Occupy activists fight with Ben & Jerry’s founder over The Illuminator [View all]
http://rt.com/usa/news/occupy-ben-illuminator-cohen-454/
Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerrys agreed to help out the Occupy cause back in January by vowing to contribute as much as $65,000 to be used towards developing and operating a vehicle that would light up the skyline of Lower Manhattan with messages synonymous with the movement. With the assistance of his generous contribution, a Ford Econoline van was modified into a mobile message machine powerful enough to project We are the 99 percent and other slogans across the city.
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Although Cohen and company managed to The Illuminator project off the ground, a rift has since driven the ice cream king apart from the occupiers, a group he suggests have co-opted the project he has financially backed to use it to advertise other left-leaning ideals that arent necessarily synonymous with OWS.
Not before long, Cohen became concerned over how The Illuminator wasnt just lighting up New York with Occupy slogans, but was being used to advertise an array of other causes, including issues involving Julian Assanges WikiLeaks whistleblower site and Russian punk band Pussy Riot. When he wasnt willing to have his van used for other lines of activism, Cohen objected and a custody battle over the vehicle ensued.
(More at the link.)