Corporations

In Australia, McDonald's launched an unprecedented, multi-million dollar advertising and PR campaign to counter the release of the US documentary "Super Size Me," which follows filmmaker Morgan Spurlock on a month long McDonald's binge. Until recently, the fast-food giant chose to ignore the hit movie. But McDonald's now fears for its reputation.

Russian oil company OAO Yukos has seen hard times since the arrest on tax evasion and fraud charges of its former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The company "is trading at a fraction of its value at the time of Mr. Khodorkovsky's arrest," and owes $3.4 billion in back taxes, according to the Russian government. "Company executives say Yukos could be driven out of business," writes the Wall Street Journal.

Last year, as the debate over a Medicare prescription-drug bill heated up, the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) sided with the Republican plan, which marked a major step toward the party's goal of privatizing Medicare and decimating employer-based health coverage. Why did AARP support the plan, which will cause millions of seniors to lose more generous employer and state-coordinated drug benefits while providing only limited help to others? Barbara T.

The Denver Post reports that one "hallmark" of the Bush administration is a rapidly spinning revolving door. There are "more than 100 high-level officials ... who [now] govern industries they once represented as lobbyists, lawyers or company advocates. ...