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Lack Of Math Skills, Not Discrimination, Keeping Women Out Of STEM Jobs

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A recent study shows that the lack of women in scientific and technical fields is not due to discrimination by men nor by the possible turn-offs experienced by women. Instead, researchers suggest that women simply don’t know enough math to be in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) areas. For this reason, not many women find themselves working at jobs related to these areas.

Economics professor Donna Ginther and her colleague Shulamit Kahn compiled statistics of mathematical qualifications and requirements of young American women for college courses. In their research, they found that the lack of women in a particular course can directly be attributed to the fact that a majority of young women don’t know many maths.

Ginther commented, “It is all about the mathematical content of the field. Girls not taking math coursework early on in middle school and high school are set on a different college trajectory than boys.”

The purpose of the study was to negate the results of another study conducted earlier in the year that suggested that prejudices held by members of those particular areas were the reason that there weren’t high numbers of women in STEM fields.

Ginther says that the results of the previous study “didn’t add up” and that women begin moving away from STEM fields way before college by the classes that they choose.

There are countless theories as to why more women don’t reach high levels in science or tech areas. Some say that women fail to mention they are attractive during their interviews. Still, some others suggest that women are simply disgusted by nerds, sci-fi posters and empty cans of soda.

Tim Worstall of The Register suggested similarly that the simple explanation for the lack of women in STEM fields is the fact that many steer clear of math and out of fields like tech, engineering, or sciences.

Sophisticated Adware Found Draining Your Data, Costing Business Over $1 Billion This Year

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Sophisticated Adware Found Draining Your Data, Costing Business Over $1 Billion This Year

Numerous suspicious mobile apps are using an advertising technique wasting one million gigabytes a day and have the potential to cause US $1 billion of damages this year.

Around 5000 iOS and Android applications have rapidly-reloading ads that are hidden from users and are set to operate even when the aps are closed or not in use. The apps are able to do this because they simulate human interaction in a way.

Normal, legitimate applications will show an ad every one or two minutes, according to researchers Antoni Kolev, David Sendroff, Matt Vella and Mike Andrews from Forensiq, a fraud detection agency based in New York. These bugged apps serve a stunning 20 ads per minute, or about 700 per hour.

Around two gigabytes for each mobile device per day is eaten up by the ads as they affect an estimated 15 percent of applications.

The fraud detection team states, “Fraudulent apps were observed selling traffic through most major ad exchanges and networks. These apps would establish on average 1100 connections per minute and communicate with 320 ad networks, ad servers, exchanges and data providers in the course of an hour.”

The team projects that, based on the traffic observed, this hacking of mobile devices will cost advertisers around $857 this year. The annual impact projected by the group will reach about $1 billion in 2015.

The financial impact that advertisers are expected to feel this year is stunning. iOS is projected to lose $363 million while Windows Mobile ad-men will lose around $14 million. Android leads the estimated loss with a projected $480 million going out the window.

Unfortunately, this sort of advertising technique goes undetected by antivirus scanners and work similarly to botnets.

The group from Forensiq was able to flag 13.3 percent of a stunning 16.2 daily daily mobile in-app impressions as they found them to be high-risk. The group used a series of highly technical and advanced methods to reach their results.

Trump Defies Critics, Continues To Lead Tightly Packed GOP Field

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Perhaps a reflection of the public’s preference for brashness in today’s political climate, a new CNN poll places Donald Trump at the lead in the Republican presidential race at 18 per cent support among Republicans, with Jeb Bush coming in second at 15%. Despite his recent comments disparaging POW veteran John McCain, support for Trump has actually climbed by six points since June, all the while making headlines with his often controversial sound bites. No other candidates aside from Trump and Bush received double digit support in the poll, but Governor Scott Walker placed third with 9 per cent. Is all this an expression of Republicans’ actual desire for the candidate, or merely their vicarious venting of disgust with politicians in general?

With congressional approval ratings remaining near all-time lows, Trump’s lack of political experience could be seen as a positive as there is no record for anyone to criticize. His popularity among Republican voters isn’t translating to the remaining pool of registered voters because he currently trails both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a hypothetical general election matchup by a wide margin. In contrast, Bush and Walker polled slightly behind Clinton and almost even with Sanders in a hypothetical matchup.

None of these polls may matter much, when in the 2012 presidential election only 28% of voters picked Mitt Romney as most likely to receive the Republican nomination, in a September 2011 CNN poll. For comparison, in the 2008 election, only 16 per cent of voters picked Obama as the most likely Democratic nominee in an October 2007 CNN poll, which would only rise to 38 per cent in a similar January 2008 poll, and finally to 57 per cent in the April 2008 poll.

Confirming this view, a majority of Republican voters currently state that they see it as too soon to decide on which candidate they prefer. Also prompting cautiousness in any attempt to forecast the chosen candidate, Trump’s unfavorable rating among all registered voters remains a very high 59 per cent, exceeding Hillary’s unfavorable rating of 49 per cent.

Part of the reason behind Trump’s higher unfavorable rating may be that he chooses to speak out when prompted on most issues, which may result in him taking unpopular positions. Hillary will frequently refrain from taking a position when first asked about an issue, perhaps to consult polling data on what her position should be.

China Lifts 14 Year Old Ban On Video Game Consoles

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With the Chinese economy showing signs of trouble, it may come as good news to citizens suffering from market malaise that the ban on sales and manufacture of video game consoles has been lifted. Interested citizens may soon be able to distract themselves from their financial worries with the entertainment offerings of Sony, Microsoft, and others. Consumers shouldn’t get too excited just yet, however, as there will be a series of negotiations and permitting processes with the Ministry of Culture that companies must first go through before being able to sell their products.

Nintendo shares were up 11% Wednesday on the news at $128, the highest level in two and a half years, as access to the world’s third largest video game market by revenue came one step closer to being opened.

Despite the absence of console games, PC and mobile games are still very popular, a fact which may pose a marketing challenge to manufacturers having to sell to a consumer base who is accustomed to accessing their games without the need of dedicated gaming hardware. In addition, many are too poor to afford the high cost of today’s video game consoles and will instead patronize one of the many internet cafes available in order to access their video entertainment. Still, perhaps the internet cafes will soon have an area set aside for console gaming for those who cannot afford to purchase one of their own.

The move by China puts an end to a 14 year ban on video game console sales, which was originally imposed with claims of adverse effects on its youth. With a dubious record on intellectual property and copyright, the current climate in China is illustrated by the fact that illegal consoles can be obtained in Beijing’s “Silicon Valley” region known as Zhongguancun. Furthermore, the illegal consoles are made to run pirated software, which can be had for around $1 per game, much lower than the current price of up to $50 for an official copy.

Even though all these hurdles exist, game companies are sure to press on, with the Chinese gaming market currently valued at $22.2 billion (up 23% over the previous year), it would be foolish not to.

22 Banks Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Treasury Bill Rate Manipulation

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In the aftermath of the LIBOR convictions in May this year, in which five global banks agreed to pay $5 billion for their manipulation of interbank interest rates, 22 banks were sued on Thursday for their suspected involvement in manipulating the interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities.

The alleged conspiracy to manipulate Treasury auctions was the first nationwide class action lawsuit of its kind and included banks such as Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and 17 others. If history is any guide, jail sentences are unlikely in the event of a guilty plea or conviction, with fines and the firing of the “bad apples” at the guilty institutions being the norm.

The case is being brought by the State-Boston Retirement System (SBRS), which is the public employee pension fund for Boston. The $12.5 trillion Treasury market was manipulated, the case stated, through the use of chat rooms, instant messages, and other means in an effort to coordinate strategy and exchange confidential consumer information. The end result was that prices for Treasury securities were inflated for investors in the pre-auction market, with the banks then covering their positions in the “when issued” market at a deflated price.

Suspicion arose starting in December 2012 when wide gaps were noted between the auction and “when issued” prices, which then narrowed when the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating the manipulation of the LIBOR rate. The SBRS is not alone in their suspicion as media had previously reported that the Justice Department was investigating the issue as of last month.

Injured parties include private investors, city governments, and corporations who all paid too much for their securities as a result of the manipulation. One of the lawyers at the firm representing SBRS stated, ”Even a small manipulation in Treasury rates can have enormous consequences.”

No comment could be obtained from those banks that were contacted regarding the case, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank.

If guilty of the accusations, the question remains, will we see yet more fines for the bad behavior, or will jail sentences actually be issued? Following the convictions in the LIBOR case in May, CEO of J.P. Morgan Jamie Dimon stated, “The lesson here is that the conduct of a small group of employees, or of even a single employee, can reflect badly on all of us, and have significant ramifications for the entire firm.” In light of the fact that the bank recently pled guilty to the same behavior with LIBOR that it is now being charged with regarding Treasury securities, perhaps he was implying not to get caught.

Under the tenure of Dimon, who has made over $1 billion dollars during that span, the bank has paid approximately $35 billion in fines for criminal conduct.

Military School Doctor Accused Of Performing Horrific Experiments On Students

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A former Army doctor and lecturer at the military medical college in Maryland has been accused of performing grotesque and highly unprofessional experiments on students, injecting them with hypnosis inducing drugs, performing both penile and rectal operations during class and even withdrawing students’ blood to induce shock. So shocking are the reports emanating from the class, the prosecutor in charge reported he had not seen anything like it in his 26 years on the bench.

John Henry Hagmann stands accused of conducting illegal experiments and was escorted off the premises of the Uniformed Services University campus this week in the wake of the reports on his irregular methods which included instructing students to perform penile nerve blocks and inserting catheters into the genitals of his students.

Following his arrest, the college has launched a full scale investigation into Hagmann’s conduct and is forwarding the results to law enforcement agencies. A medical examination was conducted on the students to determine if they were exposed to any diseases in the course of their lessons.

School President Charles Rice indicated they took “immediate steps” in ensuring the safety of their students and the revocation of Hagmann’s license by the Virginia Board of Medicine.
However, records accessed by Reuters indicate the school administration was indeed aware of the crude methods used by the rogue teacher. According to the reports, school officials, as early as 20 years ago, were already aware of Hagmann’s methods. Also in the report were details that three members of the school’s faculty had indeed sat in one of Hagmann’ classes but either refused to inform their superiors or neglected their duty to uphold ethical practice. Hagmann was let loose and his experiments inappropriately rubber stamped.

Even more intriguing is evidence that one of the former deans of the institution was so alarmed by the unnatural teaching methods of Hagmann, she recommended he be court martialed. However, no action was taken causing investigators to wonder if the lecturer was being protected and why no student had reported such conduct until only recently.

Meanwhile, Hagmann has denied any part in the wrong doings he is charged with and has vowed to appeal the revoking of his license by the Virginia Board. According to him, the school originally felt that none of the training methods posed any danger and even supported his research.

Hagmann said, “The same institution that is now making a complaint originally supported and encouraged the programs.” If indeed this were the position of the school, the faculty did not show it.

Colleagues in the school’s faculty described Hagmann as being an “iconoclast and a cowboy,” a man who had a “magical effect on people, almost spell-like” and one who was “impatient with government rules.” When reports on his dangerous methods were reported, his true self was brought to light. The evidence was damaging and the consequent report damning.

According to Assistant Attorney General Frank Pedrotty, “The evidence is so overwhelming and so bizarre as to almost shock the conscience of a prosecutor who’s been doing this for 26 years.”
Hagmann is being held as investigations into his unscrupulous training methods are being concluded. For a teacher who was teaching since 20 year ago, questions have been raised as to why reports are only emerging now, more than 20 years after his first class and hundreds of students later.

Explosion At Government Building Found To Be From Secret Meth Lab

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Explosion At Government Building Found To Be From Secret Meth Lab

A meth lab explosion ripped through the lab of a U.S. government building, injuring a federal security officer last Saturday, according to newly released details of the incident. Police later found traces of methamphetamines and other illegal substances used in the manufacture of meth and when investigations were launched, the federal officer injured curiously resigned forthwith. Government authorities have been accused of being reluctant on their war against drugs and in some cases found to be working in cahoots with the perpetrators. Was the meth manufacturing lab part of a broader drug related structure that has now sucked in government agencies?

The explosion on July 18th happened at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) building just outside Washington D.C. The blast reportedly threw a shield 25 feet away and injured a police officer on site. Thankfully, it occurred in a room that was devoid of equipment so no research materials were damaged.

Intrigue was piqued when reports emerged that the room where the explosion occurred was not scheduled to be hosting any experiments that day. When police stepped in after the blast, they found pseudoephedrine, some drain cleaner and a meth recipe. It was clear as daylight what was happening.

Further reports by NBC Washington indicated that the police officer involved sustained severe burns on both his arms and hands, consistent with meth cooking explosions. When he resigned over the weekend following the incident, little doubt was present as to why he had done so. The real puzzle was how a meth experiment was allowed in a government building manned even on the weekend. Could the police officer have been assisted? Was someone else involved?

Local Montgomery Police Spokesperson, Paul Starks, declined to answer whether the ingredients found were being used to manufacture meth.

Congress has taken up an active role in the explosion that occurred on taxpayer funded premises. Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman Science, Space & Technology Committee said, “The fact that this explosion took place at a taxpayer-funded NIST facility, potentially endangering NIST employees, is of great concern. I am troubled by the allegations that such dangerous and illicit activity went undetected at a federal research facility.”

Smith has demanded an explanation on the incident within seven days from the commerce secretary.

NIST is a federal agency tasked to ensure responsible standard setting for measurements. While its role as the benchmark guide to proper standards and measurements is well known, its links to meth manufacturing are undocumented and consequently unauthorized. The recent explosion thus raised more questions than answers, sparking renewed interest in the U.S. government’s commitment to fighting drug related crime.

Uber Changes Tactics As Brazil Latest To See Widespread Anti-Uber Protests

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In a scene reminiscent of those in Paris recently, a thousand Rio de Janeiro taxi drivers protested against ride-sharing company Uber, blocking major roadway and bringing traffic to almost a complete stand still.

Uber, in typical scofflaw fashion, aggressively countered the protests by giving away free rides to customers to help ease transport issues on what it termed a “difficult day for getting around.”

Uber has been attacked, literally and figuratively, around the world in recent weeks, by taxi drivers angry at Uber drivers not having to be pay huge licensing fees and therefore being able to undercut their rates. Taxi unions in several countries also claim because Uber drivers do not need to be licensed, passengers are not covered by insurance, nor are the Uber cars.

In France a few weeks ago. taxi drivers blocked streets, set Uber drivers cars on fire and attacked their drivers.These protests resulted in the French Parliament moving to ban Uber car and the company being forced to stop its car sharing services throughout the country.

In Canada this week the company was on the receiving end of a $400 million class action lawsuit against its UberX and UberXL ride sharing services.

Brazil’s lawmakers voted to ban Uber as a result of the protest but the bills have yet to be approved by both houses of Government.

In Rio, taxi drivers formed a yellow taxi chain stretching for 3 miles along a major thoroughfare connecting the well to do south zone of the city to the central business district, chanting and honking their horns.

Taxi driver Alexander Campos said “We want to combat the illegal (drivers). We are the official ones, we have a responsibility, we are professionals who have families.”

Uber released statement saying it defends customers having a choice and that “innovation is crucial” in cities like Rio which have “a population in need of more options and [that] receives millions of tourists a year,” offering people two free rides for tweeting supportive messages with the hashtag #RIONAOPARA or “Rio doesn’t stop.”

The bold campaign by Uber could be a sign that its previous strategy is fighting challenges through the courts is failing and that it now needs popular opinion to change the mind of lawmakers, who are known to have cosy relations with the powerful taxi industry.

Something’s Brewing In Online Shopping As Web Giants Start Invading Offline Retail

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Something’s Brewing In Online Shopping As Web Giants Start Invading Offline Retail

There’s a counterintuitive trend brewing in Canada, where despite e-commerce sales expected to hit $30 billion this year, some retailers who started out on-line are now moving to traditional brick-and mortar stores in an effort to take some of the near $40-billion a month of retail revenue seen in our neighbors to the north.

Custom menswear on-line retailer Indochino, which started off with online stores back in 2011, has now opened showrooms in its hometown of Vancouver, as well as Toronto, San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia, with a Boston location opening later this month, a telltale sign that digital retail may not be the be all and end all of shopping.

Company founder and CEO Kyle Vucko said “It (on-line stores) was a big leap for us at the time but we are now bucking the trend.”

Vucko said the move to traditional retailing came after customers said they wanted to feel and see fabrics as well as get advice face-to-face from stylists.

He said there were some items that were on-line friendly – such as electronics and books – where customers were happy with descriptive specifications, but apparel wasn’t really in that category unless they were a well known brand that a customer had purchased before. He said with new brands, customers wanted to see how a product fitted and wore.

Indochino will keep its online component – an approach known as an omnichannel strategy – web, mobile and traditional retail – all being used to reach new customers.

Other Canadian retailers had a different approach to omnichannel retailing. Roy Hessel, CEO for Clearly, also based in Vancouver, said he uses a “digital first” approach for his vision correction products.

He said “When we talk about omnichannel, I think that we should look at it much more broadly than just the tension between website, mobile and the physical store. When I look at it, as a CEO of a mainly digital company, I look at it as a multidimensional approach.”

He said for his company, which launched online in 2000, the on-line store allowed for worldwide customers while his recently opened retail outlets in Toronto and Vancouver, were being used as testing grounds for new products.

“We see our retail stores as learning labs, where we get the chance to test new things, observe how people shop, and gather feedback,” he said “The biggest challenge that eyeglass customers have is finding the right fit –they always need the feedback of a friend or a professional.”

Hessel said customers now often take selfies to see how they suit new frames and also send these to friends to seek their opinions.

Chris Naidu, co-owner of Toronto based Park & Province, which sells men’s clothing and accessories, said since he opened a traditional storefront last month, on-line sales have grown, although in-store sales outpaced on-line purchases.

He said both channels seemed to be driving traffic to the other. He said customers browsing on-line often visited the stores to try on something they had seen, while similarly customers who had been in the stores often went home to purchase online what they had seen, felt and tried on.
Naidu believed the physical stores were also important in that it helped build relationships and create brand aesthetics.

“That traditional aspect of being able to introduce somebody into your own space and creating this environment for them – that will never go away,” he said. “I think that’s definitely the most important aspect to why we opened the store … for reasons like that, in person is always better.”

Despite Unknown Sales Volume Apple’s Watch Universally Liked By Buyers

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Apple appears to be able to sell just about anything and its new Apple Watch is no exception. While nobody knows the precise sales numbers thanks to Apple’s lack of disclosure, for which it cited competitive reasons, new independent analysis confirms that the Apple Watch is breaking smartwatch sales’ records thanks to a nearly perfect satisfaction rating, with users of all skill levels thrilled with the pricey device.

What determines whether or not something is a success these days in the mobile space is fiercely debated by manufacturers. Is it the profit margin or is it the overall number of items sold in comparison to the next largest competitor? Wall St. analysts seem to stand firmly in the former category judging by Apple’s stock price.

The cupertino based company has been able to consume a whopping 92% of the total net profit of its industry despite the fact that it has sold many fewer phones than Samsung. This is a phenomenal number that speaks to Apple’s ability to sell its items at prices that are far higher priced than its closest competitors.

While Apple refused to disclose the exact sales volume of its watch in its third quarter filing, estimates are ranging from a couple million to well over 10 million units. Yet those who have purchased the watch are extremely pleased with it, according to new research.

Independent wearables research company Wristly, along with Ben Bajarin of Techpinion, conducted a survey of over 800 Apple Watch owners that consisted of individuals of very particular groups of users, “App Builder”; “Tech Insider”, those that are considered early adopters, or the first to run out and buy a product; “Media/Investors”; and “Non-tech users,” consisting of those who bought the item without any particular loyalty to Apple or other items it might sell.

Two-thirds of those surveyed were “very satisfied” with the purchase, with an additional 31% being “somewhat satisfied,” a positive result that equals an almost near perfect rating for the watch. Somehow, the Apple Watch continues to succeed regardless of its many issues that are usually experienced with first-generation products along with the watch’s limitations of related hardware therein.

The Apple Watch is even surpassing satisfaction ratings of both the first generation iPhone and iPad, which have both only become more popular and reliable since their 2007 and 2010 introductions. The iPhone and iPad consistently receive ratings as two of the most “satisfying” purchases by users in the tech industry.

Wristly’s survey determined that the non-tech savvy users were more forgiving of the flaws of the watch and only main complaint was the battery life, instead of the UI aspects and quality of third-party apps, areas that tech reviewers were quite critical of.

In fact, 73% of the users surveyed who are not tech savvy individuals were “very satisfied,” with another 26% being “somewhat satisfied.” It was a very different response for developers, who were either “somewhat satisfied,” or “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.” If you take into consideration the fact that Apple is pushing hard for developers to reevaluate the watch with watchOS 2, which allows for the feature of native apps and third party-complications, causing this number to possibly shift more towards the general consumer feelings throughout the next year.

Analysts further expect Apple’s new category to outperform the prior one, but, with the iPad having grown so quickly, the iPhone steadily growing, it will not be possible for the watch, which relies upon an iPhone to function properly.

Even at this early juncture, the watch can only be looked upon as a success, even if it only remains to be a somewhat niche product by Apple’s standards, when comparing it to the iPad and the iPhone.

Gold Hits Five Year Lows As Investors Scramble To Avoid More Losses

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Investors are reeling from losses and the opportunity costs forsaken after a shocking decline in the price of gold. The yellow metal has hit consistent lows five years running and is at its lowest price yet. Many countries and banks prefer to hoard gold over currencies which are fragile and fluctuate unevenly. With the falling price of gold, many investors, banks and even countries may be charging head first into unseen financial difficulty.

The price of the yellow metal dropped to its lowest level in five years. Futures for delivery in August fell by 1.4 per cent to $1078.50 for every ounce by 8:25am Friday, culminating a 4.6 per cent drop by the close of the week, the highest fall since October of last year.

The price drop has had catastrophic economic downturns overseas, especially for producers of the precious metal. Seven out of the 18 biggest bullion producers are making losses as a result of the dip in gold prices. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. dropped to a 5.5 per cent record low in Johannesburg. In London, the story was similar, immediate delivery gold fell 0.6 per cent to a low of $1083.3 an ounce as at 1:34 pm. The question on everyone’s mind now is just how far will the prices drop?

Traditionally, people and governments buy gold for two reasons. One: as a hedge against increasing inflation rates. Inflation hurts the value of currency, making holding money in gold a better option in order to preserve economic position and buying power. Two: as a better return on investment. When interest rates offered by banks and government bonds are too low, gold offers a better return on investment as its value increases at a rate higher than the bank rates.

The problem with gold began in June 19, 2013, when the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its reduction of cash injections into the economy totaling $85 billion a month, starting from the close of the year. The result was a crippling low supply of money in the economy that dropped inflation and led to a rise in interest rates, holding money in gold plates suddenly seemed less attractive. The buyers turned to sellers, the market was oversupplied and a year later, the price of gold is yet to recover.

According to financial analysis firm Macquarie, “Gold has always had a dual nature as a currency and a commodity. At present, it is not desired in either form.”

Investors are now selling the yellow metal at the fastest rate since the beginning of the year. Bloomberg reported that holdings in products traded at the exchange decreased 17.6 metric tons in one week, the lowest level since 2009.

The price of gold has been declining steadily after a great rally in the 2008 recession. While the fall in prices is being closely monitored by analysts, it remains to be seen whether it can be arrested before more damage is done to the economy.

Automotive First: Chrysler Recalls 1.4 Million Jeeps Vulnerable To Hacking Attack

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Automotive First: Chrysler Recalls 1.4 Million Jeeps Vulnerable To Hacking Attack

After heightened pressure from the U.S. government, Fiat Chrysler has recalled 1.4 million vehicles over eye popping system gaps which leave the vehicles exposed to hacking attacks. The news comes after just this week two hackers remotely hacked into a Jeep Cherokee, fully taking control of the vehicle’s functions, completely locking out the driver. Worry over increased possibilities of random car hacking have led to a renewed vigor in ensuring drivers are safe from criminal hacking that will compromise their safety.

The Fiat Chrysler call back is the first of its kind. The government had increased pressure on the car manufacturer after system gaps were located in the vehicle, rendering it susceptible to cyber crime. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSHA) said it would open an investigation to ensure that all vehicles that could be affected by the system gap are covered. In a statement, the NTSHA said the recall “meets the critical responsibility of manufacturers to assure the American public that vehicles are secure from such threats, and that when vulnerabilities are discovered, there will be a swift and strong response.”

Only recently did a Wired report chronicle how to hackers took control of a Cherokee Jeep while stationed in a room miles away from the vehicle. The hackers were able to effortlessly penetrate the vehicle’s firewall and take full charge of the vehicle’s operations including radio, seat belts, wipers and air conditioning. The hackers then killed the acceleration pedal, slowed the vehicle and cut out the brakes before steering the car into a ditch as the driver sat terrified and helpless. The hackers revealed that they could even remotely trace vehicles using their IP addresses from anywhere in the U.S. and take full control of them. The potential breach in security is of galactic proportions. A recall was inevitable.

Fiat Chrysler recall will include the adding of software updates to safeguard radios that are vulnerable to remote cyber hacks. The auto manufacturer said in a statement, “The recall aligns with an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action.”

Fiat revealed that it first got wind of the hacking news through a researcher who revealed that the vehicle communications port, the window to all its’ systems operations, was inadvertently left wide open; a hacker’s dream. The updates would serve to completely close these gaps, making the car’s systems air tight and cyber proof.

It remains to be seen whether other car manufacturers will follow in the footsteps of Fiat Chrysler through the recall.

Cyber crime has dominated security debates this last decade. From remote hacks traced to Chinese assailants, to cyber breaches in Sony Pictures traced back to North Korea, to unauthorized confidential data leaks from U.S. agencies and celebrity phone hacks, no one is safe. Lines have got to be drawn and people, including companies, have got to be answerable. The security of America’s 250 million road users has to be treated as a top priority and where gaps are realized, they should be arrested promptly.

Apple And Three Chinese Brands Now Dominate Smartphone Growth

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Chinese smartphone manufacturers continue their push for world domination and have finally, thanks to Hauwei Technologies, been able to beat out Samsung in sales growth. The large yet relatively unknown company to westerners also managed to outsell Lenovo, the third largest smartphone supplier in the world.

Huawei, known for its smartphones, has gone unfazed by a recent slowdown in the market in China, while both Xiaomi and Lenovo have shown solid growth globally throughout the second quarter highlighting the different strategies of China’s tech titans.

IDC, a research firm, has recently shown data reflecting that Huawei, who is China’s largest manufacturer of telecom equipment, showed an increase in its shipments of smartphones throughout the quarter by 48.1 percent to 29.9 million units, an increase of 20.2 million units for the same period last year.

Huawei, which is based in Shenzhen, was able to last quarter move past Lenovo in rank as the third largest smartphone supplier in the world, consuming an astonishing 8.9 percent of the worldwide market share, behind strong sales throughout Europe, according to the IDC report.

Xiaomi, a quickly growing smartphone start-up run by an ex-Googler saw an increase in its shipments of 29.4 percent to 17.9 million units, an increase of 13.8 million from this time last year.

It was able to burst into the top-five ranking last quarter, as well as fly past Lenovo, all while obtaining 5.3 percent share as the fourth-largest supplier of smartphones in the world.

IDC also stated that Xiaomi was able to continue selling well throughout mainland China, all while still increasing its presence throughout Singapore, Indonesia and India.

Lenovo, after acquiring Motorola Mobility last year, was able to increase its global shipments of smartphones by 2.4 percent throughout the second quarter to 16.2 million units, up 15.8 million from this time last year.

This was a significant enough increase for Lenovo to grab 4.8 percent of the global market share and become fifth in ranks of the leading smartphone brands in the world. Lenovo had been ranked third last year at the same time.

IDC stated that Lenovo’s Motorola brand has been able to grow in countries throughout North America and Europe regardless of tough competition.

The company’s Lenovo-brand of smartphones have seen an increase in demand on online sites in newer markets such as India.

“While the Chinese players are clearly making gains this quarter, every quarter sees new brands joining the market,” according to senior research manager of IDC’s mobile phone team, Melissa Chau.

“IDC now tracks over 200 different smartphone brands globally, many of them focused on entry level and mid-range models, and most with a regional or even single-country focus.”

IDC also says all smartphone shipments throughout the second quarter increased by 11.6 percent to 337.2 million units, an increase from 302.1 million the year prior year.

Last quarter saw Samsung Electronics remaining the worldwide market leader; however, its shipments of smartphones dropped 2.3 percent to 73.2 units, a decrease from 74.9 the same time the prior year.

Apple was able to see an increase in demand because of its larger screened iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with its second quarter shipments increasing 34.9 percent to 47.5 million units, an increase from 35.2 million the same time last year.

“The overall growth of the smartphone market was not only driven by the success of premium flagship devices from Samsung, Apple, and others, but more importantly by the abundance of affordable handsets that continue to drive shipments in many key markets,” according to Anthony Scarsella, IDC research manager.

Fact: A Majority Of Americans Will Be Poor At Some Point In Their Lives

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Fact: A Majority Of Americans Will Be Poor At Some Point In Their Lives

The face of America’s poor is far from constant with new research confirming earlier studies that that every year, a different class of people live in poverty and by the time a majority of Americans get to age 60, up to four in every five of them have been poor at some point in their lives. As economic position is the principal determinant for the value people’s and families’ lives, while many manage to get back on their feet after this period, its effects can have far reaching consequences.

According to research conducted by Mark Rank, a Washington University Sociologist, and a team of fellow sociologists, an incredible number of Americans will be dependent on welfare at some point in their lives. Rank reveals that by age 60, a staggering majority of Americans will have been unemployed, living below the poverty index, at the bottom 20% of income distribution and reliant on government programs including food stamps for a year or more.

The survey, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, spoke volumes of the volatility of income in the U.S. Rank said, “Rather than an uncommon event, poverty was much more common than many people had assumed once you looked over a long period of time.”

Interestingly, the survey also found that the reverse for income affluence holds. As many as 11 per cent of U.S. citizens will spend time at the top one per cent of income distribution for a time before they get to 60. A far greater number will reach the top 20 per cent, however, their stay will be short lived. It is this sort of volatility that has plagued the American economy for decades.

Rank said, “The story of the American life course is marked by a surprising degree of economic movement and volatility.”

Census figures indicate that up to 46.2 million Americans are poor. That’s approximately 15 per cent of the population. What this study indicates is that every year, the people in that 15 per cent change and sooner or later, a vast majority of us will form that statistic. Effectively, there are as many people moving out of poverty as there are moving into it. The cycle just doesn’t stop and as research indicates, it only gets worse.

An Associated Press-GkF research put forward that by 2030, the volatility of income distribution will grow to engulf 85 per cent of Americans. That’s a five per cent growth from the current 80 per cent.

President Barrack Obama’s administration has been faulted repeatedly over the spiraling economic hardships facing the country. With joblessness on the rise, the number of American families on welfare is increasing and life expectancy gradually decreasing. 80 per cent of Americans will know poverty at one point in their lives. Those who recover may never get back to their former selves and for those who don’t, their struggles will continue to haunt the nation’s economic recovery for years to come.

Insurance Giant Begins Replacing Claims Inspectors With Drones

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Liberty Mutual Insurance will join other major insurance agencies in the use of drones to help photograph businesses and houses damaged by natural disasters or fires. The drones will be used instead of manned planes or adjusters for some claims, illustrating how the industry is maturing and maybe even replacing human jobs in some cases.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration granted the insurance giant the rights to use four drones of differing sizes. The relatively small drones weigh no more than 55 pounds and cannot fly over 400 feet off the ground or travel more than 100 miles per hour, per FAA restrictions.

Spokesman Glenn Greenberg says Liberty Mutual will implement use of the drones later this year but on a limited basis. To help adjusters assess a large site of damage in a short amount of time, the drones will initially be inspecting sites damaged by large-scale natural disasters.

As there are many risks involved with inspecting damage sites such as piloting a plane or falling off of ladders, claims adjustors will be spared potential risk with the use of the drones. Greenberg states, “It’s very easy for us to get excited by a technology that helps our claims professionals more safely help our customers after a loss.” The drones will also provide higher quality photography for the insurers.

Liberty Mutual insurance is joining other companies such as AIG and State Farm who have also received FAA approval for drone use.

The FAA requires drones to be operated by a licensed pilot with a visual observer who visually monitors the flight. Liberty Mutual requested for permission to use drones without these positions, but the FAA denied the request. The insurance company will need both a pilot and a visual observer if they wish to use drones.

Liberty Mutual hasn’t released any information on how much it’s spending on drones, how many drones they will purchase, or from what companies they will buy the drones but China’s DJI could well be in the lead, marking a major corporate win for the company on American soil.

DOJ Probing Mega Banks HSBC, Standard Chartered For FIFA Scandal Money Laundering

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DOJ Probing Mega Banks HSBC, Standard Chartered For FIFA Scandal Money Laundering

In the latest development in the seemingly made-for-Hollywood events surrounding the FIFA scandal, United States regulators are probing major banks over their possible handling and processing of “tainted funds.” The investigation is focused on whether the banks’ internal controls and regulations aimed at money laundering failed to spot suspicious payments made to or from FIFA officials. The investigation into the banks comes after Swiss police raided a luxury hotel in Zurich in late May in order to arrest FIFA officials for their alleged roles in the organization’s widespread corruption. Rob Sherman, a spokesperson for HSBC Holdings in New York, stated that “[the bank] is continuing to review the allegations in the indictments against certain FIFA executives and others, to ensure that [the bank’s] services are not being misused for financial crime.”

United States authorities have charged 14 people at this time, including soccer officials and sports business executives, alleging their involvement in paying greater than $150 million in bribes to secure marketing and television contracts for soccer tournaments. U.S. prosecutors say their investigation also exposes money laundering schemes, tens of millions of dollars in offshore accounts held by FIFA officials and millions of dollars in untaxed incomes of those officials. Swiss authorities are conducting a parallel investigation into whether FIFA officials used bribery when awarding the 2018 World Cup to FIFA friendly Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a country with no soccer stadiums and 110 degree heat in the summer.

United States prosecutors asked Switzerland to extradite seven of the FIFA officials arrested in the May raid and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice stated it would rule on the extradition requests within a few weeks.

FIFA, which was organized in 1904 with eight European football associations, eventually expanded within a decade to include South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Canada. Today, it is composed of 209 national soccer organizations and runs one of the world’s most proliferative events: the World Cup. FIFA’s scandals, which go back decades, have resulted not because of the actions of any one official but because FIFA falls within a gray area of legality: it is not a business nor a governmental organization. It is basically a member’s club that governs itself without the rules of business or government. The recent arrests have occurred partly because FIFA conducted business on United States soil and partly because it violated Switzerland’s anti-corruption laws, where it is headquartered.

The alleged bribes and payoffs central to the United States’ investigation include the payoffs that exchanged hands over the selection of South Africa to host the 2010 Men’s World Cup and kickbacks in exchange for votes in FIFA’s 2011 presidential elections. The FIFA-affiliated governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, also allegedly took bribes in exchange for the rights to World Cup qualifying events, such as the Gold Cup tournament. The indictments cover activities taking place over the past two decades.

While many people are happy that the United States and Switzerland finally got involved in prosecuting the endless number of crimes allegedly committed by FIFA officials and related executives, United States officials say their investigation is just the beginning.

Netflix Is Quickly Taking Over The Media World

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For the first time since the invention of made-for-television movies in the 1960s, a new option for major feature films with A-list stars and leading directors is becoming legitimate. Netflix, a video streaming service in the U.S. and several other countries, has become a “global disruptor” by changing the way people think about entertainment. Netflix is now changing the way movies are released by not only accelerating release time, but by also producing and releasing original movies, bypassing traditional movie-theaters altogether. The latest example of Netflix’s vision includes a groundbreaking deal with Angelina Jolie to release her upcoming movie, “First They Killed My Father,” based on a Cambodian family’s survival of the “killing fields” of the Khmer Rouge regime.

This latest agreement with Jolie follows some other high profile Netflix deals including its acquisition of the distributions to “War Machine,” a satirical comedy starring Brad Pitt. Netflix will invest about $30 million to make War Machine and will invest even more to make First They Killed My Father. Jolie said in a statement that “[f]ilms like this are hard to watch but important to see. They are also hard to get made. Netflix is making this possible and [she] is looking forward to working with them and excited that the film will reach so many people.” The movie will be released in all of Netflix’s global markets and will be available in both English and Khmer, the official language of Cambodia. In a similar sentiment, Pitt has stated that, “[he and his production company] are so excited to be a part of the inspiring commitment by Netflix to produce cutting-edge content and to deliver it to a global audience.”

The deals with Jolie and Pitt come shortly after Netflix reached a deal to finance and exclusively release four Adam Sandler movies from Happy Madison Productions, and after it recently announced a deal with the Weinstein Company to simultaneously release the sequel to “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” and in Imax theaters in the summer of 2016. Sandler stated that “[w]hen these fine [Netflix] people came to me with an offer to make four movies for them, [he] immediately said yes. Let the streaming begin!”

Obviously, this trend that Netflix has started does not sit well with owners of major theater chains. In fact, several exhibitors, including Regal Cinemas and Cinemark in the U.S. and Cineplex Entertainment in Canada, have stated they plan to boycott the Crouching Tiger sequel by refusing to show it at any of their theaters. “We will not participate in an experiment where you can see the product on screens varying from three storeys tall to three inches wide on a smartphone,” said Regal spokesman Russ Nunley.

Conversely, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that Netflix’s new foray into exclusive movie production is about giving audiences the flexibility to watch movies when and where they want to. Harvey Weinstein characterized the new developments as simply responding to a media industry in flux. He stated that “[t]he moviegoing experience is evolving quickly and profoundly, and Netflix is unquestionably at the forefront of that movement.” Similarly, many analysts see the disruption caused by Netflix’s entry into original movies as an overdue challenge to Hollywood’s “carefully controlled” theatrical model. “This is just the start of what Netflix is going to do,” said Rich Greenfield, media analyst for BTIG Research. “Stay tuned. This is just the beginning.”

Amazon’s Cloud Facing Wave Of Competition From Alibaba And Google

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Amazon’s Cloud Facing Wave Of Competition From Alibaba And Google

The Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce giant, has US rival Amazon in its sights and its not just about online retail. The chinese juggernaut is increasing its investment in overseas data centers over the next 18 months in a push to steal some of Amazon’s lucrative cloud computing customers. The Chinese company wants to increase its market share in cloud computing which presently only accounts for a minute portion of the group’s overall revenues.

Simon Hu, president of Aliyun, Alibaba’s cloud computing unit, said the company would be establishing data centers in Asia, the Middle East and Europe but did not disclose how much it intends to spend doing so. He said it also plans to build a technology hub with a data center in Dubai which will give the company a competitive edge in a market largely ignored by Amazon and other cloud computing competitors Microsoft and Google.

“The cloud business will be a very important sector for Alibaba. We hope to match or even surpass Amazon in three to four years.” said Hu.

Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud business, earned US$1.57 billion for the first quarter of 2015, putting it on track to meet analysts’ estimates of US$6 billion in earnings for the year.

Alibaba’s recent quarterly cloud revenue earnings were US$63 million which was an 82 percent increase over the same period last year.

Hu said increasing the company’s cloud computing share is one of Alibaba’s main growth strategies for the next decade.

At present Aliyun has 200 data management and cloud computing service partners but has plans to increase this to 2,000 over the next three years.

One of the company’s sales and marketing lures is its recently unveiled data protection pact where customers are guaranteed “absolute ownership” of their data.

Hu said Aliyun currently analyses more than 100 terabytes of information each day for security threats like malware but did not make any comment on how the company would address data requests from the Chinese government.

The news comes as Google announced Nearline, a cloud based archival storage product that directly targets Amazon’s similar Glacier cloud-based storage.

Google’s new offering boasts three second retrieval times versus three hours for Amazon’s Glacier and the company will give away 100 Petabytes of free storage for the first six months. That’s a nearly $1 million per month freebie if taken full advantage of, highlighting just how seriously Google is taking the threat of Amazon.

Both the Google and Amazon services are priced at $0.01 per gigabyte per month, highlighting the fierce competition Amazon is under in cloud computing from both domestic and foreign competitors.

Amazon is widely regarded as the world leader in cloud computing (disclosure: we host our site with them and they’re great!), and the world is quickly taking notice.

Expect to see increased pressure from a wide variety of players including Google, Aliyun, IBM, Microsoft and others in this red-hot space.

Trump Threatens Third Party Presidential Bid In Face Of GOP Backlash

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U.S. Republican (GOP) presidential candidate Donald Trump is threatening to run as a third-party presidential campaign if the party does not treat him like other party candidates.

“I’ll have to see how I’m being treated by the Republicans. Absolutely, if they’re not fair, that would be a factor.” said the Republican businessman who is currently leading most national polls as the preferred Republican presidential candidate despite being criticised by party leaders who do not see him as a serious contender but as someone that could harm the GOP brand.

Political experts said some party leaders fear Trump running a third-party campaign would pull votes from the Republican nominee in the presidential race.

Former Republican Rep for Virginia, Tom Davis said ““You’ve got to keep him in the tent. He just wreaks havoc, and every vote he takes comes out of our hide.”

A poll this week which tested a hypothetical three-way race between Trump, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, and Democrat Hillary Clinton, showed Clinton (46%) ahead of Bush (30%) and Trump (20%).

Trump earlier this week singled out the Republican National Committee for treating him unfairly.

“The RNC has not been supportive,” he said. “They were always supportive when I was a contributor. I was their fair-haired boy. The RNC has been, I think, very foolish.” he said.

The RNC attacked Trump last weekend after he rubbished the war record of Sen. John McCain saying he was “not a war hero” before flip flopping, repeatedly claiming the opposite. McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five years when his plane was shot down.

The last time a third-party candidate ran with some success was in 1992 and 1996, when Texas billionaire Ross Perot contested the presidency. His first candidacy has been blamed for pulling votes from President George H.W. Bush’s re-election campaign, giving victory to Bill Clinton.

Dan Senor, an adviser for GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 said “Perot’s intensely nationalist and protectionist politics resonated with a lot of center-right voters that otherwise would have voted Republican. And the environment today is even more intensely populist. If Trump were to run as an independent, who knows what impact he could have in what will otherwise be a close election?”

Acclaimed CEO Who Set $70,000 Minimum Wage Sued By Brother

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Acclaimed CEO Who Set $70,000 Minimum Wage Sued By Brother

CEO of Gravity Payments, Dan Price, gained recognition by establishing a standard $70,000 wage for all his employees earlier this year. Now Price is being sued by his brother and co-founder Lucas Price, a minority shareholder, who claims the CEO was being overly generous.

According to the Seattle Times, Lucas Price is suing his brother on accusations of violating his rights as a minority shareholder in the company as well as duty and contract breaches.

Lucas Price signed the complaints on March 13th and filed them April 24th. This was just under two weeks after his brother and CEO of Gravity Payments announced pay raises for all of his 120 employees.

These allegations came at a time when Gravity Payments was receiving much attention from the public after the raise of the minimum wage within the company. Despite the timing, Attorney Greg Hollon, representing Lucas Price, claims the lawsuit is responding to a series of events that took place over years, not to the single decision.

The Times reports that Lucas Price is accusing his brother of withholding shareholder rights and paying himself excessively.

Gravity Payments, the successful merchant-service company, was co-founded by the Price brothers in 2004 and Dan Price became the CEO two years later in 2006.

In an effort to bring the minimum wage up to the $70,000 goal, Dan Price told the credit card processing company’s staff that he would cut his own pay and even forego some of the company’s profits.

Price said “You might be making $35,000 a year right now but everyone in here will definitely be making $70,000 a year and I’m super excited about that.”

This number is in comparison to the gross annual income of $17,000, which stems from a national minimum wage of $7 an hour.

The allegations will be heard in court on May 3rd when the matter goes to trial.

French Tobacconists Take To Streets To Protest Generic Cigarette Packaging

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French Tobacconists Take To Streets To Protest Generic Cigarette Packaging

French tobacconists took to the streets this week, dumping carrots and covering police cams with trash bags in protest of standardized cigarette packs which are free of branded labels. French Minister Marisol Touraine pushed for the measure as part of a larger health bill. Although the French National Assembly approved the bill on April 3rd, the right-dominant Senate didn’t agree. Touraine said discussion on the bill would reopen in September.

The European country saw weeklong protests from its local tobacconists who felt threatened by the proposed measure. By introducing plain cigarette packets, the tobacconists argued, their profits would go down and their livelihoods would be threatened.

To make a statement, protesters in Gers, in Southern France, covered most of the district’s traffic cameras in trash bags. This symbolized the loss of revenue tobacconists are feeling as they struggle to match competitive prices from Spain and Andorra.

President of the Gers tobacconists union said “By covering the speed cameras with trash bags, we’ve attacked a symbol, because, like cigarettes, speed cameras bring in a lot of money to the state.”

The odd protesting continued as four tons of carrots were dumped by angry protestors outside of headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party. “Carrot” is used to describe a red cylindrical sign that law requires French tobacconists to hang outside of their stores. The Socials Party responded to the protest by feeding the four tons of carrots to their 470 horse cavalry.

Although the French government collects around $15 billion in tax revenue from its tobacconists, it also spends $52 billion a year treating and campaigning against smoking. These numbers have led the government to try and oust smoking altogether.

While 26.3 percent of cigarettes used in France are bought via “parallel markets” such as foreign countries, the Senate rejected the bill because of the government’s “inability to obtain from our [European] neighbors a more cooperative and less opportunistic tax policy.”

While French tobacconists received the Senate ruling they were looking for, protests are promised to continue in September when the bill is scheduled to be reopened for discussion.

Britain’s Navy Launches World’s First 3D Printed Drone Made Entirely At Sea

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The British Navy made a self-proclaimed world’s first on Tuesday as they launched a cheap drone from the Royal Navy ship HMS Mersey that was manufactured entirely on board using a 3D printer.

The airplane-style drone, which was just shy of seven pounds, was launched from a catapult and flew for five minutes through preprogrammed waypoints before landing on a beach. The point of the demonstration was to show how these sort of disposable drones could be assembled quickly onboard a ship. This would save time and money as the assembly is quick and efficient, using little resources or material. Reaction time to missions such as natural disasters would become more efficient with widespread use of the manufacturing technology.

UAV desk officer Geoff Hayward said that the members onboard the HMS Mersey weren’t sure whether the drone made of low-cost material could handle the windy conditions and rolling swells of the ocean. Yet the technology was a success and demonstrated that larger scale systems will likely find their way into military, commercial and civilian use in short order.

Aeronautical engineers at the University of Southampton designed the 1.5-meter-wingspan drone known as Sulsa. The drone was made by fusing four parts together that were made by a 3D printer. The only things not made from the printer were the drone’s battery, propeller, control electronics, and motor. Everything else, including the rudders and ailerons were made with the printer. The printed drone can even fly up to 100 miles per hour.

Typically, launching drones from ships is a million dollar process, according to Jim Scanlan, a university professor at Southampton who worked on Sulsa. The Navy is trying to cut these costs he says.

Unlike most drones, The Sulsa costs just a few thousand dollars to be printed. Although It can only fly for 40 minutes, Scanlan argues this time can be sufficient for missions requiring a quick eye in the sky. The best part is, users don’t have to be too worried about losing a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment, unlike existing multimillion dollar drone systems.

Although improvements are still underway, Scanlan envisions printed drones being used on ships with personalized sensors for different missions. In addition to carrying all the necessary equipment such as the parts and the printers, a way to keep the printers level out at sea remains a problem that will take more research and testing to properly solve.

World’s Largest Pro Video Game League To Start Testing For Performance Enhancing Drugs

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ESL, the world’s largest league for gaming and e-sports, announced Thursday they will begin considering programs for comprehensive drug tests. Increasingly large cash prizes and a surge in popularity is prompting the changes as the once niche profession matures.

James Lampkin, vice president of the league, told ESPN.com, “We’ve known for some time that performance-enhancing drugs could be a challenge that we’d eventually need to face. With knowledge that there was likely active abuse of PEDs taking place, we immediately began serious discussions with top drug agencies for methods of prevention.” As the e-sports industry continues to grow, more is at stake within the league, leading players to seek an extra edge in the competition by turning to PED’s.

ESL, headquartered in Germany, has partnered with the country’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to begin the tests. They have also involved the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to help enforce the penalties and rules once a policy is established.

Kory “Semphis” Friesen and his team played the game Counter-Strike with a chance to win $250,000 in prizes. During a YouTube interview, Friesen admitted that he and his team took Adderall when they played the event in Poland. When used in small doses, this ADHD drug increases users stamina and heightens their alertness; both critical factors in a gaming competition. Lampkin stated that this was when ESL made their decision to implement drug tests.

Lampkin said, “While it is impossible to go back and test the players, this really was the catalyst to demand immediate action for the integrity of our sport”.

Although psychostimulants like Adderall seem to be the most popular among gamers, like in any league, Lampkin expects the PED market to change regularly. In order to stay up with the new drugs, ESL has elicited the help of the anti-doping agencies.

ESL One, taking place in Germany next month, will be the first time ESL will begin skin testing for these PED’s.

Israel Will Now Treat Rock Throwing Children As Terrorists

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Israel Will Now Treat Rock Throwing Children As Terrorists

Palestinian activists and officials are calling a new law passed by the Israeli Parliament that enables courts to jail people caught throwing rocks at moving vehicles a “repressive” and “racist’ attempt at stamping out protests against Israeli occupation of disputed territories.

Earlier this week lawmakers in Israel voted 69 to 17 to increase punishments for rock throwers following an increase in Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem last year.
The co-founder of the Intifada website that publishes articles on the Palestinian struggle, Ali Abunimah, said “This law is not about stone-throwing. It is about repressing any form of Palestinian resistance or protest to Israeli colonization and occupation.”

Abunimah said while Israel continues to target Palestinians for throwing rocks, the shooting deaths of Palestinian protesters were treated “with absolutely no consequences whatsoever”.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoner Club (an organization which advocates on behalf of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails) Qadura Fares called the news laws “racist”.

“This law is hateful and contradicts the most basic rule that the punishment fits the offense.” said Fares.

Israeli Parliament Arab lawmaker Jamal Zahalka called the new law a “hypocrisy” as the rock throwers were reacting to abuses by Israeli security forces.

“You are picking on the person responding to major injustices.” he said.

Often those arrested are children and youths and the moving vehicles the law refers to are armoured military vehicles like troop carriers and even tanks.

Rock and stone-throwing has been a Palestinian resistance symbol since the Palestinian uprisings against Israel in the late 1980s.

Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Justice Minister hit back at the law’s critics saying those who threw rocks at security force vehicles were committing an act of terrorism.

“Tolerance toward terrorists ends today. A stone-thrower is a terrorist and only a fitting punishment can serve as a deterrent and just punishment.” he said.

Major Hollywood Studios Face EU Antitrust Sanctions Over Geoblocking

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Major Hollywood entertainment providers are are facing tough questions this week after European regulators announced antitrust charges against the big studios as well as the U.K.-based pay TV service Sky TV for a practice known as “geo-blocking.” An agreement by Sky TV with the Hollywood studios prevented viewers located outside of the U.K. and Ireland from accessing the studios’ movies and TV shows. Sky TV in effect had established territorial exclusivity in Ireland and the U.K., which then allowed them more freedom in pricing their services without fear of competition. Eliminating the barriers to media access across national borders is one of the EU Competition Commission’s (EUCC) top priorities.

Illustrating this point, there are similar investigations ongoing in Europe involving France’s Canal Plus, Italy’s Sky Italia, Germany’s Sky Deutschland, and DTS in Spain.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated, “European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU. Our EU economy Internet antitrust investigation shows that they cannot do this today…We believe that this may be in breach of EU competition rules.”

The other half of the Sky TV agreement required that the six Hollywood studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, and Twentieth Century Fox, prevent broadcasters other than Sky TV from offering their services in Ireland and the U.K.

Opening access to consumers of online content such that they can access that content throughout Europe is the end goal, but current copyright and licensing law is still handled by national governments. By pursuing these antitrust cases in court, the EUCC hopes to slowly move towards what is known as the Digital Single Market.

This goal would by nature lead to the removal of regulation authority of copyright law by national governments in Europe, and instead give that authority to the European Union. The incentive for this would be that easing the ability for customers to access the services of digital businesses throughout Europe, would in turn stimulate the stagnant economies of the EU. Should the EUCC win its case, it can fine the companies involved up to 10% of their global annual revenue.

Legendary Sports Car Maker Ferrari Files For U.S. IPO

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Always wanted to own a Ferrari but found it to be a little out of reach? Good news, then, as the iconic Italian sports car maker has filed its request for an initial public offering of its common stock meaning millions of Americans will shortly be able to own a piece of the most storied car company in the world.

In a request to U.S. regulators on Thursday by parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), an initial public offering of Ferrari will occur during the last quarter of this year, likely on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a statement made last year, FCA plans to sell up to 10 percent of Ferrari by way of share offering or selling the shares by way of common stock and distributing the remainder to the company’s shareholders.

The listing is an attempt to assist FCA, a company that possesses one of the largest mountains of debt for the industry, pay for an investment plan estimated to cost $53 billion, assist in increasing sales by 60 percent or 7 million cars by 2018, and increase the company’s overall net profit by five-fold.

FCA currently owns 90 percent of Ferrari, with Piero Ferrari holding the remaining 10 percent ownership.

The initial public offering (IPO) is being underwritten by Santander, BofA Merrill Lynch and UBS, according to the company’s filing on Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The IPO is planned for after mid-October. The filing did not mention the amount of shares being sold by the company or their anticipated price, only specifying that it was not listing more than 10 percent of the business.

Sergio Marchionne, FCA Chief Executive and Ferrari Chairman stated that he felt that Ferrari was worth at least $11 billion and needs to be priced as a luxury goods stock. Brokers value the company between $6 and $11 billion.

It is important for the IPO to be a success because it will assist Marchionne’s quest for a partner to merge with, helping with the decreasing margins and increase in development costs.

Marchionne attempted a tie-up with his counterpart at U.S. rival General Motors earlier this year but was rejected.

Analysts are saying that the separation from Ferrari should allow for an easier preparation of FCA in a merger because it will give a more clear value of the company.

Uber Facing $400 Million Canadian Class Action Lawsuit Over UberX

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Uber’s world wide legal troubles continue to mount as lawyers in Ontario, Canada announced a $400 million class-action lawsuit against the company on behalf of limo and taxi drivers across the province. The lawsuit comes on the heels of the company’s recent announcement of a major expansion to its UberX ride service in Ontario.

The law firm of Sutts, Strosberg, LLP issued a press release stating that the lawsuit is seeking damages as well as an injunction that will restrict UberX from operating in the province of Ontario.

Attorney Jay Strosberg, a noted Canadian class action lawyer, stated in the press release that, “The Plaintiff alleges that UberX and UberXL have created an enormous marketplace for illegal transportation in Toronto.”

It is alleged in the statement of claim that UberX has violated Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act by permitting unlicensed drivers to pick up and transport passengers for compensation. Because of this violation, licensed taxicabs, limousine owners and drivers are losing millions in revenues throughout Ontario.

The lawsuit has yet to be certified as a class-action and the allegations have not yet been argued in court. Generally, a lawsuit has to be certified in order for members who are deemed eligible – in this instance the taxi and limo drivers – can join the lawsuit.

The announcement of this class-action comes as this controversial service offered by UberX, which involves the use of private drivers using their own vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers, begins operating in London, Guelph, Hamilton as well as the Waterloo Region.

The relationship between Uber and the city of Toronto, Ontario’s capital, and its taxi drivers has recently become quite tense, with taxi drivers making threats of shutting down cities, which similarly happened in Paris, if the city does not crackdown on Uber.

Sony Announces Huge Pivot Into The Red Hot Drone Business

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Electronics giant Sony has reported the exciting news that it is officially jumping into the drone business. It has partnered with Tokyo-based robotics firm ZMP to create a company called Aerosense. This joint venture will create and develop drone technology that will begin offering services to users starting in 2016. In this relatively small venture for Sony, Aerosense will have a startup capital of about $800,000 and as part of the deal, ZMP will hold 49.995% of the company and Sony will hold 50.005%.

Drones have quickly become a prominent research area for several Internet and technology companies. For example, Amazon and Google are researching the use of drones to conduct package delivery. The drones Aerosense seeks to develop will have surveying, measurement, inspection and observation capabilities. Drones could be launched in applications such as gathering imagery before the construction of buildings and surveying remote mountain locations. They could also be deployed to inspect farmland to survey damage after a storm. In fact, the earthquake and tsunami that essentially destroyed one of Japan’s nuclear power plants four years ago have inspired researchers to develop survey drones for hazardous sites. As far as commercially, drones could be deployed in shopping malls and other facilities in order to photograph and follow “intruders.”

Imagery and data gathered by Aerosense’s drones will be processed by cloud-based servers. The winged vertical takeoff and landing craft pictured in ZMP’s press release is only one of multiple possible drone designs Aerosense will consider. As of now, the plan is that Aerosense will operate in Japan with no plans for overseas expansion.

The Aerosense project was pushed by Sony Mobile Communications Chief Executive Officer Hiroki Totoki, who took control last fall in an attempt to revive Sony’s Xperia’s smartphones. Sony’s phones are not faring well in light of the dominance of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy. However, Sony Mobile aims to combine its expertise in mobile device cameras (used in iPhones) and network technology with ZMP’s experience with autonomous control technology.

As the use of drones becomes much more prevalent throughout the world, it will be exciting to see how Sony’s contributions affect the industry.

After Two Month Delay International Space Station Welcomes New Crew

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Scientists and space enthusiasts around the world eagerly and cautiously watched as space travelers from the United States, Japan and Russia successfully docked with the International Space Station on Thursday. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, rookie NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Japan’s Kimiya Yui blasted off from the Russian cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket at 5:02 p.m. Wednesday night. Less than six hours later, the crew happily arrived at the International Space Station to begin a five-month mission aboard the $100 billion laboratory. The space station flies about 250 miles above Earth and hosts astronauts from several different countries. The successful launch comes after a two-month delay after a launch of a similar Soyuz rocket failed.

The failed April launch stranded a three ton cargo ship in an orbit too low to reach the space station. Nine days later, the capsule fell back into Earth’s atmosphere and was incinerated. A crew scheduled to leave the space station was forced to stay on board for an extra month due to the failed launch. Despite the earlier troubles, the Soyuz rocket returned to flight on July 3rd and successfully launched a replacement cargo load to the space station.

Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui join the space station’s skeleton crew of cosmonauts Gennady Padalk, Mikhail Kornienko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. Kornienko and Kelly are participating in the space station’s first year-long mission.

The Russian space program remains an incredible source of national pride despite the setbacks it has suffered over the past few years. Launching the first Sputnik satellite in 1957 and, of course, sending the first man into space in 1961 are among the major accomplishments of Russia’s space program. The Soyuz rocket used for the launch is used for both unmanned and manned flights and dates back to the Cold War.

The cost of sending the world’s astronauts aboard Russian Soyuz spaceships cost $70 million per seat.

Coast Guard Seizes Narco Sub Carrying Over Eight Tons Of Cocaine

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Coast Guard Seizes Narco Sub Carrying Over Eight Tons Of Cocaine

Over this past weekend, United States authorities seized a semi-submersible vessel packed with greater than eight tons of cocaine off the coast of El Salvador. The homemade vessel was tracked by the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and Customs and Border Protection agents as it slowly travelled through international waters. The U.S. Coast Guard had to intervene when a speedboat approached the submarine-like vessel. The 274 waterproof bales jampacked with 16,870 pounds of cocaine has an estimated value of hundreds of millions of dollars. Four smugglers were taken into custody by U.S. officials. These elaborate measures taken by drug cartels to smuggle their product into the United States and other countries require international policing, and as of now, there are 15 countries involved in a concerted effort to track down and destroy these drugs.

In the 1970s, smugglers used to transport their drugs into the United States in hand-delivered briefcases or by dropping them by aircraft. They eventually moved to using speedboats, fishing vessels and cargo containers as law enforcers began to catch up to their methods. In fact, just last month, Spanish police seized 440 pounds of cocaine found in hollowed-out pineapples on a ship from Central America.

In a further evolution of drug smuggling methods, drug cartels have increasingly used homemade semi-submersibles or submarines in an effort to evade sonar and radar detection. They barely reach above the water’s surface as they travel through the Pacific or Caribbean oceans on their journeys to the United States. Since last week’s bust, Colombian police have found true submarines under construction capable of diving 300 feet.

Even though there is an increased naval presence in the Caribbean, and even though drug smuggling crafts usually travel at a maximum speed of no more than 115 miles per hour, tracking them down is a challenge. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) official, Michael Sanders, said a few years ago that “[t]he ocean out there is so vast that looking for one of these things is like finding a needle in a haystack- in fact, it would probably be easier to find a needle in a haystack. . .When [the DEA] first started seeing them years ago they were kind of crude and home-built, but now they’ve become more sophisticated. These guys are starting to learn.”

In fact, it can take up to a year to construct these vehicles and cost up to $1 million. Each vessel can generally carry up to 10 tons of cocaine, with a market value of greater than $250 million. They are often about 100 feet long and made of steel, covered by fiberglass. Many are also fitted with sophisticated radio communications, navigation equipment and diesel engines that allow them to travel over 2,500 miles without refuelling. Inside, these crafts are pretty barebones. Sanders stated that “[t]here’s no comfort, no amenities. They are deathtraps.”

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