International

Science Agency Staff Criticise Spin Strategy

Dr. Michael Borgas, the staff association president at CSIRO, the Australian government-funded science agency, harshly criticized the agency's censorious approach to journalists. "A business model, or even the appearance of a compliant, unquestioning propaganda-driven organisation, is not an acceptable strategy for CSIRO," he wrote. After Dr.

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The First Lady's Steely Public Diplomacy

"At a time when the U.S. is eager to repair its image around the world, the administration has found a willing envoy in Mrs. Bush," who traveled to Afghanistan, the West Bank, Rwanda and Tanzania in 2005. "Increasingly convinced the war on terror won't be won at gunpoint, the administration hopes Mrs. Bush's trips can draw on her domestic popularity to make inroads abroad," writes Christopher Cooper. U.S.

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Another Journalist on the U.S. Payroll, in Haiti

"The Associated Press has terminated its relationship with a freelance reporter in Haiti after learning she was working for a U.S. government-sponsored organization," the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In October 2005, reporter Regine Alexandre began working for NED as a "part-time facilitator" between the U.S.

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Freeport Fronts Its Way into Activists' Emails

The New York Times reports that the Louisiana-based mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold worked closely with Indonesian military intelligence officers to monitor the email and phone calls of environmental activists concerned about the impacts of the company's Grasberg mine in Indonesia's Papua province.

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Coke's PR Connects Canada and Colombia

After students at two Canadian universities, McMaster and the University of Guelph, voted down campus exclusivity deals with Coca-Cola, "the world's largest soft-drink company has launched a counter-offensive in hopes of heading off further boycotts." In December, Coke reps visited McMaster and the University of British Columbia.

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'Hearts and Minds': U.S. Wins Some, Loses Some

Wall Street Journal editorial board member Bret Stephens writes that U.S. assistance to Pakistan following the devastating October 8 earthquake is "one of America's most significant hearts-and-minds successes so far in the Muslim world. ... The Chinook has become America's new emblem in Pakistan, a byword for salvation in an area where until recently the U.S.

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Mexico to U.S.: Tear Down This Wall!

Following the U.S. House's passage of an immigration bill that would, among other things, extend walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico is fighting back. "Mexico ... will not allow a stupid thing like this wall," said its Foreign Relations Secretary. The Mexican government has hired Republican campaign consultant Rob Allyn who has long also been Mexico President Vincente Fox's campaign advisor.

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Spinning Russia

"It’s no secret that Moscow has an image problem. When Russian President Vladimir Putin makes headlines, it’s usually for jailing a businessman or cracking down on dissent," writes Julian Evans. Convinced that its image problem is due to anti-Russian "Western media bias," the Kremlin is trying to curry favor with foreign correspondents and has built its own English-language TV channel, Russia Today.

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