National Security
Russia switches to Chinese credit card banking system
The deadly alliance between Russia and China has moved into banking. Visa and Mastercard suspended all of their services in Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone call with U.S. lawmakers. The move by the credit card companies was announced on Saturday, just days after they had blocked Russian banks from access to their networks.
In a statement, Visa announced the company will “cease all Visa transactions” in Russia. On Sunday, Reuters reported that “several Russian banks said on Sunday they would soon start issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay card operator’s system couples with Russia’s own Mir network.”
Russia’s biggest lender, Sberbank, as well as Alfa Bank and Tinkoff made the announcements to switch to the Chinese system. Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly said in a statement: “We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed.”
Visa and Mastercard issued their statements just 16 minutes apart. “We don’t take this decision lightly” said Mastercard in a statement. According to Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), Zelensky asked the lawmakers on a private video call to turn off Mastercard and Visa for Russia.
The Associated Press reported that “Russia accounted for 4 percent of all of Visa’s net revenue in its last fiscal year, while business conducted within, into and out of Russia similarly accounted for 4 percent of Mastercard’s net revenues in 2021.”
The Associated Press also reported that “since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged by more than a third to a record low.”
As a result, inflation is dramatically increasing “for Russian households, and all the fear has helped cause long lines at ATMs.”
Immigration
BREAKING: Senate votes down both articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in party-line vote
The Senate voted down two articles of impeachment Wednesday which alleged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas engaged in the “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” regarding the southern border in his capacity as DHS secretary. The second claimed Mayorkas had breached public trust.
What resulted in a party-line vote, began with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., proposing a point of order declaring the first article unconstitutional, to which the majority of senators agreed following several failed motions by Republicans. The article was deemed unconstitutional by a vote of 51-48, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voting present.
Fox News reports:
Schumer’s point of order was proposed after his request for unanimous consent, which would have provided a set amount of time for debate among the senators, as well as votes on two GOP resolutions and a set amount of agreed upon points of order, was objected to by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Schmitt stated in his objection that the Senate should conduct a full trial into the impeachment articles against Mayorkas, rather than the debate and points of order suggested by Schumer’s unanimous consent request, which would be followed by a likely successful motion to dismiss the articles.
Republican senators took issue with Schumer’s point of order, as agreeing to it would effectively kill the first of the two articles. Several GOP lawmakers proposed motions, which took precedence over the point of order, to adjourn or table the point, among other things. But all GOP motions failed.
After another batch of motions to avoid voting on Schumer’s second point of order, which would deem the second article unconstitutional, the Senate agreed to it. The vote was along party lines 51-49, with Murkowski rejoining the Republicans.
-
education7 days ago
States are suing Joe Biden over student-debt plan
-
Israel6 days ago
Hamas tells mediators it does not have the 40 hostages required for cease-fire
-
Economy5 days ago
Federal Reserve Economist on hidden camera: ‘we don’t want Trump to be in the government’
-
education6 days ago
Harvard Reinstates Standardized Testing Requirement for Admissions
James
March 7, 2022 at 8:52 am
When the west plays its last hand and weaponises the only threat it has left, you know it is in its death throws.
When Asia pivots away from the $ as the global reserve currency, they will follow their mo and resort to war. Oh wait!
Pherbia Stephens
March 7, 2022 at 10:52 am
I pray all Americans and Christian people will get out of Russia, then let Russia sink.
Steven bennett Williams
March 7, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Will this affect the United States
TellTheTruth-2
March 7, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Years ago Lyndon LaRouche explained US Dollars are held all over the world because people see them as a thing of value. He also explained, if the Dollar ever loses its place as the World’s Reserve Currency, those TRILLIONS of Dollars held overseas would return to the USA so fast you will hear the whooosh and the USA would go into an immediate deflationary depression.
That’s why the neoCONs are pushing for a war with Russia. The fake joo bastards want to destroy the USA and when they do, they’ll all flee to Israel when they think they’ll rule the world from
Gerry d'Aquino
March 9, 2022 at 3:27 am
So now credit cards have become weaponized as a political tool. All I see is cancel culture taking the west by force. You will reap what you sow, eventually.