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Corporate evil


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8 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

:crylaugh:

You don't believe any of that do you Dem? The mystical "They" who are putting sensors in the oceans to control how high frogs can jump. Come on. (I only listened to a third of it and gave up.)

Its obviously far fetched but nothing would suprise me in this world these days the way the world is 

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'Catastrophe' as France's bird population collapses due to pesticides

Dozens of species have seen their numbers decline, in some cases by two-thirds, because insects they feed on have disappeared

Sales of pesticides in France have climbed steadily. Photograph: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Bird populations across the French countryside have fallen by a third over the last decade and a half, researchers have said.

Dozens of species have seen their numbers decline, in some cases by two-thirds, the scientists said in a pair of studies – one national in scope and the other covering a large agricultural region in central France.

“The situation is catastrophic,” said Benoit Fontaine, a conservation biologist at France’s National Museum of Natural History and co-author of one of the studies.

Chanel's enchanted forest show angers environmentalists

“Our countryside is in the process of becoming a veritable desert,” he said in a communique released by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), which also contributed to the findings.

The common white throat, the ortolan bunting, the Eurasian skylark and other once-ubiquitous species have all fallen off by at least a third, according a detailed, annual census initiated at the start of the century.

A migratory song bird, the meadow pipit, has declined by nearly 70%.

The museum described the pace and extent of the wipe-out as “a level approaching an ecological catastrophe”.

The primary culprit, researchers speculate, is the intensive use of pesticides on vast tracts of monoculture crops, especially wheat and corn.

The problem is not that birds are being poisoned, but that the insects on which they depend for food have disappeared.

“There are hardly any insects left, that’s the number one problem,” said Vincent Bretagnolle, a CNRS ecologist at the Centre for Biological Studies in Chize.

Recent research, he noted, has uncovered similar trends across Europe, estimating that flying insects have declined by 80%, and bird populations has dropped by more than 400m in 30 years.

 

Grauniad

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Niot sue whether this was the most appropriate thread but I thought it was a bit much for General Chat:

Senior PwC auditor of BHS accounts faces 15-year ban and hefty fine

Quote

The senior PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant who audited BHS’s accounts ahead of its sale for £1 just a year before the department store chain collapsed is facing a 15-year ban and six-figure fine from the industry watchdog.

Steve Denison, who spent more than 30 years at PwC according to his LinkedIn profile, becoming a partner, is understood to have been facing a £500,000 fine from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), reduced to £325,000 after he agreed to cooperate.

In sanctions that are expected to be confirmed this week, PwC is separately facing a record £6.5m fine, reduced from £10m after it agreed to settle.

PwC said: “We recognise and accept that there were serious shortcomings with this audit work and that it is important to learn the necessary lessons. We are sorry that our work fell well below the professional standards expected of us and that we demand of ourselves.”

The heavy sanctions against PwC come after the watchdog said it would double fines for poor audit work by the major accountancy firms to £10m from this month. Until now, the largest fine issued by the FRC was £5.1m, also to PwC, for its audit of RSM Tenon in 2011.

Earlier this week the accountancy firm KPMG was fined more than £3m by the FRC for misconduct relating to the scandal-hit insurance software firm Quindell, which changed its name to Watchstone in 2015. The penalty was reduced from £4.5m as part of a settlement agreement.

The conclusions of the FRC’s investigation come two years after it launched an investigation into audit work at BHS after the department store collapsed into administration with the loss of 11,000 jobs.

PwC stepped down as BHS’s auditor after its sale by Sir Philip Green, the Topshop magnate, to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015. It gave the struggling retailer’s finances for the year to 30 August 2014 a clean bill of health.

It also advised Green’s retail group on the BHS pension scheme between 2009 and 2013.

Denison, who is also chairman of Yorkshire county cricket club, was among the witnesses asked to give evidence to an inquiry by MPs into BHS’s collapse.

There had been valid reasons for signing off BHS’s accounts as a “going concern” before Chappell bought the retailer, he told a hearing in May 2016.

Denison is understood to have left PwC this week and his personal contact page on the firm’s website had already been removed on Tuesday.

He has agreed to remove himself from the register of statutory auditors, which is overseen by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, until 2033, according to Sky News, which first reported the fines.

The FRC declined to comment. Denison was unavailable for comment.

 

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Green Motion has low car hire rates – but users say there’s a sting in the tail

'It is the car hire firm with a trail of angry customers, furious at bills presented to them when they return a car for hundreds – even thousands – of pounds for damage they say is barely visible or that was there already.

Green Motion, which has franchised branches at most major UK airports, appears to offer remarkably cheap deals – often a third of the price charged by major rivals. But now customers allege that there is a major sting in the tail.

[. . .]

Customers allege that:
• They are wildly overcharged for small blemishes, which may have been there before hiring – such as £400 for a barely visible scratch.
• On collection, staff often fail to mark existing damage on the rental agreement. On return, staff pore over the car looking for the tiniest blemish.
• Blemishes are found on the underside of bumpers and bodywork that cannot reasonably be seen when hiring.
• Staff will often identify a piece of damage in a way that suggested they had prior knowledge of its existence.

[. . .]

when Guardian Money searched for a car at Glasgow airport for two days in July, Green Motion’s deals were the first three on rentalcars.com. A Peugeot 108 cost £34, when the cheapest deals from Avis, Hertz and Sixt were all more than £100.

How is it able to offer such low prices? Maybe an indication comes from its job adverts for vehicle inspection staff. The ads say that they will be paid a bonus, even though the job does not involve sales. When we posed as a possible job applicant, we were told that we would earn commission, although the details would only be revealed at interview stage.

Many of the complainants to Money allege that the vehicle inspection staff appear to be incentivised to find damage, a claim Green Motion strongly denies.

[. . .]

Dr Paul Shah* hired a car at London’s City airport. In his case the company refused to accept his Amex card, requiring him to return home for a credit card. It then insisted that, because he was two hours late in picking up the booked car, it had been rented and the only one now available would cost an extra £150 on top of the £344 he had already paid.

[. . .]

Ben Stenner has hired cars all over the world, but says he has never had such an appalling experience as he had when he hired a car to travel between Green Motion’s Heathrow and Gatwick branches. Staff took £530 from him after they claimed he caused a minor scratch – a scratch that he says is barely visible despite staff producing bright lights to justify it.

“I collected the car at the same time of day as I dropped it off and it was dark. On collecting the car and being shown round it to inspect it, I was not given any light to do so. Funnily enough on dropping the car back, out came their LED spotlight and the employee suspiciously walks straight round to the rear of the car, wipes off the film of dirt and finds a scratch which I and his colleague couldn’t see.

[. . .]

Vivian Lau, who lives in Hong Kong, initially paid £44.50 to rent a car, but ended up with a £420 bill, and a missed flight home, after she hired from Green Motion in London. She had taken a photo of the damaged Mercedes she was given, but says this didn’t stop Green Motion charging her the sum for the damage when she returned the car. She presented her photographic evidence that the damage was there at pick-up to staff, who admitted it had been previously damaged. But Green Motion then claimed she had also damaged the same area on the car – and therefore the charge stands.

“I was the perfect target: single lady driver who is not resident in the UK, had a long-haul flight to catch after returning the car – who would in all likelihood be unable to pursue the return of the deposit. They knew I had a flight to catch and was unlikely to escalate the matter to the police,” she says.

Green Motion has now refunded her in full.

Jennie Rathbone rented a car from Green Motion’s Gatwick depot in April. In her case she was charged £290 for a scratch to the door frame that she is certain she did not cause.

“I had only had the car a few hours but when it came to inspect the car on return, the staff member didn’t put the key in the ignition to check the fuel gauge, or walk around it as you would have expected. Instead he swiftly opened the driver’s door, knelt down to look at the side edge where there was a scratch, and declared I would have to pay for it.

“When the staff member refused to give me his name I asked to take his photograph, to which he threatened to call the police! When I took my phone out of my pocket, both men ran inside and shut the door. I felt I was on the receiving end of a well-practised scam,” she says.

[. . .]

When Leonard Foley picked up his hire car at Green Motion’s Luton off-airport site, he thought the employee was being kind when he put his bags in the boot and shut the lid.

Although it was dark, he says he checked the outside of the car for scratches. He noted some damage and then headed off on an uneventful journey to attend a wedding. He says he had a similarly quiet journey back to Luton.

“As soon as we arrived there was a Green Motion employee who went directly to the boot and opened the lid and pointed out scuff and scratches which he claimed we were responsible for.'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/09/green-motion-car-hire-bills

There's millions more - never ever ever ever use this company, no matter what. 

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Life in the Coca-Colony:

In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes.

'Maria del Carmen Abadía lives in one of Mexico’s rainiest regions, but she has running water only once every two days. When it does trickle from her tap, the water is so heavily chlorinated, she said, it’s undrinkable.

Potable water is increasingly scarce in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a picturesque mountain town in the southeastern state of Chiapas where some neighborhoods have running water just a few times a week, and many households are forced to buy extra water from tanker trucks.

So, many residents drink Coca-Cola, which is produced by a local bottling plant, can be easier to find than bottled water and is almost as cheap.

In a country that is among the world’s top consumers of sugary drinks, Chiapas is a champion: Residents of San Cristóbal and the lush highlands that envelop the city drink on average more than two liters, or more than half a gallon, of soda a day.

The effect on public health has been devastating. The mortality rate from diabetes in Chiapas increased 30 percent between 2013 and 2016, and the disease is now the second-leading cause of death in the state after heart disease, claiming more than 3,000 lives every year.

“Soft drinks have always been more available than water,” said Ms. Abadía, 35, a security guard who, like her parents, has struggled with obesity and diabetes.

Vicente Vaqueiros, 33, a doctor at the clinic in San Juan Chamula, a nearby farming town, said health care workers were struggling to deal with the surge in diabetes.

“When I was a kid and used to come here, Chamula was isolated and didn’t have access to processed food,” he said. “Now, you see the kids drinking Coke and not water. Right now, diabetes is hitting the adults, but it’s going to be the kids next. It’s going to overwhelm us.”

Buffeted by the dual crises of the diabetes epidemic and the chronic water shortage, residents of San Cristóbal have identified what they believe is the singular culprit: the hulking Coca-Cola factory on the edge of town.

The plant has permits to extract more than 300,000 gallons of water a dayas part of a decades-old deal with the federal government that critics say is overly favorable to the plant’s owners.'

more at link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabetes.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

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A California jury on Friday found Monsanto liable in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleged the company's glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, caused him cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages.

The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit alleging glyphosate causes cancer to go to trial. Monsanto, a unit of Bayer AG following a $62.5 billion acquisition by the German conglomerate, faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits across the United States.

The jury at San Francisco's Superior Court of California deliberated for three days before finding that Monsanto had failed to warn Johnson and other consumers of the cancer risks posed by its weed killers.

It awarded $39 million in compensatory and $250 million in punitive damages.

Monsanto denies that glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, causes cancer and says decades of scientific studies have shown the chemical to be safe for human use.

Johnson's case, filed in 2016, was fast-tracked for trial due to the severity of his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system that he alleges was caused by Roundup and Ranger Pro, another Monsanto glyphosate herbicide. Johnson's doctors said he is unlikely to live past 2020.

 

CNBC

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How's this?

The Great Barrier Reef is iconic, right? If you weren't aware it's in some trouble regards its health.

The Turnball government has given $444,000,000 to a 'charity' of six people, in order to oversee the restoration of the GBR.

Who are these six people? Oil magnates. It's beyond a joke, or sad indictment, I'm wondering how it's not an offense worthy of prosecution.

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1 hour ago, A'Villan said:

How's this?

The Great Barrier Reef is iconic, right? If you weren't aware it's in some trouble regards its health.

The Turnball government has given $444,000,000 to a 'charity' of six people, in order to oversee the restoration of the GBR.

Who are these six people? Oil magnates. It's beyond a joke, or sad indictment, I'm wondering how it's not an offense worthy of prosecution.

have you got any more detail on this?

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14 hours ago, ender4 said:

have you got any more detail on this?

A brief excerpt from the original piece that brought it to my attention. I will source more for you later.

 
 
The Federal Liberal Government has given the controversial Great Barrier Reed Foundation $444 million to 'save the reef'.

But this shady organisation is actually being run by oil company bosses - including the former Chief Executive of Exxon's Esso Australia John Schubert.

Exxon and Esso are renowned for their environmental disasters (Valdez, PFAS poisoning), their wage cuts for Australian workers, and their systemic corporate tax dodging.
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I would encourage you to read up on the Red House Report, it makes for some interesting reading.

Here's a snippet:

Quote

US Military Intelligence report EW-Pa 128

Enclosure No. 1 to despatch No. 19,489 of Nov. 27, 1944, from
the Embassy at London, England.

S E C R E T
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2
7 November 1944
INTELLIGENCE REPORT NO. EW-Pa 128


SUBJECT: Plans of German industrialists to engage in underground activity after Germany’s defeat; flow of capital to neutral countries.

SOURCE: Agent of French Deuxieme Bureau, recommended
by Commandant Zindel. This agent is regarded as
reliable and has worked for the French on German
problems since 1916. He was in close contact with
the Germans, particularly industrialists, during
the occupation of France and he visited Germany
as late as August, 1944.

1. A meeting of the principal German industrialists with
interests in France was held on August 10, 1944, in the Hotel
Rotes Haus in Strasbourg, France, and attended by the informant
indicated above as the source. Among those present
were the following:
Dr. Scheid, who presided, holding the rank of S.S.
Obergruppenfuhrer
and Director of the Heche
(Hermandorff & Schonburg) Company
Dr. Kaspar, representing Krupp
Dr. Tolle, representing Rochling
Dr. Sinderen, representing Messerschmitt
Drs. Kopp, Vier and Beerwanger, representing
Rheinmetall
Captain Haberkorn and Dr. Ruhe, representing Bussing
Drs. Ellenmayer and Kardos, representing
Volkswagenwerk
Engineers Drose, Yanchew and Koppshem, representing
various factories in Posen, Poland (Drose, Yanchew
and Co., Brown-Boveri, Herkuleswerke, Buschwerke,
and Stadtwerke)
Captain Dornbuach, head of the Industrial Inspection
Section at Posen
Dr. Meyer, an official of the German Naval Ministry in
Paris
Dr. Strossner, of the Ministry of Armament, Paris.

2. Dr. Scheid stated that all industrial material in France
was to be evacuated to Germany immediately. The battle of
France was lost for Germany and now the defense of the
Siegried Line was the main problem. From now on also
German industry must realize that the war cannot be won
and that it must take steps in preparation for a post-war commercial
campaign. Each industrialist must make contacts and
alliances with foreign firms, but this must be done individually
and without attracting any suspicion. Moreover, the ground
would have to be laid on the financial level for borrowing considerable
sums from foreign countries after the war. As examples
of the kind of penetration which had been most useful in
the past, Dr. Scheid cited the fact that patents for stainless
steel belonged to the Chemical Foundation, Inc., New York,
and the Krupp company of Germany jointly and that the U.S.
Steel Corporation, Carnegie Illinois, American Steel and Wire,
and national Tube, etc. were thereby under an obligation to
work with the Krupp concern. He also cited the Zeiss
Company, the Leisa Company and the Hamburg-American
Line as firms which had been especially effective in protecting
German interests abroad and gave their New York addresses
to the industrialists at this meeting.

3. Following this meeting a smaller one was held presided
over by Dr. Bosse of the German Armaments Ministry and
attended only by representatives of Hecho, Krupp and
Rochling. At this second meeting it was stated that the Nazi
Party had informed the industrialists that the war was practically
lost but that it would continue until a guarantee of the
unity of Germany could be obtained. German industrialists
must, it was said, through their exports increase the strength
of Germany. They must also prepare themselves to finance
the Nazi Party which would be forced to go underground as
Maquis (in Gebirgaverteidigungastellen
gehen). From now on
the government would allocate large sums to industrialists so
that each could establish a secure post-war foundation in foreign
countries. Existing financial reserves in foreign countries
must be placed at the disposal of the Party so that a
strong German Empire can be created after the defeat. It is
also immediately required that the large factories in Germany
create small technical offices or research bureaus which
would be absolutely independent and have no known connection
with the factory. These bureaus will receive plans and
drawings of new weapons as well as documents which they
need to continue their research and which must not be
allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy. These offices are
to be established in large cities where they can be most successfully
hidden as well as in little villages near sources of
hydro-electric power where they can pretend to be studying
the development of water resources. The existence of these is
to be known only by very few people in each industry and by
chiefs of the Nazi Party. Each office will have a liaison agent
with the Party. As soon as the Party becomes strong enough
to re-establish its control over Germany the industrialists will
be paid for their effort and cooperation by concessions and
orders.

4. These meetings seem to indicate that the prohibition
against the export of capital which was rigorously enforced
until now has been completely withdrawn and replaced by a
new Nazi policy whereby industrialists with government
assistance will export as much of their capital as possible.
Previously exports of capital by German industrialists to
neutral countries had to be accomplished rather surreptitiously
and by means of special influence. Now the Nazi
party stands behind the industrialists and urges them to save
themselves by getting funds outside Germany and at the same
time to advance the party’s plans for its post-war operation.
This freedom given to the industrialists further cements their
relations with the Party by giving them a measure of
protection.

5. The German industrialists are not only buying agricultural
property in Germany but are placing their funds abroad,
particularly in neutral countries. Two main banks through
which this export of capital operates are the Basler Handelsbank
and the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt of Zurich. Also
there are a number of agencies in Switzerland which for a
5 percent commission buy property in Switzerland, using a
Swiss cloak.

6. After the defeat of Germany the Nazi Party recognizes
that certain of its best known leaders will be condemned as
war criminals. However, in cooperation with the industrialists
it is arranging to place its less conspicuous but most important
members in positions with various German factories as
technical experts or members of its research and designing
offices.

For the A.C. of S., G-2.
WALTER K. SCHWINN
G-2, Economic Section
Prepared by
MELVIN M. FAGEN
Distribution:
Same as EW-Pa 1,
U.S. Political Adviser, SHAEF
British Political Adviser, SHAEF

https://www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com/articles/Intelligence_Report_EW-Pa_128.html

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21 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Today I learned that if Arriva Trains Wales recovers your lost wallet, they charge you at least £2 to recover it and can help themselves to 10% of whatever cash you have inside:

Why do they do this? Because **** you, that's why. 

Auntie:

Quote

...

Arriva Trains Wales said: "Our customers' feedback is really important to us and, following recent feedback on this issue, we will now be changing our policy with immediate effect.

"In this instance we are happy to refund the percentage that was charged to the customer who brought this to our attention.

"We are happy to begin the process of reviewing the Lost Property policy with customer groups and rail industry regulatory bodies.

...

 

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On 14/09/2018 at 00:33, snowychap said:

Isn't that theft by finding?

Edit: I'm talking about taking a percentage of any cash not charging fees.

I'd imagine if you found a wallet on the floor, handed it into your local police station and told them that you've extracted 10% of the cash inside for your troubles that they'd take that view. Charging a fee is in itself disgrace as it goes against any principle of basic kindness, taking 10% is clearly theft and whilst that may be apart of their T&C's I can't see how it is legal.

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On 14/09/2018 at 00:23, HanoiVillan said:

Today I learned that if Arriva Trains Wales recovers your lost wallet, they charge you at least £2 to recover it and can help themselves to 10% of whatever cash you have inside:

Why do they do this? Because **** you, that's why. 

Makes me feel slightly better about dodging train fairs - not that I do that, of course

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