Rudy Giuliani Linked to "NAFTA Superhighway"

The Post Chronicle ^ | 5-14-2007 | Cliff Kincaid

[jmc813]

Rudy Giuliani and The NAFTA Superhighway - Brit Hume said on the Fox News Sunday program that it is possible that Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani could overcome his convoluted posturing on abortion and secure the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. But Giuliani has some other major problems. These include foreign clients, one of whom is constructing part of the "NAFTA Superhighway" project that has people in Texas and around the nation up in arms.

Hume, the moderator of Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, will be in a position to ask Giuliani about it. Questions will also be posed by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace and White House correspondent Wendell Goler.

Evidence shows that NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement involving the U.S., Canada and Mexico, is being expanded without congressional approval or oversight as part of a plan to create an economic and political entity known as the North American Union (NAU). Federal documents uncovered by Judicial Watch quote participants in the scheme as saying that an "evolution by stealth" strategy is being used to put the pieces into place. Documents also speak of developing a common security perimeter and a common identification card for citizens of the three countries.

With the exception of Lou Dobbs of CNN, our national media have ignored not only the process that is well underway but the growing outcry over what is happening. Resolutions against the NAU have been introduced in 14 state legislatures?and have passed in two?and thousands of people have turned out in Texas to protest a Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) highway system, which will link the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Critics say the project is being funded by foreign interests, could run roughshod over private property rights, and could facilitate illegal activities, such as the trafficking of people and drugs, from Mexico.

The TTC, which is viewed as being part of the "NAFTA Superhighway," is only part of a much larger process of integrating the three nations. This writer attended and covered a February 16, 2007, conference sponsored by the Center for North American Studies at American University (AU) that was devoted to an emerging "North American Community," which is what conference organizer Robert Pastor, a former Carter Administration official, prefers to call it. Academic literature distributed to conference participants discussed a common legal framework for the U.S., Canada and Mexico and proposals for a North American Court of Justice (with the authority to overrule a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court), a North American Trade Tribunal, and a Charter of Fundamental Human Rights for North America. One of Pastor’s students at AU suggests that he even favors a North American Parliament.

The conference organizers and participants believe NAFTA, which promised economic integration, has to be expanded into the legal, social, political and even cultural areas. Pastor, though a Democrat, succeeded in persuading Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn to introduce a "North American Investment Fund" bill to send more U.S. tax dollars to Mexico. Both political parties are seen favoring the process of bringing the three countries together into an entity like the European Union that now governs Europe and supersedes the sovereignty of member governments.

One obvious problem is corruption in and illegal immigration from Mexico. Public sentiment in the U.S. forced Congress to pass?and President Bush to sign?a law creating a fence on the U.S. southern border. Nevertheless, Bush and the Democrats continue to press for amnesty for illegal aliens and ways to increase the flow of foreign workers into the U.S.

The Giuliani connection to this controversial process is through Bracewell & Giuliani, a law firm he joined as senior partner in 2005. Bracewell has already come in for criticism because it represents Citgo, the oil company controlled by Venezuela’s anti-American and terrorist-supporting ruler Hugo Chavez.

Freelance columnist Dianne M. Grassi broke the story of Giuliani’s law firm acting as the exclusive legal counsel for Cintra, the Spanish firm that has been granted the right to operate a toll road in the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) project. Grassi comments, "Most interesting to the whole story is not only has Mr. Giuliani’s involvement in the NAFTA Superhighway not ever having been publicly addressed, but how a foreign company is awarded the building of a mass highway system, versus maintaining it, for the first time in U.S. history, and negotiated by the law firm of the top Republican candidate running for President of the United States. And truly disturbing is how such will not only have national and homeland security and sovereignty implications but how it is deliberately being kept away from the Halls of Congress."

Grassi’s revelations are easily confirmed by checking the websites of Bracewell and Cintra. Bracewell calls the deal "the first privatization of a Texas toll road."

Terri Hall, founder and director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), notes that Giuliani clients with an interest in acquiring Texas roads and infrastructure have also invested in his presidential campaign. She comments, "This could explain why Giuliani has spent so much time fundraising in Texas. The monied proponents of the Trans-Texas Corridor, of which there are many, would like to see this man become President."

Ironically, Ryan Sager of the New York Sun reports that Giuliani, before he became a private businessman with global clients, opposed NAFTA

It turns out that Cintra is a financial partner with an Australian company, Macquarie, on a toll-road project in Indiana, and that Macquarie acquired the business and assets of an investment bank known as Giuliani Capital Advisors.

Sunday’s Washington Post notes that Giuliani Capital Advisors "was sold for an undisclosed amount as Giuliani was preparing his run for president."

The Post article also discloses that Giuliani’s secretive lobbying firm, Giuliani Partners, has made more than $100 million over the last five years and that its clients "are required to sign confidentiality agreements, so they do not comment about the work they receive or how much they are paying for it. Though now running for president, Giuliani refuses to identify his clients, disclose his compensation or reveal any details about Giuliani Partners. He also declined to be interviewed about the firm." The paper provided some details, based "on a review of corporate, government and court records, along with scores of interviews with clients and government officials who have interacted with Giuliani Partners."

Many questions remain about Giuliani’s controversial work for foreign interests. But his connection to the Trans-Texas Corridor is already a matter of public record and cries out for scrutiny. Will Fox News personalities ask him about it on Tuesday night?

Cliff Kincaid is Editor of Accuracy in Media

[jmc813]

Popping some corn.

[Calpernia]

When I posted this, it got moved to chat. Hope yours stays in Front Page. http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-chat/1803916/posts Firm Advises Cintra in First Privatization of Toll Road in Texas Excerpt: DALLAS (March 1, 2007) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton�counties. The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road. Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million.

[Calpernia]

When I posted this, it got moved to chat. Hope yours stays in Front Page.

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-chat/1803916/posts
Firm Advises Cintra in First Privatization of Toll Road in Texas

Excerpt:

DALLAS (March 1, 2007) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton�counties. The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road.

Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million.

[Calpernia]

Looking back at the link, not just Chat, Conspiracy was the topic it went under.

[Jake The Goose]

Hume, the moderator of Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, will be in a position to ask Giuliani about it.

Brit is no shrinking violet - he will ask tough questions to all the candidates. That's what it's all about - Tough Questions. Better have answers.

[Calpernia]

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/appointments/Appointment.2005-10-11.3611

Oct. 11, 2005

Gov. Perry Appoints Colleen McHugh To the University of Texas System Board of Regents

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today announced the appointment of Colleen McHugh of Corpus Christi to the University of Texas System Board of Regents for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2011. This is only the second appointment of a Corpus Christi resident to the University of Texas System Board of Regents in its 120 year history.

McHugh has a distinguished record of public service. She was appointed in 1998 as the first woman to serve on the Texas Public Safety Commission, where she has served as chair since 2001. Gov. Perry also appointed her to serve on the Task Force on Homeland Security. McHugh is a past president of the State Bar of Texas, where she was the first woman to chair the Board of Directors. She is a board member of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation and vice-chairman of the Christus Spohn Health System Board of Trustees. She is a past president of the Corpus Christi Bar Association and the U.S.S. Lexington Museum.

A graduate of Southern Methodist University, McHugh received a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. She currently is a partner with Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP.,

[Calpernia]

Regent Colleen McHugh
Official term: October 2005 - February 2011

Editor's Note: This is the ninth of a 10-part series on each member of the UT System Board of Regents, the board of operating directors for all 15 UT campuses. All have been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry.

Before her ascension to the Board of Regents, Colleen McHugh had a history of appointments by the current occupant of the governor's mansion, Rick Perry. In 2001, he appointed her to the Governor's Task Force on Homeland Security, and in 2004 he reappointed her to the Texas Public Safety Commission, after then-Gov. George W. Bush made her the first woman to serve the commission in 1998.

She later resigned that post to serve as a UT System regent when Perry appointed her in October 2005.

McHugh has no education experience from the University - she received her undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and her law degree from St. Mary's University School of Law. But she has spent a good deal of time in the legal world and until recently was a partner with the corporate law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP., She was also appointed by Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm to serve on the Federal Judiciary Evaluation Committee, which vets federal judges and U.S. attorneys.

In the 1990s, McHugh served on the board of directors for the Texas Bar Association, becoming the first woman chairman of the board. McHugh later served as the second female president of the Texas bar, from 1996 to 1997, after her friend Harriet Miers served in 1992.

McHugh sits on the board of directors for the University of Texas Investment Management Co., which controls more than $18 billion in donations and endowments for the UT and Texas A&M University Systems, investing much of that money back into the private sector. She has business interests with American Bank, N.A., where she sits on the board of directors and has more than 1,000 shares of stock.

McHugh is treasurer of the Governor's Business Council, a collective of some of Texas' most wealthy businesspeople.


As of July, Colleen McHugh additionally served on the boards of directors for:

• UTIMCO
• Governor's Business Council
• 3200 Ocean Inc.
• American Bank N.A
• CHRISTUS Spohn Health System
• American Red Cross
• U.S.S. Lexington Museum on the Bay
• Center for American and International Law
• Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• Federal Judiciary Evaluation Committee
• Corpus Christi Regional Economic
Development Corporation


Notable contributions:
$3,137 to Rick Perry (R) from 2001 to 2002; $750 to George W. Bush (R) on June 4, 1999; $1,000 to John Cornyn (R) on Jan. 23, 2002; $250 to James Laney (D) on Feb. 24, 2000


Sources: Texas Ethics Commission, OpenSecrets.org

Regent Colleen McHugh
Official term: October 2005 - February 2011

Editor's Note: This is the ninth of a 10-part series on each member of the UT System Board of Regents, the board of operating directors for all 15 UT campuses. All have been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry.

Before her ascension to the Board of Regents, Colleen McHugh had a history of appointments by the current occupant of the governor's mansion, Rick Perry. In 2001, he appointed her to the Governor's Task Force on Homeland Security, and in 2004 he reappointed her to the Texas Public Safety Commission, after then-Gov. George W. Bush made her the first woman to serve the commission in 1998.

She later resigned that post to serve as a UT System regent when Perry appointed her in October 2005.

McHugh has no education experience from the University - she received her undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and her law degree from St. Mary's University School of Law. But she has spent a good deal of time in the legal world and until recently was a partner with the corporate law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP., She was also appointed by Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm to serve on the Federal Judiciary Evaluation Committee, which vets federal judges and U.S. attorneys.

In the 1990s, McHugh served on the board of directors for the Texas Bar Association, becoming the first woman chairman of the board. McHugh later served as the second female president of the Texas bar, from 1996 to 1997, after her friend Harriet Miers served in 1992.

McHugh sits on the board of directors for the University of Texas Investment Management Co., which controls more than $18 billion in donations and endowments for the UT and Texas A&M University Systems, investing much of that money back into the private sector. She has business interests with American Bank, N.A., where she sits on the board of directors and has more than 1,000 shares of stock.

McHugh is treasurer of the Governor's Business Council, a collective of some of Texas' most wealthy businesspeople.


As of July, Colleen McHugh additionally served on the boards of directors for:

• UTIMCO
• Governor's Business Council
• 3200 Ocean Inc.
• American Bank N.A
• CHRISTUS Spohn Health System
• American Red Cross
• U.S.S. Lexington Museum on the Bay
• Center for American and International Law
• Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• Federal Judiciary Evaluation Committee
• Corpus Christi Regional Economic
Development Corporation


Notable contributions:
$3,137 to Rick Perry (R) from 2001 to 2002; $750 to George W. Bush (R) on June 4, 1999; $1,000 to John Cornyn (R) on Jan. 23, 2002; $250 to James Laney (D) on Feb. 24, 2000


Sources: Texas Ethics Commission, OpenSecrets.org

[Calpernia]

Also,an affiliation with the Toll Road, ePlates and animal ID, Real ID, ezPass, and Verichip.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1796157/posts
Giuliani Partners to provide assistance regarding DNA embedded security solutions

[Calpernia]

ping

[Calpernia]

ping

[Calpernia]

Also:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1833321/posts
Rudy Giuliani Linked to “NAFTA Superhighway”

[Valin]

NAFTA Superhighway

OMG!!!!
/sarcasm

[Liz]

Sunday’s Washington Post notes that Giuliani Capital Advisors "was sold for an undisclosed amount as Giuliani was preparing his run for president." The Post article also discloses that Giuliani’s secretive lobbying firm, Giuliani Partners, has made more than $100 million over the last five years and that its clients "are required to sign confidentiality agreements, so they do not comment about the work they receive or how much they are paying for it. Though now running for president, Giuliani refuses to identify his clients, disclose his compensation or reveal any details about Giuliani Partners. He also declined to be interviewed about the firm." The paper provided some details, based "on a review of corporate, government and court records, along with scores of interviews with clients and government officials who have interacted with Giuliani Partners."

COMMENTS Giuliani is selling Giuliani Capital Advisors? More accurately, Giuliani is selling one of the several businesses he is involved in, revolving around investment banking, global security, and international legal representation. Giuliani companies (that we know of) include:

(1) Giuliani Capital Advisors, LLC (AKA Giuliani Partners LLC),
(2) Giuliani Group,
(3) Giuliani-Kerik (re-named Giuliani Security and Safety, after the departure of the tainted ex-Police Commissioner),
(4) Giuliani-Van Essen, and,
(5) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP law firm (based in Texas with global interests).

Attorneys Bracewell & Giuliani's January Closings in Kazakhstan Total US $1.625 Billion
lawfuel.com | February 22, 2007

FR Posted on 02/26/2007 by Jim Robinson
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791780/posts

ALMATY, Kazakhstan-- LAWFUEL - Law News, US Law Firms --Bracewell & Giuliani LLP closed three cases in January for a total of US $1.625 billion, acting as international counsel for the offering of corporate debt and solidifying their place as the premier legal authority on Kazakhstani business affairs in the Caspian region. “We continue to thrive and grow in Kazakhstan, mirroring the country itself,” said Greg Vojack, managing partner for the firm's offices in Kazakhstan. “As Kazakhstan transitions into a prosperous free marketplace after the fall of Soviet Russia, its fine-tuned monetary policies are helping the country’s financial sectors grow faster than New York.” ~snip~

Established in 1994, Bracewell's presence in the Republic of Kazakhstan has helped clients capture significant opportunities in the Caspian Region. The firm's energy and finance attorneys provided groundbreaking guidance to create the legal and financial infrastructure in that emerging nation and today actively advise energy and financial companies in the region and the government of Kazakhstan. ~snip~

MORE BACKGROUND Giuliani firm has Venezuela ties
MiamiHerald.com | Thu, Mar. 15, 2007 | BETH REINHARD
Posted on 03/15/2007 3:26:41 AM PDT by Condor 63
The law firm headlined by presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani does business with a company tied to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, who has called President Bush ``the devil.'' Bracewell & Giuliani lobbies on behalf of Texas-based Citgo Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil company controlled by Chávez. The Bush administration said last year that Venezuela was ''not cooperating fully'' with antiterrorism efforts, stopping one step short of grouping the country with state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, Syria and Cuba. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor best known for his leadership after the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, does not personally lobby for Citgo, though he is a senior partner at the firm and shares in its profits. (Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...

FYI: About Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is among the nation's most prominent law firms. With 400 lawyers in New York, Texas, Washington, D.C., Kazakhstan and London, we are distinctively positioned to serve clients concentrated in the energy and financial services sectors worldwide. In 2005, former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani joined the firm as a senior partner. His international reputation for leadership and problem solving is a unique asset for our clients, which include Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, leading private investment funds, governmental entities and individuals. For more information about Bracewell & Giuliani, visit www.bgllp.com. (Excerpt) Read more at inform.kz ...

[ears_to_hear]

When I first heard of the change in the Fed law approving making fed highways toll roads I knew it was a part of this plan.

My guess is China will build and maintain the road and gather the tolls.

All of their imports will come into a Mexican ports and be shipped north with Mexican trucks, so they will have the major benefit .

[Digger]

Who do you think established Rudy as the front runner many months ago? It was the elitists MSN who is craming him down our throats. Same that did it with GW. Same group that wants to shut down free speech. The more conservative nominee the more the MSN will vilify. Ergo, this litmus test will tell you who to vote for.

[Calpernia]

http://www.biometrics.org/bc2004/Presentations/Conference/2%20Tuesday%20September%2021/Tue_Ballroom%20B/1%20DOJ%20Session/Miles_DOJ_update.pdf
National Institute of Justice

Teacher-Parent Authorization Security System (T-PASS): Evaluating the Use of Iris Recognition Technology in Schools
Plumstead, NJ Schools

• Eleven, Single-Eye LG Electronics IrisAccess 2200 Iris Recognition Cameras Evaluated
• 6 cameras within closed areas in 3 schools
• 5 cameras were located outdoors with fabricated protective closures
• 9,412 transactions occurred in 3 months.
• 78% (7300 transactions) were successful
• Unsuccessful attempts mostly due to camera capture errors (16%) and access attempts by unknown users (5.8%)
• Included an Evaluation of User Acceptance and Development of Training Materials
• Issues remaining include:
• Tailgating (accepted users holding door open for others)
• Ability to Capture Iris Outdoors (lighting)

(more at the presentation)

http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/TSPRP/wharton/Wharton_ISD.pdf
Wharton Independent School District
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
AND SAFETY/SECURITY OPERATIONS. The purpose of any school system is to educate children ... WISD uses the Bracewell & Giuliani law firm for legal. services. ...

http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/BoardPackets/packet06-11-14.pdf
Consent Template 3.doc
Adobe Acrobat
Management (random drug testing vendor) and one attorney from Bracewell and. Giuliani. The panelists presented information regarding the legal issues ...

[Calpernia]

Psssst, you left out:

http://gssa.jp/en/services
Giuliani Security & Safety Asia

[Liz]

Thanks.

[Fawn]

I heard this is overblown and not what is advertised as being.