From countercorp-news at countercorp.org Mon Dec 17 22:13:02 2007 From: countercorp-news at countercorp.org (CounterCorp News and Events List) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:13:02 -0800 Subject: [CounterCorp] National broadcast of film about founder of the anti-corporate movement References: <488200827.1829692189@org.orgDB.mail.democracyinaction.org> Message-ID: <63A8708C-F991-4BC4-B72E-1C247FB58BCB@countercorp.org> Dear CounterCorp supporter, In 1966, General Motors -- then the most powerful corporation in the world -- hired a team of private investigators to dig up dirt on an obscure 32-year-old, Lebanese-American public interest lawyer named Ralph Nader, who had written a book critical of one of their cars, the Corvair. The scandal that ensued after GM's deliberate smear campaign against Nader was revealed launched him into national prominence, marked the birth of the modern consumer movement -- and heralded the beginning of the anti-corporate activist movement, too. Over the next 30 years, and without ever holding public office, Nader built a legislative record that would rival that of any contemporary president. Many things we take for granted -- from seatbelts, airbags, and product labels to the free ticket you get after being bumped from an overbooked airline flight -- are largely due to the efforts of Ralph Nader and the citizens groups he created. Nader's unwavering belief in the power of -- and absolute necessity for -- grassroots citizen participation in a genuine democracy made him the perfect scapegoat for Al Gore's utterly inept campaign and Hamlet-like performance in the 2000 presidential election. Unfortunately, as a result of this second smear campaign, Nader's seminal and untiring role in containing (and even rolling back) corporate power has been largely forgotten today. But that can all change, with your help. Thanks to the last vestiges of our nominally "public" broadcasting system (now replete with the same ads as the privately controlled commercial networks), you can watch an excellent documentary on the life and times of Ralph Nader in the comfort of your own home -- for free! "An Unreasonable Man" traces the birth of consumer activism back to 1968, when a handful of young and idealistic 'Nader's Raiders' began working on issues ranging from abuses of public health and safety to nursing homes to economic concentration. Utilizing rare archival footage and over 40 on-camera interviews conducted over the past two years, "An Unreasonable Man" traces the life and career of Ralph Nader, one of the most unique, important, and controversial political figures of the past half century. Don't miss it! And, just as importantly, please forward this message (or send one of your own) to your friends, colleagues, neighbors, and associates and urge them to watch this important film. Whether or not you like Nader as a person, the continued importance of anti-corporate activism as demonstrated in the film cannot be overstated. Thanks as always for your support: We -- and Ralph -- couldn't do any of this without you! The CounterCorp Core Corps CounterCorp: "Putting an end to business as usual" Organizers of the 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival For more information, visit www.countercorp.org :-:-=-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-: To subscribe to CounterCorp's News and Events e-mail list, go to http://list.countercorp.org/mailman/listinfo/countercorp-news To add CounterCorp events to your computer or iPod calendar, click on webcal://icalx.com/public/CounterCorp/CounterCorp.ics To subscribe to CounterCorp's "Corporation Watch" e-mail list, visit the information page at http://www.corporationwatch.org To donate to CounterCorp, select our name from the drop-down menu at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 From countercorp-news at countercorp.org Tue Dec 18 15:09:02 2007 From: countercorp-news at countercorp.org (CounterCorp News and Events List) Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:09:02 -0800 Subject: [CounterCorp] Follow-up on "An Unreasonable Man" Message-ID: Dear CounterCorp supporter, Yesterday we told you about the important film "An Unreasonable Man", about one of the anti-corporate crusaders of our time, Ralph Nader. The film is being broadcast on PBS as part of their 'Independent Lens' series. Many stations will be showing it tonight (Tuesday), at 9:00 p.m. in your time zone. However, individual stations are free to air the film at other times instead of (or in addition to) tonight, so there is no single date and time that we can tell everyone when they can see it. Recognizing the difficulty of keeping track of such a flexible broadcast schedule, PBS provides an online program guide that lets you know when "Independent Lens" is airing on your local station: www.pbs.org/independentlens/broadcast.html Hope you can watch the film! CounterCorp: Putting an end to business as usual Organizers of the 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival www.countercorp.org :-:-=-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-=-:-: To subscribe to CounterCorp's News and Events e-mail list, go to http://list.countercorp.org/mailman/listinfo/countercorp-news To add CounterCorp events to your computer or iPod calendar, click on webcal://icalx.com/public/CounterCorp/CounterCorp.ics To subscribe to CounterCorp's "Corporation Watch" e-mail list, visit the information page at http://www.corporationwatch.org To donate to CounterCorp, select our name from the drop-down menu at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695