Category: Fraud

Diesel emissions scandal spreads to Audi

30/9/2015

VW dirty birdie

Like an epidemic, the diesel scandal started in the Volkswagen Corporation is spreading to other German manufactured vehicles. When the initial information that VWs had software designed to defeat the auto emissions testing the company stock plummeted. About 40% of the value of VW has been lost as shareholders dump their stock. Now other German vehicles are under the spotlight.

So far we have approximately 11 million VWs of various models starting in 2009 and continuing through the 2016 model year that have ‘fooler’ software. Two million Audi vehicles, the A1, A3, A4, A5, TT, Q3 and Q5 diesels are under suspicion. Both VWs and Audi are produced by the same corporation. Another production of the VW Corp. are Porsche vehicles. The CEO of Porsche has been named the new CEO of the parent company. Questions are being asked about that luxury line’s software as well.

BMW’s diesel model BMWX3 has been accused of emitting 11 times that which is allowed under European regulations. Their spokesperson has vehemently denied that their vehicles have spoofing software.

The shadow continues to spread. VW also makes Skoda vehicles in the Czech Republic. This adds a further 1.2 million diesel vehicles to the diesel duping scheme.

Now that the International Council on Clean Transportation has cast its sight on three more brands of diesel vehicle.

"And the International Council on Clean Transportation, the same group that discovered the Volkswagen deception, said Renault, Hyundai and Volvo each have single diesel models that would not pass real-world emission tests" - CBC News

It’s not just money that’s at stake in this scandal. Air pollution caused by dirty engines kills people. The exhaust contains fine particles which may work their way into the lungs but there have been 40 toxic substances identified which are present in the vehicle exhaust. A few of them are benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde, nickel and nitrogen oxides.

These toxic substances are known cancer causing agents and the fine particulate matter may contribute to eye and lung irritation. As in many pollutants, the very young and the very old are most susceptible.

Opinion: Whoever is finally tagged with approving the writing of the software and its installation should be charged with a much more serious crime than swindling and defrauding the trusting customer.

Sources:
CBC News
CNBC
OEHHA

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VW caught cheating loses billions in corp value

23/9/2015

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Are the new beetles dirty bugs?

Volkswagen has admitted to cheating by altering software on millions of diesel vehicles to falsify emission readings. The software on about 11 million vehicles altered the readouts for VWs sold in the US. Other countries may also have been sold the ‘doped’ vehicles. Europe and S. Korea are also launching investigations.

Apparently the software could switch the motors to a cleaner mode of operation when they were being tested for pollutants. On normal operations, the vehicles were reputed to be forty times more polluting.

The fallout of the rigging scandal has cost Volkswagen Corp. dearly. They have set aside $7.3 billion USD to pay for the legal costs that are expected to arise but perhaps more costly will be the public’s perception of a dependable car company.

Stock prices for the corporation have taken a major slide since the scandal broke. At the end of trading Tuesday VW stock had fallen 36%. While company executives have issued apologies, it may not be enough to stop the slide.

Further, sales of diesel vehicles which may have had doped software have been suspended in Canada and the US.

"Volkswagen Canada has issued a stop-sale order to our dealers for all of the affected vehicles pending resolution of this matter," company spokesman Thomas Tetzlaff" - CBC News

The affected vehicles that may be affected are as old as 2009 models. The 2015 models are also affected. Included are VW models Jetta, Golf, Beetle, Passat and Sportswagon. About one fifth of VWs sales in Canada are diesels.

Both environmental protection agencies in Canada and the US have stressed that the vehicles in question are not unsafe to drive, but they are emitting unsafe levels of pollutants. One of diesel’s exhaust emissions is benzene, a carcinogen. Criminal investigations have begun.

The troubles for VW continue as law firms in both countries have already begun organizing class action suits.

The Guardian has reported that the whistleblower who broke the scandal has intimated that more firms may have been involved with spoofing the EPA results and that it’s time that they are also looked at critically.

[Wednesday update - Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns]

Sources:
Al Jazeera
CBC News
The Guardian

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Fake Botox paralyzing more than your wrinkles

3/5/2015

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Fake pharmaceuticals are a multi-billion dollar business. Some are accurate knock-offs of the brand names, some have dangerous ingredients. Many are produced in facilities that are not inspected for cleanliness.

Fake pharmaceuticals can be purchased, at your own risk, online without prescriptions.

Botox is a brand name pharmaceutical. There is only one company that produces Botox. There have been cases of people becoming paralyzed after fake botox was administered. In those cases, a physician working in conjunction with a producer conspired to administer the cheaper but stronger version .

The price for Botox treatment is high and the treatments need periodic redoing. Two years ago the average price in the US was $328. This was for a qualified practitioner. If you are interested in having this procedure for cosmetic purposes, stay well clear of Botox parties where groups gather in someone’s home and get a bulk rate treatment by a do it your selfer or a nurse practitioner. Regulations vary by state.

If you do decide to have Botox injections, consider your physician carefully. And ask questions, many questions.

Before you allow the serum to be injected, ask to see the vial. Make sure that it is still sealed and that the glass carries the Allergan hologram. If it doesn’t have it, it is fake.

Botox is a highly refined product of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The bacterium produces one of the most powerful poisons known. People who eat food contaminated by this organism may suffer fatal paralysis. The cosmetic version purified and greatly diluted also works to temporarily paralyze muscles.

Some security minded people have pointed out the danger of allowing fake Botox and botox analogues to be imported because of its potential to act as a bioweapon.

Source:
FDA
Scientific American
Credit.com blog

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