I
Ilena
Guest
http://www.counterpunch.org/mokhiber02052004.html
EXCERPT:
Inamed: The California-based company sought Food and Drug Administration approval for silicone
breast implants, even though it was not able to present long-term safety data -- the very thing that
led the FDA to restrict sales of silicone implants a decade ago. In light of what remains unknown
and what is known about the implants' effects -- including painful breast hardening which can lead
to deformity, and very high rupture rates -- the FDA in January 2004 denied Inamed's application for
marketing approval.
A Boom Year for Corporate Crime The 10 Worst Corporations of 2003 By RUSSELL MOKHIBER and
ROBERT WEISSMAN
2003 was not a year of garden variety corporate wrongdoing. No, the sheer variety, reach and
intricacy of corporate schemes, scandal and crimes was spellbinding. Not an easy year to pick the 10
worst companies, for sure.
But Multinational Monitor magazine cannot be deterred by such complications. And so, here follows,
in alphabetical order, our list for Multinational Monitor of the 10 worst corporations of 2003.
Bayer: 2003 may be remembered as the year of the headache at Bayer. In May, the company agreed to
plead guilty to a criminal count and pay more than $250 million to resolve allegations that it
denied Medicaid discounts to which it was entitled. The company was beleaguered with litigation
related to its anti-cholesterol drug Baycol. Bayer pulled the drug - which has been linked to a
sometimes fatal muscle disorder -- from the market, but is facing thousands of suits from patients
who allege they were harmed by the drug. In June, the New York Times reported on internal company
memos which appear to show that the company continued to promote the drug even as its own analysis
had revealed the dangers of the product. Bayer denies the allegations.
Boeing: In one of the grandest schemes of corporate welfare in recent memory, Boeing engineered a
deal whereby the Pentagon would lease tanker planes -- 767s that refuel fighter planes in the air --
from Boeing. The pricetag of $27.6 billion was billions more than the cost of simply buying the
planes. The deal may unravel, though, because the company in November fired for wrongdoing both the
employee that negotiated the contract for Boeing (the company's chief financial officer), and the
employee that negotiated the contract for the government. How could Boeing fire a Pentagon employee?
Simple. She was no longer a Pentagon employee. Boeing had hired her shortly after the company
clinched the deal.
Brighthouse: A new-agey advertising/consulting/ strategic advice company, Brighthouse's claim to
infamy is its Neurostrategies Institute, which undertakes research to see how the brain responds to
advertising campaigns. In a cutting-edge effort to extend and sharpen the commercial reach in ways
never previously before possible, the institute is using MRIs to monitor activity in people's brains
triggered by advertisements.
Clear Channel: The radio behemoth Clear Channel specializes in consuming or squashing locally owned
radio stations, imposing a homogenized music play list on once interesting stations, and offering
cultural support for U.S. imperial adventures. It has also compiled a record of "repeated law-
breaking," according to our colleage Jim Donahue, violating the law -- including prohibitions on
deceptive advertising and on broadcasting conversations without obtaining permission of the second
party to the conversation -- on 36 separate occasions over the previous three years.
Diebold: A North Canton, Ohio-based company that is one of the largest U.S. voting machine
manufacturers, and an aggressive peddler of its electronic voting machines, Diebold has managed to
demonstrate that it fails any reasonable test of qualifications for involvement with the voting
process. Its CEO has worked as a major fundraiser for President George Bush. Computer experts
revealed serious flaws in its voting technology, and activists showed how careless it was with
confidential information. And it threatened lawsuits against activists who published on the Internet
documents from the company showing its failures.
Halliburton: Now the owner of the company which initially drafted plans for privatization of U.S.
military functions -- plans drafted during the Bush I administration when current Vice President and
former Halliburton CEO **** Cheney was Secretary of Defense -- Halliburton is pulling in billions in
revenues for contract work -- providing logistical support ranging from oil to food -- in Iraq. Tens
of millions, at least, appear to be overcharges. Some analysts say the charges for oil provision
amount to "highway robbery."
HealthSouth: Fifteen of its top executives have pled guilty in connection with a multi-billion
dollar scheme to defraud investors, the public and the U.S. government about the company's financial
condition. The founder and CEO of the company that runs a network of outpatient surgery, diagnostic
imagery and rehabilitative healthcare centers, Richard Scrushy, is fighting the charges. But thanks
to the slick maneuvering of attorney Bob Bennett, it appears the company itself will get off scot
free -- no indictments, no pleas, no fines, no probation.
Inamed: The California-based company sought Food and Drug Administration approval for silicone
breast implants, even though it was not able to present long-term safety data -- the very thing that
led the FDA to restrict sales of silicone implants a decade ago. In light of what remains unknown
and what is known about the implants' effects -- including painful breast hardening which can lead
to deformity, and very high rupture rates -- the FDA in January 2004 denied Inamed's application for
marketing approval.
Merrill Lynch: This company keeps messing up. Fresh off of a $100 million fine levied because
analysts were recommending stocks that they trashed in private e-mails, the company saw three former
execs indicted for shady dealings with Enron. The company itself managed to escape with something
less than a slap on the wrist -- no prosecution in exchange for "oversight."
Safeway: One of the largest U.S. grocery chains, Safeway is leading the charge to demand givebacks
from striking and locked out grocery workers in Southern California. Along with Albertsons and
Ralphs (Kroger's), Safeway's Vons and Pavilion stores are asking employees to start paying for a
major chunk of their health insurance. Under the company's proposals, workers and their families
will lose $4,000 to $6,000 a year in health insurance benefits.
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. Robert Weissman
is editor of the Washington,
D.C.-based Multinational Monitor, and co-director of Essential Action, a corporate accountability
group. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on
Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; http://www.corporatepredators.org).
~~~~~~~~~~~
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org
EXCERPT:
Inamed: The California-based company sought Food and Drug Administration approval for silicone
breast implants, even though it was not able to present long-term safety data -- the very thing that
led the FDA to restrict sales of silicone implants a decade ago. In light of what remains unknown
and what is known about the implants' effects -- including painful breast hardening which can lead
to deformity, and very high rupture rates -- the FDA in January 2004 denied Inamed's application for
marketing approval.
A Boom Year for Corporate Crime The 10 Worst Corporations of 2003 By RUSSELL MOKHIBER and
ROBERT WEISSMAN
2003 was not a year of garden variety corporate wrongdoing. No, the sheer variety, reach and
intricacy of corporate schemes, scandal and crimes was spellbinding. Not an easy year to pick the 10
worst companies, for sure.
But Multinational Monitor magazine cannot be deterred by such complications. And so, here follows,
in alphabetical order, our list for Multinational Monitor of the 10 worst corporations of 2003.
Bayer: 2003 may be remembered as the year of the headache at Bayer. In May, the company agreed to
plead guilty to a criminal count and pay more than $250 million to resolve allegations that it
denied Medicaid discounts to which it was entitled. The company was beleaguered with litigation
related to its anti-cholesterol drug Baycol. Bayer pulled the drug - which has been linked to a
sometimes fatal muscle disorder -- from the market, but is facing thousands of suits from patients
who allege they were harmed by the drug. In June, the New York Times reported on internal company
memos which appear to show that the company continued to promote the drug even as its own analysis
had revealed the dangers of the product. Bayer denies the allegations.
Boeing: In one of the grandest schemes of corporate welfare in recent memory, Boeing engineered a
deal whereby the Pentagon would lease tanker planes -- 767s that refuel fighter planes in the air --
from Boeing. The pricetag of $27.6 billion was billions more than the cost of simply buying the
planes. The deal may unravel, though, because the company in November fired for wrongdoing both the
employee that negotiated the contract for Boeing (the company's chief financial officer), and the
employee that negotiated the contract for the government. How could Boeing fire a Pentagon employee?
Simple. She was no longer a Pentagon employee. Boeing had hired her shortly after the company
clinched the deal.
Brighthouse: A new-agey advertising/consulting/ strategic advice company, Brighthouse's claim to
infamy is its Neurostrategies Institute, which undertakes research to see how the brain responds to
advertising campaigns. In a cutting-edge effort to extend and sharpen the commercial reach in ways
never previously before possible, the institute is using MRIs to monitor activity in people's brains
triggered by advertisements.
Clear Channel: The radio behemoth Clear Channel specializes in consuming or squashing locally owned
radio stations, imposing a homogenized music play list on once interesting stations, and offering
cultural support for U.S. imperial adventures. It has also compiled a record of "repeated law-
breaking," according to our colleage Jim Donahue, violating the law -- including prohibitions on
deceptive advertising and on broadcasting conversations without obtaining permission of the second
party to the conversation -- on 36 separate occasions over the previous three years.
Diebold: A North Canton, Ohio-based company that is one of the largest U.S. voting machine
manufacturers, and an aggressive peddler of its electronic voting machines, Diebold has managed to
demonstrate that it fails any reasonable test of qualifications for involvement with the voting
process. Its CEO has worked as a major fundraiser for President George Bush. Computer experts
revealed serious flaws in its voting technology, and activists showed how careless it was with
confidential information. And it threatened lawsuits against activists who published on the Internet
documents from the company showing its failures.
Halliburton: Now the owner of the company which initially drafted plans for privatization of U.S.
military functions -- plans drafted during the Bush I administration when current Vice President and
former Halliburton CEO **** Cheney was Secretary of Defense -- Halliburton is pulling in billions in
revenues for contract work -- providing logistical support ranging from oil to food -- in Iraq. Tens
of millions, at least, appear to be overcharges. Some analysts say the charges for oil provision
amount to "highway robbery."
HealthSouth: Fifteen of its top executives have pled guilty in connection with a multi-billion
dollar scheme to defraud investors, the public and the U.S. government about the company's financial
condition. The founder and CEO of the company that runs a network of outpatient surgery, diagnostic
imagery and rehabilitative healthcare centers, Richard Scrushy, is fighting the charges. But thanks
to the slick maneuvering of attorney Bob Bennett, it appears the company itself will get off scot
free -- no indictments, no pleas, no fines, no probation.
Inamed: The California-based company sought Food and Drug Administration approval for silicone
breast implants, even though it was not able to present long-term safety data -- the very thing that
led the FDA to restrict sales of silicone implants a decade ago. In light of what remains unknown
and what is known about the implants' effects -- including painful breast hardening which can lead
to deformity, and very high rupture rates -- the FDA in January 2004 denied Inamed's application for
marketing approval.
Merrill Lynch: This company keeps messing up. Fresh off of a $100 million fine levied because
analysts were recommending stocks that they trashed in private e-mails, the company saw three former
execs indicted for shady dealings with Enron. The company itself managed to escape with something
less than a slap on the wrist -- no prosecution in exchange for "oversight."
Safeway: One of the largest U.S. grocery chains, Safeway is leading the charge to demand givebacks
from striking and locked out grocery workers in Southern California. Along with Albertsons and
Ralphs (Kroger's), Safeway's Vons and Pavilion stores are asking employees to start paying for a
major chunk of their health insurance. Under the company's proposals, workers and their families
will lose $4,000 to $6,000 a year in health insurance benefits.
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. Robert Weissman
is editor of the Washington,
D.C.-based Multinational Monitor, and co-director of Essential Action, a corporate accountability
group. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on
Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; http://www.corporatepredators.org).
~~~~~~~~~~~
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org
