C E B O . org

Posted 10:42 PM by Mary

Actions work:
Nike on the run after Coke’s cave-in
By Burhan Wazir



THE anti-globalisation movement that brought violent protests to the streets of Seattle and Genoa is claiming victory in its battle against Nike sportswear after switching to more peaceful tactics.
The campaigners — a motley coalition of students, young “professionals of conscience” and seasoned anti-capitalists — whipped up worldwide protest on the internet over Nike’s use of third-world sweatshops. Now the company has bowed to the pressure and agreed to publish details of the 700 contracted factories it uses.

The victory follows a “Boycott Coca-Cola” campaign which forced the soft-drinks giant to establish a foundation for victims of the Colombian civil war.

Coca-Cola had been fighting a losing public relations war since 2003 when it was accused of ignoring the murders of eight trade union workers by paramilitary forces at its factories in central America.

Janet Thomas, author of The Battle in Seattle: The Story Behind and Beyond the World Trade Organisation Demonstrations, hailed the new era of internet protest as “an extremely effective way of campaigning”.

She said yesterday: “Both initiatives by Coca-Cola and Nike represent a substantial climb-down by two of the world’s largest brands. They show that with a sustained campaign that targets not just sales but the way these companies are perceived — in this case, as bullies — critics can eventually wear them down.”

timesonline.co.uk

Posted 7:23 PM by Mary

Here is a simple, quick action, against US sponsored torture, which comes to you from the Unitarians (and Mary)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Say NO to U.S.-sponsored torture: Join 'First Monday' call-in campaign

The UUSC Stop Torture Permanently Campaign - STOP - has initiated a national call-in session to be held the first Monday of every month. We are asking all of our constituents and supporters to join in this effort on Monday, May 2 by calling your congressional representatives on this date and communicating your strong opposition to U.S.-sponsored torture. Please invite your friends and colleagues to call as well.

ACTION

On Monday, May 2, 2005 please telephone your U.S. representative and senators. The congressional switchboard number is 202.224.3121. Ask a number of friends to join you in making these calls, and let us know afterwards about the response you received. If you are transferred to a voice mail, leave a strong message. This counts quite strongly as well. You may also send an e-mail through our online Legislative Action Center but we are urging everyone to make personal calls if possible.

Capwiz.com/uusc

Posted 12:08 AM by Mary

Since the December 26 tsunami, millions of women in the affected
regions have been in desperate need of health care, particularly
prenatal, maternal, and family planning services. UNFPA, the
United Nations Population Fund, was one of the first
organizations on the ground to help meet these needs, and it
remains the only multilateral organization dedicated to
reproductive health.

The Bush administration has withheld the congressionally
approved contribution from UNFPA for the past three years, but
this week the Senate will vote to release $3 million to UNFPA
for its emergency relief work. This funding will help UNFPA
provide emergency prenatal care and delivery assistance to
pregnant women and serve as a resource for family planning
services.

Tell Senator Schumer to support this crucial amendment!

ppaction.org/campaign

Posted 8:32 AM by Mary

When Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena's car was fired upon near the Baghdad airport by U.S. soldiers, resulting in her wounding and the death of intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, press freedom groups demanded an impartial and independent international investigation. The Pentagon rebuffed the call.

Instead, the United States military investigated itself -- amidst reports that an Italian invited to join the probe was denied access to the vehicle that was involved in the incident. This is consistent with earlier U.S. responses to demands by Reuters and the International Federation of Journalists for independent inquires into earlier shootings of journalists. In every case, the Pentagon rejected outsiders from the process.

Last night on CBS's "60 Minutes Two," Sgrena denied the official story and accused the United States military of lying about the details.
Sgrena says she was less than a half-mile from the airport, when the shooting began:

"Seven hundred meters more, and we are in the airport, and we will be safe and we will be in the airport. And in the same moment, started the shooting."

Sgrena says that as the car rounded a turn, driving no faster than 30 miles an hour, it was hit by gunfire and at the same time, a bright light. She and Calipari were in the back seat. "He [Calipari] pushed me down and with this, the body, covered me," says Sgrena. "He pushed me down in the car. And I was asking, 'Why?' Nicola doesn't say, he doesn't speak it, doesn't say nothing."

Other reports based on earlier interviews and another eyewitness account insisted: They lied about the checkpoint, speeding, hand and arm signals, warning shots, etc. There was no "checkpoint" where the shooting incident took place. The car was not "speeding", there were no "hand and arm signals", there were no "warning shots", and there were no "engine block" shots. The shooters ambushed the car from behind. There were earlier reports that an "elite combat unit," a CIA contingency of personal body guards for new national intelligence chief John Negroponte, may have been involved.

These are serious charges, yet a military-led investigation is poised to exonerate the soldiers and dismiss the critics once again. The pro-war Murdoch-owned New York Post reports today:
"April 14, 2005 -- U.S. soldiers reportedly have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of an Italian journalist and an intelligence agent last month in Baghdad.

"U.S. military officials told NBC News that a joint American-Italian investigation found the soldiers acted properly in firing on a car bearing a just-freed hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and an intelligence officer, Nicola Calipari.

"The car was about 130 yards from a checkpoint when the soldiers flashed their lights to get it to stop. They fired warning shots when the car was within 90 yards of the checkpoint, but at 65 yards, they used deadly force. Calipari was killed and Sgrena wounded."

Media for Democracy is calling on its members and supporters as well as media colleagues to join us in protesting this latest outrage and cover-up. Support press freedom -- denounce the suspicious killings and harassment of journalists in Iraq. Since the invasion in March 2003, more than a dozen journalists and media staff have been killed in Iraq by U.S. troops. Tell the Pentagon and the White House that the United States needs to act to defend its traditions of liberty and justice by addressing the concerns of journalists and citizens around the world over the failure to conduct credible investigations into the deaths of journalists and media staff in Iraq.

George W. Bush
President, United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Tel.: +1 202-456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov

Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense, United States of America
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Email: www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html

Peter Vangjel
Brigadier General, United States Army
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Email: www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html
We Demand the Truth. Please speak up and speak out.

Sincerely,
Danny Schechter
Editor, MediaChannel.org
Director, "WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception)"
wmdthefilm.com

Posted 10:35 PM by Mary

Parents of peace activist killed by Israeli bulldozer target Caterpillar
By Maxine Frith, Social Affairs Correspondent
14 April 2005

From boots to baseball caps, the Caterpillar fashion range is marketed as upmarket outdoor wear for label-conscious youth.

But customers are now being urged to boycott the construction and clothing company because it supplies bulldozers to the Israeli government, which uses the vehicles to destroy Palestinian homes, roads and olive groves. They have also been used to build the controversial "security wall" which has attracted international opprobrium.

Campaigners held an international day of action yesterday against Caterpillar, with demonstrations outside British plants and "flashmobbing" of the company's shops where protesters asked to try on shoes then sat reading a report that detailed the firm's alleged complicity in Israeli human rights abuses.

Craig and Cindy Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist who was crushed and killed by an army-driven Caterpillar bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, are backing the boycott. Yesterday they handed in a copy of the report by the lobby group War on Want to the John Lewis department store in Oxford Street.

John Lewis and the high street chain River Island are among the stockists of the clothing range.

Mr and Mrs Corrie announced last month that they are suing Caterpillar for violating the Geneva Convention and American torture laws in allowing its equipment to be used against the Palestinian people and their homes.

Mrs Corrie said: "Stores should not be selling Caterpillar clothing and people should not be buying it because of what is happening in Israel.

"Our daughter was killed by a Caterpillar bulldozer and in the last four years, a tenth of the population of Rafah have lost their homes as a result of Cat bulldozers being used by the military."

Independent.co.uk