LLM: Land and expand by Palantir and Oracle in UK

Version 1: Thu, Aug 13, 2026

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By Łukasz Nurczyński - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

A model of Roman fort Deva Victrix (c. 3rd century CE) at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.

The Roman army was if not the originator, clearly an early adopter of the “land and expand” military strategy.

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Continuing our exploration of American big tech’s influence in European economy and politics. This time taking a closer look at the “land and expand” business strategy applied in UK with the help of two LLMs, one from US, the other from China.

Techno Update: i2 v. Palantir

Version 1: Fri, Aug 7, 2026

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By Palantir - https://www.palantir.com/, Public Domain, Link

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In a recent post I speculated that Palantir may be involved in industrial espionage and that is one of the reasons that may explain the Spanish government’s decision.

Techno Update - Palantir Problems in Spain

Version 1: Thu, July 30, 2026

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Official portrait of Pedro Sánchez in February 2026 - By Ministry of the Presidency. Government of Spain, Attribution, Link

Earlier this year the government of Spain directed a number of companies backed by SEPI, a state-owned holding company, not to sign new contracts with Palantir.

Among the companies involved the following have significant present in Latin America:

Country	Business Activity
Telefonica	Brazil
Navantia	Brazil, Chile
Indra	Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia

The decision by the government in Spain follows similar decisions in France, Germany and as we have posted recently in Switzerland.

East Med Update - Pivot to Israel

Version 2: Thu, Jun 23, 2026

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Benjamin Netanyahu and George Papandreou on a cruise near the isle of Poros, 17 August 2010, photo via Flickr CC - Source: besacenter.org

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Must read recent article on The Cradle: (Athanasiadis 2026) on the evolving Greek and Israeli foreign relationship and the repercussions for the whole region.

What follows is additional information and my occasionally suggestive comments.

Techno Update - Palantir's Swiss Rebuff

Version 1: Fri, Jul 10, 2026

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By Palantir - https://www.palantir.com/, Public Domain, Link

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The Republik-WAV investigation

Online magaazine and the WAV research collective invetigated for about a year the Palantir efforts to get a contract in Switzerland.

Europe Update 3 - Propaganda

Version 1: Fri, Jun 26, 2026

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Source: Atlantic Council

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EU Propaganda

Thomas Fazi is an Italian author and journalist who has been critical of EU policies for some time. Earlier this month he wrote the following for Unherd:

Von der Leyen is coming for Europe’s wallet Beware the Commission’s power grab https://unherd.com/2026/06/von-der-leyen-is-coming-for-europes-wallet/ by Thomas Fazi - Unherd - Jun 10, 2026 - Archive https://archive.is/NIAfm

Book reading list

Version 2: Fri, Jun 19, 2026

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New books in my future reading list, and possibly yours too!

New in the second version books by Frank, Hudson, Schuilenburg and Christiansen.

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Bad Energy

Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who Are Selling Off Our Future https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2772-bad-energy by Joshua Frank - Haymarket Books - Sep 1, 2026