Zerohedge

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former CNBC financial analyst James Arthur McDonald faces decades behind bars after defrauding investors out of at least $2.7 million, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Feb. 19.

McDonald, 53, a former resident of Arcadia, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

“This defendant was entrusted by his clients to care for their money and he violated that trust by using it to enrich himself,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally.

In June 2024, federal officers arrested McDonald in Washington state, where he fled in 2021 to avoid appearing before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

At his Washington hideout, officers found a fake Washington, D.C., driver’s license bearing McDonald’s photograph and the name “Brian Thomas,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

McDonald was the CEO and chief investment officer of two companies headquartered in Los Angeles—Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. He also often appeared on the CNBC financial news network.

In late 2020, federal prosecutors say McDonald lost tens of millions of dollars of Hercules client money after adopting a risky short position that effectively bet against the health of the U.S. economy in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.

McDonald projected that the COVID-19 pandemic and the election would result in major sell-offs that would cause the stock market to drop, federal prosecutors asserted.

When the market decline did not happen, Hercules clients lost between $30 million and $40 million.

By December 2020, Hercules clients were complaining to company employees about the losses, according to court documents.

The SEC filed a civil complaint against McDonald in September 2022, charging him and Hercules with violating federal securities law.

In early 2021, McDonald solicited millions of dollars’ worth of funds from investors to raise capital for Hercules but misrepresented how the money would be used. The SEC alleges he raised more than $5.1 million from 23 investors and clients and misappropriated more than $2.9 million of those funds for personal investments and Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors, meaning he paid some clients using funds from other clients.

He also failed to disclose the massive losses the company previously realized, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

As part of the campaign to raise capital, McDonald received $675,000 in investment funds from one victim group on March 9, 2021. Prosecutors say he misappropriated most of those funds in various ways, including spending $179,610 at a Porsche dealership and transferring $109,512 to the landlord of a home McDonald was renting in Arcadia.

Prosecutors also claim McDonald defrauded clients of his other firm, Index Strategy Advisors Inc., using less than half of about $3.6 million he raised for trading purposes. Instead, he frequently commingled client funds with funds from his personal bank account, which he used to purchase luxury cars and to pay rent on his home, personal credit card charges, and Hercules operating expenses.

Prosecutors also say he used the funds to make Ponzi-like payments to the company’s clients.

In total, McDonald caused losses of about $2.7 to more than $3 million, according to federal prosecutors.

In April 2024, U.S District Judge Percy Anderson found McDonald and Hercules liable and ordered they pay civil penalties and several million dollars in disgorgement, which is a court-ordered remedy requiring that someone give up ill-gotten gains.

After 350 straight years of global population growth – including a 4x surge from 2 billion in the year 1920 – this trend is finally set to reverse.

Earth’s population is expected to peak in 2084 at 10.3 billion after which it will begin tapering off.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, explores every continent’s population from 1975 to 2100, with estimates used from 2025 onward.

Data comes from the UN’s World Population Prospects (2024).

Peak Population Year For Every Continent and Region

While global peak population is still around 60 years away, some regions will hit their peak a lot sooner.

Europe, for example, already peaked in 2020 at 750 million people.

Note: All figures are estimates.

Meanwhile, Asia and Latin America will hit their peaks in the 2050s, at 5.3 billion and 731 million respectively.

However Africa, Northern America, and Oceania will keep growing slowly past 2100. Under current projections, they will not hit their peaks this century.

Explaining Population Projections

How and why are some regions peaking earlier, later, or not at all?

The answer lies in fertility rates and migration patterns.

First, the fertility rate is measured as the average number of births a woman will have over her lifetime. Since the 1970s, the global fertility rate has been declining steadily.

However, many African nations still have relatively high fertility rates, leading to more births, which leads to a growing population.

Note: All figures are estimates.

In contrast, European countries have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. When the fertility rate drops below the replacement rate (the number of births required per woman, for a generation to replace itself), and migration into the region isn’t enough to offset it, a region’s population begins to decline.

However for Northern America and Oceania, international migration into the region (most likely from Africa and Asia) will bolster declining birth rates, at least until 2100.

Finally, these UN estimates take current fertility, mortality, and migration assumptions into account. They can change, and therefore future projections can also change drastically.

Low fertility rates have an immediate impact on births. Check out Declining Birth Rates in the Most Populous Countries (1950-2024) to see their dramatic fall.

Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The Disinformation Chronicle,

Yale researchers released a study today that posits millions of Americans thought to have Long COVID may have been misdiagnosed and actually have post-vaccination syndrome caused by exposure to the spike protein in COVID vaccines. Spike protein produced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines triggers the body’s immune response, and the FDA claimed in a 2023 Politifact fact check that vaccine spike protein is not toxic and does not linger in the body. However, Yale researchers report that some patients, who were never infected with COVID virus, were sick with post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) and had elevated levels of virus spike protein in their blood up to 709 days after vaccination.

“There is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination,” noted the study authors.

NIH has poured $1.6 billion into Long COVID research, while ignoring patients harmed by COVID vaccines, causing some well-known patient advocates to hide vaccine injury. After a 13-month battle with Long COVID, Hollywood screenwriter Heidi Ferrer took her own life after deciding death was preferable to another minute in her own “personal hell.” Death of the Dawson’s Creek writer made headlines across the media including places such as People, the Guardian, Variety, CNN, Newsweek, and The Daily Mail—each recounting Ferrer’s struggle with Long COVID.

But in a private video circulating among patient groups and obtained by The DisInformation Chronicle, Ferrer’s husband Nick Guthe stated that Moderna’s COVID vaccine was the final straw, causing Heidi to develop tremors and then internal vibrations when she lay down for bed, so that even prescription sleeping pills would not allow her to sleep.

“And that’s when things turned,” Guthe said in the video.

3) Long COVID patients such as Dawson’s Creek writer Heide Ferrer are hiding vaccine injury. Ferrer took her own life, w/ media reporting it was Long COVID.

Her husband later admitted in a private video that after COVID vax “that’s when things turned.” pic.twitter.com/lC0BSAkNLi

— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) February 19, 2025

Prominent patient advocate Beth Mazur also committed suicide after a COVID vaccine apparently worsened her struggles with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic illness with many similarities to Long COVID. Mazur co-founded #MEAction for patients with chronic illness. #MEAction reported in early 2021 that a significant number of ME/CFS patients experienced “both new symptoms and long-lasting exacerbations of their pre-existing ME/CFS symptoms” after a COVID vaccine.

“Beth was a compassionate advocate for ME/CFS and a fierce advocate for vaccine injury after she experienced this herself sometime before she took her own life,” said one of Mazur’s personal friends who did not wish to be identified. “Having people come after you for vaccine injury is worse than being sick itself. And people can’t handle that. It’s a shroud of shame.”

One of the study’s lead authors, Yale Medical School’s Akiko Iwasaki, previously shot down public concerns about COVID vaccine side effects. When Houston Methodist Hospital staffers sued to avoid the hospital’s coronavirus vaccine mandate in 2021, Iwasaki told the Washington Post that the employees’ fears were “absurd” because “no safety concerns” had been found in the mRNA vaccine clinical trials.

Along with other prominent health experts, Iwasaki also signed a petition supporting the OSHA COVID-19 vaccine mandate which the Supreme Court later blocked.

Several of the study’s findings as well as research the authors cite in their paper have been labeled as false by federal agencies, medical experts, and fact checkers. Because medical journals have been rejecting studies on vaccine side effects, the authors uploaded their paper to the preprint site medRxiv.

Passages from the paper are examined below, as well as “fake fact checks” with false and misleading statements by federal agencies and medical experts that, in the past, called these new scientific findings fallacious. Hyperlinks to research papers cited by the study authors have been added to replace their footnotes.

Yale researchers point out that vaccine injury has not been totally defined and has been labeled both PVS and PACVS. Unlike Long COVID, health authorities do not officially recognize PVS, so patients get little support or care. See passage from paper:

In addition, some individuals have reported post-vaccination symptoms resembling long COVID beginning shortly after vaccination. This condition, sometimes referred to as post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) or post-acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PACVS), is characterized by symptoms such as exercise intolerance, excessive fatigue, numbness, brain fog, neuropathy, insomnia, palpitations, myalgia, tinnitus or humming in ears, headache, burning sensations, and dizziness. Unlike long COVID, PVS is not officially recognized by health authorities, which has significantly limited patient care and support.

Both Long COVID and PVS rely on patient’s self-reported symptoms, which have quite a bit in common. Exposure to the spike protein during infection or vaccination causes inflammation. Various parts of the mRNA vaccine might also be problematic such as the mRNA itself which then creates the spike protein, or the tiny fat globule that encases vaccine mRNA called a lipid nanoparticle.

However, there is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination. In susceptible individuals, vaccines may contribute to long-term symptoms by multiple mechanisms. For example, vaccine components, such as mRNA, lipid nanoparticles, and adenoviral vectors, trigger activation of pattern recognition receptors.

FAKE FACT CHECK: In a 2021 fact check, AP claimed spike protein from COVID vaccines are not toxic.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines create a spike protein that is also called “S protein” or “S1”. See passage from paper:

Secondly, it has been shown that the S protein expressed following BNT162b2 [Pfizer] or mRNA-1273 [Moderna] vaccination circulates in the plasma as early as one day after vaccination.

The virus spike protein has two parts called S1 and S2. These might break down into smaller units called peptides. Some patients with PVS have been found with S protein in their blood cells. In animals, the mRNA vaccine has been found to cross over a membrane and enter the brain. If the mRNA then created spike protein, this could cause neurological problems.

Interaction with full-length S, its subunits (S1, S2), and/or peptide fragments with host molecules may result in prolonged symptoms in certain individuals. Recently, a subset of non-classical monocytes has been shown to harbor S protein in patients with PVS. Further, biodistribution studies on mRNA–LNP platforms in animal models indicate its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and the local S expression could result in neurocognitive symptoms.

FAKE FACT CHECK: In a March 2021 fact check, Reuters claimed spike protein is broken down after it leaves a cell.

The researcher report that patients with PVS cited the following symptoms:

The most frequent symptoms reported by participants were excessive fatigue (85%), tingling and numbness (80%), exercise intolerance (80%), brain fog (77.5%), difficulty concentrating or focusing (72.5%), trouble falling or staying asleep (70%), neuropathy (70%), muscle aches (70%), anxiety (65%), tinnitus (60%) and burning sensations (57.5%)

Patients reported symptoms from the vaccines around 4 days, and severe symptoms about 10 days after vaccination.

The median number of days for the development of any symptom was 4 [Interquartile range (IQR): 23 days], while for severe symptoms, it was 10 (IQR: 44 days) post-vaccination.

Patients with PVS had higher levels of spike protein or S1 in their blood.

The results indicated that participants with PVS had significantly higher circulating S1 levels compared with the control group (p = 0.01).

This figure from the paper shows that PVS patients had spike protein or S1 in their blood up to 709 days after they were vaccinated.

FAKE FACT CHECK: In 2023 Politifact alleged the spike protein does not linger in the body after vaccination, based on claims from an FDA official.

PVS and Long COVID share similar symptoms probably from exposure to S protein. Researchers have found the full spike protein and the smaller S1 protein in Long COVID patients. See passage from paper:

Given the similarities between PVS and long COVID symptoms, one hypothesis in the literature is that shared exposure to the S protein may play a role and several groups have independently reported the presence of circulating S1 & full-length S in long COVID using various detection methods.

The highest levels of spike protein were found in PVS patients who had been vaccinated but never infected by COVID virus.

Notably, we observed that the highest levels of detectable S1 in the PVS-I group were the furthest away from the last known exposure and ranging between greater than 600-700 days.

Patients vaccinated with mRNA COVID vaccines and the adenovirus COVID vaccine have shown harm. Patients with PVS had poor health as defined by standardized tests called GHVAS and PROMIS29. Few studies have investigated the cause of PVS, which has no agreed upon definition. See passage from paper:

Post-acute conditions following COVID-19 vaccination have been reported for multiple vaccine platforms including mRNA and adenoviral-vectored vaccines. We observed that the general health status of the PVS participants was far below the general US population average based on the GHVAS scores. The patient-reported outcome scores from the PROMIS29 domains were also indicative of lower quality of life. To date, only a few studies have investigated the immunological mechanisms associated with PVS and no consensus definition of this syndrome exists.

Underlying risk factors for developing PVS are similar for Long COVID. This might be due to problems caused by spike protein, but should be studied further.

The demographics at risk of developing PVS and symptom manifestations are similar to those of long COVID. Whether this reflects overlapping underlying mechanisms such as persistent S protein remains to be determined.

High levels of spike protein in the blood were found in PVS patients who had been infected with the COVID virus and those who had never been infected. This makes sense as spike protein has been found in blood cells. Spike protein has been found in the blood of patients who had myocarditis after COVID vaccination. Because PVS and Long COVID are so similar, the spike protein might be causing the chronic health problems.

By contrast, in our study, significantly elevated levels of circulating S1 and S were observed in a subset of PVS participants both in the infection-naive and infection-positive groups up to 709 days post-exposure. This is in line with the findings of S1 persistence in monocytes in people with PVS. Circulating full-length S has also been detected in cases of post-vaccination myocarditis. Given the striking similarities between long COVID and PVS symptoms, there has been speculation regarding the potential causal role of the persistent presence of spike protein driving the chronic symptoms.

More reporting on vaccine side effects in patients to come.

We strongly encourage you to subscribe to The Disinformation Chronicle.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavia Rao, locates the known overseas bases of the American military, categorized by who controls the base.

In red are the ones controlled by the U.S., and blue are ones controlled by the host country.

ℹ️ This map does not include several hundred temporary sites for military exercises or contingency operations.

Data is sourced from a Congressional report published in 2024. Troop data is from the Defense Manpower Data Center, current to March 2024.

Ranked: Countries with the Most U.S. Bases and Troops

Based on unclassified data, the U.S. has at least 128 bases across 49 countries.

Of them, Japan (14), has the most by far, followed by the Philippines (9) and South Korea (8). Here’s the full list of all 128 listed bases, the country they’re in, and who controls them.

Base Name	Country	ISO Code	Status
Kyogamisaki CS	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	Ally Controlled
Misawa AB	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
Shariki CS	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	Ally Controlled
Yokota AB	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
Camp Zama	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
USFA Yokosuka	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
NAF Atsugi	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
MCAS Iwakuni	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
Kure Pier 6	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
USFA Sasebo	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
USAG Okinawa	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
MCB Camp Butler	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
MCAS Futenma	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
Kadena AB	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	U.S. Controlled
MCI Mujuk	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	Ally Controlled
USAG Daegu	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
USAG Yongsan-Casey	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
Tango	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
Osan AB	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
Camp Humphreys	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
Kunsan AB	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
USFA Chinhae	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	U.S. Controlled
USAG Kwajalein Atoll	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	MHL	U.S. Controlled
Navy Region Center Singapore	🇸🇬 Singapore	SGP	U.S. Controlled
NSF Diego Garcia	🇮🇴 British Indian Territory	IOT	U.S. Controlled
Antonio Bautista AB	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Benito Ebuen AB	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Lumbia Airport	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Basa AB	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Fort Magsaysay	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Camp Melchor Dela	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Lal-lo Airport	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
NB Camilo Osias	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Balabac Island	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	Ally Controlled
Nadzab Airport	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
Lae Seaport	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
Momote Airport	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
Lobrum NB	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
Port Moresby	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
Jackson International Airport & Seaport	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	Ally Controlled
RAAF Base Darwin	🇦🇺 Australia	AUS	Ally Controlled
RAAF Base Tindal	🇦🇺 Australia	AUS	Ally Controlled
NCS Harold E. Holt	🇦🇺 Australia	AUS	Ally Controlled
Robertson Barracks	🇦🇺 Australia	AUS	U.S. Controlled
Pituffik Space Base	🇬🇱 Greenland	GRL	U.S. Controlled
NAS Keflavik	🇮🇸 Iceland	ISL	U.S. Controlled
Joint Warfare Center	🇳🇴 Norway	NOR	U.S. Controlled
RAF Menwith Hill	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	U.S. Controlled
RAF Alconbury / Molesworth	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	U.S. Controlled
RAF Lakenhealth	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	U.S. Controlled
RAF Mildenhall	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	U.S. Controlled
RAF Croughton	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	U.S. Controlled
Lajes Field	🇵🇹 Portugal	PRT	U.S. Controlled
Moron AB	🇪🇸 Spain	ESP	U.S. Controlled
NS Rota	🇪🇸 Spain	ESP	U.S. Controlled
USAG Benelux	🇧🇪 Belgium	BEL	U.S. Controlled
Kleine Brogel AB	🇧🇪 Belgium	BEL	U.S. Controlled
Geilenkirchen AB	🇧🇪 Belgium	BEL	U.S. Controlled
Spangdahlem AB	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
Ramstein AB	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
USAG Weisbaden	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
USAG Stuttgart	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
USAG Ansbach	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
USAG Bavaria	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	U.S. Controlled
Aviano AB	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
USAG Vicenza	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
Ghedi AB	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
Camp Darby	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
NSA Detachment Gaeta	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
NSA Naples	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
NAS Sigonella	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	U.S. Controlled
Amari AB	🇪🇪 Estonia	EST	Ally Controlled
Lielvarde AB	🇱🇻 Latvia	LVA	Ally Controlled
Siauliai	🇱🇹 Lithuania	LTU	Ally Controlled
Camp Herkus	🇱🇹 Lithuania	LTU	Ally Controlled
NSF Redzikowo	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	Ally Controlled
Powidz AB	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	Ally Controlled
Lask AB	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	Ally Controlled
Zagan	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	Ally Controlled
Camp Kosciuszuko	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	Ally Controlled
Papa AB	🇭🇺 Hungary	HUN	Ally Controlled
Kecskemet AB	🇭🇺 Hungary	HUN	Ally Controlled
Camp Turzii	🇷🇴 Romania	ROU	Ally Controlled
NSF Deveselu	🇷🇴 Romania	ROU	Ally Controlled
Mihail Kogalniceanu AB	🇷🇴 Romania	ROU	Ally Controlled
Novo Selo Training Area	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	BGR	Ally Controlled
Graf Ignatievo AB	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	BGR	Ally Controlled
Larissa AB	🇬🇷 Greece	GRC	Ally Controlled
Stefanovikeio AB	🇬🇷 Greece	GRC	Ally Controlled
NSA Souda Bay	🇬🇷 Greece	GRC	U.S. Controlled
RAF Akrotiri	🇨🇾 Cyprus	CYP	Ally Controlled
Camp Bondsteel	🇽🇰 Kosovo	XKX	U.S. Controlled
Incirlik AB	🇹🇷 Turkey	TUR	U.S. Controlled
Izmir AS	🇹🇷 Turkey	TUR	U.S. Controlled
MFO South Camp	🇪🇬 Egypt	EGY	Ally Controlled
Muwaffaq Salti AB	🇯🇴 Jordan	JOR	Ally Controlled
Al-Tanf garrison	🇸🇾 Syria	SYR	Ally Controlled
Rumalyn	🇸🇾 Syria	SYR	Ally Controlled
Erbil AB	🇮🇶 Iraq	IRQ	Ally Controlled
Al Assad AB	🇮🇶 Iraq	IRQ	Ally Controlled
Duqm	🇴🇲 Oman	OMN	Ally Controlled
Jebel Ali	🇦🇪 UAE	ARE	Ally Controlled
Al Dhafra AB	🇦🇪 UAE	ARE	U.S. Controlled
Al Udeid AB	🇶🇦 Qatar	QAT	U.S. Controlled
NSA Bahrain	🇧🇭 Bahrain	BHR	U.S. Controlled
Sheik Isa AB	🇧🇭 Bahrain	BHR	Ally Controlled
Prince Sultan AB	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	SAU	Ally Controlled
King Faisal AB	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	SAU	Ally Controlled
Camp Buehring	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	U.S. Controlled
Al Jaber AB	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	U.S. Controlled
Ali Al Salem AB	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	U.S. Controlled
Camp Arifjan	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	U.S. Controlled
Al Mubarak AB	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	U.S. Controlled
Camp Lemonnier	🇩🇯 Djibouti	DJI	U.S. Controlled
Ascension Island Auxiliary Airfield	🇸🇭 St. Helena	HLE	U.S. Controlled
Chabelley Airfield	🇩🇯 Djibouti	DJI	Ally Controlled
Baledogle	🇸🇴 Somalia	SOM	Ally Controlled
Mogadishu	🇸🇴 Somalia	SOM	Ally Controlled
Kismayo	🇸🇴 Somalia	SOM	Ally Controlled
Manda Bay	🇰🇪 Kenya	KEN	Ally Controlled
Mombasa	🇰🇪 Kenya	KEN	Ally Controlled
N’djamena	🇹🇩 Chad	TCD	Ally Controlled
Atlantic Undersea Test & Evaluation Center	🇧🇸 The Bahamas	BHS	U.S. Controlled
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay	🇨🇺 Cuba	CUB	U.S. Controlled
Soto Cano Air Base	🇭🇳 Honduras	HND	U.S. Controlled
CSL Comalapa	🇸🇻 El Salvador	SLV	Ally Controlled
CSL Reina Beatrix International Airport	🇦🇼 Aruba	ABW	Ally Controlled
CSL Hato International Airport	🇨🇼 Curacao	CUW	Ally Controlled

A quick glance at the map reveals the two major security priorities for the U.S. military: Europe and East Asia.

Japan also has the most troops stationed in any country, numbering 53,000 at last count.

While Germany, Italy, and the UK don’t have double-digit bases like Japan, collectively Europe has a huge American presence, when adding in all bases and troops together.

And this isn’t even accounting for the additional 80,000 soldiers deployed to the region after the 2022 Russian invasion.

Middle East: A Growing Security Sphere

While not as nearly cluttered as Europe and East Asia, the Middle East is also home to numerous American bases. Key allies Kuwait and Bahrain also host forces.

Rank	Countries With the Most U.S. Bases	Bases	Countries With the Most U.S. Troops	Troops
1	🇯🇵 Japan	14	🇯🇵 Japan	52,852
2	🇵🇭 Philippines	9	🇩🇪 Germany	34,894
3	🇰🇷 South Korea	8	🇰🇷 South Korea	23,732
4	🇮🇹 Italy	7	🇮🇹 Italy	12,319
5	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	6	🇬🇧 UK	10,180
6	🇩🇪 Germany	6	🇧🇭 Bahrain	3,424
7	🇬🇧 UK	5	🇪🇸 Spain	3,253
8	🇵🇱 Poland	5	🇹🇷 Turkey	1,683
9	🇰🇼 Kuwait	5	🇧🇪 Belgium	1,119
10	🇦🇺 Australia	4	🇨🇺 Cuba	572

Nothing makes security priorities more clear than base in Djibouti, not just for the U.S. but also the rest of the world.

It’s situated on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, and is a key shipping route. The Red Sea has been in the news lately due to Houthi rebel attacks.

Thus, Djibouti’s strategic location, and careful deal-making, has resulted in the country hosting military bases from seven other nations as well. This includes political rivals to the U.S., like China.

You might have noticed several NATO members hosting troops and bases. Check out: NATO Members Are Ramping up Defense Spending to see how the Russian invasion had an impact.

Authored by Rachel Acenas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Nearly two dozen members of a violent transnational gang were arrested and charged in Massachusetts, federal authorities announced Feb. 19.

Twenty-two alleged Trinitarios gang members face various federal charges including racketeering conspiracy in connection with several murders, attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings, and robberies.

Authorities confirmed that factions of the Trinitarios gang have been identified in the cities of Lawrence, Lynn, Boston, and Haverhill.

“We believe those arrested today–leaders, members, and close associates of the Trinitarios–have allegedly shown a reckless indifference to human life in order to control their turf, push their poison, and make money,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement.

The investigation, led by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), began in the aftermath of four murders and a series of attempted murders and shootings that happened in Lynn back in 2023. Two of the alleged gang members were juveniles at the time the crimes were committed and have been charged with murder.

“The Massachusetts Trinitarios allegedly recruit new members among communities of legal immigrants and illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic—specifically juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn,” according to ICE.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said this latest enforcement ends the gang’s “reign of terror” in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors continue to target violent criminal enterprises. Members and associates of Tren de Aragua, one of the world’s most dangerous transnational criminal organizations, have been nabbed in recent targeted enforcement operations across the country.

The Trump administration on Wednesday officially designated six drug cartels and two gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, or FTOs.

The organizations that received the label include Tren de Aragua, MS-13, Sinaloa cartel, Jalisco New Generation cartel, Tepalcatepec cartel, Los Zetas cartel, Gulf cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

The notice issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the groups pose a risk to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The label expands the government’s ability to crack down on criminal groups operating in the United States. Designating a group as an FTO allows the government to disrupt the group’s finances through sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on its members and associates.

The move comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office last month that called on officials to evaluate whether any criminal cartels or transnational gangs should be designated as terrorism groups.

From NTD News

*  *  *

Check out these excellent knives for no reason in particular…

 

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The new head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Wednesday addressed speculations that millions of deceased individuals over the age of 100 may be receiving Social Security benefits, stating that they are likely exaggerated.

Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek, appointed recently by President Donald Trump, issued a statement on Feb. 19, clarifying concerns raised by Trump, DOGE frontman Elon Musk, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The three had said in social media posts and press briefings that SSA records list individuals as being 100, 200, or even 300 years old—raising questions about potential improper payments.

Dudek said he wants to “acknowledge recent reporting about the number of people older than age 100 who may be receiving benefits from Social Security,” adding that the “reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record.”

“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said, while expressing confidence in the audits conducted by DOGE, which Trump has tasked with uncovering any fraud, waste, and abuse in government spending.

“I am confident that with DOGE’s help and the commitment of our executive team and workforce, that Social Security will continue to deliver for the American people,” Dudek said.

Trump said at a Florida press briefing on Feb. 18 that DOGE’s findings suggest “millions and millions” of centenarians may be receiving benefits improperly. This is “obviously fraudulent or incompetent,” he said.

“If you take all of those millions of people off Social Security, all of a sudden, we have a very powerful Social Security with people that are 80 and 70 and 90, but not 200 years old,” the president said.

“It’s a very positive thing” that DOGE had shed light on the potential issue, Trump said. “We’re figuring it out.”

Musk echoed these concerns on social media.

“Maybe Twilight is real, and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he joked in one post. In another, he wrote: “Having tens of millions of people marked as ‘ALIVE’ when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem. Some of them would have been alive before America existed as a country. Think about that for a second.”

Musk also criticized the lack of action on past government reports that highlighted the issue. “What’s super weird is that the @USGAO pointed out years ago that millions of dead people were tagged as alive by Social Security, but nothing was done!” he wrote.

Leavitt said in an appearance on Fox News that Musk and DOGE have been working to identify fraud at the SSA. “They haven’t dug into the books yet but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people receiving fraudulent Social Security payments,” she said.

Concerns about outdated records are not new. SSA’s Office of the Inspector General has noted the presence of inactive Social Security numbers and that the records don’t necessarily mean fraudulent payments are occurring.

A March 2015 report and a July 2023 follow-up found that the SSA had not updated its system to properly annotate death information for approximately 18.9 million people born in 1920 or earlier who were not officially marked as deceased. The reports also stated that “almost none” of these individuals were actively receiving benefits.

The SSA ultimately decided not to update the database due to the cost, which was estimated to exceed $9 million. Additionally, since September 2015, SSA policy has automatically stopped payments to anyone listed as older than 115 years old.

The extent of improper Social Security payments remains uncertain.

A July 2024 report from the Social Security inspector general found that, between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, the agency distributed nearly $8.6 trillion in benefits. Of that amount, $71.8 billion, less than 1 percent, was classified as improper payments, with the majority being overpayments to living recipients rather than deceased individuals.

Additionally, in early January, the U.S. Treasury recovered more than $31 million in various federal payments—not limited to Social Security—that had been mistakenly sent to deceased individuals. Former Treasury official David Lebryk described the recovery efforts as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Authored by Doug Truax via RealClearPolitics,

Why do we tolerate purposeful government incompetence? Especially when it comes to our voter registration rolls – the lists we use to make sure only qualified voters cast ballots in an election.

These rolls are bloated with ineligible voters, only periodically updated, and opaque to the public.

What if our bank records were like that? How long would that last before we’d spill out into the streets?

There’s one state official who’s trying to change that. He’s Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who announced recently he’d make available to the public daily snapshots of the voter rolls to keep up with additions and subtractions to the list. That’s a great reform. LaRose has been ahead of most state election officials, passing a series of reforms that puts Ohio on the leading edge of election transparency.

While LaRose is on the right track, there’s still a long way to go. Our vision at the Voter Reference Foundation is to have all the rolls up to date at all times in an easily consumed format. That was our idea when we created VoteRef.com in 2021, the first attempt ever in America to publish voter rolls in all 50 states.

We understand – as do LaRose and many election experts – that fixing the voter rolls is the lynchpin for clean elections. It makes sense – in order to conduct an election, you need an accurate, up-to-date registration list of eligible voters to start. Any bogus name on the list, including dead voters or those who have moved away, is an open invitation for vote fraud. Those who oppose clean, accurate voter rolls are people not concerned with election integrity.

We have made tremendous progress, but some states are more committed to hiding their voting records than exposing them to public scrutiny. More than a dozen either ban their publication or severely hamstring a taxpayer’s ability to examine them. Most of those states are run by Democrats. One, New Mexico, sued us in federal court and referred us for criminal investigation for publishing them. A federal judge agreed with us that we had the legal right to publish the rolls.

Another obstacle is that states charge lots of money for access to the rolls and don’t update them in real-time. We are doing our best to work around these limitations. State officials don’t seem to understand that taxpayers pay for election administration and, under federal law, have a right to examine the records. These are our records, not theirs.

The new Trump administration in Washington is certainly attuned to the election integrity crisis in America. Large swaths of our population lack confidence that elections are free, fair, and accurate. We must change that, and now is the time.

We hope Frank LaRose’s actions in Ohio will be the spark that convinces states to open up their voting records more fully to the public. Our republic cannot tolerate a sloppy and inaccurate government that gives an opening to the corruption of our elections.

Let’s get moving.

Doug Truax is founder and CEO of Restoration of America, one of the most active and effective political organizations in America. He is a West Point graduate, successful entrepreneur, and former Army Ranger.

Continuing his government-reformation fiesta, President Trump is expected to issue an executive order dissolving the US Postal Service leadership and absorbing the organizaton into the Commerce Department. That bold move may be just a first step toward an even more ambitious and controversial goal: privatizing the perpetual money-loser. 

From leadership to rank-and-file employees, the USPS will most certainly mount intense legal and political efforts against both initiatives. The USPS governing board is already gearing up: On Thursday, the USPS board held an emergency meeting in which it hired outside attorneys and directed them to file legal challenges when Trump makes his first move, the Washington Post reported.   

The Postal Service is politically powerful — starting with its raw headcount: While you may not guess it given the long lines that typify a visit to a post office, USPS has a staggering 650,000 employees, who rise up whenever privatization gains momentum. It’s also popular among Americans — 72% view it favorably, compared just 21% who view it unfavorably, according to a 2024 Pew Research poll. 

In December, the Post reported that Trump had been discussing USPS privatization with Howard Lutnick, who is now Secretary of Commerce, along with other transition officials whom Trump used as a sounding board on the topic. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) held its own meetings to explore drastic actions with the 250-year-old service. 

In November, USPS disclosed a net loss of $9.5 billion for the 2024 fiscal year — a loss that was 46% worse than the service’s $6.5 billion deficit in 2023. The plunge came alongside a slight uptick in revenue enabled by the latest annual increase in postage rates, pursuant to the 2021 Delivering for America plan. That program was supposed to help the perennially-profitless behemoth “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence.” The service also has a crummy balance sheet, with nearly $80 billion in liabilities. 

In recent years, USPS has increased its headcount despite that fact that mail volumes have steadily declined since a Covid-era spike. Grilling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a Senate hearing, Rand Paul asked, “Can you think of a private business — where 80% of what they’re doing to make money is going down in volume — would actually increase their employees?” Here’s a particularly well-framed video of the exchange: 

NEW: Head of the Postal Service, Louis Dejoy is stepping down after losing $9.5 BILLION in 2024. In 2023 he lost $6.5 BILLION

🚨 USPS has seen a 80% DECREASE in volume of mail but ADDED 190,000 employees

Senator Rand Paul “Can you think of a private business where 80% of what… pic.twitter.com/AcAu60XdZN

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 19, 2025

Since 1970, the USPS has operated as a quasi-governmental agency, led by a board of governors whose members are appointed by presidents subject to Senate confirmation. Earlier this week, DeJoy informed the USPS board that he was ready to step down from his position, and asked the board to begin seeking his successor. His move halfway through his 10-year-term came amid reports that Trump was thinking of replacing him. DeJoy was appointed by Trump in the summer of 2020, and soon became a lightning rod for Democrats who accused him of thwarting the vote-by-mail free-for-all that leftists fostered during that pandemic-stricken election year. In the crucial state of Pennsylvania, 76% of mailed ballots went to Biden.  

Predictably, leftists have started losing their minds over Trump’s pending moves, simultaneously decrying USPS reform as Russian interference, racism and an attack on democracy…

So Trump wants to dissolve the board of governors and take full control of the USPS. I wonder who gave him that idea? pic.twitter.com/brtzz4swQA

— Skunk Factory (@skankyskunk47) February 21, 2025

In going after USPS, Trump is trying to decimate an organization famous for employing hundreds of thousands of Black people throughout its history. pic.twitter.com/C6BXfsZ5cI

— Jeremy Fassler (@J_fassler) February 21, 2025

Trump wants to control the USPS so he can fuck with mail in voting.

TRUMP WANTS CONTROL OF THE USPS SO HE CAN FUCK WITH MAIL IN VOTING.

— Liberal Lisa in Oklahoma (@lisa_liberal) February 21, 2025

Authored by Julie Kelly via Declassified With Julie Kelly,

In what has become the latest trend in #Resistance fashion, another government lawyer made a splashy exit from the Department of Justice this week. Denise Cheung, chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, sent a three-page letter to her boss explaining why she would have to quit rather than follow orders to pursue an investigation into potential wrongdoing tied to the Biden administration.

In noting her 24-year career at the DOJ—she once worked as former Attorney General Eric Holder’s national security advisor—Cheung, like those before her, claimed the moral high ground as her excuse not to do her job. “I have always worked to enforce the rule of law, to vindicate the rights of victims. and to protect the security of the nation,” Cheung wrote to Ed Martin, the acting D.C. U.S. attorney and President Trump’s pick to permanently run the powerful office, on February 18. “I believe that the values the Department of Justice stands for, and the many people that work every day to fulfill them, are to be promoted and cherished.”

Recent antics by DOJ employees indicate one “value” is the ability to defy superiors with a change of the political winds. In Cheung’s case, she challenged the veracity of evidence presented as the basis for a potential investigation into a Biden-era “climate” initiative with all the markings of a political slush fund ripe for fraud and corruption.

Biden-Style Grift on His Way Out the Door

The so-called Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund first got attention when Lee Zeldin, the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, laid out details of the jaw-dropping arrangement in a video posted last week. “Roughly twenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said on February 12. “This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history and it was purposefully designed to obligate all the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”

Zeldin noted that the money, now understood to be “parked” at Citibank, was awarded to eight climate nonprofits who then “doled out your money to NGOs and others at their discretion with far less transparency.” He referred the matter to both the DOJ and EPA inspector general:

🚨The Biden EPA tossed $20 billion of “gold bars off the Titanic”.

BIG UPDATE! We found the gold bars and they are now being recovered for you, the hardworking American taxpayer.

Here are more of the details: pic.twitter.com/DM4C0TQcpj

— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) February 13, 2025

There is no question about the political origins of the fund; the Biden White House touted the program with great fanfare months before the 2024 election. During a campaign stop last April, Kamala Harris announced the eight chosen winners of the $20 billion climate lottery. Harris also noted the unique nature of the arrangement, boasting that “for the first time in history, we are providing tens of billions of dollars directly to community lenders to finance local climate projects. This is a novel approach, it is actually the first time we have taken this approach.” (The list of recipients is here.)

Here is Kamala Harris announcing the $20 billion climate lottery in April 2024.

Lee Zeldin and Trump DOJ want an investigation into abuses of this fund—which is not overseen by Congress but by Citibank. First of its kind arrangement.

I mean—what could go wrong? pic.twitter.com/JIfbLvMRuD

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) February 19, 2025

And far from being a single-minded mission to reduce carbon emissions, the pot primarily is reserved for “communities with environmental justice concerns, communities of color, low-income communities, rural communities, [and] Tribal communities.” Projects could involve something as basic as replacing insulation and installing solar panels to buying a fleet of electric trucks to start a delivery service, Harris said in her speech.

What possibly could go wrong?

A Ripe Target for Investigation—But Not So, Says Cheung

One can only imagine how climate and social justice activists spending billions in free money with apparently no accountability might abuse the system. This is especially true of Joe Biden, who has a long history of leveraging his government power to enrich his family and friends. (Breaking news indicates one grantee is tied to Stacey Abrams. More on this in a follow up piece.)

The unusual nature of the arrangement alone—a major bank rather than Congress handling a big chunk of tax dollars with no known oversight mechanism established just a few months before the election—should raise the Spidey senses of any federal prosecutor, especially one with a stellar DOJ resume that stretches back more than two decades.

But not so with Cheung.

Evidence? What Evidence?

Apparently acting on information described by Zeldin, who is an attorney, and a separate video produced by Project Veritas that showed a Biden political appointee at the EPA admitting the administration was rushing to move the climate money before Trump got into office, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove sought to initiate an investigation.

“I was asked to review documentation supplied by [Bove] to open a criminal investigation into whether a contract had been unlawfully awarded by an executive agency before the change in Administration and to issue grand jury subpoenas pursuant to this investigation,” Cheung wrote in her resignation letter. “I was told that there was time sensitivity and action had to be taken that day because there was concern that contract awardees could continue to draw down on accounts handled by the bank handling the disbursements.”

Cheung said she then conferred with DOJ employees who have “substantial white collar criminal prosecution experience.” They concluded, however, “the existing documents on their face did not seem to meet this threshold” for an investigation.

Bove additionally sought a letter to Citibank ordering a “freeze” of funds related to the unidentified grant recipient. Cheung then contacted the famously corrupt Washington FBI field office for more guidance; she then concluded that enough evidence supported potential conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

But the letter from the FBI only “recommended” a freeze of the funds.

When confronted by Martin, who wanted to send a follow-up letter demanding, not recommending, the freeze, Cheung refused. “When I explained that the quantum of evidence did not support that action, you stated that you believed that there was sufficient evidence,” she told Martin. “I still do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to issue the letter you described, including sufficient evidence to tell the bank that there is probable cause to seize the particular accounts identified.”

She then resigned per Martin’s request.

Cheung’s sanctimony and sudden devotion to careful prosecutorial scrutiny is hard to swallow given her history. After years of helping the DOJ pursue clearly politically motivated investigations against Republicans, Cheung suddenly suffered an alleged attack of conscience when it came to investigating Democrats?

This is, after all, the same Denise Cheung who was part of the DOJ team that initiated the dubious investigation into Donald Trump over Jan 6; brought federal charges against Trump advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for defying an illicit congressional committee; and helped manage the largest criminal prosecution in Justice Department history resulting in the arrest of nearly 1,600 Americans for the events of Jan 6.

Cheung’s “moral, ethical, and legal obligations,” as she bragged in her resignation letter, never got in the way of her office’s unlawful use of a post-Enron obstruction statute to turn hundreds of J6 protesters into lifelong felons. Or when her office applied federal misdemeanors such as “parading” in the Capitol for the first time against political protesters. Or when her office added terror enhancements to sentencing recommendations in order to throw nonviolent J6ers in federal prison for years. Or when her office sent women in their 70s to jail for protesting outside of abortion clinics.

The list of abuses by the DOJ tacitly endorsed by Cheung over the past decade or so is long and ignominious. Which is why her preachy indignation in the face of investigating Democrats rather than Republicans rings hollow.

Subscribe to Declassified with Julie Kelly here…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng held a video call on Friday, kicking off crucial diplomatic efforts between the President Xi Jinping government and the new Trump administration.

As expected, the Chinese side raised “serious concerns” on the recent imposition of tariffs and other restrictive measures on Chinese goods by the Trump White House, at a moment of growing fears of a renewed trade war.

“Both sides recognized the importance of China-US economic and trade relations and agreed to continue to maintain communication on issues of mutual concern,” a rather guarded and vanilla readout from the Chinese government’s State Council said.

The “in-depth” exchange of views recognized the importance of bilateral economic and trade relations, the Chinese readout said further.

Likely central to the conversation was Beijing’s objections to the Trump-imposed 10% tariffs which came in early February as a punitive response to the explosion of Chinese fentanyl trafficking. Beijing had hit back with targeted tariffs of up to 15% on select US imports, and warned that sanctions – including on Google – could come next.

The readout issued soon after the call from the US Treasury chief highlighted that Bessent and Vice-Premier He discussed counternarcotics efforts, economic imbalances, and unfair policies.

Below is the short US readout in full:

Earlier today, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had an introductory call with Vice Premier He Lifeng of the People’s Republic of China to exchange views on the bilateral economic relationship.  Secretary Bessent expressed serious concerns about the PRC’s counternarcotics efforts, economic imbalances, and unfair policies, and stressed the Administration’s commitment to pursue trade and economic policies that protect the American economy, the American worker, and our national security.  Secretary Bessent and Vice Premier He agreed to remain in communication going forward.

The question of a likely visit by Chinese President Xi to Washington looms large in the background. The day prior, Trump while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One indicated he expects Xi to visit soon, but didn’t reveal a timeline.

Saying that “it’s possible” for for Washington and Beijing to strike a new trade deal, he acknowledged that more direct talks are needed. “We’ll have, ultimately, President Xi, we will have everybody coming (to the US),” Trump said.

The recent response from Chinese state media…

Instead of protecting American economic interests, Washington’s tariffs, as multiple studies have shown, have driven up prices, reduced economic output and employment, and dented the overall economy. https://t.co/irR3Leg8Pi pic.twitter.com/hGY1B3p45T

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 21, 2025

The Republican president has further lately teased the threat reciprocal tariffs for all countries that tax US imports, which would escalate global trade tensions.

In a January Hannity interview just days after being sworn in to his second term, Trump displayed a reluctance to escalate the trade war, stating that he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China. He has emphasized  his willingness to negotiate with President Xi and has sought to avert a clash between the world’s two largest economies.