NewzIntel.com

Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rescheduled: Community Conversations with Congressman Frank Mrvan

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank J. Mrvan (IN)

    Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Frank J. Mrvan announced the rescheduled Community Conversations that will be held throughout Indiana’s First Congressional District on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

    Congressman Mrvan stated, “I invite residents to attend one of my rescheduled Community Conversations that I will be holding on May 29, 2025.  I believe these opportunities allow me to hear directly from constituents and better represent our collective interests in our nation’s capital.  Additionally, I will provide a brief update on the 119th Session of Congress and my work on the House Appropriations Committee.”

    Thursday – May 29, 2025

    • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Michigan City – City Hall Council Chambers, 100 East Michigan Boulevard, Michigan City, IN 46360
    • 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Memorial Opera House, 104 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, IN 46383
    • 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Indiana University Northwest, Bergland Auditorium in the Savannah Center, 65 West 33rd Avenue, Gary, IN 46408

    Please note that all times listed are Central Time.  

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Pillen Appoints Long as District Court Judge in the 7th Judicial District

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    . Pillen Appoints Long as District Court Judge in the 7th Judicial District

     

    LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen announced his appointment of Michael L. Long of Norfolk as district court judge in the 7th Judicial District. The district consists of Antelope, Cuming, Knox. Madison, Pierce, Stanton and Wayne counties.

     

    Long has been a county court judge in the 7th Judicial District since 2013. Prior to that, he served as county attorney in Antelope County and was a deputy county attorney in both Madison and Scotts Bluff counties. Long was previously a criminal justice instructor at Northeast Community College and provides regular training to law enforcement officers with the city of Norfolk and Madison County on a variety of legal topics. 

     

    Long attended Kearney State College and earned his juris doctor at Creighton University School of Law.

     

    This vacancy is due to the retirement of Judge Mark A. Johnson.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Changes in the Financial Markets and Resolution and Financial Stability Departments

    Source: Czech National Bank

    At its meeting on 15 May 2025, the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank (CNB) approved changes in the bank’s organisational structure with effect from 1 June 2025.

    The Resolution Division will be transferred from the Financial Markets and Resolution Department to the Financial Stability Department. This change is aimed at leveraging synergies in fulfilling one of the CNB’s primary objectives, namely maintaining the long-term stability of the financial system. In connection with this change, the departments concerned will be renamed the Financial Markets Department and the Financial Stability and Resolution Department on 1 June.

    At the same time, the Bank Board decided to appoint Petr Frydrych new Executive Director of the Financial Markets Department with effect from 1 June. Ondřej Strádal will become the Department’s Deputy Executive Director. He will remain in charge of the Reserves Management Division. Daniel Krejčí will head up the Interventions Division.

    Petr Frydrych graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague. He joined the CNB’s Reserves Management Division in 1995, where he held the post of portfolio manager. He was appointed Director of the Reserves Management Division in 2001 and Director of the Interventions Division in 2005, and now serves as Deputy Executive Director of the Financial Markets and Resolution Department. He has long focused on monetary policy implementation in his work.

    Ondřej Strádal graduated from the Institute of Economic Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University and qualified as a Chartered Financial Analyst in 2003. He began his career at the CNB as a money market broker and then worked as a portfolio manager responsible for international reserves management. After that, he worked at the London branch of Goldman Sachs. Between 2016 and 2019, at the decision of the Bank Board, he held the post of Advisor to the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. In 2008–2016 and since 2019, he has served as Director of the CNB’s Reserves Management Division, where he manages a team of portfolio managers.

    Daniel Krejčí graduated from the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at the Prague University of Economics and Business and from the Institute of Economic Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University. In 1995–2007, he worked at ČSOB in various positions, ultimately as director of interest rate and commodity derivatives trading for clients. He joined the CNB in 2007, where he held the post of Deputy Executive Director of the Risk Management and Transactions Support Department responsible for the Risk Management Division until 2019. Since 2019, he has worked as a chief dealer and Deputy Director of the Reserves Management Division at the CNB.

    Jakub Holas
    Director, Communications Division

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: 7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Gibson Ncube, Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University

    Queer African creatives have been making their mark around the world through a range of forms – books, films, fashion, art, music. Their work wins awards, sets trends and is studied by scholars. Most research on African queerness, however, comes from outside the continent.

    University of Johannesburg

    So, we put together a special journal issue to celebrate some of these works that have appeared over the past decade or so. And also to create a space for African and Africa-based scholars to reflect on what’s happening on the continent.

    The contributors don’t only examine what these creative works reveal. They also consider how these artists are experimenting with style, voice, genre and imagery to express queer lived experiences.

    Here we highlight seven works of art discussed in papers in the special issue – from stories of childhood sexual experiences to bold fashion shows, musical films to maverick lesbian novels. They show the complex ways queer people shape their identities and express desire in very different African settings.

    1. Tell Me Your Politik by Nakhane

    Nakhane is a South African singer, writer, and actor whose work examines the meeting place of queerness and blackness. The song Tell Me Your Politik (from the 2023 album Bastard Jargon), presents Black men in a hypermasculine, military-style training environment. But two of them are quietly and tenderly beginning to express desire for each other. This moment of intimacy is interrupted by aggressive military drills led by a white commanding officer. The song’s lyrics insist on the need for ideological alignment (“tell me your politik”) before intimacy. This raises questions about love, politics, and consent.

    In his article, Gibson Ncube argues that the music video for the song uses touch to explore queerness as a form of resistance. Gentle and intimate gestures between Black men challenge dominant ideas of Black masculinity. The contrast between caring and violent touch reveals how queerness disrupts systems of domination. Touch becomes political, offering new ways of being and imagining queer futures.

    2. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

    Under the Udala Trees is a 2015 novel by Nigerian writer Chinelo Okparanta. It follows Ijeoma, a Nigerian girl discovering her same-sex attraction during the time of the Biafran War.

    Chinelo Okparanta. FrimousseRoche/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Forced into Bible lessons by her mother to “cure” her queerness, Ijeoma grapples with shame, rejection, and a coerced heterosexual marriage. The novel critiques religious and political oppression. It imagines resilience and queer love in a hostile environment.

    In his article, Wisani Mushwana shows that Under the Udala Trees exposes how Nigerian religious and political leaders weaponise biblical shame to enforce a heteronormative society, inflicting religious trauma in the process.

    Ijeoma’s bold questioning of the Bible challenges traditional Christian teachings and the use of scripture to shame or judge others. The novel highlights the lack of spaces where queer identity can be affirmed. At the same time, it uses the power of storytelling to reclaim agency and reimagine queer liberation.

    3. The Quiet Violence of Dreams by K. Sello Duiker

    The Quiet Violence of Dreams by the late South African novelist K. Sello Duiker was published in 2001. Tshepo is a queer Black man in post-apartheid South Africa. He navigates trauma, identity, and survival. After being raped and robbed, Tshepo finds temporary refuge in a Cape Town male brothel where he explores same-sex intimacy and community.

    NB Publishers

    Ntokozo Wandile Mbokazi and Lucy Valerie Graham think about the novel alongside the controversial South African film Inxeba/The Wound. They argue that the book and film challenge traditional ideas of Africanness. Tshepo’s story is a postcolonial coming-of-age tale which is shaped by disillusionment as the protagonist tries to fit into society.

    Racial and class tensions weaken the solidarity of queer people. This shows the limits of freedom in post-apartheid South Africa and how enforcing traditional masculinity often involves violence.

    4. Lagos Space Programme by Adeju Thompson

    Lagos Space Programme is a Nigerian fashion label created by designer Adeju Thompson. The brand combines west African fabrics and non-binary gender expression to challenge traditional ideas of masculinity. Through fashion, it connects Yoruba beliefs, queer politics, and bold design to celebrate the fluidity of gender.

    Khaya Mchunu and Isaiah Negedu show how the label uses clothing to question to imagine freer, more inclusive futures. Rather than looking for acceptance by fitting in, Lagos Space Programme insists on visibility and creative self-expression. It reclaims African traditions while disrupting fixed social norms.

    5. Nine Pieces of Desire by Idza Luhumyo

    The past decade has seen the publication of several important anthologies of queer African short stories.

    Two stories in particular are given attention in the special issue. Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo’s 2017 story Nine Pieces of Desire is about 10-year-old Mariam, who lives in a Kenyan Muslim community. It explores her silent rebellion against patriarchal and religious norms after a fleeting same-sex encounter with her friend Grace.

    Read more: Being queer in Africa: the state of LGBTIQ+ rights across the continent

    6. Plums by Kharys Laue

    South African writer and editor Kharys Laue’s 2018 short story Plums recounts Chris’s childhood memory of a tender moment with her friend Gloria on a South African farm. This is contrasted with her adult struggles in a heteronormative and racist society.

    Leila Hall argues that these two stories disrupt the harmful binary of “innocent children/perverse homosexuals” by portraying childhood same-sex desire as natural and consensual, outside of adult coercion. They push back against the false idea that being queer means being dangerous. The young narrators help us see how systems of oppression work in everyday life.

    7. Kanarie by Christiaan Olwagen

    Kanarie is a 2018 South African film by Christiaan Olwagen. It follows Johan Niemand, a young gay man conscripted into the apartheid-era army in the 1980s. Under the racist system, white men were conscripted to help maintain the government’s power. Selected for a military choir, “the Canaries”, Johan deals with his sexual identity within a hypermasculine space. The film blends musical elements and melodrama to explore his inner conflict, his love for pop culture, and a tentative romance with another recruit. All in the face of conservative Christian nationalism.

    Andy Carolin argues Kanarie is more than a coming out story. It uses melodrama to imagine a queer way of being. By merging fantasy with realism, it shatters ideas of good versus evil or right versus wrong.

    – 7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion
    – https://theconversation.com/7-queer-african-works-of-art-new-directions-in-books-films-and-fashion-256252

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Virtual churches are popular in Ghana. But what about online safety?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey, Senior Lecturer, Durban University of Technology/Research Associate, School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa, Rhodes University

    Many churches have been holding worship services online via live-streaming platforms in recent times. This is unsurprising since many congregants use digital technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic also pushed churches to swiftly embrace digital platforms. This allowed them to continue with religious activities when physical and mobility restrictions were in place.

    Some churches invest heavily in audio-visual equipment, lighting systems and other gadgets to provide the right conditions for media production and to enhance the worship experience for congregants, online and in person.

    Digital technologies and platforms have become core components of the outreach and evangelistic activities of churches. Some contemporary pastors have a strong online presence with a huge following, mostly in the millions. They actively engage their followers and share different forms of messages with them.

    As the amount of online content generated by churches grows, questions of safety, security and privacy have come to the fore. It is important to look at how churches address these concerns as they rapidly deploy digital platforms to reach and maintain virtual church membership.

    I am a media and communication studies academic and researcher. In a recent paper I worked with my student to examined the concerns of congregants of a church in Ghana over the security dangers that digital church engagement poses.

    Christianity is the religion with the largest following in Ghana. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches turned to online services and have continued with them.

    The research revealed that there were no established policies guiding the church’s virtual engagements. The media team relied primarily on their subjective judgement to address any potential ethical dilemmas.

    Beside enhanced privacy measures and access control, we recommend ethical frameworks and guidelines to govern the management of congregants’ personal information in both physical and virtual environments. This must include the inputs of congregants and experts.

    The research also found that word of mouth was still the primary means by which congregants came to learn about the church. This suggests churches cannot abandon the old ways of reaching out to people.

    Digital technology and the church

    Radio, TV and social media are all used to extend invitations to the public, promote and advertise churches, and generally facilitate church activities. The importance of having an online presence has compelled a significant number of churches to have dedicated media teams. They create and distribute content meant for digital platforms. The content includes photos and audiovisual testimonies of church members.

    To ensure that members of online churches have a positive experience during live streaming, most media departments also invest creativity into their videography. On live streams, followers (virtual congregants) react to songs being sung and respond to what the preacher says with comments and the use of emojis and GIFs. This is synonymous with how they might react in the physical church environment.

    But during the streaming of worship services, information about church members is not just shared in the physical church environment but also with a broader online audience. By the nature of live-streaming, there is no control over who has access to the content, how widely it is distributed, and for what and how the content is used by third parties.

    The study and some of its key findings

    Data collection for our study involved 170 survey respondents (congregants) and eight interview participants (videographers, video editors and social media managers from the church media department).

    We asked the congregants how they had first learned about the church; factors influencing their participation in virtual church services; and what safety and security concerns they had around their virtual church engagements.

    The interview participants were asked about the ethical considerations directing their work.

    Our study found that congregants had a range of concerns. Based on the sense of safety, confidence and trust they have in the church, congregants participating in physical church services may divulge personal information. These include prayer requests, personal hardships, or testimonials about their accomplishments. They sometimes do this with the understanding that the information will remain inside the church’s walls.

    Chief among the concerns were:

    • the risk of identity theft

    • the potential misuse of personal data for targeted advertising

    • potential privacy invasion because of their interactions with the church’s digital platforms.

    Some members of the media team admitted that congregants might have privacy and security concerns. However, in the absence of formal guidelines, any attempt to ensure the privacy and security of congregants might be an ad hoc measure. This was demonstrated in the study’s finding that the media team’s privacy and security adherence was largely based on their judgement and sometimes on prodding from congregants.

    What can be done

    Based on concerns raised by congregants, we argue that churches must ensure the privacy of those participating in services by instituting confidentiality and anonymity measures, particularly when sharing their personal or sensitive information.

    In addition, participants in our research held the view that some sensitisation could be useful to cater to those concerns. This could take the form of regular sensitisation of congregants on how they can enhance their online safety and security.

    We believe that because churches sometimes rely on photos, videos and testimonies of members to build their social media profiles, a rule-based system must be put in place. This could involve delayed broadcasting techniques to prevent the airing of sensitive information.

    We suggest that steps be taken to protect sensitive information and content about members that is shared online. An example of how this can be done is being set by a non-denominational prayer movement that has taken over Ghana’s online sphere. To secure the privacy of members who share testimonies, their identities are kept anonymous and certain details, such as names and places, are also protected.

    Finally, the right technology must be put in place to allow for delayed broadcasts. This means live-streamed content can be reviewed and, where necessary, edited so that sensitive content can be removed before the broadcast reaches a wide online audience.

    – Virtual churches are popular in Ghana. But what about online safety?
    – https://theconversation.com/virtual-churches-are-popular-in-ghana-but-what-about-online-safety-255627

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How a toxic seaweed choking Caribbean beaches could become a valuable resource

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emily Wilkinson, Principal Research Fellow, ODI Global

    Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock

    Each year, between March and October, large amounts of brown seaweed called sargassum wash up on the shores of Caribbean islands – choking beaches, damaging marine life and threatening tourism and public health. But a number of local entrepreneurs are hoping the seaweed could create an economic opportunity.

    From the coast of west Africa to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, climate change is warming the temperature of the ocean. Seas are also becoming more acidic as water absorbs carbon dioxide. This all results in more intense growth of sargassum in the tropical Atlantic.

    Small Caribbean nations are among the hardest hit. With 20 million tonnes of this seaweed washing up on the beaches in 2024, sargassum is fuelling an economic and public health crisis.

    The piles of noxious seaweed on the Caribbean islands’ white sandy beaches are putting off visitors to these islands and probably dampening tourism revenues.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    The fishing sector is also suffering, with blooms of seaweed getting caught up in fishing nets, often ripping them due to the weight of the seaweed. This makes it hard for fishers to catch fish and make a living.

    The sheer volume of sargassum left to decompose on land produces toxic fumes that have forced people on islands like Guadeloupe to leave their homes. These toxic fumes have been linked to serious health issues including respiratory infections, sleep apnoea and even preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy).

    The sargassum problem is just one of many slow-onset events that are being exacerbated by climate change. But gradual changes get much less attention or resources to address the consequences than, say, alarming wildfires or flash floods.

    Slow-onset events are also much harder to quantify than climate-change-induced extreme weather, such as worsening hurricanes or floods. Our team at ODI Global, a thinktank, recently published a study that estimated the cost of these at US$2,000 (£1,500) per person. Calculating the tourism lost each year due to seaweed inundation is trickier.



    Read more:
    Extreme weather has already cost vulnerable island nations US$141 billion – or about US$2,000 per person

    Despite these challenges, through small-scale, locally developed solutions, as well as government policies that support small businesses including helping them access climate finance, entrepreneurs can find sustainable solutions to help their populations thrive in an era of climate change.

    Legena Henry, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, uses sargassum to produce a biofuel that can power cars. Johanan Dujon, the founder and chief executive of St. Lucia-based Algas Organics sells plant tonics made from sargassum and is trialling methods to convert sargassum into paper.

    Meanwhile, other innovations are helping to minimise the impacts of sargassum in the region.

    Andrés León, founder of SOS Carbon, a spin-off organisation from the mechanical engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has designed a boat-based harvester to collect sargassum at sea to stop it from beaching and causing damage onshore.

    Some islands, such as Jamaica, are using early warning systems, typically used to predict hurricanes, to predict the ocean currents that might bring a bumper arrival of the seaweed to their shores. This could give fishers up to 30 days notice of just how bad the inundation will be.

    Barriers to scale up

    But while small businesses are emerging, turning them into larger enterprises across the region remains difficult. As usual, small island nations struggle to get funding because investors think the projects are too small and won’t make enough money.

    As Legena Henry recently told us on the Small Island Big Picture podcast, spending a few million dollars (as opposed to a few hundred million dollars) can feel administratively cumbersome for funders as they often have limited administrative capacity and large sums of money to manage.

    Another issue is ensuring the benefits from any sargassum solutions flow into the affected Caribbean islands to support local growth and economic development.

    Several opportunities exist for small island nations to generate some income from sargassum. They could, for example, sell licences to permit companies to harvest sargassum within their exclusive economic zones, which can stretch around many islands for hundreds of nautical miles.

    They can also sell licences to businesses trialling or operating new sargassum technologies within their exclusive economic zones — for example, SOS Carbon has a patent pending for technology designed to sink sargassum to the seabed to store carbon.

    Will sargassum continue to be a nuisance, or could it be an important renewable natural resource? It’s not yet clear.

    Ideally, as with other renewable natural resources in developing countries, small island nations that own the sargassum need to find ways to extract a fair share of the value from that ownership, as well as selling to external companies that come in, remove it and profit from it.

    With tax incentives and low-cost finance for domestic innovators, small islands can manage and sell sargassum and then use the proceeds to develop climate resilience measures.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Emma Tompkins received funding for work on sargassum from the Economic and Social Research Council GCRF (Grant number: ES/T002964/1)

    Emily 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. How a toxic seaweed choking Caribbean beaches could become a valuable resource – https://theconversation.com/how-a-toxic-seaweed-choking-caribbean-beaches-could-become-a-valuable-resource-253874

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Not every US president gets a free private jet, but the Gulf states have boosted US economic dominance for decades

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Hanieh, Professor of Political Economy and Global Development, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

    After signing a US$142 billion (£107 billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump said the US bond with that country was “more powerful than ever”. He was also reportedly quite pleased with the gift of a private jet from Qatar.

    But these arrangements are just the latest developments in a long history of the Gulf monarchies supporting the architecture of American global power. And while the six Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) have recently started redirecting their energy and trade ties eastward, especially towards China, they remain deeply embedded in the US-led financial order.

    As I explore in my recent book, Crude Capitalism, the Gulf states were instrumental in the rise of American global economic dominance.

    With oil emerging as the dominant fossil fuel through the second half of the 20th century, the Gulf’s nationalised petroleum industries generated vast amounts of income. Much of this was invested back into the US financial markets, particularly treasury bonds (essentially a long-term loan to the US government). This gave the US access to cheap foreign capital and reinforced the global dominance of the dollar.

    Put simply, the Gulf states were not peripheral to the US’s growing financial power – they were an essential contributor.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    This arrangement also involved a political bargain: US military protection for the Gulf monarchies in exchange for investment flows and energy stability. The result was a web of US military bases across the region and a deep alignment between authoritarian Gulf regimes and western strategic interests.

    But much has changed in the past two decades. China’s rise as a global manufacturing hub has driven a huge increase in oil consumption, shifting the direction of the Gulf’s oil exports away from the US and western Europe towards China and east Asia.

    These energy ties have been accompanied by much deeper trade interdependence and a huge increase in Chinese investments in the Gulf. In 2005, China was responsible for just 9% of the Gulf’s imports. Today, that figure is over 20%, while the US and EU’s share has fallen from 45% to 16%. China has also recently overtaken the US as the largest foreign investor in Saudi Arabia.

    From Beijing’s perspective, the Gulf is a critical energy lifeline. From the Gulf’s side, China’s continuing demand for oil, gas and petrochemicals is a vital part of its economic future.

    For the moment, that economic situation looks pretty robust. In 2024, Gulf countries held around US$800 billion in foreign reserves (foreign currencies and other assets), which is more than India or Switzerland. Their sovereign wealth funds (a state owned investment fund) manage another US$4.9 trillion of assets.

    Private wealth, including that held by ruling families, stood at US$2.8 trillion in 2022, and is expected to reach US$3.5 trillion by 2027.

    Much of this money is invested domestically, in sectors including infrastructure, real estate and renewable energy. But an astonishing amount flows directly into US markets.

    Oil be back

    According to US Treasury data, total Gulf holdings of American securities (bonds, stocks and corporate debt) rose from US$611 billion in 2017 to over US$1 trillion in 2024. Outside of Canada and financial hubs like London and Ireland, the Gulf is now the largest foreign investor in the US stock market.

    Another route through which Gulf wealth flows back into the US is via military procurement. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Gulf states accounted for 22% of all global arms imports between 2019 and 2023 – more than any other region in the world.

    Riyadh, money to build.
    Kashif Hameed/Shutterstock

    The US supplies the overwhelming majority of these weapons. In this way, Gulf spending supports the American military industry, and in return, these states become more closely tied to the US military’s umbrella.

    These deep military, financial and strategic ties help explain the real focus of Trump’s visit to the Gulf. Much of the discussion will have centred on massive investment pledges made by Gulf states to the US – including Saudi Arabia’s promise to invest up to US$600 billion, and the UAE’s commitment to a US$1.4 trillion investment over ten years.

    And such pledges reflect a broader agenda which involves expanding deals in artificial intelligence, critical minerals, energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.

    So Trump travelling to the region is not just about private jets and spectacle. It is about the continuing relevance of a structural relationship essential to American power, and a deepening financial integration between the Gulf and the US.

    For even as the Gulf reorients its energy flows eastward, it remains deeply tied to US finance, the US military industry and US assets. In an era of weakening US global power – and the possible spectre of a deeper clash with China – this is what will define Trump’s visit.

    Adam Hanieh 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. Not every US president gets a free private jet, but the Gulf states have boosted US economic dominance for decades – https://theconversation.com/not-every-us-president-gets-a-free-private-jet-but-the-gulf-states-have-boosted-us-economic-dominance-for-decades-256655

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Tove Jansson used her Moomins comic strip to humorously critique the financial and creative pressures of being an artist

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Elina Druker, Professor in Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University

    In 1954, the Finnish artist Tove Jansson was commissioned by the Evening News in London to draw comic strips about the Moomintrolls. The strip was syndicated by hundreds of newspapers, introducing the Moomins to an international audience and marking a dramatic turning point in her career.

    Between 1954 and 1959, Tove Jansson drew 21 comics, some in collaboration with her brother Lars Jansson, who continued to draw the comic strip until 1975.

    The success of the Moomin in the Evening News brought Tove Jansson economic security and helped her with the mortgage of her studio in Helsinki. However, over time, the assignment also became a burden on her creative work – a time-consuming and demanding obligation.

    Perhaps because of this personal conflict, the comics often explore themes such as the struggle of artistic creation, the role of the artist and the value of art. Jansson had previously created humorous and satirical commentaries on the art world in various artists’ magazines in Finland, but here she places the Moomin at the heart of the creative process.

    Unlike the novels and picture books, the Moomin comic strips were created for adults and can be described as satire. Jansson uses the compact format to comment on society, including the art world. The growing conflict in her own life, between the Moomintrolls and her artwork, is brought into focus in the comic strips.

    This is part of a series of articles celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Moomins. Want to celebrate their birthday with us? Join The Conversation and a group of experts on May 23 in Bradford for a screening of Moomins on the Riviera and a discussion of the refugee experience in Tove Jansson’s work. Click here for more information and tickets.

    The theme of the purpose of art and artistic creation is playfully introduced in one of the first comic strips, Moomin and the Brigands. Here Moomin and his friend Sniff embark on a quest for fortune. They engage in several schemes, including capturing rare creatures and selling them to the zoo, marketing magic rejuvenation potions and creating modern art.

    While visiting a Hemulen (a really uptight counterpart to the Moomintrolls who love rules), Moomin and Sniff accidentally break several precious items in her home. Among the broken objects is a large statue of Rebecca at the Well, which falls from its pedestal and shatters. Rebecca at the Well is a classic biblical motif, which is often portrays a model of feminine virtue, symbolising divine guidance and exemplifying ideals of hospitality and moral character.

    The friends awkwardly attempt to reassemble the statue by gluing it together. The result is a strangely angular and expressive piece of art, referencing fragmented cubist portraits. Cubism, which emerged around 1907 to 1908, aimed to represent reality in a radically new way by bringing together subjects and figures, resulting in objects that appear fragmented and abstracted.

    Sniff immediately sees the potential of the new Rebecca. “She’s more modern now,” he exclaims joyfully. The friends carry the statue to an enthusiastic art dealer who sells it for £500 in his gallery.

    The episode with the deconstructed Rebecca is, of course, a funny caricature of the trend-sensitive art market. But the shattered statue with its intricate shapes was also a commentary on the debates about the “incomprehensible” and “obscure” nature of modernist art in Nordic countries during the time.

    The destruction of the Rebecca can also be seen as an act of iconoclasm – the breaking of icons or monuments – or rather, a parody of it. While usually associated with vandalism, here, the iconoclastic act leads to the creation of something new. This expresses a desire for renewal and a liberation from restrictive conventions. It is, however, worth noting that Rebecca retains her symbol of virtue – the water jug – even after this pivotal encounter.

    Drawing on the work of French philosopher and anthropologist Bruno Latour, iconoclasm can be understood as both destructive and constructive – an ambiguity that also applies to Jansson’s interpretation of the motif.

    Later in the story, the money offered by the modernist Rebecca lures Moomin to the field of the arts. For a brief moment, he assumes the role of a painter and wholeheartedly embodies the romanticised ideal of the poor, misunderstood artist.

    Moomin dons a Rembrandtian black velvet beret, but despite this, appears lost and bewildered in his new role, muttering: “I only want to live in peace and plant potatoes and dream!”

    In a scene of self-parodying metafiction, he is blinded by his oversized beret and ends up tumbling down a cliff, abruptly ending his artistic career.

    Tove Jansson’s Moomin comic strips for the Evening News use satire to explore artistic creation, the role of the artist, and the art world.

    Through Moomintroll’s and Sniff’s pursuit of fame and fortune via the accidental modernist deconstruction of Rebecca, Jansson satirises romantic notions of the artist, the commercialisation of art and the professions surrounding artistic production. These themes are deeply connected to Jansson’s own experiences as an artist and author, constantly balancing between various professional and artistic demands, between children’s books, public obligations and painting.

    Elina Druker is employed as a professor and researcher at Stockholm University, Sweden.

    – ref. How Tove Jansson used her Moomins comic strip to humorously critique the financial and creative pressures of being an artist – https://theconversation.com/how-tove-jansson-used-her-moomins-comic-strip-to-humorously-critique-the-financial-and-creative-pressures-of-being-an-artist-256287

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nature’s Ozempic: What and how you eat can increase levels of GLP-1 without drugs

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mary J. Scourboutakos, Adjunct Lecturer in Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto

    GLP-1 is a good example of how it’s not just what you eat that matters, it’s also how you eat it. (Shutterstock)

    Despite the popularity of semaglutide drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss, surveys suggest that most people still prefer to lose weight without using medications. For those preferring a drug-free approach to weight loss, research shows that certain nutrients and dietary strategies can naturally mimic the effects of semaglutides.

    Increased intakes of fibre and monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil and avocadoes) — as well as the time of day when foods are eaten, the order that foods are eaten in, the speed of eating and even chewing — can naturally stimulate increased production of the same hormone responsible for the effects of semaglutide drugs.



    Read more:
    Ozempic, the ‘miracle drug,’ and the harmful idea
    of a future without fat

    As a family physician with a PhD in nutrition, I translate the latest nutrition science into dietary recommendations for my patients. A strategic approach to weight loss rooted in the latest science is not only superior to antiquated calorie counting, but also capitalizes on the same biological mechanisms responsible for the success of popular weight-loss drugs.

    Increased intake of monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil and avocadoes) is one factor in naturally stimulating GLP-1 production — the same hormone responsible for the effects of semaglutide drugs like Ozempic.
    (Stevepb/Pixabay)

    Semaglutide medications work by increasing the levels of a hormone called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), a satiety signal that slows digestion and makes us feel full. These drugs also simultaneously decrease levels of an enzyme called DPP-4, which inactivates GLP-1.

    As a result, this “stop eating” hormone that naturally survives for only a few minutes can survive for an entire week. This enables a semi-permanent, just-eaten sensation of fullness that consequently leads to decreased food intake and, ultimately, weight loss.

    Nevertheless, medications aren’t the only way to raise GLP-1 levels.

    What you eat

    Fibre — predominantly found in beans, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds — is the most notable nutrient that can significantly increase GLP-1. When fibre is fermented by the trillions of bacteria that live in our intestines, the resultant byproduct, called short chain fatty acids, stimulates the production of GLP-1.

    This may explain why fibre consumption is one of the strongest predictors of weight loss and has been shown to enable weight loss even in the absence of calorie restriction.

    Monounsaturated fats — found in olive oil and avocado oil — are another nutrient that raises GLP-1. One study showed that GLP-1 levels were higher following the consumption of bread and olive oil compared to bread and butter. Though notably, bread consumed with any kind of fat (be it from butter or even cheese) raises GLP-1 more than bread alone.

    Another study showed that having an avocado alongside your breakfast bagel also increases GLP-1 more so than eating the bagel on its own. Nuts that are high in both fibre and monounsaturated fats, like pistachios, have also been shown to raise GLP-1 levels.

    How you eat

    However, the specific foods and nutrients that influence GLP-1 levels are only half the story. GLP-1 is a good example of how it’s not just what you eat that matters, it’s also how you eat it.

    The Mediterranean diet outperformed semaglutide drugs at lowering risk of cardiac events.
    (Shutterstock)

    Studies show that meal sequence — the order foods are eaten in — can impact GLP-1. Eating protein, like fish or meat, before carbohydrates, like rice, results in a higher GLP-1 level compared to eating carbohydrates before protein. Eating vegetables before carbohydrates has a similar effect.

    Time of day also matters, because like all hormones, GLP-1 follows a circadian rhythm. A meal eaten at 8 a.m. stimulates a more pronounced release of GLP-1 compared to the same meal at 5 p.m. This may partly explain why the old saying “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper” is backed by evidence that demonstrates greater weight loss when breakfast is the largest meal of the day and dinner is the smallest.

    The speed of eating can matter, too. Eating ice cream over 30 minutes has been shown to produce a significantly higher GLP-1 level compared to eating ice cream over five minutes. However, studies looking at blood sugar responses have suggested that if vegetables are eaten first, the speed of eating becomes less important.

    Even chewing matters. One study showed that eating shredded cabbage raised GLP-1 more than drinking pureed cabbage.

    Not as potent as medication

    While certain foods and dietary strategies can increase GLP-1 naturally, the magnitude is far less than what is achievable with medications. One study of the GLP-1 raising effects of the Mediterranean diet demonstrated a peak GLP-1 level of approximately 59 picograms per millilitre of blood serum. The product monograph for Ozempic reports that the lowest dose produces a GLP-1 level of 65 nanograms per millilitre (one nanogram = 1,000 picograms). So medications raise GLP-1 more than one thousand times higher than diet.

    Nevertheless, when you compare long-term risk for diseases like heart attacks, the Mediterranean diet lowers risk of cardiac events by 30 per cent, outperforming GLP-1 medications that lower risk by 20 per cent. While weight loss will always be faster with medications, for overall health, dietary approaches are superior to medications.

    The following strategies are important for those trying to lose weight without a prescription:

    • Eat breakfast

    • Strive to make breakfast the largest meal of the day (or at least frontload your day as much as possible)

    • Aim to eat at least one fibre-rich food at every meal

    • Make olive oil a dietary staple

    • Be mindful of the order that you eat foods in, consume protein and vegetables before carbohydrates

    • Snack on nuts

    • Chew your food

    • Eat slowly

    While natural approaches to raising GLP-1 may not be as potent as medications, they provide a drug-free approach to weight loss and healthy eating.

    Mary J. Scourboutakos 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. Nature’s Ozempic: What and how you eat can increase levels of GLP-1 without drugs – https://theconversation.com/natures-ozempic-what-and-how-you-eat-can-increase-levels-of-glp-1-without-drugs-253728

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: There’s growing evidence of possible life on other planets – here’s why you should still be sceptical

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics, University of East Anglia

    Artist’s impression of K2-18 b. NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

    A team of researchers has recently claimed they have discovered a gas called dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the atmosphere of K2-18b, a planet orbiting a distant star.

    The University of Cambridge team’s claims are potentially very exciting because, on Earth at least, the compound is produced by marine bacteria. The presence of this gas may be a sign of life on K2-18b too – but we can’t rush to conclusions just yet.

    K2-18b has a radius 2.6 times that of Earth, a mass nearly nine times greater and orbits a star that is 124 light years away. We can’t directly tell what kinds of large scale characteristics it has, although one possibility is a world with a global liquid water ocean under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

    Such a world might well be hospitable to life, but different ideas exist about the properties of this planet – and what that might mean for a DMS signature.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Claims for the detection of life on other planets go back decades.

    In the 1970s, one of the scientists working on the Viking mission to Mars claimed that his experiment had indicated there could be microorganisms in the Martian soil. However, these conclusions were widely refuted by other researchers.

    In 1996, a team said that microscopic features resembling bacteria had been found in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. However, subsequent studies cast significant doubt on the discovery.

    Since the early 2000s there have also been repeated claims for the detection of methane gas in the atmosphere of Mars, both by remote sensing by satellites and by in-situ observations by rovers.

    Methane can be produced by several mechanisms. One of these potential sources involves production by microorganisms. Such sources are described by scientists as being “biotic”. Other sources of methane, such as volcanoes and hydrothermal vents, don’t require life and are said to be “abiotic”.

    The claimed detection of phosphine gas in Venus’ atmosphere has been proposed as a biosignature.
    Nasa

    Not all of the previous claims for evidence of extraterrestrial life involve the red planet. In 2020, Earth-based observations of Venus’s atmosphere implied the presence of low levels of phosphine gas.

    Because phosphine gas can be produced by microbes, there was speculation that life might exist in Venus’s clouds. However, the detection of phosphine was later disputed by other scientists.

    Proposed signs of life on other worlds are known as “biosignatures”. This is defined as “an object, substance, and/or pattern whose origin specifically requires a biological agent”. In other words, any detection requires all possible abiotic production pathways to be considered.

    In addition to this, scientists face many challenges in the collection, interpretation, and planetary environmental context of possible biosignature gases. Understanding the composition of a planetary atmosphere from limited data, collected from light years away, is very difficult.

    We also have to understand that these are often exotic environments, with conditions we do not experience on Earth. As such, exotic chemical processes may occur here too.

    In order to characterise the atmospheres of exoplanets, we obtain what are called spectra. These are the fingerprints of molecules in the atmosphere that absorb light at specific wavelengths.

    Once the data has been collected, it needs to be interpreted. Astronomers assess which chemicals, or combinations thereof, best fit the observations. It is an involved process and one that requires lots of computer based work. The process is especially challenging when dealing with exoplanets, where available data is at a premium.

    Once these stages have been carried out, astronomers can then assign a confidence to the likelihood of a particular chemical signature being “real”. In the case of the recent discovery from K2-18b, the authors claim the detection of a feature that can only be explained by DMS with a likelihood of greater than 99.9%. In other words, there’s about a 1 in 1,500 chance that this feature is not actually there.

    While the team behind the recent result favours a model of K2-18b as an ocean world, another team suggests it could actually have a magma (molten rock) ocean instead. It could also be a Neptune-like “gas dwarf” planet, with a small core shrouded in a thick layer of gas and ices. Both of these options would be much less favourable to the development of life – raising questions as to whether there are abiotic ways that DMS can form.

    A higher bar?

    But is the bar higher for claims of extraterrestrial life than for other areas of science? In a study claiming the detection of a biosignature, the usual level of scientific rigour expected for all research should apply to the collection and processing of the data, along with the interpretation of the results.

    However, even when these standards have been met, claims that indicate the presence of life have in the past still been meet with high levels of scepticism. The reasons for this are probably best summed up by the phrase “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. This is attributed to the American planetary scientist, author and science communicator Carl Sagan.

    While on Earth there are no known means of producing DMS without life, the chemical has been detected on a comet called 67/P, which was studied up close by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft. DMS has even been detected in the interstellar medium, the space between stars, suggesting that it can be produced by non-biological, or abiotic, mechanisms.

    Given the uncertainties about the nature of K2-18b, we cannot be sure if the presence of this gas might simply be a sign of non-biological processes we don’t yet understand.

    The claimed discovery of DMS on K2-18b is interesting, exciting, and reflects huge advances in astronomy, planetary science and astrobiology. However, its possible implications mean that we have to consider the results very cautiously. We must also entertain alternative explanations before supporting such a profound conclusion as the presence of extraterrestrial life.

    Manoj Joshi receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

    Maria di Paolo receives funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

    Andrew Rushby 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. There’s growing evidence of possible life on other planets – here’s why you should still be sceptical – https://theconversation.com/theres-growing-evidence-of-possible-life-on-other-planets-heres-why-you-should-still-be-sceptical-256050

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why walking may be the key to a long and healthy life

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas E. Yates, Professor of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Health, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    Throughout history, few things have inspired as much quackery as the pills, potions and promises to slow ageing, boost vitality, or extend life. Yet, amid the hype and hollow claims, a few golden truths remain. As far back as 400 BC, Hippocrates, widely considered the father of modern medicine, famously said, “Walking is man’s best medicine.” More than two millennia later, science is finally catching up with that wisdom.

    People who walk more than 8,000 steps a day reduce their risk of premature death by half, compared to those who walk fewer than 5,000 steps – the threshold for a sedentary lifestyle. But beyond 8,000 steps, the benefits tend to plateau, which challenges the long-held belief in the magic of 10,000 steps a day.

    In fact, that benchmark wasn’t born of science, but of marketing. The 10,000-step goal originated from a 1960s Japanese advertising campaign for the world’s first commercial pedometer called the manpo-kei, which literally translates to “10,000 steps meter”.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Lately, researchers have been exploring a simple but important question: does every step count the same, or can walking faster — at a brisk pace of more than 100 steps a minute, or around three to four miles per hour — actually give you more health benefits?

    For ageing and heart health there is mounting evidence that pace really matters. Simply converting a 14-minute daily stroll into a seven-minute brisk walk has been associated with a 14% reduction in heart disease.

    An analysis of more than 450,000 adults in the UK used a genetic marker of biological age to reveal that by middle age, a lifetime of brisk walking reduces biological age by up to 16 years compared to a lifetime of slow walking.

    A follow-up study suggested it is never to late to benefit from brisk walking. An inactive 60-year woman or man was modelled to gain around an additional year of life expectancy through simply introducing a ten minute brisk walk into their daily routine.

    The power of brisk walking can also be seen in its ability to predict future health outcomes. It has been shown to be a stronger predictor of the risk of dying from heart disease than traditional predictors such as blood pressure and cholesterol, while also being a more powerful predictor than many other measures of lifestyle – including diet, obesity levels, and total physical activity.

    In fact, perhaps the single most informative question a doctor could ask their patient is: “How fast is your walking pace in comparison to other people?”

    Halo of benefits

    But brisk walking may not provide additional benefits for all outcomes or in all contexts. For example, the benefit of brisk walking over light-intensity walking in lowering cancer risk is less certain.

    A recent study suggested that although total walking was associated with reduction in 13 different types of cancers, there was no added value from brisk walking. Breaking prolonged sitting with light-intensity pottering around has also been shown to have profound impacts on metabolic effects.

    Importantly, walking has a halo of benefits beyond physical health. It can help with brain activity, doubling creative idea production. Indeed, the systems in the brain that support memory and imagination are also the same as those activated during whole body movement.

    Many of us already harness this very phenomenon, using walking to mull over problems and arrive at solutions or insights that would otherwise remain elusive. Context is also important here, with the mental health and cognitive benefits of walking thought to be enhanced when walking through nature.

    So called “nature prescriptions” for clinical populations have harnessed these principles to increase walking activity and improving both mental and physical health.

    Physical inactivity is a major driver of the modern epidemic of long-term conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, that are now observed in industrialised and developing economies alike. It has been estimated that 3.9 million premature deaths could be averted annually through targeting physical inactivity.

    However, instead of prevention, medical systems are largely based on management – people get ill and are then prescribed medicines to treat the illness. On average it takes $1 billion to bring a new drug to market which, despite these research and development costs, still go on to generate sizeable profits for shareholders showing the scale of the health economy.

    If just a fraction of these costs were diverted into public health initiatives aimed at increasing walking and physical activity opportunities for all, the need for an ever more sophisticated medical management ecosphere may retreat.

    In short, when searching for the elixir of life, you could do worse than looking down at your feet.

    Prof Yates receives funding from the The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre

    – ref. Why walking may be the key to a long and healthy life – https://theconversation.com/why-walking-may-be-the-key-to-a-long-and-healthy-life-255655

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Michael Sandin Appointed Interim CFO of Serstech

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Serstech’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Persson, will be on parental leave from June 1 to October 31, 2025. During this period, Michael Sandin will assume the role of interim CFO.

    Michael Sandin brings over 30 years of experience in finance, including roles as an accountant and as CEO of Outbrave Finance, based in Malmö. Michael has a degree in finance from Lund University in Sweden.

    “We are pleased to welcome Michael to the Serstech team during Simon’s temporary leave. His extensive experience will ensure continued financial leadership and stability during this period,” says Stefan Sandor, CEO of Serstech.

    For further information, please contact:
    Stefan Sandor,
    CEO, Serstech AB

    Phone: +46 739 606 067
    Email: ss@serstech.com

    or

    Thomas Pileby,
    Chairman of the Board, Serstech AB

    Phone: +46 702 072 643
    Email: tp@serstech.com
    or visit: www.serstech.com

    Certified advisor to Serstech is Svensk Kapitalmarknadsgranskning AB (SKMG).

    About Serstech

    Serstech delivers solutions for chemical identification and has customers around the world, mainly in the safety and security industry. Typical customers are customs, police authorities, security organizations and first responders. The solutions and technology are however not limited to security applications and potentially any industry using chemicals of some kind could be addressed by Serstech’s solution. Serstech’s head office is in Sweden and all production is done in Sweden.

    Serstech is traded at Nasdaq First North Growth Market and more information about the company can be found at www.serstech.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Altai Announces Senior Management Addition

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Altai Resources Inc. (TSXV: ATI) (“Altai” or the “Company”) announced today that the Company has added Yana Silina to the senior management team, in the role of Chief Financial Officer (the “CFO”). Ms. Silina is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 15 years of experience in financial reporting, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance, primarily within the venture capital and resource sectors.

    Ms. Silina holds a Diploma in Management Studies from Thompson Rivers University and is currently a Senior Accountant at Da Costa Management Corp., where she provides financial consulting and outsourced CFO services to both public and private companies.

    Ms. Silina also serves as the CFO of StimCell Energetics Inc., Stuhini Exploration Ltd., Tocvan Ventures Corp, and Cascade Copper Corp. In addition, she is a Director of Kesselrun Resources Ltd.

    ABOUT ALTAI
    Altai Resources Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario based resource company with a producing oil property in Alberta, an exploration gold property in Quebec, and a Canadian investment portfolio comprised of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Additional information about Altai is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on Altai’s website at www.altairesources.com.

    For further information, please contact:
    Kursat Kacira, Chairman & CEO/President
    T: (647) 282-8324, E: kursatkacira@altairesources.ca

    Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Monsters of the Deep come ashore at Aberdeen Art Gallery

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    As Aberdeen gets ready to welcome the Tall Ships fleet to the city from 19 to 22 July, a major new special exhibition opens to the public at the Art Gallery this weekend (Saturday 17 May). 

    Monsters of the Deep: Science Fact or Fiction? invites visitors on a journey from medieval imaginings to modern-day discoveries through a fascinating and sometimes terrifying combination of legend, folklore and science. 

    From a frightening Feegee mermaid, to the spindly legs of a a Japanese spider crab, there are lots of strange and wonderful things to see in Monsters of the Deep. Visitors will come face to face with the skull of the world’s largest warm-blooded predator, the killer whale, and marvel at the tooth of an extinct megalodon and the double-tusked skull of a narwhal. Eerie deep-sea specimens from across the globe are on display, as well as some of the technological tools scientists use today to explore the ocean floor.  

    The exhibition is based on one originated by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and has been re-imagined for Aberdeen by Helen Fothergill – Service Manager, Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums, and her team of curators and exhibition officers. The many lenders to the exhibition include the University of Aberdeen, Loch Ness Centre, Viktor Wynd’s Museum of UnNatural History, Natural History Museum, National Museums Scotland, National Maritime Museum Cornwall and the University of Southampton.

    There’s a raft of activities to enjoy at the Art Gallery and Maritime Museum, inspired by Monsters of the Deep. From a BSL exhibition tour, talks by intrepid explorers, eminent scientists and the curator of the UnNatural History Museum, to creative sessions, hands-on family fun with Macduff Marine Aquarium and classic monsters-inspired film screenings with the Belmont Cinema, there’s something for all ages to enjoy. Full programme details are on the Art Gallery website at www.aagm.co.uk

    Helen Fothergill, curator of the Aberdeen exhibition, said: “When Aberdeen was confirmed as a destination for the Tall Ships Races, the Archives, Gallery & Museums team immediately set about bringing this amazing exhibition originated by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to the city. With a fascinating combination of medieval maps, preserved sea creatures and artworks, Monsters of the Deep sets the scene for the city’s summer of maritime celebrations. We have been able to work with some wonderful and supportive people during the development of this project and could not have done without the help of our partners and willing lenders. So when you feel the need to come face-to-face with a mermaid or discover what really lurks beneath the waves, head for Aberdeen Art Gallery!“  

    Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, said: ”With the opening of Monsters of the Deep we’re just weeks away from welcoming the Tall Ships to Aberdeen. There’s a tremendous sense of organisations pulling together to showcase the best of Aberdeen and we’re grateful to the many partners who have supported the exhibition, including the University of Aberdeen Collections for important objects loans and the Friends of Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums for supporting talks by Darren Naish and Viktor Wynd as part of the public programme of events. The summer in Aberdeen is set to be full of exciting maritime-related things to do, including the second year of Festival of the Sea. I hope that as many people as possible will enjoy the celebrations.”

    Monsters of the Deep: Science Fact or Fiction
    17 May – 26 October
    Aberdeen Art Gallery, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, AB10 1FQ 
    Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm (special extended opening to 8pm on Friday 19, Saturday 20, Sunday 21 July during the Tall Ships weekend)
    Adults £10
    Concessions and Friends of Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums £7
    Exhibition pass £14
    Children aged 12 and under free

    https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/monsters-deep-science-fact-or-fiction

    The programme of associated events begins on Wednesday 21 May at 12.30 with a free lunchtime talk – Can The Law Save the Ocean? – at the Maritime Museum by Dr Mitchell Lennan, Lecturer in Environmental Law, University of Aberdeen.

    Trudi Collier will give a BSL tour of Monsters of the Deep on Thursday 19 June at 2pm – free with exhibition entry,

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Polytech Dome-2025”: Anti-terrorist training held at the university

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The Polytechnic University held a comprehensive training session on anti-terrorist protection of facilities and the territory “Polytechnic Dome-2025”. Similar training sessions are held at the university regularly, their goal is to practice actions in emergency situations, test the functionality of warning systems, improve interaction with law enforcement agencies, municipal, district and city services, security and law enforcement agencies.

    The training was attended by employees of the Civil Security Department, cadets of the Military Training Center and employees of the security organization “U-Piter”, the student fire and rescue squad “Pyotr Velikiy”, representatives of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Kalininsky District, the demining group of the OMON “Bastion” of the Russian Guard for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, the non-departmental security department for the Kalininsky District, representatives of Legion LLC, the rescue corps of the St. Petersburg University of the GPS EMERCOM of Russia named after E. N. Zinichev.

    The training consisted of five stages. The first stage involved a simulated armed attack on the university campus. Suddenly, two people appeared on the platform in front of the NIC – one with a backpack, and the other with a machine gun (their roles were played by activists of the Military History Club “Our Polytechnic”. Then the events developed so quickly that at some point it seemed that this was no longer a training session. The armed criminal fired a burst at a peacefully standing group of students. They rushed into the building. The security guards barricaded the door and reported the attack to the University Security Center. There, the duty officer already knew about what had happened (one of the Polytechnic employees called after noticing the armed men), he pressed the panic button, passed the information to the chairman of the commission for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations and fire safety (KChS and OPB) of the Polytechnic, the vice-rector for security, the head of the Civil Security Department, the head of the civil defense department. The duty unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, the UFSB of Russia for St. Petersburg and Leningrad region and other emergency services.

    While the criminals were unsuccessfully tugging at the door handle, a Rosgvardia car appeared in the distance. Noticing it, one of the guys dropped his backpack and ran away. The second, left alone, started shooting back – only the cartridges flew off to the sides. But the patrol group of the Kalininsky District Rosgvardia Non-Departmental Security Department managed to twist him quite harshly, search him and disarm him. Then the hypothetical terrorist was put in the car and driven away.

    But the abandoned backpack remained and aroused suspicion. The National Guard assumed that it contained a homemade explosive device. The OMON Bastion group was called in to defuse the mines, and the dangerous area was cordoned off.

    A mobile device for localizing explosive objects, “FONTAN-2”, was taken out of the NIK and installed to prevent fragments from flying apart. At this time, employees of the engineering and technical department of the OMON “Bastion” arrived with a dog handler and a mine-detection dog Chiba. To prevent a possible remote detonation, the group deployed a “Pelena-12” radio jammer. Based on the dog’s behavior, the dog handler realized that there really was an explosive device in the backpack. It was detonated using the ETsV-14 destroyer installed on the MRK-15 mobile robotic complex.

    For reliability, the explosion site was also examined by a specialist in a special protective suit “Kupol”, which can withstand an explosion of up to 1.5 kg in TNT equivalent. After that, forensic experts could begin the case.

    The second and third stages of the training involved practicing actions in the event of a drone threat and attack. FPV drones suddenly appeared over the heads of the training participants and spectators. The duty administrator of the CBU turned on the alert: “Attention! Threat of attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle!” A siren wailed over the campus. But the signal about the attack had already been conveyed to law enforcement agencies.

    The police squad that arrived managed to suppress one of the drones with an electronic warfare system – an anti-drone gun, and the second one managed to drop a grenade on a specially parked old passenger car before being destroyed. An explosion was heard, and a fire started, and with it the fourth stage of the training.

    A combat fire brigade arrived to put out the fire – two units of the 34th fire and rescue unit. Soon only foam remained from the flames and smoke.

    At the final stage of the exercise, representatives of the rescue corps of the E. N. Zinichev University of the Russian Emergencies Ministry in St. Petersburg showed off their skills. Before the ambulance arrived, they treated wounds and applied bandages to victims of gunshot and high-explosive shrapnel wounds.

    At the end of the training, SPbPU Vice-Rector for Security Alexander Airapetyan thanked all the participants, noted the high organizational level of the event and emphasized the importance of practical preparation for emergency situations.

    Photo archive

    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 Global: 7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Gibson Ncube, Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University

    Queer African creatives have been making their mark around the world through a range of forms – books, films, fashion, art, music. Their work wins awards, sets trends and is studied by scholars. Most research on African queerness, however, comes from outside the continent.

    So, we put together a special journal issue to celebrate some of these works that have appeared over the past decade or so. And also to create a space for African and Africa-based scholars to reflect on what’s happening on the continent.

    The contributors don’t only examine what these creative works reveal. They also consider how these artists are experimenting with style, voice, genre and imagery to express queer lived experiences.

    Here we highlight seven works of art discussed in papers in the special issue – from stories of childhood sexual experiences to bold fashion shows, musical films to maverick lesbian novels. They show the complex ways queer people shape their identities and express desire in very different African settings.

    1. Tell Me Your Politik by Nakhane

    Nakhane is a South African singer, writer, and actor whose work examines the meeting place of queerness and blackness. The song Tell Me Your Politik (from the 2023 album Bastard Jargon), presents Black men in a hypermasculine, military-style training environment. But two of them are quietly and tenderly beginning to express desire for each other. This moment of intimacy is interrupted by aggressive military drills led by a white commanding officer. The song’s lyrics insist on the need for ideological alignment (“tell me your politik”) before intimacy. This raises questions about love, politics, and consent.

    In his article, Gibson Ncube argues that the music video for the song uses touch to explore queerness as a form of resistance. Gentle and intimate gestures between Black men challenge dominant ideas of Black masculinity. The contrast between caring and violent touch reveals how queerness disrupts systems of domination. Touch becomes political, offering new ways of being and imagining queer futures.

    2. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

    Under the Udala Trees is a 2015 novel by Nigerian writer Chinelo Okparanta. It follows Ijeoma, a Nigerian girl discovering her same-sex attraction during the time of the Biafran War.

    Chinelo Okparanta.
    FrimousseRoche/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Forced into Bible lessons by her mother to “cure” her queerness, Ijeoma grapples with shame, rejection, and a coerced heterosexual marriage. The novel critiques religious and political oppression. It imagines resilience and queer love in a hostile environment.

    In his article, Wisani Mushwana shows that Under the Udala Trees exposes how Nigerian religious and political leaders weaponise biblical shame to enforce a heteronormative society, inflicting religious trauma in the process.

    Ijeoma’s bold questioning of the Bible challenges traditional Christian teachings and the use of scripture to shame or judge others. The novel highlights the lack of spaces where queer identity can be affirmed. At the same time, it uses the power of storytelling to reclaim agency and reimagine queer liberation.

    3. The Quiet Violence of Dreams by K. Sello Duiker

    The Quiet Violence of Dreams by the late South African novelist K. Sello Duiker was published in 2001. Tshepo is a queer Black man in post-apartheid South Africa. He navigates trauma, identity, and survival. After being raped and robbed, Tshepo finds temporary refuge in a Cape Town male brothel where he explores same-sex intimacy and community.

    Ntokozo Wandile Mbokazi and Lucy Valerie Graham think about the novel alongside the controversial South African film Inxeba/The Wound. They argue that the book and film challenge traditional ideas of Africanness. Tshepo’s story is a postcolonial coming-of-age tale which is shaped by disillusionment as the protagonist tries to fit into society.

    Racial and class tensions weaken the solidarity of queer people. This shows the limits of freedom in post-apartheid South Africa and how enforcing traditional masculinity often involves violence.

    4. Lagos Space Programme by Adeju Thompson

    Lagos Space Programme is a Nigerian fashion label created by designer Adeju Thompson. The brand combines west African fabrics and non-binary gender expression to challenge traditional ideas of masculinity. Through fashion, it connects Yoruba beliefs, queer politics, and bold design to celebrate the fluidity of gender.

    Khaya Mchunu and Isaiah Negedu show how the label uses clothing to question to imagine freer, more inclusive futures. Rather than looking for acceptance by fitting in, Lagos Space Programme insists on visibility and creative self-expression. It reclaims African traditions while disrupting fixed social norms.

    5. Nine Pieces of Desire by Idza Luhumyo

    The past decade has seen the publication of several important anthologies of queer African short stories.

    Two stories in particular are given attention in the special issue. Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo’s 2017 story Nine Pieces of Desire is about 10-year-old Mariam, who lives in a Kenyan Muslim community. It explores her silent rebellion against patriarchal and religious norms after a fleeting same-sex encounter with her friend Grace.



    Read more:
    Being queer in Africa: the state of LGBTIQ+ rights across the continent

    6. Plums by Kharys Laue

    South African writer and editor Kharys Laue’s 2018 short story Plums recounts Chris’s childhood memory of a tender moment with her friend Gloria on a South African farm. This is contrasted with her adult struggles in a heteronormative and racist society.

    Leila Hall argues that these two stories disrupt the harmful binary of “innocent children/perverse homosexuals” by portraying childhood same-sex desire as natural and consensual, outside of adult coercion. They push back against the false idea that being queer means being dangerous. The young narrators help us see how systems of oppression work in everyday life.

    7. Kanarie by Christiaan Olwagen

    Kanarie is a 2018 South African film by Christiaan Olwagen. It follows Johan Niemand, a young gay man conscripted into the apartheid-era army in the 1980s. Under the racist system, white men were conscripted to help maintain the government’s power. Selected for a military choir, “the Canaries”, Johan deals with his sexual identity within a hypermasculine space. The film blends musical elements and melodrama to explore his inner conflict, his love for pop culture, and a tentative romance with another recruit. All in the face of conservative Christian nationalism.

    Andy Carolin argues Kanarie is more than a coming out story. It uses melodrama to imagine a queer way of being. By merging fantasy with realism, it shatters ideas of good versus evil or right versus wrong.

    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. 7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion – https://theconversation.com/7-queer-african-works-of-art-new-directions-in-books-films-and-fashion-256252

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Virtual churches are popular in Ghana. But what about online safety?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey, Senior Lecturer, Durban University of Technology/Research Associate, School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa, Rhodes University

    Many churches have been holding worship services online via live-streaming platforms in recent times. This is unsurprising since many congregants use digital technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic also pushed churches to swiftly embrace digital platforms. This allowed them to continue with religious activities when physical and mobility restrictions were in place.

    Some churches invest heavily in audio-visual equipment, lighting systems and other gadgets to provide the right conditions for media production and to enhance the worship experience for congregants, online and in person.

    Digital technologies and platforms have become core components of the outreach and evangelistic activities of churches. Some contemporary pastors have a strong online presence with a huge following, mostly in the millions. They actively engage their followers and share different forms of messages with them.

    As the amount of online content generated by churches grows, questions of safety, security and privacy have come to the fore. It is important to look at how churches address these concerns as they rapidly deploy digital platforms to reach and maintain virtual church membership.

    I am a media and communication studies academic and researcher. In a recent paper I worked with my student to examined the concerns of congregants of a church in Ghana over the security dangers that digital church engagement poses.

    Christianity is the religion with the largest following in Ghana. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches turned to online services and have continued with them.

    The research revealed that there were no established policies guiding the church’s virtual engagements. The media team relied primarily on their subjective judgement to address any potential ethical dilemmas.

    Beside enhanced privacy measures and access control, we recommend ethical frameworks and guidelines to govern the management of congregants’ personal information in both physical and virtual environments. This must include the inputs of congregants and experts.

    The research also found that word of mouth was still the primary means by which congregants came to learn about the church. This suggests churches cannot abandon the old ways of reaching out to people.

    Digital technology and the church

    Radio, TV and social media are all used to extend invitations to the public, promote and advertise churches, and generally facilitate church activities. The importance of having an online presence has compelled a significant number of churches to have dedicated media teams. They create and distribute content meant for digital platforms. The content includes photos and audiovisual testimonies of church members.

    To ensure that members of online churches have a positive experience during live streaming, most media departments also invest creativity into their videography. On live streams, followers (virtual congregants) react to songs being sung and respond to what the preacher says with comments and the use of emojis and GIFs. This is synonymous with how they might react in the physical church environment.

    But during the streaming of worship services, information about church members is not just shared in the physical church environment but also with a broader online audience. By the nature of live-streaming, there is no control over who has access to the content, how widely it is distributed, and for what and how the content is used by third parties.

    The study and some of its key findings

    Data collection for our study involved 170 survey respondents (congregants) and eight interview participants (videographers, video editors and social media managers from the church media department).

    We asked the congregants how they had first learned about the church; factors influencing their participation in virtual church services; and what safety and security concerns they had around their virtual church engagements.

    The interview participants were asked about the ethical considerations directing their work.

    Our study found that congregants had a range of concerns. Based on the sense of safety, confidence and trust they have in the church, congregants participating in physical church services may divulge personal information. These include prayer requests, personal hardships, or testimonials about their accomplishments. They sometimes do this with the understanding that the information will remain inside the church’s walls.

    Chief among the concerns were:

    • the risk of identity theft

    • the potential misuse of personal data for targeted advertising

    • potential privacy invasion because of their interactions with the church’s digital platforms.

    Some members of the media team admitted that congregants might have privacy and security concerns. However, in the absence of formal guidelines, any attempt to ensure the privacy and security of congregants might be an ad hoc measure. This was demonstrated in the study’s finding that the media team’s privacy and security adherence was largely based on their judgement and sometimes on prodding from congregants.

    What can be done

    Based on concerns raised by congregants, we argue that churches must ensure the privacy of those participating in services by instituting confidentiality and anonymity measures, particularly when sharing their personal or sensitive information.

    In addition, participants in our research held the view that some sensitisation could be useful to cater to those concerns. This could take the form of regular sensitisation of congregants on how they can enhance their online safety and security.

    We believe that because churches sometimes rely on photos, videos and testimonies of members to build their social media profiles, a rule-based system must be put in place. This could involve delayed broadcasting techniques to prevent the airing of sensitive information.

    We suggest that steps be taken to protect sensitive information and content about members that is shared online. An example of how this can be done is being set by a non-denominational prayer movement that has taken over Ghana’s online sphere. To secure the privacy of members who share testimonies, their identities are kept anonymous and certain details, such as names and places, are also protected.

    Finally, the right technology must be put in place to allow for delayed broadcasts. This means live-streamed content can be reviewed and, where necessary, edited so that sensitive content can be removed before the broadcast reaches a wide online audience.

    Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey received funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa for her post doctoral fellowship.

    – ref. Virtual churches are popular in Ghana. But what about online safety? – https://theconversation.com/virtual-churches-are-popular-in-ghana-but-what-about-online-safety-255627

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What the voter gender divide means for Canada’s political future

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marshia Akbar, Researcher, Labour Migration at the CERC Migration and Integration Program, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Canada’s recent federal election suggests a growing gender divide in political preferences.

    Polling indicated women voters leaned strongly toward the Liberals, while an increasing number of men — particularly younger men — gravitated toward the Conservatives.

    This polarization was not simply a matter of partisan preference, but reflected deeper social, cultural and economic realignments rooted in identity politics and diverging values.

    The gender gap also mirrors patterns across western democracies, where far-right populist parties increasingly draw male support through nationalist, anti-immigration and anti-feminist narratives, while women — especially racialized and university-educated — opt for progressive parties promoting equality and social protection.



    Read more:
    Pierre Poilievre’s ‘More Boots, Less Suits’ election strategy held little appeal to women

    What the polls showed

    While official voting records by gender are not available, several public opinion polls heading into the election indicated gender was a key predictor of party support.

    Abacus Data found that women’s early preferences were nearly evenly split — 31 per cent for the Liberals and 32 per cent for the Conservatives. But as the campaign progressed, Liberal support among women rose steadily by two to three points per week, reaching 35 per cent by April 8, while support for the Conservatives fell to 30 per cent.

    This pattern was echoed by an EKOS Politics analysis, which described the 2025 election as defined by a “massive gender divide” — women supported the Liberal Party by a 25-point margin, while the Conservatives held a slight lead among men, especially those under 50.

    Findings from Angus Reid further underscored this divide. Among men, support was closely split, with the Conservatives holding a slight lead over the Liberals (44 per cent to 42 per cent). Among women, however, the Liberals enjoyed a commanding lead, with 51 per cent support compared to 32 per cent for the Conservatives.

    Together, these three polls suggest a growing gender gap in Canadian politics — one that shaped party support throughout the election campaign.

    The New Democratic Party, meanwhile — once positioned as a progressive bridge between working-class voters and social justice movements — struggled to attract voters as it had in previous elections.

    The NDP’s waning influence in the 2025 election highlights the erosion of class-based solidarity, which has seemingly been supplanted by identity politics.

    Economic insecurity, cultural values

    This gender gap was not just about party preference — it reflected deeper ideological divides shaped by cultural values, policy priorities and gender identities.

    Research into voting patterns in Canada over the past two decades found that Canadian women are more likely to support social welfare, state intervention and wealth redistribution — driven not by self-interest, but by values of equity and collective responsibility.

    These preferences are shaped not only by gender, but also by age, race, class, religion and gender identities. The research highlighted a growing feminist consciousness and suggested that evolving understandings of identity, especially among younger women, have strengthened support for progressive platforms.

    Voting preferences in the 2025 Canadian election reflected these patterns. Rising geopolitical tensions — fuelled by punitive American tariffs on Canadian goods and United States President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada — stirred national anxiety and shaped voter priorities.

    At the same time, the American rollback of reproductive rights and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies raised alarm among women worldwide, reinforcing concerns about gender equity and human rights.

    Policy priorities

    That meant that how the Conservative and Liberal party leaders articulated their stances on these issues played a crucial role in shaping voter preferences.

    The Conservative Party emphasized economic policies such as tax cuts and reducing government spending. The party also tapped into cultural frustrations by opposing “woke” ideologies and promoting traditional values.

    This dual approach sought to resonate with voters alienated by progressive norms, particularly younger men who have felt marginalized by the housing crisis, insecure job markets and shifting cultural expectations around gender roles.



    Read more:
    The ‘freedom convoy’ protesters are a textbook case of ‘aggrieved entitlement’

    CBC report on male voter intentions.

    In contrast, the Liberal platform emphasized defending Canadian sovereignty, promoting national unity, expanding housing affordability, addressing climate change and advancing economic measures for the middle class — policies that seemingly resonated more with women voters, particularly those prioritizing social programs and long-term social stability.

    Although reproductive rights were not a central issue in Canada’s 2025 campaign, the erosion of those rights in the U.S. cast a shadow north of the border.

    The Liberal Party pledged to make its Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund permanent and to introduce a new IVF program offering up to $20,000 per cycle — measures aimed at improving access, especially for 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians.

    The Conservative platform emphasized support for universal health care but made no mention of reproductive health. As a result, many women may have viewed the Liberals as stronger defenders of both reproductive rights and Canadian sovereignty.

    Addressing the gender divide

    The 2025 election did more than reveal a partisan split; it exposed fundamentally different visions of Canada’s future between men and women.

    Gender divides in politics often mirror divisions in online discourse. Social media platforms tend to reinforce gendered political identities, with men more likely to be drawn into algorithm-driven spaces that amplify anti-establishment and masculinist narratives.

    Following the U.S. presidential election in 2024, The Guardian noted how social media algorithms feed their users content that’s aligned with the preferences of similar users, deepening ideological silos.

    American podcaster Joe Rogan exemplifies this dynamic — his show consistently tops charts in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Canada, but with an audience that’s more than 80 per cent male.

    These digital bubbles not only reflect polarization — they entrench it, merging political and online identities in ways that make cross-cutting dialogue harder to achieve.

    Affecting personal lives

    This divide affects more than politics. It’s reshaping personal relationships. As political identity becomes central to personal values, dating and marriage across ideological lines have become more difficult.

    According to the American Survey Center, these political divisions are even preventing young people from building meaningful relationships.

    Similarly, the Atlantic reports that nearly two-thirds of liberal and conservative singles are likely to reject a potential partner who does not share their political beliefs. In this climate, political compatibility is becoming a prerequisite for long-term commitment, rather than a negotiable difference.

    Addressing this fragmentation requires building narratives that transcend identity silos and foster common ground, both online and offline. It’s essential for democratic resilience and for sustaining meaningful human connection.

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

    – ref. What the voter gender divide means for Canada’s political future – https://theconversation.com/what-the-voter-gender-divide-means-for-canadas-political-future-255857

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Advancing Science and Technology Research

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul celebrated the groundbreaking of Farmingdale State College’s new state-of-the-art Computer Sciences Center, a part of the Governor’s efforts to advance science and technology research and economic opportunities for New Yorkers. The project is made possible by a $30 million investment through Empire State Development’s Long Island Investment Fund and $45 million in Capital funding from SUNY.

    “In New York, we are shaping our students to be the next generation of leaders,” Governor Hochul said. “Our SUNYs and CUNYs provide an exceptional and well-rounded education for New Yorkers to explore science and technology research — the groundbreaking of the Computer Sciences Center at Farmingdale will uncover technological advancements and advance economic opportunities in our state; that’s how we build a better New York.”

    SUNY Chancellor John B. King said, “Our SUNY campuses play an integral role in preparing the next generation of skilled professionals for New York’s advancing STEM sector. We applaud Governor Hochul’s vision and commitment, and we are thankful for our partnership with Empire State Development, which has made the Computer Sciences Center at Farmingdale a reality.”

    The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “Congratulations to Farmingdale State College on the groundbreaking of their Computer Sciences Center. Today’s event marks a monumental milestone in SUNY’s work, alongside Governor Hochul and state leaders, to ensure students passionate about research and technological advancements have the resources they need to achieve their goals.”

    Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Today’s groundbreaking at Farmingdale State College represents a transformative step forward for Long Island’s technology sector. This project will catalyze economic growth across the region by connecting talented students directly with industry partners who need their skills. As businesses and academia collaborate in innovative ways, we’ll see accelerated technological advancement, a more robust talent pipeline, and a stronger, more competitive New York economy ready to lead in tomorrow’s technology landscape.”

    Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said, “Today we’re breaking ground on more than just a building—we’re establishing a cornerstone for Long Island’s technological advancement. This center represents a critical investment in our regional economy, creating both immediate construction jobs and long-term opportunities in high-growth sectors. The ripple effects will benefit communities across Long Island as graduates fill skilled positions, businesses find innovative solutions to their challenges, and our region strengthens its competitive position in the global marketplace.”

    The Computer Sciences Center will include new classrooms, computer labs, seminar spaces and a collaborative space for industry-related vendors. It will support Farmingdale’s rapidly growing computer and information science programs, which have experienced a 40 percent increase in enrollment over the last five years. The Computer Sciences Center will be the campus’ first Zero Net Carbon Ready building with an approximate total square footage of 52,000.

    President of Farmingdale State College Robert S. Prezant said, “We are beyond grateful to Governor Hochul, the Empire State Development Corporation, the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, and the State University of New York for their support in the development of the Computer Sciences Center building on the Farmingdale State College campus. So much more than a building, the center will provide a hub of advanced technology education and programming, enabling interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation, research, and learning. It will also allow us to support increasing enrollment in our technology programs with a focus on workforce development.”

    State Senator Monica R. Martinez said, “Technological advancements continue to move the world and our region forward, and Farmingdale State College’s Center for Computer Science and Information Technology will prepare students for success in these dynamic fields. It is here where a hub for the development of Long Island’s next generation of digital pioneers will soon flourish, and it will be here where the highly skilled workforce essential to fueling this region’s high-tech economy will begin their academic journeys. We are excited for this groundbreaking and for the future, when those who come through this center help shape the breakthroughs that move our world forward.”

    Assemblymember Kwani O’Pharrow said, “This week, we broke ground on a new facility that is envisioned as a dynamic center for collaboration and innovation, bringing together diverse stakeholders like students, educators, and local businesses to foster the development of future technologies, creative ideas, and positive community impact. It emphasizes that this building is not just a physical structure but a symbol of a forward-thinking approach to education, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.”

    Suffolk County Minority Leader Jason Richberg said, “The groundbreaking at Farmingdale State College is more than the start of a new building — it’s the foundation for Long Island’s future. The Center for Computer Science and Information Technology represents a critical investment in education, workforce development, and regional innovation. By bringing together students, local businesses, and community organizations under one roof, we’re not just preparing the next generation of tech leaders — we’re creating pathways to opportunity for all. This is a smart win for taxpayers, leveraging $45 million in SUNY Construction Fund dollars and money from the State’s Long Island Investment Fund to build a cutting-edge facility that will return real value to our region. It exemplifies how public-private partnerships and forward-thinking use of government resources can shape a stronger, more equitable future for Long Island.”

    Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer said, “This state-of-the-art facility will not only enhance educational opportunities but also serve as a catalyst for economic growth, ensuring that Long Island remains at the forefront of technological innovation. We are proud to support initiatives that invest in our community’s future and provide our residents with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

    About The State University of New York
    The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Mayor of Winchester elected at 2025 mayor-making

    Source: City of Winchester

    Councillor Sudhakar Achwal has been elected as the 826th Mayor of Winchester.

    A ceremony took place in the King Charles Hall of Guildhall Winchester last night, Wednesday 14 May 2025. 

    Cllr Achwal, who is a councillor in the Whiteley and Shedfield ward, was born and raised in India before first coming to the UK in 1974 to complete a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Salford. He later travelled across Europe, the Middle East, India, the Far East, and the Americas as part of his work.

    He met his wife Vivian Achwal, who is a fellow councillor in the same ward, in Newcastle. The couple, who now live in Whiteley, returned to the UK permanently in 1997. They have been together for 45 years and have one daughter and one grandson. Cllr Vivian Achwal was Mayor of Winchester in 2021-2.

    Cllr Sudhakar Achwal said: “Beyond my career, I’ve found deep fulfilment in volunteering. I believe in giving back to the community that welcomed me so warmly. I’m also passionate about the environment, and I try to stay active. My shelves are always full, especially with history books, which continue to fuel my curiosity.

    “Family remains at the heart of everything. My journey continues, filled with gratitude for the many experiences, lessons, and people that have shaped it.”

    Cllr Achwal has selected his Mayoral Charities for 2025-6: Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis (WinACC); Home-Start Winchester & Districts; and Trinity Winchester. 

    At the mayor-making, Cllr Jamie Scott was elected as Deputy Mayor.

    Taking the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, the Mayor said: “I Sudhakar Achwal, having been elected to the office of Mayor of the City of Winchester, hereby declare that I will take the said office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties thereof to the best of my judgement and ability.”

    Read the full biography of the new mayor. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US safety net helps protect children from abuse and neglect, and some of those programs are threatened by proposed budget cuts

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Todd Herrenkohl, Professor of Social Work, University of Michigan

    Safety net programs protect children in many ways. Energy/E+ via Getty Images

    President Donald Trump and Republicans in the House of Representatives have put forward budget proposals that would slash spending by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade on several programs that support low-income U.S. families with children.

    If those cuts are in the version of the 2026 budget that clears Congress, and Trump signs it into law, funding for early childhood education, support for grocery purchases and an array of programs that help keep children fed, housed and cared for would decline sharply.

    As professors who conduct research about child welfare, we are alarmed by these proposed cuts and concerned about their potential impact on children and families. We are particularly concerned that steps taken to reduce costs will make children less safe and more susceptible to the consequences of abuse and neglect.

    Help for low-income families

    Our research has shown that increasing access to programs that support low-income families decreases child abuse and neglect while improving parents’ well-being. Examples of these programs include subsidies for child care and the earned-income tax credit, which supplements the earnings of many low- and moderate-income Americans.

    Other researchers have found further evidence that policies that help low-income families put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads and obtain health care also provide for children’s basic needs, such as food and education, and keep children safe.

    The proposed budget cuts could cost all taxpayers down the line because child abuse and neglect is costly for not only the people who are mistreated as kids but also for society.

    What’s more, a series of cost-benefit studies have found that providing a safety net for families not only helps the families who receive assistance but also society as a whole.

    Child abuse and neglect

    In 2023, child protection agencies received 4.4 million reports for suspected abuse and neglect, and 546,159 cases were confirmed. As high as these numbers are, they drastically underestimate the number of abused and neglected children in the U.S. because many acts of abuse and neglect are never reported.

    Research documenting the consequences and costs of child abuse and neglect has led many experts, including us, to recommend programs and policies that can reduce risks.

    Without attempts to reduce these risks, more children would suffer or die. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services found that 2,000 children died from abuse and neglect in 2023. Nearly half of these fatalities were among children under the age of 1.

    Parents experiencing high levels of stress can be more prone to abusing their kids.
    salim hanzaz/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Risks tied to poverty

    Some of the most helpful programs to prevent child abuse and neglect focus on reducing poverty.

    Poverty can place children at risk of abuse and neglect. When families can’t afford the bare necessities, it can add to the stress that makes parenting more difficult.

    Poverty isn’t the only cause of child abuse and neglect, but it is high on the list of risk factors. And its harms can be hard to reverse.

    A recent campaign by Prevent Child Abuse America, a nonprofit, posits that child abuse and neglect are not a “bad parent problem” but rather “a lack of resource problem.” Researchers have found that child abuse and neglect often come from the social and economic issues that lead families into crises.

    For example, parenting stress rises and children’s basic needs can go unmet when parents don’t have jobs, lack high-quality child care and generally struggle to make ends meet.

    When families’ basic needs are met, children are safer.
    Jackyenjoyphotography/Moment via Getty Images

    Government programs that help everyone

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that improving public health requires government programs that can reduce harm to children and promote childhood development and well-being.

    These programs include efforts to improve parenting skills, expand access to high-quality child care and early education, and strengthen the financial resilience of families.

    And yet the Trump administration initially sought to eliminate Head Start, a successful federally funded preschool program for low-income children, and dismantle many essential services. Evidence indicates that children who participate in Head Start are more likely to finish high school and college, which is important for employment and financial security.

    The CDC and our own review of the research point to big improvements in children’s health and fewer cases of child abuse and neglect with economic policies such as the earned-income tax credit, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

    We believe these programs are worth investing in because children’s lives are at stake. Especially when the economy appears to be in trouble, the consequences of weakening the safety net are dire.

    Todd I. Herrenkohl has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Justice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is affiliated with the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and serves as an editor for Child Abuse & Neglect and the Journal for the Society for Social Work and Research.

    Kathryn Maguire-Jack receives funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, Triple P America, and Wisconsin Children’s Hospital.

    Rebeccah Sokol receives funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. US safety net helps protect children from abuse and neglect, and some of those programs are threatened by proposed budget cuts – https://theconversation.com/us-safety-net-helps-protect-children-from-abuse-and-neglect-and-some-of-those-programs-are-threatened-by-proposed-budget-cuts-255763

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Hurricane disaster planning with aging parents should start now, before the storm: 5 tips

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota

    When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor named Ms. Carmen. She was in her late 70s, fiercely independent and lived alone with her two dogs and one cat, which were her closest companions.

    Each hurricane season, she would anxiously ask if I would check on her when the winds began to pick up. She once told me: I’m more afraid of being forgotten than of the storm itself. Her fear wasn’t just about the weather; it was about facing it alone.

    When hurricanes hit, we often measure the damage in downed power lines, flooded roads and wind-torn homes. But some of the most serious consequences are harder to see, especially for older adults who may struggle with mobility, chronic health problems and cognitive decline.

    Emergency preparedness plans too often overlook the specific needs of elders in America’s aging population, many of whom live alone. For people like Ms. Carmen, resilience needs to start long before the storm.

    The number of older adults in the U.S. and the percentage of the population age 65 and older have been rising.
    US Census Bureau

    I study disaster preparations and response. To prepare for hurricane season, and any other disaster, I encourage families to work with their older adults now to create an emergency plan. Preparing can help ensure that older adults will be safe, able to contact relatives or others for help, and will have the medications, documents and supplies they need, as well as the peace of mind of knowing what steps to take.

    Recent hurricanes show the gaps

    In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton put a spotlight on the risks to older adults.

    The storms forced thousands of people to evacuate, often to shelters with little more than food supplies and mattresses on the floor and ill-equipped for medical needs.

    Flooding isolated many rural homes, stranding older adults. Power was out for weeks in some areas. Emergency systems were overwhelmed.

    A tornado tore into a senior community in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during Milton, killing six people. Some long-term care facilities lost power and water during Helene.

    At the same time, some older adults chose to stay in homes in harm’s way for fear that they would be separated from their pets or that their homes would be vandalized.

    At least 700 people stayed in chairs or on air mattresses at River Ridge Middle/High School in New Port Richey, Fla., during Hurricane Milton.
    AP Photo/Mike Carlson

    These events are not just tragic, they are predictable. Many older adults cannot evacuate without assistance, and many evacuation centers aren’t prepared to handle their needs.

    How to prepare: 5 key steps

    Helping older adults prepare for emergencies should involve the entire family so everyone knows what to expect. The best plans are personal, practical and proactive, but they will contain some common elements.

    Here are five important steps:

    1. Prepare an emergency folder with important documents.

    Disasters can leave older adults without essential information and supplies that they need, such as prescription lists, financial records, medical devices and – importantly – contact information to reach family, friends and neighbors who could help them.

    Many older adults rely on preprogrammed phone numbers. If their phone is lost or the battery dies, they may not know how to reach friends or loved ones, so it’s useful to have a hard copy of phone numbers.

    Consider encouraging the use of medical ID bracelets or cards for those with memory loss.

    Critical documents like wills, home deeds, powers of attorney and insurance records are frequently kept in physical form and may be forgotten or lost in a sudden evacuation. Use waterproof storage that’s easy to carry, and share copies with trusted caregivers and family members in case those documents are lost.

    2. Have backup medications and equipment.

    Think about that person’s assistive devices and health needs. Having extra batteries on hand is important, as is remembering to bring chargers and personal mobility aids, such as walkers, canes, mobility scooters or wheelchairs. Do not forget that service animals support mobility, so having supplies of their food will be important during a hurricane or evacuation.

    Ask doctors to provide an emergency set of medications in case supplies run low in a disaster.

    If the person is staying in their home, prepare for at least 72 hours of self-sufficiency in case the power goes out. That means having enough bottled water, extra pet food and human food that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooking.

    3. Map evacuation routes and shelter options.

    Identify nearby shelters that will likely be able to support older adults’ mobility and cognitive challenges. If the person has pets, make a plan for them, too – many areas will have at least one pet-friendly shelter, but not all shelters will take pets.

    An older woman crosses a street flooded by torrential rain from Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023, in Thousand Palms, Calif.
    AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

    Figure out how the person will get to a shelter, and have a backup plan in case their usual transportation isn’t an option. And decide where they will go and how they will get there if they can’t return home after a storm.

    If your loved one lives in a care facility, ask to see that facility’s hurricane plan.

    4. Create a multiperson check-in system.

    Don’t rely on just one caregiver or family member to check on older adults. Involve neighbors, faith communities or local services such as home-delivered meals, transportation assistance, support groups and senior centers. Redundancy is crucial when systems break down.

    5. Practice the plan.

    Go through evacuation steps in advance so everyone knows what to do. Executing the plan should be second nature, not a scramble during a disaster or crisis.

    Planning with, not just for, older adults

    Emergency planning isn’t something done for older adults – it’s something done with them.

    Elders bring not only vulnerability but also wisdom. Their preferences and autonomy will have to guide decisions for the plan to be successful in a crisis.

    That means listening to their needs, honoring their independence and making sure caregivers have realistic plans in place. It’s an important shift from just reacting to a storm to preparing with purpose.

    Lee Ann Rawlins Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Hurricane disaster planning with aging parents should start now, before the storm: 5 tips – https://theconversation.com/hurricane-disaster-planning-with-aging-parents-should-start-now-before-the-storm-5-tips-254917

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Unprecedented cuts to the National Science Foundation endanger research that improves economic growth, national security and your life

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul Bierman, Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Vermont

    The National Science Foundation funds America’s next great innovations, including space-related research. Heritage Space/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the internet were all developed using funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

    No matter where you live, NSF-supported research has also made your life safer. Engineering studies have reduced earthquake damage and fatalities through better building design. Improved hurricane and tornado forecasts reflect NSF investment in environmental monitoring and computer modeling of weather. NSF-supported resilience studies reduce risks and losses from wildfires.

    Using NSF funding, scientists have done research that amazes, entertains and enthralls. They have drilled through mile-thick ice sheets to understand the past, visited the wreck of the Titanic and captured images of deep space.

    NSF funding supports research to help minimize risk and harm from natural hazards, including wildfires.
    FEMA/Michael Mancino

    NSF investments have made America and American science great. At least 268 Nobel laureates received NSF grants during their careers. The foundation has partnered with agencies across the government since it was created, including those dealing with national security and space exploration. The Federal Reserve estimates that government-supported research from the NSF and other agencies has had a return on investment of 150% to 300% since 1950, meaning for every dollar U.S. taxpayers invested, they got back between $1.50 and $3.

    However, that funding is now at risk.

    Since January, layoffs, leadership resignations and a massive proposed reorganization have threatened the integrity and mission of the National Science Foundation. Hundreds of research grants have been terminated. The administration’s proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2026 would cut NSF’s funding by 55%, an unprecedented reduction that would end federal support for science research across a wide range of discipines.

    At my own geology lab, I have seen NSF grants catalyze research and the work of dozens of students who have collected data that’s now used to reduce risks from earthquakes, floods, landslides, erosion, sea-level rise and melting glaciers.

    I have also served on advisory committees and review panels for the NSF over the past 30 years and have seen the value the foundation produces for the American people.

    American science’s greatness stemmed from war

    In the 1940s, with the advent of nuclear weapons, the space race and the intensification of the Cold War, American science and engineering expertise became increasingly critical for national defense. At the time, most basic and applied research was done by the military.

    Vannevar Bush, an electrical engineer who oversaw military research efforts during World War II, including development of the atomic bomb, had a different idea.

    He articulated an expansive scientific vision for the United States in Science: The Endless Frontier. The report was a blueprint for an American research juggernaut grounded in the expertise of university faculty, staff and graduate students.

    The National Science Foundation funded some of the earliest weather equipment on satellites. The gold sphere is the Navy Vanguard (SLV-3) satellite, launched in 1958 to monitor cloud cover.
    Bettmann/Getty Images

    On May 10, 1950, after five years of debate and compromise, President Harry Truman signed legislation creating the National Science Foundation and putting Bush’s vision to work. Since then, the foundation has become the leading funder of basic research in the United States.

    NSF’s mandate, then as now, was to support basic research and spread funding for science across all 50 states. Expanding America’s scientific workforce was and remains integral to American prosperity. By 1952, the foundation was awarding merit fellowships to graduate and postdoctoral scientists from every state.

    There were compromises. Control of NSF rested with presidential appointees, disappointing Bush. He wanted scientists in charge to avoid political interference with the foundation’s research agenda.

    NSF funding matters to everyone, everywhere

    Today, American tax dollars supporting science go to every state in the union.

    The states with the most NSF grants awarded between 2011 and 2024 include several that voted Republican in the 2024 election – Texas, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania – and several that voted Democratic, including Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Colorado.

    More than 1,800 public and private institutions, scattered across all 50 states, receive NSF funding. The grants pay the salaries of staff, faculty and students, boosting local employment and supporting college towns and cities. For states with major research universities, those grants add up to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Even states with few universities each see tens of millions of dollars for research.

    As NSF grant recipients purchase lab supplies and services, those dollars support regional and national economies.

    When NSF budgets are cut and grants are terminated or never awarded, the harm trickles down and communities suffer. Initial NSF funding cuts are already rippling across the country, affecting both national and local economies in red, blue and purple states alike.

    An analysis of a February 2025 proposal that would cut about US$5.5 billion from National Institutes of Health grants estimated the ripple effect through college towns and supply chains would cost $6.1 billion in GDP, or total national productivity, and over 46,000 jobs.

    An uncertain future for American science

    America’s scientific research and training enterprise has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. Yet, as NSF celebrates its 75th birthday, the future of American science is in doubt. Funding is increasingly uncertain, and politics is driving decisions, as Bush feared 80 years ago.

    A list of grants terminated by the Trump administration, collected both from government websites and scientists themselves, shows that by early May 2025, NSF had stopped funding more than 1,400 existing grants, totaling over a billion dollars of support for research, research training and education.

    Most terminated grants focused on education – the core of science, technology and engineering workforce development critical for supplying highly skilled workers to American companies. For example, NSF provided 1,000 fewer graduate student fellowships in 2025 than in the decade before − a 50% drop in support for America’s best science students.

    American scientists are responding to NSF’s downsizing in diverse ways. Some are pushing back by challenging grant terminations. Others are preparing to leave science or academia. Some are likely to move abroad, taking offers from other nations to recruit American experts. Science organizations and six prior heads of the NSF are calling on Congress to step up and maintain funding for science research and workforce development.

    If these losses continue, the next generation of American scientists will be fewer in number and less well prepared to address the needs of a population facing the threat of more extreme weather, future pandemics and the limits to growth imposed by finite natural resources and other planetary limits.

    Investing in science and engineering is an investment in America. Diminishing NSF and the science it supports will hurt the American economy and the lives of all Americans.

    Paul Bierman receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Unprecedented cuts to the National Science Foundation endanger research that improves economic growth, national security and your life – https://theconversation.com/unprecedented-cuts-to-the-national-science-foundation-endanger-research-that-improves-economic-growth-national-security-and-your-life-256556

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Congress began losing power decades ago − and now it’s giving away what remains to Trump

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charlie Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

    Where did Congress go? Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg Creative via Getty Images

    Republicans in Congress have been making behind-the-scenes efforts to pass major domestic legislation via the federal budget process. They include potential cuts to Medicaid and extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

    But even though it’s Congress’ job to pass a budget and set tax policy, most media outlets have been content to frame key elements of the legislation as being driven not by Congress but by the president.

    So the news media say that the purpose of the bill is to “deliver Trump’s agenda” or to pass the “Trump tax cuts.” Many have even adopted President Donald Trump’s trademark name for the legislation: his “big, beautiful bill.”

    Along with Casey Burgat and SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, I am co-author of a textbook titled “Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch.” In that book, it was important to us to highlight Congress’ clear role as the preeminent lawmaking body in the federal government.

    But since Trump’s inauguration, Congress has ceded huge swaths of its policymaking responsibility to the president. That makes the media’s focus on Trump unsurprising. And there’s no denying that Trump has had enormous impact during his first 100 days in office.

    During that time, Congress has been unwilling to assert itself as an equal branch of government. Beyond policymaking, Congress has been content to hand over many of its core constitutional powers to the executive branch. As a Congress expert who loves the institution and profoundly respects its constitutionally mandated role, this renunciation of responsibility has been difficult to watch.

    And yet, Congress’ path to irrelevance as a body of government did not begin in January 2025.

    It is the result of decades of erosion that created a political culture in which Congress, the first branch of government listed in the Constitution, is relegated to second-class status.

    President Donald Trump holds one of the many executive orders he has signed during his second term.
    Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images

    The Constitution puts Congress first

    The 18th-century framers of the Constitution viewed Congress as the foundation of republican governance, deliberately placing it first in Article 1 to underscore its primacy. Congress was assigned the pivotal tasks of lawmaking and budgeting because controlling government finances was seen as essential to limiting executive power and preventing abuses that the framers associated with monarchy.

    Alternatively, a weak legislature and an imperial executive were precisely what many of the founders feared. With legislative authority in the hands of Congress, power would at least be decentralized among a wide variety of elected leaders from different parts of the country, each of whom would jealously guard their own local interests.

    But Trump’s first 100 days turned the founders’ original vision on its head, leaving the “first branch” to play second fiddle.

    Like most recent presidents, Trump came in with his party in control of the presidency, the House and the Senate. Yet despite the lawmaking power that this governing trifecta can bring, the Republican majorities in Congress have mostly been irrelevant to Trump’s agenda.

    Instead, Congress has relied on Trump and the executive branch to make changes to federal policy and in many cases to reshape the federal government completely.

    Trump has signed more than 140 executive orders, a pace faster than any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Republican Congress has shown little interest in pushing back on any of them. Trump has also aggressively reorganized, defunded or simply deleted entire agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    These actions have been carried out even though Congress has a clear constitutional authority over the executive branch’s budget. Again, Congress has shown little to no interest in reasserting its power, even during recent budget talks.

    Many causes, no easy solutions

    Even so, Congress’ weakening did not begin with Trump. There’s no one culprit but instead a collection of factors that have provided the ineffectual Congress of today.

    One overriding factor is a process that has unfolded over the past 50 or more years called political nationalization. American politics have become increasingly centered on national issues, parties and figures rather than more local concerns or individuals.

    This shift has elevated the importance of the president as the symbolic and practical leader of a national party agenda. Simultaneously, it weakens the role of individual members of Congress, who are now more likely to toe the party line than represent local interests.

    A participant holds a sign during a GOP town hall meeting with U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy on March 20, 2025, in Salt Lake City.
    AP Photo/Rick Egan

    As a result, voters focus more on presidential elections and less on congressional ones, granting the president greater influence and diminishing Congress’ independent authority.

    The more Congress polarizes among its members on a party-line basis, the less the public is likely to trust the legitimacy of their opposition to a president. Instead, congressional pushback − sometimes as extreme as impeachment − can thus be written off not as principled or substantive but as partisan or politically motivated to a greater extent than ever before.

    Congress has also been been complicit in giving away its own power. Especially when dealing with a polarized Congress, presidents increasingly steer the ship in budget negotiations, which can lead to more local priorities – the ones Congress is supposed to represent – being ignored.

    But rather than Congress staking out positions for itself, as it often did through the turn of the 21st century, political science research has shown that presidential positions on domestic policy increasingly dictate – and polarize – Congress’ own positions on policy that hasn’t traditionally been divisive, such as funding support for NASA. Congress’ positions on procedural issues, such as raising the debt ceiling or eliminating the filibuster, also increasingly depend not on bedrock principles but on who occupies the White House.

    In the realm of foreign policy, Congress has all but abandoned its constitutional power to declare war, settling instead for “authorizations” of military force that the president wants to assert. These give the commander in chief wide latitude over war powers, and both Democratic and Republican presidents have been happy to retain that power. They have used these congressional approvals to engage in extended conflicts such as the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade later.

    What’s lost with a weak Congress

    Americans lose a lot when Congress hands over such drastic power to the executive branch.

    When individual members of Congress from across the country take a back seat, their districts’ distinctly local problems are less likely to be addressed with the power and resources that Congress can bring to an issue. Important local perspectives on national issues fail to be represented in Congress.

    Even members of the same political party represent districts with vastly different economies, demographics and geography. Members are supposed to keep this in mind when legislating on these issues, but presidential control over the process makes that difficult or even impossible.

    Maybe more importantly, a weak Congress paired with what historian Arthur Schlesinger called the “Imperial Presidency” is a recipe for an unaccountable president, running wild without the constitutionally provided oversight and checks on power that the founders provided to the people through their representation by the first branch of government.

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

    – ref. Congress began losing power decades ago − and now it’s giving away what remains to Trump – https://theconversation.com/congress-began-losing-power-decades-ago-and-now-its-giving-away-what-remains-to-trump-254984

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: What Trump Means for Europe: A Discussion Between Luis Vassy and Zaki Laïdi

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    On 28 April, a round table of the monthly “LUNDIS DU CEVIPOF” (Sciences Po’s Centre for Political Research) brought together Zaki Laïdi, Director of Research at CEVIPOF and Former Special Adviser of the High representative of the European Union (2020-2024), Luis Vassy, President of Sciences Po and Kevin Arceneaux, Director of CEVIPOF.

    The event was titled “What Trump Means for Europe“.

    By its very nature, the Trump project aims to build, beyond the United States, a new world order dominated by illiberal powers. Those who, in spite of their differences, agree on a certain number of values, which clash head-on with those promoted by the European Union. 

    This is why Trump sees Europe as a major political obstacle in his path. This is one of the reasons why he shows a thinly veiled hostility towards it. That involves political support for illiberal forces, economic retaliation and a potential strategic abandonment for which Europe is not really prepared. 

    Will this project really see the light of day? Does Europe have the means to face it in order to defend its values, its economic interests and build its strategic autonomy? Are EU countries really unified to face this challenge?

    > Watch the video replay now:

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis drew inspiration from Latin American church and its martyrs – leaving a legacy for Pope Leo

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, Associate Professor of Catholic and Latin American Studies, Wake Forest University

    A mural of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero decorates a wall in Panchimalco, El Salvador, May 21, 2015. AP Photo/Salvador Melendez

    Pope Leo XIV’s election marks a historic moment: the first pope from an English-speaking country, and the first from the United States. Even more significant than these “firsts,” I believe, is a “second”: Leo follows in Pope Francis’ footsteps as a priest shaped by the Latin American church.

    The new pontiff served the church in Peru throughout the late 1980s and ‘90s. Francis called him back to serve from 2015-2023 as bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo – where Catholics today are rejoicing over the election of one of their own, “un papa Chiclayano.”

    As a Catholic theologian, I believe the College of Cardinals’ decision to elect another pontiff with such strong ties to Latin America reaffirms the continent’s influence on the global church’s sense of mission: to be a church that defends the marginalized and stands in solidarity with the oppressed.

    This vision is embodied by the continent’s many Catholics who have given their lives for speaking out against repression, violence and poverty over the past 50 years – most famously St. Oscar Romero, whom Francis beatified in May 2015.

    Having studied Latin American martyrdom closely, I would argue that Francis’ pontificate was at least partially inspired by these martyrs’ example, forged in blood. His decision to officially recognize this form of martyrdom adds to the legacy that many Latin American Catholics are hoping Leo will continue.

    ‘Church of the poor’

    The Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings of bishops from around the world that took place between 1962-65, brought about a number of reforms in the Catholic church, including greater focus on the poor and vulnerable. During the council, a group of bishops gathered in the Catacombs of Saint Domitilla to sign a pact in which they committed themselves to renouncing wealth and privilege and becoming a “church of the poor.”

    Many of these bishops were from Latin America, and in 1968, the Latin American Bishops’ Conference met to implement the council’s reforms. The documents that emerged from this meeting in Medellín, Colombia, encouraged closeness to people living in poverty and placed the promotion of justice and peace at the heart of the church’s evangelizing mission. In particular, they emphasized the church’s call to help liberate the oppressed from unjust social structures that produce poverty and violence.

    Pope Francis, then a cardinal, kisses a man’s foot during a Mass with youth trying to overcome drug addictions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008.
    AP Photo

    Not all Latin American bishops embraced this vision of the church’s mission. But many took the call to solidarity very seriously, denouncing economic injustices and human rights violations. These bishops and other socially committed Christians promoted causes like land reform, agricultural cooperatives, workers’ rights and access to health care and education.

    At the time, many Latin American countries were marked by vast inequalities, military dictatorships and violent political repression. These regimes, many of which were backed by the United States, often labeled any opposition as “communist” and a threat to national security.

    Some Latin American bishops – along with many priests, nuns and laypeople – paid for their faith-inspired commitments to justice and peace with their lives. Thousands of Christians were assassinated during the late 20th century because they stood up for the rights of the poor, or they spoke out against oligarchs for hoarding wealth, land and power. Others were targeted after denouncing military regimes for massacring, torturing and “disappearing” civilians.

    Within some sectors of Latin American Catholicism, these women and men are remembered as “martyrs”: people who, like Jesus of Nazareth, gave their lives for following what they saw as God’s mandate to speak the truth and practice compassion, justice and peace.

    Pope’s recognition

    During Francis’ pontificate, he officially recognized several of these Christians as martyrs, moving their cause for sainthood toward beatification and canonization. Beatification officially declares a person to be “blessed” and allows them to be venerated locally, while canonization makes them a full saint for the global church.

    Students hold up art depicting slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero as they walk to the chapel in San Salvador where he was shot and killed.
    AP Photo/Salvador Melendez

    For example, Bishop Enrique Ángel Angelelli was assassinated in 1976 for his solidarity with the poor and defense of workers’ rights during Argentina’s Dirty War – a violent campaign of state terrorism against critics of the military junta. Francis declared him a martyr in 2018. The following year, Angelelli was beatified, along with two priests and a lay leader from the same province who were all similarly martyred just weeks before.

    Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero was equally committed to defending the poor of El Salvador during the years of armed conflict leading up to the Salvadoran Civil War. In his Sunday homilies, he named people who had been imprisoned, tortured and disappeared by military and paramilitary forces, and drew on the Gospel and church teaching to challenge the violence and oppression of the day.

    His promotion of human rights and his demand that the military “stop the repression” led to his assassination while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980. Francis declared Romero a martyr and beatified him in 2015, then canonized him in 2018.

    Pope Francis views an image of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero during a private audience at the Vatican in 2015.
    L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP

    These actions placed a stamp of approval on how leaders like Angelelli and Romero embodied the church’s mission in their own time and place. But Francis’ recognition also made a broader statement about how the church should relate to the “powers and principalities” of the world. Throughout his papacy, Francis continued these martyrs’ commitment by standing with people on the “peripheries”: washing the feet of prisoners, defending the rights of migrants and demanding care for the Earth.

    Martyrs of the Earth

    In the 21st century, care for the Earth is producing a whole new generation of martyrs like Angelelli and Romero. Land and environmental defenders in Latin America and around the world are being assassinated for their work to mitigate harm from industries like fossil fuel extraction, mining, logging, ranching and more.

    In September 2024, Francis signaled his awareness of this phenomenon when he lamented the murder of Juan Antonio López. López was a lay Catholic leader in Honduras whose faith inspired him to defend local communities, lands and rivers from open-pit iron oxide mining.

    The Latin American bishops’ conference has taken note of this resurgence in violent persecution. In December 2024, it launched a campaign called “Life is hanging on by a thread,” promoting solidarity with the work of ecological and human rights defenders like López.

    As a former vice president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference, Pope Leo XIV is likely aware of this campaign and the violence that it hopes to disarm.

    The new pope had a close relationship with Francis, whose legacy looms large. A key inspiration for that legacy, however, is the witness of Latin American Christians whose blood has been shed for justice, peace and the environment.

    Only time will tell if this new pontiff’s leadership continues their indomitable solidarity with people whom, in Francis’ words, this world has deemed to be “disposable.”

    Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Pope Francis drew inspiration from Latin American church and its martyrs – leaving a legacy for Pope Leo – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-drew-inspiration-from-latin-american-church-and-its-martyrs-leaving-a-legacy-for-pope-leo-255582

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto reveal about his dedication to the ideals of St. Augustine − an art historian explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, College of the Holy Cross

    A 17th-century stained glass image of St. Augustine. Artist Tobias Müller, 1622. Michel M. Raguin, with the permission of the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton NJ, U.S.

    Pope Leo XIV has announced his motto and coat of arms – a long-held tradition for those in the ranks of bishops, cardinals and popes. The choice of symbols and words reflects the person’s experience.

    Leo’s shield is divided diagonally: The upper half shows a white lily on a blue background, and the lower shows the emblem of the Order of St. Augustine – an order to which he belongs. His motto reads, “In Illo uno unam,” translated as “In the One, we are one,” which are words of St. Augustine from his Exposition on Psalm 127, Paragraph 2: “I understand one in the One Christ. You are therefore many, and you are one; we are many, and we are one. ”

    In choosing this motto, Leo includes the identifying symbol of Augustine, a heart pierced by an arrow.

    Coat of Arms of Pope Leo XIV.
    Photo courtesy of the Holy See Press Office

    As an art historian, I explain how Renaissance artists portrayed Augustine’s humility – and what the choice of the motto might tell us about the new pope.
    .

    The Order of St. Augustine

    Augustine lived in the late fourth century, ultimately serving as bishop of Hippo in northern Africa for 34 years. The Augustinian order was founded in 1244 after several communities of hermits living in the region of Tuscany, Italy, petitioned Pope Innocent IV to form a single order. The pope gave them the Rule of Saint Augustine as a code of living, which stated: “Call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in common; [do] not seek after what is vain and earthly.”

    Augustine’s status as a scholar, theologian and administrator made him a widely depicted saint. For example, he appears in a stained glass window commissioned by a pastor in 1622, in which he holds his symbol of the heart pierced with the arrow resting on a book on his lap.

    The image relates to a phrase from Augustine’s book “The Confessions”: “Thou hadst pierced our heart with thy love, and we carried thy words, as it were, thrust through our vitals.”

    In this stained-glass image, the saint is seen speaking to a child. The 1483 translation of the “Golden Legend,” a collection of saints’ lives, explains that while struggling to write his treatise “On the Trinity,” Augustine was walking at the seashore and saw a child filling a tiny pit with water.

    When the child explained that he was bringing the ocean into the pit, Augustine scolded him for being silly. The child answered that he would sooner fit all the water of the sea into the pit than Augustine could bring the mystery of the Trinity into his limited human understanding. The Trinity is the Christian concept that God is not a single person but three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – united in a single divine and eternal nature.

    This lesson in humility became widely depicted across the centuries. In 1482, an altarpiece by the painter and sculptor Michael Pacher shows Augustine with a child at his feet holding a spoon.

    Augustine’s scholarship

    Augustine’s legacy includes not only “The Confessions,” one of the most widely read books of medieval and early modern times, and “On the Trinity,” but many others, including “The City of God,” a monumental work of over 1,000 pages.

    Fresco of St. Augustine.
    Sandro Botticelli via Wikimedia Commons

    Sandro Botticelli’s 1480 painting of Augustine in his study shows the saint searching for clarity of thought as he pauses his writing.

    Dressed simply in a long white garment and a cloak, he has set aside his bishop’s miter, an official hat – also a gesture of humility. His study is crowded with books; on the right, behind his head, a book is open to a study of geometry.

    Botticelli tries to show the saint as a scholar in ancient times by placing on the left an old and discredited celestial model that depicts the Earth at the center of the universe, with the Sun, Moon, planets and stars revolving around it. We, with modern knowledge, understand that despite his intelligence, Augustine cannot know everything.

    Leo has been both a scholar and pastor. He served as a professor of canon law and early Christian theology at San Carlos y San Marcelo, a seminary in Peru.

    Yet, like the founder of his order, his words at this first Mass reflected his humility when he said that his appointment as pope was “both a cross and a blessing” and spoke of the responsibility he and the cardinals have in the world.

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

    – ref. What Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto reveal about his dedication to the ideals of St. Augustine − an art historian explains – https://theconversation.com/what-pope-leo-xivs-coat-of-arms-and-motto-reveal-about-his-dedication-to-the-ideals-of-st-augustine-an-art-historian-explains-256539

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Beeline Appoints Veteran Public Company Executive Frank Knuettel II to Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Providence, RI, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Beeline Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLNE), a next-generation digital mortgage lender focused on transforming real estate investment financing, today announced the appointment of Frank Knuettel II to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

    Mr. Knuettel brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience across dynamic, early-stage public companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Channel Therapeutics Corporation since 2023, having started as CFO in 2022. Known for his operational discipline and M&A acumen, Mr. Knuettel has helped companies scale aggressively, including spearheading a revenue expansion at Unrivaled Brands from $10 million to $100 million annualized in just six quarters through strategic acquisitions.

    “Frank’s addition to the board marks a pivotal moment in Beeline’s growth story,” said Nick Liuzza, CEO of Beeline. “His deep capital markets knowledge, proven ability to lead and scale businesses, and transactional experience across more than 15 M&A deals will be invaluable as we expand our footprint and product offerings in the investment lending market.”

    Throughout his career, Mr. Knuettel has raised over $400 million in public and private capital and has held leadership roles at multiple high-growth companies, including CFO of IP Commerce, a fintech platform provider, and Chief Strategy Officer at MJardin Group. He currently serves on the board of Etheros Pharmaceuticals Corp. and has held board seats at both public and private companies.

    Mr. Knuettel holds a BA with honors in Economics from Tufts University and earned his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

    “I’m excited to join the Beeline board at such a dynamic time,” said Mr. Knuettel. “The company’s technology-driven approach to simplifying investment property financing has significant potential, and I look forward to supporting the team as they execute on their ambitious vision.”

    About Beeline Beeline Financial Holdings, Inc. is a trailblazing mortgage fintech transforming the way people access property financing. Through its fully digital, AI-powered platform, Beeline delivers a faster, smarter path to home loans—whether for primary residences or investment properties. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Beeline is reshaping mortgage origination with speed, simplicity, and transparency at its core. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beeline Holdings and also operates Beeline Labs, its innovation arm focused on next-generation lending solutions.

    Contact: 
    ir@makeabeeline.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Neag School Receives $42K During UConn Gives 2025

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Thanks to about 550 individuals, the Neag School of Education garnered over $27,000 in contributions during UConn Gives 2025, along with $15,000 in challenges and matching gifts. The annual University-wide fundraising event raised about $5.4 million overall for UConn, with incoming donations to support everything from scholarships and academic programs to student groups and athletics. The Neag School promoted its different education-affiliated funds during this year’s event, held on April 21 and 22. Out of the 42 Neag School funds, the top three finishers were:

    • UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport – $16,425 from 394 donors, including a $1,000 matching gift from Heather McDonald ’23 Ed.D., plus $10,000 from the President’s and Provost’s Project Leaderboard Challenge
    • Dr. Sue Saunders Higher Education & Student Affairs (HESA) Professional Development Fund – $2,550 from 84 donors, including a $500 matching gift from Saunders
    • Neag School Dean’s Fund – $1,242 from 12 donors, plus $5,000 from the President’s and Provost’s Unit Leaderboard Challenge

    Housed in the Neag School of Education, UConn HNS is a U.S. Department of Agriculture, AmeriCorps, small local foundation, and private donation-funded effort to engage youth, adult caregivers of children, and adults eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) in nutrition and physical education. The group collaborates with partners and educational programs across Connecticut, including a longtime partnership with the City of Hartford. Students and faculty across UConn engage with UConn HNS through academic courses; paid positions; professional and holistic development sessions; and research.

    “UConn HNS is appreciative of the efforts of its staff to spread the word and engage current students and our alumni network in UConn Gives,” says Jennifer McGarry, UConn HNS executive director and Neag School professor.  “In the current climate where many funding sources are in jeopardy, the impact of the donations and the leaderboard challenge funds is significant in our continued ability to engage with communities across the state of Connecticut.”

    The impact of the donations and the leaderboard challenge funds is significant in our continued ability to engage with communities across the state of Connecticut. &#8212 Jennifer McGarry, UConn HNS Executive Director

    This year, the Dr. Sue Saunders HESA Professional Development Fund also won a $500 matching gift challenge funded by Saunders.

    The fund was established to honor the commitment and dedication of Saunders, longtime director of the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program, and to support the development of graduate students in the program. The fund supports students who participate in professional development activities, including conferences, courses, webinars, association memberships, access to publications, research activities, and more.

    “The Dr. Sue Saunders HESA Professional Development Fund is vital in supporting the learning, growth, and development of HESA master’s students,” says Adam McCready, assistant professor-in-residence in the program. “Dr. Saunders’ matching gift and the gifts from alumni and other community members ensure that HESA students can continue to have access to these transformative professional development opportunities.”

    The third project, the Neag School Dean’s Fund, benefits faculty and students by advancing teaching, research, and policy development. This fund provides the dean with flexibility in supporting cutting-edge research and the School’s best and brightest students.

    “As a crowdfunding campaign, UConn Gives is only as powerful as the people behind it and, as this year’s results show, we have incredibly passionate advocates behind the Neag School,” Dean Jason G. Irizarry says. “Thank you to every alum, faculty member, staff member, or friend of the School who supported us during UConn Gives. Your kind generosity directly impacts our students, faculty, and community partners.”

    UConn Gives 2025 may be over, but you can still offer your support. Visit education.uconn.edu/giving-to-neag to learn more. 

    UConn Gives fundraising totals are approximate and may be adjusted as gifts continue to be tallied.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: OSS Appoints Lieutenant General David Bassett (Ret.) Board Member

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Former Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency brings decades of defense acquisition and modernization expertise to support OSS’s AI and edge compute growth opportunities

    ESCONDIDO, Calif., May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS or the Company) (Nasdaq: OSS), a leader in rugged Enterprise Class compute for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and sensor processing at the edge, today announced that it has appointed Lieutenant General David Bassett (Ret.) to its Board of Directors, effective May 14, 2025. OSS’s Board of Directors consists of five current directors: Mike Knowles, Greg Matz, Mike Dumont, Mitch Herbets, and David Bassett.

    “We are excited to welcome Lieutenant General Bassett to OSS’ Board of Directors,” stated OSS President and CEO, Mike Knowles. “Attracting a Director of David’s caliber reflects the significant opportunities OSS is pursuing to improve the compute power and competitive edge of the U.S. Armed Forces. His experience managing modernization efforts and Ground Combat Systems programs across the U.S. Army is well aligned with our growth initiatives, including current programs underway to improve the situational awareness of U.S. Army vehicles. I look forward to David’s contributions and guidance.”

    “I’m honored to join the Company’s Board at such a pivotal moment in defense innovation,” said Lieutenant General David Bassett (Ret.). “I believe OSS’s advanced commercial AI and edge computing technologies are critical enablers for the modernization of our military platforms. Delivering resilient capability to our soldiers means processing data at the tactical edge and the Army needs to accelerate the deployment of these commercial capabilities where speed, resiliency, and data-driven decision-making are paramount.”

    Lieutenant General David Bassett (Ret.) Bio
    Bassett currently serves as a Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group, a consulting firm based in Washington DC, where he advises on business development, regulatory affairs, and capital raising activities.   Bassett’s distinguished 35-year military career was marked by leadership in modernization efforts and the management of large-scale acquisition programs.

    From 2020-2023, Bassett served as Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), where he led more than 11,000 civilian and military personnel who managed more than 250,000 contracts with total value in excess of $3.5 trillion. Prior to his role at DCMA, he served as Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), where he led the development and acquisition of the Army’s tactical network—one of the service’s top modernization priorities. Earlier, he served as Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS), where he led modernization efforts for the Army’s fleet of ground combat vehicles, including the Abrams, Bradley, and Stryker. His previous assignments include Deputy Program Executive Officer for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) and manager of the Joint Program Office, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV).

    He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Virginia, is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is a distinguished graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

    About One Stop Systems
    One Stop Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSS) is a leader in AI enabled solutions for the demanding ‘edge’. OSS designs and manufactures Enterprise Class compute and storage products that enable rugged AI, sensor fusion and autonomous capabilities without compromise. These hardware and software platforms bring the latest data center performance to harsh and challenging applications, whether they are on land, sea or in the air.

    OSS products include ruggedized servers, compute accelerators, flash storage arrays, and storage acceleration software. These specialized compact products are used across multiple industries and applications, including autonomous trucking and farming, as well as aircraft, drones, ships and vehicles within the defense industry.

    OSS solutions address the entire AI workflow, from high-speed data acquisition to deep learning, training and large-scale inference, and have delivered many industry firsts for industrial OEM and government customers.

    As the fastest growing segment of the multi-billion-dollar edge computing market, AI enabled solutions require-and OSS delivers-the highest level of performance in the most challenging environments without compromise.

    OSS products are available directly or through global distributors. For more information, go to www.onestopsystems.com. You can also follow OSS on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    One Stop Systems cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “aim,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “suggest,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs and expectations. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by One Stop Systems or its partners that any of our plans or expectations will be achieved, including but not limited to the potential and/or the results of current or future programs with defense contractors and the U.S. Department of Defense, the future adoption of technologies or applications, the potential benefit to the Company of Bassett’s background and experience, the expansion of the Company’s offerings and/or relationship with different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risk and uncertainties inherent in our business, including risks described in our prior press releases and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

    Media Contacts:
    Robert Kalebaugh
    One Stop Systems, Inc.
    Tel (858) 518-6154
    Email contact

    Investor Relations:
    Andrew Berger
    Managing Director
    SM Berger & Company, Inc.
    Tel (216) 464-6400
    Email contact

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