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From: Center for Media and Democracy [mailto:weekly-s...@prwatch.org]
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:24 PM
To: alexjamesne...@gmail.com
Subject: THE WEEKLY SPIN, April 30, 2008
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The Weekly Spin, April 30, 2008
Blog Postings
Pentagon
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jELldF%2FOIiLX...
Z9> Pundit Scandal Broke the Law
by Diane Farsetta and Sheldon Rampton
The Pentagon
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5Ky2NGvI3LciXa...
> military analyst program unveiled in last week's expose
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=21v%2F01s1Lpjz... i7qL> by David Barstow in the New York Times was not just unethical but illegal. It
violates, for starters, specific restrictions that Congress has been placing in its
annual appropriation bills every year since 1951. According to those restrictions, "No
part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for publicity
or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by the
Congress."
As explained in a March 21, 2005
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SwiuBQzo%2Fysc...
Z9> report by the Congressional
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SpDxViQgnInu6g...
qL> Research Service, "publicity or propaganda" is defined by the U.S. Government
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=NtzqRDn4p9u9kL...
> Accountability Office (GAO) to mean either (1) self-aggrandizement by public
officials, (2) purely partisan activity, or (3) "covert propaganda." By covert
propaganda, GAO means information which originates from the government but is
unattributed and made to appear as though it came from a third party.
Read
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xb5w7woV2ejw6g...
> the rest of this item
Weekly
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FqrU3JqZ1SZw... QaZ9> Radio Spin: The Pentagon Pundits' Progenitor
by Diane Farsetta
<http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/WRS3.jpg> Listen to this week's edition
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8VV43%2ByhpV0R...
Z9> of the "Weekly Radio Spin
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bpG0ylx%2B1oXl...
Z9> ," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news.
This week, we look at the Pentagon's pundits, a stealth campaign on Wikipedia, and how
Monsanto's not feeding the world. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," does Torie Clarke
really believe it's a post-spin world? The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for
personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ha1dy7igzvkQdf...
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4jaSI%2FiS13WQ... Z9> or via iTunes
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6M%2B%2FLwxQ6u... QaZ9> . If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at
edi
...@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!
Read
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XePB5MSIDMdXd6...
> the rest of this item
Pentagon,
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Q0d380WF4upa0g... > TV Networks Fear Debating Iraq Propaganda Scandal - Stauber vs. Zelnick on NewsHour
by John Stauber
This Sunday's stunning, front-page New York Times revelations of the Pentagon
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uPVmj%2FfITCj1...
i7qL> military analyst program have been met with a wall of silence and cover-up on
network television news. America's TV networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN and FOX --
are where most Americans get most of their news, and they are the main culprits in
allowing Donald Rumsfeld
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=31EZd%2FRv%2Bl...
QaZ9> and Torie Clarke
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OSYcQEgss%2FUs...
Z9> to turn them into the primary propaganda tool for selling the Iraq war to the
public.
PBS NewsHour covered this issue in a televised debate April 24 pitting me against Robert
Zelnick
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YlsDm0rWcf5bVh...
> , former ABC Pentagon correspondent and now chair of the Boston University journalism
department. (Zelnick is also affiliated with the Hoover Institute
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OjyqpfMi%2Bjx5... Z9> , a conservative think tank
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BxU8URPm%2FH... uWQaZ9> .) No one from the Pentagon would agree to appear on the PBS show, nor would
anyone appear from any of the guilty TV networks.
My debate with Zelnick is now on YouTube
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=oi1WlqcYjlTAlT...
> , where you can watch it yourself. The NewsHour report
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZbPaJrPYktzKkf... > on the Pentagon pundits that preceded our debate is also online, and if you have a
slow internet connection (or if you find my face and voice too irritating to tolerate),
you can also read the
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=cKa1EDeD3PmCMo... > online transcript.
Read
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AHrGx8Sg3B3u6g... qL> the rest of this item
Spin Of The Day Postings
The
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OjyqpfMi%2BjwE...
Z9> Power of Toxic Energy
Source: Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2008
A recent
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XDDmYHFAi6Zf0N...
> Wall Street Journal editorial claimed that a landmark environmental liability case
against Chevron
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Sxv%2BJXK6Aoe%... QaZ9> was being judged by "Ecuador's kangaroo courts." Ecuador's Ambassador to the
U.S., Luis Gallegos, responded that Chevron had filed 10 affidavits before U.S. federal
judges "praising the fairness of Ecuador's court system," in order to get the case out
of U.S. courts. "Happily, its PR efforts have been frustrated by the fact that Ecuador
no longer has 'banana republic' institutions that can be controlled through
extrajudicial pressure," he wrote. When the two Ecuadorians leading the legal case
against Chevron were awarded the Goldman
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sjYy63nly2qzKF... > Environmental Prize, the company turned
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XPSZ%2F4P4M1hq... Z9> to crisis management
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JD7pAK26Xzc0Zf... Z9> adviser Sam Singer
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=awvTGW9FcnxWGw... Z9> for advice. Chevron's counter-attack included a San Francisco Chronicle opinion
column
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=J%2FrAEkqTxRwn... Z9> . Chevron's ham-handed PR inspired cartoonist Mark Fiore to satirize the company's
"Human Energy" campaign.
Cheeky
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IqifyzwmDXsoIB...
> Monkeys Urge Responsible PR
Source: PR Week (UK), April 24, 2008
"Being socially and environmentally responsible should be an issue for leading PR
companies," said Greenpeace
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Vpt3J6DpGyzrki...
> activist Mariana Paoli. The group's new report, "Burning up Borneo
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2B6p4ajGpqQas... Z9> ," links deforestation and loss of orangutan habitat in Indonesia with Unilever
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zZ6NHMf8ITbMTY... > suppliers producing palm oil for Dove brand soap. After demonstrating outside of
Unilever's UK headquarters, Greenpeace activists moved on to three of the Dove brand's
PR firms: Lexis PR, JCPR and Ogilvy
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZzAtwW2yhQKtU6... > . The activists, including some dressed as orangutans, delivered copies of the report
and asked the PR firms "to put pressure on Unilever to change its practices." Paoli
remarked, "I was a little surprised at how defensive the agencies were, although they
probably are not used to having orang-utans arriving in their offices." A Unilever
spokesperson said the company's "two key messages" in response to the protest are its
commitment "to finding a solution for the palm oil problem," and its "sympathy to
Greenpeace's cause."
Painting
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VmgnmmL9aap%2F...
Z9> Bottled Water Green
Source: Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice blog, April 23, 2008
<http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/glasswater.jpg> "Suppose, for example, that you
own a company that sells bottled water," which is "shipped, in its little plastic
bottles, ten thousand miles from the bottling plant to the consumer," writes Steve
Burns. "Could you possibly 'brand'
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RIu6tbe11Vs7eZ...
> such a product as eco-friendly?" If the company is FIJI Water, you'll try. FIJI's new
ad campaign, "every drop is green," calls the bottled water "carbon-negative," because
of the carbon credits the company buys. To dismiss concerns about the sustainability of
shipping bottled water around the world as the "food miles 'myth'
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2lRWi8D9K%2BmZ... QaZ9> ," FIJI uses a study co-written by a New Zealand agribusiness representative. But,
as Burns points out, "what choice do they have? If your entire brand identity is built
around 'water from Fiji,' then the water has to come from Fiji, no matter the cost to
the planet."
Pentagon
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BEfda4ATjqaj...
QaZ9> Pundits "Under Review"
Source: New York Times, April 26, 2008
Five days after its military
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7tPzAYfyd6DG7a...
> analyst program was exposed by the New York Times, the Pentagon announced that
"briefings and all other interactions with the military analysts had been suspended
indefinitely pending an internal review." Pentagon spokesperson Robert Hastings "could
not say ... how long this review might take. 'We'll take the time to do it right,'" he
told Stars and Stripes
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QPIt0361fkXGOp... > . Hastings, who just became the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for
public affairs last month, also said "he is unaware of the Defense Department
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gian8BPJ8ezu6g... qL> 's past activities with retired military analysts." The Pentagon's promise to
investigate, without clarifying its standards or timeline, is great crisis management
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RBhDCkgCaaaiDc... Z9> . Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman later told Reuters
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ypMgb%2BqKICeU... uWQaZ9> the suspension is "temporary" and "he does not think the program violated any
laws
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8O0HTlBs4ew06w... > ."
New
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=u3DE%2BcGeDvCi... uWQaZ9> Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery Skirts Breasts
Source: Newsweek, April 15, 2008
How does a mother explain to her children why she's having a breast augmentation, a
tummy tuck or a nose job? Help is on the way -- a new book for kids about plastic
surgery, My Beautiful Mommy. The story features a handsome, musclebound, superhero-type
male doctor and a Mommy who says that as she got older, she couldn't fit into her
clothes any more. Mom explains to her child that the doctor is going to help her fix all
that. Mom comes home after surgery looking slightly bruised and bandaged, but with
fuller, higher breasts. The text of the book doesn't mention breasts, though; only Mom's
"tummy." Michael Salzhauer, the plastic surgeon who wrote the book, said, "The tummy
lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can't fit into your
clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old."
The
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4aDGUzf6rp%2Fj...
Z9> Fudge on Sludge
Source: Integrity in Science Watch, April 28, 2008
Toxic Toxic Sludge Is Good for You! by CMD's Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber
<http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/ToxicSludgeIsGoodForYou_0.img_ass...>
David Lewis, a University of Georgia professor and former Environmental
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=I5%2BpClg7TR%2...
QaZ9> Protection Agency scientist, is suing officials at his university for publishing
allegedly fraudulent research funded by the federal government. In court documents,
Lewis claims that university researchers, who were paid more than $1.5 million in
federal grants, intentionally
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4l89hI1gKejsOg...
> distorted toxic substance amounts in the sludge from wastewater treatment plants in
Augusta, Georgia, by collecting samples only during droughts, when levels would be
"misleadingly low." Last month U.S. District Court judge Anthony Alaimo ruled that
sludge treated in Augusta's facilities had metals concentrations thousands of times over
allowed toxicity levels, noting that the University of Georgia's report on those
facilities was "faulty and incomplete." Lewis has investigated the harmful side effects
linked with the sludge since 1998 and argued in 2005 that his research led to his firing
from the EPA. (We examined the sludge issue in our 1995 book, Toxic
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2cUy3dQM4Ap6n6... > Sludge Is Good For You.)
Daughter
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=oi1WlqcYjlQ0gp... > Busts Dad: Burger King VP Caught Running Dirty Tricks Campaign
Source: News Press, April 28, 2008
Amy Bennett Williams, following up on her previous article
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vP5DMS0BvkaYY0...
Z9> reports, "As the Coalition
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PfM0pP6NHfYAR%...
Z9> of Immokalee Workers prepares to deliver more than 60,000 petitions to Burger King
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4tQERI2vecYC2M...
> headquarters in Miami today, the daughter of Burger King's vice-president Stephen
Grover confirmed her father is responsible for online postings vilifying the coalition.
The Immokalee-based group is asking Burger King to improve tomato harvesters' working
conditions and pay a penny more a pound for tomatoes, which could add about $20 to a
daily wage of $50, workers say. ... [O]ften during the past year, when articles or
videos about the coalition were posted on YouTube and various Internet news sites,
someone using the online names activist2008 or surfxaholic36 would attach comments
coalition member Greg Asbed has called 'libelous.' ... [E]arlier this year the alliance
had been infiltrated by Cara Schaffer
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=C7oevrx2x3NXrr... > , who said she was a student at Broward Community College interested in organizing
campus events in support of farmworkers. In reality, Schaffer owns Diplomatic
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ICPq4ZkTfld6UP... Z9> Tactical Services, a Hollywood, Fla.-based security and investigative firm that
advertises its ability to place operatives in the ranks of target groups."
Toyota:
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jKOratXobjRgw1...
> Mean and Not So Green?
Source: Corporate Accountability International, April 25, 2008
<http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/Green%20Prius%20ad.img_assist_cus...> "Green"
Toyota Prius adAs a manufacturer of gas/electric hybrid cars, Toyota
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=oX8buv36n6HTvq...
> has enjoyed a public image as an environmentally responsible company. Toyota runs
television ads
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DcV4wdo241fvK0... > playing up the "green" appeal of its Prius hybrid. So it was particularly
disappointing to find that Toyota has been nominated to Corporate
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tEGOnYxyFJDz%2... qL> Accountability International's 2008
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gSptf1xgs%2By6... Z9> Corporate Hall of Shame for being substantially less green than the automaker has
led the public to believe. Toyota has been quietly lobbying against a proposal to
increase vehicle fuel efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The company
also belongs to the Alliance
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FRxEsHTq4lDu6g... qL> of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile
Manufacturers, two trade groups suing to stop a new California law to reduce greenhouse
gases. Toyota has also opposed bills in several states that would require cars emit less
pollution, and that would require a percentage of cars sold to be low or zero-emission
vehicles. And thanks to models like the Tundra, a gas-guzzling pickup truck that gets an
average of 14 miles per gallon, Toyota's fleet-wide fuel efficiency standards are
actually lower now than they have been in two decades.
Pentagon
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uk5qotLciC31F7...
qL> Pundit Scandal on YouTube
Source: Free Press
As part of their campaign
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7pRbmrn1MXNBCZ...
> to demand a Congressional investigation of the Pentagon pundit
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8JofJ8U7N3MQd%... Z9> scandal, FreePress has produced several YouTube videos providing analysis and
coverage of the scandal
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kGx7YGgjuBO%2F... Z9> that the TV networks themselves have largely ignored -- not surprisingly, since the
scandal documents the networks' unethical journalistic practices. For years now, people
have been talking about the potential of citizen journalism
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=H8XgMQX4E9YfFX... > to challenge the power of the broadcast media behemoths. This scandal is the perfect
opportunity to see how far we've come in achieving that goal. Let's make sure the TV
networks don't get away with burying this story. Email the video link
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BOQBMP0%2BQJlB... Z9> to your friends, and make sure they sign
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TjcRNtx65KUzwb... > the petition!
Unhealthy
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FACIq6J%2BTz... DQ0Li7qL> Practices at Public Hospitals
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, April 18, 2008
At an inquiry into the problems facing cash-strapped public hospitals in New South
Wales, Australia, neurologist Dr Suzanne Hodgkinson explained that doctors sought
financial support of drug companies. "I had insufficient clerical support and so as to
try and remedy that I approached a company to help me with that on a temporary,
part-time basis. ... Quite a few senior doctors do try to raise money to help with the
provision of services," she said. Hodgkinson raised A$20,000 for the position, but would
not name the drug company funder. The president of the New South Wales branch of the
Australian
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YSjou3STh8%2BJ...
Z9> Medical Association, Dr Andrew Keegan, said the practice was common, especially for
administrative roles. "I would assume it is happening in every major hospital,
especially the teaching hospitals," he said. Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian
Skinner said that "if it's happening in our hospitals, there are ethical questions that
need to be answered."
Ultraviolet
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=70Z8BMEI3DeX%2...
Z9> Without the Sunlight
Source: The Cancer Letter, April 18, 2007
A review article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) suggested that
tanning at the beach or an indoor tanning booth can help avoid the dangers of vitamin D
deficiency. However, the NEJM didn't disclose that the article's author, Michael Holick,
has received more than $150,000 in research funding from the artificial tanning
industry. Martin Weinstock, a dermatologist at Brown University and an expert on the
link between tanning
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ypU%2FLGxXdg2G...
Z9> beds and skin cancer, says he informed NEJM Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Drazen about
Holick's industry connections prior to the article's publication, adding that "the
quality of evidence" behind Holick's recommendations was "poor." The Indoor Tanning
Association (ITA) has also hired Berman
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TkeRF0Oc%2Bk3L...
Z9> & Co., a notorious Washington, D.C. PR firm, to develop what ITA called "an
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=43wuR9S36tDiH7...
> aggressive media relations and public relations campaign." Berman, who has created
numerous web-based front groups
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Wgqik4QReSZNEy... > for the food, alcohol and tobacco industries, created a new site called
SunlightScam.com
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AR7PZvv64aNxoj... > . He's also running advertisements
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=dJo3PXRdvggyHr... > that attack medical groups, calling the Skin Cancer Foundation and the American
Academy of Dermatology part of the "sunscam industry" and dismissing as "hype" their
warnings
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jZdqsoAflzAM45... > of the link
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FgovLpPmyGfV%2... QaZ9> between tanning and melanoma.
Scientists
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9cH%2BSrDize9g...
Z9> Speak out Against Government Interference
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists, April 23, 2008
from the UCS report <http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/interference_EPA_pipes.jpg>
From the UCS
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Vpt3J6DpGyxx%2...
Z9> reportThe Union of
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LwwtOY%2FLO5sc...
Z9> Concerned Scientists' new report, "Interference
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WLVazPdBi4znUj...
> at the EPA: Science and Politics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," calls
the U.S.
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=stWVc3hnrPSNKM... > Environmental Protection Agency "an agency under siege from political pressures. On
numerous issues -- ranging from mercury pollution to groundwater contamination to
climate change
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BEfda4ATjqZH... Z9> -- political appointees have edited scientific documents, manipulated scientific
assessments, and generally sought to undermine the science behind dozens of EPA
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LaypUAt%2FbKiw... Z9> regulations." The study found the White House Office
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XlGL8LkIo2%2FY... Z9> of Management and Budget to be the worst culprit. A stunning "889 scientists (60
percent of respondents) personally experienced at least one incident of political
interference during the past five years," while "among EPA veterans (scientists with
more than 10 years of experience at the agency), 409 (43 percent) said interference
occurred more often in the past five years than in the previous five-year period." One
EPA scientist warned: "Do not trust the Environmental Protection Agency to protect your
environment. Ask questions. Be aware of political and economic motives. Become
politically active. Elect officials with motives to protect the environment and hold
them accountable."
So
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bJ%2Bg%2BrmvET...
QaZ9> Much for Feeding the World
Source: The Independent (UK), April 20, 2008
a soybean plant <http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/f3708_1360.img_assist_custom.jpg>
Soybean plantThe biotechnology
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=J%2FrAEkqTxRz4...
Z9> industry has invoked the need for genetically
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jg1u7IyXdKEifi...
> modified (GM) crops to meet the growing global food crisis. For example, Archer
Daniels
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mG8qoPlR8usWCt... > Midland called itself the "supermarket to the world" in its ads. But a recent study
carried out on soybeans in Kansas found that GM crops produced significantly less food
than their conventional counterparts. A GM soybean from Monsanto
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TBmYtzxTilZJRz... > produced 70 bushels per acre, compared to 77 per acre for a virtually identical
unaltered soybeans. Even after adding extra nutrients that Monsanto's weedkiller,
Roundup
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mdZHQy62%2Bcbp... qL> , seems to block, production was only brought up to the same level as the
non-engineered plants. An earlier study in Nebraska found similar results. Monsanto said
"it was surprised by the extent of the decline found by the Kansas study, but not by the
fact that the yields had dropped. It said that the soya had not been engineered to
increase yields, and that it was now developing one that would." Others are skeptical.
Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DILnK6jSRoZ19C... > Institute, said that "the physiology of plants was now reaching the limits of the
productivity that could be achieved." The International Assessment of Agricultural
Science and Technology for Development has also "concluded that GM was not the answer to
world hunger." And, "when asked if GM could solve world hunger," the chief scientist at
the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Professor Bob Watson,
said, "The simple answer is no."
Special
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xwIcnOD7ZVtw3D...
> Offer: Free Grass to Subject Your Children to Sludge
Source: Baltimore Examiner, April 13, 2008
Sludge keeps rearing its ugly head. Scientists used federal grant money to "spread
fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods
to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil." The
residents were not alerted to any harmful ingredients in the sludge, and were assured
that it posed no health risks for their families. In exchange for participating in the
2005 study, nine families were given food coupons and a free lawn by the U.S.
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AnTCJPVOJFLaRW...
> Department of Housing and Urban Development. Freedom of
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gWmmJ4ns0VbX37... > Information Act requests by the Associated Press
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ukvwc%2BjzLHiZ... Z9> produced grant documents, but none showed any medical follow-up with the
homeowners. The Environmental
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=a4Nz7B9B%2FgVF... Z9> Protection Agency and the U.S.
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6OxfNU01i1UcEI... > Department of Agriculture conducted similar research in East St. Louis, Illinois,
another impoverished and predominantly African American community. "Thomas Burke, a
professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says epidemiological
studies have never been done to show whether spreading sludge on land is safe. 'There
are potential pathogens and chemicals that are not in the realm of safe. What's needed
are more studies on what's going on with the pathogens in sludge - are we actually
removing them? The commitment to connecting the dots hasn't been there.'"
British
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=rm8AiNH98KVKdA...
> Anti-Terrorism Law Used to Spy on Minors' Smoking, Drinking
Source: The Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, United Kingdom), April 21, 2008
A British county has been using an anti-terrorism law enacted in 2000 to spy on minors
for petty crimes like using cigarettes and alcohol. The Staffordshire County Council in
Britain's Midlands region has been using Britain's Regulation of Investigatory Powers
Act (RIPA) for a host of non-terrorism-related applications, like monitoring underage
liquor and tobacco sales, recording the movements of farm animals and tracking
counterfeit DVD sales. Brandon Cooke, Staffordshire County Council's Fraud and Community
Safety Manager, defended the Council's use of surveillance under RIPA by saying the
operations were crucial for "combatting antisocial behavior."
A
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HQArfH6WlV69kL...
> Not-So-Candid CAMERA
Source: Electronic Intifada, April 21, 2008
CAMERA
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CyH1Hq7%2Fb%2F...
QaZ9> , a lobby group that campaigns against criticism of the Israeli government in U.S.
media, had a campaign to impact Wikipedia
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tDJI1hV2N9L6Iw...
> 's coverage of Israel and Palestine issues. In emails, CAMERA's Gilead Ini stressed
that the effort should be secret, and counseled members to avoid "picking a user name
that marks you as pro-Israel, or that lets people know your real name." He also
instructed members to "always log in" under their user names, so that Wikipedia would
not "record your
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=iaC0cbOW4kFw3D... > computer's IP address." While directing CAMERA members to certain articles on Israel
and Palestine, Ini cautioned that new Wikipedia users should "avoid editing
Israel-related articles for a short period of time," so as not to develop reputations as
"one-topic editors." A long-time Wikipedia editor, "Zeq," advised CAMERA on its plan.
Zeq suggested that some CAMERA members "stay away from any Israel realted [sic]
articles," until building up enough support to become nominated as administrators, who
help resolve controversies. "We will go to war after we have build [sic] our army," Zeq
wrote. After the emails were published, Zeq was banned from editing Wikipedia for one
year, for -- in the words
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lTVJYat76OflGI... > of one Wikipedian -- "recruit[ing] meatpuppets from off-wiki to push POV," a point of
view. CAMERA responded by "temporarily or permanently" ending its Wikipedia email group,
"in hopes that members' personal contact information will not be made public."
Pushing
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DigvnOUcBCgQdf...
> Back Against the Pentagon's Pundits
Source: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), April 22, 2008
<http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/KenAllard.img_assist_custom.png> The program's
Ken Allard
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f%2FmDTOJbxlCQ...
Z9> in actionIn addition to Pentagon program
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FtX65q383w61...
Z9> to promote Bush Administration talking points on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,
Guantanamo detention center and wiretap surveillance programs -- there are other ways
you can push back against what one participant called "psyops on steroids." Noting that
the program wouldn't have worked without "the enthusiastic participation of the
corporate media," FAIR is encouraging people to contact
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=l%2BFP%2BvQmOy...
QaZ9> broadcast and cable news executives, urging them "to ensure that the news will no
longer serve as a conduit for Pentagon talking points passed off as independent
analysis." Free Press launched a campaign
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2iWQTVVgp7Pg3b...
> to press Congress to investigate the Pentagon program and "determine whether these
acts violate federal law prohibiting 'covert propaganda
<
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CHpXmWX%2Fym2W... Z9> .'"
This Week's News
Blog Postings
Pentagon Pundit Scandal Broke the Law <>
Weekly Radio Spin: The Pentagon Pundits' Progenitor <>
Pentagon, TV Networks Fear Debating Iraq Propaganda <> Scandal - Stauber vs. Zelnick on
NewsHour
Spin Of The Day Postings
The Power of Toxic Energy <>
Cheeky Monkeys Urge Responsible PR <>
Painting Bottled Water Green <>
Pentagon Pundits <> "Under Review"
New Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery Skirts Breasts <>
The Fudge on Sludge <>
Daughter Busts Dad: Burger King VP Caught Running Dirty <> Tricks Campaign
Toyota: Mean and Not So Green? <>
Pentagon Pundit Scandal on YouTube <>
Unhealthy Practices at Public Hospitals <>
Ultraviolet Without the Sunlight <>
Scientists Speak out Against Government Interference <>
So Much for Feeding the World <>
Special Offer: Free Grass to Subject Your Children to <> Sludge
British Anti-Terrorism Law Used to Spy on Minors' <> Smoking, Drinking
A Not-So-Candid CAMERA <>
Pushing Back Against the Pentagon's Pundits <>
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