Corporatism

Corporations and the Conventions

At the Democratic convention last week, I kept bumping into two different kinds of corporate professionals. Most have headed over to the Republican convention this week. One type says its job is "public affairs;" the other, "government affairs." They sound similar but the jobs are quite different.

Posted in Corporatism, Politics

Cheney Colleague Admits Bribery in Halliburton Oil Deals

A former colleague of the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, has pleaded guilty to funnelling millions of dollars in bribes to win lucrative contracts in Nigeria for Halliburton, during the period in the Nineties when Mr Cheney ran the giant oil and gas services company.

Albert Stanley, who was appointed by Mr Cheney as chief executive of Halliburton's subsidiary KBR, admitted using a north London lawyer to channel payments to Nigerian officials as part of a bribery scheme that landed some $6bn of work in the country over a decade.

Posted in Corporatism

When Fairness Became a Four-Letter Word

Over the 28 years I have been in television, I have interviewed a lot of people that seemed to be having "issues" with the truth. Killers, rapists, hookers, scam artists, even O. J. Simpson. And in all that time I have only had one person walk out of an interview when their veracity was challenged. He was a TV executive for Sinclair Broadcasting.

Posted in Corporatism, Media, Media Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2008
1:49 PM

CONTACT: Center Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

Lab Tests Point to Problems With Trendy New Stevia Sweetener

CSPI Urges More Testing Before Stevia Extract Is Used in Food, Drinks

WASHINGTON - August 28 - Coca-Cola and Pepsi are planning to introduce new drinks made with rebiana, an extract of stevia leaves that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. But according to a new 26-page report by toxicologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, several, though not all, laboratory tests show that the sweetener causes mutations and DNA damage, which raises the prospect that it causes cancer.

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Posted in Corporatism

Poverty Is the Real Scandal

DENVER - Former Sen. John Edwards was supposed to speak in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. His wife, Elizabeth Edwards, was to speak also. Poverty was their focus. But they are not here because John Edwards had an affair. Will the Democrats now forget about poverty?

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Inequality

Community College Students Need Not Apply: Our Reward for Bailing Out the Banks

The American Dream deferred - that's what national lenders announced recently when they told Americans they were significantly reducing their lending to students who attend community college. Education is the great equalizer, but there was no equality in their decision: they targeted community colleges for cuts while extending their lending programs at distinguished 4-year schools.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade

FCC Anounces 80 City 'We're Not Listening' Digital TV Tour

All most of us know about the transition to digital TV are two things. The first thing we know is that some people will need converter boxes on their old TVs to receive the new digital broadcasts. The second thing we know is that digital broadcast technology will enable high definition TV. As far as corporate broadcasters and the FCC are concerned, that's all we need to know, and those are the boundaries of legitimate public discourse.

Posted in Corporatism, Media, Media Reform

The Housing Bubble Villains Deny Responsibility

The central bankers of the world gathered last weekend for their annual meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This was an opportunity to talk about the major issues confronting the world economy, as well as an opportunity to spend some time in a very beautiful vacation spot.

Posted in Corporatism

AT&T Thanks the Blue Dog Democrats With a Lavish Party

Posted in Corporatism, Media, Politics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2008
10:00 AM

CONTACT: American Rights at Work
Josh Goldstein
202-822-2127 x118
954-254-4900 (Cell)
jgoldstein@americanrightsatwork.org

Ten Employers Top 2008 Labor Day List

Corporations Honored for Conducting Business Through Strong Partnerships With Employees

WASHINGTON - August 26 - As the American Dream is drifting further out of reach for most workers, a number of employees and employers are finding ways to work together through innovative labor relations models that aim to curb this growing trend. In observance of Labor Day, the American Rights at Work Education Fund publicizes successful union and management partnerships in its fourth annual Labor Day List: Partnerships that Work.

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American Rights at Work Education Fund - www.americanrightsatwork.org - is an educational and outreach organization dedicated to promoting the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain collectively.

Posted in Corporatism