"Have a Coke and Some Cash"

A nonprofit founded to combat obesity says the $1.5 million it received from Coke has no influence on its work.

But emails obtained by The Associated Press show the world's largest beverage maker was instrumental in shaping the Global Energy Balance Network, which is led by a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Coke helped pick the group's leaders, edited its mission statement and suggested articles and videos for its website.

This is more of a follow-up to an earlier story. Coke said that its money was an "unrestricted gift", but they sure got into the nitty-gritty with the bribe-takers, to the point of ensuring that their logo didn't have any blue in it.

But I'm not sure that Coke is the main evildoer in this story. The researchers may have approached Coke with a proposal, which makes them different from a whore at a truck-stop only in degree.

Coke essentially says that, having been caught buying off researchers, they'll stop doing it. At least this time. Their "Chief Health and Science Officer" has resigned-- ayup. Coke having a senior executive working on health issues would be almost as laughable as Budweiser or RJ Reynolds having a similar position on their company flowcharts.

(E-mail excerpts here)