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FBI Arrests Neteller Execs
Alcibaides writes "In a follow-up to the 2006 law attacking Internet gambling, the FBI arrested two former Neteller executives in 'connection with the creation and operation of an Internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds.' Apparently, the execs were 'ambushed' as they passed through the U.S. on connecting flights. Consequently, Neteller has dropped all gambling-related activity to U.S. customers, a move not expected for several months."
This should be interesting, to see how foreign countries react to the detention of their citizens for something so paltry...
...are they being charged with violating this new law, or with other laws that are already on the books? Since they haven't done anything but own stock in the company since 2005, one would think that they couldn't be accused of crimes they committed before they were classed as illegal...
Because all gambling isn't illegal means US government is protecting someone else's interests and its own profits -> tax revenue. Because there is alot of money going across the board, and taxes aren't paid. And none of these people are friends of Bush family. If there were, this little problem would silently go away. All in all, liberty in america it has become is for those who are with a largest pocketbook. It is pretty bad, but not as bad in some other places.
Though the fact that executive staff were not employed by the company anymore. What can they do? Put them into a jail? I smell political agenda there, not justice for preservation of liberty and freedom of the peoples of the country.
2c
If you live in the US, send this message to the president. Let's make it clear what the people of the United States want.
The president's email address is: comments@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Release Neteller Execs
Two former NETELLER executives were detained while traveling separately through the United States yesterday (Jan. 15) in "connection with the creation and operation of an Internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds from United States citizens to the owners of various Internet gambling companies located overseas," according to the U.S. Attorney General's office of Southern New York.
The two executives are: Stephen Eric Lawrence and John David Lefebvre.
I don't know all the facts yet about these men--the full story will come out in time, but arrests like these men, Maher Arar, and Sklyarov make the United States look VERY bad. This is hurting our economy, our public image, and our relations with the rest of the world. This is encouraging (although not the cause of) people to oppose the United States on many levels, and I believe it is making the current terrorist situation worse.
These two men are Canadian citizens, and they have been arrested for performing an activity against a law which was not passed at that time, for a company which perfomed a legitimate service which was and still is legal under Canadian law. It is not the US's prerogative to enforce our view of the law against people in other nations.
Canada is one of our closest allies. By alienating them we are hurting ourselves.
We have to stop arresting businessmen who are traveling through the United States and performing legal legitimate services in other countries -- as long as they are not threatening our national security. It is an offense to those other countries' law and it will damage our Economy and public image. I only want what is best for the United States and Justice. I want to see the freedom for all that you so often preach.
I call for a quick release of all facts, and if necessary a presidential pardon of the two people involved. Show the world that the United States truly is the home of the free.
-=Lothsahn=-
Arrest US software execs when they go abroad. Nazi memorabilia found using your search-engine/auction/etc, goto French jail. And so on. Raising the cost of stupidity is the only way to show some regimes.
The reason the government cares is that half a dozen native Indian tribes, who happen to own casinos, have bought a large bunch of politicians. Jack Abramoff was acting as the router to distribute the cash amongst congressmen. They and their constituents don't care about online gambling - they are just voting on legislation the way their "campaign contributors" tell them to vote.
Also, as you say, tax is part of it. There is a large budget deficit, and outlawing online gambling before raising taxes on casino gambling would go part of the way towards filling the hole in the government's finances.
Can anyone explain under what pretense the US gets to arrest noncitizens for violating US law?
If a person has violated US law and is located in the US, regardless of his citizenship he is certainly subject to arrest and prosecution. This is true the world over. If you are on the soil of country XYZ you are subject to their laws. If I were to break a Canadian law by electronic means (say stealing funds by hacking into a Canadian Bank) from the US, don't you think that I would be arrested by Canadian Police if they later found me travelling in Canada? Of course I would.
Now of course there is a question as to whether these two actually violated US law, but that will be determined in court soon enough. I am sure that the Canadian Ambassador is twisting arms to get to the root of this.
You are missing an important point about how the law relates to national souvereignity:
Murder is unlawful in most contries/states, but the juristicion to prosecute and punish rests solely with the county/state.
If you commit murder in Idaho, a California court can not convict you of that crime.
If you commit murder in Denmark, the US can not convict you of that crime.
This is part of international treaties that all memebers of the UN are signatories to.
however, over the last years, the US are in many areas violating this, and treat the entire world as US juristicion.
This includes areas like
1. Actions aganinst people/companies living/based in tax havens
2. Underage sex tourism
3. Online gambling
and other
(1) is mostly to get more tax revenue, (2) is beacause local juristicions is lax, and (3) is to protect national casinos that donate a lot of money to candidates.
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
> Canada ... look at how the US is screwing us over soft lumber and such.
I was actually in Canada about a year and a half ago and still have the paper: This was when the US imposed tarrifs on Canadian lumber despite the free trade agreement, and said, basically "so sue us!" The front page had a headline about this and photos of all the Canadian Negotiators, none of whom were happy.
Australia had a similar problem. According to the Aussie press, Australian lamb producers built up the American market for lamb, pumping a lot of money into advertising and promotion. U.S. lamb producers then got Congress to put a quota, and took the market over. The U.S. claimed this was for "unfair practices" which was just a lot of baloney. I doubt most Americans ever even heard of this case, but in Australia its was widely reported. When the U.S. signed a "free trade" agreement with the U.S., Aussie agricultural produce was excluded. A year afterwards the agreement was shown to be heavily favoring the U.S.
So there you go. Canada, Britain and Australia. Probably the most loyal friends the U.S. has.
Here's some stuff about the Free Trade and the Internet Gambling Laws. BTW the WTO said the U.S. isn't breaking the law, but its against the spirit of free trade and this is what people see:
http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/FTBs/FTB-024.pdf
http://www.tradeobservatory.org/headlines.cfm?refI D=70041
The bills and the work that this centers around is supported by both parties. That the Dems support this is not strange, the Democratic Party is about the government protecting and supporting the poor stupid population against them selves and others. As such the Dems are for limitations on individual freedoms, high taxes (to fund their government programs) etc.
The traditional platform for the Republican Party is the opposite. The individual is responsible for his own actions, has the ability to think for him self. The Republican party is therefore for small government, small taxes, no government control.
Sadly, the last few decades the Republican Party has turned into a totally different party. They are now for a huge central government (the Democrats have never spent this much public money on crap, even when you take the Iraq bill out of the budget). This enormous central government funds insane crap like in-door rain forests in Ohio. For now the money has generally been borrowed, but at some stage we have to pay that back. If we don't see a significant economic growth, that means higher taxes at some stage.
In addition to now being (far more so than the Dems) the big-government party, the Republicans also have become the party of government limitations on individual freedoms. I don't have the right to travel where I want. Did you know that there is now a law, pushed through from Florida of course, that says that if the government suspects me of planning to sail my private boat to Cuba, they can impound the boat? Of course the government, lead by these repugnicans, also don't want me to gamble online. On and on.
Since the republican party started taking directions from born-again, male-prostitute buying, crack-snorting religious nut cases, this country has been in a nose dive. More religion in Washington means more repugnicans, and that means more shit for the rest of us.
Any thinking individual who values individual freedoms, personal responsibility, no government meddling and all the other things the republican party used to stand for should voice their opinion. Say it out loud: "I don't like these people who turned The Republican Party into a Stalin-inspired left-wing nut cases with a Jesus twist. I will not vote for them.
Anyone who likes these freedoms and still votes republican needs a brain transplant. I've heard that the San Diego zoo are doing some experiments with chimpanzees. Maybe they have a brain or two extra. It would be a huge upgrade for anyone who voted republican the past 6 years.
Oh, and btw, though I would never vote Democrat, there is nothing wrong with those who do. The democratic party has a consistent platform in most ways. They favor government "oversight" over the individual. Fine, if that is what you thing society should be, more power to you, and vote for the Democratic Party. This is a free country and we like differences of opinion. If you are republican in nature and vote for the RHINOs currently in charge, you are what Carlos Mencia would call "dee-dee-dee".
Keeping in mind:
- US collecting data from people flying there, for who knows which nefarious purposes.
- Track history of US government aprehending innocent people in airports.
- Kidnappings (euphemistically called "renditions") in order to let brutish governments do some bit of interrogation.
- Secrecy about charges or laws if you are unlucky to be indicted or held for something nasty.
- Guantanamo.
I think my visits to all those wonderful places in the US I wanted to see may need to be postponed for a while. I have not been to NY for goodness sakes...
IANAL but write like a drunk one.