Veteran war reporter Chris Hedges has written a book examining the continuing appeal of war to the human psyche. "The communal march against an enemy generates a warm, unfamiliar bond with our neighbors, our community, our nation, wiping out unsettling undercurrents of alienation and dislocation," he writes. He discusses the myths that accompany war in an interview with TomPaine.com: "Once you enter a conflict, or at the inception of a conflict, you are given a language by which you speak.

Jeff Seideman, president of the Boston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, is publicly disagreeing with the PRSA's stance on the Nike vs. Kasky lawsuit, in which Nike is being sued for allegedly making false statements about its overseas labor practices. "Actually, PRSA shouldn't be on either side of the issue," Seideman writes. It should have taken a position in support of ethical practices by PR professionals." Nike and the PRSA claim the First Amendment protects their right to make false statements about corporate social responsibility.

Pakistan's recent contract with Stirling Consulting for "media relations" work will include dealing with negative media stories, "stimulating" pro-Pakistan letters-to-the-editor, and enlisting Pakistani-American "message surrogates," Working for Change columnist Bill Berkowitz writes. "Recruiting 'message surrogates' is a classic example of what in PR lingo is called 'the third party technique,'" PR Watch's Sheldon Rampton told Berkowitz.