Note: forwarded message attached.
Do You Yahoo!?
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes
--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector-Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om http://autos.yahoo.com--- Begin Message ------ End Message ----Caveat Lector- THE WEEKLY SPIN, Wednesday, July 17, 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------------- sponsored by PR WATCH (www.prwatch.org) --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to further information about current public relations campaigns. It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers. Feel free to forward this message to others. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK'S NEWS 1. PR Watch Takes on Big Brother, Inc. 2. Off the Books 3. Fraud, Inc. 4. The Watchdog Didn't Bark 5. PricewaterhouseCoopers Advises Uzbekistan 6. State vs. National Review 7. Don't Scrutinize the Pentagon 8. British American Tobacco Promotes Its "Corporate Social Responsibility"; Critic Say It's Just PR 9. APCO Helps WorldCom With "Transparency Initative" 10. PhRMA Supports Seniors Who Support PhRMA 11. Snake Oil Search Engines 12. TV Drug Pushers Include Media and Advertising Lobbyists 13. Bushology Interactive 14. 'Mad Deer Disease' -- Is It In the Feed? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. PR WATCH TAKES ON BIG BROTHER, INC. http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2002Q2/index.html The Second Quarter 2002 issue of PR Watch is now available online. This issue features a look at corporate spies that specializing in infiltrating citizen groups, along with other PR strategies for "managing activism." Stories include: * Big Brother Incorporated * Dumpster Diving to Trash Activists * Ecos Corp's 'Win-Win' Spin for Corporate Environmentalism * Managing Activism: Book Review More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026881838 2. OFF THE BOOKS http://www.offthebooks.org/ If you think corporations are doing a bad job of disclosing their internal finances, what kind of job do you think they're doing of reporting on their public health, social and environmental impacts? Attorney Sanford Lewis has been stalking the corporate social responsibility front for years, and now he's made a movie about it: a 30-minute documentary that "describes the potential and limits of an enforceable, disclosure-based strategy for corporate accountability." Lewis is also working with the Corporate Sunshine Working Group, an "alliance of investors, environmental organizations, unions, and public interest groups working to enforce and expand SEC corporate social and environmental disclosure requirements." More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026876440 3. FRAUD, INC. http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/corruption/ If you're having trouble keeping up with all the corporate scandals, CNN and Money Magazine have created a special web feature called "Fraud Inc." The White House has also launched a website meant to give the impression that the Bush Administration is taking a tough stance against corporate evildoers. The site highlights Bush's executive order last week that creates a Corporate Fraud Task Force in the Justice Department, but it does not mention the fact that the person designated to head the task force, Deputy Attorney General Larry D. Thompson, has an embarrassing link himself to corporate fraud. More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026875933 4. THE WATCHDOG DIDN'T BARK http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2002/07/16/bush_questions/index.html According to Harold Evans, the real mystery surrounding the president's shady stock dealings with Harken Energy is "why the watchdog media didn't bark during the 2000 presidential election, when new unflattering evidence emerged in the month before the vote. ... During the presidential election, a more thorough investigation was carried out by a group of journalists at a time when Bush was saying he would run the White House like a business corporation. The reporters' conclusion was that candidate Bush's own business model was uncomfortably close to today's increasingly scandalous business practices. The general public, however, was not enabled to weigh this conclusion before it went to vote for president, because the press, print and electronic, signally failed to publicize the facts. ... Why? Why was a press that for years flogged the dead horse of Whitewater so indifferent to a much bigger, fresher story?" SOURCE: Salon.com, July 16, 2002 More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026792001 5. PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS ADVISES UZBEKISTAN http://www.odwyerpr.com/0716pwc_uzbekistan.htm "PricewaterhouseCoopers is providing government relations services to Uzbekistan, the Central Asian country that is a prime ally in President Bush's 'War on Terror,'" O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "It is giving 'strategic advice and assistance' to Uzbekistan about dealing with the U.S. Congress, and Executive Branch on economic and trade relations, according to PWC's 'engagement letter.' The firm is receiving $300,000 a-year for its counsel." According to O'Dwyer's, former Republican Congressman and chair of the House Ways and Means committee Bill Archer will be "heading the work." SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily, July 16, 2002 6. STATE VS. NATIONAL REVIEW http://www.nationalreview.com/document/document071502.asp Richard Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review, has written a letter protesting the U.S. State Department's "slipshod, deceptive, and, now, even thuggish" treatment of one of its reporters. Richard Mowbray was detained by State Department personnel in an apparent attempt to intimidate him into giving up the identity of a whistleblower who has provided Mowbray with confidential documents about "Visa Express," the controversial policy through which citizens of Saudi Arabia (including three of the 9/11 hijackers) have been able to obtain expedited U.S. visas. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mowbray's harassment "is of a piece with State's refusal to press Saudi Arabia on the plight of American women held in that country against their will. State's instinct is always to attack Americans who raise questions, instead of pressuring the Saudis on behalf of U.S. interests." SOURCE: National Review, July 15, 2002 More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026705604 7. DON'T SCRUTINIZE THE PENTAGON http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la%2Dna%2Ddefense15jul15 Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is pushing a series of sweeping proposals that would weaken congressional oversight of the Pentagon. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Pentagon officials also are drafting proposals to ban strikes by contract workers, eliminate federal personnel rules protecting civilian workers at the Pentagon and bypass environmentalists in Congress. Some proposals are more provocative. They include allowing the Pentagon to send its initiatives directly to Capitol Hill before other agencies could review them. Once there, the legislation would require Congress to vote quickly, with only limited debate." Cindy Williams, a former director of national security studies for the Congressional Budget Office, notes that these proposals are coming from "an administration that for a year and a half has been consistently secretive about everything, and has a record of trying to preserve their secrets even from people within the government who should know them, so this has to be seen within that context." SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2002 8. BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO PROMOTES ITS "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY"; CRITIC SAY IT'S JUST PR "British American Tobacco (BAT) has vowed to plow on with its corporate social responsibility program (CSR) -- despite criticism that its first-ever CSR report is simply a PR exercise," PR Week writes. BAT's released its CSR report last week "after a series of face-to-face forums designed to establish dialogue with its critics." But according to PR Week, more than 130 organizations targeted by BAT refused to participate in the dialogue. The UK anti-smoking group Action on Smoking called BAT's initiative "worthless" and "a PR exercise." PR Week reports no other tobacco company has published a CSR report. SOURCE: PR Week, July 15, 2002 9. APCO HELPS WORLDCOM WITH "TRANSPARENCY INITATIVE" WorldCom has hired APCO Worldwide to do damage control concerning the company's $3.8 billion accounting fraud reports PR Week. "The commitment initially was to being forthright, open and honest," APCO CEO Margery Kraus said referring to talks between WorldCom and APCO about a PR strategy before the crisis. "That commitment has certainly increased because that is an important way for the company to operate," Kraus said. According to PR Week, part of APCO's WorldCom strategy is "emphasizing that its current woes were the responsibility of the prior management team." SOURCE: PR Week, July 15, 2002 10. PHRMA SUPPORTS SENIORS WHO SUPPORT PHRMA http://www.odwyerpr.com/0715linkletter.htm PR giant Weber Shandwick (WS) is helping the United Senior Association (USA), a 1.5 million member organization, with its PR needs. USA is backing the prescription drug bill that was passed by the House on June 28. O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports, "That bill is backed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which has made 'educational grants' to USA. PhRMA supports the House measure because it bans the government from setting prices for prescription drugs. It is against a more expansive drug plan that is being introduced in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Tim Ryan, a former PhRMA staffer, is the WS executive in charge of the USA account. He said WS created ads in support of the House measure, but would not go into detail about overall strategy." O'Dwyer's also reports that the AARP, a 35 million member group, is critical of the House bill, saying it has a serious "coverage gap." SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily, July 15, 2002 11. SNAKE OIL SEARCH ENGINES http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/07/12/online-search-engines.htm Despite a complaint by Commercial Alert and threats of legal action from the Federal Trade Commission, most of the Web's largest search engines have not yet complied with federal requirements that they inform users about deceptive "pay for placement" deals that smuggle commercial placements into search results. (One bright exception, according to USA Today, is Google.com, whose founders have "fiercely protected Google's editorial integrity.") SOURCE: USA Today, July 12, 2002 More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026446401 12. TV DRUG PUSHERS INCLUDE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING LOBBYISTS http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/12/business/media/12ADCO.html?ex=1027478503&ei=1&en=831c7c8fa510838d "Madison Avenue, facing growing legislative threats to one of the advertising industry's most lucrative categories, is stepping up the fight to protect its freedom to pitch prescription drugs directly to consumers. Drug companies, agencies and their media allies who have benefited handsomely from the flood of ads beat back one recent measure in the House of Representatives. ... The category of direct-to-consumer ads did not even exist until five years ago. Before 1997, broad curbs prevented pharmaceutical makers from mounting any significant efforts, and they aimed most of their spending directly at health care professionals. But since the Food and Drug Administration loosened its strictures against those ads, primarily by making it much easier to promote drugs with commercials, the category has boomed. ... Indeed, in a survey last month...25 percent of respondents said they had been prompted by direct-to-consumer ads to call or visit a doctor to discuss the product being advertised. ... The agencies are being joined by lobbyists for media that would lose ad revenue if Congress tightened rules for direct-to-consumer ads." A critical look at such ads is found at the Boston Women's Health Book Collective website. SOURCE: New York Times, July 12, 2002 More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026446400 13. BUSHOLOGY INTERACTIVE http://www.moldea.com/bushology.html Investigative journalist Dan Moldea has created a web service providing links to public-information sources for investigating members of the Bush family and their political and financial interests, including lots of information that has been under-reported in the mass media. More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026444290 14. 'MAD DEER DISEASE' -- IS IT IN THE FEED? http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1258908,00.html An Associated Press story speculates today that Wisconsin hunters, having killed deer in the area of the state known to be infected with mad cow-like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), might have spread the disease around the state by taking carcasses back to their homes and dumping them in the environment. Yes, that is a possibility, but not the most obvious possibility. Feeding rendered byproducts is a much more obvious threat to spread CWD around the state, the nation and to other livestock. Extensive supplement feeding of wild deer to grow big antlers has gone on in Wisconsin's CWD eradication zone, and in fact all over much of the US. The supplements contain protein, minerals, and binders (fat), much of it from rendered slaughterhouse waste, the same stuff that amplified and spread mad cow disease in England. In Wisconsin in 1995 alone over 26,000 road-killed deer were rendered into meat and bone meal used in animal feed. Unlike Britain and Europe, the US still feeds billions of pounds of mammalian rendered byproduct back to livestock. As we document in our book Mad Cow USA, US feed regulations are so weak that cattle blood is used in calf feed. Such policies are inviting a disaster that could dwarf Britain's mad cow crisis since the US is the biggest meat producing country in the world. SOURCE: Associated Press, July 11, 2002 More web links related to this story are available at: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2002.html#1026360000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at PR Watch. To subscribe or unsubcribe, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the Spin of the Day" section of the PR Watch website: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at: http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues PR Watch, Spin of the Day and the Weekly Spin are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit organization that offers investigative reporting on the public relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that work to control political debates and public opinion. Please send any questions or suggestions about our publications to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contributions to the Center for Media & Democracy are tax-deductible. Send checks to: CMD 520 University Ave. #310 Madison, WI 53703 To donate now online, visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 _______________________________________________ Weekly-Spin mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin--- End Message ---
