Posted on 05/21/2005 12:33:44 PM PDT by Cableguy
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 either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand…not the finger…. Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand -- giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers -- but instead scratching our nose and sending a far different signal." (Click to read the full text of her speech.)
Yet a burst of blog outrage after a May 15 commencement speech has forced the beverage and food giant to post an apology on its home page. That follows an earlier statement from Nooyi in which she restated her love of this "Promised Land" of the United States and protests that she "would never say or do anything to detract from our great nation."
STINGING ASSAULTS. Perhaps Nooyi should have known her remarks would grab attention. She is, after all, is one of the darlings of Corporate America -- a savvy and often witty native of Madras, India, whose rise has been closely followed here and in her home country. But bloggers of all stripes are having a field day with Nooyi's speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
I found an FEC record for a Raj Nooyi, perhaps her husband?, who gave $27,000 to John Kerry for Kerry's presidential campaign.
Anyone know for certain if this Raj Nooyi is Indra's hubby?
Yes, sir. Right away, sir! ;)
Good Marine. LOL!
Thought you might get a charge out of R. Lee supporting FR.
read a short biz bio on Google--nothing about her family tho'
Indra Nooyi, please pick up the Coke bottle shaped courtesy phone........Dan Rather on line one.
Here is the "explanation" from Nooyi that nincompoop Diane Brady believes makes perfect sense:
Nooyi explains:
“As part of this illustration, I assigned five of the world’s continents to the different fingers and thumb. I refer to North America and particularly the U.S. as the middle finger because it is the longest and anchors every function the hand performs. The middle finger also is key to all the fingers working together effectively. That is how I view America’s place of importance in the world,” Nooyi said in a statement.
“Although nothing could be further from the truth, I regret any confusion or concern that I may have inadvertently created. I am proud and honored to call home is a “promised land” that I love dearly. I would never say or do anything to detract from our great nation and its people who have done so much for so many, including myself,” she added.
Nooyi contended that while addressing the 2005 graduating class of Columbia University’s business school in New York she used the analogy of a human hand to illustrate that people in countries around the globe need to join together to make the world work in harmony - just as all the fingers of a hand work together.
“It is an illustration that I learned when I was a student, and that I have shared with others on many different occasions,” Nooyi added.
How naive do you have to be to believe this explanation?
You can only wonder what kinds of things Diane Brady has been talked into, lol.
ping
After doing an internet search, I find that TBell's parent company isn't Pepsi. Pepsi does own KF Chicken, Fritos, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Aquafina, Ruffles, Lipton, Aunt Jemima, Rice a Roni....and STARBUCKS is listed on their websties too!!
Her comments are absurd. She tries to connect each phalange to economics of a country except when she gets to the ring finger and Latin America. All she comes up with romance and the salsa. What's that relationship got to do with economics of the well-being of a continent.
Sounds like a combination of the PR and Marketing departments got together with some Rum and Coke - drank a few and then wrote this 'explanation' for bobo's and rednecks. This is pure hot air.
Thanks. Makes my boycott a bit easier.
'often witty' -- yah, you betcha. She's just a stitch.
I note that they selectively 'forgot' to quote the most relevant - and most juicy - quotes from Ms. Nooyi. Quite typical of the MSM.
Good to know that there are honorable people at pepsi....how sad that the only example this woman could give of US businessmen was of the ugle American type.
As Bill Murray would have put it in Stripes, the world without the US, would be like a foot without a big toe. So the US is the world's big toe, not the middle finger.
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