Daniel Troy served as chief counsel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2001 to 2004. Starting September 2, 2008, he will be head counsel for the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Before his stint at the FDA, Troy "fought the agency on behalf of the right to use medical-journal articles to suggest off-label uses for drugs and medical devices." He was also an active litigator who worked against consumer interests. "Representing the Washington Legal Foundation, an industry-supported business think tank, Mr. Troy argued for the protection of commercial speech. ... He was also part of the winning team representing Brown & Williamson in a suit against the FDA regarding tobacco advertising." At the FDA, he was known as a loyal friend of the very industries the regulatory agency is charged with monitoring. "Under Mr. Troy, the agency began filing amicus briefs opposing lawsuits against drug and medical-device makers, saying that having met the FDA's approval and labeling standards, manufacturers should be protected from state-based suits for damages." His move to GSK is another example of the revolving door between government and industry. GSK said of Troy, "His wealth of experience in the regulatory legislative area will be of enormous benefit to us, and ultimately to patients."

Human rights and labor activists protested outside the Washington DC offices of Public Strategies, Inc., claiming that the public relations firm helps the Bridgestone / Firestone Tire Company "deflect attention away from the company's long history of exploiting workers and the environment on its rubber plantation in Liberia." The protest comes shortly after the publication of a report from a Liberian-based organization that alleges that Firestone works with "former President [Charles] Taylor's Anti-Terrorist Unit and other militia forces ... to curb illicit tapping. Some members of this group are allegedly harassing and torturing community members in the name of curbing illicit tapping" of rubber trees. The report also faults Firestone for paying low wages and placing unreasonable quotas on its Liberian workers, among other problems. The head of the Firestone Agricultural Workers' Union of Liberia said there are "ongoing union-management contract negotiations" to address "issues relating to work quota, and also issues relating to occupational health and safety, issues relating to education as well as issues relating to salaries and wages."

"It's hard to take the airlines seriously when they try to play the pity card with consumers," opines Advertising Age. The trade publication's biting editorial comes in response to a public relations push by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA). ATA's "Stop Oil Speculation" campaign and website are "attempting to divert consumer anger directed at airlines for nickel-and-diming them and instead make oil speculators the bad guys," reports AdAge. As part of the ATA campaign, 12 major airlines are emailing their frequent fliers, asking them to contact legislators about high oil prices. According to ATA's David Castelveter, "nearly 1 million messages were sent to Congress the first two days of the campaign." He added, "We're not asking our customers to help us. ... We're asking them to help themselves." As AdAge's editorial noted, Delta Air Lines recently "showed off its deep concern about high fuel prices by offering select New York City customers free helicopter rides from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport." That's not to mention airlines' "customer abuse and high prices," and the industry's reliance on "government subsidies and government bailouts."

Both the Democratic and Republican conventions are bringing in millions of dollars in corporate sponsors, but there is no reporting requirement for either the political parties or the companies. There are a reported 146 organizational and corporate donors, but less than a quarter have chosen to disclose information about their donations. Some of the lead donors are telecom companies that just weeks ago received retroactive immunity from Congress for participation in the Bush spy program. AT&T is such a large scale donor that their logo is placed prominently on the attendees' welcome bags. Other identified donors include Motorola, Coca-Cola, Google, Qwest Communications, Comcast, and nuclear energy giant Xcel Energy. Stephen Weissman of the Campaign Finance Institute, explained that "to have that speech come off well, to have the lighting and the rigging and all of the sound and the Broadway producers who do it, to have the production and the setting look just right, to have specially built podiums and so forth, that will earn gratitude."