Boycott of American Goods Over Iraq War Gains Pace

Asia: Reuters -- No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whiskey or even American Express cards -- a growing number of restaurants in Germany are taking everything American off their menus to protest the Iraq war.

The boycotts appear to be part of a nascent worldwide movement. One Web site, www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while another, www.adbusters.org, urges the "millions of people against the war" to "Boycott Brand America."

Some German bakeries have renamed a local cake known as "Amerikaner" -- a disk-shaped pastry with icing on top -- as "Peace-ies," bearing a peace sign piped in chocolate sauce.

In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take holidays in the United States are changing their destinations.

"Some of the most loyal customers who have been traveling to the United States for years have changed their plans because they don't like what Bush is doing," Lucia Zeller, director of the Travac travel agency, told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.

Article has a few reports of non-European boycotts. A previous boycott started last summer in Arab states -- Mecca-Cola vs. Coca-Cola. Do you think Bush is bad for business?