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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Resisting Dependency: U.S. Hegemony, China’s Rise, and the Geopolitical Stakes in the Caribbean

    Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs –

    By Tamanisha J. John

    Toronto, Canada

    Introduction

    The Caribbean region is an important geostrategic location for the United States, not only due to regional proximity, but also due to the continued importance of securing sea routes for trade and military purposes. It is the geostrategic location of the Caribbean that has historically made the region a target for domineering empires and states. As both geopolitical site and geostrategic location, U.S. foreign policy articulations of Caribbean people and the region have been effectively contradictory, but the contradiction has allowed the U.S. to maintain its hegemonic position: Caribbean peoples in U.S. foreign policy are rendered backwards, unstable, and dangerous or targets of xenophobic harassment; while the physical region is rendered as a place where U.S. foreign policy must maintain one-sided power relations, lest these sites come under the influence of other states that the U.S. views as impinging upon its sphere of influence. One can most readily look to Haiti to see these contradictory dynamics at play. Haiti has not had democratic elections for two decades and instead has been under United Nations (UN) sanctioned “tutelage” or occupation via the CORE group, of which the U.S. is a part.[i] Over the past two decades, Haiti has been subject to a massive influx of U.S. manufactured weapons that fuel gun violence and murder in the country.[ii] Meanwhile those Haitians fleeing this violence to the U.S. have been met with whips at the U.S.-Mexico border, deportation flights from the U.S., and dehumanizing mythological hysteria accusing Hatians of  “eating pets.”[iii]

    Given the domineering impact of the U.S. and its allies in Canada and Europe in the Caribbean region, states in the region remain deeply dependent on foreign investment and tourism from these powers. ‘Foreignization’ of Caribbean economies makes it hard for the peoples of the region to make a living. Many Caribbean governments, neoliberal in orientation, willingly support this dependent development scheme by promoting migration for remittances, service industries for tourism, and temporary foreign worker schemes abroad due to lack of worthwhile opportunities at home. A large part of what maintains this dependent relationship—that many would find to be demeaning in most circumstances—is the securitization of the Caribbean region by the U.S. and its allies, as well as the invocation of “shared cultures,” rooted in colonial histories which continue to impose multiple hierarchies of domination on Caribbean peoples.

    Washington’s aim of permanent hegemony in the region is being challenged by an increasingly multipolar world, and this accounts for the US attempt to limit China’s influence in the Caribbean. For example, U.S. tariff assaults on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stems from U.S. insecurities about China’s economic growth alongside its manufacturing and technological developments.[iv] China’s extension of infrastructural, technological, and other tangible material developments to states lower down on the global value chain, and at smaller costs to them is referred to by the U.S. and other western policy makers as “China’s growing influence.” This includes states in the Caribbean, which have not only become consumers of products from China but have also increased their exports to China since the 2010s. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. fears that China is gaining too much influence in the Caribbean given its developmental hand there. Although the U.S. is not directly competing with China on development initiatives, Washington’s reluctance to support meaningful progress in the Caribbean—where U.S. corporations continue to profit from structural underdevelopment—has led it to pursue strong-arm diplomacy as a symbolic stand against China instead.

    China’s alternative to dependent development challenges Western Hegemony in the Caribbean

    Western capitalist modernity, as an ideological, political, and socioeconomic project, is threatened by improvements to the global value chain. The issue at hand is that the U.S. and the Western-led capitalist system have long relegated states of the ‘Global South’ to lower positions on the global value chain. This has rendered development elusive for many states, to the sole benefit of Western corporations and their allies. Lack of development in places like the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Latin America actually benefits capitalist enterprises headquartered in the ‘Global North’ which extract surplus value by exploiting cheap natural resources, labor, and land in these regions. China’s accelerated advancement within the global value chain—alongside the rise of other partner states positioned lower on that chain—has not depended on economic or political subordination to the west. This trajectory is actively interpreted as eroding Western hegemonic dominance—even as the improved developments of states like China within the global value chain, have expanded global capitalism. Since 2018, the U.S. tariff assault on China, which has intensified under the second Trump administration, is a direct response to China’s economic growth propelled by China’s added value to the global value chain. In essence, the fear is China’s rise, while not reliant on the west, has made the West more reliant on importing cheap products and manufactured goods from China.

    After the global 2007/8 financial crisis, China’s expressed strategy was to diversify its exports and import markets through helping other states improve their own conditions in the global trade value system. This of course, was due to the negative impacts felt by China in its export markets from the 2008 global financial crisis. Since then, China has increased the internal demand within China for Chinese goods, which also saw the purchasing power of Chinese citizens rise. This helped the growth of a middle class in China, and also allowed the Communist Party of China (CPC) to think more broadly about its continued growth strategy. By the early 2010s China sought to develop a wider external market that was not dependent on the U.S. and the other Western states. As China began formulating a broader development strategy, the growing purchasing power of Chinese citizens made the U.S. and other Western countries increase demands on China to have unfettered access to China’s internal market. The 2010s thus became rife with false accusations by Western commentators of China manipulating its currency to amass reserve wealth, and maintain competitive exports[v] – which helped to spark Trump’s trade assault on China in 2018, and again during the second Trump administration in 2025.

    While conversations in the West hinged on conspiracy, the CPC acknowledged that neither internal consumption nor reliance on the U.S. and Western markets would promote long-term sustainable development and growth of China’s economy. Greater emphasis was placed on increasing and improving relations with other developing states. In essence, helping the development of states lower down on the global value chain would be necessary—in order to make them consumers (thus importers)—of products from China. This became part of China’s long-term strategy to diversify its import and export markets. Thus, after the 2008 global financial crisis and especially after 2010, China’s investment in places like the Caribbean had a marked and noticeable increase. A decade later, this strategy has proven beneficial to China’s growth and development – as well as to growth and development of other developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean with more states engaging in, and pursuing trade and other relations with, China.

    The impact of U.S. tariffs and fees on the Caribbean

    Despite growing U.S. security concerns over China’s engagement in the Caribbean, the region remains largely dependent on the United States, and Caribbean states consistently run trade deficits in favor of the U.S. These trade deficits usually come at the expense of local Caribbean growers, producers, and artisans. According to Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States: “In 2024, the United States ran a $5.8 billion trade surplus with CARICOM as a whole. For a tangible illustration, Antigua and Barbuda’s imports from the U.S. exceeded $570 million, while its exports in return were a mere fraction of that total.”[vi] Given Caribbean regional economic dependence on the U.S., Canada and Europe, many Caribbean people seeking employment and/or asylum opportunities typically see the U.S. as a destination of choice, contributing to the large Caribbean diasporic communities in North America and Europe. These Caribbean diasporic communities not only send remittances and goods back to their home countries to support family, friends, and communities – but also facilitate Caribbean state’s exports into the U.S. It is important to underscore these dynamics, as the longstanding U.S.-Caribbean relationship—rooted in dependency—remains firmly entrenched, despite growing investments in the region from China.

    The U.S. tariff assault on China extended into a wider tariff assault by the U.S. against multiple countries, including states in the Caribbean. By April 3, 2025 the U.S. had imposed tariffs on 24 Caribbean countries: a 10% tariff on 23 of them,[vii] and a 38% tariff on Guyana[viii]—a Caribbean nation with extensive relations with China[ix]—excluding its exports of oil (dominated by U.S. and other foreign corporations), gold, and bauxite. The U.S. tariffs on Caribbean states—levied amid fragile post-pandemic recovery and lingering hurricane damage—underscores a troubling, though not surprising indifference to the region’s economic vulnerability and ongoing efforts toward stabilization and renewal.[x] During this time, the U.S. introduced a series of tariff increases on China, peaking at a 145% tariff after April 10, 2025, before settling on a 10% rate through an agreement reached on May 13, 2025.[xi] In addition to the tariffs that Washington placed on China, the U.S. also announced that it would issue port fees on Chinese built ships entering U.S. ports. In all, these tariffs and fees being imposed by the U.S. meant that there would likely be negative impacts borne by Caribbean states that import U.S. goods, and Caribbean states that export goods to China. The overall impact of the tariffs and fees would be two-fold: First, U.S. consumers of goods imported from the Caribbean would have to pay more to access those goods. Second, increased costs accrued to Caribbean state’s importing U.S. goods due to port fees, would make it more cost effective for those Caribbean states to import more goods directly from China. However, in the immediate term, Sino-Caribbean trade, lacking established relationships on a wide range of import products, has the potential to lead to import shortages – particularly of food and other essential imports from the U.S.—in the Caribbean. Given global backlash from the shipping industry, the U.S. revised and changed its decision regarding port fees a week later,[xii] and three weeks later, on April 28, it reduced the tariff on Guyana to 10%.

    Political commentators recognize, contrary to the denials by the Guyanese government, that the initially high tariffs placed on Guyana were motivated by U.S. tensions with China. According to former Guyanese diplomat, Dr. Shamir Ally,[xiii] and Guyanese political commentator, Francis Bailey, Guyana “is caught in a geopolitical battle between the US and China. Or more specifically – Washington objects to Beijing’s “very strong foothold” in Guyana.”[xiv] This was made clear, when prior to the Trump administration’s announcement of the tariff’s on Guyana, Guyanese President, Irfaan Ali, pledged that the U.S. would “have some different and preferential treatment” from Guyana[xv]— given a shared stance between the two countries in relation to Venezuela.[xvi] This pledge by Guyana’s president took place within the context of the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to the Caribbean, during which Rubio chastised the construction of infrastructure in Guyana that he deemed subpar, and alleged must have been built by China, even though it was not.[xvii] These kinds of geopolitical posturing by Washington stoke antagonisms, ignoring the negative impacts of Caribbean dependency, including that of Guyana. Caribbean economic dependency on the U.S. (Europe and Canada) will not be completely ameliorated by China, and neither will China be able to fill the role of the West for Caribbean exporters who, given histories of enslavement, indentureship, and colonialism, rely on diasporic taste and preferences for ‘niche’ exports (e.g., artisan goods, arts, entertainment). Given the high degree of U.S., Canadian, and European ownership in the Caribbean’s industrial and manufacturing sectors, the region’s capacity to produce “finished products” on an exportable scale remains limited. Despite the continued dependency relation of Caribbean states on U.S. markets, however, China can positively impact Caribbean economies by helping to diversify their trading partners, and by increasing local opportunities for people within Caribbean states, based on the kinds of new (or improved) infrastructure typically developed in partnerships with China.

    Though on the rise, the trade relationship between China and states in the Caribbean is still quite limited. Caribbean states that are a part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) saw a notable increase in their exports to China, from less than 1% of their total exports in the 1990s and 2000s, to between 1% and 6 % of exports going to China after the 2010s.[xviii] The majority of exports from the Caribbean to China from the 2010s forward have been agricultural and mineral in nature. Alongside the growing export potential of CARICOM states to China since the 2010s, there has also been an increase in Caribbean states importing Chinese goods. States such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname import about 10% of their goods from China. On the other hand, states like the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago import less than 10% of their goods from China. The overall trend, then, is that CARICOM states have added some diversification to their trading partners since the 2010s but continue to remain firmly within the Western trading bloc. Given the structured dependency of Caribbean economies, they tend to import more from their trading partners than they export to them. However, as political analyst Daniel Morales Ruvalcaba points out, as a trading partner, China’s commitment to South-South partnerships has meant that trading disparities between itself and CARICOM states are “offset by investments flowing from China to the Caribbean […] broadly categorized into three key sectors: port infrastructure development, resource extraction, and the tourism industry.”[xix] This way of tending to the trade disparity has had beneficial impacts—that can also be seen very visibly by those who live and visit states in the Caribbean. Additionally, China’s investments have not been limited to CARICOM states, or to states that recognize China and not Taiwan. For instance, China invests in Belize, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines—these are Caribbean states that recognize Taiwan.[xx]

    While China does not play a dominant import-export role in the Caribbean, given the system of dependency into which the Caribbean is already integrated, it also does not pose a security threat to the Caribbean region, despite Washington’s portrayal of China as a “bad actor.” The PRCs commitment to non-interference makes it extremely unlikely that China would use the Caribbean as a springboard for a security confrontation with Washington and its NATO allies. China does, however, have a strategic partnership with Venezuela, largely limited to a defensive posture given its relations with other states in the region, including the Caribbean. Further, with the large security presence of the U.S. and its allies in the Caribbean, China would have nothing to gain from an offensive military posture in the region. Though self-evident, this explains why the U.S has chosen to frame China’s presence in the Caribbean not in economic terms, but as a technological and geopolitical “threat”—going so far, on multiple occasions, as to allege that China is constructing covert surveillance facilities in Cuba to conduct espionage on the U.S.[xxi]

    The China-Caribbean “threat” from the U.S. Perspective

    In 2018, Washington signaled its intent to limit Chinese investments in infrastructure, energy, and technology abroad; by 2023, U.S. Southern Command identified the Caribbean as a key region where China’s growing economic footprint should be restrained. In its effort to push China out of the Caribbean tech sector, the U.S. has allowed U.S. and other Western companies to develop 5G networks in Jamaica at virtually no cost in the short term—effectively subsidizing the infrastructure to block Chinese involvement and investments in the sector. This campaign has gone so far as to include veiled threats of sanctions toward Jamaica and other regional nations should they pursue connectivity projects with China.[xxii] Since the 1940s, the U.S. has viewed government-controlled economies as threats to the Western capitalist order—a label that readily applies to China. In 2025, the trade offensive against China is markedly more severe, driven by Washington’s explicit goal of curbing the spread and stalling the advancement of China’s high-tech industries—an effort aimed at preserving U.S. dominance in the sector, which is increasingly seen as under threat. The trade war, which began openly during Trump’s first term, has only intensified in his second—driven in part by the growing influence of high-tech capitalists closely aligned with his administration. China’s advances in artificial intelligence, seen with the public release of DeepSeek AI, has only accelerated the U.S. assault.

    According to  U.S. and other pro-Western security analysts who view China as a “threat” in the Caribbean, this threat manifests in three primary ways. First, they point to China’s development of internet-based infrastructure in Caribbean nations which they claim enables Chinese espionage operations that target the U.S. from within the region. Second, they highlight the fact that most Caribbean states recognize the People’s Republic of China, rather than Taiwan, under the One-China policy—a position they attribute to questionable dealings with Beijing, rather than to the exercise of Caribbean political agency in matters of state recognition. And lastly, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is portrayed as a nefarious development scheme that allows China to assert its influence globally. Notably, these accusations that form the “threat” narrative amongst U.S. and other pro-Western security advocates don’t hold up against the slightest scrutiny.

    First, there is no evidence that there are “Chinese spy bases” in Cuba or in any other country in the Caribbean—despite these accusations being levied by both Trump White Houses, and various U.S. Republican politicians in Florida.[xxiii] Second, the PRC does invest in, and maintain diplomatic relations with, Caribbean states that recognize Taiwan.[xxiv]  This suggests that the PRC does not force a One-China policy on states in the Caribbean with which it has cooperative relations. Commenting on Sino-Caribbean relations, Caribbean leaders themselves often note that the recognition of China and not Taiwan is due to support for China safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, of which they include national reunification.[xxv] Ultimately, the alleged “nefarious” nature of the Belt and Road Initiative stems from its core premise: that developing countries receive meaningful support from China to pursue their own development goals. Such efforts inevitably draw scrutiny from the U.S. and the Westbroadly, as genuine development in the ‘Global South’ is often perceived as a challenge to Western capital and hegemony. The BRI also encourages signatory states to build greater regional relationships with their Caribbean neighbors. It reflects a highly agentic approach, in stark contrast to the traditional way U.S. and other Western initiatives are typically implemented.

    Ultimately, the BRI is seen as a threat by Western policymakers because they would prefer China not pursue its own global initiatives. Given that the BRI also supports states in developing technological infrastructure and other advancements—with backing from China—these efforts are viewed by the U.S. as a strategic threat, ensuring the initiative will remain a target of sustained opposition. In the Caribbean, the U.S. push to end their tech relations with China comes off as brash, given that U.S. technology investments in the region have declined since the mid-1990s, while China technology investments have increased.[xxvi] In fact, the U.S. (and its Western allies) seem to only understand China’s investments, including the BRI, as lost market share. In essence, Washington and its Western allies seek to control economic development in the region. Two years ago for COHA, John (2023) argued that the U.S. and its allies were increasing their “diplomatic” presence in the Caribbean to maintain geostrategic influence, given China’s growing economic investments there.[xxvii] John maintained that the dismal track record of capitalism—led first by the Western European powers and later by the United States—has entrenched Caribbean states in a position of structural dependency within the global capitalist system. Key features of this dependency include persistently high levels of unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and a heavy reliance on labor exportation. This dependence made the region very receptive to Chinese investment.

    John (2023) concluded that influence is gained only where it aligns with local interests—and that investments from the PRC stood in stark contrast to Western strategies, which for decades have indebted Caribbean states, privatized their economies in ways that deepened foreign control, and consistently disregarded regional calls for reparations. This track record, it was argued, would only lead to increased militarization in the Caribbean by the U.S. and its Western allies, who have no tangible goal of helping Caribbean states to develop—but want confrontation with China. Two years later and the concluding remarks still stand.

    Concluding Remarks: Dependent Development is the price of Western Capitalism in the Caribbean

    In the Caribbean, the U.S. and its Western allies have long profited from—and perpetuated—the notion that foreignization is the norm. This extends beyond economic structures to encompass both domestic and foreign policies that effectively surrender the state, and its people, to massive  exploitation by foreigners. Some governments and local elites have been brought on as “shareholders” to maintain this backwards dependent status. That is because imperialism, especially in the Caribbean, has always been intent on establishing what Cheddi Jagan called “a reactionary axis in the Caribbean.”[xxviii] U.S. ‘influence in the Caribbean region has historically centered around controlling the “backwardness” and “unstableness” of its people, in order to keep U.S. geostrategic and geopolitical interests intact. This is done in conjunction with Caribbean political elites, who subject their own Caribbean populations in perpetual servitude to Western capital. Caribbean neoliberal states have a disregard for the rights of their citizens (and diaspora), favoring almost exclusively (and predominantly) Western foreign corporations and wealthy individuals. Cuba, however, stands out as an exception to this trend, and this is why it has been under relentless attack by Washington for more than 62 years.  It is important to point this out, given that some in the Caribbean political elite classes also share the same regressive rhetoric from the Westabout the “threat of China” to produce reactionary mindsets and views amongst large swaths of Caribbean people— so that their hand in maintaining Caribbean dependency is not critiqued.

    Caribbean people struggling to improve their societies for the better are continuously warned by the U.S. and its Western and Caribbean allies that they must maintain themselves in a dependent position. The truth is: So long as the majority of individual Caribbean states are importing finished products and agricultural goods from the U.S., Canada, and Europe—and to a smaller extent now China—the Caribbean will never have trade surpluses with these states. Lack of local businesses and the foreignization of Caribbean economies compound this contradiction that is perpetuated by the entrenched Western-led economic system. Political elites in the Caribbean frequently disregard local protests and locally developed alternatives that could threaten Western foreign corporations and investment. There is a real need for enhanced regional integration for Caribbean people, not only states, to improve their lot within the prevailing system. People will continuously be let down by formations like CARICOM, so long as these associations are dominated by Western development frameworks and have individual member states who care more about aligning their security interests with the West instead of their own region. While neoliberalism in the Caribbean is often attributed to structural constraints and the limited capacity of states to regulate foreign capital, such explanations fail to account for the extent to which Caribbean governments have themselves normalized and actively advanced neoliberal policy frameworks. The promotion of neoliberal policies both prolongs, and makes systemic, foreign dependence and domination.

    U.S. fear mongering about China in the Caribbean is propaganda. It only serves to prevent people from questioning why Caribbean states are dependent and why there is rampant foreignization of Caribbean economies. Who owns these corporate entities that make life hard in the Caribbean? The “threats” from the U.S. perspective boil down to the fact that China, in the Caribbean, is taking advantage of Western policies that make the Caribbean exploitable. It is often noted—and indeed observable—that China imports its own labor for development projects in the Caribbean. However, this practice is neither new nor unique; countries such as the United States, Canada, and various European powers have long employed similar strategies. Understandably, this reliance on imported labor has generated frustration among Caribbean populations, particularly given the region’s high levels of unemployment and underemployment. Many local workers are both willing and able to acquire the necessary skills and trades to work on infrastructure and development projects that come to the region. Local Caribbean firms and entrepreneurs would also seize the opportunity to participate in these projects—including local sourcing of materials. But this beneficial type of development is not presently feasible given how Western capitalists have integrated Caribbean states into the global capitalist system.

    The efforts of the Trump administration to cast China as a security threat in the Caribbean and to portray doing business with China as a security risk, have largely been unsuccessful. In the Caribbean, China simply takes advantage of Western policies that have made the region highly favorable and open to foreign investment, foreign entrepreneurs, and government dealings—in the form of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) and Letters of Agreement (LOA)—with other states and corporations. The acceptance of these MOUs and LOAs receive minimal, to no input from Caribbean citizens. Debt traps have been normalized in the Caribbean by the Western capitalist system, making the Caribbean one of the most highly indebted regions in the world. Today, propagandists tend to invoke the myth of the  “Chinese debt-trap” to attribute to China this false label of being engaged in “debt trap diplomacy”—a term popularized in 2018 during the first trade assault against China.[xxix] In response to this myth, progressive commentators tend to highlight that China forgives a lot of debt, and has even helped Caribbean states to restructure debts owed to various financial institutions.[xxx] However, the biggest elephant in the room is that even if China ceased to exist in the Caribbean region, the region would still be one of the most indebted within the Western capitalist system. The debt-trap narrative not only deflects attention from the significant role Western powers have played in producing Caribbean indebtedness, but also unjustly shifts the burden onto China to forgive obligations for which Western capital is responsible.[xxxi] Lack of transparency in investment agreements and investor tax benefits, including profit repatriation, in the Caribbean has been normalized by laws first written by various European empires and later by Western capitalists that crafted structural adjustment policies. Yet, such arrangements, historically established by U.S. and Canadian capital interests, are often rebranded as evidence of corruption within the China–Caribbean relationship. Those concerned with the persistence of Caribbean dependency should critically engage with its structural causes and actively challenge Western propaganda regardless of the source from which it emanates.

    Endnotes

    [i] Pierre, Jemima. 2020. “Haiti: An Archive of Occupation, 2004-.” Transforming Anthropology 28(1): 3–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/traa.12174.

    [ii] Kestler-D’Amours, Jillian. “‘A Criminal Economy’: How US Arms Fuel Deadly Gang Violence in Haiti.” Al Jazeera, March 25, 2024. web: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/3/25/a-criminal-economy-how-us-arms-fuel-deadly-gang-violence-in-haiti.

    [iii] Mack, Willie. Haitians at the Border: The Nativist State and Anti-Blackness. Carr-Ryan Commentary. Harvard Kennedy School, 2025. web: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/haitians-border-nativist-state-and-anti-blackness.

    [iv] Ziye, Chen, and Bin Li. “Escaping Dependency and Trade War: China and the US.” China Economist 18, no. 1 (2023): 36–44.

    [v] Wiseman, Paul. “Fact Check: Does China Manipulate Its Currency?” PBS News, December 29, 2016. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/fact-check-china-manipulate-currency.

    [vi] Loop News. “More Caribbean Countries Respond to New US Tariffs,” April 4, 2025, sec. World News. https://www.loopnews.com/content/more-caribbean-countries-respond-to-new-us-tariffs/.

    [vii] TEMPO Networks. “Here Are All The Caribbean Countries Hit By Trump’s New Tariffs.” Tempo Networks, April 3, 2025, sec. News. https://www.temponetworks.com/2025/04/03/here-are-all-the-caribbean-countries-hit-by-trumps-new-tariffs/.

    [viii] Grannum, Milton. “Oil, Bauxite, Gold Exempt from US Tariff.” Stabroek News, April 4, 2025, sec. Guyana News. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2025/04/04/news/guyana/oil-bauxite-gold-exempt-from-us-tariff/.

    [ix] Handy, Gemma. “Was China the Reason Guyana Faced Higher Trump Tariff?” BBC, April 28, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjeww5zq88no.

    [x] John, Tamanisha J. 2024. “Hurricane Unpreparedness in the Caribbean, Disaster by Imperial Design.” Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). The Caribbean. https://coha.org/hurricane-unpreparedness-in-the-caribbean-disaster-by-imperial-design/.

    [xi] Grantham-Philips, Wyatte. “A Timeline of Trump’s Tariff Actions so Far.” PBS News, April 10, 2025, sec. Economy. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/a-timeline-of-trumps-tariff-actions-so-far.

    [xii] Saul, Jonathan, Lisa Baertlein, David Lawder, and Andrea Shalal. “United States Eases Port Fees on China-Built Ships after Industry Backlash.” Reuters, April 17, 2025, sec. Markets. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-shippers-await-word-us-plan-hit-china-linked-vessels-with-port-fees-2025-04-17/.

    [xiii] Credible Sources interview on February 26, 2025. Guyana in U.S.-China Crossfire? Ex-Diplomat Weighs In, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtCNBiKdj-0

    [xiv] Handy, Gemma. “Was China the reason Guyana faced higher Trump tariff?” BBC, April 28, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjeww5zq88no.

    [xv] Chabrol, Denis. “Guyana Pledges ‘Preferential’ Treatment to US.” Demerara Waves, March 27, 2025, sec. Business, Defence, Diplomacy. https://demerarawaves.com/2025/03/27/guyana-pledges-preferential-treatment-to-us/.

    [xvi] John, Tamanisha J. “Guyana, Beware the Western Proxy-State Trap.” Stabroek News, December 25, 2023, sec. In The Diaspora. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2023/12/25/features/in-the-diaspora/guyana-beware-the-Western-proxy-state-trap/.

    [xvii] Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on April 3, 2025. Beijing Says That Road in Guyana Criticised by Rubio Is Not Built by China, 2025. https://youtu.be/6gljwDyW1qk?si=2QXhDUythljBsIcJ.

    [xviii] Morales Ruvalcaba, Daniel. 2025. “National Power in Sino-Caribbean Relations: CARICOM in the Geopolitics of the Belt and Road Initiative.” Chinese Political Science Review 10: 28–48. doi: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41111-024-00252-4.

    [xix] Ibid.

    [xx] Ibid. 

    [xxi] Qi, Wang. “Hyping Chinese ‘spy Bases’ in Cuba Slander; Shows US’ Hysteria: Expert.” Global Times, July 3, 2024. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202407/1315376.shtml.

    [xxii] Pate, Durrant. “US Warns Jamaica against Chinese 5g.” Jamaica Observer, October 25, 2020. https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2020/10/25/us-warns-jamaica-against-chinese-5g/.

    [xxiii] Belly of the Beast. Investigative Report. May 30, 2025. Big Headlines, No Proof: Inside the Hype Over “Chinese Spy Bases”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF87JJp8WIo

    [xxiv] Bayona Velásquez, Etna. “Chinese Economic Presence in the Greater Caribbean, 2000-2020.” In Chinese Presence in the Greater Caribbean: Yesterday and Today, 599–661. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Centro de Estudios Caribeños (PUCMM), 2022.

    [xxv] Loop news. “T&T, Caribbean countries pledge support for One China policy.” May 6, 2022. https://www.loopnews.com/content/tt-caribbean-countries-pledge-support-for-one-china-policy/

    [xxvi] Ricart Jorge, Raquel. “China’s Digital Silk Road in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Real Instituto Elcano, April 21, 2021, sec. Latin America. https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/chinas-digital-silk-road-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/.

    [xxvii] John, Tamanisha J. 2023. “US Moves to Curtail China’s Economic Investment in the Caribbean.” Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). https://coha.org/us-moves-to-curtail-chinas-economic-investment-in-the-caribbean/.

    [xxviii] Jagan, Cheddi. “Alternative Models of Caribbean Economic Development and Industrialisation.” In Caribbean Economic Development and Industrialisation, 3 (1):1–23. Hungary: Development and Peace, 1980. https://jagan.org/CJ%20Articles/In%20Opposition/Images/3014.pdf.

    [xxix] Chandran, Rama. “The Chinese “Debt Trap” Is a Myth.” China Focus, August 26, 2022,  http://www.cnfocus.com/the-chinese-debt-trap-is-a-myth/

    [xxx] Hancock, Tom. “China renegotiated $50bn in loans to developing countries: Study challenges ‘debt-trap’ narrative surrounding Beijin’s lending.” Financial Times, April 29, 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/0b207552-6977-11e9-80c7-60ee53e6681d

    [xxxi] Kaiwei, Zhang and Xian Jiangnan. “So-called “debt trap” a Western rhetorical trap.” China International Communications Group (CN) , September 14, 2024, https://en.people.cn/n3/2024/0914/c90000-20219659.html

    Featured image: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (centre) poses for a group photograph with representatives from the Caribbean countries that share diplomatic relations with China, May 12, 2025, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing
    (Source: Chinese State Media)

    Tamanisha J. John is an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at York University and a member of the US/NATO out of Our Americas Network zoneofpeace.org/ 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: UK: Foreign office staff told to consider resigning if they disagree on Gaza is a ‘chilling message’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    © Marie-Anne Ventoura / Amnesty International UK

    Responding to news that civil servants should consider resigning if they disagree with government policy on Gaza, Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK, stated:

    “It’s deeply troubling that Foreign Office staff raising legitimate human rights concerns about the UK’s role in Gaza are being told to consider resignation as a response.

    “This sends a chilling message to civil servants – and to the wider public – that principled dissent on matters of international law and human rights is unwelcome in Government.

    “The concerns raised by staff about arms exports, the killing of aid workers, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza are not only justified, but they also reflect widespread public concern and are grounded in the UK’s legal obligations under international law.

    “Suppressing internal scrutiny does not make these concerns disappear. On the contrary, it raises urgent questions about the UK’s commitment to accountability and the rule of law. Civil servants should be empowered not silenced when they speak out against potential complicity in serious human rights violations.

    “The Government must do more than acknowledge these concerns behind closed doors. It must urgently suspend all arms transfers to Israel that risk being used to commit war crimes and ensure full transparency over its decision-making.

    “Now more than ever, courage and clarity are needed from all parts of government. A commitment to human rights should not be a resignation issue, it should be a guiding principle.”

    View latest press releases

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Northern Ireland: Amnesty condemns ‘appalling racist violence’ in Ballymena

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In response to the racist violence in Ballymena last night, Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland director, said:

    “Last night’s appalling racist violence in Ballymena could have cost someone their life.

    “Today, families from immigrant and minoritised communities across Northern Ireland are living in fear. It is vital that the police act swiftly and decisively to protect those most at risk.

    “At a time of heightened tension, politicians have a duty to choose their words carefully because incendiary rhetoric can lead to burned-out homes and shattered lives.

    “Justice must be pursued through the legal system, not by mobs.”

    View latest press releases

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Department of Labor recovers $101K in wages, damages for 31 employees of Houston plumbing contractor owed overtime

    Source: US Department of Labor

    HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,690 in back wages and damages owed to 31 employees of a Houston plumbing contractor who paid them a salary but failed to pay an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek.

    Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Amailey Plumbing LLC categorized service technicians and apprentice helpers as salaried employees and did not pay them the correct overtime rate as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division calculated that the contractor owed $50,845 in back overtime wages and an equal amount in damages.

    “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to making sure every worker receives their rightfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Chad Frasier in Houston. “The outcome in this case should remind other employers to evaluate their pay practices in order to avoid sometimes costly compliance issues. Employers are encouraged to contact the Wage and Hour Division if they have any questions about compliance.”

    Founded in 2008, Amailey Plumbing LLC offers plumbing services in the Houston area for new home construction, routine system cleaning, maintenance, repair, and response for plumbing emergencies. 

    Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division’s toll-free helpline for assistance at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 

    Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: US Department of Labor recovers over $824K in back wages, damages from Las Vegas drywall subcontractor for wage violations

    Source: US Department of Labor

    LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $824,276 in back wages and damages for 680 employees of a Las Vegas drywall contractor that denied overtime pay to piece-rate and hourly workers, in violation of federal law.

    The recovery follows the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation of Spectrum Construction LLC that found the employer failed to pay piece-rate and hourly workers – including painters, drywall hangers, and tapers – time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division found that Spectrum Construction paid piece rates to workers without any overtime premium for hours worked over 40 and “banked” the overtime hours of hourly painters, later compensating them with days off paid at straight time or not compensating them at all.

    “This case highlights the Wage and Hour Division’s commitment to protecting construction workers’ rights to be paid overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Gene Ramos in Las Vegas. “By uncovering and addressing widespread overtime violations at Spectrum Construction, we are ensuring that hundreds of workers receive the wages they rightfully earned. Our enforcement efforts ensure fair competition in the construction industry and send a clear message that employers must comply with federal labor laws.”

    The FLSA requires that an overtime premium be paid to all non-exempt employees for hours worked over 40, even if the employee is not paid on an hourly basis. Additionally, only pubic employers, such as state and local governments, are allowed to bank overtime hours, and are subject to additional rules.

    The department also assessed Spectrum Construction $10,060 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

    Since 2011, Spectrum Construction LLC has operated as a contractor focusing on drywall, metal stud framing, acoustical installation, and painting for residential and commercial buildings in Nevada.

    Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iPhone and Android devices to track hours and pay.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press conference at Ocean Conference [scroll down for French]

    Source: United Nations MIL-OSI 2

    ood morning,
     
    We are in Nice on a mission – save the ocean, to save our future.

    That was my message at the Conference opening yesterday, and it is the message I have carried through all my meetings.
     
    The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet.
     
    It produces half of the oxygen we breathe, nourishes billions of people, supports hundreds of millions of jobs, and underpins global trade.
     
    For many, the ocean is more than a source of food and livelihood.
     
    It shapes cultures…anchors identities… and feeds the soul.
     
    Yet, we are treating it like a limitless resource – pretending it can absorb our abuse without consequence.
     
    Every year, we see more troubling signs that our ocean is under siege.
     
    Fish populations are collapsing due to reckless illegal fishing and overexploitation.
     
    Climate change is driving ocean acidification and heating – destroying coral reefs, accelerating sea level rise, and threatening communities worldwide.
     
    And plastic pollution is choking marine life and infesting our food chain – ultimately ending up in our blood and even our brains.
     
    When we poison the ocean, we poison ourselves.
     
    Dear friends,
     
    There’s a tipping point approaching – beyond which recovery may become impossible.
     
    And let us be clear:
     
    Powerful interests are pushing us towards the brink.
     
    We are facing a hard battle, against a clear enemy.
     
    Its name is greed.
     
    Greed that sows doubt… denies science… distorts truth… rewards corruption… and destroys life for profit.
     
    We cannot let greed dictate the fate of our planet.
     
    That is why we are here this week: to stand in solidarity against those forces and reclaim what belongs to us all.
     
    Governments, business leaders, fishers, scientists…  everyone has a responsibility and a vital role to play.
     
    Throughout my many engagements at the Conference, I have highlighted four priorities.
     
    First – we must transform how we harvest the ocean’s bounty.
     
    It is not about fishing, it’s about how we fish.
     
    Sustainable fishing is not a choice – it is our only option.
     
    This means stronger global cooperation, strict enforcement against illegal fishing, and expanded protected areas to rebuild stocks and safeguard marine life.
     
    And it means delivering on the 30 by 30 target – to conserve and manage at least 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2030.
     
    We have a moral duty to ensure future generations inherit oceans swarming with life.
     
    Second – we must confront the plague of plastic pollution.
     
    This means phasing out single-use plastics, overhauling waste systems, and boosting recycling.
     
    All countries must quickly finalize an ambitious, legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution. And we hope that this will happen this year.
     
    Third – the fight against climate change must extend to the seas.
     
    For decades, the ocean has been absorbing carbon emissions and taking the heat of a warming planet.
     
    That comes at great cost.
     
    As we prepare for COP30 in Brazil, countries must present ambitious national climate action plans.
     
    These plans must align with limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius;
     
    Cover all emissions and the whole economy;
     
    And in line with the commitments countries have made to accelerate the global energy transition and seize the benefits of clean power.
     
    Last year, for the first time, the annual global temperature was 1.5°C hotter than pre-industrial times.
     
    Scientists are clear: that does not mean that the long-term global temperature rise limit to 1.5 degrees is out of reach.
     
    It means we need to fight harder.
     
    The ocean depends on it – and so do we.
     
    I urge countries to champion ocean-based climate solutions – like protecting mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs.
     
    We must also increase financial and technological support to developing countries – so that they can protect themselves from extreme weather and respond when disasters strike.
     
    The survival of coastal communities and Small Island Developing States depends on it.
     
    And fourth – we must implement the recent Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
     
    The Agreement is a historic step towards protecting vast areas of our ocean.
     
    I congratulate the 134 countries that have signed and the 49 and counting that have ratified the Agreement – including 18 new signatures and 18 ratifications yesterday alone.
     
    The entry into force is within our sight.
     
    And I call on all remaining nations to join swiftly.
     
    We do not have a moment to lose.
     
    Finally, on seabed mining, we have a collective responsibility to proceed with great caution.
     
    I support the ongoing work of the International Seabed Authority on this important issue.
     
    As I said yesterday, the deep sea cannot become the Wild West.
     
    Ladies and gentlemen of the media,
     
    The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated.
     
    Ocean health is inseparable from human health, climate stability, and global prosperity.
     
    But I leave Nice energized and encouraged by the many pledges already made.
     
    Encouraged by island nations and Indigenous Peoples sharing their stories and expertise…
     
    Encouraged by young activists demanding action and accountability…
     
    Scientists developing innovative solutions for all…
     
    Business leaders investing in the blue economy…
     
    This is the global coalition we need.
     
    I urge everyone to step forward with decisive commitments and tangible funding.
     
    The ocean has given us so much.
     
    It is time we returned the favor.
     
    Our health, our climate, and our future depend on it.
     
    Thank you. Je vous remercie.
     
    Question: Secretary General, you warned against a wild west on deep sea mining. Beyond words, what specific actions would you like countries to take to either stop deep sea mining or put in place strong regulations?
     
    Secretary-General: Well, as I mentioned, there is an institution that has a key role to play, and is playing it, and I trust that they will be doing what is necessary to avoid the Wild West that I mentioned. It is the International Seabed Authority, and I think it’s extremely important not to have any kind of initiative that is beyond whatever will be established by the International Seabed Authority.
     
    Question: Mr. Secretary-General, you said we have to save the ocean. Are you happy with this conference? Do you think it will make a difference?
     
    Secretary-General: I think it is making a difference. There is one aspect that is particularly evident. UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, took 12 years to enter into force. We are two years from the BBNJ, and we have already, as of today, 49 ratifications [Editor’s Note: 50 including the EU] with 15 commitments to do it soon, which means that it will, in the next few months, reach the entry into force. That is a record – a little bit more than two years. So, I see a momentum and an enthusiasm that was difficult to find in the past.
     
    And the way this meeting was attended – not only by countries, but by civil society, by the business community, by indigenous communities, representing more than double those that came to the Lisbon conference that I attended two years ago – shows the very strong commitment made by countries in relation to enlarging the protection areas. All these shows a momentum that, to be honest, I had never witnessed in conferences of this type. Am I entirely happy? Of course not. I would like things to move much faster.
     
    And let’s not forget that there is a clear link between biodiversity, climate and marine protection. And in that clear link, we still have some dramatic gaps. And one of the most worrying ones is, of course, the impact of climate change on the oceans – the fact that the rising of sea levels is accelerating; the fact that waters are more and more warmer with acidification. We see the impacts in coastal areas. We see the corals bleaching, and we see that climate change became an extremely dramatic threat to the lives of our oceans. And there, I have to say, we are moving slowly, and I hope the COP in Belém will be able to provide the necessary acceleration.
     
    Question: You said that sustainable fishing was the only option left, but for small states like Sri Lanka that’s struggling with bottom trawling – a regional practice  – and IUU fishing [Illegal, unreported and unregulated], we don’t have the capacity to enforce and control external actors like that. What can the UN do to assist small states to protect its fish stocks and marine ecology?
     
    Secretary-General: I think we must develop forms, first of all, of accountability in relation to illegal fishing and in relation to the way fishing resources of developing countries are being exploited by a certain number of predators. So, there is a question of accountability, and we’ll be doing our best to increase the mechanisms of international accountability that for the moment – let us be clear – are extremely limited and inefficient.
     
    Question: CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are a double problem for the ocean because of acidification, and they are hitting the atmosphere and the ocean. At the same time, there’s a lot of oil industry activity that happens in the ocean, which is a continuing risk. What message and agreements do you expect to hear from the countries in this conference regarding the fossil fuel industry or is this not a subject right now in this conference?
     
    Secretary-General: I believe the energy transition will be more central in the COP meeting than in this meeting. But there are two things that, for me, are absolutely evident. First is that 85 per cent of the emissions correspond to fossil fuels. So the problem of climate change is essentially linked to fossil fuels. The second is that we are witnessing an energy transition that demonstrates that the cheapest way to produce energy is through renewables.
     
    You might have heard what I said about greed. There is a dramatic effort from the fossil fuel industry to distort the reality. But one thing for me is inevitable – the fossil fuel age is coming to an end, and the renewable age will be there as the age of the future. The problem is, will that be done on time? And what we need is to accelerate that transition.  And I hope that in the COP there will be a very strong message in this regard.
     
    Question: I wanted to ask if you have concerns generally about the 1.5 target slipping out from policymakers’ speeches as people come to accept that it’s not likely to be met. Are you concerned that people are moving ahead and starting to talk about 2 degrees? How do you keep up the message around 1.5 when the science looks certain that it will be passed?
     
    Secretary-General: I am concerned. Scientists are very clear when they tell us that the 1.5 degrees is still achievable as a limit to global warming. But they are also unanimous in saying that we are on the brink of a tipping point that might make it impossible. So there is a matter of urgency that is extremely important, and that is the reason of my concern. Until now, we have not seen enough urgency, enough speed in making things move fast, in energy transition and in other aspects that are essential to keep 1.5 degrees alive. A lot of progress is being seen, but not yet enough, and we must accelerate our transition. And this is, for me, the most important objective of the next COP, and of the pressure we are making at the present moment on countries to have Nationally Determined Contributions, the so-called national action plans, that are fully compatible with 1.5 degrees, which foresees until 2035 a dramatic reduction of emissions.
     

    ****

     

    [All-French]

    Bonjour à tous,
     
    Nous sommes à Nice en mission : sauver l’océan – pour sauver notre avenir.
     
    C’était le message que j’ai porté à l’ouverture de la Conférence hier.
    Et c’est le message que j’ai répété à chacune de mes rencontres ici.
     
    L’océan est le poumon de notre planète.
     
    Il produit la moitié de l’oxygène que nous respirons… nourrit des milliards de personnes… soutient des centaines de millions d’emplois… et fait tourner le commerce mondial.
     
    Mais pour beaucoup, l’océan est bien plus qu’une ressource.
     
    Il façonne des cultures. Il ancre des identités. Il nourrit l’âme humaine.
     
    Et pourtant, nous le traitons comme une ressource inépuisable – comme s’il pouvait absorber nos abus sans conséquences.
     
    Chaque année, les signes de détresse se multiplient.
     
    Les stocks de poissons s’effondrent sous l’effet de la pêche illégale et de la surexploitation.
     
    Le dérèglement climatique provoque l’acidification et le réchauffement des océans – détruisant les récifs de corail, accélérant la montée des eaux, et mettant en péril des communautés entières.
     
    La pollution plastique étouffe la vie marine et contamine notre alimentation – jusqu’à se retrouver dans notre sang… et même dans notre cerveau.
     
    En empoisonnant l’océan, c’est nous-mêmes que nous empoisonnons.
     
    Chers amis,
     
    Nous approchons un point de bascule – au-delà duquel tout retour en arrière pourrait devenir impossible.
     
    Soyons clairs : des intérêts puissants nous poussent dangereusement vers le précipice.
     
    Nous livrons un combat difficile, contre un ennemi bien identifié.
     
    Son nom, c’est la cupidité.
     
    Une cupidité qui sème le doute… nie la science… déforme la vérité… récompense la corruption… et détruit la vie au nom du profit.
     
    Nous ne pouvons pas laisser la cupidité dicter le sort de notre planète.
     
    C’est pourquoi nous sommes ici cette semaine : pour faire front ensemble face à ces forces – et reprendre ce qui appartient à toutes et à tous.
     
    Les gouvernements, les chefs d’entreprise, les pêcheurs, les scientifiques… chacun a une responsabilité, chacun a un rôle vital à jouer.
     
    Tout au long de la Conférence, j’ai mis en avant quatre priorités.
     
    Premièrement – nous devons transformer la manière dont nous récoltons les richesses de l’océan.
     
    La question n’est pas de pêcher ou non — mais de savoir comment nous pêchons.
     
    La pêche durable n’est pas une option – c’est notre seule voie possible.
     
    Cela exige une coopération internationale renforcée, une lutte implacable contre la pêche illégale, et une extension des aires marines protégées pour reconstituer les stocks et préserver la vie marine.
     
    Cela implique aussi de tenir l’objectif 30-30 : protéger et gérer au moins 30 % des zones marines et côtières d’ici 2030.
     
    Nous avons le devoir moral de transmettre aux générations futures des océans pleins de vie.
     
    Deuxièmement – nous devons combattre le fléau de la pollution plastique.
     
    Cela signifie éliminer progressivement les plastiques à usage unique, réformer les systèmes de gestion des déchets, et renforcer le recyclage.
     
    Tous les pays doivent conclure rapidement un traité mondial ambitieux et juridiquement contraignant pour mettre fin à la pollution plastique. Et nous espérons que cela se produira cette année.
     
    Troisièmement – la lutte contre le changement climatique doit aussi se mener en mer.
     
    Depuis des décennies, l’océan absorbe nos émissions de carbone et la chaleur d’une planète en surchauffe.
     
    Cela a un prix.
     
    À l’approche de la COP30 au Brésil, les pays doivent présenter des plans d’action climatique nationaux ambitieux.
     
    Des plans compatibles avec l’objectif de limiter la hausse des températures à 1,5 °C ;
     
    Qui couvrent toutes les émissions et l’ensemble de l’économie ;
     
    Et conformément aux engagements des pays à accélérer la transition énergétique mondiale, en saisissant les opportunités offertes par les énergies propres.
     
    L’an dernier, pour la première fois, la température mondiale annuelle a dépassé de 1,5 °C les niveaux préindustriels.
     
    Les scientifiques sont clairs : cela ne signifie pas que la limite de 1,5 °C est hors de portée.
     
    Cela signifie que nous devons redoubler d’efforts.
     
    L’océan en dépend — et nous aussi.
     
    J’appelle les pays à soutenir les solutions climatiques basées sur l’océan — comme la protection des mangroves, des herbiers marins et des récifs coralliens.
     
    Nous devons aussi accroître le soutien financier et technologique aux pays en développement – pour qu’ils puissent se protéger face aux phénomènes climatiques extrêmes, et répondre rapidement quand les catastrophes frappent.
     
    La survie des communautés côtières et des petits États insulaires en dépend.
     
    Quatrièmement – nous devons mettre en œuvre l’Accord sur la biodiversité marine des zones situées au-delà des juridictions nationales.
     
    L’ Accord est une avancée historique pour protéger d’immenses espaces marins.
     
    Je félicite les 134 pays qui l’ont signé, et les 49 – et c’est pas fini – qui l’ont déjà ratifié, dont 18 signatures et 18 ratifications enregistrées hier seulement.
     
    L’entrée en vigueur est à notre portée.
     
    J’en appelle à tous les autres États pour de les rejoindre sans attendre.
     
    Nous n’avons pas une minute à perdre.
     
    Enfin, sur l’exploitation minière des fonds marins, nous avons une responsabilité collective d’agir avec une extrême prudence.
     
    Je salue les travaux en cours de l’Autorité internationale des fonds marins sur cette question cruciale.
     
    Comme je l’ai dit hier, les grands fonds ne peuvent devenir le Far West des temps modernes.
     
    Mesdames et Messieurs les journalistes,
     
    L’urgence de ce moment ne peut être exagérée.
     
    La santé de l’océan est indissociable de la santé humaine, de la stabilité climatique et de la prospérité mondiale.
     
    Mais je quitte Nice plein d’énergie et d’espoir, porté par les nombreux engagements déjà pris.
     
    Porté par les récits et l’expertise des nations insulaires et des peuples autochtones…
     
    Par la détermination des jeunes militants qui exigent des comptes…
     
    Par les scientifiques qui inventent des solutions pour toutes et tous…
     
    Et par les acteurs économiques qui investissent dans une économie bleue durable.
     
    C’est cette coalition mondiale dont nous avons besoin.
     
    J’en appelle à chacun : engagez-vous avec clarté, avec ambition, et avec des financements concrets.
     
    L’océan nous a tant donné.
     
    Il est temps de lui rendre la pareille.
     
    Notre santé, notre climat et notre avenir en dépendent.
     
    Je vous remercie.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaptur Urges Northwest Ohio Small Businesses and Nonprofits to Apply for SBA Drought Relief Loans Deadline

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

    Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) is urging small businesses and private nonprofit organizations across Northwest Ohio to act swiftly as the July 7 deadline approaches to apply for US Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) related to last fall’s drought conditions across Northwest Ohio, and the Buckeye State.

    Businesses in Erie, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, and Wood counties have until July 7, 2025, to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans to help offset economic losses caused by the prolonged drought conditions that began on September 10, 2024.

    “These loans have proven a lifeline for small businesses and nonprofits in our region feeling the financial aftershocks of last year’s protracted drought,” said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09). “Northwest Ohio’s resilience depends on making sure local enterprises and community institutions have the resources they need to weather economic hardship. I strongly encourage all eligible organizations to apply for this federal farm assistance before the deadline passes.”

    The SBA’s EIDL program provides working capital to help businesses meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. Loan funds can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills. Importantly, businesses do not need to have sustained physical damage to be eligible for this support.
    While agricultural producers, farmers, and ranchers are generally not eligible, small aquaculture businesses may qualify for assistance. Visit the SBA website for full details and application materials.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Secretary Rubio with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

    Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

    Secretary of State Marco A. Rubio meets with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Department of State on June 10, 2025.

    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

    The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
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    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2DV6ifzH04

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Capito Opening Statement at Hearing to Review NIH Budget Request

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    [embedded content]
    Click here or on the image above to watch Chairman Capito’s opening remarks from the hearing. 
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), chaired a hearing with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to review the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.  
    Below is the opening statement of Chairman Capito as prepared for delivery: 
    “Good morning. Dr. Bhattacharya, congratulations on your new role as Director of the NIH. Thank you for appearing before the subcommittee today to discuss how the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal will continue efforts from NIH to reduce illness, enhance health and lengthen the lives of all Americans. 
    “My home state of West Virginia is faced with many complex health challenges. I know that if we work together, make wise investments and focus on what really matters, we can create positive momentum towards eliminating those challenges. 
    “Fostering NIH collaboration with smaller and rural states is critical, and one of the strengths of the NIH IDeA Program. This program provides funding to 23 states—including West Virginia—that historically have received little to no federal research funding.  
    “The IDeA program and other NIH funding streams have been instrumental for Marshall University, West Virginia University, and other institutions in my state in developing world-class research in neuroscience, cancer, stroke, vision, and addiction science. 
    “Researchers throughout West Virginia are making significant contributions to biomedical research in areas ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease to substance use disorders. 
    “I look forward to hosting you in West Virginia soon to see first-hand all of the amazing research being done across the state. 
    “This will be a challenging year for appropriations, yet supporting biomedical research is a priority for me and has long been a bicameral, bipartisan priority for Congress.
    “The United States leads the world in biomedical innovation and I, along with many of my colleagues on this committee, think it is important America remains the leader in biomedical innovation and research. Investing in biomedical research has proven to save lives while exponentially strengthening the U.S. economy. I look forward to hearing from you how this budget request would continue to advance this critical research and innovation.
    “The NIH is a driver of economic growth, funding more than $94.58 billion in national economic activity last year.
    “In West Virginia, NIH supported over 700 jobs and $147 million in economic activity in 2024 alone.  
    “For almost a decade, this committee has supported research toward the goal of finding treatments and a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This goal is very personal to me since both of my parents lived with and eventually succumbed to the disease.  
    “These investments have allowed NIH to fund research into a wide variety of potential causes of the disease, and build evidence for prevention based on a healthy lifestyle. NIH-funded research on the amyloid protein led to the development of FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drugs in 2023 and 2024 to slow progression of the disease.  
    “All of this research is important, and I look forward to working with you to continue robust and diversified Alzheimer’s disease research. 
    “NIH-funded research is also behind many of the more than 600 new cancer treatments that the FDA has approved over the last 20 years. 
    “As a lead sponsor of the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, I look forward to hearing about your priorities and advancements to combat cancer and grow our clinical trial networks – especially among children. 
    “Although we are making positive strides, substance abuse remains an issue in my state. I look forward to hearing more from you about how combining the National Institute on Drug Abuse into a new National Institute on Behavioral Health will enable that important work to continue.
    “I have heard from many University leaders – from schools ranging in size, location, and subject – about the impact of changes being implemented at NIH. These institutions are the reason America has kept the edge in biomedical innovation.
    “As with any change in leadership, there seems to be a heightened sense of concern and confusion that diverting resources from research will result in a less healthy America. And I hope today we can work to come to a better understanding. 
    “We have a difficult task ahead of us this year, but it is my hope that we will come together, just as we have done in prior fiscal years, to use our limited resources in the most efficient and effective way to support the health and well-being of all Americans. 
    “Dr. Bhattacharya, I look forward to your testimony.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lee Condemns Comey’s Death Threat Against President Trump

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a resolution condemning former FBI Director James Comey for inciting violence against President Donald Trump in a recent social media post. In response to Comey’s reckless threat on the President’s life, the resolution condemns his incitement of violence, bars Comey from future employment by the federal government, and calls for investigations by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security into Comey’s threats. The resolution was cosponsored by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), and a companion resolution was led by Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Laurel Lee (R-FL) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    “For the former FBI director to be amplifying threats against the President of the United States is disgraceful,” said Senator Mike Lee. “President Trump has been targeted in two assassination attempts and wounded in one, which killed Corey Comperatore. Congress should unite to condemn Jim Comey in the strongest terms.”
    “As violent riots rage across Los Angeles, it has never been more important to have leaders in Washington that are prepared to defend the rule of law and uphold our shared values,” said Rep. August Pfluger, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee. “James Comey’s reckless incitement of violence is another reminder of how dangerous it is when former public officials prioritize politics over the values our nation was founded upon. This bicameral resolution demands the accountability and transparency the American people deserve, ensuring Comey never again holds a position of public trust.”
    “For years, we’ve heard accusations from the Left about so-called dangerous rhetoric. But now, former FBI Director James Comey—the same official who helped launch the discredited Russia collusion hoax —is engaging in rhetoric that carries an implicit threat against President Trump. As a former federal prosecutor and judge, I take this very seriously. James Comey should never again hold a position of public trust in the United States Government, and we formally urge the Department of Justice to investigate whether his conduct violates applicable laws. The American people deserve equal justice—not selective outrage. If we are to preserve the rule of law, then even those who once led law enforcement must be held accountable.” – Representative Laurel Lee
    Resolution
    A resolution condemning James B. Comey, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for inciting violence against President Donald J. Trump.
    Whereas James B. Comey, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in this preamble, referred to as the ‘‘FBI’’), on May 15, 2025, posted an image on Instagram depicting the numbers ‘‘86 47’’ with the cryptic caption ‘‘cool shell formation’’; 
    Whereas this message promotes violence against the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump; 
    Whereas Mr. Comey posted this to his public Instagram account during President Trump’s first overseas trip to the Middle East, jeopardizing his security and invigorating the enemies of the United States abroad;
    Whereas it is indefensible and inexcusable to issue a call for violence against the President of the United States; 
    Whereas Mr. Comey exhibits a clear desire to undermine President Trump; Whereas there have been multiple assassination attempts against President Trump; 
    Whereas former public officials owe a special duty of care not to use their past positions and influence accrued through public service to threaten the lives of their political opponents; and 
    Whereas Congress must hold Mr. Comey accountable for his violations of the public trust and preserve the rule of law to protect our institutions from those that seek to sow discord and promote violence against their political opponents: 
    Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 
    (1) unequivocally condemns James Comey’s ap3 parent incitement of political violence against President Trump; 
    (2) urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that Mr. Comey is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the Federal Government; and 
    (3) requests that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security conduct a full and comprehensive investigation of Mr. Comey’s attempts to incite violence against the President, and release the findings to the relevant committees of Congress and the public.
    Read exclusive coverage from The Daily Signal here.
    See the official resolution text here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Discusses Unleashing American Energy for Strengthening American Diplomacy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed the role of American energy production in international diplomacy. Ricketts underscored the importance of energy production for success in the competition with Communist China.
    “Last month, I hosted a bipartisan tabletop exercise with Senator Coons, simulating a Communist Chinese energy quarantine of Taiwan,” said Ricketts. “That exercise confirmed one of Taiwan’s biggest vulnerabilities, which is energy insecurity. But it’s not just about Taiwan, this is something that applies to all our allies in the region, who are nearly just as vulnerable in relying on seaborne energy imports in such a crisis… The most immediate answer to this problem for us is to increase our exports of LNG. We are the world’s top exporter with clean and reliable gas, it’s already helping our allies replace coal, reduce their emissions, and increase their energy resilience.”
    Click here to watch more.
    The hearing considered the nominations of Jacob Helberg, to be Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment; Paul Kapur, to be Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs; Andy Puzder, to be Ambassador to the EU; Benjamin Black, to be CEO of DFC; and Howard Brodie, to be Ambassador to Finland.
    BACKGROUND:
    Earlier this month, Senator Ricketts led a congressional delegation (CODEL) trip to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue conference with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Last month, Senator Ricketts led a congressional delegation trip to Taiwan and the Philippines with Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ted Budd (R-NC). Senators Ricketts and Coons are working as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia Subcommittee to support our allies and partners in the region against Communist China’s aggression, including conducting a recent tabletop exercise and introductions of the PORCUPINE Act and COUNTER Act.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW: Report Shows Republicans’ Bill Will Terminate Health Insurance for Over 250,000 Wisconsinites

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report was released showing that 258,396 Wisconsinites will have their health care terminated under Republicans’ House-passed budget bill to gut Medicaid and dismantle key parts of the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Americans. Nationwide, 16 million Americans’ care is in jeopardy, including over 8.5 million Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act coverage and 7.4 million Americans on Medicaid.
    “Republicans’ plan is simple: gut benefits for working Americans so that the wealthiest Americans and big corporations can get richer. My phones have been ringing off the hook from Wisconsinites who are terrified their health care coverage is on the chopping block, and now we see just how many of our neighbors are in jeopardy,” said Senator Baldwin. “If Republicans get their way, 250,000 Wisconsinites will lose their coverage as health care costs are jacked up on thousands more. We should be working to make sure more people have health care and lowering costs – not taking it away from the elderly, the disabled, and hardworking families. We’re making sure Americans know who will pay the price so Donald Trump and Republicans can give handouts to billionaires.”
    The Republicans’ plan includes changes to the Medicaid program designed to kick eligible Americans off their health care, with a new report today showing an estimated 148,254 Wisconsinites would lose their Medicaid benefits. The Republican plan would also allow the enhanced Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits, which save Americans on average $700 each year on their coverage, to expire, jacking up the cost of coverage and putting insurance out of reach for 110,142 Wisconsin families. Senator Baldwin leads legislation to make these tax breaks for working families permanent. 
    In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million are enrolled in Medicaid. About 1 in 3 children in both Wisconsin’s rural and metro communities have Medicaid coverage. Severe cuts to Medicaid will also jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open. Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.
    Senator Baldwin has been leading the charge to fight back against cuts to Medicaid. This year, Senator Baldwin has made eleven stops on her “Hands Off Medicaid Tour,” holding roundtable discussions statewide calling out Republicans’ plan to slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. During each stop, Senator Baldwin heard directly from Wisconsinites who depend on Medicaid and highlighted the dire consequences cuts to the lifesaving program would mean for them and their loved ones.
    Full report is available here with a breakdown by Congressional District available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Jun 10, 2025 1730 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

     For best viewing experience, please enable browser JavaScript support.

    Jun 10, 2025 1730 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook

    Updated: Tue Jun 10 17:46:55 UTC 2025 (Print Version |   |  )

    Probabilistic to Categorical Outlook Conversion Table

     Forecast Discussion

    SPC AC 101746

    Day 2 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1246 PM CDT Tue Jun 10 2025

    Valid 111200Z – 121200Z

    …THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS TEXAS
    INTO LOUISIANA…THE UPPER MIDWEST/CORN BELT…AND NORTHERN
    ROCKIES/HIGH PLAINS…

    …SUMMARY…
    Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible Wednesday over parts of
    the Northern Rockies and northern High Plains, the Upper
    Midwest/Corn Belt, as well as Texas to western Louisiana.

    …Central to southern Texas…
    Ahead of a weak mid-level trough, moderate instability should
    develop over much of central into eastern/southern Texas with a
    moist surface air mass beneath seasonably cool mid-level
    temperatures. However, specifics are complicated by the potential of
    lingering early-day convection and outflows. Some guidance would
    suggest that convection/MCV-related enhancement to the flow field
    may occur and linger much of the day, a scenario in which a Slight
    Risk could be warranted into the Day 1 time frame pending corridors
    of more certain destabilization across central/east Texas. This flow
    enhancement could influence the potential for supercells and
    possibly a tornado risk within a moist environment. Scattered
    storms, including some clusters, can otherwise be expected with hail
    and wind possible.

    …Upper Midwest/Corn Belt…
    A west/east-oriented stationary front will exist across this region,
    with strong heating aiding moderate to locally strong
    destabilization along and south of the boundary. The glancing
    influence of a shortwave trough may contribute to storm development
    as the boundary layer otherwise destabilizes Wednesday afternoon.
    Effective shear of 30-35 kt should generally exist near the front,
    potentially allowing for a few supercells and more prevalent
    multicells. Scattered storms producing hail/damaging wind appear
    most probable during the late afternoon and evening, progressing
    eastward out of Iowa toward the Illinois/Wisconsin border vicinity.
    A relatively narrow/confined Slight Risk could ultimately be
    warranted in the Day 1 time frame.

    …Northern Rockies to Northern High Plains…
    Storms are expected to develop relatively early in the day from
    eastern Oregon across Idaho as a shortwave trough moves over the
    region. Scattered storms will develop and spread quickly eastward
    into parts of Wyoming and Montana, with areas of strong outflow
    expected. Scattered severe gusts may occur. Overall deep-layer shear
    appears most favorable from southern Idaho into western Wyoming,
    resulting in a few cells capable of hail as well as strong wind
    gusts. Additional severe storm development is expected by Wednesday
    late afternoon/early evening into the northern High Plains including
    near/east of the Big Horns.

    ..Guyer.. 06/10/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS02 PTSDY2 PRODUCT

    NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 2 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 0600Z

    Top/Latest Day 1 Outlook/Today’s Outlooks/Forecast Products/Home

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Jun 10, 2025 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    SPC AC 101628

    Day 1 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1128 AM CDT Tue Jun 10 2025

    Valid 101630Z – 111200Z

    …THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
    EVENING ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NM AND FAR WEST INTO CENTRAL TX…

    …SUMMARY…
    Severe storms are expected to develop this afternoon and evening
    across parts of far southeast New Mexico, far West Texas and the Rio
    Grande Valley. Marginally severe storms will be possible from parts
    of the southern Plains eastward into the lower Mississippi Valley,
    along parts of the Atlantic Coastal states, in northern
    California/southern Oregon and in parts of the northern Rockies.

    …Central/East/Southeast TX…
    Recent satellite/radar imagery shows a decaying MCS across central
    TX. The airmass downstream across east/southeast TX is very moist,
    with dewpoints in the 70s, which will support strong buoyancy amid
    continued daytime, with MLCAPE likely over 2500 J/kg. However,
    vertical shear is weak and the general expectation is for the
    strength of the MCS to remain modest, with only limited re
    intensification anticipated. Any reintensification appears most
    likely along the northern portion of the MCS, where interaction with
    a warm-front-like boundary demarcating more tropical air is likely.
    This may lead to some forward propagation and an increased potential
    for a few locally stronger gusts.

    …Southeast NM/Far West into Central TX This Afternoon/Evening…
    Easterly/southeasterly winds are expected to result in notable
    low-level moisture advection into the region throughout the day.
    This increased low-level moisture beneath steep mid-level lapse
    rates will support moderate to strong airmass destabilization amid
    daytime heating this afternoon. Low-level convergence and orographic
    ascent coupled with strengthening large-scale lift ahead of an
    approaching shortwave trough will foster severe thunderstorm
    development this afternoon across southeast NM and far west TX.
    Large to very large hail (3″+ in diameter) is the primary risk with
    the more cellular, early stage development. Upscale growth is then
    expected, with the resulting convective line progressing
    southeastward into the Edwards Plateau/central TX vicinity. The hail
    threat will persist, but strong wind gusts will become the primary
    risk once the linear mode dominates.

    …Central Portions of the Southeast into Mid-Atlantic…
    Recent surface analysis places a weak trough from northern MS
    eastward through northern GA then northeastward across the Carolina
    Piedmont to a low over the Chesapeake Bay vicinity. This boundary
    will provide the impetus for scattered thunderstorm development as
    it gradually shifts southeastward as a more cold-front-like feature
    later this afternoon and evening. The downstream airmass will be
    moderately to strongly buoyant, but shear will be weak, leading to a
    predominantly disorganized multicellular mode. A few strong
    downbursts are possible as storms collapse and/or briefly surge as
    bowing line segments.

    …Eastern FL Peninsula…
    Full daytime heating and dewpoints in the 70s will yield strong
    instability later this afternoon along the northeast and
    east-central FL peninsula, supporting scattered thunderstorm
    development. Weak but sufficient deep-layer shear and steep
    low-level lapse rates could result in locally damaging wind gusts in
    the strongest cells.

    …New England…
    Recent surface analysis places a cold front from eastern Lake Erie
    southwestward through far western NY and PA, well to the west of the
    warm conveyor showers and thunderstorms currently ongoing across
    much of New England. Modest destabilization is anticipated ahead of
    the cold front, with scattered thunderstorm development anticipated
    along this boundary as it moves eastward this afternoon. Buoyancy
    will be modest, but strong mid-level flow and resulting strong shear
    should still support organized storm structures this
    afternoon/evening. Some isolated hail and/or damaging gusts are
    possible within the strongest updrafts.

    …Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies…
    Upper ridging will continue to dampen across the region while
    mid-level southwesterly/westerly flow aloft gradually strengthens
    ahead of an approaching low-amplitude shortwave trough. Orographic
    effects coupled with increasing mid-level moisture and modest
    large-scale ascent will support thunderstorms over the higher
    terrain, with some of these storms tracking eastward/northeastward
    into lower elevation areas. Greater lower elevation destabilization
    is anticipated the southern/southeast OR vicinity and the lee of
    northern Rockies in western/central MT. Damaging gusts are possible
    later this afternoon/evening as high-based storms moved into these
    regions. Some isolated hail may occur as well.

    ..Mosier/Thornton.. 06/10/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS01 PTSDY1 PRODUCT

    NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 1 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 2000Z

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC MD 1241

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Mesoscale Discussion 1241

    Mesoscale Discussion 1241
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    0143 PM CDT Tue Jun 10 2025

    Areas affected…eastern North Carolina

    Concerning…Severe potential…Watch unlikely

    Valid 101843Z – 101945Z

    Probability of Watch Issuance…20 percent

    SUMMARY…Primarily strong gusts (40-55 mph) likely but localized
    severe gusts possible (55-65 mph) through 5 pm EDT.

    DISCUSSION…A long-lived thunderstorm band with an associated MCV
    is moving northeast around 45 kt across eastern North Carolina.
    Broken cloud cover ahead of the ongoing storms is acting to temper
    heating with lower 80s deg F temperatures being observed within a
    seasonably moist airmass (lower 70s dewpoints). A 53-kt gust was
    recorded at 1739z at the Wilmington ASOS (KILM). The Wilmington
    WSR-88D VAD showed a rear-inflow jet with flow in the 1-3 km layer
    increasing from 25-35 kt to 50-60 kt. This corresponding increase
    in flow coincided with the passage of the thunderstorm band. Given
    a sufficiently destabilized airmass across the coastal plain and
    barrier islands, it is plausible the strong to severe wind threat
    will continue through much of the afternoon as this activity
    continues northeastward. The overall limited spatial coverage of
    60+ mph gusts will likely preclude a severe thunderstorm watch
    issuance.

    ..Smith/Mosier.. 06/10/2025

    …Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product…

    ATTN…WFO…AKQ…MHX…RAH…ILM…

    LAT…LON 34827874 34997884 35207867 36497624 36447563 36257537
    35257525 34537633 34277722 34287748 34827874

    MOST PROBABLE PEAK WIND GUST…55-70 MPH

    Top/All Mesoscale Discussions/Forecast Products/Home

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 406 Status Reports

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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    Watch 406 Status Reports

    Watch 406 Status Message has not been issued yet.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 406

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL6

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 406
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    145 PM CDT Tue Jun 10 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Southeast New Mexico
    Far West int West Texas

    * Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 145 PM until
    900 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
    inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

    SUMMARY…Thunderstorm coverage is expected to increase over the
    next few hours as the airmass continues to destabilize. Steep
    mid-level lapse rates and moderate deep-layer shear will support
    supercells, with large to very large hail as the primary hazard.
    Over time, upscale growth into a convective line is possible, with
    this line then progressing southeastward into more of west Texas.
    Damaging gusts are the primary risk once this linear transition
    occurs.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 110
    statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles northeast of
    Carlsbad NM to 70 miles southwest of Dryden TX. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27030.

    …Mosier

    SEL6

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 406
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    145 PM CDT Tue Jun 10 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Southeast New Mexico
    Far West int West Texas

    * Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 145 PM until
    900 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
    inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

    SUMMARY…Thunderstorm coverage is expected to increase over the
    next few hours as the airmass continues to destabilize. Steep
    mid-level lapse rates and moderate deep-layer shear will support
    supercells, with large to very large hail as the primary hazard.
    Over time, upscale growth into a convective line is possible, with
    this line then progressing southeastward into more of west Texas.
    Damaging gusts are the primary risk once this linear transition
    occurs.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 110
    statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles northeast of
    Carlsbad NM to 70 miles southwest of Dryden TX. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27030.

    …Mosier

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW6
    WW 406 SEVERE TSTM NM TX 101845Z – 110200Z
    AXIS..110 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    35NE CNM/CARLSBAD NM/ – 70SW 6R6/DRYDEN TX/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 95NM E/W /55SE CME – 76SE MRF/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.

    LAT…LON 32660195 29310121 29310486 32660574

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU6.

    Watch 406 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (10%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low ( 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (40%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (80%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: OPINION | Sarah Huckabee Sanders: My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices

    Source: US State of Arkansas

    ICYMI: OPINION | Sarah Huckabee Sanders: My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices

    The New York Times published “My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices,“ an op-ed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on what Arkansas is doing to fight anti-competitive practices by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs):

    Behind inflated prescription prices, complicated insurance plans and dying local pharmacies, there is a little-known culprit: pharmacy benefit managers that operate as self-serving middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies and you. Now my home state, Arkansas, is taking action against them.

    I am proud to be the first governor in the country to ban the anticompetitive practices that allow P.B.M.s to dominate the prescription drug market, and to encourage other states and Congress to follow Arkansas’s lead.

    P.B.M.s started as a good idea that quickly went sour. They initially served as negotiators between pharmacies and insurance companies. P.B.M.s are supposed to keep track of fast-changing drug prices, insurance plans and government regulations, and are intended to keep patient costs low and prescriptions filled. But anyone who has had to pay an insurance premium or co-pay recently likely knows they don’t always work as intended.

    Instead, some of these P.B.M.s opened their own pharmacies and others were acquired by existing pharmacy chains, in both cases creating huge conflicts of interest. The result: P.B.M.s forcibly steer patients away from independent operators and inflate drug prices in the vacuum left behind. That consolidation has only hastened in recent years. Today the nation’s three largest P.B.M.s process 80 percent of all prescriptions, and their affiliated pharmacies bring in 70 percent of all specialty drug revenue. They bring in steep profits, too: Pharmacies associated with the nation’s largest P.B.M.s received $1.6 billion in excess revenue from just two cancer drugs in under three years.

    Especially in places like rural Arkansas, that puts patients at risk. I heard from one woman in Camden, Ark., who was a longtime patient at a community pharmacy where she always picked up her prescription in person.

    But when she developed a life-threatening breathing disorder that required an inhaler, she ran into problems with her health plan, which is administered by one of the largest P.B.M.s in the country, CVS Caremark.When it came time for her routine refill, her claim was denied. She was told she had to use one of CVS’s pharmacies (which share a parent company with the P.B.M.), the closest of which was an hour and a half drive away.

    She had three options: drive three hours round-trip, pay hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket at her trusted local pharmacy or risk enrolling in mail-order prescriptions.

    She reluctantly chose mail-order, which required jumping through various hoops, including a new doctor’s appointment and onerous paperwork, only to encounter delays that left her without an inhaler for weeks. After finally getting an inhaler, she went to refill the prescription and was told it was no longer covered for mail orders.

    This red tape isn’t just annoying; it’s also life-threatening. And the only purpose it serves is to line the pockets of corporate suits who stand between patients and the care they need.

    Arkansas is fixing this problem. The legislation I just signed makes it so that a P.B.M. cannot also own a pharmacy. They can still operate in our state; they just can’t continue to mistreat patients and box out other pharmacies.

    Not surprisingly, these multibillion-dollar companies are engaging in an all-out broadside against our new law. CVS flooded Arkansas airwaves with hair-on-fire ads before the legislation was signed. Now, CVS is threatening to close down every pharmacy it operates in our state — preferring to take its ball and go home rather than divest from its P.B.M. and actually serve the patients it claims to care about.

    CVS and another major P.B.M., Express Scripts, are using all the legal firepower their money can buy to take Arkansas to court. And I have no doubt that lobbyists in other states and Washington, D.C., are about to make a pretty penny representing these panicked corporations.

    Arkansas isn’t scared. We won’t sacrifice our veterans, seniors or rural patients in service of P.B.M. stock prices.

    If you’d asked me a year ago if we could change these entrenched interests, I’m not sure I would have thought it possible. But with President Trump in office, everything is changing. He signed an executive order last month that targets P.B.M.s. “We’re going to cut out the middlemen,” he promised in a recent news conference.

    Republicans have a chance to lead on this issue — but we have to act now. My fellow governors and congressional lawmakers should ignore the fear mongering from P.B.M.s and stand up for patients and local pharmacists to end these anti-competitive practices and fix the broken, backward system that has tarnished America’s health care for too long.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congress’ Failure and Devastating, Cruel Bill Could Lead to Tens of Thousands of Coloradans Losing Health Coverage in 2026

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – This week, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) informed health insurance companies that the agency was revising the expected impact of Colorado’s Reinsurance Program to reflect the Republican controlled Congress’s failure to extend enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market. Governor Jared Polis wrote to Colorado’s Congressional delegation urging them and Congress to help keep thousands of Coloradans on their health care coverage by extending tax credits for those buying insurance off the health exchange. House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Senator Dylan Roberts also expressed concerns. 

    Since the inception of the bipartisan reinsurance initiative from 2020 through 2025, Coloradans will have saved over $2.1 billion dollars. Failing to extend these enhanced tax credits that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, when combined with harmful provisions of the Reconciliation bill, will increase costs on Colorado families and individuals. 

    “On top of the destructive proposed cuts to Medicaid, which will throw hundreds of thousands of Coloradans off of their health care, failure of the Republican controlled Congress to extend these ACA tax credits, which have saved Colorado families hundreds of millions in premiums, will throw even more people off of health insurance who rely on reinsurance and marketplace coverage to save money. While Republicans fight with each other, hardworking Coloradans are focused on keeping health care that is accessible and affordable, and want to see costs go down, not up. The Senate should take action to extend these critical tax credits for hardworking families and start from scratch on the reconciliation bill,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    The Republican controlled House passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by a one-vote margin, 215 – 214. Representatives Pettersen, Neguse, DeGette, and Crow voted no, while Representatives Hurd, Evans, Crank and Boebert voted yes. 

    Governor Polis wrote to Colorado’s members of Congress today: “Amongst its many failures, the Reconciliation bill passed by the House fails to extend the enhanced tax credits that Coloradans rely on to make their health insurance affordable. If the Republican controlled Congress allows those cuts to go into effect, tens of thousands of Coloradans will no longer be able to afford their health care. 

    Coloradans who receive enhanced tax credits will see net premiums increase on average by 104%, simply due to the expiration of these credits. The end of enhanced tax credits will effectively be a tax increase for Coloradans and, moreover, will usher in the return of the “subsidy cliff” – where Coloradans making more than 400% of the federal poverty level (household income of $84,600 for a family of two) are left paying the full cost of their health insurance premiums without any assistance. The combined effect will disproportionately impact households with enrollees over age 55. 

    The end of the enhanced tax credits would significantly reduce the positive benefits of Colorado’s reinsurance initiative by materially reducing the federal support received to reduce individual market rates. Since the inception of the bipartisan reinsurance initiative in 2020 through 2025, Coloradans will have saved over $2.1 billion dollars. The reinsurance initiative operates under an ACA Section 1332 waiver, and is funded by the dollars that would otherwise flow through premium tax credits without increasing costs for the federal government. If the enhanced tax credits are not extended, state reinsurance initiative would have less funding available to lower premiums for all consumers in the market.” 

    The reconciliation bill would also increase red tape for Coloradans and create new barriers to enrollment. 

    “Between the cuts to Colorado’s Medicaid coverage and the cuts to Colorado’s ACA market, this bill will dramatically increase the uninsured rate in Colorado, rip away people’s access to health care, and lead to a substantially higher amount of uncompensated care that must be absorbed by Colorado’s hospitals and health care providers. That, in turn, will mean that employers will see their health insurance premiums rise as well. No corner of our health care system will be safe from the damage that this bill will inflict,” the Governor continued. “I urge you to take action, either through amendments to the reconciliation bill or through standalone legislation, to extend these enhanced premium tax credits and to scrap additional provisions in the reconciliation bill that will further raise health insurance costs and make health care unaffordable for many Coloradans.” 

    “If Congressional Republicans fail to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits, many Coloradans who buy their own health insurance will lose the coverage they rely on and many more will see their premiums go up, especially in the high country and rural parts of our state,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “These premium increases and the loss of insurance coverage, on top of the proposed cuts to Medicaid, will be devastating for families and destabilize rural health care systems that cannot absorb the cost of more uninsured patients at their facilities. In Colorado, we’ve worked together to lower costs for families with the successful reinsurance program. Washington Republicans must extend these ACA credits, or Colorado families will be stuck with the bill.” 

    “It is hard to overstate the negative impact that losing health insurance affordability tax credits would have on Coloradans, especially those in our rural and mountain communities,” said State Senator Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco). “Colorado’s bipartisan leadership in using savings from the ACA to create the Reinsurance and Colorado Option programs has kept insurance rates from spiking and allowed tens of thousands of more Coloradans to have access to the financial security of health insurance coverage. Slashing these tax credits will undermine all of that, spike health insurance rates, and lead to more Coloradans being uninsured, particularly the rural residents our state’s Republican members of Congress represent. It’s truly baffling they’d harm their constituents like this.” 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Randal Mangham to Hold Town Hall Meeting in Tucker Alongside State Representatives

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA (June 10, 2025) — On June 10, 2025, Sen. Randal Mangham (D–Stone Mountain) will hold a town hall meeting to update constituents on the 2025 Legislative Session. Representatives Viola Davis (D–Stone Mountain) and Imani Barnes (D–Tucker) will also be in attendance.

    EVENT DETAILS:                      

    • Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
    • Time: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
    • Where: Tucker City Hall, 1975 Lakeside Pkwy, Suite 350, Tucker, GA 30084
    • This Event is Open to the Public.

    MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:

    We kindly request that members of the media confirm their attendance in advance by contacting Evan Bergwall at SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

    # # # #

    Sen. Randal Mangham represents the 55th Senate District, which includes portions of Gwinnett and Dekalb County. He may be reached at (404) 657-4640 or by email at Randal.Mangham@senate.ga.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta, DA Partners Announce $275,000 Settlement with Magazine Billing Company for Misleading California Consumers

    Source: US State of California

     Announcement comes following robust joint state-local investigation 

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta along with San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, Alameda District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Marin County District Attorney Lori E. Frugoli, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Sonoma District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, today announced a settlement with Pacific Magazine Billing, resolving allegations that the company deceptively disguised solicitation mailers for magazine subscriptions as bills. As part of the settlement announced today, Pacific Magazine Billing agreed to pay $275,000 and is banned from participating in the mail order magazine solicitation industry. 

    “In California, we boast nation-leading consumer protection laws — robust tools my office and the offices of local law enforcement partners can use to protect our residents. Pacific Magazine Billing used dishonest tactics to trick recipients into thinking they owed money to get consumers to sign up for a magazine subscription,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today, the settlement secured by my office and our law enforcement partners sends a clear message to companies looking to make a buck off unsuspecting Californians: If you deceive consumers, we will go after you, it’s that simple.” 

    “Deceptive business practices that exploit unsuspecting people in Alameda County will not be tolerated, and this joint settlement shows business owners will be held to account for their actions,” said Alameda District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson. 

    “My office will not tolerate unscrupulous companies profiting from deception,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “Pacific Magazine Billing is accused of disguising third party offers as legitimate invoices in order to trick consumers into paying fake bills — conduct specifically prohibited by state and federal consumer protection laws. Our office will protect consumers from being tricked by these large companies. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office vigorously fights for consumers in our county, and when companies violate consumer protection laws across the state, we proudly partner with fellow district attorneys and the Attorney General to hold violators accountable.”

    “The Company’s business model was a scheme built on deception,” said Marin County Deputy District Attorney Michael Wear. “Consumers believed they were paying legitimate bills, when in fact they were being scammed. Our action puts a stop to Pacific Magazine Billing’s fraudulent practices.”

    “My office is committed to protecting consumers in San Francisco and around the State from direct mailers that are deceptive or misleading,” said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “I encourage any consumer who receives an unsolicited mailer that seems confusing or just not right to contact my office’s consumer protection unit. I also want to thank my fellow District Attorneys and our partners in the Attorney General’s Office for working jointly to address the conduct alleged in this case.”

    “Our Environmental and Consumer Law Division is committed to holding businesses and individuals accountable when they mislead California consumers,” said Sonoma District Attorney Carla Rodriguez. “We are pleased that we were able to work with the California Attorney General and other California District Attorneys around the state to stop this practice.”

    Spurred by consumer complaints, in late 2022 the District Attorneys’ offices and the California Department of Justice launched a joint investigation into Pacific Magazine Billing. The investigation revealed that between 2016 and 2022 the company blasted out tens of millions of mailers that looked like bills for existing magazine subscriptions, when the mailers were in truth solicitations designed to deceive consumers into unknowingly starting or renewing subscriptions. 

    The settlement announced today resolves allegations that in sending the mailers, Pacific Magazine Billing misled consumers and violated California’s False Advertising and Unfair Competition Laws. As part of the settlement, Pacific Magazine Billing will pay a total of $275,000 in combined civil penalties and other payments that will be used to fund the enforcement of consumer protection laws. The company has also agreed to strong injunctive terms that permanently stop it from issuing solicitations for any magazine subscriptions and mailing solicitations designed as bills in any other business effort. 

    Attorney General Bonta is committed working with law enforcement partners up and down the state to protect California consumers. In April, Attorney General Bonta in partnership with Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley and Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch, announced a settlement with HomeOptions, a realty company based in Oakland that engaged in a predatory real estate scheme impacting over 500 California homeowners, and its Chief Executive Officer. In 2024, Attorney General Bonta, along with Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, announced a $500,000 settlement with Tilting Point Media LLC resolving allegations that the company violated state and federal laws by collecting and sharing children’s data without parental consent in their popular mobile app game “SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off.” In 2023, Attorney General Bonta, along with District Attorneys from Merced, Ventura, and Yolo Counties, announced a settlement against Walmart over allegations that illegal weapons were sold to California consumers by Walmart and by third-party sellers through Walmart’s website.

    A copy of the complaint and final judgement can be found here and here. The settlement is pending court approval.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Condemns Trump Administration for Dismantling CDC’s Independent Panel of Vaccine Experts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement after HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is made up of medical and public health experts — including pediatricians, epidemiologists and geriatricians — who make recommendations about who should get certain vaccines, including the schedule for childhood vaccinations:
    “Secretary Kennedy’s unfounded, personal anti-vaxxer views are hazardous to public health and he is making this reckless move based on ideology and conspiracy theories, not sound evidence.  The Trump Administration is removing trusted, accomplished, independent experts on ACIP and will likely replace them with ideologues who parrot Kennedy’s misconceptions and conspiracy theories about vaccines.  This move is sure to increase vaccine-preventable outbreaks and endanger people’s lives.  The most vulnerable Americans, including unvaccinated infants, immunocompromised individuals, and older Americans are most likely to suffer from this ill-conceived directive.
    “I urge my Republican colleagues to speak up on behalf of their constituents and work with Democrats to hold this Administration accountable for breaking its promises and degrading public health.”
    The CDC recently reported that routine childhood vaccinations in America have prevented over 1.1 million deaths, more than 500 million cases of illness and over 32 million hospitalizations over the past 30 years.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Condemns Trump’s Deployment of U.S. Marines Into Los Angeles

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC—Today, after President Trump ordered more than 700 active-duty U.S. Marines into Los Angeles against the will of the California governor and Los Angeles mayor, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:
    “I am gravely troubled by President Trump’s order to deploy active-duty U.S. Marines into an American city against the will of its governor and mayor.
    “Let me clear: the ongoing violence in Los Angeles is unacceptable. Public safety and law enforcement are paramount, and LA’s state and local law enforcement must continue working to restore peace.
    “But the president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and using the military as a political weapon. This unprecedented move threatens to turn a tense situation into a national crisis.
    “Since our nation’s founding, the American people have been perfectly clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil.
    “President Trump must stop testing the boundaries of the executive branch’s power and attempting to use the military domestically. Every American, regardless of their politics, should reject the idea of a U.S. president deploying active-duty forces against the will of state and local leaders. The President must immediately cease this reckless operation and place the well-being of our nation above his own political ambitions.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

    There has been a lot of “ruling out” going on in New Zealand politics lately. In the most recent outbreak, both the incoming and outgoing deputy prime ministers, ACT’s David Seymour and NZ First’s Winston Peters, ruled out ever working with the Labour Party.

    Seymour has also advised Labour to rule out working with Te Pāti Māori. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has engaged in some ruling out of his own, indicating he won’t work with Winston Peters again. Before the last election, National’s Christopher Luxon ruled out working with Te Pāti Māori.

    And while the Greens haven’t yet formally ruled anyone out, co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has said they could only work with National if it was prepared to “completely U-turn on their callous, cruel cuts to climate, to science, to people’s wellbeing”.

    Much more of this and at next year’s general election New Zealanders will effectively face the same scenario they confronted routinely under electoral rules the country rejected over 30 years ago.

    Under the old “first past the post” system, there was only ever one choice: voters could turn either left or right. Many hoped Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP), used for the first time in 1996, would end this ideological forced choice.

    Assuming enough voters supported parties other than National and Labour, the two traditional behemoths would have to negotiate rather than impose a governing agenda. Compromise between and within parties would be necessary.

    Government by decree

    By the 1990s, many had tired of doctrinaire governments happy to swing the policy pendulum from right to left and back again. In theory, MMP prised open a space for a centrist party which might be able to govern with either major player.

    In a constitutional context where the political executive has been described as an “elected dictatorship”, part of the appeal of MMP was that it might constrain some of its worst excesses. Right now, that is starting to look a little naive.

    For one thing, the current National-led coalition is behaving with the government-by-decree style associated with the radical, reforming Labour and National administrations of the 1980s and 1990s.

    Most notably, the coalition has made greater use of parliamentary urgency than any other government in recent history, wielding its majority to avoid parliamentary and public scrutiny of contentious policies such as the Pay Equity Amendment Bill.

    Second, in an ironic vindication of the anti-MMP campaign’s fears before the electoral system was changed – that small parties would exert outsized influence on government policy – the two smaller coalition partners appear to be doing just that.

    It is neither possible nor desirable to quantify the degree of sway a smaller partner in a coalition should have. That is a political question, not a technical one.

    But some of the administration’s most unpopular or contentious policies have emerged from ACT (the Treaty Principles Bill and the Regulatory Standards legislation) and NZ First (tax breaks for heated tobacco products).

    Rightly or wrongly, this has created a perception of weakness on the part of the National Party and the prime minister. Of greater concern, perhaps, is the risk the controversial changes ACT and NZ First have managed to secure will erode – at least in some quarters – faith in the legitimacy of our electoral arrangements.

    The centre cannot hold

    Lastly, the party system seems to be settling into a two-bloc configuration: National/ACT/NZ First on the right, and Labour/Greens/Te Pāti Māori on the left.

    In both blocs, the two major parties sit closer to the centre than the smaller parties. True, NZ First has tried to brand itself as a moderate “common sense” party, and has worked with both National and Labour, but that is not its position now.

    In both blocs, too, the combined strength of the smaller parties is roughly half that of the major player. The Greens, Te Pāti Māori, NZ First and ACT may be small, but they are not minor.

    In effect, the absence of a genuinely moderate centre party has meant a return to the zero-sum politics of the pre-MMP era. It has also handed considerable leverage to smaller parties on both the left and right of the political spectrum.

    Furthermore, if the combined two-party share of the vote captured by National and Labour continues to fall (as the latest polls show), and those parties have nowhere else to turn, small party influence will increase.

    For some, of course, this may be a good thing. But to those with memories of the executive-centric, winner-takes-all politics of the 1980s and 1990s, it is starting to look all too familiar.

    The re-emergence of a binary ideological choice might even suggest New Zealand – lacking the constitutional guardrails common in other democracies – needs to look beyond MMP for other ways to limit the power of its governments.

    Richard Shaw 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. With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way? – https://theconversation.com/with-so-many-parties-ruling-out-working-with-other-parties-is-mmp-losing-its-way-257974

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Kansas man indicted for machinegun possession

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with a firearms offense.

    According to court documents, Leonard Rrapaj, 61, of Topeka, is charged with illegal possession of a machinegun. 

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Debenham and Stephen Hunting are prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    OTHER INDICTMENTS

    Alejandro Espinosa-Hinostroza, 32, a Mexican national residing illegally in Topeka, Kansas, was indicted on one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of reentry of a removed alien. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hunting is prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
    ###
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Indicted for Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor and Attempted Transmission of Obscene Matter to a Minor

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that MARK BROOKS (a/k/a “Baby Nu”) (“BROOKS”) age 35, a resident of New Orleans, was indicted on June 5, 2025 for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ‘ 2422(b) (Count 1), and attempted transmission of obscene matter to a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ‘ 1470 (Count 2).

    According to the indictment, beginning on or about May 1, 2025, and continuing until on or about May 13, 2025, BROOKS attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce an individual he believed to be a fifteen-year-old female to engage in unspecified sexual activity for which a person can be criminally charged.  Additionally, beginning on May 1, 2025, and continuing until on or about May 4, 2025, BROOKS attempted to transfer, by means of interstate commerce, obscene matter to an individual who had not attained the age of sixteen years.

    BROOKS faces a mandatory minimum of ten (10) years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison as to Count One.  He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years as to Count Two.  BROOKS also faces a lifetime of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and can be required to register as a sex offender.  He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.

    Acting U. S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Folsom Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Visa Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marcus Taslim, 70, of Folsom, was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison for visa fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. Taslim was also ordered to pay the victim $39,000 in restitution.

    According to court documents, Taslim brought the victim to the United States from Indonesia in December 2018 to provide caregiving services for Taslim’s mother. He obtained a non‑immigrant visa for the victim through lies and false statements, falsely representing to a consular officer that the victim’s length of stay in the United States would only be one month, that she would be paid minimum and overtime wages under the laws of the State of California, that she would be paid bi-weekly and in full, and that he had paid the victim’s one-month salary in advance. Taslim knew these statements were not true. As soon as the consular officer received proof that Taslim had paid the victim’s advance salary, he ordered the victim to withdraw that money and return it to him, which she did.

    According to court documents, the victim continued caring for the mother in the United States for about six months. She typically worked seven days a week, beginning work as early as 5 or 6 a.m. and ending at about 8 or 9 p.m. Taslim paid the victim far less than minimum wage, did not pay her bi-weekly and in full, and also confiscated her passport so she could not leave. The victim was only able to leave in June 2019, following intercession from the Folsom Police Department.

    This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot C. Wong prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Man and Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Being Found in the United States Illegally

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    A Mexican man who was illegally in the United States pled guilty June 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City.

    Gerardo Morales-Ramirez, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of being a felon found in the United States after illegal reentry.

    On February 28, 2025, Morales-Ramirez was arrested in Sioux City, Iowa, after an encounter with officers from the Department of Homeland Security.  Officers were able to determine Morales-Ramirez is a citizen of Mexico, that he did not have permission to lawfully be present in the United States, and that he was previously removed from the United States on three occasions.  Prior to his last removal in 2021, Morales-Ramirez had been convicted of felony operating while intoxicated – third or subsequent offense. 

    Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Morales-Ramirez remains in custody of the United States Marshals and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  He faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). 

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.  

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 25-CR-4014.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Man Pleads Guilty to Being an Aggravated Felon Found in the United States Illegally

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    A Mexican man who was illegally in the United States pled guilty June 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa.  Jose De Jesus Mejia-Fraijo, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of being an aggravated felon found in the United States after illegal reentry.

    On March 1, 2025, officers from the Iowa State Patrol encountered Mejia-Fraijo in Sioux City, Iowa, when they arrested him for driving without a valid driver’s license and interference with official acts after a brief attempt to flee from officers on foot.  Officers with the Department of Homeland Security were able to determine Mejia-Fraijo is a citizen of Mexico, that he did not have permission to lawfully be present in the United States, and that he was previously removed from the United States on two occasions.  Prior to his last removal in 2022, Mejia-Fraijo had been convicted of an aggravated felony offense, namely conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.    

    Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Mejia-Fraijo remains in custody of the United States Marshals and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  He faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).  

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-4015.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Felon Indicted for Operating Enormous Fentanyl Pill Pressing Lab with Weapons Stash

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Bartholomew Keeton Harralson, 47, of Atlanta, Ga., was charged earlier today by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.  Harralson allegedly possessed 28 firearms, including a machine gun, and hundreds of thousands of pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs.

    “Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, DEA, and our U.S. Attorney, Georgians are safer following this drug bust. This defendant was using state-of-the-art pill presses to produce poison on a massive scale — he will now face severe consequences for his alleged crimes as we continue to shut down fentanyl networks across the country,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

    “This armed felon allegedly ran a massive fentanyl pill pressing operation in our community, producing enough deadly fentanyl to potentially kill millions of people,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Due to the quick action and seamless collaboration of our law enforcement partners, Harralson now faces federal drug and firearms charges, his operation has been dismantled, and countless lives have almost certainly been saved.”

    “The scale of this fentanyl operation—run by a convicted felon—posed a grave threat to our community,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The presence of high-powered firearms alongside industrial pill-pressing equipment underscores the deadly convergence of drug trafficking and violence. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to dismantling these operations and holding dangerous individuals accountable.”

    “The DEA and our partners are working hard day in and day out to protect our communities from the dangers and violence associated with drug trafficking.  DEA’s priorities are to save American lives and to keep our communities safe,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.  “We will continue to leverage every partnership, and every resource available to ensure drug traffickers who distribute poison, like fentanyl and other illicit drugs in our communities, are brought to justice.”

    According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On June 5, 2025, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Bartholomew Keeton Harralson’s Atlanta-area residence.  Once inside, law enforcement located over 56 kilograms of fentanyl, 84 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 10 kilograms of heroin, and approximately four kilograms of cocaine – all in the form of powders and hundreds of thousands of pressed pills.  Law enforcement also located nine firearms, including one converted to function as a machine gun, $145,000 in cash, and a book titled “How to Avoid Federal Drug Conspiracy & Firearms Charges.”  Harralson was arrested at the scene.

    Later that same day, law enforcement executed another federal search warrant at Harralson’s Douglasville, Georgia residence.  In that residence, law enforcement found two large pill press machines capable of pressing up to 25,000 pills per hour, three hydraulic presses used to form kilogram-sized bricks of narcotics, more than 37 kilograms of fentanyl, approximately 13 kilograms of methamphetamine, just over eight kilograms of heroin, and more than six kilograms of cocaine.  These drugs, like those recovered during the search of Harralson’s other residence, were in the form of powder and hundreds of thousands of pressed pills.  In addition, in a machine shop located behind the Douglasville residence, law enforcement found approximately 1,375 pounds of binding agent used to press pills, 564 punch dies to mark the pills, 19 firearms, four drum-style magazines, and a significant amount of ammunition.

    Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

    This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with valuable assistance provided by the South Fulton Police Department and Douglasville Police Department.

    Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Forsyth, III is prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

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