Boycotts

On a night when pop-music recluses Michael Jackson and the artist formerly known as Prince did step out in public, the 12th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner was caught off guard by a surprise no-show. Neil Young was scheduled to be inducted into the hall Tuesday night as a member of the Buffalo Springfield, the influential Los Angeles rock group of the late '60s. Instead, Young, who was inducted in the hall in 1995 as a solo artist, boycotted the event.

MEXICO CITY - They areMexico's "democracy babies" - a generation that grew up just as the nation broke free of decades of all-encompassing one-party rule. Only 12 years ago, young people flocked to the polls with high hopes as part of what would be a historic ouster of the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Now, as the country prepares to pick a new president in July,Mexico's young sound mostly disillusioned by the choices before them, and by joblessness and skyrocketing drug violence that have hit them especially hard.

There aren't many individuals in history whose names are taken in vain more than Capt. C.C. Boycott, the notorious Irish landlord who cut the wages of his tenant farmers and got himself ostracized -- and the English language enriched -- in return. The captain's name has seldom been out of public circulation since then. Yet every new boycott inspires vigorous discussion over whether this sort of pressure on the powerful is effective or fair. Currently on the table are two such actions: an advertisers' boycott of Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, and a shoppers' boycott of the Austin, Texas, grocery chain Whole Foods Market.

BEIRUT - Opposition activists across Syria on Monday boycotted parliamentary elections they dismissed as illegitimate, and instead called for a general strike. The Syrian government, on the other hand, hailed the multiparty elections, Syria's first, as marking a historic step toward comprehensive political reform in a country that has been ruled by the same family and political party for more than four decades. In February, Syrians voted for a new constitution that abolished the one-party system long controlled by the Baath Party.

Regarding Disneyland's sagging attendance figures (July 18): We're as mad as hell and were not going to pay it anymore! MITCH ROBINS Irvine Surely the boycott of Disney by church groups wasn't a factor. Or could it be? And Disney won't admit it? BILL SIMMONS Dove Canyon Disneyland is presently being boycotted by several groups based on Disney's new family values, which include dirty movies, necrophilia lyrics on records, supporting homosexuals and so forth.

Fox News host Glenn Beck used his popular show Monday to attack the background of Van Jones, a White House environmental advisor and co-founder of an African American political advocacy group that organized an advertising boycott of his program. Beck did not address the boycott spearheaded by Color of Change to protest the talk show host's remark last month that he believes President Obama is "a racist." Instead, he spent a large share of his program suggesting that Jones, who co-founded Color of Change in 2005, is a radical.

Berkeley justifies its silly use of multiple boycotts based upon its "success" in helping to end apartheid in South Africa (July 22). I've got some news for the Berkeley City Council. As an L.A. native who lived in Johannesburg during those boycott years, I can say that U.S. economic sanctions did little if anything to contribute to the fall of apartheid. If anything the boycotts made South Africa more self-sufficient. When U.S. corporations divested, they simply sold out--at fire-sale prices--to rich South Africans who kept the businesses running.

Although some boycotts end with clear-cut victories, others run out of steam or just disappear.

Jesse Torres, an avid sport fisherman, says he's boycotting BP products out of anger over the company's handling of its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But the other day, he could be found filling up his GMC Yukon with BP gas at an Arco station in Santa Monica. "Oh, I see it now," Torres said, squinting at the BP's small green-and-yellow sunburst logo on the Arco sign. "It's horrible what is happening down there. Next time, I'll go somewhere else for my gasoline, and I'm going to start reading the signs more carefully."

After 30 years of following the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tina Delgado says she is calling it quits. "The Dodgers have just struck out as far as I'm concerned," said the South Gate community activist, angry over the release last week of onetime superstar pitcher Fernando Valenzuela after 11 seasons with the club. "Fernando," she said, "got a raw deal."

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, said it is shutting down a task force that helped draft voter ID and “stand your ground” gun legislation after major firms such as Coca Cola and Kraft cut ties with the conservative group. In eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force, organization leaders said they would be “redoubling our efforts on the economic front” and taking its eye off issues unrelated to jobs, markets and competitiveness.

Coca-Cola Co. and Kraft Foods Inc. bowed to consumer pressure this week and cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group that has recently backed controversial voter ID and so-called “stand your ground” laws. Within hours of advocacy group Color of Change launching a boycott against Coca-Cola for its participation on ALEC's Private Enterprise Board, the soft drink giant issued a statement saying that it had “elected to discontinue its membership.” But the company blamed ALEC's support of “discriminatory food and beverage taxes” instead of “issues that have no direct bearing on our business.” “We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our company and industry,”Coca-Colasaid.

Europe slapped a boycott on Iranian oil Monday, signaling that the Islamic Republic's second-largest market is likely to dry up as part of a U.S.-led sanctions campaign that has already inflicted serious damage on Iran's economy and sharply increased tensions. The value of Iran's currency is falling dramatically, prices are rising and Iranians are stocking up on supplies in fear of worse to come. Iran, which receives an estimated 70% of its revenue from oil sales, has threatened to retaliate by choking off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf.

The first sign of inclement weather in the so-called nuclear winter arrived Tuesday when Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and a handful of other players sued the NBA with antitrust lawsuits at federal courts in Oakland and Minneapolis. Perennial All-Stars Anthony and Durant said the NBA violated antitrust laws and conspired to "boycott players" by attempting to force them to take massive reductions in compensation. The 30 NBA teams were named as defendants in the class-action suit filed in Oakland on behalf of the NBA's 439 players.

A Los Angeles City Council panel voted Tuesday to recommend a contract worth up to $97.5 million for a company with 9,000 employees in Arizona, drawing complaints that such a move would violate the city's boycott of the state. The council's Energy and Environment Committee backed a 15-year agreement with Honeywell International despite opposition from Councilman Ed Reyes, a co-author of the Arizona ban. L.A.'s boycott was approved last year to protest Senate Bill 1070, the Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigration.

GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann said she would boycott the Nevada caucuses because of the Silver State's plan to hold its contest in mid-January, a move that could force New Hampshire to hold its first-in-the-nation primary in December. “We're supporting New Hampshire's effort to be the first primary in the nation,” Bachmann said Thursday after speaking to students at Morningside College. An aide later clarified that the Minnesota congresswoman meant that she would not take part in the caucuses, but would be at Tuesday's debate in Las Vegas.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday urged a consumer boycott of Toyota Motor Sales USA for what the civil rights leader described as "offensive marketing materials" that promote the Torrance-based auto company's RAV4 sport-utility vehicle. The allegation made during a news conference in Chicago was sparked by a promotional postcard that shows a smiling black man with a likeness of a RAV4 embedded in a bright gold tooth.

Upset over the increasing cost of workman's compensation insurance, some trainers boycotted the entry box at Hollywood Park Saturday morning, so there were insufficient entries for Wednesday's card. Reportedly, only about 10 horses were entered. An estimated 60 trainers met with officials from Hollywood Park, Del Mar, Santa Anita and the Thoroughbred Owners of California Saturday morning seeking support, but apparently weren't completely satisfied with the proposals presented.

Long-time immigrant rights activist Jorge-Mario Cabrera is used to being called to task for his views. But when radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou recently gave out his cellphone number on the air in a campaign against the California Dream Act, he found himself unprepared for the barrage of hate-filled phone calls that followed. "Hi, this message is for Mr. Cabrera," one caller said in a voice mail transcribed by Cabrera. "Listen, you pile of garbage…You need to pack your [expletive]

Reporting from Sacramento -- Its aisles brimming with a rainbow of ripe organic produce, bins of grains and refrigerators stocked with soy everything, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has long been an oasis of civility in this combative city. Democrats and Republicans may quarrel at the Capitol a few miles away, but here they break gluten-free bread, munch on kale chips and sip acai juice in blissful bipartisan harmony: "Peace, love and granola," said Republican strategist Donna Lucas, a proud co-op member.