Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is criticizing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for dropping its sponsorship of RSF's Online Free Expression Day.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
The Israeli government is boycotting the Arabic television network Al Jazeera, according to a statement by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Magali Whabe. "We have sent a letter to the Authorities in Qatar and also to Al Jazeera regarding this matter.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Appearing before a parliamentary committee inquiry into the lobbying industry, the head of Bell Pottinger, Peter Bingle, explained that the agency had been approached to represent the Zimbabwe regime headed by Robert Mugabe. "We will turn down clients. We had a call from Zimbabwe asking to advise Zimbabwe. We said thank you very much, but no. It would have been a fairly malign campaign if someone had run it," Bingle said.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
A week ago the Exxon-funded think tank, the Heartland Institute, hosted what it dubbed The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. In his opening remarks, Heartland's President Joseph L.
Submitted by Anne Landman on
As more major U.S.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Flush with foreign reserves from oil and natural gas sales, the Kremlin is pumping tens of millions of dollars into various forms of public diplomacy," reports Peter Finn. The Russian government "has hired the giant U.S. public relations firm Ketchum Inc. 'to help the government tell its story of economic growth and opportunity for its citizens,' said Randy DeCleene, an executive at the firm." As part of the PR push, "the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta is ... fund[ing] monthly supplements in newspapers in India, Britain, Bulgaria and the United States," including a paid supplement in the Washington Post. "Russiaprofile.org, a news and analysis site funded by [the government news agency] RIA Novosti" features "a range of opinions, including some quite hostile to the Kremlin." RIA Novosti also hosts an annual "Valdai Discussion Club," where "30 to 40 Russia experts and prominent journalists, mostly from the United States and Western Europe ... are wined and dined in the company of Russian policymakers and political analysts." The Hoover Institute's Michael McFaul (an adviser to Barack Obama's campaign) called the Valdai events, which featured sessions with then-President Vladimir Putin, "really smart PR." A previous Spin noted Russia's new think tank, the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
General Electric's power industry division, GE Energy, is set to launch a greenwashing blitz in five European countries, including the United Kingdom.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
Virgin Atlantic has flown a jumbo jet from London to Amsterdam fueled by bio fuel derived from a mixture of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. But is this really green progress, or just greenwashing? Virgin Atlantic's head, Richard Branson, called the flight a "vital breakthrough" for the airline industry.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
As CMD recently reported, a federal judge ordered the Wikleaks website shut down. The site allows whistleblowers to post documents anonymously.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
As the debate over Canada's military mission in Afghanistan continues, the country's "Department of National Defence is ... spending millions of dollars sponsoring think tanks and scholars to offer up agreeable commentary," writes University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran. "Take the Conference of Defence Associations, a think tank that got $500,000 from DND last year. ...
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