Corporate evil

[OutByEaster?]

It's sometimes not possible to blame the political interface for the actions of corporations - sometimes you have to open a thread so that you can directly call them out on being the evil nasty bloodsuckers they are.

As a starter, here's a supermarket threatening a nation because the supermarket is claiming it legally owns the nations name.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38201571

Quote

 

The supermarket Iceland claims that the Icelandic government is "not willing to hold any serious discussion" to reach agreement in a trademark dispute. 

The country has launched legal action against the chain, claiming it prevents the nation's firms from describing their products as Icelandic.

Iceland Foods owns the European trademark for using the name Iceland.

The company sent a delegation to the capital Reykjavik on Friday but no agreement was reached.

"[The talks] got nowhere because it rapidly became clear that the Icelandic authorities have no interest in reaching a compromise," said founder and chief executive Malcolm Walker.

 

From the sectionptio

 

 

 

 

 

The arrogance of the supermarket chain here really boils my piss.

 

[Xela]

Staggering isn't it? 

I don't know why the country just doesn't ignore the trademark. What is the shop going to do? 

[Davkaus]

Everything that anyone who works at Nestle has ever said or done. 

 

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

The country Iceland should gladly change its name so that people don't associate it with a shit, low end supermarket that sells cheap, bad quality food to people on low incomes.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Morley_crosses_to_Withe

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Who the **** granted the supermarket Iceland a trademark on the name of a **** country in the first place? 

Ridiculous. 

[OutByEaster?]

12 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Everything that anyone who works at Nestle has ever said or done. 

My favourite current Nestle fact is that they bottle 68,000 gallons of Californian water a day - that's 68,000 gallons of water in an area with incredible problems with drought. 

When asked they say this:

Quote

 

Why won’t you stop bottling water in California?

Because people need to drink water. The water we use to make our products is not wasted. It is used efficiently and effectively, and bottled so that it can be drunk as part of a healthy diet. When people are on the move in a place where tap-water is not available, bottled water is a healthy, convenient drink - an alternative to sugary drinks.

 

 

http://www.nestle.com/ask-nestle/environment/answers/our-operations-in-california

That opening sentence should really say "Because people need to pay to drink water" in line with how I believe they think. Essentially their answer is - 'we're not wasting water, we're helping make it available' - they skip the bit with massive profits and the destruction of the state.

Oh and incidentally, how much do Nestle pay California for the rights to all that water? A pretty penny you'd think - something to adequately compensate the millions of people that live there for the loss of one of their most fundamental needs - well....

$524 a year.

I haven't missed an "m" or a "k" off that - they pay five hundred and twenty four dollars a year for the rights to the 36 million gallons they took out last year.

 

[Xann]

3 minutes ago, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

... low end supermarket that sells cheap, bad quality food to people on low incomes.

Tbf -The Iceland guy made a serious attempt at raising their game with food standards for his customers.

When they abandoned the store in droves, it was back to turkey twizzlers.

 

Iceland don't belong in the same category as Goldman Sachs, Clear Channel, Monsanto and a list as long as your arm.

[chrisp65]

There is something slightly odd about the Iceland thing.

Quote

"Iceland Foods had Icelandic majority shareholders and Icelandic representatives on its board for seven years to 2012. At no point in all those years did any representative of Iceland (the country) raise the slightest concern about our company's branding," 

Why, when they were majority shareholders making a nice profit, did they do nothing?

Now they aren't in charge, it's a problem.

Not sure that's worthy of the title 'corporate evil'?

[Genie]

6 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

There is something slightly odd about the Iceland thing.

Why, when they were majority shareholders making a nice profit, did they do nothing?

Now they aren't in charge, it's a problem.

Not sure that's worthy of the title 'corporate evil'?

I agree, clearly more to the story than first appears.

[Xela]

Iceland the country should just change its name to Farmfoods to really confuse matters. 

[Genie]

1 minute ago, Xela said:

Iceland the country should just change its name to Farmfoods to really confuse matters. 

Or Iceland Salmonella

[HanoiVillan]

Iceland the country already has a name -  Ísland. 

The issue here seems to be at least in part that they are trying to copyright an English word (though I admit I haven't researched the story thoroughly, so maybe it isn't as important as I think after all). 

[peterms]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

That opening sentence should really say "Because people need to pay to drink water" in line with how I believe they think.

They do indeed.

Quote

The current Chairman and former CEO of Nestlé, the largest producer of food products in the world, believes that the answer to global water issues is privatization. This statement is on record from the wonderful company that has peddled junk food in the Amazon, has invested money to thwart the labeling of GMO-filled products, has a disturbing health and ethics record for its infant formula, and has deployed a cyber army to monitor Internet criticism and shape discussions in social media.

This is apparently the company we should trust to manage our water, despite the record of large bottling companies like Nestlé having a track record of creating shortages:

    Large multinational beverage companies are usually given water-well privileges (and even tax breaks) over citizens because they create jobs, which is apparently more important to the local governments than water rights to other taxpaying citizens. These companies such as Coca Cola and Nestlé (which bottles suburban Michigan well-water and calls it Poland Spring) suck up millions of gallons of water, leaving the public to suffer with any shortages. (source)

But Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, believes that “access to water is not a public right.” Nor is it a human right. So if privatization is the answer, is this the company in which the public should place its trust?

Here is just one example, among many, of his company’s concern for the public thus far:

    In the small Pakistani community of Bhati Dilwan, a former village councilor says children are being sickened by filthy water. Who’s to blame? He says it’s bottled water-maker Nestlé, which dug a deep well that is depriving locals of potable water. “The water is not only very dirty, but the water level sank from 100 to 300 to 400 feet,” Dilwan says. (source)

Why? Because if the community had fresh water piped in, it would deprive Nestlé of its lucrative market in water bottled under the Pure Life brand.

 

 

 

[leemond2008]

2 hours ago, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

The country Iceland should gladly change its name so that people don't associate it with a shit, low end supermarket that sells cheap, bad quality food to people on low incomes.

In all fairness I'm one of those people on low incomes and do a lot of my shopping at iceland, it's not great food but a lot of the time it's what I can afford and needs must 

[StefanAVFC]

This Carrier deal is an example of corporate evil too.

They're still moving jobs (more than were 'saved')

The jobs 'saved' are low-skill, high-turnover.

They shut the unions out of the discussions.

They're getting huge financial incentives to stay in Indiana (paid for by the state taxpayers)

 

Yet both the Prez and the company look like saints when they've **** everyone over.

[OutByEaster?]

I apologise a little to Iceland on the name rights thing. I'm a pissy sod today. However, I'm happy we've got a thread started for when I'm next annoyed.

 

[mjmooney]

I assume the Iceland thing is a publicity stunt. 

[darrenm]

Apple are huge scumbags. I'll do a rundown of why when I've got access to a keyboard.

[Chindie]

Apple Defence Force Activated.

Godspeed, darrenm.

 

[Xela]

1 hour ago, darrenm said:

Apple are huge scumbags. I'll do a rundown of why when I've got access to a keyboard.

Any worse then Google, Amazon or Microsoft? 

Genuine question.