Boycott Coca Cola

[carlyluvsunited]

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k211/small_carly/cokeposter-colombia.jpg



Trade unions around the world have launched a boycott of Coca-Cola products,
alleging that the company's locally owned bottlers in Colombia used illegal
paramilitary groups to intimidate, threaten and kill its workers.

The unions claim Coca-Cola bottlers hired far-right militias of the United Self
Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) to murder nine union members at Colombian
bottling plants in the past 13 years.

Two years ago, the Colombian food and drink union Sinaltrainal sued Coca-Cola
and its Colombian bottling partners in a US federal court in Miami over the deaths
of its members.

The suit alleged that the bottling companies "contracted with or otherwise
directed paramilitary security forces that utilised extreme violence and murdered,
tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders", and
that Coca-Cola was indirectly responsible for this.

In March, the judge removed Coca-Cola from the suit, but the process against the
bottlers continues. The unions have appealed against the court's decision.

While the case continues, unions are calling on consumers to stop drinking Coke
and other Coca-Cola products. The campaign was launched simultaneously in
countries including the UK, US, Germany, Italy and Australia.

Javier Correa, the president of Sinaltrainal, said the campaign aimed to put
pressure on Coca-Cola "to mitigate the pain and suffering" that union members
had suffered.

Coca-Cola said in a statement on Tuesday that the allegations against the
company and its partners were "completely false", and that the campaign
was "nothing more than a shameless effort to generate publicity".

But Mr Correa insisted that - despite increased international attention - actions
against union members have continued.

He said that in May, an anonymous caller to the union headquarters in Colombia
warned that the offices would be targeted for a bomb attack. In March, a worker
in the city of Bucaramanga received a notice from paramilitary groups that he had
been declared a military target.

While the plight of Colombia's Coca-Cola workers has become well-known
overseas, local media were making no mention of the campaign yesterday.

"In Colombia it is very difficult for this type of case to make it into local media," Mr
Correa said. "It's all part of the culture of impunity."

Sinaltrainal decided to seek international support after it became frustrated with
the courts' delays in considering the deaths of its workers.

"Cases that are 13 years old still have not been cleared up - no one has been
detained and the cases end up unresolved," said Mr Correa.

One of the union's accusations is that managers at a bottling plant in the town of
Carepa in northern Colombia directed paramilitary fighters to kill two union
leaders in 1994. Two years later a member of the union's executive board was
killed at the plant by paramilitary gunmen, the lawsuit says.

The latest death of a Sinaltrainal member happened last August, when Adolfo
Munera was murdered in Caribbean coastal city of Barranquilla. A week earlier,
the country's highest court had ordered the city's Coca-Cola bottler to re-employ
him, after he was cleared of criminal charges filed against him in 1997

Coca Cola's Colombian bottlers have also denied the accusations. Colombia is the
world's most dangerous country in which to be a union member, with 184 of the
world's 213 confirmed killings last year, according to the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

[decorativeed]

A friend of mine and fellow union member in Manchester went to Columbia on a fact-finding mission to see what could be done to help people in that country and met with some of these Coca-Cola workers. He had to be very careful in doing this as there is a very real risk to the safety of those who talk to outsiders and unionists. He told me some terrible tales of those who were in jail for simply doing what is a fundamental part of working life in many countries - organising representation for themselves. He visited women (and their small children who lived in the cells with them) who were in jail and whose husbands had been killed for trying to stand up to companies such as Coca-Cola.

Don't forget how they drained the water supply for farms and villages in india by using it all up at thier plant in India. The company doesn't care about anything but profit and will happily exploit the people and resources of poorer countries such as Columbia and India in their pursuit of cash.

There are better drinks out there, dump Coke, Fanta and Sprite!

[haggler]

coca cola used strike breakers in twenties and thirties america and even before that pinkerton detectives were used to crack skulls . the simpsons even did an episode where grandpa reminiced about his strike breaking job . coke is like nike and others it will do what it takes to maximise profit . nike do not give a toss if an 8 year old makes the trainers it only cares when its publicised

[carlyluvsunited]

In Plechimada and Kerala Coca Cola drained the ground dry - turned farmland into
desert all to quench the thirst of the West ...

Tens of thousands of people had their livelihoods ruined by them.

But as long as no one is thristy in Europe or USA who cares :mad:

[haggler]

big company tells **** poor country we will give yo lots of cash to make our product here . all they need is clean water syrup and bottles or cans so it can be made anywhere at all . you bring thousands of jobs and you look good . people kick off and the police chief who gets a nice sum for keeping order kills some rioters . its sadly the way the world works , my kid has never had a fizzy drink and shes nearly 5 . the stuff is gut rot . look what it does to a dirty copper coin dropped in it

should not start me on history
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/coke/coke2.html

[Red Devil]

In the Army we used to clean residue off the firing pins in Coke, drop the firing pins in coke and presto , clean metal!!

But, to say it damages the body is exagerating a bit, the body is incredibly self cleaning. How many times, drinking tea, has someone said to you, god knows what that is doing to your insides - answer - nothing (and tea is the best detox drink in the world). Drink anything in moderation and no problem. I drink, sometimes, zero coke.

[Keano4taoiseach]

Yeah, I use coke to get the rust off my golf clubs, and then drink the rest of the bottle. God knows I'm a fool sometimes.....;)

[Red Devil]

Eat the clubs and throw the coke away!!

[Keano4taoiseach]

Eat the clubs and throw the coke away!!

!!! It would probably do less harm to my teeth!!

[PrinceZane]

!!! It would probably do less harm to my teeth!!

Least you'd get plenty of iron

I like coke. Yum yum :)

[decorativeed]

How does that contribute to the thread? Everyone likes it, that's why it's one of the worlds best selling drinks. It's also the reason they get away with the kind of things they do.

Switch to another brand, especially if you're just going to wash f'in golf clubs in it! As for Coke Zero, why not add potential harm to yourself to the mix seeing as it's substituted natural sugar for this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

[Red Devil]

How does that contribute to the thread? Everyone likes it, that's why it's one of the worlds best selling drinks. It's also the reason they get away with the kind of things they do.

Switch to another brand, especially if you're just going to wash f'in golf clubs in it! As for Coke Zero, why not add potential harm to yourself to the mix seeing as it's substituted natural sugar for this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AspartameLanguage young man!!! :rolleyes:

As for wikipedia, although fairly accurate do not take things in there as gospel. Wikipedia is made up from contributions from the masses, I know I have contributed, and therefore is probably 80% fact, 20% opinion.

[decorativeed]

There are peer reviewed scientific papers about aspartame linked at the bottom of the article. All I know is too much sugar can give you diabetes and make you fat, but it's perfectly fine in moderation (so long as you brush your teeth). Aspartame and other chemical artificial sweetners - well no one knows, but as well as being just as bad for your teeth as sugar there may be worse risks (I don't fancy brain tumours, so I'll err on the side of caution). Plus it simply tastes terrible!

[-zuco-]

Aspartame is in hundreds, probably thousands of products these days. It's far cheaper than sugar and about 200 times sweeter so big companies couldn't care less what harm it does to us as long as they earn their profits. I wonder how much of their own products the fat cats consume?

[carlyluvsunited]

So we worked out Coke encourages Unions to kill workers - and that the ingredients of Coke are likely to cause your demise too ... :eek:

And yet Coca-Cola and McDonalds share the title of the 'World's Biggest Brand Name' - why ??????????

[haggler]

the power of advertising !

[carlyluvsunited]

the power of advertising !I was taught in my degree that McDonalds is worth approx $140,000,000,000 !!!

$140 Billion !!!

However - if you destroyed EVERY McDonalds store ...

Melted down all the equipment from those stores ...

Sacked all the staff - and burned all the uniforms ...

Threw away every item of food stuffs they had ...

And basically make every trace of McDonalds just vanish !!!

......and all you were left with was a sheet of paper saying YOU were the owner of the name 'McDonalds' ...

That piece of paper would be worth ...

$140,000,000,000 ...

$140 Billion ...

Hmmm ... the value of a brand name is incredible !!!

[haggler]

i am going to patent the haggler brand ten years time you can regale your chums of the time you chatted with the founder of haggler corps at 525 in the morning and they will ply you with booze just to hear your tale .

pray tell us more carly was he as handsome as they say ?
is it true he once gambled away 50 mill on the toss of a coin
is he really that twisted

im on the verge of great things mark my words

[carlyluvsunited]

i am going to patent the haggler brand ten years time you can regale your chums of the time you chatted with the founder of haggler corps at 525 in the morning and they will ply you with booze just to hear your tale .

pray tell us more carly was he as handsome as they say ?
is it true he once gambled away 50 mill on the toss of a coin
is he really that twisted

im on the verge of great things mark my words

I'll tell them I spoke with The Haggler on many occassions in the wee small hours ;)

He was so rugged and handsome - you could sense the sweet smell of success coming from his string vest !!

I'll tell them how he broke the hearts of beggar girls and princesses !!

He could stop fights with one glance from his steely eyes !!

He could run faster than a speeding bullet and hurdle tall buildings in a single leap !!!

And he still owes me a tenner ... :mad:

[haggler]

something smells in the vest but i fear its not success . i will pay you in vcash as i need the capital for my assault on global markets !

when carlycom is up and running i may invest

[carlyluvsunited]

something smells in the vest but i fear its not success . i will pay you in vcash as i
need the capital for my assault on global markets !

when carlycom is up and running i may investvCash is good for now ... ;)

However ...

Don't invest too much of your cash in global markets ...

Because Carlycom is aiming for world domination - and I will end up owning
everything - and everyone - including you Mr Haggler ... :p

Muahahahahahahahaha ... :eek:

[fazman]

who likes coca cola now anyway its dated

[Red Devil]

If we stopped eating and drinking everything that so called experts told us was bad for us, the human race would be extinct through deyhdration and starvation.

I recall many years ago some expert saying that we must not drink a lot of tea, its bad for us and "god knows what its doing to your insides". Now? Tea is the best detox drink that can be found - full of natural antioxidants and always has been!!

Then we had the anti egg scandal where we were told that it was dangerous to eat these every day!!

Strange, humans have been eating these since the dawn of time!!

I occasionally have Zero Coke.

[Keano4taoiseach]

the power of advertising !

Coke are without the greatest advertisers of our generation!!!

To create and exploit Santa Clause like that is legendary.

Also, all of their other ads are magnificant. Especially with the old man who drinks a coke and decides to do things in life he never got to do, reminded me of RD ;) :p

[Red Devil]

decides to do things in life he never got to do, reminded me of RD ;) :p


Hmm, never banned K4 permanently before ;) JOKE!!! OK!!!! :D

[Keano4taoiseach]

7wt5FiZQrgM

Brilliant advert. I thought it was a preview of the video game Grand Theft Auto which sells millions of games!!! They are geniuses at Coke.

tbVPblOmBqk For RD ;)

tGrfSz31qiI And who could forget watching this advert as a child at Christmas. Brings back memories.

For something so disgusting and bad for you, they make it seem like the greatest thing ever.

Give that advertising theme a raise!!!

[elitet]

Me too I luv coke it's gr8 for drinking, cleaning, cooking soooo versatile....

[abojodeh]

i prefer PEPSIE CUZ IT HAVE FOOTBALLERS ON THE CAN LIKE BAECKHAM AND ROONEY:D

[Zenitka]

i prefer PEPSIE CUZ IT HAVE FOOTBALLERS ON THE CAN LIKE BAECKHAM AND ROONEY:D
Ha-ha-ha:D
I prefer miniral water.It is useful.;)

[spellbound]

Chocolate is under the magnifying glass now. Its how they harvest the cocoa bean. They use child labour and force them to work on the fields rather then go to school.

So no coke, powder or drinks:p and no choco!

[Red Devil]

so, don't forget you can eat nothing now

[spellbound]

so, don't forget you can eat nothing now

True...:D

seriously, there's ways to produce the food in more humane ways. We are part of the problem coz we want to buy it as cheap as possible. But thats a different issue.

[Red Devil]

If we delve into every nook and cranny we will find thing wrong with everything we eat. There was a minister in the 80s lost her job because she said all free range eggs were contaminated with salmonella - she actually didn't - but she got the blame and I still eat free range eggs.

[fazman]

I hate coca cola ive never liked it