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____/ Philip on Sunday 25 January 2009 20:05 : \____
> Finally they are asking questions about this problem. M$ has always been
> the big proponent for more visas.
That's a story of corruption.
It's the Abramoff fiasco (BillG and his dad liaised with a criminal). I'm
appending something that I wrote about it.
____
Every now and then we come across the Abramoff connection to Microsoft, e.g.
[1, 2, 3]. Some people have done all the heavy lifting and explored those
relationships, so in spirit of keeping up with Microsoft pressure groups, e.g.
[1, 2, 3], below we append mostly the findings of others. We shall use these
as cohesive point of reference in the future. Much of it predates the birth of
this Web site, but it must not be ignored for reasons that shall become
apparent later.
Microsoft has been investing in Republicans (even the chiefs, at a personal
capacity), so the following, if true, is definitely interesting.
Microsoft Management’s unbridled love of the corrupt GOP/RNC is no
surprise, as Microsoft’s top management includes some of President Bush’s more
prominent fund raisers. Microsoft’s ex-CFO John Connors, and Microsoft’s CEO
Steve Ballmer, are both prominent Bush supporters.
Only recently Microsoft had to “fire” consultant fundamentalist christian
Ralph Reed after a public outcry over Reed’s influence in local politics via
Microsoft. Additionally it appears that Ralph Reed was on the Microsoft
Payroll at the same time he headed up President Bush’s SE 2004 Campaign.
Another Microsoft “consultant”, the anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, who
also specializes in picking the economic bones of countries we invade, is
still on the payrolls of Microsoft as far as we know.
We last summarised Microsoft’s tax evasion practices right here. Some of the
more interesting bits of analysis came from Tom Adelstein, an author and
former editor of LXer. The first part was embargoed but eventually published
with additional material.
As a news organization, we first reported back in June that we had
suspicions that ties existed between Jack Abramoff and Microsoft. Our initial
report tied together research when the Washington Post disclosed that Preston
Gates had paid an invoice for a trip made by Tom DeLay to play gold in
Scotland. (Sorry that’s a Freudian slip. I meant golf.)
Abramoff’s guilty plea of last week helps us make our case and allows us to
demonstrate our suspicions regarding Microsoft’s ties to the Bush
administration. The guilty plea also allows us to question whether Microsoft
received favorable treatment by the Bush Justice department by paying Abramoff
and his aides and partners, starting with Ralph Reed.
There are some more details here.
A dispute that has kept the House Ethics Committee from considering
Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s activities may have ramifications for Microsoft.
When one begins to untangle the remarkable political organization created by
Microsoft and lobbyists Preston, Gates Ellis et al, you find some uncanny
coincidences.
The ethics committee, the House’s mechanism for enforcing rules for
members, has operated for exactly one day since Congress convened in January.
In the meanwhile, a former Preston, Gates and Ellis lobbyist, Jack Abramoff
has become the target of several serious investigations and the focus of the
D.C. media.
Abramoff left Preston Gates in 2000. Even so, he’s a problem for the firm’s
management. Reports have surfaced questioning Abramoff’s financing of travel
for lawmakers, especially House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). All of
the spending under investigation happened while Abramoff worked at Preston
Gates.
The Washington Post reported that airfare to London and Scotland in 2000
for House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was charged to an American Express
card issued to Jack Abramoff. House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting
travel and related expenses from registered lobbyists.
All of this can probably be connected even to the Massachusetts fiasco.
Recently, we witnessed the power of Microsoft’s political machine when one
of the champions of free and open source software, Peter Quinn resigned as CIO
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In my opinion, Microsoft just blinked
and everything went south. Other writers have also commented on the chain of
events in Massachusetts. For example, Andy Undegrove writes a farewell piece
in his blog to the maligned public servant. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols also
writes an article about this issue in Microsoft Wins, Open Standards Lose.
Steven writes: “CIO Peter Quinn’s story tells us that if you go up against
Microsoft, you can expect everything and the kitchen sink to be thrown at
you.”
[…]
Previously, Abramoff charged expenses to a credit card billed to Preston
Gates, and the Post stated that. Now, Abramoff’s connections while at
Greenberg Traurig have become the focus of the Post’s attention. Yet, the
questionable ethics violations supposedly happened while Abramoff worked for
Preston Gates and it was their problem.
Surprise
Does it surprise you that Melinda French Gates holds a seat on the Board of
the Washington Post Co.? You can see a listing of the Board here. You might
also notice one bridge partner sitting on that board.
Some people believe the seat of power in Washington, D.C. resides at the
headquarters of the Washington Post. Certainly, membership on the Post’s board
would require a position of prominence in the world. Perhaps some people might
wonder what Melinda Gates has accomplished to put her in such a seat of power.
We can forget Melinda Gates position for a little while. We just want to
establish the fact that she’s there in a position of some power. We also want
to mention the possibility that some relationship exists between Preston Gates
and Microsoft’s largest shareholders.
The Washington Post and its Melinda Gates factor is something that we covered
before. The above also shows, using evidence, the Abramoff-BSA connection. We
covered the Microsoft connection before [1, 2, 3, 4], but here is a comment
from Dr. Gene Nelson (it seems as though he wrote a book about it), who
remarks on this relationship too.
The Abramoff - Microsoft Corporation connection continues to be clarified.
Microsoft utilizes other organizations to obscure the path connecting its
lobbying dollars to legislators, among other purposes. There is an
organization named the Business Software Alliance (BSA) which in many ways
serves as a Microsoft proxy. BSA membership dues are related to software sales
volume. Microsoft is dominant by this measure. Press accounts have also
disclosed that when the BSA uncovers evidence of software piracy, the violator
is given the “choice” of purchasing Microsoft software packages as an
alternative to paying a large legal settlement. Many violators choose the
Microsoft software purchase option. Thus, BSA may be viewed as an extension of
Microsoft’s sales organization. Examination of BSA’s lobbying disclosure
documents, particularly during the critical period from 1998 to 2000, makes
clear that Abramoff (and team) were employed by BSA. There are multi million
dollar “lobbying expenditures” flowing through BSA and its allies. This is in
addition to the over $20 million directly expended by Microsoft (and lobbying
firms with Microsoft as a client) during the 1998-2000 period - and the
millions Microsoft directly and indirectly expended in campaign finance
contributions during the period. The “official acts” that Microsoft
facilitated included beneficial (to Microsoft) changes in H-1B visa
legislation in 1996, 1998, and 2000. This author, among others, uses the
term “Abramoff Visa” as shorthand for the controversial H-1B visa program.
In addition, recent lobbying disclosure documents show the substantial
lobbying sums being currently expended by Microsoft via Cornerstone Government
Affairs (CGA).
Another victim of the Massachusetts fiasco was Louis Gutierrez, but the story
was complex. Burke’s appointment we covered here before, just after Microsoft
had ‘overthrown’ opposition (i.e. those adhering to public interests). Here is
an important connection to pay attention to:
Brian Burke, the Microsoft official who was barred from former
Massachusetts CIO Louis Gutierrez’s office because of his lobbying activities,
is one of a cadre of well-connected Democrats on the company’s payroll in the
state.
[…]
Massachusetts public records show that Burke registered with the state as a
lobbyist for Microsoft last year.
[…]
E-mail records released in mid-October by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee
as part of a 600-page report show that Microsoft had paid ATR in the past. The
report questions the tax-exempt status of organizations such as ATR and
examines its ties to convicted federal lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a longtime
Norquist associate. E-mails included in the report indicate that Abramoff
channeled money to ATR and other nonprofit groups in return for their advocacy
on issues.
According to the report, on March 10, 1996, Abramoff wrote to Bruce Heiman,
a colleague at Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, that Microsoft was “supposed to be
paying [Norquist] $120k for this year ($10k a month)” and that “these lack of
payments are really disgusting.”
We have already gone through and uncovered issues of antitrust relief and tax
evasion, but another known issue is H-1B visas, a subject of much deceit, as
we pointed out in [1, 2] (there are other upset voices and links at the
bottom). Here is what the American Chronicle had to share.
Microsoft Brings in the Big Guns:
As was also stated in the previous Abramoff article, the largest
contributor for financing the “Team Abramoff” lobbyist group was the software
giant Microsoft Corporation. (Team Abramoff was hired by Bill Gates father’s
law firm, Preston-Gates.) At the time, Mr. Abramoff with other Washington DC
lobbyists were very successful at increasing the number of issued H-1B visa’s
which are the key for high-tech companies to import low-cost, software
engineering personnel. Due to the financial support of the Microsoft’s
lobbyists, they were successful in increasing the number of H-1B visas in
1996, 1998 and 2000. It was hoped with the corralling of lobbyist Jack
Abramoff and his Team Abramoff, Microsoft’s quest for more increases of the
H-1B visas would subside. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to bring in the big
boys.
Microsoft has now chosen to take the direct route, and in doing so has
enlisted the help of a very senior US Senator. On March 7th, Senator Edward
Kennedy (D-Mass), invited the chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates III (World’s
Wealthiest Man) to address Congress and asked for Mr. Gates’ advice on
improving US competitiveness. Kennedy had stated that “the US cannot sit back
and watch other countries attract the best talent”.
There is not much more we could find on this subject other than this comment
and lots more which is appended below.
I wonder if any of the reporters assigned to this March 12 WDC event will
inquire about Microsoft’s use of Jack Abramoff and his network to help procure
Microsoft-friendly changes to H-1B visa legislation in 1996, 1998, and 2000.
Google on “The Greedy Gates Immigration Gambit” to see my recently published
10-page investigative article. I call H-1B the “Abramoff Visa.”
The Gates-Abramoff connection is mentioned here as well.
In June 2000, NCPPR published another article that referred to the rate
increase, this time written by David Ridenour, Amy’s husband and vice
president of the thinktank. David Ridenour’s article didn’t mention the
Magazine Publishers Association specifically, but was entitled “Split up the
Postal Service, not Microsoft.” (Abramoff also lobbied for Microsoft; William
H. Gates of Preston Gates is the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.)
These links are made very clear in the appended references which accompany this
post.
More recently, back in September of this year, the involvement of the
Department of Justice became evident too.
Former top DOJ officials emerge in Abramoff case
Two former top Justice Department officials emerged Wednesday as figures in
the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal as prosecutors disclosed plans to turn over
some of the officials’ correspondence to defense attorneys preparing for trial
in the case.
We have cited several sources before in order to show that the US Justice
Department, much like the White House, was essentially — albeit just partly —
corrupted by Microsoft. They have tremendous influence there and it’s not
about to change [1, 2]. This latest finding may just feed this assessment even
more.
To those who think that Bill Gates and his father don’t collaborate anymore,
watch this eye-opener from the SCO case that unraveled one year ago.
Now it’s getting interesting. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’ father’s law
firm, known as the firm that represents Microsoft, has just filed a Notice of
Entry of Appearance and Demand for Notices and Papers [PDF] in the SCO
bankruptcy on behalf of MSLI, Inc., otherwise known as Microsoft Licensing,
one of the creditors on SCO’s list. In fact, one of the 20 top creditors
[PDF], owed $125,000 or so. That would give them a seat at the creditors
committee table, presumably, should they so desire, if a committee is formed
later.
I guess filing as MSLI instead of Microsoft Licensing is like putting on
sunglasses, hoping no one will notice you.
But we do notice!
The level of corruption and amount of information one can find about this is
overwhelming, so we append some more food for thought beneath this preliminary
roundup. It’s the tip of a very large iceberg. █
Additional references:
[1] Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff
E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often with the
knowledge of the groups’ leaders, exploited the tax-exempt status and
leveraged the stature of the organizations to build support among
conservatives for legislation or government action sought by clients including
Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.’s Channel One
Network, and Brown-Forman, maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
[2] Open Source Foes In Bed With Abramoff
Citizens Against Government Waste has said some highly critical things
about open source software in the past. They’ve also pounced on supporters of
the OpenDocument Format along the way. Alas, it seems their close ties to Jack
Abramoff have drawn the (unfavorable) attention of Senate staff.
[3] Comment: Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal: Microsoft
Today 5 charities were named in the Jack Abramoff scandal. More will be
implicated. I know that the Gates Foundation gave money to at least one Jack
Abramoff charity. I doubt the Gates Foundation will be named but I think it
involved in slime-ball influence-peddling nonetheless.
Jack Abramoff is a name that is synonymous with slime-ball tactics. He
learned these tactics, which often involve charities, as key man for Preston
Gates and Ellis, the Gates family law and lobby firm started by Bill Gates’
father to deal with Microsoft’s antitrust and permatemp problems.
Preston Gates and Ellis is currently chaired by Bill Neukom, the lawyer
that suffered the devastating Microsoft defeats in the US Anti-trust cases
during the Clinton/Reno administration and is today President of the American
Bar Association.
Bill Neukom, while employed by Microsoft and heading Microsoft’s legal
department, hired lobbyists recommended by Abramoff, which proved to be the
means to end sanctions Judge Jackson had recommended. It also ended Judge
Jackson’s predicted rise to the US Supreme Court, denighing all US citizens of
his service there, as well as Janet Reno’s services elsewere.
[4] Comment from Dr. Gene Nelson
I’m wondering why the “elephant in the living room” is being ignored.
specifically, how Jack Abramoff and his team worked with corrupt
legislators such as former Rep. Tom DeLay to help Microsoft Corporation
procure “official acts” in exchange for “things of value” between 1995 and
2000.
[5] Comment from Tony Moschetti
How long will it take for a huge aspect of the Abramoff Scandal to be
critically examined?
Publicly available documents (available on request) provide information
regarding Microsoft Corporation lobbyist Jack Abramoff - and colleagues -
lobbying then Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay’s office in 1998 for expansion of
the controversial H-1B visa program. Microsoft tapped the same lobbying
network in 2000 to expand the H-1B program again - despite House testimony
critical of the program from myself and several others on August 5, 1999.
According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics tabulations,
Microsoft has spent about $100 million in lobbying and campaign finance
contributions since 1998. In exchange for things of value, Microsoft received
official acts worth billions annually. The late Milton Friedman called the
H-1B visa program a “government subsidy” in a 2002 article.
Jack Abramoff’s employer at the time was Preston Gates, a firm that
included Bill Gates, III father as one of its principals.
When will federal authorities investigate this unprecedented corruption
that has cost millions of experienced American citizens their careers, as they
are replaced by “fresh (inexpensive) young blood” from India and Communist
China, among other third world nations?
Microsoft is working the same lobbying network right now to provide the
biggest H-1B visa program expansion in history via S.2611 (The SKIL Bill.) The
firm hopes to have the legislation pass during the “lame duck” session in
December, 2006.
[6] A Bug in Windows GOP
But there’s another potential cause of his deletion from Outlook address
books at Microsoft: Reed is now caught up in the influence-peddling scandal in
D.C., which includes accusations he worked in concert with two other top
Republicans also once engaged by Microsoft. One of them, Jack Abramoff,
lobbied for Microsoft in the late 1990s while a member of the Seattle law and
lobbying firm Preston Gates Ellis—the firm of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’
father, William H. Gates II. Abramoff is under investigation for possibly
bilking millions of dollars from former Indian tribal clients and improperly
using his friendship with House Speaker Tom DeLay, who is facing ethics
charges and is the subject of federal investigations. (See “Following the
Money,” April 6.) Abramoff’s questioned activities include a suspected
money-laundering scheme that involves both Reed and fellow Microsoft adviser
and lobbying superstar Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform.
[7] How the Mighty Have Fallen
Microsoft: Earlier this year, it was revealed that Bill Gates’ Microsoft
had paid Reed a $20,000 monthly retainer. Reed’s work with the company
dovetailed neatly with the company’s temporary refusal to support a gay-rights
bill in Olympia, Washington, which failed.
In early June, the Seattle Weekly reported that if Reed “ever had anything
to do with Microsoft’s role, or lack thereof, in this state’s gay-rights
debate, he won’t next time….[since] [h]e’s being deleted from the Redmond
software giant’s payroll.” Although Microsoft wouldn’t “confirm” Reed’s
termination, company spokesperson Ginny Terzano conceded that Reed’s firm
was “no longer on retainer.”
Involvement with Jack Abramoff: While Reed’s stint at, and ultimate
dismissal from Microsoft, brought the company and lobbyist unwelcome
headlines, those stories pale next to the pounding Reed is taking for his
alleged involvement with Jack Abramoff — the lobbying titan under
investigation in a number of cases.
[8] How Preston Gates Ellis and Microsoft Fit In
Abramoff and DeLay had strong connections to the Seattle-based law firm,
Preston Gates Ellis, co-founded by William Gates, Bill Gates’ Dad, back in
1990. I’ve often wondered what one of Seattle’s most prestigious law firms had
to do with the two most corrupt folks in Washington in decades. I’ve also
wondered why no one in the media was asking about it.
The lack of coverage has ended. Rick Anderson at the Seattle Weekly has a
great article laying out how both Preston Gates Ellis and Microsoft were
entangled in the web of corrupt people. Whether or not either organization was
actually entangled in the web of corruption has yet to be determined.
[9] Microsoft’s Abramoff and The Godfather (comment)
For your Truth Seaking enjoyment, on the day of Abramoff’s sentencing for
wire fraud.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/51392/
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Lobbyist-Fraud.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
In Seattle, the Times and Weekly both have portrayed the Gates family as a
crime family. One of the above links documents how Abramoff and his associates
not only worked for the Gates Family law and lobby firm but also billed
Microsoft and were on retainer. Microsoft’s Abramoff likely had a role in
abrogating the divestiture of Microsoft and in Judg[e] Jackson’s lab[e]ling of
the company as a criminal compa[n]y.
What is most interesting is the lobbying on behalf of Abromoff now. He has
more to tell and the telling will further implecate the Gates Family. This
family also sits on the board of the Washington Post and controls the largest
foundation in the world, which donated money to Abramoff charities.
[10] Lobbyist had meteoric rise and fall
This inside account of Abramoff’s career is drawn from interviews with
government officials and former associates in the lobbying shops of
Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis and Greenberg Traurig; thousands of court
and government records; and hundreds of e-mails.
[11] Abramoff Net Snares Media, Highlights Op-Ed “Ethical Brothel”
MPA hired Preston Gates Ellis Rouvelas & Meeds LLP — a Seattle-based law
firm (Gates is the father of the Microsoft founder) — and Abramoff worked the
account for Preston Gates for at least one year. MPA was the firm’s sixth
largest client.
[12] How scheming lobbyist operated in Seattle firm
Before joining Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis, Jack Abramoff had been
involved with South Africa’s apartheid regime, Col. Oliver North’s campaign to
arm Nicaraguan contras, Zaire’s dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and Angolan rebel
leader Jonas Savimbi, who reportedly had his opponents burned at the stake.
[…]
Abramoff would emerge as the firm’s star in the capital, pulling in
millions of dollars and catapulting Preston Gates into the big leagues of
lobbying even as his freewheeling style, disdain for authority and penchant
for secrecy strained relations with his bosses.
Ultimately, Abramoff’s lobbying practice at Preston Gates became a
launching pad for schemes of fraud and influence peddling that would play out
on a larger scale once he left the firm at the end of 2000 — eventually
exploding into one of the biggest lobbying scandals in a generation.
[13] The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff
Abramoff is the central figure in what could become the biggest
congressional corruption scandal in generations. Justice Department
prosecutors are pressing him and his lawyers to settle fraud and bribery
allegations by the end of this week, sources knowledgeable about the case
said. Unless he reaches a plea deal, he faces a trial Jan. 9 in Florida in a
related fraud case.
A reconstruction of the lobbyist’s rise and fall shows that he was an
ingenious dealmaker who hatched interlocking schemes that exploited the
machinery of government and trampled the norms of doing business in Washington
— sometimes for clients but more often to serve his desire for wealth and
influence. This inside account of Abramoff’s career is drawn from interviews
with government officials and former associates in the lobbying shops of
Preston Gates & Ellis LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP; thousands of court and
government records; and hundreds of e-mails obtained by The Washington Post,
as well as those released by Senate investigators.
[14] Preston Gates Mates
Lapin’s friend Abramoff was first hired as a lobbyist in 1994 by Preston
Gates’ D.C. office, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, where 60 of the
firm’s 400 attorneys work. Rather than litigate, most troll the power
corridors in search of friendly legislation for such clients as Microsoft and
the Port of Seattle, as well as an assortment of Indian tribes.
[15] Trip aided Preston Gates, Abramoff plea deal says
A senior congressional aide traveled to the Northern Mariana Islands in
January 2000 to help Seattle-based Preston Gates in “obtaining and
maintaining” clients as part of the public-corruption scheme orchestrated by
Jack Abramoff, according to the lobbyist’s recent guilty plea.
[…]
Abramoff worked at Preston Gates from 1994-2000.
[16] Bill Gates to Plea for More Non-US Workers
My recent article on the Abramoff lobbying dealings with Microsoft really
struck a nerve (AmerChron Mag, Feb. 24). I have received responses from both
irate lobbyists and those that have been affected by the lobbying efforts
of “Team Abramoff”. Specifically the negative affect due to the efforts and
the millions of dollars from Microsoft Corporation in supporting these H-1B
visa expansion efforts. Now, as expected, the deeper I dug, the larger the tip
of the ice berg. Even the recently deceased free-market thinker, Milton
Friedman felt that the H-1B visa program was used as a “farm system” for
companies such as Microsoft and Intel. Mr. Friedman stated; “There is no
doudt, that the [H-1B] program is a benefit to their employers, enabling them
to get workers at a lower wage, and to that extent, it is a subsidy.” There is
no doubt that the H-1B visa system provides a subsidy that lowers the wage
market overall for IT talent.
[…]
What is really disturbing about the Microsoft connection with the H-1B
issue is that they are not even making a show of trying to hire US high-tech
workers. Microsoft did not attempt to recruit at any of the 22 California
State University campuses, where many of the high-tech US computer workers
graduate. Microsoft is also not participating at this year’s Engineering Job
Fair at CSUS.
[…]
To top off the hypocrisy of all this is the involvement of the special
interest groups such as the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
This group is part of an annual $100 Million Dollar industry that specializes
in processing corporate immigration documents. In addition, seven of the major
H-1B users are not even US corporations. They are East Indian Outsourcing
Firms. These organizations bring in Indian workers, train them and then
transfer the workers, jobs and the technology back to India. This supports a
major loss of US industry infrastructure.
[17] The Greedy Gates Immigration Gambit
The Corrupt Roots of the “Abramoff Visa”
Two books released in 2006 provide background regarding Jack Abramoff’s
tight control of “Team Abramoff”—and his desire to attract deep-pocketed
lobbying clients such as Microsoft Corporation (and one of Microsoft’s proxy
organizations, the Business Software Alliance). The long-term relationships
between lawyer Jack Abramoff, lobbyist Grover Norquist, and lobbyist Ralph
Reed are underscored. Lawyer David Safavian is also involved with Microsoft.
The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine by Matthew
Continetti (Doubleday) was completed in late January 2006. The second book,
Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, his Republican Allies, and the buying of
Washington by Peter H. Stone (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) was finished in
early Summer 2006. (Neither author anticipated that both the House and Senate
would shift to the Democratic Party in the November, 2006 mid-term elections
as a result of the “Culture of Corruption.”)
On the next page is an organization chart for members of “Team Abramoff”
who were paid by Microsoft. The three entries marked with an asterisk had
roles in procuring reduced tax obligations for the Microsoft profits that had
been enhanced by the H-1B visa program since Jack Abramoff began work at the
Washington, D.C. offices of Preston-Gates (now Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Preston,
Gates, Ellis LLP) in early 1995. Note that one of the principals in
Preston-Gates is Bill Gates II, the father of the head of Microsoft, Bill
Gates III. This author believes that there is a strong connection between
Abramoff starting to work at Preston-Gates and with Bill Gates, III becoming
the “World’s Wealthiest Man” in 1995, a title that Gates has held until
mid-2007.
References 11–15 (available online) document Microsoft’s 1996 payments to
Grover Norquist and Norquist’s effectiveness in preventing Senator Alan
Simpson’s 1995 reforms (S. 1394.IS) of the H-1B visa program that would have
required firms to make meaningful attempts to recruit American citizens before
hiring H-1B visa holders, among other still-needed changes to the H-1B visa
regulations in 2007. This author’s February, 2007 telephone conversation with
former Sen. Simpson confirmed that Simpson was angered by Norquist’s dirty
tricks and hopes that Grover Norquist will eventually suffer legal sanctions
for his conduct.
[18] Bill Gates Lies to Congress about Microsoft’s H-1B Wages
Bill Gates lied to the U.S. Congress last week. He misrepresented that
Microsoft’s H-1b jobs for new graduates with no experience “start at about
$100,000 per year.” In fact in FY 2006 only 12.4% of Microsoft’s LCAs for
H-1bs paid $100k or more, and these were for directors, managers, and legal
counsel rather than for new graduates.
1. Dr. Gene Nelson said,
December 23, 2008 at 3:13 am
Great collection of information including some of my earlier articles
regarding the massive scale of corruption involving Microsoft and “Team
Abramoff.” The evidence that I have gathered suggests that the economic losses
suffered by experienced American citizen technical professionals are in the
trillions of dollars, dwarfing any losses by the American indian tribes that
were swindled by “Team Abramoff.” I also worked with Tom Adelstein in Dallas
while he edited LXer in uncovering this corruption. Here are links to nine
articles and LTEs that I have written regarding highly-skilled labor markets
and the controversial H1-B visa program.
http://www.caller.com/news/2008/sep/14/letters/
Corpus Christi TX Caller - Times Letters to the Editor: 09.14.08
Right sentence (Jack Abramoff’s role in H-1B Visa program expansion.)
Foreign workers take jobs away from skilled Americans
Washington, DC Examiner Op-Ed 21 August 2008, page 22
http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/columns/guestcolumnists/NO_Foreign_workers_take_jobs_away_from_skilled_Americans.html
or http://tinyurl.com/GeneNelsonOpposesH-1BVisas
Immigrants don’t “make it all work,” they take work
6 August 2008 Letter to the Editor, Schenectady, NY Daily Gazette
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/06/0806_print/
Whose University is it Anyway?
8 February 2008 University of Buffalo Spectrum (I earned my Ph.D. there
in 1984)
http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=35243
The Greedy Gates Immigration Gambit
Fall 2007 (Published in January 2008)
http://www.thesocialcontract.com/pdf/eighteen-one/tsc_18_1_nelson.pdf
Career Destruction Sites - What American colleges have become
Spring 2005
http://www.thesocialcontract.com/pdf/fifteen-three/xv-3-207.pdf
Missing table regarding H-1B visa usage by NIH Grantees:
http://www.jobdestruction.com/ShameH1B/Library/BrainSavers/H-1BVisaUsage_NIH_2003.pdf
How Not to “Solve” the Social Security Problem - Mass immigration is the
wrong answer
Summer 1999
http://www.thesocialcontract.com/pdf/nine-four/ix-4-260.pdf
Gene A. Nelson, Ph.D.’s 13 April 1996 speech at the National Academy of
Sciences Washington, DC headquarters. I worked as a Microsoft contractor from
1995 to 1996 for $11.06/hr in Dallas, Texas.
http://www.engology.com/ArtNelson.htm
Note the draft of my 5 August 1999 Oral Testimony critical of the
controversial H-1B visa program before the House Immigration
and Claims Subcommittee, in particular the final two paragraphs
http://judiciary.house.gov/Legacy/nels0805.htm
I was able to get “on the record” in the case USA v Jack A. Abramoff. I
attended Jack Abramoff’s sentencing hearing on 4 September 2008 at the DC
District Courthouse. My 110 page “Victim Impact Statement” is document #40 in
the Court docket in PDF format. It was filed with the Court on 3 September
2008. A searchable PDF copy is available at:
http://www.cwalocal4250.org/outsourcing/binarydata/Abramoff.pdf . It is also
available including Judge Huvelle’s handwritten approval comment via the DC
District Court’s PACER website.
Please tell me what you think about these articles, particularly the
newest Social Contract article, which is about the “Abramoff Visa.” Thanks! My
email address is c0030180 [at] airmail dot net.
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