"“This bill is unconstitutional because it seeks to impose the government’s political views on Americans who choose to express themselves through boycotts,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The proposed changes are improvements, but the revised bill continues to penalize participants in political boycotts in violation of the First Amendment. If it is enacted in this form and takes effect, we will strongly consider fighting it in court.”
The bill seeks to prohibit companies from providing information to multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union that could be used to publicly list businesses operating in the West Bank. The latest version of the bill would make US-based companies and their employees legally liable if they “comply with, further or support” attempts by foreign countries or “international governmental organizations” to either boycott Israel or “to collect information” that could lead to a boycott." Al-Monitor
——————-
The ACLU says it MAY sue over this if it becomes law? How could they not? In its original form this AIPAC driven proposal would have subjected violators to a 20 year possible prison sentence for the expression of their opinion regarding Israel's seizures of Palestinian lands and the brutality of the IDF and Shin Bet in those territories held by Israel as spoils of war. As originally written the law would have applied to all Americans as well as corporate America. In other words SST would have become a criminal enterprise for the expression of our opinions and I would have been criminalized as the proprietor of this digital forum.
This current version "merely" punishes corporations and their employees for opposition to Israeli colonialism.
Can there be any doubt that Cardin's real loyalty is not to the United States? pl
Only one Senator ?
A cynical reader would also question the good Senator’s adherence to ‘bearing true faith and allegiance’ to the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment, as described in his Oath of Office. Such things actually mean something.
And that’s before anyone raises the question of joint US-Israeli citizens currently in Government service.
JW
OK. Give us your list. pl
As a Canadian, I prefer the British parliamentary system to the US system in a number of respects … but I have to hand it to you yanks, your protections for freedom of speech are the best (and most intelligent) in the world. I take my hat off to you.
AIPAC and their minions can continue to try and make mischief, but on this issue the founding fathers have outplayed them IMO.
jamesT
Yes. British style parliamentary government gave Canada Justin the shirt model and the US Constitution gave the US Donald Trump. As a dual national I have both of them. pl
And, we’re (That is MSM and “Borgists”) concerned about Russian intrusion into our internal affairs?
Meantime we have the Likes of Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Joe Lieberman, and others you can think up who have been driving American interventionist foreign policy in directions contrary to the interests of and wellbeing of most Americans.
End dual-citizenship now.
If he doesn’t sue, you kind of have to wonder about Wizner too.
Phil has an article about AIPAC
AIPAC Returns to Washington
Who is interfering with American democracy?
Philip Giraldi
http://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/aipac-returns-to-washington/
I know that the ACLU have acted like a bunch of castrati, especially of late, but this is ridiculous!
A blatant abrogation of the First Amendment and the ACLU *may* try and fight it? Seriously, what are these eunuchs good for?
Col.
Just curious. Is dual national the same as dual citizen ship and if so, how does one qualify for it.
SRW
It is. In my case my mother was a Canadian citizen and that suffices under Canadian law. I only became aware of this a few years ago and sent them the necessary paperwork and they eventually sent me a nice certificate with a lot of beavers, maple leaves and the like on it. I ought to get it framed. Before you ask I no longer hold a US security clearance having asked to be debriefed after the Jeffrey Sterling case disgrace. Throughout my US government service I knew people who did hold US security clearances and were dual nationals (UK,Canada, Australia and New Zealand). This required an individual adjudication in each case. pl
JamesT, its far from clear the US constitution will “win” this. All legal clauses can be re-interpreted, and I think a convenient legal “reinterpretation” might, yes, even be supported by the Supreme Court.
Many relatives of those who died during 9/11 tried, over many years, to get their day in court. They wanted a legal system with access to evidence and evidence gathering to determine responsibility. They couldn’t get their day. The New York state legal system, and the federal DOJ, shut them down. Completely.
Unfortunately, this movement to silence and criminalize free speech and investigation of current events is not led by a bunch of clowns. They are experienced, well organized, funded to the gills, and ruthless.
Against them stand who, exactly? Because the eventual result will not be based on legal merit as you perceive it (no more, say, than on the recount decision of the vote in Florida in 2000), but will be determined by the balance of forces in a day to day struggle throughout many institutions.
“They couldn’t get their day. The New York state legal system, and the federal DOJ, shut them down.”
actualy they did, get a day in court, against the usual suspect who had nothing to do with 911 and was the first one in ME to condole US, the families were able to get a judgment against Iran for 10.5 billion and hold hostage some 2500 YO Iranian artifact on loan to U. of Chicago since 1930s. IMO, the financial, political, and judiciary system was from the beginning very vulnerable to minority special interest and minority gangs. That is how the system was taken over by special interest that ideologically supports a foreign entity against anything, be it majority interests or even US constitution that holds this system together.
IMO, without the first and the second amendment US constitution needs to be thrown in garbage. Without these 2 amendments we the people has no meaning.
https://www.rt.com/usa/335174-iran-damages-september-911-victims/
Seems to me that Cardin is playing the dancing bear to entertain his donors; that and giving AIPAC an opportunity to see who gets up to dance with him so it can gauge whether it has been purchasing wisely.
If this ridiculous proposal makes it into law to expose Americans to prosecution for not buying Israeli hydroponic tomatoes, we are in a lot more trouble than I thought we were.
should we consider Cade’s advice?
Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78
https://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/lets-kill-all-lawyers
gnv377
brings to mine the occasion in Yemen in which a Soviet Army MG said to me when we were alone at a cook-out at my house, “Lang, we should kill all the politicians and then you and we could make a peace.” pl
Flavius
No. I think Cardin represents foreign control of a US legislator. pl
SRW
You haven’t asked me but I will tell you that I was not aware of dual US/Israeli citizens with US security clearances but there must have been quite few. Stanley Fisher the former head of both the US Fed (deputy) and the Israeli equivalent would be one. I would think it likely that Jared Kushner is another. pl
What about this other senator, Menendez, he is asking and willing to have a nuclear war with Russia with possible millions killed to protect Israel? what is unbelievable to me is that no one and I repeat no one anywhere and in any position in US government protest this or dares to say anything against Israel on this US congress positions.
“Confront Russia to protect Israel, Sen. Bob Menendez urges President Trumpgoo.
gl/XXUVhZ
Sorry corect short URL for the menendez news article i linked is here
goo.gl/XXUVhZ
So the premise behind this bill is presumably that all those supporting BDS seek to delegitamize the State of Israel. Well I’ve got news for AIPAC; I have no problem with the State of Israel’s legitimacy & right to exist and support BDS (in a personal capacity, of course) in order to try and modify her behavior such that all her citizens are treated equitably. This is exactly the rationale I used to boycott products from the RSA during the apartheid era – I similarly had no problem with the legitimacy of the South African state.
It beggars belief that 51 US politicians supported the original text. Where exactly in Israel is this place Maryland, whose inhabitants Cardin purportedly represents?
“This place Maryland” is the landscape that surrounds the Lockheed Martin parking lots.
In about 1989 a neighbor came sobbing to my kitchen door: her husband, a Martin Marietta employee and Hebrew-speaker, was detailed to spend the next seven months in Israel.
Martin Marietta and Lockheed merged in 1994. My friend’s spouse’s trips to Israel became shorter but more numerous.
Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world. It’s corporate headquarters are in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland. “Bethesda” means “place of healing.” Montgomery County ranks 11th in the USA based on median household income.
Ben Cardin was first elected to the US Senate from Maryland in 2006, replacing Paul Sarbanes who retired after holding the seat since 1976.
In 2014 Lockheed Martin Israel was established, with offices in TelAviv and Beersheba
Lockheed Martin Israel
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/who-we-are/global/israel.html
2016: Lockheed Martin and Israel Celebrate Rollout of Israel’s First F-35 ‘Adir’
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2016/june/lockheed-martin-and-israel-celebrate-rollout-of-israels-first-f-35-adir.html
A webpage with the copyright date 2018 announces that “Lockheed-Martin has made its first investment in the Israeli market via cyber security startup Cybereason. Thus, Lockheed Martin joins Spark Capital investment fund and CRV, cumulating the investment in Cybereason to 25 million USD.
Cybereason was founded by a group of veterans from an Israeli elite intelligence unit and operates from Cambridge, Massachusetts whilst sustaining offices in Israel as well. The company’s solutions enable real-time monitoring of complex cyberattacks designated to circumvent existing cyber security measures” https://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/who-we-are/global/israel/news/Lockheed-martin-makes-first-investment-in-israeli-market.html
Last month my LM neighbors retired, sold their home and moved to Israel.
Senator Chuck Schumer’s loyalties are equally ambiguous.
““You know, my name …. comes from the word shomer, guardian, watcher. My ancestors were guardians of the ghetto wall in Chortkov. And I believe Hashem [Orthodox for God] actually gave me that name. One of my roles, very important in the United States senate, is to be a shomer — to be a or the shomer Yisrael. And I will continue to be that with every bone in my body …”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/schumer-im-on-a-mission-f_b_560091.html
“Can there be any doubt that Cardin’s real loyalty is not to the United States?”
Well Cardin IS a Democrat.
I have long wondered about the loyalty of Team Democrat-Media.
So it seems that DJ Trump would “family blog” a rock pile if he thought there was a snake in there. Maybe his security clearance should be revoked because he is susceptible to blackmail and other influences due to his past “conquests”.
Here’s what the ACLU actually said as quoted above:
“The revised bill continues to penalize participants in political boycotts in violation of the First Amendment. If it is enacted in this form and takes effect, we will strongly consider fighting it in court.”
That’s a lot stronger than “may fight it”. There could be any number of reasons why no absolute commitment is given, primarily that 1) there are other legal entities who also do 1st amendment work and 2) they have to read the actual contents of the bill if and when it passes prior to giving a legal opinion, which would be what any attorney would say.
This could get weird very fast as there are many Israeli firearms and cartridges for sale in the US. If the Parkland shooter didn’t use Israeli gear was he being anti-Semitic?
All is not lost.
“WASHINGTON — A federal court in Kansas has suspended a state law requiring contractors to swear they will not boycott Israel, saying it violates speech rights.
The decision Tuesday by the US Court for the District of Kansas is not final, and the parties — a teacher trainer and the Kansas secretary of education — may still go to trial. But the decision’s unusually strong language suggests that the Kansas state government has the tougher case to make.”
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/BDS-THREAT/US-Federal-court-suspends-Kansas-anti-BDS-law-540453
Colonel,
Rahm Emanuel: was in IDF and worked in both Clinton and Obama WH.
Pollard is also a dual national.
Randy
You probably know that he has no security clearance. He is the source of security clearances, not a recipient. pl
james
I am not resident in Canada and have no income derived from Canada, so I do not pay Canadian taxes. Neither the US nor Canada is beholden to Israel. We choose to act as though we are. pl
Colonel
Yes, but our shirt model Prime Minister is not a neocon, and that is very important to me. Our borg news media attack him non stop. I will take a SJW pretty boy over a neocon any day of the week. I live in fear of another Harper, and I think that Justin is the only thing standing between us and another Likudnik government.
Colonel,
Too bad that Senator Cardin can’t be forced to register himself as a Foreign Agent of a Foreign Power, and then be required to RESIGN his legislative position!
But…the Israeli Government has fine tuned their money laundering operation of U.S. Taxpayer Dollars into the coffers of individuals such as Senator Cardin. When will this circus of money laundered traveling Taxpayer Dollars ever end???
Educational: “U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley addresses AIPAC” + Schumer, Pence, and Bibi
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48906.htm
–What has happened to this country that the allegiance to Israel (by the US Congress-people!) is celebrated as a virtue?
kooshy, yes hence my rhetorical question: Only one .. ?
Yes, Americans have paid a very very dear price for their love affair with Israel. And they are oblivious to it, for the most part. On this forum, every once in a while, one is regaled with discussions on the minutiae of Jews, their DNA etc; how far and deep has the secular Enlightenment-state has fallen.
Here’s my list. Much too long to list and type out so using links.
All 275 house members who cosponsored the unconstitutional anti boycott bill for Israel
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1697/all-info#cosponsors-content
Plus the leaders of the US Congressional Israel Allies Caucus
http://www.israelallies.org/usa/member_directory/
Plus 88 Senators listed on this letter.
https://www.aipac.org/-/media/publications/policy-and-politics/aipac-analyses/issue-memos/2015/text-of-rounds-gillibrand-letter.pdf?elqTrackId=71FD281E81015C04EADDA6B8D8CFA471
Its easier to ask which politicians aren’t owned by Israel. Only two I know of in congress– Walter Jones and Betty McCollum.
Lists. That list of legislators and appointed civil servants could be taken two ways. One is that they have a unique perspective that affords them a more informed position without necessarily a conflict of interest, and two, there are those who look more towards whatever is the brightest light. The question returns to one of individual influence, which does not seem in short supply, and I suspect that particular list is updated daily. Somewhere.
I got to give it to you, still one is better than none
Dutch citizens with a Turkish or Moroccan parent automatically get these nationalities and are not allowed (by Turkish and Moroccan law) to loose this. It is allowed to have a single nationality but in these cases this does not apply.
Males born and raised in the Netherlands with Turkish nationality are still called up for military service, although this can be bought off after serving a couple of weeks and paying an amount to the Turkish government.
This is a never-ending loop that will continue into perpetuity with 4rd and further generations. It is a lever used by these foreign governments to influence European countries, which obviously is unwanted.
I’ve heard (but have never seen proof of it) that Morocco and Turkey were selected to strengthen the flanks of NATO by strengthening the bonds through temporary (which has become large permanent ethnic groups) laborers (btw, a lot of Berbers and Kurds!).
That being said, the last years I see a shift in the opinions of people from Turkey and Morocco which oppose their king and sultan. Even non-political Turks are against Erdogan and the Syrian policy. A couple of decades ago the support was much stronger. So the rooting in Europe is becoming stronger.
Catherine, that’s an impressive list.
The question could be posed of when this influence turns into recruitment. This was answered recently in Australia where an elected member of the Senate was asked to leave the premises consequent to him not only soliciting further donations from an existing Chinese donor, but also offering counter surveillance advice to same.
In either country, donation money is a significant conduit through which friendship flows. Without that, and favours in kind such as free travel and accommodation, much of this influence and potential recruiting, as happens on free tours, would be obliged to seek more difficult means.
Turning off the tap would require legislative change and you can spot the obvious stumbling block there. Australia is however in the process of outlawing some types of foreign / laundered political donations, but with noisy opposition from the laundries and their elected payees.
Going back to my question above, which US agency handles counterintelligence ? Have there been any prosecutions since Pollard in the 80’s and two smaller ones in 2009 ?
kooshy, I was astounded; only one 🙂
”The question could be posed of when this influence turns into recruitment.”..JW
Here’s how they are recruited in the US congress.
https://www.democraticwhip.gov/content/hoyer-addresses-aipac-political-leadership-conference
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer addressed the AIPAC Political Leadership Conference on December 15, 2003
excerpts from speech…..
”And, as you know, I had the privilege of leading the largest congressional delegation in history to Israel in August.
This was my sixth trip to Israel, and my fifth as a member of Congress.
But for many of the 28 other Democrats in our delegation, this was the first time they had been there.
Let me say very clearly: as a member of the Democratic leadership and a long-time supporter of Israel, it is absolutely imperative that Members of Congress – especially our new members and those who have few Jews in their Congressional Districts – recognize the moral and strategic significance of the U.S.-Israel partnership.
Furthermore, it is imperative that Israel’s circle of friends in Congress include non-Jews, too. For the reality is this: Israel’s safety and security is not a Jewish/non-Jewish issue. It is an American national security issue.
There are some who believe that we must demonstrate more even-handedness in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
I do not”
This bears repeating: Freedom of speech/press is being strangled. U.S. tells U.N. it is not allowed to publish a report on Israel:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2017/03/31/israel-is-an-apartheid-state-even-if-the-un-report-has-been-withdrawn/
Report is partially based on a 2009 South African jurist study of Israel, which is summarized here (well worth reading):
https://www.kairosresponse.org/south_africa_report_icahd_1.html
cf http://www.icahdusa.org
”What has happened to this country that the allegiance to Israel (by the US Congress-people!) is celebrated as a virtue?”
Read these two books or either one and you will see how it happened. Warning…it make you furious so don’t read at bedtime.
Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel 1st Edition
by Alison Weir
As this work demonstrates, these politicians were bombarded by a massive pro-Israel lobbying effort that ranged from well-funded and very public Zionist organizations to an “elitist secret society” whose members included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT brings together meticulously sourced evidence to illuminate a reality that differs starkly from the prevailing narrative. It provides a clear view of the history that is key to understanding one of the most critically important political issues of our day
https://www.amazon.com/Against-Our-Better-Judgment-History/dp/149591092X
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy – September 2, 2008
by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
The Israel Lobby,” by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy.
They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction.
I have seen the language you highlighted. Pretty milquetoast.
The text of the bill is public and why would the ACLU leave first amendment litigation to others? If not the ACLU, then who?
”Have there been any prosecutions since Pollard in the 80’s and two smaller ones in 2009 ?”..JW
Are you talking about this one:
NASA employee Stewart Nozette who gave classified U.S. government information to “Israeli Aircraft,” also known as Israel Aerospace Industries.
Or this one…
Ben-Ami Kadish
The charges alleged that the Israeli consular official, identified in the indictment as “CC-1”, gave Kadish lists of classified documents to obtain from the US Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Centre at the Picatinny Arsenal in the state of New Jersey.
The documents included information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and the US Patriot missile air defence system, prosecutors say
Or the AIPAC and Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman investigation….
http://prospect.org/article/mole-hunt
I certainly hope for and will act towards the defeat of such a law.
That said, I would like to see them enforce such a law, if it became a law. I can’t imagine a better way to turn the American public against Israel and Israeli interests/supporters in the US than to put someone away in jail for refusing to purchase Israeli-made goods. I bet a lot of kids of high school and college age support the boycott. Put them away in jail and you might just see some serious violence coming from the public.
AIPAC and Israel are their own worst enemies. Their tactics and “strategies” are heavy handed and poorly thought out. Remember there was no Hezbollah before Israel invaded Lebanon, no Iranians and few Russians in Syria before the neocons attempted to turn Syria into a Jihadist state and no palestinians fighting Israel until the chosen people made them homeless, stateless, cattle.
Col,
For the record; Canada & Blighty are in thrall to the ‘Jewish Nation’ as deeply as the USA. Anti BDS legislation is already in place (tho untested) or on the order paper. Neither country has the piles of lucre or ordnance that the Izzies crave. The one bright spot is that younger Jews are turning away from Israel in disgust. So Bibby & co. are doubling down on the Christian Zionists, like Pence.
Alaric
You are absolutely right. I do not expect BDS itself to change anything, but the Israeli/Israel lobby’s (over)reaction to it will ultimately be self-defeating. Part of me wishes that the legislation would have passed unamended for exactly this reason. The more brazen the attempts at silencing all dissent, the greater will be the eventual reaction against it all.
I also think the now near-universal tactic of branding all who oppose Israel as antisemitic could result in a much more serious unintended consequence. Israel is effectively holding all Jews hostage via this policy. Antisemitism is a real issue to be taken very seriously and devaluing the very word in such a way is exceptionally dangerous. Sooner or later ordinary people so-accused will simply become immune to the term and treat its usage in all contexts as meaningless hasbara. Jews everywhere need to wake up to this danger & start distancing themselves from this policy before we lose the ability to describe real antisemites.
Colonel
Israeli El Al airlines is seeking UN assistance to fly through Saudi airspace.
Not that Cotton doesn’t mean it, but competing for attention at the AIPAC Policy Conference wouldn’t be easy, with speakers trying to out-do each other in pro-Israel initiatives. When it comes to being pro-Israel these days, too much hyperbole is barely enough.
Lucky you’ve got that First Amendment.
As catherine noted above, there are 275 co-sponsors of the U.S. House version of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. The initial sponsor is Peter J. Roskam, a Republican of Illinois. The bill is H.R.1697 and the text is here–
https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr1697/BILLS-115hr1697ih.pdf
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1697/text
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1697/all-info
The Senate bill is S.720. The Congressional website lists 54 co-sponsors in the Senate–
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720/all-info?r=1
The text is here–
https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s720/BILLS-115s720is.pdf
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720/text?r=1
The bill is written to amend the Export Administration Act of 1979. This puts it into the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Both were introduced on the same day, 23 March 2017, and both at the present time are only in the designated committee.
mikee,
That decision by the U.S. District Court in Kansas against the anti-boycott law there is interesting.
A law was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Abbott when it met in 2017 to prevent the State from entering into a contract with a company unless the company signs a “verification” that it does not and will not boycott Israel, and that retirement funds and the permanent school fund of Texas have to divest themselves of investments in companies that boycott Israel and cannot invest in them. The section 808 about retirement funds and the school fund divesting and not investing in companies that boycott Israel tap dances around some to try to say the investment ban is not absolute. But it prohibits any lawsuit to challenge the anti-boycott law, plus it says the State will defend and indemnify anyone sued, plus it says the person suing has to pay the attorney fees of the state or person or entity sued.
The Texas law is obviously unconstitutional, but I have not heard yet of any legal challenge to it. The Texas Constitution has both an equal rights section and a free speech section–
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CN/htm/CN.1.htm#1.3
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CN/htm/CN.1.htm#1.8
Fortunately, the Texas Legislature meets only every other year, from January until the end of May. Next year they will be back.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/07/schumer-denounced-absolutely-disgusting-aipac-speech
Anna,
https://www.youtube.com/user/IfAmericansKnewVideo
YouTube censored Weir but now she’s back
Ben Cardin’s hysterical adherence to the Russia-meddled-in-our-elections fraud long ago convinced me that his real loyalty is to somewhere other than the United States.
Mikee at 29,
´not all is lost´- now comes fresh what´s fit to print so to speak – the ruling in Washington state
WA Court Dismisses Seven-Year Lawsuit Over Boycott of Israeli Goods – press@ccrjustice.org
Let’s reflect on the LockheedMartin company motto: “We never forget who we are working for.” Some details on what that might mean, in addition to the Fealty To The Likudniks part: https://www.corp-research.org/lockheed-martin
Catherine, yes, those are the two ‘recent’ ones, although I wasn’t aware of the mole hunting. Steny Hoyer seems quite proud of his work and sees little daylight between the interests of the country to which he has sworn an oath, and one that provides him with free stuff.
Can we conclude that a civil service member’s prosecution occurs every couple of decades, but a regular program of investigating potential recruiters and warning their targets seems to be the counterintel agency’s method of dealing with approaches to elected representatives. Very polite for law enforcement !
When the numbers of elected representatives involved reaches the level is has, it creates a momentum and allows an easily exploitable group-think to occur and be used against outliers, ie., ‘all the others are in with us; are you ?’
The means to prevent this influence is a set of comprehensive legislation rendering it illegal as opposed to accountable. The use of donations and interests registers and disclosure of contributions is ineffective as it accounts for only one side of the ledger – it does not establish any causal link to favours granted in return. Until that is redressed it will be business as usual.