Corporate evil

[villa4europe]

2 hours ago, mjmooney said:

I assume the Iceland thing is a publicity stunt. 

Yeah the cynic in me thinks this could be straight from the Ryanair school of publicity

surprised the article didn't say something like "the frozen food chain, currently selling pavlovas for £1 this weekend only, is arguing with the country"

still so much to learn

[darrenm]

3 hours ago, Xela said:

Any worse then Google, Amazon or Microsoft? 

Genuine question. 

Microsoft it's a close one. They've done some pretty scumbaggery things over the years. Google and Amazon just play the tax game that capitalism requires them to do in order to satisfy shareholders and board members. 

Basically, no web site can afford to review any Apple product poorly. If they do, they get put on the blacklist and they'll never get a scoop, information, product for early review, etc ever again

"If you criticize Apple harshly, the company will never so much as return your e-mails for the rest of your career. But if you criticize Google harshly, and the next day request a Nexus 5 review unit, they’ll cheerfully overnight it to you like you never said anything.

In any event, I see Apple’s “blacklist” in the context of that company’s secretive, authoritarian, controlling culture — and it’s ironically these same cultural attributes that enable Apple to make such  great products. You don’t execute on design, manufacturing and distribution like Apple does without being monstrously controlling."

http://www.cultofmac.com/255618/how-apples-blacklist-manipulates-the-press/

"If you dare to write an unflattering piece about Apple or -- heaven forbid -- post a rumor you're almost guaranteed to lose your access to Apple."

http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-prs-dirty-little-secret/

A particularly good read of how it works in practice with the reg, one of the blacklisted: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/09/07/reg_effort_to_attend_iphone_7_launch/

"It's been a number of years since an Apple PR staffer secretly admitted to one of our reporters that The Register was on a blacklist.

We also learned that they were under strict instructions never to admit to the blacklist – presumably because it would make one of the world's largest companies look, you know, pathetically petty.

And so, for a decade now, we have played a game where we ask Apple's US office for review products or to attend launches or go to events and they respond with silly expressions like "I'm sorry, but we cannot accommodate your request" or "all the seats are taken" or the current favorite "you are on our media waitlist."

Back in June, I decided it was time to stop playing the game. Or, more accurately, play a different, more persistent game in which we encourage Apple to either get over itself and kill our blacklisting or simply admit it and stop the pretense."

A while ago, an Apple engineer left an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar and someone found it and sold it to Gizmodo. A Gizmodo editor emailed Apple and offered to give it back but then the editor's home was raided and various items removed from his house.

"Police batter in the door of the Gizmodo’s editor’s apartment, seizing company computers, hard drives, servers, cameras, notes, and a file of business cards. Police and prosecutors are apparently on a hunt to discover anything that might be discovered. Note that the iPhone had already been returned to Apple, apparently without charge for Gizmodo’s $5000 outlay.

Prosecutors want to investigate Gizmodo’s computer files to determine if they can put together evidence of a felony. Such a search upon ordinary citizens might be outrageous, but it seems unthinkable against a news outlet. However, San Mateo County’s chief deputy district attorney, Stephen Wagstaffe, claims reporter shield laws do not apply to Gizmodo. According to police sources, the DA’s office is prepared to go after other blogs as well.

Unconfirmed reports from Wired claim that "Apple police" fruitlessly (sorry about the pun) knock on the door of the original cell phone finder and demand to search his place, too. (It should be noted that Apple is on the board of the task force responsible for the raid.)"

http://criminalbrief.com/?p=12019

Obviously there's all the Foxconn human rights breaches too but Apple aren't alone in that respect, just one of the worst offenders in the industry. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30532463

[Chindie]

Even in the little things Apple are evil.

They showed absolute disdain for our courts during the Samsung case. Ordered to put an apology come clarification on their website front page, they specifically changed the layout of the page to effectively hide the court ordered comments from view, unless you scrolled down a page that you didn't need to scroll down to get at anything. A bit like a newspaper needing to print an apology on the front page and putting it in a footnote in tiny script of a boring financial story next to a huge picture of amazing tits.

words removed.

[Davkaus]

"Embrace, extend, extinguish".

Microsoft are arseholes. 

P.S. **** Nestle.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Davkaus

[choffer]

Beeb

 

Quote

McDonald's sues Florence for 18m euros for blocking restaurant

McDonald's is suing Florence for €18m after it was blocked from opening a restaurant on one of the Italian city's most historic plazas.

The fast-food giant had its plans for an outlet on the Piazza del Duomo rejected by Florence's mayor in June.

The decision was upheld in July by a technical panel in charge of preserving the city's ancient heart.

But McDonald's, which modified its proposals to fit with city guidelines, has now launched a bid for damages.

The chain is claiming it has been discriminated against, and wants to recoup the €17.8m (£15.9m; $19.7m) it estimates it will lose over the next 18 years, according to Italian newspaper Firenze Today.

Right to say no

It argues it put forward a plan to "operate respectfully towards the local policies, even accepting to introduce typical local products in our offer, as requested from the local commerce regulation".

"We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centres have to be protected and guaranteed, as well as the traditions and the historical small shops, but we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without being advantageous to anyone," McDonald's told the BBC in a statement.

But Florence's mayor Dario Nardella says they were not prejudiced in rejecting the bid to open a branch on the piazza, famous for its Gothic and Renaissance architecture.

He told the city council earlier this year: "McDonald's has the right to submit an application, because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say no."

This is the second high profile spat over an Italian location this year for McDonalds. Last month it was reported that cardinals at the Vatican had been angered by plans to open a branch in a piazza next to Saint Peter's Square.

 

[Xann]

^^^^^^^^^^^

There'd have been a world of this with TTIP if the Tory scum had their way.

Oh, but they'll be negotiating the next trade deals in a hurry.

 

[villa4europe]

even if mcdonalds were to win that case then surely they'd only be entitled to claim the difference between location A and location B which wouldnt be that figure

mcdonalds also has form for this, they sued milan when they kicked them out of that big famous historical shopping centre, i cant find the result of that but do know they have a new mcdonalds round the back so the actual drop in revenue will be next to nothing

[Xann]

Quote

 

Tanzanian farmers are facing heavy prison sentences if they continue their traditional seed exchange

In order to receive development assistance, Tanzania has to give Western agribusiness full freedom and give enclosed protection for patented seeds. “Eighty percent of the seeds are being shared and sold in an informal system between neighbors, friends and family. The new law criminalizes the practice in Tanzania,” says Michael Farrelly of TOAM, an organic farming movement in Tanzania.

 

Mondiaal Nieuws

Guess who?

Monsanto and Syngenta.

[maqroll]

Dell Computer Co. May they all burn in Hell.

[limpid]

20 hours ago, Xann said:

Mondiaal Nieuws

Guess who?

Monsanto and Syngenta.

Most crops grown from patented stock produce non-viable seed. Farmers buy seed every year. This has been the case for years.

Is this just a story about new IP legislation that a lazy journalist has tacked onto the GMO scaremongering?

PS. Monsanto, my cheque is late.

[Xann]

Monsanto looks after its own interests.

Securing near monopolies in emerging markets with the assistance of politicians it has on board is fairly small peanuts for them.

It doesn't seem to matter what the people want. The senior levels of Monsanto and government are so intertwined they can ignore figures like these in the US.

Quote

This poll of likely 2016 voters found that 89% said they favor mandatory labels on “foods which have been genetically engineered or containing genetically engineered ingredients be labeled to indicate that.”  A mere 6% oppose such a requirement and another 6% don’t know. A 77% supermajority not only favored mandatory labeling but “strongly” favored the proposal. These views are widespread across demographic lines, with nearly all Democrats (92% favor, 2% oppose), independents (89% favor, 7% oppose) and Republicans (84% favor, 7% oppose) supporting a required label.

Center For Food Safety

So how much protection is Johnny Foreigner going to get? Remembering there's money at stake.

UK growers have become alarmed at the acquisitions of independent seed suppliers by corporate interests.

Quote

Farmers in pre-industrial societies around the world have selected, bred and swapped varieties adapted to different ecological situations and cultural needs and in doing so have produced an immense wealth of agricultural biodiversity – agrobiodiversity. Agrobiodiversity is the raw material that agriculture needs to be able to adapt to a changing environment.

The industrialisation of agriculture has caused an erosion of the diversity of crop varieties. Agrobiodiversity is declining at an alarming rate because growers are increasingly relying on purchased seeds, and the dynamic process that produces and conserves agrobiodiversity has been suddenly interrupted. EU seed marketing regulations have also contributed to this decline by imposing criteria for the commercialisation of seed varieties that are rarely met by locally adapted varieties or landraces. Indeed, seed swappers refer to the seed varieties that are not admitted in the national official lists, which list the varieties that can be sold, as "outlawed".

Guardian

Quote

Monopolisation of seed is not just a European issue but a global one, with international agritech giants buying out independent companies and leaving farmers with little choice but to purchase hybrid or genetically modified seeds in countries like the US. Monsanto bought 200 US independent seed companies over 10 years, with the corporation now estimated to own 23 % of the proprietary seed market (see [3] GM Crops Destroyed by Drought in US while non-GM varieties Flourish, SiS 56). A similar drive for seed monopoly is taking place in the African continent, with SeedCo, one of Africa’s largest home-grown seed companies being bought out by transnational corporations Limagrain, the biggest seed and plant breeding company in the EU. Limagrain is investing US$60 million for a 28 % stake in SeedCo [4]. SeedCo has sold 49 % of its shares in Africa’s only cottonseed company Quton to the Indian company Mayco, a Monsanto subsidiary. Syngenta in 2013 took over Zambia’s MRI seed, which is said to have the most biodiverse collection of maize seed varieties in Africa. South Africa’s largest seed company Pannar Seed was recently taken over by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subsidiary of DuPont. These acquisitions of seed companies by a handful of corporate giants poses great threats not only to seed biodiversity, but also food sovereignty and people’s access to fresh foods, giving GM companies the chance to spread their patented seeds across the world.

Monsanto, Syngenta and DuPont already own 53% of the global commercial seed market and the following legislative proposals and treaties are set to increase their monopoly [5].

Science In Society

I'm not anti science, I'm more than content with universities and respected foundations researching GM crops. When the suits are leading the scientists, that's when it gets nasty.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Xann
Spacing space out

[limpid]

5 hours ago, Xann said:

I'm not anti science, I'm more than content with universities and respected foundations researching GM crops. When the suits are leading the scientists, that's when it gets nasty.

The reporting is frustrating when almost all science communication in this area conflates GM with transgenics. Everything you eat is GM.

From some real scientists. Read the article, but this is their summary:

Quote

The vast majority of the research on genetically modified (GM) crops suggests that they are safe to eat and that they have the potential to feed millions of people worldwide who currently go hungry.

Yet not all criticisms of GM are so easily rejected, and pro-GM scientists are often dismissive and even unscientific in their rejection of the counterevidence.

A careful analysis of the risks and benefits argues for expanded deployment and safety testing of GM crops.

I can't speak to the selling of seed, but I don't believe that it describes anything new. This has been the case for a long time as I said last time you posted it just above.

[Xann]

9 minutes ago, limpid said:

From some real scientists.

Ha ha - Aye. That's the bit I don't have a problem with, the science, as I said in my post.

I don't agree with what the economist in there says.

This thread is about Corporate evil, not science evil.

They're moaning about having to test something that can breed to the same extent that they have to test drugs.

I think a scientist would go along with that? It's the economist that moans about the expense.

My post doesn't really contradict that article, it expands on...

Quote

In Europe, skepticism about GM foods has long been bundled with other concerns, such as a resentment of American agribusiness.

 

[limpid]

@Xann I misunderstood the point you were making. Sorry.

[Xann]

Quote

Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers

Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, with serious implications for all life on Earth, scientists say

The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study that has shocked scientists.

Insects are an integral part of life on Earth as both pollinators and prey for other wildlife and it was known that some species such as butterflies were declining. But the newly revealed scale of the losses to all insects has prompted warnings that the world is “on course for ecological Armageddon”, with profound impacts on human society.

The new data was gathered in nature reserves across Germany but has implications for all landscapes dominated by agriculture, the researchers said.

The cause of the huge decline is as yet unclear, although the destruction of wild areas and widespread use of pesticides are the most likely factors and climate change may play a role. The scientists were able to rule out weather and changes to landscape in the reserves as causes, but data on pesticide levels has not been collected.

“The fact that the number of flying insects is decreasing at such a high rate in such a large area is an alarming discovery,” said Hans de Kroon, at Radboud University in the Netherlands and who led the new research.

“Insects make up about two-thirds of all life on Earth [but] there has been some kind of horrific decline,” said Prof Dave Goulson of Sussex University, UK, and part of the team behind the new study. “We appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse.”

Guardian

Whilst the suits moan about a neonicotinoid ban.

[Xann]

Quote

We've just been hit with a 168-page court subpoena from Monsanto.

We have only days to respond, and it "commands" us to hand over every private email, note, or record we have regarding Monsanto, including the names and email addresses of Avaazers who have signed Monsanto campaigns!!

This is big. They're a $50 billion mega-corporation, infamous for legal strong-arm tactics like this. They have unlimited resources. If they get their hands on all our private information, there's no telling what they'll use it for.

Avaaz

Monsanto - Objecting to people power.

[mjmooney]

Avaaz need to get on the phone to Neil Young. 

[Demitri_C]

On 12/5/2016 at 07:48, darrenm said:

Apple are huge scumbags. I'll do a rundown of why when I've got access to a keyboard.

If you think about it Apple logo can symbolize the devil. It was the devil who told eve to eat the apple... 

[NurembergVillan]

This is a report about where I was working in Vancouver.  I'd originally planned to live there forever, but certainly at least 2 years.  In the end I didn't even make it that long.

Quote

“Elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness.”

That’s one of the painted mantras on display in the lobby of Lululemon’s Vancouver headquarters, and one that’s at odds with what current and former employees describe as a toxic work environment at the fitness apparel company. They say misconduct was enabled for years by Lululemon’s human resources department and, until recently, embodied by its ex-CEO.

https://www.racked.com/2018/2/14/17007924/lululemon-work-culture-ceo-laurent-potdevin

[Demitri_C]

@Davkaus