 | ||||
< Search the Republican Gazette archives!
Abernathy Strategies
New for 2007-08
RepublicanGazette
Friday, September 14, 2007
Submissions welcome
The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.
All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
---
Is your WV retirement plan propping up terrorism from Iran to N. Korea?
Retirement plans, Workers Comp and other public funds controlled by the West Virginia Investment Management Board account for nearly $400 million invested in 62 companies with connections to terrorist states or proliferation concerns, according to an organization tracking such things.The Center for Security Policy (CSP) says that the nation's "largest and most prominent public pension systems tend to be heavily invested in global publicly traded companies that have business activities in terrorist-sponsoring states."The organization offers a state-by-state breakdown of investments by state agencies in charge of pension, retirement and other funds with companies that have terrorist nation ties.In 2004, for example, the CSP says that the West Virginia Investment Management Board invested $363,181,543 with 54 companies with ties to terrorist-sponsoring states, and another $31,417,000 with eight companies with ties to "proliferation-related concerns."The West Virginia Investment Management Board (WVIMB) is the principal investment management organization for West Virginia, responsible for the investment of all of the state's defined benefit retirement plans, the Workers' Compensation and Pneumoconiosis plans, general revenue, special revenue, municipal bond moneys, certain local government moneys, state bond proceeds and various other moneys held by the state. According to CSP, the West Virginia investment board invested funds in companies Center says WV Investment Management Board is doing just that
About 20 percent of the West Virginia Investment Management Board's total equity holdings were in companies with ties to terrorist sponsoring states or proliferation-related concerns, according to the Center for Security Policy.
like Statoil, ENI, Technip, Total SA and UBS AG and other companies with ties to terrorist states like Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
About 20 percent of WVIMB's total equity holdings were in companies with ties to terrorist sponsoring states or proliferation-related concerns, according to the stats.The CSP is highlighting such investments, it says, to "force governments to choose between their sponsorship of terrorism and critical partnerships with publicly traded firms."The organization says that by putting pressure on states to divest themselves of terrorist-related investments, average Americans can play a key role in fighting the war on terror.WVGOP convention re-launches web site
The WVGOP Presidential Convention announced Thursday that the convention website, www.wvgopconvention.com has been re-launched. The new and improved website features all the information necessary for presidential candidates, delegates and the public to learn about and become involved in West Virginia’s first Republican Presidential Convention. The convention, which will be held on February 5, 2008, will significantly impact the presidential race since West Virginia Republicans will have their results by mid-afternoon.
“I am very excited to announce the re-launch of our website. We are making every effort to ensure that West Virginia Republicans are fully aware of all of the details surrounding the convention, and this website is an important step toward that effort,” said Bob Fish, CEO of the WVGOP Presidential Convention, Inc. Fish encouraged West Virginians to check the website often for the latest news about who’s registered, how to be a delegate, and other issues.Best wishes to a good friend and a great future leader
It was announced this week that Ben Beakes is leaving his post as chief of staff for Secretary of State Betty Ireland.Ben joined the West Virginia Republican Party as the political director about a year after I came on board in 2001. Not long out of college, Ben had already made a run for the House of Delegates, 
displaying the initiative that has and will make him successful in every walk of life. Along the way, of course, Ben became a very close and trusted friend. He is a West Virginian who loves his state and will continue to make a positive difference in whatever capacity he chooses. Someday, he will run for office again and win, and he will become a leader, because he is naturally born to be one.
BEN BEAKES
When I was, uh, politely asked to leave my post as executive director of the WVGOP a few days after the 2004 general election, Ben and our finance director, Olivia Kelley, walked out the door, too. No one encouraged them to do that -- in fact, Ben was given the option of stepping into the executive director position if he wanted. But it was a demonstration of friendship that is not soon -- or ever -- forgotten. Ben has many friends and admirers, and everyone wishes him the best as he enters another phase of what will be an interesting and adventurous life's journey. 