PR WATCH

Chron.com: CORPORATIONS CO-OPT EARTH DAY
"Earth Day, which began 33 years ago today as a nationwide rally to
clean up the planet, has become the latest victim of the corporate
takeover. From Houston to Hong Kong, companies are seeking to
polish their green image by sponsoring Earth Day events, which
grass-roots groups and cities struggle to fund. This year, garbage
haulers, coffee companies and even missile manufacturers are
underwriting Earth Day festivities, a public relations strategy
that has divided environmentalists and led to protests of Earth Day
itself. ... Houston Earth Day 2003, held this past Saturday ... was
made possible by a $15,000 donation by [Houston-headquartered]
Waste Management. ... 'Waste Management sponsoring Earth Day is
similar to Enron sponsoring a seminar on corporate responsibility,'
said John Stauber, [co]author of Toxic Sludge is Good for You:
Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry, which examined
how companies disguised poor environmental records beneath glitzy
green advertising and marketing."
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2003

PRwatch: RENDON'S WAR IS PEACE
The secretive Rendon Group, run by self-proclaimed "information
warrior" John Rendon, has a long history of accompanying the CIA
and Pentagon into battle. Now they have launched a project called
"Empower Peace," through which they are calling on young people
throughout the world to "help us develop an International Youth
Pledge of Peace." Does this mean they've joined the anti-war
protests? Not exactly. Empower Peace wants people "not to refer the
current political situation going on in the world today but rather
focus and emphasize on the importance of breaking down cultural
barriers in order to achieve peace."