Simon--
YES, YES, AND MORE YES!!!!
"They" have caught on that "we" are competition!
Here in the US, there has been ZERO, and I really mean absolutely none at all so far as I've seen (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) coverage or even *mention* of the matter in the mainstream press. Which is the *only* press that most of the US would ever get it from. It's not discussed among friends, no community response groups (er, am I handing myself a challenge, gulp), no Letters to the Editor, nothing on talk shows, even Public Radio (WHY???).

Is it similar in other places? If so, that explains a lot...

I've talked about it a bit with a few people, but to be honest to most folks (me too at first) it sounds rather incredible, a "They can't do that!" sort of thing--but they can, will, are, because money is king these days.

Shannon