Disaster Activists Are Trying To Force Mastercard To Cut Off Payments To The Far Right - The payment giant’s shareholders will vote on a proposal to set up a “human rights committee” at the company to monitor money flowing to hate groups.

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http://archive.li/77Yh1
https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/mastercard-activists-cut-off-donations-far-right
Activists have successfully forced Mastercard to hold a vote by shareholders on a proposal which, if passed, could see the company monitoring payments to global far-right political leaders and white supremacist groups.

The proposal aims to see Mastercard establish an internal “human rights committee” that would stop designated white supremacist groups and anti-Islam activists, such as Tommy Robinson, from getting access to money sent from donors using the company’s card payment services.

It’s been conceived by US-based political activists SumOfUs, who want to escalate the battle against white supremacists and far-right groups from tech platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Patreon, and PayPal to one of the biggest companies in world finance, in an attempt to choke off donations.



Robinson and several other leading figures in the global far right have been forced in recent months to solicit donations directly on their websites via Mastercard, Visa, and American Express after PayPal banned payments to them. Facebook also disabled the donation function on Robinson’s fan page before deleting it completely.

“Spreading hate involves spending money,” Eoin Dubsky, from SumOfUs, told BuzzFeed News. “Whether it’s paying for online advertising or organising violent rallies, white supremacist groups need financial services from companies like Mastercard.”

Over several months, SumOfUs has been locked in a battle with Mastercard executives behind the scenes in order to get the new committee proposal put to the shareholders ahead of the company’s June annual general meeting.

It would see the formation of a “human rights committee” at the board level, which would monitor financial transactions with designated hate groups.

Documents seen by BuzzFeed News reveal that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has given the green light for shareholders to get the chance to vote on the formation of the committee, despite staunch opposition from the Mastercard board and executives.

In the material to be sent to shareholders, the activists refer to a website called Blood Money, which tracks online payments to white supremacist groups from the likes of Mastercard, American Express, and Stripe. The website currently claims that Mastercard services are being used by groups like Counter-Currents Publishing, Covenant People’s Ministry, the United West, Sultan Knish, and the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation.

SumOfUs has also pointed to the activity of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The former English Defence League founder is running as an independent in May’s European election.

In November 2018, PayPal banned donations to the anti-Islam activist, with the online payment company saying that its services wouldn’t “be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory”.

More recently, Robinson has been calling on his global network of supporters to donate to his election campaign through his website, which allows payments from Mastercard.

“Having a Mastercard logo on their website also gives these groups a veneer of legitimacy, and allows those who want to donate to do so quickly and quietly,” Dubsky told BuzzFeed News.

“Mastercard also benefits, pocketing a transaction fee for each purchase or donation.”

Mastercard declined requests for comment, pointing instead to the board’s position laid out in the information sent to shareholders ahead of the general meeting.

“Mastercard is committed to treating all people fairly and with dignity, and our interest in human rights extends to all areas in which our business is involved and where we have particular expertise,” it reads. “The Board does not believe that establishing a separate human rights committee is necessary to properly exercise its oversight of this important area.”

It’s unclear whether the proposal stands a chance of succeeding at June’s meeting. But the move to confront such a big, mainstream company like Mastercard over issues like the funding of white supremacy and the far right comes after action from smaller, online financial platforms like PayPal and Patreon in the area.

PayPal has banned payments to Robinson, US far-right group Proud Boys, and Canadian anti-Islam activist Laura Loomer. It also acted against several US anti-fascist groups because the company had no tolerance for groups that promoted “hate” and “violence”.

Last year, Patreon banned YouTuber Sargon of Akkad over a 2015 video that featured the Gamergate leader repeatedly saying the n-word in a Google Hangout with the alt-right. According to the New York Times, Sargon of Akkad, whose real name is Carl Benjamin, had 3,000 subscribers and was being paid $12,000 a month on Patreon when he was removed from the site.

In a recent YouTube video, Benjamin and Robinson talked about being de-platformed by social media companies. But Robinson also suggested that he has long-term fears beyond the big tech companies.

“I am being completely un-personed,” Robinson said. “What’s next—my mobile-phone contract?”
 
This thread has remained only marginally on-topic and is full-on snippy bickering. Stop being faggots, accept that not everyone agrees with you and try to stay on topic pls.

It's not that he doesn't agree with us and more that this dude likes to go into threads and act like a giant fedora lord, sperging about how smart he is and picking fights.
 
It's not that he doesn't agree with us and more that this dude likes to go into threads and act like a giant fedora lord, sperging about how smart he is and picking fights.
:informative:

I only started by insulting white supremacists and the far-right. Why would you feel offended by this if you're not part of that group?
Stop being a faggot. @Ruin's a furry AND a tranny AND a far-right white supremacist and is still smarter than you.
 
Billionaire, Ajaypal Singh Banga:
743753
Head of Mastercard, not a photoshopped joke image, that person really exists and looks like that.

So Mastercard, a NY Traded stock under the CEO management of an Indian Sikh, Ajaypal Singh Banga, has acknowledged that they cooperated with George Soros to create prepaid credit cards for migrants to be used only for ‘good and glorious purposes’.
Social enterprise to explore sustainable, scalable commercial solutions for the humanitarian and development community

DAVOS – January 19, 2017 – Mastercard and George Soros announced plans to explore creating a social enterprise to apply commercial strategies to deliver a positive impact on society. Called Humanity Ventures, the enterprise could catalyze and accelerate economic and social development for vulnerable communities around the world, especially refugees and migrants.

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga and George Soros met at the World Economic Forum announcing plans to explore creating a social enterprise to apply commercial strategies to deliver a positive impact on society.

Pervasive joblessness, lack of access to healthcare, inadequate education, and financial exclusion afflict people in both developed and emerging economies. Despite billions of dollars of humanitarian and development assistance every year, millions of people remain marginalized. Mastercard and George Soros believe that private sector capabilities coupled with strategic, long-term investments can spur development and transform life for the underserved.

Last September, George Soros announced that he is earmarking up to $500 million for private investments that will improve capacity to address the challenges that migrants, including refugees, and their host communities face around the world. Humanity Ventures would be part of that initiative.

Mastercard delivers innovative payments, data, and identity solutions which empower the underserved all over the world. These tools improve the lives of refugees and migrants by forging better economic and social ties with local populations.

Operating as a standalone entity, Humanity Ventures would initially combine solutions designed to expand access to healthcare and education, foster local economic development and entrepreneurship, and enhance the delivery of aid. One such solution is the Mastercard Aid Network, an award winning digital voucher platform designed in partnership with humanitarian organizations.

With the creation of Humanity Ventures, Soros could invest up to $50 million to make these solutions even more scalable and sustainable. The social enterprise could also serve as an incubator and accelerator for smaller projects committed to mitigating the migration crisis.

Designed to combine the need for business returns with social impact, Humanity Ventures would also act as a new model for how civil society, governments, and the private sector improve quality of life and drive economic growth.

We can have transformational impact by scaling our business-driven organization to leverage innovation, on-the-ground experience and long-term capital investments.“Over several years, we’ve applied our thinking and technology to help hundreds of millions connect to the formal economy and to help empower safer and more efficient aid distribution,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO of Mastercard. “We can have transformational impact by scaling our business-driven organization to leverage innovation, on-the-ground experience and long-term capital investments.”

“Migrants are often forced into lives of despair in their host communities because they cannot gain access to financial, healthcare and government services. Our potential investment in this social enterprise, coupled with Mastercard’s ability to create products that serve vulnerable communities, can show how private capital can play a constructive role in solving social problems,” said George Soros. “Humanity Ventures is intended to be profitable so as to stimulate involvement from other businesspeople. We also hope to establish standards of practice to ensure that investments are not exploitative of the vulnerable communities we intend to serve.”
Every. damn. time.

See their 'Center for Inclusive Growth' fund, which pushes the typical Sorosite agenda:
Funded by Soros and Mastercard, New Human Ventures Project Seeks to Help Refugees
With the United States moving to ban refugees from around the world, efforts to help these people where they are will now become even more important. No philanthropist is doing more on this front than George Soros.

Toward the end of last year, Soros declared that the world's “collective failure” to help the tens of millions of refugees worldwide had “contributed greatly to human misery and political instability.” The hedge fund billionaire committed $500 million in private investment capital to “invest in startups, established companies, social impact initiatives, and businesses founded by migrants and refugees themselves.”

That's some serious money. And now we're starting to get a better sense of how it will be used.

It was recently announced that Soros and MasterCard—the company, not the foundation—have plans to embark on a joint project called Human Ventures. Human Ventures is described as an organization that “could catalyze and accelerate economic and social development for vulnerable communities around the world, especially refugees.”

Soros is expected to invest up to $50 million in Humanity Ventures, which will operate as a separate entity from MasterCard or any of Soros’ for-profit and nonprofit ventures.

Currently in its exploratory stages, Humanity Ventures plans to combine existing global health and development solutions to expand access to healthcare and education, as well as to improve local economic development and entrepreneurship. An additional goal of the organization is to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Humanity Ventures is a for-profit outfit that will pour those profits into expanding its programs and hopefully to stimulate additional investments from outside donors. Another goal for the joint venture is to serve as a new blueprint for the public sector, private sector and citizens to improve the quality of life for marginalized populations. “We also hope,” Soros said, “to establish standards of practice to ensure that investments are not exploitative of the vulnerable communities we intend to serve.”

When Soros announced his $500 million pledge, he said he hoped, among other things, that it would inspire other billionaires to assist refugees.

In fact, very few wealthy donors have stood up to help alleviate this displacement and human misery, which today has a scale not seen since World War II. (Although foundations on the case include the UPS, Western Union, Cisco, Gates, and IKEA foundations.)

Another name on the short list of donors helping refugees is Hamdi Ulukaya, the billionaire founder of Chobani yogurt. In 2014, Ulukaya pledged $2 million to the UNHCR and the IRC to aid Syrian refugees. He also said, in joining the Giving Pledge in 2015, that "I am publicly committing the majority of my personal wealth... to help refugees and help bring an end to this humanitarian crisis."

Individuals and funders in the refugee space punch well above their weight. Especially since international appeals still aren’t faring so well, despite overwhelming needs.

Last week, U.N. agencies and NGO partners made another appeal for $4.6 billion in new funding—in addition to the $3.4 billion that is already required—to address the “growing needs of refugees from Syria,” their host communities, and neighboring countries.

Whether that appeal will be met remains to be seen. The U.N., along with over 240 partners just launched the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) for 2017 and 2018, and hard data on funding has not yet come in.

So far, the international response to the refugee crisis remains the same as it ever was—weak. Going into 2017 with funding hangovers from previous years makes it all the more urgent for individuals and NGOs alike to step up and fill the gap.

Needless to say, it doesn't help matters to have the president of the United States calling refugees dangerous, and shutting the door on their faces.
This isn't merely deplatforming a few people, this is a war for world domination in progress. In places where they've won, like England, we can already see that that is not a world any of us would want to live in.

Good, fiat is to the world of currency what OSX is to operating systems. Gold is windows cuz it's exceptional but not evil. Bitcoin is linux
Linux is the Land of Unlimited Freedom, its just that all of its citizens are autistic, so its like a techno-ghetto.
 
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Nah, they'll just have to find a different avenue to take donations is all. Minor inconvenience at worst. Meanwhile people will see all of the political shit MasterCard is doing and they'll use a competing service.

Not when a vast majority of banks only offer you one choice who your have your debit card with. Not when some places only take Mastercard.
 
It makes sense that they would, they're having great success trying to deplatform those they disagree with, so why not take it even further? If they had the power to just 'make people disappear', these zealots would have no moral objections against it.

Also, the fact that Tommy Robinson is the posterchild for their definition of 'far right', should send chills down the spines of anyone who hasn't lost their ability to think for themselves. The man has nothing to do with White Supremacy, and everything to do with being opposed to Islam. Agree with him or not, to label him as a far-right white supremacist is worthy of the Daily Mail.

Seeing as the UK government has been directly involved in trying to silence him for a long time now, I have very little hope that they'll do anything other than condone the thought inquisition, if they have any say in the matter.

It seems that the only fascists most western governments oppose, are those that don't fit their narrative.

I only started by insulting white supremacists and the far-right. Why would you feel offended by this if you're not part of that group?

Nobody's really offended, your comments are just stupid to the point where it hurts to read them.
 
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