The blotter: Week ending 7 March 2010

By Michael Fraase

Sunday, 07 March 2010 01:24PM CST

Section: Blotter

Business

Janis Joplin blotter acidBob Collins, writing in his news cut blog for Minnesota Public Radio, cites the Economist and US News with the first wave of a potential political push for delayed retirement. Collins notes, “the push to delay retirement is gaining some favor at a time when many older workers are being forced into early retirement because they’re losing their jobs.” Here’s the nut graf from US News: “The number of unemployed Americans ages 55 and older expressing interest in finding a job has grown by 60 percent since the end of 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But finding work has proved difficult. The unemployment rate for older job seekers has more than doubled since 2007 to 7.2 percent in December 2009, and the average duration of the job search for older workers was 36 weeks in November—far longer than the 28 weeks most younger workers remain unemployed.”

ESRD

Gary Schwitzer, tenured University of Minnesota Journalism School associate professor, announced his resignation via Twitter. Schwitzer wants to focus on helping people understand issues related to healthcare and devote more time to healthnewsreview.org (hey, full-text for your RSS feed would be nice) which provides analysis of healthcare journalism. Last year, Schwitzer helped develop a health journalism program for the University’s J-School. It’s been shelved, because, after all, who needs quality healthcare journalism.

Intellectual property

Apple this week filed a series of lawsuits against HTC, the manufacturer of Google’s Nexus One smartphone which runs Google’s Android operating system. Apple claims infringement of 20 of its patents. The question is why Google wasn’t named in the actions.

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Limits to growth in food co-ops?

By Michael Fraase

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 06:15PM CST

Section: Sustainability

CapitalismIn his editorial in the March-April 2010 issue of Utne Reader, “When Growth Isn’t Good,” founding editor Eric Utne laments the growth and necessary relocation of his neighborhood food co-op. The Linden Hills Co-op, in southwest Minneapolis, is one of the co-op movement’s shining stars, doing more than US$9 million each year in business and boasting more than 5,000 member-owners.

Utne’s grief comes from the potential impact of the co-op’s relocation on other locally owned small businesses in the neighborhood. And from the move from a small 5,500 square foot intimate boutique-like retail space to a larger more impersonal, more commercial space. Utne’s also unhappy about the Co-op’s management not communicating effectively about its growth plans.

But as Barth Anderson, writing as El Dragon, points out in his “The Utne Reader: Small grocery stores too big” response, Utne is thinking only about the micro element of a much larger picture. Anderson quotes Greg Reynolds of Riverbend Organic Farm as saying, “It’ll be a good bump for the co-op and it’s going to be a good bump for everyone who sells to them.” Anderson reports the Linden Hills Co-op is Riverbend’s fifth biggest customer and bought 33% more produce last year than it did the year before. “As a customer of mine,” Reynolds told Anderson, “Linden Hills Co-op is growing fast, and after a big move like this, they’ll buy more. They’re a fast-growing co-op, and that’s good.”

What’s “enough” for Utne clearly isn’t for either Linden Hills Co-op or Riverbend Organic Farm. In order for the entire organic foodchain to be sustainable, co-ops like Linden Hills Co-op and organic farms like Riverbend have to grow larger than Utne would like. One of the primary principles of the co-op movement—as Elizabeth Archerd, member services manager for the Wedge Co-op (which has annual sales US$30 million and occupies 11,000 square feet), points out in the comments to Anderson’s article—is voluntary and open membership. Co-ops are forced to grow because they don’t turn member-owners away.

It’s entirely possible that the Linden Hills Co-op could have communicated more effectively with regard to its growth plans, but I’ve got to say that I live in Saint Paul, and I’ve been hearing about the Linden Hills Co-op wanting to relocate to larger space for several years.

Are big box co-ops coming? If they’re cooperatively owned and managed, it really shouldn’t matter. Bringing good, affordable, sustainably produced food to more people should be seen as a good thing.

Disclosure: From 2002-06 I was Utne Reader‘s online managing editor and webmaster. I know Eric Utne personally and consider him a friend. None of that makes him any less wrong about this issue.

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The blotter: Week ending 28 February 2010

By Michael Fraase

Sunday, 28 February 2010 03:23PM CST

Section: Blotter

Business

Janis Joplin blotter acidCitiBank blocked fabulis.com’s bank account for “objectionable content on their blog.” Fabulis.com appears to be setting up a rather innocuous travel portal for gay men.

Censorship

Iceland wants to become a haven for media freedom—under the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative—similar to the way that Delaware is a corporate haven. The idea is advancing, so far unopposed, in the Icelandic parliament. The initiatives core concepts—press freedom, source protection, and immunity for carriers—aim at forming the planet’s strongest journalism and whistleblower protection laws.

ESRD

Tracy Lynn Kaply’s blog, Kaply, Inc. is the best dialysis blog going. I’d say I just adore her attitude, but she’d probably punch me in the tits.

Intellectual property

Microsoft files DMCA notice on Cryptome alleging copyright infringement of the software giant’s surveillance compliance document. Cryptome owner John Young files a DMCA counterclaim, but Network Solutions takes Crytome offline and locks domain. Microsoft backs down a few days later.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) internet chapter leaked. The leaked material indicates an intention to override the WIPO and to use three-strikes as a model. ACTA negotiations are happening in private, without transparency or public input. Cory Doctorow’s “Copyright Undercover: ACTA & the Web” provides the best overview I’ve found.

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