File Sharer Fined $222,000

American Voices

October 9, 2007 | ISSUE 43•41

A Minnesota woman was fined $222,000 for illegally downloading and distributing 24 songs via the file-sharing network Kazaa. What do you think?

Wow, is that how much music costs now? Honestly, I have no idea, I haven't paid for music in years.

Pete Carson
Furniture Mover
A stiff fine, yes, but it's hardly as bad as when I was punched in the stomach for humming 'Hollaback Girl' on the elevator.

Shelley Birney
Painter
To avoid any problems, I'll just start stealing from the record store again.

Hans Hoerzl
Curtain Installer

Smoking Speeds Mental Decline

02.08.12 | ISSUE 48•06

A study published in Archives Of General Psychiatry found that middle-aged men who smoked had diminished cognitive skills, the equivalent of having aged an additional 10 years.
Migrating Whooping Cranes Stall In Alabama

02.07.12 | ISSUE 48•06

Nine whooping cranes that had been following an ultralight aircraft as it guided them on their migratory route stopped when they reached Alabama, 500 miles short of the intended destination.
Florida Millionaire Adopts 42-Year-Old Girlfriend

02.06.12 | ISSUE 48•06

A 48-year-old West Palm Beach millionaire and polo club founder has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend in an apparent bid to avoid paying out a wrongful death lawsuit.
Should Sugar Be Regulated?

02.03.12 | ISSUE 48•05

In a recent editorial in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of California–San Francisco suggested that as a toxic substance, sugar should be taxed and regulated like alcohol or tobacco.
Burmese Pythons Exterminating Everglades Mammals

02.02.12 | ISSUE 48•05

A study in the journal Proceedings Of The National Academy of Sciences links a drastic decline in raccoons and other mammals in the Florida everglades to the introduction of Burmese pythons.