CORPORADOS

MULTIMILLIONAIRE TAKES ON MOVIE CORPORADOS IN DOWNLOADING CASE

WIRED - Last November, Shawn Hogan received an unsettling call: A lawyer
representing Universal Pictures and the Motion Picture Association of
America informed the 30-year-old software developer that they were suing
him for downloading Meet the Fockers over Bit Torrent. Hogan was
baffled. Not only does he deny the accusation, he says he already owned
the film on DVD. The attorney said they would settle for $2,500. Hogan
declined.

Now he's embroiled in a surprisingly rare situation – a drawn-out legal
fight with the MPAA. . . Hogan, who coded his way to millions as the CEO
of Digital Point Solutions, is determined to change this. Though he
expects to incur more than $100,000 in legal fees, he thinks it's a
small price to pay to challenge the MPAA's tactics. "They're completely
abusing the system," Hogan says. "I would spend well into the millions
on this."

http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/start.html?pg=3

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NW AIRLINES ADVISES FIRED EMPLOYEES TO TRY DUMPSTER DIVING

REUTERS - Bankrupt Northwest Airlines Corp. advised workers to fish in
the trash for things they like or take their dates for a walk in the
woods in a move to help workers facing the ax to save money. The No. 5
U.S. carrier, which has slashed most employees' pay and is looking to
cut jobs as it prepares to exit bankruptcy, put the tips in a booklet
handed out to about 50 workers and posted for a time on its employee Web
site.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/4119078.html

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BIG RETAILERS WANT PIECE OF ORGANIC PIE

KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS DALLAS MORNING NEWS - When Wal-Mart Stores
recently promised to boost the number of organic foods it stocks, the
announcement sent shock waves rolling among producers and distributors
of organic products. Large corporations have been quietly snapping up
organics' marquee names for years. Many organic farms already are
industrial size. And organic food has long been trucked cross-country,
gobbling up gasoline along the way.

But the pronouncement by the world's largest retailer sent a signal that
big business, lured by escalating demand and fat margins, wants to claim
an even greater slice of a niche long associated with the Birkenstock
bunch.

"Large companies see the growth and understand consumer attitudes," said
Joe Scalzo, president and chief executive of White Wave Foods, a
subsidiary of Dallas-based Dean Foods that makes Horizon and Silk
organic milk. "They see an opportunity to market brands in the
better-for-you space.". . .

Earlier this year, Wal-Mart said it would nearly double the number of
organic items it stocks --- from 109 to 189 --- at 374 stores in
neighborhoods most likely to house organic shoppers. It also plans to
expand offerings in stores it thinks are underserved. . .

Nearly 5,000 new organic items sprouted on retail shelves in 2005 --- a
60% increase from 2004, according to SPINS, a San Francisco-based market
research and consulting firm for the natural products industry.

It was the biggest one-year jump since at least 2000 but was still a
small portion of the 29,343 new items introduced last year, based on the
Food Marketing Institute's tally.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-organicsbiz_
20bus.ART.State.Edition2.3e865cf.html

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THE DRUG AD PROBLEM

JONATHAN ROWE, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - The Kaiser Family Foundation
found that every dollar drug companies spend on ads brings more than
four dollars in additional sales. But for most others, the result has
been soaring medical insurance costs, toxic side effects, and new
tensions between doctors and patients, who increasingly badger doctors
for the drugs they've seen on TV.

One study found that 30 percent of Americans have made these demands. A
Minnesota doctor complained recently that patients now push him for
sleep medications "when maybe they just need to go to bed on a more
regular basis."

But perhaps the worst part is that prescription drug ads have immersed
us all in a pervasive drug culture that seems to have no boundaries. We
are being reduced to helpless "consumers" who have no capacity to deal
with challenges other than by taking a pill. Last month Tim Pawlenty,
the Republican governor of Minnesota, called for a moratorium on
prescription drug ads. It's about time.

For most of the past half century, there were tight restrictions on the
general advertising of prescription drugs. These require doctors'
guidance for a reason; so why should Madison Avenue get involved? But
under heavy pressure from the drug and advertising industries, the
government backed down in the late 1990s, and that started the tsunami.

Spending on drug ads for the general public more than tripled between
1996 and 2001. It is now some $4 billion a year, which is more than
twice what McDonald's spends on ads. In 1994, the typical American had
seven prescriptions a year, which is no small number. By 2004, that was
up to 12 a year. Homebuilders are touting medicine cabinets that are
"triple-wide.". . .

More than 200 medical school professors recently called for an end to
prescription drug ads, and . . . close to 40 health and seniors groups
have joined them. Even the American Medical Association, many members of
which have close ties to the pharmaceutical industry, has urged
restrictions. Washington should listen to these doctors. As Governor
Pawlenty put it, we need to put "the decision making back where it
should be - on an informed basis between the patient and the doctor."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0821/p09s01-coop.html