Need a counterpunch, please!

[1gobluedem]

A Republican cousin sent this to my good friend -- need to debunk. I've already sent the statement from the Heinz website saying that neither John nor Teresa are majority stockholders in Heinz -- anybody have anything on the Bush family foreign interests we can sock back with?

"As you walk into the voting booth next Tuesday, consider this. Kerry has
made a big deal about stopping the out flow of jobs from America. The
following is a list of the businesses and factories owned by his wife.

I ask you........ Think of the conflict of interest a President would
have who's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, owns business interests in all of
these countries....

THIS NEEDS TO BE SENT TO EVERYONE!! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW THIS WOULD IMPACT
HIS PRESIDENCY?

Whether you are a supporter of him or Bush, you need to be aware of what
you are supporting so you can make an informed decision.

HEINZ JAPAN LTD - Tokyo, Japan
HEINZ-UFE LTD. - Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
HEINZ COSCO - Qingdao, People's Republic of China
HEINZ KOREA LTD. - Inchon, South Korea
HEINZ WIN CHANCE LTD. - Bangkok, Thailand
HEINZ INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED - Mumbai, India
PT HEINZ ABC INDONESIA - Jakarta, Indonesia
PT HEINZ SUPRAMA - Surabaya, Indonesia
HEINZ UFC PHILIPPINES - Manila, the Philippines
HEINZ HONG KONG LIMITED - Wanchai, Hong Kong
H. J. HEINZ (Botswana) (Proprietary) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana
KGALAGADI SOAP INDUSTRIES (Pty) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana
REFINED OIL PRODUCTS (Pty) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana
OLIVINE INDUSTRIES (Private) LIMITED - Harare, Zimbabwe
CHEGUTU CANNERS (Pvt) LTD. - Chegutu, Zimbabwe
HEINZ SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD. - Johannesburg, South Africa
HEINZ WELLINGTON'S (PTY) LTD. - Wellington, South Africa
HEINZ EUROPE - Hayes, Middlesex, England
H. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - HayesPark, Hayes, Middlesex, England
H.. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - Rovereto, Italy
H. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - Telford, England
JOHN WEST FOODS LIMITED - Liverpool, England
H. J. HEINZ FROZEN &CHILLED FOODS LIMITED - Hayes, Middlesex, England
H. J. HEINZ COMPANY (IRELAND) LIMITED - Dublin, Ireland
H.J. HEINZ COMPANY OF CANADA LTD - North York, Ontario, Canada
OMSTEAD FOODS LIMITED - Wheatley, Ontario, Canada
ALIMENTOS HEINZ C.A. - Caracas, Venezuela
DISTRIBUIDORA BANQUETE, S.A. - San Jose, Costa Rica
HEINZ ITALIA S.r.l. - Milan, Italy
FATTORIA SCALDASOLE, S.p.a. - Monguzzo, Italy
COPAIS FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANY, S.A. - Athens, Greece
HEINZ POLSKA Sp. Z.O.O. - Warsaw, Poland
PUDLISZKI S.A. - Pudliszki, Poland
WODZISLAW, S.A. - Wodzislaw, Poland
ETS. PAULET S.A. - Douarnenez, France
H. J. HEINZ FROZEN S.A.R.L. - Paris, France
HEINZ IBERICA S.A. - Madrid, Spain
IDAL (Industrias de Alimentacã, Lda.) - Lisbon, Portugal
MIEDZYCHOD S.A. - Miedzychod, Poland
HEINZ C.I.S. - Moscow, Russia
HEINZ GEORGIEVSK - Georgievsk, Russia
CAIRO FOOD INDUSTRIES SAE - Cairo, Egypt
HEINZ REMEDIA LIMITED - Tel Aviv, Israel
STAR-KIST FOOD DÃ,'OR LIMITED - Haifa, Israel
H. J. HEINZ GMBH - Dò ó¥ldorf, Germany
SONNEN BASSERMANN - Seesen, Germany
KONINKLIJKE DE RUIJTER BV - The Netherlands
HAK BV - The Netherlands
FOODMARK - The Netherlands
HONIG MERKARTIKELEN BV - The Netherlands
DRUKKERIJ DE GROENBOER - The Netherlands
H. J. HEINZ B.V . - Elst, The Netherlands
H. J. HEINZ BELGIUM S..A. - Brussels, Belgium
SERV-A-PORTION - Turnhout, Belgium
Arimpex Industrie Alimentari S.R.L. - Rovereto, Italy
Comexo S.A. - Chateaurenard, France
HEINZ EUROPE - UK and IRELAND - Factories: Chorley, Fakenham, Grimsby,
Kendal, Kitt Green, Leaminton, Luton, Okehampton, Telford, Westwick"

[NYCGirl]

1. And it's totally debunked here:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/heinz.asp

[AIJ Alom]

3. even better. you're awesome. great thinking.

[AIJ Alom]

2. Dude, just show all the connections to the Saudis, the Carlyle Group, and

most importantly, the Bin Laden family.

Show how the Saudis kept bailing * out with his oil business failures.

[MARALE]

4. She has 2% in the company

Also Heinz has much more here than over seas. They make FOOD products and can not ship these over seas to sell, would not be smart or cost effective. From Snopes:

Although Senator Kerry has been critical of the Bush administration for rewarding "Benedict Arnold CEOs" who move "profits and jobs overseas," the above-quoted attempt to link Kerry (through his wife) with the very outsourcing he decries is flawed in two major ways. First off, Teresa Heinz Kerry does not "own the Heinz Corporation" — she has no involvement whatsoever with the management or operations of the H.J. Heinz Company, nor does she own anything close to a controlling interest of the company's stock. According to Heinz itself, the Heinz family trust which Mrs. Kerry inherited sold most of its shares of Heinz stock back in 1995 and currently holds less than a 4% interest in the company:

Neither Mrs. Heinz Kerry nor Senator Kerry nor any of the Heinz trusts or endowments — either individually or collectively — holds a significant percentage of shares of the H.J. Heinz Company. In 1995 the Heinz Endowments and family trusts sold a large percentage of Heinz shares in a secondary share offering to diversify their holdings. As a result, their current holdings are under 4 percent.

There is no connection between any philanthropic programs of the H.J. Heinz Company and its Foundation and the Heinz family interests (including the Howard Heinz Endowment, the Vira Heinz Endowment, and the Heinz Family Philanthropies).
(A 4% stake in a company as large as Heinz still represents a considerable amount of money, but it isn't nearly large enough a share to give the holder any significant control or influence over the company's business decisions.)

Moreover, the Heinz Company's operations are not an example of the type of outsourcing that is currently a hot political issue (i.e., sending out work to offshore companies to provide services which a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform). Heinz is a U.S.-based global business which sells its products in dozens of other countries, and like other food companies it has to localize some of its production at factories located in its foreign market areas. (It makes little sense from either an economic or a freshness standpoint to be shipping fruits and vegetables and/or finished food products halfway around the world rather than producing them locally.) One wouldn't expect, for example, every can and bottle of Coca-Cola sold anywhere in the world — whether it be Australia, China, or Portugal — to be produced by U.S. bottlers.)

As the H.J. Heinz Company notes, well over half its sales come from foreign markets, and it therefore operates overseas facilities to serve those markets:

Currently, 60% of the sales of the H.J. Heinz Company are outside the United States and to accommodate those customers by providing facilities closer to those markets, the company maintains a number of overseas facilities that provide products for consumers in those markets. This allows Heinz to pack the freshest ingredients, tailor its recipes to local tastes and deliver the finished products in a timely and efficient manner. In the United States, Heinz makes its flagship ketchup in factories in Fremont, Ohio; Muscatine, Iowa; and Stockton, California.

[bkcc]

5. here's the article from snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/heinz.asp

[1gobluedem]

6. Thanks!

I knew I'd get the info I needed here -- DUers are the best!

[The Minus World]

7. Point out Cheney and Halliburton

My God. If these people would focus such attention to detail in the scrutiny of their own candidate, they would collapse from cognitive dissonance. Partisanship first, logic second.

Imagine having your priorities so skewed that you'd ignore a giant ticking time-bomb in the room, in favor of discussing the motives of the man who ventures to defuse it.

[Soth]

8. This fits a really weird Repub theme I've been seeing...

I got an e-mail from my Republican parents about how Teresa was donating to extremist groups (I've mentioned it here before, and how I found the same e-mail debunked by FactCheck.org). But this seems to present a very strange trend...Republicans are attacking Teresa instead of John.

What's up with that? Have they run out of ideas? Is there so little mud to dig up on John that they have to attack his wife? WTF, mate?

[never cry wolf]

9. Bush - Saudi connections here

http://www.mediafund04.org/saudis/

[sister moon]

10. Not sure I get their point

THIS NEEDS TO BE SENT TO EVERYONE!! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW THIS WOULD IMPACT
HIS PRESIDENCY?

No, I can't imagine it, as a matter of fact. What would Kerry do? Manipulate these countries by threatening them with a condiment shortage?
Twit.