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Who Really Benefits from Voluntary Corporate Codes of Conduct?

PinnochioA recent investigation by BBC Television showed British American Tobacco (BAT) violating its own voluntary marketing and advertising codes in Malawi, Mauritius and Nigeria. Contrary to BAT's public pronouncements that it doesn't want children to smoke, the company was caught using marketing tactics in these countries that are known to appeal to young people, like advertising and selling single cigarettes, and sponsoring non-age-restricted, product branded musical entertainment.

As trading has become more global and corporations have become more multinational, countries started discovering that they have little recourse to rein in the harmful behavior of corporations. As public clamor to regulate multinationals has grown, companies have increasingly responded by adopting "voluntary codes of conduct." But what are the real purposes for these codes? Are they just window dressing, or worse?

Meet the Nuclear Power Lobby

The following article appeared in the June 2008 issue of The Progressive magazine.

nuclear power plantThe nuclear power industry is seeing its fortunes rise. "Seventeen entities developing license applications for up to thirty-one new [nuclear] reactors did not just happen," boasted Frank "Skip" Bowman. "It has been carefully planned."

Bowman heads the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the main lobbying group for the industry. His remarks (PDF), at a February gathering of more than 100 Wall Street analysts, were part of a presentation on "reasoned expectations for new nuclear plant construction."

Bowman knew it was important to impress his audience of wary potential investors. "We are where we are today because this industry started many years ago on a systematic program to identify what went wrong the last time," he said, "and develop ways to eliminate or manage those risks."

Congresspedia Preview: This Week in Congress (June 29-July 5, 2008)

Both the House and Senate are out of session this week for the 4th of July recess. Many members of Congress aren't just kicking their feet up - this is prime campaigning season and the number of districts considered competitive keeps growing. To see who's running for Congress in your state, see Congresspedia's Wiki The Vote project. (And make sure to add to the profiles of the candidates you know something about!)

Congresspedia Review: This Week in Congress (June 20-27, 2008)

This week the Senate and House finally came to agreement with the White House on a bill funding the Iraq war through 2009 that also contains billions in new domestic spending and the House approved a Medicare pay fix for physicians. Several other issues have been pushed to after the July 4th recess after Senate Republicans threw some sand in the gears: a single senator stopped the housing and mortgage crisis legislation and another group stopped the renewal of the global AIDS package. In both cases the Republicans wanted votes or other participation on bills that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was trying to quickly push through. Still, the Senate did manage to confirm five nominations to the currently inactive Federal Election Commission.

Meet the Candidates: Winners in the Utah congressional primaries

For the third time this election cycle, an incumbent member of the U.S. House of Representatives will be looking for work at the end of the 110th Congress. Republican Rep. Chris Cannon yesterday lost a primary race to Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s 3rd district. Chaffetz ran on a platform of cracking down on illegal immigration, and contrasted his stance to Cannon's support of comprehensive immigration reform.

Chaffetz succeeded in 2008 where others had failed: in 2004 and 2006, Cannon also faced challengers from within his party. Like fellow Republican Andy Harris and Democrat Donna Edwards in Maryland, Chaffetz was able to coalesce his support among his party's base, in a year when "Change" has been a successful theme for candidates of all stripes.

As part of Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote project, citizen journalists from around the country (and even some candidates!) have been logging information about the candidates' positions, biographies and records. A full list of the candidates and their professions are below, but you can also find them at their respective state portals via the Wiki the Vote project homepage. We need your help to find out more about these candidates, so if you know something about them please add it to their profile. (You can always contact one of the staff editors for help.)

Meet the Candidates: Congressional primaries in Utah today

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

In Utah today, Rep. Chris Cannon (R) is again trying to fend off a primary challenge in a bid to continue representing the 3rd district in the U.S. House. He's faced stiff competition in the past two election cycles as well, since the winner of the Republican nomination is virtually assured of the general election win. This year, Cannon's toughest competitor is Jason Chaffetz.

Chaffetz is a former football player for BYU and was the chief of staff for the state's Republican governor, Jon Huntsman. Chaffetz has attacked the incumbent by arguing that Cannon is too moderate for the district he represents, this year accusing Cannon of being soft on immigration reform.

Congresspedia Preview: This Week in Congress (June 20 - 27, 2008)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

The Senate this week is expected to take up a new reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which passed through the House of Representatives late last week. The Senate might also consider a spending bill for the Iraq War, legislation that has gone back and forth between the two chambers with mixed provisions. House members are expected to attempt a Medicare physician payment patch, and they will also take up a $61.5 billion fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Also, we have congressional primaries in Utah tomorrow.

As we explained in our review post, the new FISA bill includes some additional judicial oversight on the nation’s electronic surveillance programs while giving tacit immunity to telephone companies that helped the administration spy on Americans without a warrant.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has indicated he will strip the immunity provision from the legislation when his chamber debates the bill this week. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has also said he would work to strip the immunity provisions, while presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has not released a statement on the bill.

Same Old Dog and No New Tricks: Update on Messaging on Iran

We know from Scott McClellan, the former White House Spokesman, in his recent book, What Happened, that President Bush insists on discipline in messaging. Although the publics on both sides of the Atlantic have gotten to the point of heavily discounting what he says, the President's desire for control can give us a sense of the thrust of policy. This is certainly true with respect to Iran.

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