"USA for Innovation" - a made-to-order lobbying effort?

[admin]

For those of you who cannot access YouTube posting, here are the comments so far on USA for Innovation's posting there

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accessmedicines | April 27, 2007
SECOND: The United States and the European Union have and are issuing compulsory licenses on patents for other medicines and less important technologies all the time. For recent examples of compulsory licenses, check: http://www.keionline.org/index.php?o...content&task=v iew&id=41&Itemid=1
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THIRD: Adelman, who are you funded by? USA for Innovation is a hoax funded by pharma industry. I do not believe you even have a real office. Try to contact them: 1-866-646-8668, nobody is answering.
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accessmedicines | April 27, 2007
FIRST: Compulsory license is a totally legal mechanism included in the TRIPS Agreement and nearly all the national patent laws in the world.

In simple terms, Patents are a social contract, a government granted right which goal is to balance the interests of innovators and the public at large. A Compulsory licensing is a government authorization to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner, but the patent owner is still paid a reasonable royalty. It is basically a mechanism that promotes competition and lower prices, while respecting the innovators' rights.

I think you need some basic classes on patent and international law. Maybe this helps?
FAQ published by the World Trade Organization. Compulsory licensing of pharmaceuticals and TRIPS: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/...blic_health_fa q_e.htm
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cakewa1ker | April 27, 2007
So the guy who tried to convince us that Iraq would be a cakewalk ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...1996-2002Feb12 ) now has another bright idea: lets threaten poor countries until they make medicines more expensive for people with fatal diseases!!

The WMD thing didn't work out so well, so maybe now we should invade to take away the ARVs - is that it?

In his day job with the huge PR firm Edelman, Adelman represents big pharma and the ousted ex prime minister of Thailand. But then, credibility isn't really his strong suit.
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crapstuff | April 27, 2007
Sad and pathetic. The thai governement is working within international laws to treat HIV as a national emergeency. It is not breaking any laws.
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[ncr]

2B link

Interesting and worrying at the same time.... Thanks for exposing what is obviously a front set up to serve a hidden agenda. Come to think about it, this campaign appeared fishy from the start. It is clearly not about patent rights, but rather about discrediting the current government/regime (whatever you prefer to call it). Now, which person outside Thailand could have an interest in that?

Looking forward to the results of your attempts to contact them for comment.

1) The connection to the Edelman PR firm is actually openly acknowledged on the website:

"He has been National Editor of Washingtonian magazine for 15 years and is a senior counselor at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide."

BTW, why is he called "Ambassador"? Does that expression have other meanings in American English that are lost on me? This doesn't quite help to clear it up for me.

2) I think this case should serve as a warning to all uf us: whenever you read something along the lines of "About us: XYZ is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to.....", be deeply suspicious. The "USA for Innovation" story is quite an eye-opener in this respect. These groups don't work for nothing, after all.

3) Sorry for being off-topic with this one, but you just have to read Adelman's unbelievable drivel about the anticipated "Cakewalk in Iraq" (who paid him for that opinion?), quoted by one of the Youtube posters. Would like to see someone grill him on that article today....... but this weasel would possibly manage to extricate himself.

4) The Wall Street Journal ad is rather shoddy as it contains factual errors (or they might well be deliberate contortions not easily spotted by the American readers):

* "General Surayud Chulanont - Military Dictator, Thailand"
- Like it or not, Surayud is the Prime Minister (not an elected one, but anyway). If someone is the "dictator" of Thailand, it is Gen Sonthi.

* "Then the opposition started disappearing. Human Rights Watch last month released a report detailing 22 cases of targeted 'disappearences' by the Thai military in the southern provinces."
- This is of course nothing to do with the government "suppressing opposition", rather the military dealing with insurgents in the South. How about forced disappearences under the last government?

* "Then the Ministry of Health threatened to kidnap American tourists."
- Did I miss something? Anyone got a source for this?

[Wisarut]

Now Thaipost said Ai Maew is one of customers that spend millions of Dollars to "USA for Innovation" PR Company (Read: Lobbyist Company)

Oh, Moh Pravet Wasee said:

I herard that Some Supoperpower has companies for OVERTHROWING any regimes that go AGAINST the supower ... They can assasinate leaders of these old regimes if the one who HIRE these mercenary companies ... It is a certain thing that such a company is going to to this CRIME on our country ... to add even more troubles and turbulence ... It is the duty of our citizens to change while preventing bloodshed ... otherwise our country will CEASE to be existed

http://www.thaipost.net/index.asp?bk...&cat_id=110100

[Wisarut]

Now Korbsak Suphawasu said:

Thaksin are willing to burn down the Motherland as they way to pave his way back to pwer by hiring 3 Lobbyists such as

1. Ederman Public Relation - a PR company hired by Thaksin via Hong Kong and Washington DC Office since Jan 2007 as way to FOOL public that he';ll ber back toi Thailand a a normal citizen.

2. Mr. Ken Ederman - Senior Counselor of Ederman Public Relation and Executive Director of USA Innovation (an NGO) who also works with White Hosue and Congress.

This company (Ederman Public Relation) is also lobbyist for PhRMA (The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) as well as Abbott Laboratories, Merck, Sanofi-Aventis

3. USA Innovation

Furthermore, Thaksin has hired the media like Washington Post and Washington Times to do these dirty jobs for him

IMHO, this case of PR War REALLY remind me the case of regime changing in Guatemala due to United Fruiot Company Affiars - as well as the Regime changing through coup and assasination in Chile in 1973. Surely, TRhaksin are goign to ask for USA to Gun Down all the top echelons wqho go AGAINST him as the way to pave back to power without RESISTANCE

http://thaiinsider.info/portal/content/view/3710/12/
http://thaiinsider.info/portal/content/view/3703/12/

[Wisarut]

Now, rumours widespreaded that Thaksin is going to Hire either Russian Mafia or those "Security Guards" to Assasinate the following 3 persons with the price of US$ 5 Million

1. Sondhi Limthiongkul (the owner of manager Group on Phra Athit Road)
2. Sonthi Bunyasratkalin (Big Bung - Muslim)
3. Saphrang Kalayananmit (Hero) - in case when Hero Refuses to coooperate with Thaksin and Co.

Now, Bing Bung is going to ride Armoured vehicle to prevenmt assasiunation after his men has told him about this plot.

Furthermore, Those within Ministry of Foreign Affairs - including Minister of Foreign Affairs - are Thaksin's men ... They are willign to Dostroy the image of their OWN nation since they have been bribed with billionss of Baht for this matter.


http://thaiinsider.info/portal/content/view/3694/23/

[BangkokPundit]

Originally Posted by ncr

"He has been National Editor of Washingtonian magazine for 15 years and is a senior counselor at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide."

BTW, why is he called "Ambassador"? Does that expression have other meanings in American English that are lost on me? This doesn't quite help to clear it up for me.

.

He is a former US Ambassador to the UN. In the US, persons with an Ambassador title usually keep the title in much the same way as Gen. Surayud is still referred to as a General even though he is no longer in the military.

Originally Posted by ncr

* "Then the Ministry of Health threatened to kidnap American tourists."
- Did I miss something? Anyone got a source for this?

From this Bangkok Post editorial on 17 March 2007:

This hypersensitivity was well illustrated by an editorial published on the opinion pages of the prestigious Wall Street Journal Asia on Tuesday which, in part, recounted a statement alleged to have been made in Geneva by Thailand's representative to the World Health Organisation, Dr Suwit Wibulpolprasert. The newspaper said that during the executive board meeting of the WHO in January, Dr Suwit, who is also special adviser to the public health minister, declared that if an influenza pandemic hit, he would advise Bangkok to hold Western tourists hostage until those countries gave Thailand the necessary vaccines.

The US government has lodged a formal protest letter and requested an apology. Dr Suwit's comments "appear to contravene the spirit and provisions of the revised International Health Regulations", US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt wrote in the letter dated March 7, referring to the WHO's rules on how countries cooperate to curb the international spread of diseases. "Voicing support for these counter-productive policies at a multilateral, intergovernmental meeting ... can impair global influenza preparedness efforts," the Journal quoted Mr Leavitt as saying

.

One would imagine that Leavitt would have denied it by now if it is was not true.

[ncr]

Mentioned in the Bangkok Post today:

New 'Thailies' website spurs strong reaction

The government has increased its internet monitoring operations after the American lobby group USA for Innovation announced it had launched a new anti-Thai government website, www.Thailies.com. ''We will check the background of the website operator to see if it has any hidden agenda,'' said government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalap.

A press release issued by AsiaNet Infoquest yesterday said the website was being launched by USA for Innovation to ''draw attention to the deceit in Thailand's decision to steal American and European innovation''. Thailies.com would provide information about what it called 10 recent lies by Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla for two weeks from May 7 to 18, according to the press release. For example, Thailand had lied that the country was poor, so it could not afford Western medicines. ''In fact, Thailand has one of the largest economies in the world. Its economy is growing faster than over 100 countries,'' it said. [...]

ThaiLies.com / ThayMyths.com

"A Project of USA for Innovation"

[ncr]

As mentioned on the 2B frontpage:

Thaksin ends PR contract amid flak - The Nation, May 7, 2007

What's going on? Is he simply paying USAfI instead of Edelman now?

[Scuba22]

USA for Innovation is a fake NGO set up by Edelman, a well-established lobbying and PR firm. They've been known to set up fake NGOs in the past in the service of their clients. The practice is so common that it even has its own name - "astroturfing" (fake grassroots, get it?)

The New Yorker ran an article recently about Wal Mart, another Edelman client, where they described a similar NGO set up to support Wal Mart. I'll try to dig that up and post a short description of what they did. It was pretty appalling.

As for Kenny Adelman, I remember meeting him over 20 years ago when he was an Arms Control guy in the Reagan Administration. It was part of a week-long series of meetings with my high-school politics & international relations club. meeting Reagan administration officials was a surreal experience. Adelman, the Arms Control guy, didn't believe in arms control; the Secretary of the Interior wanted to tear down the interior; and so on. Kenny has grown to be a world-class conscience-free neo-con ass-hole.

Scuba22

[RNH]

The cited article in the Chicago Sun-Times signs off with:
"Philip Stevens is health program director at the International Policy Network, a London-based charity."

This Sourcewatch article
hints that it's not exactly a typical "charity".