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Evil

dont be evil

Top 10 Best and Worst Reputations In Corporate America

The results of the Harris Interactive survey that tracks the reputations of the 60 most visible companies in America has been released and here they are: Google is tops and Halliburton is not. Not shocking, but there are some interesting findings. Honda is the only car company to make the top 10, and Comcast, Sprint and Northwest Airlines are the least well-regarded in their respective industries. More »

evil booze

The World's 5 Worst Ways To Get Drunk

We had a sense that some readers may have been put off by The Most Expensive Spirits In The World. We realize now that there are many people who are only willing to spend a few pennies to get drunk, even if it means massive organ damage or death. For those people, Cracked has assembled a list of The World's 5 Worst Ways To Get Drunk. The list, inside... More »

videos

Walgreens Thanks Nurse For Rescuing Comatose Diabetic By Sending Her Glucometer Bill

A woman went into a potentially fatal diabetic coma while in line at a New York-area Walgreens. Two nurses and an off duty sheriff's officer happened to be in line. They grab a carton of OJ, some sugar, and a glucometer and manage to raise her blood sugar a little bit. According to their reports, after the paramedics took the patient away, the Walgreens manager came out to demand that the merchandise be paid for, otherwise it's shoplifting. Good thing they were there, otherwise he might have tried to fine the diabetic for blocking the checkout line.

Shame, Shame, Shame: Incident at Walgreens [FOX] (Thanks to Robert!)


insurance

Insurance Company Won't Pay For Child's Leukemia Treatment

Primary Physician Care, a privately-owned insurance company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has now twice refused to pay for a 3-year-old's special leukemia treatment recommended by doctors at Duke University Hospital—even after the child's mother called the insurance company and spoke personally to the president. The child, Paxten Mitchell, suffers from a rare form of the cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL.
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new and exciting products

Zubaz Pants Are Back In All Their Zebra Striped Glory

Attention: If you're one of those guys who still wears Zubaz, I have some good news for you. The company has decided to reform and is producing a limited line of the infamous pants. Finally, you can get some new ones. More »

evil

Payday Lenders Convince Elderly To Assign Social Security Checks To Them, Hand Back Allowances

This writer is quickly growing convinced that payday lenders are the modern version of indentured servitude, trapping consumers in cycles of debt that simply cannot be broken in their lifetimes. The Wall Street Journal published a story last week about payday lenders who make loans to the elderly and effectively take over their Social Security or disability payments, handing back whatever remains after they take their cut. Though it sounds like it should be illegal, payday loan companies are partnering with banks to pull this off.
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evil

Former VP Admits "Enzyte Male Enhancement" Ads Are Complete Fiction

If your BS detector doesn't already go off when you watch commercials for Enzyte "Natural Male Enhancement," then listen to what a former vice president of the company that manufactured the product had to say about it:
James Teegarden Jr., the former vice president of operations at Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, explained Tuesday in U.S. District Court how he and others at the company made up much of the content that appeared in Enzyte ads.
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fraud

Jury Selection For Enzyte Trial Started Today

Jury selection began today for the federal trial against the man, his mom, and the business associates responsible for the "male enhancement" supplement Enzyte, reports WKRC in Cincinnaaa-ti. The charges against Steve Warshak and his Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals company include "committing wire and mail fraud, money laundering, and misbranding." No mention of creating what's possibly the world's most irritating TV ad, but we guess that crime is so great that it's being left for hell to sort out. More »

arbitration

Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit Against Overstock.com Due To Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clause

Did you know that every time you purchase something from Overstock.com you agree to a mandatory binding arbitration clause and have no legal recourse against the company? Even if they illegally disclose too much of your information on your receipt? More »

evil

Scammy "Joke Of The Day" Text Message Company Lets You Sign Anyone Up

Reader Stephen writes in to let us know that he somehow got signed up for a scammy "Joke of the Day" service that charged $9.99 to his Sprint account. More »

Oh, by the way, KamberEdelson, the law firm that filed the class action against Sears over its website exposing customer's purchase histories? They're the same folks who successfully sued Sony BMG for selling all those DRM-riddled music CDs. Sears could be in trouble. [Washington Post]

lawsuits

Sears Sued For Showing Everything Your Friends And Neighbors Have Ever Bought

Reuters reports a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Sears for its managemyhome.com site which allowed you to type in anyone's name and address or phone number and get a record of everything they ever bought at Sears. The suit alleges that in doing so, Sears engaged in "unfair or deceptive" practices. Not too long after our post went up on Friday reporting on the matter, the purchase history feature was turned off. Sears said it had "turned off the ability to view a customer's purchase history on Manage My Home until we can implement a validation process that will restrict access by unauthorized third parties." Yes, a validation process, that would be good to have.

Sears accused of violating consumer fraud law [Reuters] (Thanks to Smitherd)
(Photo: Meghannmarco)


evil

See Everything Your Friends And Neighbors Have Ever Bought At Sears

Want to see all the major appliances and repair services that your friends and neighbors... (and anyone else who you can look up in the phone book) have ever purchased at Sears? More »

potentially evil

Bank Of America Can't Afford Soap For Employee's Break Room

After waving good-bye to billions in the subprime mortgage market and bailing out nefarious mustache-twirling mortgage lender Countrywide, Bank of America says it can no longer afford soap for its employee's break rooms. More »

privacy

Facebook Might Revamp Shopping Stalking Feature

Responding to criticism from MoveOn.org and consumer advocates, Facebook might revamp "beacon," its feature that stalks your purchases throughout the web and broadcasts them to your friends.

BusinessWeek says they have a source close to Facebook that says executives are discussing changes to the controversial marketing tool. More »

Just to ask his mortgage service about his home loan cost $9.99/minute - the same rate charged by many phone sex-operators. But only with the former do you have a chance of really getting schtuped. [Credit Slips]

we know whats good for you

Google: "Online Advertising Benefits Consumers"

Google told the United States Senate that "online advertising benefits consumers" while defending its deal to purchase "advertising tools supplier" DoubleClick:
"The online advertising business is complex, but my message to you today is simple: Online advertising benefits consumers, promotes free speech, and helps small businesses succeed. Google's acquisition of DoubleClick will help advance these goals while protecting consumer privacy and enabling greater innovation, competition, and growth."
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quite obviously evil

Walmarts Tries To Become Your Bank With The "Walmart MoneyCard"

"Would you like to load your check onto a Wal-Mart MoneyCard?" More »