Anyone see Cheech and Chong's "Up In Smoke"? Damn funny movie.
Anyone see Cheech and Chong's "Up In Smoke"? Damn funny movie.
I misread your email, skimming quickly. I guess we don't know if the jury took into account the amount of PM's budget directed toward fraud (although I personally would argue that thei entire business was premised upon fraud), but in any event, I don't think that figuring out the right amount to penalize someone is a one-to-one correspondence with anything in particular. How on earth would you measure budget expenditure on fraud anyway? Whether one third of the budget is too much (if those numbers accurately reflect anything, which given the corruption in accounting is certainly questionable), who can really say? I guess your opinion is that it is.... I imagine that PM would stay in business even if they paid out that much, but who knows... if you believe that their behavior has been responsible for countless deaths, and if you think that they flat out lie to Congress about it and show no inclination to change anything without being compelled, then I imagine that a reasonable juror could find one third of the budget appropriate.
I personally don't caer about the tobacco companies, but I would suspect, knowing little more than what I read in teh papers, that 28 billion is too large. That's why there are appellate courts, so I'm confident that the system will work "justice" in some form will be served.
Well, I'm off now for a Big Mac and some really hot coffee....
DougC:
Sure, there are warnings and I see that point, but in my mind, that doesn't permit the kind of wholesale deception that the tobacco companies seem to have engaged in for so many years. I really believe that that has to be punished, despite the general public knowledge that smoking is harmful. I would vehemently make that point if its actually true that they added addictive chemicals and hid it. To me, that's differnt than just having a hankerin' for some fries.
But I respect your opinion on that point. Its not the "harangue" I was referring to earlier.
fine, maybe they do deserve 28 billion worth of punitive damages, but why should they go to this idiot and her lawyer (how much 1/3? 1/2??) punitive damages should be paid to the government.
NYer wrote:
(although I personally would argue that thei entire business was premised upon fraud)
Tobacco is only a portion of Phillip Morris' entire buisness. Therefore their entire business is not tobacco related. Phillip Morris also sells foods under the Kraft label that includes:
Brands & Products Kraft Foods Selected Brands
Kraft Foods North America is the North American food business of Philip Morris Companies Inc. It is headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, and traces its history to three of the most successful food entrepreneurs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: J.L. Kraft, Oscar Mayer and C.W. Post. Today, Kraft is the largest packaged food company in the U.S. and Canada.
Beverages
Coffee
Maxwell House
Sanka
Yuban
General Foods International Coffees
Maxim
Soft Drinks
Country Time
Crystal Light
Kool-Aid
Tang
Capri Sun
CAPRI SUN is a registered trademark of Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG, used under license
Post Cereals
Alpha-Bits
Banana Nut Crunch
Blueberry Morning
Cinna-Cluster Raisin Bran
Cranberry Almond Crunch
Frosted Shredded Wheat
Fruit & Fibre
Golden Crisp
Grape-Nuts
Grape-Nuts O's
Great Grains
Honey Bunches Of Oats
Honeycomb
Honey Nut Shredded Wheat
Natural Bran Flakes
Oreo O's
Pebbles
Raisin Bran
Shredded Wheat
Shredded Wheat 'N Bran
Spoon Size Shredded Wheat
Toasties
Waffle Crisp
100% Bran
OREO O'S is a trademark used under license from Nabisco Brands Company
PEBBLES is a registered trademark of Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Licensed by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.
Condiments & Sauces
Kraft mayonnaise
Kraft barbecue and grilling sauces
Miracle Whip salad dressing
Bull's-Eye barbecue and grilling sauces
Kraft Sauceworks cocktail, horseradish, sweet 'n sour and tartar sauces
Confectionery
Altoids mints
Callard & Bowser toffees
La Vie De La Vosgienne
Toblerone and Tobler chocolates
Terry's chocolate orange
Terry's chocolate raspberry
Toblerone chocolate
Dry Desserts
D-Zerta pudding and topping
Jell-O gelatin and pudding
Minute tapioca
Dry Grocery
Baker's chocolate and coconut
Calumet baking powder
Oven Fry coatings
Shake 'N Bake seasoning mix
Sure-Jell and Certo pectins
Ethnic Foods
Taco Bell Dinner Kits, salsa and meal components
TACO BELL is a registered trademark owned and licensed by Taco Bell Corp.
Meals/Side Dishes
Kraft macaroni & cheese
Minute rice
Stove Top stuffing mix
Stove Top Oven Classics packaged dinners
Velveeta shells & cheese
Salad Dressings
Good Seasons mixes
Kraft
Seven Seas
Snacks
Handi-Snacks snack combinations
Kraft
Philadelphia snack bars
Toppings
Dream Whip whipped topping mix
Kraft dessert toppings
Cheese
Parmesan/Romano
Kraft
Kraft Free
Di Giorno
Natural
Kraft
Cracker Barrel
Harvest Moon
Processed American Cheese
Kraft Deli Deluxe
Kraft Singles
Kraft Cheez Whiz
Light N' Lively
Old English
Velveeta
Cream Cheese
Philadelphia
Philly Flavors
Temp-Tee
Other Cheeses
Athenos
Churny
Di Giorno
Hoffman's
Polly-O
Dairy Products
Breakstone's sour cream and cottage cheese
Breyers yogurt
Jell-O yogurt
Knudsen sour cream and cottage cheese
Light N' Lively Low-Fat cottage cheese, yogurt
Kraft dips
BREYERS is a registered trademark owned and licensed by Unilever, N.V.
Desserts Ready-To-Eat
Jell-O gelatin and pudding
Fresh Pasta & Sauces
Di Giorno
Processed Meats
Oscar Mayer hot dogs, cold cuts and bacon
Oscar Mayer Lunchables lunch combinations
Louis Rich turkey products (hot dogs, cold cuts and bacon)
Louis Rich Carving Board sliced meats
Pickles & Sauerkraut
Claussen
Desserts
Cool Whip whipped topping
Pizza
Digiorno
Jack's
Tombstone
California Pizza Kitchen
CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN is a trademark owned and licensed by California Pizza Kitchen, Inc.