[LINK] Telstra - the shilling prospects
Stewart Fist
stewart_fist at optusnet.com.au
Fri Feb 9 16:22:29 AEDT 2007
Danny asks
>
> Do you think we'll have Telstra shills turning up on Link? Or is
> this going to backfire, with shareholders unwilling to do unpaid PR
> for a megacorp?
We now have some of the most experienced shills in the business running and
advising Telstra. See below
For the origins of this story see:
Correspondence between Telstra Chairman David Hoare and the Australian-born
CEO of Philip Morris, Geoff Bible, over the possible loan of PM's chief
political lobbyist, Andrew Whist
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/fcv95c00>
Whist is now back in Australia
Whist and Bible were both chartered accountants from Melbourne.
Whist was teaching Telstra executives the art of political lobbying right
through 1999-2000.
In 1975 he worked (as a PM lobbyist) for the Fraser Liberal Party, and had
been closely involved in the Dismissal. Then he had been snatched up by
Philip Morris in New York and run its political operations internationally
until 1999.
This Telstra deal was in preparation for privatisation before Sol and
Burgess were contracted. But Whist would have known both in the USA.
You guess.
-----------------------------------------------
Phil Burgess
Phil Burgess was founder of the think-tank (read 'lobby shop') called Center
for the New West, and later in 2001-2003 the President of the corporate
Republican umbrella think-tank the Annapolis Institute (founded and run
secretly by the National Manufacturers Association).
He was also associated with The Progress and Freedom Foundation mentioned
here, which is a well-known neo-con lobby group in the USA
Here is Phil's most impressive biography. His life has been spent as a
corporate lobbyist and runner of neo-con think-tanks for companies with
regulatory problems.
See <http://www.iabcvic.com.au/uploads/PMBurgessBio.pdf>
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Annapolis Institute (and Center)
The Annapolis Institute, which Burgess ran, is an organisation which trains
prospective Republican policitians in how to win elections.
It has a number of subsidiaries, including the Annapolis Center for
Science-Based Public Policy. The whole operation is a front for the
combined business-oriented, conservative arm of American politics pushing
for deregulation on health, safety, and environmental issues.
The Annapolis Center was reportedly founded by and continues to be run by
Richard Seibert, a vice president of the National Association of
Manufacturers (NAM). Some 80% of the funding for the Annapolis Center comes
from NAM members, according to the Wall Street Journal. Later it was
funded by ExxonMobile Philip Morris kicked in $20,000 to $50,000 a year, as
did the other tobacco companies.
This is a list of Philip Morris's 1997 grants to think-tanks (listed by the
internal executive lobbyists, who handled the think tanks). See page 3
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/fah53a00> (Note that they also gave
special purpose grants on top of this annual grant).
This is the corporate-funder letter from the Annapolis Centre about the
above
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/uno83c00>
The full report is here:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qno83c00>
Page 2 (bottom) of this yearly planning document shows that Philip Morris
were using the Annapolis Centre this year, to run forums on Indoor Air
Quality (IAQ) as part of their "Accomodation" propaganda program (trying to
stop bans on workplace and restaurant smoking. Note the other Institutes
they were using also - Hoover, etc.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qtt47d00>
This is the same list of right-wing shonky think-tanks:
<http://www.globalclimate.org/climscience/health.htm >
Here is an e-mail (Oct 18 2000)from Philip Morris's Youth Smoking Prevention
Program suggesting that the company's funding and association with the
Annapolis Center is best conducted through PM's Worldwide Regulation
section. Richard Rue was the CEO of the center at that time.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jyk00c00>
Philip Morris was a contributor of $15,000 in 1993, and a $25,000 Corporate
Strategic Sponsor by January 1999 -- then was asked for another $25,000 in
Feb the same year.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/nqo83c00> Jan 1999
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/mqo83c00> Feb 1999
The usually practice, was for corporations like PM to then to pay extra for
specific services, such as running the forums on Indoor Air Quality.
The Annapolis Centre was also involved in American industry attempts to
block the Kyoto Accords.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xxo83c00>
A news report on Annapolis Center in 2004
American Progress reports that Sen. James Inhofe (the same Sen. Inhofe who
is more outraged by the outrage than he is by the torture of Iraqi
prisoners), received an award for his support of "rational, science-based
thinking and policy-making."
Inhofe, who heads the Senate¹s environmental committee, has
suggested that human-caused global warming is a "hoax," so the award is
surprising, until you learn that it came from the Annapolis Center for
Science-Based Public Policy, a group that receives funding from Exxon Mobil
and other large corporations.
Says American Progress, "The astonishing spectacle of Inhofe receiving a
science award points to a disturbing truth of American politics today.
Science is a highly partisan and politicized issue, and both sides in the
climate debate claim scientific support for their positions."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Center for the New West
This was closely aligned with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which is
itself an offshoot of the American Enterprise Institute - one of the key
deniers of global warming.
See here <http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/alh36e00>
The Center was set up by US West, the telephone company, to act as a lobby
force promoting its interests in telecommuting, etc. See p3
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ndw75e00> Phil had to move out of Center
for the New West when his links with the US West Telephone company were
exposed.
All of these are neo-con or Republican think-tanks:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/awi02c00>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Progress and Freedom Foundation
The Progress and Freedom Foundation claims to be a "technical association
founded in 1993 to study the digital revolution and its implications for
public policy" It is nothing more than a Newt Gingrich political front
organisation
Newt Gingrich set up and ran this foundation; funded by a number of
industries lead by the tobacco industry. Its mission was to try to crush the
Food and Drug Administration. See:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xlf67c00>
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qwb57d00>
The Progress and Freedom Foundation payed the NET cable TV network to
promote Gingrich's views.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ttw87d00>
In 1995, Philip Morris gave the Progress and Freedom Foundation $100,000 as
a "public policy grant".
See <http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qqw87d00>
Jeff Eisenach was their main operational contact, but Louis W Sullivan (ex
Sec of Health under Pres. Bush) was an old tobacco supporter. You can see
the foundation being listed here in a planning document for Philip Morris's
"Social Cost" propaganda campaign. (see top of Page 4)
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/tmg44a00>
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/dpg57d00>
A number of industries, including the tobacco industry, pharmaceutical and
chemical industries decided to gang up on the FDA once Newt Gingrich had
gained control of the US Congress. The Progress and Freedom Foundation
worked along with Rupert Murdoch. See:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/irm67d00>
The Republicans were trying to shut the FDA.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/hfw87d00>
(Note: this was a pre-publication copy of the journalists typed copy - yet
it was in the Philip Morris files)
John Schwartz, then with the Washington Post, wrote this piece which refered
to the organisation (bottom left) in 1994.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/oyv77d00>
In-house lobbyist David Nicoli of WRO (Washington Regulatory Office of
Philip Morris) wrote to Geoff Bible (the Australian head of Philip Morris in
New York) this report in December 1994: See last par first page:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/kqi57d00>
Note Geoff Bible comment bottom right, Page 1 and PFF funding info bottom
right Page 2
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/sxx06c00>
In Jan 1995 Nicoli reported his current activities to his immediate boss
(See page 3 top). He says that the "Progress and Freedom Foundation,
through Tozzi, set to release FDA attack piece on 2/1/95 with Powell Tate
publicizing". Tozzi is James Tozzi, the ex WhiteHouse Office of
Management and Budget director in Reagan era, and Powell is Jody Powell,
also White House staff -- both long-term lobbyists for the tobacco industry.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eii57d00>
The Progress and Freedom Foundation was seen by the tobacco industry as one
of the leaders in its fight to reduce the powers of the Food & Drug
Administration. See "For further information: (Page 10) in this advice to
state executives managing the attack. (Philip Morris document Dec 1994)
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/evi24c00>
Beverly McKittrick, lawyer for Philip Morris Management Company (PMMC) lists
Progress and Freedom Foundation as one of their main allies.
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/tbp18d00>
Here is her anti-FDA strategy document:
<http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gbi57d00>
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