EU Slaps Google with $2.7bn Fine for Abuse of Market Power

EU imposes largest penalty to date against a company for market distortion

Link submitted by GooWatch:

“Google has been fined €2.4bn ($2.7bn; £2.1bn) by the European Commission after it ruled the company had abused its power by promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of search results,” said a report.

“Other corporation to have been targeted include:

• Microsoft (2008) – the Windows-developer was fined €899m for failing to comply with earlier punishments, imposed over its refusal to share key code with its rivals and the bundling of its Explorer browser with its operating system. Five years later, it was told to pay a further €561m for failing to comply with a pledge to provide users a choice screen of browsers
• Intel (2009) – the chip-maker was ordered to pay €1.06bn for skewing the market by offering discounts conditional on computer-makers avoiding products from its rivals. Intel challenged the fine, and a final court ruling in the matter is expected in 2018
• Qualcomm (2015) – the chip-maker was accused of illegally paying a customer to use its technology and selling its chipsets below cost to push a rival out of the market. If confirmed, it faces a fine that could top €2bn, but the case has yet to be resolved
• Apple (2016) – Ireland was ruled to have given up to €13bn of illegal tax benefits to the iPhone-maker since 1991, and was ordered to recover the funds plus interest from the company. However, Dublin missed the deadline it was given to do so and has said it will appeal
• Facebook (2017) – the social network agreed to pay a €110m fine for saying it could not match user accounts on its main service to those of WhatsApp when it took over the instant messaging platform, and then doing just that two years later

“The commission is also investigating Amazon over concerns that a tax deal struck with Luxembourg gave it an unfair advantage.” the report said.

Apple, Cisco, Google, IBM, Microsoft … Screw You in Other Ways, Too

RULED BY MASS DECEPTION
SCREWED BY CORPORATIONS
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The top 20 U.S. companies hold more than $936 billion outside the U.S.

U.S. Corporations have accumulated nearly $2 trillion outside the U.S., up just under 12 percent from a year earlier. Six of the top  tech companies have more than 303 billion in their off-shore accounts.

U.S. taxpayers pay billions of dollars to the top technology companies that hold hundreds of billions in US government debt in tax-free offshore accounts.

307 US multinationals hold nearly $2 trillion in profits outside the U.S.The top 20 hold about a half of that amount.

Magic Mushrooms

“U.S. multinational companies reported earning 43 percent of their 2008 overseas profits in Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, more than five times the share of workers and investment they have in those jurisdictions, according to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report.”

“The loopholes in our tax code right now give such a big reward to companies that use gimmicks to make it look like they earn their profits offshore,” said Dan Smith, a tax and budget advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Twenty-six of the largest U.S. multinationals paid no federal income tax between 2008 and 2012, according to Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), a public advocacy group.

The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes

“Our new report shows that both of these claims are false. Most of the biggest companies aren’t paying anywhere near 35 percent of their profits in taxes and far too many aren’t paying U.S. taxes at all. Most multinationals are paying lower tax rates here in the United States than they pay on their foreign operations,” said Robert McIntyre, Director of Citizens for Tax Justice.

Excerpts from the recent CTJ Report:

• 111 of the companies enjoyed at least one year in which their federal income tax was zero or less.

• 26 companies, including Boeing, General Electric, Priceline.com and Verizon, enjoyed negative income tax rates over the entire five-year period, despite combined pre-tax profits of $170 billion.

• Of the 125 multinational companies in this sample, two-thirds paid a lower U.S. tax rate than the rate they paid to foreign governments on their foreign profits. On average, their foreign effective tax rate was 12 percent larger than their U.S. effective rate.

• The total amount of federal income tax subsidies enjoyed by the 288 profitable corporations over the five years was $362 billion.

• Five companies — Wells Fargo, AT&T, IBM, General Electric, and Verizon — enjoyed over $77 billion in tax breaks during the five-year period.

A Rally Against Mass Surveillance

The NSA is spying on everyone, and they are NOT doing so in the interest of “national security”

The rally organizers and attendees should demand to know on whose behalf NSA is spying.

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About the Rally

The NSA is spying on everyone’s personal communications. It’s operating without any meaningful oversight.

On October 26th, the 12th anniversary of the signing of the USA Patriot Act, we’re holding the largest rally yet against NSA surveillance. We’ll be handing more than a half-million petitions to Congress to remind them that they work for us — and we won’t tolerate mass surveillance any longer.

A stellar group of whistleblowers, activists, researchers and others from both sides of the political spectrum will be speaking at this historic event.

More information is posted at

• https://rally.stopwatching.us/

• Find a Viewing Party or Satellite Protest Near You

Related Links

• American Freedom: Myth, or ‘Dirty Joke?’ June 7, 2013

Louisiana Sinkhole Swallows Up Trees

Tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne, Louisiana

Footage shows tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne in Louisiana. The phenomenon is being caused by the gradual collapse of an underground salt cavern that has put the whole area on alert. It is being closely monitored by emergency authorities, who took the video while carrying out work to try and stop its spread (!!)

Related Links

• What Florida Might Look Like in 2014 Posted by EDRO on December 7, 2009
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities Posted by EDRO on February 5, 2008

Today’s Other Headlines

Typhoon Trami affects 360,000 in central China

• Typhoon Trami, the 12th typhoon to strike China this year, has affected 361,000 people in central China’s Hunan, leaving  30,900 were displaced. The typhoon brought rainstorms mainly to the southeastern and eastern parts of Hunan, with the largest rainfall of 281.6mm. The rains wreaked havoc in 14 counties, cities and districts, damaging 13,350 hectares of crops and toppling 150 houses, said the report.

NSA paid millions to Internet companies to cover mass surveillance costs

• The National Security Agency paid millions of dollars to cover the costs of major internet companies including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook…

Materials implicating Syrian govt in chemical attack prepared before incident – Russia

• Materials implicating the Syrian government forces in chemical weapons use near Damascus were prepared prior to the alleged incident on August 21, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
• “Moscow continues to monitor closely the event surrounding the ‘alleged’ chemical attack near Damascus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement.”
• “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” he stressed. “In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action.”

43 killed, 86 wounded in attacks in Iraq

• At least 43 people were killed and 86 others wounded in attacks, including suicide bombings, across Iraq on Friday, amid growing tensions.

42 killed, more than 500 wounded  in twin explosions in Tripoli, Lebanon

• Two simultaneous explosions rocked the Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 42 people and wounding 358 others.

• Red Cross put the number of killed and injured at 29 and 500, respectively.

 

Typhoon SOULIK Affects 2 Million in China

Torrential rains by SOULIK forces hundreds of thousands to evacuate, 20,000 to relocate

Typhoon SOULIK, the seventh typhoon to hit China this year, has affected at least 2 million, forcing 500,000 to evacuate, and leaving at least 20,000 displaced in south China’s Guangdong Province.

SOULIK landed in Fujian province Saturday afternoon, and moved to Jiangxi province on Sunday.

The typhoon brought torrential to Guangdong province. Local weather stations reported precipitation of more than 250mm (10 in) in 20 hours to 4 p.m. Sunday.

SOULIK has affected at least 382,000 people in Guangdong province alone, destroying 1,076 houses in 80 townships in three cities of the province and leaving 3 dead, Xinhua reported.

Torrential rains have further raised water in local rivers to above warning levels, the report said.

Oil pipeline in NW China damaged by mudslide

Original Caption: Villagers help clean oil stains in the Zichang County, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, July 15, 2013. The oil pipe from Ansai County to Yongping Town was damaged by mudslide following days of rainstorms. Rescue efforts for repairing the broken pipe are underway. (Xinhua). More images …

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Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

Iraq Violence: Death Toll Continues to Mount

At least 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured amid escalating violence in Iraq, between July 1 and 14, 2013.

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Brown Declares State of Emergency for Powerhouse Fire

California Gov. Brown has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County for the so-called Powerhouse Fire. The declaration comes a month after the wildfire destroyed 53 structures, including 24 residences, and more than 47 square miles of brush.

The fire began May 30 near a utility station and was contained on June 11.

“Kelly Huston, deputy director of the California Emergency Management Agency, says the move is required before LA County can qualify for federal emergency highway funds to repair roadways damaged by the fire,” said a report.

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Communication companies help surveillance: Former CIA official

“According to UK newspaper, the Guardian, Snowden has only released part of the intelligence he has. During his revelations of the US surveillance program, Snowden says the US government and US communication companies are involved.

“Although related companies like Google and Microsoft are trying to exclude themselves from the scandal, a former CIA official says communication companies are accomplices in the surveillance.”

Ray McGovern, a former CIA official, told CNTV News:

“What’s happened here is the U.S. companies have become joined in a way with United States Government in such a way that you have the corporations, the government, the media and the congress and judiciary all pretty much joined in a complicit attempt to circumvent the constitution of the United States. There’s zero concern on the part of the communication companies to violate the law. They know that they’ll be protected, even if it’s ex post facto…”

Related Links

• Google Continues to Undermine FIRE-EARTH July 4, 2013
• Google Corporate Terrorism: A Conspiracy Against the People!
• Former CIA official: Communication companies help surveillance July 15, 2013

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Close Encounters of 6.6th Kind

It really is a small world!

According to Microsoft employees who studied the addresses of 30bn text messages sent during a single month in 2006, any two people are linked by a maximum of seven acquaintances.

Stanley Milgram (August 15, 1933 – December 20, 1984) who was a social psychologist conducted the small-world experiment which was the source of the six degrees of separation concept.

Six degrees of separation: If you’re one step away from everyone you know, and two steps away from each person who is known to your acquaintances, then each person is a maximum of six “steps” away from anyone on Earth. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. Credit: Laurens van Lieshout (User:LaurensvanLieshout).

In the MS study, two people were considered to be acquaintances if they had exchanged at least one text message.

To find out the minimum chain lengths that would connect all the users in the database [30bn text messages sent in June 2006,] they found the average length was 6.6 steps and that about 80% of the pairs were connected by a maximum of 7 links.

Internet and computer networks

In 2001, Duncan Watts, a professor at Columbia University, attempted to recreate Milgram’s experiment on the internet, using an e-mail message as the “package” that needed to be delivered, with 48,000 senders and 19 targets (in 157 countries). Watts found that the average (though not maximum) number of intermediaries was around six.

A 2007 study by Jure Leskovec and Eric Horvitz examined a data set of instant messages composed of 30 billion conversations among 240 million people. They found the average path length among Microsoft Messenger users to be 6.6 (some now call the theory, “the seven degrees of separation because of this.)

It has been suggested by some commentators that interlocking networks of computer mediated lateral communication could diffuse single messages to all interested users worldwide as per the 6 degrees of separation principle via Information Routing Groups, which are networks specifically designed to exploit this principle and lateral diffusion. (Source)

Related News Links:

• Big Microsoft Study Supports Small World Theory
• Study revives six degrees theory

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