The US lobbied Russia this year on behalf of Visa and MasterCard in an attempt to ensure the payment companies were not “adversely affected” by new legislation, according to American diplomats in Moscow.
A state department cable released this afternoon by WikiLeaks reveals that US diplomats intervened to try to amend a draft law going through Russia’s Duma. Their explicit aim was to ensure the new law did not “disadvantage” the two US firms, the cable states.
The revelation comes a day after Visa – apparently acting under intense pressure from Washington – announced it was suspending all payments to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website. Visa was following MasterCard, PayPal and Amazon, all of which have severed ties with the site and its founder Julian Assange in the last few days.
This just gets better and better.
The link is short and worth the read. Judge Napolitano has been ranting for a few shows now about the government doing by way of coercion what it cannot do legally.
Yes, more interesting/disturbing all the time.
The “Business” of America IS business !!! Said along time ago !!! Corporate America OWNS THE GOVERNMENT – LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL !!! So much for “Democracy” and the “Will of the People” !!! We want National Health Care and what did we get ? Not even a “Public Option” but MANDATORY PRIVATE – FOR PROFIT INSURANCE !!!
So the “Will of the People” doesn’t stand for spit !!!
The State department has also been known to threaten countries with trade sanctions if they try to pass anti-smoking laws. American cigarette sales are big business in south-east Asia. But when a country like Thailand tried to pass laws against cigarette advertising (exactly like the existing U.S. laws) or to have a public campaign to reduce smoking, the State department threatened to put tariffs on their exports.
I think it’s fine the State Dept lobbies for American businesses.
I feel certain VISA and MC will thank us, the taxpayers who made it possible, by lowering our annual percentage rates to double digits.
And here I was gawking at the credit card.
If you want to gawk also, go here:
http://visainfinitecard.com/en/possibilities/main.jsp
Also, notice this card is available for residents of Zambia and Russia, but not the good ‘ol USA.
Pedro: explain yourself (big chance at that!)
Wikileads is a sleazeball because they truthfully report the pressure the US government uses to benefit criminal corporations? I thought you were against sheep like behavior? Wikileads should be your hero on that fact alone unless your use of “sheeple” is totally corrupt.
As to not posting Korea or whatever==they supposedly are not hackers, they only post what is sent to them. Before you can have computer leaks from a country, that country has to have computers.
Pedro, prove you are not a resting turd in the punchbowl of intelligent conversation: explain yourself. Animby: no helping.
One of the prime missions of the Department of State is to work with foreign governments on behalf of US companies.
Always has been.
The owner of wikileaks is ONLY wanted on 1 criminal charge in Sweden(?)…
There are NO CHARGES for leaking the information.
The Person Charged with leaking the information was JAILED in April, and has NOT be taken to court. They STILL can not figure out the charges, to bring.
Of course the option that immediately jumps to mind, is that all Wiki supporters simply stop using their V/MC cards for a month or two.
The card companies will soon get the idea.
If fascism came to America, what would it look like?
If.
Most seriously.
What would fascism look like? Look around. It gets worse.
Government and big biz joined at the hip. Who would have thought.
Isn’t this the new American model (United Corporations above America)?
America is certainly not the that Pansy old country of values (Bill or rights, 1st Amendment rights, human rights, etc, etc…) but; instead become, a country of profit, loss and power (pure capitalism).
It’s greed and want for money, that only what conservatives and republicans will support. If it weren’t for their two faced hypocritical speeches, they wouldn’t be able to fool American’s who watch Fox News to vote for them!!!
#7
Hey Jack what do you think about health care?
Assange is an arrogant self-centered turd. He is loving every minute of this and the unicorn and flowers crowd is following him like lemmings. It’s like watching Jim Jones. It will all be truth and light with no corporations and no, UGH!, profit.
Dumbcraps never lack for fantasy.
# 19 Mextli
“Assange is an arrogant self-centered turd”
Even if Julian Assange is as you say (which he is not), who care? Why all this ad-hominem irrelevance? Classic ignorance of refutation, also very funny and humorous.
What delusions of grandeur are you referring to “unicorn and flowers crowd”?
Why are you surprised by this?
Why do you think Ron Brown died?
The conspiracy theories are he was done on behalf of Pakistan or Bill Clinton, which are substantial in that at the time a substantial minority of blacks believed that he was murdered, so it is impossible that Obama who went to racist Rev Wright’s church did not hear of these rumors, and probably kept him from making Hillary VP, just in case.
If you discount the conspiracy theories, then the reason he died was to make some sales for Enron.
Hey taco breath # 21 pedro, what the #$!@#$ do you know!
You are such the classic brain dead idiot and nothing more then a stepford wive to Fox News who can only regurgitate what Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, and Orielly tells you.
Your continuing attempts at circular logic shows you have mastered it, and make me laugh and gives me hope your kind will annoy people to vote against the Republicans so they can avoid another BUSH.
# 24 pedro
“360 degrees. Is that what you mean by circular logic?”
Yes circle jerk, that’s exactly what I mean.
As an idiot, you mentally just can’t venture away from where you rhetorically started!!
# 26 pedro,
Ok, I’ll honor your request::
As I’ve said in other posts:
You seem to be a envious mindless sycophant moron of your false conservative Gods: Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, and Orielly.
Your posts are allays entertaining; it’s like reading Dumb Dora comics, and still again and again you are dumber.
I congratulate you on your honest and certifiable dumbness!!!
Carry on envious moron!!!