Lobbying under Barack Obama
p2pnet news view | Politics:- Hi Jon,” says Media Guy in a Reader’s Write, “I’m pretty sure you’ll be interested in this for a follow on your other posts: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/02/19/us-congressional-uspto-officials-see-geneva-policymaking-up-close/” to yesterday’s post urging Barack Obama not to work for the RIAA.
The item cited is indeed interesting suggesting, as it does, that vested-interest taxpayer funded junkets have already begun under Obama.
Says William New in Intellectual Property Watch, “A small group of United States congressional staff and officials from the Obama administration working on intellectual property issues were in Geneva this week to discuss IP policy with representatives of intergovernmental organisations and industry, according to sources.
“The visit, organised by the US Patent and Trademark Office, included meetings with the US mission to the United Nations and to the World Trade Organization, as well as with officials from the World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and WTO.
“The visit was not timed specifically to a particular event in Geneva, but had been in planning for some time, an official said. Another such visit may be in the works. Congressional members and other US officials frequently come to Geneva to get an up-close look at the intensive policymaking in its institutions.”
Planned for some time? How could that be given Obama has only just started his term of office?
Be that as it may, who were these worthies?
James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, picks the story up in the Huffington Post (and when you read this bear in mind Obama’s pre-election promise to curb the influence of lobbyists).
Who, asks Love, “did the Obama administration schedule to meet with the Congressional staff?”
He answers »»»
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA, now headed by former US official Alicia Greenidge); and law firm Sidley Austin, which also represented the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America at the meeting.
Finally, they attended a roundtable on “How to Shape a Positive Agenda on IP” with General Electric (GE), Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IFPMA. GE was represented by Thaddeus Burns, senior corporate counsel and former US IP attaché in Geneva, BSA by Francisco Mingorance, director of public policy Europe, and IFPMA by Greenidge.
The new US Department of Justice is top-heavy with vested-interest hired hands, among whom is Neil MacBride, the BSA’s ex-general counsel and BSA is short for Business Software Alliance, a very hard-core corporate lobby group.
Not only but also, who were the congressional staffers? »»»
Christal Sheppard, counsel for House of Reprentatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan (Democrat); John Mautz, legislative director for Rep. Howard Coble of North Carolina; and Matthew Sandgren, counsel for Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Erik Stallman, senior legislative counsel for California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who is on the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, the Congressional Anti-Piracy Caucus and the IP Caucus; and Philip Tahtakran, legislative director and counsel for California Rep. Adam Schiff, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, and co-chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, and on the IP Caucus).
A ‘Positive Agenda on IP’?
And leave us not forget “Another such visit may be in the works”.
yesterday’s post – Urge Obama not to work for the RIAA!, February 22, 2009
vested-interest hired hands – RIAA gang at the DoJ, February 9, 2009
Intellectual Property Watch – US Congressional, USPTO Officials See Geneva Policymaking Up Close, February 19, 2009
Huffington Post – Obama Administration Embraces Corporate Lobbyists on IP Issues in Geneva, February 19, 2009
curb the influence of lobbyists – Obama: curbing the influence of lobbyists, November 18, 2008
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February 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
“Planned for some time? How could that be …?”
More evidence that the “duping of America”, an NWO agenda, is being carried independently of whatever elected government is in power.
Is this really the first time a new president smiled right into the camera and made bold statements of promise, while doing exactly the opposite?? How much more blatant does the whole thing need to be before people actually recognize it for what it is? This is one place where the NWO agenda demonstrates itself as not “just a conspiracy theory”.
All these “trade organizations” are just another extortionary product of the world banking elite.
They were created to:
1) dismantle public unity;
2) create and distort legal arguments to diffuse independent innovation; and finally,
3) do an “end run” around individual country laws and sovereignty in order to replace these laws with 1 universal version of their own liking (New World Order).
Ever since our government first went over our heads and signed NAFTA into play – during secret meetings outside of, and without the involvement of, our House, and informing us only AFTER the fact (sound familiar to anyone?) – it’s been quite clear to me that we are not part of “the Plan”.
Not long ago, we started to catch wind of the “SPP meetings” (which again, are taking place behind our backs), where they have been plotting the creation of the North American Union. Documents have already been signed by Harper and his predecessor, as well as Bush and Clinton, and the Mexican President Fox and his successor. Yet, our government continues to deny us any information on the process, completely playing dumb and stupid about it, while maintaining a media blackout on the subject. Geez, the Federal Reserve was displaying a freshly-pressed prototype of the proposed “Amero” (NAU “dollar”), and everyone’s supposed to believe it’s some kind of twisted hoax?!?
Americans have been royally HAD, and enough of them still don’t see it.
Their own Presidents have been tearing up their Constitution right before their eyes and getting in bed with the very same “terrorists” they’ve been told “hate them for their freedom”. (What a feeble spin.)
I honestly can’t see any reason to believe Obama’s not just another NWO puppet.
(And, I really want to be wrong about that!)
The only thing that separates Canada from the US right now is the fact that we still print our own money. Hence, a “financial crisis” is needed to help bring us down to a state where we might just throw away that last bit of indepence and say we “need” the involvement of the World Bank. Come to think of it, the SPP plan would have us throw away the Bank of Canada (as North America would need to adopt the one currency, which we wouldn’t be printing).
If we in Canada don’t keep our eyes open and our brains on, we’re gonna be HAD “real good” too.
But, don’t worry… Obama will still be there, with the sincerest of smiles, to put his gentle hand on our shoulder, and tell us how very important Canada is…
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Meet the new boss. . .