Dirt Diggers Digest No. 32
April 1, 2003
Editor: Philip Mattera
1. Roundup of new info sources on corporate involvement in Iraq
2. A research cooperative on war profiteers?
3. IRRC guide to state corporate governance laws
4. Info service screens non-profits for terrorist ties
5. Disinfopedia: PR firms and disinformation
6. Expensive wew website tracks litigation involving public companies
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1. Roundup of new info sources on corporate involvement in Iraq
Despite frustrations on the battlefield, the Bush Administration is
moving ahead with its plans for the postwar transformation of Iraq.
A big part of these plans involves corporations, which will be hired
to rebuild the infrastructure still being destroyed by "Coalition" forces,
to take over operation of Iraq's oil resources and to reshape the
country's economy.
These steps are being watched closely by groups and individuals
who monitor corporate activities. The following is a roundup of
research reports that have been issued recently about the war
profiteers:
The Center for Public Integrity: ADVISORS OF INFLUENCE:
NINE MEMBERS OF THE DEFENSE POLICY BOARD HAVE
TIES TO DEFENSE CONTRACTORS <www.public-i.org>.
Sustainable Energy & Economy Network: CRUDE VISION:
HOW OIL INTERESTS OBSCURED U.S. GOVERNMENT FOCUS ON
CHEMICAL WEAPONS USE BY SADDAM HUSSEIN <www.seen.org>
(The SEEN website also features the Global Database, which
contains info on energy projects funded by the World Bank and
other international financial agencies.)
CorpWatch: HALLIBURTON MAKES A KILLING ON IRAQ WAR
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=6008
Center for Responsive Politics's Capital Eye newsletter: POSTWAR
PROFITEERS <http://www.capitaleye.org/>
Corporate Research Project: THE NEXT WAVE OF INVADERS:
U.S. HIRES ANTI-UNION COMPANY TO RUN PORT IN IRAQ
http://www.corp-research.org/archives.htm
Other resources include:
Oil War News website compiled by George Draffan
http://www.endgame.org/oilwarlinks.html
Arms Trade Resource Center of the World Policy Institute
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/index.html
To keep up with the latest Iraq contracting news, see the USAID
website at http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/
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2. A research cooperative on war profiteers?
As the economic invasion of Iraq proceeds, there will be a growing
need for critical research on companies, contracts and investments.
Subscribers to the Dirt Diggers Digest include many of the people
best qualified to do this work. If you are interested in discussing
the creation of an informal cooperative to take on some of this work,
please get in touch with Digest editor Phil Mattera.
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3. IRRC guide to state corporate governance laws
The Investor Responsibility Research Center has
released a book called CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
STATE BY STATE: A GUIDE TO SELECTED STATUTES.
The group's announcement of the publication (price: $295)
says that "most state corporate codes tend to reflect the
philosophy that state corporate law should contain few
mandatory provisions." For more information on the book, see
http://www.irrc.com/press_releases/03182003_State.html .
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4. Info service screens non-profits for terrorist ties
A group of three information companies has announced the
creation of a new service designed to screen charities and
thereby help companies make sure that their philanthropic
contributions do not end up in the hands of non-profits with
links to terrorism or other questionable affiliations. The service,
called CharityGuard, is being produced by public records
aggregator Choicepoint; GuideStar, which produces a database
of 990s and other information on non-profits; and Regulatory
DataCorp Intl. LLC. The latter was formed last year "for the purpose
of aggregating and leveraging public information and regulatory
and industry expertise on a global basis to enable clients to
better identify and manage legal, regulatory and reputational
risks and comply with global regulatory responsibilities." Its
website is www.regulatorydatacorp.com.
The announcement of CharityGuard (the press release can be
found at www.choicepoint.net under News Center) comes on
the heals of Bush Administration prosecution of Islamic charities
accused of having ties to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda.
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5. Disinfopedia: PR firms and disinformation
Dirt Digger subscriber Don Wiener wants to draw the attention of
fellow researchers to Disinfopedia <www.disinfopedia.org>, a
collaborative project to collect information on public relations firms
and their involvement in disinformation campaigns on behalf of
corporations, governments and special interests. The site, a project
of PRWatch.org, includes profiles of key p.r. outfits.
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6. Expensive new website tracks litigation involving public companies
A new subscription website called The Litigation Stock Report
<www.litigationstockreport.com> has been launched to track pending
lawsuits against publicly traded companies. Since the service is owned
by Thomson Corp., it is no surprise that the subscription cost is
astronomical -- up to $15,000 for complete access.
Phil Mattera