U.S. Government

Bid to Sink NZ Nuclear Warship Ban Backfires

Submitted by Bob Burton on

The prospects of the conservative New Zealand National Party opposition in the September 17 election may be doomed after revelations that it floated the idea of a U.S. think tank helping undermine support for the country's 1985 ban on nuclear armed and powered warships. In January 2004 the Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Don Brash, and its spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lockwood Smith, met with the then Republican Senator for Oklahoma, Don Nickles. Brash allegedly told U.S.

No
Main Source: 
New Zealand Herald August 3, 2005
Topics: 
International
Politics
Think Tanks
U.S. Government

Lawmakers Get To K Street Via Capitol Hill

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"Election to Congress used to be an end in itself. Now, for nearly half of federal lawmakers, it is a steppingstone to a second career: lobbying," the Washington Post reports. According to a new study by LobbyingInfo.org, a project of the liberal group Public Citizen, 43 percent of Congressional members who have left office since 1998 have registered to lobby.

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Main Source: 
Washington Post, July 27, 2005
Topics: 
Lobbying
U.S. Government

Pentagon Paid The Rendon Group $1.6 Million To Influence Vieques Vote

Submitted by Laura Miller on

The U.S. Navy spent over $1.6 million on PR work to influence a vote on whether part of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques would continue to serve as a bombing range, the Associated Press reports.

No
Main Source: 
Contra Costa Times, July 23, 2005
Topics: 
Public Relations
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Terror War Gets New Slogan

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups," the New York Times reports. The administration's new spin emphasizes that the U.S. is waging a "global struggle against violent extremism" instead of a "global war on terror" and that the struggle is more than just a military campaign. The solution is "more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military," Gen.

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Main Source: 
New York Times, July 26, 2005
Topics: 
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Propaganda Czar-To-Be Say She's 'Eager to Listen'

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"A scaled-back Senate Foreign Relations Committee showered praise Friday on Karen Hughes and put the former political adviser to President Bush on a fast track to confirmation as the State Department's top public relations official," the Associated Press writes.

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Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2005
Topics: 
International
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Burson-Marseller's BKSH Gets Piece of Pentagon Psyops Pie

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"Burson-Marsteller's BKSH & Assocs., has been hired by The Lincoln Group, one of three firms selected last month by the U.S. Special Operations Command to wage psychological warfare on behalf of the Pentagon in Iraq and other hot spots," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports.

No
Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), July 22, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Political Ads, Not Just For Elections

Submitted by Laura Miller on

Within 24 hours of George Bush's announcement of his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Progress for America, a group with close ties to the White House, had an ad supporting John Roberts ready to roll. The 30-second spot, entitled "Brilliant," is airing on current affairs cable channels and during Sunday morning talk shows. "The ad's argument is that Roberts is not out of the mainstream and doesn't rise to the level of an extraordinary circumstance," the Associated Press reports.

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Main Source: 
Washington Post, July 20, 2005
Topics: 
Marketing
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Military Recruiters Use Market Research To Fill Boots

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"As the Army struggles to fill boots, the Pentagon is slicing and dicing data from enlistees and the U.S. Census to sharpen direct-marketing efforts for all the armed services," Advertising Age writes in an article offering insight on how "to get a piece of the $200 million U.S.

No
Main Source: 
Advertising Age, July 11, 2005
Topics: 
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Industry Lobbyist Blows Smoke For Medical Marijuana Advocates

Submitted by Laura Miller on

Jim Tozzi, the industry friendly lobbyist who helped create the little-known "Data Quality Act," is offering his assistance to medical marijuana advocates who are using the Act to undermine government claims that marijuana has no accepted medical value.

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Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2005
Topics: 
Lobbying
Science
U.S. Government

EPA Seeks to Protect Its Own Image

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"The Office of Research and Development at the Environmental Protection Agency is seeking outside public relations consultants, to be paid up to $5 million over five years, to polish its Web site, organize focus groups on how to buff the office's image and ghostwrite articles 'for publication in scholarly journals and magazines,'" the New York Times reports.

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Main Source: 
New York Times, July 18, 2005
Topics: 
Environment
Public Relations
U.S. Government

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