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SHOULD SCOOTER LIBBY'S LAWYER BE DISBARRED? Law school dean Lawrence Velvel says, Maybe he should, if he sat idly by while client Libby spouted lies. What lies at the core of Zionism? Michael Neumann tortures Alan Dershowitz, without a warrant! "Sex-mad adulterer from British aristocracy claims to have 'revolutionized' philosophy." Yes, Bertrand Russell, they mean you! Alexander Cockburn on Smearing 101 in the British press. Get the answers you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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December 5, 2005 Lila Rajiva December 3 / 4, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Rev. William Alberts Saul Landau Ralph Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Mike Whitney Allan Lichtman Dave Lindorff Brian Concannon,
Jr. Fred Gardner Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Carol Wolman St. Clair /
Vest / Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
December 2, 2005 Stan Goff Mike Ferner Christopher Brauchli Niranjan Ramakrishnan Manuel Talens Peter Phillips J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
the Day
December 1, 2005 John Walsh,
MD Ron Jacobs Jenna Orkin Joshua Frank Tiffany Ten
Eyck Missy Comley Beattie Eli Stephens Elaine Cassel Website of
the Day
November 30, 2005 Allen / D'Amato Mike Whitney Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Stephen Soldz
November 29, 2005 Phil Gasper Behzad Yaghmaian Joshua Frank Walter A. Davis Gary Leupp Len Colodny Jeffrey St.
Clair Bill Quigley Website of
the Day
November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
November 7, 2005 Dick Reavis Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Eli Stephens David Swanson M. Junaid Alam Matt Reichel Naima Bouteldja Jeff Halper Website of the Day
November 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Diana Johnstone Roosa / Nevins Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Ross Mike Whitney Mark Engler Juliano Mer-Khamis Ron Jacobs Jill S. Farrell Missy Comley
Beattie Mitchel Cohen Evelyn J. Pringle Reza Fiyouzat Charles Sullivan Zachary Richard Ben Tripp St. Clair / Vest
November 4, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Dave Lindorff Phillip Cryan Christopher Brauchli William S.
Lind Daryl G. Kimball George Beres Peter Montague
November 3, 2005 James Petras Saul Landau Rep. Cynthia McKinney Michael Dickinson Joshua Frank Remi Kanazi Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
November 2, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Robert Oscar Lopez John Walsh Brian J. Foley Ramzy Baroud M. Junaid Alam Todd Chretien Bruce K. Gagnon Website of the Day
November 1, 2005 Ron Jacobs Gary Leupp John Ross Bill Quigley Joseph Nevins Dave Lindorff Linda S. Heard Heather Gray Michael Dickinson Jeffrey St. Clair
October 31, 2005 Elaine Cassel Mark Weisbrot Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Farooq Sulehria Nicole Colson Madis Senner Paul Craig
Roberts
Cockburn /
St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Tim Wise John Chuckman Steven Higgs Brian Cloughley M. Shahid Alam Nikki Robinson Ralph Nader Joe DeRaymond Joshua Frank Laura Santina Fred Gardner Michael Dickinson Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Vanessa S. Jones Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
October 28, 2005 Jared Bernstein Virginia Tilley Phil Gasper Jennifer Matsui Manual Garcia,
Jr. Monica Benderman Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff
Saul Landau Stuart Hodkinson Ingmar Lee Lila Rajiva Ilan Pappe Niranjan Ramakrishnan Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Cockburn / St. Clair
October 26, 2005 Kathy Kelly Gary Leupp Mike Marqusee Eric Ruder Patrick Cockburn Joshua Frank J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Website of
the Day
October 25, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Ken Sengupta / Patrick Cockburn Conn Hallinan Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Jackie Corr Robert Day John Sugg
October 24, 2005 Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Bill and Kathleen
Christison
October 22 / 23, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Billy Sothern Saul Landau Ralph Nader Behrooz Ghamari Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Fred Gardner Lee Sustar Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen James Petras Joshua Frank Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Michelle Bollinger Missy Comley
Beattie Kona Lowell Ben Tripp Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Day
October 21, 2005 Dave Lindorff Winslow T. Wheeler Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Madis Senner Michael Donnelly
Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Jeremy Brecher
/ Patrick Cockburn Kevin Zeese Ross Eisenbrey Randy Shields Justine Davidson After Lucas
Cranach Joe Allen
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December 5, 2005 An Open Letter to the Justice DepartmentPfizer May Have Violated Federal Laws When They Fired MeBy Dr. PETER ROST, MD Susan Winkler, Esq. Dear Ms. Winkler: As you know Pfizer terminated my employment on December 1, 2005. I was informed of my termination by journalists; not by Pfizer. Since I am a witness in a federal criminal investigation my termination may violate U.S. criminal law, which is the reason I'm contacting you. Pfizer also filed a motion to dismiss my qui tam complaint on December 1, 2005, and distributed this motion by e-mail to the press through their PR department one day before the motion was provided to my lawyers using overnight delivery. Additionally, Pfizer filed their motion before I had the opportunity to serve my qui tam complaint on Pfizer, as directed by the court. My understanding is that a motion to dismiss is pointless until a complaint or an amended complaint has been formally served, since there is nothing to dismiss until that has taken place. In short, Pfizer has created a PR circus in their attempt to publicly humiliate me using the disguise of protected legal communication. Pfizer has in this process also attempted to embarrass the United States Attorney's Office by retaliating against a federal grand jury witness in an ongoing criminal investigation conducted by your office, related to payments to Express Scripts and off-label distribution of Genotropin. I note that after I had appeared twice before a grand jury, on October 19, 2005 you wrote, "We may need to talk to you again, and I'd like to do so in a formal setting, like the grand jury." Pfizer's action also shows blatant disrespect for U.S. Congress; several Congressmen on September 30, 2004 sent an open letter to Pfizer's CEO and Board of Directors, which stated, "We are writing to express our serious concerns at the intimidation being directed at Pfizer Vice President Peter Rost."[1] Pfizer's termination of my employment may violate the False Claims Act whistleblower protection, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h),[2] and criminal law, 18 U.S.C. §1513(e). Title 18 U.S.C. §1513(e) provides that "Whoever knowingly, with the intent to retaliate, takes any action harmful to any person, including interference with the lawful employment or livelihood of any person, for providing to a law enforcement officer any truthful information relating to the commission or possible commission of any Federal offense, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both." I informed Pfizer's CEO Dr. Hank McKinnell and Pfizer's general counsel, Jeff Kindler of this statute in an e-mail correspondence dated September 9 and 12, 2004 (attachment A), in which I also informed them that I have "not only provided truthful information to the New York State Attorney General's office, but also testified in person before law enforcement agents employed by the FBI and the FDA's Enforcement Division, related to the possible commission of federal offenses." Pfizer wrote in their termination letter (attachment B), "We maintained your employment over the past two years to avoid any complications that might have arisen from a severance or other employment-related action, particularly in light of the fact that the government was reviewing claims that you had raised." This explanation is disingenuous at best, since my qui tam action was filed under seal and more importantly, Pfizer had no problem terminating my employment as soon as I notified them in writing of my concerns. In fact, Pfizer threatened to fire me already on February 2, 2003 in direct response to an e-mail in which I outlined Pharmacia's legal liabilities. This took place almost four months before anyone contacted the government and almost three months before other Pharmacia employees were notified of their termination. Pfizer allegedly also has a history of firing whistleblowers; the Wall Street Journal has described how Dr. Juan Walterspiel was fired when he raised ethical issues.[3] Expressing an opinion that certain conduct is illegal is protected by the NJ Conscientious Employee Protection Act. An employer who retaliates against an employee who engages in protected conduct as described by this paragraph violates this statute. See N.J.S.A. §34:19-3. Pfizer's ruthless actions and systematic termination of whistleblowers send chilling signals to honest employees within Pfizer. Their current media campaign serves the same purpose. Pfizer has been quoted in the New York Times saying "he was essentially blowing the whistle on his own conduct," and that my actions in filing a qui tam complaint "were clearly opportunistic." This is contradicted by a letter from Pfizer's general counsel (attachment C) in which Mr. Kindler admits that I'm the one who made Pfizer aware of the Genotropin legal issues. He also writes "I recognize, that with your assistance, Pharmacia examined these issues in 2002," and he validates my concerns that Pharmacia had not taken appropriate action by saying Pfizer will contact the government and make "additional changes." This letter took almost two weeks to arrive in my office; the fact that the letter may have been backdated has been subject to detailed questioning during my grand jury testimony and confirmed by separate documents. Consequently, Pfizer's statement that I knew of their report to the government before I filed my qui tam complaint has been proven false. Perhaps Pfizer's elaborate attempt to discredit an employee who tried to clean up illegal conduct that started years before his own employment should not be surprising, considering that in a 2001 Pfizer employee survey 49 percent didn't agree with the statement, "Management is willing to give up short-term gain to do the right thing." Or that 30 percent of Pfizer's employees; about 15,000 persons at the time, didn't agree with the statement, "Senior management demonstrates honest, ethical behavior." In fact, Pfizer has the unusual dishonor of having been forced to sign not just one but two corporate integrity agreements[4] with the HHS Office of the Inspector General and paid close to half a billion dollars in criminal and civil fines.[5] According to the Department of Justice, Pfizer's $240 million criminal fine for Neurontin was "the second largest criminal fine ever imposed in a health care fraud prosecution." Unfortunately, just like the Justice Department declined intervention in the Neurontin case, which generated $430 million in criminal and civil fines, the Justice Department also declined intervention in the Genotropin case. In conclusion, Pfizer's termination of me is intended to harm not only me, but also the United States Attorney's Office, mock U.S. Congress, and challenge the entire judicial process; creating a warning for future whistleblowers. Witness intimidation and retaliation is something we normally associate with organized crime and not with major corporations. Pfizer apparently expects that the United States Attorney's Office in Massachusetts is unable or unwilling to defend its witnesses. I don't share Pfizer's perceptible contempt for your office, and I expect that you will act on this information. I am hereby respectfully asking you to intervene and investigate this matter. Best regards, This letter does not constitute a complete or exhaustive statement of any of my rights, claims, contentions or legal theories, nor should it be deemed to constitute a waiver or relinquishment of any of my legal rights and remedies. The details contained in this letter are allegations. Pfizer is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. [1] http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il05_emanuel/rost_pfizer_letter.pdf [2] Under Section 3730(h) of
the False Claims Act, any employee who is [3] http://www.patientrecruitment.com/pdf/ [4] http://www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/cia/agreements/pfizer_5_11_2004.pdf [5] http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/October/02_civ_622.htm
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
