|
Posted on 08/06/2008 5:27:03 PM PDT by flyfree
I am very disappointed by Beijing’s decision to revoke the visa of 2006 Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, a move that will effectively bar him from attending this year’s games. Mr. Cheek is the co-founder of Team Darfur, an organization that draws attention to the plight of children in the Darfur region of Sudan, and he was the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Turin Olympics. Today’s news, together with reports that Beijing will also bar Team Darfur’s other co-founder, Brad Greiner, is not in keeping with China’s pledge to hold an open games. Significantly, Team Darfur never advocated a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, and yet their leaders have seen their visas revoked nevertheless.
I hope that Chinese officials will reverse this misguided decision. The world is paying close attention to the way in which Beijing conducts the Olympics as they begin. Its relationship to the government in Sudan – including weapons sales to that government – is a matter of legitimate concern to all who care about human rights and ending genocide. The hope that China would host the Games with openness is greatly diminished by this action.
(Excerpt) Read more at johnmccain.com ...
Look at his campaign donors lists.
Some of the BIGGEST pro-China Lobbyist types cash flush from K Street in D.C. either are pumping in thousands into McCain's campaign, or have paid campaign staff there.
Words (for public consumption) are one thing.
Connections, influences, money trails are another.
Sorry to upset the McCainbot crowd with THE TRUTH. It hurts.
Equal Time Disclaimer: Obama is corrupted, TOO, by this lobby money flow.
PROVE IT!
Communism seems to cause, or to be the result of the worship of evil. That China is friendly with Sudan and Zimbabwe and brutalizes Tibetans is just further proof.
McCain advisers tied to foreign lobbying Washington Times - April 11, 2008 Two of Sen. John McCain's top advisers and fundraisers are among several Republican and Democratic presidential campaign officials whose lobbying firms have been paid more than $15 million by foreign governments since 2005. The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years. "At no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain, and there have been many occasions where he has voted against my clients' interests, but that doesn't change my belief that John McCain is the best candidate to lead our nation," said Mr. Loeffler, a former Texas congressman, whose firm has received millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. The arrangements are legal, and hundreds of lobbyists are registered to work for foreign clients. But experts say conflict-of-interest questions can arise if lobbying and campaign activities overlap. "I'm not sure it's a good idea that one person plays all these roles," said Toni-Michelle C. Travis, a political analyst and professor of government at George Mason University. "The entanglements become greater and greater, and that can lead to conflict-of-interest questions at some point. "People are slipping across the lines to play multiple roles." Mark Penn, former top strategist to Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, recently resigned after consulting on a Colombian trade agreement that Mrs. Clinton opposed. Mr. Penn is chief executive of Washington-based Burson-Marsteller, which has lobbied for the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Colombian Embassy and the Mexico Tourism Board. In addition, the Glover Park Group where top Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson previously worked, received more than $170,000 last year from the Colombian trade bureau and $250,000 from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises Ltd. Clinton bundler John Merrigan is registered to lobby foreign governments at DLA Piper, which during a six-month span last year reported more than $2.8 million in fees from foreign entities. In addition, former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli, another Clinton bundler, signed off on a $15,000 per-month lobbying deal last year with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's office in the U.S. The lobbying efforts by New Jersey-based Rosemont Associates, where Mr. Torricelli is managing partner, included e-mails and a meeting with Mrs. Clinton's Senate staff in November, at a time when Mr. Torricelli was raising money for the Clinton presidential campaign, records show. Telephone and e-mail messages left with Mr. Torricelli and the Clinton campaign were not returned yesterday. In the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, fundraiser William T. Lake and adviser Stanford Ross were registered as a foreign lobbyists in the 1990s, according to Justice Department records. China takeover.... Mr. Black, who chaired BKSH when it received more than $700,000 in fees from foreign entities since 2005, also signed a deal to lobby for the China National Offshore Oil Corp., a state-owned firm that backed out of an $18.5 billion takeover of U.S. oil producer Unocal amid sharp congressional opposition. In 2005, the House passed a resolution 398-15 calling for a thorough review of the deal and lawmakers from both parties said the prospect of a Chinese state-owned energy company in charge of a U.S. oil producer posed a national security threat. Mr. Black said he wasn't working on any campaigns at the time, but he added that he has a personal rule against giving advice to Mr. McCain on any issues in which he has been a lobbyist: "If an issue comes up, I don't participate in the discussion." Saying he resigned from BKSH to spend more time on the McCain campaign, Mr. Black said Mr. McCain is not influenced by lobbyists, including those who have worked or raised money for his campaign. Mr. Loeffler's firm has received more than $10 million since 2006 from the Saudi Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Just two months ago, the firm also signed an agreement with the South Korean Embassy to consult on "legislation affecting Korea's foreign military sales status and related matters." Since 2005, the firm reported more than $11 million in fees from foreign lobbying clients. Legislation pending in the House and Senate would make it easier for South Korea to buy weapons from U.S. companies. The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican, has not come up for a vote. Lorenzo Morris, chairman of the political science department at Howard University, said Mr. McCain can expect some scrutiny in the general election over ties to lobbyists given his reputation as an anti-special interest candidate. "John McCain has a reputation about being scrupulous since he is the co-author of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law," Mr. Morris said. But he added that it is also probably unrealistic to expect a candidate to run a campaign without some help from people who work in the lobbying industry. "K Street takes up a lot of Washington," Mr. Morris said. Other bundlers Other McCain campaign bundlers, who have committed to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the candidate, also have received lobbying fees from foreign governments. They include the following: c Peter T. Madigan, a former top official in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, who is a top lobbyist for the Washington-based firm of Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart. The firm, whose clients include the Colombian government's trade bureau, reported more than $1 million in fees from foreign clients since 2006. c Kirk Blalock, national chairman for Young Professionals for McCain, who is a partner at Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, a government consulting and public relations firm established in 1978 and described by Fortune Magazine as the "hottest lobbying firm on Capitol Hill." Mr. Blalock's firm has received at least $700,000 since 2005 lobbying for clients, including Peru, Vietnam and the Korean International Trade Association. The firm also signed a deal to lobby Congress and the White House for "enhancement of the Bahrain free trade agreement," records show. c Rob Allyn, head of the Dallas-based Allyn & Co., a public relations, advertising and political media firm, who was paid $720,000 by the Mexican government in 2006 to polish its image and call for a guest worker program for millions of Mexican nationals illegally in the United States. The lobbying efforts came at a time Congress and the White House were debating comprehensive immigration-reform legislation, which was defeated in June. Then-President Vicente Fox was an outspoken critic of the proposed legislation. Mr. Black and Mr. Loeffler also are listed by Mr. McCain's campaign Web site as bundlers, expected to collect thousands of dollars in donations from several sources to bypass federal election laws limiting individual contributors to a $2,300 maximum donation. Although bundlers for Mr. Obama who have raised more than $50,000 and those for Mrs. Clinton who have raised at least $100,000 are identified, how much each of the McCain bundlers has raised is not listed.
Sombrero bump!
Owww!
Paragraphs are our friends! ;^)
Wish I was a graphic artist. I’d draw the red ring breaking off of the olympic ring logo and rolling away.
McCain advisers tied to foreign lobbying Washington Times - April 11, 2008
Two of Sen. John McCain’s top advisers and fundraisers are among several Republican and Democratic presidential campaign officials whose lobbying firms have been paid more than $15 million by foreign governments since 2005.
The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years.
“At no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain, and there have been many occasions where he has voted against my clients’ interests, but that doesn’t change my belief that John McCain is the best candidate to lead our nation,” said Mr. Loeffler, a former Texas congressman, whose firm has received millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia.
The arrangements are legal, and hundreds of lobbyists are registered to work for foreign clients. But experts say conflict-of-interest questions can arise if lobbying and campaign activities overlap.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea that one person plays all these roles,” said Toni-Michelle C. Travis, a political analyst and professor of government at George Mason University. “The entanglements become greater and greater, and that can lead to conflict-of-interest questions at some point. “People are slipping across the lines to play multiple roles.”
Mark Penn, former top strategist to Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, recently resigned after consulting on a Colombian trade agreement that Mrs. Clinton opposed. Mr. Penn is chief executive of Washington-based Burson-Marsteller, which has lobbied for the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Colombian Embassy and the Mexico Tourism Board.
In addition, the Glover Park Group where top Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson previously worked, received more than $170,000 last year from the Colombian trade bureau and $250,000 from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises Ltd.
Clinton bundler John Merrigan is registered to lobby foreign governments at DLA Piper, which during a six-month span last year reported more than $2.8 million in fees from foreign entities.
In addition, former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli, another Clinton bundler, signed off on a $15,000 per-month lobbying deal last year with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan’s office in the U.S.
The lobbying efforts by New Jersey-based Rosemont Associates, where Mr. Torricelli is managing partner, included e-mails and a meeting with Mrs. Clinton’s Senate staff in November, at a time when Mr. Torricelli was raising money for the Clinton presidential campaign, records show.
Telephone and e-mail messages left with Mr. Torricelli and the Clinton campaign were not returned yesterday. In the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, fundraiser William T. Lake and adviser Stanford Ross were registered as a foreign lobbyists in the 1990s, according to Justice Department records.
China takeover.... Mr. Black, who chaired BKSH when it received more than $700,000 in fees from foreign entities since 2005, also signed a deal to lobby for the China National Offshore Oil Corp., a state-owned firm that backed out of an $18.5 billion takeover of U.S. oil producer Unocal amid sharp congressional opposition.
In 2005, the House passed a resolution 398-15 calling for a thorough review of the deal and lawmakers from both parties said the prospect of a Chinese state-owned energy company in charge of a U.S. oil producer posed a national security threat. Mr.
Black said he wasn’t working on any campaigns at the time, but he added that he has a personal rule against giving advice to Mr. McCain on any issues in which he has been a lobbyist: “If an issue comes up, I don’t participate in the discussion.” Saying he resigned from BKSH to spend more time on the McCain campaign,
Mr. Black said Mr. McCain is not influenced by lobbyists, including those who have worked or raised money for his campaign. Mr. Loeffler’s firm has received more than $10 million since 2006 from the Saudi Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Just two months ago, the firm also signed an agreement with the South Korean Embassy to consult on “legislation affecting Korea’s foreign military sales status and related matters.” Since 2005, the firm reported more than $11 million in fees from foreign lobbying clients.
Legislation pending in the House and Senate would make it easier for South Korea to buy weapons from U.S. companies. The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican, has not come up for a vote.
Lorenzo Morris, chairman of the political science department at Howard University, said Mr. McCain can expect some scrutiny in the general election over ties to lobbyists given his reputation as an anti-special interest candidate.
“John McCain has a reputation about being scrupulous since he is the co-author of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law,” Mr. Morris said. But he added that it is also probably unrealistic to expect a candidate to run a campaign without some help from people who work in the lobbying industry. “K Street takes up a lot of Washington,” Mr. Morris said.
Other bundlers Other McCain campaign bundlers, who have committed to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the candidate, also have received lobbying fees from foreign governments. They include the following: c Peter T. Madigan, a former top official in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, who is a top lobbyist for the Washington-based firm of Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart.
The firm, whose clients include the Colombian government’s trade bureau, reported more than $1 million in fees from foreign clients since 2006. c Kirk Blalock, national chairman for Young Professionals for McCain, who is a partner at Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, a government consulting and public relations firm established in 1978 and described by Fortune Magazine as the “hottest lobbying firm on Capitol Hill.”
Mr. Blalock’s firm has received at least $700,000 since 2005 lobbying for clients, including Peru, Vietnam and the Korean International Trade Association. The firm also signed a deal to lobby Congress and the White House for “enhancement of the Bahrain free trade agreement,” records show. c Rob Allyn, head of the Dallas-based Allyn & Co., a public relations, advertising and political media firm, who was paid $720,000 by the Mexican government in 2006 to polish its image and call for a guest worker program for millions of Mexican nationals illegally in the United States.
The lobbying efforts came at a time Congress and the White House were debating comprehensive immigration-reform legislation, which was defeated in June. Then-President Vicente Fox was an outspoken critic of the proposed legislation.
Mr. Black and Mr. Loeffler also are listed by Mr. McCain’s campaign Web site as bundlers, expected to collect thousands of dollars in donations from several sources to bypass federal election laws limiting individual contributors to a $2,300 maximum donation.
Although bundlers for Mr. Obama who have raised more than $50,000 and those for Mrs. Clinton who have raised at least $100,000 are identified, how much each of the McCain bundlers has raised is not listed.
Before you cut and paste at least peruse your handywork first then format it with paragraphs........
I never attempt to read any thing posted by someone who does not use paragraphs. Is it lack of education or do you just not care?
Said in a nice way. Duly noted. Thanks.
Said in a crappy way. Duly ignored.
I appreciate it, airborne. Sorry for the trouble.
No problem.
Glad I could help.
|
I am absoultely APPALLED that a politician would take a donation from any pro lobby at all. It’s ridiculous that any “serious” candiatate would take money from any person, lobbist, group, corporation, or any other entity that was trying to push their agenda through by electing their candidate.
Therefore I have decided to announce that I am now running to be President of the United States on a single platform. I will only accept donations from people that want me to do exactly the opposite of what they truely believe.. I will force my donors to take lie detector tests to prove that they are not giving me money because they approve of my positions.
I will also suggest that any canadiate accepting any sort of money from anyone that is in support of said canadiate for ANY reason is bought and paid for and corrupt to the fullest degree. I believe this is the only way to run Government.. whether giving money to a canadiate because they want to reduce spending, cure AIDS & cancer, or even to prevent child molestors from being release in prison again.... I CANNOT ACCEPT YOUR MONEY.
ahhhhhhhhhhh
I feel better now.
In a more serious tone.. I dare you to find one Senator or Congressman person that doesn’t have at least one donation that stinks to high heaven. DARE YOU.
There is your "DARE".
The truth (and certified campaign contribution records) hurts, doesn't it.
The whole point of Free Republic is exposing such hijinx and connections in government.
Perhaps you stumbled on to the wrong thread. Here I can redirect you to here.
In a somewhat related story - Washington Post Blows Front Page Story
The Washington Post was forced to issue a substantive correction to a front page story that stated GOP presidential candidate John McCain received “unlikely” campaign contributions through an unscrupulous bundler after Townhall questioned the facts of the article.
http://townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2008/08/06/washington_post_blows_front_page_story
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
