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Earnings Watch: Navistar Losses Nearly Double from Year Earlier Heavy Duty Trucking / March 7, 2017 Navistar International Corp. on Tuesday announced its financial losses in the first quarter of 2017 nearly doubled from the same time a year ago due to lower truck volume and softer Class 8 truck sales. The truck and engine maker reported a net loss of $62 million, or 76 cents per share, greater than a consensus estimate from a poll of analysts, who were forecasting a 45 cents per share loss. This compares to a first quarter 2016 net loss of $33 million, or 40 cent per share. Revenue in the most recent quarter totaled $1.7 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations, but a decline of 6% compared to $1.8 billion in the first quarter last year. The quarter marked the company’s eighth consecutive decline in quarterly revenue, according to Reuters. First quarter 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $63 million, compared to first quarter 2016 EBITDA of $82 million. This most recent period included favorable net adjustments of $8 million, primarily resulting from a reversal of pre-existing warranty accruals. "Our results are on track with our plan for the year, and demonstrate our ability to effectively manage costs at a time of persistent Class 8 industry headwinds," said Troy A. Clarke, chairman, president and CEO. "Our order share continues to outpace our market share, which confirms our confidence in the retail share improvement to come." Truck-segment first quarter 2017 net sales decreased $105 million, or 9%, primarily due to lower core (Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada) truck volumes “as a result of softer industry conditions, the end of CAT-branded units sold to Caterpillar, and the sale of Pure Power Technologies, both of which occurred in the second quarter of 2016.” During the most recent quarter, Navistar’s truck segment loss increased to $69 million versus a loss of $51 million in the same period a year ago. “This was primarily driven by market pressures, the impact of lower core market volumes, and a decrease in other income due to the receipt of a one-time fee from a third party last year, partially offset by lower used truck losses, improved material costs and lower adjustments to pre-existing warranties,” the company said in a statement. Its parts-segment net sales were comparable to the prior year while its global-operations segment net sales decreased $42 million, or 46%. The Financial Services segment net revenues decreased by $5 million, or 8%, and profit decreased by $13 million, or 50%. Last week, Navistar announced the closing of its wide-ranging strategic alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which included a $256 million equity investment in Navistar by that company and the creation of a procurement joint venture and a strategic technology and supply collaboration, both of which are already up and running. The deal gives the German auto and truck maker a 16.6% stake in Navistar. Looking ahead, Navistar plans to continue to introduce new products every four to six months through the end of 2018, refreshing its entire product portfolio, while also expanding it with its re-entry into Class 4/5 vehicles through its collaboration with General Motors. In the first quarter, Navistar began customer deliveries of its new International LT Series Class 8 long-haul truck and last week unveiled its 13-liter A26 engine. Also on Tuesday, Navistar reiterated and updated its 2017 guidance: Retail deliveries of Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada are forecast to be in the range of 305,000 to 335,000 units for fiscal year 2017 Full-year 2017 revenues are expected to be similar to 2016 Full-year 2017 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be higher than 2016 Fiscal year end 2017 manufacturing cash is now expected to be about $1 billion, including the capital injection from Volkswagen Truck & Bus and a $250 million senior note tack-on completed in the first quarter 2017

Fleet Owner / March 7, 2017 A year into the ‘landmark’ right-to-repair agreement designed to provide independent truck service centers the same diagnostics and repair information the dealer networks receive (ensuring that truck operators have service options as a result), both sides say that progress is being made—but there’s still a lot to be done before this ticket can be closed. At issue has been just how much truck data the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) should provide to independent service centers and fleet shops. The vehicle makers have argued that they shouldn’t have to share proprietary performance information while the independents built a case that the practice made for an unfair marketplace: How could they repair a vehicle without it? According to a 2010 survey by the American Trucking Assns.’ Technology and Maintenance Council, half of the fleets reported difficulty in getting the repair information they needed—and truck control systems have gotten even more complex since then. To address the matter—and to fore­stall state-by-state battles and patchwork legislation—the OEMs and independents (primarily represented by the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Assn. (EMA) and the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), respectively) got together to work out a deal. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in September 2015, to take effect the following January, and Jed Mandel, EMA president, called it “a workable approach” to ensure “better and more timely access” to OEM-controlled repair information for the independent shops. Under the MOU, the independents agreed not to pursue additional right-to-repair legislation. So, how’s it coming along? “Based on my own observations, and member input, I believe that the MOU is working,” Mandel tells Fleet Owner. “Indeed, the universal feedback from EMA members is that they have not received any significant questions or complaints from independent service repair shops about access to information. Everyone has different systems. So, it is not surprising that the rollout—which is complex—is taking some time.” Granted, the MOU was just “the first step in a long process” to provide parity in vehicle repair capability, as Marc Karon, a CVSN director and president of Total Truck Parts Inc., characterized it. He just didn’t fully grasp quite how long it would take, at the time. “I think there’s a lot of impatience out there. And I’m personally a little disappointed it’s taken so long to do this,” he says. “Maybe I misunderstood, because I figured the software was already written—the dealers have it, so why can’t [the OEMs] just give it to us? But it’s not that simple. It’s not a matter of flipping a switch.” The development of the heavy-duty vehicle MOU parallels right-to-repair proposals in the automotive sector. Essentially, the Clean Air Act required vehicles to have onboard computer systems to monitor vehicle emissions, and the OEMs had to provide independent shops the same emissions service information as they provided to the dealer service network. While legislation to broaden the scope of the service information to be shared—supported by independent repair and aftermarket trade groups and generally resisted by manufacturers and their dealers—was considered at the federal level as early as 2001, Massachusetts enacted the first Right to Repair bill in 2013. Auto industry interests got together for an MOU modeled on the Massachusetts law in 2014, and trucking followed a year later. Details, details Putting policy into practice has been challenging. Simply, each OEM’s repair system software is different. For example, if a manufacturer’s software is integrated into a broader dealer package, it has to create new software for independent service shops, Karon explains. Or, some manufacturers didn’t have a sales interface to make the package available. “Every OEM has said they want to comply with MOU—it’s more or less getting the software written—but there’s been some confusion among the OEMs on what they really need to provide,” Karon says. “We have a great relationship with all the parties, and when we do get to talk to the OEMs, they’re very cooperative. And they have a lot of things going on in their business, too. It’s not up to me to set their priorities, or to say what software should be written first. It’s just going to take greater focus on everybody’s part. Nobody has said ‘we’re not going to do this.’” Even after the software is delivered, there’s still the matter of verifying compliance with the MOU—and that means evaluating each package on real-world trucks. “Some super people have stepped up and tested the software,” Karon says. The information gathered in testing has since been passed along to EMA and the sides are working out any compliance issues, Karon notes. And while the MOU does provide for an arbitrator to settle disputes, Karon anticipates any such disagreements will be worked out without having to go to arbitration. Under the MOU, the National Auto­motive Service Task Force serves as the clearinghouse for the OEM software and as the designated “go-between” to bring questions from the service providers to the OEMs. And to better implement the MOU and properly evaluate the OEM software packages, CVSN is forming an advisory group of service providers and fleet maintenance managers. “Any time a manufacturer comes out with something new, we have to vet it. It’s just becoming a very big project—and it’s one of the reasons we’re not further along,” Karon says. “We just didn’t have enough people.” Karon made a pitch for volunteers at the recent Heavy-Duty Aftermarket Week event, and he’s following up with contacts from that show—but he’d still like more. He envisions quarterly conference calls to coordinate the efforts. “We’re just asking for people to help us. If a guy has a Brand X truck in his shop and he has the software, he might alert us and ask what we need him to do or check to make sure the software works,” he says. “We can’t have too many people working on this. There’s so much software and, right now, so few people to actually evaluate it. We need the feedback to take to the OEMs.” Nor is technician training progressing as quickly as Karon would’ve hoped—largely because techs can’t be trained on the OEM software until it’s ready to go. Additionally, since OEM training is not included in the MOU, those programs have to be developed. “People need to know how to use the software in order to get the most out of it,” Karon says. Technician training also has not moved as fast as Karon had hoped. “ Since the MOU does not provide for technician training on the software, CVSN worked with technician training companies to develop specific training in diagnosis and use of OEM software, but few fleets and service shops have taken advantage of this to date.” “As an industry, people are not investing in training as much as they should—and this isn’t unique to the MOU. But if you’re not taking advantage of this training—it’s very inexpensive—you’re missing a big opportunity.” The good news is that the post-MOU transition has had little impact on diagnostic and repair tool providers, explains Tim Bigwood, COO for vehicle data experts Noregon. The company features the widely used JPRO Professional among its offerings and has for years worked directly with the OEMs and component suppliers to provide its comprehensive all-makes and models diagnostic tool. “The tricky part is what data should be available and at what cost to the scan tool manufacturers,” Bigwood says. “Each OEM seems to have a different perspective on the data, ranging from minimal to all-encompassing, and costing ranges from minimal to very expensive. Unless there is some standardization on the available data and cost, we don’t see any major changes in the near future as [the MOU] relates to the scan tool manufacturers.” On the other hand, the rising complexity of trucks—and the associated costs of diagnostic and repair tools and training—is creating an environment where only the largest fleets will be able to maintain their own repair shops, suggests Michael Riemer, vice president for Product & Channel Marketing at Decisiv, which specializes in service event management. “You’re going to be more and more dependent on third parties to get the service that you need,” Riemer says. “It will be an interesting dilemma.” Telematics While telematics data is not part of the agreement, proprietary OEM systems can be problematic for fleets that run a mix of brands—and aftermarket providers are positioning themselves as a single-source solution. The keys will still be “fairness in the marketplace” and “restraint of trade,” CVSN’s Karon suggests. “I’m not sure where telematics is going to wind up,” Karon says. “There could be some legislative effort in the future to make telematics more available, especially at the automotive level. The automotive providers will drive that, and that will then carry over to the heavy-duty side. But I’m not sure there’s going to be an issue, as long as fleets have an option on who they’re going to do business with.” For Noregon’s Bigwood, the data that is currently accessible to the telematics service providers (TSPs) is adequate for the applications available today. Noregon’s TripVision, for example, allows for a comprehensive real-time view into a vehicle’s health and safety based upon the existing data feed from TSPs. “As applications that require vehicle data such as over-the-air reprogramming and on-the-fly condition-based maintenance continue to evolve, TSPs will need to work closely in partnership with the OEMs to bring these products to market,” he says. But with “predictive analytics” widely predicted to be The Next Big Thing—and with vehicle performance and reliability seen as areas ripe for such technology—the distinction between what’s essential repair information and what’s not essential becomes less obvious. “Predictive analytics is very interesting,” says Decisiv’s Riemer. “If I’m an OEM, and you send me back a turbo that’s not broken, but your algorithm said it was going to break soon, why would I do the warranty on that? There’s a Catch-22 on not only who can access the information, but what you can actually use it for.” So while an OEM would be wise to invest in “condition-based” maintenance, or predictive repairs, it’s not clear that the OEM should be required to honor such a prediction from a third party, Riemer suggests. “I’m generally in favor, in today’s world, of sharing as much information as possible. Trucks are commercial assets and are fairly complex pieces of machinery with lots of associated intellectual property—it’s not cars, or that’s the argument the truck OEMs make—so I’m not sure we’ll get to that same level of homogeneous access.” Still, at least according to more than a few business presentation slide-decks, “information is the new currency,” and Riemer goes on to explain that as a company whose business is based on being a “connector”—of people and technology—Decisiv isn’t in a position to dictate “who should get what,” although he can see both sides of the argument. “All I know, from our experience, is the more information you have at the point of service, the better, the faster, and the more reliable the repair process is,” Riemer says. “I’m sure there’s lots of information about that asset that’s not valuable for that service event, but the operational performance of that asset is absolutely critical to making the best decisions and the fastest diagnosis. “The amount of that information is only going to increase, and the impact of that information is only going to increase. The question is, who’s going to get access to it and where does it apply? If it’s that valuable, I can imagine being very protective of it.”

3D-printed spare parts Aaron Marsh, Fleet Owner / March 7, 2017 Considering the sensation that 3d printing, a.k.a. additive manufacturing, has created in the public’s mind for the last several years, you wouldn’t think it dates back to the Reagan administration. But it does, and the technology seems to have hit a stride at last in the trucking and automotive worlds for things like proto­typing concept vehicles or tooling up parts molds faster and cheaper than traditional manufacturing allows. Maybe that’s 3D printing’s natural application in those industries, or maybe there’s more. Fleet Owner reported last year on its inroads and uses in trucking, and the latest to have sprung up and shown promise was making spare and repair parts on demand. In Europe, Mercedes-Benz Trucks said it would start 3D printing upwards of 30 spare parts for its Actros series trucks and has plans to do more. That began last fall. Ford Motor Co., in another example, has made progressive use of 3D printing for years, going back to owning one of the very first printers made and many subsequent ones. Ford has used the technology mainly to evolve and speed up the prototype process for cars and trucks, but also began limited parts production in the 2010s. Most 3D printers use digital blueprints to put down layer by layer of various materials that cures or is hardened, constructing many possible items as they’re needed. Beyond prototyping and one-offs, though, the question now is whether 3D printing is just a sideshow act drawing attention for its novelty—or it actually could change manufacturing and supply chains as we know them. On-demand, distributed production What does 3D printing offer in truck and other vehicle maintenance? Traditionally, if you’re manufacturing replacement parts, the OEM or a supplier needs tooling, molds and so on to make each part and a production run of it. You’ll need to distribute the part wherever the corresponding vehicle is in service—which could mean nationally, internationally or globally—and the item is stored or warehoused at places like dealerships and service centers for however long it’s required. That might be fine for large-volume, fast-moving inventory items, but it gets costlier with less return on investment for progressively lower-volume, slower-moving inventories. In the case of fleets and trucking companies, far fewer of a particular model Class 8 heavy truck are made and sold each year than Toyota Camrys, for example, and those big trucks may have a very large service area spread. Time is also a factor—including time to produce and distribute rarer parts particularly—and as a vehicle model ages and starts disappearing from the roads, there’s less call for those parts. With trucking, sometimes due to costly features required for new models or even a classic look of an older one, you’ll find many older trucks still in use. Regardless of what trucks they’re running, no fleet or truck driver wants to wait around for parts to arrive after a breakdown. OEMs have been looking to 3D printing for possible solutions. “Across all the verticals I’ve seen and been involved with, the 3D printing companies and materials manufacturers want to develop a process that’s adaptable to in-service production parts,” says Gregory Haye, general manager of the Knoxville, TN, microfactory of Local Motors. This young, Phoenix-based vehicle manufacturer turned heads last year with its mostly 3D-printed, self-driving people transport called Olli, which started rolling last summer in National Harbor, MD, a shopping and convention center destination. “That’s the jump that many of the 3D printer manufacturers are trying to make,” Haye contends. “They want to transition additive manufacturing to being part of the production process, not just a means to prototype.”

Will Phase 2 GHG rules be reconsidered? Fleet Owner / March 7, 2017 With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) poised to roll back ambitious corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards put in place by the Obama administration nearly six years ago – standards automakers claimed would’ve saddled them with $200 billion in compliance costs over the next 10 years – there’s more than a little out-loud musing as to whether something similar might be attempted for the Phase 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) rules governing heavy trucks, trailers and diesel-powered pickups. Right now, the betting in the main seems that the Phase 2 GHG rules won’t be scaled back to the degree being witnessed for the CAFE standards and for perhaps the best reason: long-haul truckers especially could gain a lot of fuel savings. At the 2017 Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) annual meeting last week, a wide range of presentations delved into the costs and potential benefits associated with the Phase 2 GHG rules, much less their impact on specific items such as tires, wheels, and trailers. But I think Wade Long – director of product marketing for Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) – summed up the possibilities proffered by the Phase 2 GHG rules indirectly during a separate discussion regarding Department of Energy (DOE) funded “Super Truck” projects. He noted that Volvo’s Super Truck project achieved an average of 12 mpg in comparison to the 7 mpg notched by a 2009 model Volvo VNL tractor and standard trailer used as a “baseline” for comparative measurement. That 5 mpg difference translates into about $17,000 worth of fuel savings per truck per YEAR, Long emphasized. That would be more than enough to offset the predicted direct costs of the Phase 2 GHG rules, which EPA estimated to be as follows: upfront price increases of some $11,700 for tractors, $1,200 for trailers, $3,400 for vocational vehicles, and $1,300 for pickups/vans. [FYI: those costs would be felt in the wallets of fleets mainly during the implementation of the 2021 and 2024 portions of the Phase 2 GHG standards.] Now, certainly, not all the technologies and tweaks deployed for Super Trucks can be directly transitioned onto commercial vehicles operating in the real world. Yet those Super Trucks are the “test beds” upon which OEMs determine whether fuel-saving improvements make the grade in terms of practicality, payback, reliability, etc. “Consistency” is another watchword for truck and trailer OEMs where the Phase 2 GHG rules are concerned as well, noted Patrick Dean, chief engineer for Kenworth Truck Co. during TMC last week. “Right now, the regulation is consistent across EPA and CARB, and I for one hope it stays consistent—because I know that CARB will not back off,” he explained. “If we do have a reduction in the regulation on the EPA side, we might end up with a multi-state requirement that will be challenging and, certainly from a technology perspective and from an OE perspective, we’re going to have to hit the most stringent requirement set,” Dean stressed. “If we’re going to be struggling to offer a bunch of different emissions configurations, I just don’t see that being practical.” There’s something else to consider as well: the impact on operating costs, especially in terms of maintenance, as trucks and trailers are retooled to comply with the Phase 2 rules. Thomas Newby, vice president of equipment and maintenance for LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), highlighted during a presentation at TMC how the nearly decade-long effort to reduce diesel particulates and oxides of nitrogen from truck exhaust affected his fleet’s costs. He noted that while fuel economy for his fleet’s trucks dropped 4.9% between 2004 and 2007, it increased 3.3% between 2007 and 2010 and increased another 12.4% between 2010 and 2016 as improvements were gradually made to exhausts emission control systems – resulting in a net 10.8% overall gain in fuel economy. However, despite those fuel savings, cost per mile (CPM) for ODFL’s fleet kept right on rising – no doubt in part to the more complex maintenance needs of emission control technology and related components, as well as for the higher sticker prices of newer “cleaner” trucks, too Newby noted that ODFL’s CPM increased 10.1% between 2004 and 2007, jumped another 12.7% between 2007 and 2010, before leaping up another 12.1% between 2010 and 2016. He also pointed out something else about the Phase 2 GHG rules, too: that they’ve likely “set a record” for rules that look the farthest into the future; all the way out to 2027, to be precise. And could that long time line be but one reason for the Trump administration to possibly reconsider the Phase 2 GHG regulatory package? That remains to be seen. Besides, we’ve got to see if they get the rollback of the CAFE standards completed first.

Next potential use of 3D printing in trucking: Lightweighting Fleet Owner / March 7, 2017 Just when we thought we'd seen all that was going on with 3D printing that could affect trucking and automotive, Ford Motor Co. — an OEM that's been pioneering the use of this technology for some years now — says it's looking into large-scale 3D printing and another potential benefit fleets will readily recognize: lightweighting. Ford is testing out large-scale 3D printing with Infinite Build printers from Stratasys, noting it's the first manufacturer of its kind to do so. Trucking execs can read between the lines a bit and consider the possibilities watching a new video Ford has put out to showcase the technology. "Imagine a 3D printer as big as a room, capable of printing auto parts of practically any size — even something as big as a 6-ft. spoiler," the video notes. "It fabricates 3D-printed plastic parts that are lighter than cast metal parts, [which is] designed to lead to more fuel-efficient vehicles," it continues. "It's perfect for low-volume vehicles like race cars, making them more cost-efficient." Also in terms of low-volume parts, Ford also says it's exploring 3D printing up custom parts its clients want. These large Stratasys 3D printers can keep working when everyone goes home. Ford points out that when the printers run out of material, the machines can robotically reload and continue printing "for hours — days, even." The OEM notes in a release yesterday 3D printing's potential to make equivalent parts that are just as strong but reduce weight considerably vs. metal parts. The vehicle spoiler mentioned above, for example, "may weigh less than half its metal counterpart." Ford spells out the benefits 3D printing offers in making up production tooling much faster and at much lower cost, speeding ideas and production to market. Other manufacturers have begun 3D printing some slower-moving inventory parts like certain maintenance parts for trucks. But Ford also points out the current limitations of the technology even in describing its further potential. "3D printing is not yet fast enough for high-volume manufacturing, but it is more cost-efficient for low-volume production," the OEM states. "Additionally, minus the constraints of mass-production processes, 3D-printed parts can be designed to function more efficiently." .

Trailer/Body Builders / March 7, 2017 Trucks carried 65.5% of an estimated $1 trillion in freight that crossed the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico in 2016, according to the Department of Transportation’s website. That number is based on the value of the freight and is a higher share than a year earlier and a decade earlier in 2006, according to DOT. Rail (15.5%), vessel (5.5%), pipeline (4.6%), and air (3.9%) carried the remaining share of cross border freight, DOT notes. Trucks carried 53.5 percent of the $278.1 billion of 2016 imports from Canada, followed by rail, 21.1 percent; pipeline, 13.6 percent; vessel, 4.1 percent; and air, 4.0 percent. The numbers changed somewhat from a decade earlier. In 2006, trucks carried 49.4 percent of the $303.4 billion of imports from Canada, followed by rail, 20.8 percent; pipeline, 17.8 percent; vessel, 5.3 percent; and air, 2.8 percent. On the southern border, trucks carried 72.5 percent of the $294.2 billion of 2016 imports from Mexico, followed by rail, 16.5 percent; vessel, 6.2 percent; air, 2.4 percent; and pipeline, 0.1 percent. In 2006, trucks carried 63.8 percent of the $198.3 billion of imports from Mexico, followed by vessel, 19.6 percent; rail, 13.0 percent; air, 2.1 percent; and pipeline, less than 0.1 percent. The full story is available here.

Transport Topics / March 7, 2017 The quarterly net loss for truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. widened to $62 million, or 76 cents a share, for the three months ended Jan. 31, with sales, particularly in the anemic North American new truck sales market, causing most of the problems. In the company’s fiscal first quarter a year ago, the Lisle, Illinois-based original equipment manufacturer lost $33 million, or 40 cents. Quarterly sales declined by 5.8% over that time to $1.66 billion from $1.76 billion, the company said in its March 7 earnings statement. Among the company’s four major divisions, parts remained profitable at a similar level to a year ago, the loss at global operations narrowed by more than two-thirds and profits at financial services declined by 50% but remained in the black. At the truck division, though, sales declined by 5.9% to $1.02 billion for the quarter just ended from $1.08 billion a year ago. The quarterly operating loss accelerated to $69 million from $51 million. The company’s core market is Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada. “This was primarily driven by market pressures, the impact of lower core market volumes, and a decrease in other income,” the company’s earnings statement said. Chairman and CEO Troy Clarke remained optimistic, saying that when industrywide truck sales return, perhaps as soon as the second half of this year, so too, will Navistar. “Our results are on track with our plan for the year, and demonstrate our ability to effectively manage costs at a time of persistent Class 8 industry headwinds,” Clarke said. “Our order share continues to outpace our market share, which confirms our confidence in the retail share improvement to come. At the same time, we are rolling out a steady stream of new product introductions that are helping us generate new sales opportunities, and position us to take advantage of the anticipated Class 8 rebound in the second half,” he added. The earnings report came a week after the company announced it has completed its alliance agreement with Volkswagen’s Truck & Bus division, and unveiled its new 12.4-liter A26 engine for highway tractors. In its 21 most recent fiscal quarters, the company has posted positive net income twice: the three month periods ended April 30, 2016, and July 31, 2012.

Marchionne sees VW bid for Fiat Chrysler as Opel sale seen spurring car deals Automotive News Europe / March 7, 2017 After PSA Group's move to form Europe's second-largest carmaker with the purchase of General Motors's Opel unit, the next step in a looming consolidation wave could be a bid by Volkswagen Group for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Italian automaker’s CEO Sergio Marchionne said. "I have no doubt that at the relevant time VW may show up and have a chat" for a merger, Marchionne, who plans to retire as Fiat Chrysler CEO by 2019, said at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday. The PSA-Opel combination "threatens VW most, creating a No. 2 on its heels." Opel's planned sale to PSA, announced Monday, could spur more mergers as manufacturers confront a shift to self-driving, electric cars. PSA's bid to better compete with Volkswagen serves as a test case as CEO Carlos Tavares seeks to replicate his turnaround of the French carmaker at Opel. Successfully integrating the mass-market rivals could then prod others to follow. "The industry is moving towards consolidation," said Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault, who added Mitsubishi Motors to the French carmaker's alliance with Nissan Motor Co. last year. "You're going to see more and more players trying to gain in terms of scale. It's logical because of all the investments we need to face," he said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the show. 'Work ahead' Purchasing GM's Opel and its Vauxhall nameplate for 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) gives PSA a broader network to spread costs for new vehicles. But the benefits will be slow to realize and follow more than a decade of restructuring that failed to end losses at the GM unit. The critical component for making the deal work is sharing investment underneath the hood while keeping the brands' identities unique. Teaming up with PSA "offers many opportunities" to share costs in areas including vehicle development and purchasing, said Opel Chief Karl-Thomas Neumann, who will stay on after the deal is completed. "We know we've got a lot of work ahead of us." PSA is prepared for other deals, including a bid for a stake in Malaysia's Proton Holdings, another money-losing carmaker that’s also the owner of UK sports car brand Lotus. If PSA manages to bring Opel to "an efficiency level that is equivalent to PSA's today, we will be in a very good position to deal with prospective opportunities that could arise," Tavares said. 'No answer' Meanwhile, Volkswagen, which is still recovering from its diesel emissions-cheating scandal, is dismissing any extra pressure from the PSA-Opel combination. The company has repeatedly shrugged off interest in major acquisitions as it restructures its namesake VW marque. "We focus on what we have to do to reach our strategic goals," Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said in Geneva. For Fiat, Marchionne has long been a vocal proponent of consolidation, arguing that the industry wastes money by developing multiple versions of the same technology. Since GM rebuffed his idea for a merger two years ago, Marchionne has sought to eliminate debt at Fiat to make the carmaker a more attractive partner down the line. "The GM door was never open for me. I knocked and no one answered," said Marchionne. "Would I knock again? Why not, or at any other door."

FCA working to resolve U.S. diesel emissions issue Reuters / March 7, 2017 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is still trying to win U.S. approval to sell 2017 diesel models as the U.S. government decides whether to take legal action, CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday. In January, the EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) accused the automaker of illegally using hidden software to allow excess diesel emissions from 104,000 U.S. trucks and SUVs. The EPA has refused to grant Fiat Chrysler approval to sell 2017 diesel models. "We have been dealing with the EPA and CARB, we have engaged legal counsel. The only thing I can tell you is that we continue to work with the agencies to try and resolve this," Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva auto show. "We continue to offer full cooperation to the agency to try get this issue resolved. I think my main objective now is to get certification for the 2017 models," he said. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department told a judicial panel in a previously unreported filing that the government "continues to consider whether to commence judicial proceedings in connection with the violations alleged" by the EPA. The filing said FCA's actions "may have violated other federal laws as well. The United States may well become involved in litigation with FCA regarding this matter to vindicate important environmental and other federal interests." The EPA is continuing to "evaluate certification of new model year 2017 vehicles," the filing said. Marchionne said Tuesday if the automaker wins certification for the 2017 models, then "I think we can take that solution and apply it back to the 2014's to 2016 cars." Marchionne said he did not raise the company's diesel emissions issue with President Donald Trump when he met with auto CEOs in January. Fiat Chrysler said it faces at least nine civil lawsuits in five states related to the emissions issue. A judicial panel will hold a March 30 hearing to decide whether the cases should be consolidated before a single judge. Last week, FCA disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and some state attorneys general are investigating emissions issues. Reuters reported the Justice Department has been investigating FCA for more than six months. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena to FCA and is leading a multi-state investigation. Marchionne in January rejected the EPA's allegations, saying there was no wrongdoing and the company never attempted to create software to cheat emissions rules. The EPA announcement followed closer scrutiny of automakers after Volkswagen AG admitted to cheating diesel emissions tests in 580,000 U.S. vehicles.

RT / March 7, 2017 The major takeaway from the latest WikiLeaks dump centers around the terrifying, ‘all-seeing-eye’ surveillance project codenamed ‘Weeping Angel.’ The CIA appears to have taken espionage to a whole new level if WikiLeaks’ initial analysis is accurate. According to the preliminary release, the CIA has the capability to hack, record and even control everyday technology used by billions of people around the world. These include smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and even vehicles with remote control navigation systems. On these devices themselves, the CIA can hack into some of the world’s most heavily encrypted social media and communications platforms such as WhatsApp, Weibo, Confide, Signal and Telegram before any encryption can even be applied. For example, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption means that only the direct participants in a conversation can read messages; not even WhatsApp is capable of reading them. The CIA, however, was able to hack into individual private WhatsApp messages before encryption could even be applied. “Your messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and you have the special key needed to unlock and read your message,” the company writes on their website. According to WikiLeaks, the manufacturing division for the Agency’s hacking tools, or ‘zero days’ as they are dubbed in the leaks, is the EDG (Engineering Development Group), which is under the umbrella of the agency’s CCI (Center for Cyber Intelligence). Smartphone devices The CIA's Mobile Devices Branch (MDB) developed a variety of tools and techniques to remotely hack and control the world’s most popular smartphones and tablets. Once hacked, phones can be used to transmit their “geolocation, audio and text communications” directly to the CIA without the user’s knowledge. In addition, the CIA can remotely activate the phone’s microphone and camera. Apple devices Despite Apple holding a minority share in the global smartphone market in 2016, the CIA’s Mobile Development Branch has a specific division dedicated to the hacking of Apple devices which run the iOS operating system from smartphones and tablets. WikiLeaks also alleges that the CIA not only developed but collaborated on or purchased a variety of hacking tools or ‘zero days’ from intelligence agencies and contractors around the world such as GCHQ, NSA, FBI or Baitshop. Samsung The EDG has produced a ‘zero day’ capable of hacking Samsung smart TVs, switching it into a fake ‘off mode’ where the device appears to remain on standby while actually recording audio and transmitting it to nearby secured CIA servers. For context, Samsung was the top-selling television brand in the world for the last decade with a global market share of 21 percent as of 2015. WikiLeaks did not specify in the initial release whether video recordings were also a part of this particular ‘zero day.’ Vehicle control As far back as 2014, WikiLeaks alleges that the CIA was exploring the possibility of infecting control systems in modern cars and trucks. While the exact goal of such control has yet to be established, WikiLeaks suggests that such hacks could be used for almost undetectable assassinations. Android devices (Samsung, HTC, Sony) The majority of the world’s smartphones (approximately 85 percent) run on the Android operating system, with roughly 1.15 billion Android devices sold last year, according to the WikiLeaks statement. Naturally, the CIA devoted an entire subdivision to hacking Android devices, with 24 individual weaponized ‘zero days’ targeting Android devices. Microsoft The CIA’s cyber division has developed numerous local and remote ‘zero days’ to hack and control Microsoft Windows users. These ‘zero days’ include, but are not limited to: air gap jumping viruses such as ‘Hammer Drill’ that are capable of infecting computers or phones that have never been connected to the internet; hacking tools that focus on removable devices such as USB drives; systems for hiding data, be it in covert disk areas or in images; particular ‘zero days’ that are manufactured to self-perpetuate and hide themselves from detection on an ongoing basis. Before any tech experts gloat, WikiLeaks also alleges that the CIA has developed advanced, multi-platform malware attack and control systems that cover Windows and Mac OS X but also mixed source platforms like Solaris and open source platforms like Linux. Wikileaks names these specific ‘zero days’ as the EDB's ‘HIVE,’ ‘Cutthroat’ and ‘Swindle’ tools.

85% of world’s smart phones ‘weaponized’ by CIA RT / March 7, 2017 The majority of the world’s smartphones have been “weaponized,” according to WikiLeaks, which revealed in its latest leak that the CIA went to extreme measures to utilize the Android OS for spying. Google’s Android operating system, used in 85 percent of the world’s smart phones, including Samsung and Sony, was found to have 24 ‘zero days’ – the code name used by the CIA to identify and exploit vulnerabilities for the purpose of secretly collecting data on individuals. The techniques allow the CIA to access data from social messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Weibo and Clockman before encryption, according to WikiLeaks. Both audio and message data were vulnerable to the exploit through the CIA’s exploitation of gaps in the OS. WikiLeaks' #Vault7 reveals numerous CIA 'zero day' vulnerabilities in Android phones https://t.co/yHg7AtX5gg https://t.co/g6xpPYly9T — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 WikiLeaks claims the source of their latest release acted to create a public debate about the “security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.” The leak revealed details of massive surveillance by the CIA, including ‘Weeping Angel’ – a surveillance technique which infiltrates smart TVs, transforming them into microphones. #CIA hid ability to #hack smart phones and TVs worldwide from makers, despite #Obama pledge to reveal https://t.co/K7wFTdlC82#Vault7 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 In one of the documents, users of antivirus software Comodo, who did not install a flawed upgrade, were described as “paranoid bastards.” The CIA appear to be aware that version 6.X of the software isn’t as good as its predecessor, which they described as a “a colossal pain in the posterior.” “Comodo's user base, paranoid bastards that they are, has apparently caught wind of this and lots of them haven't upgraded to 6.X. Kind of a shame, cuz this is a hole you could drive a very large wheeled freight carrying vehicle through,” the document reads.

RT / March 7, 20107 WikiLeaks has published what it claims is the largest ever batch of confidential documents on the CIA, revealing the breadth of the agency’s ability to hack smartphones and popular social media messaging apps such as WhatsApp. A total of 8,761 documents have been published as part of ‘Year Zero’, the first part in a series of leaks on the agency that the whistleblower organization has dubbed ‘Vault 7.’ In a statement WikiLeaks said ‘Year Zero’ revealed details of the CIA’s “global covert hacking program,” including “weaponized exploits” used against company products including “Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones.” RELEASE: Vault 7 Part 1 "Year Zero": Inside the CIA's global hacking force https://t.co/h5wzfrReyypic.twitter.com/N2lxyHH9jp — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 According to the cache of documents released, the CIA's Mobile Devices Branch (MDB) has developed multiple tools and systems to hack popular smart phones and remotely order them to send both location data as well as audio and text communications. The phones’ cameras and microphones can also be remotely activated at will. Such tools and techniques allow the CIA to hack social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman before encryption can be applied, WikiLeaks claims in the statement on their website. The time period covered in the latest leak is 2013 to 2016, according to the CIA timestamps on the documents themselves. CIA negligence sees it losing control of all cyber weapons arsenal sparking serious proliferation concerns #Vault7https://t.co/mHaRNCr3Dfpic.twitter.com/lwapDCKYt9 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 The source of the information told WikiLeaks in a statement that they wish to initiate a public debate about the “security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.” Policy questions that should be debated in public include “whether the CIA's hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency,” WikiLeaks claims the source said. READ MORE: Revelations of CIA spying on NATO-ally France 'a nuclear bombshell’ Commenting on the leak, WikiLeaks co-editor Julian Assange said the cache showed the “extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber 'weapons.” “The significance of ‘Year Zero’ goes well beyond the choice between cyberwar and cyberpeace. The disclosure is also exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective," he said. The FAQ section of the release yields some key details which highlight the true extent of the leak: firstly, the information was “obtained recently and covers through 2016”. Secondly, WikiLeaks has asserted that it has not mined the entire leak and has only verified it, asking that journalists and activists do the leg work. READ MORE: WikiLeaks releases 'CIA espionage orders' for 2012 French presidential election In WikiLeaks’ analysis of ‘Year Zero’ it detailed ‘Weeping Angel’, a surveillance technique which infiltrates smart TV’s, transforming them into microphones. An attack against Samsung TV’s used ‘Weeping Angel’ in cooperation with MI5, placing them into a ‘Fake-Off’ mode, recording conversations even when the device appears to be off. In the released batch “Things you might do” with ‘Weeping Angel’ is detailed in a document. “Investigate any listening ports & their respective services” is listed, along with “extract browser credentials or history.” .

Freedom...........national health care........??? Um, you do have a choice. You are not required to use national health care. Most do however, because it works very well.

Replacement healthcare plan would cost poor and older people the most The Guardian / March 7, 2017 GOP Obamacare replacement bill’s key provisions include cuts to Medicaid and leeway for insurance companies to charge older Americans five times more House Republicans unveiled their long-promised plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, on Monday. And though Donald Trump promised Americans increased access and lower costs, many would in fact get the opposite. Some of the bill’s key provisions include cuts to one of America’s largest social safety nets, Medicaid; less generous tax credits for individuals who buy insurance on the open market; and the undoing of incentives for younger Americans to buy health insurance. To those proposals, add leeway for insurance companies to charge older Americans more, the end of taxes on pharmaceuticals and tanning beds and a 30% penalty for anyone who has a gap in insurance coverage. Many Republicans argue these proposals would help get the federal government out of the way of the market, and drive down prices by increasing competition. What it would all mean for Americans’ pocketbooks is still coming into focus, but if the bill is passed into law, some effects are clear. Older Americans are likely to pay more The proposal introduced by Republicans would allow insurance companies to charge older adults five times what they charge the young. Analysts call this an “age band”. At the same time, the bill would reduce subsidies to all Americans, distributing them by age to everyone who earns less than $75,000 a year individually or $150,000 for a couple. That may sound like a philosophical difference, until you get into the arithmetic. Young Americans would be eligible for up to $2,000 in tax credits, and older Americans would get double, topping out at $4,000. But with just twice the tax credit, and up to five times the charges from insurance companies, older adults could be left to foot the bill. So would the poor Republicans have long sought to upend Medicaid, the government program that provides free or low-cost healthcare to the poor. This bill would accomplish just that. Proposals in the bill would give less incentive to states to cover people by limiting the federal contribution. The law would transform the current system from an open-ended entitlement to a per capita block grant (stick with me here!). Medicaid relies on the federal government and states splitting the bill. Currently, the federal government pays a percentage of the Medicaid tab, no matter how big or small. This allows the program to be flexible in times of economic turmoil, when more people come on to the rolls. But Republican changes to the ACA would transform Medicaid into a system that pays states based on the number of people in the system in 2016, even if more people become eligible for Medicaid in subsequent years. Critics say that would leave states with the bill if a wave of people become newly eligible for Medicaid, such as during a recession. That could lead states to cut services, enrollment or both. It would also roll back the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid by 2020. The ACA paid states to expand Medicaid, with the federal government picking up 90% of the bill. That led to 15 million more Americans gaining insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Thirty-two states, including 16 with Republican governors, expanded Medicaid. Starting in 2020, the federal government will no longer pay for new people to join the expansion group. (House speaker Paul Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin pioneered a partial Medicaid expansion in 2008 before the ACA was in place. If you live in Wisconsin, you can get “Badgercare”, which the state pays for.) One last Medicaid provision – if you win the lottery, you can’t have it. A provision in the Republican bill bars jackpot winners from getting the public insurance program. We’re not sure how many people this applies to, but call us if you are one of them (seriously). For people who don’t qualify for Medicaid, and don’t get insurance through their employer, individual subsidies will be smaller. One analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that a 27-year-old earning $20,000 a year in Mobile, Alabama, would receive $4,522 in subsidies under the ACA. But the same individual would only receive $2,000 under the current Republican proposal, leaving that person to make up a $2,522 shortfall. The unemployed could pay more, too Republicans proposed adding a 30% surcharge in premiums to anyone who loses insurance coverage for more than two months. So, if you suddenly lost your job, and were looking for insurance on the individual marketplace, you would need to find it within two months to avoid this penalty, despite having a reduced subsidy to buy it. Remember how we said you might pay more? It won’t be just because the subsidies Republicans are providing are lower. The actions taken in this bill – eliminating the individual mandate and keeping insurance protections – could actually increase your insurance costs. How? By removing the incentive for younger people to purchase insurance, as well as some of their ability to do so with smaller tax credits, Republicans abandon the Democratic ideal of covering all Americans. Insurance works by requiring people to buy it when they’re healthy to protect them in the event that they get sick. If people only sign up for insurance when they’re sick, it’s much more expensive for everyone, not just the sick people signing up. Republicans argue their plan will increase competition, blunting the impacts that segmenting risk might have. Here’s where we know less. Bills like this one usually receive a score from the Congressional Budget Office, essentially an assessment of its impacts and costs, which would predict effects on insurance premiums, coverage and even the federal debt. But because the proposal is so new, the CBO (and most analysts) have not scored it yet. That makes it difficult to predict how it could affect the health system. However, when the Congressional Budget Office assessed a different Republican plan, where Republicans hoped to remove more ACA provisions including the so-called individual mandate, it predicted insurance premiums would increase by a staggering 25% in one year and that they could be expected to double in 10 years. Speaking of years from now … The Republicans want to delay enactment of their plan until 2020. Guess when that falls? If you guessed after the midterm elections, you would be right.

WikiLeaks publishes 'biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents' The Guardian / March 7, 2017 The 8,761 documents published by WikiLeaks focus mainly on techniques for hacking and surveillance The US intelligence agencies are facing fresh embarrassment after WikiLeaks published what it described as the biggest ever leak of confidential documents from the CIA detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. The thousands of leaked documents focus mainly on techniques for hacking and reveal how the CIA cooperated with British intelligence to engineer a way to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices. The leak, named “Vault 7” by WikiLeaks, will once again raise questions about the inability of US spy agencies to protect secret documents in the digital age. It follows disclosures about Afghanistan and Iraq by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 and about the National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ by Edward Snowden in 2013. The new documents appear to be from the CIA’s 200-strong Center for Cyber Intelligence and show in detail how the agency’s digital specialists engage in hacking. Monday’s leak of about 9,000 secret files, which WikiLeaks said was only the first tranche of documents it had obtained, were all relatively recent, running from 2013 to 2016. The revelations in the documents include: CIA hackers targeted smartphones and computers. The Center for Cyber Intelligence, based at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, has a second covert base in the US consulate in Frankfurt which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A programme called Weeping Angel describes how to attack a Samsung F8000 TV set so that it appears to be off but can still be used for monitoring. The CIA declined to comment on the leak beyond the agency’s now-stock refusal to verify the content. “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,” wrote CIA spokesperson Heather Fritz Horniak. But it is understood the documents are genuine and a hunt is under way for the leakers or hackers responsible for the leak. WikiLeaks, in a statement, was vague about its source. “The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive,” the organisation said. The leak feeds into the present feverish controversy in Washington over alleged links between Donald Trump’s team and Russia. US officials have claimed WikiLeaks acts as a conduit for Russian intelligence and Trump sided with the website during the White House election campaign, praising the organisation for publishing leaked Hillary Clinton emails. Asked about the claims regarding vulnerabilities in consumer products, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said: “I’m not going to comment on that. Obviously that’s something that’s not been fully evaluated.” Asked about Trump’s praise for WikiLeaks during last year’s election, when it published emails hacked from Clinton’s campaign chairman, Spicer told the Guardian: “The president said there’s a difference between Gmail accounts and classified information. The president made that distinction a couple of weeks ago.” Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, said the disclosures were “exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective”. WikiLeaks has been criticised in the past for dumping documents on the internet unredacted and this time the names of officials and other information have been blacked out. WikiLeaks shared the information in advance with Der Spiegel in Germany and La Repubblica in Italy. Edward Snowden, who is in exile in Russia, said in a series of tweets the documents seemed genuine and that only an insider could know this kind of detail. He tweeted: Edward Snowden (@Snowden) Still working through the publication, but what @Wikileaks has here is genuinely a big deal. Looks authentic. March 7, 2017 Edward Snowden (@Snowden) If you're writing about the CIA/@Wikileaks story, here's the big deal: first public evidence USG secretly paying to keep US software unsafe. pic.twitter.com/kYi0NC2mOp March 7, 2017 Edward Snowden (@Snowden) The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open. Reckless beyond words. March 7, 2017 The document dealing with Samsung televisions carries the CIA logo and is described as secret. It adds “USA/UK”. It says: “Accomplishments during joint workshop with MI5/BTSS (British Security Service) (week of June 16, 2014).” It details how to fake it so that the television appears to be off but in reality can be used to monitor targets. It describes the television as being in “Fake Off” mode. Referring to UK involvement, it says: “Received sanitized source code from UK with comms and encryption removed.” WikiLeaks, in a press release heralding the leak, said: “The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom’s MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In ‘Fake Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server.” The role of MI5, the domestic intelligence service, is mainly to track terrorists and foreign intelligence agencies and monitoring along the lines revealed in the CIA documents would require a warrant. The Snowden revelations created tension between the intelligence agencies and the major IT companies upset that the extent of their cooperation with the NSA had been exposed. But the companies were primarily angered over the revelation the agencies were privately working on ways to hack into their products. The CIA revelations risk renewing the friction with the private sector. The initial reaction of members of the intelligence community was to question whether the latest revelations were in the public interest. A source familiar with the CIA’s information security capabilities took issue with WikiLeaks’s comment that the leaker wanted “to initiate a public debate about cyberweapons”. But the source said this was akin to claiming to be worried about nuclear proliferation and then offering up the launch codes for just one country’s nuclear weapons at the moment when a war seemed most likely to begin. Monday’s leaks also reveal that CIA hackers operating out of the Frankfurt consulate are given diplomatic (“black”) passports and US State Department cover. The documents include instructions for incoming CIA hackers that make Germany’s counter-intelligence efforts appear inconsequential. The document reads: “Breeze through German customs because you have your cover-for-action story down pat, and all they did was stamp your passport. Your cover story (for this trip): Q: Why are you here? A: Supporting technical consultations at the consulate.” The leaks also reveal a number of the CIA’s electronic attack methods are designed for physical proximity. These attack methods are able to penetrate high-security networks that are disconnected from the internet, such as police record databases. In these cases, a CIA officer, agent or allied intelligence officer acting under instructions, physically infiltrates the targeted workplace. The attacker is provided with a USB stick containing malware developed for the CIA for this purpose, which is inserted into the targeted computer. The attacker then infects and extracts data. A CIA attack system called Fine Dining provides 24 decoy applications for CIA spies to use. To witnesses, the spy appears to be running a programme showing videos, presenting slides, playing a computer game, or even running a fake virus scanner. But while the decoy application is on the screen, the system is automatically infected and ransacked. The documents also provide travel advice for hackers heading to Frankfurt: “Flying Lufthansa: Booze is free so enjoy (within reason).” The rights group Privacy International, in a statement, said it had long warned about government hacking powers. “Insufficient security protections in the growing amount of devices connected to the internet or so-called ‘smart’ devices, such as Samsung smart TVs, only compound the problem, giving governments easier access to our private lives,” the group said.

'I'm not going to comment on that,' White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters. 'I think obviously that's not something that has been fully evaluated. And if it was, I would not comment from here on that.'

WikiLeaks publishes 1000s of CIA documents WJLA/Associated Press / March 7, 2017 WikiLeaks on Tuesday published thousands of documents purportedly taken from the Central Intelligence Agency's Center for Cyber Intelligence, a dramatic release that appears to provide an eye-opening look at the intimate details of America's cyberespionage toolkit. The dump could not immediately be authenticated by The Associated Press and the CIA declined comment, but WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents. Experts who've started to sift through the material said it appeared legitimate and that the release was almost certain to shake the CIA. "There's no question that there's a fire drill going on right now," said Jake Williams, a security expert with Augusta, Georgia-based Rendition Infosec. "It wouldn't surprise me that there are people changing careers and ending careers as we speak." If it did prove legitimate, the dump would represent yet another catastrophic breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material, including hundreds of thousands of documents from the State Department and the Pentagon. WikiLeaks, which had been dropping cryptic hints about the release for a month, said in a lengthy statement that the CIA had "recently" lost control of a massive arsenal of CIA hacking tools as well as associated documentation. The radical transparency organization said that "the archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner" and that one of them "provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive." Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents." Williams, who has experience dealing with government hackers, said that the voluminous files' extensive references to operation security meant they were almost certainly government-backed. "I can't fathom anyone fabricated that amount of operational security concern," he said. "It rings true to me." "The only people who are having that conversation are people who are engaging in nation-state-level hacking," he said.

WikiLeaks says U.S. Frankfurt consulate is a 'CIA hacker base' The Local de / March 7, 2017 The whistleblower group's new report describes how the CIA hacked into iPhones, Microsoft Windows and even Samsung TVs around the world - and the German financial centre is reportedly a major hub. In a leak described by the whistleblower organization as “the largest intelligence publication in history”, WikiLeaks released nearly 9,000 documents that it says reveal the CIA's hacking arsenal. “The quantity of published pages… already eclipses the total number of pages published over the first three years of the Edward Snowden NSA leaks,” WikiLeaks states. One expert who examined the leaks told the Associated Press that it appeared legitimate. WikiLeaks said the “Vault 7” release on Tuesday exposes the “entire hacking capacity” of the American intelligence organization and how it covertly hacks into devices like iPhones, Android phones, Microsoft Windows and even Samsung TVs, turning them into secret microphones. It claims that by the end of last year, the CIA's hacking unit had more than 5,000 registered users who had produced thousands of hacking systems, trojans, viruses and “weaponized” malware. “The CIA had created, in effect, its "own NSA" with even less accountability and without publicly answering the question as to whether such a massive budgetary spend on duplicating the capacities of a rival agency could be justified,” WikiLeaks states in the release. The source of the leak is said to be a former US government hacker or contractor, who was able to get hold of the documentation after the CIA lost control of most of its hacking arsenal, WikiLeaks states. The US Consulate in Frankfurt was reportedly used as a “covert base” for hackers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These hackers were given diplomatic passports with State Department cover, and were instructed to tell customs officials that they were technical consultants for the consulate. Once in Frankfurt, WikiLeaks says the hackers could travel without border checks throughout Europe's Schengen area. Hackers would then target certain workplaces with USB sticks containing malware, and insert the sticks into a computer to infect or exfiltrate data. One attack system, Fine Dining, reportedly has 24 decoy applications for hackers to use, making a computer screen display videos, slideshow presentations, fake virus scanners, or computer games - all while the malware attacks the system. "As a matter of policy, the US State Department does not comment on specific intelligence allegations," the Frankfurt Consulate told The Local, declining to comment on whether the documents were authentic. The report also says that by 2014, the CIA had started looking into how to infect vehicle control systems, potentially for the purpose of conducting undetectable assassinations.

Wikileaks publishes details of wide-ranging hacking tools used by the CIA BBC / March 7, 2017 The alleged cyber-weapons are said to include malware that targets Windows, Android, iOS, OSX and Linux computers as well as internet routers. Some of the software was developed in-house, and the UK's MI5 agency helped build a spyware attack for Samsung TVs. Wikileaks said that its source had shared the details with it to prompt a debate into whether the CIA's hacking capabilities had exceeded its mandated powers. Embarrassment factor - Analysis by BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera These latest leaks - which appear to give details of highly sensitive technical methods - will be a huge problem for the CIA. There is the embarrassment factor - that an agency whose job is to steal other people's secrets has not been able to keep their own. Then there will be the fear of a loss of intelligence coverage against their targets who may change their behavior because they now know the spies can do. And then there will be the questions over whether the CIA's technical capabilities were too expansive and too secret. Because many of the initial documents point to capabilities targeting consumer devices, the hardest questions may revolve around what is known as the "equities" problem. This is when you find a vulnerability in a piece of technology how do you balance the benefit to the public of telling the manufacturer so they can close it and improve everyone's security with the benefit to the spy agency of leaving it in place so they can exploit it to collect intelligence. The NSA has already faced questions about whether it has this balance right when many of its secrets were revealed by Edward Snowden, and now it may be the CIA's turn. Hacked TVs The effort to compromise Samsung's F8000 range of smart TVs was codenamed Weeping Angel, according to documents dated June 2014. They describe the creation of a "fake-off" mode, designed to fool users into believing that their screens had been switched off. Instead, the documents indicate, infected sets were made to covertly record audio, which would later be transferred over the internet to CIA computer servers once the TVs were fully switched back on, allowing their wi-fi links to re-establish. Under a "future work" section, it is suggested that video snapshots might also be taken and the wi-fi limitation be overcome.

I have zero problem with Mr. Sessions having met with the Russian ambassador. But I do have a problem with him lying under oath, saying that he never met with any Russian officials. My opinion of Mr. Sessions has now been diminished. Senator Franken is straightforward and very sharp. .

Mr. Hancock is correct. The Mack part number is 88AX456 (Note that Volvo has probably superceded it to a meaningless Volvo global parts system number). Front rear input - 88AX458 Front rear output - 88AX456 Rear rear input - 88AX457

It's embarrassing that in the year 2017, the greatest country on earth does not provide national health care. Instead, we enjoy the highest prices for health care in the world. Sweden has national health care and it works great. Even China has national health care. In other countries, the cost of an MRI is just a fraction of that in the US, with the latest equipment. Rather than paying US$3500, you pay $120. The entire U.S. health and pharmaceutical industries is a government-supported scam. Most who has spent time overseas know what I am speaking of.

If it takes one year from date of application for the U.S. government to do a background check on a Norwegian citizen, how is it they can perform a 'thorough" background check on citizens from these six Muslim countries in three months? (the period for which their immigration has been delayed)