Wooosh.
Posted on 08/10/2017 8:19:21 AM PDT by garyb
In a footnote on page 1 and again on page 8 of its third quarter earnings release The Walt Disney Company makes note of a $177 million charge affecting its earnings.
That charge comes from ABC News settling a defamation lawsuit over its reporting of so-called pink slime. Beef Products Inc. (BPI) sued ABC News and correspondent Jim Avila for $1.9 billion dollars over what it claimed were “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about its product known as Lean Finely Textured Beef.
After 5 years of pre-trial, the case went before a South Dakota judge in early June. It was settled a few weeks later. And now we know how much ABC paid at least $177 million, but likely more, which will be covered by insurance. From the earnings report:
Items affecting comparability during the quarter and nine month period ended July 1, 2017 related to a charge, net of committed insurance recoveries, incurred in connection with the settlement of litigation ($177 million).
CNN talked with an lawyer for BPI who says the settlement is the largest amount paid by a media company in a defamation case. “Based on all the research we’ve done, that alone would make it the largest. As I said at the time, we got an extraordinarily favorable settlement,” said attorney Dan Webb.
I have a theory about McDonald’s, that is, everything they make is all one thing, and in the back they have this big vat full of this stuff, these little molds combining, like SPLURT ‘Hamburger!’ SPLURT ‘Malt!’ SPLURT ‘Paper box!’ SPLURT ‘Here’s your change!’
- Steve Martin
McDonald’s is your kind of place
They feed you rattlesnakes
French Fries between your toes
Hamburgers up your nose
The last time I went in there
They fried my underwear
McDonald’s is your kind of place
They invented the term “Oink Slime” if I am not mistaken.
It is a finely ground meat product, and they did not advertise as anything else.
Calling it “slime” is what got them.
DAMMIT SPELL CHECKER!!!!
Have you noticed that people in the United States will accept inferior products (especially food) than almost any other nation on other, and somehow we are (mostly) proud of it!
Independently, I developed a similar theory about the cafeteria food that was served when I lived in college dormitories, namely that most food items served were made from “filler”, a powdered substance that was stored in 55 gallon barrels in the kitchens’ store rooms, and that various colorings and flavorings were added to the “filler” to obtain the different food items.
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