1-18-08 - Best Monster Movie Ever: J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield

UPDATE: Cloverfield Characters revealed in trailer!

UPDATE - Five Days Before Opening, New Trailer

This is going to be the greatest monster movie ever, and it's not even out until 1-18-2008. It's a secret project with the codename Cloverfield, is produced by J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves is directing, and has this website: 1-18-08.com , and can be seen with the movie transformers. But I've made a new trailer based on the clip. It's got a starting soundtrack that will make your blood curdle.

And what about clues like this website: http://www.ethanhaas.org ?

JULY 29th UPDATE - NEW PHOTO

See this Zennie's Zeitgeist blog post to learn about the fifth photo on the 1-18-08 website.,

JULY 21st UPDATE - NEW PHOTO

A new photo was just posted at the 1-18-08 site. This one has the time stamp of 1:24 AM, so we have a pattern -- a time pattern forming with these photos. See more at: Cloverfield Clues. and below...

JULY 18th UPDATE

Some have written that this information excludes the idea that this is Godzilla. But there's nothing in it to indicate that's the case. But I was correct about one thing: New York City is damaged considerably.

From The New York Post :

"A few weeks ago, the movie was shot in Coney Island on the blocks contained by West Eighth Street, West 17th Street, Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk. (picture here)



"A small crew, including Abrams (co-creator of "Lost") and director Matt Reeves ("Felicity"), along with up-and-coming actors Blake Lively and Mike Vogel (both from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") came into the park with hand-held video cameras.

"They shot several scenes at Deno's Wonder Wheel, a scary swinging Ferris Wheel in which patrons ride in cages as they look out over Brooklyn. They also went on the Scooter bumper cars, played some ticket-stub games in the arcade, and rolled some skee ball.

"A member of the Vourderis family, owners of Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, gave authorization to the film crew to shoot there.
"It's about an alien that wipes out all of New York City," says one of the owners, who wants to remain anonymous. "The footage is taken the day before everyone dies. A bunch of kids come to Coney Island with a video camera. The movie is a flashback to that day.

"It is reported that they have only a $30 million budget, not a heck of a lot for a monster movie. They also filmed a few scenes in front of the now-defunct and chained-up B&B Carousell.

"The crew steered clear of Astroland and The Cyclone, but shot some scenes on the Boardwalk by Nathan's and the booths selling hot buttered corn.

"They told me I could be in the movie," said Eric Gonzalez, an 18-year-old kid who plays the freak in the paintball game "Shoot the Freak."

"I wanted to be in it so bad and I gave them my number, and they never called. I got new shoes, a hat and a whole new outfit."

NY1 reporter Roma Torre, on the other hand, was lucky to get plucked to star in the flick, and shot "a lot" more scenes than the one you see in the trailer.

"This whole thing was cloaked in mystery," Torre told The Post. "We weren't given any names. They made me sign a nondisclosure agreement, and I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"It was so mysterious that I had no idea that this was going to be a big-budget film or an independent type movie. So I was shocked to hear about the trailer and the buzz it's getting. I'm hearing from friends across the country. It's fun.""

NEW UPDATE

Cloverfield and Slusho: Slusho's not a clue, it's a product placement.

UPDATE:

Well, not only has J.J. Abrams wrote that the Ethan Haas site has nothing to do with his movie, his staff's placed a new third photo on the site at www.1-18-08.com . This photo has a weird connection -- in my view -- between this film and the events of 9-11. It features two women walking in what seems to be a kind of haze and covering their mouthes. This scene reminds me of the aftermath of 9-11, when people in Lower Manhattan were covered in a kind of soot. A photo of the three picts is displayed here above.

With that, you can add the fourth Cloverfield photo , which has a miliary solidier looking one way, with people seemingly running past him. It's all blurry.

The picture also -- in my opinion -- implies a movie that depicts a level of destruction on an enormous scale. If you put together the explosion in the trailer with this photo and reflect on 9-11, well, what you've got is the decimation of the island of Manhattan.

Moreover, the three pictures are in time sequence: 12:01 it's the party; 12:36 AM, it's the horror, and at 12:48 AM the aftermath of a destruction of something. I think buildings. Or given that it's a bright light and we're talking the dark of night, it may be the middle of another explosion. Whatever the case, it's not pretty.

Yikes, what's this story about?

http://www.theparasitemovie.com - is a fake site. It has nothing officially to do with the movie, and leads to a forum on "tossing games."



Click here to see the "Godzilla" version of the trailer

William Shatner Not Written In New Star Trek Movie Script - Terrible

I just read that William Shatner, who played Star Trek's Captain Kirk for so many decades in television and movies, will not be in the new Star Trek Movie (Star Trek XI) helmed by J.J Abrams. Shatner says he got the news from Leonard Nimoy, who read the script and informed him that he has a part, but Bill does not. He's mentioned in the script, but there's no part.

That's weird to me. There's no way they can make a Star Trek movie with Spock and not Kirk. Here's the video from Shatnervision :

Shatner Talks New Star Trek XI Movie Details From An Inside Source

Michael Moore Hammers Wolf Blizer - CNN Milks The Damage

Yesterday, Michael Moore, producer and director of the movie "Sicko" really hammered Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "The Situation Room" and Blitzer, in a frankly professional way, managed to milk the moment as did CNN, which posted a video on Moore's attack. Here's the transcript:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Michael Moore is joining us now live from Detroit. Michael, thanks very much for coming in. You want to respond to anything ...

MOORE: First of all, Wolf, yeah, well -- yeah, I'd like about 10 minutes to respond to what was said.

BLITZER: Give us a couple of headlines, what you'd like to say.

MOORE: I don't talk in sound bites. So -- that report was so biased. I can't imagine what pharmaceutical company ad's coming up right after our break here.

But why don't you tell the truth to the American people? I mean, I wish that CNN and the other mainstream media would just for once tell the truth about what's going on in this country, whether it's with healthcare -- I don't care what it is. I mean, you guys have such a poor track record.

And for me to come on here and have to listen to that kind of crap. I mean, seriously, I haven't been on your show now for three years. The last time I was on, you ran a similar piece about "Fahrenheit 9/11" saying this can't be true what he's saying about the war, how it's going to be a quagmire, the weapons of mass destruction.

You know, and -- why don't you start off actually with my first appearance back here on your show in three years and maybe apologize to me for saying that three years ago, because it turned out everything I said in "Fahrenheit" was true. Everything has come to happen.

Everything I said. I mean, I was -- I took you in that film to Walter Reed Hospital and it took three years before you or any of the rest of the mainstream media would go to Walter Reed Hospital and see what was happening to our troops. So for me to have to sit here and listen again to more crap about socialized medicine or how the Canadians have it worse than us and all this, all the statistics show that we have far worse healthcare than these other industrialized countries.

We're the only ones that don't have it free and universal. And, you know, there's a -- there's a -- you said that Germany was the only one that was better than us in terms of wait times. The Commonwealth Fund last year showed of the top six countries, we were second to last, next to Canada. It showed that Britain, for instance, 71 percent of the British public, when they call to see a doctor, get to see the doctor that day or the next day. It's 69 percent in Germany. It's 66% in Australia. And you're the ones who are fudging the facts. You fudged the facts to the American people now for I don't know how long about this issue, about the war.

And I'm just curious when are you going to just stand there and apologize to the American people for not bringing the truth to them that isn't sponsored by some major corporation? I mean, I'll sit here for as long as it takes, if you can do that for me.

BLITZER: Just in fairness, we had a lot of commercials for "Sicko" that we've been running on CNN as well. So we have commercials. This is a business, obviously. But let's talk a little bit about ...

MOORE: You have a nightly medical report. You have something called "The Daily Dose." I watch CNN. You have it every day. "The Daily Dose" sponsored by -- fill in the blank. And you are funded by these people day in and day out. Don't even compare that to my movie being out for a couple of weeks and a couple of rinky-dink ads for 15 seconds. Come on. Come on, Wolf!

BLITZER: No, no -- I don't know if you're familiar with Dr. Sanjay Gupta's record, but I would stack up his record on medical issues with virtually anyone in the business.

MOORE: All right. So when I -- when I now put on my Web site, as I will do tonight, how his facts were wrong about the $7,000 that we spend, it's actually -- I've read one report now, it's even more than $7,000 that we spend per person each year in this country. I'm going to put the real facts up there on my Web site so people can see what he said was wrong.

BLITZER: Well, if we get that confirmed, obviously, we'll correct the record. Sanjay - but I'm just saying ... MOORE: Oh, you will? You'll be getting it.

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta is not only a doctor and neurosurgeon, but he's also an excellent, excellent journalist. Look, I saw the film, and it's a powerful, powerful ...

MOORE: I saw Dr. Sanjay Gupta over there embedded with the troops at the beginning of the war. He and the others of you in the mainstream media refused to ask our leaders the hard questions and demand the honest answers. And that's why we're in this war -- we're in the fifth year of this war because you and CNN, Dr. Gupta, you didn't do your jobs back then and now here we are in this mess.

What if you'd actually done the job on that? That's why anybody who hears anything he anything of what you say now about universal healthcare should question what you're saying, what you're putting out there. You didn't do the job for us with the war. You're not doing it with this issue. And I just -- I just wonder when the American people are going to turn off their TV sets and quit listening to this stuff.

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta did an excellent job covering that war. He was with the Navy's medical doctors and he went in and risked his life and actually performed neurosurgery on the scene.

MOORE: You have the questions. Why are we here? That's the question. Why are we here in this war? Where's the weapons of mass destruction? Why didn't you -- why did it take you so long, Wolf, to finally take on Vice President Cheney? It took you to 2007 before you made the man mad at you.

BLITZER: Those are fair questions.

MOORE: Four years!

BLITZER: Let's talk a little ...

MOORE: Where were you?

BLITZER: Let's talk about "Sicko." That's the film that you're here to talk about.

MOORE: Yeah, let's forget that. Yeah, OK.

BLITZER: There's plenty to talk about the war. There's plenty to talk about with "Sicko."

MOORE: I just haven't seen you in three years, so I was wondering how you felt for three years of not seeing me after you trashed "Fahrenheit" and said that I was wrong about, oh, yeah, this war was -- come on, I'm just waiting for an apology.

BLITZER: Michael, we've invited you on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, you've declined our invitations the past three years but there are plenty of times we asked you to come on the show and plenty of times you've declined.

MOORE: Really? And you wanted to apologize? Why did you want to talk to me?

BLITZER: No, we wanted to interview you. That's what we do on television. Let's ...

MOORE: You don't have to apologize to me. Maybe just apologize to the American people and the families of the troops for not doing your job four years ago. We wouldn't be in this war. If you had done your job. Come on. Just admit it. Just apologize to the American people.

BLITZER: Which of the presidential candidates who are out there right now do you think would do the best job fixing the nation's healthcare system?

MOORE: Well, the Democrats have to be asked some very specific questions. Too many of them are saying, well, they're for health care for all people. Very few of them are being as specific as Mr. Kucinich is in saying, well, I support the Conyers bill in Congress HR-676. That's what we need to hear.

And I would like to hear what these other Democratic candidates are going to say and do in specifics in removing the private insurance companies from the equation. We shouldn't have profit involved when we talk about taking care of people's health.

BLITZER: Is there a candidate, though, you think -- is Dennis Kucinich your candidate? Who do you think -- I know in the film you go after Hillary Clinton. And you're very, very bipartisan in your criticism in the film, Democrats and Republicans.

MOORE: Yeah. When you say I go after, let's be clear. I actually think she did a very brave thing to try and address this issue 14 years ago. And they stopped her cold. They went after her with the same kind of, you know, trash pieces I just had to watch. And so that stopped her. And now we've had to suffer through 14 more years of having no universal healthcare in this country. Our own government admits that because the 47 million who aren't insured, we now have about 18,000 people a year that die in this country simply because they don't have health insurance. That's six 9/11's every single year.

If you times that by 14 since Mrs. Clinton was unceremoniously removed from the agenda here, she hasn't been able to talk about this. She hasn't really put forth her specific plan. I'm hoping that the people have gone to my movie, the people that are concerned about this issue, will write to Mrs. Clinton and say, please, universal healthcare that's free for everyone who lives in this country. It will cost us less than what we're spending now ling the pockets of these private health insurance companies, of these pharmaceutical companies. So there's still some chance to have an effect on people like her.

And of course, there's one candidate who isn't even in the race yet. I don't know if he will be. But he was right about the war before it began, unlike CNN -- did I mention that?

BLITZER: You did.

MOORE: And -- and he's right about global warming and he's right on this issue, too.

BLITZER: Al Gore. The Democrats, by and large, most of them support some major health reform, including universal healthcare, which is what you support. I want you to listen to what Rudy Giuliani, the Republican front-runner said at the Republican debate that I hosted up in Manchester, New Hampshire. Listen to this.

MOORE: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Free market principles are the only things that reduce cost and improve quality. Socialized medicine will ruin medicine in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. What do you say to Mayor Giuliani?

MOORE: So he's saying that he hates Medicare?

BLITZER: He's saying socialized medicine will ruin medicine in the United States.

MOORE: That's what we have. Ask a doctor if they'd rather have a Medicare patient or somebody who has got a lousy HMO, because they know at least Medicare -- the government will pay them, send them a check and not have to fight an hour on the phone just to get a $15 office visit paid for.

I mean, seriously, we have one of the largest socialized medicine systems in this country. It's called Medicare and Medicaid. And while it's underfunded and too much of the control of it has been handed over to private companies, we've already proven we can do things like that, and Social Security and other things very well. So I hope that he wasn't attacking help for senior citizens, because that's what it sounded like to me.

BLITZER: I've got a whole bunch of questions. Unfortunately, we're out of time. But if you stick around ...

MOORE: We're out of time! I'll see you in three years.

BLITZER: No, no, stick around. We'll tape some more. We'll run it tomorrow. We want to make sure you get your chance to ...

MOORE: Oh, no, see, that's the deal, Wolf. There's no taping with me. As you know, it's rare that they put me on live. And to your credit, thank you for doing that. You can see why. They generally don't like to have me on live because, you know, a lot of that would have been cut out.

BLITZER: Well, no ...

MOORE: Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it.

BLITZER: We're not going to cut a second of it out if you want to tape something.

MOORE: Run it unedited?

BLITZER: Run it unedited.

MOORE: And people can ...

BLITZER: And people going to your Web site, it's a free country, they can find out the truth, about what it is.

MOORE: The facts about Sanjay Gupta, they can find out about his facts, right? We can find that out, right? BLITZER: Absolutely. Michael Moore.

MOORE: OK.

BLITZER: Thanks very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Sanjay was in surgery today. He missed this interview, but he will be here in THE SITUATION ROOM tomorrow to respond, along with part two of the interview with Michael Moore. He did agree after that interview to stick around. We taped part two. You will see it, completely unedited. The full interview, part two of the interview, with Michael Moore. You're going to want to see that, tomorrow, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Thomas B. Edsall, Huff Post - Mark Penn Lawsuit May Harm Clinton Campaign

Earlier. I reported on Mark Penn's health care company ties and how they have provided a problem for Senator Clinton's credibilty during the Presidential Run. Here's a new development.

Pollster vs Pollster: Nasty Polling Company Lawsuits Threaten to Become Diversion for Clinton Campaign
July 9, 2007 11:49 PM

Judges and juries will decide who is right and who is wrong in the legal battle between Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's chief adviser, and a group of former employees of Penn's polling firm.

Regardless of the outcome, the lawsuits themselves reveal the corporate underbelly of Penn, Schoen and Berland, a company that celebrated the dissolution of its partnership with spying, double-crosses, back-biting, broken promises, and bitter legal accusations.

At a time when Democratic primary voters are particularly suspicious of electronic eavesdropping and wiretaps by the federal government under the Patriot Act, Penn's involvement in corporate spying, legal or not, is likely to hurt his political standing.

No one emerges from these dueling lawsuits with clean hands.

In a nutshell, Penn is accusing two former business associates, Michael Berland and Mitchell Markel, of violating a non-compete agreement they had with PSB by setting up their own polling and market research firm. One of those former associates has counter-sued, charging that Penn and his subordinates electronically invaded his BlackBerry email in order to illegally monitor private messages.

PSB, a highly profitable political and business consulting firm once owned by Penn, Douglas Schoen and Berland, became a major political force after President Bill Clinton anointed Penn as his chief pollster and strategist in the 1996 re-election campaign. Since then, Penn has played the same role in Hillary Clinton's two successful Senate campaigns, and in her current presidential bid.

Over the past six years, PSB has undergone major corporate restructuring. In 2001, it was acquired by Burson-Marsteller, a giant public relations company, which, in turn, was taken over by an even larger conglomerate, WPP.

Penn stayed on, and has since become CEO of Burson and continues to be president of PSB. Schoen and Berland left at the end of 2006, after fulfilling an agreement to stay with PSB for five years. Court documents show that Berland was paid $15.5 million for his shares.

At this point, the tale gets messy.

On April 7, 2007, Markel, a PSB vice president, resigned, telling the Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan A. Gardner, that he was going into the family's bagel business, according to a written statement Gardner filed in federal court in New York.

Markel also took with him his Cingular BlackBerry, telling Gardner that he had purchased it, according to Gardner. Even though "I did not agree with him [Markel], I allowed him to keep the device but required him to change the telephone number associated with the device," said Gardner.

Less than a month and a half later, however, Gardner became deeply suspicious: "I received a chain of emails in which Markel responded to an email directed to his PSB address, even though he was no longer with PSB." Gardner summoned PSB's technology chief, Merrill Raman. Raman then discovered that even though Markel's PSB "network and email credentials had been disabled," he was still connected to PSB's "RIM/Cingular account," according to Gardner's sworn account.

Raman then counterattacked, and secretly bugged Markel's BlackBerry. "Raman immediately set up a 'blind carbon copy' (bcc) of Markel's outgoing mail on the RIM/Cingular account. This ensured that as long as Markel's BlackBerry device was connected to PSB's RIM/Cingular account, all emails sent from his Blackberry would be bcc'ed to" an email address created by Raman, according to Gardner. In other words, a copy of all of Markel's outgoing email, unbeknownst to him, went to PSB.

Gardner additionally decided to examine the personal computer Markel had used while working at PSB. There, according to his statement to the court, Gardner found what he claimed was a plan by
Markel and Berland for Markel to set up a company, Global Insights & Strategies, which would go after PSB's clients, in direct violation of non-competition agreements applying to all PSB employees for a
year after leaving the firm.

"Through these emails, I discovered that Berland had been working with Markel in a competitive business that was set up by Markel immediately following Berland's departure from PSB....[W]hile Markel was still an employee of PSB, Markel formed the new business and set up a website for it," Gardner said.

Emails collected from the computer and through the bcc address provided evidence, according to Gardner and PSB's lawsuit, that Markel and Berland were doing business with or soliciting work from at least five of PSB's clients, including the National Hockey League, Quest, and Estee Lauder.

In its lawsuit, PSB contends that Berland, Markel and two other former PSB employees engaged in "an orchestrated and illegal plot to sabotage PBS's business in New York by soliciting PSB's most significant clients."

PSB is asking the court to order Berland, Markel and Global Insights to stop all such solicitation, to award compensatory and punitive damages, and to force Berland to pay back $11.2 million of the $15.5 million he got for his shares.

Markel and Global Insights quickly came back with a countersuit demanding "equitable relief and damages" from PBS, Penn, Gardner and Raman for "illegal interception, use and disclosure of plaintiff's personal electronic communications without Plaintiff's knowledge or consent," in violation of the Federal Wiretapping Act and the New York Penal Code.

Markel contends in the suit that PSB had no grounds to invade his BlackBerry account, that "each and every email sent and received from Markel's BlackBerry since on or about April 18 was charged to Markel's personal Cingular account and paid for by Markel, [that from] April 18, 2007, Markel did not use any PSB account, Cingular or otherwise."

No trial date has been set for the two lawsuits, but the court battle is likely to take place in a few months, just as the early caucuses and primaries heat up. It is not a diversion welcomed by the Clinton camp.

NFLPA's Richard Berthelesen: Gene Upshaw is Underpaid - Profootballtalk.com

I personally think Gene Upshaw's doing a great job and has managed to stay out of court and caused the players to get more money in the last CBA. But Gene's got his detrators...

BERTHELSEN SAYS UPSHAW IS UNDERPAID - Profootballtalk.com

Last month, we reported that NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw made at least $6.6 million in the year ending February 28, 2007.

Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal recently confirmed this report, and obtained a quote from NFLPA general counsel Richard Berthelesen defending the exorbitant salary and bonus package paid to Upshaw.

"If anything he is underpaid," Berthelsen said. "He is paid out of the revenues generated by active players."

As Kaplan notes, it's possible that Upshaw earned even more from Players, Inc., the licensing arm of the NFLPA that generates millions from the use of player names and likenesses for trading cards, video games, and related products.

In our view, Berthelsen's comment indicates that Upshaw's wages are tied directly to the financial package that the NFL has given to the players, and therefore that these windfalls will continue beyond February 28, 2007.

But should they? Is it fair and just for the head of a union to be paid based on the total revenue that the union is generating for its members, or should the head of the union be given a salary that reflects the dynamics of the market for persons with the abilities and skills that Upshaw is utilizing?

We think the latter is the more appropriate formula. If Upshaw won't do the job for less than $6.7 million per year, then the PLAYERS who comprise the union should search for a competent executive who'd be thrilled to have the position in return for a lot less money.

We also are curious as to whether the rank-and-file are given full information as to what Upshaw makes. Berthelsen says that the wages are determined by a 10-member committee. But who beyond that committee is asked their opinion on whether Upshaw is receiving more than his fair share?

Berthelsen says that the committee takes into account the salary paid to the NFL Commissioner. But why should the wages that the 32 billionaires who own NFL teams chose to pay to the guy who is managing their league have any relevance to the money paid to Upshaw?

If the formula used to pay Upshaw is going to continue to take into account the revenues generated by active players, and thus will continue to generate pay in excess of $6 million per year, how will the union go about replacing Upshaw? Will current NFLPA president Troy Vincent get the opportunity to make more per year on average than he ever earned on the field simply because he is in the right place at the right time? Or will the union conduct a nationwide search for the best and most competent person that $6.7 million per year can buy?

Regardless of any other issue that currently is dogging the union, we believe that the pay given to Upshaw is shameful, and that it confirms (in our opinion) the notion that the players are in many cases being manipulated by the power structure that Upshaw has put in place to agree with anything that the union's administration presents to them.

And the fact that the retired players who currently are flailing clumsily at Upshaw over disability benefits have yet to utter a peep about Upshaw's pay tells us that the cause being championed by folks like Mike Ditka and Joe DeLamielleure is going nowhere, fast.

It also tells us that real change will be effected only if and when current players display off of the field the same courage that they demonstrate every time they march onto it.

The Clintons and Indian Finance - A Number Of Stories

I received this email on the matter of the Clintons and the financial scandal claims invoving india. Here it is...

HILLARY CLINTON (D-PUNJAB)'S PERSONAL FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL TIES TO INDIA
The Clintons have reaped significant financial rewards from their relationship with the Indian community, both in their personal finances and Hillary's campaign fundraising. Hillary Clinton, who is the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, has drawn criticism from anti-offshoring groups for her vocal support of Indian business and unwillingness to protect American jobs. Bill Clinton has invested tens of thousands of dollars in an Indian bill payment company, while Hillary Clinton has taken tens of thousands from companies that outsource jobs to India. Workers who have been laid off in upstate New York might not think that her recent joke that she could be elected to the Senate seat in Punjab is that funny.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

PERSONAL HOLDINGS
2006: Bill Clinton Invested Tens of Thousands In An Indian Bill Payment Company. According to Hillary Clinton's personal financial disclosure form, as part his ownership of WJC Investments, LP LLC, Bill Clinton held between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of stock in Easy Bill Limited, an Indian company. According to the company's website, "Functioning as a one-stop bill payment shop, Easy Bill facilitates payment of utility bills as well as recharging of pre-paid mobile connections at a place the consumer is already familiar and comfortable with the neighbourhood store." In addition to providing terminals throughout India where customers may pay their bills, the company also maintains a call center described as "a dedicated response centre for efficient customer service." [Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report, http://www.easybillindia.com/]

2006: Bill Clinton Collected $300,000 From Cisco In 2006. Hillary's personal financial disclosure forms indicate that Bill Clinton gave two speeches to Cisco Systems, each for $150,000 on 5/18/06 and 8/17/06. [Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report; 3,4]

CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING
Hillary Clinton Accepted Almost $60,000 In Contributions From Employees Of Cisco Systems, Which Laid Off American Workers to Hire Indian "Techies." Clinton's Presidential Exploratory Committee took $39,450 from Cisco employees during the first quarter of 2007. Cisco employees have also donated $18,900 to Clinton's Senate committee between 1999 and 2006. Forbes reported, in a feature called "A Tale of Two Cities" that Cisco was laying off $60,000-a-year "techies," while hiring new employees in Bangalore, India. "Cisco used only a few Infosys workers in Bangalore six years ago [in 1998]; [by 2004, it used] almost 300 contract staff, plus 550 full-fledged employees in its own Bangalore office." In 2006, Newsweek reported that "for Cisco, India is the new frontier, where it's investing $1.2 billion to build a gleaming R&D campus that will employ 3,000 people." [FEC filings; Forbes, 4/12/04; Newsweek, 3/6/06]

Clinton Donor, Sant Singh Chatwal, Cited Clinton's India Caucus Work Vowed To Raise $5 Million. In March 2007, the Economic Times wrote, "[Clinton] has roped in New York-based hotelier Sant Chatwal as cochair of her recently formed presidential exploratory committee to run for the 2008 White House race. [...] He is also creating an organization called Indian Americans for Hillary 2008." In April 2007, Mangalorean reported that Indian Americans for Hillary 2008 (IAFH) had already raised $1 million and "aimed to raise at least five million dollars." A major fund raiser on June 24 hosted by Chatwal, the founder of IAFH; steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal, and businessman SP Hindujas, was expected to pull more than 1,000 guests. In June 2007, The New York Times reported that "two Indo-American receptions have a total of $450,000 in commitments." In the picture (right), Sen. Clinton speaks at a reception hosted to push forward the US-India nuclear deal while Sant Singh Chatwal listens carefully. [New York Times, 6/7/07; Economic Times of India, 3/18/07; mangalorean.com, 4/14/07, accessed 4/18/07; picture, Tribune India, 9/14/06]

Chatwal Owed The City Of New York More Than $2 Million In Back Taxes, Fled Prosecution For Fraud But Was Arrested During Visit to India With Bill Clinton. Sant Singh Chatwal, who raised more $200,000 for Sen. Clinton in 2000, owed New York City $2.4 million in back property taxes. In addition, during a visit to India with Bill Clinton, in May 2001, Chatwal was arrested by authorities there and charged with defrauding the New York City branch of the Bank of India out of $9 million he borrowed in 1994. He posted bail, then fled India, boarding a flight to Vienna despite an attempt by authorities to detain him. [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New York Daily News, 11/7/00]

FDIC Charged Chatwal With Obtaining Improper Loans. In a separate 1996 case, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. charged Chatwal with obtaining improper loans from the First New York Bank for Business, causing the bank to lose more than $25 million. Chatwal, who was a director of the bank, arranged more than $14 million in loans to himself and his businesses, often with no collateral, said the FDIC. He didn't repay the loans and the bank failed. [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New York Daily News, 11/7/00]
CLINTON AND THE SENATE INDIA CAUCUS
Clinton Co-Founded The Senate India Caucus, A Project Of The U.S. India Political Action Committee.
In 2004, Clinton co-founded and became the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus which was coordinated by the U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC). Roll Call reported, "The goals of the caucus, which already has 31 members, include increasing trade with India and improving security against global terrorism." Sen. Clinton said, "It is imperative that the Unites States do everything possible to reach out to India. This Caucus is dedicated to expanding areas of agreement with India and engaging in a candid dialogue of differences." [link to photo at USINPAC website, accessed 4/17/07; Roll Call, 4/28/04; PR Newswire, 4/29/04]
CLINTON WINS "WEASEL AWARD" FOR COMMENTS ON INDIA
2005: Anti-Offshoring Advocacy Group Gave Sen. Clinton A "Weasel Award," Citing Pro-Outsourcing Comments Clinton Made In India. The Press Trust of India wrote, "An American anti-offshoring advocacy group has awarded its first 'Weasel Award of 2005' to Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton for her recent remarks supporting outsourcing. The Delaware-based IT Professionals Association of America (ITPAA) representing over 1,200 IT professionals nationwide, said on its Web site that it presented this award to business and political leaders that it believes 'betray the trust of the American people.' Scott Kirwin, founder of the organization claimed that people were 'tired of Democrats pretending they care about the problems facing average Americans. Senator Clinton's actions prove they clearly do not.' The ITPAA based its award on press reports of Hilary Clinton supporting outsourcing and assuring political and business leaders in India that the US would not attempt to save the jobs lost. 'Outsourcing will continue. There is no way to legislate against reality. We are not in favor of putting up fences.' Hillary had said on Feb 28 in India, according to a report by the Asia Times. Kirwin also cited her position as co-chair of the 'Friends of India Caucus' in the Senate, a group of senators that supports issues important to India, including outsourcing and H-1B and L-1 visas, as another reason behind the ITPAA's decision to give the award to the prospective Democrat presidential nominee." [Press Trust Of India, 3/5/05; Link To Weasel Award]

2/05: On India Trip, Clinton Allayed India's Fears That Outsourcing Would End. The India Review wrote, "Senator Clinton allayed apprehensions in India that there would be a bar on outsourcing. 'There is no way to legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue," she said. [India Review, 4/05, accessed, 6/7/07]

Sen. Clinton (D-Punjab) Joked That She Was Senator From The Punjab Region In India. "At the fundraiser hosted by Dr Rajwant Singh at his Potomac, Maryland, home, and which raised nearly $50,000 for her re-election campaign, Clinton began by joking that, ''I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily,' after being introduced by Singh as the Senator not only from New York but also Punjab." [India Abroad, 3/17/06]
CLINTON CLAIMS OUTSOURCING
Clinton Says "Outsourcing Does Work Both Ways." Crain's New York Business wrote, "Mrs. Clinton may be motivated by a desire to uphold the free trade legacy of the Clinton years. [...] In an appearance on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, she boasted about attracting 10 jobs to New York from India-based Tata Consulting. When Mr. Dobbs inquired if she had understood the degree to which Tata, which helps U.S. companies outsource, was stealing American jobs, Mrs. Clinton rejoined: 'They've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. Outsourcing does work both ways.'" [Crain's New York Business, 6/21/04; CNN, 3/3/04]

In An Interview With Lou Dobbs, Senator Clinton Defended Her Support Of Tata Consulting, A Company That Brought Ten Jobs To Native Buffalo Residents But Destroyed Thousands Of Jobs Over The Years. Lou Dobbs asked Clinton, "Senator, a number of people pointed out to us, e-mailing us and calling us, saying, ask the senator about her helping Tata Consulting, a well-known outsourcer, open jobs -- and office in Buffalo, New York. I'm asking you, did you really understand the degree to which they were involved in outsourcing jobs when you were there?" Clinton replied, "Well, of course I know that they outsource jobs, that they've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. They've created 10 jobs in Buffalo and have told me and the Buffalo community that they intend to be a source of new jobs in the area, because, you know, outsourcing does work both ways." [CNN, 3/3/04]

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Is Famous For Pioneering The Business Practice Of Off-shoring. The San Jose Mercury News wrote, "TCS, however, will go down in the annals of offshoring as the original hightech body shop. Starting in the early 1990s, TCS blanketed the American landscape with legions of itinerant software programmers from India. [...] Tata pioneered an industry that eventually evolved into the dynamo of offshoring, or sending work to cheap labor markets overseas. [...] Tata's methods have not been popular among U.S. technology workers, however, who complain guest workers suppress local wages and offshoring takes good jobs overseas." [San Jose Mercury News, 12/6/04]

Tata's Buffalo, N.Y. Training Center Caters To The Needs Of The Company's 8,000 Employees In The United States, 80 Percent Of Whom Are Workers From India. India Abroad wrote, "At the Chrysalis Center TCS will host new employees in month-long training sessions to make them aware of the company's history and culture and to hone their core IT skills that will bridge existing knowledge with advanced skills necessary to work on innovative projects for customers." The center will also cater to the training needs of the more than 8,000 TCS employees across the US, 80 percent of whom are from India, according to Buffalo News. [India Abroad, 7/30/04; Buffalo News, 7/20/04]

Gupta Said Democrats' Stand On Outsourcing Was Poll-Year Rhetoric. The Economic Times wrote, "Vinod 'Vin' Gupta [...] also believes that the Democratic Party's stand on outsourcing is more poll year rhetoric than any serious economic policy statement. 'We have to compete globally and US has to find the best product and services at the best cost. Tapping global resources will obviously make the US economy stronger,' says Gupta whose own company InfoUSA outsources both technology support and database work to vendors in India. Gupta, who has helped Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in fund-raising efforts for their campaigns, is now involved in fund raising efforts for Senator Kerry." [The Economic Times, 3/29/04]