#consumer
#FTC to ban Avast from selling browsing data for #advertising purposes
The complaint says #Avast violated millions of consumers' rights by collecting, storing, and selling their browsing data without their knowledge and consent while misleading them that the products used to harvest their data would block online #tracking.
#news #crime #economy #security #software #scandal #internet #browser #fail #consumer #software
AstraZeneca Faces Legal Challenge in #UK Over #COVID-19 #Vaccine
Citing the UKâs #Consumer #Protection Act, the man launching this #legal #action says that AstraZenecaâs COVID-19 vaccine is âdefectiveâ and less safe than should have been expected. After suffering a #blood clot that left him with #brain damage, the man has been unable to continue working.
In a separate case, around 90 families are similarly reported to be pursuing legal action against AstraZeneca. Many say the firmâs COVID-19 vaccine caused them to develop deadly blood clots. Others developed Guillan-Barre syndrome, which can result in paralysis. Some have even had limbs amputated. This lawsuit currently involves over two dozen #fatalities, some of whom were aged as young as 18-years-old.
The compensation bill for British victims killed or maimed by the AstraZeneca vaccine could theoretically exceed ÂŁ1 billion ($1.24 billion). But as the UK governmentâs contract with the firm included an indemnity clause, the final bill will ultimately end up being footed by taxpayers.
To read about the first German lawsuit brought against vaccine maker BioNTech over side effects caused by its COVID-19 injection, see this article on our website.
Tesla owners fuming as they are hit with ÂŁ17,000 bill to fix car after 'driving in rain'
"After complaints from me, we received a call at 5.30pm on the Wednesday saying the battery was damaged due to water ingress and it was unfortunately not covered by the batteryâs 8-year warranty and so the repair would be around ÂŁ17,500. Did I wish to proceed?? I was flabbergasted and couldnât really find my words."
John said he pressed representatives of #Tesla on whether he or Rob were at fault for the damage, to which he claims he was told that it was a weather issue. He added: "They said that the battery is effectively submerged in water. How can that be our fault?
"After finally getting to speak to a manager, he told me it had water in it due to the fact the weather in Scotland has been so bad. That was the issue. They said itâs not necessarily my fault but itâs not Teslaâs to pay under warranty. He reminded me there was a yellow weather warning in some parts of Scotland.
"I pushed him on this and said I've never heard or something like this happening. He said it can happen with Range Rovers and Mercs but I'm just not buying it. To date, it's been a disaster of a service and the stress and worry of this is excruciating.
"I said to the manager, âso, my understanding is, Teslas are unfit for purpose in Scotland?.â Iâve been driving for 30 years and this is my most premium car to date and this is what it does when Edinburghâs roads get puddles or a little wet!"
#EV #cars #autos #Scotland #battery #Electric #ElectricCars #Scotland #rain #weather #Capitalism #CapitalismFails #scam #Consumer #complaints #BoycottTesla
#France is investigating #Apple over allegations that it deliberately limits the #repair options for its smartphones, potentially rendering them obsolete.
#iPhone #smartphone #obsolecence #justice #economy #consumer #customer #news #technology
So....
Shell Reports Highest Profit in 115 Years
No surprise oil co's are profiting hand over fist now, with record high consumer prices, and associated all-time profits. Well, 115 yeqrs.
I'm still chewing on that 115 year stat. Comparing 2023 with 106 years ago? What were gas prices and profit margins like then?
The Model T Ford appeared in 1908, and Shell's record profits came in ... 1908!
Coincidence? True, 'fun fact'.
#Shell #Oil #OilProfits #Profiteering #Consumer #Prices #ShellOil #Petrol
#Nanotechnology Used #in Over 2,000 #Food Items Goes Unlabeled Due to Weird FDA Loophole:
Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=wlAi3KIeTN8
Nanotechnology Used in #Covid #poison darts, 2,000 #Foods Goes #Unlabeled
Extremely small #particles of various #compounds are being used as food #additives, with unknown effects
If youâre one of those people that can often be found in the food aisles of grocery stores reading labels and looking for ingredients you canât pronounce and donât want to eat, youâve most likely noticed several ingredients that, unbeknownst to you, are made using nanotechnologyâa process that converts silver, copper, gold, aluminum, silicon, carbon, and metal oxides, among other metals, into atom-sized particles that are one-billionth of a meter in size.
Commonly used nano-sized ingredients include #TitaniumDioxide, which may be the most well-known additive. Others, such as #silicon oxide, calcium carbonate, iron oxides and hydroxides, calcium silicate, tricalcium phosphates, and #synthetic #silicas, are only a few of the additives that may be in your pantry right now.
A New Ingredient
Nanotechnology has become widely used in food production and manufacturing since the #1990s, and its components are unimaginably smallâone-hundredth the size of a strand of human hair. They make our food more colorful, brighter, creamier, or crunchier, and they keep it fresher for longer as well.
Nano-sized additives also make some of our medicines more effective.
Nanotechnology is used in the manufacturing of #everyday #products, such as electronics, food and food #packaging, #medicine, #toys, #clothing, #sunscreens, #cosmetics, #dietary #supplements, and #much #more.
While they can provide a myriad of benefits, these increasingly popular product enhancers come at a price, according to #consumer groups and #health expertsâand that price is our health.
Health Implications
Because these particles are so small, studies have shown that they can breach the #blood-brain barrier. Researchers are already exploring this quality for drugs meant to treat neurological conditions. But when it comes to food, thatâs not a feature anyone is asking for. These particles are also able to circulate throughout the body and get absorbed into the bloodstream and organs. They can #penetrate #cell #walls and potentially create #inflammation and #disease.
âThey may pass through the #lining #of the #gut and enter the #bloodstream, which may trigger an inflammatory or immune response,â Harvard School of Public Healthâs Georgios Pyrgiotakis told WebMD. âThey may also build up in various parts of the body, including the #lungs, the #heart, and reproductive organs.â
In a July 2020 study, a group of researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that titanium dioxide, which is commonly added to #gum, #candy, #drinks, and #desserts, caused changes in the gut #microorganisms of two groups of mice.
Both were given doses of titanium oxide. One group was fed a low-fat diet and the other a high-fat diet. After further testing to isolate the titanium dioxide effect, both groups had inflamed colons, which can lead to abdominal pain and diarrhea. The obese mice had more pronounced symptoms.
Vaccine Technology
Nanotechnology is currently being used in two of the three #mRNA #COVID-19 vaccines being given in the United States today.
Thereâs a #ipid #nanoparticle coating surrounding the mRNA in the vaccines, which allows them to penetrate the cellâs wall.
âLipid #nanoparticles are a vital component of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, playing a key role in protecting and transporting the mRNA effectively to the right place in cells,â stated the Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of the American Chemical Society.
âOf the many COVID-19 vaccines under development, the two vaccines that have shown the most promising results in preventing COVID-19 infection represent a new class of vaccine products: They are composed of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) strands encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNP).â
But scientists have continued to call for greater oversight of these substances by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of their size. Because they easily cross the blood-brain barrier, they may damage it by altering the layer of cells that line the inner wall of blood vessels.
FDA Looks Closer
The FDA, the agency charged with overseeing these additives, has begun to weigh the health risks from nano-sized additives.
The agency currently classifies nanoparticles in food with the designation Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) if the manufacturer is already using the same ingredient in its larger, conventional form.
âThe particle size distribution of a food substance may affect its ability to be absorbed by the body or to migrate from food packaging into food,â the FDA stated in a 2007 guidance document on nanotechnology in food.
âThe FDA does not categorically judge all products nanomaterial or otherwise involving application of nanotechnology as intrinsically benign or harmful. The FDA is monitoring the evolving science and has a robust research agenda to help assess the safety and effectiveness of products using nanotechnology.â
In 2011, the FDA Nanotechnology Task Force was created to coordinate its efforts with research scientists in the United States and internationally. Its goals are to train staff in the latest science at state-of-the-art facilities and to encourage collaborative research projects.
âProduction and application of nanoparticles in consumer products is at an all-time high due to the emerging field of nanotechnology,â the FDA stated in a 2017 Grand Rounds webcast. âDirect detection and quantification of trace levels of nanoparticles within consumer products is very challenging and problematic.â
Tiny Particles, Growing Problem
By 2020, the FDA reported that applications for the approval of products containing nanotechnology had skyrocketed in the previous 10 years. According to many experts in the United States, there are 1,900 to 2,500 food products that use nanotechnology.
In response to health concerns about these products, countries around the #world have taken steps to limit or #ban some or all nanotechnology in their food.
In 2010, #Canada #banned nanotechnology in #organic food production. Since 2011, the #EuropeanUnion has required all food to be #labeled if it contains #engineered #nanomaterials. In 2015, the bloc required additional testing to ensure health safety.
In 2018, the European Food Safety Commission was petitioned by a group of scientists within the agency to reject the food additive silicon dioxide as safe for consumption because of nanoparticles in it, until a particle size distribution could be confirmed.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, #France banned any foods containing #titanium #dioxide from entering the country.
In the United States, the FDA doesnât require any products produced with nanoparticles to be labeled or banned, and its guidelines recommend oversight on a case-by-case basis. Research on the long-term effects of ingesting nanoparticles remains scant.
Raoul Servais - To speak or not to speak (1970)
Lâhomme de la rue se voit interviewĂ© afin dâexprimer son opinion sur la situation politique. Il donne des rĂ©ponses Ă©vasives, banales et incohĂ©rentes qui se retrouvent dans des textes apparaissant dans des « bulles ». Un personnage marginal, une sorte de hippie, osera, en revanche, formuler une opinion coloriĂ©e qui fera preuve de caractĂšre.
When the man in the street has to give his opinion about the political situation, there is not much to note in his speech bubbles. Vagueness and lack of personality are trump cards. Only a marginal figure dares to give an opinion that is distinguished by personality.
https://en.raoulservaiscollection.com/films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fbyvX_uk8
#art #cinéma #cinema #movie #film #courtmétrage #shortfilm #animation #servais #opinion #langage #language #politics #politique #consommation #consumer
Always blame the hands that feed you, not the source of the problem!
#pollution #blame #consumer not #corporations
#Johnson&Johnson and a New #War on #Consumer #Protection
source: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/19/johnson-johnson-and-a-new-war-on-consumer-protection
Johnson & Johnsonâs most recent quarterly report shows $24 billion in sales, and in the 11 months since it filed for bankruptcy, an average of one woman a day has died waiting to find out if her case would ever be heard. Read about the brazen #legal #strategy that may allow corporate #America to evade accountability.
#justice #USA #law #health #death #problem #humanRights #economy #news
A big Shoutout to PatriotSwitch.com
PatriotSwitch.com was created to offer family and patriot owned #alternatives to the items we are normally stuck buying at these big box conglomerates every month of our lives.
How many small businesses do you know that were affected or shut down completely over the last couple of years while the mandates required us to keep making the rich, richer? It's time to start supporting the little guys and quit funding our own demise.
Thanks again Patriot Switch!
Patriot Switch - Taking back our country one purchase at a time!
More specifically non-durable consumer goods are the items we purchase and run out of month after month for our entire lives. The items like toothpaste, dish soap, laundry detergent, lotion, soaps, etc. By controlling the distribution of this category these corporations have created a predictable model of cashflow based on our buying habits.
There are hundreds of consumer goods brands in our country and the vast majority of them are all owned and controlled by just a handful of mega-corporations. Even when you think you are buying natural products in many cases those natural companies have been absorbed by these giant corporations
Studies show that nearly 63% of the price you pay for consumer goods add no value to the end consumer. Billions of dollars each year is used to purchase advertising with media companies, fund distribution and big box stores. Spending that money on better, safer ingredients and a company that supports freedom is a better option.
#Brexit to blame: #UK shoppers pay up to 50% more than those in #EU | #Consumer affairs | The Guardian
This not a problem for rich people but many poor people were duped by #right-wing #politicians into voting for something that has clearly been demonstrated to have been against the poor people's interests.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/30/brexit-uk-shoppers-pay-more-eu-zara-ikea-decathlon
#FreeDMO Gets Rid Of DYMO Label Printer DRM
#reverseengineering #toolhacks #bluepill #consumer #diy #drm #dymo #everythingasaservice #i2c #stm32 #thermalprinter #hackaday
posted by pod_feeder_v2
WTF ever happened to "The cost of doing business?"
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/11/uber-adds-fuel-surcharge-because-of-high-gas-prices.html
#Piracy #Release Group #EVO âBlamesâ #Movie #Industry For Its #Popularity
source: https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-release-group-evo-blames-movie-industry-for-its-popularity-211114/
Maybe, if #studios would care a bit more about the #consumer, there wouldnât be much piracy on the #internet. But they donât care anymore, what matters is profit, profit and #profit.
#economy #capitalism #money #politics #news #media #entertainment #p2p #download #filesharing #warez
DC Solar owner sentenced to 30 years for Ponzi scheme
In what the Department of Justice described as "the largest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the Eastern District of California,â Jeff Carpoff has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/11/10/dc-solar-owner-sentenced-to-30-years-for-ponzi-scheme/
#markets, #policy, #consumer, #hansen, #alan, #protection, #business, #legal
Residential solar pricing down 6.3%, hints of greater drops coming
Residential solar installation price declines have accelerated over the past year. However, energy storage pricing has gone up, with Enphase taking an increasingly larger share of the market.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/08/16/residential-solar-pricing-down-6-3-hints-of-greater-drops-coming/
#prices, #consumer, #cost, #installations, #energy, #protection, #business, #storage
#Anatomy of an #AI #System
source: https://anatomyof.ai
Chinese source: https://anatomyof.ai/index-cn.html
This is an #interaction with #Amazonâs #Echo device. A brief command and a response is the most common form of engagement with this #consumer voice-enabled AI device. But in this fleeting moment of interaction, a vast #matrix of capacities is invoked: interlaced chains of #resource extraction, human labor and algorithmic processing across networks of mining, logistics, distribution, prediction and optimization. The scale of this system is almost beyond #human imagining. How can we begin to see it, to grasp its immensity and #complexity as a connected form?
#knowledge #technology #science #computer #software #algorithm #future #economy
Best Sellers Sell the Best Because Theyâre Best Sellers
source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/19/books/penguin-random-house-madeline-mcintosh.html
We have the biggest list of #books, we have access to the most data, so we could have a very accurate view on a daily basis of how #consumer demand was shifting. We could see right away when #people were grabbing the sourdough bread book, or the birding book, or the inspirational #book, or the book that put this moment in the context of #history.
...
algorithmic #marketplace that serves up mostly the hits, driving a #cycle so self-fulfilling itâs nearly tautological: Best sellers sell the best because they are best sellers.
Unfortunately, marketing in its profit mania is mentally unable to recognize that in this case only books are written for the #algorithm. Similar to YouTube, where the big ones only produce videos on topics that are currently trending. This leads to a one-size-fits-all approach that kills any creativity and prevents new upcoming creative thinkers from evolving at all. These new thinkers could improve the world, but they have too few followers to be detected by the algorithm.
#market #economy #creativity #news #ai #software #algorithms #marketing #capitalism
