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Meta (Facebook) helped liberal outlet Axios’ growth allowing it to secure a $525 million sale price, part of a wider problem of tech companies funding D.C. media outlets, according to a new report.
Facebook helped recent media startup Axios sell itself to Cox Enterprises for $525 million only five years after Axios’ founding, according to Vox’s Peter Kafka. Tech companies are “pouring” money into Washington, D.C. media organizations, Kafka reported.
Axios is “a five-year-old media startup, backed by venture capital, that succeeded journalistically and financially,” Vox explained. The culmination of that financial success was the Cox purchase. Vox said that tech companies, including Meta and Google’s parent Alphabet, have been funding “digital publishers” focused on D.C. recently in an effort to repair their reputations. Axios isn’t alone. Liberal outlets like Politico and Punchbowl News are also among the media organizations that received tech company funding, Kafka wrote.
Axios is a leftist news outlet, that has demonstrated bias multiple times. Axios claimed the New York Post’s report on the now New York Times-authenticated Hunter Biden scandals “rings all the foreign-disinformation alarms in the book.” Axios also urged families in 2021 to have Thanksgiving “bouncers” to deny entry to any holiday guests who would not show a negative COVID-19 test.
“Facebook is a massive net plus for us,” Axios CEO Jim VandeHei told Vox’s Recode Media in 2020, explaining his publication’s unexpected ad growth. Facebook (or Meta) is the biggest tech funder of these D.C. media startups, according to Recode. The “new breed of digital-first publications” starting with Politico in 2007 have reportedly only increased the corporate funding of D.C.-focused media.
Politico, Punchbowl News and Axios are among the media organizations that have received tech company funding, Kafka wrote.
Kafka wrote, “[t]ech companies aren’t the only players in the so-called ‘corporate social responsibility’ ad market that has been around for years.” The publication noted that companies like Lockheed Martin run ads on shows or in print publications, wanting to catch the attention of Congress. The target audience is government officials, not viewers or readers, Kafka indicated.
While Big Tech companies like Facebook parent Meta make billions of dollars every year, publishers like Axios can thrive on the portion of tech companies’ profits spent on ads. Axios can allegedly charge as much as $300,000 for a week-long ad campaign, Kafka wrote.
Kafka also noted that various companies’ “corporate responsibility ads” in D.C. publications may account for $350 million spent yearly, with as much as one-third of that coming from tech companies.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.


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Google Pixel 2 XL gets limited-time $150 discount on Project Fi
Abner Li - Apr. 22nd 2018 10:56 am ET
Three years ago today, Google revealed that it was entering the U.S wireless business as a mobile virtual network operator. Project Fi has since added group plans, an unlimited plan called Bill Protection, and more devices, with the service considered easy to understand and a good deal for some, particularly international travelers.

domain: news


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Wine enthusiasts, this one's for you. East Meets West Fine Wines (EMW) is celebrating their 15th anniversary and they're throwing a huge, wine-filled bash on November 18. The event will take place at Three on the Bund where there will be over 200 wines from 13 countries to sample. The Grand Tasting (RMB228) will be held from 2-5pm.
If you really want to get into the swing of things, there will be a few masterclasses on offer: Vietti Masterclass (2-2:45pm, RMB328), Bodega Garzon Masterclass II (3-3:45pm, RMB428) and Silver Oak Masterclass III (4-4:45pm, RMB528). Tickets are on sale now. (Note that prices for each masterclass are in addition to the RMB228 Grand Tasting.)
Flyer courtesy of promoter
[Cover Image via Pexels]


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KATE Wright has sensationally revealed that she still shops in Costco despite dating multi-millionaire Rio Ferdinand.
The reality TV beauty has posted a snap of her grabbing a cuddly bear from the aisle of the low-cost chain store - but admitted she was actually there buying food.
The former Towie star, 26, may have been whisked off on countless holidays with Rio since they got together earlier this year but that's not changed her lifestyle.
And though Rio, 38, is thought to be worth £63m, he may well be getting cuddly gifts straight from Costco on his birthday this November 7.
Posing with the bear, Kate captioned the snap: "When your meant to be food shopping but come across this little 🐻... how could I not get him 😂😍🤗❤."
Watch out Rio, you've got competition.
Entrepreneur Kate could afford to shop elsewhere considering she has her own swimwear line plus dozens of endorsement deals - and is dating Rio.
He and Kate, who quit Towie once she began seeing the athlete, confirmed their relationship in July after being snapped out together for the first time.
Since then Kate has even holidayed with Rio's family at a luxury resort - and back home, looked after the daughter of Rio and his and late wife, who died of cancer in 2015.
In July Kate also did a charity run with Rio's sister Sian as part of Cancer Research's Race For Life, wearing a pink T-shirt emblazoned with an image of Rio and Sian's mum - who also lost her life to the disease that month.
most read in tv and showbiz
And Kate, who dated Towie's Dan Edgar for five years before he joined the show, is "head over heels" with Rio according to best pal Chloe Sims.
The perks of being Rio's girlfriend have led Kate to declare she needs to lose weight after a summer of eating in fancy restaurants.
But announcing her diet, the Essex native did add: “Well maybe still some wine 🍷🤷🏼♀😂.”
Just don't stock up on the Costco own-brand Merlot, Kate...
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Nintendo hosting 3-game launch event in NYC on Nov. 21
For gamers in New York City, Nov. 21 will be a good day to visit the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza, as Nintendo will be hosting a launch event for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Super Mario 3D World and Mario Party: Island Tour.
Gamers in attendance will get a chance to pick up all three games a day early, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, while chalk artist Chris Carlson will be on hand to reveal an art piece inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
The event will end at midnight and is open to the public.


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TECHNICAL PR: THE IPA BELLWETHER SURVEY
19th January, 2010
Related News: News
The big news for those of us with an interest in technical PR this week is that marketing spend fell once more in the last quarter of 2009. However, PR saw a drastically slower rate of reduction than in the previous quarter, the latest IPA (The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising)Bellwether survey has found.
The results showed that the ‘all other' category, into which PR falls, saw a four per cent downward decline in budgets in Q4. This compared with a fall of 24.4 per cent in Q3. The net reading suggests to me that the majority of companies have re-set their budgets to pre-recession levels and are now ready to come out fighting.
The IPA took heart from the fact that more UK companies were upbeat about the financial outlook in their particular industries than at any time in the past five years. More than one third of those surveyed said that they were optimistic about a continued recovery, but 22% still said they were less upbeat about the future. The survey also indicated that marketing spend looks set to improve in 2010, with preliminary data indicating that budgets have been set higher on average compared with actual spend in 2009.
The IPA survey panel, made up of marketers at 300 leading companies, collectively presented the most upbeat financial outlook for their industries since the question was first asked in the second quarter of 2005.
The survey also appears to suggest the UK came out of recession during the last fourth quarter of last year, a claim yet to be supported by economic data, which is currently available up to Q3, when the economy shrank 3.1% at current prices.
But I’m curious to know how this is going to affect marketers in the industrial sectors; machine building, electronics, the electrical industry and so on. Where do you stand on 2010? Are you still battening down the hatches or are you coming out fighting? Is it time to go to the mattresses yet?


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‘Just do the math, there’s 89 million millennials in a 330 million population of the United States of America. And then the group behind them — this is crazy — is just as big. In 20 years, there is going to be way more payers into the Social Security system and there is going to be way fewer taker-outers — and that problem will solve itself through demographics.’
That’s just part of the boost aging millennials will deliver to the U.S. economy over the next decade, according to Smead Capital Management CEO Bill Smead.
He explained to CNBC on Monday how “incredibly economically impactful things” are about to happen as millennials prioritize necessity spending. Big ticket items, he says, will soon be prioritized over “Apple AAPL, +0.16% devices, craft beer and Chipotle CMG, -0.91% burritos.”
Smead cites the coming shift when millennials surpass baby boomers as the biggest living adult generation in the country.
“We just love this circumstance because it is very possibly the changeover point now for what we have been waiting for a long time,” he said. “We are giving them the lowest interest rates in the history of the United States of America to form their lives. We are practically giving them the money to buy houses and buy cars etc.”
Watch the full segment:


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Designer News is where the design community meets.
4 years ago from Mathias Adam, Head of Design at Blackpills
I know it's already been said, but man this slows my maxed out MacBook Pro to a crawl. I can only imagine how it would perform on an average consumer-grade machine. Get that site optimized pronto!
Where the design community meets.
Designer News is a large, global community of people working or interested in design and technology.
© 2022 Designer News Ltd.


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While the first smart TVs running Google TV are still a few weeks away, a report from 9to5Google has revealed that they will come with a feature called “Basic TV,” which will allow users to get rid of nearly all smart features from their new TV.
Unlike the “apps-only” mode on Google’s new Chromecast, the “Basic TV” option won’t just ditch content recommendations. When users choose the option, they will only be able to access two core features on their smart TV: Live TV and external input (HDM). Supports for apps, Google Assistant, as well as casting, will be dropped.
The Basic TV experience will give you a clutter-free homescreen with just a few icons for HDMI inputs, live channels, the “Dashboard,” and a shortcut to ambient mode. While users will be allowed to switch back to the full Google TV experience, it will not be possible without a full reset. Google has also confirmed to the folks over at 9to5Google that the feature isn’t tied to Android TV 12.
VPN Deals: Lifetime license for $16, monthly plans at $1 & more
As per a Google spokesperson, the feature was designed for users who do not have internet access. It should also help make TVs with Google TV more enticing to users who aren’t keen on getting a smart TV. What remains unclear at this point, however, is if the option willl also made available to existing Android TV devices.


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Cogent Technology will be showcasing its CEM services at the Southern Manufacturing 2014 on February 12th & 13th. 2013 was a year of impressive growth for Cogent Technology, with a 20% increase in staff numbers and a new 2300 square foot facility now fully utilised. The firm has also invested in new technology, including state-of-the-art selective soldering machines and Aegis software, which will help streamline the documentation process.
The firm’s newly commissioned 2014 exhibition stand will debut at Southern 2014, stand F73, where visitors will have a chance to win an iPad Mini as well as availing themselves of some very inviting hospitality in the form of coffee and pastries! The experts from Cogent Technology will be on hand to discuss visitor’s requirements.
But if you can’t wait until Southern, some excellent design tips to achieve high-yield, low-cost manufacture are available on its YouTube channel CogentTechnologyTV
For more about Cogent Technology – and a chance to win an iPad Mini, visit stand F73. More information on the company is available at www.cogentcem.com


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Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC's) Indian embedded value (IEV) grew marginally to ₹5.41 lakh crore as of March 2022 compared with ₹5.39 lakh crore as of September 2021, noted Business Standard in a recent report. However, it added that the life insurer's value of new business (VNB) margin grew by 580 basis points to 15.1 percent during this period due to the diversification of its product mix.
"The increase in the IEV was marginal as the insurer took a ₹40,000-crore hit from its investments. This was partially offset by the sharp rise in VNB margins. According to the data released by LIC on Thursday, its IEV as of March 31, 2022, stood at ₹5,41,492 crore compared with ₹5,39,686 crore on September 30, 2021, and ₹95,605 crore on March 31, 2021," the report informed.
LIC's VNB for the year ended March 31, 2022, was ₹7,619 crore compared to ₹4,167 crore for the year ended March 31, 2021, up almost 83 percent.
In the past, analysts have said that LIC’s balance sheet and, in turn, EV remain very sensitive to equity market movements, pointed out the report, adding that Milliman Advisors' report on LIC’s EV mentions that a 10 percent fall in equity markets corresponds to a 6.5 percent fall in EV.
“We are going through a phase where the equity values have depreciated and that is a concern. But as long as India remains a growth story, it will add value to us going forward. With the corporation’s focus on growing business with an increased focus on non-par business, the proportion of core business will automatically increase and equity will come down," a senior LIC official told BS.
"LIC is looking to introduce more non-par products in the market. On an APE basis, non-par is about 7 percent of LIC’s portfolio and it plans to take it to 12 - 15 percent in 3-4 years. Along with the product strategy, LIC is also looking to diversify its distribution strategy by focusing a lot more on the bancassurance channel," BS stated in the report.


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Brexit cost food exporters €570 million in 2016
The first bill for Brexit is in and it is huge. A Bord Bia Export Review and Prospects Report to be issued later today will show that sterling currency movements in the wake of the June referendum vote cost Irish food and drink exporters €570 million in 2016, RTE reports.
In general it was a good year for food and drink exports which were up 2% to €11.15 billion, their seventh consecutive year of growth. Exports to the UK, however, were down 8% and Bord Bia attributes all that downturn to currency. The UK market’s share of Irish food and drink exports fell by four percentage points to 37%.


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Call it the Uber of opticians, or the Toms of eyeglass prescriptions: A new service that launched in New York City last week brings an eye testing service to customers at their homes. Blink, as the service is called, was first developed by the Camera Culture group at MIT’s Media Lab and its Somerville spinoff EyeNetra.
For about a decade, the group has been testing the ability to turn a smartphone into tool that reads refractive errors in the eye, the information that optometrists typically use to create new prescriptions for corrective lenses.
EyeNetra is one of several groups giving rural communities access to eye care through portable diagnostic tools powered by smartphones. Blink, the group’s first commercial venture, seeks to appeal to Manhattan’s busy, mobile-obsessed millennials who are used to ordering everything from miso soup to manicures via apps, according to EyeNetra chief executive Steve Carlson.
Blink customers can book appointments online. Blink’s employees, called “visioneers,” will visit them at at work, at a coffee shop, or at their home, carrying EyeNetra’s portable diagnostics.
The at-home eye exam begins with the visioneer taking note of the customer’s existing prescription. Next is an eye test conducted using Blink’s custom technology: a boxy piece of headgear that contains a smartphone and pair of virtual reality goggles. It’s essentially a miniaturized and portable version of the piece of equipment that typically takes up most an optician’s exam room, which can cost upwards of $20,000.
The camera and memory in a smartphone are used to record the information necessary for an eyeglasses prescription, which is then sent electronically to one of Blink’s partner licensed optometrists. They then issue a prescription.
Blink appointments cost $75 per visit, and are not covered by insurance at launch. Following the models set by glasses-maker Warby Parker and shoe manufacturers Toms, Blink gives away a free eye exam and pair of glasses for each appointment purchased. For now, the free exams will be offered to poor people in New York neighborhoods who might otherwise go without treatment.
The company notes that the test does not assess eye health, the kind of information eye doctors collect during a “comprehensive eye exam.” It’s limited to identifying refractive errors — the kind that can be corrected using prescriptive lenses.
Boston serial entrepreneur and ex-chief of the Media Lab Frank Moss and Jay Duker, chair of ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine, are on the advisory board for Blink. Ramesh Raskar, the head of the Camera Culture group at the MIT Media Lab that developed this tech, is on the board of directors.
Images via Blink


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There's also a brand new map which is set in Toronto - making it the game's first Canadian map.
As with Diablo IV, we have no idea when Overwatch 2 will be available. Afterward, Game Director Jeff Kaplan and Assistant Director Aaron Keller took the stage to debut more, including a cinematic story trailer and a gameplay trailer.
"With Overwatch 2, we're building the cooperative, narrative-driven game experience that players have been asking for since the original-and that we've wanted to make for a long time", said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment.
Ultimate Abilities have also been added and function as follows: "all classes gain charge for their chosen Ultimate by using basic attacks". A new core PvP mode is in too, along with new maps, new characters, and new looks for old characters.
Overwatch 2 will possess a brand new core sport mode known as Push, residence in Toronto, which is ready to be playable on the display hide flooring this weekend. Rumors and whispers heading into BlizzCon 2019 suggested such a reveal was going to happen, and it turns out they were right.
Fire almost destroys Japanese UNESCO world heritage site
During the July 2000 summit of the Group of Eight major economies in Okinawa , leaders had dinner in the castle's north hall. This was because " Shuri Castle acted as the local headquarters for the Imperial Japanese Army" according to CNN .
But if you don't buy Overwatch 2, you won't be left out.
"We want to make sure that all Overwatch cosmetics come forward with you into Overwatch 2, so all your progress matters. We're not coming out soon. not even Blizzard soon".
Overwatch 2 is expected to contain some kind of single-player component or a multiplayer coop move that focuses on PvE.
"Tune in early for a special BlizzCon pre-show at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Friday, and get ready for the opening ceremony live at 11 a.m. PDT".
This is the main thing missing from the original Overwatch, which hinges on big battle plays online.
The highly-popular team and hero-based multiplayer shooter has been around for just over three years now, and it's seen plenty of updates over that timeframe. Of course, if you decide to stick with the first game, you won't have access to the sequel's PvE content. And after last year's abysmal reaction to Diablo Immortal at Blizzcon 2018, they weren't chomping at the bit to get Immortal into the limelight during the convention.


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Facebook using people’s phones to listen in on what they’re saying, claims professor
Facebook says that it does use handsets' microphones, but only to help them out – and there’s an easy way of turning it off
Facebook is listening in on people’s conversations all of the time, an expert has claimed.
The app is using people’s phones to gather data on what they are talking about, it has been claimed.
Facebook says that its app does listen to what’s happening around it, but only as a way of seeing what people are listening to or watching and suggesting that they post about it.
The feature has been available for a couple of years, but recent warnings from Kelli Burns, mass communication professor at the University of South Florida, have drawn attention to it.
Professor Burns has said that the tool appears to be using the audio it gathers not simply to help out users, but to listen in to discussions and serve them with relevant advertising. She says that to test the feature, she discussed certain topics around the phone and then found that the site appeared to show relevant ads.
The claim chimes with anecdotal reports online that the site appears to show ads for things that people have mentioned in passing.
Facebook has not yet responded to a request for comment.
At the moment, the feature is only available in the US.
When it was first introduced, in 2014, Facebook responded to controversy by arguing that the phone isn’t “always listening” and that it never stores the “raw audio” when it is listening.
Facebook says explicitly on its help pages that it doesn’t record conversations, but that it does use the audio to identify what is happening around the phone. The site promotes the feature as an easy way of identifying what you are listening to or watching, to make it easier and quicker to post about whatever’s going on.
If people want to use the feature that way, then they can start writing a post in the normal way. If it’s turned on, then it will start identifying what is being listened to or watching – at which point a little face with some soundwaves next to it will appear.
If it identifies the sound successfully, then it will show a little “1” next to the face instead – users can then click that, select the thing they are watching or listening to, and then write the rest of the update.
“If your phone's microphone has trouble matching what you're listening to or watching, the room you're in may be loud or a commercial may be on,” according to Facebook’s help page. “If this happens, tap, drag and release your screen to try a new match.”
Turning off the microphone in a phone’s settings is relatively easy, and since it can be done at the level of the operating system, doing so will mean that Facebook can’t turn it on even if it wanted to. It’s done on an iPhone by heading to the app’s settings, clicking through to privacy and switching the slider for microphone; on Android phones, head to settings and then privacy, and change the permissions that the Facebook app is given.
The claims come after Belgian police warned citizens not to use Facebook's Reactions tool if they valued their privacy.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/techn ... 61450.html
elfismiles » 01 Dec 2011 13:22 wrote:
...so riddle me this ... GPS data mining / colocating for cross-platform advertising? ...
This day before turkeyday I was at a relative's house. They had just gotten new hardwood floors. We talked about it a lot. I was there less than 24 hours. Next morning I am leaving and begin the drive to other relatives house. I am listening to Pandora in the car on my phone and an advert I've never heard before comes on.
It was for the same kind of hardwood flooring! And NO I'd not searched for the info on my phone or otherwise.
Karmamatterz » 08 Jun 2016 01:00 wrote:If you logged onto the wifi when you visited the relatives house years ago the IP address could have been cross referenced and stored with markers about purchase or browsing habits from that IP and geo. I've met and had lengthy discussions with more than one data mining company that is pretty good at this. Their holy grail is to link mobile and desktop in the same database about your habits, interests etc... Their holy grail has been achieved and is very active for brands to target you.
Jun 4 2018, 3:16am
Your Phone Is Listening and it's Not Paranoia by Sam Nichols
Here's how I got to bottom of the ads-coinciding-with-conversations mystery.
A couple years ago, something strange happened. A friend and I were sitting at a bar, iPhones in pockets, discussing our recent trips in Japan and how we’d like to go back. The very next day, we both received pop-up ads on Facebook about cheap return flights to Tokyo. It seemed like just a spooky coincidence, but then everyone seems to have a story about their smartphone listening to them. So is this just paranoia, or are our smartphones actually listening?
According to Dr. Peter Henway—The senior security consultant for cybersecurity firm Asterix, and former lecturer and researcher at Edith Cowan University—the short answer is yes, but perhaps in a way that's not as diabolical as it sounds.
For your smartphone to actually pay attention and record your conversation, there needs to be a trigger, such as when you say “hey Siri” or “okay Google.” In the absence of these triggers, any data you provide is only processed within your own phone. This might not seem a cause for alarm, but any third party applications you have on your phone—like Facebook for example—still have access to this “non-triggered” data. And whether or not they use this data is really up to them.
Whispering some sweet nothings to my phone
“From time to time, snippets of audio do go back to [other apps like Facebook’s] servers but there’s no official understanding what the triggers for that are,” explains Peter. “Whether it’s timing or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically. All the internals of the applications send this data in encrypted form, so it’s very difficult to define the exact trigger.”
He goes on to explain that apps like Facebook or Instagram could have thousands of triggers. An ordinary conversation with a friend about needing a new pair of jeans could be enough to activate it. Although, the key word here is “could,” because although the technology is there, companies like Facebook vehemently deny listening to our conversations.
“Seeing Google are open about it, I would personally assume the other companies are doing the same.” Peter tells me. “Really, there’s no reason they wouldn’t be. It makes good sense from a marketing standpoint, and their end-use agreements and the law both allow it, so I would assume they’re doing it, but there’s no way to be sure.”
With this in mind, I decided to try an experiment. Twice a day for five days, I tried saying a bunch of phrases that could theoretically be used as triggers. Phrases like I’m thinking about going back to uni and I need some cheap shirts for work. Then I carefully monitored the sponsored posts on Facebook for any changes.
I'd never seen this ad for "quality clothing" until I told my phone I needed shirts
The changes came literally overnight. Suddenly I was being told mid-semester courses at various universities, and how certain brands were offering cheap clothing. A private conversation with a friend about how I’d run out of data led to an ad about cheap 20 GB data plans. And although they were all good deals, the whole thing was eye-opening and utterly terrifying.
Peter told me that although no data is guaranteed to be safe for perpetuity, he assured me that in 2018 no company is selling their data directly to advertisers. But as we all know, advertisers don’t need our data for us to see their ads.
“Rather than saying here’s a list of people who followed your demographic, they say Why don’t you give me some money, and I’ll make that demographic or those who are interested in this will see it. If they let that information out into the wild, they’ll lose that exclusive access to it, so they’re going to try to keep it as secret as possible.
Peter went on to say that just because tech companies value our data, it doesn’t keep it safe from governmental agencies. As most tech companies are based in the US, the NSA or perhaps the CIA can potentially have your information disclosed to them, whether it’s legal in your home country or not.
So yes, our phones are listening to us and anything we say around our phones could potentially be used against us. But, according to Peter at least, it’s not something most people should be scared of.
Because unless you’re a journalist, a lawyer, or have some kind of role with sensitive information, the access of your data is only really going to advertisers. If you’re like everyone else, living a really normal life, and talking to your friends about flying to Japan, then it’s really not that different to advertisers looking at your browsing history.
“It’s just an extension from what advertising used to be on television,” says Peter. Only instead of prime time audiences, they’re now tracking web-browsing habits. It’s not ideal, but I don’t think it poses an immediate threat to most people.”
Follow Sam on Twitter
Still freaked out about all this? Check out our series Internet Hygiene for information on protecting yourself online.
This article originally appeared on VICE AU.
https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wjbz ... t-paranoia
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them!
Apple Struggles to Reassure Feds: Our iPhones Are Not Spying on People
By Phil Baker August 22, 2018
The Energy and Commerce Committee in Congress sent letters in July to Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, and Larry Page, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, asking whether their smartphones listen to their users and collect data. In its response, Apple said that they do not listen to what users say and that third-party apps cannot access the audio data without permission.
Timothy Powderly, Apple's director of federal government affairs, claimed in a letter obtained by CNN, "The iPhone doesn't listen to consumers except to recognize the clear, unambiguous audio trigger 'Hey Siri.’ The customer is not our product, and our business model does not depend on collecting vast amounts of personally identifiable information to enrich targeted profiles marketed to advertisers."
"We believe privacy is a fundamental human right and purposely design our products and services to minimize our collection of customer data," Powderly added.
[ Facebook Brazenly Asks Banks for Customer Bank Balances, Credit Card Numbers
https://pjmedia.com/trending/facebook-b ... d-numbers/ ]
There’s been no word yet if Google has responded.
The questions were raised by lawmakers in response to rumors that some companies, including Amazon, Facebook, and others collect data from our conversations.
Apple explained that an iPhone will display a visual alert when Siri is listening to a user’s request. Apple also requires third-party apps to display an indicator when they're capturing data using the microphone, and users must first grant access to the app to access the mic. This ostensibly refers to apps that are used to make recordings and use voice search.
This latest news comes on the heels of a new report that accuses Google of tracking a user’s locations without permission. The Associated Press discovered that Google captures and saves your location history even if you’ve disabled location tracking on your phone.
What's becoming evident is that many high-tech companies, particularly those dependent on advertising, have few ethical boundaries in their efforts to capture more and more of our personal information. Consider that these companies have thousands of engineers being paid to come up with new ideas to make their companies' product more effective and to grow the revenue.
Imagine a Google engineer who has access to your location and your microphone. He or she could decide to develop the capability to listen to you every time you visit your doctor to learn about your health and sell it to insurance companies. This is hypothetical and there's no indication it's being done, but all the tools are there right on your phone to do so.
What's really needed is a code of conduct that defines their limits, whether it's something developed internally or by a government agency. So far few companies have provided any signs of doing this on their own. Apple may be the exception because their business model is built around the profits from their hardware, not from advertising revenue.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/apple-stru ... on-people/
coffin_dodger » Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:30 am wrote:All this amazing technology... to deliver... adverts.
RI username ---> email address registered at RI to that username ---> email address real life name and address registered at ISP ---> real name search at mobile phone provider ---> android or ios enabled listening post 'always on'
what you do know might come back to haunt you
Users browsing this forum: Majestic-12 [Bot] and 11 guests


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Sales into large fleets, not including sales into dealer and manufacturer fleets, increased 48% year over year in February to 183,954 units, according to an early estimate from Cox Automotive released March 6.
New-vehicle inventory is vastly better than year-ago levels, enabling automakers to be more aggressive with fleet sales. Combined sales into large rental, commercial, and government fleets have seen eight consecutive months of double-digit, year-over-year increases. Sales into rental fleets were up 77% year over year, sales into government fleets were up 42%, and sales into commercial fleets were up 23%.
Fleet Share of Retail Sales Increases Again in February
As expected, strong fleet sales helped overall February U.S. auto sales pace, or seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), likely reach 14.9 million units, above the Cox Automotive forecast of 14.4 million. Including an estimate for fleet deliveries into dealer and manufacturer channels, the remaining retail sales were estimated to be up 4.3%, leading to an estimated retail SAAR of 12.3 million, up 0.5 million from last year’s pace, but down 0.9 million from last month’s pace.
Fleet market share of 17.7% was a 3.5% gain compared to last year’s share of 14.2% and was a 1.2% increase from last month’s estimated 16.5% market share.
All large manufacturers had year-over-year fleet sales gains. Stellantis and Ford had the largest fleet volume gains – up more than 50% – in February compared to last year. Kia and Hyundai reported solid February retail sales results with only minor increases in fleet sales.
“Fleet was a big part of the auto sales story in February," said Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, in a news release. As inventory levels increase, some automakers are choosing to sell more units into the fleet channel to keep retail supply limited.”
Year-to-date fleet sales are up 52.3% compared to the same time in 2022 when fleet sales were down 30% year over year. The Cox Automotive fleet sales forecast for 2023 is 2.2 million units.
Originally posted on Vehicle Remarketing


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Posted Wednesday, 22-Apr-2015
News from invite-only industry convention Gathering of Friends has provided an insight into upcoming games over the next few years. Some familiar names were on show, including a new Through the Ages and a Galaxy Trucker expansion. But there were also exciting new games, including first person shooter Adrenaline and western shootout game Flick ‘em Up, giving gamers much more to look forward to.
Ludonaute have revealed details of an upcoming expansion for Colt Express, the game in which meeples raid a fantastic cardboard train in the Old West. It adds horses, hostages and a stagecoach to the fun. But best of all, it lets you play the heroic Marshall, one man against a world gone bad.
Another science fiction game, Sky Relics offers a cool collection of spaceships and a chance to grapple for dominance with a mixture of arcane knowledge and far future technology.
Published by BoardGamePrices.com
Can we fit all the photos we took at Spiel into this article? No. But we’ll sure try! Here’s your last look at the last day of the biggest board games show in the world.
The tiredness starts to take hold; but we press on toward Day 3! We’ve got dice! We’ve got minis! We’ve got mechs! It’s Spiel!


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McDonald's Ireland has just launched its first ever vegetarian Happy Meal and we are not sure how to feel about it.
In the Happy Meal, you can expect to get a red pesto goujon wrap which has been picked by kids and their parents.
This move was encouraged and helped by the Vegetarian Society.
The ingredients in the Meal are also dairy free.
There is also a brand new Spicy Veggie wrap now available on the menu.
This new wrap is made with two red pesto goujons, spicy relish with tomato, lettuce and red onion all wrapped in a soft, toasted tortilla.
Menu Director at McDonald’s UK & Ireland, Duncan Cruttenden said in a statement: “Our commitment is to offer great food, great choice and a great experience to our customers and we are constantly asking them how we can evolve and improve.
"We are really thrilled to be able to give our customers this new choice with the addition of the Spicy Vegetarian Wrap and our first Vegetarian Happy Meal.”
This new menu will join in the Vegetable Deluxe selection.


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With bankruptcy behind it and Jacobs again the owner, Larson Boats eagerly enters its second century
Larson Boats has been in the same business for 100 years, and Al Kuebelbeck knows that’s exceptional. As the company celebrates its centennial, Kuebelbeck reflects on the challenges of recent years, from a bankruptcy restructuring to the Great Recession, and he’s looking ahead to what he believes will be some of Larson’s most exciting times.
“We went through a lot,” says Kuebelbeck, the company’s president and CEO. “If you look at the different recessions we’ve had, Larson’s always been able to weather the storm.”
That proved difficult during the Great Recession. “The past three years have probably been the toughest three years that I’ve participated in this business,” he says, noting that some of Larson’s boatbuilder competitors failed. “That affords us the opportunity to gain some market share because we’re still alive and still here. We landed in bankruptcy in 2009, and we worked our way through, and we’ve repositioned ourselves in the market. We didn’t sit on our laurels. We worked hard on developing new product that we feel is apropos for the market we’re dealing with and the generation we’re dealing with.”
Larson is the umbrella company for the Larson, Triumph and Seaswirl Striper brands. All of the operations were consolidated in Little Falls, Minn., after the 2009 restructuring.
The process has not been without difficulty. Genmar Holdings Inc. CEO Irwin Jacobs filed for bankruptcy protection for all 15 of Genmar’s companies in June 2009. The case was later converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation, and the assets were auctioned. Platinum Equity, a private equity investment firm, purchased the Larson, Triumph and Seaswirl brands from Genmar and sold them to Jacobs’ new company, J&D Acquisitions. Some vendors and dealers alleged that Jacobs left them holding the bag for unpaid warranty claims and work already completed.
Last January, Charles Ries, the bankruptcy trustee for Genmar Holdings, filed dozens of “clawback” lawsuits seeking millions of dollars paid to alleged insiders and Genmar subsidiaries before the company’s 2009 bankruptcy filing, asking Jacobs to return $2.7 million. In February, Jacobs countersued Ries, accusing him of publishing false statements about Jacobs’ prior business dealings. Both lawsuits remain open.
Most of the 43 years that Kuebelbeck has spent in the marine industry have been with Larson — 38 of them with Jacobs — and he defends Jacobs against those who criticize him. “Working with him is very rewarding,” Kuebelbeck says. “I fully understand there are a lot of negatives out there, [but] most of the negatives out there — there isn’t much substance to it.”
Jacobs got into the marine industry in the 1970s when he purchased Larson because he believed so strongly in the brand, Kuebelbeck says. “Frankly, without him having that strong feeling in Larson, I don’t think Larson would be having its 100th anniversary this year,” Kuebelbeck says. “We’re completely restructured, and coming out of the bankruptcy Irwin could’ve walked away, but he had such dedication to the company — he stuck with us. We’re building the brands back up, and I’m excited with what we’ve got coming down the line and anxious to see how it’s received.
“We’ve been very busy,” Kuebelbeck adds. “We’ve been working very hard to develop new product.”
It’s important to give people a reason to spend money on new boats, and innovative products are the key, he says. “In this last three years, the whole buying structure has changed,” Kuebelbeck says. “We rely really heavily on the entry-level boat buyer, and he’s been noticeably absent in the market these days.”
Kuebelbeck thinks pent-up demand, combined with new products, will help spark sales. “New product is what gets the younger generation to buy,” he says. “This Y Generation is unlike any we’ve seen. The electronics and all that’s coming out — our new generation lives and breathes it. Our products need to have the things that are going to keep them interested.”
The company has a strong bond with the Little Falls community after so many years there, Kuebelbeck says. “In any company, you can be sophisticated and have all the technology in the world, but if you don’t have good people, you don’t have a company,” he says. “We’ve got loyalty. There are people who have been working with us 18 and 20 years. That’s what makes my job a lot easier. They are 150 percent behind this company. And Irwin is also. I feel so strongly about what’s going on now and appreciate the opportunity to get the message out there a little more truthfully.”
After staying out of the public glare for the past few years, now is the time for Larson to get the word out to boat buyers so they understand where the company stands, Kuebelbeck says. Larson launched 11 new models at its dealer meeting in late August, including a revival of the All-American, the iconic boat Larson built from the 1950s to the 1990s. Dealers responded well to the new products, says executive vice president Mike O’Connell.
“We’re always trying to hit this market niche of super-high value and low cost,” O’Connell says. “One of the seamstresses in the audience had been with us 47 years, and we’d said, ‘What about if instead of the most efficient stitch line you did the most beautiful stitch line, even if it cost a little bit more?’ Or what about if we built the most beautiful, elegant hull instead of the most efficient hull, even if it costs a few more bucks? How can we build a boat that shows off what Larson is really about?”
Orders have come in at or above planned projection, and the company planned for a “pretty significant increase” in orders, O’Connell says.
The All-American is how Larson made its name in years past, Kuebelbeck says. “We’re resurrecting the old and combining it with the new,” he says. “It’s pretty cool, and I think it’s the start of the next hundred years. I think we’re going to show the world that we meant what we said. We’re going to come out with the interest of our buyers at heart.”
This article originally appeared in the October 2012 issue.


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Huawei Technologies and
are dominating the early market for 5G mobile phones, according to data from research firm Strategy Analytics, with
expected to remain on the sidelines until later this year.
The new data show that global shipments of 5G phones reached 19 million units in 2019, with demand “much higher than expected.” That’s up from zero 5G phones in 2018.
Huawei was the market leader with 37% of the market, most of those sold in China. Samsung had 36% of the market, selling 5G phones in a broader range of markets, including South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K. Vivo, which sells phones primarily in China, had 10.7% of the market. China-based Xiaomi, which sells phones in Western Europe as well as domestically, had 6.4% of the market. South Korea’s
rounded out the top five, with a 4.8% share.
The 5G phone sales last year were just the tip of the iceberg: the game will really get going in 2020. At the CES trade show in Las Vegas earlier this month,
(ticker: QCOM) President Cristiano Amon predicted that 200 million 5G smartphones will be sold in 2020, and growing from there. Apple (AAPL) is going to be a little late to the party, with the company widely expected to introduce its first 5G phones this fall. In commenting on Apple’s December quarter earnings today, some analysts wondered if stronger-than-expected demand for Apple’s iPhone 11 lineup might be stealing some early potential demand away from the 5G launch.
Meanwhile, the emerging coronavirus issue could have an impact on the speed of 5G adoption. Without referring specifically to 5G, Apple CEO Tim Cook on the company’s earnings call Tuesday cautioned that the virus issue could affect both its partners in China and consumer demand in the country.
Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston cautioned in a statement that “the recent coronavirus scare is currently restricting trade in some parts of China,” which could cause a slowdown in 5G supply or demand across Asia or world-wide in the 2020 first half. “Industry players should be prepared for bumpy 5G sales in some markets,” he added.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at email@example.com


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VFW Post 5699 hosting food drive for veterans Saturday
Some spilled blood, others the ultimate sacrifice, giving all. VFW Post 5699 in Ocean Springs has partnered with local businesses and the community to show their appreciation in a food distribution tomorrow at the post off VFW Road in Gulf Islands National Seashore.
South Mississippi businesses, such as Humana and Walgreens, to name a few, have also donated to the cause, as seen by the food and goods volunteers were packing up on Friday afternoon at the post.
In addition to the food collected are hygiene products and coffee packs, expressing appreciation from across the nation. VFW Post 5699 Commander Lela Bremen said, “Anybody who’s served is welcome. They need to have proof of service-DD214, ID card, anything that can prove service. Everybody is in need right now. This is just a way to show our veterans we love them. They’re our fellow veterans. Our community loves them. We support them.”
The distribution is set to take place Saturday, September 19th at noon at VFW Post 5699 off VFW Road in Ocean Springs.
It is located in Gulf Islands National Seashore off Bienville.


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Nissan CEO Admits Company Won't Hit Leaf Sales Mark of 20,000 for 2012
November 16, 2012 9:26 PM
comment(s) - last by
So far, Nissan has only sold 6,791 Leafs for the year
Nissan has been shooting for 20,000 total sales of its all-electric Leaf in 2012, but the automaker has finally admitted that it just
won't be able to reach that number
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reported yesterday that the company will not reach its goal of 20,000 Leafs sold in all of 2012. Nissan was pretty confident throughout the year despite declining sales, and refused to give up the notion that it could double last year's sales until now.
"The forecast we have given ourselves for the year will not be reached," said Ghosn.
For all of 2011, Nissan sold 9,679 Leafs. After nearly achieving 10,000 sales, it declared a new sales goal of 20,000 in 2012 -- doubling the previous year's.
While Nissan had its best sales month in October 2012 with 1,579 sold, the overall year was pretty disappointing. So far, Nissan has only sold 6,791 for the year, making it impossible to even reach last year's 10,000 mark let alone doubling that.
Nissan has even tried to
lure customers in this year with price cuts
It took $3,250 off the price tag of each 2012 Leaf model starting in August. This is a considerable jump from the $850 discounts it was giving back in January. The 2012 Leaf starts at $36,050.
In addition, Nissan reduced lease costs of the 2012 Leaf from $249 per month to $219 per month with $2,999 down for 32 months.
Despite this failure to meet the mark, Nissan isn't giving up. In a video last month, Nissan said it now aims to sell 1.5 million EVs cumulatively by 2016.
While the Leaf seems to be withering in terms of sales, its competitor, the
, is doing quite well. In the first seven months of 2012 alone, the Volt was already at 10,666 sales. According to
, the 2012 year-to-date sales for the Volt is at 19,309 units -- nearly hitting Nissan's goal of 20,000 for the year.
General Motors (GM) recently said it plans to start
building 500,000 cars with electrification technologies annually by 2017
. It also developed a new way to use Volt batteries (which have been retired from the road) to power homes during blackouts.
GM partnered with automation and power technologies company ABB Group as well as Duke Energy to find useful applications for EV batteries after they've been exhausted in vehicles.
The end result was a unit that contains five
Volt lithium-ion battery packs
that can provide two hours of electricity to three to five U.S. homes during a blackout. According to GM, the unit can provide 25 kilowatt hours of power and 50 kilowatt hours of energy.
The Detroit News
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
11/19/2012 3:47:00 AM
It is ugly!
heh, Out of all of these electric cars and even the hybrids it is possibly the worst looking/plain/boring car I have ever seen. A car is not just about performance or range it is about looks, Most people may not even be aware of it but it would rate in top 3 in the list of things to look for when buying a new car,The style the look of the car does it meet your criteria, Now if you are a young japanese chick I would say yes yes it does look cute and meets my needs.
For the rest of us especially blokes it is a case of WTF is this?
Tesla has it right, It looks classy/stylish, EV's don't have to look like shit, Now if only the Tesla Model S was the price of the Nissan Leaf then I would be sold tomorrow no questions asked!
Even the Toyota Camry hybrid here in Australia looks decent, I don't know what Nissan was thinking, Possibly the engineering department was too busy thinking of used Japanese chicks undies which is why they catered the car for that demographic! ;)
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Business development tour starts in Louisville
The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development is partnering with a number of local, state and federal organizations to host free seminars designed to educate small-business owners and entrepreneurs on resources available to help them start, grow and sustain businesses.
The series, "Kentucky: Here We Grow Business," will begin in February and run through June, with stops in each of Kentucky's 15 area development districts, according to a news release.
Its first tour stop will be Feb. 19 in Louisville, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency office, 11520 Commonwealth Drive.
It also will stop in Elizabethtown on May 7, from 2 to 5 p.m., at the Lincoln Trail Area Development District office, 613 College Street Road.
Small businesses represent more than 96 percent of all employers and employ 48 percent of the private-sector work force. By definition, small businesses have fewer than 500 employees, but more than 90 percent of the businesses in Kentucky have fewer than 50 employees, according to a news release.
The seminars are free and registration is at the door.
Andrew Robinson covers these beats: Restaurants, retail, government, human resources, technology, automotive (dealers, services), media/marketing/printing, young professionals, West End, East End and Oldham County.
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According to this report from CNBC, Amazon is trying to figure out a way to quickly deliver your packages, without them getting stolen.
Amazon is exploring ways to deliver items to your auto trunk and the inside of your home. This could potentially let drivers drop off online grocery purchases directly to customer's refrigerators, similar to what Walmart is doing with smart doorbell maker August.
Aamir Khan Sidelines Katrina Kaif For Fatima Sana Shaikh, Actress Upset?
Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, Thugs of Hindostan is based on a fictitious story in the backdrop of the pre-Independence era. The actress will be seen playing a warrior in the film and she is leaving no stone unturned to play her part to perfection.
Amazon is also testing its own delivery service that intends to make more products available for free two-day delivery. But more recently, it's interested in ensuring deliveries actually arrive at their final destinations.
According to August, a company that makes one of the aforementioned doorbell and lock combos, 11 million people in the U.S. had a package stolen past year. This is not only a headache for customers but costs retailers like Amazon money in replacement orders. (AMZN) is looking at ways to solve problems related to unattended delivery by considering delivering items directly to a customer's house or auto. Amazon also has an incentive to reduce the number of lost packages, as they can be costly.


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Subscribe To The New Game By Bioshock Creator Is Influenced By Some Great Titles Updates
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We still may not know much about Ken Levine’s next game but, following a livestream Monday evening, we at least now know what recent games have influenced the father of Bioshock’s next creation.
Taking part in the Take This Charity livestream, Ken Levine booted up Dying Light earlier this week and started playing the zombie-slaying game while fielding questions from the audience.
Since Levine’s studio, Irrational, closed down following the launch of Bioshock Infinite, it’s no surprise that the vast majority of questions fired at the beloved creator pertained to plans for his next video game.
When asked what games he has drawn inspiration from while developing the new game, Ken Levine’s list was certainly an impressive one. It’s hard to imagine how all of these games will bolt together Voltron-style to create a single piece of digital entertainment, but we’re certainly interested in seeing how that all pans out.
Along with Dying Light, Levine said his next game has been inspired by one of his earlier projects, System Shock. Outside of that, he said inspiration was also drawn from games like Dark Souls, Civilization and even Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. It’s not so hard to imagine how most of those games might be able to bleed into a single new game, but the mention of Civilization is certainly throwing us for a loop.
At this point, we actually know a pretty good deal about what Levine and Co. have cooking, even if those details don’t reveal anything too specific. Levine has said in the past that the game is set in a Sci-Fi world and that it deals with the idea of artificial intelligence. We also know that his next project will be set in the first-person view, and that it is being designed to be played multiple times.
It’s also important to note that Ken Levine has reiterated the fact that folks shouldn’t go in expecting the next Bioshock in terms of scale. This next game is coming from a smaller studio with a budget to match, so Levine has said to expect a smaller open world for players to explore.
Outside of that, we’re just waiting on Levine to keep dishing the details. We haven’t heard anything about a name for the game yet, much less which platforms it will launch for or when. Since this game is coming from the mind that brought us Bioshock, however, we’re fairly certain whatever Levine announces next will have many a gamer grinning from ear to ear. As much as we love his infamous series, it’s also kind of neat knowing that, this time around, the team was able to do something completely different.
Feel free to sound off on what type of game you'd like Ken Levine to helm next in the comment section below.


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Coming to Tasmania was a bold move for avocado growers from Western Australia, but Paul and Maria Bidwell have proven the doubters wrong. Karolin MacGregor reports
WHEN Paul and Maria Bidwell moved to Tasmania in 2009 they set themselves the challenge of becoming the state’s first commercial avocado growers.
Six years after they planted the first avocado trees on their North Motton property they have well and truly achieved that goal, with the rich red basalt soils and mild climate proving ideal for avocado production.
Mr Bidwell said they became interested in moving to Tasmania after holidaying here in 2006. The couple ran a successful avocado-production business in Western Australia for about 25 years, but after their children left for the eastern states they decided it was time to move and downsize.
Mr Bidwell said after researching different areas of the state, it was the top-quality soils in the North-West that appealed to them.
Despite encountering a fair degree of scepticism about growing avocados on a commercial basis here, the couple have proved the doubters wrong. Not only have their trees been growing at an unexpected rate, the amount of fruit is much higher than predicted too.
“We looked into the market here and realised there weren’t any commercial- scale producers, so we thought there would be an opportunity to supply locally grown fruit into the artisan-type market,” Mr Bidwell said. “We didn’t know from a supply-and-demand situation how that was going to go.”
The couple are selling their avocados at the Launceston Harvest Market and have also joined the Fork to Fork online network.
They now have 1260 trees spread over 3ha of orchard and Mr Bidwell said production levels were far higher than they had anticipated.
“They have just gone crazy,” he said.
“The amount of growth we’re getting and the fruit production is much more than we would have expected for trees which are still very young.”
Across the industry average production per hectare is 8 to 10 tonnes.
He said judging by how the trees were performing, that would definitely be achievable in Tasmania too.
Despite a reputation as a tropical species, Mr Bidwell said avocados actually grew in the highland areas in their region of origin, so they do need a chill period during winter to set them up for flowering and fruiting.
Though susceptible to severe frost, Mr Bidwell said the trees handled chilly conditions quite well.
Avocados are affected by heat stress once temperatures reach more than 30C, so the mild North-West summer conditions suit them well.
The main variety in the Bidwells’ orchard is Hass. They also have a small number of Bacon trees used as pollinators andseveral Reed varieties to see how they perform.
About 0.5ha of the orchard is under netting in an experiment to help protect the trees against wind.
A major benefit this season has been a significant increase in pollination with bees confined to the netted area. Mr Bidwell estimates this has potentially doubled the production of trees in the netted area for next season.
“This is the first time I know of anyone growing avocados under netting, so it really is unique and we’re very interested to see how it goes.”
Avocado trees in Tasmania flower in November-December and this is a crucial time for fruit set. Mr Bidwell said this year’s warm and dry spring had been ideal.
The fruit takes 14-15 months to grow and mature so the couple will harvest fruit from the 2015 spring flowering until January next year. Each tree has two years of fruit on it at the one time.
Unlike most avocado producers, the Bidwells leave their fruit on the trees until fully mature. This ensures the avocados have a high oil content, which produces a rich creamy texture.
“The advantage we have here is that because we’re selling into the local market, we can pick the fruit when it is at its peak quality and that makes a big difference to the flavour and the texture,” Mr Bidwell said.
“Because most of the fruit here is brought in from other states, a lot of people probably haven’t even tasted an avocado that has been allowed to fully mature naturally on the tree.”
Once mature, the fruit will not ripen until it is picked. This means the Bidwells can leave fruit on the trees and harvest them when needed.
Mr Bidwell said in hot climates such as Queensland, the oil content caused the fruit to go rancid if left on the trees.
“Here it’s like they are in a suspended state, the quality stays the same even once they’re fully mature.”
Because of the cooler climate Mrs Bidwell said it took about 10-14 days for the avocados to ripen once harvested — something they have been educating their customers about.
Tasmania is also relatively free of pests and diseases for avocados.
Demand for avocados across the country has been increasing steadily thanks to marketing by industry body Avocados Australia. This, combined with cyclone damage to some Queensland orchards and the push from major supermarket chains for locally grown fruit, has seen prices recently skyrocket.
“They have done a very good job of marketing and that has definitely boosted demand,” Mr Bidwell said.
“Avocados have really gone from a luxury item to a staple.”
Because of their ability to grow two lots of fruit at once, Mr Bidwell said the trees required careful nutrient management. Moisture-monitoring technology has been installed around the orchard and nutrition is managed through fertigation.
Mr Bidwell has weather stations across the orchard to prevent frost damage and to record wind speeds.
He said soil quality was critical for avocados and this was likely why their trees performed so well. The Bidwells will be harvesting fruit right though until April this season.


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Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise to commend the continuing efforts of America's computer industry to find a technical solution to the encryption issue. On Monday, July 13, a consortium of thirteen high-tech companies announced an alternative to the Administration's proposed key escrow/third party access system. As you will recall, many computer and security exports have stated that key escrow would be an invasion of privacy, technically unworkable, and cost prohibitive.
Unlike the key recovery system advocated by the Administration, industry's `private doorbells' approach would not require sensitive encryption keys to be escrowed with third parties in order for law enforcement to gain access to computer messages. Instead, the FBI and other federal, state, and local agencies would be able to combat crime by being provided with court approved, real-time access to communiques at the point where they are sent or at the point where the message is received. Clearly, high-tech executives have not been sitting on the sidelines as the encryption debate continues. As this announcement indicates, the computer industry is working hard to find a balanced solution that ensures the needs of our law enforcement and national security communities while maintaining privacy protections for all U.S. citizens. We owe it to them, and to all Americans, to find a balanced legislative solution to encryption.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would also like to applaud the computer industry's efforts to find alternative technical solutions to help law enforcement with the challenge of encrypted data and communications without the need to establish a government-mandated key escrow or key recovery scheme. With the appropriate privacy safeguards in place, as outlined in the E-PRIVACY bill, S.2067, the solution that the companies are proposing appears encouraging. American companies are desperate for a common sense approach to our export policy on encryption. As you are well aware, the Administration, starting with Clipper Chip, has been wedded to key escrow schemes to ensure that the FBI can get access to plaintext, or unscrambled electronic data. This path has been pursued despite the serious questions that experts have raised about the costs, privacy risks and lack of consumer interest in such schemes. As U.S. companies watch their market share for computer hardware and software products erode because of our country's outdated export controls on encryption, it is imperative that the Administration direct the FBI to consider creative alternatives to key escrow.
Mr. CRAIG. The recent announcement by several leading companies in the computer industry makes it clear that, in addressing both economic and law enforcement concerns, it is important to find a balance between the two. We must create legislation that addresses consumer demand for encrypted products while also meeting the needs of law enforcement--legislation that fosters a global marketplace dominated by U.S. encryption products. Those products, of course, will be a great benefit to our national security.
Mr. BURNS. Industry's plan to allow law enforcement access to the plaintext of some encrypted communications demonstrates that market solutions can truly address many areas of law enforcement's concerns with encryption. At the same time, we should not forget that there is a continuing need for legislative privacy protections governing how and when law enforcement should have access to encrypted data.
Mr. LEAHY. I agree, the announcement by the high-tech companies of alternative means of access to plaintext to encrypted data demonstrates industry's commitment to find solutions that accommodate law enforcement interests. It also reiterates the need for privacy protection legislation to ensure that law enforcement only gets such access with a proper court order. The E-PRIVACY bill, S. 2067, which I have sponsored with Senator Ashcroft, and others, would provide that privacy protection.
Mr. BURNS. Yes, these recent developments continue to highlight the desperate need for a change in U.S. encryption policy. Last week the Administration announced it would make exceptions in encryption export policy allowing banks and certain financial institutions to export strong encryption, without vulnerable key recovery systems, to their subsidiaries in a select group of 40 countries. This is a welcome development for those companies that will qualify for this narrow exception but it does not provide the same protection of online privacy for everyday Americans.
Mr. LOTT. Americans want and need strong encryption to protect their most sensitive data and communications from unauthorized access. Yet the Administration continues to pursue an encryption policy that limits exports, requires key recovery backdoors for law enforcement, and ultimately stifles American innovation. Instead of keeping technology out of the hands of criminals, continuing export controls will only ensure that U.S. citizens have less protection than other computer users throughout the globe. The financial institutions announcement confirms what many in Congress have been saying for some time: users of electronic commerce will be best served by providing relief from current export control regulations. Allowing advanced encryption to be exported ensures that sensitive data is protected while helping American companies compete globally. Individual consumers, as well as multinational financial institutions, will not buy and will not use encryption systems when government mandated recovery keys for these products are provided to third parties. This system, as many experts have reported, creates a host of security risks, making our online communications vulnerable to attack by thieves, hackers and other criminals.
Mr. CRAIG. From an economic standpoint, foreign companies are winning an increasing number of contracts because consumers are unwilling to buy products that ensure third party access or require that keys be stored with government certified or operated facilities. This is particularly true since they can buy stronger encryption overseas from either foreign-owned companies or American owned companies on foreign soil. We must act quickly and prudently in addressing this problem.
Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, for several years we have debated, argued and discussed the real economic impact of continuing to follow the Administration's wrong-headed policy on encryption. In addition to the Administration, several members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have refused to consider many of the facts of encryption technology and the importance of the technology sector to our robust economy. After all these years, we have an historical opportunity to debate encryption on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Mr. CRAIG. I agree. With the rapid expansion of the `super highway' and Internet commerce, it is crucial we bring encryption legislation to the forefront. A secure, private and trusted national global information infrastructure is essential to promote citizens' privacy and economic growth.
Mr. LEAHY. Encryption technology is not only a critical tool for protecting the confidentiality of our online communications and the privacy of our stored electronic information, it is also the building block for digital signatures. The future of electronic commerce requires that parties conducting business online be able to trust the authenticity of the contracts they enter and that the parties with whom they are dealing are who they say they are. In fact, a number of States, including my own State of Vermont, are making progress on crafting the rules for digital signatures and online commercial transactions.
Mr. BURNS. Encryption is also an essential part of new `digital signature' techniques used to identify parties and authenticate transactions online. These techniques are widely viewed as an essential feature of electronic commerce. The use of digital signatures raises complex business and privacy issues, but these issues are completely separate from the questions raised by encryption used for confidentiality. There is a great deal of ongoing activity in the private sector and at the state level attempting to sort out these complex issues of business use and consumer protection. Federal digital signature legislation is clearly needed, but should be dealt with separately from encryption reform legislation.
Mr. ASCHROFT. As in everything regarding the topic of encryption, we face some decisions and difficulties. Some would like to weigh down the already contentious issue of encryption with other unrelated issues, such as digital signatures. Now, at first blush, many may believe that these two issues are fundamentally tied, or that one necessarily raises the other. However, this is not true. While digital signature products may use some sort of encryption, they are not encryption. The potential debate on federal level digital signature legislation is a worthy debate, the nuances of what potential legislation may look like are many, and the differences in arguments regarding digital signatures and encryption are great.
Mr. LEAHY. These are important issues that can and should be addressed separately from the immediate need for encryption legislation that protects privacy and confidentiality.
Mr. ASHCROFT. I have heard that some object to even allowing for encryption and digital signature legislation to reside in different pieces of legislation, even if both were brought to the floor. They express their concern that without the inclusion of digital signatures that public networks cannot be adequately secure. This argument gives me great pause, mainly because it demonstrates a fundamental misconception of a digital signature. A digital signature does not secure the network but rather secures the signature. Applying the same logic to the analog world would dictate that contracts could not be written until we could adequately solve for the potential of forgeries. Obviously, we have not taken this approach yet individuals enter into millions of contracts every year.
Mr. LEAHY. While digital signature legislation at the Federal level may help encourage the
development of online commercial transaction rules, we must be careful not to stifle the development of efficient and inexpensive digital signature services by prematurely regulating --or granting Federal agencies unfettered authority to regulate--in this area. We must particularly avoid creating a federal system for digital signatures that will become the national i.d. card for cyberspace. The Administration in its `Framework for Global Electronic Commerce' got it right when it said that `participants in the marketplace--including consumers, business, financial institutions, and on-line service providers--should define and articulate most of the rules that will govern electronic commerce.'
Mr. ASHCROFT. All that said, encryption and digital signatures do not and should not be joined in the same legislation. The opportunity we have before us is to bring the encryption debate into the open and to pass legislation that adequately addresses the concerns of law enforcement, national security, privacy, and system security.
Mr. ABRAHAM. At the same time, we have the opportunity to affect real growth in digital signature technologies by addressing digital signature as a separate piece of legislation during this Congress. We should not allow differences in encryption policy to stifle innovation and improvements in this exciting technology. Digital signature is crucial to ensuring the continued dynamic growth of electronic commerce in this country. Many in Congress recognize this, industry recognizes this, and the Administration agrees.
Mr. CRAIG. In order to pass legislation in a timely manner it is important that it be in a clean bill with only the most essential language related to encryption; language that seeks to protect individual privacy, while at the same time addressing national security and law enforcement concerns.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise because I have concerns about efforts to ease or remove export restrictions on certain hardware and software encryption products. Export controls on encryption and on other products serve a clearly defined purpose--to protect our nation's security. The Intelligence Committee believes that the effects on U.S. national security must be the paramount concern when considering any proposed change to encryption export policy, and the Committee will seek referral of any legislation regarding encryption export policy under its jurisdiction established under Senate Resolution 400. With our on-going investigation into the possible technology transfers to China, the Vice Chairman and I are also concerned that any effort to change U.S. export policy on encryption be consistent with the export policy review included in our investigation.
Export restrictions on encryption products assist the Intelligence Community in its signals intelligence mission. By collecting and analyzing signals intelligence, U.S. intelligence agencies seek to understand the policies, intentions, and plans of foreign state and nonstate actors. Signals intelligence plays an important role in the formation of American foreign and defense policy. It is also a significant factor in the U.S. efforts to protect its citizens and armed forces against terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, narcotics trafficking, international crime and other threats to our nation's security.
While the Committee recognizes the commercial interest in easing or removing export restrictions, it believes the safety of our citizens and armed forces should be the predominant concern when considering U.S. policy towards the export of any product. The Committee supports the continued control of encryption products, and believes that a comprehensive strategy on encryption export policy can be developed that addresses national security concerns as well as the promotion of American commercial interests abroad.
I look forward to working with Senator Lott and others as legislation moves through the Senate.
Mr. ASHCROFT. The bottom line to all of this is that we can move encryption legislation in this Congress, with the support of the majority leader. To hold up this progress works against national security, works against support of our law enforcement and erodes individual's privacy protections. We should all diligently work to craft an encryption bill that can come to the floor this session.
Mr. LOTT. I agree with my colleagues. While I strongly support the passage of legislation on both encryption and on digital signatures, I am convinced that the best approach during this session is to deal with these matters in separate bills. Let me say again, that in order to pass legislation on both of these issues during this Congress, we must recognize that there are significant differences between these important and complex policy issues. Digital signature and certificate authority have appeared in various proposals in association with encryption. However, these matters need to be considered separately because they raise different questions and complications.
A digital signature is a technical method for authenticating the identity of a sender or author.
As its name implies, it is a digital version of a person's written signature. Encryption is a means to ensure confidentiality. It is a set of algorithms used to scramble and unscramble text in order to keep unauthorized person's from reading your computer data and messages. It is a technology that protects medical, business, and individual files from invasion. Again, encryption for confidentiality, and digital signatures for authentication and related certificate authorities, are not the same issue. Dealing with encryption and digital signatures in one piece of legislation could lead to the demise of such a weighted bill. Consequently, I am prepared and committed to moving separate bills dealing with these issues during this session. I urge my colleagues to support this dual track approach as my colleagues have recommended. I share the belief that this is the best chance for legislation to be passed in both of these areas during the 105th Congress.
Congress needs to stop debating these issues and enact balanced legislation that will ensure the privacy rights of individuals while protecting America's public safety, economic, and national security interests.
Mr. BURNS. I commend the Majority Leader and Senators Leahy, Craig, Ashcroft, Abraham, and Shelby for their continuing hard work and vision on these difficult but critical issues. I hope we will be able to move forward legislatively on both encryption reform and digital signatures this session.


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The New York AG reported three crypto exchanges to the NYDFS; U.K. banks were hit with widespread outages; PNC joined Ripple Net; California prepared the first U.S. IoT security legislation; the U.K. parliament published a report calling for crypto regulation; and Fannie Mae’s GC joined Coinbase.
The CFPB has a new head of its Office of Innovation and is developing a regulatory sandbox; Coinbase received SEC and FINRA approval to offer tokenized securities on its platform; challenger bank Revolut reported suspected money laundering on its platform to U.K. authorities; Columbia University and IBM partnered on a new blockchain research center; and PayPal led a $50M investment round in merchant payments firm PPRO.
What’s The Big Idea with the the CFPB and CFTC’s new sandbox? Also: a small blockchain startup in the Cayman Islands is raising $4B through token sales; Amex is using blockchain to support a rewards program; Visa’s European network had an outage; and Chime pulled in $70M in new funding.
The CFPB outlined new consumer data-sharing principles; J.P. Morgan Chase is buying WePay; IBM and J.P. Morgan are both working DLT cross-border payments projects; you can now use Venmo to pay online; and PayPal’s market cap is now bigger than that of AmEx.


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Mergers, acquisition deals at strongest levels since credit crisis
The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, August 3, 2011 1:33PM EDT
TORONTO - Unfazed by economic crises gripping much of the world, Canadian companies had their strongest season of mergers and acquisitions since the credit crisis began in 2008, according to a report by PwC.
The consulting firm said the majority of the 836 deals in the quarter worth a total of US$57 billion were in the materials, energy, and financial sectors. Those sectors accounted for 61 per cent of all deals made in the quarter.
"Capital markets are confused and the consensus is that the recovery is extremely fragile," the report said, referring to the European and U.S. debt crises and the aftermath of the tsunami and resulting nuclear disaster in Japan.
"It's bad news all around -- except for the Canadian merger and acquisition market."
PwC says that so far this year there have been 16 "mega deals" involving Canadian companies, worth US$1 billion or more each. Those mega deals made up most of the value of market.
These include the world's largest gold miner, Barrick Gold Corp.'s (TSX:ABX) pending $7.8-billion acquisition of copper miner Equinox Minerals, and a consortium made up of Research in Motion (TSX:RIM), Apple, Sony and Microsoft purchasing the patents of Nortel Networks for $4.5 billion.
But there was also a high number of smaller deals worth less than $100 million, mainly in Canada's junior mining and energy sectors, the report said.
Real estate mergers and acquisitions outpaced other sectors in the quarter, with Canadian companies inking a total of 90 deals worth nearly $10 billion, the report said.
PwC described that market as a "real estate buying frenzy," saying that deals in the real estate sector were worth $9.7 billion. Those deals involved Canadian companies buying domestic property, but also real estate in Europe and Australia. That's a shift from last quarter, which saw purchases mainly in emerging markets like Asia.
As Canadian companies enjoy relatively low interest rates, the aggregate annual value of real estate deals has increased by 1,119 per cent over the last 10 years.
Those deals last quarter included Dundee REIT's (TSX:D.UN) $1.09-billion purchase of 295 commercial properties in Germany, Primaris REIT's $584 million acquisition of five Canadian shopping malls, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's $485 million purchase of an Australian shopping mall.
PwC says the number of deals should start slowing because of current market instability but adds that Canada will still do better than other developed countries.
However, it says resource-rich Western Canada will likely outpace deal markets in countries like the United States and United Kingdom, as higher commodity prices spur growth.


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Maruti Suzuki to postpone launch of new 800 cc car
Maruti Suzuki today said the launch of its new 800 cc small car will be delayed from its proposed schedule during Diwali this year due to the violence at Manesar plant.
"Yes, we have to reschedule the launch of the 800 cc car because of the violence at Manesar plant," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Managing Director Shinzo Nakanishi told.
He, however, said if the company is able to recover quickly from the impact, the launch may take place as planned.
The company had earlier said it will introduce a new 800cc car during Diwali this year that will be more fuel efficient, but also more expensive, than its existing best selling model Alto.
The company was scheduled to start commercial production of the car at its Gurgaon facility from July or August.
It is understood that MSI has upgraded the existing engine and platform of the Alto instead of a complete overhaul in order to reduce development costs.
The company has stopped selling its bread-and-butter model M800 in specific cities, where Bharat Stage IV emission norms are applicable as the car does not meet the stringent parameters.
Although MSI is still selling its first model in the country in other places, it had categorically ruled out upgrading it. The M800 will be naturally phased out once emission norms are upgraded in rest of the country.
Alto is MSI's best selling car so far. However, in recent times, the monthly sales have fallen to about 20,000 units, including Alto K10, from about 30,000 units earlier due to factors like high interest rates and rising petrol costs. Huge stock of petrol cars are lying at the dealers level now.
In fact, MSI had in May stopped production of petrol models, like the Alto, M800, A-Star, Estilo and Omni for three days to prevent inventory pile up.


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MALE, The Maldives, 30 April 2021: A campaign to fully inoculate the entire tourism workforce of the Maldives under the banner ‘I am Vaccinated’ was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Minister of Tourism Abdulla Mausoom.
The island nation, heavily reliant on its tourism sector, aims to create the world’s first fully vaccinated tourism sector through the joint effort led by the Ministry of Tourism and Visit Maldives.
Under the campaign, a special badge will be awarded to tourism industry workers who have received both jabs. Visit Maldives will formulate a list of tourism establishment where all workers have completed their vaccination to build consumer confidence in the destination.
Speaking at the ceremony, the managing director of Visit Maldives managing director, Thoyyib Mohamed, noted that travellers would book the safest locations and that would favour countries that could show the entire tourism industry had been vaccinated.
“The Maldives is preparing to celebrate the golden jubilee of its tourism sector’s founding, and while the nation has experienced hard times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, nevertheless Visit Maldives has worked hard to ensure that the Maldives remains on the top of the traveller’s mind during this period of time.”
As of now, 99% of tourism industry workers have received their first jab, and around 8000 have received their second, he reported.
(Source: Your Stories Maldives Tourism)


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The Japanese based automaker Nissan has recently announced that a more powerful Juke-R will be produced in a limited number.
According to the car company, the Nissan Juke-R will be available in a limited production run on a build-to-order bases and this will be even more powerful than the original concept version. Nissan says that it has already received three firm orders for the production version of the Juke-R out of which two are coming from a well-respected member of the Dubai society. The first production vehicles are already under development and they will be delivered this summer.
“The Juke-R was originally intended as a one-off concept to marry two of Nissan’s most innovative models. But the reaction we had to the car in Dubai was amazing – people were making offers for the original on the street. With such a strong reaction, and three genuine offers on the table, we decided we had to make the car a reality”, said the Marketing Product Manager for the Juke, Gareth Dunsmore.
Even if the production version of the Juke-R has been officially confirmed, Nissan didn’t say anything about its performance but as a reminder, the concept car came with 485 BHP and could do the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 3.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 257 km/h (160 mph). Rumors say that the production Juke-R will come with 545 HP and 627 Nm of torque (463 lb-ft).


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MAPS said it will use the additional £38m to adapt the guidance and support available to help consumers understand and work through the impacts of Covid-19 on their money and pensions.
The body expects many people to struggle financially with the impact of Covid-19 and will offer guidance and support.
MAPS also said that this financial year it will help develop and implement Pensions Dashboards - a long-awaited industry initiative - but did not give more detail on when this would be achieved or what they expect them to look like.
The consumer financial guidance body also published its belated corporate plan today. It was due to be delivered in April but was delayed to include additional support measures as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
It will also engage with partners and stakeholders to create a coordinated response to support people impacted by the pandemic, both immediately and in the longer term.
Caroline Siarkiewicz, chief executive at the Money and Pensions Service, said: “The importance of transforming financial wellbeing across the UK has been forcefully brought home by events of the past few months.
"Covid-19 is a health emergency which will have a long-lasting impact on the finances of many, and it will impact some even more harshly than others. We already know women, ethnic minorities, young people and low-income workers are at particular risk.”
Sir Hector Sants, chair of the Money and Pensions Service, said: “Financial wellbeing is fundamental to personal wellbeing, from our physical and mental health to our relationships and ability to plan for the future. In these uncertain times, the Money and Pensions Service has a critical role to play in the UK response to Covid-19 and enabling everyone to make the most of their money and pensions.”


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With today's marketing deal, eBay, which is facing increasing competition from Yahoo and Amazon's auction sites and others, could get a big boost as AOL tries to drive its 18 million members toward the cobranded site.
The cobranded eBay site will be prominently promoted across several AOL properties, giving AOL members access to eBay's marketplace while maintaining AOL's navigation, the companies said.
There are about 5.6 million registered eBay users either selling or buying items from more than 1,600 categories, including antiques, coins and stamps, computers, and collectibles. eBay, which was founded in 1995, has more than 2.6 million items listed for sale, with 300,000 items added daily, the company said.
"The cobranded site will make access to eBay much easier for AOL's more than 18 million members," Steve Westly, eBay's vice president of marketing and business development, said in a statement. "Together, AOL and eBay will make it easier than ever for AOL members to experience firsthand the thrill and excitement of person-to-person trading, with the familiar look and feel of AOL."


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On the surface, Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) result report looked like another strong quarter when the company beat both its own guidance and analyst estimates. Revenue increased by 20% to $ 72.4 billion, and earnings per share rose from a regulated $ 2.16 a year ago to $ 6.04.
For most businesses, 20% revenue growth will be worth celebrating, but for Amazon that rate marked its slower top-line growth of more than three years. It has been more than a year since the Whole Foods acquisition, Prime membership is approaching a saturation point, and the company is facing the big numbers law. Amazon's days of devastating growth seem to end.
The growth in e-commerce was actually worse than the 20% overall clip because it was juiced with 45% growth Amazon services in Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud computing division.
Amazon's North American ecommerce revenue increased by 1
Amazon's direct sales increased only 13% in the quarter, slower than total e-commerce growth in the US. It would usually be a cause for concern, but Amazon is shifting its focus to other businesses, and the need for growth in its core e-commerce segment is down.
Changing the game
With direct sales campaign, Amazon goes on to grow faster-growing high-margin businesses such as its third-party marketplace, AWS, and advertising. Revenue from third-party merchant services jumped 27% to $ 13.4 billion in the fourth quarter, and third-party sellers accounted for 52% of the units sold on Amazon. AWS revenue increased by 45% to $ 7.4 billion, and operating profit increased by 61% to $ 2.1 billion. In its second segment, which mainly consists of advertising, revenue has almost doubled, increasing by 97% to $ 3.4 billion when the company used high demand in the peak season.
Amazon's subscription service revenues, led by Prime, also showed strong growth, up 25% to $ 3.9 billion, but growth was boosted by the price increase for US Prime subscribers, which entered into force in May 2018.
The results of these Other companies show Amazon to reap the benefits of the massive efforts it has made in its fulfillment network and infrastructure needed to run AWS. The main figure increased by only 14% during the year, a sign that the expansion site's expansion has slowed significantly, which has helped exploit the recent revenue growth. It allowed the company to finally deliver significant profits on the bottom line.
The question for investors is now whether Amazon can increase profits fast enough to make up for weakening revenue growth, as the company predicts a sales increase of just 10% -18% in the current quarter. Meanwhile, the company's competitors continue to invest in faster shipping and their own e-commerce infrastructure, and many of the Amazon vendors would like to see another online marketplace challenging its superiority.
Even with a fast growing bottom line, the warehouse remains expensive and therefore vulnerable to any lost expectations. This explains why the Amazon shares were down 5% in ex-post trade, despite the better than expected fourth quarter figures.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, a subsidiary of Amazon, is a member of The Motley Fool's Board. Jeremy Bowman owns shares of Amazon. Motley Fool owns and recommends Adobe Systems and Amazon. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.