This week I’d like to highlight 5 campaign goals for 2011 for Global Exchange, one of my favourite organizations in the world.

Last week I received their welcome-to-2011 email with their activist agenda. Here’s the first goal:

Transition from corporate interests to humanitarian justice: Corporate interests are among the strongest forces fueling the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Come February, Global Exchange will host courageous feminist peace activist Dalit Baum. Dalit is currently working in Israel on a project called Who Profits?, an online database that exposes companies and corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation. She will bring her extensive knowledge of grassroots activism to North America, teaching Who Profits’ research methods to the peace movement to infuse their work with new perspective and hard-earned wisdom. The long-term goal is to help change public opinion and corporate policies, moving towards an end to the occupation and a lasting peace in Israel/Palestine.

Palestine is no isolate case of corporations leading a political agenda. When I think of banana republics, I ponder the corporation/cartel that is the de facto leadership of the nation, often with the help of the corporations’ home government pressuring the official leadership of the banana republic.

We too are a banana republic. For almost 150 years ago, corporations have had tremendous sway over the Liberal and Conservative parties that have run Canada since 1867. So when Global Exchange is supporting some education about how corporations guide political policy, often to the detriment of whole populations [domestic and international], we would do well to learn the tactics required to spot how corporate control of our democracy is as ubiquitous as the air around us.

Changing public opinion and corporate policies are fantastic outcome goals for this campaign. If you have seen/read The Corporation you know how psychotic they are. How we aren’t beating down our legislature doors to demand widespread corporate charter revocation is beyond me…oh wait, it’s because the air we breathe is infused with the normalized paradigm of corporate control of our society.

That’s why, right.

In the end, this is one reason why I support Global Exchange. And so should you.