WikiLeaks: Pfizer Opposed New Zealand Trade Deal
In other WikiLeaks news, newly released cables have shed more light on the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Now Pfizer’s actions in New Zealand have been exposed by WikiLeaks. Newly released cables show the pharmaceutical company lobbied against New Zealand getting a free trade agreement with the United States because it objected to New Zealand’s restrictive drug buying rules. In addition, cables show drug companies tried to get rid of New Zealand’s former health minister.
They also involved in bad practices in Nigeria.
Human Rights Watch Criticizes Israel’s Policy in Occupied West Bank
A new report from Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of harshly discriminating against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank while pouring funds into Jewish settlements. Carroll Bogert of Human Rights Watch said Israel was carrying out “systematic discrimination merely because of (Palestinians’) race, ethnicity and national origin, depriving them of electricity, water, schools and access to roads.” The Human Rights Watch report is titled “Separate and Unequal.”
Study: Supreme Court Increasingly Siding with Big Business
A new study has confirmed that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is increasingly siding with the interests of corporate America. The Roberts court has ruled for business interests 61 percent of the time over the past five years. Under Chief Judge William Rehnquist, big business won 46 percent of the time. The new study by the New York Times also confirms the increasing power the Chamber of Commerce has over judicial decisions. In the last term, the Chamber filed briefs in 16 cases. Its side won 13 times, most significantly in the Citizens United case that allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on election campaigns.