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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: Embracing Uncertainty: what we can all learn from how artists thrive in an unpredictable world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Pearson, Professor of Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, Anglia Ruskin University

    In a recent interview, the 91-year-old Trinidadian artist John Lyons described painting as “an adventure in creative uncertainty. It is a way of existing in a world we still know very little about.”

    A similar perspective forms the central theme of entrepreneur Margaret Hefferman’s latest book, Embracing Uncertainty. This is a spiritual successor to her previous book, Uncharted, which portrayed uncertainty as an inevitable aspect of modern life that should be embraced rather than controlled.

    This time Hefferman focuses on the creative industries, proposing that artists, musicians and writers constantly live with uncertainty and can still thrive in this increasingly unpredictable world.

    The book’s five core chapters are interspersed with evocative vignettes describing episodes of creative uncertainty. These include the establishment of Bristol’s Paraorchestra, a collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians led by conductor Charles Hazlewood, and director Gabriella A. Moses’s work on the film Boca Chica.

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    Hefferman argues that such seemingly disparate episodes can be linked by a shared artistic drive that approaches uncertainty with a combination of pragmatism and optimism. She concludes that applying a mindset of curiosity and flexibility is essential not just for promoting artistic endeavour, but to flourish in general.

    The book is at its most successful when advocating for the importance of viewing the arts as an essential foundation for a prosperous and healthy society – not as a frivolous and dispensable luxury. The closing chapters focusing on arts education and the role of art in politics are particularly compelling.

    Hefferman notes that arts education worldwide has suffered substantial cutbacks and marginalisation. In the UK, funding for arts, design and media courses has been decimated despite the sector contributing an estimated £126 billion to the country’s economy. In the US, arts and cultural funding is increasingly portrayed as a partisan political issue instead of a common good.

    The political belief that the sciences should be prioritised over arts education ignores the substantial evidence that they’re mutually beneficial. My career in science owes much to my involvement as a teenager in Leicestershire Youth Theatre. Led by the pioneering educator Robert Staunton, this experience taught me a creative and reflexive way of viewing human behaviour that has informed my research ever since.

    I was struck while reading the numerous accounts of creativity in this book how many would be unlikely to reach fruition today. Hefferman produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years and in one chapter, discusses the complex development of the classic 1990s TV serial Our Friends in the North. Such a uniquely British drama would struggle to secure funding in the current television landscape, dominated by international streaming services.

    Hefferman is less convincing, though, when trying to explain how creative individuals can thrive.

    In the opening chapter, she discusses the early 20th-century psychological movement of Behaviourism – which claimed that all human behaviour could be explained by mechanisms of conditioned learning. But otherwise, there is no consideration of research focused specifically on understanding human creativity.

    Rather, the overarching theme of “embracing uncertainty” is applied very broadly and conflates certain concepts. For instance, it combines divergent thinking (the ability to create multiple possible solutions to a problem) with resilience and creative flow (a highly motivating mental state associated with effortless concentration). In my view, these ideas are better considered separately.

    Bristol’s Paraorchestra features as a creative case study in the book.

    Many of the stories of creative problem-solving discussed in the book brought to my mind the pioneering work of creativity researcher Frank X. Barron in the 1960s. Barron described highly creative individuals as “more primitive and more cultured, more destructive and more constructive, occasionally crazier and yet adamantly saner than the average person”.

    Hefferman is an engaging storyteller and there is a great deal to enjoy in her accounts of how – frequently against all odds – artists succeed in producing work that reflects and changes wider society.

    This book is published at a time when the creative industries are facing unprecedented challenges worldwide. Writers, musicians and artists will certainly not thrive if the uncertainty they are forced to embrace is a lack of financial support – or the cannibalisation of their work by AI.

    Albert Einstein noted that “the greatest scientists are artists as well”. As our world faces a perfect storm of environmental, societal and economic challenges, the need to support innovation and champion persistence has seldom felt greater. The hopeful and inspiring stories portrayed in Embracing Uncertainty point the way to a more optimistic future.

    David Pearson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

    – ref. Embracing Uncertainty: what we can all learn from how artists thrive in an unpredictable world – https://theconversation.com/embracing-uncertainty-what-we-can-all-learn-from-how-artists-thrive-in-an-unpredictable-world-252993

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: David Blunkett: the world has changed since Liz Truss’s mini budget, so what is Labour still so scared of?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Blunkett, Chair in Politics in Practice, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield

    Much has been said about UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ self-imposed fiscal rules, and her repeated assertion – which she included in the spring statement – that they are “non-negotiable”. Of course, this is true if you’re not prepared to listen to alternatives, but in the real world there is no set economic template with which people cannot argue.

    Put simply, the chancellor’s rules demand that day-to-day expenditure should be covered by government income at the end of the five-year economic cycle. This is what has led to the current need to cut spending – including to health and disability benefits – so drastically. The length of this cycle is determined by the government as part of their “rule”.

    All of this is predicated on the government’s belief that economic policy will be undermined if the international financial markets (including the bond markets on which governments depend for borrowing) react badly. Which, it is commonly asserted, would significantly push up the cost of borrowing. Other factors, such as US president Donald Trump’s extraordinary threats to trade, and the borrowing requirements of other countries, will also have an immediate impact.

    Underpinning all of this is the split between capital investment – spending on things like roads and hospitals – and day-to-day revenue to keep services operating.

    Therefore, the chancellor imposes rules to avoid the financial markets hitting the UK in the way they did when former prime minister Liz Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng introduced a “mini budget”. The unfunded tax cuts it contained led to the markets losing confidence in the UK’s financial stability.

    This is the spectre at the feast. Everything being done by the present government is with the backcloth of what happened in 2022. We are, in effect, binding ourselves to a moment in time.

    Many economists disagree with the rigidity (or what is known as “Treasury orthodoxy”) about how the economy works. Leading international economist Mariana Mazzucato, along with a group of other renowned academics, published a letter in the Financial Times spelling out their concerns about the imposition of the “rules”.

    In practice, while public spending over the next two years will not be hit drastically (other than the welfare budget), the following three years will see a massive tightening of what is available for most public services. This includes local government and the criminal justice system – which have seen eye-watering cuts in previous years.

    The average 1.2% increase in departmental budgets projected over the three years from 2027 is far less than this for many government departments and for local government. This is because spending in areas such as health and for schools (but not education more broadly) are predicted to rise much more substantially.

    This is why people are starting to use the word “austerity” – they are seeing a reflection of the years between 2010-2017, when many felt that public services were decimated.

    Scorecard for government spending plans

    During that austerity period, the body known as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was brought in by the then-chancellor George Osborne. Now being carried through even more rigidly by Reeves, this is intended to be an independent group which “scores” the government’s likely success against its predictions. I use the word “likely”, because just three members are charged with the analysis, by the Treasury, of how successful the policy is likely to be.

    The OBR has come to have massive influence over what the government believes it can undertake, confining the options even beyond the self-imposed rules.

    Just before her spring statement, the chancellor altered the amount that would have to be saved from changes in the welfare system. This was in order to take account of the analysis by these three individuals who believed that the reforms as proposed would not achieve the savings required.

    So, we go round in a circle – with one set of economists double-checking the calculations and projected analysis of another set of economists. But they have such enormous influence that they can change government policy.

    You might believe that the OBR (being full of experts) is pretty much infallible. You would be wrong. Since its inception, it has often been wide of the mark. Even when only marginally, this has had an impact on both policy and perceptions, including by those financial markets that have such a stranglehold on nation states.

    In 2012, the OBR projected that over the five years ahead, growth would average 2.8%. In fact, it was 1.7%. In 2020, their prediction was that gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 11.3% when in fact the drop was 9.8%. Most recently, in 2023, it projected a fall in GDP of 0.3% – which sadly turned out to be 0.8%.

    I use these stats merely to illustrate that forecasts and scorecards as to whether the government has got its sums wrong are highly subjective. For politicians to place their economic and political policies in the hands of a group of disparate individuals with their own political and economic outlook and personal experiences is, in my view, bizarre.

    This is why some of us who know about the difficulties of government from having been there, and who are not in any way dismissive of the huge power of the international markets, are challenging this economic orthodoxy.

    We are simply asking whether rigid economic respectability is truly more important than long-term investment and sustaining essential public services.

    David Blunkett is a Fellow of the Association of Social Sciences and a Labour Peer in the House of Lords.

    – ref. David Blunkett: the world has changed since Liz Truss’s mini budget, so what is Labour still so scared of? – https://theconversation.com/david-blunkett-the-world-has-changed-since-liz-trusss-mini-budget-so-what-is-labour-still-so-scared-of-253270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Signal-gate security blunder overshadows Black Sea ceasefire

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

    Depending on what you think of Donald Trump, his administration could fit either of the following two descriptions. Chaotic, vindictive and accident-prone, marked by mendacity, driven by impulse and bent on securing the will of the leader, rather than – as in the US constitution – the will of the people. Or it could be a government masterminded by a man playing 4D chess while all around him are playing chequers. A president whose deal-making skills and focus on outcomes ensure the security and prosperity of America and its allies.

    If you base your assessment on the people Trump has chosen as his key national security advisers then, after the recent Signal chat group intelligence debacle, you’d almost certainly opt for chaotic and accident-prone, at the very least.

    Looking around the Signal chatroom, who do we have? National security advisor Mike Waltz, Vice-President J.D. Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe and a supporting cast of other senior Trump staffers. And, unwittingly, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.

    Heads must roll, say Trump’s critics. But who from this hydra-headed beast should take the fall? Should it be Waltz, who invited Goldberg to the chat group? Or Hegseth, who posted operational details of a US attack, including the when, where and how, hours before it was due to take place? Should it be Vance, whose swipe at America’s freeloading European allies has caused considerable angst across the Atlantic?

    Or perhaps one or another of Gabbard and Ratcliffe, who sat in front of the Senate select committee on intelligence on Tuesday and maintained that no classified material or “war plans” had been revealed to the group – sworn evidence now revealed to be unreliable at best?

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

    At present it seems as if none of them are going to pay for their dangerous incompetence. Instead their ire is turned on Goldberg, who has variously been called a “sleazebag” by Trump himself, “loser” and the “bottom scum of journalists” by Waltz and a “deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again” by Hegseth.

    Robert Dover of the University of Hull, whose research centres on intelligence and national security, believes this is a “national security blunder almost without parallel”. He points to the hypocrisy of people like Hegseth who savaged Hillary Clinton for using a private email server to conduct official business when she was secretary of state under Barack Obama.

    Dover also notes the damage the episode will have done to America’s already shaky relations with its allies in Europe. Being disparaged by the vice-president as freeloaders and dismissed by the defense secretary as “pathetic”, he believes, will be “difficult to unsee”.



    Read more:
    Signal chat group affair: unprecedented security breach will seriously damage US international relations

    But credit where it’s due, it appears that US diplomacy may at least be bearing some – limited – fruit. At least, that is, if the two partial ceasefires recently negotiated between Russia and Ukraine actually materialise. That’s a fairly big if, of course. Despite a pledge by both sides that they could support a deal to avoid targeting each other’s energy infrastructure, there’s no sign yet of a cessation of attacks.

    And there has been a degree of scepticism over the recently announced plan for a maritime ceasefire to allow the free passage of shipping on the Black Sea. Critics say this favours Russia far more than Ukraine. Over the course of the war, Ukraine has successfully driven Russia’s Black Sea fleet away from its base in Crimea, giving it the upper hand in the maritime war. But maritime strategy expert, Basil Germond, says the situation is more nuanced, and the deal represents considerable upside for Ukraine as well.



    Read more:
    Russia has most to gain from Black Sea ceasefire – but it’s marginal, and Ukraine benefits too

    Setting aside America’s eventful recent forays into foreign relations, there’s a major domestic fix brewing which many US legal scholars believe could plunge the country into a constitutional crisis.

    Anne Richardson Oakes, an expert in US constitutional law at Birmingham City University, anticipates a potential clash between between the executive and the judiciary which could threaten the separation of powers that lies at the heart of American democracy.

    Oakes observes there are more than 130 legal challenges to Trump administration policies presently before the courts, some of which will end up in front of America’s highest legal authority, the Supreme Court, which is tasked with assessing the constitutionality of those policies. She warns that we’ve already seen evidence that Trump and his senior officials resent what they consider to be interference from the judiciary into the legitimate executive power of the elected president.

    Will there be a stand-off where the Trump administration simply ignores the Supreme Court’s ruling? It’s happened before, says Oakes. In the mid-20th century, in Little Rock, Arkansas, when the governor used the state’s national guard to prevent the court-ordered desegregation of public schools. On that occasion the then president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent in federal troops to enforce the court’s ruling and a constitutional crisis was averted.



    Read more:
    US stands on the brink of a constitutional crisis as Donald Trump takes on America’s legal system

    But what if it’s the serving president who chooses to ignore a Supreme Court ruling? This was the case in the 1830s when greedy cotton farmers in Georgia were bent on forcing the Native American peoples off their lands. The Cherokee actually took the state of Georgia to the Supreme Court, which ruled that as a “dependent nation” within the United States they were entitled to the protection of the federal government and that the state of Georgia had no right to order their removal.

    As historian Sean Lang of Anglia Ruskin University recounts, Georgia ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling and sent in troops to expel the Cherokee who were then forced to move to new lands in a journey known as the “Train of Tears”. Lang writes that then US president, Andrew Jackson, a populist advocate of states’ rights and former “Indian fighter”, ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, “sneering that [Chief Justice John] Marshall had no means of enforcing it”.

    Lang concludes: “It’s a history lesson Greenlanders, Mexicans and Canadians – and indeed many Americans who may fall foul of this administration and seek recourse to the law – would do well to study.”



    Read more:
    Trump’s America is facing an Andrew Jackson moment – and it’s bad news for the constitution

    Trump’s chilling effect

    The Trump administration’s antipathy towards judges who have opposed its policies have extended towards those law firms who have in some way crossed the US president. But the legal system is not the only sector to feel the chilling effect of Trump’s displeasure, writes Dafydd Townley.

    The world of higher education in the US is also apprehensive after the administration went after Columbia University, home to some of the most outspoken protest over US policies towards Israel and Gaza. Columbia has recently had to agree to allow the administration to “review” some of its academic programmes, starting with its Middle Eastern studies, after the administration threatened to cancel US$400 million (£310 million) of government contracts with the university.

    The news media is also under heavy pressure. The administration has taken control of the White House press pool from the non-partisan White House Correspondents’ Association and has blackballed Associated Press for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. We’ve also seen Trump himself bring lawsuits against media organisations he judges to have crossed him. And now the president has called for the defunding of America’s two biggest public broadcasters, NPR and PBL, for what he perceives as their liberal bias.

    Townley, an expert in US politics at the University of Portsmouth is concerned that this all adds up to a deliberate attempt to cripple institutions which underwrite American democracy.



    Read more:
    Donald Trump’s ‘chilling effect’ on free speech and dissent is threatening US democracy

    Popularity falls as prices rise

    Trump’s leadership continues to be very polarising, writes Paul Whiteley, a political scientist and polling specialist at the University of Essex, who has spent years studying political trends in the US. Looking at the most recent numbers, Whiteley finds that while Trump’s approval ratings are fairly steady at 48% approval and 49% disapproval, when you dig down you find that only 6% of registered Democrats approve of his performance, while 93% disapprove. For registered Republicans it’s almost exactly the opposite.

    Whiteley takes his analysis further, looking at measures such as consumer sentiment, which has fallen sharply since January, with talk of tariffs and the return of inflation affecting people’s confidence in the economy. He points out there tends to be a fairly strong historical correlation between confidence in the economy and popular approval of a president’s performance.



    Read more:
    Three graphs that show what’s happening with Donald Trump’s popularity

    Another factor which will surely affect people’s confidence in the government are the job losses flowing from Elon Musk’s work as “efficiency tsar”. Thomas Gift, the director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London, believes that federal job losses as a result of Musk’s cuts are spread indiscriminately among Democrat and Republican states. As a result there may be some Republican voters who are experiencing what he calls “buyer’s remorse”.

    At the same time, rising inflation is flowing into the cost of living, something many people voted for Trump to punish the Democrats for. As Gift points out, both parties are experiencing a dip in support at present as people reject politics for having a generally negative effect on their lives. But from now, it’ll be the Republicans who will feel the sting of popular disapproval more keenly.



    Read more:
    Trump’s job cuts are causing Republican angst as all parties face backlash

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

    – ref. Signal-gate security blunder overshadows Black Sea ceasefire – https://theconversation.com/signal-gate-security-blunder-overshadows-black-sea-ceasefire-253245

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Shakespeare can help us put meaning back in money

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, McGill University

    From greed for resources and money to technology run amok and a politics of domination, hatred and fear of others, our world sometimes seems to be on a course of assured destruction.

    How can our society not only avert disaster, but move toward a better path forward, driven not only by money-making (the accumulation of wealth, power and status), but also by meaning-making (the search for deeper purpose for ourselves in community with others and with the natural world)?

    As scholars who have respectively studied Shakespeare and health and economics — along with a team of thinkers in economics, health policy, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and a number of theatre and literary artists and humanities scholars — we’re building a project called Reimagining Shakespeare, Remaking Modern World Systems.

    Shakespeare and the arts can help researchers see the way toward new ways of thinking through our period of massive disruption, especially since the world in Shakespeare’s time, like our world now, was riven by social, political, ecological and epidemic crises.



    Read more:
    After the plague, Shakespeare imagined a world saved from poison, slander and the evil eye

    Making meaning with audiences

    Why Shakespeare? In some ways, Shakespeare was the Jeff Bezos of his time.

    Unlike the billionaire entrepreneur Bezos, who founded Amazon and is now its executive chair, Shakespeare didn’t sell everything under the sun. However, like Bezos, who innovated new ways of packaging stories for people via books and movies, for example, Shakespeare repackaged existing stories and authored plays as a leader of the creation of a new money-making industry.

    Shakespeare’s new industry was different from TV streaming in important ways. Theatre, which fosters real-time, embodied and collective experiences, never operates on a one-way supplier-to-buyer axis.

    Shakespeare’s theatre made money — he became a wealthy man — but his theatre always also made meaning in collaboration with its audiences, educating playgoers and stimulating conversations about about state politics, money and power and about the care of other people and of the natural world.

    Shakespeare as social entrepreneur

    Shakespeare was a social entrepreneur whose work strengthened the convergence of money-making and meaning-making. Shakespeare showed all kinds of people how they might play creatively with the systems that ruled their world.

    Shakespeare didn’t dismantle the systems, but what the characters in the plays say and do opens up fissures in those systems that invite characters like Rosalind in As You Like It or Imogen in Cymbeline to wriggle through, toward the possible restoration of freedom that allows them to do things differently.

    The divine right of kings was the foundation of the political system in Shakespeare’s time.

    In Richard II, John of Gaunt says to the Duchess of Gloucester that there is nothing he can do to avenge the murder of her husband (King Richard’s uncle) because while the king orchestrated the murder, he is above the law.

    Shakespeare’s play, which dramatizes the history of the deposition and assassination of King Richard, does not dismantle the system of monarchy as it stood in Shakespeare’s time — the divine right of kings remains in place. But it dramatizes how the characters are able to do what they need to do for the good of the state by finding their way through the cracks in the political system.

    Recognition of mortality

    Theatrical art like Shakespeare’s also leads us away from the fatuous life goal of the endless accumulation of wealth.

    In King Lear, Shakespeare shows us how money-making can become divorced utterly from meaning-making and how money and meaning have to be brought back into convergence. At the start, Lear is wedded to wealth, power and prestige.

    Even his daughters are required to declare publicly their worshipful love and loyalty to him. By virtue of his uncrowning, the suffering that follows for him, and his recognition of his own mortality, he learns to see other people as people, including his truly loving daughter Cordelia. He also learns how his meaningfulness as a man can come back to him only once he embraces the equitable distribution of resources among all the people of Britain.

    Not that Shakespeare is the only one offering insights into how to address the multiple crises that the world is facing. Many others have brought forward new ideas about how to “green” the world of finance or how to restore human values to a sense of value calculated exclusively in monetary terms.

    But something more is needed now to move us toward a healthier and more just future, and the makers of art are the ones who can provide it.

    Money poisonous when ill-used

    Consider one moment from Shakespeare’s play, Timon of Athens. The once fabulously wealthy Timon has squandered money on scores of men whom he thought were friends. Here the character Flavius distributes the money he has saved from his employment as Timon’s steward to the other household servants, all of them now unemployed.

    He insists that they take their share, and he reflects on the poisonous power of money when it is not used to support meaningful community:

    Good fellows all,

    The latest of my wealth I’ll share amongst you.

    Let each take some;

    Nay, put out all your hands—not one word more:

    (The servants embrace, and part several ways)

    O, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us!

    Who would not wish to be from wealth exempt,

    Since riches point to misery and contempt?

    Who would be so mock’d with glory? or to live

    But in a dream of friendship?

    In Timon, Shakespeare shows us that money must not be stripped of a search for a meaningful life in community with others. Money without meaning conjures a mere dream of friendship, a fantasy world that must finally give way to a reality of misery and contempt.

    If that is what we want, bring on the dollars — so much money, we won’t know where to spend it all — and away with art!

    By bringing Shakespeare into conversations about finance, health, climate and AI, our research collaboration aims to help change the prevailing rationale of western modernity that positions money-making as the core driver of individual and collective progress.

    Paul Yachnin receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.

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

    – ref. How Shakespeare can help us put meaning back in money – https://theconversation.com/how-shakespeare-can-help-us-put-meaning-back-in-money-250903

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why it’s a critical time for Canada to renew its commitment to global health co-operation

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kelley Lee, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance; Scientific Director, Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society, Simon Fraser University

    As the United States moves to end longstanding commitments to global health co-operation — punctuated by its withdrawal from World Health Organization (WHO) — a new report by the joint Expert Panel of the Royal Society of Canada and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, which we co-chaired, offers guidance on how Canada can strategically position itself in this fast-changing context.

    Traditionally, Canada has taken pride in being a good global health citizen through distinct contributions as a middle power. Active participation in multilateral institutions such as the WHO, close co-operation with like-minded states and research partnerships led by low- and middle-income countries have defined Canada’s global health brand.

    Since the early 2000s, Canada has also initiated and funded major initiatives on reproductive, maternal and child health, nutrition and the control of infectious diseases. The International Development Research Centre and Grand Challenges Canada, alongside researchers and civil society organizations, have generated further tangible benefits for the health and well-being of populations worldwide, while also elevating Canada’s standing on the world stage.

    Pandemic stress test

    However, the COVID-19 pandemic has since triggered seismic changes in the global health landscape. The pandemic itself stress-tested Canada’s global health role, earning the country mixed reviews.

    While the federal government provided billions of dollars to collectively fight SARS-CoV-2, through initiatives such as the COVAX Facility and ACT-Accelerator (Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator), these important contributions were overshadowed by Canada’s failure to champion global vaccine equity. Rather than bringing countries together, the pandemic prompted many to prioritize national interests.

    Since the end of the emergency phase, governments have struggled to agree to a pandemic treaty and there has been a shift in attention to other pressing needs. Calls to decolonize global health have instead been met with a decline in financial commitments by the U.S. and other donor countries.

    This concerning shift in the global health landscape signals an important need for Canada to reflect on its role in global health. Key findings of our panel’s report directly challenge the outdated notion that global health is simply about development assistance.

    Instead, we identify where domestic and global health needs intersect in an interconnected world of shared risks and opportunities. We conclude that domestic health and well-being cannot be advanced without a robust commitment to global health co-operation. The key is to urgently identify these win-wins as points of navigation in an era of what’s known as polycrisis.

    Priority issues

    To renew Canada’s global health role, the panel identifies four priority issue areas that bring together domestic and global health needs:

    • Champion an accelerated and equity-focused universal health coverage strategy with particular emphasis on primary care and the rights of women and girls;

    • Advance a One Health security approach to pandemic readiness that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life, need for primary prevention and central importance of sustainability and equity; spans upstream risks as well as downstream preparedness and response measures; and builds core capacities such as a standing emergency workforce;

    • Renew Canadian leadership in health promotion and protection by advancing a well-being economy focused on serving people and the planet, rather than the generation of wealth as an end goal; and prevents the harms and promotes the benefits from for-profit businesses, their activities and the economic systems that sustain them, known as the commercial determinants of health;

    • Initiate a Canadian Emergency Workforce for Health Innovation Program to urgently tackle the domestic and global health workforce crisis including a commitment to zero poaching of international health-care workers by 2035.

    Taking action

    Microscopic view of H5N1 avian influenza particles. The growing threat from highly pathogenic avian flu offers a clear example of how a retreat from global health co-operation directly weakens the capacity of all countries to protect domestic populations.
    (CDC and NIAID), CC BY

    The panel recommends that three strategic actions are needed to take forward these priority issue areas:

    • A Canadian Global Health Strategy that sets out a renewed rationale for global health engagement, key priorities for federal, provincial/territorial and local levels of government, targeted investments and clear metrics to monitor progress;

    • A coherent and targeted plan to bolster public and private investments in science and innovation for critical priorities such as the health workforce, One Health Security, along with research capacity in Indigenous communities and the developing world; and

    • A commitment to ensuring Canadian capacity to engage in global health decision-making, diplomacy and partnerships through the appointment of a Global Health Ambassador; establishment of a Canadian Global Health Hub (CG2H) that brings together available expertise, talent and resources; and a training program for our next-generation of leaders.

    The growing threat from highly pathogenic avian influenza and the health impacts of climate change are looming examples of how a retreat from global health co-operation at this time would directly weaken Canada’s capacity to protect health and well-being at home.

    From the World Health Organization’s tracking of the ever-changing influenza virus to the rapid development and deployment of medical countermeasures and the joint tackling of the causes of global warming, a retreat behind national borders makes little sense. Building on a storied history of engagement that supersedes partisan politics, there is no time to lose for Canada to strategically renew its role in global health.

    Kelley Lee receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Frontiers in Research Fund, Canadian Biomedical Research Fund, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

    Tim Evans is a Board member of the not-for-profit group CanWaCH.

    – ref. Why it’s a critical time for Canada to renew its commitment to global health co-operation – https://theconversation.com/why-its-a-critical-time-for-canada-to-renew-its-commitment-to-global-health-co-operation-251894

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Violent Crime Consortium Keeps Public Safety at Forefront

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    CLEVELAND – The Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium (NOVCC) recently brought together more than 100 regional law enforcement participants, representing more than 20 agencies, to take part in a region-wide initiative to discuss public safety. The annual event is hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio. The District covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to more than 5.7 million people.

    The violent crime consortium was established in 2007 through a Department of Justice grant to specifically address violent crime issues in eight Northern Ohio cities: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo, and Youngstown.

    As the current top federal law enforcement officer for the District, Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik provided welcoming remarks on the importance of the consortium’s work to keep crime off the streets.

    “The Consortium’s purpose is to prevent and reduce violent crime through the use of data-driven and evidence-based technologies,” said Skutnik. “NOVCC enhances our member agencies through skills training on accepted best practices and emerging technologies.”

    Subject-matter experts addressed several key topics at this year’s gathering including the importance of inter-agency data sharing and information to combat crime, promising law enforcement practices, and modern policing in the digital age.

    The USAO would like to acknowledge and thank the following for attending and participating in this year’s event:

    Event speakers representing

    • Fordham University
    • Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions
    • Blacksburg, Virginia Police Department
    • Brookhaven, Georgia Police Department
    • Research Innovations, Inc.

    Law enforcement agencies represented

    • Akron Police Department
    • Avon Police Department
    • The University of Akron Police Department
    • Barberton Police Department
    • Berea Police Department
    • Canton Police Department
    • Cleveland Division of Police
    • Cuyahoga County Sheriff
    • Elyria Police Department
    • Lorain Police Department
    • Mansfield Police Department
    • Maple Heights Police Department
    • North Royalton Police Department
    • Put-in-Bay Police Department
    • Sandusky Police Department
    • Toledo Police Department
    • Warren Police Department
    • Westlake Police Department
    • Youngstown Police Department

    State agencies

    • Ohio Adult Parole Authority
    • Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
    • Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services

    Nonprofit agency

    • Partnership for a Safer Cleveland

    Federal agencies

    • ATF-Cleveland
    • FBI-Cleveland
    • U.S. Marshals Service-Cleveland
    • U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Legal Policy

    For more information about the consortium, contact Thomas McCartney at 216-622-3955.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: More money for reading, writing and math skills | Plus d’argent pour les habiletés en lecture, en écriture et en mathématiques

    Reading, writing and math skills are important for lifelong success in and out of the classroom. This year, schools started screening students in kindergarten to Grade 3 more often to ensure no student falls behind in reading, writing and math. To help young students that need extra support, Alberta’s government is providing a one-time grant of $7.5 million to ensure schools have the resources and staff needed to support students in developing these important skills. 

    “Basic skills like reading, writing and math are key to student success. This funding will help schools identify students that need help the most and get them the extra help they need.”

    Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education

    The additional $7.5 million in grant funding builds on the $10 million that is being provided for reading, writing and math support for this school year. Budget 2025, if passed, also invests more than $40 million into school boards for reading, writing and math support over the next three years.

    “Today’s announcement solidifies Minister Nicolaides’ ongoing commitment to address learning difficulties in our province. This is a strong statement of support to school divisions, teachers and researchers as they work collaboratively to ensure that our students have the resources they need to succeed.”

    George Georgiou, professor, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta

    “Alberta School Boards Association welcomes the government’s additional investment in supports and interventions for literacy and numeracy. This grant will help Alberta’s locally elected school boards provide essential early learning resources to support the unique needs of our youngest learners.”

    Marilyn Dennis, president, Alberta School Boards Association

    Quick facts

    • Since 2021, Alberta’s government has provided $85 million in Learning Disruption Funding to support students who need additional support in literacy and numeracy.   
    • In 2024, Learning Disruption Funding was renamed Literacy and Numeracy Support Funding, to help support the development of crucial early literacy and numeracy skills in Alberta’s youngest learners.  
    • Funding will be distributed to school authorities that previously received funding in the 2024/25 school year.
    • The $7.5 million may continue to be used in the 2025/26 school year to provide interventions to kindergarten to Grade 3 children and students who require additional support.

    About literacy and numeracy screenings:

    • All kindergarten students are screened in January.
    • All students in grades 1 to 3 are screened twice a year, in September and January.
    • Students in grades 1 to 3 who are identified as needing additional support in January will be screened a third time at the end of the school year to monitor their progress. 
    • New screening requirements will be introduced for students in grades 4 and 5 in September 2026. 

    Related information

    • Early Years Assessments  

    Related news

    • Timely, impactful support for young learners (Dec. 4, 2024)
    • Supporting Alberta’s youngest students (July 11, 2024) 

    Le gouvernement de l’Alberta fournit 7,5 millions de dollars aux autorités scolaires pour aider les élèves à acquérir des habiletés en lecture, en écriture et en mathématiques

    Les habiletés en lecture, en écriture et en mathématiques sont importantes pour réussir tout au long de la vie, en classe et ailleurs. Cette année, les écoles ont commencé à administrer plus souvent des tests de dépistage à leurs élèves de la maternelle à la 3e année afin de s’assurer qu’aucun élève ne prend de retard en lecture, en écriture et en mathématiques. Afin d’aider les jeunes élèves qui ont besoin de soutien supplémentaire, le gouvernement de l’Alberta accorde un financement de 7,5 millions de dollars sous forme de subvention ponctuelle. Cela permettra au gouvernement de s’assurer que les écoles aient les ressources et le personnel nécessaires pour aider les élèves à acquérir ces habiletés importantes.

    « Les habiletés de base comme la lecture, l’écriture et les mathématiques sont essentielles à la réussite des élèves. Avec ce financement, les écoles pourront identifier les élèves qui ont le plus besoin d’aide et leur apporter le soutien supplémentaire dont ils ont besoin. »

    Demetrios Nicolaides, ministre de l’Éducation

    Ce financement supplémentaire de 7,5 millions de dollars s’ajoute aux 10 millions de dollars qui ont été versés, au cours de la présente année scolaire, pour appuyer le renforcement des habiletés en lecture, en écriture et en mathématiques. Le budget 2025, s’il est adopté, octroiera aussi plus de 40 millions de dollars sur trois ans aux autorités scolaires pour le soutien à la lecture, à l’écriture et aux mathématiques.

    « L’annonce d’aujourd’hui consolide l’engagement continu du ministre Nicolaides à s’attaquer aux difficultés d’apprentissage dans notre province. Il s’agit d’un puissant message de soutien aux autorités scolaires, aux enseignants et aux chercheurs, qui travaillent ensemble pour s’assurer que nos élèves disposent des ressources nécessaires à leur réussite. »

    George Georgiou, professeur, Faculté d’éducation, Université de l’Alberta

    « Alberta School Boards Association se réjouit de cet investissement supplémentaire du gouvernement dans les soutiens et interventions en matière de littératie et de numératie. Cette subvention aidera les conseils scolaires élus localement de l’Alberta à fournir des ressources d’apprentissage indispensables pour répondre aux besoins uniques de nos plus jeunes apprenants. »

    Marilyn Dennis, présidente, Alberta School Boards Association

    En bref

    • Depuis 2021, le gouvernement de l’Alberta a alloué 85 millions de dollars en financement visant les perturbations de l’apprentissage (Learning Disruption Funding)  afin d’aider les élèves qui ont besoin d’un soutien supplémentaire en littératie et en numératie.
    • En 2024, le financement visant les perturbations de l’apprentissage est devenu le fonds de soutien à la littératie et à la numératie (Literacy and Numeracy Support Funding) afin d’appuyer le développement des compétences essentielles en littératie et en numératie chez les plus jeunes apprenants de l’Alberta.  
    • Le financement sera distribué aux autorités scolaires qui ont déjà reçu un financement au cours de l’année scolaire 2024-2025.
    • Le financement de 7,5 millions de dollars pourra être utilisé au cours de l’année scolaire 2025-2026 pour continuer à intervenir auprès des élèves de la maternelle à la 3e année qui ont besoin d’un soutien supplémentaire.

    À propos du dépistage en littératie et en numératie

    • Tous les élèves de la maternelle passent un test de dépistage en janvier.
    • Tous les élèves de la 1re à la 3e année font l’objet d’un dépistage deux fois par année, en septembre et en janvier.
    • Les élèves de la 1re à la 3e année qui ont été identifiés, en janvier, comme ayant besoin de soutien supplémentaire, passeront un troisième test de dépistage à la fin de l’année scolaire afin que l’on puisse suivre leurs progrès.
    • De nouvelles exigences relatives à l’administration de tests de dépistage en 4e et 5e année seront mises en œuvre dès septembre 2026. 

    Renseignements connexes

    • Évaluations lors des premières années du parcours scolaire  

    Nouvelles connexes

    • Un soutien rapide et efficace pour les jeunes apprenants (4 décembre 2024)
    • Soutenir les plus jeunes apprenants de l’Alberta (11 juillet 2024) 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Gender-based and Sexual Violence: A Research Survey Led by Université Paris Cité and Sciences Po

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    In 2024, more than 5,000 students from Université Paris Cité and Sciences Po participated in the SAFEDUC survey: the first survey conducted in these two higher education institutions on students’ exposure to gender-based and sexual violence (GBSV).

    ACCESS THE SAFEDUC 2024 REPORT

    The survey provides a better understanding of the contexts in which these violences occur and how the academic and personal trajectories of students can be impacted. Find out some of its key results.

    Women, sexual minorities, and gender minorities most likely to report experiencing violence

    It is primarily women who report having suffered from gender-based or sexual violence since the start of their higher education:

    • More than half (57%) report having experienced sexual harassment since the beginning of their studies, compared to 30% of male students,
    • Nearly one in three female students (32%) reports having suffered a physical or sexual assault (groping, sexual blackmail, etc.), compared to 18% of male students,
    • One in ten female students (10%) reports having been raped or attempted to be raped, compared to 3% of male students.

    Non-heterosexual individuals, whether gay, lesbian, or bisexual, are also more exposed to gender-based and sexual violence:

    • Over a third of homosexual or bisexual respondents (37%) report having suffered a physical or sexual assault, compared to 23% of heterosexual individuals,
    • 12% of homosexual or bisexual individuals report having been victims of rape or attempted rape, compared to 6% of heterosexual individuals.

    Non-binary individuals also appear to be disproportionately exposed to violence during their student life, compared to men.

    Violence mostly committed by men

    The perpetrators of the reported gender-based and sexual violence are predominantly men. Students who reported having suffered a physical or sexual assault in the 12 months prior to the survey indicate that in more than 4 cases out of 5 (88%), the perpetrator was one or more men. Similarly, more than 9 out of 10 reported rape or attempted rape cases (93%) were committed by one or more men.

    Violence mostly committed in private settings

    Although the incidents of violence reported by students at Université Paris Cité and Sciences Po predominantly occurred in private settings, some acts of violence take place in professional or academic contexts:

    • 10% of sexual harassment incidents that occurred in the past 12 months (harassment, stalking, etc.) took place in the context of employment, internship, or a research setting,
    • 11% of physical or sexual assaults (groping, sexual coercion, etc.) occurred within the university.

    Significant impact on victims’ lives

    Gender-based and sexual violence has a significant impact on the lives of victims. It affects their involvement in studies and their social life at university and outside. Violence involving a physical and sexual dimension, in particular, degrades the victims’ romantic and sexual lives and also harms their health.

    A survey to better understand and act

    The SAFEDUC survey aims to gather data on the extent of sexist and sexual violence in higher eduction, in order to enable higher education institutions to implement effective institutional policies to prevent such violence. This survey has been designed to be replicated in other higher education and research institutions.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The world is in crisis – what role should our universities play?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Vinita Srivastava, Host + Exec. Producer, Don’t Call Me Resilient | Senior Editor, Culture + Society

    It’s hard not to categorize our present global moment as a crisis. And just when we think things can’t get worse — they do.

    Across the globe, we’re witnessing a rise in far-right movements and governments.

    Just a few weeks ago, the AfD party in Germany secured second place. This marks the first time a far-right party has gained this level of power in the country since the Second World War. Germany is not alone in this trend: Italy, Hungary, Finland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Croatia are now led by far-right governments.

    And it may come as no surprise that many of these new leaders are increasingly hostile towards universities.

    In India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, universities have the lowest academic freedom since the 1940s. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro claimed that public universities transform students into leftists, gays, drug addicts and perverts.

    Meanwhile in the United States, Vice President JD Vance has called universities the enemy for allegedly teaching that America is “an evil, racist nation.” (Vance was echoing President Richard Nixon who called professors and the press the enemy. President Donald Trump even signed an executive order demanding higher education institutions dismantle their DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs. He’s also pulled federal funding from universities that allow “illegal protests”, and he’s demanded that Columbia University’s Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Departments be independently reviewed.

    But, despite this hostility, universities — and students — have historically been springboards for progressive change. It was student protests 25 years ago that helped lead to the downfall of apartheid in South Africa. More recently, in Bangladesh, student protests helped topple the country’s authoritarian leader. This past year, students across the world have worked to raise public awareness of acts of genocide in Gaza.

    Meanwhile, here in Canada, universities are facing financial pressure because of reductions in international student permits. This drop in revenue has caused alarming budget constraints at universities, revealing a deep reliance on international students as a revenue source.

    This has led to existential questions about our universities. With today’s world in crisis, what should the role of the university be? And why are our public universities so underfunded? And how can they continue to serve their communities?

    Theses are big questions, ones that seemed fitting to tackle on our final episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient recorded live in front of an audience at the University of British Columbia. Joining us to tackle them was Annette Henry, a professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC who is cross-appointed to the Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice. Her work examines race, class, language, gender and culture in education for Black students and educators in Canada.

    We also spoke with Michelle Stack, an associate professor in UBC’s Department of Educational Studies whose work looks at educational policy, university rankings and equity and education.

    At a time when critical conversations in higher education are under attack worldwide, can Canadian universities rise to the challenge and be a force for good?

    Read more:

    Universities should stand up for integrity and public trust in university teaching

    How Commonwealth universities profited from Indigenous dispossession through land grants

    Universities should respond to cuts and corporate influence with co-operative governance

    Cops on campus: Why police crackdowns on student protesters are so dangerous

    Student protests: How the university perpetuates colonial violence on campus

    This episode was coproduced by Ateqah Khaki (associate producer), Marisa Sittheeamorn (student journalist) and Jennifer Moroz (consulting producer). Our sound engineer was Alain Derbez, with onsite assistance from Josh Mattson. Thank you to UBC’s Global Journalism Innovation Lab and its crew, The UBC School of Journalism and the Social Science Research Council of Canada for their generous support.

    – ref. The world is in crisis – what role should our universities play? – https://theconversation.com/the-world-is-in-crisis-what-role-should-our-universities-play-250235

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: National Register Adds 11 North Carolina Historic Places

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: National Register Adds 11 North Carolina Historic Places

    National Register Adds 11 North Carolina Historic Places
    jejohnson6
    Thu, 03/27/2025 – 11:59

    The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announces the addition of multiple sites across the state to the National Register of Historic Places. The newly recognized sites include a mix of districts, individual properties, and updated documentation, highlighting the state’s rich architectural and historical heritage. They include one boundary increase, two additional documentations, three new historic districts, and five individual properties. They were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, subsequently nominated by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer, and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for consideration for listing in the National Register.

    “It’s good news for North Carolina when we add properties to the National Register of Historic Places,”  said Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell, N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “Preservation of these treasured places spurs local economic development and showcases the varied history of our state.”

    The listing of a property in the National Register places no obligation or restriction on a private owner using private resources to maintain or alter the property. Over the years, various federal and state incentives have been introduced to assist private preservation initiatives, including tax credits for the rehabilitation of National Register properties. As of January 1, 2025, there have been 4,391 completed historic rehabilitation projects with private investments of almost $3.85 billion statewide.

    In Central North Carolina

    Harriet Tubman YWCA, Durham, Durham County, listed 12/6/2024

    The locally significant Harriet Tubman YWCA in Durham, North Carolina, meets National Register of Historic Places Criterion A in the areas of Black ethnic heritage, social history, and civil rights and Criterion C for architecture. Located within the vibrant African American neighborhood known as Hayti, the building was a vital community center during the third quarter of the twentieth century. Many employees, volunteers, and program participants engaged in social and political advocacy in Durham and beyond, employing coordinated civil disobedience and legal action in myriad campaigns against racial, political, economic, and social injustice. The Harriet Tubman YWCA also epitomizes the functional Modernism often manifested in mid-twentieth-century buildings conceived in an economical manner that allowed for rapid construction, flexible use, ease of maintenance, and future expansion. The building is characterized by angular form, horizontal massing, and large metal-frame windows. The period of significance begins in 1953 with the main block’s completion and ends in 1978, when the Harriet Tubman YWCA closed.

    John Fisher House, Salisbury (vicinity), Rowan County, listed 12/10/2024

    The John Fisher House in rural Rowan County meets Criterion C for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its local architectural significance. The Greek Revival-style farmhouse of vernacular hall-and-parlor form demonstrates the use of architectural pattern books of the period, especially Asher Benjamin’s popular Practical House Carpenter, to provide consistent decorative treatment on both exterior and interior. Although the John Fisher House is a country dwelling of modest size — only one-and-a-half stories — it is replete with pattern book detailing. Part of its significance lies in its demonstration of the sustained influence and use of architectural pattern books for building country houses, especially in the North Carolina Piedmont, during the mid-nineteenth century. The period of significance for the unusually well-preserved house with its high degree of physical integrity is ca. 1848, the date of construction noted by family tradition that fits within Fisher’s 1842 purchase of the land on which the house stands and the 1850 U. S. census, which provides information strongly suggesting that the house had been built by that time.

    Johnson’s Drive-In, Siler City, Chatham County, listed 2/5/2025

    The locally significant Johnson’s Drive-In in Siler City, North Carolina, epitomizes the proliferation of roadside quick-service restaurants in conjunction with the mid-twentieth-century development of a motorist-focused service industry along newly developed highway corridors, thus meeting National Register Criterion A for commerce. The restaurant is thought to be the first to offer both curbside and indoor dining on US 64 between Asheboro and Raleigh, a distance of approximately seventy-two miles. The building functioned as a three-dimensional billboard, with its proximity to the road, large plate-glass windows, and brightly lit interior. While the traditional gable-roofed style of the 1946 building resembled a house, the Modernist 1960 addition distinguished the restaurant from competitors and brought an urban commercial aesthetic to the small town. Notably, the establishment was not segregated, an anomaly in the Jim Crow South. All seating and facilities were available to Black and white customers, who used the same entrances. The period of significance is 1946-1975, the approximate date curbside service was discontinued.

    Mount Pleasant Historic District (Additional Documentation), Mount Pleasant, Cabarrus County, listed 12/4/2024

    The 1986 Mount Pleasant Historic District nomination claimed significance at the local level under Criterion A for commerce and industry as an example of a textile village with a small commercial core, its modest size primarily due to its lack of direct railroad connections. The 1986 nomination also identified significance at the local level under Criterion C for architecture as a collection of residential, religious, commercial, and industrial buildings representing nearly every major style popular during the period of significance, 1840 to 1935. The Additional Documentation serves to extend the period of significance through c.1976 to encompass the continued residential, commercial, and industrial growth within the Mount Pleasant Historic District through the mid-twentieth century. It also includes high integrity examples of these building types from the period 1935-c.1976. The Additional Documentation is locally significant for architecture, commerce, and industry and also serves to supplement context for commerce and industry before 1935, as well as providing context in all areas of significance for the post-1935 period.

    Robert and Frances S. Loewenstein House, Greensboro, Guilford County, listed 12/12/2024

    The Edward and Frances S. Loewenstein House is significant at the local level under Criterion C for Architecture and Engineering as an outstanding example of Modernist-style architecture in Greensboro. The house is also significant at the local level under Criterion B in the area of Architecture for its association with prominent architect Edward Loewenstein. Designed by Loewenstein as his personal residence, the house exhibits key tenets of Modernist architecture and design innovations engineered by Loewenstein for the building include canted exterior walls, the angle of which was carefully calculated maximize solar gain in winter and minimize direct light in summer and skylights fitted both with shutters to reduce light infiltration and light bulbs to provide diffused light on cloudy days and at night. In 1953, he joined with Robert A. Atkinson, Jr. to form the firm of Loewenstein-Atkinson. As supporters of the Civil Rights movement, the firm hired African American engineers and architects, when segregation was the norm. While Modernist designs were a small percentage of Loewenstein’s residential commissions, they are among the best in the region. Designs also included schools, office buildings, and shopping centers. The Period of Significance is 1954 to 1970.

    St. Joseph AME Church (Additional Documentation), Durham, Durham County, listed 1/2/2025

    St. Joseph African Methodist Episcopal Church possesses statewide significance under Criterion A for Black ethnic heritage, social history, and civil rights. Located within the African American neighborhood known as Hayti, the building was historically a vital community center as it is today. The construction of the 1891 sanctuary and 1952 education building and parsonage exemplifies the Black community’s resilience, growth, and prosperity. The building served as a forum for mid-20th-century civil rights movement planning and training sessions, meetings, and rallies. The church also possesses local significance under Criterion C as an intact example of Gothic Revival-style late-nineteenth-century ecclesiastical architecture. Designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel L. Leary and built with brick supplied by prominent Black Durham businessman Richard Burton Fitzgerald, the 1891 church is Durham’s second-oldest and the city’s most intact historic African American sanctuary of any denomination. The period of significance begins in 1891 when construction commenced and ends in 1976 when the congregation moved.

    South Benbow Road Historic District, Greensboro, Guilford County, listed 12/9/2024

    The South Benbow Road Historic District is significant at the local level under Criterion A for Black Ethnic Heritage and Civil Rights as a significant concentration of properties that share historical associations with the advancement of African American Civil Rights in Greensboro. One of a number of early-to-mid-20th century neighborhoods formed in east Greensboro in response to the growth of North Carolina A&T University and Bennett College, both Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the district was developed as a consequence of, and in response to, systemic and de facto segregation in Greensboro. The district is also significant at the local level under Criterion A for Community Planning and Development. It is comprised of several smaller developments that followed Olmstedian planning principles, which called for curvilinear streets that follow the natural terrain, help slow traffic, and provide varied views as one moves through the area. Significant at the local level under Criterion C for Architecture, it is primarily residential, but also includes a small number of religious and medical buildings. Several homes and churches in the district were designed by prominent African American architects. The period of significance is c. 1946 – c. 1976.

    In Eastern North Carolina

    Hertford West Historic District, Hertford, Perquimans County, listed 2/11/2025

    Settlement in the Hertford West Historic District area began around the turn of the twentieth century, a period of industrial development and population growth sparked by the coming of the railroad to Hertford. Queen Anne houses number among the district’s oldest dwellings. The Woodland Circle development was built in the district in 1944 to provide housing for the nearby naval base in the Minimal-Traditional style. Following WWII, more Minimal-Traditional and later Ranch houses were built in the district. The Hertford West Historic District is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the architecture area of significance for the quality and diversity of its historic architecture with representatives of numerous styles popular in the early and middle decades of the twentieth century. The district is also eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A in the Community Planning and Development area of significance as the principal vector of community expansion in Hertford during the twentieth century. Orthogonal streets, an extension of the town’s original grid plan, and curvilinear subdivisions characterize the district. The period of significance extends from 1900-71.

    Shelter Neck Historic District, Burgaw (vicinity), Pender County, listed 12/10/2024

    Shelter Neck Historic District, containing a chapel, school, and dormitory built in the first decade of the 20th century, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level of significance under Criterion A in the areas of Education and Social History. The Boston-based National Alliance of Unitarian Women built the church in 1900 as the first Unitarian building constructed in the state. Working side by side, educated urban women and male Unitarian ministers quickly established a school for day and boarding students in which a classical education was bolstered by industrial training that included handcrafts and instruction in agriculture, as well as exposure to the arts. Settlement schools like the one established at Shelter Neck were part of a social reform program inspired by the settlement movement. The period of significance is 1900-26, the year the Alliance of Unitarian Women closed the school. The property meets Criteria Consideration A as its significance stems from its role in educating local children and as a vehicle for social reform in a rural eastern North Carolina county.

    In Western North Carolina

    Hopkins Chapel AME Zion Church, Asheville, Buncombe County, listed 12/17/2024

    Hopkins Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church is locally significant under National Register Criteria A and C as an important African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion congregation in Asheville following the Civil War and an excellent example of Gothic Revival church architecture designed by renowned architect Richard Sharp Smith and built by master brick mason James Vester Miller. Free Black congregants from Asheville’s Central Methodist Church, dissatisfied with their treatment by white members of that church staged a protest march through Asheville and began worshipping independently at a brush arbor in the East End section of town and formally organized in 1868. After steady deterioration of the church’s 1883 second sanctuary, construction of an exquisite new Gothic Revival sanctuary began in 1910 and was completed in 1911. The period of significance for Hopkins Chapel begins in 1910, when construction of the present church building began, and ends in 1974.

    Marshall High School (Additional Documentation and Boundary Increase), Marshall, Madison County, listed 1/14/2025

    Marshall High School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, with a period of significance beginning in 1926 when the school was built, and continuing through 1957, the 50-year cut-off for when the nomination was completed. This Additional Documentation and Boundary Increase extends the period of significance through 1974 when a consolidated Madison County High School building was built and Marshall High School closed. It adds into the boundary the adjacent Marshall High School Gymnasium, completed in 1956 to the west of the school building, and which was not included in the original nomination due to a separate owner objection at the time. The gymnasium is historically related to the school building and the inclusion of the additional building expands upon the school’s educational significance. It is locally significant under Criterion A for its contributions to the educational history of Marshall, North Carolina through the early 1970s. Included within this Additional Documentation and Boundary Increase is an updated description of the high school building, taking into account the renovation work completed under the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards in 2008.

    NOTE TO EDITORS — The above images are available in a higher resolution on the Dropbox Site.

    About the National Register of Historic Places
    The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts worthy of preservation for their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture. The National Register was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 to ensure that as a matter of public policy, properties significant in national, state, and local history are considered in the planning of federal undertakings, and to encourage historic preservation initiatives by state and local governments and the private sector. The Act authorized the establishment of a State Historic Preservation Office in each state and territory to help administer federal historic preservation programs.

    In North Carolina, the State Historic Preservation Office is a unit of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Dr. Darin Waters, the Department’s Deputy Secretary of Archives, History, and Parks, is North Carolina’s State Historic Preservation Officer. The North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, a board of professionals and citizens with expertise in history, architectural history, and archaeology, meets three times a year to advise Dr. Waters on the eligibility of properties for the National Register and the adequacy of nominations.

    The National Register nominations for the recently listed properties may be read in their entirety on the NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places page of the State Historic Preservation Office website. For more information on the National Register, including the criteria for listing, visit the NC State Historic Preservation Office National Register page.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Mar 27, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Senate Forum on NIH Research, Senator Murray Highlights How Trump and Elon’s Devastating Funding Cuts and Mass Layoffs are Putting Lifesaving Research At Risk

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    Senator Murray: “There are patients today in clinical trials that are praying for a breakthrough… and they’re seeing the best hope for a cure cut off by the richest two people in the world.

    ICYMI: Murray Presses NIH Nominee on Mass Firings, Trump Attempts to Cut Billions from Biomedical Research, Unprecedented Halt on NIH Advisory Council Meetings

    *** VIDEO of Senator Murray’s Q&A with former NIH Director HERE***

    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chairof the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined a Senate forum hosted by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT), calling out how President Trump and Elon Musk’s attacks on the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—from gutting critical funding and freezing grants, to halting advisory committee meetings and clinical trials, to senselessly mass firing thousands of staff, and other attempts to hobble biomedical research—will have generational impacts on finding cures and treatments for serious illnesses that affect millions of Americans each year.

    At the forum today, Senator Murray and her colleagues heard from Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., former Director of the NIH; Dr. Sterling Johnson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Dr. Whitney Wharton, PhD, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s Disease researcher; Mr. Jessy Ybarra, a veteran living with ALS and Board of Trustees member for the ALS Association; and Dr. Larry Saltzman, M.D., a retired physician living with leukemia and former Executive Research Director for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

    Senator Murray began by emphasizing how the NIH is currently in a state of crisis, with Trump and Elon Musk’s wide-ranging attacks on biomedical research and NIH’s mission: “We have DOGE freezing research grants mid-study. There is mass firing of researchers who are on the cutting edge of discovery. They’re slashing funds for our world-class institutions, and they’re setting back work—work on childhood cancers, on Alzheimer’s disease, on improving women’s health. There are patients today in clinical trials that are praying for a breakthrough… and they’re seeing the best hope for a cure cut off by the richest two people in the world. This is just crazy,” Murray said at the forum today.

    “I have four NIH grants in my home state of Washington that have been canceled so far, including one that was focused on improving vaccine delivery for hospitalized children. There’s countless other awards that are being held up. They’re threatening the lifesaving research work that every single one of us either depend on today, or may depend on, or know somebody who depends on. I just can’t express how outrageous this is.”

    “We know that in the first four weeks of this administration, NIH funding to research institutions was an astonishing 1 billion—that is a ‘b’—less than the same period last year. That is outrageous,” Murray continued. “From your time as NIH Director, is it normal at this point in this year—we’re almost the end of March—for so little grant funding to have gone out the door at NIH? And what is the impact on researchers, universities, and people?

    “It’s not at all normal,” Dr. Bertagnolli, who served as the 17th Director of the NIH from November 9th, 2023 to January 17th, 2025, replied. “The fundamental research that we all need, the understanding the biology that our drug companies need to make drugs, or that our device makers need to be able to diagnose better diagnosis—that’s funded by the NIH, overwhelmingly. That’s not funded by any other sector. So, without NIH, we don’t have any of these kinds of progress. That’s what’s not getting out the door.”

    “The confusion is rampant,” Dr. Bertagnolli continued. “At this time, we would have had fully a third of the total budget out the door, already funding very high-level research… and I believe we are so far behind that right now.”

    “We are far behind,” Murray echoed. “And my understanding is, 14 NIH grants focused on cancer have been terminated so far this year, and at least six of those focused on cancers impacting women. Dr. Bertagnolli, you’re a surgical oncologist—how is this going to impact women?”

    Dr. Bertagnolli responded, “We identified that women’s health was a high priority area for us at NIH over the last year, and so, launched many new programs to really begin to address the deficiencies that we’ve had in women’s health.”

    “So… now the direction from the Trump administration is, we don’t take care of women?” Murray asked.

    Dr. Bertagnolli said, “Well, nothing new is going forward that I can see. Nothing new… University of Utah, my alma mater, just had a Clinical and Translational Research Award canceled in its second of seven years —just terminated, CTSA Award. This award, the aims are: genetic testing to improve treatment and diagnosis of critically ill newborns, skin cancer reduction programs throughout rural communities, support young adults with heart disease to be able to live lives and be better connected to their doctors if they live in rural locations, and to identify genetic causes of bipolar disorder—canceled in its second year. So that’s what we’re seeing.”

    Murray concluded by emphasizing, “I mean, this is outrageous. I would just have a word for Elon Musk and President Trump: women are a part of your life too, and without them, you won’t be where you are. So, you better focus on their health and get this research funding back in place.”

    Senator Murray was a leading voice opposing Dr. Jay Bhattacharya’s nomination to lead NIH, and at his nomination hearing earlier this month, Murray pressed him on Elon Musk’s unprecedented influence at the agency and the massive, indiscriminate firings of skilled scientists and researchers. The Trump administration recently attempted to illegally cap indirect cost rates at 15 percent—a move Senator Murray immediately and forcefully condemned, led the entire Senate Democratic caucus in a letter decrying the proposed change, and introduced amendments to Senate Republicans’ budget resolution to reverse it, which Republicans blocked.

    As a longtime appropriator and former Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, Murray has long fought to boost biomedical research, strengthen public health infrastructure, and make health care more affordable and accessible. Over her years as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, she has secured billions of dollars in increases for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, and during her time as Chair of the HELP Committee, she established the new ARPA-H research agency as part of her PREVENT Pandemics Act to advance some of the most cutting-edge research in the field. Senator Murray was also the lead Democratic negotiator of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which delivered a major federal investment to boost NIH research, among many other investments. 

    Video of the entire NIH forum is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: New Skilled Trades and Technology Building for the New Saskatchewan Polytechnic Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus Proceeding to Request for Proposals

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 27, 2025

    Three (3) teams are advancing to the next stage of procurement for the new Skilled Trades and Technology (Trades) building for the Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus. Upon procurement completion, the successful proponent will be awarded the design and construction of the new Trades building under a Design-Build agreement. 

    “This project is an investment in Saskatchewan’s future, creating a modern, efficient campus to support skilled trades training,” SaskBuilds and Procurement Minister David Marit said. “Advancing to the next stage brings us one step closer to breaking ground and delivering a high-quality facility that will serve Saskatchewan Polytechnic students and industry for years to come.”

    The Request for Qualifications closed on February 13, 2025. Five (5) submissions were received and evaluated. After a thorough evaluation process, three (3) teams have been shortlisted to move forward to the Request for Proposals (RFP) stage. The shortlisted teams invited to the RFP stage are:

    • Bird Design Build Construction Inc. with Number TEN Architectural Group and 1080 Architecture Planning and Interiors.
    • Graham Construction and Engineering LP with Zeidler Architecture Inc. and Kindrachuk Agrey Architects Ltd.
    • Ledcor Construction Investments Limited with Wright Construction Western Inc. and Group2 Architecture and Diamond Schmitt Architecture.

    Bird Design Build Construction Inc., a builder with deep Canadian roots with more than 100 years of experience across the country, partnered with Number Ten Architectural Group, a Winnipeg-based firm with an ability to create exceptional spaces, and with 1080 Architecture, a Regina-based firm specializing in client-driven architectural and design solutions.

    Graham Construction and Engineering LP, known for its roots in Moose Jaw with nearly 100 years of experience delivering commercial and infrastructure projects, partnered with Zeidler Architecture Inc. and Kindrachuk Agrey Architects Ltd., two Canadian architectural firms that are known for creating innovative environments and delivering iconic Canadian landmarks.

    Ledcor Construction Investments Limited and Wright Construction Western Inc. partner their Saskatchewan offices through a joint-venture to form a versatile construction company specializing in community infrastructure and cultural projects, with Group 2 Architecture, a firm with expertise in delivering flexible and adaptable education spaces, and Diamond Schmitt Architecture, a firm specializing in sustainable and transformative designs.

    “The Skilled Trades and Technology building will play a vital role in training the next generation of professionals to meet Saskatchewan’s labour market needs and fostering innovation across our province,” Advanced Education Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said. “This is an exciting time for the project and Saskatchewan Polytechnic. I look forward to seeing the building come to life and witnessing the impact it will have on post-secondary education in Saskatchewan.” 

    The new Trades building will begin to transform Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s existing network of decentralized, outdated buildings into a revitalized, modern, technology-rich learning environment. This first development of the new Saskatoon campus will enable students to pursue greater opportunities for applied learning and research. 

    “Investing in our future innovation leaders is essential to elevating Saskatchewan’s global leadership and impact,” Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Warren Kaeding said. “This new building is another step forward to expanding our one-of-a-kind innovation ecosystem, helping the province attract and train top talent and drive economic and employment growth.”

    Since 2022-23, the Government of Saskatchewan has provided $18 million for the project. The 2025-26 Provincial Budget included $2 million for continued site preparation work and procurement. 

    “We are thrilled to move forward with the procurement process for the Skilled Trades and Technology building, in collaboration with the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement,” Saskatchewan Polytechnic President and CEO, Dr. Larry Rosia said. “This building marks the first phase of one of the most significant construction projects at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in the next decade. Construction of the new Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus will not only generate new job opportunities but willalso have a lasting impact on the post-secondary landscape in acrossour province.”

    The Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement and Saskatchewan Polytechnic are leading this procurement with partnership and collaboration from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. 

    The RFP is anticipated to close in November 2025. One successful team will be selected after evaluation. As we move out of the planning phase, site preparation is anticipated to be completed by spring 2025 as construction is expected to begin in early 2026.                                                                               

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the impact of masculinity influencers

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amanda Dylina Morse, Research Fellow, Queen’s University Belfast

    defotoberg/Shutterstock

    Andrew Tate – online content creator, podcaster, former kickboxer, and subject of ongoing human trafficking investigations – has gained widespread influence with millions of men and boys. Tate promotes financial independence, being “mentally and physically strong,” and being successful with women, interspersed with (sometimes violent) misogyny.

    For my PhD research, I worked with 30 boys and young men aged between 16 and 19 from working-class backgrounds in Belfast, researching on the role of social connection to protect mental health. In the interviews I carried out, Tate’s name came up constantly.

    I found that almost all the participants had positive or mixed feelings about him. Even those less certain of him appreciated his financial advice or advocacy for men’s mental health. While other masculinity influencers were also mentioned, none achieved the same level of importance.

    But I also found that youth workers emerged as powerful counters, acting as “anti-Andrew Tate” figures and providing a positive example of manhood. This shows that, while the influence of online figures may seem unstoppable, we already have role models in our communities who can demonstrate an alternative version of what a man can be and how he should act with others.

    Looking for connection

    In their interviews, the young men spoke passionately about their enthusiasm for Andrew Tate and valued his advocacy for “traditional” manhood, including the classical ideal of a “strong mind in a strong body”. While none of the boys and young men endorsed Tate’s misogyny, they struggled to balance their discomfort with calling women property against his perceived valuable messages.

    I agree with some of the stuff he says, but not everything he says. So, with some of the stuff he says about men’s mental health, if you go to the gym, it can help, and eat well, that… all the stuff around men’s mental health, I believe in. But just some of the stuff he says about women being property and stuff like that, I don’t really properly agree with.

    The boys and young men drew a parallel between Tate’s childhood poverty and their own. They sometimes assigned Tate unexpectedly altruistic intentions in his targeting of young men desperate to attain financial security.

    All the controversial things that he says, I think he only said that to get himself a platform, so people would tune into him… More and more people listen to him. And he’s making more and more money. And he’s like, putting that money into his university, trying to help more people and then he promotes mental health and all. I think it’s brilliant like.

    Most of the people in my research had histories of substance use and violence at the boundaries between Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods from a young age. For them, these challenging experiences were their entry into the youth work organisations which mentored them to build skills in emotional literacy, forecast the consequences of unsafe or unhealthy behaviour, and build community cohesion through acts of service.

    Relatable and non-judgmental

    For the boys and young men I worked with, their youth workers were like them – working-class men from their own communities with shared experiences of socioeconomic deprivation, exposure to paramilitary violence, and early substance use. Those parallels made them trustworthy and relatable.

    Youth workers can provide a non-judgmental listening ear.
    ingkaninant/Shutterstock

    The youth workers offered a confidential, nonjudgmental ear for their mentees, without the same risk of consequences for bad behaviour. For instance, telling a youth worker about having used drugs at the weekend wouldn’t lead to the lecture or loss of privileges that telling a parent or teacher might.

    I just think that, you know, at a young age, it’s important, em, young men get to know that there is that supportive people that can turn to even if they haven’t got, you know, a lot of friends or any friends. But I just think that, you know, like, I’ve got the opportunity of the youth club and the youth groups.

    In contrast to the version of masculine success Tate presents, youth workers usually had a home in the neighbourhood, played sports recreationally, and were establishing their families through marriage and having children. My study participants admired the stability their youth workers demonstrated in this more attainable – but still aspirational – version of adult manhood.

    When asked what kind of man they wanted to be as an adult, most of them described the sort of success their youth workers had achieved, rather than a version closer to Tate’s.

    The boys and young men I worked with said that youth service organisations were supportive spaces. They credited them with both improvements to their mental health and with giving them strategies to avoid engagement in sectarian violence. Some participants were so moved by their engagement with youth workers that they were themselves training in the profession.

    Despite strong evidence for their value, youth services are consistently underfunded. But they represent an opportunity to invest in the health of both young men and their communities.

    Amanda Dylina Morse 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 anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the impact of masculinity influencers – https://theconversation.com/the-anti-andrew-tate-how-youth-workers-can-counteract-the-impact-of-masculinity-influencers-252786

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, what happens to consumers’ genetic data?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Julia Creet, Professor of English, York University, Canada

    23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, raising questions about future ownership of the genetic data of its 15 million customers. (Shutterstock)

    The announcement that 23andMe is filing for bankruptcy and has put its genetic genealogy database up for sale has sent its customers into a bit of a privacy tizzy. On March 21, California Attorney General Bob Bonta issued a consumer alert with detailed instructions about how to delete one’s data.

    23andMe and its databases are located in California; regardless of where customers live, privacy is then governed by California law and some weak U.S. federal laws. Canadian privacy laws have no sway in this case.

    CBC’s The National provides information to customers looking to delete their genetic data from the 23andMe databases.

    Rise of consumer genetic testing

    It’s worth backing up a bit to see how 23andMe built its brand, what makes the database valuable and who might be in the market to buy the database if Anne Wojcicki, its founder, is unsuccessful in her bid to buy back the company herself.

    I have been studying the development of the industry of family history for the last 20 years. Genetic genealogy rose to prominence in the early 2000s, with the development of the science and early databases by committed genealogists and the market demand for locating ancestors.



    Read more:
    The mythical quest for our ancestors is big business

    23andMe’s innovation was to use this burgeoning lust for ancestors as a way to build a new kind of direct-to-consumer database, one that looked at inherited markers for diseases afforded by the potent combination of genetic and genealogical information.

    They weren’t the first to hit on this idea. deCODE Genetics in Iceland had already built a national database of braided genealogical and genetic information for the same purpose. Within 10 years, it too went bankrupt and sold its database.

    Ahead of government

    23andMe was the first to market the idea in North America when Wojcicki founded the company in 2006.

    Wojcicki claimed a high mission: to liberate health information from the hands of the medical industry and put it directly into the hands of consumers. Her business model made it clear that the direct-to-consumer genetics industry was always in the business of doing an end run around government and university databases that were governed by much stricter privacy laws.

    23andMe ran into trouble with the FDA in 2013 for providing medical information without any medical supervision, a wrinkle that took two years for the company to iron out. But the more lucrative end of the business was always the sale of the accumulated data to the pharmaceutical industry.

    23andMe pitched its research arm as the greater good, and 80 per cent of its consumers opted in to share their information for research purposes. The database has always been monetized for secondary uses. In its profile of 23andMe in 2017, Nature quoted cardiologist Euan Ashley at Stanford University, California: “They have quietly become the largest genetic study the world has ever known.”

    A rapid unravelling

    Five years ago, the company and the genetic genealogy industry as a whole started to unravel almost as quickly and precipitously as it had risen. Sales of direct-to-consumer genetic genealogy kits plummeted, given a combination of privacy concerns and market saturation.

    The advent of law enforcement incursions into genetic genealogy databases gave consumers a fright, and woke them up to the possible unanticipated third-party uses of commercial databases.

    Almost a decade later, governments are still trying to figure out how to set up guardrails on the use of genealogy databases for law enforcement, a practice that has become widespread across the U.S. and Canada.

    Currently, the Information and Privacy Office of Ontario is actively working to develop regulations that are acceptable to all stakeholders since, once again, the greater good argument of catching cold-case killers holds considerable sway over the right to privacy of consumers.

    Nonetheless, the issue of third-party uses has had a marked effect on the popularity of what seemed like a benign pastime, the search for ever-more-distant relations.

    Industry expansion

    Over the years, 23andMe expanded by buying health services and pharmaceutical holding companies. But in 2023, a massive data breach exposed the vulnerabilities of the company, particularly its genealogical information.



    Read more:
    23andMe’s struggles are a sign that direct-to-consumer DNA testing needs stronger oversight

    In addition to the 1.5 million users whose profiles were breached, hackers accessed the personal information of about 5.5 million people who opted in to 23andMe’s DNA Relatives feature.

    Stolen data included customers’ names, birth years, relationship labels, percentage of DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports and self-reported locations.

    Fully a third of 23andMe’s users’ genealogical information had been scraped by the hackers. And here we see the real vulnerability in the entire industry: Anyone who has submitted a DNA sample and built family connections has exposed everyone in their family line.

    This seems to be a classic case of closing the barn door after the horses have already bolted.

    Like 23andMe, deCODE was a high flier in the genetics space having built a genealogical database that included almost all Icelanders, who invested heavily in the company. The company went bankrupt during the financial crisis of 2008, and it sold its database to American pharmaceutical company Amgen. Amgen in turn sold part of it to a Chinese company.

    Corporate dealings

    So who are the likely buyers for 23andMe?

    Wojcicki herself, if she can somehow raise the capital, which seems unlikely. Any big pharmaceutical company, including international buyers (in 2018, 23andMe signed a US$300 million deal with GlaxoSmithKline). Chinese biotechnology company BGI might well bid on the company, as China is seemingly on a mission to collect DNA from around the globe.

    Other potential buyers include: Google, who were early investors and thus already part owners; Ancestry.com, which, with its own genetic genealogy testing arm, would make it one of the of the largest privately held genetic genealogy databases in the world; and an outlier, Dutch life sciences firm Qiagen.

    Qiagen acquired California-based forensic genomics company Verogen in 2023. Verogen had previously acquired the geneaology database GEDmatch (one of the earliest grassroots ancestor DNA matching sites) for the purposes of creating a one-stop forensics genealogy shop for law enforcement.

    Changing privacy

    Each time a database is sold, privacy provisions are subject to change. Even though Wojcicki is promising to protect the privacy of costumers currently in the database, she might not have much control in the long run.

    So what should 23andMe’s customers do? Should they delete what data they can? Absolutely. Will it make much difference in the end? Probably not.

    What is now manifestly apparent is that the industry of direct-to-consumer genetics has far outpaced the ability of governments to regulate the information, so consumers are suddenly nervous.

    We should have paid attention at the very beginning of this dubious exercise in the privatization of personal data. Now we have to live with all that relatedness as a valuable commodity over which we have little say.

    Julia Creet receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada and previously from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

    – ref. With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, what happens to consumers’ genetic data? – https://theconversation.com/with-23andme-filing-for-bankruptcy-what-happens-to-consumers-genetic-data-253071

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Russia has most to gain from Black Sea ceasefire – but it’s marginal, and Ukraine benefits too

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University

    A maritime ceasefire deal to allow the safe passage of ships and end the use of force in the Black Sea could soon come into effect. Brokered over the past two weeks by the United States and agreed to by both Russia and Ukraine, it has immediately raised concerns that it could mainly benefit Russia.

    Indeed, at first sight, since Ukraine has had the upper hand in the Black Sea for the past two years, the ceasefire seems to not only benefit Russia but also undermine Ukraine’s strategic advantage at sea.

    But a more careful assessment of the naval situation in the Black Sea, balanced against possible diplomatic gains, reveals a more nuanced picture.

    Benefits for Russia

    There are obvious benefits for Russia. First and foremost, the ceasefire deal will improve Moscow’s access to the global grain and fertiliser market and possibly soften western sanctions on payment systems and access to ports to enable that.

    In addition to the expected economic benefits, the deal would also enable the Kremlin’s propaganda machine to claim that Russia cares – as Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov insisted – “about the food security situation in Africa and other countries of the global south”.

    In military terms, Black Sea fleet commanders will be happy to know that the remainder of their naval assets might be safe at last. The deal is also likely to prevent Ukraine from any attempt to destroy the strategically and symbolically important Kerch bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia.

    Concessions by Russia

    Russia has almost nothing to lose operationally, since its remaining surface warships could not operate safely in the northwestern Black Sea and were thus stuck most of the time in ports as far away from Ukraine as possible.

    One concession may be that Russia pauses any submarine-launched cruise missile attacks on Ukraine. But this activity has been limited of late. So, with the clear economic and diplomatic benefits this deal represents in return for very limited military concessions, Russia appears as the logical winner of this deal – at least at first sight.

    Benefits for Ukraine

    Ukraine will certainly also benefit from cheaper and safer access to the global markets (insurance premiums are expected to fall considerably, for a start). And Kyiv will be able to use the time bought by the ceasefire to procure more drones and missiles that might be used later if naval operations against the Russian Black Sea fleet eventually resume.

    At the same time, the Russian navy cannot be reinforced as long as the Turkish Straits remain closed to warships under the Montreux Convention. Ukraine’s upper hand in the Black Sea is a result of its efficient use of asymmetrical weapons, such as drones and missiles, that can be stockpiled. But Russia’s Black Sea fleet remains depleted and vulnerable because it has been unable to repair or replace any of its warships, due mainly to the closure of the Turkish Straits passage mentioned above.



    Read more:
    What the Montreux Convention is, and what it means for the Ukraine war

    On the diplomatic front, this ceasefire enables Kyiv to show that they have made major concessions. This is a show of goodwill, and a clever way to appease the US president, Donald Trump, for whom the importance of being able to announce he has made progress towards an overall ceasefire is central. And all these benefits can be obtained at a limited cost.

    Concessions by Ukraine

    Ukraine will not lose key operational or strategic options as a result of the deal, since at the moment there is only a limited war going on at sea – given that Russia has largely been forced out and has moved its fleet east from Sevastopol to ports on the Russian mainland. In fact, Ukraine had already achieved almost everything realistically possible in the Black Sea. The ceasefire does not now cancel these achievements, since Russia is also prevented from attacking Ukraine from the sea.

    Peace in the Black Sea. But how long will it last?
    Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock

    Overall, the fact that this initial step toward a lasting peace agreement has been achieved at sea is testament to Ukraine’s upper hand in the maritime domain as well as the efficiency of western sanctions in cutting Russia off from the global maritime supply chain.

    Moscow is the winner but Kyiv is not a loser

    Based on the above assessment of the benefits and concessions in light of the naval situation in the Black Sea, both Russia and Ukraine benefit from the ceasefire – although this is indeed less obvious in the case of Ukraine.

    Kyiv can consider it a success because Ukraine has nothing substantial to pay or lose. In contrast it gets the ball rolling towards a bigger deal and – most importantly – it keeps the Trump administration onside. Putin can also assess himself to have won because of the direct economic and diplomatic gains Russia gets from the deal.

    It’s probably correct to say that Russia has gained more than Ukraine from this agreement – but the reality is more nuanced. The ball is now in Russia’s camp. If it violates any condition of the deal (and the level of trust in Moscow’s goodwill remains low), it will discredit the Kremlin’s diplomacy and anger Trump. And neither side wants to do that right now.

    Basil Germond 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. Russia has most to gain from Black Sea ceasefire – but it’s marginal, and Ukraine benefits too – https://theconversation.com/russia-has-most-to-gain-from-black-sea-ceasefire-but-its-marginal-and-ukraine-benefits-too-253165

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Uncorking the past: new analysis of Troy findings rewrites the story of wine in the early bronze age

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephan Blum, Research associate, Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval Archaeology, University of Tübingen

    Depas amphikypellon from Schliemann’s excavations at Troy. Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen/Valentin Marquardt, CC BY-SA

    Wine drinking in ancient Troy was not restricted to the upper classes, as has long been supposed – something our new research has established for the first time. Colleagues at the University of Tübingen and I have discovered that wine was also enjoyed by the common folk, independent of upper-class celebrations and religious rituals.

    In the late 19th century, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) excavated the ancient city of Troy. He was hoping to discover the residence of Priam, the king of the city besieged by the Greek army under Agamemnon, as immortalised by Homer in the Iliad.

    Among Schliemann’s most outstanding achievements was – alongside the identification of the site of Troy itself – undoubtedly the discovery of the so-called “treasure of Priam”.

    The find included several hundred gold and silver objects. But during his excavations, Schliemann was captivated by a more humble item mentioned in the Iliad – the depas amphikypellon (two-handed drinking cup). He discovered numerous cylindrical, double-handled goblets thought to be the cup mentioned in the epic tale.

    Schliemann believed the vessels had been used either for ritual wine offerings to the Olympian gods or, more likely, by the royal elite for drinking. The characteristic double handles, he suggested, allowed the vessels to be passed easily between participants seated next to each other.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Despite fierce opposition to many of his interpretations in contemporary archaeological research, Schliemann’s hypotheses on the drinking customs of the early bronze age elite have become an enduring narrative.

    Further archaeological excavations at Troy (in modern Turkey) were led by the University of Tübingen between 1987 and 2012. Since then, my colleagues and I have been analysing the results, focusing on architectural findings and the vast array of artefacts uncovered.

    Over time, scientific methods have played an increasingly important role, with a particular focus on the analysis of organic residues in vessels (ORA). This method has proven particularly valuable, as it provides insights into what the early bronze-age inhabitants of Troy prepared in their cooking pots and enjoyed from their drinking vessels.

    Drilling into Troy’s wine culture

    Excavations over the past 150 years have shown that use of the two-handed drinking cup spanned from Greece in the west to Mesopotamia in the east.

    The silver example from the British Museum, found near Troy.
    The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-SA

    They were produced in various forms between BC2500 and 2000. Likely inspired by now-lost metal prototypes, except for one silver example in the British Museum, these ceramic vessels were often made on the potter’s wheel, a technological innovation introduced from the near east during this period.

    Many of the double-handled goblets have been found not only in settlements but also in graves. This is an indicator of their special significance in cult and ritual. Written sources also suggest that wine was regarded as particularly precious during this time, though these are generally from distant geographical regions. It has therefore been inferred that only the social elite, through their control of long-distance trade, had access to it.

    For many inland and eastern Anatolian settlements, this may have been true. However, Troy, like many other sites in the Aegean and western Asia Minor, was located in a region particularly favourable for the cultivation of wine, which means it would have been more widely available.

    So it’s hardly surprising that two-handed vessels have been found not only in Troy’s fortified citadel with its monumental buildings, but also in areas of the outer settlement. It led us to wonder – does this mean that farmers, craftsmen and others could also consume it on special occasions, or even in their daily lives?

    To address this question, it was first necessary to prove scientifically that the goblets were actually used for drinking wine. Just because they might seem suitable for it doesn’t provide proof. To this end, two fragments from the collections of the Institute of Classical Archaeology in Tübingen were analysed for organic residues by Dr Maxime Rageot.

    Two grams of ceramic material was drilled from the inner walls of the vessel, and the collected ceramic powder was then treated with solvents to extract lipid and resin compounds. After further chemical processing, these were heated to a maximum of 380°C and then analysed. Several aldaric acids were identified in both specimens. Namely, succinic, fumaric, pyruvic, malic and – in significant quantities – tartaric acids.

    The latter can be interpreted as a grape marker, since such concentrations are not documented in other fruits available in the Mediterranean. The identification of succinic and pyruvic acids, commonly associated with fermentation markers, suggests the presence of wine (or vinegar) derived from ripe grapes.

    So Schliemann was right: the depas amphikypellon was certainly used for wine consumption. Whether this was tied to religious practices, rituals and public banqueting, or simply drinking wine as part of everyday life, remains uncertain.

    However, when it comes to who consumed it, our analysis results necessitate a correction of the conventional archaeological perspective. It seems that not only the elite enjoyed drinking wine – but also the common folk. For a counter-test, two simple cups, commonly found by the hundreds in early bronze-age Troy, were also sampled. The results were striking: the exact same organic residues were identified in both specimens.

    Wine for all?

    In archaeology, it is often the seemingly insignificant small finds that, when viewed in a broader context, have a profound impact. Based on organic residues –imperceptible to the naked eye and detectable only at a molecular level – the role of wine consumption in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC must be fundamentally reconsidered, at least in the case of Troy.

    Here, wine was far from being reserved solely for the rich and powerful. The two-handed depas amphikypellon wasn’t a status symbol for the elite – it was a widely appreciated drinking vessel. Furthermore, for everyday drinking, it seems any type of vessel would do, with no particular one set aside for the task.

    Whether and to what extent a shift in perspective can be expected at other sites of the Aegean and Anatolian early bronze age can, of course, only be definitively answered through comparable biomolecular analyses. After all, as in so many cases, it wouldn’t be surprising if Troy turned out to be the exception that challenges the norm.

    Stephan Blum 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. Uncorking the past: new analysis of Troy findings rewrites the story of wine in the early bronze age – https://theconversation.com/uncorking-the-past-new-analysis-of-troy-findings-rewrites-the-story-of-wine-in-the-early-bronze-age-252953

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Coffee enemas probably won’t detox your system – they’re more likely to cause you serious damage

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University

    AJR_photo/Shutterstock

    What do King Charles and Gwyneth Paltrow have in common? Give up? They’ve both at one point or another caused coffee colonic-related controversies.

    In a 2004 speech to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on complementary therapies and cancer care, the then Prince of Wales’s comments on Gerson therapy – a health programme, marketed as an alternative treatment for cancer, that includes regular coffee enemas as a way to clear toxins from the body – seemed to endorse the unproven regimen. The prince’s opinion drew criticism from medical experts.

    Wellness influencer Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, promoted a DIY coffee enema kit on Goop, her lifestyle website – again drawing criticism from specialists who urged Goop fans to “keep the coffee out of your rectum and in your cup”.



    Read more:
    Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Goop Lab is an infomercial for her pseudoscience business

    Despite the expert critique, coffee enemas continue to be a social media wellness trend offered in many alternative health clinics as a method to cleanse the colon and detoxify the body. More worryingly, coffee enemas are still recommended by some influencers as an alternative treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses.

    So, why does the popularity of this controversial trend persist despite the bad press? Do the benefits of a coffee enema outweigh the risks?

    An enema clears the bowel of faecal matter. Usually, the procedure involves inserting a nozzle attached to a pouch containing fluid into the rectum so the liquid can be squeezed in. In conventional medicine, enemas are used to clear the bowel before surgery, for severe cases of constipation or sometimes as part of a bowel management scheme – in people with inflammatory bowel diseases, for example.

    It’s claimed by some coffee enema advocates that, before the advent of modern painkillers, Florence Nightingale used coffee enemas as a form of pain management in soldiers during the Crimean War, and doctors used them in the second world war.

    Gerson therapy

    But despite the advances in medicine and technology since Nightingale was nursing injured soldiers, coffee enemas continue to be promoted as a health practice.

    Gerson therapy continues to be highly publicised as an alternative option to chemotherapy. Patients follow a strict organic vegetarian diet, which can include up to 13 glasses of fruit juice and up to five coffee enemas daily.



    Read more:
    Apple Cider Vinegar: how social media gave rise to fraudulent wellness influencers like Belle Gibson

    The Gerson Institute claims the enemas can increase gut movement which helps to empty bowels. Coffee enemas are believed to help the body expel toxins from the liver and gut, which is thought to relieve pain.

    Coffee contains compounds kahweol and cafestol, thought to boost an enzyme which helps remove harmful substances from the body. These substances are turned into bile salts and expelled from the body. The caffeine in coffee is thought to stimulate the liver and widen the bile ducts to increase the flow of bile and help remove toxins.

    Several studies show there is no evidence to prove this regime works to cure cancer and it is not supported by any reputable cancer organisations. But it’s possible the placebo effect might help some patients feel better. A review showed there were more reports about the side effects of coffee enemas than their efficacy. Some people, for instance, experienced proctocolitis – inflamed rectum and colon – and rectal burns.

    Self-cleaning

    Because of the amount of waste that is expelled from the gut, coffee enemas can remove potassium from the body. This can lead to electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, muscle weakness and nausea. In severe cases, it can cause irregular heartbeats and lung problems. Using any enemas regularly for a long time can cause the bowel muscle to weaken, which is linked to constipation and inflammation of the bowel. In some cases, enemas may damage the balance of good bacteria in the gut, which can cause cramping, diarrhoea and bloating and increase the risk of infection.

    There no need for DIY enemas of any kind: the gut is self-cleaning. Regular digestion and bowel movements means the body gets rid of waste naturally. A high-fibre diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and seeds should be enough for good digestive health and could even reduce the risk of cancer. Current advice suggests we consume at least 30g of fibre daily. Most adults, however, have an average of only 19g of fibre daily. Drinking plenty of water is also crucial to gut health. Research suggests that eating fermented foods, such as kimchi, kefir and kombucha, can help the good bacteria in the gut and aid with digestion.

    Drinking coffee is more likely to be beneficial for health than coffee enemas. Studies show that moderate coffee intake is linked to lower risk of heart disease, for example.

    Social media can be a useful way to learn about health but it’s important to check who is giving this information – do they have credentials to back up their claims? It’s always best to check with your doctor or specialist before embarking on any alternative or complementary therapies.

    Dipa Kamdar 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. Coffee enemas probably won’t detox your system – they’re more likely to cause you serious damage – https://theconversation.com/coffee-enemas-probably-wont-detox-your-system-theyre-more-likely-to-cause-you-serious-damage-252412

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the influence of masculinity influencers

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amanda Dylina Morse, Research Fellow, Queen’s University Belfast

    defotoberg/Shutterstock

    Andrew Tate – online content creator, podcaster, former kickboxer, and subject of ongoing human trafficking investigations – has gained widespread influence with millions of men and boys. Tate promotes financial independence, being “mentally and physically strong,” and being successful with women, interspersed with (sometimes violent) misogyny.

    For my PhD research, I worked with 30 boys and young men aged between 16 and 19 from working-class backgrounds in Belfast, researching on the role of social connection to protect mental health. In the interviews I carried out, Tate’s name came up constantly.

    I found that almost all the participants had positive or mixed feelings about him. Even those less certain of him appreciated his financial advice or advocacy for men’s mental health. While other masculinity influencers were also mentioned, none achieved the same level of importance.

    But I also found that youth workers emerged as powerful counters, acting as “anti-Andrew Tate” figures and providing a positive example of manhood. This shows that, while the influence of online figures may seem unstoppable, we already have role models in our communities who can demonstrate an alternative version of what a man can be and how he should act with others.

    Looking for connection

    In their interviews, the young men spoke passionately about their enthusiasm for Andrew Tate and valued his advocacy for “traditional” manhood, including the classical ideal of a “strong mind in a strong body”. While none of the boys and young men endorsed Tate’s misogyny, they struggled to balance their discomfort with calling women property against his perceived valuable messages.

    I agree with some of the stuff he says, but not everything he says. So, with some of the stuff he says about men’s mental health, if you go to the gym, it can help, and eat well, that… all the stuff around men’s mental health, I believe in. But just some of the stuff he says about women being property and stuff like that, I don’t really properly agree with.

    The boys and young men drew a parallel between Tate’s childhood poverty and their own. They sometimes assigned Tate unexpectedly altruistic intentions in his targeting of young men desperate to attain financial security.

    All the controversial things that he says, I think he only said that to get himself a platform, so people would tune into him… More and more people listen to him. And he’s making more and more money. And he’s like, putting that money into his university, trying to help more people and then he promotes mental health and all. I think it’s brilliant like.

    Most of the people in my research had histories of substance use and violence at the boundaries between Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods from a young age. For them, these challenging experiences were their entry into the youth work organisations which mentored them to build skills in emotional literacy, forecast the consequences of unsafe or unhealthy behaviour, and build community cohesion through acts of service.

    Relatable and non-judgmental

    For the boys and young men I worked with, their youth workers were like them – working-class men from their own communities with shared experiences of socioeconomic deprivation, exposure to paramilitary violence, and early substance use. Those parallels made them trustworthy and relatable.

    Youth workers can provide a non-judgmental listening ear.
    ingkaninant/Shutterstock

    The youth workers offered a confidential, nonjudgmental ear for their mentees, without the same risk of consequences for bad behaviour. For instance, telling a youth worker about having used drugs at the weekend wouldn’t lead to the lecture or loss of privileges that telling a parent or teacher might.

    I just think that, you know, at a young age, it’s important, em, young men get to know that there is that supportive people that can turn to even if they haven’t got, you know, a lot of friends or any friends. But I just think that, you know, like, I’ve got the opportunity of the youth club and the youth groups.

    In contrast to the version of masculine success Tate presents, youth workers usually had a home in the neighbourhood, played sports recreationally, and were establishing their families through marriage and having children. My study participants admired the stability their youth workers demonstrated in this more attainable – but still aspirational – version of adult manhood.

    When asked what kind of man they wanted to be as an adult, most of them described the sort of success their youth workers had achieved, rather than a version closer to Tate’s.

    The boys and young men I worked with said that youth service organisations were supportive spaces. They credited them with both improvements to their mental health and with giving them strategies to avoid engagement in sectarian violence. Some participants were so moved by their engagement with youth workers that they were themselves training in the profession.

    Despite strong evidence for their value, youth services are consistently underfunded. But they represent an opportunity to invest in the health of both young men and their communities.

    Amanda Dylina Morse 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 anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the influence of masculinity influencers – https://theconversation.com/the-anti-andrew-tate-how-youth-workers-can-counteract-the-influence-of-masculinity-influencers-252786

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “The share of creative work invested is growing, enterprise and ingenuity are coming to the fore”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    “We are currently experiencing a very dramatic moment, on the one hand, the task has been set to develop creativity. Since the share of invested creative labor is growing everywhere, enterprise and ingenuity come to the fore. But, on the other hand, it is not very clear how best to do this, because creative industries are very different: there are musicians, PR specialists, architects, and so on. The Ministry of Economic Development has identified 16 areas, 51 disciplines. Therefore, we see our task, first of all, in concentrating efforts to prepare universal highly professional personnel for all areas of the creative industries.

    People have created artificial intelligence, and we must, on the contrary, make the student that same artificial intelligence in the best sense of the word. They must be universally applicable in different types of creativity with maximum efficiency,” noted Andrey Bystritsky, Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

    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 –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: US stands on the brink of a constitutional crisis as Donald Trump takes on America’s legal system

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anne Richardson Oakes, Associate Professor and Director: Centre for American Legal Studies, Birmingham City University

    As the 19th-century French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, memorably observed, Americans have a tendency to fight their political battles in court. Barely two months into his presidency, Donald Trump is demonstrating increasing frustration as trade unions, civil rights organisations and states attorneys general challenge the implementation of his policies with lawsuits alleging presidential overreach that undermines the constitutional separation of powers.

    More than 130 lawsuits are now pending. As a result, federal courts have put on hold key policies of the Trump administration and Trump lawyers have lodged emergency petitions invoking Supreme Court intervention.

    First to face court check was the federal funding freeze order. This was swiftly followed by court rulings against the birthright citizenship order. This controversial measure would withdraw citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented or non-citizen parents who are in the country legally but temporarily.

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

    Another court ruling has overturned the Pentagon’s ban on transgender people enlisting in the US armed forces. Yet another has blocked the Department of Government Efficiency’s (Doge’s) access to treasury department records containing the personal financial details of millions of Americans.

    This was blocked for the very fundamental grounds that this has not been authorised by Congress and is not within the scope of the presidential power. Whether Doge can even exist without Congressional authority is also in contention.

    The president’s increasing anger with the courts erupted on March 18. The US president launched an astonishing personal attack on a US federal judge who ruled against the summary deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang and ordered the administration to turn around the plane carrying them that had already taken off.

    The US president calls for a judge to be impeached.
    TruthSocial.

    Trump’s call for Judge James Boasberg to be impeached prompted a rare intervention from Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts. Roberts condemned the impeachment call in a statement that did not name the president but was clearly intended as a rebuke and a reminder of the constitutional boundaries that guarantee the role of the judiciary as the equal third branch of government.

    Unrepentant, Trump doubled down the next day on TruthSocial calling Judge Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic Judge” who wanted “to assume the role of president”. His charge was then echoed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt who accused the judiciary generally of attempting to paralyse the administration’s programme, usurp the power of the president and undermine the will of the American people.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Judge James Boasberg.

    Despite Judge Boasberg’s order, the plane carrying the Venezuelans did not turn back. The administration has denied wrongdoing and Judge Boasberg has yet to impose any penalty.

    This was not the first occasion that the administration has appeared to openly defy court orders. The previous week Dr Raiza Alawieh, a Brown University professor with an American visa was deported despite an order from a federal judge in Boston requiring that the court be given advance notice before the government attempted to remove her.

    All eyes on the Supreme Court

    All these cases are likely to go to the US Supreme Court. As its name suggests, this is the highest level of the judiciary in the US. It has the final say on what the US constitution means and authorises. At issue will be the scope of the presidential power – and the outcome is uncertain.

    It’s important to bear in mind that the court now has a six-to-three majority of conservative justices – three of whom were Trump nominees. We also need to be aware that this court, in a previous ruling, considerably extended the scope of presidential immunity to cover all official “core acts” so that, whatever the outcome, the president himself is unlikely to attract personal liability.

    But we do know that the Supreme Court’s ruling on a constitutional issue is final – and that all government officials at federal and state level will be required to respect it. The fear now is that the administration may go ahead regardless in which case we will find ourselves in unknown constitutional territory.



    Read more:
    US Supreme Court immunity ruling ideal for a president who doesn’t care about democracy

    To find parallels we could go back to the desegregation era of the middle of the 20th century and specifically to Little Rock in Arkansas where the then governor, Orval Faubus, called out the national guard to prevent the court-ordered desegregation of the local high school.

    The ensuing crisis ended when the then president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent in federal troops to enforce the court order. The US Supreme Court unanimously declared that its interpretations of what the constitution required were the supreme law of the land, which bound the governor and the state legislature.

    The chief justice of that era, Earl Warren, later regarded this ruling (Cooper v Aaron) as the most important of his time on the Supreme Court – more important even than the actual desegregation decision itself (Brown v Board of Education).

    It is clear that the judicial branch depends upon the executive to put its orders into effect and demonstrate respect for the rule of law and the separation of powers. But we now see a president who demonstrates open hostility to judges whom he considers have opposed him. His administration has also begun to vindictively target with punitive blocking orders the big law firms who assisted in the prosecutions brought against him before he took office.

    Does a constitutional crisis loom? How all this plays out remains to be seen.

    Anne Richardson Oakes 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. US stands on the brink of a constitutional crisis as Donald Trump takes on America’s legal system – https://theconversation.com/us-stands-on-the-brink-of-a-constitutional-crisis-as-donald-trump-takes-on-americas-legal-system-249320

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: First fossil hyena tracks found in South Africa – how expert animal trackers helped

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Charles Helm, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University

    “The art of tracking may well be the origin of science.” This is the departure point for a 2013 book by Louis Liebenberg, co-founder of an organisation devoted to environmental monitoring.

    The connection between tracking in nature, as people have done since prehistory, and “western” science is of special interest to us as ichnologists. (Ichnology is the study of tracks and traces.) We learned our skills relatively late in life. But imagine if we had learned as children and if, as adults, we tracked as if our lives depended on it? What additional visual and cognitive talents would we bring to our field work as scientists?

    Our mission is to find and document the fossilised tracks and traces of creatures that existed during part of the Pleistocene Epoch, between 35,000 and 400,000 years ago, on the Cape coast of South Africa. Since 2008, through the Cape South Coast Ichnology project, based in the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela University, more than 370 vertebrate tracksites have been identified. They have substantially complemented the traditional record of body fossils. Examples include trackways of giant tortoises and giraffe.

    Given the challenges inherent in identifying such tracks, we wondered how hunters who’ve been tracking all their lives would view our work, and how age-old indigenous expertise might align with our approach.

    Fortunately we could call on experts with these skills in southern Africa. The Ju/’hoansi (pronounced “Juun-kwasi”) San people of north-eastern Namibia are perhaps the last of southern Africa’s indigenous inhabitants who retain the full suite of their ancient environmental skills. The Nyae Nyae conservancy in which they live gives them access to at least some of their historical land with its remaining wildlife. They still engage in subsistence hunting with bow and poisoned arrow and gather food that’s growing wild.

    A handful among them have been recognised as Indigenous Master Tracker, a title created by Liebenberg’s CyberTracker initiative in recognition of their top-flight hunter-gatherer status. And so, late in 2023, the Master Trackers #oma (“Komma”) Daqm and /uce (“Tchu-shey”) Nǂamce arrived in Cape Town.

    /uce Nǂamce and #oma Daqm beside a Pleistocene vertebrate tracksite they had identified on an aeolianite slab (reproduced with permission of Richard Webb). Author provided (no reuse)

    We were not the first to think along these lines. Ju/’hoansi Master Trackers have assisted scientists in the interpretation of hominin tracksites in French caves, and prehistoric tracks in the rock art record in Namibia. However, we knew that our often poorly preserved tracksites in aeolianites (cemented dunes) might present a stiffer challenge.

    Our purpose was to compare our own interpretations of fossil trackways with those of the Master Trackers, and possibly find some we had overlooked. As we’ve set out in a recently published paper with the Ju/’hoansi trackers and our colleague Jan De Vynck as co-authors, they did exactly this, confirming the first fossil hyena trackway ever to be found.

    Swapping techniques

    The Late Pleistocene is not that far distant from the present (a mere 125,000 years), and many of the species that made tracks on the Cape south coast then are still with us. Some are extinct but have recognisable tracks, like the giant long-horned buffalo and giant Cape zebra.

    We knew, though, that tracking in Kalahari sand, like the Ju/’hoansi do, is not the same as tracking on Pleistocene rock surfaces. Many of our tracks are preserved on the undersides of ceilings and overhangs, or are evident in profile in cliff exposures. Our track-bearing surfaces are usually small, and present no associated signs. We can’t follow the spoor for any distance. We don’t know at what time of day the tracks were made or the role of dew, and we have never succeeded in actually tracking down our quarry. Coprolites – fossilised droppings – are seldom found conveniently beside the tracks of the depositor.

    We showed our new colleagues known fossil tracksites, without providing our own interpretations. #oma and /uce discussed these between themselves and presented their conclusions about what had made the tracks and how the animal had been behaving. We then shared our insights and our 3D photogrammetry data where applicable, and reached joint conclusions.

    Soon they were identifying freshly exposed tracksites without our input, and were providing fascinating, new interpretations for sites which had puzzled us. For example, they saw ostrich tracks which we had missed, beside ostrich egg remnants, and concluded that we were probably looking at a fossilised ostrich nest. On another occasion they pointed out the distinctive track pattern of a scrub hare on the hanging wall of an eroded piece of cliff.

    First fossilised hyena trackway

    One of the most memorable experiences involved a 400,000-year-old trackway on a rock surface at Dana Bay, identified a few years earlier by local geologists Aleck and Ilona Birch. This rock had only been transiently exposed for a few days in the past decade, usually being covered by beach sand.

    The rock containing the fossil hyena trackway was only exposed for a few days in the past decade (reproduced with permission from Aleck Birch). Author provided (no reuse)

    Our earlier interpretation had been that the trackmaker might have been a hyena, probably the brown hyena.

    We were vindicated when our master tracker colleagues independently reached the identical conclusion. Examining our digital 3D images together fortified our collective judgement.

    3D photogrammetry model of a portion of the hyena trackway, showing how the forefoot impressions are clearly larger than those of the hindfoot. Author provided (no reuse)

    This was a big deal: it was the first fossil hyena trackway to be confidently identified, as previous examples had involved only individual tracks or poorly preserved possible trackway segments. Hyena trackways are distinctive: the forefoot tracks are substantially larger than those of the hindfoot.

    Different ways of seeing

    Both of us are privileged to have university degrees and institutional affiliations. But there is another way in which acumen can be measured: the ability to use the ancient methods of discernment and pattern recognition to support and feed one’s family and community through tracking, hunting and gathering.

    What we have demonstrated, we believe, is a novel confluence of old and new ways to reveal fascinating features of the past. We use geological understanding, satellite technology, paleontological databases, tracking manuals and sophisticated dating methods. But hunter-gatherers see what escapes us and our drones: obscure strokes and enigmatic configurations on time-beaten surfaces. They tap an alternative knowledge base, both culturally received and cultivated from childhood.

    The follow-through challenge must be to develop this partnership for mutual discovery and reward, understanding the past to better equip us for our uncertain future.

    – First fossil hyena tracks found in South Africa – how expert animal trackers helped
    – https://theconversation.com/first-fossil-hyena-tracks-found-in-south-africa-how-expert-animal-trackers-helped-251377

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Baltic Horizon Fund general meeting of investors and a notice to convene a new general meeting of investors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Extraordinary General Meeting (hereinafter the “General Meeting”) of Baltic Horizon Fund unit-holders and Swedish Depositary Receipt (hereinafter the “SDR”) holders (hereinafter together the “Investors”) took place on 27 March 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia.  

    Proposed agenda of the meeting, as proposed by a unitholder, was the following:

    1. Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    2. Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    3. Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    4. Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.
    5. Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members, other than  the chairman, for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.
    6. Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund with the last date of the office being 30 April 2025.

    3 investors were registered as attending the meeting, holding less than 1% of the fund units which is below the required quorum. Investors were not able to adopt the proposed resolutions.

    Notice to convene a new general meeting

    According to section 10.11 of the rules of the fund, the management company Northern Horizon Capital AS convenes a new general meeting, with the same agenda.

    The new general meeting of Baltic Horizon Fund is to be held on 7 April 2025 at 13:00 (local Estonian time) at the office of Northern Horizon Capital AS at Roseni 7 (A tower), 6th floor, 10111 Tallinn, Estonia. Registration for the meeting will begin at 12:00. The General Meeting will be held in English.

    The meeting is convened in accordance with sections 10.3.3, 10.5, 10.11, 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund and section 47-1 of the Investment Funds Act of Estonia.

    Investors are invited to join the webinar to view the General Meeting online on 7 April 2025 at 13:00. Investors are invited to issue a power of attorney with instructions for voting to exercise their rights as an Investor. We propose the Investors to consider designating fund manager Tarmo Karotam as their authorised representative (please see instructions below and templates at Annex 1).

    To join the webinar, please register via the following link:

    https://nasdaq.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vSmhsW1uQhqwRaTQ3EBXBA

    You will be provided with the webinar link and instructions how to join successfully. The webinar will be recorded and available online for everyone at the company’s website on www.baltichorizon.com.

    The total number of units and votes in Baltic Horizon Fund amounts to 143,562,514.

    Agenda, as proposed by the unitholder:

    1. Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    2. Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    3. Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    4. Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.
    5. Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members, other than  the chairman, for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.
    6. Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund with the last date of the office being 30 April 2025.

    Investors are invited to send questions and comments on the agenda to the Baltic Horizon fund manager at Tarmo.Karotam@nh-cap.com by 31 March 2025. Northern Horizon Capital AS will respond to the questions and comments at the meeting itself.

    Participation – requirements and notice

    Investors who are entered in the Baltic Horizon Fund registry of unit-holders maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE and holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system ten days before the date of the General Meeting, i.e. at the end of business of Nasdaq CSD SE on 28 March 2025, are entitled to participate in the meeting.

    In order to facilitate the registration process, investors whose units are registered in their own name are invited to provide notice of their attendance by 4 April 2025 to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com. Notice should include name, personal identification number (or the registration number of the legal person), address, number of units represented and, if applicable attendance of any representatives, along with the name and personal identification number of the representatives. The attendance of a representative does not deprive the unit-holder of the right to participate at the meeting.

    Instructions to holders of Baltic Horizon Fund SDRs registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden

    IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT: SDR holders whose SDR-s are registered with Euroclear Sweden AB via a bank or other nominee are required to notify their bank or nominee account provider by end of business of 28 March 2025 to temporarily add their name on the Euroclear Sweden AB owner register.

    Representation under a power of attorney

    Investors whose representatives are acting under a power of attorney are requested to prepare a written power of attorney for the representative in Estonian or English (templates can be found at Annex 1).

    A copy of the executed power of attorney should be sent to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com together with the notice of participation. In case the power of attorney is issued by a legal person, a certified copy of the registration certificate (or equivalent certificate of authority) shall also be submitted together with, as applicable, the documents certifying the authority of the representative in case the power of attorney is signed by a person under a power of attorney.

    Baltic Horizon Fund is registered in Estonia, which means that any power of attorney (or any certified copy of the registration certificate of a legal person) issued in a foreign country should be notarised and accompanied by an apostille. The apostille requirement applies, for example, to powers of attorney issued and notarised in Sweden or Finland. 

    Instructions for the day of the General Meeting

    We kindly ask Investors to bring a personal identification document, and for their representatives also to present the original written power of attorney in English or Estonian. In case the Investor is a legal person, documentation in Estonian or English certifying the authority of the Investor’s representative or the signatory of the power of attorney will also be requested.

    Data collected by Northern Horizon Capital AS from powers of attorney, the unitholders registry maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE, and the list of holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system will be used for the purpose of registration and preparing the voting list for the meeting.

    Northern Horizon Capital AS proposals on the agenda items

    1. Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The  proposal is to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Dr. Smaliukas is the Managing Partner at MMSP, a Lithuanian law firm focused on strategic corporate advisory and dispute resolution. He previously partnered at one of the leading Pan-Baltic firm, Valiunas Ellex, and holds nearly 20 years of experience as an arbitrator and international arbitration lead counsel. Dr. Smaliukas earned his Ph.D. and Master of Laws from Vilnius University, conducted postgraduate research at Oxford, and completed executive programs at Cambridge Judge Business School and Harvard Law School. Dr.Smaliukas serves on the boards of Staticus Group, Kesko Senukai, has extensive advisory experience in commercial real estate M&A and investment management across the Baltic countries.

    Andrius Smaliukas does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.

    1. Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Milda Dargužaitė is the former CEO of Northern Horizon Capital A/S, the shareholder of Northern Horizon Capital AS. She was responsible for managing the company’s operations and strategic direction, including the development of new funds and investment vehicles. Milda has significant experience in both the public and private sectors, locally and internationally. She joined the company in 2018 after roles as the Chancellor at the Lithuanian Prime Minister’s Office, Managing Director of Invest Lithuania, and advisor to the Lithuanian Minister of Economy. Milda has a wealth of experience in finance and portfolio management from her time at Goldman Sachs in New York and Barclays in London. Milda Dargužaitė was the supervisory board member of Northern Horizon Capital AS from July 2018 until September 2023.

    Milda holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. She has served on the boards of several Northern Horizon Group entities.

    Milda Dargužaitė does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.

    1. Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Antanas Anskaitis is a partner at Grinvest which is a private investment company with interests in real estate and transportation. Antanas has over 20 years of real estate investment management experience (out of which 16 within Northern Horizon Capital group). Since 2015 until 2020 Antanas managed a successful Baltic-Polish investment portfolio on behalf of Partners Group and lead over 30 commercial property transactions in the Baltics and Poland having experience both on sell and buy side. Antanas has MSc in Management and Economics.

    Grinvest through its subsidiary in Estonia Gene Investments OÜ is the largest unitholder in Baltic Horizon Fund (>25%) at the time of this notice.

    1. Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board

    According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting. According to section 11.4 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members elect a chairman from among themselves in the first meeting after election of any new member(s).

    The supervisory board in this composition intends working in close liaison with Northern Horizon Capital AS in the subcommittees and meet at least once a month while Baltic Horizon Fund is in the turnaround phase. The proposal is therefore to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.

    1. Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members

    According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting. 

    The proposed remuneration is the same as for the current members of the supervisory board. The unitholder proposes to remunerate each supervisory board member (except the chairman, who shall be remunerated in accordance with point 4 above) in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.

    1. Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 10.3.3 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be recalled at the general meeting.

    Annex 1:

    1. Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in Estonian)
    2. Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in English)

    For additional information, please contact:

    Tarmo Karotam
    Baltic Horizon Fund manager
    E-mail tarmo.karotam@nh-cap.com
    www.baltichorizon.com

    The Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund that is managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital AS. 

    Distribution: GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Stockholm, www.baltichorizon.com

    To receive Nasdaq announcements and news from Baltic Horizon Fund about its projects, plans and more, register on www.baltichorizon.com. You can also follow Baltic Horizon Fund on www.baltichorizon.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube.

    Attachments

    • Annex 1 – poa.Investors-EGM-template.2025-04-07.eng
    • Annex 1 – poa.Investors-EGM-template.2025-04-07.est

    The MIL Network –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sir Chris Bryant speech at Connected Futures Festival

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Sir Chris Bryant speech at Connected Futures Festival

    Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, gave a speech at the Connected Futures Festival on 26 March 2025.

    Hello. My name is Chris Bryant and I’m the telecoms minister. I’m really sorry I can’t be with you. Well, I’m here with you virtually, which I suppose is particularly important for the kind of connectivity that we’re talking about. But I’m afraid that, as you’re meeting, I will be in Parliament for the spring statement, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be talking about economic growth and how we get the economy to really springboard into the future.

    I suppose that’s the key part of what I want to say today, which is that connectivity is a vital part of making sure that the UK economy grows, that everybody gets a chance to participate in our economic future, and that we embrace the technological changes that can make so many differences to people’s lives, whether in the delivery of public services or in the delivery of all the services that we rely on, whether it’s ordering a pizza, parking your car, or engaging with our local GP and seeing our latest test results.

    I know that the geopolitical picture looks uncertain at the moment, and many parts of our lives, of course, are uncertain. Sometimes, trying to predict the future is difficult. That’s one of the reasons that, whereas we’ve always talked about “future telecoms” in the past, we’re changing the terminology to something which I think suits much better the situation that we face today. And that’s why instead of referring to “future telecoms”, we’re now going to be referring to “advanced connectivity technologies”, because advanced optics and satellite communications aren’t the ghosts of telecoms futures anymore, but actually telecoms present – let’s face it! Last year, Aston University transmitted data 4.5 million times faster than the average home broadband connection. We have started to send data through visible light. And Vodafone made the first video call via space last year. I’m an MP for a constituency in South Wales in The Valleys, and so I was very happy to see that that call took place from a remote Welsh mountain. The death of “notspots” may just about be in sight for us all!

    The breakthroughs we are seeing mean that the UK could once again be a leader in connectivity over the next ten years, and I’m absolutely determined that we take forward those opportunities.

    But before I take you into the future, let’s just pause briefly in the present. As we shape the next generation of connectivity, we must remember that some people in this country haven’t yet got this generation of technological connectivity. There’s 1.6 million people in the UK who live largely offline. We have to factor them into our future, and our ambition is to have gigabit-capable broadband in every home and in every business, and higher quality 5G to all populated areas by 2030. Through the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which we’ve recently launched, we’ll make sure people also have the devices and skills to be part of a digital future. We want to tackle digital exclusion so that we can take the whole of our country with us. So, deploying the best technology we have today and taking a leading role in shaping the technologies of tomorrow is vital to our economic success.

    We will shape them, obviously, with global allies – but we will be guided by three central ideas. First of all, do they bring connectivity to everyone, everywhere, whatever your circumstances? Secondly, do they have security and resilience built in from the start? And thirdly, are they built sustainably, so that better connectivity gets us closer to net zero and not further away? These are all equally important, fundamental principles and ideas behind what we’re trying to achieve in this area.

    The UK has the potential to be at the forefront as we develop these technologies. For a start, we build on research from some of the best universities in the world, and the JOINER research and innovation platform gives them a unique test network to prepare for 6G. British firms are getting connectivity to places it hasn’t gone before, like trains, offshore wind farms and space. BT, who nearly two centuries ago set up the world’s first nationwide communications network, are now leading the way with Toshiba in trials of quantum secure comms. And global companies like Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung have all chosen to do R&D work here in this country, in the United Kingdom.

    We will shape them, obviously, with global allies – but we will be guided by three central ideas. First of all, do they bring connectivity to everyone, everywhere, whatever your circumstances? Secondly, do they have security and resilience built in from the start? And thirdly, are they built sustainably, so better connectivity gets us closer to net zero and not further away? These are all equally important, fundamental principles and ideas behind what we’re trying to achieve in this area.

    The UK has the potential to be at the forefront as we develop these technologies. For a start, we build on research from some of the best universities in the world, and the JOINER research and innovation platform gives them a unique test network to prepare for 6G. British firms are getting connectivity to places it hasn’t gone before, like trains, offshore wind farms and space. BT, who nearly two centuries ago set up the world’s first nationwide communications network, are now leading the way with Toshiba in trials of quantum secure comms. And global companies like Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung have all chosen to do R&D work here in this country, in the United Kingdom.

    We can and should go further, though, making the UK a global leader in advanced connectivity. And that’s where the government and industry really must work hand-in-hand. We will strengthen our supply chains – that’s really important. Today we will publish the government’s response to the report from the Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council, outlining how we will support a thriving ecosystem of suppliers for our networks. I’m immensely grateful to all those who took part in the Council’s work.

    We will back your growth in this sector. Advanced connectivity will be one of the growth markets in our Industrial Strategy within the digital and technology sector. That means the backing across Whitehall to help you succeed. As a sign of that commitment, today I can announce that we will invest nearly £60 million over the next year, 2025 to 2026, to support UK leadership in R&D so that more of the technology providing the world’s critical connectivity is developed here in the UK.

    If we get this right, then ten years down the line we will be able to say that this technology has made people’s daily lives better, put more money in people’s pockets and helps to keep the UK and our allies safe in a turbulent world. That’s a connected future we can only build together.

    Thank you and I hope you have a good conference today.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A key event in the world of sociology: the XV International Grushin Conference has started at the State University of Management

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On March 27, the State University of Management hosted the opening of the XV International Grushin Sociological Conference, held by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

    The main theme of the anniversary conference is “Human-centredness vs. socio-centredness: individualization and interaction in the modern world.”

    The event is attended by representatives of leading research organizations, universities, government bodies and business structures. In total, more than 1,500 people have registered for the three days of the event.

    The meeting was opened by the General Director of VTsIOM, Valery Fedorov.

    “Our conference has been held regularly since 2010, even the pandemic did not stop us from meeting, albeit online. This year, more than 1,500 people will participate both in person and remotely – this is the core of our community. The Grushin Conference is one of the key events in the field of sociology, we are supported by many opinion leaders and universities. This year, we are at the GUU for the first time and we sincerely thank the university team for the excellent organization,” said Valery Fedorov.

    The rector of the State University of Management, Vladimir Stroev, gave a welcoming speech.

    “It is a great honor for our university to host the anniversary sociological conference. We train young specialists in various fields, including sociologists, and attach great importance to this science. The State University of Management has its own sociological center, where employees and students conduct various studies related to internal and external processes. Also, the Center for Sociological Research “14-35″ operates on the basis of our university. By the way, our active participation in sociological research began with the suggestion of VTsIOM, when we began working on a joint study of student life, interests and moods of young people. Since then, we have been closely interacting in the field of sociology,” Vladimir Vitalyevich noted.

    Also taking part in the plenary session were futurologist, transhumanist, representative of the Russian transhumanist movement, the NeuroCode project Danila Medvedev, expert in creative industries, designer of the social environment, strategist-urbanist of the Artemy Lebedev Studio Oleg Pitetsky, director of the School of Anthropology of the Future of the Presidential Academy of RANEPA, scientific director of the Academy for the Development of Human Potential of SberUniversity Alexander Asmolov, first vice-rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Vadim Radaev, scientific director of the ZIRCON Research Group Igor Zadorin and head of the department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation for monitoring and analysis of social processes Andrei Demin.

    The experts discussed the development of approaches to the role of man in society, the formation of social design, the historical influence of different eras on the attitude towards man and development priorities, as well as the adoption of human-centrism as a standard of behavior for business and the state.

    After the plenary session, the work continued in thematic sections, which examined a wide range of topics, from integration processes among young people and training personnel for the research industry to the impact of neural networks on all spheres of life and the possibilities of using artificial intelligence.

    The conference’s general information partner TASS held a section, the participants of which discussed the directions of media development in the modern world and whether the media will be able to once again unite society, form a cultural code and the civil identity of Russians.

    Let us recall that the XV International Grushinskaya Sociological Conference is being held from March 27 to 28 on the territory of the State University of Management, and on March 29 the event will continue online. You can register for the third day of the conference and find out more about the program on its official website.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 03/27/2025

    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 –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Representatives of the State Construction Supervision Authority of St. Petersburg visited the Polytechnic

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On March 25, 2025, a delegation from the State Construction Supervision and Expertise Service of St. Petersburg visited the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade. The event was held as part of the development of cooperation between the university and the city administration.

    Vladimir Boldyrev, Head of the State Construction Supervision and Expertise Service of St. Petersburg, and his First Deputy Vladislav Balsky gave a lecture for teachers and students. The experts covered in detail the features of the service’s functioning, its tasks and areas of activity, current legislative changes and their impact on control and supervisory activities in 2025.

    Modern trends in public administration were of particular interest to students. The greatest attention was drawn to the practical aspects of implementing a client-centric approach and the introduction of digital technologies. After the lecture, the speakers answered questions from the audience.

    The meeting with representatives of the State Construction Supervision Authority left a strong impression on me due to their professionalism and openness. The heads of the structure spoke in detail about the legislation concerning building codes and regulations. I especially liked that they actively answered questions and provided useful recommendations for improving the quality of construction projects. Overall, the meeting was productive and contributed to a better understanding of the requirements of the supervisory authorities, – shared 4th-year student in the direction of “State and Municipal Administration” Vali Guliyev.

    Before the lecture, the guests were shown the educational building of the IPMEiT. The tour was conducted by the director of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade Vladimir Shchepinin and his deputy Arkady Evgrafov.

    A working meeting of the service representatives with the Director of IPMEiT Vladimir Shchepinin, the Director of the Higher School of Industrial Management Olga Kalinina, the Acting Director of the Higher School of Public Administration Olga Nadezhina and the Deputy Director of IPMEiT for educational and organizational work Maxim Ivanov was also held.

    Key topics of discussion: opening of joint educational programs, development of topics for final qualification works and projects commissioned by the service, holding regular lectures for students (from open lectures to highly specialized events), participation of representatives of the service in state examination committees, teaching disciplines and organizing internships. Particular attention was paid to the professional development of teachers through internships and participation in certification committees of the service, as well as employment of graduates of the Polytechnic University.

    The modern construction industry requires not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills. Our cooperation will allow students to immerse themselves in real professional tasks and learn from current specialists during their studies, Vladimir Boldyrev noted.

    The visit of representatives of the State Construction Supervision and Expertise Service of St. Petersburg is an important step in the development of our strategic partnership. It is especially valuable that students had the opportunity to learn first-hand about modern approaches to control and supervision activities, including digital technologies and a client-centric approach. I am convinced that such meetings not only contribute to the deepening of the educational process, but also open up new opportunities for the employment of our graduates, – emphasized the Director of IPMEiT Vladimir Shchepinin.

    The event became an important step in the development of partnership between IPMET and the State Construction Supervision and Expertise Service of St. Petersburg, opening up new opportunities for students and teachers.

    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 –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Hakimo secures $10.5M to transform physical security with human-like autonomous security agent

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Menlo Park, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With surging crime rates, acute security staffing shortages, and mounting false alarms, organizations are desperately seeking smarter ways to strengthen their security while reducing costs. Today, Hakimo, a leader in AI-powered physical security monitoring, announced a $10.5 million funding round and the launch of AI Operator, a breakthrough autonomous security agent that monitors existing security hardware, detects threats in real time, and executes response protocols just like a human security professional. 

    The Series A funding round was led by Vertex Ventures and Zigg Capital with participation from RXR Arden Digital Ventures and existing investors Defy.vc and Gokul Rajaram. Hakimo has now raised a total of $20.5 million, including prior funding rounds led by Neotribe Ventures and Rocketship.vc.

    Hakimo founders: Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar.

    Hakimo’s AI Operator combines computer vision and generative AI to monitor existing security hardware such as cameras and badge readers. Unlike conventional systems, it can detect any anomaly or potential threat that can be described in words – a breakthrough in physical security monitoring. Beyond detection, the system issues real-time speaker warnings and executes standard operating procedures (SOPs) to respond to incidents, with human operators providing intervention only when necessary. This AI-human collaboration delivers superior protection at a fraction of the cost of traditional security approaches.

    “Hakimo has pioneered a new era of AI-driven security by creating an intelligent AI agent that understands and responds to threats like never before. We’re not just automating security—we’re redefining it with AI that can recognize and act on any security event and deliver unmatched protection for businesses worldwide.” said Sam Joseph, Co-Founder & CEO of Hakimo. 

    Hakimo was founded in early 2020 by Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar, Stanford-trained AI experts with backgrounds in building enterprise-grade software as a service (SaaS). The duo launched Hakimo after identifying converging trends: exploding camera deployments, plummeting hardware costs, and rapid advancements in computer vision. The founders recognized the potential for AI to reinvent physical security and have since assembled a talented, growing team of engineers and industry professionals to execute their vision of autonomous security monitoring.

    Hakimo’s solution comes at a critical inflection point for physical security. The traditional manned guarding industry struggles with severe hiring and quality challenges, while alarm monitoring services face growing issues with false alarms and police departments increasingly refusing to respond to unverified alerts. By leveraging existing cameras, AI capabilities, and remote operators, Hakimo eliminates these challenges while offering the advantages of both on-site guards and traditional alarm systems.

    Hakimo technology has a vast range of use cases including detecting tailgating.

    The company has experienced explosive growth over the past year, tripling its customer base and securing more than a hundred clients across diverse industries including multifamily apartments, car dealerships, construction sites, and Fortune 500 enterprises. In 2024 alone, Hakimo’s technology prevented thousands of security incidents, assisted law enforcement in multiple arrests, and even saved a life. “We got a drastic reduction in trespassing right after deploying Hakimo, and I now sleep better at night with the peace-of-mind provided by Hakimo’s AI agent,” said Rodrigo Duran, General Manager at Kia Santa Maria, one of those customers. 

    The technology’s impact extends beyond the scope of traditional security applications. Its ability to monitor multiple sites simultaneously while maintaining human-level reasoning has proven transformative for businesses seeking comprehensive security without the escalating costs and reliability issues of conventional approaches.

    Commenting on the investment, Piyush Kharbanda, General Partner of Vertex Ventures SEA & India said, “We are very excited to partner with the Hakimo team, who are bringing ground-up technological innovation to the large but antiquated physical security industry. There is a dire need for innovation, as current solutions lack the speed or accuracy to offer affordable real-time protection for offline businesses. Hakimo bridges this gap with an AI + Services approach, coupling the speed of cutting-edge vision AI algorithms with the reliability of humans-in-the-loop, thus delivering a 10x better service at more affordable rates.”

    Ryan Orley, Managing Partner at Zigg Capital added: “After studying the security monitoring ecosystem, our team concluded that Hakimo’s AI + Services solution is more robust and offers better value than any other technology we have encountered. Hakimo’s capabilities at its accessible price point are without peer. In fact, I became a Hakimo customer before our firm’s investment”.

    “Hakimo is transforming physical security with AI, delivering real-time threat detection and smarter operations,” said Neil Sequeira, Founder & Partner, Defy.vc. At Defy, we back bold teams tackling big challenges, and Sam and Sagar’s vision aligns perfectly with that mission. We’re excited to support Hakimo as they scale and set a new standard for AI-powered security.” 

    Ends

    Media images can be found here 

    About Hakimo
    Hakimo is a technology company that builds AI agents for physical security monitoring. The company provides state-of-the-art, AI-driven, human-in-the-loop security software solutions that work with existing security hardware to enhance real-time threat detection, optimize resources, and proactively deter security breaches. Hakimo was founded by AI researchers from Stanford University and is funded by top venture capital firms. For more information, please visit https://www.hakimo.ai/ or follow Hakimo on LinkedIn.

    About Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India (VVSEAI)
    Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is a leading early-stage venture capital firm focused on partnering with high-growth startups across Southeast Asia and India. With a strong network and strategic expertise, they have invested in successful companies such as Grab, FirstCry, Nium, Licious, Kuku FM, and PatSnap, driving innovation and scaling businesses across various sectors. For more information, please visit: https://www.vertexventures.sg  

    About Zigg Capital
    Zigg Capital is a venture capital firm based in New York City that invests globally in technology companies that touch the real estate, construction, or retail industries. Over the last decade, the partners in Zigg have made early-stage investments in leading companies such as Procore, Matterport, OpenSpace, Steadily, and Crusoe. For more information, please visit www.ziggcap.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Women are reclaiming their place in baseball

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Callie Maddox, Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management, Miami University

    For most baseball fans, hope springs eternal on Opening Day.

    Many of those fans – more than you might think – are women.

    A 2024 survey found that women made up 39% of those who attended or watched Major League Baseball games, and franchises have taken notice. The Philadelphia Phillies offer behind-the-scenes tours and clinics for their female fans, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees offer fantasy camps that are geared to women.

    The number of women working professionally in baseball has also grown. Kim Ng made history in 2020 when she became the first woman general manager of an MLB team, the Miami Marlins. As of 2023, women made up 30% of central office professional staff and 27% of team senior administration jobs. In addition, 43 women held coaching and managerial jobs across the major and minor league levels – a 95% increase in just two years.

    As a fan and scholar of the game, I’m happy to see more women watching baseball and working in the industry. But it still nags at me that the girls and women who play baseball don’t get much recognition, particularly in the U.S.

    Women take the field

    In the U.S., baseball is seen as a sport for boys and men. Girls and women, on the other hand, are supposed to play softball, which uses a bigger ball and has a smaller field.

    It wasn’t always this way.

    Women have been playing baseball in the U.S. since at least the 1860s. At women’s colleges such as Smith and Vassar, students organized baseball teams as early as 1866. The first professional women’s baseball team was known as the Dolly Vardens, a team of Black players formed in Philadelphia in 1867. Barnstorming teams, known as Bloomer Girls, traveled across the country to play against men’s teams from the 1890s to the 1930s, providing the players with independence and the means to make a living.

    American women have been playing baseball since at least the 1860s.
    Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

    The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded by Philip K. Wrigley in 1943, also offered women the chance to play professionally. The league, which inspired the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” enforced rigid norms of femininity expected at the time. Players were required to wear skirts and makeup while playing and were fined if they engaged in any behavior deemed “unladylike.” Teams were open only to white women and light-skinned Latinas. Black women were not allowed to play, a policy that reflected the segregation of the Jim Crow era.

    Three Black women – Connie Morgan, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Toni Stone – did play in the otherwise male Negro Leagues in the early 1950s. However, their skills were often downplayed by claims that they’d been signed to generate ticket sales and boost interest in the struggling league.

    The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954, and by the late-1950s women’s participation in baseball had dwindled.

    Girls funneled into softball

    Softball was invented in Chicago in 1887 as an indoor alternative to baseball.

    Originally aimed at both men and women, it eventually became the accepted sport for girls and women due to its smaller field, larger ball and underhand pitching style – aspects deemed suitable for the supposedly weaker and more delicate female body.

    The passage of Title IX in 1972 further pushed the popularization of fast-pitch softball, as participation in high school and college increased markedly. In 1974, the National Organization for Women filed a lawsuit against Little League Baseball because the league’s charter excluded girls from playing. The lawsuit was successful, and girls were permitted to join teams.

    In response, Little League created Little League Softball as a way to funnel girls into softball instead of baseball. As political scientist Jennifer Ring has pointed out, this decision reinforced the gendered division of each sport and “cemented the post-Title IX segregated masculinity of baseball.”

    Girls can still play baseball, but most are encouraged to eventually switch to softball if they want to pursue college scholarships. If they want to keep playing baseball, they have to constantly confront stubborn cultural beliefs and assumptions that they should be playing softball instead.

    Instead of encouraging girls to play baseball, Little League launched Little League Softball to direct girls away from the sport.
    Chris Ryan/Corbis via Getty Images

    A global game

    You might be surprised to learn that the U.S. fields a national women’s baseball team that competes in the Women’s Baseball World Cup. But they receive scant media attention and remain unknown to most baseball fans.

    In a 2019 article published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, I argued that the U.S. has experienced inconsistent success on the global stage because of a lack of infrastructure, limited resources and persistent gendered assumptions that hamper the development of women’s baseball. Other countries such as Japan, Canada and Australia have established solid pathways that allow girls and women to pursue baseball from the youth level through high school and beyond.

    That being said, opportunities for girls to play baseball are increasing in the U.S. thanks to the efforts of organizations such as Baseball for All and DC Girls Baseball.

    Approximately 1,300 girls play high school baseball, and a handful of young women play on men’s college baseball teams each year. In recent years, numerous women’s collegiate club baseball teams have been established; there’s even an annual tournament to crown a national champion.

    Japanese pitcher Yukari Isozaki competes during the 2010 Women’s Baseball World Cup in Venezuela.
    AP Photo/Fernando Llano

    Pro league in the works

    Momentum continues to build.

    MLB recently appointed Veronica Alvarez as its first girls baseball ambassador, who will oversee development programs such as the Trailblazers Series and the Elite Development Invitational. A new documentary film, “See Her Be Her,” is touring the country to celebrate the growth of women’s baseball and raise awareness of the challenges these athletes face.

    Perhaps most significantly, the Women’s Pro Baseball League announced that it is planning to start play in summer 2026 with six teams located in the northeastern U.S. Over 500 players from 11 countries have registered with the league, with a scouting camp and player draft scheduled for later this year.

    Should the league have success, it will mark a revitalization of women’s professional baseball in the U.S., a nod to the rich history of the women’s game and a commitment to securing opportunities for the girls and women who continue to defy cultural norms to play the game they love.

    Callie Maddox 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. Women are reclaiming their place in baseball – https://theconversation.com/women-are-reclaiming-their-place-in-baseball-252590

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of North Dakota

    Losing your job can hurt you in many ways. Maskot/Getty Images

    The Trump administration’s firing and furloughing of tens of thousands of federal workers and contractors have obviously caused economic hardship for Americans employed in national parks, research labs and dozens of government agencies.

    As a professor of social work who studies how people’s finances affect their physical and mental well-being, I’m concerned about the health hazards they’ll face too.

    My research shows that losing your job can seriously harm your physical and mental health, especially when you see the situation as a catastrophe rather than a temporary setback.

    Power of financial perception

    When people lose their jobs, they do have real problems. Typically, for example, their income and savings decline. They might struggle to keep up on their rent or mortgage payments and might not be able to afford to maintain the same standard of living they had beforehand.

    However, research shows that your perspective regarding your financial situation can do more harm to your health than your actual financial circumstances – even as your savings dwindle.

    Someone might view losing their job as a temporary setback and remain relatively calm, while another person might experience the same circumstances as a disaster, triggering intense stress that cascades into serious health problems, such as depression and substance abuse. This difference in perspective often determines whether somebody will suffer significant health problems when they lose their job or experience a similar financial setback.

    In a study I published in 2023 with social work scholar Theda Rose, we found that how a person felt about a decline in income mattered 20 times more than the actual financial change itself.

    This finding comes from our analysis of data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study, which surveyed more than 27,000 American adults. We used advanced statistical methods to examine how different financial factors affected people’s health and financial decision-making, looking specifically at financial strain, confidence in managing money and overall financial satisfaction.

    The study confirmed earlier work about the vastly different psychological and physical responses two people can have when their income falls by the same amount, based on how they perceive this change.

    Pathway to illness

    Previous research has typically viewed what’s known as “financial precarity” – not having enough money to get by – in either purely technical terms, such as being able to come up with US$400 in an emergency, or in terms related to your feelings about that situation, such as persistent worrying about your finances.

    However, we found that both aspects of financial precarity can influence health and behavior.

    Among the many variables we explored, a decline in income surprisingly contributed much more in terms of worry than just not being able to pay the bills.

    This distress caused by economic hardship isn’t just a psychological problem – it can produce physical changes that may have long-term health implications, such as high blood pressure.

    A fired IRS employee, right, talks to a recruiter during a jobs fair for laid-off federal workers on March 15, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
    AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

    Mental health suffers

    There’s also a toll on your mental health.

    Losing a job can lead to anxiety, depression and lower self-esteem.

    Interestingly, people who face ongoing financial challenges but don’t get stressed about their situation aren’t more likely to develop depression symptoms than people without any financial stress.

    A systematic review of 65 studies found clear connections between debt and mental health problems, depression and even suicide attempts.

    Physical health troubles

    Losing your job can harm your body in two main ways.

    First, the stress from financial worries can affect people’s bodies directly – for example, by increasing blood pressure. Being in debt is associated with other ailments, including back pain and obesity.

    Second, when money is tight, people often try to save money by skipping doctor visits or forgoing prescription drugs. Even with health insurance, high deductibles can mean paying thousands of dollars out of pocket before insurance helps. When choosing between paying for rent, food and health care, people often put their medical needs last.

    Unhealthy coping methods

    Some people turn to alcohol, tobacco or other substances to cope with the loss of their jobs. These habits are bad for your health and may empty your wallet, adding to the financial strain.

    Others turn to gambling or excessive shopping to cope, which can also make money problems even worse.

    Marriage and other relationships may fray amid financial stress too. Borrowing money excessively from friends and family or snapping at your loved ones when you feel stressed out can weaken ties with those closest to you.

    Moving on in healthy ways

    To be sure, some people become more resilient after losing their job by adopting positive coping strategies.

    Whenever you lose a job, try reaching out. Your friends and loved ones can help protect your health while you move on.

    In addition to applying for new positions, spend time networking. Reach out to former colleagues, join professional groups and attend events related to your career.

    Try to volunteer. It will help you sharpen or expand your skills while expanding your networks and perhaps lead you to a new job.

    And consider starting or expanding a side hustle. It will generate some income, give you a greater sense of control over your life and keep you feeling productive during the monotony of sending out applications.

    It’s also essential to stick to self-care basics: Regular exercise reduces stress hormones. Getting enough sleep improves cognitive function, and maintaining a busy social life provides emotional support.

    Keeping healthy habits is always important. But they could protect your mental and physical health during challenging times. Losing a paycheck is hard enough. Losing your health over it is even worse.

    Jeffrey Anvari-Clark received nominal funding from Bank Roll’d in support of his forthcoming book: “Financial and Behavioral Health for Helping Professionals.”

    – ref. Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm – https://theconversation.com/losing-your-job-is-bad-for-your-health-but-there-are-things-you-can-do-to-minimize-the-harm-252270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Conner Philson, Executive Director, UCSB Natural Reserve System, University of California, Santa Barbara

    A small group of wild yellow-bellied marmots near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado. D.T. Blumstein

    It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you’re a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your productivity?

    It may seem like the answer is also an obvious “yes.” But the idea that a group’s composition or structure can affect the individuals in it has been among the most controversial ideas in biology.

    This phenomenon, called multilevel selection, is an extension of natural selection: the process by which organisms with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over generations, these advantageous traits – behavioral, morphological or physiological – become more common in the population.

    In the traditional view of how evolution works, natural selection acts on an individual organism’s traits. For instance, mammals with more friends typically live longer lives and have more offspring. The trait under selection in this case is the number of social connections.

    Multilevel selection proposes that at the same time selection is happening on the traits of individuals, selection also acts on the traits of groups. Here’s an example: Living in a more social and interconnected group may be beneficial for the members of that group, meaning the group’s traits are under selection. In nature, this means individuals in well-connected groups may live longer lives and have more offspring because well-connected groups may be better at finding limited resources or detecting predators. The traits of the group as a whole are what’s under selection in this case.

    Multilevel selection could even select for traits that seem at odds at the individual and group levels. For instance, it could mean that selection favors individuals that are more reserved while at the same time favoring groups that are very social, or vice versa.

    Multilevel selection has been a controversial idea since Charles Darwin first suggested that groups likely affect individuals in his 1871 book “The Descent of Man.”

    The only evidence for multilevel selection acting simultaneously on individuals’ social relationships and on social groups comes from laboratory experiments. Experiments like these are vital to the scientific process, but without evidence for multilevel selection in wild animals, the 154-year-old debate rages on. As two field biologists interested in the evolution of behavior, we investigated multilevel selection in the wild by studying yellow-bellied marmots.

    Our newly published study provides support for this contested concept, suggesting that the structure of the groups marmots are members of may matter for survival just as much as, if not more than, the friendly one-on-one relationships they have with other marmots.

    Conner Philson observing the marmots’ social behavior.
    G. Johnson

    Spying on marmots’ social lives

    It’s taken a century and a half to answer the question of multilevel selection because you need an incredible amount of data to have an adequate sample size to address it.

    Scientists at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Crested Butte, Colorado, have been studying the marmots nearby since 1962. This research is the second-longest study of individually identifiable wild mammals in the world.

    Each year, the team ensures that all marmots are individually marked. We trap them so we can give them unique ear tags and paint a mark on their back that lets us identify them from afar. Then trained “marmoteers,” as we call them, spend about 1,000 hours a year watching these chunky cat-sized rodents through binoculars and spotting scopes.

    Since 2003, the team has paid particular attention to the marmots’ social interactions and relationships. Our analysis of multilevel selection was based on 42,369 unique affiliative social interactions – behaviors such as playing and grooming – between 1,294 individuals from 180 social groups, with group sizes ranging from two to 35 marmots. We also tracked how long marmots lived – up to 16 years in some cases – and how many offspring individual animals had each year.

    Using this data, we mapped out the marmots’ social networks. Our goal was to identify how many social relationships each marmot had, who was connected to whom, and the overall structure of each group.

    From year to year, marmots formed different small social networks, connecting with various other individuals.
    Maldonado-Chaparro et al, Behavioral Ecology, 2015.

    Understanding all these marmot connections let us ask two crucial questions. First, how do social relationships affect individual survival and reproduction – that is, what individual traits are under selection? Second, how do social groups affect individual survival and reproduction – in other words, what group traits are under selection?

    Importantly, we didn’t ask these two questions in isolation – we asked them at the same time. After all, marmots are influenced simultaneously by both their social relationships and the social groups they’re part of. Our statistical approach, which researchers call contextual analysis, tells us how much social relationships and social groups matter relative to each other.

    New evidence changes the debate

    It can be tricky to distinguish how group-level selection differs from traditional individual-level selection. It’s like a more complex version of thinking about the relationships that affect an individual. Instead of just your own behavior affecting you, your group – a product of many individuals – is affecting you.

    Our new analysis shows that there is indeed multilevel selection for social behavior in the wild. We found that not only do both social relationships and social groups affect individual animals’ survival and reproduction, but social groups matter just as much, if not more. We calculated the selection gradient, a measure of how strong the selection is on a trait, to be 0.76 for individual traits, while for group traits it was 1.03.

    Four juvenile yellow-bellied marmots play together.
    D.T. Blumstein

    Interestingly, the type of impact on survival and reproduction wasn’t always the same across the two levels. In some cases, selection favored marmots with fewer social relationships while favoring marmots living in more social and connected groups. In human terms, think of an introvert at a really bustling party.

    Evolution and multilevel selection are complex natural processes, so these types of complicated findings are not unexpected.

    Multilevel selection is relevant for human groups, too, which come in many forms, whether friend groups, local communities, businesses we frequent or work at, economies or even entire nations. Our marmot study suggests it’s not uniquely human for groups at every level to have consequences for individual success.

    This work was supported by the UCLA, American Society of Mammalogists, Animal Behaviour Society, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University of Ottawa, National Geographic Society, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

    Daniel T. Blumstein received funding from UCLA, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the National Geographic Society, and the U.S. National Science Foundation. He is the President of the Board of Trustees at the RMBL where the research was conducted.

    – ref. Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action – https://theconversation.com/wild-marmots-social-networks-reveal-controversial-evolutionary-theory-in-action-252710

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Frederick Scholl, Associate Teaching Professor of Cybersecurity, Quinnipiac University

    Signal is in the news because of a security failure, but the app itself is quite secure. AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

    When top White House defense and national security leaders discussed plans for an attack on targets in Yemen over the messaging app Signal, it raised many questions about operational security and recordkeeping and national security laws. It also puts Signal in the spotlight.

    Why do so many government officials, activists and journalists use Signal for secure messaging? The short answer is that it uses end-to-end encryption, meaning no one in position to eavesdrop on the communication – including Signal itself – can read messages they intercept.

    But Signal isn’t the only messaging app that uses end-to-end encryption, and end-to-end encryption isn’t the only consideration in choosing a secure messaging app. In addition, secure messaging apps are only part of the picture when it comes to keeping your communications private, and there is no such thing as perfect security.

    I’m a cybersecurity professor who worked for several decades advising companies on cybersecurity. Here are some of the factors I recommend considering when looking for a secure messaging app:

    Secure app choices

    The most common messaging protocol, SMS, is built into every smartphone and is easy to use, but does not encrypt messages. Since there is no encryption, carriers or government agents with a warrant, which are typically submitted by law enforcement and issued by a judge, can read the message content. They can also view the message metadata, which includes information about you and your recipient, like an internet address, name or both.

    Truly secure messaging is based on cryptography, a mathematical method to scramble data and make it unreadable. Most secure messaging apps handle the scrambling and unscrambling process for you. The gold standard for secure messaging is end-to-end encryption. End-to-end encryption means your message is fully encrypted while in transit, including while transiting the communications provider’s networks. Only the recipient can see the message. The communication provider does not have any encryption key.

    How end-to-end encryption works.

    Apple iMessage and Google Messages use end-to-end encryption, and both are widely used, so many of your contacts are likely already using one of them. The downsides are the end-to-end encryption is only iPhone to iPhone and Android to Android, respectively, and Apple and Google can access your metadata – who you communicated with and when. If a company has access to your metadata, it can be compelled to share it with a government entity.

    WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is another widely used messaging app. Its end-to-end encryption works across iOS and Android. But Meta has access to your metadata.

    There are a number of independent secure messaging apps to choose from, including Briar, Session, Signal, SimpleX, Telegram, Threema, Viber and Wire. You can use more than one to adapt to your individual needs.

    Default end-to-end encryption is only the first factor to consider when thinking about message security. Depending on your needs, you should also consider whether the app includes group chats and calls, self-destructing messages, cross-device data syncing, and photo and video editing tools. Ease of use is another factor.

    You can also consider whether the app uses an open-source encryption protocol, open-source code and a decentralized server network. And you can weigh whether the app company collects user data, what personal information is required on sign-up, and generally how transparent the company is.

    Human factors

    Beyond the messaging app, it’s important to practice safe security hygiene, like using two-factor authentication and a password manager. There’s no point in sending and receiving messages securely and then leaking the information via another vulnerability, including having your phone itself compromised.

    People can be lured into compromising their apps and devices by unintentionally giving access to an attacker. For example, Russian operatives reportedly tricked Ukrainian troops into giving access to their Signal accounts.

    Also, if you use Signal, you should probably use its nicknames feature to avoid adding the wrong person to a group chat – like National Security Adviser Michael Waltz apparently did in the Signalgate scandal.

    Frederick Scholl 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. Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app – https://theconversation.com/signal-is-not-the-place-for-top-secret-communications-but-it-might-be-the-right-choice-for-you-a-cybersecurity-expert-on-what-to-look-for-in-a-secure-messaging-app-250906

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 28, 2025
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