Showing posts with label influence peddling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label influence peddling. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Saudis, Soros: Countered, Courted Global Influencers

Foundation (NGOs) and Military Industrial Complexes

György Schwartz or George Soros is a Central European native interfering in US (and other countries’) domestic affairs. 

His net worth is somewhere in the 20 to 40 billion dollar range, depending on the time and source. Tens of billions are squirreled in a foundation cabal, and multibillions more are used as walking around money. Mr. Soros is “hedge-fund (many times over) billionaire” who “personally sets the budget of his Open Society Foundations.” Since the 1970s, he has contributed somewhere in the neighborhood of “$12 billion to a wide array of organizations.”

Soros Gluttony, Global Reach

Soros’s Open Society Foundations comprises “a ‘network of more than 20 national and regional foundations around the world.’” The network reportedly operates on at least five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and North Americas. Soros/OSF money moves from Soros and his relatives to and through interlocking foundation entities, government agencies (UK and USA), private corporations, and sundry profiteers registered as “nonprofits.” The Soros Open Society Foundations reach and financial holdings have been projected to exceed the $43 billion- Gates Foundation; yet they take handouts: between 2000 and 2018, OSF reportedly took in “$5.4 billion” in “donations.”
Soros Interference in US elections 2022 

Large numbers of Americans are homeless, jobless, and illiterate; and the multi-billionaire do-gooder is reportedly filling a super political action committee with well over a hundred  million US dollars. 

Leading into the 2022 midterms, Soros handed out millions via a super PAC headed by his son. According to an early 2022 Politico article, Soros’s “Democracy PAC” has aided papa’s US elections influence operation since 2019; and has funneled “more than $80 million” to groups and individuals affiliated with the Democratic Party. However, this latest meddling in US elections is said to be directed toward influencing what is labeled “pro-democracy causes and candidates” regardless to which of the terrible twos (D or R) the recipient claims affiliation.

Countering Soros

Governments across Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, and Poland) have for many years blamed Soros for interference in their countries: for unrest and protests. Anti-Soros measures and rhetoric have risen in the politics of countries that include Serbia, Bulgaria and Slovakia. A former prime minister of Poland (Jarosław Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice Party) “accused Soros-funded organizations of advocating ‘societies without identity.’”

2017 Romania and Hungary

Romania’s ruling party (Save Romania Union (?)) claimed that anti-corruption protests were orchestrated by Soros.

The Viktor Mihály Orbán administration (in October) ordered the country’s intelligence services to investigate what it called an “empire” of Soros-backed institutions that work in Hungary.

Member of Parliament Gergely Gulyas (in November) “accused Soros of a ‘full frontal’ attack on Hungary. The minister is reported saying that George Soros had “attacked Hungary and the Hungarian government through (Soros funded) organizations…, (through) the European Parliament and (through Soros) allies in Brussels. (Soros) ‘has now entered the battle in person.’”

Hungary’s Top Officials
Viktor Mihály Orbán: politician, current Prime Minister of Hungary
Katalin Novák: multilingual politician, jurist, government official, Member of Parliament, current President of Hungary
Gergely Gulyás: jurist, politician, current member of executive government, and Member of Parliament


C

ourting Soros

Some of the US entities into and through Soros/OSF pours hundreds of millions in an apparent attempt to indoctrinate individuals (especially the young and impressionable) and supplant constitutional responsibilities of the government (of by and the people) of the United States of America are these.

  • Fund for Public Schools Inc
  • Center for Community Change
  • YouthBuild USA Inc (NYC / international)
  • Robin Hood Foundation (NYC)
  • Tides Foundation (California originating)
  • ABT Associates Inc (international/domestic data collect)
  • Bard Prison Initiative (infiltration into higher education, Bard College, New York)
  • Fund for Educational Excellence (infiltration and exploitation in inner city schools)
  • Alliance for Citizenship (A4C) (interference in US citizenry and sovereignty responsibilities) Source of list https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/open-society-foundations/)

Soros-Saudi Feather (breed) of Interference

Arabian Gulf countries: upper tier in exclusive economic zone 2nd, 3rd, 4th United Arab Emirates 52,455; Saudi Arabia 33,792; Qatar 31,819; occupying most coastline 2nd, 3rd, 4th Saudi Arabia 1,300; United Arab Emirates 900; Qatar 563

2011-2017
Top Tier Foreign Money Funneled into US Universities

  • Qatar $1,024,065,043
  • Saudi Arabia $613,698,797
  • UAE $211,311, 219

Money contributed to US politicians, and candidates for US public office by foreign-connected Political Action Committees (PACs)

  • Democratic Party affiliated: $6,869,270
  • Republican Party affiliated: $7,081,248
  • Total: $13,952,518

OpenSecrets notes that “American divisions of foreign companies can form political action committees (PACs) and collect contributions from their American employees,” though strictly legally “only American citizens (and immigrants with green cards) can contribute to federal politics.”

Saudi influence networks deploy a wide array of strategies, ranging from more traditional lobbying campaigns to extensive digital operations.

Former Member of the US House of Representatives Edward Randall “Ed” Royce reportedly gave an “impassioned” speech on the floor of the House in 2017, “defending US support for war in Yemen.” The Randall speech “was taken almost verbatim from a lobbyist’s script handed to him earlier that day by a foreign agent for Saudi Arabia.

“After leaving Congress in 2018, Royce took a job at Brownstein Hyatt, which is one of the major firms representing the Saudi government.”

Former members of Congress many of them now registered as foreign agents have “used leftover campaign money in so-called “zombie campaign” accounts to funnel political contributions to the same lawmakers they were lobbying on behalf of Saudi Arabia.”

“FARA disclosures are rife with former elected officials who’ve since entered the revolving door.” 

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) “is a United States law requiring persons engaged in domestic political or advocacy work on behalf of foreign interests to register with the Department of Justice and disclose their relationship, activities, and related financial compensation” (Wikipedia)

It is hard to know the full amount being funneled into US affairs, policies and government operations as the full accounting depends on Saudi agents and lobbyists’ disclosures.

Greasing hands

A cunning Saudi government has managed to convince US policy makers (or convinced politicians of lucrative kickbacks to be made for convincing the US citizenry) “that ‘support for Saudi arms sales is support for Saudi Arabia’s fighting (US imperialist) battles in the region.”

In the most recent five-year period, the United States “accounted for 39 percent of global arms exports” (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). Forty-three percent those exports “went to the Middle East.” The largest recipient of those exports was Saudi Arabia. Among the top 10 recipients are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Saudi-led coalition for many years (particularly in a conflict now approaching ten years) has used the lethal US export in a catastrophic war against Yemeni people that has left untold hundreds of thousands dead or suffering interminable conflict, disease and famine.

And while presidential candidate Joseph Biden promised to end support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, President Biden callously “approved a $500 million contract for support of the helicopter fleet in September and a $650 million contract for air-to-air missiles in November.” “U.S. manufacturers make billions from federal government contracts supplying weapons to the world’s most expensive and well-armed military, and billions more selling arms abroad.”

Weapons manufactured in the US — largely bombs made by Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics — have flooded Yemen since the start of the conflict in 2015. During 2021, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics together spent $40.9 million of the defense sector’s $117 million on lobbying; and major defense contractor Boeing (some of its guidance systems reportedly have shown up in bomb strikes) spent $13.4 million on lobbying.




Sources

Wikipedia (a recipient of Soros funding) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros
Other subjects
Influence Watch https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/open-society-foundations/

Al Jazeera news 

Patrick Strickland, Al Jazeera News 2017, “What’s behind Hungary’s campaign against George Soros? Shrill campaign against man behind Open Society Foundations seen by critics as part of wider crackdown on civil society.” November 22, 2017 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/22/whats-behind-hungarys-campaign-against-george-soros/
 

Politico
Elena Schneider, Politico January 28, 2022 “Soros pours $125M into super PAC ahead of midterms: The mammoth donation is fueling investment in Democratic political groups and races from Senate to secretary of state around the country.” https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/28/soros-pours-125m-into-super-pac-ahead-of-midterms-00002847

Project on Government Oversight
Lydia Dennett, Project on Government Oversight Transparency “Universities on the Foreign Payroll,” filed under investigation, February 25, 2019, https://www.pogo.org/investigation/2019/02/universities-on-the-foreign-payroll

OpenSecrets
Regarding Foreign PACs, OpenSecrets notes that compilation is “based on data released by the Federal Election Commission on July 26, 2022.” https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/foreign-connected-pacs/2022

World and National Sources
Collage composed of individual Internet images
Composition, Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images
Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett




Tuesday, October 30, 2018

US public service Corrupt, Careless, Nonexistent


Boeing, US Officials, Regulatory Failure

Boeing 737 series commercial planes
A
ccidents and incidents Five-year period (2013-2018)

737-100/200 aircraft 

May 18, 2018 – Global Air (Mexico) crashes shortly after takeoff from José Martí International Airport; 112 dead

737 Classic (737-300/-400/-500) aircraft

November 17, 2013: Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashes near Kazan International Airport, Russia; 44 dead
November 22, 2015: Avia Traffic Company Flight 768 (Osh Airport) touches down hard, rips off landing gear, tears left engine from mounting, skids off runway; 8 injured.
August 5, 2016: ASL Airlines Hungary flight QY-7332 (Milan Bergamo’s Orio al Serio Airport) breaks through the airport perimeter fence, a parking lot, a guardrail and comes to a stop on a road 520 meters past the end of the runway, sustaining substantial aircraft damage (loss of both engines, all landing gear legs); captain injured.
March 28, 2017: Peruvian Airlines Flight 112 suffers undercarriage failure, causing a forced landing, then catching fire, aircraft declared total loss; 39 passengers hospitalized.

737 Next Generation (737-600/-700/-800/-900) aircraft

April 13, 2013: Lion Air Flight 904 (Ngurah Rai International Airport) undershoots designated runway and crashes into the sea, fuselage ruptured slightly near the wings; all 108 passengers/crew injured.
July 22, 2013: Southwest Airlines Flight 345 (LaGuardia Airport) touches down collapsing nose gear upward into fuselage, causing severe damage to the electronics bay; 15.5 million aircraft was written off; 9 injured.
March 19, 2016: Flydubai Flight 981 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Rostov-on-Don, Russia) crashes on final approach; all 62 passengers and crew dead.
 April 4, 2016: Batik Air Flight 7703 (in takeoff roll) catches fire after striking another plane crossing the runway, seriously rupturing left wing tank and separating vertical tailplane; passengers evacuated via slides.
August 27, 2016: Southwest Airlines Flight 3472 (New Orleans to Orlando Florida) engine fails in flight, damaging airplane fuselage, making a hole, losing cabin pressure; emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida.
January 13, 2018: Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622 (Trabzon Airport) slides off runway
April 17, 2018: Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 (emergency landing Philadelphia International Airport) sustains in-flight left engine failure causing cabin window break and explosive decompression; ejected passenger later dies.
April 29, 2018: Lion Air Flight 892 side tracks runway causing main nose gear collapse.
August 16, 2018: Xiamen Airlines Flight 8667 (crash landing Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines) skids off end of the runway, causing left engine and main gear collapse; all aboard evacuated.
September 1, 2018: Utair Flight 579 (landing in Sochi International Airport) overruns runway and catches fire; 18 injured.
September 28, 2018: Air Niugini Flight 73 (Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia to Port Moresby, Papa New Guinea) overshoots runway, lands in a lagoon and sinks; 46 of 47 rescued

737 MAX (737-MAX -7/-8/-9/-10) aircraft 
October 29, 2018: Lion Air Flight 610 (Jakarta, Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia), 10 minutes after takeoff, crashes and falls into the sea; all 189 passengers and crew dead. Boeing’s “deadliest air accident involving all variants of the Boeing 737”
Boeing’s first fatal airline event reportedly occurred on December 8, 1972: United Airlines Flight 553 crashes while attempting to land; 43 onboard and 2 grounds crew died.

The October 29, 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 (737 MAX 8) is recorded as the Boeing 737 series’ largest loss-of-life incident. This plane crashed into the Java Sea and left 189 people dead.

B
oeing Company
Among the largest global aircraft manufacturers, the second-largest defense contractor in the world (2015 revenue base), the largest exporter in the United States (by dollar value), the Boeing Company is a multinational corporation engaged in design, manufacture, and sales of airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide.
2016 recorded sales income: $94.6 billion

2017 estimates
Revenue: US$93.392 billion
Operating income: US$10.278 billion
Net income: US$8.197 billion
Total assets: Increase US$92.333 billion
Total equity: US$412 million

Founded in Seattle, Washington in the early 20th century, Boeing’s corporate headquarters today are located in Chicago, Illinois. The company contains five primary divisions: (1) Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); (2) Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); (3) Engineering, Operations & Technology; (4) Boeing Capital; and (5) Boeing Shared Services Group.

B
oeing’s influence on U.S. Government Office and Officials
Open Secrets reports (Center for Responsive Politics)

Boeing Total Lobbying Expenditures: $11,270,000
Boeing Subtotal for Parent Boeing Co: $11,270,000

Boeing Contributions: $3,340,587 (ranked 78 of 17,511)

Boeing Lobbying: 2018: $7,540,000 ● 2017:  $16,740,000 (ranked 10 of 3,757 in 2018)
…to Candidates: $2,567,178
…to Leadership PACs: $259,131
…to Political Parties: $502,801
…to 527 committees: $6,933
…to outside spending groups: $2,335
[527 committees (sky’s the limit), “unregulated under state or federal campaign finance laws because they do not ‘expressly advocate’ for the election or defeat of a candidate or party’”; nevertheless, they are employed “to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office”, all the while being exempted from taxes “under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 527).”] 


B
oeing Total Contributions to U.S. Members of House and Senate
Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) Senate $46,234
McCaskill, Claire (D-MO) Senate $39,832
Casey, Bob (D-PA) Senate $38,253
Hatch, Orrin G (R-UT) Senate $32,250
Sessions, Pete (R-TX) House $27,200
Nelson, Bill (D-FL) Senate $27,136
Dingell, Debbie (D-MI) House $17,900
Jones, Doug (D-AL) Senate $17,197
Roby, Martha (R-AL) House $15,500
Strange, Luther (R-AL) Senate $15,000
Kaine, Tim (D-VA) Senate $14,700
Estes, Ron (R-KS) House $14,000
Moolenaar, John (R-MI) House $13,500
Heck, Dennis (D-WA) House $13,200
Pope, Tommy (R-SC) House $12,700
Cartwright, Matt (D-PA) House $12,500
Visclosky, Pete (D-IN) House $12,500
Connolly, Gerry (D-VA) House $12,470
Heitkamp, Heidi (D-ND) Senate $12,262
Culberson, John (R-TX) House $12,250
Biggs, Andy (R-AZ) House $11,500
Wagner, Ann L (R-MO) House $11,500
Womack, Steve (R-AR) House $11,500
Nunes, Devin (R-CA) House $11,350
Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) House $11,341
Moulton, Seth (D-MA) House $11,300
Rodgers, Cathy McMorris (R-WA) House $11,300
Hurd, Will (R-TX) House $11,000
Russell, Steven (R-OK) House $11,000
Stefanik, Elise (R-NY) House $11,000
Kilmer, Derek (D-WA) House $10,750
Heinrich, Martin (D-NM) Senate $10,502
Babin, Brian (R-TX) House $10,500
Davis, Rodney (R-IL) House $10,500
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) Senate $10,500
Wilson, Joe (R-SC) House $10,500
Bacon, Donald John (R-NE) House $10,200
Coffman, Mike (R-CO) House $10,200
Rossi, Dino (R-WA) House $10,200
Walters, Mimi (R-CA) House $10,200
Manchin, Joe (D-WV) Senate $10,046
Ryan, Tim (D-OH) House $10,010
Aderholt, Robert B (R-AL) House $10,000
Aguilar, Pete (D-CA) House $10,000
Amodei, Mark (R-NV) House $10,000
Banks, Jim (R-IN) House $10,000
Barrasso, John A (R-WY) Senate $10,000
Beutler, Jaime Herrera (R-WA) House $10,000
Beyer, Don (D-VA) House $10,000
Bishop, Mike (R-MI) House $10,000
Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) House $10,000
Bost, Mike (R-IL) House $10,000
Bustos, Cheri (D-IL) House $10,000
Byrne, Bradley (R-AL) House $10,000
Calvert, Ken (R-CA) House $10,000
Cardin, Ben (D-MD) Senate $10,000
Carter, John (R-TX) House $10,000
Clyburn, James E (D-SC) House $10,000
Cole, Tom (R-OK) House $10,000
Comstock, Barbara (R-VA) House $10,000
Conaway, Mike (R-TX) House $10,000
Cornyn, John (R-TX) Senate $10,000
Crist, Charlie (D-FL) House $10,000
Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) House $10,000
Curbelo, Carlos (R-FL) House $10,000
Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL) House $10,000
Fischer, Deb (R-NE) Senate $10,000
Granger, Kay (R-TX) House $10,000
Graves, Sam (R-MO) House $10,000
Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) House $10,000
Holding, George (R-NC) House $10,000
Hoyer, Steny H (D-MD) House $10,000
Joyce, David P (R-OH) House $10,000
Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH) House $10,000
Katko, John (R-NY) House $10,000
Kelly, Mike (R-PA) House $10,000
King, Angus (I-ME) Senate $10,000
Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) House $10,000
Knight, Steve (R-CA) House $10,000
LaHood, Darin (R-IL) House $10,000
Lamborn, Douglas L (R-CO) House $10,000
Langevin, Jim (D-RI) House $10,000
Larson, John B (D-CT) House $10,000
Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) House $10,000
Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) House $10,000
MacArthur, Thomas (R-NJ) House $10,000
McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) House $10,000
McCollum, Betty (D-MN) House $10,000
Newhouse, Dan (R-WA) House $10,000
Norcross, Don (D-NJ) House $10,000
Rice, Tom (R-SC) House $10,000
Rogers, Hal (R-KY) House $10,000
Rogers, Mike D (R-AL) House $10,000
Ruppersberger, Dutch (D-MD) House $10,000
Sewell, Terri A (D-AL) House $10,000
Shimkus, John M (R-IL) House $10,000
Simpson, Mike (R-ID) House $10,000
Stewart, Chris (R-UT) House $10,000
Swalwell, Eric (D-CA) House $10,000
Thornberry, Mac (R-TX) House $10,000


 


Sources

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Boeing_737
527 Committees or organizations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/527_organization

Center for Response Politics: Open Secrets
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2018&id=d000000100
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=d000000100
https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000100


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