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Consumers Are Sleeping With the Enemy

Sandy LeonVest March 1, 2010 Sandy LeonVest

Anyone whose mission it is to 'control the masses' knows it all begins with good marketing. Public relations aficionado Edward Bernays understood that. One of the country's original PR flacks, Bernays is perhaps best known for forging the decades-long marketing alliance between the AMA and the tobacco industry. The 'Father of Spin,' as he is known, also played a major role in the marketing and selling of the First World War to the American public with his now infamous slogan, "Making the World Safe for Democracy."

The Robber Barons of Social Change

Mark Engler and Arthur Phillips February 25, 2010 Mark Engler and Arthur Phillips

Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., the maker of "Vermont's Finest" super-premium ice cream, was one of the feel-good business success stories of the 1990s. In addition to introducing frozen dessert lovers to now-famous flavors such as Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey, the company trumpeted its ability to make money and do good in the world at the same time. It publicized its decisions to buy ingredients from local farms, its refusal to use milk produced with bovine growth hormone, and its commitment to contributing 7.5 percent of all pre-tax profits to an employee-led charitable foundation. As the founders wrote, "We wanted to create a company we could be proud of."

No Tutu is Big Enough to Cover Up Israeli War Crimes

Brian Pickett, Video by Sam Mayfield February 23, 2010 Brian Pickett, Video by Sam Mayfield

Human rights activists from Vermont, New York and Israel interrupted a performance of the Israel Ballet at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, VT on Friday, February 19th, calling attention to the dance company's complicity in Israeli war crimes. Using two banners that read "No Tutu is Big Enough to Cover Up War Crimes" and "Sponsored by Apartheid Israel", the activists, who had purchased tickets to the show, positioned themselves in front of the stage during the opening scenes of the performance.

Nelson Mandela’s Walk to Freedom Remembered

Stefan Simanowitz February 23, 2010 Stefan Simanowitz

Nelson Mandela, 1937

Twenty years ago, Janey Halim was part of the ANC welcome committee gathered outside Victor Verster Prison, waiting to greet Nelson Mandela as he emerged after 27 years of confinement. “It was a beautiful morning and we all just stood there with our eyes focused on the metal gate,” she recalls. “Then the gates opened and Nelson and Winnie walked towards us. Other people were cheering but I just cried and cried.” Two decades later, Ms Halim, known to most people as Auntie Janey, decided not to attend the commemorative event at the prison marking the anniversary of Mandela’s release because she feels let down by the African National Congress (ANC). read more

Coca Leaves, Chicha and Beer Globalization in Latin America

Benjamin Dangl February 22, 2010 Benjamin Dangl

On a pleasant autumn day in 1890 the Cuauhtémoc brewery was founded in Monterrey, Mexico. This brewery, which also specialized in ice production, went on to become Mexican Economic Development Inc. (FEMSA), brewing such beers as Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol. Recently the Dutch brewing giant Heineken bought FEMSA, bringing over half of the world's beer production into the hands of just four mega-corporations. One Mexican columnist wrote of the merger in La Jornada, "Just a bit more globalization and we will all be lost."

Following the Mineral Trail: Congo Resource Wars and Rwanda

John Lasker February 18, 2010 John Lasker

Rwandan Soliders in Congo

The Rwandan government and its military have largely been suspected by a UN Panel of Experts, human rights organizations and independent journalists, of financially supporting a number of violent militias that have destabilized the eastern Congo region to illegally traffic millions-of-dollars worth of minerals such as coltan, gold, and cassiterite. These minerals are then brought from neighboring Congo into Rwanda for eventual sale on the international market.