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What's the cost of not showing up to court? For PepsiCo Inc., it's a $1.26 billion default judgment. A Wisconsin state court socked the company with the monster award in a case alleging that PepsiCo stole the idea to bottle and sell purified water from two Wisconsin men. Now the company is scrambling to salvage the situation. The damages award was handed down on Sept. 30. PepsiCo filed motions to vacate the order and dismiss the claims on Oct. 13, saying it wasn't even aware of the lawsuit until Oct. 6....

Emailers protesting Wal-Mart support for Al Sharpton’s group, the National Action Network, are getting the following response: Walmart supports the National Action Network (NAN) as part of an ongoing effort to partner with national organizations that support issues and initiatives of importance to our customers, and the communities we serve.Our support for NAN is focused on addressing health and wellness issues and other issues important to our customers and associates. Our company will continue to support organizations that can further our mission to help people live better. Emails to PepsiCo are getting this reply: As a global consumer products company...

As we enter the eighth month of our punk presidency, the left’s desperation to enact the slow but sure evolution to statist health care favored in reality by Barack Obama has reached a fever pitch. Not coincidentally, boycott fever seems to be sweeping the nation. Two of them, assisted heavily by establishment media coverage, are quite visible. One that is perhaps as effective is largely unrecognized in elite circles. Finally, the most effective one may be a totally unorganized refusal to buy largely lurking behind the scenes. First, there is the situation with Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI). In an...

The siege continues... Read »

Pepsico's board of directors has heard from a traditional values group about their support of the homosexual agenda -- and its alienation of the company's consumer base. At the Pepsico board meeting in Dallas on Wednesday, Greg Quinlan of PFOX -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays -- offered a resolution to the board calling for full disclosure and accountability on contributions to charitable organizations. He tells OneNewsNow why he called on shareholders to support Resolution No. 6. "Pepsico is giving a million dollars to the homosexual agenda, supporting groups like HRC, the Human Rights Campaign...the ninth-largest of all...

Fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken is to launch a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores in a move which could be extended to other areas of the UK. The menu, which will form part of a trial, will see the stores selling chicken products which have been fully approved by the Halal Food Authority for the first time. KFC has 720 stores across the UK, and bosses said the move was designed to ensure the company was catering to a broader range of customers, following a growing demand for halal products. It is the latest fast food...

PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry. According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels. "If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman. Pepsi Chief Executive Indra Nooyi told Reuters earlier this week the company was considering such a move. Pepsi's...

Liberal blogger David R. Mark recently wrote, “Those that call themselves ‘compassionate conservatives’ would never think to touch their fat-cat supporters. It’s much easier to spin the ‘economic benefits’ of helping huge corporations fatten their bottom lines.� Liberal academic Thomas Frank, in his book What’s The Matter With Kansas?, claims that the corporate world “wields the Republican Party as its personal political sidearm.� Both Mark and Frank express a common view that corporations are major funders of the political right, and that when corporations make contributions to nonprofit advocacy groups they give to groups on the right because those groups...

PepsiCo Inc said on Monday that its president and chief financial officer Indra K Nooyi will become chief executive officer of the world`s second-largest soft-drink maker. Nooyi, 50, is slated to replace CEO Steven Reinemund on October 1. Reinemund, 58, will continue as chairman of the board until his retirement in May 2007. Reinemund has worked for PepsiCo for 22 years, serving as chairman and CEO for five. He said in a statement he is retiring to spend more time with his family. Nooyi`s CFO responsibilities will be divided between PepsiCo International CFO Richard Goodman and Senior Vice President Hugh...

On August 15th, I posted the following in response to Indra Nooyi’s appointment as CEO of Pepsico: This is a copy of the letter I just sent to Pepsico. Dear BOD: I have been a consumer of Pepsi products as long as I can remember. Indeed, my grandfather bought Pepsi stock in the post-depression era which was subsequently willed to my parents. However, that came to an end today when you announced the appointment of Indra K. Nooyi as your new CEO. I have read her speech where she referred to the US as the "middle finger" of a world-wide...

Pepsico Inc. Chief Financial Officer Indra K. Nooyi will replace Steven Reinemund as chief executive, the Pepsi-Cola and snacks company said yesterday, making her the No. 2-ranked female CEO in the Fortune 500.     With her Oct. 1 appointment, Mrs. Nooyi takes her place in an elite group of 11 female CEOs running Fortune 500 companies. Patricia Woertz at agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. ranks first. ADM is ranked 56th in the Fortune 500, while Pepsico, the world's second-largest soft-drink company after Coca-Cola Co., is ranked 61st.     "I'm very excited and at the same time very humbled," she told analysts...

PepsiCo announced today that Steve Reinemund, 58, Chairman and CEO, will retire next May. "After 22 years with PepsiCo, more than five of them as Chairman and CEO... The board of directors has elected Indra K. Nooyi, 50, as CEO effective October 1, 2006. Mr. Reinemund will serve as Executive Chairman of PepsiCo and will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors until his retirement in May, 2007.

A shareholder group is gaining momentum in its efforts to pressure companies to disclose charitable giving -- with donations linked to the Rev. Jesse Jackson... The National Legal and Policy Center has stepped up efforts to require corporations to disclose more details about their donations... The Rainbow/PUSH Citizen Education Fund, which in 2001 provided payments to Jackson's former mistress. The Church Falls, Va.-based non-profit group hit two shareholders meetings this week -- Boeing on Monday and PepsiCo Inc. on Wednesday. "Many shareholders would certainly object to their money going to a controversial and divisive figure like Jesse Jackson," said Peter...

In the never-ending quest to sell more product, corporate advertising Solons scrutinize mountains of demographic data to slice and dice market segments into assorted variables – measurable characteristics like age, income, gender, location and other factors that help to pinpoint likely future customers. There's nothing particularly wrong with this, and in fact, it usually makes a lot of sense. That's why tires, transmission and Super Bowl tickets are advertised in the sports sections of newspapers – preponderantly read by men. White sales, ads for drapes and rug clearances are generally in the women's pages. Starting in the late 1960s, when...

In Surat, Muslims are joining hands to fight the ‘‘great American multinational invasion.’’ Handbills asking the community to shun American multinationals like Coke and Pepsi are being circulated outside mosques and madrasas and in Muslim-dominated areas of the city. The handbills, in the name of Nandurbar-based Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom Akkalkuwa — a renowned centre of learning, seem to have struck a chord for many are boycotting American products in the holy month of Ramzan. The handbills, which carry an appeal to boycott American as well as Jewish products, are being circulated in Rander, Sagrampura, Zampa Bazaar, Chowk Bazaar, Hodi...

Pepsi bids for Danone... Interesting articles from AP and USA Today (with copyright so not posted).

Allstate on list of top 10 pro-'gay' firms Insurance giant target of lawsuit over column critical of homosexuality -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 15, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Allstate, the insurance company being sued by a former employee who was fired after writing a column critical of homosexuality, is one of the top 10 firms supporting the "gay" lifestyle. The list, compiled by Diversity Inc., includes, in ranked order: Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Company, Citigroup, D&T USA, PepsiCo, Merck & Company, Kaiser Permanente, Visteon Corporation, Allstate Insurance and The Coca-Cola Company. As WorldNetDaily reported, a former manager at Allstate's...

WASHINGTON - Gay and transgender workers were more likely than ever to receive domestic-partner health benefits last year, and more companies are adopting nondiscrimination policies to protect them, a leading gay- activist group reported. But gays' workplace gains have slowed since the '90s, according to figures that the group, the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, compiled for its annual "State of the Workplace" report. That's probably because of the rising costs of health benefits. Social conservatives said their resistance to such efforts was a factor. Fortune 500 companies were most likely to protect gay and transgender workers, according to the survey....

Like most of you, I was irritated at un-American comments made by Indra Nooyi (Pepsico's President) last month. I decided to do something about it. I wrote Steve Reinemund, the Chairman and CEO, and explained my displeasure at Ms Nooyi's comments and told him that I thought they were not miscontrued or mis-understood. I also informed Mr Reinemund that I was starting a personal boycott of Pepsi products until I was given a good reason not to. I asked what He was going to do to resolve this matter. Below is Pepsico's response... Typical corporate, butt covering pablum from a...

Memo to Neville Isdell, CEO, Coca-Cola: Major E. is Thirsty! Hey, Coca-Cola: Carpe diem! Seize the Day! Your moment is now! I understand that you don't want to make too unseemly a display of rejoicing at Pepsi's self-immolation, but now is the time to act. I do hate to give away free consulting, but here's what you need to be doing: MEMORANDUM TO E. NEVILLE ISDELL Chairman, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer The Coca-Cola Company I don't know if anybody at the Coca-Cola Company has noticed, but your number one competitor has been in a bit of hot...

WHEN THE HARVARD-YALE FOOTBALL GAME was played in Cambridge last fall, Yale students pulled off one of the great college pranks of all time. During the game a fake Harvard pep squad wearing red and white face paint distributed 1,800 pieces of construction paper on seats covering the Harvard side of the stadium. When turned over in unison by the occupants of the seats, they were purportedly to spell out "Go Harvard." Instead, they spelled out "We suck." (See the Harvard Sucks website for the back story and multimedia presentations.)The Columbia Business School MBA recognition ceremony took place at Madison...

Apparently PepsiCo's President and CFO, Indra Nooyi, thinks the USA is giving "the finger" to all the world. That's right, she was heard to claim that the USA is flipping the bird to every other nation on earth in a commencement address she gave to the graduates of Columbia Business School on May 15th. All commencement speakers have the singular problem of finding a way to give their address a "hook", a way to grab the audience. Indra Nooyi chose as her "hook" an analogy of the five fingers of the hand as representing the five major continents. With apologies...

Dear Mr. Laughter, Thank you for contacting us about Indra Nooyi’s recent commencement speech at Columbia University, which has created a difficult situation. Please know how sorry we are for disappointing you – and how much we appreciate your input. Feedback such as yours has been shared directly with Indra, and she clearly regrets this unfortunate episode. With that in mind, Indra has asked us to share this statement with you: "Following my remarks to the graduating class of Columbia University's Business School in New York City, I have come to realize that my words and examples about America unintentionally...

For a glimpse of the blogosphere's growing power, witness the brouhaha now afflicting PepsiCo (PEP ) over comments earlier this week by President and CFO Indra Nooyi before the graduating class of Columbia University's B-school. Her comparison of the five major continents to the five fingers on her hand -- with the U.S.(not a continent, mind you) being the controversial middle finger and Africa the often-ignored pinkie -- will strike many as entirely innocuous. As she put it: "Each of us in the U.S. -- the long middle finger -- must be careful that when we extend our arm in...

Rush Limbaugh sounds off on controversy as many urge boycotts, firing of president An apology by PepsiCo's president who likened the United States to a middle finger is apparently doing little to calm outrage caused by her remarks. In the wake of WorldNetDaily's coverage of Indra Nooyi's commencement speech to graduates at Columbia Business School in which she compared the U.S. to the middle finger with both positive and negative connotations, consumers are vowing to boycott the company, and the topic is being widely discussed on talk radio.

As I sit here drinking a Diet-Pepsi I'm wondering, why should I drink something that tastes this bad after PepsiCo president Indra Nooyi's speech at Columbia. Americans are dying every day bringing freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan, and killing terrorists who target much of the world to which Nooyi thinks we are giving "the finger." Does Diet Coke really taste that much worse than Diet Pepsi? If Donald Sensing, who actually likes the drink, is considering a boycott, so should I.

Apparently PepsiCo's President and CFO, Indra Nooyi, thinks the USA is giving "the finger" to all the world. That's right, she was heard to claim that the USA is flipping the bird to every other nation on earth in a commencement address (this link is a PDF file) she gave to the graduates of Columbia Business School on May 15th. All commencement speakers have the singular problem of finding a way to give their address a "hook", a way to grab the audience. Indra Nooyi chose as her "hook" an analogy of the five fingers of the hand as representing...

Nooyi apologises for 'slight of hand' to protect PepsiCo TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2005 12:27:06 AM] Sign into earnIndiatimes points MUMBAI: Indra Nooyi, whose ‘America-as-the-middle-finger’ remarks ignited a raging blogstorm in the US, has tendered a formal apology after an initial clarification failed to douse irate Americans calling for a Pepsi boycott. “I appreciate the honest comments that have been shared with me since then, and am deeply sorry for offending anyone,” she said in a statement posted on the Pepsi website. “Over the years I have witnessed and advised others how a thoughtless gesture or comment can...

Pepsi's Nooyi gets the blues from red Repubicans CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2005 11:22:23 AM ] Sign into earnIndiatimes points WASHINGTON: When Pepsico President and CFO Indra Nooyi agreed to deliver the commencement address to Columbia University's MBA class of 2005 last Sunday, she must have recalled her own days as a b-school graduate at Yale in the 1980s, when American college campuses were predominantly liberal. In fact, not much has changed. A recent survey published by the Liberty Institute shows that most American campuses are still deep blue, more so in the Democratic strongholds stateside....

Pepsi president likens U.S. to middle finger Food giant now doing damage control in wake of speech to Columbia grads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 20, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Joe Kovacs © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Food giant PepsiCo is now fizzing in damage-control mode after the company's president likened the U.S. to a middle finger. The remarks by Indra Nooyi, an India-born woman who also serves as PepsiCo's chief financial officer, came during a speech Sunday to graduates at Columbia Business School in New York, some of whom took offense as an anti-American attack.

The remarks by Indra Nooyi, an India-born woman who also serves as PepsiCo's chief financial officer, came during a speech Sunday to graduates at Columbia Business School. Nooyi then went on to say the five major continents in the world can each be represented by a finger on the hand. She said Africa was the pinkie; She said our thumb is Asia; Europe was compared to the index finger; South America, including Latin America, was likened to the ring finger; She said her analogy "leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and in particular, the United States.

An e-mailer forwarded the latest from Pepsico: "Thank you again for contacting us about Indra Nooyi's recent commencement speech at Columbia University, which has created a difficult situation. Overriding everything else, please know how sorry we are for disappointing you - and how much we appreciate your input. Feedback such as yours has been shared directly with Indra, and she clearly regrets the reaction that this unfortunate episode has caused. With that in mind, Indra has asked us to share this statement with you: "Following my remarks to the graduating class of Columbia University's Business School in New York City,...

In the meantime Hugh Hewitt and his audience (of which I am a loyal part) launched a boycott of PepsiCo. Through Hugh and the Blogs, enough pressure was put on Pepsi that Nooyi issued two apologies, both of which Hugh declared insufficient and unacceptable. I urge you to read the statement in its entirety and complete context. When you read this put it in its proper context. Is it really deserving of outrage and a boycott? In my opinion the statements don’t stack up against those of Ward Churchill, Eason Jordon or almost any statement made by New York Senator...

<p>Following my remarks to the graduating class of Columbia University’s Business School in New York City, I have come to realize that my words and examples about America unintentionally depicted our country negatively and hurt people.</p> <p>I appreciate the honest comments that have been shared with me since then, and am deeply sorry for offending anyone. I love America unshakably – without hesitation – and am extremely grateful for the opportunities and support our great nation has always provided me.</p>

We have been inundated with messages responding to our posts on the graduation remarks by PepsiCo president Indra Nooyi at the Columbia Business School MBA recognition ceremony of this past Sunday. Many readers (approximately a third) have written to comment that, unlike our rapporteur -- graduating Columbia MBA Wes Martin -- they did not find Ms. Nooyi's remarks objectionable. I am grateful that PepsiCo posted the remarks today (together with the accompanying statement) and that we can all determine the issue for ourselves based on "the ocular proof." The Harvard-Yale game this year was played in Cambridge. Consistent with some...

This morning we carried the report of newly-minted Columbia MBA Wes Martin on the speech given by PepsiCo president and chief financial office Indra Nooyi at the MBA recognition ceremony this past Sunday. Here is the statement that PepsiCo Director of External Relations Elaine Palmer forwarded to us in response: Thank you for checking with us on Indra Nooyi's speech at Columbia. We saw the item on your blog and are shocked to see that you took Ms. Nooyi's comments to be anything but pro-American and supportive of the United States and its role as a global leader. The characterization...

Pepsico has now released a copy of the speech from the Columbia Business School greaduation. (This is the speech by their president, Indra Nooyi, which some have claimed to be straongly anti-American.)http://www.pepsico.com/Speech-ColumbiaBusinessSchool.pdfFor those of you who haven't been following this in the last few days, the good folks at Powerline have been all over it.

A message from PepsiCo’s President & CFO, Indra Nooyi I recently had the privilege of speaking to the 2005 graduating class of Columbia University’s Business School in New York City. Recognizing that these talented new leaders will influence both America and the world, I tried to provide some advice as they embark on their careers. I chose to speak about the powerful role that America, and we as Americans, hold in the world today. I hoped to encourage these graduates to be sure they make a positive and personal difference as representatives of our great country. In my comments, I...

May 6, 2005 ATLANTA (CP) - The Coca-Cola Co., the world's biggest soft drink maker, said Monday it will begin selling Diet Coke sweetened with sugar substitute Splenda in the spring. Rival PepsiCo Inc., meanwhile, said it plans to reformulate its single-calorie drink Pepsi One with the sweetener as well. Shares of a major manufacturer of Splenda's key ingredient rose on the news. Diet Coke with Splenda will have a distinct label with the name of the sweetener on it as well as a yellow streak. Coca-Cola will continue to sell traditional Diet Coke, which is flavoured with aspartame, separately....

<p>Frito-Lay is closing its Louisville potato- and corn-chip plant as part of a nationwide cost-cutting strategy that will cost 326 local employees their jobs.</p> <p>Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo, said it plans to close the plant Jan. 7. PepsiCo announced the move as part of an effort to streamline its operations and cut 750 jobs.</p>

Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage. Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush- taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot Act. "When he was sharing his political views in a fairly benign manner - supporting...

Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage. Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush- taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot Act. "When he was sharing his political views in a fairly benign manner - supporting...

Concert-goers jam exits after anti-Bush display By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News April 3, 2003 Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage. Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush- taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot...

Some of the country's biggest corporations, concerned about their ability to recruit women and minority applicants, are supporting the University of Michigan in its court battle to preserve affirmative action in opposition to the Bush administration. Dozens of companies, including 3M, Microsoft, Bank One, Steelcase, PepsiCo and Exelon, plan to tell the Supreme Court that universities should be allowed to consider race as a factor in admissions. In the lower court cases against the university, more than 30 companies argued that diversity in college was essential because future employees need the experience of working with people from different backgrounds. Though...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Masterfoods USA is pulling the plug on its first-ever product marketed at Hispanics -- dulce de leche-filled M&M's -- just a year after the candy's launch. The caramel flavor was introduced to the M&M line in August 2001 in five markets including Miami, Los Angeles and San Antonio, and heavily backed by Spanish-language advertising. TV spot The product launched with a spot by Masterfoods Hispanic agency Zubi Advertising, Coral Gables, Fla., in which a doctor tries to hypnotize Dulce de Leche M&M's by swinging a pinwheel-like swirl of chocolate and caramel colors before their eyes. The...

Imagine yourself at a Pepsi-Cola marketing managers meeting. The director of marketing leads off: "We've got to get some more celebrity endorsers for Pepsi. We don't want all those thirsty young people drinking Coke. Who's out there that can bring in the next generation of Pepsi drinkers?" A junior manager raises his hand. "Well, what about this rapper who calls himself Ludacris. We ran some focus groups on him, spent big bucks on demographic research, looked at the Q numbers and found that he's now topping the charts. He can deliver." Another manager speaks up. "But have you ever seen...