At the end of the Korean War, James Veneris was an American POW awaiting repatriation. But when his time came, he—along with twenty other Americans and a Briton—declined to leave and chose to cast his lot with Mao and the Chinese Communist Party. Over time, almost all of these men became disillusioned with Marxism and eventually returned to their homelands. The Cold War that informed their decisions has become a chapter in the history books but the story of Western defectors to the Communist bloc is just now being written.
posted by jason's_planet on Jan 4, 2007 - 9 comments

How far will an online company go to make sure you're a good American? Some companies will test you like in a cheesy WWII movie drama. (screenshotted for posterity, but you can get there by clicking on "Unregistered?" on their website)
posted by Kickstart70 on Dec 17, 2005 - 29 comments

Loyalists in the American Revolution. Compelled to leave their homes in the Thirteen Colonies for their loyalty to the Crown, many of them settled in Canada. Also: Loyalist Regiments, Black Loyalists, Loyalist Songs, Reenactment groups, Indian Loyalists, and assorted personalities.
posted by pooligan on Aug 22, 2003 - 11 comments

Happy Loyalty Day, Everyone!
posted by Yelling At Nothing on May 1, 2003 - 32 comments

Immigrants should have to swear an oath of allegiance to show their "clear primary loyalty" to Britain This is the conclusion of a report looking into this summer's race riots. From the story: The report suggests that an oath of national allegiance on the Canadian model might help future race relations. The report says that a quarter of places in single faith schools, be they state or private, should be given to children of alternative backgrounds as a way of bridging the divide. What fresh madness is this?
posted by Summer on Dec 11, 2001 - 33 comments

Scientific American has an interesting article on brand loyalty on the web. Researchers at MIT are concluding that people stick with familiar commerce sites. Even though the web is supposed to enable shoppers to choose from any site, they instead stay with their favorite, even paying more for the security and familiarity. The researchers also concluded that $20 off coupons and bargain deals aren't going to bankrupt top sites, because it's a considerable investment (from a user's prospective) to shop at a new commerce site, and the offers offset that cost accordingly.
posted by mathowie on Feb 21, 2000 - 0 comments