International
Rescue group issues warning to Jews, Americans over potential terrorist threats
From The Center Square
By
“We strongly urge Jewish communities across the United States to remain vigilant and aware of potential threats during this period, particularly from October 2nd to October 12th.”
Approaching the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel, a group responsible for numerous rescue missions, including evacuating hundreds of Americans from Israel, has issued a warning about antisemitism-related threats in the U.S.
“We are deeply alarmed by the rising tide of open and brazen protests against Jews and Jewish communities over the past year – acts that have reached a scale unseen since World War II. These demonstrations have fostered an environment of heightened vulnerability for Jewish communities across the United States,” Project Dynamo, a group of former soldiers, military officers, national security officials, and intelligence officers, said in an advisory.
“History teaches us that terrorist organizations, including those that inspire groups like Hamas, often select significant dates and anniversaries as opportune moments for attacks, seeking to amplify their visibility and influence among their followers. The upcoming one-year anniversary of the October 7th attacks by Hamas, occurring between the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, represents precisely the kind of symbolic timing that such groups are likely to exploit.
“We strongly urge Jewish communities across the United States to remain vigilant and aware of potential threats during this period, particularly from October 2nd to October 12th.”
The veteran-led, Tampa-based Project Dynamo helped rescue hundreds of Americans from Israel, working with Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state of Florida helped fund hundreds of flights for evacuees.
Within days of the attack, DeSantis declared a state of emergency and directed the Division of Emergency Management to execute a “Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and other response, recovery, and mitigation plans necessary to cope with the emergency, including any logistical, rescue, or evacuation operations to bring Americans home who were stranded in Israel.”
Within a few weeks, Florida helped bring home nearly 700 Americans stranded in Israel, The Center Square reported.
“Unlike the governments of other countries, the Biden Administration has failed to launch any form of rescue or evacuation operations for Americans, including Floridians, who are stranded in the region, and has failed to provide information requested by the State of Florida about any plans for such operations,” DeSantis said at the time.
The Florida legislature also convened for a special legislative session to expand state sanctions on Iran.
In the absence of the federal government issuing a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin related to terrorist threats, Project Dynamo issued its own advisory.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not issued a NTAS bulletin since May 2023. The NTAS was “designed to communicate information about terrorist threats by providing timely, detailed information to the American public. All Americans share responsibility for the nation’s security, and should always be aware of the heightened risk of terrorist attack in the United States and what they should do,” DHS says.
A congressional coalition led by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ, called on DHS to issue one in July, asking why it hasn’t done so. When The Center Square asked DHS why it hadn’t issued one in over 15 months, DHS did not respond.
DHS has still not issued an NATS bulletin after President Joe Biden extended a national emergency due to terrorism threats.
Retired FAA special agent Brian Sullivan told The Center Square Americans need to be vigilant as the Oct. 7 attack anniversary approaches and during the Jewish holidays. “Despite the warnings coming from security experts, (like Project Dynamo),” he’s asked why the Biden-Harris administration hasn’t sent out an NATS bulletin “to encourage awareness and vigilance amongst the American public.”
Project Dynamo also points to the border crisis as a cause for heightened awareness saying that actions taken by international criminal organizations and criminal groups “involving illegal immigrants within our borders signify a troubling escalation of violence and a blatant disregard for U.S. laws and the American way of life.”
“Given the confirmed connections between Transnational Criminal Organizations – including cartels and gangs – and Islamic terrorism, coupled with the increasing hostility of both state and non-state actors towards the United States, this period of vigilance should extend beyond the general elections and well into the inauguration day in January 2025.
“There have already been arrests of suspected terrorist planning attacks on high profile locations. There are other non-specific threats and enough reporting to indicate a widespread likelihood that enemies of the Jewish people will attempt activities to gain notoriety on 7 October, inside the United States, and likely around the world.”
Project Dynamo lists actions the Jewish community and Americans can take to better protect themselves.
“Now is the time to stand together and ensure that our communities are well-prepared,” it says. “We encourage you to take these threats seriously and to act with the appropriate level of caution during this sensitive time.”
International
Trump presents 10-point plan to dismantle and de-weaponize the ‘Deep State’
From LifeSiteNews
In a video presentation, President-elect Donald J. Trump issued a 10-point plan promising to radically dismantle and de-weaponize the “Deep State,” and send much of what is left “of the sprawling federal bureaucracy to new locations outside the Washington Swamp” to “places filled with patriots who love America.”
Trump’s announcement sent shockwaves of fear and anxiety throughout the nation’s capital.
As part of Trump’s plan, he promises to “clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus. The departments and agencies that have been weaponized will be completely overhauled, so that faceless bureaucrats will never again be able to target and persecute conservatives, Christians, or the left’s political enemies.”
He also proposes to expose the “abuses of power that have been tearing our country apart”; to “establish a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ to declassify and publish all documents on Deep State spying, censorship, and corruption”; and to “monitor our intelligence agencies to ensure they are not spying on our citizens or running disinformation campaigns against the American people.”
Once his new administration begins, Trump said he would “push a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress.”
In President-elect Trump’s own words:
Here is my plan to dismantle the Deep State and reclaim our democracy from Washington corruption once and for all.
First, I will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the President’s authority to remove rogue bureaucrats, and I will wield that power very aggressively.
Second, we will clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus. The departments and agencies that have been weaponized will be completely overhauled, so that faceless bureaucrats will never again be able to target and persecute conservatives, Christians, or the left’s political enemies.
Third, we will totally reform FISA courts which are so corrupt that the judges seemingly do not care when they’re lied to in warrant applications.”
Fourth, to expose the hoaxes and abuses of power that have been tearing our country apart. We will establish a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ to declassify and publish all documents on Deep State spying, censorship, and corruption.
Fifth, we will launch a major crackdown on government leakers who collude with the fake news to deliberately weave false narratives and to subvert our government and our democracy. When possible, we will press criminal charges.
Sixth: We will make every Inspector General’s office independent and physically separated from the departments they oversee so they do not become the protectors of the Deep State.”
Seventh, I will ask Congress to establish an independent auditing system to continually monitor our intelligence agencies to ensure they are not spying on our citizens or running disinformation campaigns against the American people, or that they are not spying on someone’s campaign like they spied on my campaign.”
Eighth, we will continue the effort launched by the Trump administration to move parts of the sprawling federal bureaucracy to new locations outside the Washington Swamp. Just as I moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, as many as one hundred thousand government positions could be moved out — immediately — to places filled with patriots who love America.
Ninth: I will work to ban federal bureaucrats from taking jobs at the companies they deal with and that they regulate.”
Finally, I will push a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress.”
This is how I will shatter the Deep State and restore government that is controlled by the people and for the people.
Business
Canada’s struggle against transnational crime & money laundering
From the Macdonald-Laurier Institute
By Alex Dalziel and Jamie Ferrill
In this episode of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Inside Policy Talks podcast, Senior Fellow and National Security Project Lead Alex Dalziel explores the underreported issue of trade-based money laundering (TBML) with Dr. Jamie Ferrill, the head of financial crime studies at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia and a former Canada Border Services Agency officer.
The discussion focuses on how organized crime groups use global trade transactions to disguise illicit proceeds and the threat this presents to the Canada’s trade relationship with the US and beyond.
Definition of TBML: Trade-based money laundering disguises criminal proceeds by moving value through trade transactions instead of transferring physical cash. Criminals (usually) exploit international trade by manipulating trade documents, engaging in phantom shipping, and altering invoices to disguise illicit funds as legitimate commerce, bypassing conventional financial scrutiny. As Dr. Ferrill explains, “we have dirty money that’s been generated through things like drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, sex trafficking, and that money needs to be cleaned in one way or another. Trade is one of the ways that that’s done.”
A Pervasive Problem: TBML is challenging to detect due to the vast scale and complexity of global trade, making it an attractive channel for organized crime groups. Although global estimates are imprecise, the Financial Action Task Force and The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) suggests 2-5% of GDP could be tied to money laundering, representing trillions of dollars annually. In Canada, this could mean over $70 billion in potentially laundered funds each year. Despite the scope of TBML, Canada has seen no successful prosecutions for criminal money laundering through trade, highlighting significant gaps in identifying, investigating and prosecuting these complex cases.
Canada’s Vulnerabilities: Along with the sheer volume and complexity of global trade, Canada’s vulnerabilities stem from gaps in anti-money laundering regulation, particularly in high-risk sectors like real estate, luxury goods, and legal services, where criminals exploit weak oversight. Global trade exemplifies the vulnerabilities in oversight, where gaps and limited controls create substantial opportunities for money laundering. A lack of comprehensive export controls also limits Canada’s ability to monitor goods leaving the country effectively. Dr. Ferrill notes that “If we’re seen as this weak link in the process, that’s going to have significant implications on trade partnerships,” underscoring the potential political risks to bilateral trade if Canada fails to address these issues.
International and Private Sector Cooperation: Combating TBML effectively requires strong international cooperation, particularly between Canada and key trade partners like the U.S. The private sector—including freight forwarders, customs brokers, and financial institutions—plays a crucial role in spotting suspicious activities along the supply chain. As Dr. Ferrill emphasizes, “Canada and the U.S. can definitely work together more efficiently and effectively to share and then come up with some better strategies,” pointing to the need for increased collaboration to strengthen oversight and disrupt these transnational crime networks.
Looking to further understand the threat of transnational organized crime to Canada’s borders?
Check out Inside Policy Talks recent podcasts with Christian Leuprecht, Todd Hataley and Alan Bersin.
To learn more about Dr. Ferrill’s research on TBML, check out her chapter in Dirty Money: Financial Crime in Canada.
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