I find it amusing, mainly because I do not like the named below products. I wonder, however, why re-naming French fries freedom fries is a sign of idiocy, by renaming Amerikaner Peace-ies is not.
Wojtek
> >Subject: Boycott of American Goods Over Iraq War Gains
> >
> >Boycott of American Goods Over Iraq War Gains
> >
> >
> >No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whiskey or
> >even American Express cards -- a growing number of restaurants in
> >Germany are taking everything American off their menus to
> protest the
> >war in Iraq.
> >
> >Although the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in
> >dozens of bars and restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and
> >other German cities are telling patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola is not
> >available any more due to the current political situation."
> >
> >The boycotts appear to be part of a nascent worldwide
> movement. One Web
> >site, www.consumers-against-war.de,
> >calls for
> >boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while
> >another,
> >www.adbusters.org,
> >urges the "millions of people
> >against the war" to "Boycott Brand America."
> >
> >Consumer fury seems to be on the rise. Demonstrators in
> >Paris smashed the windows of a McDonald's restaurant last
> week, forcing
> >police in riot gear to move in to protect staff and customers of the
> >American fast-food outlet. The attackers sprayed obscenities and
> >"boycott" on the windows.
> >
> >In Indonesia, Iraq war opponents have pasted signs on McDonald's and
> >other American food outlets, trying to force them shut by "sealing
> >them" and urging Indonesians to avoid them.
> >
> >In the Swiss city of Basel, 50 students recently staged a sit-down
> >strike in front of a McDonald's to block customers' entry,
> waved peace
> >signs and urged people to eat pretzels instead of hamburgers.
> >
> >Anti-American sentiment has even reached provinces in
> >Russia, where some rural eateries put up signs telling
> Americans they
> >were unwelcome, according to an Izvestia newspaper report.
> >
> >A German bicycle manufacturer, Riese und Mueller GmbH, canceled all
> >business deals with its American suppliers.
> >
> >"Americans only pay attention when money is on the line," director
> >Heiko Mueller told Reuters, whose firm buys $300,000 worth
> of supplies
> >from half a dozen American firms each year.
> >
> >"We wanted to make a statement against this war and told
> >our American partners that unless they renounce what their
> government
> >is doing we won't do any business with them anymore."
> >
> >SMALL BUT SYMBOLIC ACTS
> >
> >The German restaurant boycotts of American products started
> small but
> >spread rapidly after the Iraq war began on Thursday. The
> conflict has
> >struck a raw nerve in a country that became decidedly anti-war after
> >the devastation of World War II, which it initiated.
> >
> >"If people all around the world boycott American products
> >it might influence their policies," said Jean-Yves Mabileau,
> owner of
> >"L'Auberge Francaise" which joined 10 Hamburg restaurants in banning
> >Coca Cola, Philip Morris' Marlboro cigarettes, whiskey and other
> >American goods.
> >
> >"This started as a light-hearted reaction to Americans
> >dumping French wine in the gutter and renaming 'French Fries' as
> >'Freedom Fries'," he said. "But it feels good to take a
> stand against
> >this war. It is just a small gesture, but a good one."
> >
> >Diners at the Osteria restaurant in Berlin are finding that
> "things go
> >better without Coke" and are ordering Germany's long
> >overshadowed imitation of "the real thing" -- the slightly
> >sweeter "Afri-Cola" -- to express their outrage.
> >
> >"We wanted to do something to express our annoyance,"
> >Osteria owner Fabio Angile told Reuters. "We want to hit
> America where
> >it hurts -- in their wallets. None of the customers have
> complained. On
> >the contrary, most thought it was a great idea."
> >
> >Herve Keroureda, owner of a French restaurant in Hamburg
> >known as "Ti Breizh," said he was astonished by the massive media
> >coverage of their small-scale anti-American protest.
> >
> >"It was only intended as a small gesture but has turned
> >into a gigantic issue," he said. "And the reaction from the
> patrons has
> >been tremendous. Most have called it a brilliant idea."
> >
> >In Bonn, bartender Bruno Kessler said he was refusing to
> >sell American whiskey or American beer such as Anheuser-Busch's
> >Budweiser at his "Eifeler Stuben."
> >
> >"I asked myself 'What can I possibly do to show my anger
> >over this barbary?'," he told Germany's N-24 television network.
> >
> >STARBUCKS, BIG MACS AVOIDED
> >
> >Sarah Stolz, a 22-year-old German student of American
> >studies, was headed for a Starbucks, coffee shop in central
> Berlin when
> >her anti-war conscience got the best of her.
> >
> >"I was thinking about going into Starbucks which I love,
> >when I realized it was wrong," she said. "I'm backing the boycott
> >because the war is totally unjustified."
> >
> >Rita Marschall was avoiding McDonald's and Burger King.
> >
> >"I'm boycotting American products because their policy on
> >Iraq is totally wrong," said Marschall, 26, in front of a Berlin
> >McDonald's. "It's just one of many ways we can take a stand."
> >
> >Some German bakeries have renamed a local cake known as
> "Amerikaner" --
> >a disk-shaped pastry with icing on top -- as "Peace-ies," bearing a
> >peace sign piped in chocolate sauce. ...
> >
> >In the London suburb of Milton Keynes, the Greens party
> >have called on consumers to boycott 330 American products
> ranging from
> >Mars bars to Gap jeans and American films on DVD and video.
> >
> >In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take
> holidays in
> >the United States are changing their destinations.
> >
> >"Some of the most loyal customers who have been traveling
> >to the United States for years have changed their plans because they
> >don't like what Bush is doing," Lucia Zeller, director of the Travac
> >travel agency, told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.
> >
> > ! CyberBrook's ThinkLinks ! ... to make a better world ...
> > www.brook.com/cyberbrook
> >
> >It is not our obligation to complete the task of perfecting
> the world,
> >but neither are we free from beginning it.
> > ---Rabbi Tarfon, Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Parents]
>
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> Martti Muukkonen
> teologian tohtori / doctor of theology,
> yhteiskuntatieteiden maisteri / master of social sciences
>
> e-mail martti.muukkonen at joensuu.fi
> kotisivu / homepage http://cc.joensuu.fi/~muukkone
>
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