Russia? U.S.A.? Just Different Mafias

By Steve Hynd

Are you ready for the tax cut cave-in? Following a ransom note from all 42 Republican senators, vowing to block all Senate legislation until Bush's tax cuts for the super-rich are extended, the WSJ has your advance warning that Dems will agree at least a one to three year extension:

Republicans and Democrats Wednesday sat down to negotiate a compromise on extending Bush-era income tax cuts�an effort that could be the first step toward a deal this month that many strategists in both parties believe will temporarily extend current tax rates for all income levels.

No decisions were reported from the first meeting of the small group that was appointed by President Barack Obama and leaders of both parties in the House and Senate. Still, White House officials expressed optimism about prospects for a bipartisan compromise.

"We're in the midst of productive discussions and negotiations around what I think everybody agrees is an issue that has to get done in taxes," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "I think we can get some substantive agreements."

When can we expect this cave-in of Chilean coal industry proportions? Well, Sen. Ron Kyl, the crazie from Arizona, says if it's not done by Monday then Obama can forget passing the START Treaty. The trade-off will be dropping $700 billion in fat cats' pockets so that the rest of us can live in a somewhat safer world.

And we all know that corporate bribes, in the form of campaign contributions and, way too often, other considerations are what's feulling this multi-billion giveaway to the billionaires. It's certainly not any kind of coherent and empirical economic theory.

Then I go read about the latest wikileaks revelations:

Russia is a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are bound together to create a "virtual mafia state", according to leaked secret diplomatic cables that provide a damning American assessment of its erstwhile rival superpower.

Arms trafficking, money laundering, personal enrichment, protection for gangsters, extortion and kickbacks, suitcases full of money and secret offshore bank accounts in Cyprus: the cables paint a bleak picture of a political system in which bribery alone totals an estimated $300bn a year, and in which it is often hard to distinguish between the activities of the government and organised crime.

Arms trafficking - America's biggest and best at that. Money laundering and personal enrichment...umm, does anyone need reminding about the massive sales of dodgy mortgage-bond deals that helped unleash the financial crisis? Extortion and kickbacks? America's corporatist state has them a-plenty, if all concealed under insider-trading deals. Protection for criminals? Well, there's this:

In its first months in office, the Obama administration sought to protect Bush administration officials facing criminal investigation overseas for their involvement in establishing policies the that governed interrogations of detained terrorist suspects. A "confidential" April 17, 2009, cable sent from the US embassy in Madrid to the State Department�one of the 251,287 cables obtained by WikiLeaks�details how the Obama administration, working with Republicans, leaned on Spain to derail this potential prosecution.

As Will Bunch points out, as direct a case of Obama bald-faced lying as you're ever likely to see.

Meanwhile, normal Americans must submit to ever more State intrusion into their travels, a sure sign of a totalitarian state in the making. That certainlt seems to have the bipartisan approval of our elite masters.

Russia? America? Just two different types of mafias.

Update: Oh hey. Just to make the analogy a bit more obvious: "Nigeria to charge Dick Cheney in $180 million bribery case, issue Interpol arrest warrant." The charges date from his time as CEO of Halliburton, natch.