts were probably not ethnic Slavs in the strict paternal sense, yet they ruled, and soon resembled, an overwhelmingly Slavic realm.

    Their meteoric rise owed less to outsider brilliance than to the chance alignment of fertile soils, cheap labour, and an export boom in amber and captives.

    As geneticists conduct more DNA sequencing of remains, such as those of princes in crypts at Kraków’s Wawel castle, and palaeoecologists push their lakebed pollen samples back to 7th century, we can expect further surprises.

    Darius von Guttner Sporzynski receives funding from the National Science Centre, Poland as a partner investigator in the grant ‘The “Chronicle of the Poles” by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow also known as Kadłubek. First critical Latin-English Edition.’ (2022/47/B/HS3/00931).

    – ref. Were the first kings of Poland actually from Scotland? New DNA evidence unsettles a nation’s founding myth – https://theconversation.com/were-the-first-kings-of-poland-actually-from-scotland-new-dna-evidence-unsettles-a-nations-founding-myth-258579

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IADC Suez University Chapter Hosts Milestone Technical Gathering

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: IADC Suez University Chapter Hosts Milestone Technical Gathering

    The IADC Suez University Student Chapter, in collaboration with fellow faculty student chapters and the Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, proudly hosted the Third Student Conference of the Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering and the Second IADC Suez Technical Exhibition!

    Throughout the conference, industry professionals and academic experts shared invaluable perspectives on emerging trends, challenges, and innovations in the oil and gas sector. Their contributions inspired meaningful dialogue and forward-thinking ideas.

    The Second IADC Suez Technical Exhibition featured impressive student projects, groundbreaking research, and cutting-edge technology, reinforcing the innovative spirit of the student community.

    Dynamic competitions pushed participants to demonstrate their technical expertise, creativity, and teamwork. Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding performances!

    The event welcomed enthusiastic students from universities across Egypt, creating an enriching environment of collaboration, networking, and shared learning.

    MIL OSI Economics –