activism

Human rights and labor activists protested outside the Washington DC offices of Public Strategies, Inc., claiming that the public relations firm helps the Bridgestone / Firestone Tire Company "deflect attention away from the company's long history of exploiting workers and the environment on its rubber plantation in Liberia." The protest comes shortly after the publication of a report from a Liberian-based organization that alleges that Firestone works with "former President [Charles] Taylor's Anti-Terrorist Unit and other militia forces ... to curb illicit tapping. Some members of this group are allegedly harassing and torturing community members in the name of curbing illicit tapping" of rubber trees. The report also faults Firestone for paying low wages and placing unreasonable quotas on its Liberian workers, among other problems. The head of the Firestone Agricultural Workers' Union of Liberia said there are "ongoing union-management contract negotiations" to address "issues relating to work quota, and also issues relating to occupational health and safety, issues relating to education as well as issues relating to salaries and wages."

On July 15, "an unlikely alliance" rallied in Washington DC to "stop the war on the poor" by increasing U.S. domestic oil and gas production. The rally was organized by the civil rights group Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the pro-drilling front group Americans for American Energy and the conservative group High Impact Leadership Coalition. Rally speakers stressed "the need to expand domestic oil and gas production with the goal of reducing fuel costs for low-income households that feel a disproportionate pinch from rising energy prices," reports Jenny Mandel. Signs at the rally included "My family needs affordable energy" and "Environmental groups don't feed my family." CORE has received funding from ExxonMobil. CORE's Niger Innis said the group favors "government spending on oil shale, coal and drilling on the continental shelf and throughout Alaska," because "when these resources are developed ... that is going to have a direct impact on the price of fuel." While some rally attendees told Mandel about their difficulties "budgeting around today's gasoline prices," others "backed away from a reporter with a notebook. ... One woman, who declined to give her name, said she was demonstrating at her boss's behest."

The Swiss drug company Roche has been suspended from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) after adverse findings over its promotion of the weight-loss drug Xenical. The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, the body created by ABPI to handle complaints over its self-regulatory code of conduct, found that an agreement by Roche to invest £55,000 in a weight loss clinic that would prescribe the company's drug "brought discredit upon, and reduced confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry." The authority also found that by selling Xenical to the clinic owner, who posed as a pharmacist, Roche "had sold a prescription only medicine to a member of the public." The complaint was brought by Ryta Kuzel, the former head of UK regulatory affairs for Roche, who argues that she was fired because the company feared she would blow the whistle on the Xenical scandal.

Members of the Oxford Climate Action group protested at the London offices of PR firm Edelman to draw attention to the greenwashing done on behalf of its energy client E.ON UK. The group said that the demonstration aimed to "highlight the insanity of investing in new coal power stations such as Kingsnorth in the face of human-caused climate change." The activists protested in front of the firm's building, unfurled a banner from the roof, and even gained entrance to the company's offices. Edelman's UK CEO Robert Phillips posted a video blog in response to the protest. He said that he regretted that the group chose a demonstration over a conversation with him, and that the police and other public services had better things to do than be on call for the protest. The Public Relations Consultants Association (PCRA) agreed with Phillips. Their Director general, Francis Ingham, said, "These people should stop childishly ranting against things they disagree with, and start talking."

Attendees at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin were offered the latest Nation magazine with a cover article by Christopher Hayes. He writes, "This year, MoveOn turns ten. ... Capable of dominating a news cycle with a single ad and raising millions of dollars with a lone e-mail, MoveOn pioneered an entire approach to conducting politics through the Internet that has been replicated and spun off across the country and around the globe, an approach that, as the Obama campaign has dramatically demonstrated, has permanently transformed the landscape of American politics. ... Perhaps the most damning criticism leveled at MoveOn is that by creating a clear and easy outlet for people's frustration and angst, the organization delivers people a false sense of accomplishment. In other words, MoveOn can be tremendously successful without being effective." CMD's John Stauber is one of MoveOn's critics interviewed for the piece.

Netroots Nation, the annual conference for thousands of liberal bloggers, Democratic Party activists and liberal advocacy organizations is underway today, July 17, and through the weekend in Austin, Texas. In the decade since then-First Lady Hillary Clinton railed against the "vast Right Wing conspiracy," Democratic liberals have woven their own with dozens of new think tanks, lobby groups, funders like the Democracy Alliance and George Soros, scores of consultants and hundreds of millions of dollars raised and spent to grease the wheels of collaboration, all designed this year to win the White House and solidify control of the Congress.

Liberal bloggers are notorious dissenters and critics of mainstream Democratic policies, but there won't be much of that on formal display in Austin, nothing like the "Coffee with the Troops" which injected an unscheduled discussion of the Iraq War into last year's conference in Chicago. Potentially controversial issues including Dennis Kucinich's call for impeachment of President Bush, or the failure of the Democratic Congress to stop funding the war in Iraq, are off the official agenda at Netroots Nation.

The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is engaged in an effort to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the "George W. Bush Sewage Plant." The group has been gathering signatures at local festivals, events and city parks and has already collected 8,500 signatures, about 1,300 more than is needed to put the question on the city's ballot in November. If the measure passes, the new name will become effective starting next January, when the new president is sworn in. Supporters plan to engage in a "synchronized flush" during the inauguration as a way to send a "gift" to the newly-renamed plant, saying they believe this will be a "fitting monument to this president's work." The chair of the San Francisco Republican Party called the group's effort "loony bin direct democracy," and vowed to defeat it. A spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which owns the plant, says that while his agency understands the humorous intent of the endeavor, the award-winning facility has been efficient at keeping the streets and ocean clean, thus the plant should be "the last place" the group should use to make a negative statement about George Bush.

California is a hotbed for political messaging, as same-sex couples get married and conservative groups try to stop them with a November ballot initiative. Equality for All, a coalition supporting same-sex marriage, has hired Ogilvy PR Worldwide, the Democrat-leaning firm Dewey Square Group and the polling firm Lake Research Partners. Dewey Square's Steve Smith is the coalition's lead campaign consultant, while Ogilvy's Maggie Linden, a ballot initiative veteran and former political aide, is heading media outreach. On the other side, ProtectMarriage.com has hired Schubert Flint Public Affairs. The firm's Jeff Flint is leading the effort in support of the ballot initiative, called the California Marriage Protection Act. Flint used to work at Russo Marsh & Rogers, the Republican-leaning political firm which counts the pro-war group Move America Forward among its clients. Other firms are focusing on the burgeoning same-sex marriage industry, with Manning, Selvage & Lee promoting Chemistry.com to Californians and Laramore Communications promoting marriage and honeymoon packages in "gay-friendly" Sonoma County.

As the Center for Media and Democracy reported previously, the Sierra Club / Clorox deal -- where Clorox uses the Big Green environmental group's name and logo to sell its "Green Works" line of cleaning products, in exchange for Clorox paying Sierra Club "an (undisclosed) percentage of sales" -- is quite controversial. But it's brought in the green for Clorox. Advertising Age reports that "Green Works sales are estimated at $20 million, the product has gotten exposure on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' and 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show,' and Clorox has raised its volume forecast five times." Meanwhile, the Sierra Club has been slammed by members and non-members alike. Green Works "brand manager" Mark Kohler dismisses the criticism as "misinformation." Kohler says the negative press has been "frustrating" for Clorox, and AdAge advises marketers to "carefully review both sides of a relationship" before launching a corporate / non-profit partnership. But Clorox appears to be profiting handsomely, while four Sierra Club chapters actively opposed the deal, which -- according to some accounts -- was a factor in the Sierra Club's suspension of its Florida chapter.

You've heard the term "greenwashing." It refers to corporations that try to appear "green" without reducing their negative impact on the environment.

Since 2002, the group Breast Cancer Action has promoted its "Think Before You Pink" campaign. It's fighting "pinkwashing," which is when corporations try to boost sales by associating their products with the fight against breast cancer. Pinkwashing is a form of slacktivism -- a campaign that makes people feel like they're helping solve a problem, while they're actually doing more to boost corporate profits. Pinkwashing has been around for a while, but is now reaching almost unbelievable levels.