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Japan PM issues guarded apology to 'comfort women'
International | 2007/03/26 11:15

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his sympathy and apologized Monday for the "situation" faced by so-called Korean and Chinese "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II. Abe stopped short of explicitly acknowledging the alleged roles of the wartime military and government in Japan in facilitating the practice. Until this point, Abe has been one of a number of politicians pushing for the government to revisit an official apology issued to victims in 1993 that was never ratified by the Japanese parliament.

Earlier this month, Abe denied allegations of forced sexual slavery in Imperial Japanese Army brothels, saying instead that the women were professional prostitutes paid for their services. A Japanese government probe this month also denied finding any evidence of forced prostitution.



Duke Lacrosse Case Lawyer Osborn Dead
Legal Careers News | 2007/03/26 10:39
J. Kirk Osborn, a Chapel Hill, N.C., lawyer who defended one of the Duke University lacrosse players accused of rape, has died after a heart attack at 64. Osborn's wife, Tania, said the lawyer suffered a heart attack Friday and died early Sunday morning, the Charlotte (N.C.) News & Observer reported Monday.

The attorney took on the case of Reade Seligmann, one of three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting an escort service dancer, in 2006.

"Kirk stood up for Reade at great personal cost," the Seligmann family said in a statement. "He passionately believed that the truth would emerge."

Tania Osborn said her husband was particularly proud of the fact that despite defending a dozen or more suspects in capital crimes, none of his clients were ever sent to death row.

"He hated injustice. That was the essence of his life," said Ernest "Buddy" Conner, a Greenville lawyer and friend of Osborn who worked multiple cases with him. "He carried a tremendous amount of credibility, but he did it without getting all angry and aggressive and arrogant."

Osborn is survived by his wife and two daughters.



Judge Denies Class-action Katrina Claim
Breaking Legal News | 2007/03/26 10:32

A federal judge in Gulfport, Miss., denied class-action status in a Hurricane Katrina damage lawsuit against State Farm insurance company.

Judge L.T. Senter Jr., rejected grouping claims in one lawsuit because a "sweeping relief," as he called it, would prevent State Farm from meeting the burden of proof of cause because of "possible variations" in claims.

Claimant Judy Guice had sought the class-action grouping, a move objected to by State Farm, the Biloxi Sun Herald said.

The insurance company fought grouping claims for legal purposes and wants to handle each separately. No two owners, it says, had the same type of loss, whether from wind or water or what ratio of each destroyed homes during the storm.



Security Council broadens Iran nuclear sanctions
International | 2007/03/26 10:25

The UN Security Council unanimously voted Saturday to impose new sanctions on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in violation of a December 2006 resolution. Security Council Resolution 1747 broadens the sanctions of December's Resolution 1737, freezing assets of investors in Iran and blocking the export of Iranian arms. Council members said they saw the unanimous vote as a strong censure sending a clear message that Iran should "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency." The Council nonetheless emphasized that the resolution is not intended to punish Iran or its people but rather to prompt renewed negotiations. Iran has 60 days to comply before the sanctions take effect.

The Iranian parliament reviewed and rejected Resolution 1737 in December. That resolution cited reports submitted by the IAEA which showed that Iran had not "established full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities" as set out in Resolution 1696 or otherwise complied with IAEA instructions. Iran has consistently decried the sanctions and emphasized that its policy will go unchanged. On Saturday Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs Manouchehr Mottaki said that Resolution 1747 takes an unlawful, unnecessary and unjustifiable action against the peaceful nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which presents no threat to international peace and security and falls, therefore, outside the Council’s Charter-based mandate.



Investors Continue to Challenge Dean Food
Business | 2007/03/26 10:18

Socially concerned investors for the second year in a row have filed a shareholder proposal asking Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) to report to shareholders how it is responding to widespread concern that industrial-scale organic dairies, supplying milk for its Horizon Organic brand, violate consumer trust, seriously jeopardizing share value.

The shareholder proposal is a by-product of a seven-year debate in the organic industry over the introduction of large-scale factory-farms, milking as many as 2,000-10,000 cows each. It is the contention of a growing number of public interest, environmental, and farming groups that some of these farms are violating current USDA regulations by labeling their products as organic.

In 2005 and 2006, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy group, filed formal complaints with the USDA against a number of industrial dairies, including allegations that these mega-farms, mostly in the arid West, were violating the law by confining their cattle to feedlots and sheds rather than grazing as the federal organic regulations require. The dairy farms in question include two owned by Dean Foods in Idaho and Maryland and another California farm shipping milk for distribution under Dean’s Horizon Organic label. Because of inaction by the USDA the Institute is now preparing to seek court intervention in order to compel the agency to investigate the alleged improprieties.

“When consumers pay a premium for organic milk, they generally have the expectation that cows have access to pasture and gain a sizable percentage of their nutrients from grass,” said Steven Heim, director of social research with Boston Common Asset Management, lead investor-sponsor of the resolution representing institutional shareholders in the resolution process. “Besides complying with the law itself, we question whether Dean’s procurement of milk from factory-farms violates consumer trust and jeopardizes the value of its organic brands,” Heim added. Dean Foods, the nation’s largest milk processor, also became the largest U.S. marketer of organic dairy products when it acquired the Horizon Organic, Alta Dena, and Organic Cow of Vermont brands.

In June 2006 Heim and Mark Kastel, The Cornucopia Institute’s senior farm policy analyst, toured Dean’s Idaho farm at Dean’s invitation. “Although the company is making a $10 million investment in additional facilities in the desert-like conditions, and is attempting to paint their facility ‘green’, serious questions remain as to the legitimacy of milking thousands of cows in these conditions,” Kastel said.

The shareholder proposal asks an independent committee of Dean’s board to review Dean’s policies and procedures for its organic dairy products, and report to shareholders on their adequacy to protect Dean’s organic dairy brands and its reputation with organic food consumers. The investor groups also want to know how the company intends to respond to increasing consumer and media criticism.

“Even though the proposal is only asking the company, currently engaged in a nationwide advertising campaign touting the greenness of their organic milk business, to report to shareholders concerning this controversy, Dean has opted to ‘lawyer-up’ and aggressively fight the proposal at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission” (SEC), added Sister Linda Hayes of the Springfield Dominicans, an investor-sponsor of the resolution. “This is not the kind of transparency that consumers have expected in the organic food industry.”

Unfortunately, it appears that their PR campaign has so far backfired. An active boycott by the 700,000-member Organic Consumers Association has resulted in scores of natural foods retailers around the country dropping all or part of the Horizon Organic product line.

The negative press has already led to a growing legion of loyal organic consumers looking for alternative brands. “It is very unfortunate that instead of addressing the central concerns articulated in this shareholder proposal, that the company has instead decided to invest its resources in legal maneuvers to prevent its investors from voting on this resolution,” said Daniel Stranahan of the Needmor Fund, another investor-sponsor of the proposal.

Stranahan likewise mentioned the issue of transparency. “We are concerned that Dean Foods’ lack of transparency to its shareholders betrays a similar attitude toward its core consumers.” He added, “Factory farms are antithetical to the concept of organic farming, which supports family-scale production with sound environmental policies.”

Dean Foods appeal to the SEC for the authority to prevent its shareholders from voting on the proposal may prove successful. It appears that government regulators are likely to side with the $10 billion corporation.

Dean Foods’ primary business has been somewhat stagnant in recent years, so it has been touting its investments in the organic milk labels and the country’s leading soy milk brand, Silk, as vehicles to make its stock more attractive on Wall Street.



Mark Tepper Retains NewsMark PR for Fraud Campaign
Securities | 2007/03/26 09:53
FL, March 26 - As a key contributor to the enforcement of investors' statutory rights under provisions of the Florida Investor Protection Act, Securities Fraud Attorney Mark Tepper has retained NewsMark Public Relations to underscore his campaign against abusive broker sale practices.

Tepper, a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, representing the interests of investors in criminal and civil actions in over 30 years of practicing law, has completed examination of a five-year survey of Florida Arbitration Awards.

An author of numerous articles on securities arbitration, his findings, the latest in his efforts to determine whether Florida arbitrators have enforced the statutory rights provided to investment fraud victims, will be published next month in the PIABA Bar Journal of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association. "I'm appalled by the staggering percentage of times, over the years of the study that investors failed to reap full benefits of the excellent provisions of the Florida Investor Protection Act." Tepper said.

"Attorney Mark Tepper brings an integrity and passion to his mission to protect investors who have been victimized by aggressive broker sale tactics. We're considering a number of speaking platforms where he can share his invaluable legal insights with individual investors who feel their portfolios have been mishandled," said NewsMark CEO Mark Hopkinson. About Mark Tepper PA (http://www.MarkTepper.com)

Practicing law for over 30 years while representing the interests of investors in criminal and civil actions, attorney Mark Tepper has earned a reputation as "Investor Advocate." His clients include investors facing the sometimes volatile risks presented by financial products known as Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) - a type of mortgage-backed security that in spite of AAA ratings or government guarantees, are not protected against interest rate risk. An elected Board Director of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) he is a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities. He has authored numerous legal articles on securities arbitration and lectured before the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) which has presented him with an 'Outstanding Service Award.'

He addresses professional associations, local clubs and financial organizations in South Florida in an effort to educate the public on securities fraud. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars he is AV(R)-rated, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale- Hubbell Law Directory.


Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt joins Vanu Inc.
Venture Business News | 2007/03/26 09:37

Vanu, Inc. the leading software radio innovator for the wireless infrastructure industry, announced today that Reed E. Hundt - former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and senior advisor on information industries to McKinsey & Company - has joined Vanu Inc. as a member of its Board of Directors.

Hundt has over 30 years experience in global politics with a strong focus on the effects of technology on emerging countries. He is also widely recognized for having negotiated the World Trade Organization Telecommunications agreement, which opened markets in 69 countries to competition and dropped barriers to foreign investment during his tenure at the FCC. Prior to his work at the FCC, Hundt was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Latham and Watkins, an international law firm. Currently, he is a Principal of Charles Ross Partners, a private investor and business advisory service. Hundt is also the author of You Say You Want a Revolution: A Story of Information Age Politics, and In China’s Shadow: The Crisis of American Entrepreneurship.

“Reed’s involvement on our Board will draw upon his vast experience in working with US and international carriers which will be particularly beneficial with Vanu’s continued focus on delivering solutions to domestic rural operators and overseas emerging markets,” said Vanu Bose, President and CEO of Vanu, Inc. “His vision and insights will help us evolve strategies for new markets and applications where software radio can provide unique advantages. Reed’s role as a leader and innovator throughout the wireless field is an ideal fit with the “industry first” nature of the Vanu solution. We are extremely pleased and honored to announce the appointment of Reed Hundt to our company’s Board of Directors.”

“Vanu Inc. is a pioneer in the software radio space,” said Reed Hundt. “The company has had a series of ‘firsts’ in the wireless industry and has succeeded in doing what others thought was impossible. Vanu’s software radio has commercially delivered infrastructure solutions that provide cost-advantages today and flexible migration paths tomorrow. I am pleased to join the other members of the Vanu Board of Directors as we continue to bring a truly novel and beneficial technology to the wireless industry.”

In addition to his other accomplishments, Hundt serves as co-Chairman of The Forum on Communications and Society at the Aspen Institute and sits on the boards of directors of several companies including Intel, Pronto Networks, Tropos Networks, Polyserve, Entrisphere, and Access Spectrum. He also is a special advisor to Blackstone Group, a New York-based private equity firm, and is a member of the advisory committee at the Yale School of Management.

Hundt is a graduate of Yale College and a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was a member of the executive board of the Yale Law Journal.

About Vanu, Inc.

Vanu, Inc. is the developer of the Anywave® Base Station, the first U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-certified software radio. The Anywave Base Station provides significant advantages over traditional equipment designs including: simultaneous operation of multiple wireless standards on a single platform, the use of high volume; high performance servers rather than custom processing hardware; remote software downloads to add system capacity and migrate to future standards; decreased backhaul costs and a full range of additional capital and operating cost savings. These benefits come from implementing the high speed signal processing functions of the base station as a portable software application running on Linux, eliminating the need for specialized signal processing hardware. The company delivers Anywave radio access network solutions, licenses its software, and provides design consulting to service providers, system integrators and wireless OEMs. Vanu was founded in 1998 and is based in Cambridge, Mass. www.vanu.com



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