A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, criminal organizations, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group. Front organizations that appear to be independent voluntary or charitable associations are called front groups. In the business world, front organizations such as front companies or shell corporations are used to shield the parent company from legal liability. In international relations, a puppet state is a state which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state. An intelligence agency is a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Organized crime. ... Corporate redirects here. ... A shell corporation is defined in Barrons Finance & Investment Handbook as a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. ...

Intelligence agencies

Intelligence agencies use front organizations to provide "cover", plausible occupations and means of income, for their covert agents. These may include legitimate organizations, such as charity, religious or journalism organizations; or brass plate firms which exist solely to provide a plausible background story, occupation, and means of income.

The airline Air America, an outgrowth of Civil Air Transport of the 1940s, and Southern Air Transport, ostensibly a civilian air charter company, were operated and wholly owned by the CIA, supposedly to provide humanitarian aid, but flew many combat support missions and supplied covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Second Indochina War.^[1] Other CIA-funded front groups have been used to spread American propaganda and influence during the Cold War, particularly in the Third World.^{[citation needed]} Air America Pilots Cap Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). ... Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a CIA-owned airline that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. ... Southern Air Transport was the name of two airlines in the United States. ... The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an intelligence agency of the United States government. ... Humanitarian aid arriving by plane at Rinas Airport in Albania in the summer of 1999. ... A covert operation is a military or political activity performed in secrecy that would break specific laws or compromise policy in another country. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the Great Patriotic War. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

When intelligence organizations use legitimate organizations as fronts, it can cause problems and lead to increased risk for the workers from the legitimate organization.^[2] For example, the Peace Corps and CIA both maintain that there has never been any relationship between the two groups.^[3] It has been suggested that Crisis corps be merged into this article or section. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

See also: Non-official cover and Agent handling#Fronts and cutouts

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Agent handler is a generic term common to many intelligence organizations which can be applied to Case Officers, those who aspire to be Case officers, controllers, contacts, couriers and other assorted trainees. ...

Organized crime

Many organized crime operations have substantial legitimate businesses, such as licensed gambling houses, building construction companies, trash hauling services, or dock loading enterprises. These front companies enable these criminal organizations to launder their income from illegal activities. As well, the front companies provide plausible cover for illegal activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and prostitution. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Organized crime. ... The term gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. ... Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ... Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... Whore redirects here. ...

Where brothels are illegal, criminal organizations set up front companies providing services such as a "massage parlor" or "sauna", up to the point that "massage parlor" or "sauna" is thought as a synonym of brothel in these countries. A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ... A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ...

Religious organizations

Some religious organizations use front groups either to promote their interests in politics or to make their group seem more legitimate. The Church of Scientology is one such organization; the FBI's July 7, 1977 raids on the Church's offices (following discovery of the Church's Operation Snow White) turned up, among other documents, an undated memo entitled "PR General Categories of Data Needing Coding". This memo listed what it called "Secret PR Front Groups," which included the group APRL, "Alliance for the Preservation of Religious Liberty" (later renamed "Americans Preserving Religious Liberty").^[4] The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) is considered by many to now be a front group for the Church of Scientology, which took the group over financially after bankrupting it in a series of lawsuits.^[5][6][7] Official Scientology Cross Symbol The Church of Scientology is a very controversial international network devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Operation Snow-White was the name given internally by the Church of Scientology to a program which included the largest incident of private domestic espionage in the history of the United States. ... Cult Awareness Network - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Time identified several other fronts for Scientology, including: the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), The Way to Happiness Foundation, Applied Scholastics, the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America, and HealthMed Clinic[1]. Seven years later the Boston Herald showed how Narconon and World Literacy Crusade are also fronting for Scientology[2]. Other Scientology groups include Downtown Medical, Criminon and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR; also sometimes known as the Citizens Committee on Human Rights) is an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Thomas Szasz. ... The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a Scientology-related non-profit corporation founded in 1984. ... Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of the study technology created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author and the founder of Scientology. ... Founded in 1983, the Concerned Businessmens Association of America (CBAA) is an element of the Scientology movement directed at promoting moral education and enhanced well-being through the use of Hubbards The Way to Happiness booklet in their Set A Good Example (SAGE) program, which holds childrens... Narconon is not associated with Narcotics Anonymous, which is sometimes abbreviated Narcanon. Scientologys Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. ... Doctrine Practices Concepts People Public groups Organization Controversy World Literacy Crusade (WLC) is a non-profit group fighting illiteracy formed in 1992 by the Rev. ... Downtown Medical is a controversial Scientology clinic on 139 Fulton Street in New York City, founded in 2003 with the purpose of treating people for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the 9/11 attacks. ... Criminon is a secular non proft 501 C3 working with government departments and inmates to reduce recidivism and restore self respect to the inmate. ... The Association for Better Living and Education (A.B.L.E.) is a secular branch of the Church of Scientology. ...

Politics

Pro-Israel lobbying fronts

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has been accused of using front organizations as a means of circumventing limits on campaign spending^[8] These front organizations have names unrelated to AIPAC. Delaware Valley Good Government Association (Philadelphia), San Franciscans for Good Government (California), Beaver PAC (Wisconsin), Cactus PAC (Arizona), and Icepac (New York) are examples of former AIPAC front groups.^[9] AIPAC was also investigated by the FBI in 2004 for espionage against the United States. ^[10][11][12] The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is an American special interest group that lobbies the United States Congress and excecutive branch in favor of maintaining a close US-Israel relationship. ... Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. ... Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government  - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area  - City 369. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... NY redirects here. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... The AIPAC espionage scandal refers to allegations that information regarding United States policy towards Iran was passed to Israel through the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. ...

Islamist front organizations

See also: Terrorist front organization

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is regarded by many scholars and intelligence agencies to be front organizations based on their founding ties to known Islamist or terrorist organizations like Hamas. ^[13][14] Rep. Cass Ballenger of North Carolina has stated that CAIR is a "fund-raising arm for Hezbollah" in an interview with the Charlotte Observer published 4 October 2003. CAIR official Todd "Ismail" Royer was convicted of conspiring to train on American soil for violent jihad. CAIR officials Rabih Haddad, Bassem Khafagi and Ghassan Elashi have all been convicted of conspiring to fund Islamic terrorist groups.^[15][16] A terrorist front organization is created to conceal activities or provide logistical or financial support to the illegal activities. ... The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an advocacy group which seeks to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the Arabic acronym means zeal) is a Palestinian Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Categories: Stub | Members of the U.S. House of Representatives ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ghassan Elashi was a founder of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), and was a member of the founding board of directors of the Texas branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). ...

Hezbollah, the Lebanese anti-Israel guerilla army runs many front organizations for fundraising, including the Al-Mabarrat organization in Dearborn. ^[17][18] Hezbollah also has been implicated in counterfeiting.^[19][20] For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ... Location in Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County  - Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. ... A counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. ...

Other Islamist front organizations used to gather money for terrorist groups (including al-Qaeda), or accused of doing so, include the Global Relief Foundation, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Al Barakaat, Benevolence International Foundation, and Konsojaya Trading Company. In the UK, the Muslim Association of Britain has been accused of being a front for or connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. ^[21] Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... The Global Relief Foundation, also known as Fondation Secours Mondial or FSM, was a terrorist front organization masquerading as a charity. ... The Holy Land Foundation is an Islamic charity in the United States and claims to be the largest in that country. ... the never represent ISLAM ... The Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) was a nonprofit charitable trust that is suspected to have supported international terrorists worldwide. ... The Konsojaya Trading Company was a shell company cofounded by Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, and his Chinese Malaysian wife, Noralwizah Lee Abdullah on June 1994. ... MAB logo The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is an Islamist group in the United Kingdom established in 1997. ... The Muslim Brotherhood or The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimÅ«n, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood or MB) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement founded by the sufi schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. ...

Apartheid government fronts

South Africa's apartheid-era government used numerous front organizations to influence world opinion and to undertake extra-judicial activities and the killing of anti-apartheid activists; these included^[22] the following:

• The Citizen - funded secretly by government, intended to challenge the liberal Rand Daily Mail, contributing to the political ruin of John Vorster and Connie Mulder
• Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) - a covert, special forces organisation that harrassed, seriously injured and eliminated anti-apartheid activists
• Federal Independent Democratic Alliance (FIDA)
• International Freedom Foundation - Washington-based mechanism to combat sanctions, and support Jonas Savimbi and UNITA
• Jeugkrag - or Youth for South Africa, led by Marthinus van Schalkwyk a short-lived Afrikaner youth group, surreptitiously funded by the Military Intelligence's Project Essay
• National Student Federation (NSF) - led by Russell Crystal, intended to challenge NUSAS
• Roodeplaat Research Laboratories
• Taussig Familienstiftung - or Taussig Family Trust, a Liechtenstein conduit for secret government transactions
• Veterans for Victory - consisting of national servicemen, a countermeasure against the End Conscription Campaign which was allied to the United Democratic Front (UDF)

The Citizen is a tabloid style newspaper that is distributed nationally in South Africa. ... The Rand Daily Mail was a Johannesburg daily newspaper with an anti-apartheid bias that broke the news about the apartheid states disinformation funding scandal in 1979[1]. // Soon after it was founded, The Rand Daily Mail was bought by mining magnate Abe Bailey[2]. During the apartheid years... B. J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes Vorster (December 13, 1915 - September 10, 1983), better known as John Vorster, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978, and President from 1978 to 1979. ... Connie Mulder, born Cornelius Petrus Mulder (5th June 1925–1988), was a South African politican and minister. ... The Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) was a covert South African apartheid-era hit squad[1]. Inaugurated in 1986, and fully functional by 1988 it was set up to eliminate anti-apartheid activists, destroy ANC facilities, and find means to circumvent the economic sanctions[1] imposed on that country. ... The International Freedom Foundation (IFF), founded in 1986, was described as a Washington conservative think-tank with branches in Johannesburg and London, but was actually a front organization for apartheid South Africas Directorate of Military Intelligence. ... Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (August 3, 1934–February 22, 2002) was a rebel leader in Angola who founded the UNITA movement in 1966, and ultimately proved a central figure in 20th century Cold War politics. ... A UNITA sticker The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, commonly known by the acronymn, UNITA, derived from its Portuguese name União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, is an Angolan political faction and a former rebel force. ... Jeugkrag (or Youth for South Africa) was a short-lived South African youth group, surreptitiously funded by the apartheid governments department of Military Intelligence in an operation known as Project Essay. ... Marthinus van Schalkwyk is a South African politician, formerly both Premier of the Western Cape Province and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Africa. ... The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was one of the most important forces for Liberalism in South Africa in the latter part of the last century. ... Roodeplaat Research Laboratories (RRL) (Afrikaans: Roodeplaat Navorsings Laboratoriums) was a front company established in 1983 by the South African Defence Force to research, test and produce biological weapons within a covert operation known as Project Coast. ... The End Conscription Campaign was an anti-apartheid organisation of conscientious objectors in South Africa. ... The United Democratic Front (UDF) was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. ...

Communist fronts

Further information: Communist front

Communist and other Marxist-Leninist parties have sometimes used front organizations to attract support from those (sometimes called fellow travellers) who may not necessarily agree with Leninist ideology. The front organisation often obscures its provenance and may often be a tool for recruitment. Other Marxists often describe front organisations as opportunist. Communist front was originally the term used by the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA), and then later by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) or the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) to label Comintern organizations found to be under the effective control of the (CPUSA), with... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... A fellow traveller is a person who sympathizes with the beliefs of a particular organization, but does not belong to that organization. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Opportunism is a term mainly used in politics and political science. ...

According to a list prepared in 1955 by the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, the Comintern set up no less than 82 front organizations in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. This tactic was often used during the Red Scare of the 1950s, when a number of organizations in the labor and peace movements were accused of being "Communist fronts". Sometimes, Communist fronts worked at an international level, as has been alleged with the World Peace Council. The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee or more commonly know as SISS was a key player in the role of finding communists during the McCarthy era in America. ... The Comintern (Russian: Коммунистический Интернационал, Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional – Communist International, also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the war communism period (1918-1921), by Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including... Some factual claims in this article need to be verified. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars), minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. ... The World Peace Council (or World Council of Peace) was formed in 1949 in order to promote peaceful coexistence and nuclear disarmament. ...

More recently, the Workers' World Party (WWP)^[23] set up an anti-war front group, International ANSWER. (ANSWER is no longer closely associated with WWP; it is closely associated with a WWP splinter, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, but PSL plays a more open role in the organization.) Similarly, Unite Against Fascism, the Anti-Nazi League, the Stop the War Coalition and RESPECT are all criticised as being fronts for the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party (UK). Workers World Party (WWP) is a communist party in the United States founded in 1959 by Sam Marcy. ... Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ... Act Now to Stop War and End Racism — also known as International ANSWER and the ANSWER Coalition — is a American communist front organization involved in the post-9/11 anti-war movement. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... UAF Logo representing unity between people Unite Against Fascism is a fascist pressure group in the United Kingdom that campaigns against far right-wing and fascist parties and groups in Britain, primarily the British National Party (BNP), which it identifies as the principal threat. ... Anti-Nazi League logo The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up with left-wing trade union money in 1977 to oppose the rise of what they deemed to be far-right groups in Britain. ... The Stop the War Coalition (StWC) (informally just Stop the War) is a UK anti-war group set up on 21 September 2001. ... Respect is an assumption of good faith and competence in another person or in the whole of oneself. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Some anti-Islamist feminist groups in the Muslim world have also been accused of being front organizations. The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan has been accused of being a Maoist front, while the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq has been accused of being a front for the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq ^[24][25]. Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Nations with a Muslim majority appear in green, while nations that are approximately 50% Muslim appear yellow. ... Logo of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) (جمعیت انقلابی زنان افغانستان) is a womens organization in Afghanistan that promotes womens rights and secular democracy. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Organization of Womens Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) is an organization which campaigns in favour of womens rights in Iraq, and against political Islam. ... The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq (Arabic: Hizb al-Shuyui al-Ummali al-Iraqi) is a Marxist political party in Iraq and amongst Iraqi exiles. ...

The concept of a front organisation should be distinguished from the united front - a coalition of working class or socialist parties - and the popular front - a coalition of a Communist party with bourgeois groups. Both the united front and popular front usually disclose the groups that make up their coalitions. In Leninist bogus, a united front is a coalition of Clinton likeleft-wing working class forces which put forward a common set of demands and share a common plan of action, but which do not subordinate themselves to the front, retaining their abilities for independent political action and continuing to... A coalition is an alliance among entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... Popular Fronts comprise broad coalitions of political and other groups, often made up of oppositioners or left wingers, and often united against particularly stringent circumstances. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ...

Animal rights groups

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an organization which advocates vegetarianism for health reasons, has criticized high-protein diets such as the Atkins Diet, and seeks to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research, has been accused of being a front group for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization. In February 2004, Newsweek stated that "Less than 5 percent of PCRM’s members are physicians.” American Medical Association (AMA) has called PCRM a “fringe organization” that uses “unethical tactics” and is “interested in perverting medical science.” (reference needed) In 1991 the AMA’s senior vice president for science and medical education stated that PCRM are "...neither responsible nor are they physicians.”(reference needed) AMA scientific affairs vice president Dr. Jerod M. Loeb wrote that “the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has been formally censured by the AMA for purposefully misrepresenting the critical role animals play in medical research.” (reference needed) The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research. ... Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming the flesh of any animal (including sea animals) with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives, such as dairy products or eggs[1]. Some vegetarians choose to also refrain from wearing clothing that has involved the death of animals, such as leather, silk... book The Atkins Nutritional Approach, popularly known as the Atkins Diet or just Atkins, is a popular but controversial high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. ... People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals logo People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest and possibly most well recognized animal rights organization in the world. ... A civet, or sea fox, photographed in the Zigong Peoples Zoo, Sichuan, 2001. ...

Banned paramilitary organizations

Banned paramilitary organizations sometimes use front groups to achieve a public face with which to raise funds, negotiate with opposition parties, recruit, and spread propaganda. For example, banned paramilitary organizations often have an affiliated political party that operates more openly (though often these parties, themselves, end up banned). These parties may or may not be front organizations in the narrow sense — they have varying degrees of autonomy and the relationships are usually something of an open secret — but are widely considered to be so, especially by their political opponents. A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Political parties Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ...

Examples are the relationship between the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin in 1980s Ireland or between the Basque groups ETA (paramilitary) and Batasuna (party) in Spain. Similarly, in the United States in periods where the Communist Party was highly stigmatized, it often operated largely through front groups. In addition, the Provisional IRA also operated a vigilante front group, called Direct Action Against Drugs. This article is about the historical army of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (1919–1922) which fought in the Irish War of Independence 1919–21, and the Irish Civil War 1922–23. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ... Languages Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religions Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: Euskaldunak) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of northwestern Spain and southwestern France. ... ETA symbol or ETA (Basque for Basque Homeland and Freedom; IPA pronunciation: [) is a paramilitary Basque nationalist organization. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States. ... Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish name: Óglaigh na hÉireann) (PIRA; more commonly referred to as the IRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA) is an Irish Republican left-wing paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern Ireland... For the aircraft, see A-5 Vigilante. ... Direct Action Against Drugs was a vigilante group in Northern Ireland which murdered drug dealers [1] selling mainly Ecstasy. ...

Corporate front organizations

See also: Shell corporation

Corporations from a wide variety of different industries set up front groups. Some pharmaceutical companies set up "patients' groups" as front organizations that pressure healthcare providers and legislators to adopt their products. For example, Schering Healthcare and Biogen Ltd. tried to pressure the UK National Health Service (NHS) to adopt its drug Beta Interferon to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sufferers. Schering set up and funded a group called MS Voice, with its own website, which claimed to represent MS sufferers.^{[citation needed]} A shell corporation is defined in Barrons Finance & Investment Handbook as a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations. ... , the information in this article describes the current English public health service. ... Interferons (IFNs) are natural proteins produced by the cells of the immune system of most vertebrates in response to challenges by foreign agents such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and tumor cells. ...

Another pharmaceutical company, Biogen, set up a campaign called Action for Access, which also claimed it was an independent organization and the voice of MS sufferers. People who visited the website and signed up for the campaign did not realise that these were not genuinely independent patient groups. It has been alleged that computer software giant Microsoft created and funded the Association for Competitive Technology to defend its interests against charges of antitrust violations.^{[citation needed]} Tobacco companies frequently use front organizations and doctors to advocate their arguments about tobacco use, although less openly and obviously than in the 1980s. Biogen Idec Inc. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an American technology lobby group that is sometimes claimed to be a front organization for Microsoft, though it has other large, independent members such as eBay. ...

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is one of the more active corporate front groups and one of several front groups created by Berman & Co., a public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman. Based in Washington, DC, Berman & Co. represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. The group actively opposes smoking bans and lowering the legal blood-alcohol level, while targeting studies on the dangers of red meat consumption, overfishing and pesticides. Each year they give out the "nanny awards" to groups who, according to them, try to tell consumers how to live their lives.^[26] They also run affiliated websites such as ActivistCash.com. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), formerly called the Guest Choice Network, is a non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. lobby group. ...

A list of some alleged corporate front groups is maintained by the Multinational Monitor. ^[27] Some think tanks are corporate front groups. These organizations present themselves as research organisations, using phrases such as "...Institute for Research" in their names. Because their names suggest neutrality, they can present the commercial strategies of the corporations which sponsor them in a way which appears to be objective sociological or economical research rather than political lobbying. Founded in 1980 by Ralph Nader, the Multinational Monitor is a monthly magazine (published ten times a year). ... This article is about the institution. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ...

Similarly the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness has been criticised as a front organisation for various industry bodies which seek to undermine regulation of their environmentally damaging activities under the guise of 'regulatory effectiveness'. ^[28] The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) is a regulatory watchdog in the United States which focuses on federal agency compliance with good government laws which regulate the regulators. ...

Astroturfing

Main article: Astroturfing

Astroturfing, a wordplay based on "grassroots" efforts, is an American term used pejoratively to describe formal public relations projects which try to create the impression of a groundswell of spontaneous popular response to a politician, product, service, or event. Corporations have been known to "astroturf", but are not the only entities alleged to have done so. In recent years, organizations of plaintiffs' attorneys have established front groups such as Victims and Families United and the Center for Justice and Democracy to oppose tort reform.^[29] Astroturfing is a term for formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior. ... For other meanings, see Grass roots (disambiguation). ... Public relations (PR): Building sustainable relations with all publics in order to create a postive brand image. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

Stephen A. Kent, Ph. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (128th in leap years). ... Stephen A. Kent, Ph. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (128th in leap years). ... New Times LA is a now-defunct alternative weekly newspaper, published in Los Angeles , until 2002, by the New Times Media corporation. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (128th in leap years). ... The Washington Times is a daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1982 as a conservative alternative to the Washington Post by members of the controversial Unification Church. ... Logo of Freedom Socialist newspaper: Voice of Revolutionary Feminism The Freedom Socialist Party is a socialist political party with a unique program of revolutionary feminism that emerged from a split in the United States Socialist Workers Party in 1966. ... The Washington Monthly is a monthly magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, DC. Its founder is Charles Peters, who started the magazine in 1969 and continues to write columns occasionally. ... The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is an influential New York City-based free market think tank established in 1978. ... The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative think tank, founded in 1943, whose stated mission is to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism — limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies...

Further reading

• CIA "Fronts" - an unattributed list of alleged front organizations for the Central Intelligence Agency
• information about corporate front organisations in Europe
• Chris Mooney on 'The Centre for Regulatory Effectiveness' - Washington Monthly
• "Thank you for Smoking"
• Front groups at SourceWatch

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an intelligence agency of the United States government. ...

See also

• Shell company
• Mafia
• Organized crime
• Straw man (law)
• GONGO
• Media transparency
• Astroturfing
• Transparency (humanities)
• Category:Advocacy groups