Filmmakers fight against piracy

Some filmmakers, represented by the U.S. Copyright Group (USCG), have taken legal action against 20,000 consumers. The filmmakers accuse them of sharing and downloading copyrighted material without permission.

Since the first lawsuit against pirates in 2000, only a few of them pirates were convicted. But the USCG warned that this is just the beginning. They will start more cases against individual consumers.

Piracy has amazingly increased in the last decades. Daily millions of films and songs are downloaded all over the world. The pirates are often very young, mostly between 16 and 24 years old. Filmmakers and musicians are fed up with illegal downloading. Everybody can download their work without paying for it. They definitely want to put an end to these illegal practices.

We all know that illegal downloading is a violation of the law yet we do it nearly every day. Why? We have the feeling that no one can catch us. Do you know people who are already accused of piracy? I don’t! There is no fear. So why should we stop downloading?

I understand the frustration of musicians and filmmakers, they don’t deserve this. But I think it’s already too late to stop it, piracy will only grow more. Those recent lawsuits will punish just a limited part of the illegal downloaders.

By Liesbeth Alliet

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/04/film_piracy.html

How to deal with a job loss

Nowadays there are a lot of workers who lost their jobs. If this happens to you, the best thing you can do, is making a plan. Here are some tips you can use which might help you in this unfortunate situation.

Do not panic

If you lose your job and you focus on ‘how will we eat, where will we live’, it will be more difficult to dig out from this situation. The best thing that you can do is to stay calm. You must know that you are not the first person in this situation. Come together with other persons who lost their job can be a good idea. Don’t focus on the negatives but try to help each other to find a way trough this difficult time.

Cut expenses

You need to focus on the essentials to survive with your family and don’t spend on the extras that make your life comfortable. You need to make some choices to help you until you get a regular paying job.

Look for income and work

In spit of the economical crisis there are still jobs on the market. Maybe you might have to settle for a job that pays less or you don’t find a job in the same field that you were before. It is necessary to throw off your priority to find a job that pays. Because you need money for expenses so your family can live and have a small amount of comfortable live. It might be a hard time but you will get through it.

If you lose your job it’s important to stay calm and spend your money wisely. In times of economical crisis you may not be demanding. It’s important your family have everything they need. So, don’t waste your money on things you don’t need. If you end up in this situation, don’t lose your courage and keep looking.

By Karen Mechelinck – 2 FV 4

Source: http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2010/04/how-to-deal-with-a-job-loss-3.html

the shoe box will disappear

Sports brand ‘Puma’ will end the story of the polluting shoe boxes. Puma-shoes will be from now on in environmentally friendly packaging.
Trend watcher Herman Konings said that other companies will follow.

People do a lot with those shoe boxes. One put his old love letters in it, the other his pictures and postcards and another his cat sleeps in it. A shoe box can be multi functional.

And now it’s going to end because the shoes manufacturers are looking for a environmentally friendly and place saving likelihoods. Puma is the first, with it’s ‘Clever little bag’. It’s nothing more but a folded cardboard in a bright red pocket. The bag is made out of recycled plastic and they can recycle it again. With that bag Puma will economize up to 65% of paper.

The new packaging will be ready at the start of the new year. Puma already asked a patent on it but they will share their technology with others.
Trend watcher Herman Konings said that the time is now to quit with the old fashion shoe boxes. There were times that brands advertised with it but those days are over.
But it’s not only in this sector, also other sectors are looking for recycling bags.

It’s a win win win situation. People live in smaller houses so they don’t have enough place to stock everything. So when the manufacturers make their packaging smaller they respond on the question of the consumers. But smaller packaging is also cheaper for them and they have to use less material.

I think it’s good that they’re looking for better packaging because it’s less polluting. It’s good for the environment. And people will be happy that they doesn’t have to stock those old boxes again. When you can save so much paper just by using recycled plastic than I think that everybody has to look for an idea like that.
Written by: Lamon Sofie (2FV4)
Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=GB62OUTNR

Goodbye winter, hello allergies!

After a very long winter, spring has finally arrived. Away with the caps, the shawls and the warm coats! We’ve longed for sun and warmer weather for such a long time. Unfortunately allergy sufferers aren’t so happy with this weather change.

Because of the long duration of the winter, the pollen allergy sufferers will sneeze and blow one’s nose more than ever before. Therefore Rite Aid, one of the leading drugstore chains in the United States, offers allergy information to the consumers for free. Anyone who suffers from allergies can pick up an allergy guide in his local Rite Aid pharmacy or can visit their website. Rite Aid works together with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) to provide this information. This allergy information consists of the causes, the symptoms, solutions, etc.

On the one hand I’m glad to know that Rite Aid provides this information at no cost to the American consumer. I’m also sensitive to pollen and I know how annoying an allergy can be. So all the information to decrease or avoid the allergic reactions is welcome. On the other hand I think that Rite Aid only wants to attract more clients and sell more products. It’s a very smart marketing trick. It also builds up the image of the company because the consumers have the feeling that the company really cares about their health.

My belief: whatever happens, enjoy the sun and the warmer temperatures!

By Liesbeth Alliet

http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2010/03/allergy-sufferers-find-relief-at-rite-aid-nyse-rad.html

Sport drinks bad for teeth

Before or after a workout, you use a sport drink to get more energy. But are they good for your health? No, they aren't. It has been proven that the combination of acidic components, sugars and additives affects the teeth. Even more, it could lead to erosive tooth wear.

There are 2 kinds of sport drinks. First, we have the isotonic drinks. It's best to use them while you're doing a workout because the becerage ensures that the person rebalances his body fluid. The second type of sport drinks are the hypertonic drinks. You use these after you finished your workout because they rebalance your glucose level.

The reason why sport drinks have a bad influence on your teeth is because of the acidic components and the fact that while you're running, the spittle in your mouth reduces so that the spittle can't protect your teeth against the acidic components.

The problem is that the information on the bottle isn't always right. If you should believe it, you would have to drink the beverage constantly while you're doing a workout. Another reason why it's such a big problem is because of the imitation goods. They don't have the same substance as the normal sport drinks.

I also use sport drinks. Before a match, I drink one and it really gives me more energy. It's strange to hear that it's dangerous for your teeth. I never thought that it would have an influence on them.

I think that we can conclude that you may use sport drinks but not too much. If you want use something else, it's best that you use water

Written by yorick stroobant

This blog is based on the article 'Sportdrankjes slecht voor tanden' in Het Laatste Nieuws,p.81, Saturday 27th of March

What does the Flemings consume the most?

the flemings love to travel, they go frequently to the barber and they buy a lot of accessories. The are the biggest spenders of Belgium. You can read it in the Household inquiry.
The inquiry makes an analysis about the incoms and expenses of the Belgian families and that gives a lot of information about the nutrition habit, the medical care and real estate, the spendings in the hotel and catering industrie and the spending on clothes.

3700 families divided in the 3 districts were asked to map their finances of 2008.

The families in the Flemish district spended average € 34 075 that’s € 1 089 more of the national average. Of the € 34 075 is € 8 068 spend on real estate and € 5 153 on food, tobacco and drinks.
Most of the money for food is spend on fresh meat. The Walloons spend the most on fresh meat. We Belgians like to eat fresh meat and I think it’s true because everybody here like to eat a good steak.
The Flemings spend more in the hotel and catering industrie just about € 1 940 in 2008.

The medical care spendings are roughly the same in the 3 districts. The national average amounts € 1 565.
We spend € 1 592 on clothes. It’s less than in 2007 but stil we spend € 409 more than the inhabitants of brussels.

I think that it’s logical that the most of our money goes to our house. A lot of people have to pay off their houses. Also clothes and food are very important in normal life. Just like medical care. So I think the results only confirm what we already knew.

Written by: Sofie Lamon

Source: http://netto.tijd.be/budget_en_vrije_tijd/budget/Wat_consumeren_Vlamingen_het_meest-.8903026-2214.art

Watch out for "skimmers"

Attorney General Cordray warns all consumers to be very careful when using credit cards or debit cards.

There was a man in Washington DC that wanted to withdrawal some money from a local ATM that he used frequently. But he hesitated, because the card slot looked different. So he started to pull it and it came loose. It turned out to be a "skimmer". A fake card slot that is installed there by thieves. The skimmer reads all kind of card information from the magnetic strip, like debit card numbers and private account information.

Skimmers are used very often by thieves, they just install them over the actual card slot of the ATM. It's also often used at card slots at gas pumps. The goal is to make unaothorized withdrawals with the stolen information.

Consumers can avoid those scams, but it's not possible to completely mitigate the risks. There is some advice you can use though:

• Use 1 ATM at 1 gas pump on regular basis. That way it's easier to notice when something is wrong.
• Use an ATM that is located in a very public place or inside a bank lobby. Thieves often don't mess with those machines because the risk of getting caught is too high.

I think every consumer should follow the above advice. It's vey important to use the same ATM on regular basis, that way you can easily see if thieves have messed with it. Of course it's not always possible to use the same ATM, but then you must try to use a very public one.

If the thieves manage to read your card information, they can withdrawal all the money from your debit card. It will happen very fast, so before you know it, you go no money left on your card. And once it's gone, it's gone forever.

Written by Dieter De Smet

Source: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/04/atm_skimmers.html (April 9, 2010)