Marin Sun Farms, in Point Reyes, is a collection of ranches on more than 2,000 acres of rolling, certified organic pasture. All year long, cattle and chickens speckle the hills, free to roam and graze at their leisure.

Wal-Mart Organics: Do these two words belong together? A Wisconsin-based organic watchdog group says Wal-Mart is hanging signs that say "organic" near products that are not organic. After discovering the problem at dozens of stores in several states, the Cornucopia Institute has filed consumer fraud complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"On September 11, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley used his veto power for the first time in seventeen years to block a measure that would have given Wal-Mart employees and workers at other "big box" stores at least $10 per hour plus benefits worth at least $3 per hour. The City Council had passed the bill by a 35-to-14 vote margin. Daley's brash act was a temporary victory for the chorus of conservative pundits and corporate flacks who have been singing Wal-Mart's virtues for the past year..."

"There is an undeniable beauty to laissez-faire theory, with its promise that by struggling against one another, by grasping and elbowing and shouting and shoving, we create efficiency and satisfaction and progress for all. This concept has shaped, at the most fundamental levels, how we understand and engineer our basic freedoms—economic, political, and moral. Until recently, however, most politicians and economists accepted that freedom within the marketplace had to be limited, at least to some degree, by rules designed to ensure general economic and social outcomes..."

"Home Depot, in wake of worst housing market in decade, is displaying growing willingness to stray from single-minded focus on home renovations and repair by offering everyday products like seasonal decorations and cigarettes; experiment with everyday products--and $350 million program to overhaul look of 500 stores--exemplifies belief of chief executive Robert L Nardelli that Home Depot cannot only survive downturn in housing market, but can exploit situation by plowing money into chain..."

TAMPA, Fla. - It's not a union, but some Wal-Mart workers say it might be the next best thing. Searching for a voice in their work lives, employees of some central Florida Wal-Mart stores have formed a workers group to collectively air complaints about what they claim is shoddy treatment by the retail giant.

An employee at the Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a national class-action lawsuit against the company yesterday, accusing it of discriminating against women in promotions to store manager.

"Cornerboards were a time-consuming problem for Costco when it had to break down pallets of apples for shipment to its clubstores. Cornerboards were also a problem for suppliers like C.M Holginer Fruit Co. when they ere banding pallets for shipment to Costca. Both companies were extremely pleased when a plausible alternative was proposed by Lock 'N Pop (www.locknpop.com)..."

Wal-Mart is so powerful that it moves the economies of entire countries, bringing profit and pain. The prices can’t be beat, but the wages can.