Lobbying

The Unseen Hand of the Marketplace of Ideas

by Sheldon Rampton — December 25, 2005 - 5:13pm

"Susan Finston of the Institute for Policy Innovation, a conservative research group based in Texas, is just the sort of opinion maker coveted by the drug industry," writes Philip Shenon. "In an opinion article in The Financial Times on Oct. 25, she called for patent protection in poor countries for drugs and biotechnology products.

Main Source: 
New York Times, December 23, 2005

Fake Op/Eds: Think Tanks and Piggy Banks

by Diane Farsetta — December 16, 2005 - 6:44pm

Two opinion columnists and fellows at conservative think tanks have admitted to taking money from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to write favorable columns about his clients.

Main Source: 
BusinessWeek, December 16, 2005

U.S. Front Groups Take a European Vacation

by Diane Farsetta — December 8, 2005 - 1:04pm

Britain's Independent reports on a "detailed and disturbing strategy document" authored by a U.S.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) official that seeks "to destroy Europe's support for the Kyoto treaty on climate change." CEI's Chris Horner, also a senior figure in the "

Main Source: 
The Independent (UK), December 8, 2005

Lobbying Europe

by Sheldon Rampton — November 24, 2005 - 1:00am

Brussels, home to the European Commission, has also become home to "over 15,000 lobbyists (more than one for every European Commission official) but just 10 per cent of these represent environmental and social groups," according to a recently-released report. "A massive industry of corporate lobbying has grown up in Brussels with overwhelming influence on European trade policy.

Main Source: 
WarOnWant.org

Hill & Knowlton Lobbies for F-gases

by Sheldon Rampton — November 23, 2005 - 2:46am

The Hill & Knowlton PR firm reportedly used scaremongering tactics to kill legislation before the European Parliament that would have banned fluorinated gases ("f-gases"), which contribute to global warming. "It's been six months of intense lobbying," said Avril Doyle, a parliamentarian who supported the regulation.

Main Source: 
BBC, November 22, 2005

Lawyers, Drugs and Ad Money

by Diane Farsetta — November 15, 2005 - 5:54pm

West Virginia's Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council unanimously approved "a financial disclosure form that would require pharmaceutical companies to reveal how much they spend on advertising and promotion of brand-name drugs" in the state, as well as any "gifts, grants or payments to physicians" in excess of $25.

Main Source: 
The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), November 11, 2005

The Little Red-Handed Lobby Shop and the Wolf

by Diane Farsetta — October 25, 2005 - 2:40pm

While human rights groups denounce the Sudanese government's "condoning of the action of a violent militia which is raping and killing innocent women, men and children and pillaging villages

Main Source: 
Reuters, October 21, 2005

How a Lobbyist Stacked the Deck

by Sheldon Rampton — October 21, 2005 - 12:33pm

The Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal continues to unravel. In a page one story, the Washington Post shows how Abramoff helped eLottery, a company that sells lottery tickets online, defeat the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 2000 by paying a coalition of Christian and other conservative groups to oppose the bill on the grounds that it would promote gambling.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, October 16, 2005

Don't Tell Us To Do What We're Already Doing!

by Diane Farsetta — October 17, 2005 - 11:50am

"The Business Council of Australia has come out against Government plans to create legislation forcing directors to meet certain levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR)," reports The Age.

Main Source: 
The Age (Australia), October 17, 2005

Mr. Scott Goes to Brussels

by Laura Miller — October 4, 2005 - 5:35pm

As American corporations have "discovered that Brussels is the source of an increasingly large volume of legislation, ranging from environmental
and labour standards to labelling requirements and new rules for the
financial services industry," more and more lobbyists are setting up shop there.

Main Source: 
Financial Times, October 3, 2005
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