• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    They recently got caught spying on American diplomats…

    As controversy was erupting over its role in authoritarian governments’ spying, NSO Group was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce in November 2021, “to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy,” the agency said at the time. A month after the blacklisting, it was revealed that Pegasus had been used to spy on American diplomats.

    Article also explains why Republicans suddenly got real loud about how much they like Israel…

    For NSO, the blacklisting has been an existential threat. The push to reverse it, which included hiring multiple American public relations and law firms, has cost NSO $1.5 million in lobbying last year, more than the government of Israel itself spent. It focused heavily on Republican politicians, many of whom are now vocal in their support of Israel, and against a ceasefire in the brutal war being waged by the country in the Gaza Strip.

    It’s depressing how cheap it is to buy off American politicians

  • ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    If I were a diplomat and some company requested a meeting during an ongoing hostage situation and/or humanitarian crisis, I wouldn’t even take the time to tell them to go fuck themselves. Then, at some later date when the crisis was over, I’d look at my phone’s reminders and remember and shoot them a quick email about how they can go fuck themselves.

  • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Blacklisted company “demands” meeting with the US Secretary of State? I hereby demand a meeting too.

  • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    How is the NSO, which sells weapons grade hacking technology internationally, in any way restricted from selling and using their technology internally in Israel? What urgency does Israel’s war with Hamas/Palestine actually create?

    • ganksy@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Think they would like the opportunity to spy on their biggest weapons supplier again.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    7 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    As controversy was erupting over its role in authoritarian governments’ spying, NSO Group was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce in November 2021, “to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy,” the agency said at the time.

    Working on NSO’s behalf, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, a New York-based law firm, held over half a dozen meetings between March and August with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee as well as Oversight and Reform.

    NSO’s recent hiring of two lobbyists, Jeffrey Weiss and Stewart Baker, from the Washington-based white-shoe law firm Steptoe & Johnson, was made public at the end of October in a filing with the House of Representatives.

    Steptoe’s description of its work for the Israeli mission is similar to its goals for the NSO contract: to “provide advice on various international trade related matters affecting the State of Israel” which will be used “to develop its position w/re various U.S. policies.”

    The statute itself is forgiving, the enforcement mechanisms like warning letters often render failures to register moot, and, with so little case law owing to so few indictments, prosecutors are loath to try their hand at bringing charges.

    In a letter sent to the Justice Department in July of last year, Democracy for the Arab World Now called on the government to investigate what, at the time, was described as the firms’ lack of registration as agents for Israel under FARA.


    The original article contains 1,880 words, the summary contains 243 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • downpunxx@kbin.social
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    7 months ago

    Israel, the only Jewish nation in the world, surrounded on all sides by Islamofascist Muslim Arab countries.

    In the last 75 years, there has been no other country on gods green earth which has been allowed to have as many votes against it in condemnation at the united nations than israel. not saudi arabia, or quatar, not mauritanian where there is still an active arab human slave market, not egypt, not yemen, not syria, not lebanon, not turkey, not uganda, not burkina faso, not the central african republic, not the congo, not myranmar, not sierra leon, not somalia, not sri lanka, not yemen, not russia, not china, not north korea

    Israel has had the most votes condemning it than all the nations listed above, at the united nations, in the last 75 years, combined

    All of this is a complete mystery to Nazis, Nazi sympathizers, Muslim terrorists, Islamic terrorist supporters, and 12 years old 4chan/KBIN/Lemmy edgelord Jew baiters