Conservative vs. Progressive Think Tanks The political orientation of think tanks is as broad as in every other kind of institutions or organizations. It ranges from conservative over centrist to progressive. Still it can be noted, that there are considerable differences between the right and the left wing of think tanks, especially concerning funding sources and revenues as well as media relations, which have considerable consequences on their perception and influence on the public as well as on policy makers.

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Corporate Money and Politics The fact that corporate money is seeking to influence public policy is nothing unusual. From the different ways of how private money helps to shape politics the first, and most familiar is direct campaign contributions to political candidates and parties, which is especially widespread in the United States. While the second great river of money goes to underwrite lobbying apparatus in diverse state capitals, the third form of attempts to influence public policy making is less well-known, but nearly as wide and deep as the two others - it is money which underwrites a vast network of public policy think tanks and advocacy groups. Although tried to be labeled in another way, unmistakably, these donations are naked attempts by corporations and other donors, to influence the political process.

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IBM IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) manufactures and develops cumputer hardware equipment, application and sysem software, and related equipment. IBM produced the first PC (Personal Computer), and its decision to make Microsoft DOS the standard operating system initiated Microsoft's rise to global dominance in PC software. Business indicators: 1999 Sales: $ 86,548 (+ 7,2 % from 1998) Market capitalization: $ 181 bn Employees: approx. 291,000 Corporate website: www.ibm.com http://www.ibm.com/

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IIPA The International Intellectual Property Alliance formed in 1984 is a private sector coalition and represents the U.S. copyright-based industries. It is comprised of seven trade associations: Association of American Publishers, AFMA, Business Software Alliance, Interactive Digital Software Association, Motion Picture Association of America, National Music Publishers' Association and Recording Industry Association of America. IIPA and its member's track copyright legislative and enforcement developments in over 80 countries and aim at a legal and enforcement regime for copyright that deters piracy. On a national level IIPA cooperates with the U.S. Trade Representative and on the multilateral level has been involved in the development of the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and also participates in the copyright discussion of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).

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Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the head of the NSdAP, the National Socialist Workers' Party. Originally coming from Austria, he started his political career in Germany. As the Reichskanzler of Germany he provoked World War II. His hatred against all non-Aryans and people thinking in a different way killed millions of human beings. Disinformation about his personality and an unbelievable machinery of propaganda made an entire people close its eyes to the most cruel crimes on human kind.

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