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2008/11/7-13 [Politics/Domestic/SIG, Politics/Domestic/California/Arnold, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:51880 Activity:nil |
11/7 Why I'm not buying GOOG (special interest & conflict of interest): http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Google-Makes-First-Political-Contributions/story.aspx?guid={D98D82C9-98B9-4A0C-96F6-414DA5AEC365} http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44125 http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/14/technology/google_democrats/index.htm \_ You know at this point I think GOOG in all honesty does not care even a tiny tiny tiny bit whether an individual investor wants to buy their stock. |
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www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Google-Makes-First-Political-Contributions/story.aspx?guid={D98D82C9-98B9-4A0C-96F6-414DA5AEC365} The $77,800 in contributions includes $25,000 to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and $3,400, near the maximum contribution allowed, to both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the California Assembly. A search of state records in California and federal reporting by the Center for Responsive Politics shows no prior Google Inc. The nonpartisan group Consumer Watchdog said Google's engagement with political contributions signals a troubling shift in the company's direction. "Google's purpose has clearly grown beyond creating the best search engine to protecting and expanding a highly profitable business model," said Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court. "It's hard for a company to maintain its motto 'Do No Evil' when the currency it brings to politics is not just information and analysis, but also the root of all evil, cash for politicians." Records show the contributions were made in late October after Consumer Watchdog had written Google about serious privacy concerns with the company's products and intervened at the Justice Department to stop Google's proposed advertising alliance with Yahoo. Also Consumer Watchdog created a popular YouTube video showing how your computer could be having an unnoticed conversation about you with Google's servers. Citizens have sent more than 23,000 e-mails and faxes to Google's Board of Directors, from the Consumer Watchdog action page, calling on the company to improve its privacy standards. capcode=nds4c&name=Goo gle&state=&zip=&employ=&cand= Consumer Watchdog, formerly known as The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, is non-profit and non-partisan consumer advocacy group. NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. SEHK intraday data is provided by Comstock and is at least 60-minutes delayed. |
www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44125 One $250 contribution went to Ralph Nader, one went to President Bush's campaign and three went to Utah Republican Sen. Google Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt was by far the biggest benefactor, giving $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2000, $25,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2004, as well as maximum $2,000 contributions to 2004 Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Schmidt also gave $11,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2000, according to records of the FEC, as well as tens of thousands more to a variety of other Democratic candidates including Sen. Besides his cash contributions to Kerry in 2004, Schmidt formally endorsed the Democratic candidate for president after he got the party's nomination. Google Products Manager Laura A Debonis was another big giver to the Democratic cause, offering up $25,000 to the DNC in 2004 and another $10,000 to the New Hampshire Democratic State Committee, though she lives in San Francisco. David Drummond, a Google executive, also gave $23,000 to the DNC in 2004. But the most striking thing about the list of Google political activists is the one-sided nature of the giving. From programmers to engineers to scientists to business development staff to general managers, there is near unanimity in support of Democrats and Democrat organizations. a conservative political action committee charged Google with bias in its advertising policies when an ad criticizing Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was rejected, though it included the same verbiage as an ad previously posted on Google attacking Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. com said after placing the ad taking on Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, Google informed the group it "does not permit ad text that advocates against an individual, group or organization" and said the ad had been pulled. "As the leader and most recognized brand on the Internet, Google has an obligation to its users and investors to provide unbiased content, especially when that content is political in nature." Ward said, "It is a sad day for the Internet when we must label search engines like Google as a left wing or right wing." Mike Mayzel, a spokesman for Google, said both the anti-Pelosi ad and the anti-DeLay ad are gone. As soon as an ad is reviewed and found to be in violation of our policies, we take it down as soon as possible. Any suggestion we would leave some ads up longer than others for reasons of political bias is false." WorldNetDaily reported Google has announced it is getting ready to begin ranking news searches by "quality rather than simply by their date and relevance to search times," giving preference to big news agencies such as CNN and the Associated Press - both news organizations that have been criticized for pro-Democrat bias. A survey of other high-tech companies' political contributions shows Google is exceptional in its lop-sided contributions to Democrats. Overall, 53 percent of high-tech industry contributions went to Democrats in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a liberal group that tracks campaign spending and contributions. Google has in the past declined to discuss employee campaign contributions. |
money.cnn.com/2005/02/14/technology/google_democrats/index.htm According to USA Today, 98% of search engine's employees gave money to Democrats in '04. February 14, 2005: 8:36 AM EST NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Google Inc. employees took out their wallets and showed overwhelming support for the Democratic Party last year, according to a report Monday in USA Today. A USA Today campaign finance analysis found that, of the company's overall political contributions, 98 percent went to Democrats, the biggest share among top tech donors. The online search company's employees gave $207,650 to federal candidates during last year's election campaign, which includes the White House race between Democrat John Kerry and the winning incumbent Republican, President Bush. The contributions were up from just $250 in 2000 when Google was a start-up, according to the paper. Political contributions by the industry may be in response to recent debates on Capitol Hill over Internet taxes, offshoring of jobs and other issues. Google giving is still small compared with other tech donors, USA Today said. Business Leader Council Live Quotes automatically refresh, but individual equities are delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. |