Guest guest Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 15 Jun 2005 15:42:01 -0000 weekly-spin The Weekly Spin, June 15, 2005 THE WEEKLY SPIN, June 15, 2005 --- sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy http://www.prwatch.org To support our work now online visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 --- The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to further information about media, political spin and propaganda. It is emailed free each Wednesday to rs. SHARE US WITH A FRIEND (OR FIFTY FRIENDS) Who do you know who might want to receive Spin of the Week? Help us grow our r list! Just forward this message to people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_sotd.html --- THIS WEEK'S NEWS == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. Mad Cow USA - The Cover-Up Begins to Unravel == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. Cooney Lands Job With Exxon 2. My Country Was Invaded and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt 3. White House's Climate Science Editor Opts for Warmer Climes 4. Hustling Estrogen With Fake News 5. Terror Errors 6. BP: It's Not Easy, Feigning Green Cred 7. Merck Compiles Dossiers on Doctors 8. Plain Talk About Drug Company PR 9. Prosecutor Splits Former Fleishman-Hillard Staff 10. Just Say No to Drug Safety Board 11. Oil Lobbyist Becomes White House Climate Science Editor 12. Officials Opt for Cut-Price Penalty For Big Tobacco 13. Bush and Blair Deny 'Fixed' Intelligence ---- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. MAD COW USA - THE COVER-UP BEGINS TO UNRAVEL by John Stauber The US government’s elaborate cover-up of mad cow dangers in the United States has begun to unravel. Twenty-four hours after our successful protest (with Organic Consumers Association) of the US Department of Agriculture’s mad cow dog-and-pony show in St. Paul, USDA Secretary Johanns was forced to admit that a cow tested last year and declared safe in fact DID have mad cow disease, or at least has tested positive on the definitive Western Blot test recently administered by USDA and considered the 'gold standard' for BSE testing. I’ve often charged that the USDA is hiding US cases of mad cow by using the wrong testing procedures and by failing to conduct food safety tests on millions of animals and this announcement proves it. USDA finally used the correct test †" the Western Blot test †" on this suspect animal and it has proven to be a case of mad cow disease. For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3751 == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. COONEY LANDS JOB WITH EXXON http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo & siteid=yhoo & dist=\ yhoo & guid=%7B03CA702F%2D7BB4%2D46C5%2DADB8%2DCF5 ExxonMobil has confirmed that it has hired Philip A. Cooney, the former chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality who resigned last week after it was revealed that his editing of government scientists reports downplayed the significance of climate change. An Exxon Mobil spokesman declined to provide details of Cooney's new job, which he starts in autumn. Deputy spokeswoman for the White House, Dana Perino, told the New York Times " Phil Cooney did a great job and we appreciate his public service and the work that he did, and we wish him well in the private sector. " SOURCE: CBS.MarketWatch.com June 14, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3759 2. MY COUNTRY WAS INVADED AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicA\ rticle & c=MGArticle & cid=1031783204555 " The U.S. Special Operations Command has hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television broadcasts and Web sites to spread American propaganda overseas. " The contract may run $100 million over the next five years. The work was likely outsourced because there are " only one active-duty and two reserve psyops units remaining " in the U.S. military. The lucky firms are Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), SYColeman and Lincoln Group. SAIC previously ran the Iraqi Media Network, but " was criticized for problems and exorbitant costs. " SYColeman " created the Army's Web site honoring the only Medal of Honor winner so far from the Iraq war. " Lincoln Group, formerly known as Iraqex, has done PR work for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq. The firms will produce " print articles, video and audio broadcasts, Internet sites and novelty items, like T-shirts and bumper stickers, for foreign audiences. Video products will include newscasts, hour-long TV shows and commercials. " SOURCE: Media General News Service, June 10, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3758 3. WHITE HOUSE'S CLIMATE SCIENCE EDITOR OPTS FOR WARMER CLIMES http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/31224/story.htm Philip A. Cooney, a former American Petroleum Institute lobbyist turned chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, has resigned two days after Rick S. Piltz, a former senior associate in the Climate Change Science Program, blew the whistle on the editing of scientific reports on climate change. White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, told Reuters that Cooney's resignation was unrelated to the the New York Times report on Piltz's damaging revelations. Cooney, she claimed, had " long been considering his options following four years of service in the administration ... He had accumulated four weeks of leave and decided to resign and take the summer off to spend time with his family. " A Minneapolis Star-Tribune editorial noted that while much of the coverage had focused on Cooeny's editing efforts " less attention has settled on his collaboration with Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in making these revisions. " SOURCE: Reuters, June 14, 2005. For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3757 4. HUSTLING ESTROGEN WITH FAKE NEWS http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1390967.htm The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's MediaWatch program has revealed that Estradot, an estrogen patch for women made by drug industry giant Novartis, has been promoted in Australia by a fake news package including a press release, a video news release (VNR) and an audio news release (ANR). The VNR was used without attribution by Channel 7 News. MediaWatch presenter, Liz Jackson, reported that " on radio it was everywhere, over and over again, using only the medical experts the PR company provided. " Potential side effects, Jackson reported, were " almost completely ignored by the media, except when one of the company's experts raised it herself to dismiss lingering concerns. " MediaWatch did not disclose which PR firm produced and/or distributed the fake news package. SOURCE: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 13, 2005. For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3756 5. TERROR ERRORS http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/11/AR2005061100381.\ html Last week, President Bush said, " Federal terrorism investigations have resulted in charges against more than 400 suspects, and more than half of those charged have been convicted. " But independent analyses contradict those numbers. The Washington Post reports that their analysis of Justice Department records showed that " 39 people - not 200, as officials have implied - were convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security. " The Post found " no demonstrated connection to terrorism or terrorist groups for 180 " of those charged in conjunction with post-9/11 terror investigations. " A large number of people appear to have been swept into U.S. counterterrorism investigations by chance ... and have remained classified as terrorism defendants years after being cleared of connections to extremist groups, " wrote the Post. The paper's findings are similar to earlier New York University and Syracuse University studies. SOURCE: Washington Post, June 12, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3755 6. BP: IT'S NOT EASY, FEIGNING GREEN CRED http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=646162 " BP's reputation as one of the world's most environmentally progressive energy companies is on the line, " writes the Independent. That's because BP refused to support mandatory carbon dioxide emissions limits in the energy bill, as proposed by U.S. Senator Bingaman. The energy bill will be debated by the Senate this week. BP is also " unlikely " to support Senators McCain's and Lieberman's proposal to mandate greenhouse gas reductions. " Instead, BP said it supported a third alternative from Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, which requires companies only to try to cut emissions with the promise of tax breaks. " The company called the Hagel proposal " achievable, " claiming the other plans " would not achieve the ultimate goal of reducing global warming. " In response, Clean Air Watch called BP guilty of " greenwashing on epic proportions. " SOURCE: Independent (UK), June 12, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3754 7. MERCK COMPILES DOSSIERS ON DOCTORS http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4696609 " I didn't realize how powerful the drug companies thought they were, " said health policy professor Lisa Bero, regarding Merck's campaign to silence a prominent physician critical of their painkiller Vioxx. According to documents obtained by NPR, Merck first approached Stanford University's Dr. Gurkirpal Singh in 1998. The drug company paid Singh up to $2,500 for each talk he gave to other physicians about Vioxx. But when Singh became concerned about a 2000 study suggesting Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks, the relationship turned sour. Merck tracked Singh's public comments on Vioxx, eventually contacting his bosses at Stanford and hinting " there would be repercussions ... if Singh's statements didn't stop. " Merck provides significant research funding to Stanford, a common arrangement between drug companies and universities. SOURCE: National Public Radio, June 9, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3753 8. PLAIN TALK ABOUT DRUG COMPANY PR http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=238685 & site=3 & setcookie=1 GlaxoSmithKline is undertaking yet another effort to improve its reputation - " an extensive state-by-state media blitz. " Michael Pucci, GSK's vice-president of " external advocacy, " told PR Week that local reporters were easier for the drug company to deal with. " These folks are hungry for news, " he said. " They'll print everything we say ... without the political spin. " GSK hired two PR firms for the campaign, but is not naming them. The media work " parallels grassroots outreach " that GSK began last year, sending " sales representatives to deliver its message in front of the religious, fraternal, and other community groups to which they belong. " GSK also launched the plaintalkaboutmeds.com website with WebMD, " to address issues ranging from the cost of developing drugs to patient assistance programs. " SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.), June 6, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3752 9. PROSECUTOR SPLITS FORMER FLEISHMAN-HILLARD STAFF http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-060905fleishman_lat,0,3301021.story?coll=la\ -home-headlines A former Fleishman-Hillard executive, Steven Sugerman, will plead guilty to participating in a plan to overbill the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Sugerman, who now runs the Sugerman Communications Group, has also agreed to testify against his former F-H boss, Douglas R. Dowie, who has entered a not guilty plea. Dowie is also suing F-H for wrongful dismissal. In April 2005 F-H acknowledged overbilling the city of Los Angeles and agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle its lawsuit. SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2005. For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3750 10. JUST SAY NO TO DRUG SAFETY BOARD http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/07/AR2005060701739_\ pf.html " The new drug safety board established by the Food and Drug Administration to restore confidence in the nation's drug supply will actually set back efforts to improve the safety of the medications Americans take and will not make it any easier to take dangerous drugs off the market, " the Washington Post reports. FDA safety officer David Graham criticized the Drug Safety Oversight Board (DSB) for being " severely biased in favor of industry. " He told the Post, " Ironically, drug safety in the U.S. is worse off today than it was in November. " Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the FDA critical of the agency's decision that the DSB will have private deliberations, requesting improved transparency and accountability and for the FDA to " explain in detail how it will ensure that the DSB is truly independent and objective. " SOURCE: Washington Post, June 8, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3749 11. OIL LOBBYIST BECOMES WHITE HOUSE CLIMATE SCIENCE EDITOR http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/politics/08climate.html?hp & ex=1118289600 & en=54\ e7b911a5d025aa & ei=5094 & partner=homepage In a lengthy memo Rick S. Piltz, a former senior associate in the Climate Change Science Program, revealed that U.S. government climate research reports had been edited by a White House official, Philip A. Cooney, to emphasize doubts about climate change. According to Piltz's memo Cooney, a former " climate team leader " and lobbyist with the American Petroleum Institute, changed one 2002 document to " create an enhanced sense of scientific uncertainty about climate change and its implications. " In March this year Piltz resigned and subsequently contacted the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection organization. A white House spokeswoman, Michele St. Martin, told the New York Times that Cooney would not be available to speak to reporters. " He's not a cleared spokesman, " she said. Myron Ebell from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a corporate-funded think tank, defended the editing as necessary for " consistency. " SOURCE: New York Times, June 8, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3748 12. OFFICIALS OPT FOR CUT-PRICE PENALTY FOR BIG TOBACCO http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tobacco8jun08,0,3044593.story?coll=la-home\ -business Department of Justice lawyers prosecuting major tobacco companies on racketeering charges have sought only $10 billion for a five-year smoking cessation program. In earlier expert testimony the campaign had been costed at $130 billion over 25 years. The Los Angeles Times reports that a source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the decision to seek a cut-price penalty was " forced on the tobacco team by higher-level, politically appointed officials of the Justice Department, " including Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum. Before working for the DOJ McCallum was a partner in the law firm Alston & Bird, which had worked for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Democrats Henry Waxman and Martin Meehan have written to the DOJ Inspector, General Glenn A. Fine, seeking an investigation into the allegations. The DOJ's " approach to tobacco litigation should be based on the facts of the case and not political favors to the tobacco industry, " they wrote. SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2005. For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3747 13. BUSH AND BLAIR DENY 'FIXED' INTELLIGENCE http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/international/08prexy.html? In a joint meeting in Washington, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair brushed off a recently revealed British memo from July 2002 that said " intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy " to remove Saddam Hussein " through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and W.M.D. " or weapons of mass destruction. " There's nothing farther from the truth, " Bush said in his first public comments about the so-called Downing Street memo the New York Times reports. While Bush and Blair continue to insist that at the time they had every reason to believe intelligence indicating Hussein had stockpiles of deadly weapons, there is much evidence showing that others in the intelligence community and government were not convinced and issued warnings against some sources of the WMD intelligence. The Washington Post's Walter Pincus reports, " a close reading of the recent 600-page report by the president's commission on intelligence, and the previous report by the Senate panel, shows that as war approached, many U.S. intelligence analysts were internally questioning almost every major piece of prewar intelligence about Hussein's alleged weapons programs. " SOURCE: The New York Times, June 8, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3746 ---- The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public interest organization. To or unsubcribe, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_sotd.html Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the " Spin of the Day " section of the Center website: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at: http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute and edit articles: http://www.sourcewatch.org PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch 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: editor Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy are tax-deductible. Send checks to: CMD 520 University Ave. #227 Madison, WI 53703 To donate now online, visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 _________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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