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Comment by latexr | Hacker News Reader

> They are beholden to the current US admin - as always

They have, as the joke goes, more money than God and influence all over the world. They are beholden to no one. They have the resources to fight in court against decisions they don’t believe in, and all the lobbying they need to shape established laws.

They choose their actions, and their actions are their own. Every single dollar they donate to the current president but not the previous one is an admission of their allegiance and (lack of) morals.

Having principles and standing for them costs money, and these societal parasites subsist on money and influence. Make no mistake, they will sell their own mother to further their goals, but they don’t have to while they can keep selling everyone else’s.

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> They have, as the joke goes, more money than God and influence all over the world. They are beholden to no one.

The administration can take over them with the snap of a finger if they so desire. They have absolutely no power.

The best example of that is the BBC suit, where the only reason it's happening is because the US doesn't have any control over the entity because it's British.

> The administration can take over them with the snap of a finger if they so desire.

No, no they cannot. They sure want you to believe that, though, and the longer that fantasy is left unchecked, the more power it gets. The current administration is not omnipotent, and that is exemplified by the times it was pushed back (not by the bootlicker CEOs at major US tech companies, obviously).

Like John Oliver said, use the four key words that make weak bullies go away: “fuck you, make me”.

https://youtu.be/ohPToBog_-g?t=1610

It has nothing to do with the current administration. Any administration can nationalize a private company.

What's different for this administration is that neither the Congress, Senate or Supreme Court will opose them.

Or maybe the reason more bribes are paid to the current administration is that the current administration is more receptive to bribes? The ROI on gifts to Trump is probably higher than on gifts to Biden so it makes sense to give more.

Sure, why not? That has no meaningful impact on the point, it reflects just as bad on the same entities (the ones paying).

Don't anthropomorphize the lawnmower. It's just a min-maxing hill-climbing machine.

yes, I think if anything its the other way around - the current US administration is behold to them.

The problem is that the same is true for many politicians. They do a lot of lobbying in Europe too.

If they were some almighty supreme being then everyone in China would be on Facebook and Instagram.

> some almighty supreme being

That’s not the argument. Unfortunately, reading comprehension and engaging in good faith continues to decline rapidly on HN.

Not being beholden to someone does not mean you have power over them. For example: you are not beholden to me and thus don’t have to do anything I say; but that doesn’t mean I have to do anything you say either, I’m not beholden to you.

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