18 July - 6 August 1996
Each week McSpotlight will be updated on how the world's press has covered McLibel, McDonald's and multinationals in general.
McDonald's
http://www.mcdonalds.com
US based. Est US $28,454 million capital.
If you've seen the McSpotlight Web site about the McLibel case and thought that perhaps the litigiousness of McDonald's was being overrated - this site will convince you otherwise. It's the only one we have EVER seen that includes a 1,500 word page of Terms and Conditions for accessing the site. Ironically, it's the most interesting part of the entire homepage, though the adults version does include investor information, a copy of the latest annual report and share purchasing scheme. After the McLibel trial revelations of the hamburger giant's concern for keeping landfills busy, the section on the company's environmental commitment may cause some raised eyebrows.
The McLibel 2 courtroom heroes will be disappointed to learn that the hamburger multinational sponsors McDonald's carriages on some Swiss inter-city trains. They help protect the environment, as kids nag their parents not to clog up motorways and clamour for a Happy Meal on the rails.
Personally, I do my best to McAvoid them as much as I can but, sure as night follows day, sooner or later one finds oneself in a McQueue, staring at the full-colour McPhotographs of the McDishes, wondering what looks the least McUnappetising.
"This is a non-smoking restaurant", read one of the many signs as we entered [a McDonald's store in Ipswich], the only surprising word in the sentence being "restaurant". Most of the things one associates with restaurants are absent.
There is no sign of any knives and forks, for instance, no proper plates, no wine or beer, no individuality or idiosyncrasy. All in all, the most notable feature at McDonald's is an overwhelming lack of free will, as though customers and staff alike are in the grip of some larger force, propelling them ever onwards towards worship of the great McGod.
We joined a brief queue beneath horrifying vivid colour photographs of something called a Mega Mac. It was roughly the size of a cow's head, and consisted of no less than four burgers and three buns. Not feeling like chewing one, I decided to eschew it instead. There is something about the taste and texture of the McDonald's burgers that strikes me as off-putting, even sinister, as though one were eating the tail of a creature from another planet.
My McRib Pork Sandwich was almost unimaginably McRevolting. In many ways, it was the gastronomic equivalent of the whoopee cushion; every single bite sends a fresh squirt of disgusting brown sauce over your hands. After three bites, you begin to look like an over-enthusiastic cesspit operative. I stopped eating the McRib after three and a half bites. My daughter managed four of her six McNuggets - not bad going - but thought the skinny little chips nowhere near as good as the ones we get from the fish-and-chip shop.
"There's nothing quite like a McDonald's" reads the poster. How true, we all thought, how very McTrue.
Dear Editor
Frances Anderton's hilarious, droll and devastating account of the McDonald's
libel suit was, without doubt, the most amazing story I have read in the
Weekly in 10 years. Have I missed the US press coverage of the case, or are
we in the
midst of a McBlackout?
Anderton writes that the Brits are mesmerised, and no wonder! Updates please.
Kevin McMahon - Los Angeles
Therefore, we are delighted to designate your resource as a "4-Star" site. This is the highest rating an Internet site can achieve in Magellan, McKinley's comprehensive Internet directory of nearly 2 million sites and 40,000 reviews. As a Magellan 4-Star site, you are being awarded a special logo to recognize the hard work that has gone into establishing and maintaining your site.
Description
Put down that Big Mac and check out McSpotlight: a resource center for those opposed to the Golden Arches. Highlights of this fascinating, well-researched site include thorough coverage of McLibel (a pending British case between McDonald's and a couple who produced a fact sheet entitled "What's Wrong With McDonald's"), word-by-word analysis of McDonald's propaganda, and a huge campaign department, in which people can find out how to get directly involved in bringing McDonald's controversial business practices to light.
Coverage is extremely current (see "This Week at McDonald's, for example) and about as detailed as you can get. Come educate yourself before McDonald's shuts it down.
McSpotlight is a web site constructed by supporters of Helen, Dave, and the London Greenpeace movement. It is hosted outside the UK (in the Netherlands) to avoid further legal entanglement, and contains over 1,700 files of information that, they say, McDonalds don't want the public to know.
Nicholson admitted that although the collaboration was improper, members of McDonald's security department "have many contacts in the police service", since "they are all ex-policemen".
Between October 1989 and January 1991, the spies [private investigators hired by McDonald's to infiltrate London Greenpeace] opened and replied to letters, distributed leaflets, and became familiar with London Greenpeace campaigners. One female spy formed a relationship with one of the campaigners. Nicholson admitted that some operatives stole letters.
McDonald's called four of these operatives to testify. One, Allan Clare, of Bishops Investigation Bureau, admitted gaining illicit entry to photograph London Greenpeace's offices. He described using a phonecard to swipe a lock.
