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Category: Universities

  • MIL-Evening Report: Nature and shops: here’s what people told us they want most from urban planning

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato

    Getty Images

    Urban planning has a long history of promoting visionary ideas that advocate for particular futures. The most recent is the concept of the 15-minute city, which has gained traction globally.

    But empirical evidence on public preference for what people want is surprisingly thin on the ground.

    To help address this gap, we conducted a national survey (1,491 responses) in Aotearoa New Zealand to find out what amenities people want to have easy access to, how much time they prefer to spend getting there, and how this differs between different groups in the population.

    Our recently published research provides more depth. The headline messages have significant implications for politicians, policy-makers and others interested in planning cities to better meet the needs of citizens.

    People want green space and local shops

    The first message is that visions such as 15-minute cities tend to promote the idea of livability connected to easy access to multiple amenities – from education to employment and culture.

    However, when we asked what amenities people prefer the most, two things came out far above others: local nature and local shops.

    This finding is important as it allows cash-strapped local authorities to prioritise and sequence spending. It also supports the agenda of those who are advocating for an increase in urban green space or local living.

    A complete shift to a 15-minute city can be daunting, but investment in these two specific areas could be an excellent first step in improving livability in a way that reflects what citizens want from planning.

    We also asked people for their preferred maximum travel time to their most preferred amenity for a one-way trip, using different modes. Nationally, the data were consistent, identifying around 20 minutes as a good rule of thumb for maximum preferred travel time.

    Importantly, this time was broadly similar regardless of the transport mode chosen. Whether walking, cycling or travelling by micro-mobility modes such as e-scooters, people wanted to spend no more than 20  minutes doing so – even though the distances vary.

    It is important to acknowledge this time is a maximum, not a preference. It is better understood as a threshold or decision point after which people are much more likely to drive or choose not to travel.

    This evidence has a wider resonance.

    First, it strongly reinforces the 15-minute city or 20-minute neighbourhood as accurately reflecting public preferences for travel time to reach destinations, especially as this figure was consistent regardless of the travel mode.

    Second, people are willing to walk further than we typically plan for.

    For example, planners may typically apply a walkable catchment of an 800-metre radius around the central business district or transit nodes to allow for higher-density zoning. This distance is a walk of about ten minutes. Our data suggest this area could be expanded and more opportunities created to increase housing volume and diversity.

    One size does not fit all

    One crucial aspect for improving livability is recognising differences in people’s ability or willingness to walk, cycle or use micro mobility. To explore this, our survey asked people how comfortable they were using each active travel mode after dark.

    We reveal a strong gender difference. For example, 41% of people said they were uncomfortable walking after dark. Of this group, 86% were female.

    For all travel modes, there was a similar story with females more likely to change travel behaviour, mostly due to safety concerns. The survey also revealed that people with a disability are significantly less comfortable travelling after dark than those without.

    This finding is useful for those concerned with equity. Citizen movement is typically modelled on the idea of an able-bodied person who feels equally comfortable in all urban spaces at all times of day or night.

    Without considering difference across populations, advocates may promote an equitable 15-minute city during the day and an inequitable car-dependent one after dark.

    This also highlights that any new urban strategy or investment needs to understand existing behaviour and the risks of making current disadvantages worse.

    Agendas such as 15-minute cities hold significant value in planning for wellbeing and health, economic activity or decarbonisation. They also hold potential for planners to engage with communities to explain the value of planning, the kind of lifestyle citizens can expect in the future, and why authorities are spending public money.

    But urban researchers also need urban concepts to be grounded in evidence to avoid becoming the next urban imaginary accused of failing to be transformative.

    Our research helps provide some clarity. The general message is that people want easy access to green spaces and local shops more than anything else and they want to spend no more than 20 minutes getting there.

    It also highlights context and differences between groups. We need to marry promising urban concepts to empirical research designed to support people’s preferences and encourage movement and equity.

    Iain White receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund and from the Natural Hazards Commission. He is New Zealand’s national contact point for the Horizon Europe program for the climate, energy and mobility research cluster.

    Silvia Serrao-Neumann receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund and from the Natural Hazards Commission.

    Xinyu Fu receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund and from the Natural Hazards Commission.

    – ref. Nature and shops: here’s what people told us they want most from urban planning – https://theconversation.com/nature-and-shops-heres-what-people-told-us-they-want-most-from-urban-planning-247994

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s clinical guidelines shape our health care. Why do so many still ignore sex and gender?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maggie Kirkman, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

    Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

    You’ve heard of the gender pay gap. What about the gap in medical care?

    Cardiovascular diseases – which can lead to heart attack and stroke – are one of the leading causes of death for women in Australia.

    But women are less likely than men to receive preventive care for heart disease, such as appropriate medication. One study in New South Wales showed women admitted to hospital for a stroke were more likely to be first told by paramedics it was a migraine, headache, anxiety or nausea.

    Despite these differences, official guidelines in Australia too often ignore the impact of sex and gender on health care. For example, a guideline on atrial fibrillation (irregular and often fast heartbeat) has limited information on sex and nothing on gender.

    “Sex” refers to various biological characteristics by which at birth we are identified as female, male or intersex. “Gender” is a social and cultural concept in which people understand themselves to be a woman, a man or non-binary.

    Our recent study reviewed 80 clinical guidelines. We found very few define sex and gender and the majority don’t mention gender at all. This has serious consequences for everyone, but especially for women, girls and gender-diverse people.

    What are clinical guidelines for?

    Clinical guidelines are recommendations about how to diagnose and treat a medical condition, based on research and usually developed by a team of specialists. Clinicians and other health workers are expected to use them to guide day-to-day health care.

    For example, there are guidelines for physiotherapists on how to provide the best rehabilitation for someone after a heart attack. Other guidelines outline what a GP should do if a patient discloses intimate partner violence.

    A health practitioner’s sensitivity about gender and sex can profoundly affect the mental health of gender-diverse patients.
    Media_Photos/Shutterstock

    Because clinical guidelines are based on research, they can report only what has been studied and published in peer-reviewed journals. This means where there are gaps in research, clinical guidelines are usually silent.

    What we did

    As part of a larger project, the federal government asked our team to examine whether there are still clinical guidelines that do not take into account sex and gender differences.

    There is no central database of Australia’s clinical guidelines. But in a comprehensive search, we found 80 published from January 2014 to April 2024.

    These encompassed guidelines for conditions including various cancers, diabetes and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, designed for a range of health professionals such as general practitioners, medical specialists, physiotherapists and paramedics.

    We searched every document for the following words:

    • sex
    • gender
    • female
    • male
    • women
    • men
    • girl
    • boy

    If none of these words were found, we looked for “psychosocial” and “cultural”, to see if gender was considered without being named directly. We also read the text around each relevant word to understand its context and meaning.

    What we found

    Clinical guidelines in Australia too often do not offer guidance on incorporating sex and (especially) gender into health care.

    We found:

    • 15% of guidelines didn’t mention sex or gender at all. This includes recommendations about acute coronary syndrome from the National Heart Foundation and on e-mental health by the peak body for GPs. These guidelines did not even give the most basic information on sex differences in occurrence (of heart disease or mental health problems)

    • only four guidelines (5%) defined the terms “sex” and “gender”

    • 19% made no reference to clinical practice concerning sex. That is, there was no information on how symptoms and treatments might vary among biologically female, male and intersex bodies

    • the majority (58%) ignored the role gender can play in clinical practice and how it might shape what treatment is most effective. For example, some women may be more comfortable being seen by a female doctor, for a range of personal or cultural reasons

    • most (81%) did acknowledge biological sex in some way. But among those 65 guidelines there was great variation, ranging from a single statement about whether a condition (such as lung cancer) occurred more often in women or men, to detailed risk factors, prevalence, treatment and management, such as for advanced life support by paramedics.

    Why does this matter?

    The male body has historically been considered the “standard” human. With hormonal changes and pregnancies, women’s bodies have been seen as too complicated to be included in clinical research.

    This means research has been conducted on men and then applied to women, ignoring the differences that excluded them from the research in the first place.

    Women have long been excluded from clinical trials, while male bodies have been considered the standard.
    Inside Creative House/Shutterstock

    If the standard body is implicitly that of a (white) male, discrimination against all other bodies is inevitable.

    The Australian Institute of Sport’s guideline on concussion and brain health is one of just four guidelines that define sex and gender.

    This is crucial, given growing evidence women footballers are at greater risk of concussion than men. But their approach is far from mainstream.

    Gender-diverse people also require distinct health care and support, based on inclusive and non-discriminatory practice and policy. There is clear evidence the mental health of gender-diverse people is profoundly affected by how sensitive – or discriminatory – their health care is.

    Eliminating discrimination

    Discrimination can be explicit and overt.

    But it can also simply come from a lack of imagination, based on the assumption some kinds of health care are sex- and gender-neutral.

    For example, the treatment of skin – dermatology – could appear neutral, as everyone has skin. Yet social expectations about clothing, make-up and appearance are highly gendered, and these can influence how skin conditions develop and are treated.

    Guidelines that offer detailed information on sex- and gender-aware practice, such as those by GP Supervisor Australia, can contribute to challenging both explicit and implicit discrimination.

    Ultimately, we hope this leads to equitable health care for people of all sexes and genders.

    We recommend all developers of clinical guidelines look for evidence concerning sex and gender and, when they find none, say so. Funding bodies should also demand inclusion of sex and gender as a criterion to award money for medical research.

    Silence on sex or gender implies that the topics aren’t important. This is far from the truth.

    We acknowledge the contribution of the other members of our research team: Tomoko Honda, Steve McDonald, Sally Green, Karen Walker-Bone, and Ingrid Winship.

    Maggie Kirkman received funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to conduct this research.

    Jane Fisher receives funding from:

    The National Health and Medical Research Council, The Australian Research Council, The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, VicHealth, The Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation, The Paul Ramsay Foundation, The Human Safety Net, The LEGO Foundation, The Jasper Foundation, The National Center for Healthy Ageing

    – ref. Australia’s clinical guidelines shape our health care. Why do so many still ignore sex and gender? – https://theconversation.com/australias-clinical-guidelines-shape-our-health-care-why-do-so-many-still-ignore-sex-and-gender-237400

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Antisemitism goes beyond overt acts of hate – subtle forms of bias take their toll, too

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mareike Riedel, Senior lecturer in law, Macquarie University

    The dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents has dominated headlines in Australia in recent months, with calls for urgent action to address what many are calling a crisis.

    The Executive Council of Australian Jewry tallied more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in 2024, including physical assaults, attacks on synagogues, vandalism and graffiti. This is a 316% increase over the previous year.

    These alarming events have sparked a heated political debate, with the opposition accusing the federal government of not taking the issue seriously enough.

    However, focusing only on overt acts of antisemitism risks seeing it as an exceptional phenomenon or a problem limited to fringe extremist groups. This can obscure the more subtle and structural forms of antisemitism that perpetuate stereotypes about Jews and entrench discrimination in society.

    How laws ingrain structural antisemitism

    In my research, I examine how certain forms of antisemitism persist in Western societies with a Christian tradition.

    While laws explicitly targeting Jews are largely a relic of the past, subtler forms of exclusion and discrimination remain. These often stem from perceptions that Jews deviate from dominant cultural norms.

    For instance, Jewish communities frequently encounter resistance to the building of an eruv. This is a symbolic demarcation of a public space that enables Jews to observe Shabbat, a day when work is prohibited. It can sometimes involve stringing a wire between poles to create a boundary where people can do things they aren’t normally able to do, such as push a pram or carry shopping bags.

    When an Orthodox Jewish community in Sydney sought permission to construct an eruv in the 2010s, local residents opposed it. Many arguments invoked stereotypes of Jews as clannish, intrusive and conspiratorial.

    There have been similar disputes over eruvs in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In many cases, local councils have sided with opponents, meaning Orthodox Jewish communities have had to go to court to seek approval.

    In Europe, bans on religious slaughter have also singled out Jews and Muslims as cruel and fundamentalist, despite the widespread use of factory farming in Western societies.

    There have also been calls to outlaw infant male circumcision in the name of children’s rights in many European countries and parts of the US.

    These campaigns have, at times, tapped into longstanding antisemitic ideas about Jews as barbaric, bloodthirsty and backward.

    These legal conflicts or campaigns reveal the structural dimensions of antisemitism. Similar to other forms of structural racism, structural antisemitism normalises majoritarian norms, perceptions and practices.

    In turn, it marginalises and denigrates Jews as foreign, threatening and a problematic “other”.

    Institutions, including schools, workplaces and local councils, can perpetuate these biases when they legitimise such exclusionary norms without critical reflection.



    Read more:
    The long, dark history of antisemitism in Australia

    Challenging majority cultural norms

    Understanding structural antisemitism also requires examining the Christian heritage of Western societies. In particular, there is a need to reflect on the legacy of Christian anti-Judaism.

    Historically, the Christian belief in “supersessionism” referred to idea that Christianity has superseded Judaism and that Christians have replaced Jews as the people of God. Alongside the stereotype of Jews as the killers of Christ, this belief has contributed to stereotypes of Jews as inferior to Christians and being archaic, unenlightened, exclusive and ritualistic.

    As the legal conflicts over eruvs, religious slaughter and circumcision suggest, such views continue to subtly influence attitudes towards Jews, even in modern secular societies.

    For example, popular references to Judeo-Christian values signal the equality of Jews and Christians in society. However, this glosses over the fact that the acceptance of Jews can be contingent on conforming with majority norms.

    This legacy also normalises Christian privilege. While Christians may face discrimination in certain contexts, they also enjoy inherent advantages in societies shaped by Christian traditions.

    National calendars, weekly rhythms and public holidays align with Christian practices, while minorities need to seek accommodations to observe their own traditions.

    For example, Western cities are filled with Christian symbols, such as churches and annual Christmas decorations. Several Australian parliaments and local councils also still begin meetings with Christian prayers.

    What might seem like benign cultural traditions can signal exclusion to minority communities, including Jews. Implicit Christian norms can also create pressure to assimilate, especially given the long history of Christian societies’ attempts to convert or assimilate Jews.

    However, these dynamics are rarely acknowledged in public debates about the discrimination of Jews and can also fly under the radar of the law.

    In 1998, for instance, a Jewish father in New South Wales brought racial discrimination complaints against the education department over Christian activities at his children’s public school. These included nativity plays, Christmas carols and exchanging Easter eggs. The complaints were dismissed because they did not constitute discrimination on the basis of race.

    The law in NSW does not prohibit religious discrimination (although the state now has religious vilification laws).

    This gap exists in federal discrimination law, as well. It leaves minority religious groups with limited legal options to challenge the dominance of Christian norms. The NSW example demonstrates this and suggests there may be a case for a new federal religious discrimination law.

    The question of what constitutes antisemitism remains a vexed question, including among Jews. Violent antisemitic attacks demand urgent attention. Yet, public discussions of antisemitism must also address these subtler forms of exclusion and the structural dimensions of antisemitism.

    Mareike Riedel 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. Antisemitism goes beyond overt acts of hate – subtle forms of bias take their toll, too – https://theconversation.com/antisemitism-goes-beyond-overt-acts-of-hate-subtle-forms-of-bias-take-their-toll-too-249023

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Where should we look for new metals that are critical for green energy technology? Volcanoes may point the way

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenainn Simpson, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland

    Florian Nimsdorf / Shutterstock

    About 400 kilometres northwest of Sydney, just south of Dubbo, lies a large and interesting body of rock formed around 215 million years ago by erupting volcanoes.

    Known as the Toongi deposit, this site is rich in so-called rare earths: a collection of 16 metallic elements essential for modern technologies from electric cars to solar panels and mobile phones.

    Efforts are under way to mine this deposit, but the demand for rare earths in the coming decades is likely to be enormous.

    To find more, we need to understand how and why these deposits form. Our latest research on Australian volcanoes, published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, shows how tiny crystals formed inside volcanoes offer clues about the formation of rare earth deposits – and how we can find more of them.

    Rare earths and the melting mantle

    The formation of rare earth element deposits begins with partial melting of Earth’s mantle which lies deep below the crust.

    Earth’s mantle is dominated by minerals that are rich in iron and magnesium. These minerals also contain small amounts of other elements, including the rare earth elements.

    When the mantle melts to form magma, the rare earth elements move easily into the magma. If the amount of melting is small, the magma has a higher proportion of rare earth elements than if the amount of melting is large – for example, at a mid-ocean ridge where vast amounts of magma rush to the surface and form new oceanic crust.

    As this magma migrates towards Earth’s surface, it cools down and new minerals begin to form. These minerals are mostly composed of oxygen, silicon, calcium, aluminium, magnesium and iron.

    This means the leftover magma contains a higher concentration of rare earth elements. This residual liquid will continue to ascend through the crust until it solidifies or erupts at the surface.

    From Greenland to central New South Wales

    If the magma cools and crystallises in the crust, it can form rocks containing high levels of critical metals. One place where this has happened is the Gardar Igneous Complex in Southern Greenland, which contains several rare earth element deposits.

    In central New South Wales in Australia, magmas enriched in rare earth elements erupted at the surface. They are collectively given the geological name Benolong Volcanic Suite.

    The Toongi deposit was formed hundreds of millions of years ago.
    ASM

    Within this suite is the Toongi deposit – a part of the ancient volcanic plumbing system. This is an “intrusion” of congealed magma containing very high levels of critical metals.

    Magmas enriched in rare earth elements are uncommon, and those that are enriched enough to be productively mined are rarer still, with only a few known examples worldwide. Even with all we know about how magmas form, there is much more work to be done to better understand and predict where magmas enriched in critical metals can be found.

    Crystals record volcanic history

    You may have wondered how scientists know so much about what happens kilometres (sometimes tens of kilometres) below our feet. We learn a lot about the interior of the Earth from studying rocks which make their way to the surface.

    The processes that occur in a magma as it rises from Earth’s interior leave clues in the chemical composition of minerals which crystallise along the way. One mineral in particular – clinopyroxene – is particularly effective at preserving these clues, like a tiny crystal ball.

    Fortunately, there are crystals of clinopyroxene within many of the rocks in the Benolong Volcanic Suite. This allowed us to examine the history of the non-mineralised rocks and compare it with the mineralised Toongi intrusion.

    What’s different about the rocks at Toongi

    We found that the Toongi rocks have two important differences.

    First, the clinopyroxenes in the non-mineralised volcanic suite contain a lot of rare earth elements. This tells us that for most rocks in the volcanic suite, critical metals were “locked up” within clinopyroxene, rather than remaining in the residual melt.

    In contrast, clinopyroxene crystals from Toongi show low levels of rare earth elements. Here, these elements are contained in a different mineral, eudialyte, which can be mined for rare earth elements.

    The ‘hourglass’ shape of clinopyroxene crystals from Toongi, viewed with electron microscopy and laser mapping.
    Simpson, Ubide & Spandler / Nature Communications Earth & Environment, CC BY

    Second, and most interesting, the clinopyroxenes from Toongi have an internal crystal structure that resembles an hourglass shape. This is caused by different elements residing in some parts of the crystal. It’s an exciting observation because it suggests rapid crystallisation occurred due the release of gas while the crystals were forming.

    In contrast, we found no evidence of rapid crystallisation in the rocks without high levels of rare earths.

    Our work means we can now track the composition and zoning of clinopyroxene in other extinct volcanoes in Australia and beyond to find out which ones may accumulate relevant rare earth element deposits.

    This study adds another piece of the puzzle for understanding how critical metals accumulate, and how we can find them to power green, renewable energy sources for a sustainable future.

    Brenainn Simpson works for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Geological Survey of New South Wales and publishes with the permission of the Chief Geoscientist and Head of the Geological Survey of New South Wales.

    Carl Spandler receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Teresa Ubide works for The University of Queensland. She receives research funding from the Australian Research Council, and infrastructure funding from NCRIS AuScope.

    – ref. Where should we look for new metals that are critical for green energy technology? Volcanoes may point the way – https://theconversation.com/where-should-we-look-for-new-metals-that-are-critical-for-green-energy-technology-volcanoes-may-point-the-way-248659

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Google has dropped its promise not to use AI for weapons. It’s part of a troubling trend

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University

    Ziv Lavi/Shutterstock

    Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first published in 2018, the tech giant removed statements promising not to pursue:

    • technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm
    • weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people
    • technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms
    • technologies whose purpose contravenes widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.

    The update came after United States President Donald Trump revoked former President Joe Biden’s executive order aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI.

    The Google decision follows a recent trend of big tech entering the national security arena and accommodating more military applications of AI. So why is this happening now? And what will be the impact of more military use of AI?

    The growing trend of militarised AI

    In September, senior officials from the Biden government met with bosses of leading AI companies, such as OpenAI, to discuss AI development. The government then announced a taskforce to coordinate the development of data centres, while weighing economic, national security and environmental goals.

    The following month, the Biden government published a memo that in part dealt with “harnessing AI to fulfil national security objectives”.

    Big tech companies quickly heeded the message.

    In November 2024, tech giant Meta announced it would make its “Llama” AI models available to government agencies and private companies involved in defence and national security.

    This was despite Meta’s own policy which prohibits the use of Llama for “[m]ilitary, warfare, nuclear industries or applications”.

    Around the same time, AI company Anthropic also announced it was teaming up with data analytics firm Palantir and Amazon Web Services to provide US intelligence and defence agencies access to its AI models.

    The following month, OpenAI announced it had partnered with defence startup Anduril Industries to develop AI for the US Department of Defence.

    The companies claim they will combine OpenAI’s GPT-4o and o1 models with Anduril’s systems and software to improve US military’s defences against drone attacks.

    Defending national security

    The three companies defended the changes to their policies on the basis of US national security interests.

    Take Google. In a blog post published earlier this month, the company cited global AI competition, complex geopolitical landscapes and national security interests as reasons for changing its AI principles.

    In October 2022, the US issued export controls restricting China’s access to particular kinds of high-end computer chips used for AI research. In response, China issued their own export control measures on high-tech metals, which are crucial for the AI chip industry.

    The tensions from this trade war escalated in recent weeks thanks to the release of highly efficient AI models by Chinese tech company DeepSeek. DeepSeek purchased 10,000 Nvidia A100 chips prior to the US export control measures and allegedly used these to develop their AI models.

    It has not been made clear how the militarisation of commercial AI would protect US national interests. But there are clear indications tensions with the US’s biggest geopolitical rival, China, are influencing the decisions being made.

    A large toll on human life

    What is already clear is that the use of AI in military contexts has a demonstrated toll on human life.

    For example, in the war in Gaza, the Israeli military has been relying heavily on advanced AI tools. These tools require huge volumes of data and greater computing and storage services, which is being provided by Microsoft and Google. These AI tools are used to identify potential targets but are often inaccurate.

    Israeli soldiers have said these inaccuracies have accelerated the death toll in the war, which is now more than 61,000, according to authorities in Gaza.

    Google removing the “harm” clause from their AI principles contravenes the international law on human rights. This identifies “security of person” as a key measure.

    It is concerning to consider why a commercial tech company would need to remove a clause around harm.

    Avoiding the risks of AI-enabled warfare

    In its updated principles, Google does say its products will still align with “widely accepted principles of international law and human rights”.

    Despite this, Human Rights Watch has criticised the removal of the more explicit statements regarding weapons development in the original principles.

    The organisation also points out that Google has not explained exactly how its products will align with human rights.

    This is something Joe Biden’s revoked executive order about AI was also concerned with.

    Biden’s initiative wasn’t perfect, but it was a step towards establishing guardrails for responsible development and use of AI technologies.

    Such guardrails are needed now more than ever as big tech becomes more enmeshed with military organisations – and the risk that come with AI-enabled warfare and the breach of human rights increases.

    Zena Assaad 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. Google has dropped its promise not to use AI for weapons. It’s part of a troubling trend – https://theconversation.com/google-has-dropped-its-promise-not-to-use-ai-for-weapons-its-part-of-a-troubling-trend-249169

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Treasurer Steiner Issues Statement On Destabilizing Financial Impact Of Trump Administration Tariffs On Oregon Households

    Source: US State of Oregon

    regon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner called on the Trump administration to take costly tariffs off the table and maintain the integrity of the federal payment system to preserve the financial stability of Oregonians and all Americans.

    In a statement Treasurer Steiner said:

    “Oregonians are doing better financially than most Americans, according to a new report just released by the Oregon State Treasury, but recent actions by the White House are threatening the financial stability and security of many Oregon households.

    The annual cost of the administration’s suddenly proposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China amount to an expense that nearly half of Oregon households are not prepared to absorb. According to new data compiled for the Oregon State Treasury by Oregon State University (OSU) researchers, nearly 1 in 2 Oregonians cannot afford an emergency expense of more than $500. Yet, the cost of the proposed Trump administration tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China would increase costs to the typical American consumer by amounts ranging from $800 to $1,200 per year, according to independent economists.

    At a time when the cost of living remains a major source of worry for Oregonians, this price hike is an unnecessary expense that many Oregon families cannot afford. While the administration has paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Oregon consumers should not have to worry about having to pay more for groceries, gas, clothes, cars and other items they use each day.

    In addition, I am deeply concerned about other actions the White House has taken in recent days that could also harm the financial well-being of Oregonians. Last week, the administration tried to freeze more than $40 billion in funding that the federal government contributes to Oregon’s state budget (and hundreds of millions more that flow directly to universities and non-profits serving Oregon communities). The administration also has sent repeated messages to Oregon’s 17,500 civilian federal employees – who care for veterans, provide Social Security payments, operate dams, provide air traffic control, manage public lands, and provide other vital services – urging them to resign. The White House has given unvetted temporary staff at the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) access to the federal Treasury’s payment system – potentially freezing trillions of dollars in federal funds and compromising the information privacy of Americans.

    I urge the White House to abandon its costly tariff plans, maintain the integrity of the federal payment system, and ensure the uninterrupted flow of funds to Oregon and other states. Oregonians cannot afford to bear the financial cost of these fiscally reckless actions.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: AI dating is about data, not love: How to resist the tech takeover of romance

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Treena Orchard, Associate Professor, School of Health Studies, Western University

    If we permit AI to take over our dating and love lives too much, it risks hollowing out our relationships and connections. (Shutterstock)

    As in-person dating activities make a comeback and the allure of dating apps fade, platforms like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge are becoming passé for millennials and Gen Z.

    But while the era of dating apps is on the decline, people aren’t ditching the search for love altogether. There’s enough heart-shaped chocolates, red lingerie and silicone toys to keep us going for decades. The real question is: who or what is filling the void left by the dating app industry?

    The answer is artificial intelligence.

    Tech companies have woven AI into everything from facial recognition software to voice-activated assistants and sexbots. Now, it’s being inserted into online dating. As an anthropologist who writes about sexuality, dating and technology, this generates a lot of questions for me.

    For instance, what are some of the ethical dilemmas this technology raises in terms of privacy and safety? What can we do instead of giving ourselves over to artificial intelligence when it comes to love and romance? As we navigate the complexities of love in the digital age, these questions demand thoughtful answers.

    No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.

    Read more from Quarter Life:

    The spectrum of AI dating

    AI has been quietly reshaping the dating landscape for years. Marketed as a hyper-efficient solution to securing optimum matches in record time, it’s easy to see how AI is more appealing than traditional apps. Who wouldn’t want to avoid the monotony of endless swiping or the possibility of ghosting?

    AI tools like ChatGPT can also generate dating conversations and optimize user profiles. However, the results can be hit-or-miss. One writer said ChatGPT made her “sound like someone’s 50-year-old uncle on Facebook.”

    Then there’s Meeno, a relationship advice app founded by former Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg. It uses generative AI and is designed to address loneliness among young people, especially men, who are statistically less likely to access help-seeking resources.

    AI tools like ChatGPT can help users write dating profiles.
    (Shutterstock)

    The most popular AI dating assistant at the moment is Rizz, an app that had more than 20,000 daily downloads in 2024. Rizz analyzes screenshots of conversations on other platforms and crafts reply suggestions.

    AI’s role in the dating world extends far beyond tools designed to help people connect — some users are forging actual relationships with AI chatbots.



    Read more:
    Sex bots, virtual friends, VR lovers: tech is changing the way we interact, and not always for the better

    Interestingly, men are twice as likely as women to consider an AI partner. This trend may be driven by differences in how men and women engage with technology, differences in societal expectations or a greater curiosity among men about combining AI with relationships.

    Introduced in 2017, Replika was one of the first generative AI dating chatbots. Marketed as “an AI companion who is eager to learn and would love to see the world through your eyes,” Replika quickly gained a reputation for its explicit content.

    When the company removed its adult content in 2023, users revolted so vehemently the functions were partially reinstated.

    AI dating research

    Security issues and data privacy are common concerns when it comes to AI, including romance scams and the sharing or selling of personal information. Equally scary is the prospect of queer folks being criminalized for using these dating tools in countries where being gay is illegal.

    In terms of gender, the trends in this domain mirror those on dating apps — men are the prime users and designers of these platforms.



    Read more:
    Dating apps: Lack of regulation, oversight and competition affects quality, and millions stand to lose

    Given the pronounced gender inequities already present in our society and the rise in sexual violence perpetrated by men against women through technology, AI dating platforms risk deepening these systemic inequities.

    AI’s impact on how young people learn about sex and dating is another important topic. A recent scoping review highlighted the dangers of AI resources that reflect conservative and unscientific worldviews about sex and romance. When exposed to such views, youth become at risk of developing internalized shame for being curious about sex, dating and cybersexual activities.

    Another troubling aspect of AI in dating is the proliferation of fraudulent dating apps that employ chatbots. These apps lure users into installing a dating app and paying subscription fees to chat with existing users. However, the sole purpose of these apps is to cheat new users into paying money to fake accounts that are managed by chatbots.

    Getting more groove in our hearts

    More technology doesn’t necessarily mean better lives. If anything, it can actually contribute to the current “loneliness pandemic” that’s caused, in part, by our over-reliance on devices.

    Selective doses of AI can be helpful to bounce ideas off of, or to help work through an unrequited crush, but if we permit AI to take over this vital aspect of life, our hearts could become lined with hollow connections. That’s the last thing we all need.

    Dating app platforms like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge are becoming passe for millennials and Gen Z.
    (Shutterstock)

    The good news is that young people are hungry for more in-person experiences and they’re leading the resistance against the dating app industry. Nostalgia for previous eras, especially the 1990s and early 2000s, reflects a desire to experience a time when life was less stressful and more carefree. Analogue technology and other forms of physical media are coming back in a big way.

    Vintage thrifting, cooking, game nights and do-it-yourself art projects are effective and fun ways to resist the AI creep, whether in dating or in daily life.

    However, creating these options isn’t something you should have to do alone. Community organizers, cultural leaders and thoughtful influencers also have roles to play in AI-free activities and opportunities that foster connection. Think old school cultural events tailored towards niche demographic groups, like queer, gender-diverse and women-only spaces.

    By creating and participating in these kinds of activities, you can cultivate experiences that help you make decisions about love and life on your own terms, versus being directed by what aggressive capitalist corporations want you to do.

    Treena Orchard 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. AI dating is about data, not love: How to resist the tech takeover of romance – https://theconversation.com/ai-dating-is-about-data-not-love-how-to-resist-the-tech-takeover-of-romance-247090

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Prioritizing nuclear power and natural gas over renewable energy is a risky move for Ontario’s energy future

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Norman W. Park, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, York University, York University, Canada

    The demand for electricity is growing rapidly as the world transitions from fossil fuels to low carbon-emitting forms of energy. However, making this transition will be difficult.

    Ontario is projected to require 75 per cent more electricity by 2050, spurred by increasing demand from the industrial sector, data centres, electric vehicle (EV) adoption and households, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

    To meet this demand, Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce has proposed transforming the province into an “energy superpower” by aggressively expanding nuclear energy and natural gas while cutting support for wind and solar renewable energy.

    This plan was spelled out in a policy directive from Lecce instructing the IESO to consider bids from all energy sources, opening the door to allow bids from natural gas and nuclear energy.

    This is a departure from previous policies. Previously, under former Energy Minister Todd Smith, the IESO had stipulated bids for the electrical grid should only be from wind, solar, hydro or biomass.

    The Ontario government should reconsider these plans. Non-renewable energy sources are costly, rely on new, expensive technologies, ignore the harm to human health and ignore the consequences for global warming.

    Expanding nuclear

    A central pillar of the Ontario government’s energy plan is the aggressive expansion of nuclear power. The province has committed to refurbishing 14 CANDU reactors at Bruce, Darlington and Pickering, and has proposed constructing new reactors at Bruce.

    Ontario is also the first jurisdiction in the world to contractually build a BWRX–300 small modular reactor project at Darlington, despite not knowing its projected cost.

    The cost of this small modular reactor may be much higher than similarly sized solar, wind and natural gas projects. This is unsurprising, given that the costs of nuclear projects are often much higher than projected.

    Ontario encountered a similar issue when the Darlington nuclear generating station was constructed. The actual costs of nuclear projects were more than double projected costs and took almost six years longer to complete than projected.

    Given these historical challenges and uncertainties, the province’s push for nuclear expansion is a cause for concern.

    Opposition to wind and solar

    Despite significant cost reductions in utility-scale wind and solar farms, which makes them less expensive than nuclear and fossil fuels in many parts of the world, Ontario’s recent policy directive reduced support for these non-emitting renewable energy sources.

    The directive is a continuation of the government’s antipathy to wind and solar energy. Shortly after winning its first election in 2018, the Doug Ford government cancelled 750 renewable energy contracts at a cost of $230 million to Ontario residents. Ford defended this decision by saying it saved taxpayers $790 million and that wind turbines had “destroyed” Ontario’s energy file.

    Unsurprisingly, growth of wind and solar energy in Ontario has stalled since the Ford government gained power. This slowdown has put it at odds with international trends. Between 2018 and 2023, the global growth of solar and wind energy nearly doubled and is projected to continue growing.

    By curtailing support for renewable energy, Ontario risks missing out on the economic, environmental and technological benefits these energy sources offer. In other words, it may hinder the province’s ability to transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.

    Support for natural gas

    Instead of investing in wind and solar to power Ontario’s electrical grid, the province has increased its reliance on natural gas. This expansion has tripled the percentage of energy provided by gas-fired turbines from four per cent in 2017 to 12.8 per cent in 2023. It’s projected to grow to 25 per cent by 2030.

    Burning more natural gas increases the risk of premature death and emits more greenhouse gas compared to wind and solar energy.

    According to Health Canada, outdoor air pollution has a total economic cost in Canada of $120 billion per year, and it resulted in 6,000 premature deaths per year in Ontario and 15,300 deaths in Canada. That’s about eight times higher than the annual number of motor vehicle fatalities in Canada.

    Shifting focus from natural gas to cleaner energy sources like wind and solar could reduce these environmental and health impacts in Ontario.

    Reconsidering Ontario’s energy transition

    Ontario’s energy transition must involve supplying more energy to an expanding electrical grid while ensuring it remains reliable and resilient. The current government’s plans to turn the province into an “energy superpower” will commit Ontario to decades of costly expenditures and relies on unproven new technologies.

    The government’s proposal to increase natural gas to supply the electricity grid and new buildings will increase the risk of premature death and serious illness to Ontarians and will increase greenhouse gas emission, undermining efforts to combat global warming.

    Lecce should reconsider his current policy directive to the IESO. Future bids for the electrical grid should instead be evaluated for their impacts on the health of Ontario residents and climate change.

    Ontario’s energy policies should also be guided by knowledgeable experts outside of government, rather than solely by politicians. Establishing a blue-ribbon committee comprising energy scientists and environmental specialists would provide needed oversight and ensure the province’s energy strategy is cost-effective, technologically sound and aligned with climate goals.

    Ontario has an opportunity to lead by example in balancing energy needs with environmental and health priorities.

    Norman W. Park receives no funding from any organization that would benefit from this article. He is affiliated with Seniors for Climate Action Now.

    – ref. Prioritizing nuclear power and natural gas over renewable energy is a risky move for Ontario’s energy future – https://theconversation.com/prioritizing-nuclear-power-and-natural-gas-over-renewable-energy-is-a-risky-move-for-ontarios-energy-future-246289

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cyber scaleup Goldilock expands Wolverhampton hub to support rapid growth

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Goldilock is a UK based cyber security scaleup which has developed a unique network isolation and segmentation device that ringfences networks away from the internet to make them inaccessible to hackers. Over the past year, FireBreak has won Goldilock a place on multiple accelerators including the prestigious NATO DIANA programme and the MoD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). FireBreak’s applications for critical networks and sensitive data mean the product is being used by organisations responsible for critical national infrastructure (CNI) globally including the Ukrainian Cyber Command, as well as in sectors such as financial services, healthcare and manufacturing. Goldilock fuelled its growth in 2024 through expanding its channel partner programme, and now collaborates with over 50 partners across 18 countries in Europe, while the company’s headcount in the West Midlands hub has doubled over the course of the year to support a rapidly expanding customer base.

    The West Midlands region, with its burgeoning community of forward thinking businesses and access to a talented pool of cybersecurity professionals, provides an ideal foundation for Goldilock’s continued success. FireBreak’s applications for defence and deployment by large UK CNI companies means Goldilock’s facilities in the West Midlands have been officially vetted by both NATO and UK security regulators. Now, as Goldilock scales up and moves from R&D and prototyping to large scale manufacturing to meet the global demand for FireBreak, it has chosen to re-invest in the West Midlands by expanding its facilities and continuing to conduct all manufacturing in its new dedicated space in the University of Wolverhampton Science Park.

    Anticipating continued growth over the next few years, Goldilock expects to increase the team to 32 employees by the end of 2025 and forecasts that it will be able to create 44 new jobs in the area between now and the end of 2027, the majority of which will be engineers to help service customer orders for FireBreak as they continue to grow in size and number.

    Stephen Kines, co-founder and COO of Goldilock, said: “We are thrilled to expand our capability to meet the large scale orders we have coming in and in doing so further strengthen our ties with the tech community in the West Midlands.

    “With sophisticated ransomware and AI powered attacks on a continuous rise, paired with the increasing interconnectedness of systems, Goldilock’s technology provides a critical, foundational layer of defence. The West Midlands offers us an invaluable hub for innovation, providing access to a diverse pool of talented tech professionals and a supportive business environment from which we can continue to grow the business and get our critical product to where it’s needed most, as quickly as possible.”

    Sharon Thompson, Deputy Mayor of the West Midlands, added: “We warmly welcome Goldilock’s commitment to growing its pioneering cyber security business in the West Midlands.

    Goldilock is helping to strengthen our manufacturing supply chain and create new jobs for local people.”

    City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “Goldilock’s expansion is a testament to the City of Wolverhampton’s growing appeal as a destination of choice for ambitious tech firms, with an extensive R&D network, deep pool of specialist talent and proximity to the region’s end to end manufacturing supply chain.

    “We’re very proud that Goldilock chose to call the University of Wolverhampton Science Park home and look forward to supporting their continued growth, while encouraging many more tech firms to make the most of the valuable opportunity presented by our Green Innovation Corridor.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Sues Trump Administration over Unlawful NIH Funding Cuts for Universities and Research Institutions

    Source: US State of California

    Coalition also seeks court order barring Trump Administration from implementing drastic funding cuts

    OAKLAND — As part of a coalition of 22 attorneys general, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully decimating funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country. Filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, the lawsuit challenges the Trump Administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country, including at the University of California (UC) and at the California State University (CSU). Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institution’s unique needs, negotiated with the federal government through a carefully regulated process, and then memorialized in an executed agreement. In addition to filing today’s lawsuit, the coalition is seeking a temporary restraining order to bar the Trump Administration’s action from taking effect.

    “We are suing President Trump and his administration because they are once again violating the law. Let’s be clear about what they are seeking to do now: they want to eviscerate funding for medical research that helps develop new cures and treatments for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The stakes are especially high here in California. Ours is a state known as a national and global leader in life-saving biomedical research, and I will not allow the Trump Administration to jeopardize the extraordinary work being done right now by scientists, scholars, medical professionals, and other workers.”

    “Like scores of institutions across the country, the University of California has relied on NIH grants to pursue life-saving research that benefits Americans nationwide,” said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “Cuts of this magnitude would deal a devastating blow to our country’s research and innovation enterprise, undermine our global competitiveness, and, if allowed to go forward, will ultimately delay or derail progress toward treatment and cures for many of the most serious diseases that plague us today. We stand ready to fight to protect this critical investment in a healthier and more prosperous America.”

    “Federal grant funding is vital to the CSU’s teaching and research mission, which addresses some of society’s most urgent challenges in health care, agriculture, water, fire prevention and cybersecurity,” said CSU spokesperson Jason Maymon. “The NIH’s drastic reduction in reimbursement for previously agreed upon administrative costs will leave the CSU’s 23 universities with millions in unfunded expenses, jeopardizing critical research and support systems needed for program success. This decision threatens not only groundbreaking research but also the future of student innovation and scientific progress.”

    This past Friday, February 7, the NIH announced it would abruptly slash indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15% rate, which is significantly less than the cost required to perform cutting edge medical research. The NIH purported to make this cut effective the very next business day, Monday, February 10, giving universities and institutions no time to plan for the enormous budget gaps they are now facing. The reimbursements at issue cover expenses to facilitate biomedical research, like lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without immediate relief, this action could result in the suspension of lifesaving and life-extending clinical trials, disruption of research programs, staffing cuts, and laboratory closures. 

    In today’s lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration’s action violates the Administrative Procedure Act in multiple ways. For example, the attorneys general argue that the action is arbitrary and capricious and violates a directive Congress passed during President Trump’s first term to fend off his earlier proposal to drastically cut research reimbursements. That statutory language, still in effect, prohibits the NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements.  

    Most NIH-funding research occurs outside of federal government institutions such as both public and private universities and colleges. In California, this includes: 

    • The University of California. The UC system has 21 health professional sciences schools, five NCI-designated cancer centers, and six academic medical centers widely recognized as among the best in the nation, and they are international leaders in the education of health professionals, in research that develops new cures and treatments, and in public service that provides healthcare for all Californians regardless of ability to pay. Federal funds are UC’s single most important source of support for its research, accounting for more than half of UC’s total research awards. In Fiscal Year 2023, UC received a total of over $2 billion in NIH contract and grant funding.
    • The California State University. The CSU system is the largest public university system in the United States and consists of 23 campuses. In the last audited year, CSU campuses received approximately $158 million in NIH funds.  

    The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. Medical research funding by NIH grants have led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of treatment for cancers of all types, the first sequencing of DNA, and the development of the MRI. Additionally, dozens of NIH-supported scientists have earned Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking scientific work. 

    In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of: Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

    A copy of the lawsuit can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration for Slashing Vital Medical and Scientific Research Funding   

    Source: US State of New York

    NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a coalition of 21 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for attempting to illegally slash grant funding to universities and research institutions across the country. Attorney General James and the coalition are challenging the NIH’s new policy that caps “indirect cost” reimbursements at 15% for every research institution in the country. These indirect cost reimbursements cover all expenses that facilitate biomedical research, including laboratory space, equipment, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Limiting these reimbursements will threaten lifesaving medical research at institutions across the country and could lead to layoffs, disruptions to clinical trials, and even laboratory closures. With today’s lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition seek to prevent the policy from taking effect. 

    “This is yet another unlawful and reckless attempt by the Trump administration to undermine vital public institutions and harm the people who rely on them,” said Attorney General James. “The administration’s decision to cap NIH reimbursement rates could force scientists to shutter their lifesaving research on cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, addiction, infectious diseases, and more. My office will not stand idly by as this administration once again puts politics over science and endangers public health. We are suing to prevent this harmful policy from taking effect.”

    On February 7, NIH announced it would abruptly slash indirect cost rates for research grants to 15% across the board, significantly less than the cost required to perform cutting-edge medical research. The NIH also announced that cuts would go into effect the next business day, Monday, February 10, giving universities and institutions no time to plan for the enormous budget gaps they are now facing. Without immediate relief, this action could result in the suspension of life-saving and life-extending clinical trials, disruption of research programs, layoffs, and laboratory closures. 

    Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the rate change violates Congressional appropriations law, which has prohibited NIH from altering indirect cost rates without proper authorization since 2018. This directive was passed by Congress during the first Trump administration, following another proposal by the administration to drastically cut research reimbursements. In addition, the attorneys general argue that NIH exceeded its authority by making this cut retroactive to existing grants, and that the cut lacks any factual basis and was enacted without proper notice or any opportunity for comment. The attorneys general are seeking a court order barring the Trump administration and NIH from implementing the action. 

    The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. Medical research funding by NIH grants has led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of treatment for cancers of all types, the first sequencing of DNA, and the development of the MRI. Additionally, dozens of NIH-supported scientists have earned Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking scientific work. Most NIH-funded research occurs outside of federal government institutions such as public and private universities and colleges.

    In New York, there are currently $5 billion in open NIH grants to institutions throughout the state. If the proposed funding cap takes effect, approximately 250 institutions in New York would be impacted, encompassing most universities and medical schools in the state. New York institutions stand to lose approximately $850 million from this policy. For example, the State University of New York (SUNY) system alone stands to lose $78 million through the full life of its current grants and would have to abandon breakthrough research projects on cancer and Alzheimer’s disease if the cap is allowed to go forward. 

    Joining Attorney General James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

    This matter is being handled for New York by Special Counsel Molly Thomas-Jensen and Special Counsel for Federal Initiatives Rabia Muqaddam of the Executive Division, under the supervision of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ecuador election heads to runoff – Indigenous movement now holds key to the outcome

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Malvika Gupta, DPhil Candidate in the Department of International Development, University of Oxford

    Ecuador’s presidential election will go to a second round after the current president, Daniel Noboa, and the candidate for the left-wing Revolución Ciudadana (RC) party, Luisa González, received nearly identical shares of the vote.

    After more than three-quarters of the ballots had been counted, Noboa led the 16 candidates with 44.6% of the vote – short of the 50% needed to win outright. González trailed with 44.02%. A run-off to decide the winner is scheduled to take place in April.

    The election, which saw voters head to the polls for the third time in four years, took place against the backdrop of violence. Under Noboa’s two predecessors, who like him entered office with a neoliberal agenda, Ecuador became a narco-trafficking hub.

    It now has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. This fact was laid bare by the 2023 assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, one of the candidates in the snap presidential election called that year when the former president, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved congress in an attempt to escape impeachment.

    Noboa defeated González in an October 2023 runoff vote to see out Lasso’s term and then declared an “internal armed conflict” against criminal groups. He believed the only way to stop his country becoming a “narco-state” was with a hardline crackdown on organised crime groups.

    But the militarisation of Ecuador’s streets and prisons has led to serious human rights violations by security forces. In late 2024, for example, four Afro-Ecuadorian boys died in the coastal town of Guayaquil after being detained by the military. Human rights groups say this case has prompted a shift in public attitudes to Noboa’s war on the gangs.

    The rampant violence has been compounded by an energy crisis. Rolling blackouts instigated by a severe drought have raised questions about under-investment in Ecuador’s energy sector.

    A raid on the Mexican embassy in capital city Quito in April 2024 led to the detention of Ecuador’s fugitive former vice-president Jorge Glas. This has prompted concern about Noboa’s lackadaisical attitude towards international law.

    The result of the latest election was narrower than many polls had predicted. This suggests that the second round will be hard to call. But there are signs that the Ecuadorian left-wing, which has been divided for more than a decade, could be set to rally around González’s candidacy.

    A key reason for the spate of neoliberal presidents in Ecuador is the division between those supportive of the country’s former leftist leader, Rafael Correa, who led the country from 2007 to 2017, and those who oppose him.

    Indigenous voters, who make up roughly one-quarter of Ecuador’s electorate, helped Correa first come to power. And his government was successful in reducing extreme poverty and economic inequality.

    But conflict soon arose over his policies to fund social services through the extraction of natural resources. In 2012, Correa accused the country’s main Indigenous organisation, Conaie, of trying to destabilise Ecuador by protesting against mining plans.

    Correa also alienated Ecuador’s Indigenous movement by dismantling their hard-won intercultural bilingual education system in favour of mining revenue-funded education, as well as attempting to take control of water resources away from individual communities and give it to a new state agency.

    In response to protests, Correa’s government prosecuted Indigenous leaders, saying they were saboteurs and terrorists. So, since 2017, many Indigenous voters have combined with the right-wing to keep RC from power. The RC candidate has lost the last two elections despite entering the second round because they did not have the Indigenous vote.

    To break this impasse, RC participated in a dialogue with various left-wing parties, including the Indigenous-aligned Pachakutik political movement, to forge a unified electoral alliance for the 2025 election. These efforts did not result in a joint presidential bid. But they did lead to two favourable outcomes for the Ecuadorian left-wing.

    RC and Pachakutik agreed a pact not to attack each other or the smaller left-wing candidates during the election campaign. And they also pledged to consider supporting the candidate of the other party should they reach the second round.

    But this will, among other things, depend on how they manage their divergent positions on extractivism. RC sees the extraction of natural resources as one of the main economic pathways for Ecuador, while Pachakutik remains staunchly opposed.

    González has said she wants to accelerate the transition to clean energy, but has also recognised the importance of oil and gas to Ecuador. She supported the “no” vote during the 2023 referendum where Ecuadorians voted to halt oil drilling in the Yasuní national park, arguing that exploration should continue in the area.

    Pachakutik, on the other hand, seeks a post-extractive economic transition. The campaign of Pachakutik’s presidential candidate, Leonidas Iza, proposed boosting national agricultural and industrial production as an alternative to extractive capitalism. Iza envisions an economy based on harmony between humans and nature.

    A plurinational tide?

    Another area where RC and Pachakutik diverge is in their vision of plurinationality. Ecuador became the first country in the world to define itself as “plurinational” in 2008, adopting a new constitution that acknowledged the rights of nature as well as strengthening rights for Ecuador’s Indigenous peoples and other marginalised groups.

    But, since then, the application of plurinationalism has faced major obstacles – not least because of the commitment of successive governments to resource extraction.

    Pachakutik’s plurinational ethos was reflected in Iza’s election campaign. It featured images of a poncho-sporting Amazonian capybara threatened by extractivism, as well as rap songs of support by Afro-Ecuadorians living in coastal city slums. Plurinationalism was absent from – or certainly not central to – the electoral campaigns of most other candidates.

    Ecuador’s Indigenous movement will probably determine who becomes Ecuador’s next president. Whether or not RC will now take plurinationalism seriously and forge an alliance with Pachakutik remains to be seen.

    Malvika Gupta 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. Ecuador election heads to runoff – Indigenous movement now holds key to the outcome – https://theconversation.com/ecuador-election-heads-to-runoff-indigenous-movement-now-holds-key-to-the-outcome-248974

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: There isn’t enough ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel to make a dent in our emissions – and there won’t be for years

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ben Purvis, Research Associate, Sustainability Assessment, University of Sheffield

    Most of this fuel is currently made from used cooking oil. Scharfsinn / shutterstock

    The UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has described so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as a “game changer”. As she announced government support for a series of airport expansions, she said that the fuel “can reduce carbon emissions from flying by 70%”.

    This number is misleading. Optimistic estimates do suggest that fully replacing fossil jet fuel with its sustainable alternative could lead to total savings of around 70%. But it will be hard to produce enough SAF to make a difference on that sort of scale. Even if the UK meets its ambitious targets, an annual saving of 7% by 2030 is more plausible.

    SAF is synthetic liquid fuel derived from something other than fossil fuels. These inputs have to be processed into a liquid that can be burned safely while also storing a lot of energy for its weight, since minimising weight is crucial. This is why long-haul electric battery-powered planes are unlikely to take off any time soon.

    The UK classifies three major pathways for creating sustainable aviation fuel. It can be derived from oils or fats, including used cooking oil or tallow. It can come from other sorts of material, such as municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, or sewage. Or it can be made from hydrogen and captured carbon using renewable electricity.

    SAF can also be produced from bioenergy crops, and products such as palm oil. However the UK won’t certify it as sustainable, due to concerns about land use and impacts on wildlife.

    Emissions that would have occurred anyway

    Burning SAF actually emits a similar amount of CO₂ to fossil jet fuel. Instead, most savings come from how we account for the waste and renewable energy that is used to produce it.

    Waste emits greenhouse gases anyway, sustainable fuel supporters argue. So why not have those emissions do something useful, like power a plane?
    Jenya Smyk/shutterstock

    SAF fundamentally relies on assumptions that if waste or energy crops were not used to make this fuel, they would be incinerated, would degrade, or would in some way release their embodied carbon anyway. In the case of fuel derived from renewable energy and captured carbon, it assumes that carbon came from the atmosphere in the first place. This allows these emissions to be deducted from the total impact of SAF, leading to lower emissions than conventional aviation fuel.

    Is sustainable aviation fuel even sustainable?

    Estimates of how much greenhouse gas SAF could cut vary greatly due to the many different ways it can be produced, and the complexities of accounting for emissions across the entire life cycle from waste, to fuel production, to plane engine. A 2023 review by the Royal Society illustrates this nicely. It found SAF could at best produce effectively negative emissions (a 111% reduction), while at worst it could be more carbon intensive than fossil kerosene jet fuel (a 69% increase).

    While policy incentives are likely to encourage increased production, there remain serious concerns that will need to be addressed before SAF can become a serious competitor for conventional jet fuel. There are hard limits to the amount of used cooking oil available for instance, and the use of other feedstocks is still in its infancy.

    Meanwhile any renewable energy used to make the fuel will have to compete with growing demand from electric vehicles, AI data centres and more. And there are big worries the industry simply won’t be profitable enough to attract initial capital investment, let alone take on its well-established rival.

    UK SAF production

    Coming into effect in January, the UK’s SAF mandate sets legal obligations for aviation fuel suppliers in the UK to progressively increase proportions of sustainable fuel, from 2% of total jet fuel in 2025 to 10% in 2030, and 22% in 2040.

    This is one of a growing number of commitments globally, including RefuelEU, and the US SAF grand challenge, which seek to increase demand and encourage more investment in production.

    As of 2023, 97% of the UK’s supply is derived from used cooking oil, with the rest from food waste. Only 8% of this cooking oil is sourced from the UK, with most being imported from China and Malaysia. The UK also comprises 16% of the global SAF market, despite representing only 1% of total passengers.

    Currently, the only commercial producer of SAF in the UK is the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery which processes used cooking oil. The previous government allocated £135 million of funding to nine projects, aiming to have five plants under construction by 2025. Despite several projects selecting sites, at the time of writing none appear to be under construction.

    In an industry with razor-thin profit margins, SAF remains considerably more expensive than conventional aviation fuel. With potential producers filing for bankruptcy and companies including Shell pulling out due to profitability concerns, the market is looking rocky.

    A 7% saving is more plausible

    Let us assume that Rachel Reeves’ 70% saving is deliverable if fossil jet fuel was fully replaced with SAF. That’s optimistic in itself, but not beyond the realms of possibility.

    Getting hold of that much sustainable fuel is less plausible, however – the total demand for jet fuel in the UK is more than ten times the current global production of SAF. But let’s assume that the rocky global market can deliver the UK’s ambitious demand of 10% SAF use by 2030.

    Reeves’ figure then becomes an optimistic value of 7% savings across the UK industry. If we then correct for anticipated growth of passenger numbers, assuming plans for airport expansion, those savings are likely to vanish.

    While SAF has a role to play in decarbonisation, growth sits in clear opposition to its impacts and potential. If the UK has any hope of meeting its climate targets, it should instead be seeking alternatives to flying where possible.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Ben Purvis receives funding from the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.

    – ref. There isn’t enough ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel to make a dent in our emissions – and there won’t be for years – https://theconversation.com/there-isnt-enough-sustainable-aviation-fuel-to-make-a-dent-in-our-emissions-and-there-wont-be-for-years-249270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘We’d just switch everything off’: six in ten social housing tenants go without essentials to pay rent

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Hickman, Professor of Housing and Social Policy, Sheffield Hallam University

    Shutterstock

    The social housing sector in England houses 4 million tenants (16% of the country’s households). The sector is home to some of the UK’s most vulnerable and poorest households, and paying rent is one of the biggest challenges they face. If they do not pay, they risk being evicted from their homes.

    Recent research we carried out for the Nuffield Foundation highlights the difficulties many tenants face paying their rent, and the sacrifices they have to make to do so.

    We surveyed more than 1,200 tenants across 15 neighbourhoods in England, and found that 9% were in rent arrears. However, this figure dramatically underestimates the number of tenants who were finding it difficult to pay their rent: 61% had gone without essentials, such as food and heating, in order to pay it in the last year.

    The financial situation of tenants has become more difficult in recent years due to a combination of cost-of-living increases, including rapidly rising food and energy prices, and real-term reductions in salary due to increasingly precarious employment. Some 43% of tenants we surveyed regularly ran out of money before their next wage or benefit payment.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

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    In-depth interviews revealed that many tenants ran out of money before their basic needs (rent, household bills, food, clothing and travel to work or school) had been met. In these cases, they had to make difficult decisions, sometimes choosing between paying their rent – the highest priority payment for most – or meeting other basic needs.

    Nearly half (46%) of tenants had made the difficult decision to cut back on their heating expenditure so they could pay their rent. Tenants reported turning off appliances and using hot water sparingly:

    “I had to turn the heating off today. As the last bit of money I had was used to buy packed lunch things for my daughter for school.”

    They reported a range of strategies for keeping warm without using their gas or electricity, including sitting in sleeping bags, wearing thermal clothing and thick jumpers indoors, covering themselves with blankets and fleeces and using hot water bottles.

    Those who did use their heating reported putting it on for just one hour. One woman with a seven-month-old baby reported using the “heating minimal, mainly at night when the temperatures really drop, so I just keep him wrapped up usually.”

    Tenants also reported using their electricity minimally, not watching television, boiling the kettle if I need to do the washing up and sitting with the lights off:

    “[We] switch everything of … We would switch the TVs off … We’d just switch everything off as much as we could. We wouldn’t use the lights. We’d just use the torches on our phones.”

    ‘One meal a day’

    Some 43% of tenants reported that they had cut back on their food spending in order to pay their rent. Some reported that they skipped meals – “I eat I’d say one meal a day at teatime,” – or not eating adequately, for example, eating insufficient portions or toast in place of an evening meal.

    One woman reported going without meals at one point in order to pay rent: “I’d sooner do without food myself to do the council [rent] cos they’re on your back.”

    Tenants reported running out of money for food or replacing substantial cooked dinners with snacks:

    “Well, I used to do myself a proper meal every evening, but now I just do it two times a week … and I have beans on toast or something like that.”

    There were also many examples of participants doing without nutritious food because it was more expensive than processed food. These tenants were very aware of the lower nutritional value of the food they were buying and lamented not being able to afford the fresh food they preferred.

    This included pregnant women and people with children, for whom nutritious food is particularly important. Recognising this, some talked about buying healthier food for their children than for themselves when they could.

    Participants in our study reported that they bought unhealthy processed foods because they could not afford fresh food.
    1000 Words/Shutterstock

    National income and tenancy standards

    Our research shows that most tenants are committed to paying their rent, prioritising it at a cost to their and their family’s health and wellbeing. Only by improving tenants’ financial circumstances will the situation change.

    One step towards this would be for the government to endorse the minimum income standard, a level of income that allows people to “thrive” and not merely “survive”. The government should use this standard to determine benefit rates and the national minimum wage, alongside measures to provide people with greater job security.

    Our research has shown that many tenants have only been able to sustain their tenancies by going without. But can we really say someone is sustaining their tenancy, if their home is cold and damp because they cannot afford to heat their homes? They are using mobile phones torches for lighting? They are skipping meals?

    Social housing landlords must rethink how they understand tenancy sustainment. It shouldn’t just be about how long tenants stay in a property, but about the quality of their life while in it.

    The research discussed in this article was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Paul Hickman 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.

    The research discussed in this article was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Kesia Reeve 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’d just switch everything off’: six in ten social housing tenants go without essentials to pay rent – https://theconversation.com/wed-just-switch-everything-off-six-in-ten-social-housing-tenants-go-without-essentials-to-pay-rent-248618

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: While the world is distracted by Trump, here’s how Putin and Musk are weakening European democracies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    In an unprecedented decision on December 6 2024, the Romanian constitutional court annulled the November 25 presidential elections after it received credible intelligence of large-scale external interference rigging the results of the first round in favour of a hardly-known far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu.

    Georgescu’s massive last-minute surge was largely blamed on the creation of thousands of paid-for Russian-controlled bots on TikTok and illegal campaign financing.

    This may seem like last year’s news, but with elections coming up in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and possibly even Ukraine, there’s plenty to worry about – apart from a new US president who is disrupting Washington (and the world) with a flurry of executive orders and foreign policy initiatives that feel more like real estate sales pitches.

    Concerns about Russian election interference are nothing new, but so far the picture of Moscow’s success is rather mixed.

    Back in January 2017, the US intelligence community was confident that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential elections to get Donald Trump elected. The following year, similar accusations arose in the context of presidential elections in France. But in France, the Kremlin failed to prevent the victory of Emmanuel Macron.

    More recently, in Georgia, the incumbent government of the Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections in October 2024 after alleged Russian interference. This sparked widespread protests and a government crackdown on media and civil society.

    By contrast, despite alleged Russian interference in Moldova, the country’s pro-western president won a second term in November 2024. A referendum on a constitutional commitment to EU membership was supported by a razor-thin majority of voters.



    Read more:
    Maia Sandu’s victory in second round of Moldovan election show’s limits to Moscow’s meddling

    Opinion polls on perceptions of Russia and Vladimir Putin across western democracies also offer some solace. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in 2024, positive views of Russia and its leader remain very low across EU and Nato member countries. At the same time, approval ratings of the EU and Nato remained high among member countries’ citizens.

    But these relatively comforting headline figures mask important, and somewhat worrying, trends. In Germany, which holds early parliamentary elections on February 23, positive views of Putin more than doubled from 8% in 2023 to 17% in 2024. This is still a far cry from the 76% who approved of Putin in 2003 or even the 36% who did so in 2019, according to the same survey. The German increase is an outlier among the 13 EU members, but in only one of them – Italy – did support for Putin drop, compared with the previous year.



    Read more:
    Why Romania’s election was annulled – and what happens next?

    The same goes for support for the EU and Nato. The median level of support for the EU across nine member states surveyed stands at 63%, with 36% of participants holding unfavourable views. Germany, with 63% favourable views, however, recorded the second consecutive decline, down from 78% in 2022 and 71% in 2023. And Germany is less of an outlier here – favourable views of the EU among member states have generally declined somewhat over the past two years.

    Musk speaks at an AfD rally.

    When it comes to Nato, 63% of survey participants in 13 member countries thought more positively of the alliance, while 33% had more negative views. But again, with the exception of Hungary and Canada (where favourability went up), the share of those with favourable views had declined by between two and eight percentage points since last year.

    Does this mean that Putin is winning? No, at least not yet. Attitude surveys are less important than election results.

    Russia appears to have had some recent success in changing election outcomes, for instance in Romania where Romanian intelligance services discovered evidence of voter manipulation. But the Romanian example (in annulling the election) is also illustrative of how important it is for democracies to fight back – and even more importantly to take preventive action.

    And this is a lesson that seems to have sunk in. On January 30, the foreign ministers of 12 EU member states sent a joint letter to Brussels urging the European Commission to make more aggressive use of its powers under the Digital Services Act to protect the integrity of democratic elections in the bloc. Article 25 of that act, crucially, establishes an obligation on online platforms to design their services free from deception and manipulation and ensure that users can make informed decisions.

    While the commission has yet to demonstrate its resolve under the Digital Services Act, a Berlin court on February 7 2025, ordered that X must hand over data needed to track disinformation to two civil society groups who had requested it.

    Musk and Putin: shared values?

    If Putin is winning, he is not winning on his own. Democracies are not only under threat from Russia. Musk – an unelected billionaire wielding unprecedented influence under Donald Trump – has repeatedly been accused of interfering in European debates and election campaigns. Of his comments on the German election, Musk has argued that as he has significant investments in Germany he has the right to comment on its politics and that the AfD “resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment”.

    What Musk and Putin have in common is their deep dislike of open liberal democracies and a cunning ability to employ technology to further their goals by promoting political parties and movements that share their illiberal views.

    Where they differ is that Musk focuses on the far right – Germany’s AfD or the UK’s Tommy Robinson. But Putin tends to back whoever he sees as serving Russian interests in weakening western unity and influence. This leads to the Kremlin lending support to leaders on both the far right and far left.

    But often Putin’s and Musk’s proteges are the same. In the case of the German AfD, it was no accident that Putin echoed comments from a speech Musk gave at an AfD election rally, saying that Germans should move beyond their war guilt. Both were keen to remove the stain of being too close to Germany’s Nazi past from the AfD and make it not just electable but also respectable enough to bring into a coalition, much like Austria’s far-right Freedom Party which has a long history of friendly relations with Putin.

    And what Musk can do openly on X, Putin tries to achieve with a campaign of his bot army on the platform.

    Perhaps the most significant similarity between Musk and Putin – and others who have been accused of election interference – is that they tap into a growing reservoir of discontent with liberal democracy.

    According to a 2024 survey of 31 democracies worldwide, 54% of participants were dissatisfied with how they saw democracy working. In 12 high-income countries – Canada, US, and 10 EU member states – dissatisfaction was even higher with 64% and has been increasing for the fourth consecutive year.

    Pushing back against the kind of blatant election interference by the likes of Putin and Musk is clearly important. But it will not be enough to reverse persistent trends of decline in the support for democracy and its standard bearers including the EU and Nato. It is right to resist and prosecute election rigging. But it is also crucial to ask why people are dissatisfied with democracy – and to do something about it.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. While the world is distracted by Trump, here’s how Putin and Musk are weakening European democracies – https://theconversation.com/while-the-world-is-distracted-by-trump-heres-how-putin-and-musk-are-weakening-european-democracies-249400

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What public-private-partnership scandals can tell us about wrongdoing in the water industry

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Fisher, Assistant Professor in Management, University of Sussex

    Jory Mundy/Shutterstock.com

    Water bills are going up in England and Wales, even after the series of scandals around water companies. Last year water firms paid £158 million in fines following a record-breaking number of sewage dumps in rivers and seas.

    Severn Trent Water and United Utilities alone reportedly made 1,374 illegal sewage spills over two years. (Both companies took issue with the analysis that led to this figure but acknowledged concerns about sewage discharges.)

    There have been other notable incidents. Whistleblowers have told of water companies that fail to treat legally required amounts of sewage and divert that sewage to public waterways. To add to the disgrace, water companies have generally failed to invest enough in the UK’s water infrastructure.

    Research suggests that governments have been pressured to become more “business-like”. This has given rise to the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to run important public services, such as water, transport and even prisons. Water companies in England and Wales are private companies that bid for their contracts, while in Scotland, the water provider is a public organisation.

    While other findings show that PPPs can support important public service needs, such as public health, research by my colleagues and I examines a consistent pattern in UK PPP scandals and wrongdoing. Over the past decade and a half, billions of pounds of taxpayers’ funds are unaccounted for. This appears to be largely because private interests have been prioritised over public needs.

    As a researcher of PPP wrongdoing, the reasons for many of the scandals seem obvious. My colleagues and I studied parliamentary inquiries and reports that have scrutinised PPP wrongdoing. This research can tell us a great deal about the UK’s predicament with regard to the failings in the water industry.

    The first lesson is that, in general, many PPPs are motivated actually to reduce the quality of the services they deliver. One parliamentary inquiry found that contracting services out from the public to the private sector had become a “transactional process” where cost-cutting is favoured and the “knock-on cost” to users results in a lower-quality public service.

    Other findings showed that companies regularly reduced the quality of a service to maximise profits. One way was to bid for a public service at a low price. A Public Accounts Committee member observed that companies coming in with low quotes for contracts can end up damaging services by under-investing in them.

    Another example is Sodexo – a private prison management provider. It cut employee numbers by around 200 and a subsequent BBC Panorama documentary detailed escapes and widespread drug use in the prisons they managed and also criticised a lack of safety for both prisoners and prison officers. Sodexo acknowledged the programme had highlighted problems and said it would investigate, but added that there had been “positive actions and improvements” already.

    Similar practices were observed at a children’s prison run by security firm G4S, where an officer was left with brain damage after an attack by inmates. G4S admitted liability for the officer’s injuries and agreed a settlement with him.

    Pay the fine, it’s cheaper

    The second lesson is it can be cost-effective to breach contracts and pay fines. Companies sometimes breach the terms of their public-private contracts because it’s in their economic interest. This even has a name – economists call it “efficiency breach”.

    For instance, a parliamentary report found that between 2010 and 2016 G4S was fined 100 times for breaching contracts – paying out roughly £3 million. As one MP suggested, these fines compared to its profits are a “slap on the wrist”. The same has been said of water companies.

    When observing the fines in comparison to the profitable contracts, it’s easy to posit what the motivations of many in the UK’s public service system are. In 2017, despite previous indictments of wrongdoing, G4S won £25 million of government contracts.

    In 2020 the firm won another £300 million contract to run Wellingborough “mega-prison” in England. Despite some raised eyebrows, G4S said at the time it aimed to make the site a blueprint for “innovation, rehabilitation and modernisation” in the prison service.

    Pay the shareholders, invest later

    The third lesson is that shareholders are more important than long-term investments in a service. This is perhaps the most notable feature of the UK’s public service system, where a vast array of shareholders benefit from the profits made by PPPs. In one of the parliamentary reports we analysed, which details the collapse of the facilities management firm Carillion, it was clear that shareholders’ interests trumped good management and long-term investment.

    As was noted in the report, despite Carillion’s collapse, the firm paid out £333 million more to shareholders than it generated in cash between 2012 and 2017. Often, this shareholder primacy can even go against a firm’s own employees rather than just the state and taxpayers. One MP noted that despite its pension scheme being in deficit, shareholders were still receiving dividends.

    Often, shareholders are prioritised because of short-term thinking. These processes can lead to firms passing these bad practices down their supply chains.

    The behaviour of water companies is suggestive of these dynamics. Since water companies have been privatised, they have loaded themselves up with debt (£64 billion) but paid out £78 billion to shareholders. Some 70% of these shareholders are “foreign investment firms, private equity, pension funds and businesses lodged in tax havens”.

    Water companies could give the UK’s rivers, estuaries and seas representation at board level.
    jimcatlinphotography.com/Shutterstock

    So what should be done? There are plenty of ways to enhance and improve the UK’s PPP problems. The most obvious may be to renationalise public services and renew the quality of public services through New Deal-style investments. After all, this is what what most of the UK electorate wants.

    There are other options. An innovative and exciting frontier is opening for businesses to recognise their environmental responsibilities – initiatives in New Zealand, India and Ecuador are giving the status of personhood to rivers and ecosystems, for example.

    Outdoor fashion brand Patagonia has “the Earth” as its only shareholder, and hair and skincare brand Faith in Nature has appointed nature to its board. Imagine if the UK’s water companies had the rivers and seas represented.

    In the end, only time will tell how water companies will be held accountable. But for the moment it’s the UK taxpayer and consumer paying the price.

    G4S was approached about this article but declined to comment.

    Daniel Fisher receives funding from the Leverhulme/British Academy for his work with heritage steam train drivers, which is unrelated to his research on PPP wrongdoing.

    – ref. What public-private-partnership scandals can tell us about wrongdoing in the water industry – https://theconversation.com/what-public-private-partnership-scandals-can-tell-us-about-wrongdoing-in-the-water-industry-249218

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the brain can miraculously switch off pain

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

    Jack FotoVerse/Shutterestock

    In the second world war, the physician Henry Beecher observed that some of his soldier patients, despite being injured on the battlefield, required no strong painkillers to manage their pain. In some cases, the injury was as severe as losing part of a limb.

    A truly remarkable phenomenon had come into play – the effects of fear, stress and emotion on the brain had switched off their pain. But how does this work – and how can we use it to our advantage?

    We all struggle with pain at times. The burning of indigestion, the wince of a scald from the kettle. The sharp stabbing of a sliced finger.

    But despite its unpleasantness, pain has a critically important purpose, designed to protect the body rather than harm it. A fundamental concept to first understand is that you do not detect pain – it is a sensation. A sensation that your brain has created – from information it receives from the countless neurons (nerve cells) which supply your skin.

    These specialised neurons are called nociceptors – they detect stimuli which are noxious, or potentially damaging to the body. This stimulation might range from a mechanical cut or crush injury, to extreme hot or cold temperatures.

    So, if you touch a hot iron, or stand on a sharp nail, the correct reaction is to move your hand or foot away from it. The brain responds to pain by initiating muscle contractions in your arm or leg. In doing so, any further damage is averted.

    The course of information, rushing along one neuron to another in a relay, is carried as electrical currents called action potentials. These begin at the skin, travel along nerve highways and into the spinal cord. When the information reaches the uppermost level of the brain – the cerebral cortex – a sensation of pain is generated.

    Blocking pain signals

    Many different factors can interfere with this transmission of information – we don’t perceive pain if the route to the cortex is blocked. Take the use of anaesthetics, for instance.

    Local anaesthetics are injected directly into the skin to deactivate nociceptors (like lidocaine) – perhaps in A+E to perform stitches. Other agents induce a loss of consciousness – these are general anaesthetics, for more extensive surgical operations.

    Pain is also a very variable experience. Commonly, we ask patients to quantify their pain by giving a value along a scale of nought to ten.
    What one person would consider a five out of ten pain, another might consider a seven – and another a two.

    Some patients are born without the ability to sense pain – this rare condition is called congenital analgesia. You might think this confers an advantage, but the truth is quite the opposite. These individuals will be unaware of circumstances where their bodies are being damaged, and can end up sustaining more profound injuries, or missing them entirely and suffering the consequences.

    How to trick your brain

    What is more extraordinary is that we all possess an innate ability to control our pain levels. In fact, a natural painkiller is found deep within the nervous system itself.

    The secret lies in a structure located in the very middle of your brain: the periaqueductal grey (PAG). This small, heart-shaped region contains neurons whose role is to alter incoming pain signals reaching the cerebral cortex. In doing so, it is able to dampen down any pain that would otherwise be experienced.

    Let’s consider this in practice using the extreme example of the battlefield. This is an instance where sensing pain might actually prove more of a hindrance than of help. It might hamper a soldier’s ability to run, or assist comrades. In temporarily numbing the pain, the soldier becomes able to escape the dangerous environment and seek refuge.

    But we encounter many examples of this ability coming into action in our everyday routines. Ever picked something in the kitchen that you suddenly realise is extremely hot? Sometimes that casserole dish or saucepan descends to the floor, but sometimes we are able to hold on just long enough to transfer it to the stove-top. This action may be underpinned by the PAG shutting off the sensation of clasping something too hot to handle, just long enough to prevent dropping it.

    The substances which generate this effect are called enkephalins. They are produced in many different areas of the brain (including the PAG) and spinal cord, and may have similar actions to strong analgesics such as morphine. It has also been suggested that long term or chronic pain – which is persistent and not useful to the body – might arise as a result of abnormalities within this natural analgesic system.

    This begs the question: how might you go about hacking your own nervous system to produce an analgesic effect?

    There is growing evidence to suggest that the release of painkilling enkephalins can be enhanced in a variety of different ways. Exercise is one example – one of the reasons why prescribed exercise might be able to work wonders for aches and pains (backache for instance) instead of popping paracetamols.

    Besides this, stressful situations, feeding and sex might also affect the activity of enkephalins and other related compounds.

    So, how could we go about it? Take up strength or endurance training? Alleviate our stress? Good food? Good sex? While more work is needed to clarify a role for these options in pain management, their reward might be greater than we thought.

    Pain remains a complex, poorly understood experience, but the future is bright. Only last month, the FDA approved the use of a new medication Journavx for managing acute pain.

    It works by switching off nociceptors in the peripheral nervous system, and therefore preventing pain signals getting to the brain. This represents a potential new breakthrough in a world which has become dependent on addictive opioid medications, such as morphine and fentanyl.

    Developing new painkilling treatments relies on the work of pain researchers to help unravel the intricate neuronal circuitry and function. There is no denying that this is going to be difficult task. But in considering the neuroscience of how our bodies generate and suppress pain, we can hope to understand how they can act as their own healers.

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

    – ref. How the brain can miraculously switch off pain – https://theconversation.com/how-the-brain-can-miraculously-switch-off-pain-248333

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to two papers assessing the impact of 2024 temperatures on Paris Agreement targets

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Two papers published in Nature Climate Change look at the impact of 2024 temperatures on Paris Agreement targets (1.5 degrees). 

    Dr Akshay Deoras, Research Scientist, National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, said:

    “The two papers help reflect the fact that we are getting dangerously close to breaching the Paris Agreement. Well-defined methodologies have been used, and conclusions are backed by solid data. However, a key limitation of these studies is that the models used might not account for all factors influencing global warming. This means that some uncertainty remains regarding whether the Paris Agreement will be breached in the late 2020s, early 2030s, or even earlier. This uncertainty should not be used as an excuse to continue business as usual, since the goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C is certainly dead in the absence of a rapid and robust reduction in emissions. Governments must urgently strengthen their commitments, align policies with science, and accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. The world cannot afford to abandon the Paris framework at this stage; instead, we must reinvigorate it with ambition and accountability.”

    Dr Robin Lamboll, Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, said: 

    “These two papers show that we are already in a time of peril for the 1.5°C target.  

    “There is a subtle distinction between what they show and what you might assume: they show that IF we are in a scenario that exceeds 1.5°C, the time of exceedance has very likely already started.  

    “The work by Cannon does not investigate scenarios where we never exceed 1.5°C, and the work by Bevacqua states that, in a scenario where we risk but aren’t committed to exceeding 1.5°C, we are “likely” but not “very likely” to exceed 1.5°C in the long term (so, more than 66% but less than 90% chance), now that we have seen a single year above 1.5°C warming.” 

    Professor Stephen Belcher, Met Office chief scientist, said:

    “A single year of exceedance of 1.5°C does not break the guardrail of the Paris Agreement. However, it does highlight that the headroom to stay below 1.5°C is now wafer thin. In a recent paper a collection of Met Office scientists calculated that the current global warming level is 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels. Added to this a Met Office forecast of carbon dioxide for the coming year reveals that the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ is now inconsistent with pathways keeping to 1.5°C; this suggests that only rapid and strong measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions will keep us from passing the first line of defence within the Paris Agreement.”

    Dr Alan Kennedy-Asser, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment, said:

    “I find the results of this modelling study to be, sadly, unsurprising and I would agree that the evidence suggests that 2024 (and now 2025) will be within a 20 year period which has an average temperature at or above 1.5°C unless something very radical changes in the next 5 to 10 years, suggesting we may be already living in the 1.5°C world the Paris Agreement referred to. Another way to think about this is that the year 2024 exists within 20 different climatology periods (one starting at 2024, one ending at 2024). The period ending 2024 is not above 1.5°C, however I would be very confident the one beginning in 2024 will be above 1.5°C unless something very radical changes in the next 5-10 years (in agreement with these papers). Meanwhile somewhere between these two will be the closest that one period is to precisely 1.5°C (perhaps the period 2018-2037 – we shall find out).

    “Both studies use straightforward but, in my opinion, sensible methodologies and use the most suitable data currently available: these are precisely the research questions CMIP6 models are designed to answer. However, even though the planet may be in a period that is at or exceeds 1.5°C, there is great value in taking rapid action to slow further warming, as the rate of change matters and every tenth of a degree matters.

    “I believe the press release is an accurate representation of the papers.”

     

    Prof Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, said:

    “To determine whether the Paris agreement has failed is defined as two decades above 1.5C and not one year as we have just had, due to natural climate variability. These papers suggest that the forcing conditions have been reached now, and that we reached the decade in which the Paris agreement will be broken. They came to this conclusion by interrogating climate models and observed temperature anomalies in complex discussions about probabilities and model baselines.  These are important papers exploring when 1.5C warming is passed, given the impacts projected and the need for adaptation to reduce risk.

    “The key importance of the Paris agreement is to avoid risk. Every increment of warming avoided by dramatically increasing mitigation reduces the risks and impacts of human driven changes to our climate system on people, our cities, our infrastructure and the environments which support us.

    “Fixating on a number of 1.5C, and that if will be surpasses, has the real risk of reducing actions, demotivating all of us – people, civic society, industry – to give up on trying. The consequence of a lack of ambition is that we will stay on the warming pathways we are currently on, which leads to nearly 3C warming globally, locally much more. Such warming has immense, and in parts irreversible consequences for Nature and people.

    “So while breaching 1.5C is not good news, reducing action and reaching twice as much warming is clearly much worse.”

     

    Prof Richard Allan, Professor of Climate Science, University of Reading, said:

    “A single year being globally 1.5 degree Celsius warmer than preindustrial levels does not mean we have crossed the Paris climate agreement threshold but it does mean breaching this dangerous level is pretty much inevitable.

    “The threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius above preindustrial climate decided at the Paris climate agreement applies to the global surface temperature averaged over multiple decades so a single year doesn’t mean we have breached this dangerous level. But given that warming of climate is accelerating, it is common sense that if a year unaffected by additional warming influences such as El Niño crossed this boundary it is pretty certain that crossing the 1.5 degree threshold will be inevitable without a step change in efforts to cut greenhouse gases. The new studies robustly confirm that even accounting for El Niño warmth, the persistence and magnitude of global temperatures in 2024 mean that to all intents and purposes breaching the 1.5 degree threshold is a given and that we need to double down efforts to avoid the even more dangerous 2 degree Celsius threshold by rapidly and massively cutting greenhouse gas emissions.”

     

    Dr Richard Hodgkins, a Reader in Climate Futures at Loughborough University, said:

    “While individual years may always be warmer or cooler than long-term averages, the analysis in both papers show that the record warmth of 2024 is likely to be part of a long-term shift above 1.5C, rather than being a one-off. However, this doesn’t mean that the Paris Agreement target of 1.5C is dead, because the Net Zero pathway to 1.5C always assumed that temperatures would increase above that target, before coming back down in the second half of the current century. So, in that sense, 1.5C is not dead.

    “However, the anticipated decline of temperatures relies on the assumption that large-scale technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the free atmosphere will be rapidly developed, globally deployed, and operate successfully, which is speculative to say the least. So, in that sense, 1.5C is dead because achieving it relies on borderline science fiction. There are many who would say that the reliance on carbon dioxide removal meant that 1.5C was never a very plausible target in the first place. Regardless, it shows that focusing on targets and not actions is an ineffective approach, and that actual emissions reductions, which can be achieved with existing, successful technologies, are needed now.”

     

    Dr Vikki Thompson, Scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, said:

    “These studies use data from both observational sources and multiple climate models to show we should now expect to exceed the Paris Agreement within the next 20 years, much sooner than climate projections had suggested. With this January continuing the recent trend, becoming yet another hottest on record month, we have seen 18 of the last 19 months exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial. Not quite the 18 consecutive months shown by Cannon to make it virtually certain we will exceed the Paris Agreement, but so very close. 

    “The rate we have reached these levels is terrifying and shows, yet again, how urgently we need to act. Without adaptation and mitigation we will continue to feel the impacts of the accelerating warming with more and more extreme weather events.”

    Paper 1:

    ‘A year above 1.5 °C signals that Earth is most probably within the 20-year period that will reach the Paris Agreement limit’ by Emanuele Bevacqua et al. was published in Nature Climate Change at 16:00 UK time on Monday 10 February 2025.

    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-025-02246-9

    Paper 2:

    ‘Twelve months at 1.5 °C signals earlier than expected breach of Paris Agreement threshold ‘ by Alex J. Cannon et al. was published in Nature Climate Change at 16:00 UK time on Monday 10 February 2025.

    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-025-02247-8

    Declared interests

    Prof Richard Allan: No conflicting interests

    Dr Vikki Thompson: No interests to declare.

    Dr Akshay Deoras: No conflicts to declare.

    For all other experts, no response to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: One Week in Nairobi to Study Urban Governance in a Large Metropolis

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Students in front of the entrance at 1 St-Thomas (credits: Pierre Morel)

    Virtual Undergraduate Open House day 2025

    Come meet our teams and students at our campuses.

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    Virtual Graduate Open House day 2025

    Meet faculty members, students and representatives and learn more about our 30 Master’s programmes.

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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Neag School Alumni Board Announces the 2025 Alumni Award Winners

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The UConn Neag School of Education and its Alumni Board are delighted to announce the 2025 Neag School Alumni Awards honorees. Eight outstanding graduates will be formally recognized at the Neag School’s 27th Annual Alumni Awards Celebration on Saturday, March 15.

    Outstanding School Educator – Tracey-Ann Lafayette ’15 (CLAS), ’15 (ED), ’16 MA, ’22 6th Year

    Tracey-Ann Lafayette ’15 (CLAS), ’15 (ED), ’16 MA, ’22 6th Year (Submitted photo)

    A graduate of the Neag School’s Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Teacher Education Program and UConn Administrator Preparation Program, Tracey-Ann Lafayette is an innovative educator dedicated to fostering inclusivity and academic excellence. She taught grades three and four at Robert J. O’Brien Elementary School in East Hartford, Connecticut, from 2016 until 2024. Currently, she teaches seventh-grade English Language Arts at Illing Middle School in Manchester, Connecticut. With expertise in culturally responsive teaching, Lafayette integrates diversity, advocacy, and conflict resolution into daily lessons, ensuring a positive classroom climate. A leader in professional development, Lafayette has facilitated workshops on equity and secured grants to support educational initiatives. Beyond the classroom, Lafayette has mentored aspiring educators of color through organizations like the Neag School’s Leadership in Diversity (LID) group, which she co-founded as a student, and the Neag School’s Diverse Educators Making Outstanding Change (DEMO) program. She co-founded the international Melanin Magic Educators collective, exemplifying her commitment to supporting educators of color. Her work has been featured on Connecticut’s WTNH Channel 8 and earned her a Fund for Teachers Fellowship (FFT). Through FFT, she had the opportunity to travel to South Africa to explore the connections between the country’s anti-apartheid movement and the civil rights movement here in the U.S. As a sought-after speaker, Lafayette has also presented at numerous conferences on anti-racist education and student activism. She is also a Malka Penn Award Committee member, allowing her to highlight literature promoting human rights.

    Outstanding Professional – Alicia Bowman ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’08 6th Year

    Alicia Bowman ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’08 6th Year (Submitted photo)

    Alicia Bowman is a highly accomplished educational leader with expertise in the instructional, operational, and financial aspects of school administration. As associate executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools, Bowman champions visionary priorities for educational administrators through advocacy, coaching, and professional learning. Her tenure as assistant superintendent for finance and operations for Farmington Public Schools showcased her strategic leadership in mentoring, union collaboration, and large-scale improvement initiatives. Bowman’s impact extends to the classroom and beyond, having previously served as principal at Farmington’s West Woods Upper Elementary School, where she led innovative instructional models and established a Makerspace and flexible learning blocks. She is a lifelong learner, earning her bachelor’s, master’s, and 6th Year diploma from the Neag School, and her doctoral degree from the University of New England. She is also an adjunct faculty member, coach, and former mentor principal for the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP). Widely recognized for her contributions, Bowman has been previously named National Distinguished Principal and Connecticut Elementary Principal of the Year. She has contributed to publications and presented at national forums on equity, leadership, and student-centered learning and is passionate about fostering inclusive, transformative educational systems.

    Outstanding Early Career Professional – Paul Singleton II ’17 MA, ’24 Ph.D.

    Paul Singleton II ’17 MA, ’24 Ph.D. (Submitted photo)

    Paul Singleton II is an accomplished educator, counselor, and advocate for equity in education, dedicated to fostering student success across diverse backgrounds. He holds a master’s in school counseling and a Ph.D. in educational psychology with a focus on counselor education and supervision from the Neag School, where his research centered on the impact of psychoeducational groups on African American male college students and their career readiness. Singleton is a counselor for grades seven through 12 and the diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia. Singleton supports students’ academic and social-emotional development in these roles while implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to build an inclusive school culture. He is also the founding director of the Learning & Engagement at the Potomac School (LEAP) Program, a pioneering effort to enhance student engagement and leadership through tailored support and mentorship. Previously, Singleton has contributed to initiatives such as UConn’s ScHOLA²RS House, focusing on retention and success for Black male students, and has taught graduate courses in school counseling. His widely recognized work, publications, and presentations reflect his passion for empowering students to achieve their full potential.

    Outstanding School Administrator – Lori Leibowitz ’19 Cert.

    Lori Leibowitz ’19 Cert. (Submitted photo)

    With over two decades of experience in education, Lori Leibowitz is a distinguished administrator, educator, and advocate for equity in gifted education who holds a graduate certificate from the Neag School in gifted education and talent development. As the district administrator for Gifted and Talented and the Arts in Norwalk, Connecticut, she has overseen the redesign and implementation of innovative programs, increasing gifted identification rates by 25% and ensuring equitable access for underrepresented populations. Leibowitz’s leadership extends across teacher coaching and districtwide events celebrating diversity and inclusion. A published author, Leibowitz has contributed to scholarly works on gifted education, talent development, and social justice for multilingual learners. Her dissertation at Baylor University focused on empowering Hispanic multilingual learners through a social justice curriculum. She is a sought-after presenter, sharing insights at national conferences such as the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC), the National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE), and UConn’s Confratute. Leibowitz has earned accolades such as the Gifted Coordinator Award (NAGC, 2020) and the Outstanding Dissertation Award (NABE, 2024). A dedicated advocate for transformative education, she continues to drive change through research, innovation, and collaboration.

    Outstanding School Superintendent – Howard Thiery III ’91 MS, ’07 ELP

    Howard J. Thiery III ’91 MS, ’07 ELP (Submitted photo)

    A graduate of the Neag School’s Executive Leadership Program (ELP), Howard Thiery III is a dedicated and innovative educational leader with over three decades of experience spanning K-12 and higher education. Thiery also holds a master’s degree in physiology and neurobiology from UConn. As superintendent of Regional School District 10 since 2019, he has championed initiatives that enhance student creativity, increase access to college-credit courses, and improve special education services. Under his leadership, the district has implemented a systemic leadership development system, restructured administrative frameworks to focus on high-quality learning, and launched personalized learning opportunities. Previously, Thiery served as superintendent for Regional School District 17, assistant superintendent for Southington Public Schools, and principal of the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science, where he managed curriculum development and led a visionary approach to STEM education. His contributions have extended internationally through his work with UConn’s Advanced Instructional Leadership Program in Jordan and his role as chair of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on International Education. An accomplished educator and author, Thiery’s publications and teaching reflect a lifelong commitment to academic excellence and innovation.

    Outstanding Higher Education Professional – Daniel Burkey ’23 MA

    Daniel Burkey ’23 MA (UConn photo)

    Daniel Burkey is an accomplished chemical engineer, educator, and academic leader. With degrees from Lehigh University, MIT, and the University of Connecticut, Burkey’s expertise spans chemical engineering and educational psychology, specializing in research methods and engineering education innovation. Currently the associate dean for undergraduate education, outreach, and diversity in UConn’s College of Engineering, he has overseen transformative growth, including a 70% enrollment increase and initiatives to triple female enrollment. He co-developed the College’s new Ph.D. in Engineering Education program and launched innovative undergraduate teaching programs. As an educator, Burkey integrates cutting-edge techniques like game-based learning, earning accolades such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) David Himmelblau Award and multiple university teaching awards. His contributions to process safety education and curriculum design are widely recognized, alongside his leadership roles in professional organizations like AIChE, where he was recently elected as a Fellow. Burkey has secured significant research funding, authored book chapters, and developed pioneering educational technologies. Beyond academia, his mentorship and advocacy for diversity and inclusion continue to shape the next generation of engineers.

    Outstanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Professional – Fany DeJesús Hannon ’08 MA

    Fany DeJesús Hannon ’08 MA (UConn photo)

    Fany DeJesús Hannon, who holds a Master of Arts in higher education from UConn, is an accomplished higher education administrator and educator dedicated to fostering holistic student success and belonging. She also holds a doctorate in education from New England College. As dean of students at UConn, she leads initiatives addressing critical issues like crisis management, free speech, and student equity, ensuring inclusive engagement and retention across diverse populations. With over 18 years of higher education leadership experience, Hannon has championed programs enhancing cultural identity, leadership, and academic achievement, notably increasing Latinx/a/o retention and graduation rates during her tenure as director of the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. A passionate advocate for first-generation and marginalized students, Hannon collaborates with University leadership, faculty, and legislative bodies to develop policies supporting access, equity, and well-being. Her teaching philosophy, rooted in Paulo Freire’s scholarship, centers on student engagement and diverse learning styles. Recognized for her leadership, she has earned accolades like the Nuestro Orgullo Hispano award and has presented nationally on diversity and mentoring. Fluent in multiple languages, she combines strategic vision with cultural competency to empower and inspire future leaders.

    Distinguished Alumnus – Mark Daigneault ’07 (ED)

    Mark Daigneault ’07 (ED) (Oklahoma City Thunder photo)

    Mark Daigneault is the head coach of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. He previously served as head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G-League affiliate, for five seasons. Originally from Massachusetts, Daigneault graduated with a BA in education from UConn, where he also worked as a student manager for the men’s basketball team. He has credited his studies with being able to connect with players. Daigneault’s coaching career began at Holy Cross, followed by an assistantship at the University of Florida, where he was involved in scouting and working with players off the court. During his tenure, the Gators achieved three SEC titles and four Elite Eight appearances. In 2020, Daigneault became the Thunder’s head coach, guiding the team through a rebuilding phase. Daigneault was 35 years old at the time, becoming the second-youngest head coach in the NBA. In 2023-2024, the Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to earn the best regular season record in the NBA’s Western Conference, with Daigneault being awarded NBA Coach of the Year. Known for his innovative coaching style, defensive strategies, and player-development focus, Daigneault is praised by players for his adaptability and fostering strong relationships.

    For more information on the event, visit s.uconn.edu/NeagAlumni2025.

    To learn more about the UConn Neag School of Education, visit education.uconn.edu and follow the Neag School on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Kemp Announces 104 Appointments to Boards, Authorities, and Commissions

    Source: US State of Georgia

    Atlanta, GA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced 104 appointments and reappointments to various state boards, authorities, and commissions.

    Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

    Patrick Jones was reappointed. 

    Thomas Chris Cannon is a business owner, business leader, and an active member of the Albany community and the State of Georgia. Early in his career, Cannon was the President and Chief Operating Officer of an entity that had varied business interests throughout Georgia, including a multi-divisional Caterpillar Tractor Distributorship, corporate farming operations and real estate development. In 1992, Cannon founded and developed a business group whose mission was to provide a variety of environmental services to businesses and city and county governments in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The business group consisted of a multi-location residential and commercial waste service company, a petroleum equipment company, a solid waste landfill developer and operator, and an environmental consulting and remediation firm. In 1998, Cannon completed a merger transaction of his waste service company with a publicly traded company – Waste Industries – based in Raleigh, North Carolina. For several years, Cannon served on the board of directors of the publicly traded company, until 1992 when he sold his shares in Waste Industries to pursue other business interests. Also in 1992, he founded Flint Holdings, Inc. Today, Cannon continues to own and operate Flint Equipment Company consisting of Flint Ag and Turf, Flint Power Systems, and Barber Petroleum Equipment Company. Over the years, Cannon has served as the president of many civic organizations, including the Albany Technical College Foundation Board, the Albany YMCA Board, and the Boys and Girls Club Board. He also served on the boards of the Darton College Foundation, the State of Georgia Department of Industry and Trade, NoVab Inc., Waste Industries Inc., Deerfield Windsor School, the Governors Council on Economic Development, the Georgia Mining Association, the Albany Museum of Art, Nations Bank, and regional Sun Trust Bank. Cannon is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a B.S.A. degree in Business. He has two children that are active in the businesses and continues to reside in Albany.

    Haynes (Maier) Studstill is a partner in the Valdosta law firm Studstill Firm, LLP, where her practice is focused on representing individuals and families in disputes with insurance companies. Studstill is originally from Rome, where she attended Darlington School before graduating the Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana. She earned her B.S. degree from Vanderbilt University in human & organizational development. After graduating from Vanderbilt, Haynes worked in the journalism industry for several years. She worked at WRC-TV/NBC4 in Washington, D.C. and NBC-affiliate WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee. She also served as the life editor of The Brunswick News before joining her uncle, William S. Morris, III, of Augusta, at his equine publications, Quarter Horse News and Barrel Horse News, in Fort Worth, Texas. Morris is a former regent, as is his father and Haynes’s grandfather, William S. Morris, Jr., thus making Haynes the 3rd generation in her family to serve the University System of Georgia on the Board of Regents. Studstill attended Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law, where she met her husband, Justin D. Studstill. She and Justin both graduated from Mercer. She is a former barrister in the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court. Studstill clerked for the Hon. C. Ashley Royal in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia and worked as an associate for King & Spalding, LLP in Atlanta, before joining her father-in-law, Danny Studstill, and her husband in practice in South Georgia at the Studstill Firm, LLP.  She currently serves as a board member on the State Botanical Garden of Georgia Board of Advisors in Athens and on the Judicial Nominating Commission, having been appointed by Gov. Kemp in 2021. She also serves as a Special Master, appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court, on attorney discipline cases. She is the immediate past president of the Valdosta Bar Association, and former president of both the Alapaha Judicial Circuit Bar Association and the Valdosta Chapter of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL). She is a former board member of: Vanderbilt University Peabody College Young Alumni Board; the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Macon; SafeKids Lowndes County; and The Verdict magazine of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA). She has been admitted to practice in all State Appellate Courts in Georgia, all U.S. District Courts in Georgia, and the Supreme Court of the United States. She and her husband have four children and live in Lakeland, Georgia.

    State Board of Pardons and Paroles

    Robert Markley is a dedicated and experienced law enforcement professional with a proven track record of leadership and service to the community. Markley served as the elected Sheriff of Morgan County from 2001 to 2024, overseeing all aspects of law enforcement operations. Prior to his role as Sheriff, Markley held various positions within the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, including jailer, patrolman, investigator, and administrative officer. Committed to maintaining public safety, upholding the law, and fostering positive community relationships. During his tenure as Sheriff, he served as member of the Board of Trustees for the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund of Georgia.

    Georgia Composite Medical Board 

    Judy Lynn Gardner and Barby J. Simmons were reappointed.

    Board of Natural Resources

    Nancy Addison was reappointed. 

    Mike Peavy is a native of Hawkinsville, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Georgia. After teaching for several years, he transitioned into concrete and masonry supply sales, ultimately joining Cherokee Brick. At Cherokee, Peavy became vice president of sales and later assumed the role of president in 2008. In 2021, Peavy was named president of CBEL, the parent company overseeing Cherokee Brick, Cherokee Block, Cherokee Masonry, Stratton Stone and other complimentary businesses. With a history of leadership in the industry, Peavy served many years on the Brick Industry Association (BIA) Board, BIA Region 9 and as past president of Brick Southeast. He currently serves on the Georgia Mining Association (GMA) board and the Southeast Concrete Masonry Association (SCMA). Peavy resides in Macon with his wife, Kate. They have two children and are awaiting the arrival of twin granddaughters on the way.

    Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council

    Andy Hester and Ray Paulk were reappointed.

    State Board of Education

    Leonte Benton and Rich Valladares were reappointed. 

    Courtney Dove attended the University of Georgia where she earned a B.A. in political science and master’s in teaching. She went on to teach United States history, world history, government and Georgia studies at Winder-Barrow High School and Dodgen Middle School. She has served as department chair and a county representative of her department. Dove has also worked at Riverstone Church as the preschool and kindergarten lead and regularly volunteers at her children’s schools in various capacities. Additionally, she advocates for congenital heart defect awareness and serves as a heart swap chair for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  Courtney lives in Marietta with her husband David and their three children.

    Kristi Garrett has been with RA-LIN & Associates, Inc. since 2008, where she is the chief marketing officer. A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in business administration-marketing, Garrett initially worked in the healthcare industry before taking time to focus on her family. In 2018, she became a managing partner of Southern Home & Garden/ACE Hardware until its sale in 2021. At RA-LIN, she focuses on building relationships, fostering growth, and inspiring success. Beyond her professional career, Garrett is a dedicated community leader, serving on the Carroll County Chamber Board, the Tanner Foundation Board of Trustees, and participating in local organizations. A Carrollton, Georgia native, Garrett is married to Ben Garrett, and together they have four children. 

    Melanie Stockwell has had a longstanding passion for Georgia public education, beginning with her role as general counsel for the Department of Education from 1996 to 2003. She then served in various capacities in the Georgia State Senate, including as chief of staff to President Pro Tempore Eric Johnson, where she provided legal counsel and policy expertise, particularly in education. After her time in the Senate, Stockwell worked on policy initiatives for political candidates and later held a position at the Georgia Department of Labor before leaving full-time work in 2013 to focus on family. She became deeply involved in school volunteering, serving on PTSA boards and local school councils. After her youngest child graduated, she worked as a front desk receptionist at Lakeside High School for five years, supporting teachers and administrators. She holds a B.A. in political science from Carson-Newman College and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Melanie and her husband, Mitch, reside in DeKalb County with their two young adult children.

    Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority

    Alan Gravel and Stephen Syfan were reappointed.

    Walter “Bill” Frobos is CEO and one of the owners of Lanier Treatment Center. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S.A. Frobos worked for Leon Farmer & Co. for 20 years in management and marketing. He is also a licensed real estate agent with Southern Heritage Land Co. In 2005, he saw a need to help those that had inadvertently became addicted to opiates. Frobos founded Lanier Treatment Center with a local physician and another business partner to offer medication assisted treatment. His goal and philosophy have always been to focus on providing the best outpatient treatment by using quality and well-trained counselors to help the clients to live a healthy, sober life.

    Georgia Council on Aging

    Kenneth Brooks, Maureen Kelly, Ruth Lee, Patricia Lyons, Adrienne Mims, and Ashton Windham were reappointed. 

    Pamela Cushenan is an experienced dental hygienist and educator based in Marietta, Georgia. She holds an associate of science in dental hygiene from Tennessee State University and MeHarry Medical College, a bachelor’s and master’s in health arts and training & development from the University of St. Francis, and a graduate certificate in Gerontology from Georgia State University. With over 30 years of experience in dental hygiene, Cushenan has served in various clinical roles, from private practice to teaching at Georgia State University, where she has been a faculty member since 2005. She is involved in numerous professional organizations, including the Georgia Dental Hygienists’ Association (GDHA) and the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA), where she has held leadership positions. Her research contributions include serving as principal investigator on studies related to oral health and aging, and she has received several accolades for her work, including the Georgia Dental Award of Merit and the 2020 Carl V. Patton President’s Award for Community Service & Social Justice. Cushenan is passionate about advancing dental hygiene through education, advocacy, and specialized care for seniors and individuals with special needs.

    Elizabeth Schulze is the long-term care ombudsman program coordinator and CEO of North Georgia Programs and Services. In her role, she advocates for long-term care residents through routine facility monitoring, facility consultation, providing information and assistance to the public and other agency officials, training for facility staff, and community education. Schulze has a bachelor’s in biology and is working towards her Master of Public Administration at the University of Georgia. While earning her undergrad degree, Schulze worked as a caregiver for people with developmental disabilities and older adults. Her interest in the aging population deepened during her time as a caregiver in Assisted Living and Nursing Homes, which led her to earn an A.S. in Gerontology. She has previously held positions as program coordinator at Athens Community Council on Aging and as a Medicaid case manager for an Oregon Area Agency on Aging.

    Board of Juvenile Justice

    Danny Lee Blackmon and Sandra Heath Taylor were reappointed.

    Gary McGiboney is executive director of the government and education program with Sharecare. Prior to his role at Sharecare, McGiboney worked for over 30 years in the advancement of education and educational services as the Deputy Superintendent at the Georgia Department of Education and as the Deputy Superintendent of Support Services for Dekalb County Schools. McGiboney has a Ph.D. in psychology from Georgia State University. Throughout his career, he has been the recipient of many awards and accolades. McGiboney currently serves on the Council of Alcohol and Drugs.

    Western Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel 

    William “Billy” Rennie graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 with a degree in speech communications and the University of Georgia School of Law in 2011. Billy began his legal career representing indigent defendants in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. In 2014, Rennie opened the Law Office of William R. Rennie, LLC and joined the Law Office of Russell W. Wall, LLC as of counsel, working primarily as the firm’s lead litigator. Rennie has won jury trials in Athens-Clarke, Oconee, Greene, Morgan, Putnam, Oglethorpe, and other surrounding Counties. He is a graduate of and a former facilitator for the Oconee Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Oconee program, and previously served on the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, the Oconee County Arts Foundation’s Board of Directors, and the University of North Georgia Advisory Board. Billy’s hobbies include golf, soccer, and reading. He lives in Watkinsville with his wife and daughters.

    Coweta Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel

    Brian Lewis is a partner with the Kam, Ebersbach and Lewis, P.C Law Office and has been practicing there for over 20 years. He specializes in plaintiff personal injury and criminal defense. Before going into private practice, he served as an assistant district attorney for the Cowette Judicial Circuit. Lewis has a bachelor’s in finance and real estate, and a Juris Doctorate from the Emory School of Law. He is an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newnan, where he served two terms as senior warden and currently serves as the chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. Brian is a member of the Board of Trustees for The Heritage School and is the chair of the Governance Committee, is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Carolyn Barron Montessori School in Newnan, and supports local organizations and charities, such as The Coweta Samaritan Clinic, One Roof, Coweta Food Pantry, and the Lindsey Riggs Memorial Foundation.

    Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies

    Pamela Griggs, Tripp Mitchell, and Joel Peacock were reappointed. 

    David Sawyer is a forensic accountant and financial crimes investigator with extensive experience in both civil litigation and criminal prosecution. Sawyer currently works for Sawyer & Company as a private investigator. With over 300 investigations involving fraud, corruption, financial damages, and various legal disputes, he has provided expert witness testimony in more than 20 cases. He has also contributed to the development of software designed to detect fraud, waste, and white-collar crime, and has advised on global initiatives to combat issues such as economic espionage, terrorist financing, and money laundering. Sawyer attended the University of Auburn and received a bachelor of science in accounting. He has had roles as a partner at a top 50 regional CPA/advisory firm and a managing consultant with two big four accounting firms. He also has experience as an internal auditor for Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, Sawyer is a licensed private investigator. He is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Georgia Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Georgia Society of CPA’s Fraud and Forensic Services Advisory Council, and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). He also serves as co-chairman of the Atlanta Chapter of ACAMS and is on the Executive Committee of Business Executives for National Security (BENS). A graduate of Auburn University, Sawyer has also served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer on fraud examination and forensic accounting.

    Stone Mountain Memorial Association

    Joan Thomas was reappointed. 

    Georgia Board of Landscape Architects 

    Betsey Norton and Jon Williams were reappointed.

    State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors

    Devell Frady is the owner of Devell Frady Homes. He is a custom home builder based out of Ellijay. Frady has been in the construction business for over 20 years. He is the former president of the Georgia High Country Builders Association and has extensive knowledge of the licensing and permit process.

    North Georgia Mountains Authority

    Charles DePriest serves as the executive vice president of Summit Materials’ East Segment. He brings more than 25 years of extensive experience in finance, operations, and executive leadership to his role. In 2016, he co-founded Georgia Stone Products, a construction materials producer in Georgia. Georgia Stone Products was acquired by Summit Materials in 2017 and has emerged as a cornerstone component in Summit’s greenfield growth strategy. His previous roles at Summit include East Region CFO, Leader of Enterprise Standardization, and Central Region President. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Charles holds a bachelor of professional accountancy from Mississippi State University, an MBA from Mercer University, and is an active CPA and Chartered Global Management Accountant. DePriest is an at-large representative on the Board of Natural Resources.

    Mark Hennessey works for Hennessy Automobile Cos. in Atlanta, Georgia. Hennessy has served on the Board of Trustees for the Marist School in Atlanta and is a member of the Buckhead Coalition. He served on the first BRAC Commission for Fort McPherson. He was a member of the North Fulton CID for over eight years. He had the pleasure to serve on the Board of the Technical College System of Georgia from April 2020 until spring of 2023, when he was appointed to serve on the Board of Natural Resources.  

    Lesley Reynolds is the chair of the Board of Natural Resources. She is a native of Baldwin County, Georgia, and a graduate of Georgia Military College and Georgia College and State University. Reynolds taught elementary school at Midway Elementary in Milledgeville. She has and is engaged with several organizations that focus on education, Judeo-Christian values, and women’s safety and security.

    Harley Yancey is the president of State Mutual Insurance Company in Rome, Georgia, where he also serves on the company’s Board of Directors. He joined State Mutual in 2018 after practicing law at Brinson, Askew, Berry, Seigler, Richardson & Davis, LLP. Prior to becoming president, he served as the company’s general counsel and now manages its day-to-day operations. Yancey holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law, a master of laws from the University of Alabama School of Law, and a master of business administration from the University of North Carolina. Outside of his role at State Mutual, Yancey is the chairman of the Georgia Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association, a director for the Oklahoma Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association, and serves on the Board of Directors for United Community Bank of Rome. He is also involved with the YMCA Board of Trustees, the Darlington School Alumni Council, and the Georgia School of Law Alumni Council. He is the 14th Congressional District representative on the Board of Natural Resources.

    Georgia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

    Chelsea Tehan was reappointed.

    Stormey Cone is currently the director of the deaf and hard of hearing family engagement and education program at the Georgia Department of Education. Cone is particularly passionate about ensuring access to services in rural Georgia and has a wealth of experience in the education of deaf and hard of hearing students, especially those enrolled in rural school districts. Cone is a former educator that worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing students in public schools for many years. Recently, she has specialized in improving Georgia’s early identification and intervention for young deaf and hard-of-hearing infants. Cone was the inaugural parent navigator for the Georgia Mobile Audiology, traveling around the state to develop a better understanding of parents’ experiences with diagnosing infants with hearing loss. 

    Russell Fleming has held many leadership positions in agencies that serve deaf and deafblind communities. Among other positions, he was state coordinator for Vocational Rehabilitation Services for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind consumers and dean of students and interim superintendent at the Georgia School for the Deaf.  In his retirement, he serves as vice president of the Georgia Association of the Deaf and works part time as a deafblind Specialist. 

    Byron Smith is the father of a deaf child who uses ASL. He and his wife are hearing and had no contact with the deaf community before adopting their daughter. They are learning ASL as adults to provide the best language and learning environment for their daughter. He has been a fire fighter since 1993, working for U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Airforce, and the National Park Service.

    DeAnna Swope has held several positions of leadership in the deaf community. She currently works in the field of domestic violence where she educates hearing agencies on how to offer more culturally and linguistically accessible services for deaf and hard of hearing survivors of domestic violence survivors. Swope has received accolades, such as the prestigious Gender Justice Award from the Georgia Commission on Family Violence as well as Collaborate awards from the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In 2020, she was honored with a distinguished deaf community leader position at Hamilton Relay. She is a past president of the Georgia Association of the Deaf.

    State Forestry Commission 

    Ken Sheppard was reappointed.

    State Board of Occupational Therapy

    Deborah Hinerfeld is the owner and director of Tic Tok Occupational Therapy Services in Roswell, GA. Hinerfeld holds a Ph.D. in Health Science with a concentration in health care administration and public policy from Trident International University. She also earned a master’s in health care policy and administration from Mercer University and a bachelor’s in occupational therapy from Utica College. Hinerfeld has extensive experience in occupational therapy, having worked in various roles including private practice owner, adjunct professor, and staff therapist at several institutions. She holds certifications in sensory integration, behavioral intervention for tics, hippotherapy, and youth mental health. Additionally, she has contributed to research, presented at numerous conferences, and held leadership positions within professional organizations such as the American Occupational Therapy Association. 

    Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority

    Trevor Addison is the clerk of Putnam County’s Superior and Juvenile Courts and has since taken on additional roles as clerk of State Court, Juvenile Court, appeal administrator to the Board of Equalization, and jury manager. Previously, Addison served as a commissioner for Putnam County. During his tenure he served on multiple boards, including the Sinclair Water Authority and the Central Georgia Joint Development Authority, and was appointed vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners. He also serves as treasurer of the Putnam County Law Library Board of Trustees and is active on the Putnam General Hospital Foundation Board, the Legislative Committee of the Georgia Superior Court Clerk Cooperative Authority, and the Executive Board of the Putnam County Republicans. Trevor remains dedicated to serving his community at both the local and state levels.

    Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority

    Dick Anderson, Frank Auman, Jace Brooks, William Tate, Jr. and BobVoyles were reappointed.

    Himanshu Karnwal is the founder and CEO of ISHTECH INC, an IT Solutions architecture and design company that has been successfully operating for over 12 years. With 25 years of experience in the information technology industry, he has worked alongside Fortune 100 companies, including Sony Pictures, NBC Universal, eBay, and Nike, helping to design and manage global IT infrastructures. In addition to his business achievements, Karnwal is an active community leader. He serves as a planning commissioner for Johns Creek and is a member of the board of directors for the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce. He is also involved with several other organizations, including Rotary Johns Creek North Fulton and the advisory boards of Quantiphi and Waypoint 2 Space. Karnwal is a strong advocate for the Indian and Asian communities in North Fulton, Johns Creek, and South Forsyth. He is the founder and chairman of a National Indian Association in the greater Atlanta area and serves on the board of the Georgia chapter of U.S. Impact, an organization that represents the Indian American community.

    Jai Bum Park immigrated to the United States from Korea in the late 1980s and quickly transitioned into the telecommunications industry. He made the decision to leave college and focus on growing his business, starting in Chicago and later expanding his operations. In the early 2000s, Park relocated to Georgia, where he became a Master Coin Operated Amusement Machine (COAM) license holder and played a key role in generating millions of dollars for the Georgia Lottery Corporation, supporting the Georgia HOPE Scholarship. In 2009, Park served as chairman of the Korean Association of Augusta, working to integrate Korean-Americans into American society. In addition to his business endeavors, he has invested in real estate across Georgia. A strong believer in the concept of the “whole person,” Park is committed to personal growth and fostering meaningful connections. 

    State Board of Pharmacy 

    Michael Azzolin was reappointed.

    Board of Directors of the Georgia Lottery Corporation 

    Missy Burgess was reappointed. 

    Board of Economic Development

    Sandra Bland is the president of Vidalia Brands, Inc. and director of marketing for Bland Farms, where she has been instrumental in popularizing the Vidalia Sweet Onion. Her innovations include incorporating Vidalia onions into processed foods and expanding their reach across the U.S. Bland’s early entrepreneurial efforts included running a mail-order business that helped Vidalia onions gain widespread recognition. Under her leadership, Vidalia Brands champions sustainability by minimizing food waste. Before her role at Bland Farms, she attended College of Coastal Georgia where she received a degree in nursing. Bland built a career in healthcare, holding significant nursing positions. She is actively involved in Southern Roots Women in Produce and supports various philanthropic causes, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Bland, a devoted community member and family matriarch, resides in St. Simons Island with her husband, Delbert, and their three children and ten grandchildren.

    Board of Corrections

    Bruce Carlisle, Donnie Pope, W.D. Strickland and Rose Williams were reappointed.

    Chris Clark will now serve as the Seventh Congressional District Representative. 

    Luis Solis will now serve as the Ninth Congressional District Representative. 

    Ester Fleming will now serve as the Thirteenth Congressional District Representative. 

    Barry Babb will now serve as an At-Large Representative. 

    Stacy Jarrard will now serve as an At-Large Representative.

    Kellie Brownlow is the VP of development and community relations at First Step Staffing. First Step Staffing is a 501C3 that uses an alternative staffing model to provide individuals who are homeless, citizens returning from prison, and veterans with immediate employment. Brownlow is responsible for community partnerships and resource development in all five states in which the company has offices, including the headquarter office in Atlanta. Previously, she served as the executive director of the Georgia Alliance of the Boys & Girls Clubs. Before joining Boys & Girls Clubs, Brownlow was the deputy chief to the Cobb County Commission Chairman and director of economic development for Partnership Gwinnett. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from Rhode Island College and a master’s degree in public administration for the University of Georgia. Brownlow serves on the State Workforce Development Board. She lives in DeKalb County with her husband and two daughters.

    Rodney Bryant is a retired law enforcement executive with over 34 years of law enforcement experience. Bryant has held numerous key roles, culminating in his position as Chief of Police for the Atlanta Police Department. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated expertise in a wide range of areas including community engagement, crime reduction, crisis management, and public safety leadership. Known for his strong communication, negotiation, and strategic planning skills, he has successfully led teams, improved community relations, and managed multi-million-dollar budgets. Bryant’s achievements include serving as the President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, overseeing the security operations for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and managing large-scale events such as the College Football Playoff Championship and Super Bowl LIII. Bryant holds a master of science in administration from Central Michigan University and a bachelor of science in criminal justice from Georgia State University. He is also a graduate of various prestigious law enforcement leadership programs, including the Police Executive Leadership Institute and the FBI LEEDA.

    Georgia Rural Development Council

    Betts Berry, Gabe Evans, Jim Matney, and Stuart Rayfield were reappointed.

    Bárbara Rivera Holmes is president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. Holmes is likewise CEO of the Albany Area Chamber Foundation. In 2018, Holmes was appointed by then Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to serve on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, for which she chaired the Committee on Economic Development. In 2020, Holmes was appointed by then Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan to co-chair the Rural Initiatives Subcommittee of the Georgia Innovates Task Force to help design the state’s innovation blueprint. Holmes is a former journalist whose work has earned four awards for excellence in journalism from the Georgia Associated Press. Prior to her role at the Albany Area Chamber, Holmes was vice president of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission, where she developed the organization’s business retention and expansion program to facilitate existing industry job creation and capital investment in Albany-Dougherty County, and its marketing programs. Holmes is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Georgia, and served on the organization’s Board of Trustees; a 2022 participant of the U.S. Chamber Foundation Business Leads Fellowship Program; and a 2023 graduate of the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Institute for Organization Management. She serves on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy. She graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, with degrees in journalism and in Spanish. She continued her studies at Estudio Sampere Internacional in Madrid and Alicante, Spain. She lives in Albany with her husband, David, and their daughter.

    Sheriff’s Retirement Fund

    Dan Kilgore is the elected Sheriff of Upson County, a position he has held since January 2013. With over 40 years of experience in law enforcement, Kilgore’s career has spanned a variety of roles, including serving as a sheriff’s deputy, city police officer, county police officer, and district attorney’s investigator. Prior to his election as Sheriff, he dedicated more than 21 years of service as the chief deputy sheriff of Upson County. Kilgore is deeply involved in the law enforcement community and holds several leadership positions. He serves as vice chairman on the Board of the Peace Officer’s Annuity and Benefit Fund and is an advisory member of the Georgia POST Council. Additionally, he is the Georgia Sheriff’s Association Area 4 regional vice president. In 2023, he earned his certification as a retirement plan fiduciary, awarded by the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees. Outside of his professional endeavors, Kilgore is a devoted family man, married to his wife, Renae, and the proud father of three adult children and one grandson. The Kilgore family are active members of the First Methodist Church of Thomaston.

    Horace “Billy” Hancock started his career in public safety in 1976, and he is currently serving his 3rd term as Sheriff of Crisp County. He has also served as the emergency management director of Crisp County since 2014. Hancock began his career as an emergency medical technician with Crisp County EMS. He has spent over 40 years in law enforcement, first sworn in in 1979 as a part-time deputy with the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office. He later went to work for the Georgia State Patrol. He returned to the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office in 1990. He held the position of chief deputy for 19 years and served as the deputy director of the Crisp County Emergency Management Agency for 14 years. He is a graduate of the 57th Georgia State Patrol Academy. He has an associate degree in criminal justice, a master’s certificate in emergency management, and a bachelor’s from Columbia Southern University in homeland security. Hancock was appointed and has served as a board member of the Georgia Peace Officer’s Standards and Training Council (the ABAC Region). He is past vice president of the Georgia Peace Officers Association and is an active member of both the Georgia and National Sheriff’s Association. He continues to teach on the state and federal levels. Hancock began serving as a lion with the Cordele Lions Club in 2001 and has received numerous awards from the organization. In 2018, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Hancock to the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA) Board. Hancock was also reappointed to the GECA Board by Governor Brian Kemp. Hancock is a member of the Cordele Church of Christ.

    Frank Reynolds was sworn into office on January 1, 2017, as the 39th Sheriff of Cherokee County, Georgia. Reynolds has been a resident of Cherokee County since 1981. He began his law enforcement career in 1994 with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office. Reynolds is committed to serving Cherokee County with honesty, transparency, and integrity. As a Georgia Constitutional Officer, Reynolds is mandated to oversee warrant service and civil process, maintain the adult detention center, courthouse security and provide general law enforcement within Cherokee County. He is a graduate of Riverside Military Academy, earned a bachelor’s degree from Reinhardt University and holds a master of public administration from Columbus State University. Reynolds is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia class 244, and the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College. He is married to Dr. Jennifer DeBord Reynolds and is the proud father of three.

    Georgia Technology Authority

    Marie Mouchet is an accomplished technology and cybersecurity executive currently serving as a member of the Board of Advisors for Mimic and HData and managing director of Mouchet Ventures LLC. Her extensive experience and leadership on various boards demonstrates her exceptional talent and commitment to driving innovation and education across industries and also exemplifies her dedication to leveraging her knowledge and insights to make a positive impact in the community. Previous roles include senior vice president and CIO at Colonial Pipeline Company, where Mouchet led technology strategy and operations across both IT and OT domains, vice president and CIO at Southern Company Operations & Southern Nuclear, and director of financial and contract services at Southern Company’s Southern Wholesale Energy. She has served in various board positions, including board advisor and chairman of Georgia CIO and board secretary of the Women In Technology (WIT) Foundation. Marie holds advanced degrees from Georgia State University and completed executive education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Her remarkable contributions to the industry and community led to her being honored with the highly regarded and prestigious Ed Steineke CIO Award by TechBridge in 2020.

    Board of Commissioners of the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia

    Annie Doris Holder has served as the Probate and Chief Magistrate Judge of Calhoun County for the past 24 years, dedicating her career to providing fair and courteous service to the citizens of her community. A committed public servant, she strives to ensure that all individuals receive just and equitable treatment under the law. Holder is a proud graduate of Calhoun County High School and holds an associate degree from Darton College, a bachelor’s degree from Albany State University, and a master’s degree from LaGrange College. Beyond her judicial responsibilities, she is actively engaged in community service. She currently serves as the president of the missionary department of the Southwest Georgia Missionary Baptist Association, the district associate matron of Cuthbert District #13 OES, and a board member of Albany Technical College. Holder is married to Rev. Julian Holder and they share three daughters, as well as nine beloved grandchildren. 

    State Board of Veterinary Medicine 

    Matthew Bradley and Wendy Cuevas-Espelid were reappointed.

    Seth Stowers grew up on a small family farm in Dawsonville, Georgia. In 2005, he began his own small beef cattle operation that he continues to grow today. Stowers graduated from the University of Georgia in 2014 where he received a bachelor of science in poultry science. While at UGA he was active in UGA Cattleman’s Association, Block and Bridle, UGA Poultry Science Club, and competed on UGA’s Poultry Judging Team. Dr. Stowers attended the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine where his studies were emphasized in food animal medicine and production. He graduated with his doctor of veterinary medicine in 2018. Throughout the curriculum at UGA CVM, he lived and worked at Rose Creek Farm, UGA’s Veterinary School farm. To gain a better knowledge and develop his skills in cattle medicine he completed externships at Krebs Ranch in Nebraska and bovine veterinary practices in Texas, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Stowers began Hillside Veterinary Services in May of 2018. His professional interests encompass anything involving beef cows, especially herd health and preventative medicine. Stowers is excited to have an opportunity to give back to FFA and 4-H, two programs that provided him with numerous opportunities, through working with local youth. In 2023, he was elected to serve as the district 1 Commissioner on the Dawson County Board of Commissioners.

    John Tarabula is a seasoned veterinary professional with over 30 years of experience in small animal and exotic medicine. He earned his D.V.M. and B.S. degrees from the University of Georgia and has served as the medical director at the Animal Medical & Surgical Center in Canton, Georgia, since 1988. Additionally, he is the owner of Creekside Animal Hospital in Cumming, Georgia, where he has been practicing since 2015. Tarabula’s extensive career also includes roles as an associate veterinarian at Beach St. John Animal Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, and as an emergency clinician at Jacksonville Veterinary Emergency Clinic. Beyond clinical practice, Tarabula is actively involved in professional service, having served on the Board of Directors for Cobb and Cherokee Emergency Veterinary Clinics, as well as holding leadership positions within the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. He also has a history of public service, having been a city councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem in Holly Springs, Georgia. Tarabula has participated in medical missions with the Flying Doctors of America, providing veterinary care in Ecuador, Peru, and Bhutan. 

    OneGeorgia Authority Overview Committee 

    Senator Larry Walker, III and Representative Butch Parrish were reappointed. 

    Georgia Board of Behavior Analyst Licensing Board 

    Christina “Nina” Holland is an experienced office administrator with nearly 20 years of expertise in managing operations both in-office and remotely. She has spent eight years with ICB Construction Group, overseeing contracts, financial management, and accounts, and has worked with Southern Structures Fencing for the past decade. In addition to her professional success, Holland is a passionate advocate for children with autism. After recognizing early on that her son had unique needs, she became dedicated to navigating complex medical and governmental systems to ensure her son received the therapies and care required for his development. Holland’s personal journey through autism advocacy has fueled her desire to help other families, offering support in early intervention, Medicaid, and ABA therapy, while striving to improve access to essential services for children in need.

    Board of Public Safety 

    Neal Jump is currently serving his fourth term as the Sheriff of Glynn County. Jump has been in law enforcement since he was 17 years old. Prior to being elected sheriff, Jump worked with the Georgia State Patrol for more than 30 years, beginning his career as a radio operator in 1975.  Jump studied criminal justice at South Georgia College.

    Georgia Board of Nursing 

    Lydia Watkins is the Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at College of Coastal Georgia, as well as a professor of nursing. She has worked as a registered nurse since 1997, first in pediatric hematology/oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, and then as a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse practitioner at Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Michigan. She was an adjunct instructor with the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine prior to joining the faculty at College of Coastal Georgia. Since joining the college, Watkins has served in other roles such as the BSN program coordinator, interim program director of radiologic sciences, and chair of nursing and health sciences, prior to becoming the dean. Watkins holds a doctor of nursing practice from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a master of science in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a bachelor of science in nursing and an associate of science in nursing from Samford University. She is also a certified nurse educator (CNE) through the National League for Nursing.

    Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee 

    Senator Tonya Anderson, Senator Steve Gooch, Representative Demetrius Douglas, Representative Scott Hilton, and Representative Martin Momtahan were reappointed. 

    Senator Sonya Halpern represents Senate District 39 and is the Minority Caucus Vice Chair. Halpern was elected to the General Assembly in 2020. She is the vice chair for the Committee on Urban Affairs and a member of Senate Appropriations, the Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions, the Committee on Education and Youth, the Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Committee on Public Safety.

    Soil and Water Conservation Commission 

    Jim Waters is a local farmer from Blackshear, Georgia. He is the elected Pierce County Supervisor for Satilla River Conservation District. He also serves as the chairman. He is a full-time farmer, planting crops that consist of cotton and peanuts. He is passionate about educating the community on conservation efforts and farmers on good conservation practices to protect our croplands.

    Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission 

    P.K. Martin, Doug Roper, Jim Squire, and Pranay Udutha were reappointed. 

    Michael Foor is the president of state operations for Georgia for Kinetic. Foor previously served as vice president of state government affairs in Georgia, building relationships with legislators, electric cooperatives, and communities to support the deployment of rural broadband. Prior to joining Kinetic, Foor was the president of Georgia Communications Cooperative and part of Habersham Electric Membership’s efforts to build fiber-to-the-premise broadband service to communities in North Georgia. In addition to his responsibilities at Kinetic, Foor currently serves as chair for White County Development Authority and is a past president of Habersham Rotary Club, where he remains an active member. Foor holds an M.B.A. from Brenau University. He lives in Cleveland with his wife. They have three daughters and twin grandsons

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan influenced today’s multi-sensory museums

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gary A Genosko, Professor of Communication and Digital Media, Ontario Tech University

    In recent decades, museums and galleries have made a sensory turn when it comes to designing displays and engaging visitors.

    Museums like the Metropolitan in New York offer multi-sensory activities so visitors so can smell, touch and hear art, and museums have curated exhibitions about the senses.
    The move is part of larger efforts to make public institutions more accessible.

    It’s also aligned with museum and gallery institutional efforts to decolonize governance structures, and widen opportunities for museum and gallery participation from Indigenous and Global South artists and their communities, who have long been marginalized. Museums and galleries have sought to shape policy, reinterpret and repatriate artifacts stolen from Indigenous and Global South societies in response to social movements, community advocacy and decolonial theory.



    Read more:
    How an African collection of art in Canada is celebrated with care and community

    Thinkers like Taiaiake Alfred have written about Indigenous cultural resurgence and resistance to colonialism, and shaped a questioning of curatorial practices.

    As anthropologist David Howes argues, museums’ questioning of traditional forms of museum display and visitor engagement is aligned with the kind of re-ordering traditionally associated with unsettling colonial regimes.

    In my forthcoming study, Harley Parker: The McLuhan of the Museum, I examine the influence of exhibition designer and painter Harley Parker (1915-92) on this “sensory turn” in museum curatorial practices.

    Parker was head of design at the Royal Ontario Museum for 11 years from 1957-68. By applying media theorist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s ideas to museums, Parker created what has become known as “multi-sensory museology.” It is only beginning to be recognized as a precursor to the sensory museology in practice today.

    Head of design at the ROM

    Beyond being head of design at the ROM, Parker was an influential media thinker and a longtime collaborator of McLuhan’s.

    Parker’s name is not yet well known. One reason is that his book manuscript, The Culture Box: Museums Are Today, was lost for almost 50 years.

    Working with Parker’s children, I uncovered a typescript and will be bringing it into print. Retitled The Culture Box: Museums as Media, it contains detailed discussions of how Parker conceived of exhibition display through the lens of McLuhan’s idea that all media were sensory extensions of human capacities.

    Multisensory design

    For Parker, the museum became a laboratory in which a designer could experiment with multi-sensory exhibition designs. These reflected McLuhan’s claim that new electronic media supplanted an older visually oriented linear model with a non-linear, aural-tactile environment.

    Getting beyond the close link between visibility and linear thinking was one of main pillars of Parker’s efforts.

    Between 1963 and 1967, Parker was considering designing with alternative orchestrations of perception, especially with regard to displays of Indigenous artifacts. He didn’t, however, achieve a fusion of what current sensory studies scholars call “sensory decolonization.”

    In museums, “sensory decolonization” refers to shifting sensory and cultural perceptions around the meaning of “artifacts” from Indigenous or Global South communities. It means revisiting assumptions about protocols for engaging with or handling these, and developing new ethical protocols in relationship with communities.

    Parker investigated the necessity of changing sensory assumptions around the display of artifacts, but lacked a decolonial critique.

    Hypothetical exhibits

    In the early 1960s, Parker published essays on hypothetical exhibits of Indigenous artefacts in the museum’s holdings.

    He considered using recordings of Indigenous languages, visitor-controlled heating, cooling and lighting, odours, as well as multi-media projections. He tried to provoke, through design, some empathetic correlation between the mental modes of a contemporary museum visitor and the sensory attitudes of an Indigenous maker and creator of objects.



    Read more:
    Ancestral languages are essential to Indigenous identities in Canada

    He linked the reordering of the senses with calls for greater community involvement in museums. He also expressed frustration about museum elitism and the gulf between philanthropic culture and visitors’ concerns.

    Reflecting on chronology of change

    Since Parker’s time, there has been a concerted effort in Canada to decolonize and Indigenize museums. In 1994, the joint Task Force on Museums and First Peoples by the Assembly of First Nations and Canadian Museums Association sought greater input by Indigenous Peoples.

    The Canadian Museum Association has recently adopted new standards of practice in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations.

    Nevertheless, change has been slow and uneven; some exhibits have made strides by paying close attention to cultural values and sensory worlds of Indigenous societies.

    Parker’s role as a designer precursor can be newly integrated into the existing accounts of when this kind of change began to unfold.

    Parker’s ‘newseum’

    Parker developed a vanguard idea: build what he called a “newseum” where multimedia and multi-sensory exhibitions would take place.

    This is not about educating people about a free press (like the former American Newseum). Rather, Parker’s newseum imagined exhibition centres adjacent to large, prestige museums. These would utilize museum artifacts and materials to mount topical displays based on discoveries, advances or events.

    Such displays would be community-driven and participatory. The buildings themselves would be flexible, inside and out. They would have three wings: a current topical public exhibition; an exhibition in process; and a preparatory area for gathering materials for a new exhibition.

    In The Culture Box Parker asked us to think about museums beside the box in terms of “process” over “product,” inspired by McLuhan. It was Parker’s goal to get the museum out of the museum and to get relevant communities into this displaced museum as full participants bearing important expertise.

    Parker experimented with galleries inside existing museum spaces at the ROM and the Museum of the City of New York to reorient visitors’ perception, but Parker’s newseum was never realized.

    Revisiting Parker today

    Today, revisiting a Parker-influenced newseum could further collaboration with Indigenous curators and cultural experts.

    A newseum concept might help address the concerns of the Indigenous arts community and the discomforts of some museum directors with the task of “de-building.”

    We can look back at Parker’s tentative efforts and recognize that his hypothetical galleries were never constructed.

    Together with his unbuilt newseum, they await development for newly remodelled museum galleries flexibly built, bearing in mind his contributing ideas about multimedia and multi-sensory spaces. These could be attuned to the most topical concerns of our time, and the ethical purpose of decolonization and Indigenization, with the full range of available digital technologies.

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

    – ref. How Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan influenced today’s multi-sensory museums – https://theconversation.com/how-canadian-philosopher-marshall-mcluhan-influenced-todays-multi-sensory-museums-248097

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lawlessness and disorder: The hypocrisy of Donald Trump’s exile threats after the Jan. 6 pardons

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ako Ufodike, Associate Professor, Administrative Studies, York University, Canada

    In 2020, in response to the riots that followed the murder of 46-year-old Black man George Floyd, Donald Trump declared himself the “president of law and order.” During the same speech, he threatened to use the military to suppress the civil unrest that erupted after a police officer killed Floyd.

    One American pundit argued that Trump was “tapping into a long history of presidents leaning on the idea of strict adherence to the rule of law to squelch civil disobedience, often by minority communities in the country.”

    His fixation continues in his second presidency. A convicted felon himself, Trump recently proposed a plan to exile Americans who are repeat offenders. Notably, America has never used exile as a form of punishment.

    Trump stated:

    “We’re going to get approval, hopefully, to get them the hell out of our country, along with others. Let them be brought to a foreign land and maintained by others for a very small fee, as opposed to being maintained in our jails for massive amounts of money.”

    The history of exile

    I’m a scholar in public policy administration, law and ethics. Trump’s exile proposals in the wake of his pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters reveal significant ethical lapses.



    Read more:
    U.S. election results may suggest ethics no longer matter … just like in Canada

    In the modern era, exile is regarded as problematic. But in ancient times, like during the Roman Empire, voluntary exile was an alternative to capital punishment, underscoring its severity.

    When the poet Ovid was exiled to Tomis (now Constanța, Romania), he described his experience as a “a living death.”

    Similarly, in England, James II, a Catholic king, was the last monarch involuntarily removed from power during the Glorious Revolution. Jacobitism, the political movement aimed at restoring James and his descendants to the throne, stemmed from his exile.

    Given this history, it’s not surprising that Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.”

    In modern times, people who go into exile are typically deposed heads of state like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, those avoiding legal issues such as Julian Assange or Asil Nadir, or those escaping violence or persecution, such as Salman Rushdie.

    Trump, who has initiated the largest and most ambitious removal program of undocumented migrants in America history, has made clear he wants to treat violent repeat American offenders no differently than violent immigrant offenders:

    “I don’t want these violent repeat offenders in our country any more than I want illegal aliens from other countries who misbehave,” he said.

    The Jan. 6 pardons

    Trump’s stance as a “law and order” president is contradictory and hypocritical given his pardons of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the Oval Office.

    The pardons drew unanimous criticism from Democrats and some Republican lawmakers, including senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham.

    Even Vice President J.D. Vance has said any Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent offences should “obviously” not be pardoned.



    Read more:
    By inciting Capitol mob, Trump pushes U.S. closer to a banana republic

    The law enforcement community — the actual front line of law and order — also expressed outrage at the pardons, and experts worry the move could embolden extremists to lawlessness and disorder rather than Trump’s supposedly preferred state of law and order.

    Polls reveal that two-thirds of Americans — across party lines — also opposed pardoning Jan. 6 rioters who committed violent crimes.

    More than 600 — or approximately one-third — of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection faced accusations of assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers. Of the 174 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon, 169 of them eventually pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers.

    Other charges included trespassing, disrupting Congress, theft, weapons offences, making threats and conspiracy, including seditious conspiracy — the most serious offence.

    Violent protesters, loyal to then-President Donald Trump, storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
    (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

    Repeat offenders

    A bipartisan Senate report linked nine deaths to the Jan. 6 raid on the Capitol, including four police suicides in the aftermath and two riot participants who died at the event.

    Unlike those whose Black Lives Matter protests Trump found disorderly back in 2020, the vast majority of the Jan. 6 convicts are not from racialized communities.

    Dozens of the Jan. 6 rioters also had prior convictions or pending charges, including child abuse, child pornography, predatory criminal assault of a child, rape, drug trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of controlled substances, battery, criminal confinement and manslaughter. Peter Schwartz, one of rioters, has a record 38 prior convictions going back to 1991.

    The irony of Trump’s position on pardons, repeat offenders and exiles is apparent. The very people he pardoned are now potential candidates for his proposed exile program due to their repeat offender status.

    Daniel Ball, a pardoned rioter, was arrested for federal gun charges a day after his pardon. The charges predated the riots.

    Matthew Huttle of Indiana, another Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump, was killed three weeks after his release while resisting arrest and in possession of a firearm. His uncle, Dale Huttle, also pardoned, has no regrets about participating in the riot, stating: “I’m not ashamed of being there. It was our duty as patriots.”

    Similarly, Enrique Tarrio, who received a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the riots, declared after his pardon: “It’s going to be retribution.”

    He expressed a desire for vengeance against those who investigated and prosecuted him, stating: “Now it’s our turn. The people who did this, they need to feel the heat.” These three examples all occurred in the seven days following the pardons.

    Karma in terms of Trump’s exile proposals may be awaiting the pardoned rioters, however, amid this pattern of defiance. Their emboldened sentiments following Trump’s pardons could suggest they’re at a higher risk of becoming repeat offenders, making them prime candidates for the president’s proposed exile program — that is, of course, unless he pardons them again.

    Ako Ufodike receives funding from SSHRC.

    – ref. Lawlessness and disorder: The hypocrisy of Donald Trump’s exile threats after the Jan. 6 pardons – https://theconversation.com/lawlessness-and-disorder-the-hypocrisy-of-donald-trumps-exile-threats-after-the-jan-6-pardons-248738

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The iconic Austin 7 is back – and it’s built in Essex

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    By Tom Stacey, Anglia Ruskin University

    In perhaps one of the greatest brand comeback stories in automotive since the Fiat 500 in 2007, British car company Austin announced the return of the Austin Arrow.

    Its name is an unashamed reference to one of the most memorable Austin 7 models – first introduced in the 1920s the Arrow was the original “everyman sportscar”, before the muscle cars (think of the Dodge Challenger) of the US became popular in the 1960s. Now reimagined as an electric Vehicle (EV), the Arrow is designed and made in the UK and aims to be to 2020s consumers what the original was 90 years ago.

    A number of cars are synonymous with the British car industry. In fact, as a small nation, Britain punches above its weight when it comes to classic automobile brands – The Mini, the Range Rover, London black cabs, James Bond’s Aston Martins, and even the London red bus. However, if one car can be credited for creating the dawn of the motor vehicle in the UK, it would be the diminutive Austin 7.

    The car was created in the 1920s at the time when Austin was struggling. New laws were pushing manufacturers to produce smaller, less powerful cars. But Austin’s board of directors didn’t support a cheap, small car with low profit margins. Austin was known for its larger, luxury products.

    However, Sir Herbert Austin and his 18-year-old apprentice Stanley Edge decided to secretly create a small car. Thank god they didn’t heed the board, because they ended up creating the greatest democratising automotive product Britain had ever seen (until they repeated it with the Austin Mini).

    The reason why products such as the Austin 7 come to define their period is rarely due to their technical prowess or exhilarating performance – it’s because they bring to the masses a technology that is both useful and traditionally seen as out of reach.

    The Austin 7 was a bit like the iPhone. There were smartphones that came before it, like the Sony Ericsson p800. However, these were considered expensive and out of reach for the average consumer. The Iphone did the same thing but at a cheaper price and so came to be the definitive smartphone.

    With the Austin 7, Herbert Austin’s team applied the key lessons from Ford’s Model T – creating a simple, modestly powered car with just enough features for mass appeal while incorporating clever design elements that earned the respect of car enthusiasts.

    When the Austin 7 was unveiled in July 1922, it was priced at just £165, when an Austin 20 was between £600 and £700. At a time when the average British worker earned around £5 per week, the only real affordable car had been Ford’s basic and utilitarian Model T at around £250.

    The 7’s ingenious design was the key to its success. With a shared base frame for the car, it could be a four-seater family car, a stylish coupe, or even a racing car.

    This cheap, tiny car not only was a legend in its own right and familiar around the world, but it influenced other legends too.

    Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, based his first Lotus 1 on the Austin 7. What is less known is that German car manufacturer BMW built Austin 7s under licence in the 1920s and 30s but called them “Dixis”. Nissan did the same in Japan in the pre-war period. Such licensing deals helped set up both manufacturers’ future success as the powerhouses they are today.

    Austin 7s were produced all over Europe, Asia and even in Australia. The 7 was also produced in the US as the “American Bantam” and its design contributed to the “Willy’s Jeep”, one of the US’s most famous vehicles.

    Ultimately, the beginning of the second world war marked the end of Austin 7 production as the Austin factory at Longbridge, near Birmingham, needed to be repurposed to produce munitions. When the war ended, tastes for vehicles had changed and factories started to produce more modern designs, and not those from the 1920s, marking the end of a British automotive icon in 1939.

    Now it’s back, thanks to the engineer John Stubbs who bought the Austin brand after noticing the brand and trademarks were available. The rights to these had been owned by the Nanjing Automobile Group, which bought MG Rover when it collapsed in 2005. However, Nanjing had let these lapse and Stubbs bought them for £170 in 2015.

    The new Essex-based Austin Motor Company aims to recreate this classic brand, tugging at the heartstrings of those looking nostalgically at Britain’s automotive heyday. The announcement featured images of fun, cheap (£31,000) and light cars driving around the B-roads of Britain, or perhaps being taken to a racetrack for an amateur competition, harking back to earlier days. However, this car is thoroughly modern, featuring an electric motor.

    The new Austin Arrow is not meant to be the usable “everyman” car the original 7 was. For starters, to be compliant with quadricycle (a micro car with less than 6kW of power and an unladen mass no more than 425 kg) legislation it is limited to 60mph as a top speed and the range will be a maximum of 100 miles on one charge.

    However, as that fun, racy, open-top car that it’s predecessors were, it very much captures the spirit of the original Austin 7 Arrow.

    Tom Stacey, Deputy Head of the School of Economics, Finance and Law, Anglia Ruskin University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    The opinions expressed in VIEWPOINT articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARU.

    If you wish to republish this article, please follow these guidelines: https://theconversation.com/uk/republishing-guidelines

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU partners with 1,000 apprenticeship employers

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    ARU apprentices Tegain Kerr from Winvic and Curtis Morrell from North West Anglia Foundation Trust (NWAFT)

    Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has reached a major milestone, having struck partnerships with 1,000 different degree apprenticeship employers.

    ARU is one of the country’s largest providers of degree apprenticeships. Apprentices learn on the job, solving real-life problems as soon as they begin their courses.

    ARU’s degree apprenticeship offering has extended rapidly, responding to growing demand from employers and learners.

    ARU now offers pathways across 29 professions, including Policing, Nursing, Social Work, Digital and Leadership.

    More than 6,400 people have now enrolled on degree apprenticeship courses at ARU, with more than 2,000 having now graduated.

    “We’re proud to celebrate working with more than 1,000 employers.

    “Our tailored approach supports both SMEs and large employers, ensuring apprentices make an immediate impact in the workplace.

    “By evolving our programmes, we continue to meet the needs of businesses and learners alike, pioneering new ways to blend education with industry-led training.”

    Tom Taylor, Head of Degrees at Work at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)

    To find out more about how ARU is marking National Apprenticeship Week 2025 (10-14 February), visit aru.ac.uk/study/degree-apprenticeships/national-apprenticeship-week

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Businesses invited to find out about the benefits of digital transformation

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Businesses invited to find out about the benefits of digital transformation

    10 February 2025

    Local businesses are being invited to find out more about how their enterprise could benefit from improved digital capability assisted by the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF).

    An information session will take place in the Everglades on 27th Feb, from 10am to 12.30pm delivered by the William J Clinton Institute at Queen’s University Belfast. Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Business Team will also be on hand to provided tailored advice and information about the programme and the many benefits. Eligible businesses can apply for capital grant funding between £5000 and £20000 to support their business transformation journey to accelerate digital ambitions.

    The Fund is delivered by all local authorities in Northern Ireland under the Full Fibre Northern Ireland Consortium (FFNI) and supported by Invest NI. The project is part funded by the NI Executive, UK Government, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and all local authorities.

    Looking ahead to the event, Business Development Manager with Council, Danielle McNally said: “This is a unique and innovative funding opportunity for businesses to introduce new technologies that will really enhance both their profile and their performance. Many local enterprises are unaware of the support that’s out there and we are happy to advise on how they can best leverage opportunities like the DTFF to get the maximum benefit for their venture.

    “I would really encourage anyone interested in digital transformation to come along and find out more about how they can harness the latest digital technologies in the most effective way.”

    The closing date for Expressions of Interest to this call closes on 14th March and businesses are encouraged to attend the information session to see what the fund can do for them. Other local businesses will also be on hand on the day to share their experiences of engaging with the DTFF programme to date.

    The information session will help identify the types of technology funded, the application process and the importance of leveraging this unique opportunity to address financial barriers to the adoption of advanced digital technologies.

    Businesses can register to attend here – https://dtff.co.uk/pre-briefing-sessions/

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Finger Lakes Winners of DRI and NY Forward Programs

    Source: US State of New York

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Canandaigua will receive $10 million in funding as the Finger Lakes winner of the eighth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and the Villages of Brockport and Phelps will each receive $4.5 million as the Finger Lakes winners of the third round of NY Forward. For Round 8 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Round 3 of the NY Forward Program, each of the state’s 10 economic development regions are being awarded $10 million from each program, to make for a total state commitment of $200 million in funding and investments to help communities boost their economies by transforming downtowns into vibrant neighborhoods.

    “By investing in the future of these Finger Lakes communities, this funding will revitalize their downtown areas by building vibrant and thriving destinations where businesses, families, and visitors can flourish,” Governor Hochul said. “With our Pro-Housing Communities initiative, we’re giving local leaders the tools to transform their cities, towns and villages into hubs of opportunity, culture, and affordable living. This is how we build stronger, more connected communities that work for everyone across New York.”

    To receive funding from either the DRI or NY Forward program, localities must be certified under Governor Hochul’s Pro-Housing Communities Program – an innovative policy created to recognize and reward municipalities actively working to unlock their housing potential and encourage others to follow suit. Governor Hochul’s Pro-Housing Communities initiative allocates up to $650 million each year in discretionary funds for communities that pledge to increase their housing supply; to date, 273 communities across New York have been certified as Pro-Housing Communities. This year, Governor Hochul is proposing an additional $110 million in funding to cover infrastructure and planning costs for Pro-Housing Communities.

    Many of the projects funded through the DRI and NY Forward support Governor Hochul’s affordability agenda. The DRI has invested in the creation of more than 4,400 units of housing – 1,823 of which are affordable or workforce. The programs committed over $8.5 million to 11 projects that provide affordable or free childcare and childcare worker training. DRI and NY Forward have also invested in the creation of public parks, public art (such as murals and sculptures) and art, music and cultural venues that provide free outdoor recreation and entertainment opportunities.

    $10 Million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Award for Canandaigua

    Downtown Canandaigua is poised to be, and is already becoming, a residential and recreational hub of the Finger Lakes region. With anticipated growth related to programming and investment focused on the semiconductor industry, an investment in this transformation will help the region to put its best foot forward when recruiting future businesses, workers and residents. The City of Canandaigua seeks to connect the Canandaigua Lake waterfront via safe, quality walking and biking pathways that complement the existing streets. The City is focused on projects that will create a diverse mix of businesses, housing, events and arts in its downtown that create a vibrant atmosphere for residents and visitors of all backgrounds.

    $4.5 Million NY Forward Award for Brockport

    The Village of Brockport is an Erie Canal town, college town and central hub of activity for its own residents and those of other nearby small towns and villages. Brockport prioritizes living its history and bridging it to a thriving and culturally rich future in the Finger Lakes region. The Village’s downtown focus area centers on Main Street and adjacent side streets that offer several attractions for residents and visitors. This area highlights Brockport’s historic downtown corridor, canal front parcels and portions of historic districts on the Village’s west and east sides. The Village seeks to transform its historic downtown corridor into an accessible tourist destination and a home where visitors, residents and people of all abilities can recreate, socialize, live and age in comfort.

    $4.5 Million NY Forward Award for Phelps

    The Village of Phelps, a historically significant community with a population of 1,900 residents, is strategically positioned near major transportation routes, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors. The Village’s walkable downtown area encompasses municipal parks, cultural and recreational attractions, museums and the multi-use community center. Its application is focused on streetscaping and aesthetic upgrades, so that no matter what route a resident or visitor might take through downtown, the path from one destination to the next will be interesting and attractive.

    New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said, “The Downtown Revitalization and NY Forward programs work together to re-energize downtowns of all sizes across our State. Our newest winners for the Finger Lakes region – Canandaigua, Brockport and Phelps – will all leverage existing cultural, natural and historical assets to transform their downtowns into economic engines for their residents and the entire region. The Department of State looks forward to seeing the projects these communities select and how they will positively impact the region for generations to come!”

    Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight, said, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, the DRI and NY Forward programs continue to support projects that generate new investments and encourage transformational change in towns and communities throughout New York State. These plans from Canandaigua, Phelps and Brockport will revitalize downtown businesses, historic districts and waterfronts and spur economic development that will benefit residents and visitors to the beautiful Finger Lakes region.”

    New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Our local partners in Canandaigua, Brockport, and Phelps should be proud of their efforts to build vibrant and affordable neighborhoods that create new homes and new jobs. This State investment of nearly $20 million will give these certified Pro-Housing Communities the resources they need to thrive for generations to come. We thank Governor Hochul for her continued leadership on tackling the housing crisis and making the Finger Lakes a more affordable place to live and work.”

    Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Bob Duffy, President and CEO, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Denise Battles, President of the State University of New York Geneseo, said, “The FLREDC is incredibly proud to continue our support for the City of Canandaigua and for the communities of Phelps and Brockport and their exciting futures through the Governor’s transformational Downtown Revitalization and NY Forward Initiatives. These selected, community-driven plans will benefit both residents and visitors alike, promoting economic growth and creating spaces where people will want to live, work, and play for generations to come.”

    New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton said, “With more than 25 Canal communities now among the growing roster of DRI and NY Forward awardees, I know how these important investments can jumpstart powerful change. This year, as we commemorate the Bicentennial of the Erie Canal’s completion and look forward to the opening of the Brockport Pedestrian Bridge, the timing of these awards could not be more welcomed or appropriate. The Canal Corporation sends its most sincere congratulations to Brockport, Canandaigua, and Phelps.”

    Canandaigua Mayor Bob Palumbo said, “On behalf of myself and our DRI team and City Council, I would like to thank the Governor and her team for awarding the $10 million-dollar DRI to the City of Canandaigua. I look forward to seeing the projects we supported in our DRI proposal unlock opportunities that create new jobs, add housing, and public amenities in our downtown.”

    Brockport Mayor Margay Blackman said, “‘It’s all in Brockport’ became our shared vision as we dreamed of what our village could become with a NY Forward grant. The Brockport of our NY Forward dreams is one that works for all – young, old, university student, resident, visitor, tourist. The water brings people, Brockporters say, and we will invest in our waterfront to establish Brockport as the premier, inclusive recreation community on the Erie Canal. What I’m especially proud of today is that 6 people, including our grant writer, crafted a successful proposal, in house, in 2 short years.”

    Village of Phelps Mayor Jim Cheney said, “On behalf of the community of Phelps, we are extremely excited, honored and grateful to be chosen for the NY Forward Grant. The residents of Phelps have been working hard to attract more visitors, businesses and housing to our community; to make it a special place to live, work and play in; and, to fit into the Finger Lakes Region’s economic strategic plan. This investment by the state will help push us over the top in our revitalization efforts. It is important for small communities, such as the Village of Phelps, to receive statewide taxpayer support such as this, to revitalize and thrive. It is in everyone’s best interest to help our local communities’ economies. Thank you to Governor Hochul, Ontario County, the REDC and all community partners for sharing and believing in our vision.”

    Canandaigua, Brockport and Phelps will now begin the process of developing a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize their downtowns. A Local Planning Committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders will lead the effort, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners. The Strategic Investment Plan will guide the investment of DRI and NY Forward grant funds in revitalization projects that are poised for implementation, will advance the community’s vision for their downtown and that can leverage and expand upon the state’s investment.

    The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council conducted a thorough and competitive review process of proposals submitted from communities throughout the region and considered all criteria before recommending these communities as nominees.

    About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative

    The Downtown Revitalization Initiative was created in 2016 to accelerate and expand the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods in all ten regions of the state to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for investment. Led by the Department of State with assistance from Empire State Development, Homes and Community Renewal and NYSERDA, the DRI represents an unprecedented and innovative “plan-then-act” strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation and results in compact, walkable downtowns that are a key ingredient to helping New York State rebuild its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to achieving the State’s bold climate goals by promoting the use of public transit and reducing dependence on private vehicles. Through nine rounds, the DRI will have awarded a total of $900 million to 89 communities across every region of the State.

    About the NY Forward Program

    First announced as part of the 2022 Budget, Governor Hochul created the NY Forward program to build on the momentum created by the DRI. The program works in concert with the DRI to accelerate and expand the revitalization of smaller and rural downtowns throughout the State so that all communities can benefit from the State’s revitalization efforts, regardless of size, character, needs and challenges.

    NY Forward communities are supported by a professional planning consultant and team of State agency experts led by DOS to develop a Strategic Investment Plan that includes a slate of transformative, complementary and readily implementable projects. NY Forward projects are appropriately scaled to the size of each community; projects may include building renovation and redevelopment, new construction or creation of new or improved public spaces and other projects that enhance specific cultural and historical qualities that define and distinguish the small-town charm that defines these municipalities. Through three rounds, the NY Forward program will have awarded a total of $300 million to 62 communities across every region of the State.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Italian Government Authority Censures Eyewear Giant Luxottica for Failing to Uphold Fair Union Organizing Standards in U.S. Operations

    Source: Communications Workers of America

    A report by the OECD’s Italian National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP), has exposed global eyewear giant Luxottica for violating workers’ rights during union organizing efforts by the Communications Workers of America at the company’s Atlanta, Georgia logistics center in 2021. Despite publicly embracing its obligations under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, Luxottica failed to rectify these violations and undermined collaborative efforts to address them under the good offices of the NCP’s conciliation mechanism.

    The report concludes a multi-year process initiated by a formal complaint from IUE-CWA, AFL-CIO, IndustriALL, and UNI labor unions regarding Luxottica’s egregious anti-union tactics and failure to uphold internationally recognized labor standards at its U.S. facilities.

    In its Final Statement on the case, published in late December 2024, the Italian authority found that Luxottica rejected the NCP conciliator’s recommendations on fair union organizing by workers in the United States. The Final Statement confirmed the conciliator’s conclusion that the breakdown of the conciliation process was caused by Luxottica’s refusal to recognize the validity of the Guidelines, and the company’s insistence on U.S. law as the only relevant standard.

    Key Findings from the Italian NCP’s Report

    1. International labor standards, and not domestic law, govern any OECD Guidelines proceeding.

    2. Luxottica failed to engage constructively in the conciliation process, in contrast to the union’s efforts.

    3. As per the conciliator’s instructions, Luxottica should have remained neutral regarding union organizing efforts by its workers.

    IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew issued the following statement on the Italian NCP’s findings in the case:

    “Luxottica has deliberately violated OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business by interfering with its employees’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. Although Luxottica publicly claims adherence to these guidelines, its actions tell a different story, as the company undermined workers’ attempts to organize at its Atlanta facility.”

    “Luxottica global management has made a fundamental mistake by following the advice of its anti-union American lawyers instead of the conciliator’s recommendations. Luxottica’s failure to live up to its obligations under the OECD Guidelines creates reputational and financial risk for the company and its investors as it seeks to expand its global footprint in North America and other regions.”

    “There is still time for Luxottica to rectify its refusal to adopt the Italian conciliator’s recommendations. We urge Luxottica to return to the table with IUE-CWA for agreement on management neutrality and other fair rules for organizing. Many firms have adopted such neutrality agreements with their union, most recently Microsoft and General Electric. Many other companies have reached global framework agreements with unions promising to respect workers’ organizing and bargaining rights worldwide.”

    “If trade unions are unable to reach an agreement with Luxottica on fair rules for union organizing, we will explore other avenues to persuade Luxottica to halt its violations of international standards on workers’ freedom of association in the United States. These include increased engagement with socially responsible investors, and the enforcement of U.S. and European due diligence laws on human rights in Luxottica’s supply chain. But the solution is really simple: Luxottica can apply the same standards of good faith and respect for trade unions that it maintains in Italy to its operations in the United States.”

    IndustriALL General Secretary Atle Høie issued the following statement on the Italian NCP’s findings:

    “This case exposes what the OECD considers actions taken by Luxottica in violation with the OECD guidelines on multinational companies. The conclusions clearly denounce anti union behavior put in place by companies during organizing. Such union busting tactics are not uncommon in the US, but have now been unequivocally condemned by the OECD contact point in Italy. We demand that Luxottica follow the recommendations, take a neutral stance in future organizing activities and invite CWA back to the table.”

    UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman issued the following statement on the Italian NCP’s findings in the case:

    “It is shameful that companies operating in the US routinely believe that they can violate international standards with impunity. The NCP in this case did not back down from calling this out as a violation of the Guidelines. The NCP also took a clear decision that the Italian management was responsible for anti-union actions of its US subsidiary, another good precedent. The company should reverse course, follow the rules on which we all depend, and go back to the table with CWA. An end to this kind of union-busting is long overdue.”

    Background and Details

    The report comes at the end of a six-month conciliation process held from September 2023 to March 2024 under the aegis of the National Contact Point (NCP), which is an authority constituted by the Italian Government’s Ministry of Businesses, following the NCP’s review of the unions’ complaint that Luxottica created a “climate of fear” which destroyed an organizing effort by American workers at Luxottica’s North American logistics hub in McDonough (Atlanta), Georgia in 2021.

    Italy-based Luxottica (EssilorLuxottica following its 2017 merger with global French-based lens producer Essilor) is a major employer in the United States, which is its largest single market, with operations in eyewear retail, vision insurance, ophthalmic labs, and lens and frame manufacturing.

    The IUE-CWA, joined by the AFL-CIO and global unions IndustriALL and UNI, complained that management’s aggressive anti-union tactics violated workers’ organizing rights under the OECD Guidelines.

    Luxottica blatantly disregarded these labor principles in 2021 despite its obligations under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct which call on multinational companies to respect core labor standards, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

    Instead, as workers at its Atlanta logistics center sought to unionize for better health protections and fair wages during the COVID-19 crisis, Luxottica launched an aggressive anti-union campaign.

    American management at the Georgia center forced employees into “captive-audience” meetings in which managers and anti-union consultants vilified trade unions as swindlers who only want workers’ dues payments, and told employees they could lose pay and benefits if they support the union. Management repeated the same insults and threats in an anti-union website and in text messages, workplace posters, and TV screens throughout the plant. Luxottica interfered with organizers’ access to the workers. The climate of fear and intimidation became so severe that IUE-CWA ultimately withdrew its organizing effort.

    Such actions would be unthinkable in Italy, where unions have long enjoyed collective bargaining relationships with Luxottica management based on good faith and mutual respect. Italian unions joined the call for Luxottica to apply these same principles when workers in its American facilities exercise rights to freedom of association.

    CWA Union representatives were optimistic about reaching an agreement with Luxottica in the NCP conciliation process when it began with a meeting in Rome in September 2023 under guidance of conciliator Enzo Cannizzaro, a prominent Italian international law professor at the University of Rome and at Columbia Law School. The unions hoped to reach an agreement with Luxottica based on the conciliator’s recommendations, which included measures for management neutrality, union representatives’ access to facilities to meet with workers, and other measures adhering to international labor rights standards under the OECD Guidelines.

    The union accepted the conciliator’s recommendations. But, advised by its American anti-union lawyers, Luxottica management refused even to respond to the conciliator’s recommendations. The conciliator closed the proceeding in April 2024 without a resolution to the dispute.

    The Unions contend that Luxottica failed to engage in good faith during the OECD’s six-month conciliation process. Rather than seeking a resolution, the company obstructed the process and ignored opportunities provided to rectify its transgressions.

    In its Final Report, the Italian NCP makes clear why the process failed.The NCP also reiterated the Conciliator’s recommendation as to how the Company should honor the principle of non-interference moving forward:

    “The owners and the management of a Company … should refrain from expressing their opinion on matters of unionisation, under the principle on non-interference, in order to contribute to a fair and equitable framework for industrial relations, as also pursued by the OECD Guidelines.”

    The NCP concluded its Final Report with

    “regrets that it has not been possible to resolve the issues raised by applying the Guidelines,” stressing that “settling the case on the basis of the Guidelines’ provisions, rather than by applying the national law, alone, would have ensured a balanced, constructive and long-lasting solution. Indeed, the Guidelines themselves refer to principles and standards of international law.”

    Final Considerations and Next Steps

    The Italian NCP’s findings put Luxottica at a crossroads. IUE-CWA, AFL-CIO, IndustriALL and UNI union confederations demand that Luxottica adopt a fair framework that guarantees neutrality and non-interference in future organizing efforts across the U.S. By doing so, Luxottica can begin to repair the damage caused by its anti-union practices and demonstrate its commitment to the workers who drive its business forward.

    As pressure mounts, IUE-CWA remains resolute in its fight for fair labor standards and urges Luxottica to make a decisive shift toward responsible business conduct worldwide. The union will continue to monitor the situation closely and advocate for vision workers’ rights at every turn.

    For more information on the NCP Final Statement and its implications for Luxottica’s labor practices, contact CWA Communications at +1 (202) 434-1168 and comms@cwa-union.org

    ###

    About National Contact Points for RBC

    “National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct (NCPs for RBC) are agencies established by governments. Their mandate is twofold: to promote the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and related due diligence guidance, and to handle cases (referred to as “specific instances”) as a non-judicial grievance mechanism. To date, 51 governments have an NCP for RBC. Also see: https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/ncps/

    All 51 governments adhering to the OECD Guidelines have the legal obligation to set up an NCP. Today, NCPs make up a network and a community of practitioners, dealing with a wide array of impacts involving companies either through their operations or their supply chains. In 2020, NCPs celebrated 20 years as non-judicial grievance mechanisms. Find out more about NCPs | Browse resources on NCPs”

    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries from Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It originates from the organization set up to manage US Marshall Aid to post-WW2 Europe. The United States is one of its founding members. It is headquartered in Paris.

    About CWA

    The Communications Workers of America (CWA) represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech and other fields. IUE-CWA is the Industrial Division of the CWA, it represents manufacturing and industrial workers in a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, furniture, and appliances, and vision.

    About AFL-CIO

    Headquartered in Washington DC, USA, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is the democratic, voluntary federation of 60 national and international labor unions that represent more than 12.5 million working people in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

    About IndustriALL Global Union

    IndustriALL Global Union is a global union federation, founded in Copenhagen on 19 June 2012. IndustriALL represents more than 50 million working people in more than 140 countries, working across the supply chains in mining, energy and manufacturing sectors at the global level. The Global headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.

    About UNI Global Union

    UNI Global Union, formally Union Network International, is a Global Union Federation for the skills and services sectors, uniting national and regional trade unions. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers. The Global headquarters is in Nyon, Switzerland.

    About EssilorLuxottica

    EssilorLuxottica was created through the 2017 merger between French multinational corporation Essilor and Italian multinational corporation Luxottica, with Essilor headquartered in France and Luxottica in Italy. EssilorLuxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses. With over 200,000 employees across 150 countries, 650 operations facilities and 18,000 stores, in 2023 the Company generated consolidated revenue of Euro 25.4 billion. EssilorLuxottica is home to advanced lens technologies including Varilux, Stellest and Transitions, eyewear brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley, luxury licensed brands and world-class retailers including LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut. EssilorLuxottica shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market and are included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices. Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESLX.PA; Bloomberg: EL:FP. www.essilorluxottica.com.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: National University of Singapore wins 20th ICC Mediation Competition

    Source: International Chamber of Commerce

    Headline: National University of Singapore wins 20th ICC Mediation Competition

    Taken place on Saturday 8 February 2025 in the historic Émile Boutmy Lecture Hall of Sciences Po University in Paris, the students gathered one last time to watch the two teams tackle the final mock mediation problem. Authored by Rissiane Goulart, a Strategic Commercial and Dispute Resolution Attorney at Goulart & Associados, the scenario focused on unauthorised logging in protected timber harvesting zones. The session was mediated by Andy Rogers, Director of Communications and Mediator at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. 

    The National University of Singapore reached the semi-finals of the Mediation Competition in 2024, while the University of New South Wales had reached the final rounds in previous editions, and won the Competition in 2018 and 2016. Mervyn Lin and TianAo Li represented the National University of Singapore on stage, while teammates Joan Goh and Taesha Tan and coaches Seth Tay and Melvin Loh supported from the audience.  
     
    Mr Lin said: 

    “This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions. We have a huge culture of mediation at our school and we are so excited that we could use everything we have learned during this competition. The final session was intense, we had to really stretch our knowledge because of the strength of the other team, which made it all the more enjoyable. We didn’t expect the win and I want to congratulate the Australian team on their strong performance.”  

    The ICC Mediation Competition is one of the biggest educational competitions worldwide dedicated exclusively to international commercial mediation. Hosted in Paris from 3-8 February,  the 20th edition of the competition this year saw 48 university teams from 32 countries compete to resolve international business disputes through mediation. Guided by professional mediators and administered under the ICC Mediation Rules, over 75 mock mediation sessions took place. In total, over 300 students and professionals took part. 

    From left to right: Melvin Loh, TianAo Li, Joan Goh, Mervyn Lin, and Seth Tay – all representing the National University of Singapore

    The judges for the final were Raffaella Maria Pileri, Joanna Campos Carvalho, David Lutran, Jody Sin, and Ido Kleinberger.  

    Mr Kleinberger said: 

    “This competition is an amazing opportunity for me as a professional and for the students. As mediators, we aspire to look at the problems together instead of looking at each other. The teams did an extraordinary job in trying to find an agreement together while striking the balance to ensure your company’s interests are defended. The session was very true to life: The teams encouraged each other to speak, establishing an open relationship. The call was very close but in the end the Singapore team deserved the win.”  

    The trophy was awarded by Alexander G. Fessas, Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Secretary and Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services.  

    He said:  

    “Mediation is a sign of an advanced level of civilisation and understanding of each other. In ancient Greece, mediation was a way to find a fair solution for each other. Sometimes we forget the lessons of the past to understand the world today. Openness in dispute resolution, but also in trade, is central to understanding how the world operates. Through mediation, we can overcome our differences peacefully.”  

    The runner-up team from the University of New South Wales consisted of Lihara Delungahawatte, Kyla Rivera, Lina Zaioor, Rhea Baweja, and coaches Anvi Kohli and Steve Lancken.  

    Ms Delungahawatte said: 

    “We already have some experience in similar student competitions but this week was really special to us. Not only are we incredibly proud to make it to the final round, the ICC Mediation Competition pushed us to our limits, enabling us to reach our maximal potential. The nights were often short, the mock mediation problems challenging, and the sessions intensive but in the end it was all worth it.” 

    Re-live all the highlights of the ICC Mediation Competition on X  and  Facebook by following the official event hashtag, #ICCMW2025. A recording of the final session is also available on the ICC Official YouTube channel @ICCWBO1919.  

    For more information on ICC mediation services, visit the ICC International Centre for ADR.  

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Central African Republic: listening to people’s stories about foreign forces could help bring peace

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tim Glawion, Senior research fellow at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institut, Freiburg, Germany, University of Freiburg

    Since it became independent in 1960, the Central African Republic has grappled with poverty, instability and governance challenges.

    A decade into former president François Bozizé’s corrupt rule, a rebellion broke out and toppled the president in 2013. What followed was a devastatingly violent civil war with thousands of people killed and a fifth of the populace displaced.

    To halt violence against civilians, numerous international actors intervened, including the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union and France. From 2014 onward they put thousands of boots on the ground and pushed rebels from most towns, while protecting and supporting the interim administration.

    But by 2016 all actors had retreated, save the United Nations (UN). The mission – Minusca – was not able to contain a resurgence in rebellion, and the newly elected president Faustin-Archange Touadéra turned to Russian paramilitaries to stabilise his rule in 2017.

    These paramilitaries started out only as “trainers” but took on more prominent and direct combat roles as the years passed, making the country a geopolitical playing field. The Russian paramilitaries and national army again pushed the rebels out of most towns and into the countryside.

    I have studied the Central African Republic’s politics for over a decade, conducting research in towns across the country. I wanted to find out why some areas were more affected by violence than others and how people locally lived together. I believed that in such local stories we might find missing links as to why all the actors involved failed to provide the protection from violence and provision of services that people desired.

    To study people’s expectations of peacekeepers, I used a method I call the “qualitative” survey. This type of survey asks open questions, for example “what do you expect of international actors?”. This leaves space for people to say things that researchers might not have expected. It also included more typical closed questions like “how safe do you feel, on a scale from 1 to 5?”.

    With a team of Central African researchers, I conducted these surveys in four places in 2019 and in two places in 2023 and 2024. At this stage respondents had experienced foreign peacekeeping missions and Russian paramilitary presence.

    We found that peacekeeping missions were losing popular support because they were not fulfilling the expectations of people in the Central African Republic.

    People wanted peacekeepers to confront armed actors. When peacekeepers failed to do so, they criticised them, even requested them to leave.

    Russian paramilitaries offered the forceful response that autocratic regimes and many locals wanted. However, they provided a too simplistic answer to people’s demands, based only on the present. People also had future expectations: they wanted armed actors to be kicked out so that people might be treated fairly and witness the return of a caring state in the near future.

    Thus, while peacekeepers frustrated initial expectations and Russian paramilitaries might fulfil them, the Central African state and their Russian paramilitary allies were not building the future people expected.

    Expectations

    The overall results of the survey showed that people had the most confidence in local institutions, while harbouring high expectations for the state (when it returns), and being broadly disappointed by international peacekeepers.

    The results varied strongly according to local experiences with the state and international actors. Most intriguingly, respondents did not necessarily feel safest in those localities that had the fewest violent incidents. I call this the “security paradox” and it has much to do with unmet expectations for which we need to dig into individual responses.

    Take the example of a middle-aged woman in the Central African Republic’s north-eastern and long rebel-held town of Ndélé, who made two points in early 2019. First, the United Nations peacekeeping mission, Minusca, was inactive in the face of aggression. Second, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were doing a good job:

    Partner organisations such as Minusca who reside among our population do not seem to be there to ensure our protection, as we hear on the radio. A person may well be raped, and they do not even react to rescue the person in danger, even if they know about it. On the other hand, the NGOs are doing a very good job, and it is thanks to them that Ndélé is doing well today.

    However, my own analysis showed that, objectively speaking, both peacekeepers and aid organisations were doing a mediocre job. Under the peacekeepers’ watch few violent incidents occurred and the aid organisations were only covering a fraction of local needs, much less than in other studied localities.

    The difference in perception, I argue, stems from the fact that local people have certain expectations for security and different expectations for service provision in the Central African Republic.

    Security in the Central African Republic is marked by an abundance of armed groups threatening people’s livelihoods. Dozens are currently active, of which a handful have been roaming for more than a decade, controlling trade routes and resources, as well as wielding local political power.

    Services like schooling, health and electricity are almost entirely absent in many areas outside the capital; not even the state provides them.

    Thus, in the security sector, people expect confrontation of armed actors by either the UN peacekeeping mission or the Russian paramilitary, whereas in services they want NGOs to substitute for government failings. Or in the words of an Ndélé trader:

    The international actors can help us during these absences of state authority.

    However, Minusca was not ready to forcefully oppose armed actors as they pursued an approach based on negotiating peace agreements and pursuing voluntary integration or disarmament. What my study shows is that doing too little in the eyes of the population can quickly turn the rumour mill, as this woman in Ndélé suggested:

    As for Minusca, we do not see its work in favour of our well-being, and we even want it to leave since we have seen that it is the cause of our current division and suffering.

    But would confrontation have brought more popular support to Minusca? Well, it did to another actor that stepped in, as a national staffer of an aid organisation stated in early 2022 in Bambari:

    Minusca patrols do not have the confidence of the population. Because in front of Minusca forces, the rebels kill the population. For seven years, Minusca was unable to secure the town. Within minutes, the Central African Armed Forces and their Russian allies managed to dislodge them from the town of Bambari, which is now secure.

    Reality

    I did not judge whether people’s expectations of interventions were realistic.

    Given the state’s history in the Central African Republic, it was surprising how many people wanted a state and army to return.

    However, people were hoping for a “benevolent” state return. This has not happened.

    And as for the Russian “allies”, as they are called in the Central African Republic: their confrontational approach has caused heavy collateral damage and has failed to stabilise former rebel areas. Rebellion is again on the rise.

    My study shows how important it is to analyse expectations in-depth, and to take them as a starting point of intervention policy. Not understanding people’s expectations is what caught peacekeepers by surprise when people started demonstrating in front of their bases and even calling for their withdrawal.

    While there might be good reasons not to pursue a forceful approach against rebels, interveners must be aware that they thereby deceive public expectations and should thus proactively listen to and engage the population about their demands.

    The dilemma is that fulfilling people’s initial expectations does not automatically lead to the future they desire. So there must be difficult and open discussions about what is and what is not feasible in peacekeeping.

    Tim Glawion receives funding from the public German Science Foundation (DFG, project number: 437386574).

    – ref. Central African Republic: listening to people’s stories about foreign forces could help bring peace – https://theconversation.com/central-african-republic-listening-to-peoples-stories-about-foreign-forces-could-help-bring-peace-247834

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –