Results tagged “boycott”

The grand opening of San Francisco's fifth Whole Foods is happening right this very second over at 3950 24th Street in Noe Valley. Supervisor Bevan Dufty will be there to cut the tape. Protesters will also be there to make noise. As most of you know, a boycott is in place after WF CEO John Mackey's made (careless?) remarks about health care, much like your drivers license, being a privilege, not a right. Anyway, for those of you into snagging organic produce and carob-covered treats at relatively high prices, have at it. For those of you who refuse (or simply cannot afford) to shop at WF, Foods Co is a neighborhood away. (Really, you can get cheap staples there. Lots of other affordable stuff to be found there, too, folks.)

We were reminded yesterday of the recent Whole Foods boycott that's been gaining steam in the past month. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote a Wall Street Journal editorial last month opposing the single-payer option of health care reform and claiming health care is not a "right," further perpetuating myths propagated by the for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Did you know that San Francisco-based Michael Savage, God-fearing KNEW performance artist who was literally banned from entering Britain for being mean, founded Rockstar energy drink? It's true. He used to be an herbalist hippie back in the day, dropping acid while fending off the advances of Alan Ginsberg.

Please welcome SFist's newest feature: Boycott Blotter. This feature is designed to let you know about what you shouldn't be buying, doing, attending, watching, or thinking about in the name of justice -- or, in most cases, in the name of public intoxication while jogging with your dick hanging out.

Be sure to check out voice of reason Matt Baume on KALW" tonight at 97.1 on your dial, or live right here. He goes on 7:30 p.m.-ish. SFist's Editor at Large and creator of Stop8.org, a post-Prop 8 portal, he'll be discussing stuff about same-sex marriage and the recently passed California proposition banning it. At the very least, tune in just to hear his eloquent, dare we say sultry, voice.

While wielding boycotts as political statements have had a history of effectiveness (look no further than the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott as a prime example), and with publications like the Chronicle and the LA Times posting state records databases showing just who donated for and against Prop. 8, some gay leaders have urged restraint when it comes to boycotting supporters of Prop 8. According to Lester Neblett, executive director of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, "the [gay] community has a lot of discretionary money available to them ... We're continuing to encourage people to support people who support us. That's been the word that we've tried to get out to the community all the time." Which: true. But Californians Against Hate's leader Fred Karger disagrees, ominously declaring, "If people stand in our way ...there'll be consequences – economic consequences." (Sacbee)

Alan Stock, CEO of Cinemark Theaters, donated $9,999 to anti-gay Prop. 8. According to AmericaBlog...

Is it out of your system yet? While all of this in-fighting, blaming, exempting, and naive attacks of reverse-discrimination (a chortle-inducing term if there ever was one) has been fun, let's get down to brass tacks, folks. SFist is putting out a call for and sites and/or organizations doing any of the following constructive things to help overturn gender and queer discrimination in the state of California.

Queers are calling for a boycott of the California Musical Theatre -- at least according to the -- after discovering that its artistic director, Scott Eckern, donated $1,000 to Prop. 8. Eckern has been with CMT for over 25 years. Richard Lewis, the organization's executive producer, released this statement regarding the controversy: "Any political action or the opinion of Scott Eckern is not shared by California Musical Theatre. We have a long history of appreciation for the LGBT community and are truly grateful for their longstanding support."

In our continuing Beijing Olympic-boycotting coverage, Dave Eggers--the scribe ever well-educated San Franciscan loves to hate (because he's successful at what he does)--wrote a piece in this Sunday's about the Olympic Torch's run in San Francisco. He claims that the protests that will occur during the run will be a strong statement, especially since it's the torch's only run in Northern America and its an election year. China’s "complicity in the genocide in Darfur" and the Sudan are the focus of his article. Let's dive in, shall we?

Tibetan activists and the San Francisco Darfur Coalition (who, by the way, are trying to turn the holy day of "Casual Friday" into "Darfur Friday") are demanding to know exactly where the torch will be going during its San Francisco run so they can protest that they can protest the China's ongoing human rights violations. Grrr.