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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: Too distracted to watch? Netflix has the perfect ‘second-screen’ show for you

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Daphne Rena Idiz, Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Arts, Culture and Media, University of Toronto

    Overly expository dialogue, repeating plot points and lots of voice-overs to narrate action help distracted viewers along. (Shutterstock)

    Netflix knows we’re on our phones while we watch TV. Recent articles discuss Netflix’s or streamers’ requests for creatives to produce content optimized for casual viewing, meaning intentionally scripted for distracted viewers.

    I’ve spent the last few years researching how Netflix shapes European screen production, a region where the streaming giant has invested billions in original content.

    I first encountered the concept of “second-screen shows” — created with distracted viewing in mind — in 2022.

    At the time, I was doing interviews with producers, showrunners, screenwriters and directors who had worked on European Netflix originals (due to confidentiality, they have been given pseudonyms here). Two of my interviewees described what they saw as very unusual feedback coming from Netflix executives: make a show that the audience can follow without looking at the screen.

    Recipe for a ‘second-screen show’

    So, how exactly do you make a second-screen show?

    One of my interviewees, Eleven, said that Netflix explicitly labels certain series “second-screen shows” and develops them as such. Another, Tokyo, shared their experience encountering similar directives:

    “[Netflix] basically said, ‘What you need to know about your audience here is that they will watch the show, perhaps on their mobile phone, or on a second or third screen while doing something else and talking to their friends, so you need to both show and tell, you need to say much more than you would normally say. […] You need your audience to understand what’s going on, even if they’re not looking at the screen.’”

    These series are designed around the viewing behaviours of their target audience, described by my interviewees as “younger” and “young adult” viewers.

    As Eleven explained, a Netflix executive would talk about how “in this show, we have to make sure that the points come through, even though kids are watching TikTok while they watch it.”

    Because Netflix knows a certain target audience will be “second-screening” these series, the streamer wants the show’s writing to facilitate this practice. Concretely, this means overly expository dialogue, repeating plot points and adding lots of voice-overs to narrate the action and help the distracted viewer follow along.

    Other sources cite examples where screenwriters were told to have characters announce what they’re doing and make the show less distracting from the viewer’s “primary screen” (their phone).

    Eleven joked about how if a character was sad, Netflix would ask to include a line of dialogue for the character saying, “I’m sad” with tears streaming down their face, while rain pours, and mournful violins play in the background.

    Here, the golden rule of screenwriting “show, don’t tell,” is cast aside for “show and tell” (and tell again). Joking aside, they reflected: “It saddens me, on behalf of great storytelling traditions.”

    The revival of casual viewing

    But are second-screen shows really the final nail in the coffin for prestige TV? The idea of casual or background viewing is not new.

    There is a long history of content targeting the distracted viewer.
    (Shutterstock)

    From soap operas to sitcoms to reality TV, there is a long history of content targeting the distracted viewer.

    Sometimes we’re just tired and need an easy watch. But these types of series are a far cry from the era of HBO-style Netflix, hyping itself as the home of quality TV, a place where showrunners could find unprecedented creative freedom.

    There is still a time and place for complex storytelling. But data suggests
    that over half of viewers in many national markets — including in India, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the United States, Britain and Denmark — are periodically checking their phones while watching TV. And Netflix is creating shows that enable this ritual.

    ‘Cult’ of data

    Netflix’s strategy has always hinged on a granular understanding of its users. Netflix collects a huge amount of data on its subscribers and their viewing behaviors: what they’re watching, how, when, where and on what device. This information is used by teams of data scientists to not only improve Netflix’s personalization but also to help with decisions about what content to develop and how.

    Yet research suggests Netflix has really cultivated the “myth of big data,” flip-flopping over the years about how much data influences the creative process of Netflix productions.

    And while screen workers may resist what they sense about analytics as they participate in creative processes, ultimately, it is the executives greenlighting content who interpret data and choose how to use it.

    Geralt, another producer I interviewed, described how “whenever you talk to the algorithm people and the data people at Netflix, it feels like a cult. They talk about the algorithm like it’s a god, like ‘Well the algorithm tells us…’”

    One part of the content strategy

    With that said, it’s critical to take blanket statements about Netflix’s operations with a grain of salt.

    The behemoth operates in more than 190 countries, with offices in 30, housing different teams and producing content around the globe. It’s estimated that 589 new Netflix originals were added in 2024.

    Recent articles about “second screen” productions focused on the U.S. context, and my research did not seek to determine how many Netflix productions are made this way.

    Netflix’s goal these days, according to CEO Ted Sarandos, is to be “equal parts HBO and FX and AMC and Lifetime and Bravo and E! and Comedy Central.”

    Second-screen shows, it seems, are one part of this strategy.

    Outlook for storytellers

    It’s clear that viewing behaviours are driving changes in storytelling. But for screenwriters today, second-screen shows are only a symptom of bigger problems.

    Between a shrinking drama market and the competition for attention from platforms like YouTube and TikTok, streamers are investing a lot less in content than they used to. They’re also much more risk-averse with these investments.

    Even before now, producing for streamers brought its own set of challenges.

    Writer advocates with the 2023 TV writers strikes highlighted how streaming introduced new and exciting formats for TV writing, but also a new kind of precarity. And concerns continue to loom around how AI might impact creativity, career sustainability and IP rights.

    Last year, the Canadian Media Producers Association joined production organizations around the world in issuing a call for streaming regulation that underscores independence, IP rights and fair remuneration.



    Read more:
    Online Streaming Act: As we revisit Netflix support for Canadian content, it’s about more than money

    It’s no surprise the mantra across the media industries last year was “survive ‘til ’25.”

    As media creators become increasingly dependent on data-driven tech companies, they will continue producing content to the whims of executives following the holy algorithm.

    The next time you’re watching a Netflix show and feel the urge to scroll during another repetitive voice-over, the question is: Are some shows written like this because the audience is disengaged, or is the audience disengaged because shows are written like this?

    Daphne Rena Idiz 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. Too distracted to watch? Netflix has the perfect ‘second-screen’ show for you – https://theconversation.com/too-distracted-to-watch-netflix-has-the-perfect-second-screen-show-for-you-249012

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Canada can learn from the European Union about dealing with chaos and crises

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jörg Broschek, Professor and Laurier Research Chair, Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University

    As United States President Donald Trump continues to threaten Canada’s economic and political sovereignty, some observers have floated the idea of Canada becoming a member of the European Union.

    Since there is no feasible pathway to EU membership in the short term, current efforts rightly focus on strengthening Canada’s existing trade relationships, most notably through the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

    But something else is often overlooked: Canada should also learn from the EU how to cope with the monumental challenges ahead. Europe is not only less vulnerable than Canada due to its geographic position and economic power, it’s also more resilient.

    Three goals

    Unlike “Team Canada,” “Europe United” has already crafted a multi-pronged policy framework to encounter the risks arising from a fundamentally changing geopolitical environment over the long term. The EU also has a more robust institutional framework for intergovernmental co-operation.

    Under the leadership of President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission has launched a cascade of relatively coherent policies aimed at facilitating three broad goals: decarbonization, economic sovereignty and national security.

    Key pillars of this new policy framework are the European Green Deal of 2019, the European Industrial Strategy of 2020, the European Economic Security Strategy of 2023 and the 2024 European Defence Industrial Strategy.

    These policy initiatives have been continuously updated, fine-tuned and aligned with each other. They have created an umbrella that enables the EU and its member states to simultaneously promote the green transition, strengthen the internal market and domestic industries as well as reduce economic and security risks.

    The geopolitical and industrial changes in the EU resemble what used to exist in Canada as well: national policies — the conscious, nation-building initiatives of successive federal governments.

    But Canada has lost the ability to plan strategically for the long term and now responds to every crisis in a reactive, punctuated manner. In doing so, Canadian officials address symptoms without tackling root causes.

    EU architecture

    The institutional architecture of the EU also furnishes governments with more capacity to collaborate. In all federal systems, most policies are largely shared, which is why intergovernmental co-ordination is important to buttress and consolidate such innovations.



    Read more:
    Canada-U.S. history provides lessons on how Canada can deal with a hostile Donald Trump

    Notably, the Council of the European Union plays a key role for co-ordinating and negotiating policies, in addition to its function as the main decision-making body (together with the European Parliament).

    It is composed of ministers of the EU member states. Accordingly, it works in different configurations, depending on the portfolio. The head of governments themselves meet regularly through a separate institution, the European Council.

    In Canada, by contrast, federal intergovernmental institutions are fragile or don’t even exist, even though they’re comparatively strong on the municipal level.

    Municipalities co-ordinate through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which was established in 1901. But it was not until 2004 that provinces and territories established the Council of the Federation. This body, however, has remained weak, with very little administrative support.

    What’s even more striking is that there is no formalized, institutionalized framework at all at the federal level. The First Ministers’ Conference meetings are held at the discretion of the prime minister. In their communique following a Council of the Federation meeting in November 2023, premiers complained that “the prime minister has not convened a full in-person First Ministers’ Meeting since December 2018 despite repeated requests from premiers.”

    Widespread tariffs against Canada may be on hold until March, but there is no way back. As Canadians experience their very own “Zeitenwende” — the end of an era — in the wake of Trump’s desire to absorb Canada into the U.S., the country’s leaders should draw two lessons from the EU.

    All-encompassing approach needed

    On the policy level, Canada does need a new “national policy,” as I have argued previously.

    More than 40 years ago, the Macdonald Commission paved the way for a major transformative shift in Canadian policy-making, including free trade with the U.S. But since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, it has become increasingly clear that this model of socioeconomic development is outdated.

    Yet the model has never been replaced. Unlike the EU, Canadians have comforted themselves with patchwork policies instead of crafting a new, all-encompassing approach.

    The challenges the EU and Canada face are similar, but Canada needs to find its own response. Forging a new model will require mobilizing and aligning key sectors like trade, infrastructure and industrial policy in a coherent manner.

    On the institutional level, Canada must — finally — institutionalize Team Canada. It’s a positive development that First Ministers’ Conference meetings have resumed, but an ad hoc approach to intergovernmental collaboration is no longer sufficient.

    Team Canada may work under pressure when facing a short-term threat. Without a stronger institutional foundation, however, Canada won’t be able to consolidate a new national policy over the long term.

    The EU has accomplished a remarkable resurgence, despite all remaining difficulties. Rather than chasing the idea of joining the EU, Canada should use the European example as a road map for enhancing its policy and governance capacities.

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

    – ref. What Canada can learn from the European Union about dealing with chaos and crises – https://theconversation.com/what-canada-can-learn-from-the-european-union-about-dealing-with-chaos-and-crises-249462

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Canadian immigrants are overqualified and underemployed — reforms must address this

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marshia Akbar, Director of the BMO Newcomer Workforce Integration Lab and Research Lead on Labour Migration at the CERC Migration and Integration Program at TMU, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Canada’s labour market struggles are not caused by the number of newcomers, but by systemic issues such as underemployment and skills-job mismatches. (Shutterstock)

    Recent immigration reforms in Canada have cut international student and temporary resident numbers, restricted work permits for them and their spouses and aim to reduce permanent resident admissions by 21 per cent in 2025, with further cuts ahead.

    Such changes are aimed to avoid competition with local unemployed Canadians at a time of rising unemployment. However, these changes may eventually intensify dysfunctions in the Canadian labour market.

    With an overall unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent and a youth unemployment rate of 13.6 per cent alongside a worsening housing crisis, these policies reflect growing pressures.

    However, blaming newcomers — particularly international students and their spouses — for job shortages overlooks deeper structural issues in the labour market. Canada’s labour market struggles are not caused by the number of newcomers, but by systemic issues such as underemployment and skills-job mismatches.

    Unemployment and underemployment

    While rising unemployment is affecting everyone, newcomers have been hit especially hard. In 2024, the unemployment rate for immigrants hit 11 per cent — more than double the 5.6 per cent rate for Canadian-born workers.

    Underemployment is also a persistent issue for immigrants. In 2021, only 44 per cent of immigrants who had arrived in Canada within the previous decade were employed in jobs matching their education level, compared to 64 per cent of Canadian-born workers aged 25 to 34.

    The over-education rate — the proportion of university graduates working in jobs for which they are over-qualified despite holding a bachelor’s degree or higher — was 26.7 per cent for immigrants, more than double the 10.9 per cent rate for Canadian-born workers in 2021.

    Immigrants, particularly those with foreign credentials, are significantly more likely to experience these job-education mismatches compared to Canadian-born workers.

    Approximately two thirds of recent immigrants held a degree from a foreign institution. The over-education rate for these immigrants was 24 per cent higher than that of younger Canadian-born workers.

    Under-employment experienced by many newcomers is largely driven by employers favouring Canadian experience — despite such preferences being illegal in Ontario — and relying on referral networks, which often disadvantage newcomers.

    Hiring managers frequently undervalue international credentials, even when assessed by organizations like World Education Services. Many employers struggle to assess foreign work experience. Some also perceive a lack of familiarity with Canadian workplace norms as a hiring risk.

    Ultimately, hiring managers tend to choose the less risky option, as a bad hire can reflect poorly on them. An exceptional hire, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily bring them equivalent rewards.

    International experience is undervalued

    International graduates with Canadian degrees generally achieve better labour market outcomes than those educated entirely overseas, experiencing higher earnings and improved job matches.

    However, many still face significant barriers, primarily due to employers’ preference for specific Canadian experience and biases in assessing their skills.

    Although many international students (277,400 in 2018) gain Canadian work experience during their studies and develop soft skills — often in low-paying, customer-facing roles such as accommodation and food services, retail, hospitality or tourism — this experience is often dismissed as irrelevant to professional roles.

    This creates a paradox: employers require Canadian experience for entry-level positions in their field, yet without prior experience, graduates struggle to get hired in the first place.

    In addition, employers often lack clarity about international graduates’ visa statuses, work permit durations and future stays in Canada. Constantly changing policies exacerbate this confusion, deterring employers from hiring.

    A path forward

    Canada’s long-term competitiveness is hindered not by immigration, but by systemic labour market discrimination and inefficiencies that prevent skilled newcomers from fully contributing to the economy.

    Eliminating biases related to Canadian work experience and soft skills is key to ensuring newcomers can find fair work. The lack of recognition of foreign talent has a detrimental effect on the Canadian economy by under-utilizing valuable human capital.

    To build a more inclusive labour market, a credential recognition system should support employers in assessing transferable skills and experience to mitigate perceived hiring risks related to immigrants.

    For international students, enhanced career services at educational institutions are critical. Strengthening partnerships between universities, colleges and employers can expand internships, co-op placements and mentorship programs, providing students with relevant Canadian work experience before graduation.

    Such collaboration is also key to implementing employer education initiatives that address misconceptions about hiring international graduates and highlight their contributions to the workforce.

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also play a role in reducing hiring biases and improving job matching for new immigrants and international graduates. Our recent report, which gathered insight from civil society, the private sector and academia, highlights the following AI-driven solutions:

    • Tools like Toronto Metropolitan University’s AI resume builder, Mogul AI, and Knockri can help match skills to roles, neutralize hiring bias and promote equity.

    • Wage subsidies and AI tools can encourage equitable hiring, while AI-powered programs can help human resources recognize and reduce biases.

    • Tools like the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council Mentoring Partnership, can connect newcomers with mentors, track their skills and match them to employer needs.

    Harnessing AI-driven solutions, alongside policy reforms and stronger employer engagement, can help break down hiring barriers so Canada can fully benefit from the skills and expertise of its immigrant workforce.

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

    Anna Triandafyllidou receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Tri-Agency of Research Councils, Canada and Horizon Europe framework program of the European Commission.

    – ref. Canadian immigrants are overqualified and underemployed — reforms must address this – https://theconversation.com/canadian-immigrants-are-overqualified-and-underemployed-reforms-must-address-this-247974

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Namibia’s Shark Island: Europe’s push for green hydrogen risks compromising sites of colonial genocide

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rosanna Carver, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Victoria

    An aerial view of Shark Island and the town of Lüderitz in Namibia. (Black Court Studios)

    In September 2025, Namibia will host the Global African Hydrogen Summit. The Namibian government has ambitions to turn the country into a leading producer of green hydrogen for export to markets in Europe and elsewhere. However, the lands and waters now regarded as being essential to Europe’s energy transition are tied to traumatic memories of colonial violence; especially the ocean, which is the final resting place for thousands of Namibians.

    As countries around the world transition to renewable energy, an inconspicuous peninsula in Namibia known as Shark Island is positioned to play a key role in the production of so-called “green” hydrogen, which is a proposed alternative to fossil fuels.

    However, the peninsula and its waters are at risk of being compromised by proposed port expansions to support the transportation of green hydrogen. Shark Island, near the town of Lüderitz, is now a campsite for tourists.

    But Shark Island is also called Death Island, and it was a concentration camp and a site of genocide during German colonial rule from 1884 to 1915. The concentration camp has since been destroyed, leaving little evidence of the violence that occurred there. However, recent international investigations highlight what many Namibians have known and worked on for generations.

    Germany’s colonization and genocide

    In 1884, German colonizer Adolf Lüderitz annexed Namibia, intending to finance colonial rule through minerals. Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial forces killed approximately 100,000 people (80 per cent of the Herero and half of the Nama population). The genocide also affected the ǂNukhoen and the ǂAonin communities.

    During the genocide, those who were not immediately killed were sent to concentration camps, where they were forced to perform manual labour, such as working on railways and harbours. This occurred across Namibia, including on the coast: in Swakopmund and Lüderitz alone, more than 1,550 Nama died.

    The research agency Forensic Architecture has digitally reconstructed the camps and identified evidence of burial places. On Shark Island, they demonstrate that the port expansion “poses further imminent risk to the site.”

    Attention has been given to the land-based component of green hydrogen projects including the multinational joint venture, Hyphen Energy. But the ocean, which Namibia’s development projects also interact with, is often overlooked as a space of memory, justice and relations. This is in part due to colonial and apartheid histories that erased or excluded people from the coasts and oceans.

    During colonial rule, German colonizers incarcerated Namibians offshore aboard ships. They also threw the bodies of those who had died in the concentration camp into the ocean. The local saying “the sea will take you” highlights how the ocean is involuntarily tied to memories of death and trauma.

    Namibians have not forgotten the violence that occurred on the land and at sea. Local groups are restoring grave sites and establishing memorials. The discussion of recognition, justice and equitable rights and access to the coast and ocean are important for Namibia’s communities and the decedents of those killed during the genocide.

    Waves of energy colonialism

    Green hydrogen has a central role in global decarbonization ambitions. Namibia is considered an “export production site” for Europe’s future hydrogen economy. This is due to its solar and wind potential, and access to the ocean.

    Hydrogen can only be produced in Namibia if the infrastructure exists to enable it. For example, hydrogen requires the industrial and transportation infrastructure to get it to international markets. To meet these demands, the Namibian Ports Authroity is proposing port expansions in the city of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, where expansion could have implications for Shark Island and its waters.

    Campaigners in Namibia are demanding the government and industry halt the expansion plans on Shark Island, and meaningfully engage with reconciliation. Among them is the Windhoek-based Black Court Studio, where Natache Iilonga, co-author of this article, is the creative director.

    These proposed developments signal the continued European dominance in Namibia’s blue and green economy projects. They enable energy colonialism, where the push for green energy continues colonial injustices. European countries and industry perpetuate ecological, social and cultural harm to satisfy their own climate change agendas.

    Projects and partnerships between Namibia and European countries like Germany are emblematic of (neo)colonial power relations. While these projects propose to foster co-operation, they also continue to dispossess communities from their lands and waters, and erase environmental and cultural relations.

    Through “development assistance,” the German government and non-governmental organizations continue to influence economic projects in Namibia, while avoiding discussion of meaningful reparations for colonial crimes.



    Read more:
    Germany’s genocide in Namibia: deal between the two governments falls short of delivering justice

    The land and ocean are not merely passive witnesses to colonial violence. Black Court Studio incorporates the ocean as a dynamic participant in the conversation about these violent histories, and justice and healing. Through community exercises and counter-mapping, the studio explores people’s socio-cultural relations with the ocean.

    Together, the studio’s interventions are beginning to resituate previously erased and forgotten connections with Shark Island. This work also highlights cultural and spiritual relations with the ocean that persist despite this dispossession.

    Namibia’s ocean and coasts are not empty spaces to be exploited for the benefit of Europe’s energy future. A deeper understanding of histories, and present day connections, provide lessons for meaningful reconciliation.

    Natache Iilonga is a practicing architect with Iilonga Architects Inc and the co-founder of Black Court Studios Namibia.

    Rosanna Carver 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. Namibia’s Shark Island: Europe’s push for green hydrogen risks compromising sites of colonial genocide – https://theconversation.com/namibias-shark-island-europes-push-for-green-hydrogen-risks-compromising-sites-of-colonial-genocide-239549

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: GB Energy & Grangemouth show ‘You can’t trust Labour’

    Source: Scottish National Party

    ‘You can’t trust Labour’. It was an oft made comment during the latter year’s of Tony Blair’s premiership; particularly because of his role in dragging the UK into the Iraq war on the basis of a lie.

    But it took six years for that phrase to become common usage. With the current Westminster Labour government of Keir Starmer it’s only taken six months.

    And recently we saw an example which explains why trust in Keir Starmer’s Labour party has nosedived.

    Before the 2024 election Labour promised that Aberdeen would get 1,000 jobs from hosting the GB Energy headquarters; but now the appointed boss of GB Energy says it will only create 200 jobs in five years.

    The GB Energy boss who won’t even be working in Aberdeen but Manchester! So much for a ‘headquarters’ in Aberdeen.

    These revelations have been followed more recently by news that Grangemouth’s refinery is to close after 100 years.

    Again, another example of how Labour can’t be trusted.

    Before the election Labour, along with Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar, promised to save the jobs:

    Now it’s scenes of Anas Sarwar repeatedly pleading that he’s powerless because it’s a private company…

    …a private company Labour will financially support when it comes to a football stadium in England and a refinery in Belgium!

    And it was Westminster who tied their own hands when it gave Grangemouth to the private sector:

    Is it any wonder that even Grangemouth’s own Labour MP sounds like he doesn’t trust Labour?

    Even a letter he wrote to Starmer was signed by only one other Scottish Labour MP. So much for Scottish Labour MPs standing up for Scotland.

    But those two examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Labour promises.

    Take the WASPI women pensioners; betrayed so often by the Tories and now by Labour. As leader of the opposition, Starmer promised to “do something about it”, saying he understood their anger at having “the goalposts moved”.

    In 2020 he railed against the two-child cap on child benefits. In the days running up to the election Scots were told to vote Labour to end child poverty.

    Yet just after the election he suspended seven Labour MPs for voting with the SNP to scrap the cap on child benefit and tackle child poverty.

    Then there’s the winter fuel payment for pensioners. In the run up to voting in July 2024 Starmerrailed against the Tories about how pensioners suffered under the Tories and promised them security.

    Safely in Downing Street his government announced a cut to pensioners’ winter fuel payments despite research by his own party that it could cause 4,000 deaths.

    And what about National Insurance?

    Labour’s manifesto specifically pledged that they would not raise national insurance. In her budget Rachel Reeves increased employer national insurance – a policy that will hit those employing lower paid workers the hardest, charities, GPs and care homes.

    You would think such a level of untrustworthy behaviour would be more than enough after seven months; but there’s more that specifically affects Scotland.

    In the July 2024 election Anas Sarwar expressly promised that Scottish Labour ‘would put Scotland at the heart of Starmer’s government‘; and ‘stand up to Keir Starmer and defend Scotland’s interests‘.

    Instead, as a group, Scottish Labour MPs have meekly voted for cutting the winter fuel payment, keeping the two-child benefit, and failing to support WASPI women.

    And there’s a range of issues where that group of MPs have been subdued when it comes to putting Scotland at the heart of Starmer’s government.

    In August 2024 Rachel Reeves pulled funding for an £800 million computer at Edinburgh University with a Labour source saying the project made “little strategic sense.”

    Yet by January Keir Starmer was announcing that his government had arranged £14 billion of investment in various AI projects.

    At the end of January Rachel Reeves announced her plans for growth in the UK … which amounted to a concentration of UK government assistance between the cities hosting the UK’s two elitist universities.

    The absence for similar assistance for Scotland was notable despite claiming it would deliver to “all corners of the UK“:

    Take CCS, or Carbon Capture & Storage; since the 2014 independence referendum the North East of Scotland has been repeatedly promised that Westminster would invest millions in it.

    Rachel Reeves eventually announced funding for Carbon Capture & Storage … in Teesside and Merseyside. No Scottish Labour MP or MSP has even mentioned this slap in the face to Scotland.

    Is it any wonder Scots believe Anas Sarwar doesn’t stand up to Keir Starmer. It’s no wonder Scottish Labour’s vote is at its lowest level in three years.

    And what is Anas Sarwar’s latest move as we approach a Scottish election year? To say he is open to ‘good ideas’ from Nigel Farage’s Reform party.

    A party that would like to abolish the Scottish Parliament and privatise the NHS. The party of Brexit which has increased the cost-of-living creating less money for public services.

    And Anas Sarwar’s latest gambit just raises more questions about trust in Labour. He’s now pledging to protect SNP policies like free tuition, free prescriptions and the Scottish Child Payment.

    After months of accusing the SNP government of ’18 years of failure’ he’s now saying it has been 18 years of “successes”.

    But why should anyone trust what many see as a panicked announcement by Anas Sarwar?

    On several occasions Labour’s Holyrood group of MSPs have voted against SNP government budgets which contained those policies. Even now they are not supporting the SNP budget containing those policies.

    A previous Scottish Labour leader notoriously called those policies a ‘something for nothing‘ culture which should end.

    Anas Sarwar’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie, is on record as saying prescription charges should “absolutely” be abolished.

    As for tuition fees it was only in February 2024 that Sarwar’s finance spokesperson, Michael Marra, said backdoor tuition fees, like endowments, would have to be considered.

    Shortly after Labour MSPs voted with the Tories in Holyrood against free tuition.

    And let’s not forget the behaviour of Anas Sarwar’s boss, Keir Starmer. In 2020 he promised Labour members in the party leadership election that he would “support the abolition of tuition fees”.

    Yet by September 2023 he claimed it would be ‘impossible‘ to abolish tuition fees … despite the fact that is the reality in Scotland.

    And let’s not forget which party first introduced tuition fees – whose policy they ultimately are.

    Just weeks before the 1997 election Tony Blair pledged: “Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education.”

    A year after taking power, Blair went ahead and introduced tuition fees.

    It all just shows how the people of Scotland don’t and can’t trust any promise by Scottish Labour. Like a branch office they will always follow their bosses in Westminster.

    There’s only one party that Scots can trust to stand up and speak for Scotland. Speak out about Westminster ignoring your communities when it comes to investment. To vote for the benefit of Scotland’s pensioners, families and workers – the SNP.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: XXII International Forum “Gas of Russia 2025”: GUU establishes ties with the Ministry of Energy

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On February 13-14, 2025, the XXII International Forum “Gas of Russia 2025” was held in Moscow, organized by the Union of Oil and Gas Industry Organizations “Russian Gas Society”. Advisor to the Rector’s Office of the State University of Management Sergey Karseka took part in it.

    The Gas of Russia Forum is a specialized event that annually brings together professionals and experts in the gas industry, heads of Russian government bodies, the largest Russian and foreign oil and gas companies, representatives of industry science and higher education institutions. The main goal is a professional discussion of the most pressing issues of the development of the Russian gas industry in the context of events on the global energy market.

    The key theme of the XXII Forum is the development strategy of the industry and overcoming the main challenges.

    During the event, the participants discussed the following issues: – training personnel for the oil and gas industry in modern conditions; – strategy for the development of the oil and gas industry for 10 years; – improving legislation in the interests of the development of the industry; – challenges and solutions to technological problems of the industry.

    Greetings to the Forum were sent by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak and Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Sergey Tsivilev.

    The main moderator was the President of the Russian Gas Society, the President of the Union of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry, and the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, Pavel Zavalny.

    At the opening of the event, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Anastasia Bondarenko noted that by 2029, the Russian economy’s need for personnel will grow to 3.1 million people.

    “At present, the task is to formulate a forecast in the structure of needs for specialists,” the deputy minister concluded.

    In his speech during the session “HR Podium: Open Dialogue between Employers and Students,” Sergey Karseka outlined a wide range of topics and areas of potential cooperation between the State University of Management and oil and gas universities and enterprises.

    “It is very important to train specialists, but without basic knowledge of the fundamentals of management, the efficiency of managers in the oil and gas industry will be reduced. On this path, the State University of Management offers its assistance and cooperation in solving the personnel problems facing employers,” noted Sergey Ivanovich.

    Specific issues of cooperation and details of the implementation of joint projects were discussed with key representatives of the oil and gas and energy industries: Marina Voronina, Head of the Oil and Gas Academy project of the Russian Gas Society, Yulia Dunayevskaya, Head of the HR Department of Gazprom Transgaz Moscow LLC, and Violetta Kiushkina, Head of the Department of Energy Security and Infrastructure of the Russian Energy Agency of the Ministry of Energy of Russia. Of particular interest was the experience of the State University of Management in interaction with other ministries: Violetta Kiushkina invited the university experts to participate in the working events of the Ministry of Energy, noting the lack of management expertise and alternative approaches when discussing important industry issues.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/17/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU, together with the Gorchakov Fund, has opened the application process for an internship program for foreign specialists

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University – NSU, together with the Gorchakov Fund, has opened the application process for an internship program for foreign specialists in the areas of “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine” and “Modern Quantum and Information Technologies in Electronics and Photonics”.

    The last day to submit applications is March 20, 2024, 23:59 Moscow time.

    Date: June 1–29, 2025.

    Foreign specialists conducting scientific and practical activities in areas corresponding to the internship programs are allowed to participate in the competition.

    The organizers provide:

    travel from the applicant’s place of residence to Novosibirsk and back; accommodation for the entire period of the scientific and educational event; visa support; a stipend for the duration of the program in the amount of 30,000 rubles.

    Participants pay:

    medical insurance; meals for the duration of the scientific and educational school.

    Heads of scientific and educational directions:

    Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Evgeny Nikolaevich Pavlovsky, Head of the Laboratory of Streaming Data Analytics and Machine Learning Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of NSU. Modern quantum and information technologies in electronics and photonics: Artur Grigorievich Pogosov, Head of the Department of General Physics Physics Department of NSU.

    For all questions please contact:Info@interossia.

    More detailed information about the program, conditions and registration form – on the InteRussia website. 

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Innovative approaches to urban development discussed at Polytechnic University

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The Polytechnic University became the venue and co-organizer of the All-Russian scientific and practical conference “Innovative approaches in urban development: science, education, practice”. The event was organized jointly with the Committee for Urban Development Policy of the Leningrad Region and the Research Institute for Advanced Urban Development with the support of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (RAASN) and the Government of the Leningrad Region. This large-scale event became a platform for constructive dialogue between representatives of government bodies, the scientific community and business structures.

    The conference participants were addressed with welcoming speeches by the First Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation Alexander Lomakin, Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Ministry of Construction of Russia Vladimir Kalinkin, President of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (RAACS) Dmitry Shvidkovsky, Vice President of RAACS for Urban Development Mikhail Shubenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad Region for Construction and Housing and Utilities Evgeny Baranovsky, Special Representative of the Governor of St. Petersburg for Economic Development Anatoly Kotov and Chairman of the North-West Territorial Branch of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (NWTO RAACS) Mikhail Mamoshin.

    The first day of the conference was devoted to the discussion of a comprehensive approach to master planning. Participants, including representatives of the Russian Ministry of Construction, RAASN, and businessmen shared their experiences and analyzed the use of master plans in the Leningrad Region.

    During the event, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Polytechnic University and the Leningrad Region Committee for Urban Development Policy. The signatures were put by SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy and the Committee Chairman Igor Kulakov. The document is aimed at joint work, support for the project and scientific activities of students and university staff in the region’s municipalities, as well as for students to undergo educational practice at organizations in the Leningrad Region. Igor Kulakov noted that it is necessary to involve students in solving practical problems that the regional committee for urban development policy is working on.

    The plenary session was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (RAACS), the Committee for Urban Development Policy of the Leningrad Region (KGP LO), the Committee for Urban Development and Architecture of St. Petersburg, the Government of the Leningrad Region, the State Institution “Urban Development of Territories of the Leningrad Region”, the Research Institute of Urban Development, the Research Institute of Urban Planning of Moscow, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Moscow Architectural Institute, National Research University Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, National Research University ITMO, RANEPA, as well as specialists from leading design organizations and architectural bureaus.

    Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Ministry of Construction of Russia Vladimir Kalinkin presented a report entitled “Integration of Master Planning into Russian Legislation.”

    Master planning is a new tool that urban planning specialists will have to work with, noted Yevgeny Baranovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Leningrad Region Government for Construction and Housing and Public Utilities, in his speech.

    Director of the Civil Engineering Institute Marina Petrochenko and Director of the Higher School of Design and Architecture ISI Margarita Perkova spoke about the trends and prospects for the development of the Urban Planning direction at SPbPU.

    At the Polytechnic University, the priorities in student training are interdisciplinarity, digitalization in the industry and practical training, which is based on long-term cooperation agreements with industry government agencies and leading design bureaus and research institutes, Marina Vyacheslavovna emphasized.

    Chief Architect of the Leningrad Region, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Design ISI Sergey Lutchenko presented a report “Analysis of the Use of the Master Planning Tool in the Territory of the Leningrad Region”. Director of the Research Institute for Advanced Urban Development Pavel Spirin examined urban planning documentation as a tool for strategic development of the territory.

    The second day of the conference was held in an atmosphere of active exchange of experience and search for advanced solutions. Representatives of design organizations, leading universities of the country and authoritative experts discussed digitalization in urban development and architecture. Participants shared practical developments, prospects for the implementation of digital technologies and analyzed successful cases.

    The audience was interested in the report by the Director of the Institute of Historical and Cultural Heritage Marina Petrochenko, in which she, together with the Deputy Chairperson of the KGIOP of St. Petersburg Alexandra Komissarova, spoke about the experience of creating digital twins and the prospects for using technologies when working with cultural heritage sites.

    The topic of artificial intelligence was reflected in the report by Sergey Mityagin, Director of the Institute of Design and Urban Studies of the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. Acting Director of the Research Institute of Urban Development Nadezhda Zykova presented a report entitled “The system of monitoring and digitalization of the master plan as a tool for integrated development of the territory”. Professor of RANEPA Revekka Vulfovich considered the problems of interaction between cities and rural areas during the development of master plans and strategic documents for the development of rural areas. Olga Druzina presented a report entitled “Draft revision of the Code of Practice 42.13330 “Urban Development. Planning and Development of Urban and Rural Settlements”.”

    Of particular interest was the panel discussion “Urban planning: science, education, practice”, moderated by Margarita Perkova, Director of the Higher School of Design and Architecture of the Institute of Civil Engineering. The speakers included Mikhail Shubenkov, Chairman of the Federal Educational and Methodological Association for the UGS “Architecture”, Ekaterina Voznyak, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, and Nina Danilina, Head of the Department of Urban Planning at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. They shared their experience in training urban planners and their vision of the further development of higher education in urban planning. Academicians from Samara and Volgograd, Elena Akhmedova and Galina Ptichnikova, joined the discussion via videoconference.

    A highlight of the conference was the project session “Development of the fore-project “Concept of block development of the Leningrad region site” from the Setl Group holding. Four teams of polytechnic students together with leading architects and urban planners of St. Petersburg developed and presented their concepts of block development of the Leningrad region site. The project was prepared jointly with the Setl Group holding. The concepts were defended before an authoritative jury. The team led by the honored architect of the Russian Federation, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences Maxim Atayants won. All participants received memorable prizes from the holding.

    Setl Group has announced an open architectural competition to develop a concept for a residential quarter in the picturesque part of the village of Novosaratovka in the Vsevolozhsk district. The winner will have the opportunity to implement their project. 15 Russian architectural bureaus and workshops will offer ideas for creating a comfortable and modern environment until April 2. The selection of finalists by an expert council will last until April 10. The concepts will be defended and the winner will be announced on April 29.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Day of Russian student brigades

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Concert in honor of the tenth anniversary of the headquarters of student teams of SPbGASU

    The Day of Russian Student Teams is celebrated on February 17. It was on this day in 2004 that the All-Russian Youth Public Movement “Russian Student Teams” was founded at the All-Russian Forum of Student Teams.

    The first detachment was formed in 1949 at LISI (SPbGASU). Today, the headquarters unites nine student detachments. In addition, our university has a detachment called “Lastochka”, representing the Youth Patriotic Action “Nevsky Desant”.

    Polina Yurkova, a representative of the SPbGASU student teams headquarters, spoke about what 2024 will be remembered for.

    As part of the international construction team project, Eliza Iskuzhina from the student construction team (SCT) “Polza” took part in the construction of the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey from February to March. Eliza joined the international student construction team “Bosphorus”. And in June she was appointed as the project commissioner.

    Ekaterina Bushueva from the Polza SSO and Andrey Repin from the Pyatnitsa SSO visited Egypt as part of the mixed all-Russian unit Dune. In order to take part in the large-scale project to build the El Dabaa NPP, the guys had to go through a competitive selection. But they gained experience, got to know an interesting country, and got new impressions.

    A bright event of May was the film festival of the Student Detachments of St. Petersburg “Svoy Zal”, in which the student pedagogical detachment (SPO) “Svoboda” won in several nominations with the film “Path”, dedicated to the search of young people for themselves and their place in life. The work of our students was awarded prizes for the best feature film, best camera work and best sound engineering.

    From April 27 to May 1, the SAO (student archaeological team) “Lin” organized the youth volunteer project “Memory Watch. Bridgehead at Fort Krasnaya Gorka.” The fighters of the student teams were engaged in the improvement of this historical place. Three members of the SAO “Lin” distinguished themselves here: Ekaterina Dementyeva was the project manager, Polina Yurkova was responsible for the evening cultural program, and Daria Obukhova was responsible for the photos from the event.

    There are two anniversaries in 2024: 65 years since the founding of the movement and 20 years of the modern history of student brigades. Our fighters took part in the All-Russian rally of Russian student brigades in Moscow on November 21–24, 2024, which was dedicated to this.

    The St. Petersburg Student Team Festival was held on December 9, 2024. The Kusto construction team was honored there, it turned 10 years old. The merits of the graduate of SPbGASU, fighter and former commander of the SAO Lin Ekaterina Dementyeva were recognized with a diploma. Two medals were awarded to a fighter of the SPO Arlekino, a graduate Kira Martel, one to a graduate Egor Anikin from the SPO Svoboda, who headed the city headquarters. According to tradition, newlyweds are given champagne at the festival – it was received by Dmitry and Maria Salnikov (SSO Kusto and SPO Arlekino, respectively).

    According to Polina Yurkova, the most important event of last year was the tenth anniversary of the headquarters of the student brigades of SPbGASU. A concert in honor of this date took place on December 2. The guys prepared numbers – songs, dances, comedy sketches. Veterans of the movement, family members, friends came to the concert. The fighters were congratulated by the Vice-Rector for Youth Policy Marina Malyutina.

    2025 has started actively. In January and February, fighters traditionally went to the Leningrad Region to clean up areas, hold concerts, lessons and master classes. 22 students from the Nevsky Desant detachment went to the Lastochka SPbGASU, and more than 30 students participated in the action as part of combined detachments. SPbGASU students visited settlements from the Lomonosov District to the Republic of Karelia.

    We wish the student teams of SPbGASU new interesting events and a successful work season!

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Observing non-earthquake signals on the Yellowstone Seismic Network

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Jamie Farrell, associate research professor with the University of Utah Seismograph Stations and Chief Seismologist of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

    It is well-known that the Yellowstone region, with an average of 1,500-2,500 earthquakes per year, is one of the most-seismically active areas in the western U.S.  The Yellowstone Seismic Network is designed to record the ground shaking from these earthquakes and send the data back to the University of Utah in real time for analysis.  There are a lot of other things that cause the ground to shake, however, and this shaking is recorded by seismic stations in and around Yellowstone.  Most of the time, it is easy to differentiate these signals from those of real earthquakes.

    So, what else besides earthquakes makes the ground shake in Yellowstone?

    Webicorders of Yellowstone Seismic Network stations YMR (West Entrance road) and YNM (Norris Geyser Basin Museum) showing traffic signals (left) and visitors walking (right) during daytime hours.  Both records span the entire 24-hour period of July 23, 2024, MDT. 

    Some of the most common causes of non-earthquake ground shaking are humans and the vehicles that they drive.  As a general guideline, seismic stations are located far away from roads to avoid these signals, but there are some that are close enough to record every car/truck/bus/RV that drives by.  A seismic station that is located near the Madison-West Entrance Road, designated YMR, is notorious for recording road noise. In addition, a seismic station that is located in the Norris Geyser Basin Museum (designated YNM) records the thousands of visitors that walk by it every day during the summer.  Signals that are related to human activity can be identified by their prevalence during the daytime hours and their absence during nighttime hours.

    Signals recorded at station YDD in Yellowstone National Park from the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcanic eruption. The seismometer at YDD recorded both the direct seismic phase (top left) as well as the atmospheric Lamb Wave that coupled to the ground as it propagated (top right).  The infrasound microphone at YDD recorded the atmospheric disturbance from the Lamb wave (bottom right) that arrived in Yellowstone ~9 hours after the eruption.  Seismic waves travel through the earth much faster than sound waves travel through the atmosphere, which explains the long delay in timing between when the two signals were recorded.

    Signals related to non-earthquake geologic events far from Yellowstone can sometimes be seen as well.  An example of this is the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcanic eruption in the south Pacific.  The volcano is located about 9,742 km (6,053 miles) from Yellowstone National Park, but the signals from that violent eruption are clearly seen on many stations in the Yellowstone Seismic Network.  In fact, that eruption produced two signals that are evident in the Yellowstone seismic record.  The first signal is the direct P-wave (seismic phase) that traveled through the earth from the eruption site to Yellowstone—the wave arrived ~27 minutes after the eruption occurred.  The eruption also produced very powerful atmospheric waves.  The most energetic of these atmospheric waves was something called a Lamb wave, which travelled through the atmosphere but along the Earth’s surface. The Lamb waves from the eruption traveled around the earth 4 times over 6 days.  The first of these arrived in Yellowstone ~9 hours after the eruption—moving at the speed of sound, which is much slower than the speed of earthquake waves through the ground—and is evident on both seismometers and infrasound microphones. This shows that as the Lamb wave propagated along the Earth’s surface, not only did it cause an atmospheric disturbance (as recorded by the infrasound microphone) but energy was also transferred into the Earth (as recorded by the seismometer).  In this sense, the wave was similar to a sonic boom or thunderclap.

    Other non-earthquake signals are sometimes recorded on seismometers around rivers due to ground shaking from large floods in Yellowstone, like those that occurred in June 2022.  Near Yellowstone Lake, seismometers record “icequakes” from cracking of the ice cover during winter, and when the lake is free of ice during summer months ground shaking can be caused by wave action on the lake during daytime hours.  In addition, seismometers record signals related to hydrothermal activity and even hydrothermal explosions.

    Even though these non-earthquake signals are not what the Yellowstone Seismic Network was originally designed to record, they still provide valuable insights into the Yellowstone volcanic and tectonic system.  Scientists are increasingly using these data to better understand the dynamic nature of geologic activity in the Yellowstone region.

    Signals from a suspected icequake that occurred on Yellowstone Lake recorded at Yellowstone Seismic Network stations YLA on Lake Butte (top) and YTP at The Promontory (bottom 3 plots). Plot shows about 2 minutes of data from January 24, 2022, starting at about 7:43:34 p.m. MST.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: New Permanent Representative of Haiti Presents Credentials to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    Ann-Kathryne Lassegue, the new Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented her credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

    Prior to her appointment, Ms. Lassegue had been serving as Head of Mission a.i. at the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations Office in Geneva since June 2024, and prior to that, as Minister Counsellor at the Mission since 2021.  She served as Head of Mission a.i. at the Embassy of Haiti in Canada from 2020 to 2021, and as Minister Counsellor from 2014 to 2021.  She served as Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Haiti in Benin from 2012 to 2014.

    Ms. Lassegue holds a master’s degree in international development and globalization from the University of Ottowa (2021) and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of New York (2010), as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queens College of New York (2008) and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Bordeaux (2005).  She is married with two children.

    ____

    CR.25.052E

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media; not an official record.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: GUU and SOVNET established the journal “Project Management Bulletin”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On February 14, 2025, a working meeting of representatives of the State University of Management and the Project Management Association “SOVNET” was held, dedicated to the registration of the new journal “Project Management Bulletin”.

    In his welcoming speech, the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev congratulated those present on the registration and official launch of the joint journal, emphasized the importance of having a scientific journal in the field of project management in the academic and professional environment, and also expressed special pride that this journal was registered by the university together with the Project Management Association “SOVNET”, which unites Russian professionals in the field of project management.

    Vladimir Stroyev also noted that the opening of the Vestnik Proektnogo Upravleniye journal was a logical continuation of the activities of the State University of Management not only as a leading management university, but also as a project-oriented university in Russia, which stood at the origins of the formation of a theoretical and research base for project management. In 1990, the university was one of the founders of the SOVNET Project Management Association, and it was at the State University of Management that the first project management department in Russia was created in 1996, whose teachers worked on the creation of an educational and methodological base for project management. In addition, since 2024, the State University of Management has been approved as a federal innovation platform for the implementation of the project “Interregional Educational and Methodological Center for Project-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning as a Technology of Practical Training” (Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated January 19, 2024, No. 28).

    In his response, the President of the Project Management Association “SOVNET” Alexander Tovb noted the need to develop methodological, theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of project and program management, research skills not only among students and young scientists, but also among the teaching staff of higher educational institutions of the country. Alexander Tovb also expressed confidence that the joint work of SOVNET and the State University of Management will allow the journal “Project Management Bulletin” to reach a high academic and practical level, publishing the results of research work, as well as modern advanced practices in the field of project management in Russia and abroad.

    Chairman of the Board of the Project Management Association “SOVNET” Alexey Polkovnikov complemented Alexander Tovba with words about the importance of opening the journal “Project Management Bulletin” as a tool for ensuring interaction between leading specialists and young scientists in the field of project, program and portfolio management, as well as prompt access for students and postgraduates to information and analytical materials in this professional field of activity.

    Vice-Rector of the State University of Management Dmitry Bryukhanov reminded those present that in April 2024, the State University of Management and SOVNET signed an Agreement on the creation of a project-methodical association “Association of project-oriented organizations of science and higher education”, which currently includes over 20 organizations. It was on the basis of the State University of Management that leading national events on project management were organized and held in 2024:

    — National qualifying round of the International Project Management Championship (IPMC IPMA);

    — All-Russian competition “Best Project Manager (under 35 years old)”;

    — “Eurasian Project School”.

    By a general decision of the founders of the journal, the rector of the State University of Management, Doctor of Economics, Professor Vladimir Stroev was elected as the editor-in-chief of the Project Management Bulletin.

    The working group of the Vestnik Proektnogo Upravleniye journal included representatives of both organizations. From the State University of Management: Director of the Department of Publishing Activities and Digital Educational Content Evgeny Redko; Head of the Department of Scientific Periodicals Luiza Alekseeva; Head of the Department of Project Management Irina Brikoshina; Deputy Head of the Department of Project Management Ekaterina Khalimon. From the SOVNET: Vice President Grigory Tsipes and Board Member Maria Romanova.

    At the end of the meeting, the journal’s working group outlined further steps in forming the sections of the publication, requirements for publications, the review procedure, and also in filling the first issue.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/17/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The day of the end of the Korsun-Shevchenko operation

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    We continue our series of historical materials dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

    On February 17, 1944, the Korsun-Shevchenkovsk operation, also known as the Korsun or Cherkasy pocket, ended with a crushing defeat for the German Army Group South.

    In late December 1943 – early January 1944, the 1st Ukrainian Front under General of the Army Nikolai Vatutin and the 2nd Ukrainian Front led by General of the Army Ivan Konev carried out the Zhitomir-Berdichev and Kirovograd offensive operations, during which they surrounded the German group in the area of the city of Korsun-Shevchenkovsky. Thus, a deep salient was formed on the front, which the Germans held in the hope of restoring the front line along the Dnieper and preventing the further advance of the Russians to the southeast.

    The general plan of the Red Army operation was to launch a counterattack at the base of the salient by the adjacent flanks of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. On January 24, 1944, the armies of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front went on the offensive. Two days later, units and formations of the left flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front joined the operation. Two days later, Konev’s and Vatutin’s troops met in the Zvenigorodka area – the ring around the Germans was closed.

    In early February, the Wehrmacht made several attempts to break out of the encirclement, which had almost 60,000 soldiers. The commander of Army Group South, Erich von Manstein, who had at his disposal such famous divisions as Reich, Grossdeutschland, and Totenkopf, equipped with new Tigers and Panthers, planned not only to pull his own out of the cauldron, but also to encircle and destroy the 5th Guards and 6th Tank Armies of the Soviet troops. Despite certain successes, the Germans were unable to unblock the encircled group in two weeks of fierce fighting.

    On February 16, Manstein gave the encircled troops the order to break through to meet his group with all their might. Having destroyed the faulty equipment, on the night of February 17, under fire from Soviet artillery, the Germans moved to make a mass breakthrough across the Gniloy Tikich River, the marshy banks and cold water of which became a grave for many German soldiers. About half of the encircled units managed to escape from the cauldron, and about 18,000 people were captured. The commander of the encircled group, General Wilhelm Stemmermann, was killed. All equipment and heavy weapons were abandoned. And the use of large tank formations by the relieving group in the conditions of a thaw and muddy roads led to their mass incapacitation. In subsequent battles, this equipment became trophies of the Red Army.

    Despite the fact that the Soviet troops failed to completely destroy the enemy group, the operation was considered successful by the Supreme Command. Ivan Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and Pavel Rotmistrov and Yakov Fedorenko became the first marshals of armored forces – this military rank was introduced the day before. The shortening of the front line made it possible to free up forces for further advance to the east.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/17/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Statement on £15m funding for two cultural projects in Leeds

    Source: City of Leeds

    Leeds City Council has today welcomed confirmation of £15m in central government funding for two major cultural projects.

    The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has committed £10m to help breathe fresh life into Holbeck’s historic Temple Works building, paving the way for it to become the home of a new British Library North.

    A further £5m in funding has been confirmed in support of plans to create a National Poetry Centre at the landmark Trinity St David’s Church on Woodhouse Lane.

    Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

    “The British Library North project aims to create a world-class space for learning, research, exhibitions and events that would unlock the huge potential of Temple Works and boost the ongoing regeneration of the wider Holbeck and South Bank areas.

    “It is therefore really welcome news that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed that, following a consultation, this £10m of funding is now in place to support the process of bringing the Temple Works building into public ownership and back into use.

    “We have worked hard in recent months with partners, including the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Homes England and the British Library itself, to make the case for this funding.

    “Together we were able to emphasise the importance of the scheme and the economic and social benefits it would bring to Leeds, West Yorkshire and the North, not least through engagement and connections with local communities.

    “We were very pleased to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister to Temple Works last week so she could see first-hand what this remarkable heritage asset is all about.

    “We will now continue to work alongside partners on detailed plans for the full funding, design and development of a project that remains a complex and challenging undertaking, but one that offers a major regeneration opportunity for both Temple Works and the surrounding area.

    “The council also welcomes today’s confirmation that £5m in funding for Leeds’s proposed National Poetry Centre is now in place.

    “We were pleased to have the opportunity, during the MHCLG consultation, to add our voice to the widespread support for this project, which is being led by the National Poetry Centre Charitable Trust with the University of Leeds and poet laureate Simon Armitage.”

    ENDS

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitget Launches Global Graduate Program to Cultivate the Next Generation of Web3 Talent

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, Feb. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, announced the launch of its first Bitget Graduate Program, an initiative designed to recruit and cultivate the next generation of blockchain and Web3 talent from top global universities. As part of Bitget’s Blockchain4Youth Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, this program aligns with the company’s plans of driving education, innovation, and long-term growth in the blockchain industry.

    The Bitget Graduate Program seeks outstanding graduates with a global mindset, a passion for innovation, and a strong drive to explore the future of Web3. The program provides career opportunities across various fields, including operations, product management, marketing, risk & compliance, data management, and engineering, enabling participants to gain hands-on experience in one of the fastest-growing sectors.

    Applications are now open on the Bitget official website and will remain available until March 15, 2025. Successful candidates will receive offer letters to join Bitget, with the earliest start date being April 1. Through this program, Bitget plans to hire around 30 exceptional graduates, offering them a structured development program, cross-functional training, and direct mentorship from industry experts. Participants will have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge blockchain projects and contribute to expanding Web3 applications.

    “At Bitget, we believe the future of Web3 lies in the hands of the next generation,” said Vugar Usi Zade, Chief Operating Officer at Bitget. “The Graduate Program is designed to bridge the gap between ambition and opportunity, providing young professionals with a direct pathway to immerse themselves in the blockchain industry. As Web3 adoption accelerates, we are committed to equipping future leaders with the skills and experiences they need to shape the decentralized world.”

    Bitget offers a dynamic and diverse workplace, with over 1,800 employees from over 60 countries and a culture that values efficiency, innovation, and collaboration. The program offers competitive compensation, clear career development pathways, and growth opportunities within Bitget.

    Launched in May 2023, Blockchain4Youth aligns with Bitget’s commitment to inspiring the next generation to embrace blockchain. With a $10 million pledge over five years, the initiative offers courses, hackathons, and scholarships. By the end of 2024, Bitget had entered over 60 universities, including  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University College London (UCL), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, National Technological University of Argentina, National Taiwan University, and RMIT University, hosting nearly 100 talks and reaching over 13,000 students.

    For more details on the Bitget Graduate Program and application process, visit this link.

    About Bitget

    Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 100 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.

    Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships,  such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM market, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.

    For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet

    For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com

    Risk Warning: Digital asset prices may fluctuate and experience price volatility. Only invest what you can afford to lose. The value of your investment may be impacted and it is possible that you may not achieve your financial goals or be able to recover your principal investment. You should always seek independent financial advice and consider your own financial experience and financial standing. Past performance is not a reliable measure of future performance. Bitget shall not be liable for any losses you may incur. Nothing here shall be construed as financial advice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4b8e4841-98ea-487c-b176-1a3359695920

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University scientists presented their development to neurosurgeons in India

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The innovative development “Navigation system for surgery based on augmented reality technologies” by a research team led by Professor Vladimir Ivanov of the Higher School of Theoretical Mechanics and Mathematical Physics of the Physics and Mechanical Institute was presented in medical centers in India.

    Members of the scientific team Ildar Mamaev and Vladimir Chernyavsky visited eight major Indian medical centers, including: Kalalgner Super Specialty Hospital Chennai, MIOT Hospital Chennai Technical specialist, CMC Rainpet, Kauvery Kovilambakkam Chennai and others. The St. Petersburg scientists demonstrated to leading Indian neurosurgeons in Chennai and Hyderabad the possibilities of working with a hologram and video recordings of real operations.

    A head phantom demonstrated rapid construction of a volumetric reconstruction and registration with a patient pointer at four points; then superimposition of the volumetric reconstruction and segmented 3D model; construction of sections at different angles, measurement of the distance to a given element of the 3D model and output of orthogonal sections to virtual screens.

    The augmented reality technology we developed, which optimizes surgical processes, attracted the interest of Indian surgeons, who expressed a desire to conduct the first operations using this unique navigation system, said project manager Vladimir Ivanov.

    According to Vladimir Mikhailovich, the development of international relations is proceeding very actively, including with the support of the Skolkovo Foundation. The first full-scale surgical operations in India are planned for this spring.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: TOGETHER with the country: Polytechnics collect humanitarian aid

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The Polytechnic University is hosting another collection of humanitarian aid for military personnel and children from social institutions of the DPR and LPR, residents of the Kursk and Belgorod regions as part of the regional Headquarters campaign

    Every polytechnician can join this campaign. Fleece blankets, thermal socks, balaclavas, thermoses, thermal underwear, tools, electric power extension cord on a reel from 25 m, batteries, tonometers, tactical first aid kits, T-shirts, long sleeves, tactical backpacks, sleeping bags, hunting matches, reinforced tape, three-in-one coffee, portioned sugar, tea bags, canned meat, fish factory-made, condensed milk, towels, wide water-repellent plasters, large sterile wipes, large hemostatic sponges, wide and sterile bandages, Esmarch tourniquets or tourniquets, absorbent diapers for adults, tactical medical pouches, etc. are accepted.

    Humanitarian aid can be delivered on weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00 to the following addresses:

    Room 206 of the Main Cultural Institution of SPbPU (Volunteer Projects Center “Harmony” (Dobro.Center SPbPU); Polytechnic Tower; Building 6, room 1 (Humanities Institute Directorate); Building 9, room 324; Student Club (on the territory of the Lepota coworking space).

    Activists of the SPbPU Dobro.Center “Harmony” conduct master classes on weaving tactical bracelets and making talismans of goodness, organize art exhibitions and perform in hospitals, help in warehouses of humanitarian aid. The guys meet children from evacuated territories, accompany wounded servicemen during examinations in hospitals, bring things, fruits and sweets to hospital wards. Excursions to the Polytechnic University of military personnel are planned in the near future.

    For more information, please contact the group VKontakte or bymail.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A new laboratory will be opened at the Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies of NSU

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Last week, innovative companies Papillon and SafeVision signed a cooperation agreement with Novosibirsk State University. Plans for 2025-2026 include opening a laboratory based Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies NSU (IMMT NSU) to combine efforts in the development of new treatment methods and the use of an innovative medical bed, as well as a Medical Decision Support System.

    This agreement is the first step towards interaction between the organizations, allowing for the creation of a long-term scientific and educational partnership. As a result, it is planned to create a Laboratory integrated into the educational process in the specialty “Medical Cybernetics” – this is a new direction, the first recruitment for which will take place in September 2025.

    Students will be involved in the company’s production activities as part of their diploma projects. This will allow for the unification of efforts in developing new treatment methods using the potential of medical equipment and new approaches to AI, computer vision and machine learning for monitoring patients. The main goal is to create a scientific base where students and teachers will conduct their scientific research, publishing the results in international journals.

    Mikhail Khvostov, Acting Dean Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Cybernetics, IMMT NSU, Doctor of Biological Sciences, commented:

    — One of the tasks of medical cybernetics is to create smart devices for interaction with patients. It is very important that during the training process, students could see live how such devices are created, and most importantly — take part in their creation. In cooperation with dynamically developing companies, I see huge potential in both the educational and scientific spheres for students of the new training program — the specialty “Medical Cybernetics”, opened at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Cybernetics of the IMMT NSU.

    Igor Mendzebrovsky, Development Director of Papillon LLC and SafeVision LLC, noted:

    — We provide our products as a platform for students. They can form new solutions and even new business concepts. We help them make their idea as viable as possible, for example, if students want to turn their solution into a product, get a registration certificate and bring it to market.

    Several working groups of 2nd and 3rd year students of the NSU Institute of Intelligent Robotics have already been created. Computer science students are working on creating algorithms for the SafeVision software and hardware complex, designed for contactless monitoring of the patient’s condition and risk factor analysis. For example, active work is underway to identify APNEA syndrome in patients (sleep apnea for more than 10 seconds): the device will be able to identify such a disorder in a patient and signal the doctor about it.

    Anton Meleshkin, scientific programs manager at SafeVision LLC, senior researcher at the SB RAS IT, PhD in engineering, senior lecturer at NSU, added:

    — We develop technological startups, which means we work at the cutting edge of science and technology. We see NSU as a great partner with whom we can build long-term cooperation not only in joint research, but also in the educational process. Our developments can be useful for students to conduct laboratory work, and as topics for course and diploma theses.

    For reference:

    Papillon LLC — a domestic developer and manufacturer of functional medical beds equipped with automated functions to increase comfort, reduce patient trauma and minimize the burden on medical personnel.

    SafeVision LLC — a domestic developer and manufacturer of AI-based medical decision support systems (MDSS) for contactless monitoring of the condition of patients in a medical facility.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Network program for professional retraining of engineering personnel launched

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The delegation of the Polytechnic University visited the production facilities of the Engineering Center “Kronstadt”. The participants of the meeting signed a strategically important agreement on the network form of implementation of the professional retraining program “Design and technological support for machine-building production”.

    As business representatives, we understand the importance of investing in training specialists in the field of engineering. Therefore, the development of professional competencies of both students of technical universities and already working engineers is one of our key tasks. The professional retraining program was developed taking into account current trends in engineering education, advanced scientific and technical achievements and the needs of the industry. It combines the best educational methods with practice-oriented training, which meets the requirements of modern industry, – said Oleg Egorov, General Director of the Kronstadt Engineering Center.

    The program includes three specializations: centrifugal compressor design, piston compressor design and materials science. This approach provides graduates with a wide range of opportunities for professional growth and successful employment in high-tech sectors of mechanical engineering.

    One of the important elements of training is a mandatory industrial internship at the Kronstadt Engineering Center. This stage allows students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired in real conditions, get acquainted with advanced production processes, and integrate more deeply into the professional environment. The final stage of the program is the defense of the final project with elements of a demonstration exam, which ensures a high level of training for graduates and their readiness to solve complex engineering problems.

    On February 3, more than a hundred young specialists, final-year students and master’s students who study full-time in the evening began their studies. Such high interest confirms the demand for the program and the need to train engineering personnel in this field.

    We developed the program and are implementing it together. The online form of training allowed us to build the educational process in such a way that students not only receive knowledge, but also master all technological operations in practice. Participants are immediately involved in solving current production problems, which increases the effectiveness of their training. The program is focused specifically on the practical aspects of mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, – noted the head of the Directorate of Continuing Education and Industry Partnership Ivan Kurta.

    Leading teachers and specialists with a high level of theoretical training and significant practical experience in the industry are involved in the implementation. These are representatives of the Institute of Power Engineering, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport, PhysMech, Gazpromneft-Polytech Scientific and Educational Center, including directors and teachers of the Higher School of Power Engineering, the Higher School of Physics and Materials Technology, the Higher School of Theoretical Mechanics and Mathematical Physics, the Higher School of Automation and Robotics, the Higher School of Industrial Management and others. Their participation ensures a high level of teaching and guarantees the relevance of the knowledge transferred.

    Before the launch of the program, Polytechnic University representatives once again visited the production facilities of the Kronstadt Engineering Center and discussed with colleagues the organization of the practical part of the training, outlining further steps to improve the educational process.

    Our interaction with the engineering center goes far beyond this program: we are actively developing partnerships in the field of scientific research, educational initiatives and other promising areas. By joining forces, we create a unique example of productive interaction based on the exchange of knowledge, mutual support and the desire to achieve significant results, – noted the Vice-Rector for Additional and Pre-University Education of SPbPU Dmitry Tikhonov.

    The implementation of the network program of professional retraining contributes to the development of domestic mechanical engineering, allows the formation of a new generation of highly qualified engineers capable of solving the most complex production problems. This project is a striking example of how the integration of science, education and industry contributes to the creation of advanced engineering solutions and strengthening the technological potential of the country.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The theremin, born at the Polytechnic, sounded in his honor

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    105 years separate two events in the history of the Polytechnic University: the first demonstration of Lev Termen’s invention to the teachers of the Polytechnic University and a big concert by his great-grandson, Pyotr Termen. On the stage of the White Hall, one of the world’s leading theremin performers, Pyotr Termen, played two instruments at once.

    “Two theremins were not planned for the concert,” the musician said. “But at the sound check it turned out that there was a difficult radiomagnetic situation around, and my theremin was reacting a little nervously, there was some interference in the sound. And behind the scenes of the White Hall there was our own model of theremin, and today it sounded for the first time in a long time.”

    The great-grandfather of the performer Lev Termen dreamed since childhood that when playing a musical instrument there would be no need to touch anything, there would be no resistance from the strings, calluses on the hands, and a person and sound would become one, as happens when a person sings. At the age of 12, Lev Termen made a prototype of the theremin based on Tesla coils. And when in 1918, while working in the laboratory of the Polytechnic Institute, which was then located in the choir of the White Hall, he discovered the principle that became the basis of the theremin, he realized that he had invented a new musical instrument. In November 2020, the theremin – “the voice of Theremin” – was demonstrated to teachers of the Polytechnic Institute in the White Hall.

    The closer the right hand is to the vertical antenna, the higher the sound, the further the left hand is from the horizontal antenna, the quieter. Any movement turns into sound, even if I take a deep breath now, it will be heard, – explained Peter Theremin and supported his words with hand movements.

    No strings, no keys, and a range of eight octaves! Bach, Handel, Rachmaninov — popular and recognizable works sounded unusual. In the White Hall, theremin in a duet with a Bechstein grand piano, Pyotr Termen and Anastasia Mazankina presented the very repertoire with which Lev Termen performed in the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, London’s Albert Hall, and the Paris Grand Opera in the 20s and 30s of the last century.

    This concert, which has become a symbol of the unity of science and music, took place on the eve of the birthday of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, celebrated on February 19. A great gift will also be the film that the Kultura TV channel filmed on this day for the Nevsky Kovcheg. The Theory of the Impossible program series about extraordinary people who dreamed of the impossible and made it reality, such as Lev Theremin.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the difference between period pain and endometriosis pain?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia R. Grover, Clinical Professor of Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne

    Polina Zimmerman/Pexels

    Menstruation, or a period, is the bleeding that occurs about monthly in healthy people born with a uterus, from puberty to menopause. This happens when the endometrium, the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus, is shed.

    Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when endometrium-like tissue is found outside the uterus, usually within the pelvic cavity. It is often considered a major cause of pelvic pain.

    Pelvic pain significantly impacts quality of life. But how can you tell the difference between period pain and endometriosis?

    Periods and period pain

    Periods involve shedding the 4-6 millimetre-thick endometrial lining from the inside of the uterus.

    As the lining detaches from the wall of the uterus, the blood vessels which previously supplied the lining bleed. The uterine muscles contract, expelling the blood and crumbled endometrium.

    The crumbled endometrium and blood mostly pass through the cervix and vagina. But almost everyone back-bleeds via their fallopian tubes into their pelvic cavity. This is known as “retrograde menstruation”.

    Most of the lining is shed through the vagina.
    Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock

    The process of menstrual shedding is caused by inflammatory substances, which also cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, aches, pains, dizziness, feeling faint, as well as stimulating pain receptors.

    These inflammatory substances are responsible for the pain and symptoms in the week before a period and the first few days.

    For women with heavy periods, their worst days of pain are usually the heaviest days of their period, coinciding with more cramps to expel clots and more retrograde bleeding.

    Many women also have pain when they are releasing an egg from their ovary at the time of ovulation. Ovulation or mid-cycle pain can be worse in those who bleed more, as those women are more likely to bleed into the ovulation follicle.

    Around 90% of adolescents experience period pain. Among these adolescents, 20% will experience such severe period pain they need time off from school and miss activities. These symptoms are too often normalised, without validation or acknowledgement.

    What about endometriosis?

    Many symptoms have been attributed to endometriosis, including painful periods, pain with sex, bladder and bowel-related pain, low back pain and thigh pain.

    Other pain-related conditions such migraines and chronic fatigue have also been linked to endometriosis. But these other pain-related symptoms occur equally often in people with pelvic pain who don’t have endometriosis.

    One in five adolescents who menstrate experience severe symptoms.
    CGN089/Shutterstock

    Repeated, significant period and ovulation pain can eventually lead some people to develop persistent or chronic pelvic pain, which lasts longer than six months. This appears to occur through a process known as central sensitisation, where the brain becomes more sensitive to pain and other sensory stimuli.

    Central sensitisation can occur in people with persistent pain, independent of the presence or absence of endometriosis.

    Eventually, many people with period and/or persistent pelvic pain will have an operation called a laparoscopy, which allows surgeons to examine organs in the pelvis and abdomen, and diagnose and treat endometriosis.

    Yet only 50% of those with identical pain symptoms who undergo a laparoscopy will end up having endometriosis.

    Endometriosis is also found in pain-free women. So we cannot predict who does and doesn’t have endometriosis from symptoms alone.

    How is this pain managed?

    Endometriosis surgery usually involves removing lesions and adhesions. But at least 30% of people return to pre-surgery pain levels within six months or have more pain than before.

    After surgery, emergency department presentations for pain are unchanged and 50% have repeat surgery within a few years.

    Suppressing periods using hormonal therapies (such as continuous oral contraceptive pills or progesterone-only approaches) can suppress endometriosis and reduce or eliminate pain, independent of the presence or absence of endometriosis.

    Not every type or dose of hormonal medications suits everyone, so medications need to be individualised.

    The current gold-standard approach to manage persistent pelvic pain involves a multidisciplinary team approach, with the aim of achieving sustained remission and improving quality of life. This may include:

    • physiotherapy for pelvic floor and other musculoskeletal problems
    • management of bladder and bowel symptoms
    • support for self-managing pain
    • lifestyle changes including diet and exercise
    • psychological or group therapy, as our moods, stress levels and childhood events can affect how we feel and experience pain.

    Whether you have period pain, chronic pelvic pain or pain you think is associated with endometriosis, if you feel pain, it’s real. If it’s disrupting your life, you deserve to be taken seriously and treated as the whole person you are.

    Sonia R. Grover receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund for LongSTEPPP: Longitudinal Study of teens with Endometriosis, Period and Pelvic pain. She is Director of the Department of Gynaecology at the Royal Children’s Hospital and
    Gynaecology Unit Head at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg.

    – ref. What’s the difference between period pain and endometriosis pain? – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-period-pain-and-endometriosis-pain-244656

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The call for projects for the Big Mathematical Workshop 2025 has begun

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Mathematical center in Akademgorodok (MCA) is accepting proposals for the 2025 Great Mathematical Workshop. The Workshop consists of three parts: a week of intensive face-to-face work, then more relaxed activities in the “inter-module,” and finally another week of intensive face-to-face work. In 2025, the first module of the Workshop will take place from 6 to 12 July, and the second from 14 to 19 July.

    The Big Mathematical Workshop (BMM) is an event where teams of students, schoolchildren and teachers work on the implementation of various projects. Each project is based on an open task with a mathematical component. Workshop participants work together with curators and experts who are assigned to each project group.

    Work at the Big Mathematical Workshop will be conducted in person at several sites: in Novosibirsk at Novosibirsk State University, in St. Petersburg at ITMO University, in Tomsk at Tomsk State University, in Maikop at Adyghe State University, and in Omsk at the Omsk branch of the Sobolev Institute of Mathematics and Omsk State University.

    The opportunity to submit a project for implementation at the 2025 Workshop is currently open. The project is a mathematical or mathematically related problem formulated by the customer.

    A scientist who needs to solve a problem aimed at solving open scientific questions as part of his research can act as a customer. Representatives of any industry have the opportunity to propose problems related to their own production process for solution. Potential customers can be not only scientists and entrepreneurs, but also farmers, architects, students, deputies, and so on. The main thing is that the problem is open, that is, not yet solved by anyone.

    The customer gets a team of students who are working on a problem or making significant progress in solving it and delivering results. Of course, the customer may need time and expertise, but as a result, they will receive fundamental results, development or software, and establish connections with students and scientists who may be useful in the future.

    — Year after year, we see in practice that the Big Mathematical Workshop is an interesting, exciting and promising event. Students learn to work in a team, find ways to solve new problems and formulate results. In addition, they establish contacts with potential scientific supervisors and employers, and create a base that can serve as a basis for grants, custom research and development, contracts or launching their own startup, — said Timur Nasybullov, Deputy Dean for Development of the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Novosibirsk State University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

    To submit your project for consideration, you must register on on the website of the Great Mathematical Workshop and fill out the project submission form, which is available in your personal account. Projects are accepted until April 1, 2025.

    Customers who are unable to formulate their project in mathematical language can present its content in free form, and specialists from the Mathematical Center will help them to formalize the project properly. For consultation on any questions about the Big Mathematical Workshop, please contact the MCA by email MSA@nsu.ru.

    The projects will appear on the Workshop website by mid-May. At that time, students will have the opportunity to choose a project and apply for participation in BMM-2025.

    BMM Telegram channel: https://t.me/7sVe57DIkxZiZDc0

    Chat of BMM participants: https://t.me/jhMaCJtmFyJkNmYy

    BMM Community VKontakte: HTTPS: //vk.m./bmm_Akadem

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: We’ve told this story for 2,500 years: how Hadestown playfully brings alive an ancient Greek myth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney

    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”.

    Based on a myth first told in Greece over 2,500 years ago, Hadestown is a modern retelling of the story of lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.

    In ancient Greece, Orpheus was considered the greatest of all musicians, due to his divine heritage. His musical ability makes Orpheus uniquely well suited as the lead for a musical.

    In the myth and the musical, Orpheus descends into the Underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, after her untimely death. Moved by his powerful song, the king and queen of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone, allow Orpheus to leave their realm with Eurydice.

    One condition: Orpheus must not look back at his wife until they have fully emerged from the underworld.

    It’s a tale of a love from long ago

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the most retold myths from antiquity, likely due to its narrative focus on love, loss, and the human condition.

    The ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice is best known from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virgil’s Georgics. While Ovid places Orpheus in a world governed by unpredictable gods, Virgil’s focus on natural order means that the tragic events feel predetermined.

    Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, 1861.
    The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

    There are numerous other ancient versions, including a mention in Plato’s Symposium, where the philosopher (somewhat unfairly) suggests the musician lacked commitment to his lover.

    During the Middle Ages, Eurydice was paralleled with biblical Eve. Eurydice and Eve were both figures known to have unfortunate encounters with snakes, and both were viewed as vulnerable to sin (in Eurydice’s case, being carried away by Hades).

    Orpheus was sometimes seen as a Christ-like figure, with his descent to hell compared to Christ’s journey to save souls. Indeed, Orpheus is referenced by his fellow traveller to Hell, Dante, in his Inferno.

    Jean Raoux, Orpheus and Eurydice, about 1709.
    Getty Museum

    The lovers’ story inspired artists such as Rubens and Titian, and many operas, such as L’Orfeo by Monteverdi (1607). Indeed, operas featuring Orpheus are sufficiently numerous to have their own Wikipedia page.

    The love story of Orpheus and Eurydice recently featured in the Netflix series Kaos (2024). The story is referenced in video games Don’t Look Back (2009) and Hades (2020).

    Orpheus’ desperate journey to reconnect with his lost love holds continued relevance, thousands of years after its first telling.

    Our lady of the underground

    In the musical, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is paralleled with the story of Hades and Persephone.

    In ancient myth, the union of Hades and Persephone in the Underworld was said to cause the changing of the seasons.

    Evelyn De Morgan, Demeter Mourning for Persephone,1906.
    Wikimedia Commons

    Persephone’s divine mother, Demeter, goddess of the harvest and fertility, was so devastated by her daughter’s abduction by Hades that no plants would grow.

    Zeus offered the solution: Persephone would spend half the year below ground and half above.

    When Persephone was with Hades, the world would enter winter. The new life connected with the coming of spring signalled Demeter’s joy at the return of her beloved daughter.

    Way down Hadestown

    The musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, is largely faithful to the broad arc of the ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice. A notable exception is seen in the death of Eurydice. In the ancient myth, this is often attributed to snakebite; in the musical she chooses to descend to the Underworld due to economic desperation.

    Having Eurydice choose to sign her life over to Hades arguably lends her a limited amount of agency, although she almost immediately regrets her decision.

    The choice to give Eurydice a more distinctive voice is reminiscent of the works of Victorian poets Edward Dowden and Robert Browning, as well as later poems by Margaret Atwood and Carol Ann Duffy.

    While in the ancient myth, Eurydice’s speech is limited to her whispered farewell, these poets all give us an insight into Eurydice’s thoughts and feelings. The musical continues this tradition of giving agency, hopes and opinions.

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is paralleled in the musical with the story of Hades and Persephone.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    The dangers posed by unpredictable seasons, seen in the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone, is used in the musical to reflect modern concerns over climate change and environmental decline.

    Rising seas and poor harvests threaten the lives of those inhabiting the industrialised world of Hadestown.

    Orpheus attempts to bring a dystopian world “back in tune” through restoring environmental harmony, bringing a hopeful note to the tragic story.

    Anu is a reassuring presence as the narrator and Orpheus’ confidant, the god Hermes.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    Nothing changes

    In this Australian restaging of the hit Broadway production, Noah Mullins rises to the significant challenge of portraying Orpheus, the greatest of all musicians. Abigail Adriano’s raw portrayal of Eurydice’s confinement in the underworld is genuinely moving.

    Anu is a reassuring presence as the narrator and Orpheus’ confidant, the god Hermes. Adrian Tamburini’s powerful bass-baritone adds to the authority of Hades, and Elenoa Rokobaro gives a dazzling performance as Persephone. The chorus and mostly on-stage band are excellent.

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told for thousands of years.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    At its heart, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice confronts one of the defining challenges of mortality: the reality that death can separate us from those we love and value most.

    In retelling the myth, Hadestown offers timely meditations on the power of creativity and human connection, bringing this ancient love story alive again for modern audiences.

    Hadestown is in Sydney until April 26, then touring to Melbourne.

    Louise Pryke 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. We’ve told this story for 2,500 years: how Hadestown playfully brings alive an ancient Greek myth – https://theconversation.com/weve-told-this-story-for-2-500-years-how-hadestown-playfully-brings-alive-an-ancient-greek-myth-249718

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Would Sidney Nolan be cancelled for painting Ned Kelly today? That’s what Creative Australia has done to Khaled Sabsabi

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University

    Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is all the richer for it.

    On Thursday, Shadow Arts Minister and self-described defender of free speech Claire Chandler asked Senator Penny Wong:

    Why is the Albanese government allowing a person who highlights a terrorist leader in his artwork to represent Australia on the international stage at the Venice Biennale?

    Without seeing the work, Senator Wong said

    I agree with you that any glorification of the Hezbollah leader Nasrallah is inappropriate.

    This was followed by disapproval from Arts Minister Tony Burke. Within 24 hours, Creative Australia’s board announced Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, the nominated artistic team for the Australian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, had been scratched.

    The news sparked shock resignations at Creative Australia, private funding retractions and widespread outrage across the Australian and international arts sectors.

    The work in question, You, isn’t related to Sabsabi’s proposed 2026 Biennale work. It is an experimental video artwork which engages with the complexities of the 2006 Lebanon War and how Sabsabi, who was born in Tripoli and migrated to Australia in 1978, may have experienced this war remotely via newsfeed.

    The work features images of now-deceased Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It should be noted the work was made in 2007, 14 years before Australia determined Hezbollah to be a terrorist organisation. It resides in the prestigious collection of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

    A double standard

    Prior to Sabsabi, a number of prominent Australian artists have depicted outlaws and controversial figures in their work. So how were those works received?

    Let’s look at Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series as an example. These 27 famous paintings depict the notorious bushranger Edward (Ned) Kelly’s final days in 1880. Nolan painted the series between 1946 and 1947, in the aftermath of the catastrophic second world war.

    The works can be understood as an effort to investigate homegrown violence in Australia’s history, wherein the outlaw is a metaphor used to explore conflicting migrant/settler cultures among the bright and dusty central Victorian landscape.

    Similarly, late Australian painter and 2000 Archibald Prize winner Adam Cullen did not meet much controversy when his 2002 portrait of convicted violent criminal Mark “Chopper” Read was installed in the Art Gallery of NSW. That same year, Cullen illustrated Mark Read’s children’s book, Hooky the Cripple.

    An acclaimed artist, Cullen is revered for depicting violence and darkness in Australian culture. His works reside in most state and national collections.

    Art thrives through diverse perspectives

    Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley’s 2018 series Blood Money revises Australian banknotes to feature historical First Nations figures, and forms part of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s art collection.

    Works in the series include First Nations colonial resistance fighters and outlaws Jandamarra (1873–97), Woloa (1800-31), Pemulwuy (1750-1802) and Dundalli (circa 1820-55).

    These individuals waged violence against the Crown and were classified as enemy combatants in their time. Yet it’s fair to say they make compelling and appropriate subjects for Presley’s art, which helps us better understand Australia’s complex and violent history.

    Iranian-born Australian photographer Hoda Afshar’s Agonistes (2020), an award-winning portrait series with accompanying video, features various Australian whistleblowers, including Witness K Lawyer Bernard Collaery and the incarcerated Afghan Files whistleblower David McBride.

    Each figure depicted in Afshar’s portraits has faced punishment and persecution by local authorities, in part due to Australia’s weak whistleblower protection laws.

    Khaled Sabsabi is a distinguished Australian artist whose Biennale proposal won a rigorous open tender to be exhibited in Venice 2026. Spanning 30 years, his work examines spiritualism, optimism and the intricate beauty of a migrant Australian experience that’s particularly unique to the global microcosm of Western Sydney.

    If artists are to be cancelled for making works that spark “divisive debate”, as Creative Australia has called it, there won’t be much art left to see.

    Ella Barclay has previously received funding from Creative Australia.

    – ref. Would Sidney Nolan be cancelled for painting Ned Kelly today? That’s what Creative Australia has done to Khaled Sabsabi – https://theconversation.com/would-sidney-nolan-be-cancelled-for-painting-ned-kelly-today-thats-what-creative-australia-has-done-to-khaled-sabsabi-249952

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University

    Adwo/Shutterstock

    Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely used in Australian households.

    Unfortunately, these potent poisons do not magically disappear after the rodent is dead. For example, it’s well known owls who eat poisoned rodents suffer the same slow death from internal bleeding.

    Our new research shows the problem is much bigger than owls. We found Australia’s five largest marsupial predators – the four quoll species and the Tasmanian devil – are getting hit by these poisons too.

    Half of the 52 animals we tested had these poisons in their bodies. Some had died from it. These species are already threatened by foxes and feral cats. Rat poison is yet another threat – and one they may not be able to survive. Other countries have moved to ban these poisons. But in Australia, they’re widely available.

    How does rat poison end up in a Tasmanian devil?

    Quolls and Tasmanian devils are carnivores. They eat mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, finding food by hunting – or by scavenging dead bodies, including rats and mice. But do they eat enough poisoned rats and mice to be at risk?

    To find out, we analysed liver samples from all four of Australia’s quoll species as well as the iconic Tasmanian devil. The samples came from dead animals from a range of sources, including animals dying in veterinary care, found as roadkill, or simply found dead.

    Each of these species is endangered or vulnerable. Together, they represent the largest remaining Australian carnivorous marsupials – native animals at the top of their food chains.

    We tested samples from 52 animals. Half of these were positive for second generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Of these, 21% tested positive for more than one rodenticide.

    Unfortunately, many animals we tested had consumed doses high enough to kill. Around 15% of the Tasmanian devils, 20% of the eastern quolls, 22% of chuditch (western quolls) and 20% of the spotted-tailed quolls tested were very likely to die either from the poison itself or a related cause such as longer-term sickening.

    Tasmanian devils often scavenge from carcasses – exposing them to poisoned rats.
    Vaclav Matous/Shutterstock

    We found one chuditch from a Perth suburb had been exposed to three different second-generation rodenticides. It had levels of one poison, brodifacoum, at 1.6 milligrams per kilo, far above the rate presumed to be lethal to mammals. This is likely the highest recorded exposure rate in an Australian marsupial.

    Some 5% of Tasmanian devils had also been exposed to lethal levels of these second-generation poisons and a further 10% were exposed to potentially lethal levels.

    Even when these poisons don’t directly kill the quoll or devil, they can leave it worse off.

    All five species are threatened, meaning their populations are a fraction of what they used to be. Even small changes to populations can trigger more rapid decline.

    Our analysis indicates an increase in deaths of just 2–4% of the chuditch population could increase extinction risk by 75%. This figure is dwarfed by how many chuditch are at risk from rat poisons, which we estimate at 22% of any given population in each generation, based on the exposure rates here.

    So, exposure to rat poison alone is likely enough to tip the species towards extinction – even without other threats such as being killed by foxes and cats.

    The release of an eastern quoll during a translocation. Rat poisons may pose a real risk to the species.
    Judy Dunlop, CC BY-NC-ND

    Can poisons be too potent?

    After the poison kills a mouse or rat, it remains lethal for some time.

    The poisons we examined take several months to halve in toxicity, meaning during this time they can kill owls, reptiles, frogs and small and medium-sized mammals such as possums.

    In Australia and around the world, evidence is mounting that these second-generation rodenticides are killing many more animals than those targeted. The poisons are hitting a wide range of carnivores including otters, wolves, foxes and raccoons. Even the famous Californian condor is threatened by rodenticides.

    Efforts to use thousands of litres of bromadiolone to stop a mouse plague in New South Wales triggered strong criticism. But to date, criticism has done little to curb their use in Australia.

    Second generation anticoagulant poisons are extremely effective at killing rats and mice – but the poison doesn’t stop there.
    speedshutter Photography/Shutterstock

    Australia is an outlier on this issue. In European and North American nations, these products are restricted to use by licensed pest controllers and banned for home use. Some nations have gone further and banned these poisons altogether. But here, you can buy them at Bunnings, Coles or Woolworths.

    Last year, a delegation of Australian researchers lobbied politicians to do more to regulate the use of these poisons.

    The institution responsible for ensuring poisons are safe is the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority. At present, the authority is weighing a decision on whether to introduce restrictions on these second-generation poisons, expected in April.

    Four other threatened Australian species – the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, Tasmanian masked owl, powerful owl and Carnaby’s black cockatoo – have previously been found to be exposed to these rodenticides. Our research takes this tally to nine threatened species.

    In the absence of regulation, you can make a difference at home. Don’t use second-generation poisons which rely on brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, difenacoum or flocoumafen. Get rid of your mouse or rat problem with first-generation poisons containing warfarin, coumatetralyl or other chemicals.

    If you only have a mouse or two, consider looking at non-poison alternatives.

    Taking a moment to consider these alternatives could save Australia’s most threatened native predators from an agonising death.

    Acknowledgements: Michael Lohr (Birdlife Australia) was the lead author on the research behind this article. Cheryl Lohr (Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia) contributed to the research.

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

    – ref. Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils – https://theconversation.com/lethal-second-generation-rat-poisons-are-killing-endangered-quolls-and-tasmanian-devils-250035

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: NSW Government marks 60 years since the Freedom Ride

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: NSW Government marks 60 years since the Freedom Ride

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, Minister for Environment and Heritage

    The Minns Labor Government has marked the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Ride with the announcement of funding to complete a community pavilion in Walgett and a new program to commemorate significant steps along the Freedom Ride route.

    Minister for Heritage Penny Sharpe and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris are in Walgett today to announce the grant for the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service to complete the Freedom Ride Pavilion in Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett.

    The Ministers also unveiled a blue plaque in the town, to formally recognise the Freedom Ride. It’s one of several blue plaques to be installed in key locations along the Freedom Ride route. NSW Blue Plaques are a popular heritage program recognising the events, groups and people who contributed to the rich history of NSW.

    The 1965 Freedom Ride was instrumental in raising awareness of racial injustice and building momentum for reconciliation action in Australia.

    Inspired by a set of bus trips by the civil rights movement in the US, a group of 30 University of Sydney students hired a bus, hung a banner across the front and set off on a two-week journey through regional NSW.

    Led by Indigenous rights activist Charles Perkins, the group rode through Wellington, Gulargambone and Walgett, before passing Moree, Boggabilla, Tenterfield, Lismore, Grafton, Bowraville and Kempsey.

    Their efforts were not well-received by locals, who pelted them with fruit and stones, and even chased the bus in a convoy of cars. In one town, police officers had to escort the students to safety.

    The Freedom Ride Blue Plaque Trail will capture the stories and events that took place at the key stops on the Freedom Ride journey. In Walgett, they protested a ban on Indigenous ex-servicemen entering the Returned Services League (RSL) Club. In Moree and Kempsey, they called out local laws barring Indigenous children from swimming pools. In Bowraville, they attempted to ‘gatecrash’ the cinema to protest the inequity in ticketing for Indigenous people.

    The widely publicised Freedom Ride contributed significantly to changes in Australians’ attitudes towards Aboriginal rights. Subsequently, in 1967, more than 90% of Australians voted ‘Yes’ in a landmark referendum that gave Indigenous Australians full rights as citizens.

    The Minns Labor Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to improve the lives of and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.

    For more information on the Freedom Ride blue plaque visit https://blueplaques.nsw.gov.au/blue-plaques/locations/1965-freedom-ride

    The community will be consulted on the locations of future plaques.

    Quote attributable to Minister for Heritage, Penny Sharpe:

    “NSW has profoundly changed as a result of Charles Perkins and the students who drew attention to racial injustice in our state.

    “It is fitting that the Blue Plaques program will join up from Sydney to Walgett to mark the journey and tell the stories of the Freedom Ride and the changes that happened as a result of it.

    “In Walgett, the Freedom Ride will also be recognised through the addition of a Freedom Ride Pavillion in the Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett, drawing visitors to the town.”

    Quote attributable to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris:

    “It is crucial we celebrate the courage, resilience and strength of the original Freedom Riders and of all Aboriginal people who, now and in the past, have led the way for racial equality in Australia. 

    “The NSW Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to close the gap and improve the lives and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.

    “By listening to Aboriginal voices, supporting Aboriginal-led initiatives, and committing to real action, we can follow in the footsteps of the Freedom Riders to build a more just and equal Australia.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The threat of 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ is growing, but NZ is yet to act on these 3 big legal gaps

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

    It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful.

    There are three main ways to source an illegal weapon: find a lawful owner willing to provide one unlawfully, buy one from another criminal, or make your own.

    The first two options aren’t as easy as they sound. The buyer might “know a guy” willing to sell, but the seller generally has good reason to be cautious about who they sell to.

    The price of the right firearm can be high, too, as is how “clean” its history is. No criminal wants to be connected to someone else’s crimes by their weapon’s history.

    Which leads us to the third option. Privately made firearms, manufactured to avoid detection by the authorities, are nothing new. What has grown is the computer-aided manufacture, of which 3D-printing technology is the best known form, enabling manufacture without traditional gunsmithing skills.

    The resulting “ghost guns” will potentially become more prevalent in New Zealand, and are already posing a significant challenge in overseas jurisdictions. With public submissions on the planned rewriting of the Arms Act closing at the end of February, it’s an issue we can’t ignore.

    No room for complacency

    Although blueprints of fully 3D-printed firearms are most common, hybrid designs, conversion kits, and firearms components sold as a kit or as separate pieces, are all gaining ground.

    These are all far more advanced and deadly than the homemade wood and metal weapon used in 2022 to kill former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

    Their ease of manufacture, improved reliability and performance, non-traceability and lower cost all appear to be driving demand. There is also the ideological attraction of avoiding state scrutiny that makes 3D-printing popular with far-right extremist groups.

    New Zealand authorities seized their first 3D-printed firearm in the middle of 2018. As of the end of last year, 58 3D-printed guns and between 200 and 300 firearms parts had been seized.

    This growth mirrors overseas trends. But it’s important to keep the numbers in perspective. Of the 9,662 firearms (including airguns) the New Zealand Police seized between August 2016 and July 2022, the most common were conventional rifles and shotguns.

    However, that is no cause for complacency. If proposed firearms law reforms – such as a new registry – help shrink the black market, we can expect the ghost gun market to grow.

    3D printed guns and gun conversion devices held by the US National Firearm Reference Vault.
    Getty Images

    Gaps in the law

    Legislation passed in 2020 makes the crime of illegal manufacturing (by unlicensed people) punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment.

    Additional penalties can be added for making certain prohibited items, such as large-capacity magazines. In October last year, an Otago man became the first to be imprisoned in New Zealand for 3D-printing firearms.

    Despite this, and the foreseeable risk, there are several significant gaps in New Zealand law.

    1. Making guns detectable

    Unlike the US and some other countries, New Zealand does not mandate that every gun be detectable by containing enough metal to set off X-ray machines and metal detectors.

    The US also prohibits any firearms with major components that do not show up accurately in standard airport imaging technology.

    2. Penalties for obtaining blueprints

    While the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms is illegal, there is nothing specific in New Zealand law about downloading blueprints.

    There may be scope within existing censorship laws around downloading objectionable material. But this may be limited by the need to classify each plan or blueprint as objectionable. And artificial intelligence means these plans can change and evolve rapidly.

    More wholesale laws covering the computer-aided manufacture of firearms or their individual parts would be preferable.

    Canada, for example, introduced recent changes to firearms law making it a crime to access or download plans or graphics. Knowingly sharing or selling such data online for manufacturing or trafficking is also a crime, with penalties of up to ten years in prison.

    New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia are all making new laws in this area. In the case of South Australia, offenders face up to 15 years in prison for the possession of 3D-printer firearms blueprints.

    3. Preventing ‘ghost ammunition’

    Privately manufactured firearms still require ammunition to be effective, and the Arms Act is only partly effective in this area.

    Only firearms licence holders can lawfully possess non-prohibited ammunition, and all firearms dealers and ammunition sellers must keep a record of those transactions.

    But that obligation does not apply when firearms licence holders give, share or otherwise supply ammunition among themselves. Furthermore, there are only limited regulations around obtaining the precursors or tools for making ammunition, with only a few key ingredients, like gunpowder, restricted to licence holders.

    This is similar to the Australian approach. But Australia also requires licensed owners to purchase only the type of ammunition required for their specific firearms type.

    Trying to the correct balance here is tricky: the law must be practical to work but also ensure a potential ghost gun market does not create a “ghost ammunition” market, too.

    The ability to privately manufacture firearms, by computer-aided methods in particular, is a foreseeable and potentially hard-to-police problem. But by learning from other jurisdictions and making a few simple law changes, New Zealand can move now to make communities safer.

    The author thanks Clementine Annabell for assisting with the research for this article.

    Alexander Gillespie is a recipient of a Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship to research comparative best practice in the regulation of firearms. He is also a member of the Ministerial Arms Advisory Group. The views expressed here are his own and not to be attributed to either of these organisations.

    – ref. The threat of 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ is growing, but NZ is yet to act on these 3 big legal gaps – https://theconversation.com/the-threat-of-3d-printed-ghost-guns-is-growing-but-nz-is-yet-to-act-on-these-3-big-legal-gaps-248541

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: First Woman Presidentially Appointed as United States Attorney for the District of Utah Departs from Post

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The first woman presidentially appointed as the United States Attorney for the District of Utah and sworn into office as the 38th United States Attorney to serve in the State of Utah, leaves the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Honorable Trina A. Higgins was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on January 31, 2022. Her last day as United States Attorney is February 16, 2025.

    Under Higgins’ leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah focused on cases that have the largest impact and cause the most harm to Utah citizens. Working with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office significantly increased the number of financial crime prosecutions in Utah; brought more complex narcotics and firearm cases focused on defendants higher in criminal organizations; and prosecuted many significant violent crime cases, including murders, sexual assaults, child exploitation, human trafficking, robberies, and carjackings.

    During her tenure, The U.S. Attorney’s Office tried 35 jury trials, including three homicides committed in Tribal communities. United States Attorney Higgins was the trial attorney in one case where a man brutally murdered a Navajo woman in front of her two young daughters in the Navajo Nation. The jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

    United States Attorney Higgins also served on several Attorney General’s Advisory Committee subcommittees for Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. Those included the Environmental Justice Subcommittee, the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee, and the Native American Issues Subcommittee.

    Maintaining the United States Attorney’s strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, United States Attorney Higgins made it a priority to strengthen and build upon those relationships to pursue justice and better serve the people of Utah.

    Leaders in the law enforcement community offered comments regarding U.S Attorney Higgins’ service.

    “Strong partnerships between law enforcement and prosecutors are essential to upholding the rule of law. U.S. Attorney Higgins has been an invaluable friend to the FBI and a staunch supporter of our mission,” said Mehtab Syed, Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City FBI. “During her tenure, she championed the safety of Utahns, and we thank her for her years of dedicated public service.”

    “United States Attorney Trina Higgins has been an engaged and dedicated law enforcement partner as well as a steadfast advocate of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers. “Her extensive experience as a career prosecutor, and unwavering commitment in her pursuit of justice have been pivotal in the successful prosecution of many complex cases.”

    “I would like to thank United States Attorney Higgins for her many years of dedicated service as a federal prosecutor and as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah,” said U.S. Marshal Justin Martinez of the District of Utah. “USA Higgins is a consummate professional and has always kept the lines of communication open.  USA Higgins is an extremally effective leader and a real change agent.  She will be greatly missed by the U.S. Marshals Service and every federal, state and local agency she works with.”

    “With appreciation, we thank United States Attorney Higgins for her dedication to DEA efforts in the state of Utah,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. “Cooperation and hard work between DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, has led to many successful prosecutions. On behalf of the men and women of DEA, we wish nothing but the best for United States Attorney Higgins now and into the future.”

    “HSI is grateful for its long-standing relationship with United States Attorney Higgins and her staff,” said HSI Utah Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brandon Crane. “The collaboration has had a significant impact on public safety throughout Utah and stands as an example for future collaborations.”

    “United States Attorney Higgins has been a tremendous partner in supporting the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s efforts to safeguard the U.S. Mail, postal workers, and the public,” said Glen Henderson, Inspector in Charge of the Phoenix Division.  “United States Attorney Higgins was committed to holding accountable those who harm postal employees or exploit the U.S. Mail for illicit activities, including narcotics distribution.  It has been a pleasure to collaborate with United States Attorney Higgins and we wish her continued success in all her future endeavors.”

    “I want to thank United States Attorney Higgins for her partnership and outstanding leadership in working with our local law enforcement agencies,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. “She prioritized complex and violent offender cases to improve safety within the communities we serve.”

    “United States Attorney Trina Higgins’ dedication to justice and service to the community is truly exceptional and will be greatly missed,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. “Her career as a dedicated prosecutor made our city safer—whether it was prosecuting some of our first Project Safe Neighborhood cases or complex, high-profile, or challenging cases. United States Attorney Higgins handled every case with professionalism and a true sense of duty. Never did she hide from the difficult cases. We will always remember USA Higgins’ compassion for crime victims and their families. She made sure victims’ voices were heard and understood in the pursuit of justice. While we will miss United States Attorney Higgins greatly, I know her legacy will endure through the District of Utah because of her distinguished career.”

    United States Attorney Higgins has been in public service for 30 years. Prior to her leadership role as U.S. Attorney, Higgins served as an Assistant United States Attorney for over two decades and as a Salt Lake County Deputy District Attorney. At the time of her nomination, Higgins was serving as the Mediterranean Legal Advisor at the United States embassies in Valletta, Malta and Nicosia, Cyprus. A Utah native, Higgins earned her undergraduate degree from Weber State University and Juris Doctor degree from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, where she also worked as an adjunct professor for a decade. 
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese scientists identify key genes to fight against crop parasites

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Chinese scientists have identified two critical genes responsible for sorghum’s resistance to Striga, a parasitic plant that causes significant crop losses.
    The study, published in the journal Cell, was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Agricultural University and other institutions.
    Striga, also known as “witchweed,” is a destructive parasitic plant that depends on host plants for nutrients and water, severely affecting crop yields and agricultural ecosystems.
    Sorghum, a vital crop in many regions, is vulnerable to Striga infestation. Sorghum roots release strigolactones (SLs), a class of plant hormones that help recruit mycorrhizal fungi for nutrient uptake. However, these same SLs inadvertently act as signals for dormant Striga seeds in the soil, triggering their germination and subsequent infestation of the host plant, explained Xie Qi, a researcher from IGDB.
    “The parasitization process of the Striga is extremely insidious and difficult to control,” Xie said.
    Using gene mining techniques alongside big data analysis and other technologies, the research team has identified two key genes, SbSLT1 and SbSLT2, for the first time. Their findings reveal that knocking out these genes inhibits SL secretion. Under these conditions, Striga is unable to germinate and infect the host.
    Field trials demonstrated that sorghum with knocked-out SbSLT1 and SbSLT2 genes exhibited 67 to 94 percent lower infestation rates and 49 to 52 percent reduction in yield loss, according to the study.
    These findings offer valuable genetic resources and technical support for breeding Striga-resistant sorghum varieties, Xie said.
    The researchers emphasized that the discovery of SbSLT1 and SbSLT2 could provide crucial tools for combating parasitic plants, potentially addressing food security challenges in countries severely affected by parasitic plants, especially African and Asian countries. Future research will focus on validating these genes in crops such as maize, tomato and millet. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting

    Source: NASA

    Introduction
    The 10th Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Radiometer [NISTAR] Science Team Meeting (STM) was held October 16–18, 2024. Over 50 scientists attended, most of whom were from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with several participating from other NASA centers, U.S. universities, and U.S. Department of Energy laboratories. There was one international participant – from Estonia. A full overview of DSCOVR’s Earth-observing instruments was published in a previous article in The Earth Observer and will not be repeated here. This article provides the highlights of the 2024 meeting. The meeting agenda and full presentations can be downloaded from GSFC’s Aura Validation Data Center.
    Opening Presentations
    The opening session of the 10th DSCOVR STM was special. Former U.S., Vice President Al Gore attended the opening session and gave a presentation at the panel discussion “Remote Sensing and the Future of Earth Observations” – see Photo. Gore was involved in the early days of planning the DSCOVR mission, which at that time was known as Triana. He reminisced about his involvement and praised the team for the work they’ve done over the past decade to launch and maintain the DSCOVR mission. Following the STM Opening Session, Gore spoke at a GSFC Engage session in Building 3 later that afternoon on the same topic, but before a wider audience. [Link forthcoming.]
    Following Gore’s remarks, the remainder of the opening session consisted of a series of presentations from DSCOVR mission leaders and representatives from GSFC and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thomas Neumann [GSFC, Earth Sciences Division (ESD)—Deputy Director] opened the meeting and welcomed Vice President Gore and the STM participants on behalf of the ESD. Adam Szabo [GSFC—DSCOVR Project Scientist] briefly reported that the spacecraft was still in “good health.” The EPIC and NISTAR instruments on DSCOVR continue to return their full science observations. He also gave an update on DSCOVR Space Weather research. Alexander Marshak [GSFC—DSCOVR Deputy Project Scientist] briefly described DSCOVR mission history and the science results based on DSCOVR observations from the first Sun–Earth Lagrange point (hereinafter, the L1 point). He also summarized the major EPIC and NISTAR results to date. At this time, more than 125 papers related to DSCOVR are listed on the EPIC website. Elsayed Talaat [NOAA, Office of Space Weather observations—Director] discussed the future of Earth and space science studies from the L1 point.

    Updates on DSCOVR Operations
    The DSCOVR mission components continue to function nominally. The meeting was an opportunity to update participants on progress over the past year on several fronts, including data acquisition, processing, and archiving, and release of new versions of several data products. The number of people using DSCOVR data continues to increase, with a new Science Outreach Team having been put in place to aid users in several aspects of data discovery, access, and user friendliness.
    Amanda Raab [NOAA, DSCOVR Mission Operations and Systems] reported on the current status of the DSCOVR mission. She also discussed spacecraft risks and issues such as memory fragmentation and data storage task anomalies but indicated that both these issues have been resolved.
    Hazem Mahmoud [NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC)] discussed the work of the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC), which is based at LaRC. He showed DSCOVR mission metrics since 2015, focusing on data downloads and the global outreach of the mission. He noted that there has been a significant rise in the number of downloads and an increasing diversity of countries accessing ozone (O3), aerosol, and cloud data products. Mahmoud also announced that the ASDC is transitioning to the Amazon Web Services cloud, which will further enhance global access and streamline DSCOVR data processing.
    Karin Blank [GSFC] covered the discovery of a new type of mirage that can only be seen in deep space from EPIC. The discussion included the use of a ray tracer in determining the origin of the phenomenon, and under what conditions it can be seen.
    Alexander Cede [SciGlob] and Ragi Rajagopalan [LiftBlick OG] gave an overview of the stability of the EPIC Level-1A (L1A) data over the first decade of operation. They explained that the only observable changes in the EPIC calibration are to the dark count and flat field can – and that these changes can be entirely attributed to the temperature change of the system in orbit compared to prelaunch conditions. No additional hot or warm pixels have emerged since launch and no significant sensitivity drifts have been observed. The results that Cede and Rajagopalan showed that EPIC continues to be a remarkably stable instrument, which is attributed to a large extent to its orbit around the L1 point, which is located outside the Earth’s radiation belts and thus an extremely stable temperature environment. Consequently, in terms of stability, the L1 point is far superior to other Earth observation points, e.g., ground-based, low-Earth orbit (LEO), polar orbit, or geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
    Marshall Sutton [GSFC] discussed the state of the DSCOVR Science Operation Center (DSOC). He also talked about processing EPIC Level-1 (L1) data into L2 science products, daily images available on the EPIC website, and special imaging opportunities, e.g., volcanic eruptions.
    EPIC Calibration
    After 10 years of operation in space, the EPIC instrument on DSCOVR continues to be a remarkably stable instrument. The three presentations describe different ways that are used to verify the EPIC measurements remain reliable.
    Conor Haney [LaRC] reported on anomalous outliers during February and March 2023 from the broadband shortwave (SW) flux using EPIC L1B channel radiances. To ensure that these outliers were not a result of fluctuations in the EPIC L1B channel radiances, both the EPIC radiance measurements and coincident, ray-matched radiance measurements from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) platform, were processed using the same deep convective cloud invariant target (DCC-IT) algorithm. This analysis confirmed that the anomalous behavior was due to the DCC-IT algorithm – and not because of fluctuations in the EPIC L1B channel radiances. The improved DCC-IT methodology was also applied to the EPIC L1B radiances. The results indicate that the EPIC record is quite stable with a lower uncertainty than when processed using the previous DCC-IT methodology.
    Igor Geogdzhaev [NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)/Columbia University] reported that EPIC Visible–Near Infrared (VIS-NIR) calibration based on VIIRS (on Suomi NPP) data has showed excellent stability, while VIIRS (on NOAA-20 and -21) derived gains agree to within 1–2%. Preliminary analysis showed continuity in the gains derived from Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data. (ABI flies on NOAA’s two operational Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite–Series R satellites – GOES-17 and GOES-18.
    Liang–Kang Huang [Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)] reported on updates to the EPIC ultraviolet (UV) channel sensitivity time dependences using Sun-normalized radiance comparisons between EPIC and measurements from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Nadir Mapper (NM) on Suomi NPP, with coinciding footprints and solar/satellite angles. Huang’s team determined vignetting factors in the sensitivity calibration between 2021–2024, as a function of charge coupled device (CCD) pixel radius and pixel polar angles, using special lunar measurement sequences.
    NISTAR Status and Science with Its Observations
    The NISTAR instrument remains fully functional and continues its uninterrupted data record. The NISTAR-related presentations during this meeting included more details on specific topics related to NISTAR as well as on efforts to combine information from both EPIC and NISTAR.
    Steven Lorentz [L-1 Standards and Technology, Inc.] reported that the NISTAR on DSCOVR has been measuring the irradiance from the sunlit Earth in three bands for more than nine years. The three bands measure the outgoing total and reflected-solar radiation from Earth at a limited range of solar angles. To compare the long-term stability of EPIC and NISTAR responses, researchers developed a narrowband to wideband conversion model to allow the direct comparison of the EPIC multiband imagery and NISTAR SW – see Figure 1 – and silicon photodiode channels. Lorentz presented daily results spanning several years. The comparison employed different detectors from the same spacecraft – but with the same vantage point – thereby avoiding any model dependent orbital artifacts.

    Clark Weaver [University of Maryland, College Park (UMD)] used spectral information from the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY (SCIAMACHY), which flew on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Envisat satellite from 2002–2012, to fill EPIC spectral gaps. He reported on construction of a composite height resolution spectrum that was spectrally integrated to produce SW energy. Weaver explained that he compared the EPIC reflected SW with four-hour averages from Band 4 on NISTAR. He used spectral information from SCIAMACHY to fill in gaps. Weaver also discussed results of a comparison of area integrated EPIC SW energy with observations from NISTAR . 
    Andrew Lacis [GISS] reported on results of analysis of seven years of EPIC-derived planetary albedo for Earth, which reveal global-scale longitudinal variability occurring over a wide range of frequencies – with strong correlation between nearby longitudes and strong anticorrelation between diametrically opposed longitudes. This behavior in the Earth’s global-scale energy budget variability is fully corroborated by seven years of NISTAR silicon photodiode measurements, which view the Earth with 1º longitudinal resolution. This analysis establishes the DSCOVR mission EPIC/NISTAR measurements as a new and unmatched observational data source for evaluating global climate model performance– e.g., see Figure 2.

    Wenying Su [LaRC] discussed global daytime mean SW fluxes within the EPIC field of view produced from January 2016–June 2024. These quasi-hourly SW fluxes agree very well with the Synoptic data product from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments (currently flying on the Terra and Aqua, Suomi NPP, and NOAA-20 platforms) with the root mean square errors (rmse) less than 3 W/m2. This SW flux processing framework will be used to calculate NISTAR SW flux when Version 4 (V4) of the NISTAR radiance becomes available. Su noted that SW fluxes from EPIC are not suitable to study interannual variability as the magnitude of EPIC flux is sensitive to the percentage of daytime area visible to EPIC.
    Update on EPIC Products and Science Results
    EPIC has a suite of data products available. The following subsections summarize content during the DSCOVR STM related to these products. The updates focus on several data products and the related algorithm improvements. 
    Total Column Ozone
    Jerry Ziemke [Morgan State University (MSU), Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research–II (GESTAR II)] and Natalya Kramarova [GSFC] reported that tropospheric O3 from DSCOVR EPIC shows anomalous reductions of ~10% throughout the Northern Hemisphere (NH) starting in Spring 2020 that continues to the present. The EPIC data, along with other satellite-based (e.g., Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura platform) and ground-based (e.g., Pandora) data, indicate that the observed NH reductions in O3 are due to combined effects from meteorology and reduced pollution, including reduced shipping pollution in early 2020 (during COVID) – see Figure 3. EPIC 1–2 hourly data are also used to evaluate hourly total O3 and derived tropospheric O3 from NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) geostationary instrument. Ziemke explained that comparison of TEMPO data with EPIC data has helped the researchers characterize a persistent latitude-dependent offset in TEMPO total O3 data of ~10–15% from south to north over the North American continent.

    Algorithm Improvement for Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide Products
    Kai Yang [UMD] presented a comprehensive evaluation of total and tropospheric O3 retrievals, highlighting the long-term stability and high accuracy of EPIC measurements. He also validated EPIC’s volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) retrievals by comparing them with ground-based Brewer spectrophotometer measurements and summarized EPIC’s observations of SO2 from recent volcanic eruptions.
    Simon Carn [University of Michigan] showed the first comparisons between the EPIC L2 volcanic SO2 product and SO2 retrievals from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) on the Korean GEO-Kompsat-2B satellite. GEMS observes East Asia as part of the new geostationary UV air quality (GEO-AQ) satellite constellation (which also includes TEMPO that observes North America and will include the Ultraviolet–Visible–Near Infrared (UVN) instrument on the European Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, that will be launched in 2025 to observe Europe and surrounding areas) – but is not optimized for measurements of high SO2 columns during volcanic eruptions. EPIC SO2 data for the 2024 eruption of Ruang volcano in Indonesia are being used to validate a new GEMS volcanic SO2 product. Initial comparisons show good agreement between EPIC and GEMS before volcanic cloud dispersal and confirm the greater sensitivity of the hyperspectral GEMS instrument to low SO2 column amounts.
    Aerosols
    Alexei Lyapustin [GSFC] reported that the latest EPIC aerosols algorithm (V3) simultaneously retrieves aerosol optical depth, aerosol spectral absorption, and aerosol layer height (ALH) – achieving high accuracy. He showed that global validation of the single scattering albedo in the blue and red shows 66% and 81–95% agreement respectively, with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observations – which is within the expected error of 0.03 for smoke and dust aerosols. Lyapustin also reported on a comparison of EPIC aerosol data collected from 2015–2023 by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), which flew on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. The results show that ALH is retrieved with rmse ~1.1 km (0.7 mi). ALH is unbiased over the ocean and is underestimated by 450 m (1470 ft) for the smoke and by 750 m (2460 ft) for the dust aerosols over land. 
    Myungje Choi and Sujung Go [both from University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC), GESTAR II] presented results from a global smoke and dust characterization using Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm. This study characterized smoke and dust aerosol properties derived from MAIAC EPIC processing, examining spectral absorption, ALH, and chemical composition (e.g., black and brown carbon). Regions with smoldering wildfires, e.g., North America and Siberia, exhibited high ALH and a significant fraction of brown carbon, while Central Africa showed lower ALH with higher black carbon emissions.
    Omar Torres [GSFC] discussed how L1 DSCOVR-EPIC observations are being used to study air quality (i.e., tropospheric O3 and aerosols) globally. Torres noted that this application of EPIC-L1 observations is of particular interest in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) where, unlike over the NH, there are currently no space GEO-based air quality measurements – and no plans for them in the foreseeable future.
    Hiren Jethva [MSU, GESTAR II] presented the new results of the aerosol optical centroid height retrieved from the EPIC Oxygen-B band observations. He described the algorithm details, showed retrieval maps, and reviewed the comparative analysis against CALIOP backscatter-weighted measurements. The analysis showed a good level of agreement with more than 70% of matchup data within 1–1.5 km (0.6–0.9 mi) difference.
    Jun Wang [University of Iowa] presented his team’s work on advancing the second generation of the aerosol optical centroid height (AOCH) algorithm for EPIC. Key advancements included: constraining surface reflectance in aerosol retrieval using an EPIC-based climatology of surface reflectance ratios between 442–680 nm; incorporating a dynamic aerosol model to characterize aged smoke particles; and employing a spectral slope technique to distinguish thick smoke plumes from clouds. Results show that both atmospheric optical depth (AOD) and AOCH retrievals are improved in the second generation of AOCH algorithm.
    Olga Kalashnikova [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)] reported on improving brown carbon evolution processes in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model with EPIC products. She indicated that DSCOVR product evaluation, using lidar aerosol height measurements from CALIOP, led to an improved operational brown carbon product. To better resolve the temporal evolution of brown carbon, chemical transport models need to include more information about near-source fires.
    Mike Garay [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)] discussed constraining near-source brown carbon emissions from 2024 Canadian ‘zombie’ fires with EPIC products. He reported that fires in British Columbia, Canada showed differences in brown carbon emission near the sources.  Garay explained that their investigation has revealed that these differences were related to fire intensity and variations in vegetation/soil content.
    Yuekui Yang [GSFC] presented work that examined the impact of Earth’s curvature consideration on EPIC cloud height retrievals. Biases under the Plane Parallel (PPL) assumption is studied by comparing results using the improved pseudo-spherical shell approximation. PPL retrievals in general bias high and for a cloud with height of 5 km (3 mi), the bias is about 6%.
    Alfonso Delgado Bonal [UMBC] stated that the EPIC vantage point offers a unique opportunity to observe not only the current state of the Earth but also its temporal evolution. By capturing multiple observations of the planet throughout the day, EPIC enables statistical reconstruction of diurnal patterns in clouds and other atmospheric parameters. Bonal’s team focused their research on O3 (primarily tropospheric) over the U.S. to demonstrate the presence of a diurnal cycle in the western regions of the continental U.S. However, ground-based data from PANDORA for specific locations do not support these diurnal variations – underscoring the critical role of space-based O3 retrievals. The proposed methodology is not limited to clouds or O3 but is broadly applicable to other EPIC measurements for the dynamic nature of our planet.
    Elizabeth Berry [Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER)] presented results from a coincident DSCOVR–CloudSat dataset [covering 2015–2020]. Cloud properties (e.g., cloud height and optical depth) from DSCOVR and CloudSat are moderately correlated and show quite good agreement given differences in the instruments sensitivities and footprints. Berry explained that a machine-learning model trained on the coincident data demonstrates high accuracy at predicting the presence of vertical cloud layers. However, precision and recall metrics highlight the challenge of predicting the precise location of cloud boundaries.
    Anthony Davis [JPL] presented a pathway toward accurate estimation of the cloud optical thickness (COT) of opaque clouds and cloud systems, e.g., supercells, mesoscale convective complexes, and tropical cyclones (TCs). He described the approach, which uses differential oxygen absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) that has resolving power greater than 104 – which is comparable to that of the high-resolution spectrometers on NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory–2 (OCO-2) – but is based upon the cloud information content of EPIC’s O2 A- and B-band radiances. Unlike the current operational retrieval of COT – which uses data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua – the DOAS-based technique does not saturate at COT exceeding ~60. According to a popular TC model with two-moment microphysics, COT in a tropical storm or hurricane can reach well into the hundreds, sometimes exceeding 1000. Davis said that once the new COT estimates become available, they will provide new observational constraints on process and forecast models for TCs.
    Ocean
    Robert Frouin [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California] discussed ocean surface radiation products derived from EPIC data. He explained that significant advancements have been achieved in processing and evaluating ocean biology and biogeochemistry products derived from EPIC imagery. V1 updates enhanced accuracy by integrating Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications V2 (MERRA-2) ancillary data and refining calculations for atmospheric and surface parameters. Frouin introduced several diurnal products, including hourly photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) fluxes, spectral water reflectance, and chlorophyll-a concentrations. He said that these new MODIS-derived products have been validated through comparisons with data from the Advanced Himawari Imager on the Japanese Himawar–8 and –9 satellites. In order to address the gaps in these diurnal products, Frouin explained that the team developed a convolutional neural network that has been used effectively to reconstruct missing PAR values with high accuracy.
    Vegetation
    Yuri Knyazikhin [Boston University] reported on the status of the Vegetation Earth System Data Record (VESDR) that provides a variety of parameters including: Leaf Area Index (LAI), diurnal courses of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Sunlit LAI (SLAI), Fraction of incident Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) absorbed by the vegetation, Directional Area Scattering Function (DASF), Earth Reflector Type Index (ERTI), and Canopy Scattering Coefficient (CSC). Knyazikhin discussed analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variations of these quantities. EPIC LAI and FPAR are consistent with MODIS-derived measurements of the same parameters.
    Jan Pisek [University of Tartu/Tartu Observatory, Estonia] discussed efforts to derive leaf inclination information from EPIC data. The very first evaluation over Tumbarumba site (in New South Wales, Australia) showed that the angular variation in parameters obtained from EPIC reflects the expected variations due to the erectophile vegetation present at the site.
    Sun Glint
    Tamás Várnai [UMBC, JCET] discussed EPIC observations of Sun glint from ice clouds. The cloud glints come mostly from horizontally oriented ice crystals and have strong impact in EPIC cloud retrievals. Várnai reported that the EPIC glint product is available from the ASDC – see Figure 4. Glint data can help reduce the uncertainties related to horizontally oriented ice crystals and yield additional new insights about the microphysical and radiative properties of ice clouds.

    Alexander Kostinski [Michigan Technology University] explained that because they detected climatic signals (i.e., longer-term changes and semi-permanent features, e.g., ocean glitter), they developed a technique to suppress geographic “noise” in EPIC images that involves introducing temporally (monthly) and conditionally (classifying by surface/cover type, e.g., land, ocean, clouds) averaged reflectance images – see Figure 5. The resulting images display seasonal dependence in a striking manner. Additionally, cloud-free, ocean-only images highlight prominent regions of ocean glitter.

    Jiani Yang [Caltech] reported that spatially resolving light curves from DSCOVR is crucial for evaluating time-varying surface features and the presence of an atmosphere. Both of these features are essential for sustaining life on Earth – and thus can be used to assess the potential habitability of exoplanets. Using epsilon machine reconstruction, the statistical complexity from the time series data of these light curves can be calculated. The results show that statistical complexity serves as a reliable metric for quantifying the intricacy of planetary features. Higher levels of planetary complexity qualitatively correspond to increased statistical complexity and Shannon entropy, illustrating the effectiveness of this approach in identifying planets with the most dynamic characteristics.
    Other EPIC Science Results
    Guoyong Wen [MSU, GESTAR II] analyzed the variability of global spectral reflectance from EPIC and the integrated broadband reflectance on different timescales. He reported that on a diurnal timescale, the global reflectance variations in UV and blue bands are statistically similar – and drastically different from those observed in longer wavelength bands (i.e., green to NIR). The researchers also did an analysis of monthly average results and found that temporal averaging of the global reflectance reduces the variability across the wavelength and that the variability of broadband reflectance is similar to that for the red band on both timescales. These results are mainly due to the rotation of the Earth on diurnal timescale and the change of the Earth’s tilt angle. 
    Nick Gorkavyi [Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)] reported that EPIC – located at the L1 point, 1.5 million km (0.9 million mi) away from Earth – can capture images of the far side of the Moon in multiple wavelengths. These images, taken under full solar illumination, can be used to calibrate photographs obtained by lunar artificial satellites. Additionally, he discussed the impact of lunar libration – the changing view of the Moon from Earth, or it’s apparent “wobble” – on Earth observations from the Moon. 
    Jay Herman [UMBC] discussed a comparison of EPIC O3 with TEMPO satellite and Pandora ground-based measurement. The results show that total column O3 does not have a significant photochemical diurnal variation. Instead, the daily observed diurnal variation is caused by weather changes in atmospheric pressure. This measurement result agrees with model calculations.
    Conclusion
    Alexander Marshak, Jay Herman, and Adam Szabo led a closing discussion with ST participants on how to make the EPIC and NISTAR instruments more visible in the community. It was noted that the EPIC website now allows visitors to observe daily fluctuations of aerosol index, cloud fraction, cloud height, and the ocean surface – as observed from the L1 point. More daily products, (e.g., aerosol height and sunlit leaf area index) will be added soon, which should attract more users to the website.
    Overall, the 2023 DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR STM was successful. It provided an opportunity for participants to learn the status of DSCOVR’s Earth-observing instruments, EPIC and NISTAR, the status of recently released L2 data products, and the science results being achieved from the L1 point. As more people use DSCOVR data worldwide, the ST hopes to hear from users and team members at its next meeting. The latest updates from the mission can be found on the EPIC website. 
    Alexander MarshakNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centeralexander.marshak@nasa.gov
    Adam SzaboNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centeradam.szabo@nasa.gov

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