Random Announcements
-
These things do happen, I found myself giving a lecture about dyeing techniques and supply chain ethics in a fabric store this morning…...then I realised what I was doing and felt a bit daft
-
Jose Andres is ripping through Japan right now and its quite entertaining if you follow him on facebook. Infectious enthusiasm for all the local cuisines. In Hokkaido now.
-
Looking at the internet on my phone after beer is a bad idea, I almost deleted the Selfie thread last night
-
Looking at the internet on my phone after beer is a bad idea, I almost deleted the Selfie thread last night
Would certainly win you Mod points :P. Maybe we need a captcha for your moderation actions to ensure you're sober
-
Nah, just smaller fingers or a phone the size of an SUV
-
I'm at the circus, and I'm reminded how much I despise clowns.
-
They hate you too, I heard them whispering earlier.
-
How the feck can anyone look at the US legal system and think this is a reasonable outcome…..
RJ Reynolds told to pay wife of cancer victim $23.6bn
-
That is insane.
-
Short answer- that's a screw up that won't last. The compensatory damages awarded were $16 million, the rest were punitive. It's well established that punitive damages have to be proportional to the compensatory. Reynolds will appeal and the total will get cut massively, possibly to even less than $16 million.
Of course, that won't make international headlines…
-
Well, the guy died in 1998, after 20+ years smoking, so the argument was that the company was deceptive back in the 70s and 80s, when he got hooked. Then he was addicted and couldn't stop. Since it was a civil case with a 6 person jury, they only had to convince 4 people that Reynolds was probably mostly responsible. It's not a bad case, just a ridiculous award, which, like I said, won't last when Reynolds appeals.
-
Even if the timing makes it valid, I still think this sets a strange precedent. Are alcoholics with liver failure going to start bringing cases against liquor and beer companies? Surely their advertising has remained more agressive and deceptive for longer than tobacco. RJR has billions to burn, so even if they were forced to pay the whole penalty it would be sort of symbolic–but I think personal responsibility is a huge thing to ignore, even when we're talking about addiction.
