Complain about a product or service

Consumer News & Alerts

June 4, 2007

FREE PRESS, SPEECH, MOVIES, MUSIC
Slowly, ever so slowly, the locked-down-tight media monopolists are coming to grips with the long-term effects of digitized content. The boardroom dream was that going digital would make it possible to charge not just for the purchase of a book, movie, recording or software program but also for each subsequent use, even though nothing is consumed in the listening, reading, etc., process. In fact, the opposite is becoming the case: once something is out the door, it may as well be sitting on the corner of 42nd and Broadway, free for the taking.

The reality of this is tough for media oligopolists to deal with, a topic we examine in this week's cover stories. In Consumers Revolt Against High-Priced Media, Tom Glaister takes a look at consumers' rapidly changing ideas about intellectual property. In Blogger, Journalist, Citizen: Which is Which? Martin H. Bosworth looks at it from what we might call the supply side -- how free is a free press when everyone can be a journalist?

Americans, perhaps having bought into the argument that freedom of the press belongs to the company that owns one, tend to yawn at First Amendment arguments, thinking it's just another argument about special interest. But the right to speak, write, blog and cough up search results affects everyone, even those who only read, watch and listen. In many countries, it's still not uncommon to have only a handful of officially-sanctioned media outlets and search engines, making for a pretty dull and oppressive existence.

FOOD, FEED, TEETH
It's getting downright scary to put anything in your mouth. The latest scare, like so many others, involves toxic chemicals from China, this time in toothpaste. We reported a few weeks ago that foreign toothpaste was being widely sold in U.S. discount stores and now it turns out that some toothpaste from China contains a poison used in anti-freeze. The feds are advising consumers to throw away -- "discard" in bureaucrat-speak -- any Chinese toothpaste they may have lying around. We'd go a step farther and recommend you throw out any toothpaste not labeled in English.

The poisoning of people and pets is giving China a bad name. In the U.S., more public relations practitioners would be pressed into service. But they take more direct action in China. The government, wanting to show it was getting tough on poisoning, sentenced the former head of its food and drug safety agency to death for "massive corruption." The former head of the FDA in this country recently pleaded guilty to financial improprieties and got two months' probation.

Taking a little of the heat off China, two U.S. companies recalled melamine-tainted animal feed. The recalled products are binding agents used to make pelleted feed for cattle, sheep, goats, fish and shrimp.

Meat Packer Clashes With Feds In a reversal of the usual food-safety dispute, a meat packer wants to test all of its meat for Mad Cow disease, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture won't allow it. Why? It's policy, that's why.

Old Peanut Butter Packs a Punch Have you forgotten all about the peanut butter poisonings of a few months ago? Don't. People are still being sickened by contaminated jars of Peanut Pan and Great Value peanut butter. After all, packaged foods stay in the pipeline for months -- or longer. Just because something is on the grocery shelf today doesn't mean it's safe. Watch for the dread "2111" on the lid.

GAS PRICES SETTLE IN ABOVE $3
A survey finds consumers are still upbeat about the state of things, although those in the lower-income brackets say high gas prices are cutting into their budget for essentials. Even so, consumers are complaining less than they did last May when the price of gas was 34 cents lower. Why? Good question.

Illinois, by the way, has displaced California as the state with the highest average gas prices. A gallon of regular self-serve sells for an average of $3.95 in Chicago. The cheapest regular gasoline is found in Bridgeton, New Jersey for $2.68. However, a recent spin on the Garden State Parkway reminded us that the state-sanctioned service stations along the toll road have some of the meanest, foulest, surliest attendants this side of the Bada Bing. If the state can't do a better job of policing itself, it should get out of the service station business. A little competition might do wonders.

FORD SPITS AT ITS MECHANICS
Since 2002, consumers have been telling us about their Ford trucks spitting out their spark plugs, causing engine damage that can cost thousands of dollars to repair. Ford denies it ever heard of any such thing and stands idly by, offering no assistance to those whose warranties have expired. For truck owners still under warranty, the burden is increasingly falling on Ford mechanics, who are now complaining to us that it's difficult for them to do a decent repair job with the miserly payment Ford provides.

Saab, Volvo Convertibles Ace Safety Test The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety pulled a surprise inspection of leading convertible brands recently. It found Saab and Volvo offering good occupant protection while Pontiac, Ford, BMW and Audi did't do as well. This is important since consumers are buying more convertibles lately. For those who still have a roof over their heads, the bad news is that the feds have delayed new roof strength standards for, what else, more study. The new standards are supposed toreduce deaths from rollovers.

U.S. Highway Deaths Down Slightly Congratulating itself for its efforts, the U.S. Transportation Department notes a slight dip in highway deaths. Noting that half of those killed weren't wearing seat belts, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters congratulated New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, nearly killed when his SUV crashed while running other drivers off the road as it sped toward a meeting with a disgraced disc jockey and the Rutgers women's basketball team. What was so praiseworthy in his conduct? Why, his admission that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, of course. Ms. Peters conveniently overlooked the failure of her boss, President Bush, to buckle up while driving around his Texas ranch.

FCC WANTS TO GET 911 UP TO SPEED
It took the telephone industry years to deploy Enhanced 911 -- the kind that tells dispatchers where you're calling from. Just when the job was about finished, cell phones came along and bollixed up the works. The problem with cell phones is that they don't provide the exact location of the caller. Same goes for most VoIP service. It was nevertheless a surprise when the Federal Communications Commission, which has done little to rock the boat the last few years, proposed strict new rules that would update E911 technology and set a timetable for implementation. The proposal has the telephone industry howling but the FCC has been under pressure from first responders concerned about the fragile nature of the cellular network.

ASTHMA OUT OF CONTROL
As a lad of 7 or so, your editor was very reluctantly practicing his piano lesson late one afternoon when a neighbor lady stumbled, wheezing, into our living room, where she collapsed and died of an asthma attack. As a result, I've never shared the prevailing view that asthma is no big deal. It's a serious disease that can rapidly escalate from the chronic-annoyance to life-threatening stage. It's thus alarming that a new study finds fewer than half of asthma patients have the problem under control. Patients in trouble include those with health insurance who see a doctor regularly. The study's authors suggest doctors need to spend more time tailoring an individual treatment program for each patient.

More health news ...

• Institute of Medicine Calls for Far-Reaching Anti-Smoking Campaign U.S. still records 440,000 smoking deaths annually and much more needs to be done to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, the Institute found.

• Are Farmers More Likely to Get Parkinson Disease? Genetics plays a big role but farmers and other agricultural workers do show an increased risk.

• FDA Issues Flu Vaccine Guidelines Feds hope innovation and technology will compensate for vaccine shortage.

• Summer Brings New E. coli Threat U.S. beaches "dirtier than you think."

SCAMS & OUTRAGES

• IRS Email Nasty collection warning is even nastier than it looks.

• Military Spouses Caller claims to be from the Red Cross, tries to get personal information.

• "Fountain of Youth" Promoters sold supposed human growth hormone.

• Magazine Pitchmen Promised free valuable coupons, but consumers got only subscriptions they did not want.

RECALLS

Back to the top |