Hegemony

Hegemony: is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group or hegemon acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force.

Resistance to corporate harms which does not challenge the legitimacy of corporate rule -- valiant as such resistance may be -- does not appreciably change corporate laws or constitutional doctrines which bestow upon giant corporations our governments' support. It does not shift back to people, communities and nature the power and authority over decisions. The largest 300 corporations control about one-fourth of all the goods-producing assets in the world. The largest 100 have incomes greater than half the member countries of the United Nations. 70% of all international trade is directed by 500 corporations.

Today, giant, global corporations enter and leave communities at will, shaping the futures of people, ecosystems, and the Earth. Leaders of such corporations exercise sovereign control over vast lands (80% of all land used for export agriculture), species and minerals. Such concentrated corporate power that can manipulate our democratic processes is contrary to the theory of governance that is supposed to prevail in a republic (that must be constitutional -- that is, answerable to the people). But isn't it clear that we the people have little legal or moral authority over today's giant corporations? That many of us are not even conscious that people once exercised such authority with diligence? Hasn't it become difficult even to imagine what a free and democratic society (without such concentrations of corporate power) would look like (or how it would operate)?

Where does the buck stop?

• Studies find that 115 Million animals are used in tests worldwide.
• The safety of cloned animal products are definately still uncertain.
  
• Chemical cocktails are leaking into Montreal river system. Uranium from Iraq arrives in Canada.
  
• Toxins causing cancer, known as persistent organic pollutants -- resulting from corporate research and development -- are now found in the tissues of every living creature on this planet.
  
• Half of all plants in the world, and over 11,000 animal species, are now threatened with extinction as a result of habitat destruction and hunting.
  

Don´t we care enough? Even about ourselves?

U.S. sugar providers have announced they will be sourcing their sugar from genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets beginning this year and arriving in stores in 2008. Like GE corn and GE soy, products containing GE sugar will NOT be labeled as such. Since half of the granulated sugar in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, a move towards biotech beets marks a dramatic alteration of the U.S. food supply. These sugars, along with GE corn and soy, are found in many conventional food products, so consumers will be exposed to genetically engineered ingredients in just about every non-organic multiple-ingredient product they purchase. The GE sugar beet is designed to withstand strong doses of Monsanto's controversial broad spectrum Roundup herbicide.

What has become patently obvious to a growing number of folks is that the work of environmental activists and environmental groups has been largely unsuccessful for doing anything else other than raising public awareness. We are stuck in a feedback loop where our failures are interpreted as signs that we should repeat our failed tactics, but simply try harder.
With the understanding that true democracy was impossible in the face of concentrated power held by a few corporations, the early legislatures of the U.S. and Canada passed laws declaring that corporations held limited rights under their constitutions. Dismantling that system took a lot -- but corporations had a lot. At first corporations became persons. Now corporations wield more power than citizens (hegemony?).

Now, constitutional statutes are used by corporations to punish those democratically elected local governments -- our governments -- who dare to confront corporate rights. As 'persons', corporations have pioneered the concept of "regulatory takings" in which local and state governments can be sued for the value of property "taken" by the enforcement of an environmental regulation.
Well .....kings used to drum into their subjects that they were anointed by God.

Corporations have, and will continue to, attack us through those institutions that create, and are empowered by, the "rule of law" and corporate culture. Courts, federal agencies, the national media, corporate think-tanks, secret NAFTA and GATT tribunals, and yes -- even law professors --are all be enlisted to stop this awakening. Those corporate few are intent on turning soil into sand. Win at all costs. Reframing must reach beyond environmental issues. It's not about managed health care, its about the power of a few drug corporations to determine the system of health care that we all will have. It's not about air bags and highway projects, but about the power of car corporations to rip up trolley lines and unilaterally decree that mass transit will wither on the vine. It's not about campaign finance reform, but the power of corporations to make the rules for our elections, and to select the issues even before people announce their candidacies.

And in the end, it's not even about corporations. It's about us. It's about whether we take "we the people" and democracy seriously. I believe we can give up our futile efforts to preserve the illusion. We can rebel not as a last act of desperation but as a first act of creation.

Who owns what (companies):
for e.g.

Canadian media;

Bell Canada Enterprises:

Bell globemedia Inc. (21-station CTV television network, full or partial ownership of 40 specialty television stations) CTVglobemedia Inc. A-Channel ASN Atlantic Satellite Network CKX Television
Discovery Channel CTV News eTalk The Comedy Network TSN MTV
Chum - 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty television channels

Quebecor Media:

Owns eight dailies and 200 other local and community newspapers. In 2000, Quebecor bought Quebec's largest cable company, Vidéotron, and its French-language TV network, TVA.

Osprey Media; 21 dailies in Ontario (including the National Post, the Kingston Whig-Standard and Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Sun and Citizen) and 36 other papers. In 2001, Osprey bought 16 dailies and 12 other papers from Hollinger International. In 2002, Osprey acquired 30 more newspapers (including four dailies) from CanWest Global.

CanWest Global owns the Global Television Network's 11 stations as well as the three TV stations in the CH-branded network. In January 2007, in partnership with a group from Goldman Sachs, CanWest bought Alliance Atlantis, which added 13 specialty channels including Showcase, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada and History Television. CanWest owns 11 of Canada's biggest dailies (including the National Post, The Gazette in Montreal, the Ottawa Citizen and both of Vancouver's dailies, the Vancouver Sun and The Province). Hollinger (formerly of Conrad Black) sold its major Canadian newspaper groups to CanWest Global Communications Corp. for $3.5 billion Canadian.

Rogers Media owns several over-the-air and specialty TV channels (including OMNI, Rogers Sportsnet, the Shopping Channel and the Biography Channel), 44 radio stations in six provinces and magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine and Canadian Business. In June 2007, Rogers Media bought five Citytv stations, in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Astral Media owns 29 radio stations in Quebec and the Maritimes and 17 pay television stations (including The Movie Network, Mpix and Family Channel, and half of Teletoon). In April 2007, Astral Media announced it had struck a cash and stock deal to acquire 52 radio stations and two TV stations from Standard Broadcasting.

US / International media;

AOL - America Online:

Time Warner CNN HBO Cinemax TBS Superstation Turner Network Television
Turner Classic Movies Warner Brothers Television Cartoon Network Sega Channel
TNT Comedy Central E! Court Tv MAD Magazine


Disney:

ABC: 10 stations, 24% of U.S Households
ABC Network News ESPN Disney Channel Touchtone Television
Miramax, Touchtone 3 music labels 11 newspapers
News Corporation LTD / Fox Networks
Fox Television - 50% of American Households
Fox International Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight
132 newspapers 25 magazines

General Electric:

NBC including 13 stations in 28% of U.S households.
NBC network news CNBC business television (MSNBC - co-owned by NBC and Microsoft), Court-Tv (co-owned with Time Warner), Bravo (50%), A&E (25%), History Channel (25%).

Viacom International Inc:

Paramount Television, Spelling Television, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, The Movie Channel, UPN (joint owner), Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Sundance Channel, Flix
Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Video, Blockbuster Video, Famous Players Theatres, Paramount Parks.