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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Headlines for IMC Radio News Show 4/8/2002 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Dan Chambers
Email: dschambers77 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified!)
Phone: 217-239-0076 |
08 Apr 2002
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Headlines for the IMC Radio News Show April 8, 2002 |
Headlines for 4/8 IMC Radio News
PBS and Corporations to Underwrite Series on Corporate Globalization
Enron, FedEx, British Petroleum, and Electronic Data Systems Corporation are all underwriting a series on corporate globalization entitled "Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy". The Wall Street Journal raves that "PBS Likes Capitalism More Than the Commercial Networks Do," adding that the series is a "paean to private enterprise." This is the same network that has come under harsh criticism from right-wing pundits for having a left-leaning bias. Enron's support for the project has been in the six-digit figure range, according to the Boston Globe, despite the fact that they no longer appear on lists of the show's funders. PBS calls the Enron link a "distraction".
The website for the program invites viewers to explore what Dick Cheney, Vicente Fox, and Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew have to say about the Global Economy--all leaders who favor unfettered corporate control of the global economy. Former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev is also listed.
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting calls these connections a "commanding conflict of interest." Rejected by PBS was a program called "The Money Lenders" a 1993 film about the World Bank. PBS was apparently concerned that “Even though the documentary may seem objective to some, there is a perception of bias in favor of poor people who claim to be adversely affected.”
Phillip Morris Calls Canadian Ruling on Cigarettes "Impermissible".
According to Phillip Morris, the American tobacco corporation, a Canadian public health ruling that calls light and mild cigarettes no better than regular ones is illegal under the controversial Chapter 11 portion of NAFTA. Canada has prohibited the use of such wording on cigarette packaging, citing research data that consumers choose these products under the assumption that they are healthier than regular cigarettes. Says Phillip Morris in a written statement, "The ban would be tantamount to an expropriation of tobacco trademarks containing descriptive terms as well as of the substantial investment in and goodwill associated with those marks and the brands they represent." Morris doesn't dispute that the cigarettes are just as dangerous, just that wording indicates differences in taste. Critics of trade agreements like NAFTA have long argued that such arrangements would have a chilling effect on health, environmental, and labor legislation due to the threat of a suit by companies under rules like Chapter 11. |
