Newsletter 32 : 12 - BABYLONIAN TIMES

BRING IN THE DANCING GIRLS!

As proud sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2006 (England lost apparently), Philips (of screwdrivers fame) have a bit of a consolation prize to cheer up 'depressed' World Cup losers. Preppy sexy dancing girls! All you need to do to use this, ahem, service is to type a message and the schoolgirl-a-likes will proudly give a little wiggle and display it across their chests.

Obviously gyrating in front of a flat screen TV should now be de riguer for feminists everywhere. Or not.

FIZZY POP TO CURE SOCIETAL ILLS

Bless the Coca-Cola Foundation Phillipines. At the end of September they ran a session called Enabling the Spirit of Citizenship in the Youth / Education from the Perspective of the Marginalized at the Asian Forum for Corporate Social Responsibility. Under this auspicious title they set out to disuss converting Coke consumers into partners and to “translate brand strenghth into the social arena”.

Coca-Cola, also sponsoring the event, lovingly described themselves as a “global citizen committed to making a difference on the planet.“ What sort of “difference” that this global citizen can make is another question seeing as the company have been accused in the past of: polluting water in India[1], human rights abuses and trade union oppression in Colombia[2], child labour in El Salvador[3], an increase in carcinogenic chemicals in Sunny D in Kansas[4] [fade to black]

References

[1] Dinesh Narayanan, 'Coca-Cola Pays Off Vendors to Keep Quiet About Contamination', India Resource Center, 02/05/06 www.indiaresource.org/news/2006/1061.html viewed 13/09/06

[2] Killer Coke Campaign, www.killercoke.org viewed 13/09/06

[3] Author Unknown, 'Coca-Cola, Human Rights and Child Labour', NaturalMatters.net 28/02/06 www.naturalmatters.net/article.asp?article=1301&cat=219 viewed 13/09/06

[4] Steven Bodzin, 'Benzene litigator aiming at Coke', Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 26/08/06