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| Photo By Sean Hughes/photopresse.com |
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If you think shopping is torture, at least no one rips off
your skin to make a pretty coat.
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The marketing pitch for
a new consumer service at Kroger stores is so crass and offensive that, at first glance, it seems it must be a gag. "The Wine Guide," an Epson computer program set to debut Dec. 30 at Kroger stores, is being promoted as a kind of liquid boon to racial equality. Apparently meant to glom onto the good feelings engendered by the new National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the marketing campaign goes so far as to suggest that 150 years ago the locals greeted runaway slaves with a swig from the jug.
"Cincinnati is no stranger to hospitality and a keen palate," says a press release announcing "The Wine Guide." "Over a century ago it welcomed slaves after they crossed the Ohio River. Cincinnatians served these newly emancipated men and women their first taste of freedom, most likely a hot steaming meal and one of the local beverages distilled in the city. This simple kindness inspired many to stop their journey on the Underground Railroad. Their descendants still walk the streets today. ... Prohibition and time dissolved the distilleries, but the city still refined its keen hospitality and fine palate by fermenting the diversity present within the Tri-state."
Kathleen Spada of Scanlon Marketing in Northern Kentucky says "The Wine Guide" will start in Greater Cincinnati before going nationwide.
"It's poised for a national launch," she says.
Poised? It's anything but.
The day after Thanksgiving featured a shopping orgy at suburban malls, but it was one of the few days parking meters were readily available downtown. Even so, members of Mercy for Animals were at hand, ready to distribute free seasonal fashion accessories. The animal rights group positioned itself near Saks Fifth Avenue, hoping to catch shoppers buying furs. Protesters offered them brown paper bags to put over their heads and stood ready to give other sartorial advice.
"There is nothing fashionable about cruelty to animals," said Nathan Runkle, national director of Mercy for Animals. "A paper bag and ear plugs are the best accessories for fur-wearers these days."
Forget Canada; Maybe It's Time to Go East
Take a contentious campaign, add charges of election fraud and throw in some court hearings intended to invalidate a close presidential election: What have you got? No, not Ukraine -- Ohio. The Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Columbus and Cincinnati this week to demand an investigation of voting irregularities Nov. 2 in the Buckeye State. The difference between the Ukrainians and us is they know what to do when the government steals an election: They surround the government buildings and refuse to move.
The local chapter of the Sierra Club is losing two of its key staffers. Susan Knight, who's been active in demanding air pollution controls at AK Steel in Middletown, and Glen Brand, Midwest regional coordinator, are both leaving Cincinnati. Knight is returning to Washington, D.C., her hometown, to become the Sierra Club's national field director for responsible trade and human rights. Brand is moving to Portland, Maine, where he'll continue to work for the Sierra Club, he says.
The Miami Group of Sierra Club might not see the two staffers immediately replaced. Brand's position, for example, could move to the Columbus office.
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| Photo By Robert Webber |
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The Rev. Jesse Jackson, speaking in Columbus Nov. 28
calls for an election investigation.
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"There's just some shifting around of resources," he says. "The Sierra Club here is one of the strongest in the country."
Knight helped organize nonviolent protests against globalization of the economy in 2000, during a conference of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, and formerly worked for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.
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