Hillarious!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
This is what the previous post was suppose to include...
Seriously, these guys rule.
Beer drinkers challenge InBev-Anheuser-Busch deal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, September 11th 2008, 9:04 AM
ST. LOUIS — Ten angry beer drinkers are trying to derail the largest brewery takeover in history.
The group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming Belgium-based InBev's $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. would violate U.S. antitrust law if completed as planned in the coming months.
The suit, filed in Anheuser-Busch's hometown of St. Louis, does not seek financial damages but asks a judge to block the deal. The Department of Justice often reviews large acquisitions to determine if they are legal under U.S. law. But attorneys behind the lawsuit said they want to halt the deal regardless of the verdict in Washington.
"The Justice Department can do whatever they want. They have no absolutely no effect on private actions," said Joseph Alioto, the lead attorney in the case. He declined to say Wednesday who was funding the lawsuit.
Anheuser-Busch said it will fight the suit.
"We believe that the claims alleged in the lawsuit are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against them," Gary Rutledge, vice president of legal and government affairs for Anheuser-Busch, said in a brief statement.
Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona would not confirm or deny whether the agency is reviewing the case.
InBev's proposed purchase of Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, was met with a wave or legal challenges when first announced this summer.
Shareholders filed more than a dozen lawsuits, some trying to stop the deal, others trying to hasten it. Anheuser-Busch even sued InBev before it accepted the offer, characterizing the bid as an illegal scheme.
InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito said this summer the deal wouldn't violate U.S. antitrust law because InBev is a niche player in the United States, selling brands like Stella Artois and Beck's. Brito said adding InBev's portfolio to Anheuser-Busch's roughly 50 percent market share would not make a sizable difference in the company's U.S. market dominance.
The suit filed Tuesday challenges the deal's legality on different grounds. It says the merged brewery, to be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, would have a monopoly over beer production in the United States. The lawsuit argues that combining two of the world's biggest breweries will reduce competition.
"If InBev is allowed to purchase Anheuser-Busch, there no longer would be any significant major potential competitor to influence pricing and marketing practices in the United States." the suit says.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are listed as 10 individuals who drink Anheuser-Busch and would be affected if the company raised prices.
Barry Ginsburg said he joined the suit because he is worried how the deal might affect his hometown of St. Louis. He said plaintiffs in the case care about more than paying a little extra for their beer.
"This is bigger than us," Ginsburg said. "We all have a pretty good idea what happens when people have a monopoly, and when it's a foreign company that has a monopoly."
Alioto is also suing to stop the proposed acquisition by Delta Air Lines Inc. of Northwest Airlines Corp. In that case, he represents a group of passengers who claim the deal would violate antitrust law.
Seriously, these guys rule.
Beer drinkers challenge InBev-Anheuser-Busch deal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, September 11th 2008, 9:04 AM
ST. LOUIS — Ten angry beer drinkers are trying to derail the largest brewery takeover in history.
The group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming Belgium-based InBev's $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. would violate U.S. antitrust law if completed as planned in the coming months.
The suit, filed in Anheuser-Busch's hometown of St. Louis, does not seek financial damages but asks a judge to block the deal. The Department of Justice often reviews large acquisitions to determine if they are legal under U.S. law. But attorneys behind the lawsuit said they want to halt the deal regardless of the verdict in Washington.
"The Justice Department can do whatever they want. They have no absolutely no effect on private actions," said Joseph Alioto, the lead attorney in the case. He declined to say Wednesday who was funding the lawsuit.
Anheuser-Busch said it will fight the suit.
"We believe that the claims alleged in the lawsuit are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against them," Gary Rutledge, vice president of legal and government affairs for Anheuser-Busch, said in a brief statement.
Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona would not confirm or deny whether the agency is reviewing the case.
InBev's proposed purchase of Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, was met with a wave or legal challenges when first announced this summer.
Shareholders filed more than a dozen lawsuits, some trying to stop the deal, others trying to hasten it. Anheuser-Busch even sued InBev before it accepted the offer, characterizing the bid as an illegal scheme.
InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito said this summer the deal wouldn't violate U.S. antitrust law because InBev is a niche player in the United States, selling brands like Stella Artois and Beck's. Brito said adding InBev's portfolio to Anheuser-Busch's roughly 50 percent market share would not make a sizable difference in the company's U.S. market dominance.
The suit filed Tuesday challenges the deal's legality on different grounds. It says the merged brewery, to be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, would have a monopoly over beer production in the United States. The lawsuit argues that combining two of the world's biggest breweries will reduce competition.
"If InBev is allowed to purchase Anheuser-Busch, there no longer would be any significant major potential competitor to influence pricing and marketing practices in the United States." the suit says.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are listed as 10 individuals who drink Anheuser-Busch and would be affected if the company raised prices.
Barry Ginsburg said he joined the suit because he is worried how the deal might affect his hometown of St. Louis. He said plaintiffs in the case care about more than paying a little extra for their beer.
"This is bigger than us," Ginsburg said. "We all have a pretty good idea what happens when people have a monopoly, and when it's a foreign company that has a monopoly."
Alioto is also suing to stop the proposed acquisition by Delta Air Lines Inc. of Northwest Airlines Corp. In that case, he represents a group of passengers who claim the deal would violate antitrust law.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
FINALLY!
This may be the only time I've appreciated the stranglehold trial lawyers have on on judicial system. Well, this and Anna Nicole's case.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
WCAX feature on The Bitter Pill and adventure racing
Just in case you missed the WCAX feature on the 2008 MVP Healthcare Bitter Pill, here it is!
Did we mention we won our division? Hell yeah!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
And ride some more...
So after we finished filling up on water (see the series of posts below if this is your first visit), we set out on the remainder of the bike leg. Now when I first looked at the maps at 4:45am, I only had noticed CP6, so I thought to myself, hmmm, just a quick ride up Nebraska Notch road, grab the CP at the start of Old County Road, then blast back down to the TA. Kinda lame, but pretty easy. However, a bit later I noticed on the directions that there was a CP7, so at some point during the trek I checked the map a bit closer, and noticed that there was CP7, at the other end of Old County Road. Now we have some experience with this road, having ridden it (actually pushed it) twice, once during the PPBS and again on a long training ride. And we remembered that it kinda sucked. Some steep uphills, and very muddy conditions. Nevertheless, it was only around noon, and the next cutoff wasn't until 3:30, so we had plenty of time, so off we went...
The first part of the ride was no big deal, out Cotton Brook Road and up Nebraska Notch. A bit of a climb, especially after 7+ hours of straight out moving, but we made pretty good time up to the turn onto Old County Road (which apparently a number of other teams had trouble finding), and got CP6 no problemo. This is when the "fun" began. Old County road peetered out after a few hundred yards, and then starts with some steep action. Then, we got to an absolutely hellish section. Someone has been doing work on this road/trail with an excavator or bulldozer, and after the previous weeks of rain, it was an absolute quagmire. I'm talking about ankle deep, shoe sucking, tire dragging mud. Spirits got pretty low on this leg, perhaps our lowest in the race, but there was nothing we could do but slog through it, pushing our bikes as we went. After a time the mud cleared up, and after some more climbing, we were finally able to hop on the bikes and start off, first on a flat, then a rough, fun downhill doubletrack. Good to get the adrenaline going!!! We hit the bottom of the hill and CP7, and then headed out on to roads again, pushing our bikes up another hill in front of Trapp Family Lodge, and then riding a pretty fun and scary dirt road downhill, back to Cotton Brook and the TA.
Arriving back at the CP to ditch our bikes and head out to the swim and paddle, we had no idea where we stood in the race, not having seen another team in at least 2 hours. Had we been passed while filling our water? Had another team somehow gotten ahead of us? Well, I have to tell you we were flabergasted to learn at the CP that we were only the 8th team to come through, and the 1st in our division. Does this mean we would win our division? Not necessarily, since we still had to trek about a mile to the water, swim, and paddle to as many CPs as we could before the finish. So, we raced through the TA, all the time thinking other teams would roll in while we were changing, and got out of there and headed off to the last section. And that's where we'll pick up next time...
Grambo
So after we finished filling up on water (see the series of posts below if this is your first visit), we set out on the remainder of the bike leg. Now when I first looked at the maps at 4:45am, I only had noticed CP6, so I thought to myself, hmmm, just a quick ride up Nebraska Notch road, grab the CP at the start of Old County Road, then blast back down to the TA. Kinda lame, but pretty easy. However, a bit later I noticed on the directions that there was a CP7, so at some point during the trek I checked the map a bit closer, and noticed that there was CP7, at the other end of Old County Road. Now we have some experience with this road, having ridden it (actually pushed it) twice, once during the PPBS and again on a long training ride. And we remembered that it kinda sucked. Some steep uphills, and very muddy conditions. Nevertheless, it was only around noon, and the next cutoff wasn't until 3:30, so we had plenty of time, so off we went...
The first part of the ride was no big deal, out Cotton Brook Road and up Nebraska Notch. A bit of a climb, especially after 7+ hours of straight out moving, but we made pretty good time up to the turn onto Old County Road (which apparently a number of other teams had trouble finding), and got CP6 no problemo. This is when the "fun" began. Old County road peetered out after a few hundred yards, and then starts with some steep action. Then, we got to an absolutely hellish section. Someone has been doing work on this road/trail with an excavator or bulldozer, and after the previous weeks of rain, it was an absolute quagmire. I'm talking about ankle deep, shoe sucking, tire dragging mud. Spirits got pretty low on this leg, perhaps our lowest in the race, but there was nothing we could do but slog through it, pushing our bikes as we went. After a time the mud cleared up, and after some more climbing, we were finally able to hop on the bikes and start off, first on a flat, then a rough, fun downhill doubletrack. Good to get the adrenaline going!!! We hit the bottom of the hill and CP7, and then headed out on to roads again, pushing our bikes up another hill in front of Trapp Family Lodge, and then riding a pretty fun and scary dirt road downhill, back to Cotton Brook and the TA.
Arriving back at the CP to ditch our bikes and head out to the swim and paddle, we had no idea where we stood in the race, not having seen another team in at least 2 hours. Had we been passed while filling our water? Had another team somehow gotten ahead of us? Well, I have to tell you we were flabergasted to learn at the CP that we were only the 8th team to come through, and the 1st in our division. Does this mean we would win our division? Not necessarily, since we still had to trek about a mile to the water, swim, and paddle to as many CPs as we could before the finish. So, we raced through the TA, all the time thinking other teams would roll in while we were changing, and got out of there and headed off to the last section. And that's where we'll pick up next time...
Grambo
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