Astra Zeneca Sued
The European Union has taken out a legal case against Covid19 vaccine supplier Astra Zeneca claiming it violated contracts by not delivering vaccines promised. According to the 27 nations in the EU which have been slow to roll out vaccines, Astra Zeneca promised 70 million doses in the 2nd quarter of this year, when 180 million had been contracted. Astra Zeneca denies it placed the UK ahead of the EU and will defend against the action.
Apple vs Facebook
Facebook has engaged in some of the most controversial tracking of personal information and sharing of that with advertisers and others including political campaigns of any online platform. Several years ago Facebook was found to have inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook played a role in Trumps election and even the Brexit vote where Britain left the EU.
Well now Apple has offered users a patch for mobile users operating platforms to include something called App Tracking Transparency which will give us more control over how our data is shared. It’s a kind of software ‘middle finger’ to Mark Zuckerberg who has fought Apple, saying it will damage business, but with little or no regard for you as a user and your personal info.
I don’t know about you, but it infuriates me my data is collected and sold and Zuckerberg? Well, Mark your business can afford a little hit and I am sure to download that software hoping it thwarts your privacy violations which are numerous.
Will it work? Experts say there are still other ways track you, but the privacy change is still significant because it explicitly asks us for consent. If we tell apps that we don’t want to be tracked and they keep doing so, Apple can ban the offenders from its App.
U.S. Vets
U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered the last American troops homes from Afghanistan.
As a TV news correspondent, I met Sgt's Fransisco Morales and Will Dunn in the Mountains over looking Pakistan, on a remote base called FOB Tillman. They served in one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan on one of the longest tours for U.S. troops.
This is a conversation about what is was like, how was the home coming, and was it all worth it? They are still trying to out together their lives from what the saw and experienced at forward operating base Tillman and 485 days in Afghanistan.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/8370394
Russia
When The Soviet Union came to an end Russia under President Boris Yeltsin renamed the old KGB and restructured it, and enacted a new constitution to limit Presidencies to four years. He knew the KGB was part of the threat to a pluralistic state, and authority had been abused in Russia under communism.
Putin who was in the KGB, came to power in 2000, and then extended the term to 6 years, and later destroyed the spirit of the constitution by playing musical chairs between being President, and then Prime Minister and then President again, for life it seems. He has tested the will of Russians to determine if they will accept him as ruler for life and it seems they will.
In addition he has jailed his main opposition challenger Alexei Navalny after failing to poison him to death in August of last year, to silence his vocal criticism of Putins extreme wealth and the Kremlins inner circle of sleaze.
This week the Kremlin has classified Navalny’s regional anti corruption offices as ‘extremist’ which allows prosecutors to close them and jail those who run them. It’s another severe step in snuffing out whats left of democracy and freedom in Russia. It’s a tragic product of Putin and his refusal to step down after 20 years as he suffocates modern Russia.
The sad fact, is usually dictators and strongmen survive for years before they are tossed from rule by angry citizens who stand up to fight for a voice and are thoroughly exhausted by limited freedoms and deep corruption of a system that enriches but a few. We are in that period where the respect for Putin is eroding quickly in Russia, and he is clinging to power. Many think the next chapter will likely not be an easy transition in Russia because of Putin, and those with blurry vision, who surround him and refuse to recognize their time is long past.
India Covid
A quick word on a story that is rapidly unfolding in India as the numbers of sick and dying are multiplying beyond anything we have seen since the pandemic started. The Country announced 350 thousand new cases yesterday and 2,767 deaths in a day. That’s in one day! By next week the daily numbers of sick will likely double and a million may die over time. And the Government still was sanctioning football stadium political rallies and public gatherings.
“The next two weeks are gong to be hell for us” said a top doctor, but scenes in hospitals already out of oxygen and people dying outside or at home already appear to be hellish.
The Government is trying to ban criticism on social media knowing a political storm is brewing in India driven by anger over its failed Covid strategy.
Have a good day everyone. Please subscribe to the news letter, it’s free unless you want to leave comments - you can contribute with a paid subscription.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/technology/personaltech/apple-app-tracking-transparency.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56891326
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/26/russia-orders-navalny-group-to-suspend-activities-a73734
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/doctor-at-centre-of-india-s-covid-outbreak-warns-coming-weeks-are-going-to-be-hell/ar-BB1g5CSE?ocid=uxbndlbing
Thanks for the heads up on the Apple App. I’ll be spreading the news. Have a good one Dana!