International

Saudi Arabia's Expanding PR Arsenal

by Laura Miller — February 15, 2002 - 12:00am

PR trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports there is yet another firm representing Saudi Arabia. In addition to Burson-Marstellar, Qorvis Communications, and Patton Boggs, the Kingdom is using The Gallagher Group in its public affairs and lobbying campaign. The firm was hired by Qorvis, the Saudi's media relations firm, to do "government relations" work. O'Dwyer's reports the firm's president James Gallagher expects the $20,000 contract, which covered work between November 15 and February 15, to be renewed.

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O'Dwyer's PR Daily, February 15, 2002

Carlucci Can't Hide His Role in 'Lumumba'

by Laura Miller — February 14, 2002 - 12:00am

"Most people would be thrilled to be a real-life character in a movie. Not Frank Carlucci. Lawyers for the former U.S. Secretary of Defense have pressured the film's distributor to remove his character's identity from the showings of 'Lumumba' on HBO this month," Pacific News Service contributor Lucy Komisar writes. "Carlucci doesn't appreciate the attention. Maybe that's understandable. In 1960, he was the second secretary in the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa, the Congo. That was the time when, according to declassified U.S.

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Pacific News Service, February 14, 2002

Building Democracy by Killing the President

by Sheldon Rampton — February 13, 2002 - 12:00am

In a lengthy report on Zimbabwe's upcoming elections, Australia's SBS TV uses hidden surveillance videos to document an apparent plan by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to murder the country's sitting president, Robert Mugabe. According to the footage, money to pay for the killing was channeled through BSMG London, an affiliate of the Weber-Shandwick PR firm.

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SBS TV Dateline (Australia), February 13, 2002

The Cuba Lobby

by Sheldon Rampton — February 8, 2002 - 12:00am

"The Citizens for Liberty in Cuba is using Washington, D.C.-based Griesinger Assocs. to 'promote policies to aid in bringing democracy' to the island," reports O'Dwyer's PR Online.

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O'Dwyer's PR Online, February 8, 2002

Flacking for the Saudis

by Sheldon Rampton — January 31, 2002 - 12:00am

Saudi Arabia is paying $100,000 to Patton Boggs, an affiliate of Qorvis Communications, to lobby on its behalf in the U.S. Congress. According to Kevin McCauley, editor of O'Dwyer's PR Daily, the Saudis have been getting "PR fit for a King (or at least a Prince)" lately, notwithstanding their complaints that they are victims of a "savage media campaign" in the West.

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O'Dwyer's PR Daily, January 31, 2002

"Pay No Attention to Those Warheads Behind the Curtain"

by John Stauber — January 11, 2002 - 8:46am

Today's New York Times reports that Russia has "strongly criticized Bush administration plans to store rather than destroy decommissioned nuclear warheads, suggesting that such plans would undermine the credibility of any new arms control accord.... ... An assistant secretary of defense, J. D. Crouch, told a Pentagon briefing that the United States would hold in reserve a substantial number of warheads as a 'responsive capability.' ...

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New York Times

GOP Consultant Working With Pakistan Since Sept. 1

by Laura Miller — January 9, 2002 - 12:00am

Gary Polland, who heads the "well-connected" Houston-based firm Polland & Cook and chairs the Harris County Republican Party, has been smoothing out some of the "knotty issues" facing Pakistan since even before September 11th. According to PR trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily, Polland is "37.5 percent owner of a joint-venture known as 'Team Barakat' that is registered as lobbyist for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan." Team Barakat has a $180,000 contract, signed August 1 and effective Sept.

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O'Dwyer's PR Daily, January 9, 2002

Arab Businessmen Launch Their Own PR Campaign

by Laura Miller — January 3, 2002 - 12:00am

PR trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports: "The Arab Intellectual Foundation plans a $2 million media drive to counter what it feels are the 'negative images' of Arabs and Islam that are presented in the Western press in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks." Saudi Prince Khalid Al-Faisal is the president of AIF. Arab businessmen have been asked to contribute money to the campaign which will "promote the Arab perspective on the war on terror."

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O'Dwyer's PR Daily, January 3, 2002

Saudis Lash Out at "Zionists" in the Media

by Sheldon Rampton — December 28, 2001 - 12:00am

A roiling debate over the United States' ties with Saudi Arabia took an ugly turn when the Saudi defense minister, Prince Sultan ibn Abdul Aziz, publicly accused the "Zionist and Jewish lobby" of orchestrating a "media blitz" against the desert kingdom.

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Forward, December 28, 2001

Philippines Hires Burson-Marsteller

by Laura Miller — December 27, 2001 - 12:00am

The Philippines has awarded a $800,000 contract to PR goliath Burson-Marsteller to restore investor confidence in the country reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily. The PR firm will do media relations, spokesperson training and develop economic materials to "enhance the sovereign credit rating and strengthen perceptions of the international business community that the Philippines is an attractive location for foreign direct investment." The country, which has emerged as a key U.S. ally in its "war on terror," last week received rifles, mortars and military trucks from the U.S. Next month, the U.S.

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O'Dwyer's PR Daily, December 27, 2001
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