The Showcase television network, owned by Alliance Atlantis Communications, Inc., recently ran a “provocative” publicity campaign that featured images such as an office clerk declaring his homosexuality for a day, a grandmother with a potty mouth and two seniors in bed with the caption, “Showcase is our safe word.” The National Post said Atlantis seems willing to run the risk of alienating or offending potential viewers.

Arkansas Right to Life says that citizens wishing to support a pro-life alternative in prenatal research can support the Michael Fund, a pro-life genetic research foundation that seeks to protect children, adults and unborn children from physical defects. ARTL adds that, in contrast, the March of Dimes stated in its 1990 book Strategies in Genetic Counselling: Reproductive Genetics and New Age Technologies that, “There is no substitution for a constitutional right to abortion, which protects our fundamental rights.” The Michael Fund can be reached at: 500 A Garden City Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.A., 15146.

In an obvious appeal to homosexuals, the Royal Bank of Canada has distributed an application form for its Avion credit card that features a photograph of two men with their arms around each other, apparently vacationing in Hawaii.

The American Family Association is pointing out that Proctor and Gamble, already under fire for its homosexual advocacy, is the leading sponsor of two television programs that continually push the homosexual agenda. P and G spent $8.2 million over five months sponsoring Will and Grace, which features two homosexual characters and explicit sex talk, and another $2 million on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in the same period.

Yum! Brands, the U.S. parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC and A&W, and Burger King have joined other companies in ending sponsorship of the racy ABC television program Desperate Housewives. The companies acknowledge they have been flooded with communications from concerned customers.

An Associated Press story has described the Curves fitness chain, owned by pro-life supporter Gary Heavin of Waco, Tx., as a “franchise superpower.” It now boasts 8,400 franchises in 28 countries, making it by far the world’s number one fitness centre in terms of number of clubs.

The American Family Association’s online activist programs onemillionmoms.com and onemilliondads.com are achieving success and getting noticed in their efforts to stem the tides of television filth. Media outlets such as CNN, CNBC, Advertising Age magazine, Fox News and the New York Post have spotlighted its successes.

The U.S. Chick-Fil-A restaurant chain has grown from modest beginnings in Georgia almost 60 years ago to one of the largest privately owned restaurant chains in the nation, with more than 1,100 outlets. Its president, Dan Cathy, attributes its success to three main principles: honour God, listen to the customer and put people before profit. The first principle is demonstrated by the fact that, despite any loss in revenue, all its restaurants are closed on Sundays.

The Rockefeller, Ford and MacArthur Foundations – historically known for their pro-abortion and population-control advocacy – have helped fund a “study” of six states in India, which claims that six million Indian women have abortions every year – 10 times official estimates. A spokesperson for the “study” said amendments to “medical termination” legislation in India are being sought, which will include a right for abortion on demand until the 12th week of pregnancy.

Some of the largest employers in the state of Massachusetts – including Nstar Corp., General Dynamics Corp., FedEx Corp., the Adecco temporary employment agency and Caritas Christi Health Care – are not extending health benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees, despite a court ruling permitting gay “marriage” in that state. However, other employers, such as Gillette Co., have done so.

Christian Brothers Investment Services, an investment firm that caters to Catholics and Catholic institutions, says a survey shows its investors are most interested in making sure their dollars don’t support abortion or embryonic stem cell research. Pornography is also a key concern. CBIS (www.cbisonline.com) is a leading U.S. investment manager, with $3.5 billion in assets.

The Columbia House record club is launching an adult video offshoot, in co-operation with Playboy Entertainment. The club, called Hush, will sell pornography through direct mail and a website. Executives from Columbia House were seen “roaming the aisles” at an adult entertainment expo in Las Vegas, Nv. in January, meeting with pornography producers.

The MuchMusic television channel has defended its production of a public service announcement for the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada, by suggesting that the spot was not intended to encourage sexual activity between teens or anyone else. However, the spot includes a “dancing penis and vagina” and an exhortation for viewers to contact the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada for “the facts you need.”

The Staples office supply retailer has pulled its advertising from U.S. Sinclair Broadcast Group television stations, saying it received angry e-mails from viewers complaining about Sinclair’s alleged “right-wing bias” in news and commentary. Before the U.S. election, Sinclair had aired a documentary critical of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry’s war record.

Consumer Reports magazine has come under fire from pro-life advocates for publishing a list of birth control options that include abortion, complete with a section describing how the procedure gets rid of a pregnant woman’s “uterine contents.” American Life League president Judie Brown notes the feature fails to list any of abortion’s downsides. In response, she is urging people to cancel their subscriptions to the magazine.

A group of U.S. billionaires is pledging to donate tens of millions of dollars to develop what they call “progressive political ideas” to counter a conservative ascendancy in that country. The group includes the ubiquitous George Soros, savings and loan moguls Herb and Marion Sandler and insurance company chairman Peter Lewis. Their intention is to provide the left with Washington think tanks that can match those of the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.

Toronto radio station 104.5 CHUM-FM is listed as a corporate sponsor of a pro-gay “marriage” website that includes an article on “purging toxic religion” (i.e., orthodox religion) in Canada.

A Catholic school in London, Ont. pulled out of participation in a fundraising campaign for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, after it was informed of the society’s support for embryonic stem cell research. The funds were diverted to a read-a-thon, which raised funds for the school’s library.