Yes, China is Surrounding the S. China Sea, but what about Florida?

Posted on April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 by Denise Simon

The two faced dragon….tie to really recalibrate the relationship between the United States and China AGAIN….Previously n this website, I have discussed not only by a post but several times on radio about how the former intelligence/snooping base owned by Russia in Cuba known as the Lourdes SIGINT station was sold to China….no one in media or the national security realm seems to give it much attention…but now…we have an additional problem with China and that is the Bahamas.

How about the largest Chinese embassy in the world with hundreds of Chinese intelligence officers deployed there….. Embassy of China in Nassau in Nassau, Bahamas (Google Maps)

In part from FNC:

“The People’s Republic of China has been making diplomatic, economic and even military and quasi-military inroads into the Caribbean, South and Central America for the past couple of decades,” retired Rear Adm. Peter Brown, former Homeland Security advisor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital.

Brown pointed to the rise in dual-use infrastructure projects along the Bahamas coastline, which is located just 50 miles off the coast of Florida.

“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination for the People’s Republic of China to use its commercial footprint in the Bahamas to monitor, exploit and perhaps even do worse to [the] U.S.,” he said. Pointing to the Chinese-controlled British Colonial Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas, Brown said that its location directly across from the U.S. Embassy could give way to intelligence gathering on U.S. personnel.

The hotel is owned by a Chinese company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which has raised geopolitical concerns given its location. Fox News Digital has reached out to the British Colonial Hotel for comment.

China has invested heavily in the Bahamas through a range of additional high-profile projects, including a $40 million grant for a national stadium, a $3 billion mega-port in Freeport, and $40 million for the North Abaco Port and Little Abaco Bridge.

In 2019, now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in a Miami Herald op-ed that the devastation caused by the natural disaster could create an opening for the People’s Republic of China to use aid as a Trojan horse to gain a foothold near American shores.

“By targeting the Bahamian government in this period of crisis, Beijing would be making the same opportunistic play to access critical foreign infrastructure,” Rubio wrote in 2019. “But in this case, the national security threat is especially perilous, as it would give China a foothold just 50 miles from the coast of Florida.”

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How about another look at things in the Caribbean…Chinese expansion

Chinese Expansion in the Caribbean (Extra) - Virtual Mirage

China’s Influence in the Caribbean:

China is a member of both the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and an observer at the Organization of American States (OAS). Alongside Italy and Germany, China is the third largest shareholder at the CDB with 5.6% of overall shares, exponentially higher than the majority of Caribbean countries.

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) engagement in the Caribbean has largely focused on investments in infrastructure and developing trade relationships. As of 2022, ten Caribbean countries have signed up to Belt and Road (BRI) – Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname.

The PRC is working towards diminishing the region’s ties to Taiwan as the region contains the largest bulk of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. Today, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, and Belize remain the only Caribbean nations that recognize Taiwan.

China’s Trade and Economic Investment in the Caribbean

While the Caribbean’s trade with China has grown at a slower pace than overall trade with the region, it increased from $1 billion in 2002 to $8 billion in 2019, with an estimated $6.1 billion in Chinese exports and $1.9 billion in imports.

China is a major trading partner of Cuba’s and Chinese businesses are involved in the Cuba’s telecommunications, tourism, mining, and energy sectors.

Cuba is highly dependent on China and ongoing economic challenges resulted in the reconstructing of an estimated $4 billion in debt to China in 2011 and another restructuring in 2015. For more reading click here.

The U.S. Must Join China’s Belt and Road In Developing The Caribbean ...

How Badly is the Taxpayer Being Fleeced?

Posted on April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 by Denise Simon

We have some indications as noted by what DOGE has uncovered…but it hardly all of it. The House is working diligently on the Trump Big Beautiful Bill because much of what has come from DOGE as well as Cabinet secretaries, there will need to be legislative action to stop the stupid as in spending in the future….yet…check out what my long time friends at Open the Books has uncovered….

In part:

BY THE NUMBERS

During fiscal year 2024, federal agencies reported $161.5 billion in improper payments – money sent to the wrong entity, for the wrong amount or wrong reason – according to data released by the Office of Management and Budget in November.

That means President Biden left office having presided over $925.7 billion in waste, fraud, abuse and duplicative payments – and that’s just what agencies were able to report.

Adjusted for inflation, the figure grows to $986.2 billion – almost a trillion dollars lost through improper payments!

That’s the worst for any president since reporting began in 2004, even when adjusting for inflation.

NOTE: Perhaps unsurprisingly, the single-year record came during the fog of Covid, as enormous amounts of cash were shoveled out quickly by Congress. Fiscal year 2021 say $281.4 billion in improper payments, which we now know includes Covid-related aid that was subject to massive fraud.

BY AGENCY

As Open the Books first reported in RealClearInvestigations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wasted $87 billion in improper payments, more than any other government entity. Medicare reimbursements to health providers had a 7.7% mistake rate this year, the worst since percentages were first reported in 2019.

Another $4 billion was sent to recipients who had issues regarding their citizenship, including $824 million in unemployment insurance from the Department of Labor.

The government also sent $346 million to dead people, mostly because the Office of Personnel Management continued to send benefits to retirees who are no longer alive. That’s the highest amount since at least 2021.

The Treasury Department is working to rectify the problem of payments sent to dead people, having reported it recouped $31 million in such payments in five months. It did so simply by gaining access to the Social Security Administration’s federal death database. It’s amazing what can happen when the left hand simply knows what the right hand is doing! That said, Open the Books has reported $3.6 billion in Covid stimulus checks went to dead people. As our CEO, John Hart, told FOX News, “There are miles to go before we break even.”

Other Covid-era programs continued to have some of the worst improper payment rates. Roughly 25%, or $2 billion, of loans forgiven under the Paycheck Protection Program this year were paid improperly.

The data was released on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving, leaving little time for negative coverage before families began breaking bread.

For comparison, Biden leaves office with an overall mistake rate of 5.42%, slightly higher than President Trump’s 4.94% in his first term. Still, Trump presided over $846.8 billion in improper payments, adjusted for inflation as of last October.

Now, he has an opportunity to make good on the war on waste.

SEC's Final Clawback Rules: What to Know | WorldatWork

So, as long as President Trump is signing Executive Orders, he needs to sign yet another that stands up a task force that pursues investigations and ‘clawback’ taxpayer money as much and as fast as can happen.

Eliminate the tax code for the Fair tax/ Flat tax or Consumption tax

Posted on January 28, 2025January 28, 2025 by Denise Simon

Finally the discussion and debate is in fact really happening in Washington DC. Yay…

So, the Trump administration and the United States has a new Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. Soon after his swearing in, he did send out an X post:

Now let’s check out Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter….he has some legislation:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) today introduced H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act, to replace the current tax code with a national consumption tax known as the Fair Tax.Joining Rep. Carter as original cosponsors are Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Scott Perry (R-PA), Bob Good (R-VA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Bill Posey (R-FL), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).

Congressman Carter’s bill is 132 pages and found here.

Imagine –>TITLE I—REPEAL OF THE IN2 COME TAX, PAYROLL TAXES, 3 AND ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES

Imagine –>11 ‘‘CHAPTER 3—FAMILY CONSUMPTION 12 ALLOWANCE ‘‘Sec. 301. Family consumption allowance. ‘‘Sec. 302. Qualified family. ‘‘Sec. 303. Monthly poverty level. ‘‘Sec. 304. Rebate mechanism. ‘‘Sec. 305. Change in family circumstances. 13 ‘‘SEC. 301. FAMILY CONSUMPTION ALLOWANCE. 14 ‘‘Each qualified family shall be eligible to receive a 15 sales tax rebate each month. The sales tax rebate shall 16 be in an amount equal to the product of— 17 ‘‘(1) the rate of tax imposed by section 101, 18 and 19 ‘‘(2) the monthly poverty level.

There is certainly more in the draft of the bill sho check it out….let the discussions begin.

Congressman Carter’s bill suggests a 25% consumption tax while other previously suggested proposals are at 17%. Note that here.

Maybe with all the artificial intelligence chatter, AI can figure out what is the best option to replace the IRS tax code.

Homan and Noem in NY for Illegal Migrant Operations

Posted on January 28, 2025January 28, 2025 by Denise Simon

The operations in New York included criminal and civil law enforcement actions. A ruthless leader of Tran de Aragua, Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco was arrested who is/was wanted for kidnapping a woman from Aurora, Colorado also with the help of the DEA in an apartment building in the Bronx.

It is important to know however just what law enforcement is up against in New York as noted below as an example:

🚨Breaking News 🚨

This was sent into multiple migrant shelters and hotels throughout NYC .

It’s telling employees of migrants shelters not to work and pretty much stall federal agents from entering migrant shelter.

This was sent in from a source at a migrant shelter. pic.twitter.com/lnoM43CC3g

— Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) January 27, 2025

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ABC News:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined an immigration enforcement operation in New York City on Tuesday.

Noem posted a brief video of an arrest to her social media account.

The secretary is witnessing both criminal and civil enforcement operations, according to sources familiar with the actions in New York.

The criminal case involves a member of a Venezuelan gang that took over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, the sources said. One alleged gang member was arrested in the Bronx.

The New York division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it was working with partners at the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist the Department of Homeland Security with enforcement efforts.

***. Violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recruiting NYC migrants for ... TdA recruiting migrants

There have been recent arrests in New York of a Venezuelan fugitive and TdA gang member. ICE published this example from May of last year in New York:

NEW YORK — On May 10, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City arrested an unlawfully present Venezuelan citizen and member of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization. Johan Jose Cardenas Silva is wanted by Peruvian authorities for conspiracy, assault and aggravated theft. Cardenas was also one of eight noncitizens arrested by the New York City Police Department March 27 and charged with criminal possession of a weapon-second degree: loaded firearm; criminal possession weapon-second degree: loaded firearm on school grounds; criminal possession-controlled substance-5th: intent to sell; and act in manner injure child less than 17.

ERO New York City officers assigned to its Long Island office arrested Cardenas upon his release from Nassau County Correctional Center pursuant to an administrative warrant of removal. He is detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

“This international fugitive mistakenly thought he could waltz into the United States to not only evade justice in other countries, but to continue his criminality with impunity,” said ERO New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. “His history of lawless behavior and membership in a violent international criminal organization clearly demonstrate that he is a serious threat to the public safety.”

U.S. Border Patrol officials encountered Cardenas in Del Rio, Texas, Oct. 4, 2022, and determined he unlawfully entered the United States and issued him a notice and order of expedited removal.

On Jan. 19, 2023, ERO San Antonio served Cardenas a notice to appear with a list of free legal services and filed it with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). On March 30, 2023, an immigration judge ordered Cardenas removed from the United States.

On Oct. 5, 2023, Cardenas was released from Stewart County Detention Center on an order of supervision to report to New York City; however, he never reported as directed.

On March 27, NYPD arrested him for the crimes of criminal possession of a weapon-second degree: loaded firearm; criminal possession weapon-second degree: loaded firearm on school grounds; criminal possession-controlled substance-5th: intent to sell; and act in manner injure child less than 17. On this same date, the Bronx Criminal Court arraigned and released Cardenas on his own recognizance before an immigration detainer could be lodged. Due to the New York state’s Protect Our Courts Act, ERO New York City was precluded from arresting Cardenas upon his release.

On April 1, the Nassau County Police Department arrested and charged Cardenas with the crimes of grand larceny in the fourth degree: value property greater than $1,000 and petit larceny. On that same day, ERO New York City lodged an immigration detainer with the Nassau County Jail against Cardenas’ release.

On April 9, ERO New York City received notification that Cardenas was an international fugitive wanted by Peruvian authorities on an arrest warrant issued in October 2018.

On April 30, the First District Court of Nassau County convicted him of petit larceny and sentenced him to 60 days of imprisonment. More here.

The $200M Smuggling Bust at the Long Beach Port

Posted on January 28, 2025January 28, 2025 by Denise Simon

FoxLA:

LA Ports smuggling bust: Feds arrest 8 suspected of smuggling $200M in Chinese goods

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities have arrested eight individuals in connection with a large-scale smuggling operation that allegedly brought counterfeit and illegal goods from China into the United States through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The operation, involving logistics companies, warehouse owners, and corrupt truck drivers, is believed to have smuggled at least $200 million worth of goods. An additional defendant, believed to be the lead orchestrator, remains at large and is thought to be in China. The defendants face multiple charges, including conspiracy, smuggling, and breaking customs seals.

9 charged in 15-count indictment

What We Know: Federal law enforcement has charged nine defendants in a 15-count indictment with conspiracy, smuggling, and breaking customs seals. The defendants allegedly collaborated with partners in China to manipulate shipping containers flagged for inspection, using logistics companies to facilitate the smuggling of counterfeit goods into the U.S. Investigators have seized over $130 million in contraband, and the organization is believed to have smuggled at least $200 million worth of goods through this scheme. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest container ports in the Western Hemisphere, were the focal points of the operation.

How the crime ring operated

According to Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally, the scheme involved logistics companies, warehouse owners, and corrupt truck drivers working together to defy U.S. customs laws. The defendants and their partners in China filled shipping containers with contraband, including counterfeit goods and illegal chemicals. They circumvented the security system by learning the unique serial numbers of security seals and creating duplicate fake seals. These counterfeit seals were sent from China to the U.S. When shipments arrived at the port, instead of going to secondary inspection sites, corrupt truck drivers took the containers to offsite warehouses. There, the seals were cut, contraband removed, and new counterfeit seals applied before presenting the containers to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for inspection. Truck drivers were paid significantly above normal rates to transport the containers illegally.

Timeline: The indictment details a conspiracy that operated from at least August 2023 to June 2024. The scheme involved filling shipping containers in China with contraband, counterfeit goods, and illegal chemicals. These containers were sealed with unique security seals, whose numbers the conspirators obtained in advance to create duplicate fake seals. Upon arrival in the U.S., the containers were diverted to offsite warehouses instead of secondary inspection sites, where the contraband was removed, and new counterfeit seals were applied before presenting the containers for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection. Seven defendants were arrested on Friday, with an eighth taken into custody on Saturday. The arraignment for the seven arrested took place on Friday, where they pleaded not guilty, and a trial date was set for March 18. The eighth defendant is expected to be arraigned soon.

The Backstory: The smuggling operation involved executives from logistics companies, warehouse owners, and corrupt truck drivers who coordinated the shipment of contraband from China to the U.S. through the Port of Los Angeles. The defendants allegedly circumvented customs inspections by breaking security seals on containers, removing contraband, and replacing the seals with counterfeit ones to evade detection.