Center for Media and Democracy - Center for Media and Democracy The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) was founded in 1993 by environmentalist writer John Stauber. It publishes PR Watch, edited by Sheldon Rampton. It has published several books describing what it calls the murky world of public relations. Disinfopedia The Disinfopedia is a CMD project - a WikiWiki based on the Wikipedia software. It describes itself as a collaborative project to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Disinfopedia was started on 15 January 2003 and publicly launched on 10 March 2003. The directory launched with approximately 200 articles, and by August 2003 contained nearly 1500.
John Stauber - of Mass Deception", about the propaganda used by the Bush administration in the lead-up to the war on Iraq. He is the founder and executive director of The Center for Media & Democracy, which sponsors PR Watch. See: Sheldon Rampton.
José María Aznar - to the presidency of Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon. His success earned him the trust of the Galician party leader Manuel Fraga, who appointed him as new party leader. Aznar conducted the refoundation of AP as Partido Popular ("People's Party"), aiming to the political center, embrasasing economic liberalism without attacking the welfare state. On April 19, 1995, ETA made an assassination attempt on Aznar. He only survived the attack thanks to his armored car. One women was killed as a result of the blast. After a strong campaign against the corruption scandals of Felipe González's PSOE and against Felipe González's alleged involvement with the GAL - an illegal anti-terrorist group -, Aznar's PP won the 1996 general election. Short of an absolute majority, Aznar had to reach agreements with other parties. After.
Israel Defence Forces - of its GDP on defense. Defense expenditures increased dramatically after both the 1967 and 1973 wars. In 1996, the military budget reached 10.6% of GDP and represented about 21.5% of the total 1996 budget. In 1983, the United States and Israel established the Joint Political Military Group, which meets twice a year. Both the U.S. and Israel participate in joint military planning and combined exercises, and have collaborated on military research and weapons development. Military branches: IDF Ground Infantry Givati Brigade Golani Brigade Nahal Brigade ( נח"ל ) Paratroopers Brigade ( צנחנים ) SF and CT elite units (Sayeret) Armour Barak Armored Brigade (aka. 45th Armored Brigade) Sheva' Brigade (Hativa Sheva in Hebrew, aka. 7th Armored Brigade) Artillery Combat Engineering Air Warplanes Helicopter gunships Cargo planes Nun Mem - Air defence.
Islamophobia - Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non-Muslims, and reject as directly opposed to Islam such concepts as equality, tolerance, and democracy. Islamophobia often expresses itself as a form of anti-Arab racism, though not all Arabs are Muslim and the majority of Muslims are not in fact Arab. The term itself is of recent coinage, and reflects the influence of such 1990s movements as multi-culturalism and identity politics. It most often appears in discourse on the condition of immigrant Muslims living as minorities in the West. However, its origin dates back to the Crusades. It has remained present in Europe for many centuries. Some hold that in France, one of the factors contributing to Islamophobia was France's occupation of Algeria, a Muslim nation. It is alleged that France carried out.
History of Nigeria - the government and assassinated the federal prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. The federal military government that assumed power was unable to quiet ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all sections of the country. In fact, its efforts to abolish the federal structure greatly raised tensions and led to another coup in July. The coup related massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast, where increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged. In a move that gave greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups, the military divided the four regions into 12 states. The Igbo rejected attempts at constitutional revisions and insisted on full autonomy for the east. Finally, on May 29, 1967, Lt. Col..
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 - will remove once and for all the uncertainties that have cropped up from time to time over the past five years as to when, and in what form, Article 23 will be implemented. "We also have a moral duty, as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC, to protect the security and sovereignty of our country. Why should Hong Kong people be under any less obligation to do so, or indeed feel uncomfortable in doing so, compared to citizens in other countries? (Source: HK needs laws to protect national security by Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip 28 January 2003) Mrs. Ip has been criticised by the press and religious groups for her zealousness in pursuing the implementation of the legislation. In a politically clumsy move, Mrs. Ip asserted that because.
Gulf War - ground combat within Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. During the conflict, Iraq fired missiles into Israeli territory. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Background 2 The Onset 3 Air Campaign 4 Ground Campaign 5 Canadian Involvement 6 Casualties 7 Cost 8 Media Campaign 9 Consequences 10 Technology 11 Important Individuals 12 Films 13 Related Legislation 14 Related articles 15 Bibliography 16 Further Reading: Background Prior to World War I, under the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, Kuwait was considered to be an autonomous caza within Ottoman Iraq. Following the war, Kuwait fell under British rule and later became an independent monarchy. Iraqi officials did not accept the legitimacy of Kuwaiti independence. Following the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, Iraq was extremely indebted to several Arab countries, including a $14 billion.
Florence and John Schumann Foundation - expenditures of $5,096,495. Recipients of recurring Schumann Foundation grants during the 1990s, ranging from under $100,000 to more than $5 million annually, include Tides Foundation and Tides Center, Environmental Working Group, Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and the Center for Media & Democracy. John Schumann was a member of the Florida Citrus Commission, he founded several banks and credit unions, and eventually became president of General Motors Acceptance Corporation. Florence Ford brought to the Foundation wealth she inherited from her father, who was one of the founders of IBM. Officers and Trustees include, Robert F. Schumann, Chairman, Bill D. Moyers, President, and W. Ford Schumann, Vice President. Reported investment holdings include shares in British Petroleum, Columbia Gas.
December 2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces a ban on the sale of dietary supplement ephedra, citing "an unreasonable risk of illness or injury" from the use of the drug. [1] U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recuses himself and his office from the CIA leak scandal, in which the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, was leaked by Washington insiders. Democratic political leaders had been calling for Ashcroft's recusal. [1] The man who was convicted of breaking into mainland China cable television networks and broadcasting footage of the banned Falun Gong reportedly dies in prison. Falun Gong and the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy claim he was beaten.[1] December 29, 2003 Papal Nuncio to Burundi, Irish-born Archbishop Michael Courtney, is killed in an ambush. [1] The.
Afghanistan timeline January 17-31, 2002 - military to maintain security once international peacekeepers leave. In Pakistan, fire broke out in some tarpaulin tents in Ashgoor refugee camp in which two children were killed and eighteen others injured seriously. Twelve tents were also destroyed in another incident in Balochistan refugee camp in which three peopledied. Two children also received burns. Arson was suspected for both fires. Afghanistan was one of twenty countries barred from voting in the U.N General Assembly in 2002 because they have fallen too far behind in their dues. January 30, 2002 In New York City, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai laid a wreath of yellow roses at the site of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. He later appealed to the U.N Security Council in New York City to expand the multinational.
Anson Chan - things. In 1959, Chan entered the University of Hong Kong as an English literature student. She earned her pocket money by working as a private tutor. She at first decided to pursue a career as a social worker upon graduated. However in 1962, Chan joined the civil service as an administrative service cadet. She became a senior administrative officer in 1970. During this period she helped set up the Association of Female Senior Government Officers to fight for better rights for women civil servants. Appointed Director of Social Welfare in 1980, she was severely criticized by media in 1986 for her handling of a child custody case involving a five-year-old girl taken away by force from her mentally-ill mother. From 1987 to 1993, she took the position as Secretary for Economic.
August 2003 - over the main religious site in Jerusalem, the location of both the Temple Mount and the Noble Sanctuary. The holy site had been closed to non-Muslims since September 2000. Israeli officials say they are maintaining calm over a site sacred to three religions. But Muslim authorities say the Israeli government is risking a backlash here and throughout the Muslim world. [1] Occupation of Iraq: General in Iraq says more soldiers are not needed. The American Coalition commander encouraged Muslim allies like Turkey and Pakistan to send peacekeepers and said accelerating the training of a new Iraqi army should be considered. [1] Tony Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, resigns, leaving Blair with none of the three key players he has relied on for the last decade left. [1] [1] The Inuit of.
Think tank - actual diplomacy between China and the United States takes the form of academic exchanges between members of think tank groups. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Centers of Human Thought or Tools for Propaganda 2 Mapping the US think tank network 3 Well-Known Think Tanks 3.1 United Kingdom 3.2 United States 4 See Also 5 External Links Centers of Human Thought or Tools for Propaganda Many think tanks today are little more than tools for propaganda. Their purpose is often simply to construct, publish, and promote arguments in favor of a predetermined ideology such as conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist, communist, etc... The ideology is determined by whatever corporation or group is funding the think tank activities. At least one new think tank has been formed whose mission is to break this mold-and.
Communications Decency Act - federal court struck down the portion of the law relating to protecting children from indecent speech as too broad. A year later, on June 26, 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, stating that the porion concerned was an unconstitutional abridgement of the First Amendment right to free speech. CDA contained a number of provisions criminalizing the display or transmission to a minor material of a violent or sexual nature. The media affected by this act were the Internet and cable television. The CDA was criticized for prohibiting the posting of "indecent" or "patently offensive" in public forums on the Internet, which many felt was too ambiguous and could easily be construed. Opponents argued that otherwise protected free speech under the First.
Xinhua News Agency - the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC with a rank of class A among the world wide news agencies. It is an institution of the State Council of China. Xinhua means "New China". It is one of the two news agencies in mainland China; (the other one is the China News Service). History The Xinhua press agency was started in November 1931 as the Red China News Agency and changed to its current name in 1937. It began broadcasting to foreign countries in English from 1944. The headquarter of Xinhua is located in Beijing. Xinhua News Agency established its first filiale abroad in 1948. Now it distributes its news in Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Africa where.
Second Superpower - that the blogosphere (internet "blogs", or popularly-written news journals) enables a community of global citizens to become an emergent democracy that can influence the media and change governmental policy. Although some credit this term with New York Times writer Patrick Tyler, he never actually used it in writing. On February 17 2003, Tyler wrote: "...the huge anti-war demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion." The New York Times article was widely circulated in the peace movement during February of 2003, adding to the hope that galvanizing world public opinion could prevent a United States invasion of Iraq. By March, however, interest had waned in the face of the actual invasion of Iraq and.
Sheldon Rampton - the Reagan administration's military interventions in Central America and works to promote economic development, human rights, and mutual friendship between the people of the United States and Nicaragua. At WCCN, Rampton helped establish the Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund (NICA Fund) in 1992, which channels loans from socially concerned US investors to support microcredit and other "alternative credit" programs in Nicaragua. In 1995, Rampton teamed with John Stauber as co-editors of PR Watch, a publication of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). Defenders of the public relations industry regard their writings as one-sided and hostile. ActivistCash.com, a website hosted by Washington lobbyist Rick Berman, has castigated them as "self-anointed watchdogs," "scare-mongers," "reckless" and "left-leaning."[1] In their own profile of ActivistCash.com, however, Rampton and Stauber have stated that the ActivistCash critique contains.
Politics of Italy - not as extensive as those of the U.S. Supreme Court. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Political conditions 2 Political Parties 3 Data Political conditions There have been frequent government turnovers since 1945. The dominance of the Christian Democratic (Democrazia Cristiana) party during much of the postwar period lent continuity and comparative stability to Italy's political situation. From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters (disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's considerable influence) demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. In 1993 referendums, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to a largely majoritarian electoral system and the abolishment of some ministries (some of which have however been reintroduced with only partly modified competences). Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss.
Politics of Lebanon - Politics of Lebanon Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy in which the people constitutionally have the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the parliamentary elections in 1992, civil war precluded the exercise of political rights. According to the constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every 4 years. Parliament, in turn, elects a president every 6 years. The last presidential election was in 1998. The president and parliament choose the prime minister. Political parties may be formed. However, most are based on sectarian interests. Since the emergence of the post-1943 state, national policy has been determined largely by a relatively restricted group of traditional regional and sectarian leaders. The 1943 national pact, an unwritten agreement that established the political foundations of modern Lebanon, allocated political.
