Global Crossing Became a Top Contributor Fast

Los Angeles Times ^ | January 31, 2000 | Jube Shiver Jr. P.J. Huffstutter

[Future Useless Eater]

So what's the big deal?

• Senators believe in increasing people's salaries above the minimum wage...
• Senator from New Mexico lands a job for his out of work wife that pays $2403 per hour.
• Problem is solved. Family's finances are once again afloat!

[RonDog]

From: http://www.mullings.com/11-15-99.htm

Why Don't We Talk Anymore?
Monday, November 15, 1999

• A front page article in the Saturday Santa Fe New Mexican reported the wife of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) received $2.5 million in fees as a lobbyist on behalf of the fiber-optic company, Global Crossing. The paper reported that Anne Bingaman's office released a statement in which she stated she, "never met or spoke at any member of Congress or congressional staff on behalf of Global Crossing."

• Remember the amazing assertion last week by Hillary Clinton that she and Bill had never discussed whether he would actually live in the $1.3 manse in suburban New York? This Bingaman couple sets marital communications back to the stone age. This is way, way more than "Lobbyists are from Venus; Senators are from Mars." Jeff Bingaman must be from Andromeda:

  "Say, honey? Where'd this $2.5 million come from in our bank account?"

  "I can't tell you."

  "Oh. Ok. Well, then I'm just going to go on into the office and finish up that legislation directing the FCC to allow a new direct undersea fiber optic cable to Asia. What do you want for dinner?"

  "Sushi."

[RonDog]

WHAT did Global Crossing get for their $2.5 million?

From http://www.phoenix-center.org/library/pwhycable.html:

Reprinted From:

Communications Week International
16 August 1999
[* Denotes Original Publication Page Cite Where Available]

 

Perspective: Why cable could be the next WTO battleground

Larry Spiwak*

I have seen the coming of the next WTO battle for basic telecoms services, and it will be in the form of rights proceedings for undersea cable landings.

The incident that is prompting this whole mess came last month when the FCC - after eight long months - granted the cable landing petition filed by the Japan-U.S. Cable Network (JUS) consortium. What makes this case so remarkable, however, is that it represents a textbook example of regulatory cynicism.

Specifically, in what should have been a routine proceeding, subsea cable builder Global Crossing Ltd. asked the Federal Communications Commission to “defer” consideration of the JUS petition in order to consider whether undersea cable consortia still served the “public interest” in a post-WTO world.

Rather than set forth anything substantive, however, Global Crossing hired a bevy of high-priced lobbyists - including Anne Bingaman, the former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, Peter Cowhey, the former Chief of the FCC’s International Bureau, and Greg Simon, former domestic policy adviser to Vice President Gore - to argue that the U.S. government should just nakedly divide up the market (that is, assign customers to specific competitors) for trans-Pacific communications, and abrogate both private contracts and ignore international agreements - including the WTO and a subsequent bilateral agreement reached between Japan and the U.S. Trade Representative.

As if this was not bad enough, Global Crossing also argued that the FCC should ignore its residual unilateral “regulatory safeguards” (such as benchmarks, for example) - unilateral safeguards that were promulgated under the watch of the very high-powered Washington DC lobbyists that Global Crossing hired to argue hypocritically the exact opposite view.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thanks for the post. The FEC records of campaign donations referred to by this organization, Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org) do not include big $$$ corporate donations to the party itself, $$$ for parties (a la Peter Paul's big $$$ party for Hillary, Anderson Consulting's big $$$ golf tournament for Gore, Enron's big $$$ party for Bingaman at the DNC convention, Enron's fundraiser for Breast Cancer, featuring illary)...overlooks loopholes and diversions and I do believe that the Dems., especially Clinton, McAuliffe, Rubin, etc., etc., gave plenty of pals high powered jobs in new industries that quickly folded and moved on....one big political shell game, boiler-room operation complete with Presidential pardons for some. Clinton and co. brought business after business with them as they attempted to push their business ideas (telecom, internet, natural gas, etc.) into unprepared third world countries....making promises and spreading tax-payer $$$ wherever they went. The press going after Bush on Enron after decades of Dem.-business corruption and especially the flim-flam Clinton administration is worse than low, hypocritical, unethical....a good friend would be telling them to repent - NOW.

[DLfromthedesert]

Haha ...that Rich Galen is a hoot!!! He's coming to our Lincoln Day Dinner in 2 weeks as the featured speaker...I can't wait!!!

[deport]

What's up with them?

Not sure what you mean but they must be a start up website. They run over here and post article but never reply to any threads..... http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/latest?ao=0&s=by%3A%22jcsmonogram%22 jcs/monogram Holdings

[RonDog]

Hugh quoted them as a source of information, in the same way that he might have mentioned Free Republic or Town Hall.
I had never heard of them before.

Their "Discussion" page, is difficult to search, and has MANY topics which do not seem to have any CURRENT posts.

Perhaps Hugh read something about Global Crossing on their "Hot News!" page? Or?

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL! Thanks for that post/link.
I saw Terry McAuliffe tell Sean Hannity. "It's capitalism. Welcome to America. If you don't like it, LEAVE!"
I wonder what he is hiding in his closet?????

[LoneGOPinCT]

Meek, I'm sure you were as SHOCKED at this news as I was!

[blackie]

Thanks Lady !!

[Angelique]

Thanks for the ping and info. Global Crossing is an extraordinary story, and I believe it is here that we will find a political scandal. The only problem is that the public will never here about it. The media is turning up the heat to discredit the Bush Admin. The proof is how they are bringing the likes of Albright and Cohen air time as "experts."

[RonDog]

Thanks for the ping and info. Global Crossing is an extraordinary story, and I believe it is here that we will find a political scandal. The only problem is that the public will never here about it.

The media is turning up the heat to discredit the Bush Admin. The proof is how they are bringing the likes of Albright and Cohen air time as "experts."

You may be right. Your opinion about the OLD media is shared by many, i.e.:

From:
Global Crossing Froze 401(k) Assets [WSJ's SmartMoney.com]
Posted on 2/2/02 9:38 AM Pacific by RonDog

"Who cares? The media simply is not interested unless something like this can be tied to Bush or some other enemy of the ultra left wing liberal extremists. If you can't tie Bush or Cheney to it in some negative way, no matter how tenuous or remote, it does not rise to the level of interest for inclusion in th NYT or mentioin my Rather or any of the other ultra radical extremist left wingers in the media.

3 posted on 2/2/02 11:36 AM Pacific by Tacis

Fortunately, we (Free Republic, Drudge, FOX-TV, NewsMax, etc.) are the NEW media, and WE care.

[CPT Clay]

Amazing how this scandal was spiked.

[CPT Clay]

Isn't it amazing how this scandal was spiked?

[Stand Watch Listen]

bttt