The Good, The Bad, The Spin

How a consumer protection law may be defeated by a faux consumer watchdog campaign

By Daniel Loxton

[Editor's note: This is republished from The Skeptic. The intention with this post is to illustrate how 'grass-roots' campaigns, activist causes and the like don't have play by the rules of transparency, accuracy and the free flow of information.]

Is it possible for a vested business interest to derail national legislation by posing as a consumer watchdog? We’ll soon learn whether a shadowy mail order drug company’s fierce, artificial grassroots campaign will rob the Canadian people of an important public safety law.

In April 2008, Canada’s federal Parliament began considering a proposed law¹ — Bill C-51 — that would revise the body of laws regulating food and drugs in Canada (the Food and Drugs Act). Of particular interest to skeptics, C-51 would finally allow Canadian federal health authorities (Health Canada) to enforce existing laws² that require substances sold under the multi-billion-dollar “natural health products” umbrella to be safe, unadulterated, honestly labeled, and marketed with supportable claims. (more…)

The problems in the response to Andrew Cohen at CBS

At the end of a Sunday, the last thing I expect to find in my inbox is an email labeled “urgent news” from the Public Relations Society of America. The exact subject line: “Urgent News from PRSA: Response to CBS Story Challenging Public Relations.”

Oh goody, I thought, PRSA is growing a pair. This should be fun.

Then I read the missive. First, it wasn’t a story as the subject line enticed us to believe. The beginning line of the email tells us that in fact PRSA fired off a letter in response to a CBS commentary, “in which legal analyst Andrew Cohen challenged the integrity of the public relations profession.”

Small problem, right away: We are the cogs of an industry that desperately needs challenging. We are our own best critics, ever ready not to say anything bad about one another. We don’t call one another out for unethical practices, spin-doctoring, spamming reporters, irrelevant story pitches or just plain ineptitude. (more…)

He had just gotten off of a plane after a 14-hour ride and was hauled away in handcuffs.

“The worst part was having to walk past my fiancé in handcuffs. She had no idea what was happening and neither did I! When I was finally told that I was arrested on charges of rape, I about passed out!”

These are the words of Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, who announced late last week that he was officially exonerated of rape charges. After being accused of the crime–he wasn’t in the state where the alleged crime occurred–Rockett issued a statement:

“I received undying support from my band, friends, and fans, but unfortunately, my detractors had a field day with the story. I look forward to serving the press who created defamatory remarks some healthy lawsuits! I also look forward to helping other people who have been falsely accused of committing heinous crimes. My lawyers, Barry Tarlow and Mi Kim, are helping me seek out organizations like Centurion Ministries to help if I can. This wonderful organization works to free innocent people in prison who have done serious time for crimes they did not commit.”

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