Republican's Smear Campaign and their usual scare Tactic, Criminals bring it on and Burn in Hell , at least Al Gore did not send your country men to
Republican's Smear Campaign and their usual scare Tactic, Criminals bring it on and Burn in Hell , at least Al Gore did not send your country men to get killed and murdered in IraqAt least Al gore did not lie about WMD and Fool your own Fellow Americans Al least Al is not responsible for the thousands of soldiers died in iraq for nothing, at least al Gore is not resposible for thousands of soldiers losing their body parts left with no future. You criminals Deserve something worser than Hell and you all will get it. screw you Scott Duke Harris and Burn in hell.
Al Gore, `valley guy' -- He's deeply, and richly, connected to techAPPLE, GOOGLE POSITIONS COULD GENERATE SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS IF HE RUNS IN '08By Scott Duke HarrisMercury NewsWhen former Vice President Al Gore addresses a gathering of Silicon Valley business and civic leaders in San Jose on Friday, he will do so not only as the world's premier crusader on the peril of climate change, but also as a valley insider -- a key board member of Apple, an adviser to Google, an entrepreneur himself.
More than six years after he lost the presidency to George W. Bush in a hurricane of hanging chads and butterfly ballots, Gore is riding high on his Academy Award-nominated documentary ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' a surprise box office hit that has helped build political momentum to address global warming. And this unlikely movie star looms as the great question mark in the 2008 presidential race -- the one figure who, for all his demurrals, could still make a big splash.
But what is less known -- and what could become a political problem -- is the way Gore has become enmeshed, and enriched, in Silicon Valley through his association with a close-knit elite that includes Apple founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist John Doerr, a Google director.
His ties are such that Gore and his wife, Tipper, who live in their hometown of Nashville, last year bought a pied-a-terre in San Francisco's 41-story St. Regis Residence Club. Their daughter, Sarah, attends the UC-San Francisco School of Medicine. But Gore's interest in the valley, and vice versa, shouldn't be a surprise, associates say.
``He's always been interested in technology and, more broadly, science,'' said Joel Hyatt, Gore's partner in San Francisco-based Current TV, a cable studio now broadcasting into more than 30 million U.S. households. ``That's why leadership in Silicon Valley likes consulting with him, likes brainstorming with him.''
``Yes, I think Al's a `valley guy,' '' Doerr said recently by e-mail from Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum. The two men became friends in the mid-1990s, when the then-vice president met valley leaders at gatherings that became known as ``Gore-techs.''
``My first impression of Gore remains the same today,'' Doerr said. ``Al is ahead of the curve in innovation and comfortable with technology and policies.''
He continued: ``The valley, the world (and I) are fortunate that Citizen Gore has been a friend and strategic partner for over a decade, working really tough, important issues.''
A case in point concerns Apple's stock option improprieties. Gore served as chairman of an internal review, conducted by outside attorneys and accountants, that concluded there was no misconduct by Jobs and other members of current management.
``There is no doubt that [Gore] is putting his personal credibility on the line,'' said James E. Post, a business professor at Boston University. ``If the U.S. attorney or the SEC bring formal action against Jobs, Gore will be hurt as well. The directors' report will crumble in the face of a federal lawsuit, and charges of `cover-up' will smear Gore's reputation.''
Critics have assailed Apple's claim that Jobs never profited from improperly backdated shares even though he exchanged the ``underwater'' options for $200 million in restricted stock. They also ask why Apple initially said that Jobs was ``aware'' of some backdated grants and six months later stated that he had personally selected favorable grants.
If prosecutors charge Jobs, ``I think this is an inconvenient truth for Al Gore,'' said Lynn E. Turner of Glass Lewis, a firm that analyzes corporate governance.
Gore, as a private citizen, is no longer obligated to make financial disclosure statements. But the value of his director's option grant in Apple -- awarded upon his board appointment in March 2003 -- shows a net gain of nearly $4.7 million. He is due 10,000 more options on each forthcoming anniversary with the company.
A presidential run would bring pressure to disclose his stake in Google, rumored to be considerable. Google's stock opened at $85 in August 2004 and closed at $501.50 Wednesday. Schmidt, who was Novell's chief executive when he hosted a major valley fundraiser for Gore in 2000, brought Gore aboard as a ``special adviser'' to Google in 2001. Last year, Schmidt joined Gore and Jobs on Apple's board.
Google is vague about Gore's role. ``The form his counsel takes is varied,'' said Jon Murchison, a Google spokesman. ``We appreciate the fact that he has made himself available in whatever way is necessary and helpful.''
Gore is also chairman of Generation Investment Management, an environmentally conscious investment firm he founded in 2004 with David Blood, former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Assets Management. It has offices in Washington and London.
Current TV illustrates Gore's uncanny foresight, Hyatt said. Four years before the YouTube sensation of 2006, Gore and Hyatt met with many media executives seeking support for a cable TV firm built around ``viewer-created content'' for a young, tech-savvy audience.
The executives, universally dismissive, are now scrambling to catch up, Hyatt said. While YouTube proved to be a $1.65 billion idea -- that's how much Google paid to acquire it -- Hyatt said that Current TV has had promising growth since it first aired in August 2005 and employs about 200 workers. In the Bay Area, it's available on Comcast's channel 101 and Direct TV's channel 366.
For all his business activities, Gore devotes most of his energy to his environmental crusade, a cause that long predates his 1992 book, ``Earth in the Balance.'' The success of ``An Inconvenient Truth'' -- financed by Participant Productions, a film company founded by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay -- inspired Gore to create two new non-profits. The Climate Project, based in Nashville, has trained hundreds of volunteers to educate community groups on the risk of global warming. And the fledgling Alliance for Climate Protection, based in San Francisco, will further promote public education through the mass media, said Kalee Kreider, a Gore spokeswoman.
Some of Gore's speaking engagements are gratis and some command fees, such as the $75,000 he received for a recent talk at Syracuse University. Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, said he signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding Gore's fee to speak at its annual ``State of the Valley'' conference Friday at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center. His topic: ``Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century.'' About 1,400 people are expected at the sold-out event.
In politics, Gore's inner geek was often mocked. His credentials as a political champion of the Internet were gleefully twisted into the bogus punch line that he ``invented'' the medium.
Yet Gore still won the 2000 popular vote by more than 500,000 ballots, only for Florida to tip the Electoral College to Bush by 537 votes. Will Gore try again?
``Absolutely, I would like to see him run for president,'' Hyatt said. ``He has no plans to do so. I think he's been abundantly clear about that.''
But Gore, unlike John Kerry, has not definitively ruled out a run. Admirers such as Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope and Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone think Gore could step in. ``He could be a compromise candidate,'' Stone said. ``He is one guy who doesn't have to enter the race early.''
Gore figures to maintain a high profile, with the Academy Awards later this month and another book due out in May. ``The Assault on Reason,'' according to a blurb, will examine the Bush administration's ``disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained'' and its disinclination toward ``sharing the truth with the citizenry.''
Gore was an early opponent of military action in Iraq. Hyatt mused about how ``the world would be a better place,'' if not for Florida and all those voters who thought there was such little difference between Gore and Bush that they cast ballots for Ralph Nader.
``It's hard to fathom,'' he said, ``how so many people thought it didn't matter.''
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Al Gore, `valley guy' -- He's deeply, and richly, connected to techAPPLE, GOOGLE POSITIONS COULD GENERATE SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS IF HE RUNS IN '08By Scott Duke HarrisMercury NewsWhen former Vice President Al Gore addresses a gathering of Silicon Valley business and civic leaders in San Jose on Friday, he will do so not only as the world's premier crusader on the peril of climate change, but also as a valley insider -- a key board member of Apple, an adviser to Google, an entrepreneur himself.
More than six years after he lost the presidency to George W. Bush in a hurricane of hanging chads and butterfly ballots, Gore is riding high on his Academy Award-nominated documentary ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' a surprise box office hit that has helped build political momentum to address global warming. And this unlikely movie star looms as the great question mark in the 2008 presidential race -- the one figure who, for all his demurrals, could still make a big splash.
But what is less known -- and what could become a political problem -- is the way Gore has become enmeshed, and enriched, in Silicon Valley through his association with a close-knit elite that includes Apple founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist John Doerr, a Google director.
His ties are such that Gore and his wife, Tipper, who live in their hometown of Nashville, last year bought a pied-a-terre in San Francisco's 41-story St. Regis Residence Club. Their daughter, Sarah, attends the UC-San Francisco School of Medicine. But Gore's interest in the valley, and vice versa, shouldn't be a surprise, associates say.
``He's always been interested in technology and, more broadly, science,'' said Joel Hyatt, Gore's partner in San Francisco-based Current TV, a cable studio now broadcasting into more than 30 million U.S. households. ``That's why leadership in Silicon Valley likes consulting with him, likes brainstorming with him.''
``Yes, I think Al's a `valley guy,' '' Doerr said recently by e-mail from Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum. The two men became friends in the mid-1990s, when the then-vice president met valley leaders at gatherings that became known as ``Gore-techs.''
``My first impression of Gore remains the same today,'' Doerr said. ``Al is ahead of the curve in innovation and comfortable with technology and policies.''
He continued: ``The valley, the world (and I) are fortunate that Citizen Gore has been a friend and strategic partner for over a decade, working really tough, important issues.''
A case in point concerns Apple's stock option improprieties. Gore served as chairman of an internal review, conducted by outside attorneys and accountants, that concluded there was no misconduct by Jobs and other members of current management.
``There is no doubt that [Gore] is putting his personal credibility on the line,'' said James E. Post, a business professor at Boston University. ``If the U.S. attorney or the SEC bring formal action against Jobs, Gore will be hurt as well. The directors' report will crumble in the face of a federal lawsuit, and charges of `cover-up' will smear Gore's reputation.''
Critics have assailed Apple's claim that Jobs never profited from improperly backdated shares even though he exchanged the ``underwater'' options for $200 million in restricted stock. They also ask why Apple initially said that Jobs was ``aware'' of some backdated grants and six months later stated that he had personally selected favorable grants.
If prosecutors charge Jobs, ``I think this is an inconvenient truth for Al Gore,'' said Lynn E. Turner of Glass Lewis, a firm that analyzes corporate governance.
Gore, as a private citizen, is no longer obligated to make financial disclosure statements. But the value of his director's option grant in Apple -- awarded upon his board appointment in March 2003 -- shows a net gain of nearly $4.7 million. He is due 10,000 more options on each forthcoming anniversary with the company.
A presidential run would bring pressure to disclose his stake in Google, rumored to be considerable. Google's stock opened at $85 in August 2004 and closed at $501.50 Wednesday. Schmidt, who was Novell's chief executive when he hosted a major valley fundraiser for Gore in 2000, brought Gore aboard as a ``special adviser'' to Google in 2001. Last year, Schmidt joined Gore and Jobs on Apple's board.
Google is vague about Gore's role. ``The form his counsel takes is varied,'' said Jon Murchison, a Google spokesman. ``We appreciate the fact that he has made himself available in whatever way is necessary and helpful.''
Gore is also chairman of Generation Investment Management, an environmentally conscious investment firm he founded in 2004 with David Blood, former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Assets Management. It has offices in Washington and London.
Current TV illustrates Gore's uncanny foresight, Hyatt said. Four years before the YouTube sensation of 2006, Gore and Hyatt met with many media executives seeking support for a cable TV firm built around ``viewer-created content'' for a young, tech-savvy audience.
The executives, universally dismissive, are now scrambling to catch up, Hyatt said. While YouTube proved to be a $1.65 billion idea -- that's how much Google paid to acquire it -- Hyatt said that Current TV has had promising growth since it first aired in August 2005 and employs about 200 workers. In the Bay Area, it's available on Comcast's channel 101 and Direct TV's channel 366.
For all his business activities, Gore devotes most of his energy to his environmental crusade, a cause that long predates his 1992 book, ``Earth in the Balance.'' The success of ``An Inconvenient Truth'' -- financed by Participant Productions, a film company founded by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay -- inspired Gore to create two new non-profits. The Climate Project, based in Nashville, has trained hundreds of volunteers to educate community groups on the risk of global warming. And the fledgling Alliance for Climate Protection, based in San Francisco, will further promote public education through the mass media, said Kalee Kreider, a Gore spokeswoman.
Some of Gore's speaking engagements are gratis and some command fees, such as the $75,000 he received for a recent talk at Syracuse University. Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, said he signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding Gore's fee to speak at its annual ``State of the Valley'' conference Friday at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center. His topic: ``Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century.'' About 1,400 people are expected at the sold-out event.
In politics, Gore's inner geek was often mocked. His credentials as a political champion of the Internet were gleefully twisted into the bogus punch line that he ``invented'' the medium.
Yet Gore still won the 2000 popular vote by more than 500,000 ballots, only for Florida to tip the Electoral College to Bush by 537 votes. Will Gore try again?
``Absolutely, I would like to see him run for president,'' Hyatt said. ``He has no plans to do so. I think he's been abundantly clear about that.''
But Gore, unlike John Kerry, has not definitively ruled out a run. Admirers such as Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope and Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone think Gore could step in. ``He could be a compromise candidate,'' Stone said. ``He is one guy who doesn't have to enter the race early.''
Gore figures to maintain a high profile, with the Academy Awards later this month and another book due out in May. ``The Assault on Reason,'' according to a blurb, will examine the Bush administration's ``disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained'' and its disinclination toward ``sharing the truth with the citizenry.''
Gore was an early opponent of military action in Iraq. Hyatt mused about how ``the world would be a better place,'' if not for Florida and all those voters who thought there was such little difference between Gore and Bush that they cast ballots for Ralph Nader.
``It's hard to fathom,'' he said, ``how so many people thought it didn't matter.''
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posted by presgore19 at 4:17 AM
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