Olympics, GE sues Mitsubishi, Obama, and Lobbyists

Olympic Opening Draws 33 Million U.S. Viewers

The opening of the Winter Olympics drew a surge of viewers Friday, even as the Games' planners contended with unseasonably warm weather and a tragic death. An average of 32.6 million people in the U.S. watched the opening ceremony on NBC, according to early figures provided by the General Electric Co. network. That is 47% above the 22.2 million who watched the Torino, Italy, opening four years ago, and the third-most watched Winter opening since at least the 1980s.

GE sues Mitsubishi over turbine patents


Washington: General Electric, the biggest maker of wind turbines in the United States, filed a new patent- infringement lawsuit against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and plans to appeal an earlier case it lost. The new complaint, filed on Thursday in federal court in Dallas, claims Mitsubishi Heavy infringes two patents.

Why is Obama Taking Recovery Advice From GE’s CEO?

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch epitomized the ultimate corporate globalization mentality when he declared in 1998: "Ideally, you'd have every plant you own on a barge." The idea was to abandon existing workers as rapidly as possible in search of the lowest possible wage and maximum control. GE's prominence always guarantees it the ear of the president. Current CEO Jeffrey Immelt is a member of President Obama's "kitchen cabinet," the advisory board set up to "provide an independent voice on economic issues" and offer "independent advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery."

Lobbyists didn’t suffer a slowdown in 2009

General Electric, based in Fairfield, Conn., was the second biggest-spending corporation with $25.5 million, up from $19.4 million in 2008. GE’s NBC Universal subsidiary is seeking approval to merge with Philadelphia-based Comcast.