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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: The debate over genocide claims in relation to Gaza intensifies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    In the past few days, discussion around whether Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza has intensified. On May 28 The Guardian reported that “380 writers and groups” had signed an open letter calling Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “genocide”. The letter reads, in part:

    The use of the words ‘genocide’ or ‘acts of genocide’ to describe what is happening in Gaza is no longer debated by international legal experts or human rights organizations.

    This followed news of a letter to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, signed by more than 800 lawyers, including former supreme court justices, calling on the prime minister to impose sanctions on the Israeli government.

    “There is mounting evidence of genocide, which is either being perpetrated or at a minimum at serious risk of occurring,” the letter stated, adding that a recent statement from Israel’s finance minister Belazel Smotrich that the Israel Defense Forces would “wipe out” what remains of Palestinian Gaza was an indication of genocidal intent.

    One of the signatories was Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill, a senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, who has a track record of expertise in international humanitarian law. The Conversation spoke with him to discuss the issue. He said:

    There is no doubt in my mind that war crimes have been committed and although genocide is basically an extreme form of war crime, it can be notoriously difficult to establish intent to destroy a people, in part or in whole.

    The task of proving genocide is hard enough, but [in this case] the evidence can be gathered from the facts on the ground – they speak for themselves. And intent can be inferred from what politicians and officials actually say, especially when it is not denied or qualified.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    But he said he had “reservations about whether, at an inter-state level, a charge of genocide would be levelled against Israel by more than a few states. And if it succeeded, the legal and political consequences.”

    But individual prosecutions for war crimes and genocide are “always a distinct possibility,” he added.

    In fact, the crime of genocide has only been recognised on a handful of occasions since it was first established in 1948. James Sweeney, an expert in international law from Lancaster University has written a brief history of genocide.



    Read more:
    Why have so few atrocities ever been recognised as genocide?

    Meanwhile, in the West Bank city of Jenin, IDF forces sparked international outrage when they fired “warning shots” closer to a group of 25 diplomats on a fact-finding visit in the wake of an Israeli military offensive there.

    Andrew Forde, an expert in international humanitarian law at Dublin City University, considers that this act “crossed the Rubicon”, which is the convention, universally accepted over millennia, of the inviolability of diplomats and their staff. It’s a clear breach, he writes of article 29 of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, to which Israel is a signatory, which states that the host state “shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on [their] person, freedom or dignity”.

    Israel responded by offering an apology, but claimed that the diplomats in question had “deviated from the approved route” by entering a restricted area”.

    The incident forced the group of diplomats to scramble for cover and hindered their work in Jenin, Forde writes. As such it is a flagrant breach of Israel’s duty of care. And it sets a dangerous precedent: “Diplomatic protections work effectively when they are reciprocal. Without trust, the system quickly unravels.”



    Read more:
    IDF firing ‘warning shots’ near diplomats sets an unacceptable precedent in international relations

    Israel’s campaign in Gaza is a factor in a hugely complex situation being played out at present in the Middle East, which is straining the relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. The US president is talking up the idea of signing a new nuclear deal with Iran to replace the one he withdrew from in 2018. The Israeli prime minister is bitterly opposed to an US-Iran deal and has proposed launching strikes against Iran’s nuclear installations. The pair reportedly clashed over the issue in a phone call this week.

    But Trump recently returned from a trip to the Gulf States, none of which want the sort of regional conflagration that Israeli strikes on Iran could cause. And, as Scott Lucas of University College Dublin writes, he is also very keen to burnish his credentials as a dealmaker, especially in light of his failure to bring the Ukraine war to a close within 24 hours and the failure of the ceasefire in Gaza for which he has claimed much of the credit.

    As Lucas writes, “even as Trump does what he wants over Iran to Netanyahu’s chagrin, the Israeli prime minister is finding that Trump is not restricting what he does closer to home in Gaza”.



    Read more:
    Why are the US and Israel not on the same page over how to deal with Iran? Expert Q&A

    Ukraine: as the US falters, Germany steps up

    Volodymr Zelensky flew to Berlin this week where he met the German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Germany would work with Ukraine to develop long-range missiles to attack targets inside Russia. It’s part of an overall plan to expand Germany’s military into the “strongest conventional army in Europe”.

    Stefan Wolff believes Germany’s decision to step up both its military capabilities and its support for Ukraine is highly significant when considered in the context of Donald Trump’s recent threats to abandon his efforts to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.

    Wolff, an expert in international security from the University of Birmingham, who has written regularly for The Conversation about the war in Ukraine, says here that “Berlin has the financial muscle and the technological and industrial potential to make Europe more of a peer to the US when it comes to defence spending and burden sharing.” Given the US decision to downscale its security presence in Europe, this could be of enormous consequence for Nato, he writes.



    Read more:
    Germany steps up to replace ‘unreliable’ US as guarantor of European security

    This is also an important development coming, as it does, just a few weeks before Nato’s summit in The Hague on June 24-25. As Amelia Hadfield writes, most of Nato’s members will be only too aware of Trump’s disparagement of Nato and many of its members in recent times and will be considering the potential for a future without US leadership.

    Hadfield, the head of the department of politics at the University of Surrey, notes the irony of Washington calling on the European Nato members to pay more for their own defence. Over much of the lifetime of the alliance, she writes, the US has actively discouraged European defence autonomy. Now, she says, the focus of Nato’s 31 other members must be to prepare for the likelihood that the US plans to at least significantly reduce its support for the alliance in Europe. “A clear mandate is needed, to ensure that being US-less does not render Nato itself useless,” she writes.

    This is already starting to happen, as countries join the “coalition of the willing” spearheaded by Britain and France. But Hadfield believes that boosting European capabilities within Nato is the most sensible way forward and should be the focus of next month’s summit.



    Read more:
    Nato faces a make-or-break decision about how to protect Europe and its future in next few weeks

    A lesson from history

    Donald Trump’s on again off-again relationship with Vladimir Putin is confusing enough for casual followers of world affairs. It must present a considerable headache for the foreign ministers and other diplomats tasked with calibrating their policies around the US stance on Russian aggression.

    But history suggests that the US president’s apparent willingness to allow Russia to grab Ukrainian territory in direct contravention of international law is storing up trouble for the future, writes Tim Luckhurst.

    Luckhurst is the principal of South College, Durham University, and has made a study of the way some governments were happy to allow Hitler to get away with naked aggression in the run-up to the second world war. He sees direct parallels with the way Trump and his senior officials have proposed allowing Putin to have his way with the Crimea and the four provinces of Ukraine which Russia already occupies.

    “Chamberlain’s version of appeasement failed to prevent Adolf Hitler’s aggression in the 20th century,” he writes. “Trump’s version appears equally incapable of deterring Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions in the 21st.”



    Read more:
    History shows that Donald Trump is making a serious error in appeasing Vladimir Putin

    World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK is available as a weekly email newsletter. Click here to get updates directly in your inbox.

    – ref. The debate over genocide claims in relation to Gaza intensifies – https://theconversation.com/the-debate-over-genocide-claims-in-relation-to-gaza-intensifies-257847

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s MAVEN Makes First Observation of Atmospheric Sputtering at Mars

    Source: NASA

    After a decade of searching, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere Volatile Evolution) mission has, for the first time, reported a direct observation of an elusive atmospheric escape process called sputtering that could help answer longstanding questions about the history of water loss on Mars.

    [embedded content]

    Scientists have known for a long time, through an abundance of evidence, that water was present on Mars’ surface billions of years ago, but are still asking the crucial question, “Where did the water go and why?”
    Early on in Mars’ history, the atmosphere of the Red Planet lost its magnetic field, and its atmosphere became directly exposed to the solar wind and solar storms. As the atmosphere began to erode, liquid water was no longer stable on the surface, so much of it escaped to space. But how did this once thick atmosphere get stripped away? Sputtering could explain it.
    Sputtering is an atmospheric escape process in which atoms are knocked out of the atmosphere by energetic charge particles.
    “It’s like doing a cannonball in a pool,” said Shannon Curry, principal investigator of MAVEN at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study. “The cannonball, in this case, is the heavy ions crashing into the atmosphere really fast and splashing neutral atoms and molecules out.”
    While scientists had previously found traces of evidence that this process was happening, they had never observed the process directly. The previous evidence came from looking at lighter and heavier isotopes of argon in the upper atmosphere of Mars. Lighter isotopes sit higher in the atmosphere than their heavier counterparts, and it was found that there were far fewer lighter isotopes than heavy argon isotopes in the Martian atmosphere. These lighter isotopes can only be removed by sputtering.
    “It is like we found the ashes from a campfire,” said Curry. “But we wanted to see the actual fire, in this case sputtering, directly.”
    To observe sputtering, the team needed simultaneous measurements in the right place at the right time from three instruments aboard the MAVEN spacecraft: the Solar Wind Ion Analyzer, the Magnetometer, and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer. Additionally, the team needed measurements across the dayside and the nightside of the planet at low altitudes, which takes years to observe.
    The combination of data from these instruments allowed scientists to make a new kind of map of sputtered argon in relation to the solar wind. This map revealed the presence of argon at high altitudes in the exact locations that the energetic particles crashed into the atmosphere and splashed out argon, showing sputtering in real time. The researchers also found that this process is happening at a rate four times higher than previously predicted and that this rate increases during solar storms.
    The direct observation of sputtering confirms that the process was a primary source of atmospheric loss in Mars’ early history when the Sun’s activity was much stronger.
    “These results establish sputtering’s role in the loss of Mars’ atmosphere and in determining the history of water on Mars,” said Curry.
    The finding, published this week in Science Advances, is critical to scientists’ understanding of the conditions that allowed liquid water to exist on the Martian surface, and the implications that it has for habitability billions of years ago.
    The MAVEN mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. MAVEN’s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, which is also responsible for managing science operations and public outreach and communications. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provides navigation and Deep Space Network support.

    By Willow ReedLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
    Media Contacts: 
    Nancy N. JonesNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
    Karen Fox / Molly WasserHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
    karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS Secretary Noem Doubles Down and Escalates Action Against Harvard for their Continued Antisemitic Behavior, Fostering Violence, and CCP Coordination

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: DHS Secretary Noem Doubles Down and Escalates Action Against Harvard for their Continued Antisemitic Behavior, Fostering Violence, and CCP Coordination

    lass=”text-align-center”>The Trump Administration will be relentless in its efforts to end Harvard’s abuse of the American taxpayer and national security interests
    The United States Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem continued to hold Harvard University accountable for failing to comply with Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP) regulations, for encouraging and allowing antisemitic and anti-American violence to rage on its campus, and for coordinating with Chinese Communist Party officials on training that undermined American national security

    Following a letter from Harvard officials indicating an “intent” to now comply with SEVP, Secretary Noem held firm and reminded the once respected institution, which has disgraced American values, it still has a long way to comply with requirements of the program and be trusted with U

    S

    taxpayer dollars
    “Harvard’s refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U

    S

    taxpayer benefits,” said Secretary Kristi Noem

    “Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP standards

    We continue to reject Harvard’s repeated pattern of endangering its students and spreading American hate—it must change its ways in order to participate in American programs

    ” 
    The Department will continue to engage in good faith with Harvard and looks forward to the University’s full compliance with its requests

    Full text of the notice is available here

    # # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Schrier Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Support Washington Farmers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) introduced bipartisan legislation to permanently fix the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) and provide crucial support for Washington farmers and growers. Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-02), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), and John Moolenaar (MI-02) joined Congresswoman Schrier in introducing this bill. 

    “Washington farmers work tirelessly to provide our state and the entire world with high-quality produce. At a time when changes in the climate, input costs, tariffs, and the economy have taken their toll on Washington agriculture, we must ensure that farmers have the scientific research and expertise they need to feed the world,” said Congresswoman Schrier. “This bill will allow Washington State University and other agricultural research institutions access to federal specialty crop research funding without the sometimes impossible hurdle of matching federal funding dollar for dollar. Federal support should make it as easy as possible to pursue scientific endeavors, including research that will sustain our food system and family farms.”

    The SCRI finances research projects that directly benefit Washington farmers. SCRI has funded projects to combat fungicide resistance in wine grapes, prevent pestilence in onions, and improve precision irrigation for fruit growers. Before 2019, the Secretary of Agriculture was able to waive SCRI’s matching funds requirement when it was prohibitively expensive for research institutions, but the 2018 Farm Bill eliminated this authority.

    Congresswoman Schrier’s bill permanently fixes this issue by once again allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to waive the matching requirement. Representative Schrier has long been focused on this issue, having previously introduced similar legislation in past Congresses, and currently leads a bipartisan funding letter to fix this problem on a temporary basis in annual appropriations legislation. 

    “In Northwest Washington, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative empowers farmers to foster innovation and feed the world,” said Congressman Larsen. “Research into berries, spinach, cabbage seed and other specialty crops is a critical part of our region’s economy and character.”

    “Specialty crops are the backbone of the agriculture industry in Central Washington, and our local research institutions play a key role in innovating industry practices,” said Congressman Newhouse. “Ensuring the Specialty Crop Research Initiative is equal access by waiving the matching funds requirement allows our research institutions to equally compete for funding and support a stronger, smarter specialty crop industry. I thank my colleagues for joining this effort as we work to ensure research institutions are equipped to meet the challenges facing the industry.”  

    “Farmers in Michigan’s Second District grow some of the most diverse specialty crops in the nation. Unfortunately, provisions left out of the last Farm Bill put specialty crop farmers at a disadvantage, limiting the availability of critical research to improve irrigation, and protect their harvests,” said Congressman Moolenaar. “Investing in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative is a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to ensure our farmers can continue to grow the apples, cherries, asparagus, and blueberries families enjoy every day.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By W. Carsten Andresen, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, St. Edward’s University

    A Kinney County sheriff’s deputy arrests an undocumented immigrant who was pulled over in March 2023 in Brackettville, Texas. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    During his first few months in office, President Donald Trump has been establishing a framework for deporting undocumented immigrants en masse. It’s something he has previously vowed will be “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”

    Part of that operation includes what’s known as the federal 287(g) program. Established in 1996, it allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose work is normally carried out by federal officials, to train state and local authorities to function as federal immigration officers.

    Under 287(g), for example, local police officers can interview people to determine their immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to jail people until agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody.

    “Illegal immigration has wide-ranging consequences, including a troubling surge of dangerous drugs into our state,” T.K. Waters, sheriff of Jacksonville, Florida, said in a February 2025 statement to explain his office’s participation in 287(g). “We remain committed to partnering with President Trump’s administration and our federal counterparts to secure our borders, protect Floridians, and establish a framework for the rest of the nation to follow.”

    Local police authorities across the country – from Jackson County, Texas, to Frederick County, Maryland – are participating in 287(g) for similar reasons.

    Since Trump began his second term in January, ICE has increased 287(g) agreements from 135 in 25 states in December 2024 to 628 in 40 states as of May 28, 2025.

    As a criminal justice scholar, I believe the surge of 287(g) agreements sets a dangerous precedent for local policing, where forging relationships and building the trust of immigrants is a proven and effective tactic in combating crime. In my view, the expansion of 287(g) will erode that trust and makes entire communities – not just immigrants – less safe.

    Past federal-local cooperation

    There is a long history of federal authorities collaborating with local police to enforce immigration laws.

    During the Great Depression, federal officials blamed Latinos for taking American jobs, and local agencies helped them deport up to 1.8 million people to Mexico. It’s estimated that 60% of those deported were U.S. citizens.

    In the early 1930s, local police participated in immigration raids in California and other states. As author Adam Goodman details in his book “The Deportation Machine,” state and local government agencies, including social workers, welfare agencies and police, acted as “de facto immigration agents.”

    Trump’s mass deportation plan mirrors President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1954 federal immigration initiative, which resulted in 1.3 million deportations.

    As author Natalia Molina notes in her book “How Race is Made in America,” local police often served as “immigration cops” in Eisenhower’s program because the federal government “did not have enough agents to cover such a large territory” as the U.S.

    During his two terms, President Barack Obama deported over 5 million people and used the 287(g) program to help him do that, primarily to target jailed or recently arrived undocumented people. Obama’s use of 287(g) peaked at 76 agreements during his first term but dropped to 35 during his second term.

    A Justice Department investigation launched in 2008 found the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona engaged in unconstitutional law enforcement actions against Latinos. The Justice Department found that the sheriff’s office engaged in a pattern of “unlawful seizures, including unjustified stops, detentions, and arrests, of Latinos in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

    Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio looks on as inmates are moved in Phoenix, Ariz., in April 2009.
    Joshua Lott/Getty Images

    Power of local policing

    Forty states have adopted 287(g) agreements as of May 2025.

    This could have effects outside of the immigration laws.

    In the past 45 years, many law enforcement professionals in urban areas have highlighted the importance of forging relationships and building trust with immigrant communities. That’s because the police depend on the participation of all citizens to prevent crime and solve criminal investigations.

    But police departments across the U.S. have found that 287(g) partnerships erode that trust.

    In 1979, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates created Special Order 40 that prohibited local officers from enforcing immigration laws in response to community complaints alleging discrimination against Latinos. Gates issued the order “to encourage immigrants to cooperate with police and build community trust.”

    Other large police departments followed. In places such as Chicago and San Francisco, they shifted focus from helping federal immigration officials to prioritizing community relationships.

    William Bratton, who led six police departments, including in Boston, Los Angeles and New York, criticized 287(g) in a 2009 op-ed. He said that deputizing local officers to enforce immigration laws immediately “undermines their core public safety mission.”

    Conservative police scholar George Kelling, co-author of the broken windows theory, which presumes that visible signs of disorder can lead to crime, also expressed support for local police agencies prioritizing their community relationships.

    In a 1999 study, Kelling highlighted a San Diego police memo announcing its refusal to enforce federal immigration laws. The San Diego Police Department, he wrote, “thought through its values, mission, and functions and elaborated a policy that put public safety and harmony above aggressive attempts to ferret out undocumented aliens.”

    During Trump’s first administration, some police chiefs echoed Bratton and Kelling. They warned that employing local officers to enforce immigration measures could spark fear and damage public safety.

    Former Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole stated in 2016 that Seattle police officers were prohibited from “inquiring about a person’s immigration status.”

    And former Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn announced in 2016 that his department does not enforce immigration law.

    He added, “It is our opinion, our strongly held belief that our responsibility is to protect the residents of our city. To protect them, they must trust us, they must be willing to report crimes, they must be willing to be witnesses.”

    A Cameron County sheriff’s officer puts handcuffs on a suspected undocumented immigrant detained during a traffic stop in South Texas.
    Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images

    Consequences of 287(g)

    President Trump has frequently linked immigrants with higher crime rates, calling them murderers and rapists.

    But multiple studies have found that undocumented people commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens.

    Although the Trump administration is expanding the use of local police in immigration enforcement, research casts doubt on using mass deportation as a crime reduction strategy.

    A 2018 study on 287(g) from the libertarian Cato Institute found no evidence that ICE-led partnerships with local police decreased crime rates.

    And a 2014 study on the Secure Communities Program, which calls for local police agencies to share arrestee information with federal immigration officials, found that this program has “no discernible impact” on crime in medium and large municipalities.

    The Trump administration’s expansion of 287(g) ignores the shift that some big city police departments have made away from immigration enforcement in favor of community policing. And I believe it threatens to undermine the relationship between local police and the increasingly diverse communities they serve.

    W. Carsten Andresen was employed in the past (2000-2003) at The Police Institute, a Rutger’s University Think Tank run by George L. Kelling.

    – ref. Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety – https://theconversation.com/surge-of-ice-agreements-with-local-police-aim-to-increase-deportations-but-many-police-forces-have-found-they-undermine-public-safety-255937

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As GOP Tries to Gut Medicaid and Attack Reproductive Healthcare, Pressley Reintroduces Bill Affirming Equitable Access to Reproductive Healthcare for People with Disabilities

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    Resolution Designates “Disability Reproductive Equity Day” in May, Calls for Disability and Reproductive Justice Amid Trump’s Attacks on Healthcare

    This Month, Pressley Delivered Keynote at Center for American Progress’ Reproductive Equity Summit

    Resolution Text

    WASHINGTON – Today, as Republicans advance deep cuts to Medicaid and continued attacks on reproductive healthcare, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), in partnership with disability justice and reproductive justice advocates, reintroduced a resolution demanding equitable access to reproductive and sexual healthcare for people with disabilities, and designating a day in May as “Disability Reproductive Equity Day.”

    With Donald Trump and Republicans attempting to rip away healthcare for millions through cuts to Medicaid – which would be devastating for people with disabilities – the Disability Reproductive Equity Day resolution presents an affirmative vision for healthcare equity and demands increased access to reproductive and sexual healthcare for those with disabilities.

    The resolution enumerates the unique, discriminatory barriers that people with disabilities face in accessing critical reproductive and sexual healthcare, and calls for equitable access to healthcare and the right to reproductive and sexual health, autonomy, and freedom.

    “Bodily autonomy should be a fundamental right. The paths to true reproductive justice and disability justice are inextricably linked, and together we are pressing for the reproductive and sexual healthcare needs of people with disabilities,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. “While Donald Trump and Republicans push their Big, Ugly Bill that would strip healthcare from people with disabilities and those seeking reproductive healthcare, we are fighting back and recommitting ourselves to disability justice, to healthcare equity, and to reproductive freedom. I am proud to reintroduce the Disability Reproductive Equity Day resolution with disability justice and reproductive justice partners to demand a more just America.”

    The Disability Reproductive Equity Day resolution is endorsed by: National Partnership for Women & Families, Disability Culture Lab, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), New Disabled South, U.S. Gender and Disability Justice Alliance, The Reproductive Justice Collective at the Center for Racial and Disability Justice (CRDJ), Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network, Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the National Women’s Law Center, and the National Health Law Program.

    “Self-determination and bodily autonomy are core values of both the reproductive rights and disability rights movements, yet for too long, the discrimination and systemic barriers disabled people face when seeking sexual and reproductive health care have been ignored. People with disabilities have continually been denied the right of deciding if, when and how to start their families,” said Rolonda Donelson, Huber Reproductive Health Equity Legal Fellow for the National Partnership for Women & Families.

    “The National Partnership for Women & Families is proud to endorse the resolution to support the second-ever Disability Reproductive Equity Day, and we’re grateful to Rep. Ayanna Pressley for continuing the fight for the reproductive health care and rights of disabled people.”

    “Disability reproductive equity isn’t a niche issue; it’s a fundamental matter of human rights and public health. Disabled folks must be able to make informed choices about our bodies,” said Keidra Chaney, Program Director at Disability Culture Lab. “We need access to comprehensive reproductive health care without barriers, and to be able to parent without fear of discrimination or state interference. The current rise in eugenic laws that make even these basic rights impossible are an attack on disabled lives and reproductive rights. Disability justice and reproductive justice are one fight: we demand policies that prioritize our lives, freedom, access, and bodily autonomy.”

    “For disabled people, as for all people, access to comprehensive and quality sexual and reproductive healthcare is essential for their autonomy, their health and well-being, and their capacity for self-determination. No lawmaker or politician should be able to substitute their personal opinion for medical facts or treatments,” said the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). “AAPD thanks Rep. Pressley for her leadership and joins her in calling on Congress to recognize Disability Reproductive Equity Day and to work to ensure that all people have the right to make the decisions that are best for them and their families.”

    “New Disabled South and New Disabled South Rising endorse the reintroduction of the resolution designating a day in May as Disability Reproductive Equity Day. Disabled people deserve reproductive health equity just like nondisabled people. Disability justice includes reproductive justice and reproductive justice must include disabled people along with all of their reproductive and sexual health needs. Disabled people should have full bodily autonomy and access to equitable reproductive healthcare. We call upon lawmakers to not only acknowledge the historic reproductive wrongs committed against disabled people in the name of eugenics, but to ensure that disabled people have access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services.”

    “The US Gender & Disability Justice Alliance strongly supports the designation of Disability Reproductive Equity Day. Disabled people are whole people, with the right and the capacity to live full, self-determined lives that include love, family, pleasure, and parenting. Our bodies and choices have long been targeted by policies rooted in ableism, eugenics, and control. We call on Congress to recognize that disability is not a limitation of worth, but a powerful part of human diversity, and to honor our right to access reproductive and sexual health care with dignity and respect.”

    “The Reproductive Justice Collective at the Center for Racial and Disability Justice (CRDJ) recognizes the critical importance of affirming reproductive autonomy, equity, and justice for disabled individuals, particularly in the context of historic and ongoing reproductive oppressions rooted in ableism, racism, and structural inequality. Our research, policy briefs, and Reproductive Justice Toolkit emphasize the urgent need to dismantle systemic barriers to reproductive health, which disproportionately impact disabled people of color, including: coerced sterilization, restricted parental rights, inaccessible reproductive health care, inadequate sexual education, increased surveillance and criminalization. The national designation of Disability Reproductive Equity Day is an essential step towards acknowledging and addressing these inequities, and it aligns deeply with our commitment to intersectional, community-led strategies that uplift dignity, autonomy, and justice for all disabled people.”

    “The Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network applauds the introduction of Disability Reproductive Equity Day. Autistic children become autistic adults and deserve the same rights to bodily, sexual, and reproductive freedom as anyone else. We urge lawmakers to recognize and honor our ability to make decisions for ourselves–especially these most personal and private decisions. Autistic people and all people with disabilities deserve the dignity and respect to make our own decisions, especially regarding sexual and reproductive health.”

    “Reproductive equity cannot exist without disability justice. Disabled people—especially those who are multiply marginalized—have long been excluded from conversations about reproductive health, rights, and autonomy. We applaud Representative Pressley’s leadership in recognizing that the reproductive freedom of disabled people is essential to a just and equitable future,” said Dr. Monika Mitra, Director, Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Brandeis University.

    “People living with disabilities deserve inclusive, respectful, accessible care, including sexual and reproductive health care, but right now House Republicans are trying to gut Medicaid, threatening access to life-saving care. People with disabilities — especially those who are Black, Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, or have low incomes — already face significant barriers to reproductive care, which are exacerbated by abortion and gender-affirming care bans and other restrictions.  In the face of these attacks, we thank Rep. Ayanna Pressley for reintroducing the vital Disability Reproductive Equity Act. Reproductive rights and disability rights are inextricably linked. Everyone deserves the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, lives, and futures,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

    “We proudly support the resolution recognizing Disability Reproductive Equity Day. Today, disabled people are facing urgent threats to our access to sexual and reproductive health care, from a reconciliation bill that could kick millions of disabled people off of Medicaid to this administration’s ongoing attacks on reproductive rights. That makes it even more critical than ever that we reaffirm our vision: a future where disabled people are empowered to make decisions about our reproductive rights and care and live with dignity and self-determination,” said Ma’ayan Anafi, senior counsel for health equity and justice at the National Women’s Law Center. “This resolution celebrates disabled people and uplifts their leadership in the movement towards reproductive freedom. We thank Rep. Pressley for her continued commitment to advancing equity and justice for all.”

    “For too long, the United States has denied people with disabilities equitable access to affordable and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, subjecting us to coverage gaps, discrimination, coercion, and violence. Proposed Medicaid cuts such as work requirements in the reconciliation bill, as well as ongoing attacks on the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services mandate and health care nondiscrimination protections, threaten to intensify structural barriers. The National Health Law Program is grateful to Representative Pressley for her commitment to safeguarding current rights and forging a future in which all people with disabilities have access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health care.”

    A copy of the resolution text can be found here.

    Earlier this month, at the Center for American Progress’ Disability Reproductive Equity Summit, Rep. Pressley spoke of the importance of intersectional policymaking and affirming disability rights and reproductive rights as the human rights that they are.

    Rep. Pressley has been a longtime advocate the disability community and has championed policies that promote disability justice. In addition to being an original co-lead of the Disability Reproductive Equity Day resolution, Rep. Pressley is a co-lead of the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation that would eliminate barriers and strengthen access to reproductive health care for people with disabilities.

    Rep. Pressley has also been an outspoken critic of Republican’s harmful budget reconciliation bill, which would make harmful cuts to Medicaid and threaten the reproductive healthcare access for millions in America, including those with disabilities.

    • On May 6, 2025, Rep. Pressley joined the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress in kicking off their Disability Reproductive Equity Summit to develop an agenda for disability reproductive justice.
    • On August 14, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding Biden-Harris Administration for finalizing its proposed rule to improve access to medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) for people with disabilities. The DOJ’s final rule followed an April letter by Rep. Pressley and 11 of her colleagues urging it to strengthen and finalize its proposed rule, and underscoring the need for health care facilities to have functional and accessible MDE for people with disabilities.
    • On May 23, 2024, Rep. Pressley held a press conference alongside colleagues and reproductive justice and disability justice advocates to unveil the Disability Reproductive Equity Day Resolution.
    • On May 2, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) finalized rule that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. 
    • On April 4, Rep. Pressley led her colleagues in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen and quickly finalize its proposed rule to improve access to medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) for people with disabilities.
    • On December 12, 2023, Rep. Pressley wrote to the Biden-Harris Administration seeking data on the housing needs for aging adults, people with disabilities, and Medicaid beneficiaries.
    • On September 29, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Cori Bush introduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation that would eliminate barriers and strengthen access to reproductive health care for people with disabilities.
    • On June 25, 2022, Rep. Pressley applauded the passage of H.R. 2543, which included several key amendments championed by Rep. Pressley to advance disability and economic justice.
    • On May 24, 2022, in a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing, Rep. Pressley discussed the crisis of Long COVID as a disability justice issue and outlined how the status quo has relegated disabled Americans—including those with Long COVID—to a second-class standard of living.
    • On April 14, 2020, Rep. Pressley urged Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to rescind the Crisis of Care standards that have disproportionately harmed communities of color and the disability community in Massachusetts.
    • On March 29, 2022, in a historic committee hearing on Medicare for All, Rep. Pressley highlighted Medicare For All as a disability justice issue and questioned Ady Barkan, founder of Be A Hero and leading advocate for Medicare for All, about how tying health coverage to employment perpetuates deep inequities for people with disabilities.
    • On February 25, 2021, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Katie Porter, and their colleagues introduced the Mental Health Justice Act to reduce violence against individuals with mental illness and disabilities.
    • On March 30, 2021, she led her colleagues on a letter with 107 of their colleagues to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling for an historic investment of $450 billion in home- and community-based services (HCBS) in the Build Back Better infrastructure package.
    • On September 18, 2022, Rep. Pressley, Dr. Subini Ancy Annamma, and Villissa Thompson published an op-ed in Teen Vogue in which they called for an end to the policies and systemic injustice that result in the overcriminalization of Black girls with disabilities in schools.
    • On July 29, 2020, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Senators Chris Murphy and Elizabeth Warren unveiled the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act to end the over-policing of K-12 schools and stop the criminalization of students, including those with disabilities.
    • In early 2020, she worked with advocates to challenge Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s crisis standards of care and release updated guidelines with input from the disability community.
    • On October 11, 2019, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues introduced the Improving Access to Higher Education Act to help improve college access and completion for students with disabilities.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kugler, Opening Remarks

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Olesya, and thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. It is such a pleasure to contribute to this conference.
    Our profession has increasingly recognized, especially after the Global Financial Crisis, that research in the interdisciplinary topics between macroeconomics and finance is indispensable both for monetary policy and for promoting financial stability. As a researcher myself, and having spent many years in academia, I place great value on the social contribution of research and its potential to improve policymaking.
    I want to express my appreciation for your efforts in using macro-financial data and theoretical models to enlighten us on several critical issues. For instance, let me cite a few topics of the conference that shed light on important issues:

    The work on the transmission of monetary policy to both households and firms provides insights into how policy decisions ripple through the economy, a topic I recently addressed in a speech at the University of Minnesota. In this speech, I discussed my approach to monitoring monetary policy transmission and highlighted some of its key elements, such as the long and variable lags associated with policy effects.
    The exploration of the neutral rate of interest—that which neither slows nor stimulates economic activity—provides another angle to this important concept. This is a topic I have addressed in previous remarks, and I am especially interested in the potential factors that can affect the neutral rate.
    The work on how and why financial conditions faced by firms and households change with data releases and underlying macroeconomic conditions also enhances our grasp of the complex interplay between economic indicators and real-world financial experiences.
    The research on the functioning of the Treasury securities market and how it is affected by regulatory constraints sheds light on a crucial aspect of our financial system.

    I commend you for pushing ahead with a research agenda that furthers our understanding of topics so relevant to our monetary policymaking.
    In the spirit of stimulating your research appetite, I’d like to mention some topics that have captured my attention recently. These represent emerging challenges and opportunities in the field, and I believe they warrant further investigation.
    First, recently, I have been paying attention to the possible interaction between the financial vulnerabilities of firms and their exposure to trade. As global economic tensions rise and supply chains evolve, understanding how a company’s financial health intersects with its international trade exposure becomes increasingly crucial. This research could provide valuable insights for both policymakers and business leaders navigating an uncertain global economic landscape.
    Second, lately, I have been monitoring the financial stability implications of the potential lower desirability of U.S. financial assets in flight-to-safety events. Traditionally, U.S. assets have been seen as a safe haven during times of global economic uncertainty. One notable example of this was during the Global Financial Crisis. However, we recently saw instances in which the VIX went up, stock prices went down, long-term yields from U.S. Treasury securities went up, and the U.S. dollar depreciated against the currencies of advanced foreign economies (AFEs), with a notable role for the euro. Importantly, the historical relationships and the observed moves in the VIX and interest rates of AFEs would have been associated with a decrease in long-term yields from U.S. Treasury securities and an appreciation of the dollar. As the global economic landscape shifts, it is crucial to examine how possible changes in the role of U.S. financial assets as a safe haven might affect financial stability both domestically and internationally.
    Lastly, I have been keenly interested, for some time now, in how stresses in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector could potentially spill over to the rest of the U.S. economy. The CRE sector continues to face challenges from low vacancy rates and valuation losses, especially in urban centers for the office sector. Another challenge is that some banks, insurers, and securitization vehicles continued to have concentrated exposures to CRE. As we have seen in past crises, such as the Global Financial Crisis, vulnerabilities in specific sectors can have far-reaching consequences for the financial system. Understanding potential vulnerabilities and potential domino effects are vital for maintaining overall economic stability and crafting preemptive policies.
    These, I believe, represent some of the most pressing questions facing our field today. They offer rich opportunities for groundbreaking research that could significantly influence future policy decisions.
    In conclusion, I want to reiterate my gratitude for the vital work you are all doing. Your research not only advances our understanding, but it also provides a solid foundation for informed policymaking. As we navigate the complex interplay of macroeconomics and finance in an ever-changing global landscape, the importance of your work cannot be overstated.
    I encourage you to continue pushing the boundaries of our knowledge, to ask the difficult questions, and to pursue the answers with rigor and dedication. Your efforts today will shape the policies of tomorrow, influencing the economic well-being of millions.
    Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to the insightful discussions and presentations that will unfold during this conference.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Travel with intention: Here’s a guide to ‘soft adventure’ experiences across Canada this summer

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Moira A. McDonald, Associate Professor, Director, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Royal Roads University

    A growing number of Canadian travellers are embracing “soft adventure” travel. This trend blends a desire for active engagements in nature and educational and culturally relevant experiences with the chance to reset and relax.

    Low-risk outdoor activities such as wine tasting, canoeing, fishing, whale-watching and cycling are all examples of this growing trend. This shift reflects a “growing desire for peace of mind and rejuvenation” among Canadians in their travel experiences.

    A recent survey found 61 per cent of Canadians plan to focus on “soft travel” or “calm-cations” in 2025. While this trend spans all age groups, it’s particularly strong among Gen Z, with 81 per cent showing a preference for it.

    At the same time, many Canadians are searching for travel opportunities closer to home amid tensions between the two countries.

    In these times of global uncertainty, soft adventure tourism offers affordable options for Canadians and international visitors to explore and experience all that Canada has to offer. As tourism experts, we have some suggestions for destinations that provide travellers with a chance to pause, breathe and recharge.

    The West Coast

    Along the coast of Vancouver Island, orcas, humpback whales, sea lions, seals and porpoises draw visitors each summer. Tourism operators offer whale-watching tours all over the island, giving travellers a chance to experience its marine life firsthand. Just a day trip from Victoria, the Kinsol Trestle is a chance to walk or cycle through nature.

    For a closer look at the region’s wildlife, travellers can join sea kayaking tours in Port McNeill on Vancouver Island with Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures. Here, visitors might spot grizzly bears and they can hear stories from Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations guides and interpreters.

    British Columbia is home to more than 200 distinct Indigenous communities that offer tourism experiences ranging from pristine beaches to savouring cuisine in award-winning restaurants and more.

    On the mainland, Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. offers visitors the chance to relax in mineral hot springs for a nominal fee. Other soft adventure experiences include beach-front maintained trails for walking and hiking, as well as picnicking locations. Visitors can take the short drive to Rosedale, B.C., where a brief hike brings them to the base of Bridal Veil Falls Park.

    The Prairie provinces

    Alberta’s landscapes have served as the backdrop for many films and television series, including Brokeback Mountain, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and The Revenant. For film tourism enthusiasts, the province offers no shortage of iconic film locations to explore. Some scenes of Game of Thrones’ final season were shot in Banff National Park.

    In Saskatchewan, Lake Diefenbaker is known for golfing, boating and walleye fishing. It’s the largest body of water in the southwest of the province, and it offers an opportunity to traverse a picturesque parkland while witnessing wildlife like elk, caribou, cougar and lynx.

    In Manitoba, Churchill offers sightings of both beluga whales and polar bears. Each summer, hundreds of belugas enter the Churchill River, and the town offers kayaking, boat tours and paddleboarding to see them.

    While you’re in Churchill, you can also see the northern lights up to 300 nights a year, along with numerous historic sites like the Prince of Wales Fort.

    Central Canada

    With 250,000 freshwater lakes, remote canyons, more than 1,200 canoe routes and 22 diveable historic shipwrecks, Ontario is filled with soft adventure travel opportunities. Travellers have countless ways to connect with nature and history in the province.

    In Tobermory, a harbour village on the province’s Bruce Peninsula, travellers can take guided tours to explore underwater shipwrecks, as well as visit the region’s distinctive “flowerpot” rock formations and natural grottos.

    A diver swims near the City of Cleveland shipwreck in Tobermory, Ont. The City of Cleveland was a 255 foot long wooden steamer that was built in Cleveland in 1882 and sunk in 1901 near Fitzwilliam island.
    (Shutterstock)

    Québec offers an experience that at times feels distinctly European. In Old Montréal and the Old Port, cobblestone streets and artisan vendors make it feel like you’re stepping into the past. Both locations are steeped in history and culinary excellence.

    Atlantic Canada

    In New Brunswick, Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, nestled along the Bay of Fundy, offers guided tours for travellers. Visitors are encouraged to check the tidal wave schedule to see the rock formations known as sea stacks, which are caused by tidal erosion.

    Nova Scotia’s capital, Halifax, is a vibrant coastal city known for its lively nightlife and flourishing culinary scene. Across the harbour in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, visitors can go bird watching or take part in a cycling adventure on the easy-to-moderate Salt Marsh Trail. A visit to Peggy’s Cove is a must.

    The province is also home to tourism initiatives that reflect the region’s diverse cultural heritage. Among these is Elevate and Explore Black Nova Scotia, which is designed to enrich the travel experience for Black people visiting or living in the province.

    Over on Prince Edward Island, visitors can explore Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birthplace, the author of beloved childhood classic Anne of Green Gables, in Cavendish. Nearby at the museum, visitors can reimagine Anne Shirley’s iconic adventures in a return to the magic of storytelling and place, before making their way to Greenwich Beach via the boardwalk through P.E.I.’s largest sand dunes.

    In Newfoundland and Labrador, Gros Morne National Park offers visitors views of “soaring fjords and moody mountains” alongside the chance to spot puffins in their natural habitat. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park also provides opportunities for fishing.

    If closer to historical Gander, take a ferry excursion to Fogo Island, which offers bird watching and boat trips.

    The Northern Territories

    In the Yukon, travellers can engage with Indigenous tourism, arts and culture through experiences offered by the Yukon First Nation and Tourism Industry Association.

    Visitors to the Yukon can cool their feet in the cold mountain streams while trying their hand at gold panning in historic Dawson City. Once a hub of the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, it still features several preserved frontier-style buildings.

    In the Northwest Territories, travellers can witness the aurora borealis and take guided photography tours to see wildlife up close. Further east, Nunavut offers a range of adventure tourism opportunities, including sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking and canoeing.

    Together, these northern destinations offer travellers a chance to immerse themselves in the natural beauty, history and living cultures of Canada’s North while embracing the slower pace and meaningful experiences at the heart of soft adventure travel.

    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. Travel with intention: Here’s a guide to ‘soft adventure’ experiences across Canada this summer – https://theconversation.com/travel-with-intention-heres-a-guide-to-soft-adventure-experiences-across-canada-this-summer-257190

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s military parade: A ‘big big celebration’ or an authoritarian ritual?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Irene Gammel, Professor & Director, Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre and Gallery, Toronto Metropolitan University

    U.S. Army soldiers march along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. during U.S. President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Parade in January 2017. (Kalie Jones)

    Born on June 14, 1946, United States President Donald Trump turns 79 in 2025 — the same day that the U.S. Army, founded in 1775, marks its 250th anniversary. To mark the anniversary, Trump proclaimed that “we’re gonna have a big, big celebration.”

    Plans drawn up by the army call for 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven military bands and thousands of civilians. The parade will also reportedly include 34 horses, two mules and a dog.

    Dismissed by many as a costly vanity project by some, the parade invites a deeper question: what kind of political work does a birthday celebration like this actually do?

    Far from trivial or benign, Trump’s spectacle draws on a long history of authoritarian leaders who use ritualized celebrations to bind personal power to national identity. The most notorious example, Adolf Hitler, turned his birthdays into massive national events with military parades, mass rallies and highly estheticized scenes of domestic cheer.

    These displays blurred dominance and intimacy, fatherliness and force — an approach revived today in the digital era, where curated imagery and social media entangle leadership with affective spectacle.

    Fascist birthday culture

    I was born and raised in Germany. I’m acutely aware that Hitler’s birthday still casts a shadow and that such dates continue to carry political weight, with the rituals involved doing long-term political work.

    During the Third Reich, the Führer’s birthday — modeLled on the Kaiser’s — became a mass propaganda event, blending public spectacle with personal attachment.

    As German philosopher Theodor Adorno noted, fascist rituals portrayed the authoritarian leader as both a “superman” and an ordinary, flawed “average person.” This duality encouraged intimate identification and awe, much like the dynamic between a patriarchal father and child.

    Trump echoes this dynamic through a mix of paternal posturing, hypermasculine bluster and expansive nationalism. Whereas Hitler relied on the latest photograph and film technology, today’s spectacles are amplified by digital media’s participatory culture.

    German leader Adolf Hitler reviewing a military parade held in celebration of his 47th birthday on April 20, 1936.
    (German Federal Archives), CC BY

    Neo-Nazi groups across North America and Europe still mark Hitler’s birthday with cakes, cookies, memes and tweets; often disarmingly “cute” images overlaid with disturbing swastikas and jokes. In his 2017 paper, sociologist Christian Fuchs shows that the most retweeted neo-Nazi post in his study was “Wake and bake #HitlersBirthday #420,” blending cannabis culture with fascist nostalgia to deflect horror through humour.

    The blurred boundaries between the national and the personal feed meme culture, where, as communications scholar Limor Shifman writes, “small units of culture” spread through imitation, often cloaked in play.

    Amid mounting pressure on various institutions in the U.S. — universities, courts and public discourse — the military/birthday parade is an extravaganza that fuses esthetics and propaganda to cement authority, suppress dissent and consolidate power.

    Power aesthetics of military pageantry

    By combining a military display with a personal celebration, Trump’s birthday parade stages a grand spectacle of power. Key here is the presence of thousands of soldiers in military uniform, which creates a “persona and a powerful collective presence,” as fashion scholar Jennifer Craik writes.

    Uniforms signal discipline and belonging, but also intimidate and threaten. Fashion writer Colin McDowell calls the uniform a “spectacle” steeped in associations with power and eroticism, a garment long linked to theatricality and role-playing.

    Nowhere was this more explicit than under European fascism and colonialism. Uniforms were engineered to seduce, often fetishized: streamlined silhouettes, tight jackets and black leather boots. As Craik notes, such imagery was not incidental; it was the visual grammar of domination. As sociologist Klaus Theweleit observes, fascist power had to be seen, desired and even fantasized.

    Trump’s parade is a show of force. Its sheer scale — bands, vehicles, helicopters — performs strength and legitimacy, marking who belongs and who does not. But the birthday celebration also turns attention back to the man himself, reminding us that authoritarianism is not only about intimidation but also about the persona of the autocrat.

    Parades staged for Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday.

    Authoritarian scripts, then and now

    Autocratic regimes work hard to fashion the leader into a man of the people: familiar, relatable and someone to be admired. Think of Hitler in his motorcade, hands outstretched toward the crowd.

    My father, just 10 years old, was part of that spectacle at one of these parades on a mandatory school trip, lined up along the street. Yet as the motorcade neared, he was shoved aside in the crush. What stayed with him wasn’t Hitler — he never saw him — but the fanatical woman who pushed him to get closer.

    The point was the crowd itself, kept at a fever pitch with ever-new spectacles like Hitler’s 50th birthday on April 20, 1939, declared a national holiday. German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels staged it as what historian Ian Kershaw called “an astonishing extravaganza of the Führer cult;” a visual and military spectacle widely broadcast.

    One gift, a model of the FW 200 Condor, later became Hitler’s official plane. Trump’s new luxury Air Force One, “a gift” from Qatar, is also part of his visual narrative. The symbolism is eerie: once again, the personal cloaks itself in national power.

    The cult of MAGA

    In the end, Trump’s militarized birthday parade solicits not just admiration but political allegiance. Like past authoritarian rituals, it manipulates affect through military pageantry to elevate the leader as both a symbol and supreme commander.

    The spectacle demands emotional submission with the goal being identification with the leader. It exchanges democratic freedom for a vision of unity under a single figure. However wrapped in humour or patriotic kitsch, Trump’s parade rehearses an authoritarian script with disturbingly familiar cues.

    What appears as celebration is, in fact, a rehearsal. It signals a dangerous shift toward personal glorification and a political culture where pageantry replaces participation and adoration displaces dissent.

    As history warns, that is when democracy begins to give way.

    Irene Gammel receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Trump’s military parade: A ‘big big celebration’ or an authoritarian ritual? – https://theconversation.com/trumps-military-parade-a-big-big-celebration-or-an-authoritarian-ritual-257536

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis Appoints Lyudmyla Lishchuk to the Morgan County Court

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis appointed Lyudmyla (“Milla”) Lishchuk to the Morgan County Court in the 13th Judicial District. The vacancy is created by the retirement of the Honorable Dennis L. Brandenburg and is effective July 1, 2025.

    Ms. Lishchuk is a County Court Judge in Baca County, a position she has held since 2021. Her docket consists of criminal and civil matters. Ms. Lishchuk is also a Hearing Officer II for the Colorado Department of Revenue, Hearing Divisions, a position she has held since 2020. Previously, Ms. Lishchuk was an Attorney and Hearings Manager for the Board of Assessment Appeals (2011-2019); Part-Time Attorney with the Law Offices of Alan G. Molk (2012-2015); Part-Time Attorney with Michael Dowling and Associates (2011-2015); Attorney with Reilly Pozner LLP (2010-2011); and Judicial Clerk for Judges Mark Hannen and Robert Russell and Magistrate Kara Martin (2010). Ms. Lishchuk earned her B.A. from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2007, and her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2009.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Changing Range: USGS initiatives support resilient ecosystems and economies on the Colorado Plateau

    Source: US Geological Survey

    USGS research allows NPS and BLM managers and ranchers to make informed planning decisions about current and future livestock stocking rates to maintain their livelihood and economic well-being. 

    Results from this research helps ensure that ranchers, recreationists, and public land stewards have the information they need to adapt and thrive in the face of increasing drought and changing land use.

    The Colorado Plateau, known for its dramatic rock formations and hardy desert ecosystems, is facing increasing pressure from more frequent and severe droughts. 

    This iconic landscape supports rangelands where grasses and other vegetation are critical for ranching, tourism, and other culturally and economically important activities that Department of the Interior (DOI) lands support. 

    According to the Department of the Interior Economic Benefit Report, total economic contributions in fiscal year (FY) 2019 from recreation on DOI lands totaled $60.59 billion and public land grazing leases created 2.21 billion.

    In FY 2019 in Utah, recreation brought in $2.72 billion, creating 26,675 jobs. And grazing and timber generated $170 million, which created 4,444 jobs. In southeastern Utah, National Park visitors spent $397.6 million in local communities in 2023.

    That spending supported 5,122 jobs in the region and had a cumulative benefit to local economies of $486.1 million.

    Over the past two decades, the region has experienced three droughts so extreme they are considered 1-in-100-year events based on long-term climate records. 

    These conditions are placing stress on native plant communities and posing serious challenges for the ranching and tourism economies that rely on healthy, functioning lands.

    To address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), universities, and others, is leading long-term research to understand how drought affects vegetation and landscape health in southeastern Utah and seeking adaptation strategies.

    A series of USGS drought experiments have shown that grasses that typically emerge early in the spring (called “cool-season” grasses) struggle to survive in extreme drought conditions when compared to grasses that emerge later in the summer (warm-season grasses) or woody vegetation like shrubs. 

    These cool season grasses are particularly important because they grow early in the spring, protecting soils from erosion, and providing forage for livestock and wildlife. Researchers observed similar patterns from experimentally imposed seasonal droughts and in monitoring studies from region.

    Seeking solutions to limit or adapt to negative impacts of drought is also an important aspect of the work USGS is conducting on the Colorado Plateau.

    For example, USGS is working with NPS to test new restoration techniques to address drought-driven land degradation in Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, which together welcomed over 1.5 million visitors in 2024. 

    Across both national parks, staff aim to restore degraded grasslands by seeding and transplanting warm-season grasses and woody shrubs which are more likely survive future extreme droughts.

    Researchers are also testing different simulated grazing strategies within drought experiments to assess how grazing timing or deferment may minimize drought impacts. This research helps identify when and where grazing should be adjusted based on grass availability and drought severity.

    Finally, working with TNC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Jornada Experimental Range and Oklahoma and Central Plains Ag Research Center, universities and others, the USGS is testing heritage cattle breeds that are potentially more adapted to the changing vegetation and warmer conditions brought on droughts on the Plateau. 

    These heritage breeds appear better suited to browse on woody vegetation and travel further from water sources to forage, which may make them a more ecologically and economically sustainable breed in a potentially hotter and less productive Colorado Plateau.

    By providing timely, reliable science, USGS research supports long-term productivity of America’s public lands.

    Findings from our research are shared with local and regional ranchers, NPS, and BLM through a variety of outreach events, including scientific and public presentations, work with University Extension specialists, through field tours, and scientific publications. 

    By connecting scientific insight with on-the-ground decision-making, this research is helping DOI land managers and ranchers support thriving and resilient landscapes on the Colorado Plateau.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City hits the high notes with summer of music and performances in bandstands and open spaces

    Source: City of Sunderland

    An exciting summer-long programme of performances gets underway in the city’s bandstands, parks, amphitheatres and open spaces this weekend.

    An exciting summer-long programme of performances gets underway in the city’s bandstands, parks, amphitheatres and open spaces this weekend.

    The first event is being held in Mowbray Park in Sunderland city centre from 10am to 3pm this Saturday 31 May.

    A collaboration with Sunderland’s iconic music studio, The Bunker, this will feature live music from musicians who have worked with The Bunker from 11am onwards.

    The event at the park’s bandstand, will culminate with a performance from The Everglades from NAME (Northern Academy of Music Education), which is based at the University of Sunderland.

    There’ll also be arts and craft stalls and activities selling and showing local artists’ work and the chance to get involved in a range of workshops run by artists on the day, as well as a local bookseller selling new and used books.

    This is the first in a series of community focused monthly performances which will run through until September.

    The performances and activities are aimed at transforming parks and open spaces into lively community hubs, offering free entertainment for families, friends and neighbours.

    Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: ” ‘Back to the Bandstand’ is a community-led programme celebrating our public outdoor spaces – especially our beautiful bandstands and community greenspaces – through live music, creative workshops, and wellbeing activities. 

    “We want to bring these spaces back to life with music, art and community spirit and we’re looking at offering something for everyone, with everything from swing bands to yoga in the sun.

    “It’s also about celebrating the fantastic and vibrant local communities across our city through these fantastic green spaces in the heart of our communities.

    “We’re especially keen to work with local communities and local, independent community groups and event organisers who would like to curate and run their own sessions.

    “So we’d love to hear from any local groups interested in working with us to host performances, workshops, and wellbeing sessions, and bring our parks back to life together.”

    Dan Donnelly from NAME (Northern Academy of Music Education),  who also plays guitar in The Levellers, said:  “Our students at NAME are happy to be working with the council on numerous outdoor events across the city and we are excited at the council’s attitude towards outdoor live music in Sunderland Music City.  It’s a great experience for them to play at local events and great for the people of Sunderland to experience live music as a part of their everyday life.”

    Any community groups or organisations interested in working with Sunderland City Council on the project are asked to contact events@sunderland.gov.uk

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 2025 Dickson Prize in Medicine Goes to Professor Sir Cato T. Laurencin of UConn

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The Dickson Prize in Medicine is awarded annually to a leading American investigator engaged in innovative and paradigm-shifting biomedical research. It is an esteemed annual award presented by the University of Pittsburgh. Many recipients of the Dickson Prize have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize. Dr. Cato T. Laurencin is the founder and pioneer of the field of regenerative engineering.

    His lecture, “Regenerative Engineering: Breakthroughs in Medicine,” will be given at 2:30 p.m. on July 11 at the University of Pittsburgh, Alan Magee Scaife Hall West Wing Auditorium. It will be followed by a panel discussion and reception at 5 p.m.

    Laurencin is a University Professor (one of two at UConn) and professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and professor of Biomedical Engineering. He is the chief executive officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-university Institute created in his honor. At UConn School of Medicine he is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.

    He is the leading international figure in polymer science and engineering as applied to musculoskeletal biology. Renowned for his work in areas including biomaterials science and materials chemistry, his broad background and insight have allowed him to move research from fundamental science to applied research, to research translation and clinical treatment.

    Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School, and earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Harvard, where he was named Chief Resident at the Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. A specialist in shoulder surgery and sports medicine, he completed fellowship training at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

    Laurencin is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, an elected member of the American Surgical Association and an elected member of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. In orthopaedic surgery, he received the Nicolas Andry Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, the Kappa Delta Award, the highest research honor from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Marshall R. Urist Award, honoring an investigator who has a sustained ongoing body of research in tissue regeneration as it relates to the musculoskeletal system, from the Orthopaedic Research Society, and the American Orthopaedic Association’s (AOA) Distinguished Contributions to Orthopaedics Award with induction into the AOA Awards Hall of Fame. He is the first individual to receive these four awards.

    He is the first surgeon in history elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors.

    In 2025, he received Knighthood under the auspices of King Charles III of England by the Governor General of St. Lucia.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK government is considering mandatory chemical castration for sex offenders – it’s an ethical and legal minefield

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lisa Forsberg, Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Oxford Institute, University of Oxford

    Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood is looking into a potential “national rollout” of chemical castration for sex offenders. This is a process of lowering testosterone levels with the intention of reducing libido.

    The proposal is one recommendation outlined in the recent independent sentencing review that was commissioned to investigate prison overcrowding and consider alternatives to imprisonment. The review found that 21% of adults serving immediate custodial sentences had been convicted of sexual offences – making them a significant proportion of the prison population. The idea appears to be that chemical castration would make offenders’ release from prison less dangerous for the public.

    A pilot scheme of voluntary chemical castration is already running and is about to be extended to 20 British prisons. But while the review emphasised that consent is a key tenet of medical law, Mahmood is reportedly investigating whether chemical castration could be made mandatory. This raises important ethical and legal questions.

    Is chemical castration ethical?

    Chemical castration is a dual-purpose intervention. It can be used both to benefit those who receive testosterone-reducing substances – sex offenders may themselves find their sexual desires to be a problem and so wish to have their intensity reduced by medical means – and to protect the public.

    One key question, therefore, is what we are aiming to achieve in a programme of chemical castration in the prison population. Chemical castration may reduce the risk of reoffending but fail to improve a sex offender’s life. It may do the opposite – improving their wellbeing without protecting the public from their actions. Which goal are we aiming for?

    This matters because the ethical permissibility of chemical castration is directly related to its purpose. Standard medical interventions are typically ethically permissible when and because they are expected to benefit recipients who validly consent.

    If the goal is not to benefit the recipient but to protect the public, this question is more complicated. We don’t normally get to consent to being incarcerated or quarantined, for example. These are situations imposed on us by the state. So do we get to bypass consent in the case of chemical castration for people who are incarcerated?

    And while some offenders may prefer to have their problematic sexual desires suppressed, chemical castration can have significant side-effects, including weight gain and mood changes.

    If chemical castration does reduce problematic desires, sex offenders may benefit from it, side-effects notwithstanding. But it is unclear exactly how this potential “benefit” should be understood. Is it beneficial for sex offenders to have their sexual desires attenuated? Does avoiding future punishment itself count as a benefit? Can it also be beneficial to offenders who do not consent to the intervention? And is it ever ethically permissible to provide chemical castration without benefit to the recipient? We need a more clearly articulated understanding of benefit, and its interaction with consent, to determine when chemical castration is ethically permissible.

    Is it legal?

    Purpose also matters for legal justification. Interventions that use medical means – as chemical castration does – are usually lawful, again, because they are expected to benefit recipients. So, again, the lack of clarity over who “benefits” and how benefit should be understood is a problem.

    My analysis of the legal framework in England and Wales shows that providing chemical castration to sex offenders may be consistent with obligations imposed on UK public authorities under the European Convention on Human Rights (via the Human Rights Act 1998). This may be the case even without recipients’ consent, especially when the purpose is public protection. But here too, it is necessary to clarify how the benefit or harm interacts with consent.

    A dilemma for doctors

    A rollout of chemical castration to sex offenders – whether voluntary or mandatory – also raises ethical and legal dilemmas for the people administering the programme.

    Forensic psychiatrist Professor Don Grubin has said that the administration of chemical castration is “about doctors treating patients, rather than doctors doing a job for criminal justice agencies, but a side effect is that reoffending is likely to be reduced”. However, it’s not clear that chemical castration should always be understood primarily as “doctors treating patients” in the way we normally expect for therapeutic interventions. The idea that doctors, in administering chemical castration, are always acting primarily to benefit the recipient, and that public protection in the form of reduced recidivism risk is a mere side-effect obscures the ethical and legal issues at play. A better approach is to clarify the different values and duties at stake and how doctors and others involved in provision should weigh them against one another.

    Chemical castration will often generate conflicting duties, which we must find ways to navigate. Can it be compatible with professional obligations to provide interventions that aren’t in recipients’ clinical interests if it benefits others? Do professional obligations vary according to an intervention’s purpose? Chemical castration exposes tensions in the ethical and legal obligations that individual and institutional providers owe to recipients and to society.

    I’m exploring these questions in research investigating how we ought to understand, evaluate, and regulate dual-purpose interventions. These are questions the government, and those involved in chemically castrating sex offenders must also confront.

    Lisa Forsberg has received funding from the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme (award pf170028), the Journal of Moral Education Trust through the British Academy /Leverhulme Small Research Grants scheme (award SRG2324241695), the European Research Council (grant number 819757), and the Uehiro Foundation for Ethics and Education.

    – ref. The UK government is considering mandatory chemical castration for sex offenders – it’s an ethical and legal minefield – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-government-is-considering-mandatory-chemical-castration-for-sex-offenders-its-an-ethical-and-legal-minefield-257795

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Climate change: no reprieve from heat this decade as globally agreed 1.5°C limit looms

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Temperature limits the world agreed to avoid are looming into view.

    The global temperature has been 1.5°C hotter than the pre-industrial average for almost two years now. The reason, overwhelmingly, is that greenhouse gas emissions are at record highs from the burning of fossil fuels and forests.

    In a new analysis, the World Meteorological Organization has predicted that global average warming will remain above 1.5°C for the rest of this decade. By some measure, this would place the world nearly halfway to the lower limit of the Paris agreement, which urged countries to avoid warming of 1.5°C as a 20-year average.

    Exceeding a globally agreed temperature limit is scary. Perhaps scarier is the speed at which we appear to be breaking our promises.

    This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed.

    Half a year of record heat

    After 2024 was confirmed as the hottest in 175 years of temperature-keeping, some climate scientists expected 2025 to be cooler. El Niño, the warm phase in a natural cycle of Earth’s climate, was subsiding and the cooler La Niña was set to kick in.

    This climate fluctuation, centred on the Pacific Ocean, slowly sloshes water and heat between ocean basins every few years and disrupts weather patterns worldwide.

    “Typically, La Niña will lower the global temperature by a couple of tenths of a degree Celsius,” explains Richard P Allan, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading. “However, this time around, it’s apparently not enough to stop the world warming – even temporarily.”



    Read more:
    Record January heat suggests La Niña may be losing its ability to keep global warming in check

    January 2025 was the hottest on record – a whole 1.7°C hotter than an average January before the mass burning of coal, oil and gas. Allan argues that “human-driven ocean warming is increasingly overwhelming these natural climate patterns”.

    The ocean has absorbed most of the excess heat generated by our emissions, but this blue buffer between us and a hotter atmosphere shows signs of fraying. A research station that has been taking the temperature of the western English Channel for more than 120 years now reports “almost continuous marine heatwave” conditions according to oceanographer Tim Smyth of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.



    Read more:
    What a 120-year-old research station is telling us about the warming of the sea around the UK

    A record-hot Atlantic Ocean is bad news for people living in the Caribbean and the south-east of North America. In its latest forecast for the 2025 hurricane season, which begins on June 1, the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an “above average” number of cyclonic storms.

    Much of this elevated risk is due to warmer seawater at the ocean surface fuelling stronger storms. But there’s only so much that meteorologists can do to stay ahead of the warming climate, as the rapid rate of global heating stretches long-range forecasting to its breaking point.



    Read more:
    The climate is changing so fast that we haven’t seen how bad extreme weather could get

    “The rapidly changing climate means we have not necessarily experienced the extremes that modern-day atmospheric and oceanic warmth can produce,” say atmospheric scientist Simon H Lee (University of St Andrews), climate scientist Hayley J Fowler and meteorologist Paul Davies (both of Newcastle University).

    “In a stable climate, scientists would have multiple decades for the atmosphere to get into its various configurations and drive extreme events, such as heatwaves, floods or droughts,” they say. Scientists typically use weather observations gathered over 30-year periods to characterise the climate.

    “But in our rapidly changing climate, we effectively have only a few years – not enough to experience everything the climate has to offer.”

    How hot will it get?

    Compared with its average temperature in the latter half of the 19th century, which is what scientists typically refer to as the climate’s pre-industrial baseline, Earth is on track to be 2.7°C hotter by 2100, according to an annual report by leading experts of Earth system science, published in October 2024.

    This conclusion is based on governments meeting their emissions goals (a big if) and it may already be out of date, given the unexpectedly hot first half of 2025.

    Fossil fuel emissions have yet to reach a plateau.
    Sunshine Seeds/Shutterstock

    On its own, this charitable estimate projects nearly double the level of warming attained so far. It’s unclear if civilisation could survive climate conditions like these, which are radically more hostile than anything our ancestors have experienced.

    What’s behind the accelerating rate of global warming? Here are two of the report authors, ecologists Thomas Newsome of the University of Sydney and William Ripple of Oregon State University.

    “Each year, we track 35 of the Earth’s vital signs, from sea ice extent to forests. [In 2024], 25 are now at record levels, all trending in the wrong directions,” they say.



    Read more:
    Unprecedented peril: disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century

    While renewable energy sources like wind and solar have grown rapidly, fossil fuel use remains 14 times greater. What’s more, aerosols that are effective at reflecting the Sun’s energy back into space and cooling the Earth (soot is one example) are thought to be falling in the atmosphere.

    “Other environmental issues are now feeding into climate change,” Newsome and Ripple continue. Deforestation is shrinking the amount of carbon stored on land while rising temperatures and extreme weather are drying out and burning other carbon-rich habitats, like marshes and peatlands.

    Sea ice is melting too, ensuring the ocean absorbs yet more of the heat being trapped by an increasingly thick blanket of greenhouse gas.

    Bleak. But how much the planet warms this century is a moving target: everything we do today, and in coming years, will lower it. On this front, Sven Teske has, if not good news, then less bad news to share.



    Read more:
    Earth is heading for 2.7°C warming this century. We may avoid the worst climate scenarios – but the outlook is still dire

    “Humanity has shifted track enough to avert the worst climate future,” he says.

    “Renewables, energy efficiency and other measures have shifted the dial. The worst case scenario of expanded coal use, soaring emissions and a much hotter world is vanishingly unlikely.”

    – ref. Climate change: no reprieve from heat this decade as globally agreed 1.5°C limit looms – https://theconversation.com/climate-change-no-reprieve-from-heat-this-decade-as-globally-agreed-1-5-c-limit-looms-257263

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A gonorrhoea vaccine will soon be available in the UK – here’s how it works to protect against the STI

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Bharat Pankhania, Senior Clinical Lecturer, Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter

    Gonorrhoea, which is caused by the bacterium _Neisseria gonorrhoeae_, is the second most common STI in the UK. Tatiana Shepeleva/ Shutterstock

    A vaccine targeting gonorrhoea will soon be rolled out on the NHS. This will make England and Wales the first two countries in the world to offer such a programme.

    This move comes amid a sharp rise in gonorrhoea cases in England and increasing concern about antibiotic resistance. In 2023 alone, there were over 85,000 gonorrhoea diagnoses in England. Compared to 2012, where 25,525 cases were reported, this represents a 234% increase over the 11-year period.

    Gonorrhoea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK. It’s caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae and is spread via unprotected sex with an infected person.

    Around 10% of men and nearly half of women who test positive for gonorrhoea exhibit no symptoms. This is why this STI is so transmissible, as people without symptoms may not seek testing or treatment – meaning they may unknowingly transmit the infection to their sexual partners.

    For those that do experience symptoms, the most common signs of a gonorrhoea infection include unusual vaginal or penile discharge (which is usually yellow or green in colour), pain when urinating as well as pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen. In severe cases, the infection can spread throughout the body. In rare cases it can also lead to sepsis.



    Read more:
    Gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses are at their highest in decades – here’s what you need to know about these STIs

    Untreated gonorrhoea infections can lead to many complications, including infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease (an infection in the reproductive organs) in women and epididymitis (inflammation of the testicles) in men.

    The only way to treat gonorrhoea is using antibiotics. But an increase in antibiotic resistance is making treatment difficult.

    Gonorrhoea prevention

    Currently, the only way to prevent a gonorrhoea infection is by practising safe sex, such as using condoms during intercourse and limiting the number of sexual partners.

    This new vaccine programme will offer an added layer of protection, especially for groups at high risk of acquiring the infection.

    The vaccine that will be offered on the NHS is actually an existing childhood vaccine called 4CMenB (also sold under the brand name Bexsero). This vaccine is used to protect against meningococcal group B disease, which can cause life-threatening bacterial meningitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord) and sepsis.

    The bacterium that causes gonorrhoea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is genetically closely related to Neisseria meningitidis – the bacterium that causes meningococcal disease. Their genome is between 80-90% similar.

    The 4CMenB vaccine contains four antigens that are deployed against Neisseria meningitidis bacteria. An antigen is usually a small molecule that the body recognises as a foreign invader. This triggers the body to mount an immune response against the antigen by producing antibodies which neutralise the bacteria and eliminate the infection.

    The vaccine protects against gonorrhoea between 32-42% of the time.
    Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

    Two of the antigens found in the 4CMenB vaccine are found on the surface of both N gonorrhoeae and N meningitidis bacteria.

    This is why using the 4CMenB vaccine for protection against gonorrhoea has progressed from theory to reality, with several studies showing it has a cross-protective effect.

    Research has shown that the 4CMenB vaccine provides some protection against an infection from the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. On average, the vaccine is effective in preventing gonorrhoea between 32% and 42% of the time.

    So while vaccination may reduce the chance of becoming infected with gonorrhoea, it’s not an absolute protection. Nevertheless, this new vaccine programme means those who are vaccinated will have a lower risk of contracting gonorrhoea and experiencing any complications that may arise from an infection. Most importantly, it also means they are less likely to transmit the infection to others.

    Vaccine programme

    The main benefit of a vaccination programme will be a significant reduction in the number of gonorrhoea cases overall. This is especially important given the rise of antibiotic resistance is making it increasingly difficult to treat gonorrhoea infections.

    It’s also worth noting that a previous gonorrhoea infection offers no protection against future infection and reinfection. This is why the vaccine is beneficial, even if it is only moderately effective.

    Eligible recipients, which includes gay and bisexual men who have a recent history of multiple sexual partners or a sexually transmitted infection, will be offered the vaccine through local NHS services from early August 2025.

    Eligible patients will be identified via their local sexual health service, as well as through a general information campaign via the NHS. Patients will also be offered the mpox, hepitatis A and B and human papillomavirus vaccinations at the same time.

    Vaccinating those at risk of contracting gonorrhoea will be more cost-effective and beneficial in the long run compared to vaccinating only those who have been diagnosed with gonorrhoea. Analysis led by Imperial College London has suggested the 4CMenB vaccine could prevent up to 100,000 cases of gonorrhoea and save the NHS over £7.9 million over the next decade if a high uptake is achieved.

    Bharat Pankhania is affiliated with the Liberal Democrat Party. He is an elected councillor in the city of Bath and will be the Mayor of Bath on June 7 2025.

    – ref. A gonorrhoea vaccine will soon be available in the UK – here’s how it works to protect against the STI – https://theconversation.com/a-gonorrhoea-vaccine-will-soon-be-available-in-the-uk-heres-how-it-works-to-protect-against-the-sti-257283

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Five things new parents should know about their baby’s sleep

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen L. Ball, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Durham Inancy & Sleep Centre (DISC), Durham University

    Nilanka Sampath/Shutterstock

    Why won’t my baby sleep at night? It’s one of the most common – and exhausting – questions new parents ask. You’ve fed them, changed them, rocked them, cuddled them but still, they wake again. And again. And again.

    Baby humans are born utterly helpless – unable to walk, grip, or regulate their own systems. From the very beginning, they are biologically wired to stay close to a caregiver, relying on your body for warmth, safety, food and reassurance. Their sleep, feeding and waking patterns aren’t disordered – they’re designed for survival.

    My latest book tells you everything you need to know about your baby’s sleep during their first year, but here’s a brief explainer on what’s really going on with baby sleep, why “sleeping through the night” is often a myth, and how working with your baby’s natural biology – not against it – can help you both get more rest and feel less stressed.

    Let’s take a look at what science (and evolution) tells us about newborn sleep.

    1. Comfort and calm

    Unlike other baby mammals who are born able to see, hear, and call, baby humans have no muscle tone and no control over their limbs. They cannot cling to or follow you, and are completely reliant on their parents to keep them safe, warm, and fed. In fact, most babies crave being in physical contact with your body for comfort, warmth and safety. Letting them snuggle into you is a good way to calm them, and on your chest is where many newborns most want to sleep from the immediate postnatal period.

    Spending time with your baby snuggled on your chest is common in the first few weeks or months of new parenthood, and there are some important things to be aware of. Make sure you are sitting upright or leaning back in a reclined position, so your baby’s head is higher than their bottom. Do not lie flat on your back with your baby horizontal. This position can make babies work harder to breathe. Make sure their head is turned to one side and their chin is tilted upwards. This is important to keep their windpipe open – it can kink if their chin is down on their chest and the air cannot get through to their lungs.

    Be sure to hold them in place on your body – don’t assume they won’t slip off – gravity affects babies too. Lastly, but most importantly, stay awake. Do not let yourself fall asleep in this position. Young babies are very fragile and when they are lying on you, you must monitor their safety. If you think you might fall asleep, move them to somewhere safe – a clear flat safe surface, on their back, or the arms of someone who can stay awake.

    2. Safe bed-sharing

    If your baby is breastfed they will feed frequently day and night, often every two hours or so. This can be difficult to cope with if you have to get in and out of bed for every feed. Many breastfeeding mothers find that safe way to share your bed for some or all of the night helps reduce the disruption of night feeds as you can feed lying down and both you and your baby can return to sleep quickly.

    If you decide to bed-share learn how to make your bed as safe as possible for your baby. The Lullaby Trust, Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative and La Leche League all have good information on bed-sharing safety. If you are not able to do this safely (for instance if your baby was born prematurely, or you are a smoker) then a bedside bassinet is a good option.

    3. Circadian rhythm

    Newborn babies have no day-night rhythm. In the uterus they are under the influence of their mother’s circadian cycle.



    Read more:
    Babies don’t need sleep coaches – but sometimes their parents do

    After birth, their own day-night rhythm takes several months to appear, and to begin with they sleep equally across day and night. Because it responds to external triggers such as daylight, noise and activity, you can support the development of your baby’s circadian rhythm by starting daytime activities around them at a regular time (opening curtains, making noise etc) every morning. Taking babies outside in the daylight in the first half of the day also helps their body-clock to become attuned to daylight and nighttime.

    4. Sleeping for longer

    Over time all babies begin to spend a bit more time sleeping at night. This is called “consolidation of sleep into night-time”, and babies will begin sleeping for longer periods between feeds as they get older. But babies often still wake in the night well into the second half of their first year – sometimes this is because they are still night-feeding, but in other cases they just need to know you are nearby. A third of babies who were studied in a New Zealand research study had never slept through the night by the time they were 12 months old.

    5. Sleep consolidation

    As babies consolidate more of their sleep into the nighttime they will begin to sleep less during the day. You can support this process by avoiding daytime naps in silent darkened rooms, keeping sleeping babies in the daylight and in midst of household noise and activity for daytime naps, or napping on the go. This prevents babies from taking prolonged naps and keeps their sleep pressure rising until the nighttime, which also helps with sleep consolidation.



    Read more:
    What’s really going on when a child is ‘overtired’ – and how to help them go to sleep

    When you understand and work with your baby’s sleep biology it is unnecessary to try to train your baby how to sleep at night. Just be aware that throughout the first year and beyond, baby humans remain helpless baby mammals who need you for physical contact, comfort and safety. Their need to be close to you is vital for their survival.

    Helen L. Ball has received funding from NIHR, ESRC, Lullaby Trust, Scottish Government, Northern Accelerator, Durham County Council, Northumberland County Council, and Durham University. She is currently affiliated with Lullaby Trust and Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative in voluntary roles.

    – ref. Five things new parents should know about their baby’s sleep – https://theconversation.com/five-things-new-parents-should-know-about-their-babys-sleep-256282

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, MA Delegation Sound Alarm on Trump Admin Attacks on International Students at Harvard and Nationwide

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    May 29, 2025
    Letter follows recent DHS attempts to terminate Harvard’s ability to enroll international students on F-1 and J-1 visas
    Massachusetts hosts over 80,000 international students, who contribute almost $4 billion to state economy and support over 35,000 jobs in the state
    “The Administration’s apparent hostility to international students contributes to an overall climate of fear on campuses. This trend creates a chilling effect that discourages the best and brightest students from around the world from coming to study in the United States…” 
    Text of Letter (PDF)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation in pressing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons on the Trump Administration’s attacks on international students, particularly last week’s attempt to terminate Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students on F-1 and J-1 visas. 
    The letter was signed by U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), and Bill Keating (D-Mass.).
    “As members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, we are gravely concerned about the Trump Administration’s attacks on international students,” wrote the lawmakers. “This trend has been particularly damaging for Massachusetts, which is home to one of largest concentrations of higher education institutions and hosts over 80,000 international students, who contribute almost $4 billion to the state’s economy and support over 35,000 jobs in the state.”
    Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the system that allows the university to admit international students — not only blocking Harvard’s ability to enroll new international students, but also interfering with current international students’ ability to legally remain. In effect, this action would allow DHS to arrest, detain, and deport international students who remain at Harvard. Shortly thereafter, a federal judge temporarily enjoined DHS from enforcing the revocation.
    “This attack on Harvard and its international students appears to be an attempt to punish the university for not agreeing to the Trump Administration’s April 2025 demands,” wrote the lawmakers.
    This is the latest in the Trump Administration’s long pattern of attacks on international students nationwide. Starting in March, the Administration effectively terminated the legal status of over 4,700 international students across at least 48 states and 160 colleges. Often without notice to students or their universities, ICE terminated students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) — records that are “functionally equivalent to having lawful student status” — which exposed students to the “risk of arrest, detention, or removal.” The State Department also revoked many visas, adding to widespread confusion about students’ legal status.
    “While DHS and the State Department claimed to target those with a criminal history or history of engaging in campus protests,  some of the impacted students had neither, and in many cases, there was ‘no obvious cause for the revocations,’” wrote the lawmakers.
    International students in Massachusetts and nationwide continue to face serious threats, even beyond Harvard’s campus, including: ICE expanding its authority for terminating SEVIS records; not restoring — or re-terminating — students’ legal status; and leaving problematic gaps in records of students’ legal status. Some students who left the country after their visas or records were suspended face significant hurdles to returning. This week, the State Department reportedly ordered its overseas embassies and consulates to stop scheduling any international student visa interviews, causing serious delays.
    “The Administration’s apparent hostility to international students contributes to an overall climate of fear on campuses. This trend creates a chilling effect that discourages the best and brightest students from around the world from coming to study in the United States — which harms not only current and prospective international students, but also American universities, U.S. citizen students on campuses, and, in the long term, the nation’s prosperity and economic growth,” concluded the lawmakers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Learning occurs quicker than thought, according to brain imaging

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Researchers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation have provided a new understanding of how and where learning occurs in the brain. The two-part finding has implications for understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and other dementias, which impact more than 7 million people in the United States and account for $384 billion in health and long-term care costs, as well as for enhancing neural networks.

    “Identifying how the brain actually forms new connections and learns is a question at the frontier of neuroscience,” said Paul Forlano, program officer in the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences. “Knowing that influences our understanding of how we interact with our environment and pick up on and respond to cues, which opens the door to a range of new fundamental and applied research.”

    The researchers, led by Kishore Kuchibhotla, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, used brain imaging to determine when mice learned a new skill. The imaging reinforced previous work, showing that mice learned quickly and that those that continued to make errors weren’t still learning; they were experimenting. The difference between mistakes and testing the rules was evident in changes in the neural activity that the researchers saw in the mice.

    Kuchibhotla said the distinction between the brain dynamics in learning and the dynamics involved in using that skill could be mimicked in having a memory and being able to retrieve it. If a similar paradigm exists in humans, it could alter how scientists approach questions about neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well as how those conditions are treated.

    The other surprising outcome of the research was that learning occurs in the sensory cortex, a region of the brain generally associated with interpreting (for example, “this stove is hot”) but not having input on behavior (like removing one’s hand from the stove). The team argues that the cortex is better described as a sensory-enriched associative cortex, wherein sensory and associative learning functions are intrinsically intermingled. The parallel functions and how the brain accomplishes them could lead to advances in how neural networks, which are modelled on the brain, process information.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: App Store in the U.S. facilitated $406B in developer billings and sales in 2024

    Source: Apple

    Headline: App Store in the U.S. facilitated $406B in developer billings and sales in 2024

    May 29, 2025

    UPDATE

    App Store in the U.S. facilitated over $400 billion in developer billings and sales in 2024

    For more than 90 percent of billings and sales facilitated by the App Store, developers did not pay any commission to Apple

    Earnings of U.S. developers more than doubled in the last five years

    Apple today announced the App Store ecosystem in the U.S. facilitated $406 billion in developer billings and sales in 2024, according to a study conducted by Professor Andrey Fradkin from Boston University Questrom School of Business and economist Dr. Jessica Burley from Analysis Group. Importantly, for more than 90 percent of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store, developers did not pay any commission to Apple.

    Over the last five years, the size of the App Store ecosystem has nearly tripled from $142 billion in 2019 to $406 billion last year, and earnings for U.S.-based developers also more than doubled. Small developers in particular have done exceptionally well as their earnings increased by 76 percent between 2021 and 2024.

    “For more than 15 years, the App Store has created incredible opportunity for app developers, entrepreneurs, and businesses of all sizes,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That includes the many U.S. developers who are innovating, building their businesses, and finding exceptional success on the App Store. We’ll continue to invest in powerful tools, technology, and resources to help developers in the U.S. and around the world take their apps to new heights and create transformative experiences for users.”

    Strong Growth Across App Categories

    Since its launch in 2008, the App Store has been a great business opportunity for developers. The new study estimates that in 2024 the App Store ecosystem facilitated $277 billion in total billings and sales from physical goods and services, $75 billion from in-app advertising, and $53 billion from digital goods and services. Key drivers included growth in food and grocery delivery, entertainment, and enterprise apps. And the App Store continues to be a global launchpad for innovation, with AI-powered apps increasingly shaping users’ daily lives.

    Since 2019, spending on physical goods and services has more than tripled, while in-app spending on digital goods and services and in-app advertising more than doubled. In the physical goods and services category, general retail spending and grocery delivery increased more than fourfold. By 2024, spending on travel and food delivery and pickup both surpassed ride hailing, with users increasingly turning to apps to book travel, and restaurants increasingly offering delivery options through apps. U.S. developers also saw their earnings grow across top categories like productivity, education, and business, with the games category seeing the highest earnings in 2024.

    Global Reach for U.S. Developers

    U.S. developers have also found tremendous success globally, with the ability to list their apps on storefronts in 175 countries and regions. The support of the App Store’s seamless payment and commerce system has made it easy for these developers to monetize their apps in the U.S. and around the world. Many apps from U.S. developers have also appeared on the most-downloaded app charts in storefronts outside of the U.S. and ranked among the Top 5 most-downloaded apps in 170 out of 175 App Store storefronts.

    The App Store remains a safe and trusted marketplace for users, thanks to Apple’s rigorous App Review process and robust privacy and security protections. In a recent report, Apple found that the App Store prevented more than $9 billion in fraudulent transactions over the last five years, and it also rejected 1.9 million app submissions in 2024 for failing to meet Apple’s standards for security, reliability, and user experience.

    Developers in the U.S. Have an Increasing Number of Incredible Resources Available from Apple

    Apple continues to invest in App Store features that make it easier for developers to distribute their apps and games and get discovered across the storefront. This includes continued investments to App Store Connect, which provides developers with tools and technologies to track app performance and engagement through App Analytics, enhancements to StoreKit, custom product pages, and new features like App Store Accessibility Nutrition Labels, available to developers later this year.

    Designed to accelerate innovation and help propel app businesses forward, initiatives like the App Store Small Business Program support the next generation of groundbreaking apps by small developers like Slopes. Originally launched as a passion project by a solo developer, Slopes has now achieved international success and is trusted by over 5 million skiers and snowboarders. This app is designed for winter sports enthusiasts, enabling them to track and record their personal stats, locate friends on the mountain, and explore interactive resort maps. The team behind Slopes has integrated with many Apple technologies, including HealthKit, Live Activities, and ARKit, as well as expanding to Apple Watch.

    Apple also offers developers a variety of online and in-person programs to support them in elevating their apps, including Meet with Apple. The Apple Developer Center in Cupertino also serves as home to year-round activities, and offers a supportive environment for developers to improve their apps through more than 250,000 APIs including as part of frameworks such as HealthKit, Metal, Core ML, MapKit, and SwiftUI. Resources like Pathways and Apple Developer Forums are available to better connect developers within the community and help them easily access tools, documentation, and videos to create their best products on Apple’s platforms.

    Apple launched its first U.S.-based Apple Developer Academy in Detroit in 2021 in collaboration with Michigan State University to help students build foundational skills in coding, AI, design, and marketing. Since its launch, the academy has trained over 1,200 students. Separately, more than 900 students have also participated in the Apple Foundation Program, an intensive four-week course that teaches students the fundamentals of app development at the academy and Henry Ford College.

    Apple supports more than 2.9 million jobs across the U.S. through direct employment, work with U.S.-based suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the thriving iOS app economy.

    Press Contacts

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Waiting for Godot has been translated into Afrikaans: what took so long

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Rick de Villiers, Associate professor, University of the Free State

    At last, the most infamous latecomer in all of literature has arrived – not in the flesh, but in South Africa’s Afrikaans language. Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s best-known drama, Waiting for Godot, now also lives as Ons Wag vir Godot.

    Published and staged in 2024, the translation was inspired by the official centenary of Afrikaans in 2025.

    As a Beckett scholar, I think it’s worth asking why Afrikaans is so late on the scene – and why it matters.

    Godot in many tongues

    First written in French, En attendant Godot was published in 1952 and debuted on stage the next year.

    The action involves two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, who have a series of absurd conversations and encounters as they wait for a man called Godot who never arrives. Beckett would self-translate the drama into English in 1954, calling it “a tragicomedy in two acts”.

    Since then, translations of the play have exploded. By 1969 – the year of Beckett’s Nobel Prize for Literature – Waiting for Godot could already be read in dozens of languages, including Albanian, Marathi, and even Icelandic.

    Samuel Beckett and South Africa

    Beckett’s connections with South Africa are surprisingly varied. As a young man, he unsuccessfully applied for a lectureship at the University of Cape Town. His 1951 novel, Molloy, was translated from French into English with the help of a South African student, Patrick Bowles. And in 1968, Beckett made a donation to the then-banned resistance party, the African National Congress, in the form of a manuscript for auction.

    This gesture was unprecedented for the Irish writer, who was wary of political causes. Yet not only did Beckett feel strongly enough about apartheid’s injustices to make this donation, he also refused to let anyone perform his plays before South Africa’s racially segregated audiences.



    Read more:
    The case of the acclaimed South African novel that ‘borrows’ from Samuel Beckett

    Already in 1963 Beckett had signed the petition Playwrights Against Apartheid. He would continue to refuse performance rights in South Africa until 1980, when the Baxter Theatre was allowed to stage Waiting for Godot with a racially integrated cast.

    Nevertheless, unauthorised Godots materialised before this. Athol Fugard, the South African playwright whose own dramas were influenced by Beckett, directed one of the earliest South African productions in 1962. Featuring an all-black cast, it testified to the play’s political charge, which Fugard emphasised:

    Vladimir and Estragon … were at Sharpeville or the first in at Auschwitz.

    It’s reasonable to think that Beckett would have supported this protest performance. But he would probably have denounced the first and unofficial Afrikaans version, Afspraak met Godot, translated by Suseth Brits and performed in 1970 at the Potchefstroom University College (now North-West University) behind closed doors.

    For different reasons, Beckett would also have frowned on the substantial “borrowings” in Afrikaans novelist Willem Anker’s 2014 novel, Buys.

    Domesticating a European classic

    Fully sanctioned by Beckett’s estate and beautifully translated (from the French and English) by now-retired professor of French at the University of the Free State Naòmi Morgan, Ons Wag vir Godot arrives at a different moment altogether.

    The translation retains the gallows humour of the original while adding local flavour. For instance, where Vladimir originally names the Eiffel Tower as a picturesque site to commit suicide, his Afrikaans counterpart nominates Van Stadensbrug, a bridge over a ravine in the Eastern Cape. The slave-like Lucky once entertained his master with European dances: “the farandole, the fling, the brawl, the jig, the fandango”. These now become a South African mix: “volkspele, die riel, die pantsula, selfs die horrelpyp” (folk games, riel dance, pantsula dance, a hiding).

    In translation-speak, Ons Wag vir Godot is therefore fully “domesticated”: the play’s universality comes through even though – and perhaps even more so because – it’s anchored in a particular place and time.

    This struck me when I attended the play’s limited-run production, expertly directed by Dion van Niekerk, at the 2024 Vrystaat Kunstefees (Free State arts festival). Its set managed to thread together subtle South African roadside details: a toppled rubbish bin, pylons on the horizon, a (broken) picnic bench.

    In the text itself, we encounter familiar place names, sayings and cultural clues. Consider how Beckett’s abstract phrase “the essential doesn’t change” is grounded in African mythology: “Jakkals verander van hare, maar nie van streke nie” (The leopard doesn’t change its spots). Then there’s the charming touch of the dog in Vladimir’s song snatching “’n stukkie wors” (a piece of sausage particular to South Africa) rather than a measly “bone”.

    Godot and the Afrikaans canon

    Ons Wag vir Godot achieves its most profound tribute to Beckett and Afrikaans through its intertextual richness. Both the French and English originals are highly allusive texts: they invoke other works of literature to increase their range of meaning and subtlety. Morgan is attuned to this subtlety and to the parallels to be found in Afrikaans literature. There are references to works by canonical Afrikaans writers like Eugène Marais, Totius and C.J. Langenhoven, each adding its own resonance.



    Read more:
    Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here’s a review

    Yet the dilemma any translator faces is not so much in bringing in the new, but in striking a balance with the old. Consider the judicious swapping of a line from Percy Bysshe Shelley for a line from C. Louis Leipoldt.

    In the English version, Estragon looks up forlornly at the moon and half-quotes the English Romantic poet: “Pale for weariness … Of climbing heaven and staring on the likes of us.” In the Afrikaans, he gives us a fragment from the wistful poem, Die Moormansgat: “ek kyk na die lig van die volle silwermaan” (I behold the light of the full silver moon). At face value, this lacks the detached, woeful quality of Shelley’s line. But read in the context of Leipoldt’s poem, it is every bit as poignant.

    The virtue of waiting

    “Vladimir would agree,” Morgan concludes in the preface to her translation, “that a century is a decent amount of time to hone a language for the translation of one of the best-known dramas in world literature”.



    Read more:
    Animal Farm has been translated into Shona – why a group of Zimbabwean writers undertook the task

    And indeed, the riches of the Afrikaans language are on display in this sensitive, witty and allusive rendering of Beckett’s European classic. But it’s also true that a certain amount of political baggage had to be shaken off before such a feat could be realised – not just in the right words, but in the right spirit. Of course, if Beckett’s play teaches us anything, it’s the virtue of waiting.

    Rick de Villiers 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. Waiting for Godot has been translated into Afrikaans: what took so long – https://theconversation.com/waiting-for-godot-has-been-translated-into-afrikaans-what-took-so-long-257345

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Choosing to be an orphan: for some Kenyan families it’s a strategy for survival

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Andreana Prichard, Associate Professor of Honors and African History, University of Oklahoma

    In the world of international child development and orphan care, it’s not uncommon for children with families to declare themselves orphans. In fact, this practice can be traced back to precolonial times in Kenya.

    Andreana Prichard has done research on the practice in Kenya. We asked her to share her insights into it.

    Why do some people in Kenya assume the identity of ‘orphan’?

    We often think of “orphans” as children who have lost both parents and who lack kin networks. One might ask why someone would “opt in” to orphan status when they do not fall within the classical definition of the term.

    In my paper I look at the issue of orphanhood over the last 160 years. Case studies from Kenya I examine illustrate that the practice I define as “opting in” to orphanhood has precolonial roots. I define “opting in” as choosing to take on the label of being an orphan. This can be done by parents, relatives or even, in some instances, the child. This is because the label “orphan” has come to confer unique opportunities.

    The practice became increasingly popular in the mid-1990s, when parents in eastern and southern Africa who had contracted HIV began to die in large numbers. Activists feared many children would be left without caregivers.

    In response, the number of orphanages proliferated as humanitarian actors, churches and states inundated east Africa with orphan-focused NGOs.

    In 2020, officials in Kenya estimated that there were at least 910 residential institutions for children in the country (of which 581 were registered), housing between 26,198 and 85,733 Kenyan children.

    The predicted “orphan crisis” never materialised, partly because families and communities stepped in to care for newly parentless children. But the idea of an “orphan crisis” remained, and so did the funding and infrastructure.

    This phenomenon occurred across the continent, not just in Kenya. However, its effects were felt particularly acutely in eastern and southern Africa where HIV/Aids prevalence rates were higher and where there was more western tourism.

    Today, many African families see orphan-focused NGOs as a path to access education and improve their lives. My research shows that children themselves sometimes affiliate with an institution that provides shelter, food and schooling. Children facing abuse from caregivers may also prefer the relative anonymity and safety of an institution.

    In some cases, receiving orphan services actually raises the status of the “orphan” child above that of other children. They have access to more material resources than they might have had in their villages or at home. They might have more leisure time and less work. They may have access to better bedding, shoes and clothing. They are also likely able to attend school more consistently and have a real opportunity to attend university.

    Does ‘opting in’ have a long history?

    Yes, it does.

    In the precolonial period, most parentless or vulnerable children were cared for through lasting community support systems. Orphanhood, as it exists today as a child lacking support, protection, or care from kin, was largely avoided.

    However, the late 19th to mid-20th centuries brought new actors to the east African region. The practice of “opting in” became a strategic, temporary option used by families to access services from western humanitarians.

    The earliest example of this shift I found in my research is from the 1890s. Fearing their children would be caught in the Indian Ocean slave trade, African parents sometimes chose to send their children to British missions until the region was safe. They knew the missionaries opposed the slave trade and knew they offered food and medical care.

    African parents thought they were making temporary arrangements to keep their children safe. Missionaries, however, understood parents to have abandoned their children. When parents returned to repay the debt – with agricultural produce or trade goods – and to reclaim their children, missionaries refused them.

    In another example from Kenya in the 1950s, the British colonial government opened “reform schools” for young men. The Wamumu Approved School was renowned for the relative quality of education it provided. But the state admitted only the “most vulnerable” for a free education. Feeling they had no way to access Wamumu, students claimed to be orphans.

    What have been the negative effects of Kenya’s orphan system?

    There are several problems with creating a situation in which people present themselves as vulnerable just to gain safety or improve their social and economic standing.

    First, research has shown that building orphanages in poor communities incentivises parents to abandon their children if they’re not also given the help to remain together.

    Second, research shows that children are often put at risk in these institutions. Institutionalisation exposes children to risks such as sexual abuse, gender-based violence and neglect.

    Third, orphanages have become so lucrative that African orphanage owners will go to great lengths to fit African children into the categories westerners wish to fund. The phenomenon of “paper orphans” is a prime example. “Paper orphans” are children who are recruited from their homes by proprietors (or middlemen/brokers) of orphanages and residential-care facilities. Fraudulent documentation is created for them – often including false death certificates of parents and new identity registration documents – rendering them orphans on paper, and vulnerable in practice.

    What should be done?

    Governments in Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean are trying to phase out orphanages, as are some African countries.

    Based on my research I believe that working with families to support vulnerable children in their homes of origin or with extended families is a better option. This can be done through assistance programmes for vulnerable families as well as child welfare programmes. These allow families to remain intact when experiencing hardship.

    Kenya is taking steps to do this by replacing orphanages and other forms of residential children’s homes with family-based, foster and community-based care and other forms of assistance. Family strengthening approaches include positive parenting instruction, life skills training, and income-generating activities, as well as supportive supervision.

    In addition to this, missionary and voluntourism trips to orphanages and residential care facilities should be banned or limited.

    Andreana Prichard received funding from the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Grant.

    – ref. Choosing to be an orphan: for some Kenyan families it’s a strategy for survival – https://theconversation.com/choosing-to-be-an-orphan-for-some-kenyan-families-its-a-strategy-for-survival-247371

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Research Associate, University of Oxford

    In southern Africa townships were built as segregated urban zones for black people. They were created under colonial and white minority rule policies that controlled movement, confined opportunity, and kept people apart.

    I grew up in a different historic black township in Zimbabwe, but Mbare was the first of its kind. It holds a unique place in the nation’s imagination.

    Mbare was originally named Harare. But in 1982 that name was reassigned to the capital city that houses it. In its storied past, it was once the heartbeat of black urban life. At its centre is Rufaro Stadium, where Bob Marley and the Wailers famously performed at Zimbabwe’s independence celebrations.

    The township was a hub of cultural energy, sports, and political activism, and the community beer hall served as a vital gathering point. Today, many of these beer halls stand derelict.

    These once-thriving communal spaces reflect a broader neglect of civic infrastructure in post-independence Zimbabwe. Yet out of these ruins, new life is taking shape.

    One of the most influential figures in Zimbabwe’s artist-run spaces movement, Moffat Takadiwa, has transformed one of these former beer halls into the Mbare Art Space. The dynamic arts hub reclaims the building’s original spirit of gathering, creativity and public engagement.

    Operating under a long lease from the Harare City Council, this nonprofit initiative is part of a wider urban renewal and adaptive reuse project aimed at reimagining the city’s cultural infrastructure.

    My ongoing work in archival research includes mapping and visiting historical and cultural spaces like this. Here Takadiwa saw the potential for not just studios and an exhibition venue, but also for dialogue and community regeneration.

    Transforming spaces

    Beer halls were established by British colonial authorities in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) as part of a strategy of social control over the African urban population. They were designed to regulate leisure, restrict political organising and generate revenue through the sale of alcohol. By centralising drinking in state-run facilities, colonial administrators aimed to monitor and contain African social life while profiting from it.

    Situated in a repurposed colonial-era beer garden, Mbare Art Space turns a former site of segregation into a vibrant centre of artistic and communal revival. It redefines a legacy of constraint and control as one of creative freedom and empowerment. The place is now an artists’ haven with studios, office space, an exhibition hall and a digital hub.

    Takadiwa’s vision is informed by global precedents, notably inspired by US artist Theaster Gates, whose work includes the transformation of a derelict bank on Chicago’s South Side. It became the Stony Island Arts Bank – a hybrid space for art, archives and community engagement.

    Takadiwa opened Mbare Art Space in 2019 with a vision to support emerging artists through mentorship and access to resources. True to his artistic philosophy – resurrecting abandoned, often overlooked materials suffering the effects of urban decay – he revitalised a neglected site. Most of the artists working from this space follow his lead, upcycling and recycling found materials into compelling visual forms that speak to both history and possibility.

    When I arrive, Takadiwa is on his way out, but offers me a quick tour of his studio, where works in progress for his upcoming participation in the São Paulo Biennale are taking shape.

    Known for his lush, densely layered sculptures and tapestry-like works made from found objects – computer keyboards, bottle tops, toothbrushes, and toothpaste tubes – Takadiwa has garnered international acclaim. His works are collected by US rapper Jay-Z and major institutions like the Centre National d’Art Plastique in Paris, the European Parliament’s art collection in Brussels, and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare.

    Collaboration

    What Takadiwa is building is not just an arts centre – it’s a new model space rooted in history and responsive to the present. The site itself becomes an ongoing installation, activated by the artists, curators and community members who inhabit it.

    Tafadzwa Chimbumu, the operations manager, takes over the tour, guiding me through the rest of the precinct. The site retains the bones of its beer hall architecture, but it bursts with new life. Colourful murals adorn the walls. Tents draped over smaller buildings animate the exposed brickwork.

    Plans are underway to establish a library here, a resource where researchers and artists can engage with Zimbabwe’s under-documented art history. Much of this history is scattered across archives and unpublished dissertations, rather than in widely available books. The aim is to bring these materials together and make them more accessible to the public.

    Mbare Art Space is also becoming an exciting hub for collaboration and education. Community workshops, for example, are led by resident artists. Local schools take part in art education initiatives. Through community outreach and educational programming, the centre is extending its impact beyond its immediate geography.

    As it looks to the future, Mbare Art Space is focused on expanding its artist-in-residence programme, inviting both local and international artists to immerse themselves in the context of Mbare and Zimbabwe.

    Ultimately, what the space offers is something intangible – a feeling, a memory, a vision of what is possible when history and imagination meet in a shared place.

    Tinashe Mushakavanhu 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. Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre – https://theconversation.com/mbare-art-space-a-colonial-beer-hall-in-zimbabwe-has-become-a-vibrant-arts-centre-256528

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The American mass exodus to Canada amid Trump 2.0 has yet to materialize

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Lori Wilkinson, Professor of Sociology, University of Manitoba

    In February 2025, the New Republic, reported there were a growing number of Americans who wanted to leave the country following the election of Donald Trump.

    Canadian reports backed up the assertion, particularly the news that three high-profile Yale professors would be joining the faculty of the University of Toronto in the fall of 2025.



    Read more:
    Yale scholars’ move to Canada can prompt us to reflect on the rule of law

    For some Canadian observers, it may feel like a case of déjà vu. After Trump’s first election in 2016, some media predicted a sharp increase in Americans seeking to escape their country’s harsh social and political climate for Canada’s “sunny ways.”

    According to Google Analytics, web searches originating in the United States involving “how to move to Canada” increased by 350 per cent on election night in 2016. A few months earlier, they’d increased by 1,500 per cent over normal search rates for the same phrase in March 2016, when Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president.

    More Canadians head south

    Despite such post-election musings nine years ago, the pending American mass exit didn’t materialize. According to migration data (a download is required) from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of Americans applying for permanent residency from January through March 2017 rose only slightly. There were 1,882 applications, just 66 more than from the same period in 2016.

    As for visas and authorizations issued to people from the U.S. during the same time period, they barely increased — from 2,497 in 2016 to just 2,523 in 2017.

    Americans taking up permanent residency in Canada jumped from about 8,400 in 2016 to 10,800 in 2019. However, that increase in the modest number of moves from the U.S. to Canada can hardly be construed as an exodus. Over those same two years, the number of Canadians becoming permanent residents of the U.S. continued to exceed the number of Americans who headed north.

    There has been, however, a decline in the number of Canadians moving to the U.S. In 2016, the year Trump was first elected, just over 19,300 Canadians moved to the U.S. In 2019, the year before Trump lost to Joe Biden, 14,700 Canadians took up residence in the U.S.

    That trend didn’t last as the gap in cross-border permanent residency widened once more during the Biden era. In 2023, while 10,600 Americans moved to Canada, 18,600 Canadians moved to the U.S.

    Looking at the data from 2016 to 2023 suggests politics isn’t the primary reason why Americans head to Canada. It’s more likely driven by economic considerations, better job offers or family ties.

    In terms of the apparent uptick in migrants from the U.S. heading to Canada during Trumps’s second term, it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions. But numbers for the first quarter of 2025, according to the same IRCC datasets, show no signs of any significant uptake, with a drop from 2,485 Americans headed Canada’s way between January to March 2024 to 955 over the same period in 2025.

    Moving to Canada isn’t easy

    Despite the surge in American internet searches on moving to Canada in 2016, when Trump won the Republican nomination and then the presidency, acting on impulse in a moment of political turmoil is complicated.

    Moving to Canada is not as simple as it may seem; it can be long and arduous. There’s a process and a waiting line with requirements that include an offer of employment in Canada, liquid assets and language proficiency in English, or French if Québec is the ultimate destination.

    It’s easier to immigrate to Canada if there’s a close family member already living there, but still not guaranteed. Canada’s tax rate is a migration deterrent for some, even though these higher tax rates come with more services.

    Although Canada’s health-care system is more inclusive and affordable, the wait times for procedures, along with the perception that Canadian services are not as robust as American health services, could also be a deterrent to migration.

    In short, even for Americans, it’s not easy to migrate to Canada.

    There is, however, one group of people living in the U.S. who may consider relocating to Canada: asylum-seekers.

    The second Trump administration has ended Temporary Protection Status for Afghan, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Cuban and Haitian residents.

    This means that people from these strife-torn countries must apply for permanent residency or “self-deport” — otherwise, they will become undocumented.

    Haiti is currently unsafe. Gangs control the country’s cities and neighbourhoods and have staged a successful coup. The country is also still rebuilding after the devastating 2010 earthquake.



    Read more:
    With Haiti in chaos, Canada buries its head in the sand

    Afghanistan remains in the throes of a decades-long war where women have have no rights. Venezuela is in a state of civil unrest; about 19 million citizens do not have enough food or sanitation. Nearly 7.7 million people have fled the country.

    The plight of asylum-seekers

    The crackdown on other undocumented residents and the recent issuing of large “civil penalties” in the form of fines for failing to self-deport may force others to leave the U.S. Where might they go?

    Many will return to their country of residence, but others may be unable to do so and could consider Canada a convenient and safe destination. In 2016, 23,919 people made asylum claims in Canada. That number slowly rose throughout the first Trump administration to 64,020 in 2019, the last full year of the president’s first term.

    Those seeking asylum in Canada declined to 23,680 in 2020 — the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — but had increased to 171,850 by the end of 2024.

    The geographic distribution of these asylum-seekers was uneven. In 2017, 50 per cent of all asylum-seekers to Canada made their claim in Québec; in 2022, 64 per cent of asylum claims were made there.

    So rather than seeing a large influx of American citizens migrating to Canada during Trump’s second administration, there will likely be a larger number of asylum-seekers, many of whom have legitimate fears of persecution. How Canada chooses to handle these claims remains to be seen — but it’s urgently important for Canadian elected officials to figure it out immediately.

    Jack Jedwab, CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute, co-authored this article

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

    – ref. The American mass exodus to Canada amid Trump 2.0 has yet to materialize – https://theconversation.com/the-american-mass-exodus-to-canada-amid-trump-2-0-has-yet-to-materialize-256853

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A 16th-century Chinese writer spoke of workplace burnout, leaving a blueprint for radical acts of rest

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jason Wang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion by Qian Gu, 1560 (Chinese, 1508–ca. 1578), Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Handscroll, ink C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1980/ MET open collection, CC BY

    We are in the middle of a global workplace burnout epidemic — aptly named the “burnout society” by Korean-German philosopher Byung-Chul Han.

    Four centuries ago, late Ming Dynasty scholar-official Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610) shifted from state administrative work to xiaopin — brief, personal essays celebrating everyday pleasures like gardening, leisurely excursions and long vigils beside a rare blossom.

    The cover of ‘Burnout Society’ by Byung-Chul Han.
    (Stanford U Press)

    Today, his Ming Dynasty-era practice resonates with uncanny urgency within our burnout epidemic.

    Amid the Wanli Emperor’s neglect and escalating bureaucratic infighting in Beijing, Yuan turned away from what today we call a “toxic workplace.”

    Instead, he found refuge in Jiangnan’s landscapes and literary circles. There he exchanged hierarchical pressures, administrative tedium and cut-throat careerism for moments of unhurried attention.

    Yuan’s xiaopin, alongside those of his contemporaries, transformed fleeting sensory moments into radical acts of resilience, suggesting that beauty, not institutions, could outlast empires.

    The Ming Dynasty: A literary rebellion

    The late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) was an era of contradictions.

    While Europe hurtled toward colonialism and scientific rationalism, China’s Jiangnan region — the fertile Yangtze Delta in today’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces — flourished via merchant wealth, global silver trade and a thriving print culture.

    Bookshops lined city streets like modern cafés. They peddled plays, poetry and xiaopin volumes like Meiyou Pavilion of Arts and Leisure (1630) and Sixteen Xiaopin Masters of the Imperial Ming (1633).

    The imperial examination system, a civil service written exam — once a path to prestige — had become a bottleneck. Thousands of scholars languished in bureaucratic limbo, channelling their frustrations and exhaustion into xiaopin’s intimate vignettes.

    Chinese imperial examination candidates gathering around the wall where the results are posted (painting by Qiu Ying, c. 1540)
    (National Palace Museum)

    In his preface to Meiyou Pavilion, editor Zheng Yuanxun (1603–1644) praised the genre’s “flavour beyond flavour, rhythm beyond rhythm” — a poetic nod to its rich sensory detail and subtle musicality — rejecting moralizing orthodox prose by embracing immersive aesthetics.

    Against neo-Confucianism’s rigid hierarchies, xiaopin elevated the private, the ephemeral and the esthetically oblique: a well-brewed pot of tea, the texture of moss on a garden rock and incense wafting through a study.

    Wei Shang, professor of Chinese culture at Columbia University, has noted such playful text flourished among late Ming literati disillusioned with the era’s constraints. The texts reframed idleness and sensory pleasure as subtle dissent within a status-obsessed society.

    When doing less becomes radical

    Long before French poet Charles Baudelaire’s flâneur used dandyism and idle promenades to resist the alienating pace of western modernity, Ming literati like Chen Jiru (1558–1639) and Gao Lian (1573–1620) framed idleness as defiance.

    Drawing on Daoist wu wei (non-action), Gao praised the “crystal clear retreat” that scrubbed the heart of “worldly grime” and cultivated “a tranquil heart and joyful spirit.” For him, human worth lay not in bureaucratic promotions but in savouring tea, listening to crickets or resting against a well-fluffed pillow.

    A hanging scroll, ink on paper of a plum blossom branch by Chen Jiu (1558–1639).
    (Yale University Art Gallery/S. Sidney Kahn, 1959/Christie’s, lot 677, 1983/Bones of Jade, Soul of Ice, 1985), CC BY

    Hung-tai Wang, a cultural historian at Academia Sinica in Taipei, identifies xiaopin as a “leisurely and elegant” esthetic rooted in nature’s rhythms.

    Chen Jiru, a Ming Dynasty-era painter and essayist, embodied this framework by disallowing transactional logic. In one essay, Chen lauds those who possess “poetry without words, serenity without sutras, joy without wine.” In other words, he admired those whose lives resonated through prioritizing lived gestures over abstract ideals.

    The art of living in a disconnected age

    In the late Ming’s burgeoning urban and commercial milieu, xiaopin turned everyday objects into remedies for social isolation.

    In the Jiangnan gardens, late Ming essayists saw landscapes infused with emotion. At the time, essayist Wu Congxian called it “lodging meaning among mountains and rivers:” moonlight turned into icy jade, oar splashes to cosmic echoes.

    Chen Jiru had study rituals — fingering a bronze cauldron, tapping an inkstone — curated what he termed “incense for solitude, tea for clarity, stone for refinement.”

    This cultivation of object-as-presence anticipates American academic Bill Brown’s “thing theory,” where everyday items invite embodied contemplation and challenge the subject-object binary that enables commodification.

    The Ming Dynasty-era scholar-connoisseur, Wen Zhenheng (1585–1645), turned domestic minutiae into philosophical resistance.

    His xiaopin framed everyday choices — snowmelt for tea, rooms facing narrow water, a skiff “like a study adrift” — as rejections of abstraction. Through details like cherries on porcelain or tangerines pickled before ripening, he asserted that value lies in presence, not utility.

    Wen suggests that exhaustion stems not from labour but from disconnection.

    The Garden of the Inept Administrator (Zhuozheng Yuan) by Wen Zhengming, 1551. Wen painted 31 views of the site, each accompanied by a poem and a descriptive note.
    (Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1979/MET open source collection), CC BY

    The burnout rebellions: ‘Tang ping,’ ‘quiet quitting’

    Just as xiaopin turned domestic rituals into resistance, today’s movements recast the mundane as a mode of defiance.

    In April 2021, China’s tang ping (“lying flat”) movement surfaced with a post by former factory worker Luo Huazhong: “Lying flat is justice.” The message was simple and subversive: work had become intolerable, and opting out was not laziness but resistance.

    In a backlash against China’s “996” work model extolled by tech moguls like Jack Ma, tang ping rejects the sacrifice of dignity and mental health for productivity and casts idleness as a quiet revolt against exploitative norms.

    In the West, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked similar reckonings. The “Great Resignation” saw millions leave unfulfilling jobs. And “quiet quitting” rejected unpaid overtime and emotional labour. These movements emerged as a soft refusal of hustle culture.

    As anthropologist David Graeber argues in Bullshit Jobs (2018), the “moral and spiritual damage” inflicted by meaningless work reflects a profound political failure.

    Just like the late Ming literati who poured their lives into a state that repaid them with hollow titles and bureaucratic decay, today’s workers withdraw from institutions that exploit their labour yet treat them as disposable.

    Unlike French philosopher Michel de Montaigne’s introspective self-examination in his Renaissance-era Essays, xiaopin refuses utility. In doing so, it inverts the contemporary self-help trend critiqued by Byung-Chul Han, which co-opts personal “healing” as a form of productivity through neoliberal logic.

    Xiaopin proposes resistance as an existential shift beyond (self-)optimization. Its most radical gesture is not to demand change, but to live as if the system’s demands are irrelevant.

    The revolution of pause

    Xiaopin asks: What is progress without presence? Its fragments — on lotus ponds, summer naps, a cat’s shadow — prove that resistance need not be loud.

    Like Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s vision of contemporary literature as “space of individual recovery,” the genre shelters us from “hierarchy and efficiency.”

    Here, time is not spent but reclaimed.

    To pause in an age of weaponized ambition is in fact revolt. Tracing a petal’s vein, sipping tea until bitterness fades, lying flat as the machinery of productivity grinds on — these are not acts of shirking reality, but defiant gestures against the systems that feed on our exhaustion. They are affirmations of agency: microcosms where we rehearse what it means to belong to ourselves, and thus, to the world.

    Xiaopin’s revolution awakens in a flicker of attention: a reminder that presence, too, is a language — one that hums beneath the buzz of progress, waiting to be heard.

    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. A 16th-century Chinese writer spoke of workplace burnout, leaving a blueprint for radical acts of rest – https://theconversation.com/a-16th-century-chinese-writer-spoke-of-workplace-burnout-leaving-a-blueprint-for-radical-acts-of-rest-256651

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Waiting for Godot has been translated into Afrikaans: what took so long

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Rick de Villiers, Associate professor, University of the Free State

    At last, the most infamous latecomer in all of literature has arrived – not in the flesh, but in South Africa’s Afrikaans language. Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s best-known drama, Waiting for Godot, now also lives as Ons Wag vir Godot.

    Published and staged in 2024, the translation was inspired by the official centenary of Afrikaans in 2025.

    As a Beckett scholar, I think it’s worth asking why Afrikaans is so late on the scene – and why it matters.

    Godot in many tongues

    First written in French, En attendant Godot was published in 1952 and debuted on stage the next year.

    Naledi Books

    The action involves two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, who have a series of absurd conversations and encounters as they wait for a man called Godot who never arrives. Beckett would self-translate the drama into English in 1954, calling it “a tragicomedy in two acts”.

    Since then, translations of the play have exploded. By 1969 – the year of Beckett’s Nobel Prize for Literature – Waiting for Godot could already be read in dozens of languages, including Albanian, Marathi, and even Icelandic.

    Samuel Beckett and South Africa

    Beckett’s connections with South Africa are surprisingly varied. As a young man, he unsuccessfully applied for a lectureship at the University of Cape Town. His 1951 novel, Molloy, was translated from French into English with the help of a South African student, Patrick Bowles. And in 1968, Beckett made a donation to the then-banned resistance party, the African National Congress, in the form of a manuscript for auction.

    This gesture was unprecedented for the Irish writer, who was wary of political causes. Yet not only did Beckett feel strongly enough about apartheid’s injustices to make this donation, he also refused to let anyone perform his plays before South Africa’s racially segregated audiences.

    Read more: The case of the acclaimed South African novel that ‘borrows’ from Samuel Beckett

    Already in 1963 Beckett had signed the petition Playwrights Against Apartheid. He would continue to refuse performance rights in South Africa until 1980, when the Baxter Theatre was allowed to stage Waiting for Godot with a racially integrated cast.

    Nevertheless, unauthorised Godots materialised before this. Athol Fugard, the South African playwright whose own dramas were influenced by Beckett, directed one of the earliest South African productions in 1962. Featuring an all-black cast, it testified to the play’s political charge, which Fugard emphasised:

    Vladimir and Estragon … were at Sharpeville or the first in at Auschwitz.

    It’s reasonable to think that Beckett would have supported this protest performance. But he would probably have denounced the first and unofficial Afrikaans version, Afspraak met Godot, translated by Suseth Brits and performed in 1970 at the Potchefstroom University College (now North-West University) behind closed doors.

    For different reasons, Beckett would also have frowned on the substantial “borrowings” in Afrikaans novelist Willem Anker’s 2014 novel, Buys.

    Domesticating a European classic

    Fully sanctioned by Beckett’s estate and beautifully translated (from the French and English) by now-retired professor of French at the University of the Free State Naòmi Morgan, Ons Wag vir Godot arrives at a different moment altogether.

    From left: Peter Taljaard (Pozzo), Charl Henning, Chris Vorster and Gerben Kamper (Lucky). Leopold Frechow/UFS

    The translation retains the gallows humour of the original while adding local flavour. For instance, where Vladimir originally names the Eiffel Tower as a picturesque site to commit suicide, his Afrikaans counterpart nominates Van Stadensbrug, a bridge over a ravine in the Eastern Cape. The slave-like Lucky once entertained his master with European dances: “the farandole, the fling, the brawl, the jig, the fandango”. These now become a South African mix: “volkspele, die riel, die pantsula, selfs die horrelpyp” (folk games, riel dance, pantsula dance, a hiding).

    In translation-speak, Ons Wag vir Godot is therefore fully “domesticated”: the play’s universality comes through even though – and perhaps even more so because – it’s anchored in a particular place and time.

    This struck me when I attended the play’s limited-run production, expertly directed by Dion van Niekerk, at the 2024 Vrystaat Kunstefees (Free State arts festival). Its set managed to thread together subtle South African roadside details: a toppled rubbish bin, pylons on the horizon, a (broken) picnic bench.

    Chris Vorster as Vladimir and Sibabalwe Jokani as Seun/Boy. Leopold Frechow/UFS

    In the text itself, we encounter familiar place names, sayings and cultural clues. Consider how Beckett’s abstract phrase “the essential doesn’t change” is grounded in African mythology: “Jakkals verander van hare, maar nie van streke nie” (The leopard doesn’t change its spots). Then there’s the charming touch of the dog in Vladimir’s song snatching “’n stukkie wors” (a piece of sausage particular to South Africa) rather than a measly “bone”.

    Godot and the Afrikaans canon

    Ons Wag vir Godot achieves its most profound tribute to Beckett and Afrikaans through its intertextual richness. Both the French and English originals are highly allusive texts: they invoke other works of literature to increase their range of meaning and subtlety. Morgan is attuned to this subtlety and to the parallels to be found in Afrikaans literature. There are references to works by canonical Afrikaans writers like Eugène Marais, Totius and C.J. Langenhoven, each adding its own resonance.

    Read more: Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here’s a review

    Yet the dilemma any translator faces is not so much in bringing in the new, but in striking a balance with the old. Consider the judicious swapping of a line from Percy Bysshe Shelley for a line from C. Louis Leipoldt.

    In the English version, Estragon looks up forlornly at the moon and half-quotes the English Romantic poet: “Pale for weariness … Of climbing heaven and staring on the likes of us.” In the Afrikaans, he gives us a fragment from the wistful poem, Die Moormansgat: “ek kyk na die lig van die volle silwermaan” (I behold the light of the full silver moon). At face value, this lacks the detached, woeful quality of Shelley’s line. But read in the context of Leipoldt’s poem, it is every bit as poignant.

    The virtue of waiting

    “Vladimir would agree,” Morgan concludes in the preface to her translation, “that a century is a decent amount of time to hone a language for the translation of one of the best-known dramas in world literature”.

    Read more: Animal Farm has been translated into Shona – why a group of Zimbabwean writers undertook the task

    And indeed, the riches of the Afrikaans language are on display in this sensitive, witty and allusive rendering of Beckett’s European classic. But it’s also true that a certain amount of political baggage had to be shaken off before such a feat could be realised – not just in the right words, but in the right spirit. Of course, if Beckett’s play teaches us anything, it’s the virtue of waiting.

    – Waiting for Godot has been translated into Afrikaans: what took so long
    – https://theconversation.com/waiting-for-godot-has-been-translated-into-afrikaans-what-took-so-long-257345

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Research Associate, University of Oxford

    In southern Africa townships were built as segregated urban zones for black people. They were created under colonial and white minority rule policies that controlled movement, confined opportunity, and kept people apart.

    I grew up in a different historic black township in Zimbabwe, but Mbare was the first of its kind. It holds a unique place in the nation’s imagination.

    Mbare was originally named Harare. But in 1982 that name was reassigned to the capital city that houses it. In its storied past, it was once the heartbeat of black urban life. At its centre is Rufaro Stadium, where Bob Marley and the Wailers famously performed at Zimbabwe’s independence celebrations.

    The old beer hall that today houses artists. Tatenda Kanengoni

    The township was a hub of cultural energy, sports, and political activism, and the community beer hall served as a vital gathering point. Today, many of these beer halls stand derelict.

    These once-thriving communal spaces reflect a broader neglect of civic infrastructure in post-independence Zimbabwe. Yet out of these ruins, new life is taking shape.

    One of the most influential figures in Zimbabwe’s artist-run spaces movement, Moffat Takadiwa, has transformed one of these former beer halls into the Mbare Art Space. The dynamic arts hub reclaims the building’s original spirit of gathering, creativity and public engagement.

    Artists have transformed the beer hall. Tatenda Kanengoni

    Operating under a long lease from the Harare City Council, this nonprofit initiative is part of a wider urban renewal and adaptive reuse project aimed at reimagining the city’s cultural infrastructure.

    My ongoing work in archival research includes mapping and visiting historical and cultural spaces like this. Here Takadiwa saw the potential for not just studios and an exhibition venue, but also for dialogue and community regeneration.

    Transforming spaces

    Beer halls were established by British colonial authorities in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) as part of a strategy of social control over the African urban population. They were designed to regulate leisure, restrict political organising and generate revenue through the sale of alcohol. By centralising drinking in state-run facilities, colonial administrators aimed to monitor and contain African social life while profiting from it.

    Situated in a repurposed colonial-era beer garden, Mbare Art Space turns a former site of segregation into a vibrant centre of artistic and communal revival. It redefines a legacy of constraint and control as one of creative freedom and empowerment. The place is now an artists’ haven with studios, office space, an exhibition hall and a digital hub.

    Moffat Takadiwa, the artist behind the project. Tatenda Kanengoni

    Takadiwa’s vision is informed by global precedents, notably inspired by US artist Theaster Gates, whose work includes the transformation of a derelict bank on Chicago’s South Side. It became the Stony Island Arts Bank – a hybrid space for art, archives and community engagement.

    Takadiwa opened Mbare Art Space in 2019 with a vision to support emerging artists through mentorship and access to resources. True to his artistic philosophy – resurrecting abandoned, often overlooked materials suffering the effects of urban decay – he revitalised a neglected site. Most of the artists working from this space follow his lead, upcycling and recycling found materials into compelling visual forms that speak to both history and possibility.

    Kimberly Tatenda Gakanje at work in the space. Tatenda Kanengoni

    When I arrive, Takadiwa is on his way out, but offers me a quick tour of his studio, where works in progress for his upcoming participation in the São Paulo Biennale are taking shape.

    Known for his lush, densely layered sculptures and tapestry-like works made from found objects – computer keyboards, bottle tops, toothbrushes, and toothpaste tubes – Takadiwa has garnered international acclaim. His works are collected by US rapper Jay-Z and major institutions like the Centre National d’Art Plastique in Paris, the European Parliament’s art collection in Brussels, and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare.

    Collaboration

    What Takadiwa is building is not just an arts centre – it’s a new model space rooted in history and responsive to the present. The site itself becomes an ongoing installation, activated by the artists, curators and community members who inhabit it.

    Tafadzwa B Chataika works with recycled materials. Tatenda Kanengoni

    Tafadzwa Chimbumu, the operations manager, takes over the tour, guiding me through the rest of the precinct. The site retains the bones of its beer hall architecture, but it bursts with new life. Colourful murals adorn the walls. Tents draped over smaller buildings animate the exposed brickwork.

    Plans are underway to establish a library here, a resource where researchers and artists can engage with Zimbabwe’s under-documented art history. Much of this history is scattered across archives and unpublished dissertations, rather than in widely available books. The aim is to bring these materials together and make them more accessible to the public.

    Mbare Art Space is also becoming an exciting hub for collaboration and education. Community workshops, for example, are led by resident artists. Local schools take part in art education initiatives. Through community outreach and educational programming, the centre is extending its impact beyond its immediate geography.

    Nkosiyabo Frank Nyoni making art at the space. Tatenda Kanengoni

    As it looks to the future, Mbare Art Space is focused on expanding its artist-in-residence programme, inviting both local and international artists to immerse themselves in the context of Mbare and Zimbabwe.

    Ultimately, what the space offers is something intangible – a feeling, a memory, a vision of what is possible when history and imagination meet in a shared place.

    – Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre
    – https://theconversation.com/mbare-art-space-a-colonial-beer-hall-in-zimbabwe-has-become-a-vibrant-arts-centre-256528

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Choosing to be an orphan: for some Kenyan families it’s a strategy for survival

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Andreana Prichard, Associate Professor of Honors and African History, University of Oklahoma

    In the world of international child development and orphan care, it’s not uncommon for children with families to declare themselves orphans. In fact, this practice can be traced back to precolonial times in Kenya.

    Andreana Prichard has done research on the practice in Kenya. We asked her to share her insights into it.

    Why do some people in Kenya assume the identity of ‘orphan’?

    We often think of “orphans” as children who have lost both parents and who lack kin networks. One might ask why someone would “opt in” to orphan status when they do not fall within the classical definition of the term.

    In my paper I look at the issue of orphanhood over the last 160 years. Case studies from Kenya I examine illustrate that the practice I define as “opting in” to orphanhood has precolonial roots. I define “opting in” as choosing to take on the label of being an orphan. This can be done by parents, relatives or even, in some instances, the child. This is because the label “orphan” has come to confer unique opportunities.

    The practice became increasingly popular in the mid-1990s, when parents in eastern and southern Africa who had contracted HIV began to die in large numbers. Activists feared many children would be left without caregivers.

    In response, the number of orphanages proliferated as humanitarian actors, churches and states inundated east Africa with orphan-focused NGOs.

    In 2020, officials in Kenya estimated that there were at least 910 residential institutions for children in the country (of which 581 were registered), housing between 26,198 and 85,733 Kenyan children.

    The predicted “orphan crisis” never materialised, partly because families and communities stepped in to care for newly parentless children. But the idea of an “orphan crisis” remained, and so did the funding and infrastructure.

    This phenomenon occurred across the continent, not just in Kenya. However, its effects were felt particularly acutely in eastern and southern Africa where HIV/Aids prevalence rates were higher and where there was more western tourism.

    Today, many African families see orphan-focused NGOs as a path to access education and improve their lives. My research shows that children themselves sometimes affiliate with an institution that provides shelter, food and schooling. Children facing abuse from caregivers may also prefer the relative anonymity and safety of an institution.

    In some cases, receiving orphan services actually raises the status of the “orphan” child above that of other children. They have access to more material resources than they might have had in their villages or at home. They might have more leisure time and less work. They may have access to better bedding, shoes and clothing. They are also likely able to attend school more consistently and have a real opportunity to attend university.

    Does ‘opting in’ have a long history?

    Yes, it does.

    In the precolonial period, most parentless or vulnerable children were cared for through lasting community support systems. Orphanhood, as it exists today as a child lacking support, protection, or care from kin, was largely avoided.

    However, the late 19th to mid-20th centuries brought new actors to the east African region. The practice of “opting in” became a strategic, temporary option used by families to access services from western humanitarians.

    The earliest example of this shift I found in my research is from the 1890s. Fearing their children would be caught in the Indian Ocean slave trade, African parents sometimes chose to send their children to British missions until the region was safe. They knew the missionaries opposed the slave trade and knew they offered food and medical care.

    African parents thought they were making temporary arrangements to keep their children safe. Missionaries, however, understood parents to have abandoned their children. When parents returned to repay the debt – with agricultural produce or trade goods – and to reclaim their children, missionaries refused them.

    In another example from Kenya in the 1950s, the British colonial government opened “reform schools” for young men. The Wamumu Approved School was renowned for the relative quality of education it provided. But the state admitted only the “most vulnerable” for a free education. Feeling they had no way to access Wamumu, students claimed to be orphans.

    What have been the negative effects of Kenya’s orphan system?

    There are several problems with creating a situation in which people present themselves as vulnerable just to gain safety or improve their social and economic standing.

    First, research has shown that building orphanages in poor communities incentivises parents to abandon their children if they’re not also given the help to remain together.

    Second, research shows that children are often put at risk in these institutions. Institutionalisation exposes children to risks such as sexual abuse, gender-based violence and neglect.

    Third, orphanages have become so lucrative that African orphanage owners will go to great lengths to fit African children into the categories westerners wish to fund. The phenomenon of “paper orphans” is a prime example. “Paper orphans” are children who are recruited from their homes by proprietors (or middlemen/brokers) of orphanages and residential-care facilities. Fraudulent documentation is created for them – often including false death certificates of parents and new identity registration documents – rendering them orphans on paper, and vulnerable in practice.

    What should be done?

    Governments in Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean are trying to phase out orphanages, as are some African countries.

    Based on my research I believe that working with families to support vulnerable children in their homes of origin or with extended families is a better option. This can be done through assistance programmes for vulnerable families as well as child welfare programmes. These allow families to remain intact when experiencing hardship.

    Kenya is taking steps to do this by replacing orphanages and other forms of residential children’s homes with family-based, foster and community-based care and other forms of assistance. Family strengthening approaches include positive parenting instruction, life skills training, and income-generating activities, as well as supportive supervision.

    In addition to this, missionary and voluntourism trips to orphanages and residential care facilities should be banned or limited.

    – Choosing to be an orphan: for some Kenyan families it’s a strategy for survival
    – https://theconversation.com/choosing-to-be-an-orphan-for-some-kenyan-families-its-a-strategy-for-survival-247371

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Vladimir Stroyev joined the presidium of the International Movement for Financial Security

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On May 27, 2025, within the framework of the 42nd Plenary Week of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), the 22nd meeting of the Council of the International Network Institute in the field of AML/CFT and the conference of the International Movement for Financial Security were held with the participation of the management, teachers and students of the State University of Management, headed by Vice-Rector Dmitry Bryukhanov.

    In 2025, GUU officially joined the International Movement for Financial Security, created on the initiative of a student from Brazil, Augusto Lemmertz, during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the finalists of the III International Financial Security Olympiad in 2023. And on May 27, as part of the next conference of the International Movement for Financial Security, GUU Rector Vladimir Stroyev joined the Presidium of the movement. The Chairman of the Presidium of the movement is Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko, and the Deputy Chairman is Director of Rosfinmonitoring Yuri Chikhanchin.

    Let us recall that the State University of Management has been a member of the ISI in the field of AML/CFT since 2014, and has been actively participating in the Olympiad movement since the selection events of the 1st International Financial Security Olympiad in 2021. Since 2023, it has been actively working in the field of promoting the financial security Olympiad movement in historical territories, in particular, in 2023 it organized the selection of participants in the Olympiad finals among students and schoolchildren from the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, in the same year it organized a summer school for finalists from historical territories and annually participates in the training of teachers of historical territories to conduct a thematic lesson on financial security.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: MLCommons Announces Expansion of Industry-Leading AILuminate Benchmark

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MLCommons® today announced that it is expanding its first-of-its-kind AILuminate benchmark to measure AI reliability across new models, languages, and tools. As part of this expansion, MLCommons is partnering with NASSCOM, India’s premier technology trade association, to bring AILuminate’s globally recognized AI reliability benchmarks to South Asia. MLCommons is also unveiling new proof of concept testing for AILuminate’s Chinese-language capabilities and new AILuminate reliability grades for an expanded suite of large language models (LLMs).

    ”We’re looking forward to working with NASSCOM to develop India-specific, Hindi-language benchmarks and ensure companies in India and around the world can better measure the reliability and risk of their AI products,” said Peter Mattson, President of MLCommons. “This partnership, along with new AILuminate grades and proof of concept for Chinese language capabilities, represents a major step towards the development of globally inclusive industry standards for AI reliability.”

    “The rapid development of AI is reshaping India’s technology sector and, in order to harness risk and foster innovation, rigorous global standards can help align the growth of the industry with emerging best practices,” said Ankit Bose, Head of NASSCOM AI. “We plan to work alongside MLCommons to develop these standards and ensure that the growth and societal integration of AI technology continues responsibly.”

    The NASSCOM collaboration builds on MLCommons’ intentionally global approach to AI benchmarking. Modeled after MLCommons’ ongoing partnership with Singapore’s AI Verify Foundation, the NASSCOM partnership will help to meet South Asia’s urgent need for standardized AI benchmarks that are collaboratively designed and trusted by the region’s industry experts, policymakers, civil society members, and academic researchers. MLCommons’ partnership with the AI Verify Foundation – in close collaboration with the National University of Singapore – has already resulted in significant progress towards globally-inclusive AI benchmarking across East Asia, including just-released proof of concept scores for Chinese-language LLMs.

    AILuminate is also unveiling new reliability grades for an updated and expanded suite of LLMs, to help companies around the world better measure product risk. Like previous AILuminate testing, these grades are based on LLM responses to 24,000 test prompts across 12 hazard categories – including including violent and non-violent crimes, child sexual exploitation, hate, and suicide/self-harm. None of the LLMs evaluated were given any advance knowledge of the evaluation prompts (a common problem in non-rigorous benchmarking), nor access to the evaluator model used to assess responses. This independence provides a methodological rigor uncommon in standard academic research or private benchmarking.

    “Companies are rapidly incorporating chatbots into their products, and these updated grades will help them better understand and compare risk across new and constantly-updated models,” said Rebecca Weiss, Executive Director of MLCommons.”We’re grateful to our partners on the Risk and Reliability Working Group – including some of the foremost AI researchers, developers, and technical experts – for ensuring a rigorous, empirically-sound analysis that can be trusted by industry and academia like.”

    Having successfully expanded the AILuminate benchmark to multiple languages, the AI Risk & Reliability Working Group is beginning the process of evaluating reliability across increasingly sophisticated AI tools, including mutli-modal LLMs and agentic AI. We hope to announce proof-of-concept benchmarks in these spaces later this year.

    About MLCommons
    MLCommons is the world leader in building benchmarks for AI. It is an open engineering consortium with a mission to make AI better for everyone through benchmarks and data. The foundation for MLCommons began with the MLPerf® benchmarks in 2018, which rapidly scaled as a set of industry metrics to measure machine learning performance and promote transparency of machine learning techniques. In collaboration with its 125+ members, global technology providers, academics, and researchers, MLCommons is focused on collaborative engineering work that builds tools for the entire AI industry through benchmarks and metrics, public datasets, and measurements for AI risk and reliability.

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