#foreign lobbyists

[odinsblog]

AIPAC, a rightwing conservative, quasi-religious, foreign organization, is interfering with U.S. elections and shaping who is and who isn’t a member of Congress.

AIPAC is currently targeting progressives like Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman, Greg Casar, Delia Ramirez, Maxwell Frost, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others who do not feel beholden to Israel and are sympathetic to Palestinians.

If AIPAC was a super PAC funded by North Korea, or China, or Russia, or Iran—and interfering in elections by financing the campaigns of specific candidates—almost every member of Congress would be freaking out. And rightly so. This is no different.

#politics #aipac #palestine #israel #foreign agents #citizens united #cori bush #jamaal bowman #rashida tlaib #summer lee #ilhan omar #alexandria ocasio cortez #the squad #foreign lobbyists #lobbyists #election interference #election integrity #bribery

[mariacallous]

I'm sure I'd be accused of being a foreign agent or whatever but I'm the one paying Ukrainians instead of vice-versa

#a pro-bono foreign agent and lobbyist perhaps?

[eretzyisrael]

by Richard Goldberg

Anti-Semitism is spreading in K–12 school districts. Even in primary and secondary education, Jews are often viewed as privileged whites and oppressors, with Israel branded as an egregious example of “settler colonialism” and oppression of “indigenous people.” “Liberated ethnic studies” curricula, like the one mandated by California, have created a distinct variant of critical theory aimed at Jews for being Zionist colonial oppressors.

Teachers’ unions are the leading purveyors of this approach. Two years ago, the United Educators of San Francisco adopted a resolution calling for a boycott of Israel. The Chicago Teachers Union instigated pro-Hamas demonstrations in the Windy City after October 7. The union persuaded Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson (a former CTU lobbyist) to condemn Israel in the city council, and it organized a student and faculty “walkout” to show solidarity with Hamas—a city-authorized event that left Jewish students and teachers feeling intimidated. In suburban Seattle, kids as young as seven were recently encouraged to condemn Israel and join in anti-Semitic chants. Oakland Unified School District faces a federal investigation after 30 Jewish families removed their kids from school due to rampant anti-Semitism. And at a high school in New York City, hundreds of students hunted down a female teacher they saw on social media holding a sign supporting Israel.

Marxist ideology is the primary culprit influencing this mind-set, but not the only one. Qatar, a tiny Persian Gulf country that supports Hamas, is funding anti-Semitic “scholarship” not only in American universities but also in K–12 schools. Qatar Foundation International gave $1 million to the New York City Department of Education between 2019 and 2022 for a program featuring a map of the Middle East that erases the Jewish state. The same story played out at a public charter school in Irving, Texas. What other districts in the country might be taking money directly or indirectly from a chief Hamas sponsor? Brown University’s Choices Program, used by more than 1 million high school students nationwide, exhibits a clear anti-Israel bias. According to Brown, the Qataris “purchased and distributed a selection of existing Choices curriculum units to 75 teachers whose districts didn’t have funding to buy them.”

Tools to fight back, however, are available. Governors and state legislatures can begin by blocking “ethnic studies” from the K–12 curriculum and by imposing new teacher-certification requirements. To curb foreign meddling, states should ban school funding or in-kind donations from entities connected with countries that harbor U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. School districts and state boards of education should use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism to root out conduct meeting its standard. Several groups sued the Santa Ana, California, school district in state court for failing to notify parents before approving ethnic studies courses that contain anti-Jewish bias and for harassing Jewish parents at school board meetings.

At the federal level, parents could file formal complaints with the Department of Education for discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Such complaints are increasingly common against colleges and universities, but any school that receives federal funding must comply with Title VI. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce should consider holding a hearing on anti-Semitism in K–12 schools, putting the national spotlight on anti-Jewish administrators and school board leaders.

Local, state, and federal officials have played meaningful roles in fighting back against critical race theory in the classroom. They need to fight equally hard to stop anti-Semitism masquerading as Middle East or ethnic studies.

#antisemitism #k-12 #school districts

[probablyasocialecologist]

Some 13 of the 31 members of Labour’s shadow cabinet have received donations from a prominent pro-Israel lobby group or individual funder, it can be revealed.  The list of recipients includes party leader Keir Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, and even the former vice-chair of Labour Friends of Palestine, Lisa Nandy, who is now shadow international development minister. These donations were provided by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), a pro-Israel lobby group which takes MPs on “fact-finding” missions to the region, and Sir Trevor Chinn, a multi-millionaire business tycoon and long-time pro-Israel lobbyist. More than half of Starmer’s shadow cabinet are listed as parliamentary supporters or officers of LFI.

#uk politics #ukpol #labour party #israel #zionism

[nando161mando]

David Lammy, the UK's Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, received £70,000 from Israel lobbyist and South African apartheid profiteer Gary Lubner, one month into Gaza's genocide.

The money, according to Lammy's parliamentary registered interests page, was ‘£70,000 towards paying for additional staff’. Lammy was paid out 8 days before the ceasefire vote in parliament, to which he abstained.

#david lammy #uk politics #uk government #ukpol #uk govt #ukgov #israel #israhell #southafrican #garylubner #free gaza #gaza strip #gaza genocide #gazaunderattack #gaza #palestine #free palestine #freepalastine🇵🇸 #ausgov #politas #auspol #tasgov #taspol #australia #fuck neoliberals #neoliberal capitalism #anthony albanese #albanese government #benjamin netanyahu #fuck netanyahu

[oldshowbiz]

Reader’s Digest was paid by foreign lobbyists to reprint fascist propaganda.

#foreign policy #readers digest

[soon-palestine]

Douglas Murray was scheduled to host a fundraiser for Israeli soldiers in London tonight, but the event was cancelled after workers refused to staff it even when they were offered triple pay.

Douglas Murray worked for many years as a director of the Henry Jackson Society alongside executive director Alan Mendoza. Mendoza is also president at the UK branch of the largest settlement-building organisation in Palestine, the JNF, where Netanyahu is a patron.

The Henry Jackson Society historically shares funders with the Friends of the IDF, illegal settlements in the West Bank, and Tommy Robinson and Katie Hopkins. Its international patrons include former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dore Gold, Israel lobbyist Natan Sharansky, and former director of the CIA James Woolsey.

At least two Henry Jackson Society employees have moved directly to positions within the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Senior Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society Goor Tsalalyachin was previously Head of Strategic War Games in the IDF Operations Directorate, a spokesman for the Israeli PM, and a media advisor to the Israeli Minister of Defence.

All of that would cast doubt on Murray's ability to work objectively as a host on Piers Morgan's TalkTV show. One of the key signatories to the Henry Jackson Society's founding statement was Irwin Stelzer, an adviser to Rupert Murdoch for four decades, so it is no surprise that Murray has been pushed so heavily on Murdoch platforms, including TalkTV.

#palestine #gaza #free palestine #douglas murray #london

[1americanconservative]

BREAKING: “Biden administration climate envoy John Podesta was behind the administration’s decision to pause U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. His brother Tony Podesta could reap the benefits as a longtime lobbyist for foreign Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) companies—including one founded by a Russian energy oligarch.”https://freebeacon.com/energy/john-podesta-was-behind-bidens-decision-to-pause-natural-gas-exports-his-lobbyist-brother-stands-to-benefit/…

[kendrixtermina]

It's very easy to buy the US government.

Some have said that blaming the complicity of the US govern on the Israel lobby is an "antisemitic conspiracy" (even though the campaign donations are plain for everyone to see & no one said anything about equating them with all Jews - indeed many of the lobbyist are evangelical Christians... who seem to care precious little about the Christian Palestinian minority.)

So I want to stress the following:

This isn't unique to Israel AT ALL.

Money in politics, lobbying & corruption has been a mounting problem in the US (and to a lesser extent, but still very significant extent, other western countries)

US Politicians are, frankly, easily bought. Biden's bought by Israel, the previous guy was likely bought by Russia.

Fossil Fuel Companies buy them. Big Pharma buy them. Anti-Union ppl buy them. The Military Industrial Complex buy them (and are as guilty here as the Israel lobby) - and each of these had their propaganda campaigns to rile up people against unions for example, or spread climate denialism.

This was an ongoing, unfixed problem for ages, and now it has lead to catastrophe.

Since the "money is speech" decision under Reagan, nearly everything in the US has gone to shit. That's when poverty began increasing. That's when wages and life expectancy stopped going up.

This is why Americans are so poor. Why they have poor healthcare. Why the USA keeps poluting. And yes, why foreign governments can just buy whatever policy they want if they offer, say, oil in return.

This is a corruption problem. Some may term it a capitalism problem, too, but even if you don't want to go so far, it's just plain corruption. No conspiracy required.

It's just chaos. The throne is empty. There is no great mastermind behind anything. No one's in charge but market forces and inertia. Like many disastrous events in history, it's a clusterfuck.

Notice also how when I say, "Trump had financial ties to Russia", I'm not accused of wanting to kill all Slavs or anti-slavic prejudice? You immediately realize I mean the government, not Russians in general including average joe russians living in foreign countries?

#gaza #palestine #israel #free gaza #free palestine #israel-hamas war #israel-palestine war #money in politics #campaign finance reform #citizens united

[odinsblog]

THIS WEEK, WASHINGTON’S top Israel lobby is rallying its supporters to go to Capitol Hill and falsely claim to lawmakers that people aren’t starving in Gaza and Israel isn’t blocking aid shipments, according to talking points obtained by the American Prospect.

Israel has led a brutal siege on Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,139 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, 2 million have been internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands are at imminent risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

The powerful lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is working to maintain support for Israel’s war, amid increased protests and public outcry. This week, AIPAC convened in Maryland for its annual policy conference, which it uses to marshal its donors and supporters to serve as a grassroots lobbying army in the halls of Congress.

The Prospect obtained a copy of AIPAC’s talking points for supporters heading to the Hill — and they are extreme, to say the least. The documents instruct supporters to claim that “reports that people are starving in Gaza are false,” and say that “Israel is not blocking the delivery of aid to Gaza.”

The AIPAC talking points additionally claim that Hamas wants people to believe Gazans are starving in order to “exert pressure” on Israel, and argues the “United States must not fall into Hamas’ trap.”

These claims from AIPAC are false. Gazans are starving on a massive, unprecedented scale. According to the United Nations, 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza — almost the entire population of the region — are facing “crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.” Half a million of those included in that figure face “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a leading food security analysis and advocacy group — classifies the Gaza Strip as being in Phase 4 “Emergency” status food insecurity, with a high risk of imminent famine conditions.

(continue reading)

#politics #palestine #israel #hasbara #aipac #gaza #rafah #israili propaganda #lobbyists #foreign agents

[nabulsi]

Considering how much lobbyists control and impact which candidate is on the ballot, what are voters options? Voting third party (for someone that has no chance of winning because again, funding and lobbyists ensure that)? Not voting at all?

I really cannot do your thinking for you.

There are so many candidates, some of them have dogshit foreign policy, some are actually advocating pulling the US out of occupied Palestine.

This is what I mean when I say you guys need to read. You need to educate yourselves and educate others around you. You are asking me, a random person on Tumblr, and not researching every candidate, including and especially the Independent candidates.

There are Black and Indigenous activists who have been advocating for changing the entire system as well. Seek those out and research those movements.

And honestly, I can't tell you whether or not to vote, but whatever you do, please let it be an educated decision.

#im literally not based in america idk just dont vote trump and dont vote biden #whatever else u do make it a decision based on your reading and education #paptalk #anonymous

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of Americans believe U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, received preferential treatment from prosecutors who reached a deal that would allow the younger Biden to plead guilty to tax charges but avoid a gun-related conviction, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The two-day poll that closed on Wednesday showed Americans were divided along partisan lines in their views on the case, with 75% of Republicans seeing preferential treatment compared with just 33% of Democrats.

Most respondents said the case would not affect their likelihood of voting for the elder Biden next year when he is seeking re-election.

U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a federal prosecutor appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that Hunter Biden, 53, has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes and to enter into an agreement that could avert a conviction on a gun-related charge.

Trump and his Republican allies charged that the plea agreement amounted to special treatment for Biden's son. Weiss was one of a few Trump-appointed prosecutors that Biden asked to stay on after he took office in January 2021, to avoid the appearance of tampering in politically sensitive investigations.

The younger Biden has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, consultant to foreign companies, investment banker and artist, and has publicly detailed his struggles with substance abuse.

He will make an initial appearance in federal court in Delaware on July 26, a court filing showed on Wednesday.

According to court filings, Hunter Biden received taxable income of more than $1.5 million in 2017 and in 2018 but did not pay income tax those years despite owing in excess of $100,000. He is also charged with unlawfully owning a firearm from roughly Oct. 12 to Oct 23, 2018, when he was using and addicted to a controlled substance. For that charge, he entered a pretrial diversion agreement, an alternative to prosecution that is sometimes used to allow defendants to avoid prison time or a criminal conviction.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,004 U.S. adults nationwide and has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points.

#nunyas news #it's absolutely special treatment

[seat-safety-switch]

What’s the greatest challenge when it comes to working on cars? Much as it is with any other hobby: space. Cars are really big, and even though houses also are, those houses are designed for the old-fashioned belief that families will only have a mere 2-4 cars. Keep in mind: that number’s for the whole family, not for each member. I know, right?

So, the obvious answer: just let the cars flow out of the garage. Keep the nice ones under cover, and then put everything else in the driveway. When the driveway fills up, park ‘em in the street. When the street fills up or the neighbours start opening fire on sight, park ‘em in the alley, or on another street where they don’t get quite so jumpy. Bribe a bylaw officer to tell you when someone calls them in. Walk around the neighbourhood every night, pop the cars in neutral, and roll them back and forth a few feet so it looks like the car left and came back and is therefore not the hated slur of “abandoned.” Kindergarten stuff.

Of course, this means that you are spending a lot of your time and money just possessing cars. And storing them in public view means a lot of threats: raccoons, insurance lobbyists, and teenage hubcap thieves. So is the correct answer to get rid of the cars that you’re not actively using, or at least the ones that don’t run? No. With that kind of prejudice, how are you supposed to collect a whole shitload of useless cars?

My answer: park ‘em at uninhabited houses. Lots of these houses have been cropping up now that the mysterious oligarchs who own them keep being introduced to gravity in exotic foreign countries. When you park your car there, it’s on private property, so Johnny Law can’t get involved even if there’s no registration or insurance. If you’ve ever had trouble selling a car, you can leave it on the property and it will get included into the foreclosure proceedings, along with whatever junk parts you want to fill it up with (I recommend mouse-chewed seats and carpets.) And teens with criminal intent will stay away, because a creepy old house is the ideal place for smooching and/or getting murdered by a dude in a hockey mask. The hockey mask industry could use the money; it’s been a tough year. Everyone wins.

[news4dzhozhar]

There are so many US politicians on the AIPAC dole that a video had to be compiled to list them all. Both parties have no problem taking millions from a foreign assets lobbyists. Compare this list to those who signed that insane letter threatening the ICC at the Hague. Notice anything?

#corruption runs deep #both sides of the aisle are dirty #aipac #aipac funds at work #foreign asset lobbying #israel lobby #adam schiff #nancy pelosi #mitch mcconnell #marco rubio #ted cruz #marsha blackburn #katie britt #raphael warnock #us is complicit in genocide and war crimes #genocide joe #joe bye done #mike johnson #chuck schumer #boycott israel #israel is a terrorist state #israeli apartheid #israel is committing genocide #israel is an apartheid state #get money out of politics #both sides are corrupt #john fetterman #2 sides of the same dirty coin #elizabeth warren #shady is as shady does

[gaykarstaagforever]

Good to see our US Senators are taking time out of their busy days of providing soundbites to morning shows and letting lobbyists write bills for them, to personally pressure the International Criminal Court into ignoring attempted genocide, because Netanyahu ordered them to.

And this is a bipartisan effort, so no single party has a monopoly on being evil stooges who are openly threatening a neutral international organization on behalf of a foreign leader who doesn't want to answer for his many alleged crimes against humanity.

Absolutely trash. We need a list of names so we can shame and fire these shit-stains.

#benjamin netanyahu #icc #us senate

[rotationalsymmetry]

Simultaneously the most and least important question: who to vote for in the Democratic Party primaries?

I don't know that I can bring myself to vote for Dean Phillips. The positive space his platform covers is fine for a Democrat who's running for President, he sounds good on labor/populist issues, and he's said he's taking no lobbyist or PAC money, which if accurate is a big deal. But his platform on his campaign website does not mention foreign policy once. He's running for President. You can't ignore foreign policy. Deeply not serious.

I'm not thrilled about Biden either of course. Although I don't think Gaza-related protest votes are likely to be effective. It's just...not in the Overton window. Symbolism is fine but if you're going to engage in symbolic protest you might as well do it in public where people can see you. I don't think it's materially relevant.

I want to puke. But I usually want to puke when it comes to considering presidential candidates. Decent options are a rare thing.

#election posting