PROFNET WIRE: GOVERNMENT & LAW: Political Fundraising

ROUND-UPS

Political Fundraising (8 experts)

Middle East Peace Process (continued, 11 experts)

Supreme Court Transition (continued, 1 expert)

Genetically Modified Food (continued, 1 expert)

LEADS

1. World Affairs: United Nations Reform and Kofi Annan's Successor

ROUND-UP: POLITICAL FUNDRAISING

In connection with the Abramoff scandal, following are experts in
ethics, politics, government and law who can comment on the political
implications of the scandal, prospects for bringing convictions, and
possible remedies for a system of campaign financing that appears to
be fundamentally broken:

1. PAULA ALEXANDER, professor at SETON HALL UNIVERSITY's Stillman
School of Business: "The Abramoff plea and ensuing investigations and
prosecutions will likely lead to re-invigorated concerns about our
system of checks and balances, as well as to additional campaign
finance reform along the lines of the McCain-Feingold legislation. The
underlying tension is that corporations as legal persons legitimately
have 'voice' in a democracy. Since corporations don't exercise their
voice by voting, they lobby. The Abramoff plea raises the concern that
corporate lobbying and donations corrupt elected officials and obscure
the voice of the citizenry." News Contact: Jill Matthews,
mattheji@shu.edu Phone: +1-973-378-2695 (1/11/06)

2. MARK ALEXANDER, professor at SETON HALL UNIVERSITY'S School of Law
and campaign finance reform expert: "This shows the deep and, indeed,
criminal undercurrent of money flowing in the halls of power and the
United States Congress. We have a system so infected by money at all
levels. This 'covert money,' as Justice Kennedy called it, is a threat
to the system of American democracy. Meaningful campaign finance
reform can help change this culture of corruption that is represented
by the Abramoff scandal." News Contact: Kathleen Brunet Eagan,
eagankat@shu.edu Phone: +1-973-642-87245 Web site:
http://law.shu.edu/faculty/fulltime_faculty/alexanma/alexander.html
(1/11/06)

3. SUSAN TOLCHIN, professor of public policy at GEORGE MASON
UNIVERSITY: "The process of congressional ethics has been transformed
into a lethal, partisan political tool feared by lawmakers. While
members of the House and Senate confront the public's changing
attitudes toward money, sex and power, they are also forced to raise
ever-escalating sums to finance their campaigns. Practices tolerated a
decade ago now may cost lawmakers their seats or land them in jail.
Newt Gingrich wrenched the humdrum congressional ethics process out of
its lethargy and turned it into an offense tool for partisan gain.
Instead of yawning, lawmakers quake at the thought of an ethics
inquiry that can easily, and often unfairly, tip elections and ruin
careers." News Contact: Rey Banks, rbanks@gmu.edu Phone:
+1-703-993-8699 (1/11/06)

4. ROBERT ALEXANDER, Ph.D., associate professor of political science
at OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY: "The Abramoff scandal has the potential
to truly weaken the Republican Party's foothold in certain key states
(like Ohio) in the upcoming midterm elections. This is particularly
true if Democrats are able to sell the notion of a 'culture of
corruption' within the Republican majority. Given Tom Noe's coingate
and Bob Taft's golf outings, the chances for Democrats to make gains
have increased sharply with Abramoff revelations (including a
connection with Ohio Rep. Bob Ney)." News Contact: Mary A. Wilkin,
m-wilkin@onu.edu Phone: +1-419-772-2089 (1/11/06)

5. SHEL HOROWITZ, founder of BUSINESS ETHICS PLEDGE and author of
"Principled Profit," writes a blog that covers political ethics,
preaches success through ethics, writes for Business Ethics magazine
and started a worldwide campaign to eliminate future Enron scandals:
"We need serious political reform -- not only campaign financing, but
also in several other areas, including ensuring honest and democratic
elections where third parties can actually have impact, open and free
media not dominated by a few immense holding companies, etc. Even
Republican David Brooks says to end earmarking and drop Bob Ney's
chairmanship." Horowitz: shelh@charter.net Phone: +1-413- 586-2388
(1/11/06)

6. DAVID BOAZ, executive vice president of the CATO INSTITUTE: "When
you leave a pan of food on the table, you can expect ants. When you
put $2.6 trillion on the table -- the size of the federal budget --
you can expect special interests, lobbyists and pork-barrel
politicians. As long as the federal government has so much money and
power to hand out, we'll never get rid of the Abramoffs." News
Contact: Evans Pierre, mediastaff2@cato.org Phone: +1-202-789-5200
(1/11/06)

7. JARVIS STEWART, founder and managing director of STEWART PARTNERS,
is an excellent source to comment on the Abramoff story and the
relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers. As a top Washington,
D.C., lobbyist with credentials that include being the former chief of
staff to Representative Harold Ford of Tennessee and staffer during
the Clinton Administration, Jarvis can offer an insider's look at the
issue and provide expert commentary. Stewart's broad portfolio
includes work with top corporations, including current clients
Wal-Mart, Toyota and Federal Express, and national non-profits such as
the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation. News Contact:
Amanda Bartz, abartz@5wpr.com Phone: +1-310-566-7032 (1/11/06)

8. NATHANIEL PERSILY, professor of law at the UNIVERSITY OF
PENNSYLVANIA, teaches courses on constitutional law and contemporary
issues in law and politics. His areas of expertise are campaign
finance reform, voting rights, election law and congressional
redistricting. He is the author of many publications about campaign
finance, including "Perceptions of Corruption and Campaign Finance:
When Public Opinion Determines Constitutional Law," "Soft Money and
Slippery Slopes" and "Parties, Money and Corruption." News Contact:
Jeanne Leong, jleong@pobox.upenn.edu Phone: +1-215-573-8151 (1/11/06)

ROUND-UP: MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS (continued)

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1. SALIBA SARSAR, professor at MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY and Middle East
scholar: "Whether we agree or disagree with Sharon's version of
Zionism or his nationalist policies, he devoted his life to securing
the State of Israel. In doing so, he presented hard-line positions
that put him at odds with other Israeli leaders and with Palestinians.
It was not until his order to withdraw 8,000 Israeli settlers from the
Gaza Strip that he moved to the center and showed willingness to
resolve the long-standing conflict with the Palestinians. What happens
in the elections this March will determine Israel's future and its
relations with the Palestinians for the next decade. Israel will
benefit from facilitating the establishment of a State of Palestine
and from supporting its democratic development and economic growth."
Sarsar is co-author of "Ideology, Values and Technology in Political
Life" and "World Politics: An Interdisciplinary Approach." News
Contact: Petra Ludwig, pludwig@monmouth.edu Phone: +1-732-263-5507
(1/11/06)

2. JEFFREY TALIAFERRO, associate professor of political science at
TUFTS UNIVERSITY: "For five years, Ariel Sharon was the linchpin for
the George W. Bush administration's strategy toward the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He received carte blanche from
Washington to end the Al Asqua Intifada and to seek a de-facto
territorial settlement with the Palestinians. Only Sharon had the
charisma, political standing, and ruthlessness to withdraw Jewish
settlements from Gaza over the vehement opposition of the settlers and
his own Likud Party. Meanwhile, Gaza and parts of the West Bank have
become a 'failed state' in the making, since the administration
provided little aid to build Palestinian political institutions and
civil society." News Contact: Suzanne C. Miller,
suzanne_c.miller@tufts.edu Phone: +1-617-627-4703 (1/11/06)

3. MALIK MUFTI, associate professor of international relations at
TUFTS UNIVERSITY, is a political scientist fluent in Arabic and
Turkish, and has expertise on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Muslim
Brotherhood movements throughout the Middle East and Jordanian
politics: "Sharon was the first Israeli leader on the right to
recognize that Israeli self-interest requires withdrawal from most
Palestinian territories and the only Israeli leader with the
popularity to rally a majority of Israelis behind such a withdrawal.
His departure will, therefore, force Washington, which desperately
needs a resolution to the conflict for the sake of its broader
regional interests, to intensify pressure on Sharon's successors."
News Contact: Suzanne C. Miller, suzanne_c.miller@tufts.edu Phone:
+1-617-627-4703 (1/11/06)

4. HENRI BARKEY, professor at LEHIGH UNIVERSITY and former Clinton
State Dept. official: "Ehud Olmert will take over the new party
Kadima, but will have to make compromises with Saul Mofaz, the defense
minister. Together, they will probably succeed in making Kadima the
largest party -- although not as successful as if Sharon were at the
helm -- in the next elections. There is a way in which, without
Sharon, this new party will have a much better chance of striking a
compromise with the Palestinians. Sharon was a toxic politician for
many Palestinians. The problem, however, is that the Palestinian
leadership is in complete turmoil." News Contact: Linda Harbrecht,
lmh2@lehigh.edu (1/11/06)

5. DANIEL BERTRAND MONK, George W. And Myra T. Cooley Professor of
Peace and Conflict Studies at COLGATE UNIVERSITY: "There are two
scenarios on the horizon for any upcoming election: a political
stalemate, in which no party advances the agenda of its members, or a
victory for a Kadima-like centrist agenda, even if it isn't
spearheaded by a party member. Regardless, the next prime minister of
Israel will have to follow some version of the Kadima, centrist agenda
or risk creating a total impasse. Sharon is a powerful figure
politically, but the reasons for his party's existence are far bigger
than the man himself. They have to do with the emergence of a vague
centrist consensus in Israel that has found no support within the
existing party framework." News Contact: Caroline Jenkins,
cajenkins@mail.colgate.edu Phone: +1-315-228-6637 (1/11/06)

6. IVAN ELAND, senior fellow for foreign policy at the INDEPENDENT
INSTITUTE: "Ariel Sharon's absence from the Israeli government will
put the Middle East peace process on hold. There will be internal
turmoil in Israel until a new prime minister is chosen. Even after a
new prime minister is chosen, any new leader will be fairly weak,
compared to Sharon. This will make any compromise with the
Palestinians difficult. In the long-term, Israel locked in a deal with
the Bush administration to keep some West Bank settlements and not
resettle Palestinian refugees. Israel is also building a wall to keep
the Palestinians out. These are realities that make any negotiated
settlement with the Palestinians difficult, no matter who the future
prime minister is. Look for a continuation of tension and violence."
News Contact: Wendy Honett, whonett@independent.org Phone:
+1-510-632-1366, ext. 119 (1/11/06)

7. JONATHAN MENDILOW, professor of political science at RIDER
UNIVERSITY in Lawrenceville, N.J., is an Israeli political expert and
author of "Ideology, Party Change and Electoral Campaigns in Israel,
1965-2001." Mendilow is also a former press officer for Jerusalem:
"The major question today is whether the left and right blocs will
manage to reassert themselves since Sharon has driven a centrist
position. Also, will the centrist position stick despite transfer of
power to Ehud Olmert? Olmert, 58, has 30 years of experience and has
the character to lead, but not the charisma of Sharon." Mendilow has
met and generally knows Olmert. News Contact: Earle Rommel,
rommel@rider.edu Phone: +1-609-896-5192 (1/11/06)

8. OREN GROSS, professor at the UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Law School, is
available to discuss the situation in Israel in light of the
deteriorating health of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Gross is
an expert on the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prior to
coming to the University of Minnesota, Gross was a member of the
faculty of the Tel Aviv University Law School in Israel. Between 1986
and 1991, he served as a senior legal advisory officer in the
international law branch of the Israeli Defense Forces' Judge Advocate
General's Corps. In 1998, he served as the legal adviser to an Israeli
delegation that negotiated an unofficial agreement with the
Palestinian Authority's senior officials concerning the economic
component of a permanent status agreement between Israel and
Palestine. News Contact: Patricia M. Mattern, matte016@umn.edu Phone:
+1-612-624-2801 (1/11/06)

9. HEATHER ROBINSON, freelance journalist and TV commentator, is an
expert on world/political issues with a focus on Israel. She has
interviewed Ehud Olmert and has 10-plus years of experience in news,
service pieces and investigative reporting. Robinson has been
published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, New York
Magazine, Time Out New York, New York Sun, Forward, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency and Jewishworldreview.com. She can speak about problems in the
Middle East peace process, corruption within the Palestinian Authority
and the ongoing radical indoctrination within Palestinian schools.
Robinson can speak in depth about bond/partnership between the U.S.
and Israel. News Contact: Adam Kluger, adamkluger@yahoo.com Phone:
+1-212-369-2458 (1/11/06)

10. AMOS GUIORA, professor at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY School
of Law, is a former Lt. Colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces. He is
also director of the Institute for Global Security at Case's law
school. Guiora is currently in Israel and can provide first-hand
accounts of developments there. He will be returning to Cleveland on
Jan. 16. News Contact: Jeffrey Bendix, jxb34@case.edu Phone:
+1-216-368-6070 (1/11/06)

11. PETER B. MOORE, assistant professor of politics at CASE WESTERN
RESERVE UNIVERSITY, is an expert in the area of specialty is
state-society relations in Middle Eastern countries. News Contact:
Jeffrey Bendix, jxb34@case.edu Phone: +1-216-368-6070 (1/11/06)

ROUND-UP: SUPREME COURT TRANSITION (continued)

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1. CARL TOBIAS, Williams Professor of Law at the UNIVERSITY OF
RICHMOND School of Law, has written about federal judicial selection
for two decades. He can comment on Judge Alito's record, especially in
contrast to Justice O'Connor's, issues on which senators will question
him and his possible answers, and how the hearings and the process
will proceed. News Contact: Brian Eckert, beckert@richmond.edu Phone:
+1-804-287-6659 (1/11/06)

ROUND-UP: GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD (continued)

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1. ROBERT PAARLBERG, professor of political science at WELLESLEY
COLLEGE: "Fighting world hunger is a goal everyone can agree on, but
opposition to biotechnology may keep a third of all Africans
malnourished, as they are today. I don't think we have the luxury of
saying, 'Stop, don't try anything new.' Genetically modified foods
have been grown and consumed for a decade now without any known
negative results for human health or the environment, but many
countries still withhold approval. Why it is acceptable to use genetic
engineering in medicine to produce insulin, but not to make corn
resistant to drought?" Paarlberg's essay, "Why GM Crops are Being
Over- Regulated in the Developing World," is part of a new book titled
"Let Them Eat Precaution: How Politics is Undermining the Genetic
Revolution in Agriculture." News Contact: Arlie Corday,
acorday@wellesley.edu Phone: +1- 781-283-3321 (1/11/06)

LEADS

1. WORLD AFFAIRS: UNITED NATIONS REFORM AND KOFI ANNAN'S SUCCESSOR.
COURTNEY SMITH, professor at SETON HALL UNIVERSITY's Whitehead School
of Diplomacy and International Relations and author of "Politics and
Process at the United Nations: The Global Dance": "The United Nations
is at a crossroads, and finding Annan's replacement is the most
important selection process in many years. The organization requires
strong leadership, especially in light of the internal and external
challenges it faces. This selection process could be one of the most
interesting in years, given some preliminary signs that the UN's
members may be willing to consider a broader range of candidates than
past practices would suggest." News Contact: Jill Matthews,
mattheji@shu.edu Phone: +1-973-378-2695 (1/11/06)

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