Mithcoriel
Member
Hey guys. I found this article in a swiss newspaper, and I translated it cause I was curious to hear opinions from Americans and other countries:
The USA act like the mafia
With the million dollar fines, which the USA negotiate against foreign banks like the BNP Paribas, they act like the mafia. A comment.
Collecting money for protection from a danger you pose yourself. That is the way of the Mafia. And of the USA. When banks in the USA breach an edict, a punishment is okay. If the Swiss government allows the right-imperialist assault on Switzerland, then that's pathetic and the job of the swiss legal sovereignty. And since resistance would have been possible, also cowardly. When the USA collect fines worldwide for breaches against sanctions and embargos they pronounced unilaterally, that's a legal crime.
The largest French bank, BNP Paribas, is threatened with a two digit billion fine, especially because of businesses of her Genevan daughter. In addition the US demand leading managers step down, and a confession of guilt. The bank, whose biggest single stockholder is the French state, must be guilty of terrible things. Well.. It's being accused of having gone against US sanctions against countries like Iran, Sudan or Kuba. Which for the largest part neither France nor the EU have joined. While US companies happily entertain trades for example with Iran.
The example of Cuba
The USA have been punishing the last island of socialism with an absurd trade embargo for more than 50 years. Any trade witb the small carribean island is forbidden to US companies, until the supposedly so cruel dictatorship of the castro-brothers comes to an end. Just to be safe, the two of them aren't allowed to run in subsequent elections, that's a condition for the annulment. Because the USA rightfully fear that they would still be voted for by a majority. Nevertheless, everywhere on Cuba you find Coca Cola, Marlboro and even Californian wines. As if that weren't enough, the biggest exporter of food into Cuba is the US. The agricultural lobby prevailed against the Cubans in Exile in Miami. And this pointless embargo is frequently condemned unanimously at the UNO plenary meeting against one or two votes, among them the USA and Micronesia.
Nevertheless banks, among them of course also the big swiss bank Credit Suisse (CS) regularly get multi-billion dollar fines for breaking this embargo from the point of view of the USA. Even though every Swiss company, every Swiss bank, is completely free to do so. Unless they avoid it out of cowardice, like the state bank ZKB and many other financial institutions which don't allow transactions to Cuba. Why is that?
The modus operandi of the mafia is to spread fear and terror. To scare a shop owner into giving protection money with the threat that otherwise a few sinister men will beat the store to pieces. The USA act exactly the same. The difference is only gradual. Their rough boys don't use baseball bats, but wear suits and ties and call themselves judicial officers.
They don't threaten to shred counter halls to pieces. But to block access to the world currency, the dollar. To revoke the bank license to the USA. Because they know that every internationally active bank, even every nationally active bank, is dead then after 48 hours. Unsavably lost. But the USA tell you, as do the Mafia: we're not forcing you. We're just making you an offer you can't refuse. Of course you are free to use the law. Just call the police or the justice for help.
Lord of the world currency
Never, not once, has a foreign country resisted an accusation by the US in court. So far, no country has ever said: We acknowledgde the accusation, take legal action, and we'll see which supreme court ruling will be made in the end. And until then it's innocent until proven guilty in every state, by the way. Why doesn't any bank do this? The UBS, the CS, the HSBC, the BNP Paribas have huge law departements. They could calculate some chances for themselves in case of supposed breaches against unilateral embargos of the USA, which aren't even enforced there, right?
That's exactly it, they can't. Because the demand to plead guilty without resistance is accompanied by the threat that the bank will be dead otherwise. And the USA is the lord of the world currency Dollar. In the Isda-contracts signed in the so-called Interbanking, which happens to be seated in New York, being accused by the US law is an immediate reason for cancellation. Without the regulation of the daily cash-flow budget in dollars via these contracts every bank is immediately bankrupt.
It's beyond the knowledge of the audience, if and in what form the BNP Paribas broke US laws or embargos. The fact that other banks have already given confessions and paid fines is about as informative as a confession obtained by torture. About as lawful as a person accused of theft immediately confessing. Because he was told: either you confess willingly or you deny. You've got the free choice. But if you fail to confess, we'll put the lethal injection into your arm without trial.
If a power doesn't accept any rules because it is without limits, when it only claims to be bound by a state of law, then we live in medieval conditions. Then the mafia rules, which also claims to have a code of honor. We all agree the mafia must be fought. Are we too cowardly when the Mafia is called USA? There wouldn't even be the need of the personal courage of mafia hunters like Giovanni Falcone, who gave his life for his fight. The fronting by each national bank would be enough for every bank to be able to lawfully defend itself.
(Left away the section "Easy game in Switzerland")