Tag: private equity

The ‘Israel Lobby’ Works for the US Military Industrial Complex

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Since publication of John Mearsheimer’s and Stephen Walt’s ‘The Israel Lobby’ in 2007, superior public relations has served as the main explanation for the outsized influence that the nation of Israel holds over American politicians. In that telling, AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other supporters of Israel built a sophisticated and far-reaching public relations machine that promotes US politicians who support Israel and punishes those who don’t.

The ‘Israel Lobby’ Works for the US Military Industrial Complex – by Rob Urie – 27 June 2024

H/T: xenagoguevicene

Why America Is Out of Ammunition

Ms. Cat
This chart is from the Government Accountability Office’s recent report on the Department of Defense’s lack of strategy around corporate mergers. Bow down before Powerpoint you peasants.

Today, as the U.S. is drawn into wars in Israel and Ukraine, as well as the defense of now-peaceful Taiwan, I’m writing about war. Not the policy choices, or whether U.S. military power is a net force for good or ill, but the actual practical machinery behind the American defense base that produces the weaponry necessary to sustain the military.

Why America Is Out of Ammunition

Senator Warren accuses Pentagon appointees of using position for “personal profit”

Ms. Cat

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the Pentagon Wednesday with ethics concerns with the office dedicated to private funding defense technology.

…

The OSC’s two special government employees work at WestExec Advisors* and New Vista Capital — two firms that work on defense and technology consulting.

Senator Warren accuses Pentagon appointees of using position for “personal profit”

Related:

WestExec Advisors LLC is a consulting firm founded in 2017 by Antony Blinken [State Department], Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre, and Nitin Chadda, all former Obama administration officials. Lisa Monaco, Robert O. Work, Avril Haines [DNI], David S. Cohen [CIA], and Jen Psaki have also been WestExec employees.

Wikipedia

How Biden’s Foreign-Policy Team Got Rich

Neo-Con study: Why a New Black Sea Strategy is in the U.S. Interest + The Middle Corridor

Ms. Cat

With the coming US-NATO dangerous war games in the Black Sea it seemed like a good idea to post this study by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. This should give us all a clear idea of what Washington and Brussels are up to in the region.

Neo-Con study: Why a New Black Sea Strategy is in the U.S. Interest

Related:

The Middle Corridor through Central Asia: Trade and Influence Ambitions – Foreign Policy Research Institute

Continued…

Who’s Funding ‘No Labels’? Pro-GOP Billionaires Opposed to Democracy

Ms. Cat

I’d argue that Biden is the status quo, as well.

“At the end of the day, these billionaires and large corporations are deeply invested in maintaining the status quo and opposing Democrats’ agenda for working people.”

Who’s Funding ‘No Labels’? Pro-GOP Billionaires Opposed to Democracy

Related:

‘No Labels’ Eyes a Third-Party Run in 2024. Democrats Are Alarmed

The Bipartisanship Racket: Fellow Centrists Warn No Labels 2024 Bid Would Just Hurt Biden

A Front Company and a Fake Identity: How the U.S. Came to Use Spyware It Was Trying to Kill.

Ms. Cat

A Front Company and a Fake Identity: How the U.S. Came to Use Spyware It Was Trying to Kill.

The secret contract — which The New York Times is disclosing for the first time — violates the Biden administration’s public policy, and still appears to be active. The contract, reviewed by The Times, stated that the “United States government” would be the ultimate user of the tool, although it is unclear which government agency authorized the deal and might be using the spyware. It specifically allowed the government to test, evaluate, and even deploy the spyware against targets of its choice in Mexico.

…

The secret November 2021 contract used the same American company — designated as “Cleopatra Holdings” but actually a small New Jersey-based government contractor called Riva Networks — that the F.B.I. used two years earlier to purchase Pegasus. Riva’s chief executive used a fake name in signing the 2021 contract and at least one contract Riva executed on behalf of the F.B.I.

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The deal unfolded as the European private equity fund that owns NSO pursued a plan to get U.S. government business by establishing a holding company, Gideon Cyber Systems. The private equity fund’s ultimate goal was to find an American buyer for the company.

Related:

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