Palantir, the AI giant that preaches U.S. dominance
Palo Alto — Palantir, an American data analysis and artificial intelligence company, has emerged as Silicon Valley's latest tech darling — one that doesn't hide its macho, America-first ethos now ascendant in Trump-era tech culture.
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The company's reach spans the global economy, with banks, hospitals, the U.S. government, and the Israeli military among its ever-expanding client roster.
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'We want and need this country to be the strongest, most important country in the world,' Alex Karp, Palantir's CEO, recently declared at a client conference in Palo Alto, California, where AFP was the only media outlet present.
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In armed conflicts — most notably in Ukraine — Palantir's tools help evaluate potential targets in real-time, using multiple sources, including biometric data and intercepted phone calls.
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'I'm super proud of… what we do to protect our soldiers… (using our AI) to kill our enemies and scare them, because they know they will be killed,' the graying, curly-haired billionaire continued, wearing a tight white T-shirt.
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Washington has been filling Palantir's coffers.
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In the first quarter, the company received $373 million from the U.S. government – a 45 percent jump from the previous year — and it's not all military spending. This spring, federal immigration authorities (ICE) awarded the company a $30 million contract to develop a new platform for tracking deportations and visa overstays.
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The company then secured an investment of nearly $800 million from the U.S. military, adding to the $480 million contract signed in May 2024 for its AI platform supporting the Pentagon's 'Project Maven' target identification program.
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This marked Palantir's first billion-dollar contract, elevating it alongside government contracting stalwarts like Microsoft and Amazon's AWS.
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However, financial results 'are not and will never be the ultimate measure of the value, broadly defined, of our business,' Karp wrote in his letter to shareholders in early May, where he tossed in quotes from Saint Augustine, the Bible and Richard Nixon.
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'We have grander and more idiosyncratic aims.'
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Palantir was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel — Silicon Valley's preeminent conservative — Karp, and others with CIA backing. The company takes its name from the magical seeing stones in Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings.'
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The Province
2 hours ago
- The Province
Mark Carney to officially recognize Palestinian state
Carney said Canada will recognize the State of Palestine at the UN in September as he accused Israel of failing to 'prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza' Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with reporters during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that Canada will recognize a State of Palestine at the United Nations in September as he accused the Israeli government of failing to 'prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors After meeting with his cabinet Wednesday, Carney told reporters that the recognition was conditional on the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, going forward with significant reforms which include demilitarization and holding a general election in 2026. Carney said Canada's longstanding hope for a two-state solution negotiated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel was 'no longer tenable' because of the war in Gaza. • John Ivison: Carney's Palestinian recognition emboldens terror, not peace 'The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay in co-ordinated international action to support peace, security, and the dignity of all human life,' Carney said. 'The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and is rapidly deteriorating,' he added. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carney's announcement was immediately condemned by the Israeli embassy, which said it rewards the 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel that started the war in Gaza. 'Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it. We will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation,' said Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed. 'Recognizing a Palestinian state in the absence of accountable government, functioning institutions, or benevolent leadership, rewards and legitimizes the monstrous barbarity of Hamas on October 7, 2023 (the Hamas terrorist attack). It punishes Israeli and Palestinian victims of Hamas, vindicates Hamas' Western sympathizers fuelling antisemitism, and hardens Hamas' position at the negotiation table at a most critical time.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. During the press conference, Carney said terrorist group Hamas was a constant obstacle to peace and poses a pervasive threat to Israel, namely by committing 'heinous' terrorist attacks such as the antisemitic Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. He called on Hamas to immediately release all remaining hostages taken nearly three years ago. But he also condemned Israel's 'ongoing failure' in preventing 'the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza, with impeded access to food and other essential humanitarian supplies.' He further criticized the Knesset's vote earlier this month for annexation of the West Bank as well as citing increased Israeli settler violence against Palestinians. Carney's announcement comes after France and the United Kingdom made similar announcements over the past week. If they go through with their commitments, France, the U.K. and Canada will be the first G7 countries to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN, a largely symbolic move. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carney said the statehood recognition would go to the Palestinian Authority and that Hamas is not welcome 'in any shape or form' in the process. He said he spoke earlier Wednesday to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who reiterated a commitment to fundamentally reform the Authority's governance, demilitarize the Palestinian state and hold general elections in 2026 that exclude Hamas. 'Much has to happen in order (before) a democratic, viable state is established, and we're committed to help work as part of that process. I'm not in any way or shape minimizing the scale of that task,' Carney said. Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Jewish advocacy group, called Carney's trust in Abbas' commitments 'misplaced'. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. National Council of Canadian Muslims CEO Stephen Brown called Carney's announcement Wednesday 'historic'. 'This decision is more than symbolic. It is a small step in the right direction and the recognition that sovereignty is essential to the survival and dignity of all people,' Brown said during a press conference. 'This act of recognition confirms the belief, and the relief, of long-term peace cannot come without Palestinian self-determination.' On Wednesday, the 22-member Arab League signed a declaration with the European Union and 17 other countries calling on the terrorist group Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip. It is the first time that the league, which comprises Arab and Muslim states including Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, condemned Hamas since its 2023 attack on Israel. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The declaration that was signed at a UN conference hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on 'the peaceful settlement' of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of a two-state solution. On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said his government would recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations general assembly in September if Israel has not implemented a ceasefire in Gaza by then. He also demanded Israel significantly increase humanitarian aid to Gaza amid growing and vocal concerns by multiple humanitarian groups of famine. The Israeli government blames the UN and Hamas for failing to distribute aid. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said there was 'real starvation' unfolding in the Gaza Strip, but said it was because Hamas was 'stealing the food.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Last week, France announced it would vote to recognize Palestinian statehood in September, a decision that was condemned by both Israel and the United States. In a statement, Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said the recognition legitimizes Hamas's use of terrorism to achieve its political goals. 'A unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, without peace negotiations or a renunciation of violence, destroys the path to a durable, two-state solution. Worse, it legitimizes terrorism by handing political rewards to a group that rules Gaza through fear, oppression, and brutality,' he said. Carney's announcement followed a group of 173 former Canadian ambassadors and diplomats calling on the federal government to recognize a Palestinian state, on Wednesday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Recognition will create the political space needed to set the stage for a serious bilateral negotiation process and send a clear message to the current Israeli government, which actively opposes a Palestinian state, that it does not have a veto on the recognition of Palestine,' wrote the former diplomats, including two ex-ambassadors to Israel, in a statement. The group also called on Canada to implement a two-way arms embargo on military equipment to Israel, 'urgently' implement trade restrictions on Israel exports originating from the occupied territories and push for the UN to create a 'protected humanitarian corridor.' The recognition that sovereignty is essential to the survival and dignity of all people The letter to Carney also called on Palestinians to eschew 'terrorism and violence' and recognize Israel's right to exist. It did not reiterate the Canadian government's call for Hamas, designated a terrorist group in Canada, to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a rebuttal also sent to Carney's office Wednesday, three other former Canadian diplomats — including the former top lawyer at Global Affairs Canada, Alan Kessel — argued that the letter's proposals came from a good place but were 'naive and dangerous.' 'If acted upon, their recommendations would empower a proscribed terrorist organization, weaken Canada's strategic and moral standing, and ultimately leave both Palestinians and Israelis worse off,' read the rebuttal. 'Hamas and elements of the Palestinian Authority reject a two-state solution, pursuing instead a 'one state without Jews' vision that makes peace impossible,' the rebuttal said. National Post, with files from Ari David Blaff. Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here. 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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Asian shares are mixed after US stocks fall on weakened hopes for a September interest rate cut
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after most U.S. stocks slipped, as doubts rose on Wall Street about whether the Federal Reserve will deliver economy-juicing cuts to interest rates by September. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% to 41,020.91 after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady at 0.5% and raised inflation projections. The move follows Tokyo's trade deal with Washington. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1% to 24,920.67, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.7% to 3,588.73. In Seoul, the Kospi edged down 0.3% to 3,244.40 after South Korea reached a 15% tariff deal with the U.S., with no levies on American goods like cars, trucks and farm products. The deal also includes South Korea's purchase of $100 billion U.S. energy imports and $350 billion worth of investments in the U.S. Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 8,743.80. India's BSE Sensex added 0.2% to 81,481.86. Taiwan's TAIEX rose 0.4% to 23,551.92. Rabo Bank, citing the U.S. trade deals with other countries, including Bangladesh, said in a commentary that 'it appears to be only a matter of time before India agrees to terms to ensure that it retains favorable access to the US market and all of those other markets that (U.S. President Donald) Trump has demonstrated he has the power to direct through economic coercion.' Rabo added that the terms of a U.S.-India trade deal would almost certainly include Indian purchases of U.S. arms and energy products and preferential access to U.S. agricultural goods. 'A potential loser in all of this is Australia. With the US sending more wheat to Indonesia and Bangladesh and more LNG to Japan and South Korea, Australian exports stand to be displaced from their traditional markets,' it added. Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on imports coming from India, along with an additional tax because of India's purchases of Russian oil, beginning on Aug. 1. That's when stiff tariffs Trump has proposed for many other countries are also scheduled to kick in, unless they reach trade deals that lower the rates. But the U.S. president said the two countries were still in negotiations. On Wall Street on Wednesday the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1%, coming off its first loss after setting all-time highs for six successive days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 171 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%. Stocks felt pressure from rising Treasury yields in the bond market after the Federal Reserve voted to hold its main interest rate steady. The move may upset Trump, who has been lobbying for lower interest rates, but it was widely expected on Wall Street. Fed Chair Jerome Powell may have surprised investors by pushing back on expectations that the Fed could cut rates at its next meeting in September. Besides Trump, two members of the Fed's committee have also been calling for lower rates to ease the pressure on the economy, and they dissented in Wednesday's vote. But Powell would not commit to a September cut in rates, pointing to how inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, while the job market still looks to be 'in balance.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. A cut in rates would give the job market and overall economy a boost, but it could also risk fueling inflation when Trump's tariffs may be set to raise prices for U.S. consumers. The Fed's job is to keep both the job market and inflation in a good place. In other dealings on Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 4 cents to $69.96 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, shed 13 cents to $72.34 per barrel. The U.S. dollar fell to 148.87 Japanese yen from 149.44. The euro rose to $1.1422 from $1.1412. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chinese researchers suggest lasers and sabotage to counter Musk's Starlink satellites
ROME (AP) — Stealth submarines fitted with space-shooting lasers, supply-chain sabotage and custom-built attack satellites armed with ion thrusters. Those are just some of the strategies Chinese scientists have been developing to counter what Beijing sees as a potent threat: Elon Musk' s armada of Starlink communications satellites. Chinese government and military scientists, concerned about Starlink's potential use by adversaries in a military confrontation and for spying, have published dozens of papers in public journals that explore ways to hunt and destroy Musk's satellites, an Associated Press review found. Chinese researchers believe that Starlink — a vast constellation of low-orbit satellites that deliver cheap, fast and ubiquitous connectivity even in remote areas — poses a high risk to the Chinese government and its strategic interests. That fear has mostly been driven by the company's close ties to the U.S. intelligence and defense establishment, as well as its growing global footprint. 'As the United States integrates Starlink technology into military space assets to gain a strategic advantage over its adversaries, other countries increasingly perceive Starlink as a security threat in nuclear, space, and cyber domains,' wrote professors from China's National University of Defense Technology in a 2023 paper. Chinese researchers are not the only ones concerned about Starlink, which has a stranglehold on certain space-based communications. Some traditional U.S. allies are also questioning the wisdom of handing over core communications infrastructure — and a potential trove of data — to a company run by an unpredictable foreign businessman whose allegiances are not always clear. Apprehensions deepened after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine made clear the battlefield advantages Starlink satellites could convey and have been exacerbated by Musk's proliferating political interests. Musk pumped tens of millions of dollars into President Donald Trump's reelection effort and emerged, temporarily, as a key adviser and government official. As Musk toys with the idea of starting his own political party, he has also taken an increasing interest in European politics, using his influence to promote an array of hard-right and insurgent figures often at odds with establishment politicians. Musk left the Trump administration in May and within days his relationship with Trump publicly imploded in a feud on social media. SpaceX, the rocket launch and space-based communications company that Musk founded and that operates Starlink, remains inextricably linked with core U.S. government functions. It has won billions in contracts to provide launch services for NASA missions and military satellites, recuperate astronauts stranded at the International Space Station and build a network of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Starlink's space dominance has sparked a global scramble to come up with viable alternatives. But its crushing first-mover advantage has given SpaceX near monopoly power, further complicating the currents of business, politics and national security that converge on Musk and his companies. Starlink dominates space Since its first launches in 2019, Starlink has come to account for about two-thirds of all active satellites, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who writes a newsletter tracking satellite launches. SpaceX operates more than 8,000 active satellites and eventually aims to deploy tens of thousands more. Beijing's tendency to view Starlink as tool of U.S. military power has sharpened its efforts to develop countermeasures — which, if deployed, could increase the risk of collateral damage to other customers as SpaceX expands its global footprint. The same satellites that pass over China also potentially serve Europe, Ukraine, the United States and other geographies as they continue their path around the earth. Starlink says it operates in more than 140 countries, and recently made inroads in Vietnam, Niger, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. In June, Starlink also obtained a license to operate in India, overcoming national security concerns and powerful domestic telecom interests to crack open a tech-savvy market of nearly 1.5 billion people. On the company's own map of coverage, it has very few dead zones beyond those in North Korea, Iran and China. No other country or company is close to catching up with Starlink. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has taken aim at rival Musk with Project Kuiper, which launched its first batch of internet satellites into orbit in April. So far Amazon has just 78 satellites in orbit, with 3,232 planned, according to McDowell, and London-based Eutelstat OneWeb has around 650 satellites in orbit, a fraction of the fleet it had initially planned. The European Union is spending billions to develop its own satellite array — called the IRIS2 initiative — but remains woefully behind. EU officials have had to lobby their own member states not to sign contracts with Starlink while it gets up and running. 'We are allies with the United States of America, but we need to have our strategic autonomy,' said Christophe Grudler, a French member of the European Parliament who led legislative work on IRIS2. 'The risk is not having our destiny in our own hands.' China has been public about its ambition to build its own version of Starlink to meet both domestic national security needs and compete with Starlink in foreign markets. In 2021, Beijing established the state-owned China SatNet company and tasked it with launching a megaconstellation with military capabilities, known as Guowang. In December, the company launched its first operational satellites, and now has 60 of a planned 13,000 in orbit, according to McDowell. Qianfan, a company backed by the Shanghai government, has launched 90 satellites out of some 15,000 planned. The Brazilian government in November announced a deal with Qianfan, after Musk had a scorching public fight with a Brazilian judge investigating X, who also froze Space X's bank accounts in the country. Qianfan is also targeting customers in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan and Uzbekistan and has ambitions to expand across the African continent, according to a slide presented at a space industry conference last year and published by the China Space Monitor. Russia's invasion of Ukraine supercharges concerns Concerns about Starlink's supremacy were supercharged by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war was a turning point in strategic thinking about Starlink and similar systems. Ukraine used the Starlink network to facilitate battlefield communications and power fighter and reconnaissance drones, providing a decisive ground-game advantage. At the same time, access to the satellites was initially controlled by a single man, Musk, who can — and did — interrupt critical services, refusing, for example, to extend coverage to support a Ukrainian counterattack in Russia-occupied Crimea. U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow after the full-scale invasion also curtailed the availability of Western technology in Russia, underscoring the geopolitical risks inherent in relying on foreign actors for access to critical infrastructure. 'Ukraine was a warning shot for the rest of us,' said Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution, a public policy research center based in Bangalore, India. 'For the last 20 years, we were quite aware of the fact that giving important government contracts to Chinese companies is risky because Chinese companies operate as appendages of the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, it's a risk because the Chinese Communist Party can use technology as a lever against you. Now it's no different with the Americans.' Nearly all of the 64 papers about Starlink reviewed by AP in Chinese journals were published after the conflict started. Assessing Starlink's capabilities and vulnerabilities Starlink's omnipresence and potential military applications have unnerved Beijing and spurred the nation's scientists to action. In paper after paper, researchers painstakingly assessed the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a network that they clearly perceive as menacing and strove to understand what China might learn — and emulate — from Musk's company as Beijing works to develop a similar satellite system. Though Starlink does not operate in China, Musk's satellites nonetheless can sweep over Chinese territory. Researchers from China's National Defense University in 2023 simulated Starlink's coverage of key geographies, including Beijing, Taiwan, and the polar regions, and determined that Starlink can achieve round-the-clock coverage of Beijing. 'The Starlink constellation coverage capacity of all regions in the world is improving steadily and in high speed,' they concluded. In another paper — this one published by the government-backed China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team — researchers mapped out vulnerabilities in Starlink's supply chain. 'The company has more than 140 first-tier suppliers and a large number of second-tier and third-tier suppliers downstream,' they wrote in a 2023 paper. 'The supervision for cybersecurity is limited.' Engineers from the People's Liberation Army, in another 2023 paper, suggested creating a fleet of satellites to tail Starlink satellites, collecting signals and potentially using corrosive materials to damage their batteries or ion thrusters to interfere with their solar panels. Other Chinese academics have encouraged Beijing to use global regulations and diplomacy to contain Musk, even as the nation's engineers have continued to elaborate active countermeasures: Deploy small optical telescopes already in commercial production to monitor Starlink arrays. Concoct deep fakes to create fictitious targets. Shoot powerful lasers to burn Musk's equipment. Some U.S. analysts say Beijing's fears may be overblown, but such assessments appear to have done little to cool domestic debate. One Chinese paper was titled, simply: 'Watch out for that Starlink.' ___ Chen reported from Washington. ___ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
