Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Newsletter Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2009 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2008 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2007 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2006 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2005 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2004 Archive Archive
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke News 2003 Archive Archive
nataliagnecco.com, "Germán Gutiérrez y el “efecto” Coca- Cola," February 28, 2010 Read Article "Por segunda vez el público de Montreal tuvo la oportunidad de ver el controvertido documental de los realizadores Germán Gutiérrez, y Carmen García llamado “el asunto Coca- Cola”, durante el Encuentro de cine quebequense RDVCQ y no es de extrañarse que dichas denuncias contra el imperio de las bebidas gaseosas haya traspasado las fronteras, ocasionado malestares e incluso censuras. Cuando asistí al RDIM Encuentro de Documentales Internacionales en Montreal a finales del 2009 pude charlar unos instantes con Germán después de ver el documental y desde entonces me contaba que ya se escuchaban voces de protestas debido a las contundentes denuncias que ellos hacen, es de anotar que tanto Gutiérrez como García tienen una capacidad enorme para mantener una secuencia coherente sobre las denuncias en contra del imperio de Coca-Cola si tenemos en cuenta que es una historia que salió al aire después de tres años de trabajo y no tiene un punto final."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Coca-Cola faces new violence claims in Guatemala," By Jeremiah McWilliams, March 2, 2010 Read Article "Guatemalan union leaders and their families are pursuing a lawsuit in a New York court against Coca-Cola Co., accusing the world's biggest beverage company of negligence and complicity in violence aimed at union activists, as well as deception. The case draws together a coalition of lawyers and activists who participated in previous legal battles against Coca-Cola centering on its labor practices in Colombia. The lead attorney is Terry Collingsworth, who has pushed lawsuits against Coca-Cola for a decade. The unofficial public relations wing is the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, one of the company's most aggressive and vociferous foes."
From our Archives: Quiet Library, "Re: Coca-Cola Black History Timeline," February 5, 2007 Coca-Cola ran an ad during the Super Bowl three years ago highlighting civil rights gains over the years attempting to align themselves with that movement. Quiet Library created this parody of that ad emphasizing Coke's record of racial discrimination.
The Post Standard, "Syracuse lawmakers reject school contract with Coca-Cola over obesity concerns," By Meghan Rubado, March 2, 2010 Read Article "Citing childhood obesity concerns, the Syracuse Common Council this week rejected a school district proposal to contract with Coca-Cola Bottling Co. for exclusive pouring rights in city schools...'Our kids are 10 pounds heavier, on average, today than they were 10 years ago,' Republican Councilor Ryan McMahon said, explaining his opposition before the Monday vote."
Business Week (Bloomberg), "Coca-Cola Sued in U.S. by Guatemalans Over Anti-Union Violence," By Patricia Hurtado, February 27, 2010 Read Article "Coca-Cola Co. was sued by Guatemalan workers who say they endured a 'campaign of violence' by people working on behalf of bottling and processing plants Coke owns or owned there after they engaged in union activities. Jose Armando Palacios of Guatemala and eight other plaintiffs filed the complaint Feb. 25 in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging negligence, deceptive practices and other claims against Coca-Cola, the world’s biggest soda maker."
Read article in Gulf News, Malasia
Free Speech Radio News,"Labor unions in Guatemala charge Coca-Cola with murder, torture," By Ari Paul, February 26, 2010 Listen to Segment A lawsuit that involves labor unions, a multinational corporation and murder is spanning borders. Today, lawyers for labor activists subjected to torture and killings at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Guatemala filed a lawsuit against the company in a New York City court. The attorneys are highlighting a spike in violence against trade unionists in the Central American country. FSRN’s Ari Paul reports. Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers is interviewed.
Metro Montreal, "L’affaire Coca-Cola: La boisson ensanglantée," By Matin Gignac, February 26, 2010 Read Article "Quand c’est OK, c’est Coke? Pas pour les cinéastes Germán Gutiérrez et Carmen Garcia. Après avoir appris que des centaines de dirigeants syndicaux avaient été assassinés ces dernières années, le duo a décidé d’enquêter, se déplaçant jusqu’en Colom?bie et notant l’implication de plusieurs compagnies internationales qui ferment les yeux sur ces crimes."
Le Devoir, "Syndicalisme en Colombie - Au-delà de L'Affaire Coca-Cola," By Isabelle Beaudry, February 24, 2010 Read Article "L'Affaire Coca-Cola, ce documentaire portant sur l'entreprise Coca-Cola, n'a pas fini de créer des remous. La campagne Killer Coke, au cœur du film qui sera en salle le 26 février, appelle au boycottage tout en pointant un doigt accusateur contre le géant soupçonné d'être impliqué dans l'enlèvement, la torture et l'assassinat de chefs syndicaux, notamment en Colombie. Le film ne résume malheureusement pas entièrement la situation de la répression syndicale dans ce pays."
Voir, "Coke avale de travers," By Aurore Lehmann, February 18, 2010 Read Article
The Reporter, "New kind of war on sodas," By Jose de la Isla, February 23, 2010 Read Article "Sugary drinks were the target because they contribute to more pounds gained because of their calorie content, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
"Behind the beverage is a scientific controversy concerning high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), as found in soda, which is more "unstable" (can cause tissue damage) than table sugar, according to the science Maldonado-Schullo reported."
La Zona Audio, "Le realisateur German Gutierrez nous parle de son documentaire L'affaire Coca-COla," February 20, 2010 Listen to interview
Cyberpresse.ca, "Le film qui dérange le géant de la boisson gazeuse," Stéphanie Bérubé, February 20, 2010 Read Article "Le coeur de cette affaire se déroule en Colombie, pays qui a une triste histoire avec le syndicalisme. Assassinats, enlèvements, torture, intimidation. Rien de très reluisant. Le cinéaste québécois German Gutiérrez a voulu en savoir plus. Il s'est plongé dans le dossier et il a découvert que certains leaders syndicaux assassinés travaillaient à une usine qui embouteille du Coca-Cola."
Email from University of California-Long Beach:
As some of you might know, we screened the film "The Cost of a Coke" (a film by University of Montana grad, Matt Beard) on November 10, 2009. We assumed that 50-75 students would attend our event and only reserved 100 chairs. But, on the day of the event we had close to 150 students, some of which had to sit on the floor. We had a DJ (Eddie "DJ Kaboom" Iniestra) playing music as we welcomed our attendees, along with some refreshments. On the chairs we had placed a flyer (“Stand Up for Labor and Human Rights”) and a petition (“Dear Coca-Cola Board Members”), of which many signed and returned. We received very positive feedback and many asked to start a coalition on campus.
Since the event we have begun to gather different campus organizations to be part of this coalition. And it has begun to form some structure in recent weeks.
So building coalitions with various organizations will take a while. Things look very bright though, and we hope that sometime soon we can host the new documentary, “The Coca Cola Case,” on our campus.
The Argosy, "The Coca-Cola Case," By Marlee Leslie on behalf of Coke-Free Mt. A, February 11, 2010 Read Article "Increased awareness of the realities of Coke’s international practices has prompted many universities to impose an outright ban on the selling of Coke products on campus, and many others are currently in the process of doing so. Coke-Free Mt. A is a group at Mount Allison University seeking alternatives to the Coca-Cola products being sold across campus. The group was formed following the Cinema Politica screening of The Coca-Cola Case and subsequent discussion, where students were given the option of signing up to begin an activist group. The purpose of Cinema Politica is not only to increase awareness but also to foster activism. Following the film, some of the close to 150 people who came to Cinema Politica that evening remained to discuss how the problems of Coke might be addressed here at Mount Allison."
The Charlatan (Carleton University), "Killing Coke on Campus," By Arik Ligeti, February 12, 2010 Read Article "Since the documentary’s [The Coca-Cola Case] screening, approximately 600 people had expressed interest in the campaign, Lloyd said. 'We haven’t formally put out the petition again, but assuming we do, it seems that there’s greater support from the student body,' Lloyd said."
Solidarity Notes Choir, "The Drink of the Death Squads,"
February 7, 2010 Watch Video Solidarity Notes Choir performance at a Vancouver SkyTrain station in Vancouver of a song by David Rovics, in front of Coke advertising, just before transit police arrive.
An email from Vancouver: "In Vancouver, ads by Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola are absolutely ubiquitous. They've bought every single billboard location in many Skytrain stations. In response, the Solidarity Notes choir took some encouraging musical action at a Skytrain station. For your musical enjoyment, here's the YouTube video:"
Thank you Solidarity Notes Choir and Vancouver.
Basil and Spice, "Coca-Cola Under Fire: Government Health Agency Urged to Drop Coca-Cola as Heart-Health Partner," The Center for Science in the Public Interest, February 16, 2010 Read Article "The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute should not partner with Coca-Cola to raise awareness of heart disease among women, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In a letter to the NHLBI, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest says overweight and obesity are prime risk factors for heart disease, and the agency shouldn’t be bolstering the dismal reputation of the Coca-Cola Company, the world’s biggest manufacturer of obesigenic soft drinks."
Daily Mail, "Child 'mini-marketeers' paid by junk food firms to secretly push products among their friends," By Sean Poulter, February 14, 2010 Read Article "Youngsters are being paid up to £25 a week to promote sugary soft drinks and other products via social networking sites and playground chat. Products like Fanta and Cheesestrings are at the centre of big business stealth marketing campaigns...This involves performing a range of tasks including, putting up flyers, posting on message boards and social networks such as Facebook and Bebo, and hosting parties for friends."
Response: If we don't stop our children being exploited, no one else will," By Richard O'Hagan
The New York Times, "Soda: A Sin We Sip Instead of Smoke?" By Mark Bittman, February 14, 2010 Read Article "The problem is that at roughly 50 gallons per person per year, our consumption of soda, not to mention other sugar-sweetened beverages, is far from moderate, and appears to be an important factor in the rise in childhood obesity. This increase is at least partly responsible for a rise in what can no longer be called “adult onset” diabetes — because more and more children are now developing it."
See chart "Drinking Sugar"
The Boston Globe, "Falsely sweet pledges from trash food companies," By Derrick Z. Jackson, February 13, 2010 Read Article "A key source of the obesity problem now claims to be part of the solution, in the spirit of beer companies and cigarette companies claiming marquee roles in solving underage drinking and smoking...The American Beverage Association and Coke entities spent $31 million in lobbying last year, much of it to shoot down taxes on sugary beverages at federal and state levels. The association had a $2 million ad campaign against taxes, which public health experts calculate would cut consumption and contribute revenues to public health programs to repair the damage done to the nation’s health by soda."
TheSheaf.com, (University of Saskatchewan) "Killer Coke is no joke: Deadly trouble in the Coke bottling plants of Colombia, By Greg Reese, February 9, 2010 Read Article "I like Coke. It tastes good and it wakes me up when I’m tired. So, I would like to think that the accusations leveled against the soft drink company in The Coca-Cola Case, a documentary funded in part by the National Film Board of Canada, are not true — but I have a bad feeling..."
"Even before the first screening at Concordia University in Montreal, Cinema Politica was threatened with legal action from lawyers representing the soda-pop giant. So what exactly is Coca-Cola trying to stop people from viewing?"
Australian Food News, "New film exposes violence and death at Coca Cola plant," By Josette Dunn, February 8, 2010 Read Article " Consumers in developed countries are increasingly choosing ethical products such as Fairtrade, Organic, and environmentally responsible food. The message is clear: treat employees, communities, the environment and animals properly, or lose customers."
The article is incorrect when titling the film. It is, of course, "The Coca-Cola Case." The first line of the story should read: "Explosive new film, titled "The Coca-Cola Case" debuted in the U.S. on Friday."
Los Angeles Times, "Beverage industry douses tax on soft drinks," By Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger, February 7, 2010 Read Article "Employing a broad-based lobbying effort, the soft drink industry has smothered a plan to tax sugared beverages -- a plan advocates said would have reduced obesity and helped finance healthcare reform...
"Analysts at Yale University have calculated that a penny-an-ounce tax would induce a 23% drop in consumption, and the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a smaller tax could raise $50 billion over 10 years. Although the extent to which such a tax might drive down obesity rates is scientifically unclear, nutrition experts argue that it would, at the least, improve health by discouraging consumption of sodas, which have no nutritional value but are packed with calories."
MinnPost.com, "How Coca-Cola fought for our right to be obese," By Eric Black, February 9, 2010 Read Analysis of Article Above "The short version of the tale is that Coca-Cola and others who make a lot of money selling soft drinks (this includes big fast-food chains -- McDonald’s and Domino’s were named in the piece) were able to recruit a lot of organizations that represent poor people to join them in opposing the idea of putting a tax on sugared beverages. The idea behind the tax is it would discourage consumption of sugared beverages, which contributes to the American plague of obesity, which is a major source of our unhealthiness."
Press Release from Europa, the portal site of the European Union, "Competition: Commission makes commitments from Coca-Cola legally binding, increasing consumer choice" Read Press Release "The European Commission has adopted a decision under EC Treaty competition rules that renders commitments from Coca-Cola concerning carbonated soft drinks legally binding. These commitments, which will remain in force until 31 December 2010, will increase consumer choice in shops and pubs by, for example, preventing Coca-Cola from entering into exclusive agreements with shops and pubs, offering them target or growth rebates or forcing them to take less popular products with its stronger brands...No more exclusivity arrangements…No target or growth rebates…No use of Coca-Cola’s strongest brands to sell less popular products…20% of free space in Coca-Cola’s coolers."
McMaster University Referendum Defeats an Exclusive Contract for Coca-COla
We just received news from McMaster Campus Choice that the referendum for an exclusive Coke contract was defeated:
The vote: NO: 1966
Yes: 1584
Abstain: 711
Spoiled: 19
Total Valid Ballots: 3550
Total Ballots Cast: 4280
Congratulations to McMaster Campus Choice and the students of McMaster for a great job!
Windsor Star, "Killer Coke? Film courts controversy: NFB plugging slaying movie," By Jay Stone, Canwest News Service, February 9, 2010 Read Article " 'We don't think the guys in Atlanta called Colombia and ordered the killing of these guys because they are troublemakers,' Gutierrez said in an interview from Montreal. However, he said, Coke headquarters in Atlanta did not step in to stop them. 'One simple phone call from Atlanta to these Colombia guys would stop these killings,' Gutierrez said. He pointed out that, in 1981, Coke refused to renew the contract with a franchise bottling plant in Guatemala after the murders of union leaders there, and those killings stopped.
"
In the article, [Coke spokeswoman Kerry] "Kerr pointed out that, while only four per cent of workers in Colombia as a whole are unionized, 31 per cent of Coke workers belong to unions." This constant claim by Coke is a misuse of statistics: The July 2008 International Labour Organization (ILO) mission to investigate labor relations and working conditions at several Coca-Cola bottling plants found a clear difference between the employers’ relationship and treatment of directly employed workers as compared to outsourced workers. In one Bogota plant, 70% of the operating staff, and 85% of the distribution staff is now outsourced, contracted through associated work cooperatives or employment agencies. A large number of these workers were formerly direct employees but the company forced them to change their status. (For more on this misuse of stats, read point 6, 'Solid Relationships with Organized Labor:' A Big Lie).
GreenMuze, "The Coca-Cola Case Review," By Greenmuze Staff, February 7, 2010 Read Article "The Coca-Cola Case is an in-depth look at the secret world of a powerful multi-national corporation and a harsh reminder of the importance of knowing more about the products you consume or support. You will never look at Coca-Cola the same after you see just what lengths the world’s most popular beverage company will go to in avoiding to take any responsibility for worker’s rights in their factories and bottling plants."
WebMD, "Pancreatic Cancer Linked to Sodas? Study Says 2 Sodas Per Week Raises Pancreatic Cancer Risk; Beverage Industry Says Study Is Flawed," By Kathleen Doheny, February 8, 2010 Read Article " 'People who drank two or more soft drinks a week had an 87% increased risk -- or nearly twice the risk -- of pancreatic cancer compared to individuals consuming no soft drinks,' says study lead author Noel T. Mueller, MPH, a research associate at the Cancer Control Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers& Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research."
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Newsletter, "International Headaches for Coke," February 4, 2010 Read Newsletter
Boston Herald (Business), "Film claims Coke is a ‘killer’: Beverly native: Co. [Coke bottling plants] works with paramilitary groups," By Christine McConville, February 5, 2010 Read Article "It’s quite a story, said Ray Rogers, a Beverly native who has spent years trying to make the Coca-Cola Co. take responsibility for what he says are a series of “gruesome” labor-related murders in Colombia, where the international giant has bottling plants. Rogers, a longtime labor organizer, is the force behind the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, a New York-based group that’s been trying to pressure Coca-Cola to stop collaborating with violent paramilitary organizations in countries where it has businesses."
Photo from "The Coca-Cola Case"
London Free Press, "Cinema Politica London puts Coca-Cola in hot seat: DOCUMENTARY--The film The Coca-Cola Case, exposes alleged human rights and labour abuses at bottling plants in South America," By KATHY RUMLESKI, February 5, 2010 Read Article "A new chapter of a political documentary-screening network is showing its first film Friday night. The film, The Coca-Cola Case, has already rankled the beverage giant. Cinema Politica London is offering the film free of charge to the public."
Vue Weekly, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, "THE COCA-COLA CASE: A BITTER AFTERTASTE: THE COCA-COLA CASE SHOWS HOW HARD IT IS TO TAKE ON A HUGE CORPORATION," By David Berry, February 4, 2010 Read Article
"There are, of course, the usual hurdles: Coke does nothing but smokescreen the issue, obfuscating facts with platitudes and carefully crafted empty gestures. But that's barely half of it. The union intimidation has been effective enough that the two Coke employees tell us most of the unionists are older, with the youth remaining outside: if you can't outright kill them, just engage in a war of attrition until all the old guys leave, I guess. The public hearings on Coke's behaviour are derailed by the revelation that one of the lawyers, gasp, once had his picture taken in front of a poster of Che Guevara, evidently enough of an offence to completely torpedo his moral standing against a corporation accused of murder. Worst of all, Coke has its fair share not just of the blissfully ignorant, but active supporters who oppose the work of Killer Coke and the like as so much socialist paranoia. (It's awfully clever of the directors to show these anti-protests at the University of Chicago: Colombia was a kind of proving ground for the theories of the neoliberal Chicago school of economics—Milton Friedman actually advised Pinochet on several matters—which have been pretty good for business and pretty bad for democratic rights in Colombia for more than 30 years now.)"
The Huffington Post, "Is Coke's Fizz Going Flat?" By Michael F. Jacobson, February 3, 2010 Read Article "Like a tobacco company, Coca-Cola primarily sells one product--in its case, sugar water--that is linked to a number of diseases. It's under fire all over the world for its environmental, human rights, and health record. Here at home, it finds itself as the potential target of new taxation, expelled from America's schools, and outflanked by its nimbler competitor, PepsiCo. Angry parents, activist scientists, and wary shareholders are watching the company's every step."
From Concordia:
"Last night we screened The Coca Cola Case as part of a huge international tour of the film throughout the CP Network. The screening at Concordia University was the launch event and we had Ray Rogers of the Stop Killer Coke Campaign and filmmakers Carmen Garcia (both pictured below speaking to the full house last night) and German Gutierrez in attendance.
"For the first time in our history we turned away over 200 people!! The venue holds about 700, so this means we had over 900 people show up to see this great documentary. We have only ever turned people away a few times in the past, including screenings of The Corporation, Dawrin's Nightmare and Roadsworth.
"So the media attention around Coke's lawyers sending us an intimidating letter has helped get the word out, and we hope that the momentum builds right across the country and even abroad. This week Svetla is doing an interview with a Swedish newspaper (the film screens at our CP Stockholm local) and today or tomorrow the CBC in Yellowknife would like a radio interview with me.
"So yes, an exciting beginning to what is promising to be a great tour of an excellent film!"
Packed auditorium at Concordia University.
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers speaking at Concordia University
Report from Carleton University: "When Carleton Cinema Politica first heard about Concordia's overwhelmingly successful premiere of the Coca Cola Case we immediately had two thoughts. First, there was euphoria and excitement. The amount of media buzz and the fact that almost 1,000 people showed up was astonishing. This feeling was quickly followed by 'wow, we've got big shoes to fill!' Although we weren't able to get any Ottawa media to touch the story - partly due to the national coverage that had already taken place - we received an extraordinary amount of interest in the film in the week leading up to the premiere. Cautiously optimistic, we expected to have about 150 people in an auditorium that seats about 240. By the time we were ready to start the auditorium was absolutely packed, not only shattering our expectations but setting a new record for Carleton Cinema Politica. We had people standing and sitting in the aisles and some decided upon arrival to forego navigating the congestion. We were also very proud to have Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, and Peter Julian, MP for Burnaby - New Westminster, in attendance."
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke January 15, 2010 Newsletter: "New Film 'The Coca-Cola Case' Opens With Attempts by Coke Lawyers to Censor" Read Newsletter
CSPI Press Release, "Coke to Fleece America by Charging More for Less, Says CSPI $8.50 a Gallon for Small Cans of Water & High Fructose Corn Syrup? By Center for Science in the Public Interest, January 30, 2010 Read Article "...On an ounce-for-ounce basis, the new cans cost 50 to 140 percent more than 12-ounce cans. In Washington, D.C., 12-packs of 12-ounce cans have been available for between $4 and $5.99 at Giant and Safeway stores. Both stores charge $3.99 for 8-packs of the new 7.5-ounce cans. So while the bigger cans have been selling for between $0.89 and $1.33 per quart, the new cans sell for $2.13 a quart, or about $8.50 a gallon."
ABC News/Health, "American Academy of Family Physician Ads Feature Unhealthy Products: A Member Doc Lambasts Organization for Linking to Salty, Fatty Foods," Opinion by John G. Spangler, M.D., January 27, 2010 Read Article "Have a Coke and... some salt? How about with some fat? Brought to you by family medicine. The American Academy of Family Physicians has again launched itself into murky ethical waters, this time ads for products that are high in salt and in fat. The association, to which I belong, was widely criticized two months ago for accepting money in "the strong six figures" to partner with Coca Cola."
CKDU, Operation Wake Up! "The Bottle Breakers Come: Halifax anticipates arrival of Coca-Cola critical film," By Tiffany Limgenco, January 26, 2010 Read Article "[Halifax-based coordinator of Cinema Politica Abad] Khan points to the successful ban of Coca-Cola products on other campuses as a real threat to Coca-Cola. 'As you know, many universities, including Saint Mary’s University and University of King’s College in Halifax, sign exclusivity contracts to market and sell soft drink products on campus. [T]his film could be used as a catalyst to spur debate, to challenge Coke’s Olympic branding image, ultimately leading the schools to divest from Coke if these tactics don’t change. Coke has stated that bottling plants act independently but the influence of the company is undeniable; they not only own shares in those plants but the bottlers are beholden to Atlanta. They could stop this if they wanted to.' ”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Film aimed at Coca-Cola draws icy response
," By Jeremiah McWilliams, January 27, 2010 Read Article "Forget 'happy,' the ubiquitous marketing theme from Coca-Cola Co. When it comes to a new documentary accusing the company of human rights abuses in Colombia, consider the company 'steamed.' Colombia is a nagging public relations problem that refuses to go away, despite Coca-Cola’s wins in court.”
The Daily Evergreen [Washington State University], "Students fight Coke with Pepsi: In an effort to stop WSU from renewing a contract with Coke, students protested on Wednesday," By Kerry Gugliotto, January 21, 2010 Read Article "The Progressive Student Union rallied Wednesday on Glenn Terrell Mall to protest Coca-Cola on campus...Members were on the mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. handing out fliers and giving out free Jones Soda, Pepsi and root beer... 'A world-class university like WSU should not endorse companies like Coke' "
tvxs.gr, Article on 'The Coca-COla Case," January 26, 2010 [This article is in Greek] Read Article
Cinema Politica, "the coca-cola case is front page news in stockholm" "STOCKHOLM - The Coca-Cola Case Is front-page news in two of Stockholm's most read leftist weeklys, Flamman and Fria Tidningen. The articles were balanced and well investigated. Representatives from Coca-Cola were contacted, but used their usual spins. We are certain that this film will be a hit here and that there will be a representative from Coca-Cola present at the film (fingers crossed). We have also made a partnership with the Columbianätverket (The Columbia Network) here in Stockholm who have advertised the screening on their Web site and will be present for discussions. We are launching a press release in Swedish on Monday to try and pump this up even more. Vi hörs!"
Flamman [Sweden], "Ett sätt att försöka skrämma oss" ["One way to try to scare us"], January 21, 2010 Read Article in Swedish
Friatidningen, "Coca-Cola vill stoppa kritisk film," By Lovisa Farrow, January 20, 2010 Read Article
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Il Giornale.it [Italy], "Film contro la Coca Cola: sfrutta manodopera L'azienda: non è vero" January 21, 2010 Read Article in Italian
A Blogger's View of "The Coca-Cola Case," By Laurence Miall, January, 19, 2010 Read Blog "At the film’s conclusion, you wish that Coke were not such a corporate behemoth that it can so often dodge the activist lawyers and filmmakers who try to hold it to account. It is remarkable the number of times in the film where Coca-Cola’s representatives are public no-shows; they always insist on doing everything behind closed doors. When Ray Rogers, anti-Coke activist, presented his case at the University of Chicago, filmmakers captured the whole thing. Many of those in attendance were anti-Ray Rogers and pro-Coke. Nevertheless, when Coke personnel showed up for their part of the debate in the same lecture hall immediately afterward, they demanded that the cameras leave."
Kelowna.com, "Killer Coke? Controversial film The Coca-Cola Case draws fire from soft- drink giant," January 21, 2010 Read Article " 'We don't think the guys in Atlanta called Colombia and ordered the killing of these guys because they are troublemakers,' Gutierrez said in an interview from Montreal, 'However,' he said, Coke headquarters in Atlanta did not step in to stop them. 'One simple phone call from Atlanta to these Colombia guys would stop these killings,' Gutierrez said. He pointed out that, in 1981, Coke refused to renew the contract with a franchise bottling plant in Guatemala after the murders of union leaders there, and those killings stopped."
Times [South Africa], "Strikers call for Coca-Cola advert ban at World Cup," By Kea' Modimoeng, January 24, 2010 Read Article "In a bid to intensify the impact of the strike, Fawu and labour federation Cosatu called on South Africans to boycott SAB and ABI products. Earlier this week, the union wrote a letter to football body Fifa's organising committee chief executive Danny Jordaan asking him to cancel Coca-Cola marketing at the upcoming World Cup.
"Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola said his union was committed to engaging in a campaign to "smash" the brand and expose abusive practices of labour brokers and the exploitation of crew members in ABI delivery trucks bearing the Coca-Cola logo."
Food Biz Daily, "FBD: South Africa Unions called for boycott of Coca-Cola Company products," January 20, 2010 Read Press Release "The Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) is planning a to launch a campaign against Coca-Cola products after unsuccessful wage talks with Amalgamated Beverages Industries, one of the largest producers and distributors of Coca-Cola products in the southern hemisphere. South Africa Unions called for boycott of Coca-Cola Company products due to current disagreements about the amount of the annual salary increases."
CBC News, "Coke discourages screenings of labour documentary," The Canadian Press, January 18, 2010 Read Article "It seems that a documentary critical of soft-drink giant Coca-Cola has left a bitter taste with the company."
The Media Co-op: a project of the Dominion News Cooperative, "Sickly Sweet Censorship: Despite legal threats, screenings of film ciritical of Coca-Cola to continue," by Tim Mcsorley, January 15, 2010 Read Article “During the shoot they approached one of the main characters to ask us to cut two scenes from the film. We decided not to [because] the information is all publicly available,” he explains. “Then we reached an agreement that we could screen the film on two conditions. One is that Coke's lawyers can attend all screenings. [Two], that we inform Coke of all screenings all over the planet. So now, with this letter to Cinema Politics, we are surprised...”
“[Coke is] trying to use this momentum to try and censor the documentary, because they see Cinema Politica for what we are: a student run, grassroots organisation,” says Ezra Winton, programing director for the group. “Lawyers think it would be easier to censor the film in the hands of a grassroots organisation, that we would be censored easily. They also see that the film didn't quietly run the festival circuit and then disappear, it's still screening in over two dozen Cinema Politica locals in Canada and overseas.”
Read this article in The Dominion
Art-Threat, "Coca-Cola intimidates student group over film screening," by Michael Lithgow, January 15, 2010 Read Article "What may have the soft drink giant so jittery is that the film is set to screen at 17 campuses in an upcoming cross-Canada tour co-sponsored by one of the film’s producers, the respected National Film Board of Canada. It is also slated to screen at 24 of Cinema Politica’s locals from Halifax to Stockholm, many of which are located at universities. Coca-Cola is well known for the deals made with universities for the exclusive sale of Coke products."
The Concordian, "A bottle of pop has profit margins to kill for Coca-Cola exploitation examined at Cinema Politica movie screening," By Michael Connors, January 12, 2010 Read Article " 'The Coca-Cola Case' documents an organized effort to hold Coca-Cola accountable for the murder of numerous union workers in Columbia’s Coca-Cola factories. The film exposes the distance that Coke executives try to create from actions taken on behalf of the company. The film depicts executives passing the blame onto contractors making their own choices, and claiming zero accountability."
They make $1 an hour and work 15 hour/day shifts.
They rent the trucks, buy the gas and their uniforms,
and pay out-of-pocket if bottles are broken or stolen.
They fear for their lives, especially if they ask for
better working conditions.
community.hour.ca, "The Cinema politica vs. Coca-Cola classic," January 13, 2010 Read Article "Controversy is bubbling up over the screening and distribution of a new documentary about the Coca-Cola company set to premiere in Montreal at Cinema Politica next week."
The Gazette, "Cinema Politica and a case of Coke," By peggy curran, January 12, 2010 Read Article "Cinema Politica says it's not about to bow to pressure from Coca Cola to can a national tour of a controversial documentary that shows the soft drink giant in an unsavory light. At least not without a decent fight, which began with a frenzied and animated Facebook campaign."
Cinema Politica's web site "Talk to Martin Gil: His brother Isidro was killed at point-blank range while working at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Carepa, because he was part of a union bargaining unit. Like most violent crimes committed against Colombian union leaders, Gil’s murder went unpunished. However, U.S. lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth, as well as activist Ray Rogers, stepped in and launched an ambitious crusade against the behemoth Coca-Cola."
Hour.ca [Canada], "The Coca-Cola Case: Sickly sweet," By Meg Hewings, January 14, 2010 Read Article
"The suit and film have generated bad buzz around the Coke brand, and the company has sent letters to try to block Cinema Politica and the NFB from showing the film, citing confidentiality issues..."
"While the doc narrows in on the intricacies of the three-year saga fought by U.S. lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth, and highlights the activist antics of Ray Rogers (who spearheaded the Killer Coke campaign), the most compelling and telling scenes take place when two Colombian teens who deliver Coke tell their story. They make $1 an hour and work 15 hour/day shifts. They rent the trucks, buy the gas and their uniforms, and pay out-of-pocket if bottles are broken or stolen. They fear for their lives, especially if they ask for better working conditions."
The Link, "Coca-Cola lawyers threaten Cinema Politica: Claims upcoming film screenings violate confidentiality agreements," by Madeline Coleman, January 12, 2010 Read Article "Concordia-based film collective Cinema Politica received a threatening letter on Jan. 11 from the lawyers for Coca-Cola stating that the network’s planned film tour for documentary The Coca-Cola Case violates a confidentiality agreement. The film follows two American lawyers and union leaders as they attempt to bring a case against the soda pop giant for its alleged complicity in the murders of union leaders at Colombian bottling plants."
The Link, "Corruption Classic: The murder of union leaders at Coca-Cola plants should leave a bad taste in your mouth, say filmmakers," By Madeline Coleman, January 12, 2010 Read Interview with German Gutierrez "There just might be blood in that bottle of Coke. In their documentary The Coca-Cola Case, filmmakers Carmen Garcia and Germán Gutiérrez show that a corrupt government coupled with dependence on cheap labour and marauding paramilitaries make Colombia a perilous place to be a union leader. Coca-Cola plants are no exception. The film accuses the Coca-Cola Co. of complicity in the brutal and near-routine assassinations of eight union leaders by right-wing paramilitaries at Colombian Coca-Cola bottling plants over the last 16 years."
National Film Board of Canada, "The Coca-Cola Case (A synopsis), By German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia
"In this feature length documentary, directors German Gutiérrez and Carmen Garcia present a searing indictment of the Coca-Cola empire and its alleged kidnapping, torture and murder of union leaders trying to improve working conditions in Colombia, Guatemala and Turkey.
"The filmmakers follow labour rights lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth and an activist for the 'Stop Killer-Coke!' campaign (www.killercoke.org), Ray Rogers, as they attempt to hold the giant U.S. multinational beverage company accountable in this legal and human rights battle."
Monthly Review, "Got Gas? Mark Thomas Belches Out the Coca-Cola Company," By B. Wardlaw, December 2009 Read Article "The World of Coke, our author observes, tells many stories about Coke’s history, but does not include: (1) the terrible irony that the cocaine in Coke’s early formula (which, along with extraordinarily heavy doses of caffeine, contributed to its early addictiveness, or “popularity”) came from Colombia — a country where, a century later, drug dealers conspire with union-busting politicians to keep Coca-Cola’s profits high; or (2) Coke’s willingness to give Hitler’s Third Reich a platform through its sponsorship of Berlin’s 1936 Olympic Games; or (3) the fact that, in Dr. Martin Luther King’s last speech — the one he made in Memphis just before he was murdered — he called for boycotting three corporations, outstanding for racist policies in hirings, firings, and promotions — one of which was Coca-Cola."
news.com.au, "Plans for coca-leaf drink 'Coca Colla' " January 10, 2010 Read Article "PRESIDENT Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous leader known for chewing coca leaves at UN meetings, is making a fresh push for the plant, this time in the form of the soft drink 'Coca Colla.' Intended to rival its more famous US cousin, Coca Cola, the fizzy drink is at the centre of a plan coca growers from the Morales stronghold of Chapare in central Bolivia submitted to the government last week to boost coca production."
Eyewitness News (South Africa), "FAWU vows massive strike," By Matshidiso Madia, January 8, 2010 Read Article "The Food and Allied Workers’ Union’s members will not back down until drinks giant ABI agrees to their wage demands...FAWU said the strike was gaining international support with ABI employees from Atlanta and London pledging their solidarity."
