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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    The US president, Donald Trump, has unleashed a string of controversial policies since returning to the White House that have put his administration at odds with most of the world. He has, at the same time, forged an alliance with one country that is willing to do his bidding abroad.

    This country is El Salvador, a tiny central American nation nestled between Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador has found itself at the forefront of overseeing Trump’s contentious drive to deport undocumented migrants.

    In recent months, hundreds of foreign-born men have been deported from the US to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (Cecot) mega-prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. This is part of an agreement between Trump and the self-declared “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele.

    Such is the warmth between Trump and El Salvador’s leader that the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, recently hailed their alliance as “an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere”.

    The comment came shortly before Bukele met with Trump at the White House and said he will not return Kilmar Abrego García, a man that the US government admits was mistakenly deported. Bukele referred to the suggestion as “preposterous”.

    This is despite a US Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration “facilitate” García’s return. The US government says a court does not have the power to order the release of a person in a foreign prison.

    Bukele, the grandson of Palestinian Christian immigrants, is considered something of a maverick. His background is in advertising. Through his business, Obermet, Bukele advertised two election campaigns for the ruling Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the 2000s.

    He joined the FMLN as a member in 2012, and was elected as mayor of El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, three years later. Bukele’s relationship with the FMLN soon became strained. After several public spats, he was expelled from the party. This included calling Luis Martínez, the country’s then attorney-general, a “gangster, very corrupt, [and] the worst of the worst”.

    Bukele subsequently launched his own political front, Nuevas Ideas. And when the country’s electoral court refused to register the party for the 2019 presidential elections, he ran as the candidate for the right-wing Grand Alliance for National Unity. Bukele won with 53% of the vote and, since then, his political fortunes have been in constant ascent.

    While many outside El Salvador see Bukele as a serial human rights abuser, his countrymen consider him a political messiah. His popularity is such that he won an unprecedented second presidential term in 2024 with over 84% of the vote.

    The country’s constitution had previously restricted a sitting president from contesting two terms in a row. Bukele’s critics say he circumvented the rules by using his congressional majority to replace Supreme Court judges.

    The court later ruled that the president can serve two consecutive terms in office. In the past, Bukele has remarked that restrictions on re-election only exist in developing countries.

    Bukele’s popularity stems from having rid his country of gang violence. El Salvador was once known for having the highest per capita homicide rate in the world, with 105 murders per 100,000 people in 2015. But under Bukele’s leadership, it is now considered a haven of peace in an otherwise unstable region.

    In 2022, after a spate of gang killings, Bukele declared a state of emergency. The decree curtailed the right to be informed of the reason for arrest and access to a lawyer upon being detained. It also allowed for administrative detention of more than 72 hours.

    Tens of thousands of people were rounded up and thrown in jail without trial. El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with roughly 110,000 people in jail. The proportion of its population that is incarcerated is twice that of the next nearest country, Cuba.

    Many of the alleged criminals – as well as those deported from the US – are held in Cecot. The prison has been described by activists as “a black hole of human rights”. When Bukele first unveiled the facility, he said prisoners would receive “not one ray of sunlight”.

    Bukele’s tough anti-criminal stance has been lauded across Latin America. Many regional leaders have embraced Bukele-style policies to tackle criminal violence in their respective countries. His policies have also clearly been appreciated by Trump.



    Read more:
    Latin America: several countries look to combat gang violence by fighting fire with fire

    Alliance of convenience

    Bukele and Trump share the same ideological persuasion. Both are conservative right-wing populists. But while there is a deep convergence in their ideology, their alliance is also one of convenience.

    Trump wants to rid the US of undocumented migrants from south of the border. El Salvador has, so far, provided a convenient avenue to address his administration’s needs.

    And for Bukele, it is financially worthwhile to house deportees from the US. The Bukele and Trump administrations have reportedly signed an agreement that will pay El Salvador US$20,000 (£15,000) per prisoner. This is a significant sum for El Salvador’s economy.

    His alliance with Trump will also help him shore up his political position at home and consolidate his image as a “do gooder” in an otherwise violent continent.

    Bukele’s security strategy has certainly rid El Salvador of gang violence. However, opening up El Salvador as a destination to address other countries’ criminality sets a bad precedent.

    Encouraged by Bukele’s policies, more states could choose to violate human rights and ignore judicial process by simply dumping their own citizens and others in prisons abroad. This is a reality that more courts may soon struggle to prevent.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation fellowships.

    – ref. Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad – https://theconversation.com/nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-strongman-leader-doing-donald-trumps-legwork-abroad-254629

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why were people so drawn to phrenology?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Fenneke Sysling, Assistant Professor in History of Science, Medicine and Colonialism, Leiden University

    B.erne/Shutterstock

    It’s hard to imagine now, but people once believed that the bumps on your head could reveal your personality. For one thing, it’s so hard to locate the bumps on your head, let alone the thirty or so bumps the phrenologists said could be discerned. So why was phrenology such an attractive idea for such a long time?

    Phrenology was the belief that the brain’s activity could be studied by examining the bumps on the skull, in places where the brain pushed outwards. Phrenologists claimed they could read your personality based on how big different bumps were. Initially, after German physiologist Franz Joseph Gall developed the new doctrine around 1800, it was a subject of serious scientific debate. But it was soon labelled quackery by the academic elite.

    But that wasn’t the end of phrenology. In fact, it became more popular in the 19th century, thanks to physician Johann Gaspar Spurzheim who wrote books and gave public lectures in Britain and France – focusing less on skulls and brains, and more on reading the living people. It remained a popular pastime for more than a century, mainly in English-speaking parts of the world but also outside it, for example in China.

    Front page of the American Phrenological Journal and Science of Health, 1880.
    AKaiser/Shutterstock

    Part of the appeal of phrenology was that it gave people a vocabulary to understand themselves and others. With urbanisation and a growing middle class, outside rigid class and religious structures, people were curious about new ways to categorise humankind. In the city, you wouldn’t necessarily know everyone nearby or even your neighbours, so your place in society was less determined.

    This may have led to more freedom but also to insecurity about what your and everyone else’s place was. Phrenology was a new way of classifying others. But it was not only meant to study others, it was also a way to know yourself, just like diary writing which also gained popularity in this period. With the help of phrenology, people could now see themselves as having an individual self, reflected in the shape of their head.

    Those interested could go to a lecture or read a book about phrenology or – if you lived in New York – visit the Phrenological Cabinet, a display of skulls, busts and portraits. If you really wanted to learn something about yourself, you asked a phrenologist for an examination. In the US this would cost you about half a dollar, (US$20 dollars (£15) today). Many popular phrenologists in the UK and the US offered readings. They were often itinerant, setting up shop in hotel rooms or at Brighton Pier in southern England.

    After a reading, clients sometimes received a written assessment, but more usually
    received a cheaper standardised chart that detailed their characteristics. On it, they received a score for typical phrenological characteristics such as adhesiveness (or friendship), spirituality, benevolence and time (the ability to judge the lapse of time, “essential for musicians”).

    The score was based on the phrenologist’s approach. They tended to gauge the size of the bumps in relative size, compared to your other bumps and to other people’s bumps. They claimed that this was a scientific approach, but it gave phrenologists a great deal of freedom in interpretation.

    And – surprise surprise – my analysis of about 160 charts between 1840 and 1940 showed that every single person who received a chart scored above average in most if not all traits.

    The positive results partly explain the appeal of a visit to the phrenologist. Another explanation, writes history professor Michael Sokal, is the Barnum effect. This is the tendency of people to rate descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored for them as accurate. In fact, they are often so vague and general that they would apply to almost all people.

    Many people, for example, would agree with the suggestion that they are of above-average intelligence but also experience anxiety and self-doubt sometimes. And, indeed, in my collections of phrenological charts, the trait that on average gets the lowest score was “self-esteem”. If only you work a bit on your self-esteem, is the implicit message, you can be an even better version of yourself.

    Phrenologists were often deterministic when they judged criminals or non-white
    people, based on the skulls or busts they had of people from these categories. Their irregular features or skull shapes apparently condemned them to a life in prison or in slavery.

    But they took a different approach to the middle-class visitors of their offices. The character trait of “destructiveness”, for example, was seen the trait of a murderer, but for a middle-class individual was usually explained as energy for overcoming difficulties.

    According to phrenologists, everyone could play a role in their destiny and people could use their self-knowledge for improvement. Taking time to reflect on the relationship between cause and effect, for example, could slowly increase the size of your “causality” bump, phrenologists said.

    According to early 20th-century phrenologist Stephen Tracht, it took three weeks for a child, three years for a young man, and more once you were 45 or 50, to develop a specific part of the brain.

    These practices show how in phrenology self-knowledge and self-improvement came to be seen as two sides of the same coin. And while not everyone will have accepted their phrenological assessment as an absolute truth and customers often took only the information from it that they liked, phrenology did become part of people’s vocabulary, and with it the message that with the right tools, they could become a better version of themselves.

    Fenneke Sysling received funding from the Dutch Research Council

    – ref. Why were people so drawn to phrenology? – https://theconversation.com/why-were-people-so-drawn-to-phrenology-246646

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Low iron is common in teenage girls – with vegans and vegetarians at greatest risk, according to our research in Sweden

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Moa Wolff, Postdoctoral Fellow, Family Medicine and Community Medicine, Lund University

    Teenage girls are particularly at risk of iron deficiency. Perfect Wave/ Shutterstock

    Teenage girls who avoid meat in favour of a plant-based diet are at higher risk of developing an iron deficiency, according to our latest research.

    Our study confirmed that iron deficiency is common among teenage girls, with 38% of participants affected. We also found that risk of iron deficiency was strongly associated with both eating patterns and menstrual blood loss. Girls who reported heavy periods and followed a meat-restricted diet – meaning they were vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or avoided red meat – had by far the highest risk of developing iron deficiency. We found that nearly 70% of vegans and vegetarians had iron deficiency.

    As a growing number of young people turn to sustainable eating practices, this condition could become even more common. This is why it’s important teenagers are properly informed about the risks of low iron – and how they can get enough iron even while following a plant-based diet.

    The idea for this study came from the personal experience of one of us, whose teenage daughter struggled with fatigue, low mood and poor stamina. After months of assuming it was stress or excess screen time, blood tests revealed the cause: iron deficiency anaemia. The experience made us wonder whether the issue is more widespread. This sparked a research collaboration that brought together clinical and nutritional expertise.

    The study included 475 female high school students from southern Sweden. Participants completed questionnaires about their diet, what supplements they used, as well as their menstrual patterns. They also provided blood samples, which were analysed for haemoglobin and ferritin – the key markers used to assess iron status.

    The body contains about as much iron as a two-inch nail. Around two-thirds of the body’s iron is used in red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of body. This is why a deficiency can cause tiredness, pale skin and shortness of breath.

    But iron isn’t just about oxygen. The remaining one-third plays a key role in brain function, energy metabolism and nerve signalling. Studies show that even without anaemia, low iron can lead to fatigue, poor concentration, reduced academic performance and physical tiredness. Treating iron deficiency has been linked to reduced fatigue.

    Teenage girls are at particular risk of iron deficiency. There are several reasons for this.

    First, the body needs extra iron to keep up with the rapid growth that happens during puberty. Second, menstruation leads to iron loss, with periods often heavy during the first years after menarche (a woman’s first period). Third, diet plays a key role. Many girls also change their eating habits during adolescence, often reducing their intake of red meat or animal products. But even among omnivores, iron intake tends to be too low. It’s not just about what they avoid – it’s that many simply aren’t getting enough iron overall.

    Those who avoided animal proteins were at the highest risk of iron deficiency.
    nadianb/ Shutterstock

    While our findings are from Sweden, the issue is not unique to the country. A European school-based study from 2006-2007 found iron deficiency in 26% of girls aged between 12 and 17. Data from the United States also found that around 17% of girls aged 12 to 21 have low iron stores. Study methods may differ, but the trend is consistent: adolescent girls across countries are at risk of iron deficiency – often without knowing it.

    Despite how common iron deficiency is, several persistent myths can prevent young people from getting the help they need.

    One common belief is that eliminating animal products is inherently healthy, without acknowledging the need to replace the nutrients they supply.

    A plant-based diet can absolutely be healthy and sustainable. But when animal sources of iron are removed, it’s essential to include iron-rich plant foods and to combine them with certain foods for better absorption. Without that knowledge, even well-intentioned choices can lead to nutritional gaps.

    Another common belief is that low iron would be obvious – that you’d feel if you had it.

    In reality, iron deficiency and anaemia often develops slowly and the body adapts over time. Symptoms such as tiredness, poor concentration and low mood can sneak up gradually and become the new normal.

    A third misconception is that iron supplements are dangerous or unnecessary.

    For those diagnosed with a deficiency, supplements are often essential and safe when used properly. Treatment usually needs to continue for at least three months to restore the body’s iron stores.

    Iron intake

    So, what can be done? Here are three simple, evidence-based tips for a sustainable iron-rich diet:

    1. Make iron part of your daily routine. Whole grains, legumes and leafy greens (such as spinach, kale and chard) are good plant-based sources of iron. Even in a balanced diet, where a person consumes a maximum of 500g of red meat per week, more than 80% of daily iron intake comes from plant-based sources.

    2. Help your body absorb it. Plant-based iron is often tightly bound to phytic acid and needs help to be released. So it’s important to combine iron-rich meals with enhancers such as vitamin C (citrus fruits, peppers and cruciferous vegetables) or natural acids (citrus juice, vinegar, soy sauce, miso, kimchi or sauerkraut). These enhancers help improve iron absorption. You can also use fermentation to your advantage. Foods such as sourdough bread have gone through processes that reduce phytic acid, making iron more accessible.

    3. Avoid iron blockers. Skip tea or coffee with meals. The tannins they contain can significantly reduce iron absorption.

    With the right knowledge, young people can eat both sustainably and healthily – and avoid iron deficiency and its consequences.

    Moa Wolff receives funding from the Southern Health Care Region of Sweden, the Lions Research Fund Skåne, and Regional Funding for Clinical Research (USVE). She has also received an honorarium from Pharmacosmos for giving an educational webinar.

    Anna Stubbendorff 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. Low iron is common in teenage girls – with vegans and vegetarians at greatest risk, according to our research in Sweden – https://theconversation.com/low-iron-is-common-in-teenage-girls-with-vegans-and-vegetarians-at-greatest-risk-according-to-our-research-in-sweden-253878

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Four ways to get out of bed in the morning – and beat grogginess

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Trudy Meehan, Lecturer, Centre for Positive Psychology and Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

    Studio Romantic/Shutterstock

    If you feel like “waking up is the hardest thing I do all day” then you’re not alone. The experience has been termed “sleep inertia” and while it’s a normal part of the sleep-wake experience, it can be frustrating to wake up feeling tired.

    Much of the research on sleep inertia focuses on reducing the risk of performance impairment and we are yet to find clear empirical evidence to support the use of any one single reactive countermeasure.

    The most promising evidence is for the use of caffeine: taken before a short nap of less than 30 minutes, it has been shown to reduce the effects of sleep inertia. While this is helpful if you need to recover after a rest during the day, heading back to bed for a nap just after waking up isn’t very practical for most of us.

    So here are some more practical tips that you can use to help you get out of bed.

    Get an alarm clock

    If you’re struggling to get out of bed in the morning the first thing to ask is, where is your smart phone? Do you keep it next to the bed as an alarm clock? Make getting an old fashioned alarm clock your priority.

    The mere presence of the phone near you as you sleep reduces sleep quality – if it’s nearby, it’s too hard to resist. It’s not just through disruptive notifications (putting it on silent isn’t good enough). Having the phone next to you as you sleep can induce anticipatory anxiety and increase emotional arousal. Just knowing it’s there will keep you at a level of alertness that is not conducive to falling off into a deep sleep.

    There’s an additional benefit to keeping the phone out of your room: you are less likely to check it first thing in the morning. There are many reasons to avoid this habit, one of the most compelling centres around the problem of micro-dosing ourselves with dopamine before we even get enough motivation to get out of the bed.

    Dopamine plays a central role in motivation and craving. It peaks and troughs throughout our day, dopamine dips are functional because we feel discomfort and that propels us to seek relief. Think cave men and women needing the motivation to leave the safety of the cave to find food, water or a mate. Leaving the cave was high risk, and the push from our dopamine drop discomfort would have been essential to get us up and out.

    We forget how much of our brain still works in these ancient ways. Humans still rely on the same system to get out of bed. When we reach for a smartphone, we’re met with rapid, bite-sized dopamine hits – notifications, beautiful people, likes, novel information. These micro-stimuli may blunt the natural dip in dopamine, circumventing the discomfort we need to motivate us to get moving. Instead of experiencing a rise in drive, we feel artificially satisfied, making it easier to stay curled up under the warm covers.

    Don’t hit snooze

    You’ve got the devices out of your bedroom – but now you need to work on your relationship with your alarm clock. Don’t hit snooze.

    Hitting snooze increases the likelihood of dropping back into a deep sleep phase and will induce regular sleep disruptions and unwanted sleep stage transitions. These all increase the impact of sleep inertia and reduce vigour.

    If you really struggle to avoid the seductive snooze button, there are alarm clocks available that usually come with wheels that will take themselves out of your reach. A bit of movement to help get you out of bed as a bonus.

    Or, think about getting an alarm clock that opens your curtains to let in the morning light. Brief bright light exposure has been shown to improve alertness and energy

    Remember when your parents pulled the covers off the bed?

    Anyone who had older siblings, or a parent or caregiver involved in getting them out of bed when you were an adolescent will have experienced having the cover pulled off the bed as a last ditch effort to move you along. It turns out that there may have been some wisdom to this method.

    Cooling the extremities immediately after waking up is a promising way to accelerate recovery from sleep inerita. And while we are staying old school, if all else fails, wash your face.

    Maybe you need to stay in bed?

    Most importantly of all, maybe you are just tired and need to stay in bed. That’s not a moral failing or a collapse of your will power. You might just actually need more rest.

    If you’re someone who is genuinely sleep deprived or living with an energy sapping illness or a life event that’s taking all your resources, maybe you need to make space for staying in bed. Critical disability scholar Ellen Samuels writes about “crip time”. Sometimes illness or disability change our relationship with time and we need to go at a different pace. Samuels and other scholars reflect on the paradox of needing to slow down in order to keep up.

    So sometimes the problem is the expectation that we force our minds and bodies into unrealistic performances of competency and productivity – and sometimes it’s going to have to be okay to not get out of bed.

    Trudy Meehan 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. Four ways to get out of bed in the morning – and beat grogginess – https://theconversation.com/four-ways-to-get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning-and-beat-grogginess-254334

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    United States President Donald Trump has been loud and clear. America’s liberal democratic allies cannot rely on the U.S. to protect them.

    Trump has also suggested using illegal force to achieve his own imperialist ambitions, even against former allies.

    Message received.

    Canadians and Europeans understand the American partnership is over.

    They’re now processing the implications of America’s apparent democratic collapse for global security.

    Does Trump’s stance mean that liberal democracies are now vulnerable to invasions, annexations and theft of natural resources? Yes, it does.



    Read more:
    An American military invasion of Canada? No longer unthinkable, but highly unlikely

    International security scholarship shows that, unless they are deterred, predatory superpowers use force to seize territory and natural resources for the purpose of aggrandizement.

    While an invasion of Canada is not imminent, the threats to democratic nations are now fully detectable and predictable.

    The responsible time to deter these threats is right now.

    Asymmetric deterrence

    Deterrence works when the imposed cost of an action is higher than its expected benefit. That means a hostile power won’t attack Canada if the risks of invasion are higher than the value of seizing our natural resources.

    Given that Canada is extremely resource-rich, that’s a challenge.

    While the Canadian government can make smart choices on military procurement, there is little any Canadian leader can do to transform the Canadian Armed Forces into a superpower army.

    Even if Canada redirected every penny of its budget to defence spending, it could not catch up with American, Russian or Chinese military power. Given this asymmetry, is deterrence possible?

    Absolutely.

    To get there, Canada must take two big steps: first, adopt a “whole-of-society” defence system to protect the homeland; and second, contribute to a democratic nuclear umbrella.



    Read more:
    Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance

    Whole-of-society defence

    In “whole-of-society” defence, all citizens play a role in national security and emergency response. This approach requires mandatory military service and nationwide civil defence preparations.

    Whole-of-society defence not only improves societal resilience, but it also scares away potential invaders.

    Ordinary citizens can in fact defeat superpowers using nothing more than small arms and light weapons. The U.S. and Russia have both been trounced in the past by well-armed resistance movements.

    For a power-drunk dictator, whole-of-society defence is a sobering reality check.

    The presence of a large, well-armed and well-trained domestic population promises invaders a bloody, expensive and protracted ground war. That means high risks, low rewards, skyrocketing costs and decades-long timelines.

    That’s enough to deter a predatory superpower.



    Read more:
    Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

    Many of Canada’s democratic allies have already embraced whole-of-society defence. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all have mandatory military service and civil defence, and sensible gun regulations that allow law-abiding citizens to contribute to national security.

    Canada has every reason to adopt the Scandinavian approach to national defence, including mandatory military and civil service and the removal of some restrictions on Canadian firearms. An excellent model to consider is Sweden’s brand new “Total Defence” system.

    Norwegians, Finns and Swedes are peaceful people who have learned to survive next to a dangerous superpower. Canadians must look at their own vulnerabilities and see the logic and wisdom behind the Scandinavian approach.

    A democratic nuclear umbrella

    Although the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits nuclear weapons development, the Trump administration’s utter disdain for democratic allies has prompted a global rethink. Trump has demanded NATO countries stop relying on the U.S. military and spend more on their own defence.

    Nuclear weapons acquisition complies with his demand.

    Germany and Poland have reopened the nuclear debate, but most European democracies lack the materials to develop their own weapons. Instead, they are looking to France and the United Kingdom to create a new European nuclear umbrella.

    Some Canadians hope the U.K. and French umbrellas could protect Canada, too.

    That’s the wrong mentality.

    The U.K. and France have a combined 515 nuclear weapons. Russia has 5,580.

    Instead of asking the U.K. and France to further stretch their limited arsenals, Canada could step up and contribute to the solution.

    Canada is already a nuclear-threshold state with both the know-how and raw materials to develop a nuclear weapon. It would take time and money, but Canada is in a better position to help than most other European countries.

    Once across the nuclear threshold, Canada would have a bulletproof defence of its homeland. It could then work with the U.K. and France as an equal and reliable partner, contributing to a democratic nuclear umbrella to protect vulnerable allies.

    This would require formal withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but that action doesn’t need to be provocative or unilateral. Canada could co-ordinate its withdrawal with European allies as part of a collective defence of liberal democracies.

    In the face of rising tyranny and superpower conquest, Canada can either choose to be a burden on its overstretched French and British allies or a source of renewed safety for its democratic friends.

    Defending democracy

    Deterrence is hard work, but it is infinitely better than the horrors of invasion.

    Mandatory military service and nuclear weapons may be new ideas for Canadians, but other friendly democracies have been using these strategies for decades.

    The good news is that successful deterrence means stability and peace, so citizens can relax and carry on with their lives. Canadians want this safety for themselves, and for their allies, too.

    The time for Canada to act is now, when threats are foreseeable but not imminent. Waiting until an army amasses at the border is too late.

    To deter aggression, Canadians need to step up and be a little more like their Scandinavian, British and French allies. That is the price of continued freedom.

    Aisha Ahmad receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service – https://theconversation.com/how-could-canada-deter-an-invasion-nukes-and-mandatory-military-service-253414

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: Active construction of university campuses continues

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin and the Government, a network of world-class university campuses is being created in Russia. The projects contribute to improving the quality of education and developing adjacent territories. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

    “One of these campuses is being built on the basis of the Oryol State University named after I.S. Turgenev. Currently, monolithic works are being completed at the construction site in the dormitory complex, which will consist of three buildings. All residential buildings will be connected by overground and underground passages. Thanks to them, students will be able to comfortably move to neighboring buildings without going outside,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    About 1.5 thousand students will live in comfortable conditions. The new buildings will also have gyms, rooms for independent study and leisure. The construction of the dormitory with a total area of 30 thousand square meters is planned to be completed in 2026.

    “Currently, more than 200 specialists are working at the construction site of the inter-university campus. In addition to the dormitory, an educational and laboratory building with a total area of more than 27 thousand square meters is also being built on its territory. About 2 thousand students will be able to study in the five-story building. Monolithic work is currently underway at the site,” said Karen Oganesyan, General Director of the Unified Customer in Construction.

    The company is also building three more campuses in Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad and Novosibirsk.

    Glazing of the academic buildings on the campus of the Ural Federal University has already been completed. The total area of the three buildings – the Specialized Educational and Scientific Center for Senior Schoolchildren, the Institute of Radio Electronics and Information Technology, and the Institute of Economics and Management – is 100,000 square meters. Work is currently underway on the exterior finishing of the facades, installation of internal engineering systems, and finishing of the premises. The construction of the buildings is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.

    For students of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, it is planned to complete the construction of two dormitories this year – for a total of 2.5 thousand places. In addition, in the first quarter of 2025, a clock tower was erected on one of the buildings of the Kantiana campus.

    Three new modern buildings will also appear on the campus of Novosibirsk State University. One of them, a building for flow auditoriums, has already been put into operation. The buildings will be able to accommodate up to 3,000 people.

    Modern educational campuses are designed taking into account advanced technologies and innovative approaches. They are equipped with high-tech laboratories, libraries, areas for collective work and rest, which creates a comfortable environment for study and scientific activity. An important aspect is the integration of campuses into the city infrastructure.

    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 Russia: International Conference at the State University of Management: A Look into the Future of Public Administration

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The International Scientific and Practical Conference “State and Municipal Administration in the Context of the Implementation of National Development Goals of Russia” has begun its work at the State University of Management.

    The official part was opened by the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroev.

    “The topic of today’s meeting is closer to our university than ever, because the specialty “State and Municipal Administration” was born and developed here, and is now implemented in many universities of the country. Many of our graduates hold positions in the state and municipal service, including top positions in ministries, governments and municipalities. And we are pleased that these careers began within the walls of our university,” Vladimir Vitalievich noted.

    The welcoming speech was given by the Chairman of the Commission on Territorial Development, Urban Environment and Infrastructure of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of the NP “Center for Innovations of Municipalities” Andrey Maksimov.

    “I am glad that such a large-scale conference dedicated to the quality of public administration is taking place at the State University of Management. Today we are at an important point: over the past five years, the reform of legislation in the sphere of municipal administration has been completed and the directions for its further development have been laid down. Clear national goals and guidelines for shaping the future of each of us have appeared,” Andrei Nikolaevich emphasized.

    On behalf of the conference organizer, the first adviser to the Mayor of Moscow, professor of the Department of State and Municipal Administration of the State University of Management Vladimir Zotov took the floor.

    “Our traditional conference is taking place within the walls of the first management university, which has a rich history. Tens of thousands of its graduates work in various sectors of our country’s economy and hold high positions in state and municipal government. This year, Russia is moving to a new system of public authority. Well-formulated goals and programs are the key to our future,” concluded Vladimir Borisovich.

    Then the President of the Russian Municipal Academy (RMA) Alexander Aigistov spoke about the history of the development of the new law in the sphere of municipal management and the changes envisaged in it. After that, he presented RMA medals for contribution to the development of local self-government in the Russian Federation to Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Management Elena Khmelchenko and a medal for outstanding labor achievements to Associate Professor of the Department Mikhail Polyakov.

    Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Kherson Technical University Viktor Mokrushin thanked the State University of Management for assistance and support in development.

    “Thank you for the opportunity to participate, for helping our university. We also have a department of state and municipal management. We are starting almost from scratch, but thanks to the help of the GUU management, we are succeeding,” noted Viktor Ivanovich.

    The head of the Vykhino-Zhulebino municipal district Nina Kalkova presented letters of gratitude for their contribution to the training of highly qualified specialists in the field of state and municipal administration to Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Administration Vladimir Zotov and Associate Professor of the department Olga Petrina, as well as gratitude to the specialist in educational and methodological work of the department Valeria Polynnikova.

    The head of the Ryazan municipal district, Anatoly Yevseyev, presented letters of gratitude to the head of the department of “State and Municipal Administration” Sergey Chuyev and the assistant of the department Anna Khaustova.

    The head of the Lefortovo municipal district, Mikhail Surkov, presented letters of gratitude to specialists in educational and methodological work of the Department of State and Municipal Administration, Ekaterina Lavrova and Ekaterina Volodina

    The head of the Tekstilshchiki municipal district, Alexandra Ignatyeva, handed over a letter of thanks to the associate professor of the Department of State and Municipal Administration, Mikhail Polyakov.

    After the formal part, the work continued within the framework of seven thematic sections.

    On April 17, the conference will include the All-Russian competition “History of Local Self-Government in My Region” and the Final of the All-Russian competition of student project (research) works in the field of state and municipal administration “Managers: New Generation”, and on April 19, a meeting of the young scientists section and the Final of the Open competition of projects of students in grades 9-11 “If I were the head of the city (district)” will take place. Details on the official website of the conference.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/16/2025

    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 Africa: Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa

    The cultural and creative industries are a growing source of income and job creation around the world, generating tens of millions of jobs. The cultural sector is also linked to soft power, to relations between countries.

    Because of this, culture is an active part of the agenda of the G20 global economic forum. Under the presidency of South Africa in 2025, the G20 has chosen four key culture focus areas: heritage restitution; socio-economic strategies for inclusivity; digital technologies; and climate action.

    Here, as a scholar of the sector, I outline why these four priorities are relevant to both the G20 and the African continent, and to South Africa itself as the host country, in the light of current global trends and issues.

    G20 and culture

    The relationship between culture and development is increasingly emphasised. The 2022 Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – or Mondiacult – recommended that culture be a “stand-alone” sustainable development goal.

    This proposal is underlined by the UN’s Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024. The 17 sustainable development goals, adopted by the UN in 2015, are to ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030. They include goals like zero hunger and reduced inequalities.

    Read more: What is Mondiacult? 6 take-aways from the world’s biggest cultural policy gathering

    As the global order shifts, new actors from the global south are emerging as the Brics group. However, the G20 is the only forum that includes countries from both the global north and south.

    The G20, like the G7 and Brics, has a tradition of including culture among the items for discussion at ministerial level, supported by a working group.

    Under Brazil’s presidency in 2024, the G20 Culture Working Group highlighted the relationship between education and culture. This was in line with Unesco’s Framework for Culture and Arts Education. Taking over the G20 presidency, South Africa has expanded on the cultural agenda.

    Cultural heritage

    Priority 1: the safeguarding and restitution of cultural heritage to protect human rights.

    This relates to cultural property, mainly stolen during colonisation and displayed in global south museums. It’s one of the key issues in the heritage sector today.

    After years of demands by formerly colonised countries, there’s a growing list of high profile objects being sent back home. France returned 26 Dahomey Kingdom royal treasures to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar Tall to Senegal; 119 Benin bronzes came from the Netherlands to Nigeria. Akan cultural objects were restituted from Japan to Côte d’Ivoire.

    This global issue has particularly affected African countries. South Africa, too, knows its importance, with the repatriation of the human remains of Saartjie Baartman by France.

    Statues of the Kingdom of Dahomey returned to Benin by France. Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images

    The Mondiacult 2022 declaration calls the return of cultural heritage an “ethical imperative”. It’s part of the respect for cultural rights and human rights.

    For South Africa, one of the most influential countries on the continent, this is a good way to support the 2023 position of the African Union (AU) on the urgent return of this heritage. Improving the relationship between the global north and south requires this kind of debate.

    Inclusive development

    Priority 2: integrating cultural policies in socio-economic strategies to ensure inclusive, rights-based development.

    The importance of cultural goods and services in national and international trade has been highlighted many times. Statistics show they make up a healthy share of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    A 2021 study found that the cultural and creative industries contributed 4.3% to South Africa’s GDP. At African level, they are estimated to generate US$45.35 billion in income and 15.87 million jobs. According to the 2024 UN Creative Economy Outlook, exports of creative services globally rose to $1.4 trillion in 2022, an increase of 29% since 2017. Exports of creative goods reached US$713 billion, an increase of 19%.

    Read more: South Africa has taken over the G20 presidency from Brazil – what lessons can it learn?

    With the development of an African Continental Free Trade Area, the AU revised its plan for action on cultural and creative industries.

    South Africa can play a leading role in this priority, having drafted a national policy paper on trade agreements involving the creative and cultural industries. The country’s Creative Industries Vision 2040 aims for an annual growth rate of 6.8% of GDP for these industries.

    However, the creative economy should be rights-based development and inclusive of local communities, young people and women. The G20 countries will need to work together to support policies that enhance sustainability and equity for creative workers. This is especially important in Africa where the creative economy is largely informal and unprotected.

    Digital technologies

    Priority 3: harnessing digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture and sustainable economies.

    Digital technology is transforming the creative economy value chain. In my survey of the COVID era’s harsh impact on creative workers, I found that digital media, online games, music and audiovisual content were able to be resilient. Their value chains, from creator to user, don’t require high levels of face-to-face interaction, and online tools can be used effectively.

    Maliyo, a games development company in Lagos, Nigeria. Olympia de Maismont/AFP/Getty Images

    In 2024 the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported that, in 2022, the most exported creative services globally were software services (41.3%), research and development (30.7%), advertising, market research and architecture (15.5%), audiovisual services (7.9%), information services (4%) and cultural, recreational and heritage services (0.6%).

    While digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can be seen as a threat to creativity and intellectual property, they can also be used to promote respect for communities and creators. The development of monitoring software for collecting music rights payments is an example.

    In 2021 the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a recommendation on the ethics of AI. It proposes that AI tools be used for the benefit of the promotion, preservation, enrichment and accessibility of intangible or tangible cultural heritage. This issue is crucial because Mondiacult 2022 declared that culture is a “global public good” and the G20 must fund research and development of the most appropriate and advanced AI tools.

    Climate change

    Priority 4: the intersection of culture and climate change – shaping global responses.

    The challenges of climate change require a range of responses. Intangible cultural heritage (like oral traditions, social practices, rituals) can help to teach how ancient societies organised their relationships with nature and how they dealt with changes.

    The Herds, touring the world from central Africa for climate awareness. Hardy Bope/AFP/Getty Images

    Art, theatre, film, gaming and many other cultural forms can educate and raise awareness about this urgent issue. The African continent has a rich cultural diversity and is a potential source of many unexpected and insightful solutions.

    Keeping it relevant

    These four priorities reflect what is important on the continent. Africa will benefit from the collective efforts of the G20 countries in implementing such priorities. The presence of the AU as a permanent member of the G20 will support South Africa’s leadership and advance the continent’s cause.

    The challenge to the culture working group is to come up with relevant recommendations that can be endorsed by the G20 Ministerial Meeting. The 2024 G7 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, along with the AU and the African Development Bank, has set the tone. Their Naples Statement on culture for the sustainable development of Africa and the world notes that the G7 countries “intend to work with African governments to harness culture as a key driver of sustainable development”.

    A G20 summit on African soil cannot do less. It has all the potential it needs to support the African cultural sector in a variety of ways.

    – Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda
    – https://theconversation.com/culture-can-build-a-better-world-four-key-issues-on-africas-g20-agenda-253864

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kylie Thomas, Senior Researcher and Senior Lecturer (Radical Humanities Laboratory, University College Cork), NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies

    Ernest Cole is famous for photographing the everyday realities of South Africa’s racist apartheid system. His 1967 book House of Bondage ensured his damning critique of the white minority regime was seen by the world. But its publication sent him into exile and was banned at home.

    The startling discovery of a vast archive of his work in a Swedish bank vault in 2017 has returned him to public view.

    House of Bondage was republished in 2023 and then, in 2024, celebrated Haitian film-maker Raoul Peck made Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.

    It would win the documentary prize at the Cannes Film Festival and show around the world, restoring the legacy of a photographer who died penniless in New York in 1990 at the age of 49.

    As a researcher of South African photography under apartheid, I was intrigued by how the film would convey this complex life story.

    It draws extensively on Cole’s images, made in South Africa, Europe and the US. It’s a beautiful, poetic interpretation of how his images mirrored his own experiences of oppression, displacement and the loneliness of exile.

    House of Bondage

    Cole was just 10 when the state introduced the Group Areas Act and entrenched racial segregation. He was 22 when his childhood neighbourhood of Eersterust was razed to the ground. His family was among the thousands forcibly removed to a new township.

    In his second year of high school, he elected to drop out. The state had introduced Bantu Education, designed to ensure Black children learned only enough for a life of servitude.

    Cole began to study by correspondence, taking a course with the New York Institute for Photography. By 18, he’d landed a position as a darkroom assistant at Drum magazine, working alongside German photographer Jürgen Schadeberg.

    Cole captured the everyday realities of Black life in South Africa. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    In 1959, Cole saw a copy of French street photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The People of Moscow, and decided he would create a similar book to convey what it meant to live under apartheid.

    He spent six years taking the photographs that would become House of Bondage, a book that exposed the apartheid state.

    Determined to publish his images, he fled to the US in 1966, where his book appeared a year later. Acclaimed internationally, it was banned for 22 years in South Africa. Cole was prohibited from returning home and spent the next 20 years stateless.

    Read more: Ernest Cole: South Africa’s most famous photobook has been republished after 55 years

    He hoped to find freedom in America. Instead he felt pigeonholed as a Black photographer, dismayed at only ever being commissioned to document suffering.

    He made hundreds of photographs of people in Harlem, often drawn to scenes that were impossible in South Africa. Mixed-race couples holding hands in public, young people of different races hanging out, neon signs offering “Sex, sex, sex” rather than the “Whites only” signs of segregation he documented at home.

    Under apartheid, public space was segregated. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Commissioned to take photos in the Deep South, he found the same suffering and racism he’d thought particular to South Africa.

    In a letter to the Norwegian government requesting an emergency travel certificate to leave the US, he wrote:

    Exposing the truth at whatever cost is one thing. But having to live a lifetime of being a chronicler of misery and injustice and callousness is another.

    A life in fragments

    For me, the most poignant moment of the film is the footage of Cole speaking in his own voice in a 1969 documentary. A slight man with a sorrowful gaze, he’s seated at a table with prints of his photos:

    I’ve been banned in absentia, but that doesn’t matter because it (his book) will stand in the future. Because I’m sure South Africa will be free.

    His youthful conviction is undercut by the presence, in his voice, of the weight of all he’s experienced. Correspondence shows Cole’s book was sent to government officials in the US and Europe, and to the United Nations, but it would take decades of resistance before apartheid fell.

    Black life in America was as painful as back home. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Despite his fame, and the support of leading international photographers, writers and editors, Cole’s determination was ground down by the racism he encountered everywhere he went. Although he received grants to continue his work, he descended into poverty and depression.

    By the mid-1980s he stopped taking photos – his cameras were lost, stolen, or sold, and he learned that his belongings, including negatives and prints that he’d left in a hotel storage room in New York, had been discarded. Cole was destitute and ill.

    Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he watched Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 from his hospital bed. Cole died in New York that same year. All his negatives and the work he’d made during his life in exile were thought to be lost.

    Cole also captured street images of childhood joys wherever he went. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Finding Ernest Cole

    Peck’s meditative film draws on Cole’s notebooks and letters, along with research interviews, in a rather bold attempt to have him “tell his own story”. It’s a story driven by both curiosity and heartbreak, narrated by actor LaKeith Stanfield, whose rather jarring American accent gives voice to a South African experience.

    Although she’s not mentioned in the credits, Peck’s script draws heavily on interviews by Swedish curator and researcher Gunilla Knape. Her association with the Hasselblad Foundation might account for why she remains unacknowledged – the organisation is linked to the ongoing controversy over ownership of Cole’s work.

    Read more: Glimpses into the history of street photography in South Africa

    In 2017, Cole’s nephew, Leslie Matlaisane, received an email requesting that he travel to Sweden to discuss the return of items belonging to his uncle, discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm.

    The film includes footage of Matlaisane’s journey to Sweden and the bizarre scene that unfolds as Cole’s archive is returned without any explanation about how it came to be either lost or found, or who’d placed it there.

    The boxes included 60,000 negatives, and Cole’s notebooks and research materials for House of Bondage. An incredible trove of history has resurfaced, but as Peck’s film shows, Cole himself was irrecoverably lost in exile.

    Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is showing in Johannesburg. It can be streamed on various services.

    – Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film
    – https://theconversation.com/ernest-cole-the-south-african-photographer-at-the-centre-of-a-powerful-and-heartbreaking-film-254508

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa’s domestic workers still battle with echoes of a racist past

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Amy Jo Murray, Social psychologist, University of Johannesburg

    There are 861,000 domestic workers employed in South Africa. They make up about 25% of the informal (non-agricultural) labour sector. By and large, it is still uneducated, black working-class females who clean and care for the country’s middle- to upper-class homes. It’s an eerily familiar scene.

    Paid domestic work provides a microcosm of South Africa’s continuing struggle with its apartheid past. While the slavery of the colonial era and the servitude of black people under apartheid’s white minority rule are now gone, paid domestic work has adapted to post-apartheid realities. A great deal has changed in the country’s legal landscape, but domestic labour preserves racial identities and inequalities.

    Read more: What is apartheid? New book for young readers explains South Africa’s racist system

    We have researched domestic labour in South Africa extensively for more than a decade, including the first author’s PhD. We have done in-depth interviews with over 70 employers and workers through a range of studies in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

    Our research shows that these racial identities and inequalities persist, particularly when domestic employers and workers avoid discussing the racial aspects of their relationships, feeling these are “too close for comfort” and liable to evoke explosive apartheid-era stereotypes.

    It’s clear that the injustices of paid domestic labour cannot be solved through legislation alone. The history, norms, and pain from the country’s past run too deep. They touch people personally, and affect the way they engage each other (or don’t).

    Social change requires innovative solutions to disrupt the status quo, while also facing the country’s haunting past.

    Changes on paper

    The end of apartheid in 1994 brought about a wave of changes, including equal rights for all citizens. Labour laws were extensively reformed. Rights and standards for domestic workers were introduced to address wages, working conditions, and other aspects of employment, theoretically ensuring fair treatment.

    These legal advancements led to some improvements in the minimum wage and the use of employment contracts of domestic workers. But they didn’t stop entrenched practices like payments-in-kind (for example giving groceries or housing instead of cash) and unpaid overtime.

    Read more: Why Nigerian women in Oyo state use child domestic workers

    The informal and private nature of domestic work makes it difficult to regulate. Progressive laws cannot reach here to eliminate cultural attitudes and behaviours that echo apartheid.

    In other words…

    In her 1980 book Maids and Madams, South African sociologist Jacklyn Cock was one of the first researchers to treat paid domestic labour as a reflection of broad structures of oppression in the country. She set out how apartheid racial hierarchies were overt, widely acknowledged, and crudely enacted. Domestic workers faced conditions close to slavery, with employers wielding unchecked power over their lives. Domestic work reinforced a rigid racial hierarchy, clearly demarcating the roles and status of the “madam” and the “maid”.

    Through a close analysis of extensive interviews, our research shows how language underpins this relationship today, both through what is said and what isn’t. Domestic workers and employers go to great lengths not to talk about themselves as the “maid” or the “madam”. They focus instead on intimacy, reciprocation, and mutual support, avoiding the need to negotiate their employment relationship or any other topic that might arouse issues relating to race or inequality.

    Read more: Household gardeners in South Africa: a survivalist life with little protection

    Middle- to upper-class employers are particularly sensitive to racial stereotypes and avoid language that hints at hierarchy or power. They sometimes say that domestic workers “feel like one of the family”, which obscures the underlying power dynamics.

    This matters because it allows potentially unfair or exploitative labour practices to be carried out under the guise of “familial” relations. For example, we might expect an aunt to go the extra mile for the family, staying late to help out and showing she cares about the household. Outside of these familial boundaries, an “employee” should not have these obligations.

    An employer supervises a domestic worker in the kitchen. David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

    Polite language can create a veneer of equality that hides ongoing exploitation. To avoid sounding like “the baas” (boss) or “the madam”, with racial overtones, many employers are reluctant to give direct feedback or set clear boundaries for their employees.

    Instead, we found that many give ambiguous instructions, or no instructions at all, avoiding the uncomfortable post-apartheid situation of being a middle-class white woman telling a working-class black woman what to do. This can lead to confusion, frustration, and potentially unfair treatment. As a result, employers may feel that their expectations go unfulfilled and workers don’t know what is required of them.

    Read more: Male domestic workers in South Africa – study sheds light on the experiences of Malawian and Zimbabwean migrants

    Calculations based on Quarterly Labour Force Statistics consistently demonstrate that only 20% of domestic workers are registered for the state’s Unemployment Insurance Fund. Instead, work relationships are regulated by informal understandings between parties, a fact that became apparent when domestic workers could not access unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

    A contract requires negotiations that would make the employment-centred nature of the relationship, with its hierarchy and expectations, undeniable for all involved.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, these sensitivities and avoidances are apparent in conversations with domestic workers too. Workers prefer to focus on the value of their labour and justify, subvert, and evaluate their place in their employer’s household. Sometimes they talk about themselves as being “the boss” or “the owner” of the house, based on the responsibilities they have, the types of work they do – like caring for children or the elderly in the household – and the amount of time that they spend tending the home.

    However, these assertions have a hollow ring when workers are excluded from big decisions in the household, like their right to have visitors, or small decisions like where to place household furniture. Feeling like part of the family is ruptured by exclusion from intimate moments like family celebrations, creating an all too familiar reminder of race and hierarchy.

    Moving forward

    The very real progress that has been made over the past 30 years of democracy should be celebrated. Legal reforms have achieved basic rights for domestic workers. Nevertheless, the spectre of apartheid still haunts South Africa and it’s clear that much work remains to be done.

    It’s our view that disrupting the patterns that seem so ingrained in this relationship will take fresh thinking. Mutually negotiated employment contracts should be a norm. Professionalising paid domestic labour provides the opportunity to break the informality that has come to define domestic labour relations in South Africa.

    And, with increasing access to the internet in South Africa, the digitisation of domestic labour holds promise for instituting social change through technology.

    This has been successful in the developing world, including the African continent.

    Read more: 12% of working women in South Africa are domestic workers – yet they don’t receive proper maternity leave or pay

    Workers have greater agency to market themselves, choose where and who to work for, and to rate and regulate employers. Online platforms could also provide the opportunity for vetting each other and for negotiating compliance with regulations.

    – South Africa’s domestic workers still battle with echoes of a racist past
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-domestic-workers-still-battle-with-echoes-of-a-racist-past-250302

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa’s traditional fermented foods – and why we should keep consuming them

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Florence Malongane, Senior lecturer, University of South Africa

    Fermentation is a process where microorganisms like bacteria and yeast work together to break down complex carbohydrates and protein into simpler, more digestible forms.

    The fermentation process not only extends the shelf life of food but also enhances its nutritional content. During fermentation, beneficial microorganisms produce essential vitamins and minerals.

    Fermented foods have many benefits and have been shown to reduce inflammation and infections.

    As nutrition researchers we undertook an in-depth assessment of fermented African foods and their potential to improve human health cost-effectively.

    By gaining a deeper understanding of the diverse microbiomes present in various fermented indigenous African foods, we aim to enhance human health through targeted dietary interventions.

    Going back in history

    Fermentation as a preservation method can be traced back a long way.

    In the Middle East, between 1,000 and 15,000 years ago, people moved from foraging and hunting to organised food cultivation and production.

    Evidence of the alcoholic fermentation of barley into beer and grapes into wine dates back to between 2000 and 4000 BC.

    In the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent milk was fermented to create yoghurt and other sweet and savoury fermented milks. White cabbage pickles and fermented olives are very popular in the Middle East.

    In India and the Philippines, rice flour was fermented to produce products like noodles.

    Africa’s traditions

    In Africa, fermented foods hold great cultural significance and health benefits, yet this topic has not been thoroughly researched.

    Foods are mostly fermented at home and trends vary by region.

    The primary ingredients in African fermented foods are mainly cereals, tubers and milk.

    Most of the fermented foods are plants that grow on their own in the wild and are often considered weeds in cropped and cultivated land. These include amaranths, Bidens pilosa, cleome and Corchorus species. The increased availability of African indigenous foods could expand the range of commercially available fermented African foods.

    While some products like marula beer have entered the commercial market, the overall consumption of fermented foods among Africans has declined.

    This drop is largely due to the widespread availability of refrigeration systems and a growing loss of interest in traditional African foods.

    Harvesting baobab fruits in Limpopo province in South Africa. Getty Images

    Improving health in Africa

    Fermented root plants such as cassava and yam have been shown to decrease creatinine levels, which may indicate enhanced renal function and kidney health. This suggests that the fermentation process not only enriches these root plants with probiotics, but also promotes better physiological responses in the body.

    Among the diverse array of fruits native to Africa, baobab and marula are the most popular fermented fruits. Fermenting them enhances their protein and fibre content. Consuming fermented baobab fruits has been shown to reduce the activity of α-amylase, an enzyme that may have implications for regulating blood sugar.

    Millet, maize, African rice and sorghum are the most fermented grains in Africa. When these foods are fermented, they can help reduce blood glucose levels, serum triglycerides and cholesterol.

    Amahewu is a traditional beverage produced through the fermentation of sorghum or maize, mostly enjoyed in South Africa and Zimbabwe for its tangy flavour and smooth texture.

    In Kenya, a similar fermented cereal beverage known as uji is made of millet and flavoured with milk, adding to its rich and nutritious profile.

    Ghana boasts its own version called akasa, which is prepared from a combination of sorghum, corn and millet and known for its unique taste and cultural significance.

    In Sudan, the beverage referred to as abreh varies in preparation but shares the same essence of fermentation, while in Nigeria, ogi is another fermented cereal paste, from similar small grains like sorghum and millet, which produce a creamy beverage.

    Fermenting sorghum and millet provides essential nutrients and supports metabolic health and gut function.

    In Nigeria, fermented cereal beverages are widely used to control diarrhoea in young children.

    Sour milk is the most fermented food in Africa, celebrated for its rich flavour and numerous health benefits.

    During the fermentation process, bacteria convert the milk sugar, called lactose, into lactic acid.

    Kulenaoto, a traditional fermented milk drink enjoyed in Kenya, is known for its creamy texture and slightly tangy flavour. South Africa produces sour milk known as amasi. Nigeria and Togo share a common fermented dairy product known as wara, which is made from fermented soybeans and is often served as a snack.

    In Ghana, nyamie is a rich, thick yogurt-like product. In Cameroon, pendidam is a unique fermented milk product that is cherished for its distinctive taste and nutritional benefits, making it a staple in many households.

    Regular consumption of fermented sour milk can play a significant role in weight management, decreasing visceral (gut) fat, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

    Moreover, fermented milk offers valuable protection against folate deficiency.

    Looking forward

    African fermented foods could be the easiest and least expensive way of introducing beneficial microbes to the gastrointestinal tract, replacing expensive pharmaceutical probiotics.

    These processes should be encouraged, and younger generations need to be exposed to the benefits of these traditions.

    Vanishing plants could be preserved and distributed through seed banks.

    The tradition of fermentation should be encouraged at both household and commercial levels to promote overall health.

    – Africa’s traditional fermented foods – and why we should keep consuming them
    – https://theconversation.com/africas-traditional-fermented-foods-and-why-we-should-keep-consuming-them-243287

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa’s coalition government is at risk of crumbling: why collapse would carry a heavy cost

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Vinothan Naidoo, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration, University of Cape Town

    South Africa’s multi-party government of national unity (GNU), which emerged in the wake of the May 2024 elections, marked a turning point in the country’s political history. It took South Africans back to the 1990s, when the country showed that political opponents could find common cause.

    The formation of the government of national unity expressed the hope that the country could do it again.

    But just nine months into its term, the good will and pragmatism which marked its formation have worn thin. A major budget impasse between the two major actors, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), threatens the coalition.

    South Africans have long been accustomed to viewing the world of politics, governance and bureaucracy through the lens of a top-down “strong” state – a vicious apartheid state, an East Asia style developmental state, or a collusive “predatory state”.

    But as recent analyses we co-authored with others have detailed, the vision of a top-down politically cohesive state no longer fits South Africa’s realities.

    The government of national unity promised the hope that the country was embracing an approach that is key to success for almost all inclusive constitutional democracies. That is – abandon “all or nothing” confrontation, and instead pursue pragmatic bargains to achieve mutually agreeable policy outcomes.

    At the most basic level, the government of national unity achieved this, at least for a while. The sharing of cabinet ministries between multiple parties created a diverse platform for executive power-sharing that was not dictated by a single dominant party, and which prevented the risks of parties building institutional fiefdoms.

    In our view, failure to overcome deeply ingrained political differences could set off a downward spiral in the country.

    Achievements on the governance front

    On governance, the government of national unity created the space to pursue two sets of gains.

    The first comprises the potential benefit of bringing together unlikely bedfellows.

    The former opposition parties brought into a power-sharing arrangement were bound to be performance-driven, given the country’s long deteriorating government performance and ethical integrity. They had made “good governance” and criticism of the ANC central to their political brands.

    New “outsider” eyes brought into formerly cloistered and factionalised ANC-run departments created the possibility of a new urgency to perform.

    It’s too soon to tell whether this is happening, but anecdotal evidence suggests there are some green shoots.

    The second governance gain comprises the crucial task of building a capable and professional state bureaucracy. The challenges include being able to pay the public sector wage bill, fostering a culture of delivery, and consolidating the bloated network of government departments.

    Based on their party manifestos and public utterances, members of the government all aim to professionalise the public service.

    Detailed technical work is already happening on issues such as training and competency assessment, transferring powers of appointment from politicians to senior public servants, and instituting checks in the recruitment and selection process. The National Assembly’s recent adoption of the Public Service Commission Bill forms part of this agenda.

    But a prolonged legal dispute between the DA and ANC over the latter’s policy of “deploying” party members into state employment risks scuppering progress. It also leaves a key question unanswered: what role, if any, should political parties have in the recruitment and selection of public servants?

    Policy

    The government of national unity has struggled to create effective mechanisms to translate agreement on a broad agenda of policy priorities into specific outcomes. This came at a higher cost than expected.

    Still, it has made gains in challenging policy areas. These gains have repeatedly been undermined by the perverse determination of sections within both the ANC and the DA to engage in brinkmanship.

    On health, both parties agree on the principle of universalising access. They differ on how to achieve this. But at least one seemingly intractable sticking point has been resolved. Both sides agree that private medical aid schemes need to be retained as part of a broader strategy of pursuing health system reform.

    On basic education, the public spat over the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill overshadows the potential to agree on balancing the autonomy of school governing bodies with the oversight role of provincial departments.

    Read more: South Africa has a new education law: some love it, some hate it – education expert explains why

    On land expropriation, the emotive rhetoric which followed the signing of the Expropriation Bill and the unwelcome and toxic intervention of international actors has overshadowed technical concerns which can be resolved.

    On pro-growth policies: Operation Vulindlela, a joint Presidency and National Treasury initiative to unblock constraints in targeted economic sectors, has made significant strides. It has laid the groundwork for new rounds of growth-supporting infrastructural reforms and has the potential to build cohesion in the government of national unity. However, the DA’s attempt to lobby for a greater role in the strategic oversight of Operation Vulindlela in exchange for supporting the budget risks souring relations with the ANC.

    What now?

    A thriving inclusive society depends on powerful actors visibly committed to co-operation.

    For all of the challenges confronting the government of national unity, it was built on a foundation of pragmatism. For the sake of South Africa’s future, it remains vital to build on this foundation. Obsolete top-down governing approaches must go. Pathways to performance must be lifted above political grandstanding. Constructive solutions should supersede ideological rigidity. South Africa has done it before. It can do it again.

    – South Africa’s coalition government is at risk of crumbling: why collapse would carry a heavy cost
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-coalition-government-is-at-risk-of-crumbling-why-collapse-would-carry-a-heavy-cost-254302

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Africa’s traditional fermented foods – and why we should keep consuming them

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Florence Malongane, Senior lecturer, University of South Africa

    Fermentation is a process where microorganisms like bacteria and yeast work together to break down complex carbohydrates and protein into simpler, more digestible forms.

    The fermentation process not only extends the shelf life of food but also enhances its nutritional content. During fermentation, beneficial microorganisms produce essential vitamins and minerals.

    Fermented foods have many benefits and have been shown to reduce inflammation and infections.

    As nutrition researchers we undertook an in-depth assessment of fermented African foods and their potential to improve human health cost-effectively.

    By gaining a deeper understanding of the diverse microbiomes present in various fermented indigenous African foods, we aim to enhance human health through targeted dietary interventions.

    Going back in history

    Fermentation as a preservation method can be traced back a long way.

    In the Middle East, between 1,000 and 15,000 years ago, people moved from foraging and hunting to organised food cultivation and production.

    Evidence of the alcoholic fermentation of barley into beer and grapes into wine dates back to between 2000 and 4000 BC.

    In the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent milk was fermented to create yoghurt and other sweet and savoury fermented milks. White cabbage pickles and fermented olives are very popular in the Middle East.

    In India and the Philippines, rice flour was fermented to produce products like noodles.

    Africa’s traditions

    In Africa, fermented foods hold great cultural significance and health benefits, yet this topic has not been thoroughly researched.

    Foods are mostly fermented at home and trends vary by region.

    The primary ingredients in African fermented foods are mainly cereals, tubers and milk.

    Most of the fermented foods are plants that grow on their own in the wild and are often considered weeds in cropped and cultivated land. These include amaranths, Bidens pilosa, cleome and Corchorus species. The increased availability of African indigenous foods could expand the range of commercially available fermented African foods.

    While some products like marula beer have entered the commercial market, the overall consumption of fermented foods among Africans has declined.

    This drop is largely due to the widespread availability of refrigeration systems and a growing loss of interest in traditional African foods.

    Improving health in Africa

    Fermented root plants such as cassava and yam have been shown to decrease creatinine levels, which may indicate enhanced renal function and kidney health. This suggests that the fermentation process not only enriches these root plants with probiotics, but also promotes better physiological responses in the body.

    Among the diverse array of fruits native to Africa, baobab and marula are the most popular fermented fruits. Fermenting them enhances their protein and fibre content. Consuming fermented baobab fruits has been shown to reduce the activity of α-amylase, an enzyme that may have implications for regulating blood sugar.

    Millet, maize, African rice and sorghum are the most fermented grains in Africa. When these foods are fermented, they can help reduce blood glucose levels, serum triglycerides and cholesterol.

    Amahewu is a traditional beverage produced through the fermentation of sorghum or maize, mostly enjoyed in South Africa and Zimbabwe for its tangy flavour and smooth texture.

    In Kenya, a similar fermented cereal beverage known as uji is made of millet and flavoured with milk, adding to its rich and nutritious profile.

    Ghana boasts its own version called akasa, which is prepared from a combination of sorghum, corn and millet and known for its unique taste and cultural significance.

    In Sudan, the beverage referred to as abreh varies in preparation but shares the same essence of fermentation, while in Nigeria, ogi is another fermented cereal paste, from similar small grains like sorghum and millet, which produce a creamy beverage.

    Fermenting sorghum and millet provides essential nutrients and supports metabolic health and gut function.

    In Nigeria, fermented cereal beverages are widely used to control diarrhoea in young children.

    Sour milk is the most fermented food in Africa, celebrated for its rich flavour and numerous health benefits.

    During the fermentation process, bacteria convert the milk sugar, called lactose, into lactic acid.

    Kulenaoto, a traditional fermented milk drink enjoyed in Kenya, is known for its creamy texture and slightly tangy flavour. South Africa produces sour milk known as amasi. Nigeria and Togo share a common fermented dairy product known as wara, which is made from fermented soybeans and is often served as a snack.

    In Ghana, nyamie is a rich, thick yogurt-like product. In Cameroon, pendidam is a unique fermented milk product that is cherished for its distinctive taste and nutritional benefits, making it a staple in many households.

    Regular consumption of fermented sour milk can play a significant role in weight management, decreasing visceral (gut) fat, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

    Moreover, fermented milk offers valuable protection against folate deficiency.

    Looking forward

    African fermented foods could be the easiest and least expensive way of introducing beneficial microbes to the gastrointestinal tract, replacing expensive pharmaceutical probiotics.

    These processes should be encouraged, and younger generations need to be exposed to the benefits of these traditions.

    Vanishing plants could be preserved and distributed through seed banks.

    The tradition of fermentation should be encouraged at both household and commercial levels to promote overall health.

    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. Africa’s traditional fermented foods – and why we should keep consuming them – https://theconversation.com/africas-traditional-fermented-foods-and-why-we-should-keep-consuming-them-243287

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Have Trump’s tariffs affected his popularity? Here’s what approval data shows

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex

    When Donald Trump launched a trade war on April 2, he produced enormous volatility in stock markets around the world, but since then upheaval in the bond market has forced him to row back on some of his tariffs.

    Investors traditionally consider US Treasury bonds to be a safe asset with a guaranteed return and therefore preferable to stocks when the latter are falling in price. However, instead of buying these bonds investors have been selling them, and this produced a rapid fall in their price.

    While stock prices have recovered somewhat in Europe and Asia they have continued to fall in the US. But what do US consumers make of all this? Has the shifting of the bond market and economic uncertainty affected voter confidence, and approval, in the US president?

    A round up of recent polls suggest US voters expect to see higher prices for goods as a result of the tariffs, with 75% expecting short-term price hikes, and 48% long-term. While 51% like Trump’s trade goals, only 37% approve of his approach. Meanwhile, 91% of Republicans think the president has a clear plan for tariffs and trade, but only 16% of Democrats and 43% of independent voters do. Republican voters are also much more willing to take a longer time to make up their minds about Trump’s trade policy, with 49% saying they will assess it in a year’s time or longer, compared to 36% of independents and 21% of Democrats who are willing to wait that long.

    The latest Morning Consult poll on April 14 gives Trump his lowest approval rating yet for his second term, at 45%. A few weeks ago it was clear from the polls that there were massive differences between Democrats and Republicans when it came to approval for Trump’s handling of his job. An Economist/YouGov poll completed on March 18 showed that 6% of Democrats, 90% of Republican and 37% of independents approved of his performance at that time.

    A more recent Economist/YouGov poll, completed on April 8 after the trade war began, shows a significant change in the views of independent voters. The Democrat and Republican approval/disapproval ratings are about the same as in the earlier survey by the Economist, but approval among voters who class themselves as independents has fallen by 5% to 32%.

    Put simply, the nonaligned voters in America have shifted against Trump over tariffs. This is significant because they are the largest political group in the US, at 37% of electors compared with 34% Democrats and 29% Republicans. Also significant is that, according to Morning Consult, the average voter is more likely to hold positive than negative views about Democrats in Congress, for the first time since the 2024 election, at 47% to 46%.

    If this shift continues, and independent voters support Democrat candidates in the 2026 mid-term elections, it means that the Democrats are likely to take control of Congress. This will give them greater opportunity to block presidential initiatives to introduce new bills, which must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate to became law

    If, at some point, the Democratic party wanted to try and impeach Trump they would need far more Congressional votes than they currently have. The Republicans currently have majorities in both Houses. Impeachment requires a simple majority in the House of Representatives, but a two-thirds majority in the Senate, so it is not an easy thing to do.

    That said, the point is often made that Trump is a transactional politician and as a result attracts little personal loyalty from many of the people around him, particularly in Congress. However, if his approval ratings started to rapidly deteriorate, and the midterm elections turn into a disaster for their party, some Republicans may be ready to turn on Trump.

    Presidential approval and mid terms

    We can get an idea of the likelihood of a midterm swing by looking at the relationship between presidential approval and support for the president’s party in all 20 midterm elections since the second world war.

    Presidential approval in October and changes in House seats in November midterm elections in the US (1946-2022)

    The chart above compares presidential approval ratings in the month prior to elections with seat changes in the president’s party in the House of Representatives. There are 435 members of the House, and they are all up for re-election next year.

    It is clear that there is a strong positive relationship between presidential approval and the success of his party in the mid-term elections (correlation = 0.57). In other words when the president is popular his party does well and when he is unpopular it does badly.

    Donald Trump did rather badly in the midterm elections in 2018 during his first term of office. On that occasion the Republicans lost 40 House seats, a significantly greater number than the post-war average loss of 23 seats for Republican presidents. The last time the Republicans lost more seats than 2018 was in 1974 after Gerald Ford took over from Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal.

    Currently, the president’s current approval ratings might suggest that the loss of seats by Republicans is likely to be greater in next year’s midterm elections than it was in 2018. In October 2018 Trump’s approval rating was 41%, whereas it currently stands at 45% (with 52% disapproving) in the Economist/YouGov survey.

    However, the current approval rating does not take into account the medium to longer term effects of the economic turmoil and market instability triggered by his policies. Tariffs, in particular, are very likely to increase inflation and slow economic growth both in the US and the rest of the world. This is likely to damage his approval ratings.

    In the UK Conservative prime minister Liz Truss spooked the bond market in the autumn of 2022 by proposing large unfunded tax cuts. She was rapidly removed by her party from the job of leader and prime minister. This was followed by a crushing defeat for the party in the 2024 election. The same could happen to the Republicans, although the voters will have to wait until next year to make their presence felt.

    Paul Whiteley has received funding from the British Academy and the Economic & Social Research Council.

    – ref. Have Trump’s tariffs affected his popularity? Here’s what approval data shows – https://theconversation.com/have-trumps-tariffs-affected-his-popularity-heres-what-approval-data-shows-254725

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Denying compensation to ‘Waspi’ women over pension changes could be a missed opportunity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jane Falkingham, Dean of the Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton

    Serenity Images23/Shutterstock

    Governments around the world have addressed the challenge of increasing life expectancy and declining birth rates by raising the pension age. The UK is no exception. The challenge this creates for governments is the thorny dual issue of rising care costs for the ageing population while fewer taxpayers support the economy.

    Between the 1940s and 2010, the UK state pension age was 65 for men and 60 for women. This gender difference reflected long-standing norms about men’s and women’s employment patterns, as well as typical age differences at marriage.

    These days, there is more acceptance of an equal age for women and men to receive the state pension. But in the process of levelling the playing field, some women feel they have been penalised by the government. So how did it happen?

    The Pensions Act 1995 equalised things, setting out a plan to gradually increase women’s state pension age to 65. But ten years later, an independent Pensions Commission report found that a state pension age fixed at 65 was no longer sustainable or affordable.

    Between 2007 and 2014 the law changed three times. This accelerated the equalisation of women’s and men’s state pension age, bringing forward the increase from 65 to 66 by five and a half years to 2020.

    Further changes accelerated the increase in the state pension age for both men and women to 67 by 2028. This was eight years earlier than the previous timetable. Another review suggested increasing the state pension age from 67 to 68 in 2039. This would bring it forward by seven years in response to continued gains in life expectancy.

    The Waspi campaign

    These changes in the state pension age led to a long-running campaign by a group known as the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women. This group claims that women born between April 6 1950 and April 5 1960 have been badly affected by the way the government equalised the state pension ages.

    They are campaigning for compensation – but the government has repeatedly refused to pay out the recommended amounts of up to £2,950 per woman. These payment could have cost the government more than £10 billion.

    The group’s argument rests on the way the increases in the state pension age were communicated and the amount of notice women were given to plan their finances in retirement. Some women in this cohort were affected by more than one increase in the state pension age.

    The Waspi group estimates that about 3.8 million women are affected. Analysis from the House of Commons puts that figure just above 1.5 million women.

    Analysis of data from the UK’s largest household panel study, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, shows that the impact of the rise in the state pension age has been positive for older women’s employment rates. But it has been harmful for their wellbeing.

    The government’s analysis has also shown that younger women in the 1950-58 birth cohort have stayed in employment for longer.

    Studies analysing the Family Resources Survey have shown that the women affected by the increased state pension age have a reduced household income, and this effect is larger for those in lower-income households.

    The changes in the state pension age, and their effect on women born in the 1950s, has been the topic of both parliamentary debates and (unsuccessful) legal challenges by women affected by these changes.

    In March 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found the Department for Work and Pensions had demonstrated maladministration in its communication about the 1995 Pensions Act. This resulted in women losing opportunities to make informed decisions about their future. But it found that this did not result in an injustice or the women suffering direct financial loss.

    How the UK state pension age was equalised – and raised

    Whatever the outcome of the debate about women born in the 1950s, this topic raises broader issues – and lessons – about social policy. Change in social policies is inevitable. Social structures shift, as do norms and patterns in a population’s health and economic circumstances.

    However, introducing change in a way that is both informed by evidence and transparent is vital for ensuring that reforms are acceptable.

    Far from always creating “winners and losers”, social policy change can be a tool that demonstrates a collective sense of responsibility and adaptability to changing times.

    Gender differences have consistently permeated employment and pensions, and women tend to fare worse than men. More women are working in the UK than ever before and benefit from state, workplace and personal pensions. But gender gaps are persistent across areas that directly affect someone’s ability to have enough money to live comfortably in later life.

    Women are still less likely to work and to work full-time than men. And they are more likely to provide informal care within and beyond the household (except from age 75 and over). These realities result in lower earnings and a lower capacity to save for later life.

    In the broader context of stubborn financial gender inequalities over lifetimes, the issue of changing the state retirement age for women born in the 1950s is a missed opportunity. The government could play a critical part in evening out gender differences for the Waspi women – and for the millions of others coming up after them.

    Jane Falkingham receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

    Athina Vlachantoni receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

    Yifan Ge receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

    – ref. Denying compensation to ‘Waspi’ women over pension changes could be a missed opportunity – https://theconversation.com/denying-compensation-to-waspi-women-over-pension-changes-could-be-a-missed-opportunity-254018

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chloe Orkin, Professor of Infection and Inequities, Centre for Immunobiology, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London

    MIA Studio/Shutterstock

    The global outbreak of mpox in 2022-23 affected more than 100 countries and grabbed the attention of the scientific community. Research on mpox has intensified since.

    The virus behind the outbreak, technically mpox clade IIb, is spread through close physical contact. During the 2022 outbreak it was found in both sperm and vaginal fluid for the first time. This suggests it is sexually transmissible.

    Overall, deaths in the 2022 outbreak were very low: 0.1%. However, in people with very weak immune systems – such as those with advanced HIV – deaths were much higher, at around 15%.

    The outbreak was curtailed through public health agencies and doctors working in partnership with those most at risk of the disease – sexually active men who have sex with men. Key interventions included ensuring that people knew what signs to look for and how to protect themselves, as well as offering vaccinations.

    The more a virus spreads, the greater the likelihood it will mutate. Mutations can allow the virus to be more easily transmissible. This happened with the clade II virus, which branched into two and resulted in the clade IIb global outbreak in 2022. Something very similar has now happened with clade I. Clade I virus caused 14,626 mpox cases and 654 deaths in 2023.

    Health inequality is a killer

    Doctors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been battling to contain exponentially rising cases of the more severe clade I mpox, mainly affecting children under 15 and their caregivers.

    Mpox can be lethal, especially for children under five years old. The mortality rate for clade I is between 3% and 10%. The variation in mortality rates is due to differences in access to healthcare, such as access to antibiotics, as well as specialist care in hospital and intensive care.

    This strain, which has caused significant harm in central African countries such as the DRC, has not attracted the world’s attention in the same way as it has in the west – even though the number of people with the disease was rising year on year. Sadly, it’s very common in global public health for infectious diseases to be neglected unless they affect people in wealthy countries.

    Clade I virus is transmitted through close physical contact, respiratory droplets and contact with infected materials like bedding and infected animals. Historically affected countries, like the DRC, have not had access to the vaccine that helped curtail the outbreak in the US, Europe and the UK.

    The vaccine – called Jynneos in the US and Imvanex in Europe – has not been made or sold in Africa so far. And at US$100 per dose (£76), it is beyond the affordability of most low- and middle-income countries.

    These countries have relied on donations from philanthropic organisations or from governments. However, during the 2022 mpox outbreak, insufficient vaccines were donated to African countries, and local laboratory capacity – needed to test, monitor and respond to cases – was not significantly strengthened. According to experts, wealthier nations, international health agencies and global health donors should have taken the lead in addressing these gaps, but their support fell far short of what was needed.

    In 2024, the mpox virus spread very quickly from the Kivu area of the DRC, which is on the eastern border with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda – and caused over 16,000 new cases and 511 deaths. The rapid spread among heterosexual people who were moving across porous borders with neighbouring countries – and within camps of internally displaced people – prompted scientists to study the virus to see if it had mutated.

    The virus has changed significantly enough to warrant being named as a new sub-variant: clade Ib.

    These changes may have enabled the rapid spread to several other African countries and the first ever case of clade I virus in Europe (Sweden) in a returning traveller.

    Vaccine accessibility

    So what does this mean for people in wealthy countries? The risk to the general population is very low. However, travellers to affected countries who mix with affected communities are at risk of contracting mpox and transmitting it to close contacts on return.

    We live in an interconnected world, so cases of the new strain are extremely likely to be identified in the coming weeks and months in many countries. But this does not make a global outbreak of clade Ib inevitable. The tools needed to limit the virus from spreading are in use already: community engagement, contact tracing, laboratory surveillance of new cases to monitor spread of clade Ib virus, and vaccination.

    Anyone who develops symptoms after being in contact with a returning traveller should isolate and follow national guidance on where to attend for medical care. It’s essential to do this as soon as possible after noticing symptoms because being vaccinated within four days of exposure can limit the likelihood of getting mpox and the severity – and length – of infection.

    Mpox causes skin lesions that look like blisters which become filled with pus after a few days – and it can cause ulcers in the mouth and on the genitals and bottom. People diagnosed with mpox should isolate and limit close physical and sexual contact while they have lesions.

    Stopping this outbreak is possible if affected countries are equipped with three things: access to free diagnostic tests, laboratory capacity to determine the mpox clade so the extent of the outbreak can be monitored and, most important, equal access to the vaccine.

    Millions of doses will be needed to protect people in affected countries. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization will allow better coordination of the international response, such as emergency licensing of the vaccine in all countries and greater capacity to buy and make the vaccine where it is needed most.

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

    – ref. The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to – https://theconversation.com/the-world-could-stop-central-africas-deadly-mpox-outbreak-if-it-wanted-to-236981

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jason Garcia-Portilla, Lecturer in Business Management, University of Winchester

    King Charles’s recent visit to the Vatican may appear to be simply a symbolic gesture of ecumenical goodwill. But moments like this provide an opportunity to look at the long-term consequences of church-state relations around the world.

    Britain, of course, has a complicated history with the Catholic church. Edward VII (Charles’s great-great-grandfather) was the first UK monarch to visit the Vatican since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

    The UK (and much of western Europe) is largely secular today, but this is a global exception: 85% of the world’s population identifies as religious. These beliefs are often passed down through generations, not necessarily chosen freely.

    Today’s religious identities have more to do with political decisions made centuries ago than with personal faith. Spain and Portugal are predominantly Catholic not because of the individual choices of their population, but because their monarchs aligned (and maintained the hegemony) of the Roman Catholic church-state. In England, on the other hand, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in the 1530s, challenging (“protesting”) against the universal papal authority and leading to the establishment of the Church of England.

    This religious split also carried over to former colonies. Compare the US, (a Protestant country) to Mexico or Brazil (Catholic countries), and you’ll see the long shadow of these old decisions. My research shows the profound and lasting consequences of religion on these societies.

    Diverging nations

    In my book Ye Shall Know Them by Their Fruits, I analysed data from 65 countries across Europe and the Americas using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

    My findings suggest that countries with historical and legal alignments with the Catholic church — such as Spain, Portugal, Austria, Ireland and much of Latin America — tend to underperform on a number of metrics, including inequality and education, and have more political corruption compared to states that maintained institutional separation (such as through the Protestant Reformation). Historical Protestant countries include the UK, Switzerland, Scandinavian and North American countries.

    In particular, countries with strong traditional links to the Catholic church tend to exhibit higher levels of corruption and inequality. They also perform weaker in education, sustainability and competitiveness compared to Protestant countries.

    Prosperity and educational differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics are evident even within countries. In Switzerland, the Protestant cantons (such as Geneva and Zurich) are currently the most competitive, while the Roman Catholic cantons (such as Ticino and Valais) are the least competitive. In Germany, Protestants are more educated (0.8 years more) and more prosperous (5.4% higher income) than Catholics.

    Differences in economic prosperity and education are even higher comparing data across Protestant and Catholic countries.

    Before the Reformation, literacy in England was below 10%, and the Roman church largely monopolised education. The Protestant emphasis on individual reading – especially of the Bible – dramatically increased literacy rates and access to knowledge. This paved the way for broader democratic participation, industrialisation and innovation.

    Protestantism similarly proved influential in historical law revolutions, gradually separating society from feudal institutions and papalist medieval canon law.

    In Britain, the Reformation was not just a theological shift, but a political one, breaking institutional ties with Rome and affirming national sovereignty. The long-term effects of that decision have echoed through the UK’s democratic and economic development.

    Church-state relations

    The Vatican’s political influence is often underestimated. The Roman Catholic church is the only religious body that is, at the same time, a sovereign political state – with ambassadors, diplomatic immunity and seats at international forums. The pope holds absolute executive, legislative and judicial authority.

    Many of today’s Catholic-majority countries maintain formal relations with the Roman See through bilateral treaties called concordats. These agreements exert the power of the church in countries that have them, and are rarely democratically consulted with the population.

    In Colombia, for example, concordats throughout history have linked religion and politics, have given church-influenced groups power over the economy, and allowed Rome to control what is taught in public and private education at all levels.

    Since then, liberal efforts have reestablished much of the state’s power. But the effects are still evident in the strong cultural identity and presence of Catholicism in the country. Colombia has one of the highest proportions of adults raised as Roman Catholics in the world (92%), after Paraguay (94%).

    The Vatican remains a political actor whose influence is often underestimated.
    Collection Maykova/Shutterstock

    Historically, informal gestures of religious diplomacy have laid the groundwork for further cooperation and formal agreements with Rome.

    But King Charles’s recent Vatican visit is more diplomatic than anything. It reflects modern efforts to maintain and strengthen state-to-state relations and discuss shared global concerns like climate change and peacebuilding.

    It is for this reason that the king’s visit matters – not because a formal treaty is on the table, but because it shows the strength of the UK’s experience since the Reformation. An exemplary model of the success of church-state separation, British democracy and prosperity have thrived for centuries – without formal entanglements with the Catholic church.

    Dr Jason Garcia-Portilla earned his PhD in Organization Studies and Cultural Theory at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), financed with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship–ESKAS. Additionally, he holds an MSc in Climate Change and Policy from the University of Sussex in the UK (funded by the British Chevening Scholarship).

    – ref. King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better – https://theconversation.com/king-charles-visits-the-vatican-my-research-shows-countries-that-cut-ties-with-the-catholic-church-perform-better-254357

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa

    The cultural and creative industries are a growing source of income and job creation around the world, generating tens of millions of jobs. The cultural sector is also linked to soft power, to relations between countries.

    Because of this, culture is an active part of the agenda of the G20 global economic forum. Under the presidency of South Africa in 2025, the G20 has chosen four key culture focus areas: heritage restitution; socio-economic strategies for inclusivity; digital technologies; and climate action.

    Here, as a scholar of the sector, I outline why these four priorities are relevant to both the G20 and the African continent, and to South Africa itself as the host country, in the light of current global trends and issues.

    G20 and culture

    The relationship between culture and development is increasingly emphasised. The 2022 Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – or Mondiacult – recommended that culture be a “stand-alone” sustainable development goal.

    This proposal is underlined by the UN’s Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024. The 17 sustainable development goals, adopted by the UN in 2015, are to ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030. They include goals like zero hunger and reduced inequalities.



    Read more:
    What is Mondiacult? 6 take-aways from the world’s biggest cultural policy gathering

    As the global order shifts, new actors from the global south are emerging as the Brics group. However, the G20 is the only forum that includes countries from both the global north and south.

    The G20, like the G7 and Brics, has a tradition of including culture among the items for discussion at ministerial level, supported by a working group.

    Under Brazil’s presidency in 2024, the G20 Culture Working Group highlighted the relationship between education and culture. This was in line with Unesco’s Framework for Culture and Arts Education. Taking over the G20 presidency, South Africa has expanded on the cultural agenda.

    Cultural heritage

    Priority 1: the safeguarding and restitution of cultural heritage to protect human rights.

    This relates to cultural property, mainly stolen during colonisation and displayed in global south museums. It’s one of the key issues in the heritage sector today.

    After years of demands by formerly colonised countries, there’s a growing list of high profile objects being sent back home. France returned 26 Dahomey Kingdom royal treasures to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar Tall to Senegal; 119 Benin bronzes came from the Netherlands to Nigeria. Akan cultural objects were restituted from Japan to Côte d’Ivoire.

    This global issue has particularly affected African countries. South Africa, too, knows its importance, with the repatriation of the human remains of Saartjie Baartman by France.

    The Mondiacult 2022 declaration calls the return of cultural heritage an “ethical imperative”. It’s part of the respect for cultural rights and human rights.

    For South Africa, one of the most influential countries on the continent, this is a good way to support the 2023 position of the African Union (AU) on the urgent return of this heritage. Improving the relationship between the global north and south requires this kind of debate.

    Inclusive development

    Priority 2: integrating cultural policies in socio-economic strategies to ensure inclusive, rights-based development.

    The importance of cultural goods and services in national and international trade has been highlighted many times. Statistics show they make up a healthy share of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    A 2021 study found that the cultural and creative industries contributed 4.3% to South Africa’s GDP. At African level, they are estimated to generate US$45.35 billion in income and 15.87 million jobs. According to the 2024 UN Creative Economy Outlook, exports of creative services globally rose to $1.4 trillion in 2022, an increase of 29% since 2017. Exports of creative goods reached US$713 billion, an increase of 19%.



    Read more:
    South Africa has taken over the G20 presidency from Brazil – what lessons can it learn?

    With the development of an African Continental Free Trade Area, the AU revised its plan for action on cultural and creative industries.

    South Africa can play a leading role in this priority, having drafted a national policy paper on trade agreements involving the creative and cultural industries. The country’s Creative Industries Vision 2040 aims for an annual growth rate of 6.8% of GDP for these industries.

    However, the creative economy should be rights-based development and inclusive of local communities, young people and women. The G20 countries will need to work together to support policies that enhance sustainability and equity for creative workers. This is especially important in Africa where the creative economy is largely informal and unprotected.

    Digital technologies

    Priority 3: harnessing digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture and sustainable economies.

    Digital technology is transforming the creative economy value chain. In my survey of the COVID era’s harsh impact on creative workers, I found that digital media, online games, music and audiovisual content were able to be resilient. Their value chains, from creator to user, don’t require high levels of face-to-face interaction, and online tools can be used effectively.

    In 2024 the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported that, in 2022, the most exported creative services globally were software services (41.3%), research and development (30.7%), advertising, market research and architecture (15.5%), audiovisual services (7.9%), information services (4%) and cultural, recreational and heritage services (0.6%).

    While digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can be seen as a threat to creativity and intellectual property, they can also be used to promote respect for communities and creators. The development of monitoring software for collecting music rights payments is an example.

    In 2021 the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a recommendation on the ethics of AI. It proposes that AI tools be used for the benefit of the promotion, preservation, enrichment and accessibility of intangible or tangible cultural heritage. This issue is crucial because Mondiacult 2022 declared that culture is a “global public good” and the G20 must fund research and development of the most appropriate and advanced AI tools.

    Climate change

    Priority 4: the intersection of culture and climate change – shaping global responses.

    The challenges of climate change require a range of responses. Intangible cultural heritage (like oral traditions, social practices, rituals) can help to teach how ancient societies organised their relationships with nature and how they dealt with changes.

    Art, theatre, film, gaming and many other cultural forms can educate and raise awareness about this urgent issue. The African continent has a rich cultural diversity and is a potential source of many unexpected and insightful solutions.

    Keeping it relevant

    These four priorities reflect what is important on the continent. Africa will benefit from the collective efforts of the G20 countries in implementing such priorities. The presence of the AU as a permanent member of the G20 will support South Africa’s leadership and advance the continent’s cause.

    The challenge to the culture working group is to come up with relevant recommendations that can be endorsed by the G20 Ministerial Meeting. The 2024 G7 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, along with the AU and the African Development Bank, has set the tone. Their Naples Statement on culture for the sustainable development of Africa and the world notes that the G7 countries “intend to work with African governments to harness culture as a key driver of sustainable development”.

    A G20 summit on African soil cannot do less. It has all the potential it needs to support the African cultural sector in a variety of ways.

    Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse 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. Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda – https://theconversation.com/culture-can-build-a-better-world-four-key-issues-on-africas-g20-agenda-253864

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kylie Thomas, Senior Researcher and Senior Lecturer (Radical Humanities Laboratory, University College Cork), NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies

    Ernest Cole is famous for photographing the everyday realities of South Africa’s racist apartheid system. His 1967 book House of Bondage ensured his damning critique of the white minority regime was seen by the world. But its publication sent him into exile and was banned at home.

    The startling discovery of a vast archive of his work in a Swedish bank vault in 2017 has returned him to public view.

    House of Bondage was republished in 2023 and then, in 2024, celebrated Haitian film-maker Raoul Peck made Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.

    It would win the documentary prize at the Cannes Film Festival and show around the world, restoring the legacy of a photographer who died penniless in New York in 1990 at the age of 49.

    As a researcher of South African photography under apartheid, I was intrigued by how the film would convey this complex life story.

    It draws extensively on Cole’s images, made in South Africa, Europe and the US. It’s a beautiful, poetic interpretation of how his images mirrored his own experiences of oppression, displacement and the loneliness of exile.

    House of Bondage

    Cole was just 10 when the state introduced the Group Areas Act and entrenched racial segregation. He was 22 when his childhood neighbourhood of Eersterust was razed to the ground. His family was among the thousands forcibly removed to a new township.

    In his second year of high school, he elected to drop out. The state had introduced Bantu Education, designed to ensure Black children learned only enough for a life of servitude.

    Cole began to study by correspondence, taking a course with the New York Institute for Photography. By 18, he’d landed a position as a darkroom assistant at Drum magazine, working alongside German photographer Jürgen Schadeberg.

    In 1959, Cole saw a copy of French street photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The People of Moscow, and decided he would create a similar book to convey what it meant to live under apartheid.

    He spent six years taking the photographs that would become House of Bondage, a book that exposed the apartheid state.

    Determined to publish his images, he fled to the US in 1966, where his book appeared a year later. Acclaimed internationally, it was banned for 22 years in South Africa. Cole was prohibited from returning home and spent the next 20 years stateless.



    Read more:
    Ernest Cole: South Africa’s most famous photobook has been republished after 55 years

    He hoped to find freedom in America. Instead he felt pigeonholed as a Black photographer, dismayed at only ever being commissioned to document suffering.

    He made hundreds of photographs of people in Harlem, often drawn to scenes that were impossible in South Africa. Mixed-race couples holding hands in public, young people of different races hanging out, neon signs offering “Sex, sex, sex” rather than the “Whites only” signs of segregation he documented at home.

    Commissioned to take photos in the Deep South, he found the same suffering and racism he’d thought particular to South Africa.

    In a letter to the Norwegian government requesting an emergency travel certificate to leave the US, he wrote:

    Exposing the truth at whatever cost is one thing. But having to live a lifetime of being a chronicler of misery and injustice and callousness is another.

    A life in fragments

    For me, the most poignant moment of the film is the footage of Cole speaking in his own voice in a 1969 documentary. A slight man with a sorrowful gaze, he’s seated at a table with prints of his photos:

    I’ve been banned in absentia, but that doesn’t matter because it (his book) will stand in the future. Because I’m sure South Africa will be free.

    His youthful conviction is undercut by the presence, in his voice, of the weight of all he’s experienced. Correspondence shows Cole’s book was sent to government officials in the US and Europe, and to the United Nations, but it would take decades of resistance before apartheid fell.

    Despite his fame, and the support of leading international photographers, writers and editors, Cole’s determination was ground down by the racism he encountered everywhere he went. Although he received grants to continue his work, he descended into poverty and depression.

    By the mid-1980s he stopped taking photos – his cameras were lost, stolen, or sold, and he learned that his belongings, including negatives and prints that he’d left in a hotel storage room in New York, had been discarded. Cole was destitute and ill.

    Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he watched Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 from his hospital bed. Cole died in New York that same year. All his negatives and the work he’d made during his life in exile were thought to be lost.

    Finding Ernest Cole

    Peck’s meditative film draws on Cole’s notebooks and letters, along with research interviews, in a rather bold attempt to have him “tell his own story”. It’s a story driven by both curiosity and heartbreak, narrated by actor LaKeith Stanfield, whose rather jarring American accent gives voice to a South African experience.

    Although she’s not mentioned in the credits, Peck’s script draws heavily on interviews by Swedish curator and researcher Gunilla Knape. Her association with the Hasselblad Foundation might account for why she remains unacknowledged – the organisation is linked to the ongoing controversy over ownership of Cole’s work.



    Read more:
    Glimpses into the history of street photography in South Africa

    In 2017, Cole’s nephew, Leslie Matlaisane, received an email requesting that he travel to Sweden to discuss the return of items belonging to his uncle, discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm.

    The film includes footage of Matlaisane’s journey to Sweden and the bizarre scene that unfolds as Cole’s archive is returned without any explanation about how it came to be either lost or found, or who’d placed it there.

    The boxes included 60,000 negatives, and Cole’s notebooks and research materials for House of Bondage. An incredible trove of history has resurfaced, but as Peck’s film shows, Cole himself was irrecoverably lost in exile.

    Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is showing in Johannesburg. It can be streamed on various services.

    Kylie Thomas 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. Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film – https://theconversation.com/ernest-cole-the-south-african-photographer-at-the-centre-of-a-powerful-and-heartbreaking-film-254508

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Second leaders’ debate is a tame affair befitting a ‘deeply uninspiring’ campaign

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Vice-President, Public Affairs and Partnerships, Western Sydney University

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have had their second showdown of the 2025 federal election campaign. The debate, hosted by the ABC, was moderated by David Speers in the national broadcaster’s studios in Western Sydney.

    The leaders were asked a wide range of questions on topics such as negative gearing, nuclear energy and Australia’s relationships with the US and China. But the debate was kicked off on housing, which has been a major focus of the campaign over the last few days.

    So, how did it shape up, and how did it compare to the first debate a fortnight ago? Three experts give their analysis.

    Matthew Ricketson, Deakin University

    Ahead of tonight’s debate, commentators predicted it would have little impact because most people no longer get their news from television and because the election campaign has been deeply uninspiring.

    That’s partly an index of how drastically the media landscape has changed. As recently as 2010, nearly 3.4 million people tuned in to watch the debate between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, which was broadcast on all three commercial networks, as well as the ABC. That number showed evidence of widespread interest in politics.

    The number of viewers’ advance questions to the ABC tonight also illustrated keen interest, particularly on issues like the plight of potentially lifelong renters in an overheated housing market and the urgent need to tackle climate change.

    The second leaders’ debate didn’t become heated or hostile. Both the prime minister and the opposition leader stayed relentlessly on-message.

    As is well known, Albanese is no Cicero, but he was well prepared and generally clear. He was stronger on housing than his opponent, but clearly did not want to get trapped predicting energy prices again, as he had during the 2022 campaign.

    Dutton was also clear when he focused on the issue at hand. His strongest line was one he used at least three times: are you better off now than you were three years ago? It is a line used by US President Donald Trump during his successful campaign last year.

    But it was on Trump that Dutton tied himself in knots, asserting he would be able to get a deal done with Trump when virtually no one else has and then saying he did not know him. Huh?

    He was also defensive when pressed on his nuclear policy and he was all over the shop on climate change.

    Befitting the current election campaign, there were meme-able moments on offer for both. Dutton got out his line about Albanese having a problem with the truth. But he coughed up his own when he admitted making a mistake in saying Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had “publicly announced” Russia had asked his country for a base for its aircraft.

    Michelle Cull, Western Sydney University

    After both leaders finished their opening statements in good spirits, the debate quickly turned to housing. As suggested by host David Speers, both parties have “put forward ideas that a lot of experts and economists are warning will only push up prices even more”.

    So, could the leaders explain how their plans will make housing more affordable in five or ten years?

    Albanese said his party had a plan for both demand and supply. He mentioned the Building Australia’s Future Fund to build more public housing, Build to Rent scheme to increase the private rental supply, and the 5% deposit for first home buyers. He also made note of the 100,000 homes that would be allocated only to first home buyers.

    Dutton blamed Albanese for the current housing crisis. He promoted the Coalition’s plans to allow first home buyers access up to $50,000 of their superannuation to buy a home and a planned $5 billion infrastructure fund to free up to 500,000 new home lots. Reducing immigration and foreign ownership also rated a mention.

    Dutton explained the most important part of the Coalition’s plan was to allow first home buyers a tax deduction for interest on the first $650,000 of their mortgage. When questioned about this favouring higher income earners, Dutton quickly responded that the average taxpayer would save around $11,000 a year.

    Talking tax, this provided the perfect opportunity for Speers to pose the question that many viewers wanted to ask – why are both parties not willing to review the tax breaks for investors and the capital gains tax discount?

    Dutton jumped at the chance to challenge Albanese about the modelling on negative gearing conducted by Treasury for the government last year. Albanese replied Treasury was just doing their job and looking at ideas.

    The host reminded both leaders that they themselves are property investors. When pressed about possibly placing limits on the number of properties held by investors, Dutton argued there should be no limit as we need the rentals.

    Talking rentals, Dutton said renters’ rights were up to the states, while Albanese said his party has delivered the Renter’s Rights Program and increased rental assistance.

    Andy Marks, Western Sydney University

    For the second leaders’ debate, the ABC’s new Parramatta digs, Studio 91, felt more like the legendary New York dance club, Studio 54. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stuck to their steps while the host, “DJ” David Speers, tried to disrupt their rhythm.

    Dutton opened with the Reaganesque classic, asking viewers: “Are you better off than you were three years ago?”. Albanese countered by saying Australians have done the “hard work” over the past three years, then adding, “there’s much more work to do”.

    Dutton wanted to talk about renters. Labor’s policies, he argued, would “drive up the cost of rents”. Albanese held out, preferring to talk first home buyers. “We need to give people a fair crack”, he said.

    Dutton retorted, we need to “give young Australians a go”. A “crack” or a “go”. Both options have “hit” written all over them.

    Speers then changed tunes, turning to the old election stalwart, spending versus revenue.

    “We have improved the bottom line”, Albanese assured viewers. That claim “defies the reality”, Dutton responded. Speers asked Dutton, “Where do you cut?”. No answer. Speers then quizzed Albanese. “When will power bills come down?” No answer.

    “I’m friends with Keir Starmer”, Albanese suddenly volunteered, cautioning against the Coalition’s nuclear energy plans. The UK prime minister, Albanese said, regrets his country’s nuclear adventures.

    Crossing the Atlantic, Dutton remarked, the Coalition has an “incredible relationship” with the Trump administration. The government’s current ambassador, Kevin Rudd, “can’t get a phone call with the president”, he said. The former ambassador, Joe Hockey, “used to play golf with him.”

    The second leaders’ debate traversed the dance floor to the golf course, but got no closer to differing visions for the country.

    In a rare moment of harmony, Albanese and Dutton concurred: both sides of government have failed Indigenous Australians. No debate there.

    Michelle Cull is an FCPA member of CPA Australia, member of the Financial Advice Association Australia and President Elect of the Academy of Financial Services in the United States. Michelle is an academic member of UniSuper’s Consultative Committee. Michelle co-founded the Western Sydney University Tax Clinic which has received funding from the Australian Taxation Office as part of the National Tax Clinic Program. Michelle has previously volunteered as Chair of the Macarthur Advisory Council for the Salvation Army Australia.

    Andy Marks and Matthew Ricketson 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. Second leaders’ debate is a tame affair befitting a ‘deeply uninspiring’ campaign – https://theconversation.com/second-leaders-debate-is-a-tame-affair-befitting-a-deeply-uninspiring-campaign-254466

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Election Diary: there were a couple of ‘moments’ in second Albanese-Dutton encounter

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Two “moments” stuck out in Wednesday’s leaders’ debate, the second head-to-head of the campaign.

    Peter Dutton cut his losses over his faux pas this week when he wrongly named Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto as having said there had been a Russian approach to base aircraft in Papua.

    So that was a mistake, ABC moderator David Speers asked. “It was a mistake.”

    The other “moment” was in a discussion about negative gearing, when Anthony Albanese denied the government had sought modelling on that. The public service “certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so”. In fact, we know Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked Treasury to do it.

    That enabled Dutton to repeat a favourite Coalition line. “This prime minister has a problem with the truth.” (Albanese has given grist for this line by his denial earlier in the campaign that he fell off a stage, when the footage contradicted him.)

    While the leaders were predictably well-rehearsed across the broad sweep of issues, they could not prevent their weak spots being put on display.

    Albanese struggled with something that has not been canvassed enough.Wasn’t there a case for more means testing of some of the big spending the government has undertaken?

    Then of course there was the perennially unanswerable question: when will power prices come down? The PM squirmed.

    Dutton left us no more informed about what a Coalition government would cut to finance his programs, although he did concede, when asked whether cuts to the public service would be enough to cover all his spending, “The short answer is no”.

    On climate change, the opposition leader looked awkward, when asked what seemed simple questions, such as whether the impact of climate change was getting worse. That’s a judgement he’d prefer to leave to others, “because I’m not a scientist”.

    Aware that he is paying a political cost by being painted as Trump-lite, Dutton dodged when asked whether he trusted Trump. “I don’t know Donald Trump” was his lame response (although he continues to declare himself confident of being able to get a deal on tariffs with him).

    Albanese, for his part, said he had “no reason not to trust him”.

    The PM reconfirmed that in tariff discussions with the US, Australia’s critical minerals were on the table, but lacked clarity when pressed on what precisely was Australia’s proposed critical minerals reserve.

    The two leaders were at one on being behind AUKUS (just like they are on not touching negative gearing) despite increasing criticism of the agreement in Australia.

    Housing was thoroughly canvassed but without taking us much further. It now seems it is the politicians against the experts, many of whom are sceptical of much of both sides’ offerings.

    Speers’ raising the issue of renters was a reminder that the housing issue in this campaign – at least as it’s being argued by the main parties – has been firmly focused on promoting ownership. The plight of renters has been the bailiwick of the Greens.

    Asked about the one big reform change they’d like to be remembered for, Albanese nominated affordable child care.

    Dutton went to a more ambitious level, nominating energy, which was, he said, “the economy”, an inevitably more contestable area than childcare. This opened the usual claims and counter-claims about nuclear.

    For those who want to hear the next round of the leaders’ duelling, they will meet again on April 27 on commercial TV.

    Business signals post-election fight on gender-based undervaluation of work

    The Albanese government has made reducing the gender pay gap one of its signature issues. Among other initiatives, its legislation in 2022 required the Fair Work Commission to take into account the need to achieve gender equality.

    The commission’s expert panel for pay equity has been investigating five areas: pharmacists, health workers, social and community services employees, dental assistants, and child care workers.

    On Wednesday its results were released, finding gender-based undervaluation of work in all these areas and proposing pay rises up to 35%.

    There is an immediate determination for pharmacists, who will receive a 14.1% pay rise phased in over three years. In the other areas, a process of further hearings will commence.

    The government reacted cautiously. The bill for the wages of many workers in the care sector falls on to the public purse.

    A Labor spokesperson said: “A re-elected Albanese Government will engage positively with the Commission consistent with the principles set out in our submission [to the expert panel] , including our obligation to manage any changes in a fiscally and economically responsible manner”.

    The Australian Industry Group declared “many employers will struggle to meet the scale of the increased costs proposed”.

    “Industry will be  anxiously awaiting  the response of the major sides of politics  to the decision and what concrete commitments will be made to assist employers in grappling  with its implications.”

    The last thing the government wants to make on this before the election is a “concrete commitment”.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Election Diary: there were a couple of ‘moments’ in second Albanese-Dutton encounter – https://theconversation.com/election-diary-there-were-a-couple-of-moments-in-second-albanese-dutton-encounter-254586

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Reshma Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale University

    Mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services are continuing as the agency makes good on its intention, announced on March 27, 2025, to shrink its workforce by 20,000 people. Among workers dismissed in early April were several teams responsible for fulfilling requests for access to previously unreleased government data, information and records under a federal law known as the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

    At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the offices that fulfill such requests have been eliminated, according to press reports. In 2024 alone, CDC received 1,800 requests for access to public records. At the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, which together responded to almost 14,000 requests in 2024, multiple teams of FOIA staff were fired. FOIA offices at other HHS agencies were affected, too.

    Most people may never file a public records request with a federal agency. But the fact that anyone is allowed by law to do so enables the public to hold government accountable and has catalyzed important government reforms. FOIA requests at federal health agencies have been particularly consequential. They have pushed companies to take unsafe drugs off the market, led to reforms that prevent unnecessary delays in communicating public health risks, and prompted policies that lower prices and improve access to taxpayer-funded health technologies.

    I am a health services researcher who studies the effects of public health regulation, and I have observed how the transparency enabled by FOIA can benefit patients, clinicians and researchers. Although HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that federal public health agencies will embrace “radical transparency”, closure of these offices suggests otherwise.

    What is an FOIA public records request?

    The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966 to increase government transparency in response to a rise in government secrecy during the Cold War.

    Anyone can request documents from the federal government through FOIA.

    The law requires agencies within the federal government’s executive branch to proactively publish certain procedural and other materials and to publicly disclose certain types of information. It also requires the federal government to disclose any documents that don’t fall into those categories in response to a written request, as long as they are not exempt due to issues of national security, foreign policy or business interests.

    Any member of the public, citizen or not, can file a FOIA request.

    Notably, private companies are the top requesters. They use FOIA to gain competitive advantage, support litigation and become familiar with regulations and policies that affect their business model. The next most frequent requesters are everyday people. After them come law firms, which are often supporting private companies, followed by the news media and nonprofit organizations.

    What can FOIA requests to federal health agencies reveal?

    FOIA requests to HHS agencies have led to significant shifts in public health regulation and policy.

    In one example from the early 2000s, researchers and media outlets filed FOIA requests to the FDA related to a drug called Vioxx, or rofecoxib. The drug, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Merck, was approved by the FDA as a supposedly safer alternative for osteoarthritis pain. But the documents revealed that Merck had significantly downplayed the drug’s increased risk for heart attacks and strokes.

    Information disclosed through these requests prompted congressional investigations that led to new laws requiring companies to report results of all clinical trials in a public online database – including when trials show that treatments have no meaningful benefit or are unsafe.

    The new laws also authorized the FDA to require companies to conduct additional safety studies after a drug’s approval. This means the agency can take faster action to prevent patient harm by adding warnings to drug labels, issuing warnings of potential harms directly to doctors or withdrawing unsafe treatments entirely.

    Importantly, FOIA enables ongoing oversight. In 2021, my colleagues and I published an investigation that used FOIA to determine whether the FDA and NIH were enforcing those clinical trial transparency laws. We found that companies had failed to update thousands of clinical trials in the database with their results, and that the FDA and NIH were doing little to compel them. Using the FOIA data as evidence, we successfully petitioned the FDA to step up its enforcement and to publicly list the companies that were still not complying.

    There are countless other examples of how stakeholders have used FOIA to hold the government accountable. FOIA requests filed by lawyers, news outlets and citizens of Flint, Michigan, in 2016 revealed that state and local public health officials withheld information about the contamination of the city’s drinking water. Their secrecy potentially delayed response measures that could have prevented a recurrent disease outbreak.

    Flint residents protest outside the Michigan State Capitol in January 2016.
    Shannon Nobles/Amsterdam News via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, FOIA requests to HHS agencies filed by news outlets and nonprofit organizations revealed that despite billions of taxpayer dollars and other resources invested into COVID-19 vaccine development, the U.S. government had waived away their ability to take future action and not negotiated terms to ensure affordable access if companies later hiked up prices.

    What now for FOIA at HHS?

    The sudden dismissal of FOIA teams at the CDC, FDA, NIH and other federal public health agencies will limit these agencies’ ability to respond to new and ongoing requests as required by law. This will worsen an already hefty FOIA backlog at HHS agencies.

    Cuts to FOIA staff also hinder the public from using this law to examine and potentially challenge recent agency actions under the new administration. On April 5, 2025, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed several FOIA requests on the involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in disbanding the FOIA team and on the CDC’s reported suppression in March of an expert assessment of the Texas measles outbreak.

    Based on the automated response – which read that FOIA staff had been placed on administrative leave and could not respond to requests – the group filed a lawsuit challenging the FOIA office closure, arguing that it violates the Freedom of Information Act and other administrative law.

    Limited staff capacity may also curtail agencies’ ability to proactively disclose information, such as data on drug efficacy and safety posted by the FDA. Patients and clinicians access such information to make decisions about using and prescribing medications.

    HHS representatives have stated that they will resume FOIA processing, centralizing the various agency offices under HHS in a more streamlined approach. Whether such an office with significantly diminished capacity and a lack of agency-specific expertise will be able to effectively and efficiently respond to the over 50,000 requests for records received annually remains unclear.

    A pattern of barriers to public input and accountability

    FOIA is far from a perfect tool for achieving transparency in how the government regulates health and biomedical research and policy. In fact, at least at the FDA, FOIA is costly and inefficient – partly, as my colleagues and I have written, because of the agency’s self-imposed, burdensome protocols. But without an enforceable replacement strategy, it is the only tool available to the public.

    The Trump administration has taken several other steps to reduce transparency of federal public health agencies, leaving the public with limited formal avenues outside of the courts to weigh in on agency actions.

    On March 3, 2025, HHS rescinded a long-standing policy requiring it to solicit public comments on regulations related to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts. Advisory committee meetings where agencies convene independent experts to provide recommendations and where public stakeholders can provide input have been canceled or postponed.

    Additionally, the newly formed Make America Healthy Again Commission led by Kennedy has met behind closed doors and without prior public notice, attended only by select, aligned members. It remains unclear if future meetings will be public.

    Not only is closure of FOIA offices across HHS agencies yet another blow to government transparency, but it also prevents the public from holding agencies accountable and pushing for changes that improve health.

    Reshma Ramachandran receives research funding support from Arnold Ventures and previously received research funding support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Stavros Niarchos Foundation. She serves on the board of directors in unpaid capacity for the non-profit organization, Doctors for America.

    – ref. The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability – https://theconversation.com/the-sudden-dismissal-of-public-records-staff-at-health-agencies-threatens-government-accountability-254024

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cory Booker’s long speech offers a strategy for Trump opponents in a fragmented media landscape

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Erik Johnson, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Stetson University

    Sen. Cory Booker speaks to reporters in the Senate Chamber after delivering a record-setting floor speech at the U.S. Capitol on April 1, 2025. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

    Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking, 25-hour Senate floor speech, which began on March 31, 2025, and ended on April 1, momentarily snatched the national spotlight from President Donald Trump.

    The ever-churning national news cycle has already moved on from the spectacle.

    But as communication studies scholars, we believe Booker’s speech offers important lessons for Trump opponents in a fragmented political and media landscape.

    Our analysis of Booker’s speech, its media coverage and Booker’s use of online platforms to promote his marathon performance illustrate one way to disrupt the constant public spotlight on Trump.

    Conventions of long speeches

    In research published in 2023, we compared filibusters and long speeches in the United States and overseas. The long speeches we examined took place in national parliaments and political party meetings across the world.

    Our research uncovered three patterns.

    Long speeches incorporate varied topics and texts. Whether or not these digressions are relevant to the issue at hand, they make the speaker’s remarks last longer.

    In Sen. Rand Paul’s nearly 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan’s CIA nomination in 2013, for example, he read articles on drone warfare alongside a portion of “Alice in Wonderland.” And Sen. Alfonse D’Amato’s 1986 filibuster of a military spending bill included a partial reading of the District of Columbia phone book.“

    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leaves the floor of the Senate after his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director on March 7, 2013.
    AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

    Long speeches also include expected interruptions to the speaker’s performance and address a variety of audiences.

    That’s what happened during Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster of the Civil Rights Act – the longest speech on the Senate floor before Booker’s performance. When Thurmond needed a bathroom break during his 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster, Sen. Barry Goldwater assisted by stalling with a report on military preparedness.

    These patterns of topical digression and expected interruption challenge the image of filibusters as individual acts of continuous endurance promoted in films such as ”Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.“ And they apply to Booker’s Senate speech.

    Our research also demonstrated how the media reframes the complexity of long speeches into simplified narratives. This coverage sometimes differs as different outlets target varied audiences.

    News reports on Thurmond’s filibuster bolstered an image of him as the lone senator defending segregation while the rest of the Senate slept.

    After state Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster of a 2013 anti-abortion bill in Texas, supporters linked the filibuster to her rising political prospects, while opponents disparaged her with the nickname Abortion Barbie.

    These reactions do not grapple directly with the wide-ranging content of long speeches. But they do allow them to reach audiences in ways that can shape popular memory of the event.

    Booker’s 25-hour speech

    Like other long speeches we have studied, Booker’s Senate speech addressed several topics.

    Booker read a passage from the Federalist Papers that advocated for constitutional checks and balances on the executive branch. At another point, he quoted federal appellate Judge Learned Hand, who was called the “Tenth Justice” of the Supreme Court in the first half of the 20th century. Booker also used personal anecdotes that linked his parents to the civil rights struggle and reflected on his first senate campaign.

    But mainstream news stories covering Booker’s speech produced a largely coherent summary of the overall point of the marathon talk – as they saw it, it was a stand against Trump.

    Booker’s speech also aligned with another convention of long speeches – his monologue was broken up by the parliamentary questions of fellow senators.

    Numerous Democratic allies gave Booker a break as they introduced issues of their own interest. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for example, used her time to discuss Bob Dylan.

    After the speech, however, many news outlets focused on Booker’s physical feat. This directed attention away from the hodgepodge of voices and sources in the speech.

    Fielding reporters’ questions after yielding the Senate floor, Booker discussed his use of fasting to prepare. And The New York Times reported on the effects of standing for so long and not sleeping.

    Debates about whether or how speakers stop to use the bathroom are a source of enduring fascination surrounding long speeches. It’s something that Thurmond biographer Joseph Crespino calls the “urological mystery.”

    Media fixation on Booker’s body reimagined him as the sole speaker.

    Strategies shaping online coverage

    When Booker broke the record, roughly 115,000 people were streaming the speech on YouTube. A TikTok livestream of the event received 350 million likes by the end of the day.

    Booker was prepared for this online attention. Throughout the speech, he repeated a strategic set of phrases. Those ranged from “Let’s get in good trouble” – a reference to the late John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, that appeals to Booker’s political base – to “This is a moral moment,” a slogan that evokes Rev. William Barber II’s broad-based “moral movement.”

    After the speech, Booker repeated these taglines on social media, at a New Jersey town hall and in interviews with national media.

    In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, speaks on the Senate floor on April 1, 2025.
    Senate Television via AP

    Trump’s “flood the zone” approach to policymaking, which occupies media coverage through overwhelming activity, has been widely discussed by the media.

    Booker’s speech demonstrates that for resistance to be effective, it must be noticed.

    His use of easily excerpted catchphrases targeted media platforms built around short, viral video clips. The length of Booker’s speech made it newsworthy, but short clips are necessary to sustain attention online.

    On April 2, news commentators and media outlets posed a number of questions that were not about Trump: Why did Booker speak that long? How did he prepare? Was he wearing a diaper?

    These questions are part of the simplifications that occur in response to long speeches, and the media briefly paused from constant Trump coverage to ask them again.

    Other coverage has noted that Google searches for Booker have increased since the speech – and it has speculated whether the speech might improve Democratic Party approval ratings.

    More recently, an April 13 op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution picked up on Booker’s use of “good trouble” and declared, “Cory Booker is following in footsteps of Rep. John Lewis.”

    By grabbing hold of a stage and not letting go, Booker became a figure of focus for at least one news cycle.

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

    – ref. Cory Booker’s long speech offers a strategy for Trump opponents in a fragmented media landscape – https://theconversation.com/cory-bookers-long-speech-offers-a-strategy-for-trump-opponents-in-a-fragmented-media-landscape-253911

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 200 years ago, France extorted Haiti in one of history’s greatest heists – and Haitians want reparations

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African American Studies, Yale University

    A French propaganda engraving from 1825 depicts King Charles X bestowing freedom on a Black man kneeling before him in chains. ‘S.M. Charles X, le bien-aimé, reconnaissant l’indépendance de St. Domingue,’ 1825, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Cabinet des Estampes, CC BY-SA

    In 2002, Haiti’s former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide argued that France should pay his country $US22 billion.

    The reason? In 1825, France extracted a huge indemnity from the young nation, in exchange for recognition of its independence.

    April 17, 2025, marks the 200th anniversary of that indemnity agreement. On Jan. 1 of this year, the now-former president of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, Leslie Voltaire, reminded France of this call when he requested that France “repay the debt of independence and reparations for slavery.” In March, tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is of Haitian descent, added her voice to the chorus in a tweet wondering when France would pay Haiti back.

    As a scholar of 19th-century Haitian history and culture, I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my research to exploring Haiti’s particularly strong legal case for restitution from France.

    The story begins with the Haitian Revolution.

    France instituted slavery in the colony of Saint-Domingue on the western third of the island of Hispaniola – today’s Haiti – in the 17th century. In the late 18th century, the enslaved population rebelled and eventually declared independence. In the 19th century, the French demanded compensation for the former enslavers of the Haitian people, rather than the other way around.

    Just as the legacy of slavery in the United States has created a gross economic disparity between Black and white Americans, the tax on its freedom that France forced Haiti to pay – referred to as an “indemnity” at the time – severely damaged the newly independent country’s ability to prosper.

    The cost of independence

    Haiti officially declared its independence from France on Jan. 1, 1804. In October 1806, following the assassination of Haiti’s first head of state, the country was split into two, with Alexandre Pétion ruling in the south and Henry Christophe ruling in the north.

    Despite the fact that both Haiti rulers were veterans of the Haitian Revolution, the French had never quite given up on reconquering their former colony.

    In 1814, King Louis XVIII, restored as king after the overthrow of Napoléon earlier that year, sent three commissioners to Haiti to assess the willingness of the country’s rulers to surrender. Christophe, crowned king in 1811, remained obstinate in the face of France’s exposed plan to bring back slavery. Threatening war, the most prominent member of Christophe’s cabinet, Baron de Vastey, insisted,“ Our independence will be guaranteed by the tips of our bayonets!”

    In contrast, Pétion, the ruler of the south, was willing to negotiate, hoping that the country might be able to pay France for recognition of its independence.

    In 1803, Napoléon had sold Louisiana to the United States for US$15 million. Using this number as his compass, Pétion proposed paying the same amount. Unwilling to compromise with those he viewed as “runaway slaves,” Louis XVIII rejected the offer.

    Pétion died suddenly in 1818, but Jean-Pierre Boyer, his successor, kept up the negotiations. Talks, however, continued to stall due to Christophe’s stubborn opposition.

    “Any indemnification of the ex-colonists,” Christophe’s government stated, was “inadmissible.”

    Once Christophe died in October 1820, Boyer was able to reunify the two sides of the country. However, even with the obstacle of Christophe gone, Boyer repeatedly failed to successfully negotiate France’s recognition of independence. Determined to gain at least suzerainty over the island – which would have made Haiti a protectorate of France – Louis XVIII rebuked the two commissioners Boyer sent to Paris in 1824 to try to negotiate an indemnity in exchange for recognition.

    On April 17, 1825, Charles X, brother to Louis XVIII and the new French king, performed a sudden about-face. Charles X issued a decree stating that France would recognize Haitian independence but only at the price of 150 million francs – or nearly twice the 80 million francs the U.S. had paid for the Louisiana territory.

    Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons.

    His instructions stated that his “mission” was “not a negotiation.” It was not diplomacy either. It was extortion.

    Amid the threat of violent war and a looming economic blockade, on July 11, 1825, Boyer signed the fatal document, which stated, “The present inhabitants of the French part of St. Domingue shall pay … in five equal installments … the sum of 150,000,000 francs, destined to indemnify the former colonists.”

    French prosperity built on Haitian poverty

    Newspaper articles from the period reveal that the French king knew the Haitian government was hardly capable of making these payments, as the amount was nearly six times Haiti’s total annual revenue. The rest of the world seemed to agree that the agreement was absurd. One British journalist noted that the “enormous price” constituted a “sum which few states in Europe could bear to sacrifice.”

    Forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to make the first two payments, it was hardly a surprise to anyone when Haiti defaulted soon thereafter. Still, a subsequent French king sent another expedition in 1838 with 12 warships to force the Haitian president’s hand. The 1838 revision, inaccurately labeled “Traité d’Amitié” – or “Treaty of Friendship” – reduced the outstanding amount owed to 60 million francs, but the Haitian government was once again ordered to take out crushing loans to pay the balance.

    It was the Haitian people who suffered the brunt of the consequences of France’s theft. Boyer levied draconian taxes in order to pay back the loans. And while Christophe had been busy developing a national school system during his reign, under Boyer, and all subsequent presidents, such projects had to be put on hold. Moreover, researchers have found that the independence debt and the resulting drain on the Haitian treasury were directly responsible not only for the underfunding of education in 20th-century Haiti, but also for the lack of health care and the country’s inability to develop public infrastructure.

    A 2022 analysis by The New York Times, furthermore, revealed that Haitians ended up paying more than 112 million francs over seven decades, or $560 million – estimated between $22 billion and $44 billion in today’s dollars. Recognizing the gravity of this scandal, French economist Thomas Piketty has argued that France should repay at least $28 billion to Haiti in restitution.

    A debt that’s both moral and material

    Former French presidents, from Jacques Chirac to Nicolas Sarkozy to François Hollande, have a history of punishing, skirting or downplaying Haitian demands for recompense.

    In May 2015, when Hollande became only France’s second head of state to visit Haiti, he admitted that his country needed to “settle the debt.” Later, realizing he had unwittingly provided fuel for the legal claims already prepared by attorney Ira Kurzban on behalf of the Haitian people, Hollande clarified that he meant France’s debt was merely “moral.”

    To deny that the consequences of slavery were also material is to deny French history itself. France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today. Afterward, the French government demonstrated once again its understanding of slavery’s relationship to economics when it financially compensated the former “owners” of enslaved people.

    The resulting racial wealth gap is no metaphor. In metropolitan France, 14.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, in contrast, where more than 80% of the population is of African descent, the poverty rates are 38% and 46%, respectively. The poverty rate in Haiti is even more dire at 59%. And whereas the gross domestic product per capita – the best measure of a country’s standard of living – is $44,690 in France, it’s a mere $1,693 in Haiti.

    These discrepancies can be viewed as the concrete consequences of stolen labor from generations of Africans and their descendants.

    In recent years, French academics have begun to increasingly contribute to the conversation about the longitudinal harms the indemnity brought to Haiti. Yet what effectively amounts to a statement of “no comment” has historically been the only response from France’s current government under President Emmanuel Macron.

    Yet if recent reports prove accurate, on the bicentennial of the indemnity “agreement,” Macron plans to issue a “landmark statement” about France’s “colonial legacy,” along with several “memory initiatives,” designed to “keep the memory of slavery alive throughout the national territory, as in Haiti.”

    But to me, the only initiative from France that would matter would be one detailing how it plans to provide economic recompense to Haitians.

    This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 30, 2020.

    Marlene L. Daut 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. 200 years ago, France extorted Haiti in one of history’s greatest heists – and Haitians want reparations – https://theconversation.com/200-years-ago-france-extorted-haiti-in-one-of-historys-greatest-heists-and-haitians-want-reparations-254550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Reed Frederick Noss, Conservation Science Coordinator, University of Florida

    In the longleaf pine savannas of the southeastern U.S., most of the biodiversity is found in the ground cover and depends on frequent fires. Reed Noss

    In an old-growth longleaf pine savanna, the absurdly long pine needles sing in the wind. Once considered forests, these landscapes in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain are open-canopied and sunny, more grassland than forest, with underbrush kept clear by frequent fires.

    Longleaf pines – their needles can be up to 18 inches long – are among the longest-lived trees in eastern North America, surpassing 500 years if they are lucky enough to escape lightning strikes from the region’s frequent thunderstorms. Almost more fascinating is the ground cover, with up to 50 species per square meter, including some plants that are thousands of years old, with the vast majority of their biomass below ground. Picture an underground forest.

    In the American West, there are other types of old-growth forest. Dry ponderosa pine woodlands are similarly open in structure and contain trees up to nearly 1,000 years old. But perhaps the most familiar old-growth forests are the complex, wet old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, which stretch from northwestern California to southeastern Alaska.

    These forests, which contain Douglas fir, coast redwood, western hemlock, western red cedar, Sitka spruce and many other tree species, have been compared to cathedrals, providing an otherworldly experience of gigantic, ancient trees festooned with mosses and lichens and with fallen trees strewn like buses across the forest floor.

    A view of the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington’s Olympic National Park.
    Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    I’m fortunate to have lived among and studied both southeastern pine savannas and Pacific Northwest conifer forests. The contrast between them could not be greater. And there are many other old-growth forests across the continent – including northeastern spruce fir and northern hardwoods forests, Great Lakes red pine and jack pine woodlands, southern Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests, and Great Basin bristlecone pines reaching nearly 5,000 years old. Each of these forests has a unique ecology, but all are under threat from human activity and climate change.

    I recently co-authored a research paper with two colleagues and my collaborator, Carlos Carroll, who is a conservation biologist at the Klamath Center for Conservation Research. In it, we explain that there are some key reasons it’s so difficult to conserve the nation’s varied old-growth landscapes.

    In general, the challenge is that it’s possible to conceive of all these areas as a single group – old growth landscapes – where large, old trees dominate the canopy but where small-scale disturbances such as treefall gaps create a mosaic of age classes. Foresters often call this an “uneven-age forest.”

    But they really constitute a wide range of landscapes with different, often unique needs for protection, restoration and management. For example, in some old-growth forests, the trees live thousands of years, whereas in others the maximum lifespan of the dominant tree species is much less, sometimes only around 200 years. And some old-growth forests have abundant deadwood, both standing and on the ground, whereas others are kept largely clear of deadwood by frequent fires.

    Widely different local conditions

    Large, old trees can be removed quickly but require hundreds of years to be replaced. When seeking to balance conservation goals with other priorities, including local economic needs, some foresters use a method called “thinning,” in which wooded areas aren’t clear-cut completely. Instead, only some trees are cut down. This can involve cutting smaller, younger trees while protecting older trees from logging – but at times it has included logging older trees as well. Even if it spares old trees, though, thinning can still harm biodiversity and old-growth ecosystems.

    But it isn’t always clear how old a tree must be to protect it from logging. Some conservationists argue that the rules should protect some or all forests that are considered mature – say, 80 or so years old – but not yet old growth. As those stands of trees age, they will become old growth, taking the place of trees logged in the past.

    A northern spotted owl sits on a branch in Muir Woods in California.
    Robert Alexander/Getty Images

    However, a rule as simple as sparing trees above a certain age is not necessarily best for every old-growth region. In longleaf pine savannas, for instance, the standard practice of rapidly extinguishing wildfires has meant hardwood trees typically associated with denser, moister forests have grown up amid the pines. Some threatened species, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, has adapted to survive only in areas that are extensive open-canopy, old-growth pine savannas with few hardwoods.

    Restoration of those forests may require cutting down the invading hardwoods, even if they are decades old, as well as using fire to manage the resulting pine-dominated landscape. In some other types of old-growth forests, careful use of fire may be enough to restore the ecosystem without cutting any trees.

    Long-term and short-term at the same time

    A key challenge for protecting old-growth areas is the importance of balancing immediate risks with long-term needs, considering how ecosystems change as trees age and die, and across larger areas such as watersheds.

    Old-growth forests are rare – less than 7% of the area of U.S. forests today – and are still often logged. To recover forest ecosystems across the U.S., it will not be enough to protect just old-growth areas.

    Especially valuable for biodiversity are areas of regenerating forests that grow after fires or other disturbances such as windstorms, in places where live and dead trees in the disturbed forests have not been cut. These disturbed forests provide habitats for species associated with more open conditions. Many woodpeckers, epitomized by the black-backed woodpecker in western North America, depend on conditions created by severe fires.

    Populations of the threatened red-cockaded woodpecker in the southeastern U.S. depend on large areas of scattered, old-growth longleaf pines for their survival.
    Reed Noss

    Observing the broader value

    Beyond trees, there are many species of plants and animals that depend on old-growth landscapes. Perhaps most famous among them are the red-cockaded woodpecker of the southeastern U.S. and the northern spotted owl of the Pacific Northwest.

    Those plants’ and animals’ needs can give conservationists and ecologists insights into what territory is most useful to preserve, not just for the trees but for the larger ecosystem. That includes finding ways to connect conservation areas across the landscape so life can grow and spread.

    Efforts to preserve old-growth landscapes protect more than just the trees. These forests also store carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it drives climate change. They help provide clean water for people and aquatic ecosystems, along with space for recreation, reflection and other cultural activities.

    Ecological science cannot resolve the debates about how to prioritize and preserve old-growth forest. But it can help inform the public about the rising costs of doing nothing, and of the wide benefits of maintaining, recovering and restoring functioning old-growth ecosystems.

    Carlos Carroll, a conservation biologist at the Klamath Center for Conservation Research, also contributed to this article.

    Reed Frederick Noss receives funding from the University of Florida and the Southeastern Grasslands Institute.

    – ref. Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge – https://theconversation.com/wide-variety-of-old-growth-ecosystems-across-the-us-makes-their-conservation-a-complex-challenge-253004

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sara Pezeshk, Postdoctoral Fellow in Architecture, Florida International University

    A rendering of BIOCAP tiles installed along a seawall at Morningside Park in Miami.
     Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    Morningside Park, a beloved neighborhood park in Miami with sweeping views of Biscayne Bay, will soon pilot an innovative approach to coastal resilience.

    BIOCAP tiles, a 3D-printed modular system designed to support marine life and reduce wave impact along urban seawalls, will be installed on the existing seawall there in spring 2025. BIOCAP stands for Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance.

    Developed by our team of architects and marine biologists at Florida International University, the uniquely textured prototype tiles are designed to test a new approach for helping cities such as Miami adapt to rising sea levels while simultaneously restoring ecological balance along their shorelines.

    The project receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Ecological costs of traditional seawalls

    Seawalls have long served as a primary defense against coastal erosion and storm surges. Typically constructed of concrete and ranging from 6 to 10 feet in height, they are built along shorelines to block waves from eroding the land and flooding nearby urban areas.

    However, they often come at an ecological cost. Seawalls disrupt natural shoreline dynamics and can [wipe out the complex habitat zones] that marine life relies on.

    Marine organisms are crucial in maintaining coastal water quality by filtering excess nutrients, pollutants and suspended particles. A single adult oyster can filter 20-50 gallons of water daily, removing nitrogen, phosphorus and solids that would otherwise fuel harmful algal blooms. These blooms deplete oxygen levels and damage marine ecosystems.

    Filter-feeding organisms also reduce turbidity, which is the cloudiness of water caused by suspended sediment and particles. Less water turbidity means more light can penetrate, which benefits seagrasses that require sunlight for photosynthesis. These seagrasses convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-rich sugars while providing essential food and habitat for diverse marine species.

    A robotic 3D printer extrudes concrete in layered, intricate channels.
    Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    Swirling shapes, shaded grooves

    Unlike the flat, lifeless surfaces of typical concrete seawalls, each BIOCAP tile is designed with shaded grooves, crevices and small, water-holding pockets. These textured features mimic natural shoreline conditions and create tiny homes for barnacles, oysters, sponges and other marine organisms that filter and improve water quality.

    The tile’s swirling surface patterns increase the overall surface area, offering more space for colonization. The shaded recesses are intended to help regulate temperature by providing cooler, more stable microenvironments. This thermal buffering can support marine life in the face of rising water temperatures and more frequent heat events driven by climate change.

    Another potential benefit of the tiles is reducing the impact of waves.

    When waves hit a natural shoreline, their energy is gradually absorbed by irregular surfaces, tide pools and vegetation. In contrast, when waves strike vertical concrete seawalls, the energy is reflected back into the water rather than absorbed. This wave reflection – the bouncing back of wave energy – can amplify wave action, increase erosion at the base of the wall and create more hazardous conditions during storms.

    The textured surfaces of the BIOCAP tiles are designed to help diffuse wave energy by mimicking the natural dissipation found on undisturbed shorelines.

    The design of BIOCAP takes cues from nature. The tile shapes are based on how water interacts with different surfaces at high tide and low tide. Concave tiles, which curve inward, and convex tiles, which curve outward, are installed at different levels along the seawall. The goal is to deflect waves away from the seawall, reduce direct impact and help minimize erosion and turbulence around the wall’s foundation.

    A collection of 3D-printed concrete BIOCAP tiles.
    Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    How we will measure success

    After the BIOCAP tiles are installed, we plan to assess how the seawall redesign enhances biodiversity, improves water quality and reduces wave energy. This two-year pilot phase will help assess the long-term value of ecologically designed infrastructure.

    To evaluate biodiversity, we will use underwater cameras to capture time-lapse imagery of the marine life that colonizes the tile surfaces. These observations will aid in documenting species diversity and habitat use over time.

    To assess water quality, we have developed a specialized prototype tile with sensors that can measure pH, dissolved oxygen levels, salinity, turbidity and temperature in real time. This data will provide insight into how the tiles affect local water conditions.

    Finally, to measure wave attenuation and the reduction of wave force, we will mount pressure sensors on both the BIOCAP tiles and the adjacent traditional seawall sections. This comparison will allow us to quantify differences in wave energy across varying tidal conditions and storm events.

    As coastal cities confront the dual challenges of increasing threats from climate change and environmental degradation, the BIOCAP project offers what we hope will be an example of a resilient, nature-based solution that benefits both humans and the environment.

    In the coming year, we’ll be watching with hope as the new BIOCAP tiles begin to welcome marine life, offering a glimpse into how nature might reclaim and thrive along our urban shorelines.

    Read more of our stories about South Florida.

    Shahin Vassigh receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency

    Sara Pezeshk 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. Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms – https://theconversation.com/miami-researchers-are-testing-a-textured-seawall-designed-to-hold-back-water-and-create-a-home-for-marine-organisms-252488

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Railways were essential to carrying out the Holocaust – decades later, corporate reckoning continues

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sarah Federman, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton stands in front of the kind of car her parents were forced into in Drancy, France, when deported to their deaths. Sarah Federman

    The Holocaust could not have happened without the railways.

    Preeminent Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg underscored that almost everyone murdered at a camp arrived by train, including Jews, political prisoners and other “undesirables.” Since the 1990s, groups of survivors have asked European railway companies to acknowledge and atone for their critical role – a reminder that war, genocide and other atrocities cannot occur without corporate participation.

    One long-running attempt met a setback on Feb. 21, 2025, when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling in favor of survivors seeking atonement from Hungary’s state railways. The lower court held that plaintiffs could sue the company over looting during the deportation of 440,000 Jews, most of whom were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, saying the case did not warrant an exception to law protecting foreign governments from being sued in U.S. courts.

    SS personnel select Hungarian Jews for life or death after their arrival at Auschwitz.
    Bernhard Walter/Yad Vashem via Wikimedia Commons

    Even without legal rulings, however, survivors have sometimes mobilized enough public support to force rail companies to confront their complicity.

    I wrote a book about one such case: the French national railways’ multiple roles in World War II, and the company’s 30-year struggle to make amends. I dug through archives and legal documents and spoke to over 120 experts – including historians, legislators, executives and more than 90 Holocaust survivors – about what obligations, if any, they believe railways have today.

    The French national railways’ wartime activities and slow roll to accountability helped me better understand and articulate productive ways that companies can respond to demands for atonement decades or more after the events.

    The author stands with Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest people who survived deportation to Auschwitz.
    Sarah Federman

    Multiple wartime roles

    The French railway company, known as the SNCF, played more than one role during the war. Depending on which facts you focus on, you can see the company as a victim, hero or perpetrator.

    With roughly 500,000 employees at the time, the company found itself in the crosshairs of the Nazi occupation. When France capitulated to Germany on June 22, 1940, the country was divided into occupied and free zones, and the French national railways were put under German command.

    Unlike companies such as Hugo Boss, which made Nazi uniforms, the SNCF did not financially profit from the occupation. To the contrary, Germans rarely paid the rail company the full amounts due. Machines were destroyed, an estimated 24,000 railway workers were sent to forced labor, and 2,229 railway workers were murdered.

    After the war, the acts of the brave railway workers came to light. Some slowed trains so deportees could jump off; some found other ways to facilitate escapes. Near the city of Lille, some SNCF workers helped save dozens of Jewish children. Most importantly, some workers coordinated with the French Resistance on D-Day, sabotaging trains to prevent German armaments from reaching the Normandy beaches and fighting off the Allies.

    After the war, the SNCF amplified heroic stories with the help of the French government, using a film, pamphlets and other means.

    ‘La Bataille du Rail,’ a 1946 film about French railway workers during the war.

    These stories are true – even if those workers made up less than 1% of the workforce. Surely, some stories were never told. But even if we double or triple the number, such resistance was an exception, not the rule.

    Senior executives reported on acts of sabotage and did little to save their own Jewish colleagues. In fact, Vichy France – the wartime collaborationist government – put the head of the SNCF, Pierre-Eugene Fournier, in charge of liquidating Jewish businesses. He did so efficiently and complained only about German interference.

    French Jews are forced into a train during deportations in Marseille in January 1943.
    Wolfgang Vennemann/German Federal Archives via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The SNCF transported approximately 76,000 Jewish deportees in merchandise cars to the German border, where a Nazi train driver carried them on to their deaths. While it’s possible the company didn’t understand the mass murder occurring at Auschwitz or other camps, drivers knew they carried unwilling passengers crammed together with little food, water or air in extreme weather without stopping. The deportation trains continued for two months after D-Day.

    Push for justice

    Yet SNCF’S image as part of the Resistance lived on in France until the 1990s, when survivors first approached the company for atonement. SNCF escaped legal liability, but public pressure forced the company to respond. Though it never financially compensated victims directly, the SNCF did commission an independent study, opened its archive to the public, made statements of regret and contributed to Holocaust commemoration and education.

    A couple married for over 50 years discovered that their fathers were deported on the same train.
    Sarah Federman

    The conversation then moved beyond French borders. In 2014, after Holocaust survivors protested the SNCF’s bids for contracts in the U.S., French and American ambassadors hammered out a US$60 million fund to compensate survivors who were not covered by other programs.

    The SNCF’s journey toward accountability encouraged debates involving rail companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary, which had also transported hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.

    In 2019, Holocaust survivor Salo Muller successfully lobbied the Dutch state-owned railways for an apology and compensation for deportees. The company gave €15,000 – about $16,500 – to each survivor who had been forced to pay for their own ticket to be transported in horrific conditions to death camps. In the case of deceased survivors, the railway offered half that amount to heirs.

    Not about the money

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton in front of a memorial at Drancy, France, where her father was deported.
    Sarah Federman

    In 2012, historian Michael Marrus invited me to join him at Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations, a conference at the University of Tel Aviv. There, he slapped his hands on the table and all but shouted to his senior colleagues, “It’s not about the money!”

    Judicial rulings and financial payouts make headlines and create important precedents. But my interviews with survivors confirmed the spirit of Marrus’ words: “People want to set the record straight, to tell the story, and to have their history constitute a warning.”

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton took me to the Shoah Memorial in Drancy, France, where her parents had been interned before deportation. She appreciated the memorials and visitor center, which acknowledge her loss and their suffering. Renée Fauguet-Zejgman and I went to a ceremony in Paris together so she could read her murdered father’s name – an opportunity sponsored, in part, by the SNCF. Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest to survive Auschwitz, didn’t hold on to special anger against the railways. But when I told him about their statement of regret and funding of memorial sites, he said, “I’m glad that they did that.”

    Renée Fauguet-Zejgman points to her father’s name on a memorial in Paris.
    Sarah Federman

    Leo Bretholz, who jumped out of an SNCF train bound for Auschwitz, wanted a verbal acknowledgment of the harm and an apology along with compensation. Stanley Kalmanovitz, who received over $200,000 from the 2014 settlement for his deportation to Auschwitz, told me, “The money came at a good time in my life … but this is not a settlement of conscience.” He knew the railway company was trying to win U.S. contracts and saw the money as a way to get survivors out of the way.

    Motivations aside, Kalmanovitz wondered what people today expect from the SNCF workers during the war. He said, “What was the French railroad supposed to do? Someone has a gun at your head, what do you do? You take the bullet? Then, if everyone takes a bullet, who’s left?”

    Historians only know of one French train driver who defied orders to drive his train. Léon Bronchart refused to drive a train filled with either German soldiers or political prisoners. He lost his bonus and title, but not his life.

    While a number of survivors I spoke with wanted SNCF to atone, others expressed misgivings about holding today’s company accountable for the actions of its predecessors.

    Thousands of Jews around Paris were arrested in July 1942, including more than 4,000 children. Most were later deported to Auschwitz.
    Antoine Gyori/Sygma via Getty Images

    Restoring dignity

    Today, some companies are trying to address their connections to mass atrocities: not only the Holocaust, but also other genocides, the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and even ecological destruction.

    I encourage companies, institutions and ambassadors to focus on addressing harm, rather than on calculating their institution’s percentage of guilt or complicity. These difficult – if not impossible – calculations distract institutions from supporting the innocent people grappling with the aftermath and from preventing future harm.

    While money matters, people also want their dignity restored and suffering acknowledged – and companies can do this work without lawsuits prompting them. When they do it on their own, stakeholders see their efforts as evidence of a moral conscience rather than an economic necessity.

    This look back encourages stakeholders to consider how today’s corporate actions may be judged in the years ahead. Will future generations celebrate or condone their use of natural resources, labor practices or any participation in the deportations of their day?

    Sarah Federman received funding from the Fondation pour la Memorial de la Shoah to conduct research on the SNCF in France. During her time as a doctoral student, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution awarded Federman the Presidential Scholarship in support of this research.

    – ref. Railways were essential to carrying out the Holocaust – decades later, corporate reckoning continues – https://theconversation.com/railways-were-essential-to-carrying-out-the-holocaust-decades-later-corporate-reckoning-continues-250008

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Dark energy may have once been ‘springier’ than it is today − DESI cosmologists explain what their collaboration’s new measurement says about the universe’s history

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By David Weinberg, Professor of Astronomy, The Ohio State University

    The Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory houses the DESI instrument. KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

    Gravity pulls us to earth, a lesson you learn viscerally the first time you fall. Isaac Newton described gravity as a universal attractive force, one that holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth, the planets in orbit around the Sun, and the Sun in orbit around the center of our galaxy.

    In the 1990s, astronomers made the astonishing discovery that the expansion of the universe has sped up over the past 5 billion years, which implies that gravity can push as well as pull.

    Einstein’s theory of general relativity explains gravity as a consequence of curved space-time, where it allows for both attraction and repulsion. However, producing gravitational repulsion requires a new form of energy with exotic physical properties, often referred to as “dark energy.”

    New results from a large survey of the universe, announced in March 2025, are challenging the conventional picture of dark energy.

    Dark energy and cosmic expansion

    The simplest explanation for cosmic acceleration assumes a form of energy that fills apparently empty space and stays constant over time, instead of diluting as the universe expands.

    In fact, quantum mechanics predicts that “empty” space is filled with particles that flare briefly into and out of existence. At first glance, it seems like this effect could explain a constant dark energy, but no simple estimates of the effect’s magnitude line up with actual observations. Nonetheless, constant dark energy is a simple assumption that has proven successful in explaining many cosmological measurements.

    Today’s standard cosmological model incorporates this kind of constant dark energy. It also incorporates atoms and dark matter, which exert the attractive gravity that resists dark energy’s repulsion.

    New dark energy measurements

    The new measurements from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, collaboration, which we are affiliated with, pose the sharpest challenge yet to this standard model.

    Relative to the constant dark energy predictions, the new DESI measurements suggest that the universe was expanding slightly faster a few billion years ago – by 1% to 3% – before relaxing to the expansion rate predicted today. One explanation for this temporary speed up is that the “springiness” of dark energy – a combination of energy and pressure that determines its repulsive effect – was higher in the past. The springiness then declined as the universe expanded further.

    Astronomers can measure the history of the universe from our vantage point in the present because light travels at a finite speed. So, we see distant objects as they were in the past. Cosmic expansion stretches the wavelength of light – a phenomenon known as redshift. A precise measurement of an object’s light can reveal the size of the universe at the time the light was emitted.

    The new DESI results are based on measuring the redshifts of more than 14 million galaxies, creating a three-dimensional map that spans 12 billion years of cosmic history. To determine the distances light traveled across this map, DESI measured a subtle feature imprinted on the clustering of these galaxies by acoustic waves that traveled through the early universe.

    An exciting result

    DESI’s evidence for evolving dark energy comes from combining its own distance and redshift measurements with other measurements of the average density of matter in the universe. The higher the density of matter, the more strongly it can pull against dark energy’s expansive push. The matter density measurements come from the European-led Planck space mission, which mapped structure in the cosmic microwave background.

    The combination of DESI and Planck data favors evolving dark energy, instead of constant dark energy, with a statistical significance of 3.1 standard deviations. This result has only a 1 in 500 chance of occurring randomly.

    Despite the long odds, physicists consider such a finding to be solid but not overwhelming evidence, in part because even the most careful experimenters may underestimate uncertainties in their measurements.

    To strengthen the statistical case, DESI scientists added measurements of cosmic distances made by the Dark Energy Survey collaboration, which applied a different measurement technique based on the brightness of light from supernova explosions.

    The combination of DESI, Planck and Dark Energy Survey supernovae favors the evolving dark energy model by odds of 40,000 to 1. However, other supernova surveys give results that agree more with constant dark energy, so most cosmologists aren’t yet ready to abandon the standard cosmological model.

    Even if DESI’s findings hold up, they still can’t say what dark energy is. But they can provide much stronger clues than cosmologists had before.

    The DESI-based model implies that dark energy changed its properties surprisingly quickly. Dark energy began to lose its repulsive strength at about the same time it became the dominant form of energy in the cosmos.

    Extrapolating to the past, this model also implies that dark energy once had an extraordinary springiness, at a level that no simple theory of a dark energy field can explain. As future data sharpens these measurements, the findings could point us in a weird new direction – perhaps even challenging Einstein’s theory of gravity itself.

    In the model that fits the DESI data, the density of dark energy goes up and then declines, shown as a blue curve, instead of staying constant as assumed in the standard cosmological model, indicated by the horizontal dotted line. In either case, the density of atoms and dark matter dilutes as the universe expands, shown as a red curve, and today it is only about half that of dark energy. The repulsive effect of dark energy began to exceed the attractive effect of matter when the universe was about 8 billion years old, marked as ‘acceleration begins.’
    David Weinberg

    An ambitious experiment

    DESI is an extremely ambitious undertaking and an example of “big science” at its best. The instrument itself is mounted on the 4-meter Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. It uses 5,000 optical fibers mounted on tiny robotic positioners that guide the light from individual galaxies to scientific instruments that dissect that light and record the data for measuring redshifts.

    Every 15 minutes, the telescope shifts to a new area of the sky, and the robots move the fibers to point to 5,000 new galaxy locations. After five years of design and construction, DESI has operated continuously since 2021.

    A close-up of the DESI focal plane showing a few of the 5,000 fiber positioners. The white spots inside the bluish circles are the optical fibers that guide the light collected from distant galaxies to the spectrographs about 40 meters away.
    Dr. Claire Poppett, DESI Collaboration

    Led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, DESI is a collaboration of over 900 scientists at 70 institutions around the world. At our university alone, more than 20 faculty, students, postdocs and research staff have worked on DESI over the past decade.

    This work includes contributions to building and installing spectrographs, which measure the properties of light, as well as writing software to record data, leading instrument operations, observing and troubleshooting at the telescope, designing galaxy and quasar surveys, creating catalogs for statistical analysis, testing measurement techniques with computer simulations, interpreting results and writing papers – all in tight communication with our collaborators.

    If the evidence for evolving dark energy holds up — and despite our instinctive caution, we think it has a good chance of doing so — it will join a list of remarkable 21st-century discoveries achieved with large U.S. national investments.

    These discoveries include the first detection of gravitational waves by the National Science Foundation-funded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, LIGO, and the spectacular measurements of galaxies and exoplanet atmospheres by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

    These achievements show what the support of science by U.S. taxpayers and dedicated, creative researchers across the globe can accomplish.

    David Weinberg receives funding from the National Science Foundation and NASA that supports his dark energy research.

    Ashley Ross receives funding from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to support his work on DESI and NASA to support work on related experiments.

    Klaus Honscheid receives funding from Department of Energy.

    Paul Martini receives funding from the Department of Energy.

    – ref. Dark energy may have once been ‘springier’ than it is today − DESI cosmologists explain what their collaboration’s new measurement says about the universe’s history – https://theconversation.com/dark-energy-may-have-once-been-springier-than-it-is-today-desi-cosmologists-explain-what-their-collaborations-new-measurement-says-about-the-universes-history-253067

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortinet Releases its 2024 Sustainability Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — News Summary

    Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today released its 2024 Sustainability Report, outlining the company’s approach, key commitments, and progress on the sustainability topics that matter most to the company and its stakeholders.

    “As digital transformation accelerates, cybersecurity is more critical than ever to safeguarding businesses, the global economy and society at large,” said Michael Xie, Founder, President and CTO at Fortinet. “Fortinet is committed to having our products, services, and people contribute to building a more secure and sustainable society–from improving the environmental impact of our products through energy efficiency and more sustainable packaging, to our commitment to closing the cybersecurity skills gap by training 1 million individuals by 2026. We are proud of the progress we’ve made and remain committed to integrating sustainability across all aspects of our operations.”

    As cybersecurity continues to play a leading role in enabling a sustainable digital future, Fortinet remains committed to protecting people, businesses, and communities worldwide while operating responsibly and minimizing its environmental footprint.

    Highlights from the Fortinet 2024 Sustainability Report include:

    • Driving innovation and responsible technology to secure the digital world: With nearly 1,400 patents issued and more than 450 pending, Fortinet continues to pioneer AI-powered security solutions, collaborating with organizations such as University of California (UC) Berkeley, the World Economic Forum, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to advance AI use in cybersecurity. In 2024, Fortinet also became one of the early signatory of CISA’s Secure by Design pledge, reinforcing its commitment to security at every stage of the product lifecycle.
    • Strengthening global efforts to combat cybercrime: In 2024, Fortinet deepened its engagement with numerous global organizations dedicated to halting cybercrime, supporting major initiatives such as INTERPOL’s Operation Serengeti and the World Economic Forum Cybercrime Atlas Project. These collaborative efforts in 2024 contributed to over 1,000 arrests, the dismantling of 134,000+ malicious networks, and the recovering of $44 million USD.
    • Accelerating climate action with near-term, science-based targets: In 2024, Fortinet’s near-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. These climate near-term targets include scopes 1 and 2 emissions, aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory to limit global warming, as well as scope 3 targets focused on supplier and customer engagement to drive emission reductions across the value chain.
    • Improving product energy efficiency and sustainable packaging: In 2024, Fortinet introduced new FortiGate models that are, on average, 61% more energy efficient than previous generations. Additionally, the company expanded its efforts to minimize environmental impact by launching 22 FSC-certified packaging models, prioritizing plastic-free packaging across 86 top-selling products, and avoiding 387 metric tons of CO2e emissions, including 77 metric tons of plastic reduction.
    • Addressing the cybersecurity skills gap and expanding access to education: Since 2022, Fortinet has trained more than 630,000 individuals in cybersecurity through the Fortinet Training Institute initiatives. In 2024, Fortinet joined the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy, committing to train 75,000 people in the EU by 2027. Fortinet also contributed to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework, helping to shape global best practices for sustainable cybersecurity talent development.
    • Upholding strong business ethics and information security practices: In 2024, 100% of Fortinet’s top contract manufacturers (covering 90% of spend) and distributors completed business ethics and compliance training. Fortinet expanded its ISO 27001/17/18 certifications and its SOC2 Type II examinations, achieving 81 information security certifications and examinations strengthening data protection and privacy measures.

    Industry Recognition for Responsible Business Practices
    Fortinet’s continued progress in sustainability and responsible business practices has been recognized through multiple industry accolades, including:

    • Inclusion in the 2024 Dow Jones Best-in-Class World and North America Indices for the third consecutive year, reflecting its leadership in corporate responsibility.
    • An improved CDP Climate Change rating, moving from a B- to a B score, reflecting strengthened climate action and transparency.
    • Recognition as a 2024 “Best Company to Work For” by Glassdoor and a “Great Place to Work,” underscoring Fortinet’s commitment to fostering a workplace where everyone can thrive.
    • Recognized as No. 7 on Forbes’ Most Trusted Companies in America 2025 list—and the most trusted U.S.-based cybersecurity company.

    Fortinet’s 2024 Sustainability Report references the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, Sustainability Accountability Standards Board (SASB) Standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The report details Fortinet’s progress and metrics across the following eight priority issues: innovation and responsible technology; cybercrime disruption; climate change; product environmental impacts; inclusion and belonging; cybersecurity skills gap; business ethics; and information security and data privacy.

    Additional Resources

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

    Copyright © 2025 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAgent, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiCNP, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortiDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiScanner, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSRA, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR and Lacework FortiCNAPP. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

    Media Contact: Investor Contact: Analyst Contact:
    Stephanie Lira
    Fortinet, Inc.
    408-235-7700
    pr@fortinet.com     		 Aaron Ovadia
    Fortinet, Inc.
    408-235-7700
    investors@fortinet.com    		 Brian Greenberg
    Fortinet, Inc.
    408-235-7700
    analystrelations@fortinet.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: FFB Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2025 Earnings

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FRESNO, Calif., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FFB Bancorp (the “Company”) (OTCQX: FFBB), the parent company of FFB Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $8.10 million, or $2.55 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 4% from the $7.79 million, or $2.46 per diluted share, reported for the first quarter of 2024. The Bank reported $9.72 million, or $3.05 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2024. All results are unaudited.

    First Quarter 2025 Highlights: As of, or for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2024:

    • Pre-tax, pre-provision income increased 10% to $12.01 million.
    • Net income increased 4% to $8.10 million.
    • Return on average equity (“ROAE”) was 18.83%.
    • Return on average assets (“ROAA”) was 2.14%.
    • Net interest margin expanded 20 basis points to 5.35% from 5.15%.
    • Operating revenue (net interest income, before the provision for credit losses, plus non-interest income) increased 21% to $28.48 million.
    • Total assets increased 12% to $1.56 billion.
    • Total portfolio of loans increased 18% to $1.09 billion.
    • Total deposits increased 10% to $1.32 billion.
    • Shareholder equity increased 26% to $174.71 million.
    • Book value per common share increased 27% to $55.52.
    • The Company’s tangible common equity ratio was 11.20%, while the Bank’s regulatory leverage capital ratio was 14.66%, and the total risk-based capital ratio was 21.09% at March 31, 2025.

    “In spite of the general market headwinds, and the constant noise surrounding potential policy changes, our first quarter 2025 results still came in quite strong because the team was able to stay focused on the basics,” said Steve Miller, President & CEO. “The loan portfolio increased $21 million, deposits grew $36 million, and total assets grew $56 million. In addition, we were able to record strong earnings while improving our book value per common share through our strategic share repurchase program.”

    “During the quarter we have made consistent progress on the matters outlined in our consent order, although ultimate compliance will be determined by our regulators. The team has been diligent in working with our regulators to complete the necessary steps to meet consent order timelines. We have confidence we can continue to address these items going forward.”

    Linda Emtman and Miles Mahoney Join Board of Directors of FFB Bancorp and FFB Bank:

    Linda Emtman and Miles Mahoney have been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Company and Bank, expanding the number of directors for both boards to 11 from 9.

    Ms. Emtman was a Principal in Financial Services at Ernst & Young in San Francisco until her retirement. She is on the executive leadership team of the American Heart Association, and an Ambassador at the Bay Area Cor Vitae Society. Ms. Emtman is a graduate of the University of Washington where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and completed her Master Deal Maker certification at the Wharton School.

    Mr. Mahoney is the President of U2 Science Labs, Inc, an advanced analytics and data science platform, in Orange County and the Founder and Managing Partner of Irish Acquisitions, Inc. He has served as a board member of a number of different organizations over a 15-year period. Mr. Mahoney is a graduate of Montana State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration & Finance and completed his MBA at the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business.

    “We are delighted to welcome Linda and Miles to our Company’s Board of Directors and look forward to working with them as we pursue our mission to grow our franchise. They bring a wealth of experience and a broad depth of knowledge that will help propel us forward for future success,” said Mark Saleh, Chairman of the Boards. “Recently, one of our founding board members, Al Smith, passed away. He was instrumental in the early development of our brand. His commitment to the bank and creative ideas will be missed.”

    Update on Stock Repurchase Program:

    On January 22, 2025, the Company announced that it had authorized a plan to utilize up to $15.0 million of capital to repurchase shares of the Company’s common stock. As of March 31, 2025, the Company has repurchased 41,915 shares, at an average price of $81.60, totaling $3.42 million. This represents approximately 1.78% of total shareholders’ equity at March 31, 2025.

    Under the terms of the repurchase plan, the Company may repurchase shares of the Company’s common stock from time to time, through December 31, 2025, in open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions. Repurchases under the plan may also be made pursuant to a trading plan under Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which would permit shares to be repurchased by the Company when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or other regulatory restrictions. The timing, manner, price and exact amount of any repurchases by the Company will be determined at the Company’s discretion and depend on various factors including the performance of the Company’s stock price, general market and economic conditions, applicable legal and regulatory requirements, availability of funds, and other relevant factors. Through December 31, 2025, the repurchase plan may be discontinued, suspended or restarted at any time.

    Results of Operations

    Quarter ended March 31, 2025:

    Operating revenue, consisting of net interest income before the provision for credit losses and non-interest income, increased 21% to $28.48 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $23.61 million for the first quarter a year ago, and increased 1% from $28.25 million from the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Net interest income, before the provision for credit losses, increased 17% to $18.90 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $16.14 million for the same quarter a year ago, and remained consistent with the $18.81 million reported last quarter. “The increase in net interest income compared to prior year was primarily driven by loan portfolio growth,” said Bhavneet Gill, Chief Financial Officer. “We have also seen some relief in funding costs as a result of the FOMC rate cuts from the second half of 2024.”

    The Company’s net interest margin (“NIM”) increased by 20 basis points to 5.35% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 5.15% for the first quarter of 2024, and increased 11 basis points from 5.24% for the preceding quarter. “Our yield on earning assets increased 8 basis points in the first quarter primarily from changes within the loan portfolio. Additionally, the expansion of NIM was buoyed by a 4 basis point decrease in the cost to fund earning assets as average non-interest bearing deposits increased $11.68 million quarter-over-quarter,” noted Gill.

    The yield on earning assets was 6.31% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 6.15% for the first quarter a year ago, and 6.24% for the previous quarter. The cost to fund earning assets decreased to 0.96% for the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1.00% for the previous quarter, and 1.00% for the same quarter a year earlier.

    Total non-interest income was $9.58 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $7.47 million for the first quarter of 2024, and $9.44 million for the previous quarter. The increase in non-interest income, from the first quarter of 2024, was driven by higher merchant services revenue and a reduction in loss on sale of investments, partially offset by lower gain on sale of loans revenue. The quarter-over-quarter increase in non-interest income was attributed to higher merchant services revenue due to seasonal activity, partially offset by a reduction in the gain on sale of loans revenue.

    Merchant services revenue increased 30% to $7.86 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $6.07 million from the first quarter of 2024. The increase was primarily due to higher volume across all merchant business lines and higher gross revenue related to FFB Payments. Merchant services revenue increased from $7.56 million when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 as a result of an increase in processing volume during the quarter, primarily due to seasonal activity. First quarter 2025 ISO Partner Sponsorship volumes include $2.78 billion in volume for the ISO partners being exited in the second quarter of 2025. First quarter 2025 ISO Partner Sponsorship revenue includes $990,000 in revenue from the ISO partners being exited in the second quarter of 2025. “These ISO exits were the right decision to help ensure we are aligned with our partners in regard to best in class oversight. We anticipate replacing this volume and revenue through growth in FFB Payments and with our remaining ISO partners as we move forward,” said Miller.

    Merchant ISO Processing Volumes (in thousands)
    Source Q1 2025 Q4 2024 Q3 2024 Q2 2024 Q1 2024
    ISO Partner Sponsorship $ 5,007,998   $ 4,891,643   $ 4,556,868   $ 4,391,365   $ 3,763,289  
    FFB Payments- Sub-ISO Merchants   21,551     22,950     24,661     24,414     19,370  
    FFB Payments – Direct Merchants   97,095     91,133     64,512     76,059     77,349  
    Total volume $ 5,126,644   $ 5,005,726   $ 4,646,041   $ 4,491,838   $ 3,860,008  
    Merchant ISO Processing Revenues (in thousands)
    Source of Revenue Q1 2025 Q4 2024 Q3 2024 Q2 2024 Q1 2024
    Net Revenue*:          
    ISO Partner Sponsorship $ 2,410   $ 2,535   $ 2,284   $ 2,156   $ 2,183  
               
    Gross Revenue:          
    FFB Payments- Sub-ISO Merchants   745     764     810     795     672  
    FFB Payments – Direct Merchants   4,709     4,262     2,476     3,117     3,213  
        5,454     5,026     3,286     3,912     3,885  
    Gross Expense:          
    FFB Payments- Sub-ISO Merchants   616     638     723     675     518  
    FFB Payments – Direct Merchants   2,558     2,511     1,766     1,989     1,842  
        3,174     3,149     2,489     2,664     2,360  
    Net Revenue:          
    FFB Payments- Sub-ISO Merchants   129     126     87     120     154  
    FFB Payments – Direct Merchants   2,151     1,751     710     1,128     1,371  
    FFB Payments Net Revenue   2,280     1,877     797     1,248     1,525  
    Net Merchant Services Income: $ 4,690   $ 4,412   $ 3,081   $ 3,404   $ 3,708  
     
    *ISO Partnership Sponsorship is recognized net of expense in Merchant Services Income. FFB Payments revenues are recognized gross in Merchant Services Income and Merchant Services expenses are recognized in Non-Interest Expense.
     

    Total deposit fee income increased 7% to $849,000 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $796,000 for the first quarter of 2024, and decreased 1% from $856,000 for the previous quarter.

    There was a $261,000 gain on sale of loans during the first quarter of 2025, compared to a gain on sale of loans of $451,000 during the first quarter 2024, and a gain on sale of loans of $929,000 in the previous quarter. There was no loss on sale of investments during the first quarter of 2025, compared to a $373,000 loss during the first quarter of 2024, and a $482,000 loss in the previous quarter.

    Non-interest expense increased 30% to $16.47 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $12.70 million for the first quarter 2024, and increased 24% from $13.27 million from the previous quarter. The increases on a year-over-year and quarterly comparison were driven by increases in salaries and employee benefits expense.

    Salaries and employee benefits increased 22% to $8.06 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $6.58 million for the first quarter 2024. Total salaries and employee benefits increased 56% from $5.18 million in the previous quarter. The quarterly increase in salaries and employee benefits expense is partially attributed to $1.96 million in non-recurring reductions to performance bonus and ESOP accruals recognized in the fourth quarter of 2024. The balance of the increase was primarily the result of expense associated with full-time employees hired in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. Full-time employees increased to 175 at March 31, 2025, compared to 147 full-time employees a year earlier, and 168 full-time employees from the previous quarter.

    “Over the last few quarters, we’ve made intentional investments in people and technology to ensure that the bank can efficiently scale moving forward, and specifically to support our payment ecosystem, product development, regional expansion, and compliance/risk management initiatives. We continue to see elevated legal, audit, and technology related expenses mostly related to addressing the Consent Order,” said Miller.

    Occupancy and equipment expenses decreased 8% from a year ago, representing 2% of non-interest expense, and decreased 14% from the preceding quarter. Merchant operating expense totaled $3.17 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $2.36 million for the first quarter of 2024 and $3.15 million for the preceding quarter. The change in merchant operating expense is attributed to fluctuations in volume and revenue for the FFB Payments lines of business. Merchant operating expenses include interchange fees, chargebacks, partnership fees, and other card brand fees.

    Other operating expense increased 45% or $1.51 million to $4.88 million from a year earlier and increased 8% or $351,000 from the previous quarter. The year-over-year increase was driven by increases of $252,000 in data and software related expense, $355,000 in professional fees, $262,000 in marketing expense, $111,000 in regulatory assessment expense, and $321,000 in operational losses. The increase in data and software expense and professional fees, which include legal, audit, and consulting fees, are primarily due to actions taken to enhance the Company’s AML/CFT, compliance, and merchant services programs.

    The efficiency ratio was 57.83% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 52.96% for the same quarter a year ago, and 46.19% for the preceding quarter. The efficiency ratio can fluctuate period over period based on changes in merchant services’ gross revenues and associated expenses. The Company also calculates an adjusted efficiency ratio where the merchant services’ gross expense, which is included in non-interest expense, is netted against merchant services’ revenue in non-interest income. The adjusted efficiency ratio was 52.54% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 47.82% for the same quarter a year ago, and 39.57% for the previous quarter.

    Balance Sheet Review

    Total assets increased 12% to $1.56 billion at March 31, 2025, compared to $1.40 billion at March 31, 2024, and increased 4% compared to December 31, 2024.

    The total portfolio of loans increased 18%, or $165.66 million, to $1.09 billion, compared to $926.78 million at March 31, 2024, and increased $21.36 million, from $1.07 billion at December 31, 2024.

    Commercial real estate loans increased 28% year-over-year to $696.63 million, representing 64% of total loans at March 31, 2025. The CRE portfolio includes approximately $282.54 million in multi-family loans originated by the Southern California team that the Company may consider selling at some point in the future for liquidity and concentration management. The multi-family portfolio includes $84.52 million in short-term bridge loans for transitional projects of multi-family properties. The short-term bridge loans are conservatively underwritten with minimum DSCR and liquidity requirements. The bank continues to market our bridge loan product in a more measured approach, keeping to our conservative underwriting standards. The real estate construction and land development loan portfolio decreased 84% from a year ago to $12.65 million, representing 1% of total loans, while residential RE 1-4 family loans totaled $17.15 million, or 2% of loans, at March 31, 2025.

    The commercial and industrial (C&I) portfolio increased 16% to $260.06 million, at March 31, 2025, compared to $224.55 million a year earlier, and decreased 3% from $267.95 million at December 31, 2024. C&I loans represented 24% of total loans at March 31, 2025. Agriculture loans represented 10% of the loan portfolio at March 31, 2025. At March 31, 2025, the SBA, USDA, and other government agencies guaranteed loans totaled $61.37 million, or 5.6% of the loan portfolio.

    Investment securities totaled $313.83 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $328.91 million a year earlier, and decreased $8.36 million from $322.19 million at December 31, 2024. The investment portfolio consists of mortgage-backed and municipal securities, both tax exempt and taxable, treasury securities as well as other domestic debt. At March 31, 2025, the Company had a net unrealized loss position on its investment securities portfolio of $24.50 million, compared to a net unrealized loss of $25.89 million at December 31, 2024. The Company’s investment securities portfolio had an effective duration of 5.61 years at March 31, 2025, compared to 5.32 years at December 31, 2024.

    Total deposits increased 10%, or $119.85 million, to $1.32 billion at March 31, 2025, compared to $1.20 billion from a year earlier, and increased $36.00 million from $1.28 billion at December 31, 2024. The quarter-over-quarter increase in deposit balances is primarily attributed to an increase in interest bearing checking accounts. Non-interest bearing demand deposits increased 10% to $825.40 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $751.64 million at March 31, 2024, and decreased $3.10 million from $828.51 million at December 31, 2024. Non-interest bearing demand deposits represented 63% of total deposits at March 31, 2025.

    Included in non-interest bearing deposits are $89.98 million from ISO partners for merchant reserves, $135.48 million from ISO partners for settlement, and $9.63 million in ISO partner operating accounts. These deposits represent 28.5% of non-interest bearing deposits and 17.8% of total deposits. Included in the $235.09 million in ISO partner deposits as of March 31, 2025 are $137.82 million in deposits for ISO partners being exited in the second quarter of 2025. The Bank plans to replace these non-interest bearing deposits with growth from new Bank customers in its markets and from the existing ISO partners it will continue to support. In the short-term, the new deposit growth will likely be made up of a higher percentage of interest bearing deposits.

    There was $10.00 million in short-term borrowings at March 31, 2025, compared to no borrowings at December 31, 2024, or March 31, 2024. The Company primarily utilizes FHLB advances and the Federal Reserve discount window for short-term borrowings. The following table summarizes the Company’s primary and secondary sources of liquidity which were available at March 31, 2025:

    Liquidity Source (in thousands) March 31, 2025 December 31, 2024
         
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 103,071   $ 63,415  
    Unpledged investment securities, fair value   104,732     118,957  
    FHLB advance capacity   338,036     304,077  
                 
    Federal Reserve discount window capacity   130,590     166,475  
    Correspondent bank unsecured lines of credit   70,000     91,500  
      $ 746,429   $ 744,424  
     

    The total primary and secondary liquidity of $746.43 million at March 31, 2025 represents an increase of $2.0 million in primary and secondary liquidity quarter-over-quarter. On-balance sheet cash and cash equivalents increased as a result of deposit growth in the quarter.

    Shareholders’ equity increased 26% to $174.71 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $138.72 million from a year ago, and grew 4% from $168.39 million at December 31, 2024. Book value per common share increased 27% to $55.52, at March 31, 2025, compared to $43.69 at March 31, 2024, and increased 5% from $53.02 at December 31, 2024. The tangible common equity ratio was 11.20% at March 31, 2025, compared to 9.94% a year earlier, and 11.20% at December 31, 2024. Additionally, book value improved as a result of quarterly net income and a reduction in shares outstanding.

    At the Bank level, unrealized losses and gains reflected in AOCI are not included in regulatory capital. As a result, Tier-1 capital at the Bank for regulatory purposes was $226.64 million at quarter end excluding the unrealized loss. The regulatory leverage capital ratio was 14.66% for the current quarter, while the total risk-based capital ratio was 21.09%, exceeding regulatory minimums to be considered well-capitalized.

    Asset Quality

    Nonperforming assets increased to $15.37 million, or 0.98% of total assets, at March 31, 2025, compared to $9.89 million, or 0.66% of total assets, from the preceding quarter. Of the $15.37 million nonperforming loans, $11.37 million are covered by SBA guarantees. Total delinquent loans increased to $19.12 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $8.32 million at December 31, 2024.

    Past due loans 30-60 days were $17.53 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $4.89 million at December 31, 2024, and $3.22 million at March 31, 2024. This increase in 30-60 days past due loans is the result of three multi-family loans, which are real estate secured, totaling $11.55 million to a related group of borrowers. There were $1.54 million past due loans from 60-90 days at March 31, 2025, compared to $2.45 million at December 31, 2024 and $1.95 million in past due loans from 60-90 days a year earlier. Past due loans 90+ days at quarter end totaled $46,000 at March 31, 2025, compared to $1.33 million, at March 31, 2024. Of the $19.12 million in past due loans at March 31, 2025, $2.75 million were purchased government guaranteed loans, which are guaranteed by the SBA for the full payment of the principal plus interest.

    Delinquent Loan Summary Organic Purchased Govt.
    Guaranteed    		 Total
    (in thousands)
           
    Delinquent accruing loans 30-59 days $ 16,147   $ 1,386   $ 17,533  
    Delinquent accruing loans 60-89 days   218     1,319     1,537  
    Delinquent accruing loans 90+ days   —     46     46  
    Total delinquent accruing loans $ 16,365   $ 2,751   $ 19,116  
           
    Non-Accrual Loan Summary Organic Purchased Govt.
    Guaranteed    		 Total
    (in thousands)
           
    Loans on non-accrual $ 15,366   $ —   $ 15,366  
    Non-accrual loans with SBA guarantees   11,371     —     11,371  
    Net Bank exposure to non-accrual loans $ 3,995   $ —   $ 3,995  
     

    There was a $1.16 million provision for credit losses in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $378,000 provision for credit losses in the first quarter a year ago, and a $1.67 million provision for credit losses booked in the fourth quarter of 2024. The provision recorded during the first quarter of 2025 is the result of loan portfolio growth and a $5.47 million increase in non-accrual loans which were individually evaluated in the allowance for credit losses. The increase in non-accrual loans was primarily related to SBA loans.

    “We watch the SBA portfolio very closely since rates have increased so rapidly over the last two years, putting pressure on borrowers. A majority of the loans within the portfolio are floating rate loans tied to WSJ Prime and reset quarterly. Borrowers saw a 50bps reduction in their rates on January 1, 2025 and additional rate relief is expected during the second half of 2025,” added Miller. “The ratio of allowance for credit losses to the total, non-guaranteed, loan portfolio was 1.25%, as of March 31, 2025, and our total non-guaranteed exposure on these SBA loans is $42.80 million spread over 222 loans.”

    “We incurred net charge offs of $167,000 during the current quarter, compared to $4,000 in net recoveries in the first quarter a year ago, and $1.29 million in net charge offs in the previous quarter,” said Miller. “Our loan portfolio increased 18% from a year ago with commercial real estate (“CRE”) loans representing 64% of the total loan portfolio. Within the CRE portfolio, there are $52.45 million in loans for CRE office as shown in the table below. Since the majority of our CRE office exposure is concentrated in the Central Valley, we are experiencing less volatility than city center CRE markets. Our credit metrics remain strong as we continue to maintain conservative underwriting standards.”

    (in thousands) CRE Office Exposure of March 31, 2025
    Region Owner-Occupied Non-Owner Occupied Total
    Central Valley $ 27,314   $ 13,544   $ 40,858  
    Southern California   2,271     352     2,623  
    Other California   4,492     3,948     8,440  
    Total California   34,077     17,844     51,921  
    Out of California   —     527     527  
    Total CRE Office $ 34,077   $ 18,371   $ 52,448  
     

    The ratio of allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.18% at March 31, 2025, compared to 1.12% a year earlier and 1.10% at December 31, 2024. The Company individually evaluates non-accrual loans in the allowance for credit losses which has resulted in carrying a higher level of reserve.

    About FFB Bancorp

    FFB Bancorp, formerly Communities First Financial Corporation, a bank holding company established in 2014, is the parent company of FFB Bank, founded in 2005 in Fresno, California. As a leading SBA Lender in California’s Central Valley and one of the few direct acquiring banks in the United States, FFB Bank offers clients a range of personal and business checking accounts, payment processes, and loan programs. Among the Bank’s awards and accomplishments, it was ranked #1 on American Banker’s list of the Top 20 Publicly Traded Banks under $2 Billion in Assets for 2024. For 2025, the Bank was also ranked by S&P Global as the #34 best performing community bank under $3 billion in assets. The Company has also received recognition as part of the OTCQX Best 50 Companies for 2019, 2023, and 2024. For additional information, you can visit the Company’s website at www.ffb.bank or by contacting a representative at 559-439-0200.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This earnings release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. The forward-looking statements are based on managements’ expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to effectively execute its business plans; the impact of the Consent Order on our financial condition and results of operations; changes in general economic and financial market conditions; changes in interest rates; and, in particular, actions taken by the Federal Reserve to try and control inflation; changes in the competitive environment; continuing consolidation in the financial services industry; new litigation or changes in existing litigation; losses, customer bankruptcy, claims and assessments; changes in banking regulations or other regulatory or legislative requirements affecting the Company’s business; international developments; and changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory agencies. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect events or circumstances after today, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

    Member FDIC

    Select Financial Information and Ratios For the Quarter Ended:
    March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
    BALANCE SHEET- ENDING BALANCES:          
    Total assets $ 1,560,376     $ 1,504,128     $ 1,395,095  
    Total portfolio loans   1,092,441       1,071,079       926,781  
    Investment securities   313,826       322,186       328,906  
    Total deposits   1,320,381       1,284,377       1,200,529  
    Shareholders equity, net   174,711       168,392       138,716  
               
    INCOME STATEMENT DATA          
    Operating revenue   28,476       28,247       23,610  
    Operating expense   16,467       13,270       12,701  
    Pre-tax, pre-provision income   12,009       14,977       10,909  
    Net income after tax   8,098       9,718       7,790  
               
    SHARE DATA          
    Basic earnings per share $ 2.56     $ 3.06     $ 2.46  
    Fully diluted EPS $ 2.55     $ 3.05     $ 2.46  
    Book value per common share $ 55.52     $ 53.02     $ 43.69  
    Common shares outstanding   3,146,727       3,175,817       3,175,048  
    Fully diluted shares   3,175,178       3,189,949       3,170,981  
    FFBB – Stock price $ 76.50     $ 97.97     $ 82.99  
               
    RATIOS          
    Return on average assets   2.14 %     2.53 %     2.32 %
    Return on average equity   18.83 %     23.11 %     23.27 %
    Efficiency ratio   57.83 %     46.19 %     52.96 %
    Adjusted efficiency ratio   52.54 %     39.57 %     47.82 %
    Yield on earning assets   6.31 %     6.24 %     6.15 %
    Yield on investment securities   4.36 %     4.34 %     4.47 %
    Yield on portfolio loans   6.81 %     6.95 %     6.68 %
    Cost to fund earning assets   0.96 %     1.00 %     1.00 %
    Cost of interest-bearing deposits   2.60 %     2.69 %     2.57 %
    Net Interest Margin   5.35 %     5.24 %     5.15 %
    Equity to assets   11.20 %     11.20 %     9.94 %
    Net loan to deposit ratio   82.74 %     83.39 %     77.20 %
    Full time equivalent employees   175       168       147  
               
    BALANCE SHEET- AVERAGES          
    Total assets   1,531,573       1,529,439       1,347,625  
    Total portfolio loans   1,076,848       1,038,215       925,561  
    Investment securities   325,699       333,135       315,820  
    Total deposits   1,300,550       1,299,069       1,149,117  
    Shareholders equity, net   174,410       167,268       134,621  
                           
    Consolidated Balance Sheet (unaudited) March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
    (in thousands)    
    ASSETS          
    Cash and due from banks $ 83,033     $ 43,905     $ 37,360  
    Interest bearing deposits in banks   20,038       19,510       53,556  
    CDs in other banks   1,724       1,723       1,693  
    Investment securities   313,826       322,186       328,906  
    Loans held for sale   —       —       —  
               
    Construction & land development   12,649       26,522       77,318  
    Residential RE 1-4 family   17,146       16,846       16,114  
    Commercial real estate   696,625       669,285       545,358  
    Agriculture   104,616       90,017       63,281  
    Commercial and industrial   260,063       267,948       224,551  
    Consumer and other   1,342       461       159  
    Portfolio loans   1,092,441       1,071,079       926,781  
    Deferred fees & discounts   (3,946 )     (4,200 )     (4,181 )
    Allowance for credit losses   (12,913 )     (11,834 )     (10,407 )
    Loans, net   1,075,582       1,055,045       912,193  
               
    Non-marketable equity investments   8,890       8,891       7,357  
    Cash value of life insurance   12,496       12,402       12,119  
    Accrued interest and other assets   44,787       40,466       41,911  
    Total assets $ 1,560,376     $ 1,504,128     $ 1,395,095  
               
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY          
    Non-interest bearing deposits $ 825,404     $ 828,508     $ 751,636  
    Interest checking   109,555       62,034       54,659  
    Savings   54,686       55,219       52,090  
    Money market   218,940       212,322       220,559  
    Certificates of deposits   111,796       126,294       121,585  
    Total deposits   1,320,381       1,284,377       1,200,529  
    Short-term borrowings   10,000       —       —  
    Long-term debt   38,046       38,007       39,638  
    Other liabilities   17,238       13,352       16,212  
    Total liabilities   1,385,665       1,335,736       1,256,379  
               
    Common stock   35,693       38,436       36,910  
    Retained earnings   156,235       148,138       121,780  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (17,217 )     (18,182 )     (19,974 )
    Shareholders’ equity   174,711       168,392       138,716  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 1,560,376     $ 1,504,128     $ 1,395,095  
    Consolidated Income Statement (unaudited) Quarter ended:
    (in thousands) March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
               
    INTEREST INCOME:          
    Loan interest income $ 18,069   $ 18,131     $ 15,372  
    Investment income   3,499     3,631       3,512  
    Int. on fed funds & CDs in other banks   574     504       255  
    Dividends from non-marketable equity   132     137       129  
    Total interest income   22,274     22,403       19,268  
               
    INTEREST EXPENSE:          
    Int. on deposits   2,891     3,115       2,518  
    Int. on short-term borrowings   31     12       149  
    Int. on long-term debt   451     464       464  
    Total interest expense   3,373     3,591       3,131  
    Net interest income   18,901     18,812       16,137  
    PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES   1,164     1,671       378  
    Net interest income after provision   17,737     17,141       15,759  
               
    NON-INTEREST INCOME:          
    Total deposit fee income   849     856       796  
    Debit / credit card interchange income   191     196       167  
    Merchant services income   7,864     7,562       6,068  
    Gain on sale of loans   261     929       451  
    Loss (gain) on sale of investments   —     (482 )     (373 )
    Other operating income   410     374       364  
    Total non-interest income   9,575     9,435       7,473  
               
    NON-INTEREST EXPENSE:          
    Salaries & employee benefits   8,056     5,177       6,582  
    Occupancy expense   353     411       383  
    Merchant services operating expense   3,174     3,149       2,360  
    Other operating expense   4,884     4,533       3,376  
    Total non-interest expense   16,467     13,270       12,701  
               
    Income before provision for income tax   10,845     13,306       10,531  
    PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES   2,747     3,588       2,741  
    Net income $ 8,098   $ 9,718     $ 7,790  
    ASSET QUALITY March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
    (in thousands)    
    Delinquent accruing loans 30-60 days $ 17,533     $ 4,886     $ 3,220  
    Delinquent accruing loans 60-90 days   1,537       2,449       1,950  
    Delinquent accruing loans 90+ days   46       987       1,332  
    Total delinquent accruing loans $ 19,116     $ 8,322     $ 6,502  
               
    Loans on non-accrual $ 15,366     $ 9,894     $ 7,156  
    Other real estate owned   —       —       —  
    Nonperforming assets $ 15,366     $ 9,894     $ 7,156  
               
    Delinquent 30-60 / Total Loans   1.60 %     0.46 %     0.35 %
    Delinquent 60-90 / Total Loans   0.14 %     0.23 %     0.21 %
    Delinquent 90+ / Total Loans   — %     0.09 %     0.14 %
    Delinquent Loans / Total Loans   1.75 %     0.78 %     0.70 %
    Non-accrual / Total Loans   1.41 %     0.92 %     0.77 %
    Nonperforming assets to total assets   0.98 %     0.66 %     0.51 %
               
    Year-to-date charge-off activity          
    Charge-offs $ 167     $ 1,287     $ —  
    Recoveries   —       35       4  
    Net charge-offs (recoveries) $ 167     $ 1,252     $ (4 )
    Annualized net loan losses to average loans   0.06 %     0.12 %     — %
               
    CREDIT LOSS RESERVE RATIOS:          
    Allowance for credit losses $ 12,913     $ 11,834     $ 10,407  
               
    Total loans $ 1,092,441     $ 1,071,079     $ 926,781  
    Purchased govt. guaranteed loans $ 16,081     $ 16,323     $ 19,642  
    Originated govt. guaranteed loans $ 45,285     $ 42,737     $ 38,228  
               
    ACL / Total loans   1.18 %     1.10 %     1.12 %
    ACL / Loans less 100% govt. gte. loans (purchased)   1.20 %     1.12 %     1.15 %
    ACL / Loans less all govt. guaranteed loans   1.25 %     1.17 %     1.20 %
    ACL / Total assets   0.83 %     0.79 %     0.75 %
    SELECT FINANCIAL TREND INFORMATION For the Quarter Ended:
    March 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 September 30, 2024 June 30, 2024 Mar. 31, 2024
    BALANCE SHEET- PERIOD END          
    Total assets $ 1,560,376   $ 1,504,128   $ 1,512,241   $ 1,443,723   $ 1,395,095  
    Loans held for sale   —     —     —     —     —  
    Loans held for investment   1,092,441     1,071,079     998,222     969,764     926,781  
    Investment securities   313,826     322,186     345,428     345,491     328,906  
               
    Non-interest bearing deposits   825,404     828,508     826,708     731,030     751,636  
    Interest bearing deposits   494,977     455,869     460,241     437,927     448,893  
    Total deposits   1,320,381     1,284,377     1,286,949     1,168,957     1,200,529  
    Short-term borrowings   10,000     —     —     68,000     —  
    Long-term debt   38,046     38,007     37,967     39,678     39,638  
               
    Total equity   191,928     186,574     176,350     167,286     158,690  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (17,217 )   (18,182 )   (12,715 )   (18,646 )   (19,974 )
    Shareholders’ equity   174,711     168,392     163,635     148,640     138,716  
               
    QUARTERLY INCOME STATEMENT          
    Interest income $ 22,274   $ 22,403   $ 21,404   $ 20,887   $ 19,268  
    Interest expense   3,373     3,591     3,617     3,581     3,131  
    Net interest income   18,901     18,812     17,787     17,306     16,137  
    Non-interest income   9,575     9,435     7,616     7,423     7,473  
    Gross revenue   28,476     28,247     25,403     24,729     23,610  
               
    Provision for credit losses   1,164     1,671     762     291     378  
               
    Non-interest expense   16,467     13,270     12,735     13,285     12,701  
    Net income before tax   10,845     13,306     11,906     11,153     10,531  
    Tax provision   2,747     3,588     3,343     3,077     2,741  
    Net income after tax   8,098     9,718     8,563     8,076     7,790  
               
    BALANCE SHEET- AVERAGE BALANCE          
    Total assets $ 1,531,573   $ 1,529,439   $ 1,477,259   $ 1,704,255   $ 1,347,604  
    Loans held for sale   —     —     —     —     —  
    Loans held for investment   1,076,848     1,038,215     982,152     954,871     925,561  
    Investment securities   325,699     333,135     343,096     334,416     315,820  
               
    Non-interest bearing deposits   850,426     838,748     822,200     758,977     755,603  
    Interest bearing deposits   450,124     460,321     432,143     440,147     393,514  
    Total deposits   1,300,550     1,299,069     1,254,343     1,199,124     1,149,117  
    Short-term borrowings   2,856     951     —     10,053     9,562  
    Long-term debt   38,028     37,989     39,479     39,660     39,620  
               
    Shareholders’ equity   174,410     167,268     161,363     141,881     134,621  
                                   

    Contact: Steve Miller – President & CEO
    Bhavneet Gill – EVP & CFO
    (559) 439-0200

    The MIL Network –