Possible Recess Appointments to Henhouse for Three Industry Foxes
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
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Corporations
Deja Vu All Over Again: Bush Admin Interference in Judicial Matters
Sharon Eubanks, the lead attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) case against tobacco companies, recently told the [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102713.html Washington Post] that Bush appointees at DOJ pressured her to weaken the government's case against the tobacco companies. The Bush administration has been linked to political rigging of judicial matters recently with the firing of the eight U.S. Attorneys, but while these activities are in the headlines today, it's not the first time. A February 15, 2000 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DD1531F936A25751C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print New York Times] article shows that [[George Walker Bush|President Bush]]'s longtime political advisor [[Karl Rove]] (now a senior advisor in the White House) interfered with Texas Attorney General Dan Morales' plans to bring a lawsuit against the major American tobacco companies to recoup state Medicaid funds spent treating sick smokers. Rove helped draft a 1996 push poll aimed at maligning Morales in an attempt to pressure Morales not to file the suit. The push poll was financed by tobacco companies.
More Transparency Than Microsoft Bargained For
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"While reporting a story on Microsoft's video blogging initiative -- something called Channel 9 -- the dossier that Microsoft and its outside public relations agency Waggener Edstrom keeps on me accidentally ended up in my email inbox," recounts Fred Vogelstein.
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Don't Worry Your Pretty Heads, Says Cosmetics Industry
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
In response to growing concerns about the safety of some cosmetics, the industry group Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) "has embarked on what it calls an 'education process' designed to reassure consumers." As the Center for Media and Democracy repo
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Opaque Standards for European Union Lobbyists
Submitted by Bob Burton on
The European Commission has backed the introduction of a voluntary register for lobbyists seeking to influence European Union officials. "All these groups or bodies are invited to register publicly whom they represent and what their objectives are. They are invited to declare funding sources and major clients," the commission stated.
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Gephardt Enters the Coal Lobbying Mines
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
In yet another example of the government-industry revolving door, "Peabody Energy, the world's largest private sector coal company, has hired Dick Gephardt's firm to spearhead its drive to defeat efforts by Democrats to put caps on carbon emissions in a bid to combat global warming," reports O'Dwyer's.
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Playing the Anti-Consumer Card
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
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And the Brand Played On
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
As noted in previous Spins, the movie "InnerState" was bankrolled by Johnson & Johnson to promote a drug produced by its biopharmaceutical unit, Centocor. But J&J isn't alone.
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The Appearance of an Independent Judiciary Goes Up in Smoke
Things are looking grimmer and grimmer for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales these days. The scandal involving the firing of 8 U.S. attorneys has led to accusations that Gonzales runs the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to suit the Bush Administration's right wing political ideology instead of to protect the interest of U.S. citizens. Now Sharon Eubanks, the lead attorney in DOJ's racketeering case against the major American tobacco companies, has emerged from her silence and confirmed suspicions of the extent to which politics is running DOJ instead of public interest. Eubanks told the [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102713.html Washington Post] that Bush administration political appointees within DOJ repeatedly ordered her to take steps to weaken the government's case against the industry. Eubanks says she was ordered to tell key witnesses change their testimony, was forced to ditch her own closing remarks and made to read closing arguments that her superiors had written for her, and that the DOJ team was told to greatly scale back its requests for remedies against the tobacco companies. Of course, high-ranking Justice Department officials claimed at the time that there was no political meddling in the case, but tobacco control people following the case knew differently. Now Ms. Eubanks has confirmed what we knew all along.
Chiquita Pleads Guilty to Funding Colombian Terrorists
Submitted by Bob Burton on
The food company Chiquita Brands International, Inc. has pleaded guilty to funding a Colombian paramilitary group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. According to U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors, the company's Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, paid approximately $1.7 million to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) between 1997 and 2004.
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