It looks like soda is becoming a conservative symbol, between the far left's nanny state and their continuing hatred of the Jews.
Posted on 01/31/2014 7:24:09 AM PST by Squawk 8888
Oxfam, the global charity that describes itself as "determined to change that world by mobilizing the power of people against poverty," has decided it prefers Palestinians to be poor, hungry and unemployed.
This all involves a Hollywood actress, a Super Bowl ad, an at-home soda maker and some confused liberals who appear to prefer their poor people stay poor.
Scarlett Johansson has been an Oxfam global ambassador, helping to raise money and the profile of the charity's work around the world, but after ScarJo, as her fans call her, opted to appear in a Super Bowl ad for SodaStream, things fell apart.
SodaStream makes gadgets that let consumers produce soft drinks and bubbly water at home. Given that the product uses tap water and reuses the same bottles over and over again, you would think this product would be a do-gooders dream.
Wrong.
SodaStream is an Israeli company and to some people that makes it bad. Even worse, the company has a manufacturing plant in the West Bank, disputed territory to say the least.
Oxfam, which boycotts goods made in the West Bank, are part of a group that punishes Israel and are similar to those in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement which seeks to punish Israel, Israeli companies and anyone who deals with Israel while it still holds any land taken in the 1967 six-day war.
So when Johansson agreed to appear in a SodaStream ad airing during the Super Bowl, the activists went into overdrive.
Unable to convince the star to drop SodaStream and feeling pressure from their left-wing friends in the BDS movement, Oxfam told Johansson to resign. She did.
"Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support," Oxfam said in a statement published on its website.
While Oxfam "works to support" communities, SodaStream is actually putting people to work by providing good paying jobs.
SodaStream's plant in the West Bank employs 900 Arabs from territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority or east Jerusalem. The company built prayer facilities into the factory to allow workers to carry out their religious observances
A promotional video for the company posted online shows Israeli Jews working side by side with Israeli Arabs, Palestinians and newcomers from Ethiopia, Iraq and elsewhere. The production manager profiled, Muhammed Barhum, is an Arab and a Muslim and yet sings the praises of the company he works for.
"Here there isn't any discrimination," he says.
None of that matters to the good folks at Oxfam's head office in Oxford, UK. They want SodaStream to stop operating in the West Bank even if that means people like Barhum are left unemployed, unable to feed their families.
My wife and I bought a SodaStream a couple of years ago before I ever knew there was controversy attached to this company, before I knew it was an Israeli company. All we saw was a good product that made something we liked and wanted to have.
But to today's activist left, every act is a political act. Every purchase, every interaction, every statement is about politics.
We didn't buy SodaStream as a political statement, but our continued use of the machine will be a statement. One that says we'd rather support communities by putting them to work than work to support communities by donating to Oxfam.
I can't recall ever donating to Oxfam in the past, but their latest actions have ensured I never will.
Hah, here’s a breakdown of “Pop” vs “Soda” vs “Coke” by State.
And yes, I can vouch that Texans indeed do call it “Coke.”
http://popvssoda.com/stats/USA.html
My wife is from Ohio, and calls it pop. In the east, we call it soda.
When I grew up in the East-—way back-—we called it “tonic”.
.
I drink water most of the time since we got a refrigerator with an ice water dispenser. Maybe I’m boring.
to us, soda refers to all carbonated soft drinks, soda water or carbonated water if it is unflavored. New Yorkers would call that seltzer.
Nope. Not boring. Probably a lot more practical/ healthier than me. But it is great to have if you like soft drinks (not just soda but fruit drinks, too). Actually, we drink less than before because it actually is a treat. My theory is that the drinks are more satisfying.
After finding out Oxfam is affiliated with Coca-Cola and is a big supporter, I will no longer buy Coke products. And I'll look for a SodaStream package.
“Pop” is also a Canadian thing.
I’m just now reading about these Oxfam people. There’s just a bunch of stuff available- RC Cola (of all things), one or both of the clear drinks, all kinds of orange.
We got ours at Amazon & it’s just the basic unit. The 1 gallon bag of syrup lasts the 2 of us a month to 6 weeks. I think it’s about the same for the CO2 bottle.
After Snapple took out Dublin Dr Pepper, I was going into withdrawal & “regular” Dr Pepper is just nasty. This is still the hfcs version, but it’s 1000 times better properly carbonated & over ice.
I all but guarantee you’ll love this thing.
I thought hockey was.
It looks like soda is becoming a conservative symbol, between the far left's nanny state and their continuing hatred of the Jews.
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