Verizon: Paying Politicians to Rule the Air (g1a2d0047c1)

November 2, 2011 by

VERIZON: PAYING POLITICIANS TO RULE THE AIR
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 47: Communication 1 IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 2 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0047c1) How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

With 2010 profits of $2.5 billion, revenues of $106.5 billion and assets of $220.0 billion, Verizon Communications ranks as the 16th largest company on the Fortune 500 list. “Formed in 2000 when Bell Atlantic bought GTE, Verizon is among the nation’s top phone companies and is the No. 2 wireless provider, after Cingular. One of the “Baby Bells” that control the local phone market, Verizon has spent the last several years fighting to allow the Bells to enter the long-distance market, where it would expand its profitable broadband Internet services. Verizon acquired MCI, formerly WorldCom, in 2005, expanding its reach to nearly 49 million access lines in 28 states and Washington, DC, according to Hoovers. The company also has nearly 18 million US long-distance lines… Recent legislation in the House would allow national cable franchises to be awarded to telecom companies like Verizon.”

http://tinyurl.com/3txezzd

After years of asking “Can you hear me now?” Verizon is being heard just fine. Especially in Washington DC, where they have spent well over $12 million this year alone to maintain an army of 116 lobbyists – most of whom have BigCorp/BigGov “revolving door” credentials, including 5 former U.S. Representatives – marching through the halls of Congress and broadcasting an Internet privatization agenda that would ultimately allow Verizon to “Rule the Air”.

http://tinyurl.com/3vtr56q

Since 1999 Verizon’s spent more than $109 million wining and dining our Washington elite and Beltway bureaucrats, and since 1997 have made more than $22 million in political campaign contributions that follow lines of power more so than party. The top two recipients of that payola, for example, are George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama. For the 2012 election cycle, the top three recipients so far are Mitch McConnell (Senate Majority Leader), John Boehner (Speaker of the House) and of course Barack H. Obama (POTUS). And to make sure these well paid politicos know what is expected in return for Verizon’s generosity, the company (including its predecessors) has seated not less than 42 of its employees on not less than 31 federal “advisory” committees since 1991:

Federal Communications Commission: 16 people on 8 committees Department of State: 9 people on 4 committees
Department of Commerce: 4 people on 6 committees
Department of Homeland Security: 4 people on 2 committees
Department of Health and Human Services: 3 people on 3 committees National Science Foundation: 3 people on 3 committees
Department of Transportation: 3 people on 1 committee
Department of Defense: 2 people on 2 committees
Department of the Treasury: 2 people on 2 committees
Department of Energy: 1 person on 1 committee

http://tinyurl.com/3q8ueom

http://tinyurl.com/3thbjks

http://tinyurl.com/3l4p9r6

And what, exactly, is Verizon mandating from its minions in DC? Their lobbying agenda is long and complex, but these five issues alone should give every Verizon customer – and every American citizen, for that matter – cause for concern:

1. Broadband Data Caps – Which Verizon exploits:

http://tinyurl.com/6bxenf4

2. Employee Rights & Benefits – Which Verizon curtails:

http://tinyurl.com/4yztxgb

3. Internet Censorship – Which Verizon practices:

http://tinyurl.com/yoadop

4. Internet Privacy – Which Verizon violates:

http://tinyurl.com/3eco3dq

5. Net Neutrality – Which Verizon opposes:

http://tinyurl.com/yfuwn2l

http://tinyurl.com/3arxpyt

http://tinyurl.com/62cbbzb

http://tinyurl.com/3fcwupa

http://tinyurl.com/3wo99ca

Pardon the pun, but we lack the bandwidth to address each of these important issues adequately here. So, please follow the links we have provided to learn more about Verigreedy’s plans to “Rule the Air”.

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/images/VeriGreedy.jpg

Time Warner Cable: Buying Legislators and Selling Legislation (g1a2d0045c1)

October 31, 2011 by

TIME WARNER CABLE: BUYING LEGISLATORS AND SELLING LEGISLATION
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 45: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 31 Oct 2011 (g1a2d0045c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

Many Americans think that at the state level a bill becomes law only if it is passed by both House and Senate and signed by the Governor. Not so. Across our 50 states we have no less than 63 ways a bill can become “law without signature” by a Governor looking to avoid controversy or accountability that might quash their Presidential hopes or land them in jail:

http://tinyurl.com/3euvua9

One such bill was North Carolina House Bill 129 (NC H129), which on 21 May of this year became North Carolina Session Law 2011-84 (SL 2011-84) without the signature of Governor Beverly Eaves “B” Perdue … whose last name is actually that of her dead ex-husband … whose middle name is her current husband’s last name … and the “B”, well, ask Andy about that.

http://tinyurl.com/43p4hrf

Anyway, with Aunt B’s inaction the “Level Playing Field/Local Government Competition” bill – like the USA PATRIOT Act of a decade before – was passed into law with covenants that were the exact opposite of its Orwellian cover. Opponents like the Institute for Local Self Reliance referred to NC H129 as the “Time Warner Cable Monopoly Protection Act”, and with good reason.

http://tinyurl.com/3s3knvj

As Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn warned, “Do not let the title fool you. This measure, if enacted, will not only fail to level the playing field; it will discourage municipal governments from addressing deployment in communities where the private sector has failed to meet broadband service needs. In other words, it will be a significant barrier to broadband deployment and may impede local efforts to promote economic development.”

http://tinyurl.com/3bdb4f6

Another reason the Time Warner Cable logo should have been on the cover of NC H129 is that, according to industry watchdog StopTheCap.com, it was Time Warner’s lawyers and lobbyists who actually drafted th legislation and assigned it to State Representative Marilyn Avila to sponsor. And sponsor it she did, despite the fact that it was opposed by many of her own constituents:

“Raleigh’s City Council adopted a resolution opposing Avila’s legislation, written on behalf of Time Warner Cable. H129 will destroy North Carolina’s community-owned broadband networks and prevent new ones from launching. Council Member Bonner Gaylord, who authored the resolution, says passage of these kinds of anti-competitive bills would stop local governments from providing needed communications services, especially advanced high-speed broadband, and deny local governments the availability of federal grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to assist in providing affordable access to high-capacity broadband service in unserved and underserved areas.”

http://tinyurl.com/4y8z3sy

But despite a thumbs down from industry watchdogs, and over the protests of the cities and people of the state, NC H129 still received the support of enough legislators to become law. And how did Time Warner Cable garner the necessary votes? They bought them, as Joey Mornin explains:

“If you’re like most Americans, you probably buy your Internet service from one of a small handful of corporate providers. The big incumbent broadband providers – like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable – often enjoy monopoly or duopoly privileges in the areas they serve. Recently, some communities have started to implement their own municipal broadband networks. These community-owned networks are often faster, cheaper, and more reliable than the corporate alternatives. In North Carolina, for instance, community-owned networks like Fibrant and Greenlight consistently outperform the commercial offerings from Time Warner, AT&T, and CenturyLink. Similar municipal broadband projects are taking root across the country. Their expansion, however, threatens the comfortable markets that corporate broadband providers have come to expect. In what could become a typical case, Time Warner is supporting a bill in the North Carolina state legislature that would impose sharp limits on the growth of municipal broadband networks. Despite widespread opposition, the bill recently passed in both chambers of the state legislature. Time Warner, which reported $26 billion in revenue in 2010, has donated over $6.3 million to North Carolina politicians over the last four years.”

http://tinyurl.com/3rwe496

Halliburton Loopholes: Solving Challenges with Crony Capitalism (g1a2d0044c1)

October 30, 2011 by

$halliburton loophole fracking gasland$

HALLIBURTON LOOPHOLES: SOLVING CHALLENGES WITH CRONY CAPITALISM
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 44: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 30 Oct 2011 (g1a2d0044c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

“Halliburton Company is an oilfield services company. The Company’s two business segments are the Completion and Production segment and the Drilling and Evaluation segment. The Company provides a range of services and products for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas around the world. It conducts business in approximately 80 countries. The business operations of its divisions are around four primary geographic regions: North America, Latin America, Europe/Africa/CIS, and Middle East/Asia. During the year ended December 31, 2010, based on the location of services provided and products sold, 46% of the revenue was from the United States. It has 170 international and 109 United States field camps, from which it delivers its services and products. In October 2011, the Company acquired Multi-Chem Group LLC.”

http://tinyurl.com/3tkqh4s

“Halliburton has become the object of several controversies involving the 2003 Iraq War and the company’s ties to former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney retired from the company during the 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign with a severance package worth $36 million. As of 2004, he had received $398,548 in deferred compensation from Halliburton while Vice President. Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000 and has received stock options from Halliburton… In the run-up to the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded a $7 billion contract for which ‘unusually’ only Halliburton was allowed to bid. Bunnatine Greenhouse, a civil servant with 20 years of contracting experience, had complained to Army officials on numerous occasions that Halliburton had been unlawfully receiving special treatment for work in Iraq, Kuwait and the Balkans. Criminal investigations were opened by the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Pentagon’s inspector general. In one of Greenhouse’s claims, she said that military auditors caught Halliburton overcharging the Pentagon for fuel deliveries into Iraq. She also complained that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s office took control of every aspect of Halliburton’s $7 billion Iraqi oil/infrastructure contract. After her testimony, Greenhouse was demoted for poor performance. Greenhouse’s attorney, Michael Kohn, stated in The New York Times that “she is being demoted because of her strict adherence to procurement requirements and the Army’s preference to sidestep them when it suits their needs.”

http://tinyurl.com/48s73

When Halliburton came under investigation by the Justice Department Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of improper dealings in Iraq, Kuwait and Nigeria in 2007, it opened a second corporate headquarters in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai and moved its chairman and chief executive, David J. Lesar, there… Halliburton remains a US company subject to US laws, but Dubai has no extradition agreement with the United States, meaning that Mr. Lesar could not be compelled to return to the US to testify, stand trial or serve any sentence related to any Halliburton activities under investigation… According to a 2004 GAO report, the company is incorporated in Delaware, but had 17 subsidiaries in tax-haven countries… In February 2007 Whitley Strieber wrote “Congress was told that $2.7 billion paid to Halliburton and its subsidiaries and subcontractors for work done in Iraq was either excessive or unsupported. Another upcoming investigation that affects Halliburton is the [then] current scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Washington Post reported that the Army agreed to privatize the operation of Walter Reed by awarding a $120 million contract to IAP Worldwide Services, a contractor with connections to KBR, [at that time] a Halliburton subsidiary.”

http://tinyurl.com/44bppj7

In February 2011, Desmogblog.com outed Halliburton and other oil and gas companies who together set up “Energy in Depth”, an industry front group that claims to represent “small and independent” operators. EID’s website was registered by a PR firm experienced in working for companies engaged in scientific deception (e.g. Big Tobacco). EID was set up to fight back after investigative journalists began to expose problems with hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) – notably ProPublica.org and the producers of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Gasland”.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org

‘It was reported that Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed charges against former U.S. Vice-President and Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney and officials from five companies, including Halliburton and KBR, over a bribery scheme involving the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Nigeria (see pending KBR and Halliburton instances, “Nigeria LNG Contracts Bribery (UK Prosecution)”). In December 2010, EFCC agreed to drop the charges against Cheney. News accounts reported Halliburton agreed to pay $250 million in fines; however, Halliburton stated in a press release that the amount was $35 million (“$32.5 million to the FGN [Federal Government of Nigeria] and an additional $2.5 million for FGN’s attorneys’ fees and other expenses.”)’

http://tinyurl.com/3ouvmrm

On 12 October 2011 the U.S. Interior Department formally cited BP and its two chief contractors – Halliburton and Transocean – for numerous safety and environmental violations in the operation of the doomed Deepwater Horizon well. The citations, which could lead to millions of dollars in fines, arose from an investigation of the April 2010 explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the worst offshore oil spill in American history. The department and the Coast Guard found in a report issued last month that BP, Transocean and Halliburton had failed to operate the Gulf of Mexico drilling rig in a safe and responsible manner, had heedlessly endangered their workers, had not followed proper well control procedures and had not properly maintained safety equipment, including the blowout preventer. The actions against Transocean, which operated the drilling rig, and Halliburton, which performed the well cementing job, are the first time that the government has cited contractors rather than just a well’s principal owner, in this case BP, for safety violations.

http://tinyurl.com/4xl3axp

“Corporate insiders peddling the claim that drilling for methane gas will solve America’s energy needs just scored big in Washington – and for these insiders fracking for gas is very lucrative business. House Resolution 1380, given the feel-good moniker of the ‘New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act’ or ‘NAT GAS Act’, was announced on Wednesday, April 6 [2011], in the U. S. House of Representatives. The bill is 24-pages long and rewards the fracking industry with tax credits and products to help “drive” consumption. The bigger the vehicle, the more tax credits given. This initiative to expand the controversial fracking process – which has already resulted in contaminated wells and rivers and even ignitable tap water for some – is being spearheaded in Congress by Reps. John Sullivan (R-Oklahoma), Dan Boren (D-Oklahoma), John Larson (D-Connecticut), and Kevin Brady (R-Texas). The bill has 77 co-sponsors, with 40 Democrats in support and 37 Republicans, from 33 different states. But, perhaps its most powerful supporter or potential supporter is President Barack Obama… Though hailed by [T. Boone Pickens] and other uncritical observers as an “energy efficient solution” and a “clean” energy resource, this PR spin ignores the true dangers and consequences of fracking and of the methane distribution and consumption process. Fracking – using a drilling technique pioneered by Halliburton that forces a concoction of hazardous chemicals and drinkable water into shale – has been well-documented in movies like Gasland, as well as by the Center for Media and Democracy’s Water Portal, as a dangerous and destructive process that shortchanges land owners, enriches drillers, and spoils land and water.”

http://tinyurl.com/3vu3bkx

“Public fears are growing about contamination of drinking-water supplies from the chemicals used in fracking and from the methane gas itself. Field tests show that those worries are not unfounded. A Duke University study published in May found that methane levels in dozens of drinking-water wells within a kilometer (3,280 feet) of new fracking sites were 17 times higher than in wells farther away. Yet states have let companies proceed without adequate regulations. They must begin to provide more effective oversight, and the federal government should step in, too… In 2005 Congress – at the behest of then Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of gas driller Halliburton – exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Congress needs to close this so-called ‘Halliburton loophole’, as a bill co-sponsored by New York State Representative Maurice Hinchey would do. The FRAC Act would also mandate public disclosure of all chemicals used in fracking across the nation.”

http://tinyurl.com/3gu3x65

IronBoltBruce

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."–Goethe

Tag Archives: decline of america

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