NewzIntel.com

Category: Middle East

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Japanese second-hand luxury retailer opens first overseas outlet in Hong Kong (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Japanese second-hand luxury retailer opens first overseas outlet in Hong Kong (with photo)
    Japanese second-hand luxury retailer opens first overseas outlet in Hong Kong (with photo)
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         ​Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (February 22) announced that Japanese second-hand luxury retailer, Otakaraya, opened its first overseas outlet in Hong Kong as part of its expansion plan in Asia and to prepare for entering the European and American markets.     Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK Mr Arnold Lau said, “We warmly welcome Otakaraya’s decision to establish its first overseas base in Hong Kong, reaffirming the city’s status as a premier international retail hub. The city offers an excellent business environment and a diverse consumer market, providing a good development platform for international brands. We look forward to Otakaraya’s success in Hong Kong and encourage more international brands to expand their business here.”     Located in Jordan of Hong Kong, Otakaraya’s first store specialises in buying and selling carefully selected luxury brand items, promoting the concepts of environmental sustainability and sustainable fashion. As consumer interest in second-hand luxury goods continues to grow, the new store not only brings fresh vitality to the Hong Kong market but also reflects local consumers’ demand for high-end products.     The Director of E-FRAN HK Limited, Mr Takeshi Asai, said, “Otakaraya has more than 1 300 shops in Japan as of January 2025, making it one of the country’s largest second-hand luxury retailers. Our target is to become a trillion yen company, and expanding into overseas markets is important for achieving this.”     He added, “As an international city located in the heart of Asia, Hong Kong has a high concentration of premium brand boutiques, making luxury brand ownership widespread. The city also has a thriving culture of second-hand luxury goods. We believe that Hong Kong is the ideal location for our first overseas store.”     Established in 2024, E-FRAN HK Limited will be responsible for the operations of “LUXURY BRAND BUY & SELL OTAKARAYA JAPAN” in Hong Kong, which specialises in buying and selling second-hand branded goods and luxury jewellery.     For more information about E-FRAN, please visit e-fran.jp.     To get a copy of the photo, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72177720323807933.

     
    Ends/Saturday, February 22, 2025Issued at HKT 11:00

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Syria: Socioeconomic impact of 14 years of conflict – Press Conference | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Press Conference by Abdallah Al Dardari, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States, on the socioeconomic impact of 14 years of the conflict in Syria. Mr. Al Dardari is joined virtually by UNDP Resident Representative in Syria, Sudipto Mukerjee.

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    “This is one of the deadliest conflicts in recent history,” said UN official Abdallah Al Dardari, briefing journalists on the socioeconomic impact of 14 years of the conflict in Syria.

    Speaking virtually at a press briefing today (Feb 20), Al Dardari outlined the devastating human and economic toll of the war. “The lives lost in the Syria conflict so far, what has been reported is 618,000,” he said, adding that 113,000 people remain forcibly disappeared with their fate unknown. More than half of the country’s population has been forcibly displaced, including 7.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and six million refugees.

    The economic impact, he noted, has been equally severe. “The GDP loss is more than half. The people living in poverty today are 90 per cent of the population. That is three times the level of poverty of 2010,” he said. Extreme poverty now affects 66 percent of Syrians, six times the pre-war figure of 11 percent. The conflict has also resulted in widespread unemployment, with job losses affecting 5.4 million people and the unemployment rate rising from eight percent to 24 percent.

    With economic collapse deepening, dependence on humanitarian assistance continues to grow. “16.5 million Syrians depend on assistance,” Al Dardari said, highlighting food insecurity as a critical concern. “Acute food insecurity is four per cent, severe food insecurity is 52 per cent,” he said.

    The war has also devastated Syria’s infrastructure, particularly its energy sector. “80 per cent of the country’s energy capacity has been lost. Syria used to generate around 9000 megawatts in 2010; today, it is generating less than 1500 megawatts,” he said. Damage to power plants and the national grid has left the country struggling to meet basic energy needs, with 70 percent of power plants and 75 percent of grid load capacity lost.

    Housing destruction has been extensive, with Al Dardari reporting that “out of 5.5 million homes in 2010, 328,000 homes [were] fully destroyed, and one out of three houses [was] destroyed or damaged.”

    Despite these grim figures, Al Dardari emphasized that there remains a pathway to recovery. “Because we believe that there is a chance for recovery, and that the UN is working on a transition and recovery framework, and UNDP, as the agency working on economic and social and human development, is preparing some scenarios for recovery,” he said. However, he warned that if Syria continues its current trajectory of 1.3 percent GDP growth per year, “it will go back to the 2010 GDP in 55 years.”

    On financial support, he acknowledged ongoing challenges in securing official development assistance (ODA) and stressed the need for investment. “Syria still needs a large amount of grant funding, but actually the country depends, and will depend on investments,” he said.

    Al Dardari underscored the UN’s commitment to Syria’s recovery through its Transition Plan, with UNDP focusing on socioeconomic rebuilding within a broader UN-led framework.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMacpb6WL2k

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Sudden oil supply outages creating turbulence for airline industry

    Source: University of South Australia

    24 February 2025

    UniSA researchers are encouraging airlines to explore sustainable fuel options.

    Unplanned oil supply outages caused by geopolitical instability, military conflicts, natural disasters and technical issues are throwing airline stock markets into chaos and making it more expensive to fly.

    That’s the conclusion from Australian aviation experts in a new paper published in Energy Economics examining the links between unforeseen oil supply disruptions and airline stock prices.

    University of South Australia researchers argue that because fuel accounts for 30% of an airline’s total expenses, the industry is especially sensitive to any sudden fluctuations in the crude oil market, particularly from non-OPEC countries that are more volatile.

    Major airlines such as United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines are the most affected.

    UniSA aviation lecturer Dr Yifei Cai, who led the study, says the unpredictability of oil supply shocks provides compelling evidence why alternative energy sources are needed, including biofuels and hydrogen.

    “Global airline operations rely heavily on stable fuel supplies, and unexpected oil supply outages make it very difficult for them to predict their costs,” Dr Cai says.

    Co-author, UniSA Aviation Professor Shane Zhang, says that unplanned oil supply outages have a significant impact on oil prices as they can disrupt the balance between oil supply and demand, creating shortages and driving up prices.

    “Our findings suggest that airlines may need to rethink their risk management strategies and fuel hedging practices to mitigate potential financial turbulence caused by such outages,” Prof Zhang says.

    The oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia in March 2020, for example, triggered a significant shift in oil prices and was recognised as a pivotal factor in the stock market crash of 2020.

    The study highlights the potential impact on investment strategies, stock market stability and long-term financial planning in the aviation sector.

    The researchers claim that diversifying fuel supply sources would reduce reliance on a single region or supplier.

    Investing in fuel-efficient aircraft and sustainable initiatives such as biofuels and hydrogen would also lessen dependence on traditional jet fuels and their price fluctuations.

    Prof Zhang says that more than 90% of Australian oil is imported from overseas markets, for example, and it would “make sense” to grow the domestic sustainable aviation fuel industry to reduce the reliance on the overseas supply for traditional jet fuels in the long term.

    Future research will investigate the impacts of unplanned oil supply outages at country levels.

    Notes for editors

    “Accessing the influence of unplanned oil supply outages on airline stock connectedness” is authored by researchers from Wuchang University of Technology and the University of South Australia.
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.108145

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
    Researcher contact: Prof Shane Zhang E: shane.zhang@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: CTF153 and USS Stout ‘Ready Together’ for Red Sea Maritime Security

    Source: United States Naval Central Command

    MANAMA, Bahrain —

    Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 153 and the United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) have remained ‘ready together’ as they safeguard maritime security in the Red Sea.

    The guided-missile destroyer and its crew provided direct support to the Australian-led multinational task force during January and February, keeping watch for illicit activities including piracy, smuggling and narcotics trafficking.

    While on patrol, crewmembers practiced skills needed to safely visit, board and search vessels, and to legally seize illicit materials being smuggled through the vital waterway.

    The training came as CTF153 refocused on its core maritime security mission after responsibility for Operation Prosperity Guardian—the international response to attacks  on merchant shipping by Houthi terrorists—was transferred from CMF to U.S. Navy Destroyer Squadron 50 (DESRON 50).

     

    Commander CTF 153, Royal Australian Navy Capt. Jorge McKee praised the Stout commanding officer and crew for the teamwork with his staff ashore.

    “While our task force team ashore closely monitor the Red Sea for any activity requiring closer investigation by ships at sea, the crew of Stout are keeping their skills sharp and ready,” Captain McKee said. “It is an honor to work with USS Stout, as it is named in honor of U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Herald F. Stout, who served alongside Australians in the Second World War.”

    Established in 2022, CTF 153 is one of five task forces under CMF. Its mission is to deter and impede illicit non-state actors in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden.

    CTF153’s area of responsibility includes some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean and the greater Middle East region.

    Combined Maritime Forces, a 46-nation naval partnership headquartered in Bahrain, is the world’s largest multinational naval partnership. It is committed to upholding the rules-based international order at sea, promoting security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, including crucial shipping lanes.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s tariff and land grab threats signal U.S. expansionist ambitions

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ilan Kapoor, Professor, Critical Development Studies, York University, Canada

    When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested Canada should become the 51st American state, the federal government dismissed it as just a joke. Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc insisted it was “in no way a serious comment.”

    Similar skepticism was expressed by political leaders across the world when Trump talked about seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal in early January, by military force if necessary, to buttress U.S. national security. He also floated the idea of taking over Gaza to transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

    Now that Trump has carried through on his aggressive economic threats — launching a trade war with China and raising the possibility of similar conflicts with Canada, Mexico and the European Union — his imperialist expansionism is in plain sight.

    Canadian leaders have come to realize that Trump’s actions may not be a temporary or minor irritant, but rather an attack on Canadian sovereignty itself.

    The failure to take Trump’s words seriously is reminiscent of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s skepticism in 1938 that Hitler would actually risk world war despite the latter’s aggressive rhetoric, annexation of Austria and threats to Czechoslovakia and Poland.

    What, then, have been the signs of Trump’s expansionist tendencies? American economic and military might, albeit declining relative to emerging powers like China and India, still provides a solid basis for the projection of U.S. supremacy. But there are also two new key elements at play.

    A billionaire-corporate administration

    The Trump administration appears to operate with a distinctly corporate mindset, treating the nation like a business empire. Trump has stacked his administration with private sector leaders and corporate billionaires such as Elon Musk, Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick.

    Like other billionaires, their immense business success has been founded not on mainstay competitive market practices like productivity or cost-cutting, but on predatory and cannibalistic ones.

    These include controlling resources like oil, gold, diamonds and coltan to secure production inputs; buying out competitors to monopolize markets and patents; and deliberately breaking up and destroying companies through mergers and acquisitions with little regard for the resulting job losses.

    It is within this framework that Trump’s allegations about buying Greenland and Gaza, annexing Canada through “economic force” and capturing the Panama Canal need to be seen.



    Read more:
    Billionaires and loyalists will provide Trump with muscle during his second term

    Under the guise of national security, the idea is not simply to safeguard borders, but to engage in economic expansionism and real estate development, aided by the U.S. military when needed. Taking control of land, waterways and mineral wealth is critical to building “America’s Golden Age” of corporate capitalism.

    This approach seems to be a mainly business one, with little concern for the social costs (recession, unemployment, violence) produced by such imperialistic ventures. In line with his infamous book, The Art of the Deal, Trump appears to view foreign nations and domestic opponents alike as obstacles to be callously bullied, degraded, manipulated, exploited and finally vanquished.

    American nationalist populism

    The Trump administration’s imperial ambitions lie in the nationalist populism that propelled Trump and his allies into power for the second time.

    Trump’s populism has successfully tapped into widespread anxieties among Americans — job insecurity, food prices, the housing crisis — by promising to soothe their worries through the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) agenda.



    Read more:
    Trump’s view of the world is becoming clear: America’s allies come second to its own interests

    Like other right-wing populist movements around the globe — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s in Turkey, Viktor Orbán’s in Hungary and the Brexit campaign in the U.K. — the MAGA movement has sought to unify the U.S. by identifying and targeting perceived national enemies. These include so-called “illegal” migrants, transgender people and the country’s largest trading rivals: Mexico, Canada and China.

    By blaming these groups, especially those seen as contributing to America’s economic decline, MAGA whips up nationalist sentiment in the form of suspicion, aggression and vengeance. The result is a deeply polarized nationalist discourse in which one is either a loyal supporter or an enemy; a believer or a “woke” liberal.

    A lethal imperial set-up

    The combination of U.S. global power, nationalist populism and the Trump administration’s corporate-driven, predatory approach makes for a dangerous dynamic.

    This mix is fuelling a form of economic expansionism that is now beginning to manifest itself. The impending trade wars, potential dismantling of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (which Trump initiated in 2018 to avoid unilateral trade moves by its signatories) and the brazen disregard for the socioeconomic consequences of foreign territorial control, such as the forced displacement of Palestinians, are all signs of this.

    While many assumed Trump’s administration would be protectionist and isolationist, a more troubling and nefarious reality is emerging. His administration appears to be intent on securing America’s industrial dominance through trade wars while expanding it through hawkish economic imperialism.

    There is a clear ruthlessness to this approach, with a willingness to pressure not only America’s perceived enemies but also its allies. “America First” is starting to looks like “America Above All Others” as Trump attempts to bully U.S. rivals into subordination, with disturbing echoes of past authoritarians.

    Unravelling American imperial designs

    Many obstacles could prevent Trump’s aggressive expansionism from fully taking shape. While the key ingredients may already be there, and some have begun to be deployed, that doesn’t mean they will come to fruition.

    The Trump administration’s policymaking process is often chaotic and theatrical, prioritizing short-term political gains over long-term strategy. This instability undermines any consistent efforts at expansion.

    There is also the risk that Trump’s trade wars will backfire. They could end up causing hardship to U.S. companies and consumers through higher food and energy prices, job losses in key industries like agriculture and auto manufacturing, and increased stock market instability. Such consequences could negatively affect Trump’s corporate allies.

    Meanwhile, Trump’s economic and military rivals could forge new alliances to challenge his attempts at global supremacy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for instance, recently met with the head of NATO and other European allies to strengthen trade and security ties.

    The first step to any countermoves by Trump’s foreign adversaries will be seeing his regime’s designs for what they are: chaotic, perhaps, but serious expansionist ones.

    Ilan Kapoor 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. Trump’s tariff and land grab threats signal U.S. expansionist ambitions – https://theconversation.com/trumps-tariff-and-land-grab-threats-signal-u-s-expansionist-ambitions-249924

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: While the U.S. threatens tariffs and builds walls around its economy, China opens up

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shaun Narine, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)

    The United States is threatening to impose tariffs on its major trading partners. In the meantime, China is consolidating its position as the world’s manufacturing and technological innovation hub by increasing trade with the Global South.

    If the American role in globalization has been to consume the world’s products and resources by building on a foundation of ever-increasing debt, China’s has been to make tangible goods for the international market.

    China is opening up its economy, especially to the nations of the Global South.

    Effective December 2024, China eliminated all tariffs on goods from the least developed countries. Chinese Premier Li Quang has also described China as an economic opportunity for global investment.

    The centre of Asian trade

    China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world is almost US$1 trillion dollars. Its share of global exports was 14 per cent in 2023, compared to 8.5 per cent for the U.S.

    China is working with regional states to make itself the centre of Asian trade. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is funding infrastructure in about 150 countries as Chinese companies invest internationally, both to avoid American tariffs and diversify their markets.

    At the moment, China accounts for 35 per cent of the world’s manufacturing. By 2030, the United Nations projects this will rise to 45 per cent.

    China has achieved this status by building efficient, high-quality infrastructure.

    It’s also fostered highly competitive and innovative technological and commercial ecosystems. The recent emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup that is dramatically disrupting the sector, illustrates this reality.

    China also controls global industrial supply chains in a host of critical areas.

    The Chinese powerhouse

    Despite its ongoing economic slowdown, China’s economy grew by almost five per cent in 2024 and has potential to grow further as it transitions to a high-tech economy.

    By 2030, the country will have what’s known as a consuming class of 1.1 billion people, making it the world’s largest consumer market.

    Only 7.8 per cent of the population has the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, but China produces about 65 per cent of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates globally on an annual basis.

    China is also leading the world in most new technologies and industries, but there is room for infrastructure investment in smaller cities and rural areas. Because China is a global leader in using automation and AI, it will also need to lead in managing these technologies’ social and economic effects.

    China has economies of scale that no other country — except India — can match. Its manufacturing dominance is the logical outcome of introducing an increasingly technologically sophisticated country with a vast population to the modern global system.

    The first Donald Trump administration used tariffs to try to draw investment into the U.S. and stimulate domestic industry. He believed tariffs would create more manufacturing jobs, shrink the federal deficit and lower food prices.

    The second Trump administration has returned to tariffs, again with the goal of pulling jobs and investment from other countries into the U.S.

    Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

    He’s already put 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. and imposed additional 10 per cent tariffs on all Chinese goods. He’s also threatening tariffs on Taiwan, attempting to strip it of its semiconductor industry.

    Trump is basically demanding that other countries address trade imbalances by buying more expensive American exports in exchange for unimpeded access to the U.S. market.

    He’s trying to recreate an American industrial dominance that existed only under unique circumstances after the Second World War. Similarly, the historical circumstances that led to China’s decline in the 19th and 20th centuries are long past.

    To compete with China’s advantages, the U.S. needs a competent and effective government capable of long-term planning. Under Trump, the U.S. is losing this already-weak capacity every day.

    American debt

    The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer economy because both the government and Americans go into extraordinary debt to finance their consumption.

    Currently, the American national debt is more than $36 trillion while consumer debt was $17.5 trillion in 2024.

    The U.S. can accumulate enormous debt because of the American dollar’s status as the world reserve currency. But the U.S. has weaponized the dollar by freezing the dollar assets of sovereign states and using the dollar’s reserve status to apply American laws and sanctions beyond its borders.

    This has created a major push — led by the BRICS countries of Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates — to replace the U.S. dollar with other financial instruments.

    In response, Trump has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on any countries that try to drop the U.S. dollar.

    The American economy has grown through pumping up asset bubbles, but there’s been a decline in most measures of social well-being in the U.S. This aligns with increasing American social, political and economic instability.

    Chinese products dominate

    China’s exports to the Global South exceed its exports to the western world. Chinese companies and products are dominant in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

    To the Global South, there are clear benefits to accessing affordable, high-quality technology and industrial products from China. The industrialized world can also benefit significantly from Chinese manufacturers, but possibly at the cost of its own established industrial capacity.

    While some states may block Chinese imports to protect their industries, China’s increasing manufacturing dominance means that every country will need at least some Chinese products to develop or to sustain industry. It would be next to impossible for most countries to definitively cut all trade with China.

    The world is entering a new era of globalization. For many states, that means trying to keep from being economically undermined by the U.S. while deciding how to manage the economic and political costs and benefits of engaging with China’s massive industrial capabilities.

    Shaun Narine 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. While the U.S. threatens tariffs and builds walls around its economy, China opens up – https://theconversation.com/while-the-u-s-threatens-tariffs-and-builds-walls-around-its-economy-china-opens-up-245012

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 80 good citizens lauded

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Police held the Good Citizen Award Presentation Ceremony 2024 today to commend 80 citizens who assisted the force in fighting crime and upholding law and order.

    Additionally, this year’s Good Citizen of the Year Award was presented to nine awardees for their bravery when they volunteered to help in evacuating residents trapped in a building during a No. 3 alarm fire that broke out on Jordan Road in Yau Ma Tei last year.

    The Force also presented the Good Organisation Award to seven organisations in recognition of their efforts in supporting Police’s publicity work on anti-deception and crime prevention, as well as crime detection.

    Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee said the spirit of good citizenship can be put into practice in everyday life. He appealed to all sectors of the community to be united, genuine and sincere in preventing and combatting crime, in order to weave a safety net for the community.

    Themed “Good Citizen – Good Stories – Everywhere”, this year’s Good Citizen Award Scheme highlighted that the stories of good citizens can be found everywhere.

    A corresponding video series, Hidden Good Citizen, featuring the stories of four groups of such awardees who were also invited to participate in the production, was launched, Police added.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Caitlin Johnstone: Israel pushes new atrocity narrative just as ceasefire deadline approaches

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone

    A new narrative is being aggressively pushed by Israel and its apologists to justify resuming the Gaza genocide, conveniently just as an important deadline for ceasefire negotiations draws near.

    The Israeli “Defence” Force (IDF) is now claiming that the Israeli children Kfir and Ariel Bibas “were both brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza, no later than November 2023.”

    IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told the press on Friday that, “Contrary to Hamas’ lies, Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood.

    “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys, they killed them with their bare hands. Afterward, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.”

    Anyone who has been following the events in Gaza over the last year and a half will be unsurprised to learn that Israel provided no evidence to support these incendiary claims.

    Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in his signature American English waving around an enlarged photograph of the children and talking about what savage monsters the Palestinians are.

    “Hamas murdered them in cold blood,” Netanyahu says, while the camera zooms in on the adorable little redheads. “As the prime minister of Israel, I vow that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice. They do not deserve to walk this earth.

    “Nothing will stop me. Nothing.”

    Sabotaging ceasefire negotiations
    This happens just as Netanyahu has been working to sabotage ceasefire negotiations by adding new non-starter demands that were not in the original agreement, just as sources in Israeli media predicted he would do upon his return from Washington earlier this month.

    The six-week-long first stage of the ceasefire deal with Hamas is set to expire at the beginning of March next weekend

    This is obvious babies-on-bayonets atrocity propaganda, being released at the most convenient of times. After Israel has been caught lying about beheaded babies and mass rapes and so much more, only an idiot would take any of these claims on faith.

    But it’s doing the job. Now everywhere you look you’ll see Israel supporters calling to end the ceasefire and reignite the Gaza holocaust to avenge these innocent children. I just saw an article from Tablet Magazine titled “Their Time Is Up,” subtitled “The murder of the Bibas children caps off an 18-month catalog of horrors that has told us exactly who our Palestinian neighbors are.

    “Backed by a friend in the White House, Israel must secure its future through strong unilateral action.”

    Most likely cause of death
    All this despite the fact that we know the most likely cause of the children’s death was the fact that their own government was raining military explosives on places where hostages were being held during that time.

    Hamas reported back in November 2023 that the Bibas children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike along with their mother. In December 2023 it was reported in the mainstream press that Hamas had offered to return their bodies to Israel but Israel had refused, telling the press that “Israel will not address propaganda-based reports coming from Hamas”.

    You don’t need to trust Hamas or anyone else to deduce that a woman and two children being killed by Israeli airstrikes in an area where many women and children were being killed by Israeli airstrikes every day is a much more likely scenario than Palestinian resistance fighters spontaneously deciding to murder children with their bare hands instead of using them as negotiating leverage as planned.

    As journalist Muhammad Shehada recently noted on Twitter, Israel already has an established track record of lying about Hamas killing hostages who were actually killed in Israeli airstrikes.

    In December 2023, Israel informed the families of three hostages that they had been murdered by Hamas. The mother of one of the hostages kept digging and eventually discovered that they had died of asphyxiation when IDF troops “gassed” the tunnel they were hiding in.

    Last September, the IDF admitted that they had killed the hostages in an airstrike and lied about it.

    Three weeks ago Shehada correctly predicted in an article with Zeteo that Israel was preparing to use the Bibas deaths as an excuse to terminate the ceasefire, long before any of this started.

    Shehada noticed the way pro-Israel narrative managers had been pushing the line that great vengeance must be exacted upon Gaza if it turns out the Bibas children have been harmed, despite Hamas having announced their deaths more than a year ago.

    They knew those children were dead, so after the ceasefire was announced in late January they began circulating the narrative that discovery of their demise would be a valid reason to end it.

    Israel forces shoot dead 2 Palestinian children
    Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian children in the West Bank just yesterday  —  both of them shot in the back. You could be forgiven for not knowing that this happened, because the Western political/media class has been too focused on the deaths of two little white kids to pay attention to such trivialities.

    Israel needs to keep “discovering” new Hamas atrocities from 2023 because otherwise it just looks like one-sided atrocities being committed by Israel this whole time. First it was beheaded babies, then later it was “We’ve discovered Hamas did mass rapes!”, and now it’s the Bibas kids.

    They need to do this because the Hamas attack was the last time anything happened where Israel could frame itself as the victim, so they’ve been milking it and milking it and milking it for as long as possible while committing orders of magnitude worse abuse in Gaza.

    It’s all designed to drum up outrage, and to draw sympathy toward Israel and away from the obvious victims who Israel has been abusing, displacing and mass murdering for a year and a half.

    As calls to rain vengeance upon Gaza grow louder, remember this: the Bibas kids aren’t the reason, they’re the excuse. The excuse to advance pre-planned agendas against the Palestinians that have been in place since long before those children were born.

    Caitlin Johnstone is an Australian independent journalist and poet. Her articles include The UN Torture Report On Assange Is An Indictment Of Our Entire Society. She publishes a website and Caitlin’s Newsletter. This article is republished with permission.

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Lebanese president urges Israeli withdrawal in talks with U.S. lawmaker

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday called on Israel to withdraw from occupied strategic hills and release Lebanese prisoners, saying these steps were essential for stability along the southern border.

    Speaking during talks with visiting U.S. Congressman Ronny Jackson, Aoun said the Lebanese army was ready to secure the entire border in coordination with UN peacekeepers under Resolution 1701, accusing Israel of breaching a November 27 agreement by maintaining positions in disputed areas.

    “The Lebanese army is fully capable of enforcing agreements and securing the border alongside UNIFIL forces,” Aoun said, referring to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

    Jackson, speaking to reporters after the meeting, pledged U.S. mediation efforts between Lebanon and Israel to resolve the border dispute.

    “Our objective is a fully demarcated and secure border where both sides can coexist peacefully,” the U.S. lawmaker said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Orban rejects Ukraine’s NATO membership, imposes conditions on EU entry

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday opposed Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, and pledged to block its access to the European Union (EU) if it runs counter to Hungary’s interests.

    In his state-of-the-nation speech in Budapest, Orban said, “Against Hungary and the Hungarians, Ukraine will never be a member of the European Union,” emphasizing the Hungarians’ right to decide on the EU membership.

    He warned that Ukraine’s accession would ruin Hungarian farmers and the entire national economy.

    Orban also stressed the significance of the post-conflict period following Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, arguing it is more important than the war itself. He underscored Ukraine’s role as a “buffer zone” between NATO and Russia, firmly rejecting the notion of Ukraine as a NATO member.

    A consistent critic of most European leaders’ handling of the conflict in Ukraine, Orban accused them of dragging the West into a futile and dangerous confrontation.

    The debate over Ukraine’s future comes amid discussions over ending the three-year military conflict. This follows recent high-level talks in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Russian officials on a potential peace deal – a meeting notably absent of EU and Ukrainian representatives. Ukrainian President Zelensky has reiterated that any peace plan excluding Ukraine’s direct input is unacceptable. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Hamas says Israel’s delay in prisoner release ‘flagrant violation’ of truce deal

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Hamas accused Israel on Saturday of violating the terms of a Gaza ceasefire agreement by delaying the release of a seventh group of Palestinian prisoners, calling the move a “flagrant violation” of the truce.

    In a statement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “continues to procrastinate and delay” agreed-upon prisoner releases. He said Hamas had cooperated with mediators to advance the exchange process, including releasing six Israeli hostages in three separate batches earlier on Saturday.

    “We call on the mediators and guarantors of the agreement to exert pressure on the occupation (Israel) to respect the ceasefire agreement and implement its provisions without procrastination or delay,” the spokesman added.

    The Israeli government has postponed the release of 602 Palestinian prisoners agreed as part of the latest hostage-prisoner swap.

    Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, citing a political official, said Netanyahu has decided to postpone the release until concluding security consultations scheduled for Saturday evening, without specifying the reason for the delay or a new timeline for the release. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Syria to hold national dialogue conference ‘in coming days’: official

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Syria will host a National Dialogue Conference “in the coming days” to advance the country’s political transition and tackle pressing political and economic challenges, Hassan Al-Daghim, spokesperson for the conference’s preparatory committee, said on Saturday.

    In an interview with Syria TV, Al-Daghim highlighted strong public support and enthusiasm among Syrians for the dialogue, which he said had accelerated preparations.

    He identified transitional justice, constitutional reform, and institutional and economic restructuring as key priorities, underscoring dialogue as a vital approach to resolving national issues.

    Syria TV, citing unnamed sources, reported the conference is tentatively set for Feb. 24-25. The first day will focus on opening discussions, while the second day will address six core topics: transitional justice, constitutional development, institutional reform, personal freedoms, humanitarian concerns, and the role of civil societies and economic policies.

    Approximately 600 participants from across Syria are expected to attend the conference, split into six working groups to produce detailed, practical recommendations, the TV said. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese FM: Two-state solution key to Gaza peace

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    A lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through the two-state solution, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday while returning from the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    During the conversation, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held in-depth discussions on regional issues with Abdelatty.

    Abdelatty provided an update on the latest developments in Gaza, noting that Egypt is committed to promoting the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and is working with other Arab countries to develop a reconstruction plan. He emphasized that Egypt opposes the forced displacement of the Palestinian people.

    China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the council’s rotating president this month, and Arab countries highly value China’s unique and important role, Abdelatty said, adding that Arab countries hope for China’s support in restoring peace and rebuilding Gaza.

    Wang said that China is a friend of Arab countries and a comprehensive strategic partner of Egypt. He expressed China’s support for the just position of Arab nations and opposition to the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, calling for the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

    Gaza is part of Palestinian territory, and any future arrangement concerning it must respect the will of the Palestinian people while adhering to the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” in post-conflict governance, Wang said, stressing the urgency of formulating reconstruction and governance plans.

    China appreciates the efforts of Egypt and other Arab countries, he added.

    Only by adhering to the two-state solution can the root causes be fully resolved and a lasting peace ultimately achieved, Wang noted.

    The two sides also exchanged views on issues related to Sudan and Syria.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Israel strikes Lebanon-Syria border crossings, accuses Hezbollah of weapons smuggling

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The Israeli military said on Saturday it conducted airstrikes targeting border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of using the routes to smuggle weapons into Lebanon.

    In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the crossings were exploited by Hezbollah “in attempts to illegally transfer arms,” calling such activities “a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon” effective since Nov. 27, 2024.

    The IDF vowed to “continue operating to neutralize threats to Israel” and prevent Hezbollah, which it labeled a “terrorist organization,” from “rebuilding its military capabilities.”

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the Israeli strikes hit locations in Syria’s rugged Qalamoun region near the Lebanese border. The monitor described the sites as historically significant for Hezbollah’s alleged arms transfers from Syria to Lebanon.

    No casualties or damage have been reported yet. There were no immediate official statements from Syrian or Lebanese authorities, or Hezbollah. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Iraqi PM, Iranian interior minister meet on bilateral ties

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani met with visiting Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni on Saturday on bilateral ties and topics of mutual interest.

    Al-Sudani and Momeni discussed “border security in light of the signed agreements, cooperation in combating drug smuggling and border control, and coordination on border crossing operations to enhance security and stability,” according to a statement on Facebook by al-Sudani’s media office.

    The two also discussed “measures to facilitate the entry of Iranian pilgrims to the holy shrines in Iraq,” and the activation of the memorandum of understanding between the two interior ministries “regarding the mutual recognition of driver’s licenses between the two countries,” read the statement.

    Earlier in the day, Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari met with Momeni, during which the two sides agreed on the mutual recognition of driver’s licenses, which would allow residents of both countries to use their translated licenses officially, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Interior Ministry on Facebook. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Israel suspends release of Palestinian detainees

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Israel announced early Sunday that it had postponed the release of Palestinian detainees, who were set to be freed Saturday under the ceasefire agreement until more hostages are released.

    Israel was expected to release about 620 Palestinian detainees on Saturday after Hamas freed six hostages earlier in the day. The six were the final batch of living hostages scheduled to be released in the first phase of the three-phase deal.

    However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that it had been decided to delay the release of Palestinian detainees scheduled for Saturday “until the release of the next hostages is secured, without the disgraceful ceremonies.”

    The decision followed what the statement described as “Hamas’ repeated violations, including the disgraceful (hostage release) ceremonies that dishonor our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes.”

    Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of using captives for propaganda, with Hamas parading hostages on stage and Israel attaching derogatory inscriptions to bracelets and T-shirts worn by Palestinian prisoners and photographing them in demeaning poses.

    A total of 63 hostages remain in Gaza, with more than half presumed dead, according to Israeli data.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese FM reaffirms two-state solution as key to lasting peace in Gaza

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    A lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through the two-state solution, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday while returning from the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    During the conversation, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held in-depth discussions on regional issues with Abdelatty.

    Abdelatty provided an update on the latest developments in Gaza, noting that Egypt is committed to promoting the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and is working with other Arab countries to develop a reconstruction plan. He emphasized that Egypt opposes the forced displacement of the Palestinian people.

    China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the council’s rotating president this month, and Arab countries highly value China’s unique and important role, Abdelatty said, adding that Arab countries hope for China’s support in restoring peace and rebuilding Gaza.

    Wang said that China is a friend of Arab countries and a comprehensive strategic partner of Egypt. He expressed China’s support for the just position of Arab nations and opposition to the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, calling for the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

    Gaza is part of Palestinian territory, and any future arrangement concerning it must respect the will of the Palestinian people while adhering to the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” in post-conflict governance, Wang said, stressing the urgency of formulating reconstruction and governance plans.

    China appreciates the efforts of Egypt and other Arab countries, he added.

    Only by adhering to the two-state solution can the root causes be fully resolved and a lasting peace ultimately achieved, Wang noted.

    The two sides also exchanged views on issues related to Sudan and Syria.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Polio vaccination campaign aims to reach 600,000 children in Gaza

    Source: United Nations 2

    Health

    The latest large-scale polio vaccination drive in Gaza targeting some 600,000 children under age 10 got underway on Saturday.

    It follows a campaign last year that reached hundreds of thousands of young children.  Polio virus was recently detected in wastewater samples in Gaza, indicating that circulation is ongoing, thus putting young lives at risk.

    The campaign is being led by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and implemented with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA and other partners.

    UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in post on the social media platform X that 1,700 team members are taking part across the agency’s health centres and mobile points.

    Separately, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “teams are on the ground providing support to ensure a quality campaign.”

    UNRWA health teams constitute a third of the response, comprising 555 out of the total 1,660 teams involved.

    They will be issuing vaccinations in 10 UNRWA health centres: one in Rafah, three each in Khan Younis and the Middle Area, and one in Gaza City in the north.  Around 60 UNRWA mobile medical points will also carry out vaccinations.

    The campaign is set to run through 26 February.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA – The first intercontinental meeting of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Asia and Oceania is currently taking place in Sydney

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – For the first time, representatives of the National Directions of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Asia and Oceania are meeting for an intercontinental meeting. The meeting, which is currently taking place in Sydney, will continue until Sunday.The National Directors, who represent more than 20 countries on both continents, including Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, will focus on the importance of collaboration in relation to the urgencies and hopes that characterize missionary work in the various local situations.The leitmotif of the five days is Pope Francis’ invitation to be “missionaries of hope among the peoples” (see Message for World Mission Sunday 2025). The participants of the meeting sent a message of solidarity in prayer to the Bishop of Rome, who is currently being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.”The Pontifical Mission Societies in Australia ‘Catholic Mission’ is privileged to host the intercontinental meeting of the National Directors for Asia and Oceania,” said Father Brian Lucas. “Australia has very strong relations with our immediate neighbours, including the support of a regional office in Phnom Penh, and this opportunity for personal exchange provides an excellent basis for cooperation.”The aim is to join forces and find solutions together to respond to local challenges, said the organizers of the meeting, which, in addition to offering training courses (including one on the theme of the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of Hope”), also offered the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Australian Church, including Archbishop Charles Balvo, Apostolic Nuncio in Australia, and Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM, Bishop of the Diocese of Parramatta. In addition, the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies from Asia and Oceania also met with Ms. Kelly Paget, Chancellor of the Diocese of Broken Bay, who had taken part in the World Synod on Synodality in Rome.”We are trying these days to unite as two regions. Of course, we have different problems, challenges and hopes, and that is what we are discussing here. Our hope is to speak with a united voice and work together for the mission of the Church throughout the world and to bring about concrete change,” said Father Michael Cheng Chai, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in New Zealand. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 22/2/2025)
    Share:

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: CENTCOM Forces Kill an Al Qaeda Affiliate, Hurras al-Din, Leader in Northwest Syria

    Source: United States Central Command (CENTCOM)

    February 22, 2025
    Release Number 20250222-01
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    TAMPA, Fla. – On Feb. 21, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, killing Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

    The airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond.

    “We will relentlessly pursue and destroy terrorist threats, no matter their location, in order to protect our homeland and our allies and partners,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command.⁩

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Greens to force vote on Scottish Government funding for Israel’s arms dealers

    Source: Scottish Greens

    22 Feb 2025

    No public funds for companies complicit in genocide.

    The Scottish Greens will use an opposition debate on Wednesday to hold a vote on ending all Scottish Government support for companies who have armed and supported Israel’s genocide against Gaza.

    The Scottish Government has strongly opposed the bombing and collective punishment of Gaza. Despite this, since the assault began it has given over £1 million to companies that have armed Israel via Scottish Enterprise.

    This week one of those companies, arms giant BAE systems, announced profits of more than £3 billion for 2024.

    The party’s co-leader, Lorna Slater, said:

    “Israel’s assault on Gaza is one of the worst war crimes of this century. There is no justification for the collective punishment and mass killing they have inflicted.

    “The Israeli government has been condemned by the International Criminal Court and every reputable human rights organisation for the atrocities it has carried out against Palestinians, and now it is working with Donald Trump to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

    “The Scottish Government has rightly stood against the genocide, but it continues to give public money to the arms dealers who are directly enabling it.

    “Scotland can’t control UK foreign policy, but we can control where our public money goes and the companies and industries that we choose to support.

    “It’s time for the Scottish Government to put their money where their mouth is and end all subsidies for the war profiteers making such a killing.”

    In 2018 the Scottish Greens secured new requirements for Scottish public bodies to conduct human rights checks for grant applicants. Despite this, Scottish Enterprise has continued to fund the world’s biggest arms dealers.

    Ms Slater added:

    “If a human rights check still allows public money to flow to companies profiting from war crimes, then it’s clearly not fit for purpose.

    “Every MSP who is horrified by the destruction in Gaza should support our motion and call for an end to government grants to the world’s biggest arms companies.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Critics condemn ‘cowardly’ BBC for pulling Gaza warzone youth survival documentary

    By Gizem Nisa Cebi

    The BBC has removed its documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone from iPlayer after it was revealed that its teenage narrator is the son of a Hamas official.

    The broadcaster stated that it was conducting “further due diligence” following mounting scrutiny.

    The film, which aired on BBC Two last Monday, follows 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri as he describes life in Gaza.

    However, it later emerged that his father, Ayman Al-Yazouri, serves as the Hamas Deputy Minister of Agriculture in Gaza.

    In a statement yesterday, the BBC defended the documentary’s value but acknowledged concerns.

    “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme, and in light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company,” the statement said.

    The revelation sparked a backlash from figures including Friday Night Dinner actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, literary agent Neil Blair, and former BBC One boss Danny Cohen, who called it “a shocking failure by the BBC and a major crisis for its reputation”.

    On Thursday, the BBC admitted that it had not disclosed the family connection but insisted it followed compliance procedures. It has since added a disclaimer acknowledging Abdullah’s ties to Hamas.

    UK’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said that she would discuss the issue with the BBC, particularly regarding its vetting process.

    However, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians urged the broadcaster to “stand firm against attempts to prevent firsthand accounts of life in Gaza from reaching audiences”.

    Others also defended the importance of the documentary made last year before the sheer scale of devastation by the Israeli military forces was exposed — and many months before the ceasefire came into force on January 19.

    How to watch the Gaza documentary. Image: Double Down News screenshot/X

    ‘This documentary humanised Palestinian children’
     Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), criticised the BBC’s decision.

    “It’s very regrettable that this documentary has been pulled following pressure from anti-Palestinian activists who have largely shown no sympathy for persons in Gaza suffering from massive bombardment, starvation, and disease,” Middle East Eye quoted him as saying.

    Doyle also praised the film’s impact, saying, “This documentary humanised Palestinian children in Gaza and gave valuable insights into life in this horrific war zone.”

    Journalist Richard Sanders, who has produced multiple documentaries on Gaza, called the controversy a “huge test” for the BBC and condemned its response as a “cowardly decision”.

    Earlier this week, 45 Jewish journalists and media figures, including former BBC governor Ruth Deech, urged the broadcaster to pull the film, calling Ayman Al-Yazouri a “terrorist leader”.

    The controversy underscores wider tensions over media coverage of the Israel-Gaza war, with critics accusing the BBC of a vetting failure, while others argue the documentary sheds crucial light on Palestinian children’s suffering.

    Pacific Media Watch comments: The BBC has long been accused of an Israeli-bias in its coverage of Palestinian affairs, especially the 15-month genocidal war on Gaza, and this documentary is one of the rare programmes that has restored some balance.

    Another teenager who appears in the Gaza documentary . . . she has o global online following for her social media videos on cooking and life amid the genocide. Image: BBC screenshot APR

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Alleged Member of Cartel Enforcement Group Extradited from Mexico

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Edgar Perez Villa, an alleged member of a Tijuana-based enforcement group for the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, commonly known as CJNG, was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Thursday and made his first appearance in federal court in San Diego today.

    Perez Villa was indicted along with other alleged Mexican drug cartel enforcers in connection with their alleged violent support of heroin and methamphetamine trafficking.

    At today’s hearing, Perez Villa was arraigned and entered a not-guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt. The government asked that Perez Villa be detained on grounds that he is a significant flight risk. Judge Burkhardt scheduled a detention hearing for February 27, 2025, at 2 p.m. before Judge Michelle Pettit. The Court also set March 28, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. for a motion hearing/trial setting before U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia A. Bashant.

    The superseding indictment, returned on March 6, 2020, plus a related indictment returned on March 16, 2021, collectively charged Perez Villa, aka Cabo 89, along with other alleged cartel leaders – including Edgar Herrera Pardo, aka Caiman; Carlos Lorenzo Hinojosa Guerrero, aka Cabo 96; and Israel Alejandro Vazquez-Vazquez, aka Cabo 50, among others. They are charged with drug trafficking crimes.

    According to court documents, the defendants were leaders of a violent group of cartel enforcers known as “Los Cabos” who operated in Baja California to secure control of the region for CJNG.

    Los Cabos allegedly employed rampant violence to ensure that CJNG maintained the ability to traffic drugs through Tijuana and into the United States through San Diego. According to the indictment, investigators learned through judicially-authorized interceptions that the leaders of Los Cabos planned more than 150 murders, the majority of which took place in Tijuana, according to the filings.

    Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world.  The cartel has its hands in trafficking multiple deadly substances. It is responsible for moving tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl-laced heroin into the United States.  CJNG is also a prolific methamphetamine producer and chemical importer, using precursors procured from China and India. CJNG is one of the most powerful Mexican cartels operating within the United States.

    “For far too long, violent cartels have inflicted untold suffering through violence and drug addiction,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden. “Our fight against this reign of terror will not waver.”

    “Cartels use violence and intimidation to control the areas they terrorize,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark. “As an alleged member of Los Cabos, Perez-Villa spent years destroying the community through drug trafficking and violence. One by one, the DEA will hold these criminals accountable and bring them to justice.”

    This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Perez Villa.

    DEFENDANT                                                                                        

    Case Number: 19CR1274-BAS

    Edgar Perez Villa, aka Cabo 89, aka Nier                Age 35                 Tijuana

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances for Purpose of Unlawful Importation, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960 and 963

    Maximum Sentence: Mandatory minimum ten years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine

    Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846

    Maximum Sentence: Mandatory minimum ten years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine

    INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

    Drug Enforcement Administration

    Homeland Security Investigations

    Department of Justice, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force

    Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations

    Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs

    San Diego Sheriff’s Department

    *An indictment or complaint is not evidence that the defendant committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent until the Government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Open letter: No, Mr Trump, we will not be ‘happy’ and ‘safe’ elsewhere

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    OPEN LETTER: By Hassan Abo Qamar

    Dear Mr Trump,

    I am writing to you as a Palestinian and a survivor of genocide, who was born and raised in Gaza — a city of love and resilience.

    I have read your statements about Gaza and frankly, I am confused.

    You claim to be a “peacemaker”, but encourage Israel to continue its genocide, calling for “all hell” to break loose if your demands are not fulfilled.

    Mr Trump, we have already been through hell. We lost 60,000 martyrs in it.

    You claim credit for the ceasefire deal, and yet your government — one of its guarantors — refuses to pressure Israel into fulfilling all its obligations under it.

    You call Gaza a “demolition site” but conveniently fail to name the criminal responsible — while simultaneously supplying it with more bombs, funding, and diplomatic cover.

    You talk about Palestinians being “safe” and “happy”, yet you refer to us as if we are a burden to be offloaded onto Jordan, Egypt, or any country willing to take us.

    You claim that we “only want to be in the Gaza Strip because [we] don’t know anything else”.

    “Gaza is not [President Trump’s] business venture, and it is not for sale. Gaza is our home, our land, our inheritance.” Image: Instagram/#flyer_for_falastin/@tahiapretiti

    You profoundly misunderstand us

    Mr Trump, I think you profoundly misunderstand who we are and what Gaza is to us.

    You may think of us as a mere obstacle to your vision of luxury resorts, but we are a people with deep roots, long history, and unalienable rights.

    We are the rightful owners of our land.

    Gaza is not your business venture, and it is not for sale.Gaza is our home, our land, our inheritance.

    And no, it is not true that we want to stay here because we “know nothing else”.

    Although the 17-year-long Israeli siege has made life incredibly difficult for us, some of us have still managed to travel — for education, medical treatment or work. But these people still return because Gaza is home.

    A powerful example is Dr Refaat Alareer, an inspiring figure, who the Israeli occupation targeted and killed in 2023.

    He earned his master’s degree in the UK and later completed his PhD at Universiti Putra Malaysia.

    Despite having the opportunity to stay abroad, he chose to return to Gaza, where he taught creative writing and literature at the Islamic University.

    He also co-founded We Are Not Numbers, an initiative that paired young Palestinian writers with experienced authors to amplify their voices and resist occupation through storytelling. One of these voices is mine.

    Last spring, I, too, had the opportunity to leave, but I decided against it. I could not leave my family, friends and Gaza amid a genocidal war. However, like many others, I plan to travel to complete my education and then return to help rebuild and support my people.

    The Palestinian way
    This is the Palestinian way – we seek knowledge and opportunities, not to abandon our homeland, but to build and strengthen it.

    Speaking of building — you talk about your plans to turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East”. The thing is, Gaza was the Riviera of the Middle East. Our ancestors built it into a flourishing trade hub, port city and cultural centre. It was “magnificent” — to use your words — until Israel was created and it started destroying it.

    And yet, after every brutal Israeli assault on Gaza, Palestinians would rebuild. Despite all the Israeli violence, restrictions and thievery, Palestinians still made sure Gaza was a safe place with a cosy rhythm of life, where its youth were doing their best to pursue decent livelihoods, where families were happy and together, and where homes thrived.

    Israel has now tried to reduce all of Gaza to rubble and death so we are no longer able to live in it. You have picked up on the idea, effectively endorsing our ethnic cleansing under the veneer of humanitarianism.

    No, Mr Trump, we will not be “happy” and “safe” elsewhere.

    But I agree with you on something else you said: “You’ve got to learn from history”. Indeed, history teaches us that settler-colonialism in modern times is unsustainable. In this sense, your plans and Israel’s plans are doomed to fail.

    We, the people of Gaza – like any Indigenous people – refuse to be uprooted. We refuse to be dispossessed. We refuse to be forced into exile so that our land can be handed to the highest bidder. We are not a problem to be solved; we are a people with the right to live in our homeland in freedom and dignity.

    No amount of bombs, blockades, or tanks will make us forget that. We will not be relocated, resettled, or replaced.

    Power and wealth will not decide the fate of Gaza. History is not written by thieves – it is written by those who resist, by the will of the people. No matter the pressure, our connection to this land will never be severed. Surrender and abandonment are not an option. We will honour our martyrs with resistance by nourishing this land with love, care and remembrance.

    Wishing you all the best in your futile pursuits,

    Hassan Abuqamar
    Gaza, Palestine

    This open letter was first published by Al Jazeera.

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: America First Investment Policy

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-left”>MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
             THE SECRETARY OF STATE
             THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
             THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
             THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
             THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
             THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
             THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
             THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
             THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
             THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
             THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
             THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
             THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
             THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
             THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

    SUBJECT:       America First Investment Policy
     
     
    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
     
             Section 1.  Principles and Objectives.  America’s investment policy is critical to our national and economic security.  Welcoming foreign investment and strengthening the United States’ world-leading private and public capital markets will be a key part of America’s Golden Age.  The United States has the world’s most attractive assets, in technology and across our economy, and we will make it easier for our overseas allies to support United States jobs, United States innovators, and United States economic growth with their capital.
     
             Investment by United States allies and partners can create hundreds of thousands of jobs and significant wealth for the United States.  Our Nation is committed to maintaining the strong, open investment environment that benefits our economy and our people, while enhancing our ability to protect the United States from new and evolving threats that can accompany foreign investment.
     
             Investment at all costs is not always in the national interest, however.  Certain foreign adversaries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), systematically direct and facilitate investment in United States companies and assets to obtain cutting-edge technologies, intellectual property, and leverage in strategic industries.  The PRC pursues these strategies in diverse ways, both visible and concealed, and often through partner companies or investment funds in third countries. 
     
             Economic security is national security.  The PRC does not allow United States companies to take over their critical infrastructure, and the United States should not allow the PRC to take over United States critical infrastructure.  PRC-affiliated investors are targeting the crown jewels of United States technology, food supplies, farmland, minerals, natural resources, ports, and shipping terminals.
     
             The PRC is also increasingly exploiting United States capital to develop and modernize its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses, which poses significant risk to the United States homeland and Armed Forces of the United States around the world.  Related actions include the development and deployment of dual-use technologies, weapons of mass destruction, advanced conventional weapons, and malicious cyber‑enabled actions against the United States and its people.  Through its national Military-Civil Fusion strategy, the PRC increases the size of its military-industrial complex by compelling civilian Chinese companies and research institutions to support its military and intelligence activities.
     
             Those Chinese companies also raise capital by:  selling to American investors securities that trade on American and foreign public exchanges; lobbying United States index providers and funds to include these securities in market offerings; and engaging in other acts to ensure access to United States capital and accompanying intangible benefits.  In this way, the PRC exploits United States investors to finance and advance the development and modernization of its military.
     
             Sec. 2.  Policy.  (a)  It is the policy of the United States to preserve an open investment environment to help ensure that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies of the future are built, created, and grown right here in the United States.  Investment in our economy from our allies and partners, some of whom have tremendous sovereign wealth funds, supports the national interest.  My Administration will make the United States the world’s greatest destination for investment dollars, to the benefit of all of us. 
     
             (b)  Yet for investment in United States businesses involved in critical technology, critical infrastructure, personal data, and other sensitive areas, restrictions on foreign investors’ access to United States assets will ease in proportion to their verifiable distance and independence from the predatory investment and technology-acquisition practices of the PRC and other foreign adversaries or threat actors.
     
             (c)  The United States will create an expedited “fast-track” process, based on objective standards, to facilitate greater investment from specified allied and partner sources in United States businesses involved with United States advanced technology and other important areas.  This process will allow for increased foreign investment subject to appropriate security provisions, including requirements that the specified foreign investors avoid partnering with United States foreign adversaries.  
     
             (d)  My Administration will also expedite environmental reviews for any investment over $1 billion in the United States.
     
             (e)  The United States will reduce the exploitation of public and private sector capital, technology, and technical knowledge by foreign adversaries such as the PRC.  The United States will establish new rules to stop United States companies and investors from investing in industries that advance the PRC’s national Military-Civil Fusion strategy and stop PRC-affiliated persons from buying up critical American businesses and assets, allowing only those investments that serve American interests.
     
             (f)  The United States will use all necessary legal instruments, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to restrict PRC-affiliated persons from investing in United States technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials, or other strategic sectors.  My Administration will protect United States farmland and real estate near sensitive facilities.  It will also seek, including in consultation with the Congress, to strengthen CFIUS authority over “greenfield” investments, to restrict foreign adversary access to United States talent and operations in sensitive technologies (especially artificial intelligence), and to expand the remit of “emerging and foundational” technologies addressable by CFIUS.
     
             (g)  To reduce uncertainty for investors, reduce administrative burden, and increase Government efficiency, my Administration will cease the use of overly bureaucratic, complex, and open-ended “mitigation” agreements for United States investments from foreign adversary countries.  In general, mitigation agreements should consist of concrete actions that companies can complete within a specific time, rather than perpetual and expensive compliance obligations.  More administrative resources, in turn, will be directed toward facilitating investments from key partner countries.
     
             (h)  The United States will continue to welcome and encourage passive investments from all foreign persons.  These include non-controlling stakes and shares with no voting, board, or other governance rights and that do not confer any managerial influence, substantive decisionmaking, or non-public access to technologies or technical information, products, or services.  This will allow our cutting-edge businesses to continue to benefit from foreign investment capital, while ensuring protection of our national security.
     
             (i)  The United States will also use all necessary legal instruments to further deter United States persons from investing in the PRC’s military-industrial sector.  These may include the imposition of sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) through the blocking of assets or through other actions, including actions pursuant to Executive Order 13959 of November 12, 2020 (Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies), as amended by Executive Order 13974 of January 13, 2021 (Amending Executive Order 13959 — Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies) and Executive Order 14032 of June 3, 2021 (Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China), and actions pursuant to Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023 (Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern).  Executive Order 14105 is under review by my Administration, pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (America First Trade Policy), to examine whether it includes sufficient controls to address national security threats.
     
             (j)  This review will build on measures taken under my authority in 2020 and 2021 and consider new or expanded restrictions on United States outbound investment in the PRC in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, hypersonics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, directed energy, and other areas implicated by the PRC’s national Military-Civil Fusion strategy.  Covered sectors should be reviewed and updated regularly, including by the Office of Science and Technology Policy.  As part of the review, my Administration will consider applying restrictions on investment types including private equity, venture capital, greenfield investments, corporate expansions, and investments in publicly traded securities, from sources including pension funds, university endowments, and other limited-partner investors.  It is past time for American universities to stop supporting foreign adversaries with their investment decisions, much as they should stop granting university access to supporters of terrorism.
     
             (k)  To further reduce incentives for United States persons to invest in our foreign adversaries, we will review whether to suspend or terminate the 1984 United States-The People’s Republic of China Income Tax Convention.  That tax treaty, along with the PRC’s admission to the World Trade Organization and the related undertaking by the United States to accord unconditional Most Favored Nation treatment to goods and services of the PRC, led to the deindustrialization of the United States and the technological modernization of the PRC military.  We will seek to reverse both those trends.  United States investors will invest in the future of America, not the future of the PRC.
     
             (l)  To protect the savings of United States investors and channel them into American growth and prosperity, my Administration will also:
     
             (i)    determine if adequate financial auditing standards are upheld for companies covered by the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act;
     
             (ii)   review the variable interest entity and subsidiary structures used by foreign-adversary companies to trade on United States exchanges, which limit the ownership rights and protections for United States investors, as well as allegations of fraudulent behavior by these companies; and
     
             (iii)  restore the highest fiduciary standards as required by the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, seeking to ensure that foreign adversary companies are ineligible for pension plan contributions.
     
             Sec. 3.  Implementation.  The policy set forth in section 2 of this memorandum shall be implemented, to the extent permitted by law and available appropriations, and subject to internal programmatic and budgetary processes, as follows:
     
             (a)  With respect to sections 2(a) through 2(k) of this memorandum, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies) as deemed appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury, and with respect to the authorities of CFIUS in coordination with the members thereof, shall take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, to support all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, and other statutes to carry out the purposes of this memorandum.
     
             (b)  With respect to section 2(d) of this memorandum, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the heads of other agencies as appropriate, shall carry out the purposes of this memorandum.
     
             (c)  With respect to section 2(l)(i) of this memorandum, the Secretary of the Treasury shall engage as appropriate with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; with respect to section 2(l)(ii) of this memorandum, the Attorney General, in coordination with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall provide a written recommendation on the risk posed to United States investors based on the auditability, corporate oversight, and evidence of criminal or civil fraudulent behavior for all foreign adversary companies currently listed on domestic exchanges; and with respect to section 2(l)(iii) of this memorandum, the Secretary of Labor shall publish updated fiduciary standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for investments in public market securities of foreign adversary companies.
     
             Sec. 4.  Definition.  For purposes of this memorandum, the term “foreign adversaries” includes the PRC, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region; the Republic of Cuba; the Islamic Republic of Iran; the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; the Russian Federation; and the regime of Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro.
     
             Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

                      (i.) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

                      (ii.) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

             (b)  This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
     
             (c)  This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: San Diego Gang Member Sentenced in Organized Crime Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Odyssey Carrillo, a member of the Emerald Hills Bloods gang, was sentenced in federal court today to 168 months in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy involving coordinated violent crimes by street gangs.

    Carrillo is the ninth and final member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Conduct Enterprise Affairs Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity and Hobbs Act Robbery. According to court documents, the crimes committed by the enterprise included armed robbery, sex trafficking, prostitution, violence and other profit-driven illegal activities.

    The defendants were charged with racketeering conspiracy – the statute’s original inspiration was to combat organized-crime syndicates and mobsters. But as criminal street gangs have become more sophisticated and prolific in their illicit business pursuits, this statute has become an effective tool to address all aspects of coordinated violent criminal conduct.

    Previously sentenced defendants include Jerome Brunson, Cedric Jordan, Stephen Nathaniel Calhoun, Jr., Carl Moore, Maurice Johnson, Dajay Leon Scott, Taashawn Henderson and Sergio Valentin Louden.

    In his plea agreement, Carrillo admitted that he joined the conspiracy that engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity that included robbery, prostitution and sex trafficking. Carrillo further admitted to committing racketeering activity himself, including two specific armed robberies.

    Carrillo, Calhoun and Moore admitted to participating in the January 19, 2019, armed robbery of San Carlos Jewelers in San Diego and the February 11, 2019, armed robbery of the Bert Levi Family Jewelers in San Diego.

    Calhoun also admitted to robbing the Medicine Shoppe in San Diego by gunpoint on May 20, 2019. Calhoun and Moore both admitted to being Lincoln Park Bloods (LPK) gang members; Carrillo admitted to being an Emerald Hills gang member, a Bloods-aligned street gang that often works cooperatively with LPK. Calhoun and Moore were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant to 176 months and 105 months in custody, respectively.

    According to their plea agreements, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Jerome Brunson admitted to being an LPK member who participated in the November 19, 2019, armed robbery of a Jared’s jewelry store in National City. Judge Bashant sentenced Brunson to 57 months in custody. Dajay Scott and Sergio Louden admitted to being LPK members who robbed numerous women of their purses outside nail salons in January 2020. Judge Bashant sentenced Scott and Louden to 48 months and 72 months in custody, respectively.

    Cedric Jordan, Maurice Johnson, and Taashawn Henderson admitted to being LPK members who, during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy, engaged in sex offenses related to sex trafficking and transportation for purposes of prostitution. Judge Bashant sentenced Jordan, Johnson, and Henderson to 63 months, 60 months, and 58 months in custody, respectively.

    “Every member of our community is put at risk when criminal street gangs engage in armed robberies, sex trafficking, and other violent criminal acts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden. “This case is the result of outstanding teamwork and collaboration between our local and federal law enforcement partners. We will continue to hold these violent groups accountable, using the RICO tools at our disposal, to bring justice to crime victims and to make our community safer.”

    “Today’s sentencing reflects the hard work, determination, and collaboration of multiple agencies to dismantle an organized crime conspiracy,” said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “The violent crime and gang threats are too diverse, too dangerous, and too all-encompassing for any of us to tackle alone. FBI will continue to work with our partners to disrupt violent crime, human traffickers, and violent gangs whose criminal acts devastate our communities.”

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mario J. Peia, Katherine E. A. McGrath, and Matthew Brehm.

    DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 21cr2909-BAS                           

    Jerome Brunson                                              Age: 27                                   San Diego, CA

    Cedric Jordan                                                  Age: 36                                   San Diego, CA

    Stephen Nathaniel Calhoun, Jr.                      Age: 24                                   San Diego, CA

    Carl Moore                                                      Age: 34                                   San Diego, CA

    Maurice Johnson                                             Age: 34                                   San Diego, CA

    Dajay Leon Scott                                            Age: 26                                   San Diego, CA

    Taashawn Henderson                                      Age: 29                                   San Diego, CA

    Sergio Valentin Louden                                  Age: 36                                   San Diego, CA

    Odyssey Carrillo                                             Age: 23                                   San Diego, CA

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Conspiracy to Conduct Enterprise Affairs Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1962(d)

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    Interference with Commerce by Robbery – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1951

    Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

    Brandishing a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 924(c)

    Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a seven-year mandatory minimum and $250,000 fine

    INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

    Federal Bureau of Investigation

    San Diego Police Department

    San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force

    San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

    National City Police Department

    San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

    *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Combat Intensifying Wildfires and Drought Across the American West

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    February 21, 2025

    Protect the West Act would invest $60 Billion to reduce wildfire risk, restore watersheds, protect communities, and reduce wildfire suppression costs.

    Washington D.C.—U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to reintroduce legislation that would  make a $60 billion investment in forests in Oregon and across the West to lessen wildfire risk, restore watersheds, protect communities, and reduce wildfire suppression costs.

    “With summers getting drier and hotter, the treasured lands in Oregon and the West are a tinderbox waiting to light ablaze,” said Wyden. “In my town halls, I’ve heard countless Oregonians fearing for their health and safety while struggling to maintain their economic livelihood as severe drought and wildfires wreak more havoc on their communities every year. More investments are needed to protect our forests and watersheds so local communities across the West are healthy and can have the opportunity to explore its beautiful natural treasures for generations.”

    America’s forests and public lands are essential infrastructure – supporting a $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy and $222 billion agricultural economy. 

    Despite the importance of our forests to our economy, watersheds, and way of life, Washington DC  has failed to adequately invest in them. The federal government spends $2.9 billion to put out wildfires every year, with costs expected to rise to $3.9 billion by 2050. Preventing wildfires before they start saves taxpayers money by reducing response and recovery costs. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that, over the last five years, the U.S. spent nearly $48 billion on wildfires. Barely three months into 2025, annual wildfire costs are already estimated to exceed $250 billion in damages due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

    Specifically, the Protect the West Act would do the following:

    1. Establish an Outdoor Restoration & Watershed Fund to increase support for local efforts to restore forests and watersheds, reduce wildfire risk, clean up public lands, enhance wildlife habitat, remove invasive species, and expand outdoor access;
    1. Establish an advisory council of local, industry, conservation, Tribal, and national experts to advise funding priorities, coordinate with existing regional efforts, and provide oversight;
    1. Empower local leaders by making $20 billion directly available to state and local governments, Tribes, special districts, and nonprofits to support restoration, drought resilience, and fire mitigation projects. These funds would empower local leaders to bring diverse voices to the table to develop solutions;
    1. Partner with states and Tribes to invest $40 billion to tackle the backlog of restoration, fire mitigation, and resilience projects across public, private, and Tribal lands;
    1. Create or sustain more than two million good-paying jobs, primarily in rural areas, to support existing industries like forest product, agriculture, and outdoor recreation; and
    1. Save landowners and local governments money by investing in wildfire prevention and natural hazard mitigation on the front end, which is thirty times more cost-effective than recovering forests and watersheds after natural disasters have struck.

    In addition to Wyden, the legislation was reintroduced by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Ruben Gallego, D-Ari., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and U.S. Representative Jason Crow, D-Colo.

    The bill is supported by The National Wildlife Federation, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, National Association of State Foresters, The Freshwater Trust, American Forests, National Wild Turkey Federation, National Audubon Society, Family Farm Alliance, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Western Landowners Alliance, Western Resource Advocates, Trout Unlimited, and Conservation Legacy.

    The full text of the bill is here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Media analyst criticises Trump for applying ‘strategic coercion, economic blackmail’ policy

    Pacific Media Watch

    One of the leading Middle East’s leading political and media analysts, Marwan Bishara, has accused President Donald Trump of applying a doctrine of ‘strategic coercion” and “economic blackmail” in his approach to the Gaza ceasefire.

    Bishara, senior political analyst of the Doha-based Al Jazeera global television network, was responding to the news that Trump has apparently backed off his plan for expelling more than 2 million Palestinians from their Gaza homeland and to redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

    He has now been describing it as a “recommendation” that would not be enforced.

    “The idea that Trump starts with [about taking over Gaza] is mad. But there is a method to the madness,” Bishara said.

    “The method to the madness, you can see it in the context of Trump’s doctrine, if you will – and that is strategic coercion and economic blackmail.

    “In fact, he started his administration by inviting [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu to Washington, blessing him with all kinds of support . . .  and blackmailing Egypt and Jordan into accepting two million refugees, or else — and then asking them to come up with something else.”

    Bishara said he expected the Trump doctrine to be applied elsewhere in the world, such as with his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

    ‘This kind of strategic coercion of Arab countries on behalf of the United States and Israel, and economic blackmail — I think we’re going to see it as part of the Trump doctrine throughout the world.


    President Trump’s walkback on his “Riviera” plan for Gaza. Video: Al Jazeera

    ‘Surprised’ over opposition
    The US president had said in a radio interview with Fox News that he was “a little bit surprised” that Jordan and Egypt had voiced opposition to his plan to “take over” Gaza and displace Palestinians.

    “I’ll tell you, the way to do it is my plan — I think that’s the plan that really works,” Trump said.

    “But I’m not forcing it, I’m just going to sit back and recommend it.

    “And then the US would own the site, there’d be no Hamas, and there’d be development and you’d start all over again with a clean plate.”

    A former Egyptian deputy foreign affairs minister to the European Union, Gamal Bayoumi, said the “informal” meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, of the leaders of several Arab countries to discuss an Egyptian counterproposal had led to the softening of Trump’s stance.

    Speaking from Cairo, Bayoumi said Trump had appeared “inexperienced concerning international law” and the Middle East, saying the US president’s plan “has no logic . . . to ask the Palestinians to leave their own country.”

    The Riyadh meeting has ended with the leaders rejecting Trump’s plan and the Arab League will meet in Cairo, Egypt, on March 4 to discuss the counterproposal in more detail.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-left”>MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
         THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
         THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
         THE SENIOR COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT FOR TRADE
         AND MANUFACTURING
    SUBJECT:       Defending American Companies and Innovators From               Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties      Section 1.  Purpose.  In recent years, the gross domestic product of the United States’ digital economy alone, driven by cutting-edge American technology companies, has been bigger than the entire economy of Australia, Canada, or most members of the European Union.  Instead of empowering their own workers and economies, foreign governments have increasingly exerted extraterritorial authority over American companies, particularly in the technology sector, hindering these companies’ success and appropriating revenues that should contribute to our Nation’s well-being, not theirs.        Beginning in 2019, several trading partners enacted digital services taxes (DSTs) that could cost American companies billions of dollars and that foreign government officials openly admit are designed to plunder American companies.  Foreign countries have additionally adopted regulations governing digital services that are more burdensome and restrictive on United States companies than their own domestic companies.  Additional foreign legal regimes limit cross-border data flows, require American streaming services to fund local productions, and charge network usage and Internet termination fees.  All of these measures violate American sovereignty and offshore American jobs, limit American companies’ global competitiveness, and increase American operational costs while exposing our sensitive information to potentially hostile foreign regulators.      My Administration will not allow American companies and workers and American economic and national security interests to be compromised by one-sided, anti-competitive policies and practices of foreign governments.  American businesses will no longer prop up failed foreign economies through extortive fines and taxes.      Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of my Administration that where a foreign government, through its tax or regulatory structure, imposes a fine, penalty, tax, or other burden that is discriminatory, disproportionate, or designed to transfer significant funds or intellectual property from American companies to the foreign government or the foreign government’s favored domestic entities, my Administration will act, imposing tariffs and taking such other responsive actions necessary to mitigate the harm to the United States and to repair any resulting imbalance.      In taking such responsive action, my Administration shall consider:      (a)  taxes imposed on United States companies by foreign governments, including those that may discriminate against United States companies;      (b)  regulations imposed on United States companies by foreign governments that could inhibit the growth or intended operation of United States companies;      (c)  any act, policy, or practice of a foreign government that could require a United States company to jeopardize its intellectual property; and      (d)  Any other act, policy, or practice of a foreign government that serves to undermine the global competitiveness of United States companies.   
         Sec. 3.  Agency Responsibilities.  (a)  The United States Trade Representative shall determine, in accordance with applicable law, whether to renew investigations under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411) of the DSTs of France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, which were initiated under my Administration on July 16, 2019, and June 5, 2020.  If the United States Trade Representative determines to renew such investigations, he shall take all appropriate and feasible action in response to those DSTs.
         (b)  The United States Trade Representative shall determine, consistent with section 302(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)) (section 302(b)), whether to investigate the DST of any other country that may discriminate against United States companies or burden or restrict United States commerce.  He shall further determine whether to pursue a panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on the DST imposed by Canada and whether to investigate Canada’s DST under section 302(b).  In making these determinations, the United States Trade Representative shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate.      (c)  The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative shall jointly identify trade and other regulatory practices by other countries, including, without limitation, those described in section 2 of this memorandum, that discriminate against, disproportionately affect, or otherwise undermine the global competitiveness or intended operation of United States companies, in the digital economy and more generally, and recommend to me appropriate actions to counter such practices under applicable authorities.  The United States Trade Representative shall include the results of this review as part of the report required in section 5(c) of the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (America First Trade Policy) (America First Trade Policy Memorandum).      (d)  The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative shall investigate whether any act, policy, or practice of any country in the European Union or the United Kingdom has the effect of requiring or incentivizing the use or development of United States companies’ products or services in ways that undermine freedom of speech and political engagement or otherwise moderate content, and recommend appropriate actions to counter such practices under applicable authorities.  The United States Trade Representative shall include the results of this review as part of the report required in section 5(c) of the America First Trade Policy Memorandum.      (e)  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, shall determine whether any foreign country subjects United States citizens or companies, including, without limitation, in the digital economy, to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes, or has any tax measure in place that otherwise undermines the global competitiveness of United States companies, is inconsistent with any tax treaty of the United States, or is otherwise actionable under section 891 of title 26, United States Code, or other tax-related legal authority.  The Secretary of the Treasury shall include the results of this determination as part of the report required in section 2 of the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal).      (f)  The United States Trade Representative shall identify tools the United States can use to secure among trading partners a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.  The United States Trade Representative shall include the results of this review as part of the report required in section 5(c) of the America First Trade Policy Memorandum.      (g)  The United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, shall establish a process that allows American businesses to report to the United States Trade Representative foreign tax or regulatory practices that disproportionately harm United States companies.      Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:           (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or           (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.      (b)  This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.      (c)  This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
         (d)  The United States Trade Representative is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Labrador Letter – DOGE’ing the Collapse of our Republic

    Source: US State of Idaho

    Dear Friends,
    This past month has been a remarkable period in our national history.  The new Department of Government Efficiency, known colloquially as DOGE, has uncovered waste, inefficiency and corruption at unprecedented levels and in every agency examined so far.
    USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, has been at the center of this first round of audits. From DEI projects in Serbia to transgender operas and comic books in South America, to tourism promotion in Egypt and sex changes in Vietnam, the USAID projects appear to lack both fiscal restraint and accountability.  Tens of millions, hundreds of millions, even billions of taxpayer dollars are being carelessly thrown at projects around the globe without consideration for our national security, priorities, or strategic interests. USAID resources have even ended up in the hands of designated terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.
    Other upcoming audits include FEMA, which recently sent $59 million to New York City to house illegal immigrants in luxury hotels instead of providing disaster relief in North Carolina.  Also being examined is the Pentagon, which failed its seventh straight audit last year.  Another essential audit will be the Department of the Treasury, which issues every government check.  Following the money is critical in any competent review.
    Those reviews recently uncovered that the Environmental Protection Agency recklessly distributed $20 billion to outside financial institutions in the final hours of the Biden Administration, just to get the money off the books.  Just this week, it was discovered that two billion of those dollars were given to an organization connected to die-hard Biden supporter and two-time failed Georgia democratic gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, for “climate change.”  One Biden-appointed bureaucrat confided that it was, “throwing gold bars off the Titanic.”
    These audits aren’t without controversy for some.  Seventy-seven million Americans who voted for President Trump may cheer the well-advertised reckoning that was promised daily in his campaign to root out government fraud and waste.  Others have expressed concerns that their private data may be accessed by enthusiastic auditors.
    Unsurprisingly, the oversight bureaucracies previously set up to find fraud appear to be disinterested, at best, and complicit, at worst. Instead of investigating the billions of dollars wasted, they repeat the talking points of the coordinated efforts opposing the Trump Administration’s in-depth review.  They say that unelected and “unvetted” bureaucrats, specifically Elon Musk and the DOGE team, might access their social security and tax data, and that unelected people just aren’t accountable.
    Having spent four terms in Congress representing Idaho, I can say confidently there are exactly 537 elected people in your entire federal government:  435 Congressmen, 100 Senators, the Vice-President, and the President.  That’s it!   Everyone else is an unelected bureaucrat — from the agency heads to the generals, all the way to the accountants who currently have access to your personal data — well over two million government workers in total.  I have to admit that I am amused by the Left’s newfound skepticism of unelected bureaucrats. Welcome to my side.  In reality, if these groups are concerned about DOGE, it’s because of what Elon Musk and his team are likely to uncover and not the fact they are unelected.
    This isn’t a partisan issue, or at least it shouldn’t be.  We as taxpayers have a very vested interest in where our money is going and why.  No single political party has a monopoly on improper spending.  Waste and corruption have occurred across many administrations, Republican and Democrat alike.  Those who have taken advantage of the system to enrich themselves or others need to be held accountable, regardless of any party affiliation.  I have confidence that accountability will happen under these audits, and it hints at why there was such unnaturally visceral opposition to President Trump, even before DOGE was a common term.
    As your Attorney General, my office is monitoring the situation closely in the interest of Idahoans.  While I am confident that no Idaho laws are being broken, I will stand up for the protection of Idahoans’ information and privacy.  At the same time, I will also stand up against the corruption and waste in our federal government.  Those two goals are not in conflict at all.  We absolutely can and should do both.
    President Trump was very clear about his promise to audit how the federal government spends money, and his appointed team is carrying that promise out.  Those weren’t just empty words on a campaign stage.  People aren’t used to politicians keeping promises and it likely shocks some people.
    But that shock is something we as a nation must work through.  Our Republic is strong enough to ask hard questions and demand hard answers, because that’s how we grow, adapt, and improve.  Change is uncomfortable, even painful.  But the slow decay of disinterest is terminal.  We need to see these audits through.  America’s best years are ahead of us, and we need to push forward to get there.
    Alexander Fraser Tytler, a Scottish author and jurist, wrote:
    “A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse [money] from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefit from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
    We simply cannot allow the loose fiscal policy Tytler warned against to collapse our country.  Our nation must stand strong against the graft and self-interest of bureaucrats and technocrats and reclaim the authority of our national checkbook – not to vote ourselves money, but to ensure that money spent is in the very best interests of America and Americans.  This will require restraint, vigilance, and discipline.
    To avoid the dangers of a direct democracy and the temptation to vote ourselves money from the public treasury, our Founders wisely gifted us with a Constitutional Republic. As your Attorney General, I’ll fight with all my might to keep it and will support President Trump’s efforts to rein in government fraud, waste and abuse.

    Best regards,
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    MIL OSI USA News –