The Magic Of Democracy

For over 300 years Obama would have been too black to eat with white people, travel with them, or vote for them. Now that enough white people have voted for him, he is mostly white, according to some last-ditch denialists still rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Only in America.
But by electing Obama most of America does seem to have arrived at the collective conclusion that the problems of the next decades cannot afford the luxury of racism; that everyone will be needed to solve them.
America did not undergo a wave of liberalism and conscience on November 4th. It acted through its electoral system in its own interest. Dumping the baggage of slavery made the journey to the future look a bit less frightening. In that sense, Obama is the perfect man for the time.

Meanwhile, obituaries for corporate America are still a bit premature. Coca Cola up to its old tricks again.
Coca-Cola Sustainability Review Omits India

some of the key findings included:

• A key recommendation that the Coca-Cola company shut down its bottling plant in Kala Dera because "the plant's operations in this area would continue to be one of the contributors to a worsening water situation and a source of stress to the communities around."
• Coca-Cola did not respect the rights of farmers and groundwater conditions, and that it had located its plants in India from a "business continuity" perspective without due consideration to community impacts.
• Coca-Cola did not meet the company's own waste management standards at all the plants surveyed.
• Shortcomings in the effluent discharge in four of the six plants assessed and concluded that Coca-Cola plants do not have adequate pollution prevention measures.
• Increased pollution in the immediate vicinity of Coca-Cola bottling plants.

It's The Real Thing, after all.