Drake is going into business with a Canadian cannabis firm

San Francisco (CNN Business)Cannabis, so hot right now.

The burgeoning North American cannabis industry — and, notably, the booming hemp-derived CBD sector — has become a red-carpet-like affair with celebrities and athletes signing on to pitch one brand or another.

On Thursday, Aubrey Drake Graham, best known as hip-hop artist Drake, partnered with Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth to launch the More Life Growth Company cannabis producer in Graham's hometown of Toronto.

Drake joins a surging wave of celebrities who have aligned themselves with the cannabis industry by selling products, joining corporate boards, or, in this case, creating a joint venture business.

 

With a list that already includes Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Montel Williams, Rob Gronkowski, Martha Stewart, Tony Hawk, Gweneth Paltrow, and Whoopi Goldberg, the question becomes: Have we reached peak celebrity cannabis?

"I don't think they've reached full saturation yet," said Ryan McConnell, senior vice president at Kantar Futures, a business insight and brand consulting firm.

Celebrity endorsements and partnerships are a way to help lend credibility and trust to a business, he said. And for an emerging — and somewhat illicit — industry, that can be huge.

"[Cannabis] is a field that is not, in some people's eyes, legitimate yet," he said. "It still has that veneer of being illegal."

But not all celebrity tie-ups are created equal. People are attracted to brands that are real and authentic, said Diana Eberlein, an entertainment marketing specialist.

"If it feels inauthentic, they will lose that audience very quickly," said Eberlein, who now heads up marketing efforts at SoRSE, a company that helps make cannabis oil water soluble. SoRSE worked with Mad Tasty, a brand of hemp sparkling waters launched by OneRepublic lead singer Ryan Tedder.

Canopy Growth's other celebrity partnerships have struck that chord well, she said. It made perfect sense that Snoop Dogg, actor Seth Rogen and even Snoop's pal Martha Stewart were venturing into the cannabis industry.

Drake, while hugely popular, doesn't garner that immediate association with cannabis, she said.

"But Drake is such a big name," she said. "So, it really depends on how he drives the brand moving forward."

Drake's arrangement with Canopy Growth does stand apart from most of the celebrity cannabis deals, which are mostly endorsements, minority investments or advisory roles. Drake is the majority owner of a company that has a license from Health Canada, which oversees the nation's regulated cannabis market.

Under the agreement, Drake will own 60% of More Life Growth Company while Canopy Growth will retain the other 40% and have the ability to "exclusively exploit certain intellectual property" in Canada and internationally.

For Canopy Growth, which has become a bit of a poster child for the publicly traded cannabis companies in operational and financial flux, the deal underwhelmed at least one analyst who follows the company.

"We take a relatively dim view of the venture's Canadian prospects in justifying the implied value ceded by Canopy," Andrew Carter, an analyst with brokerage and investment banking firm Stifel, said in a research note on Thursday. "Canadian cannabis brand development is difficult with restrictions specifically prohibiting utilizing celebrity names, and we believe Canopy is ceding a cash flow positive asset."

When viewing the deal long-term, however, it could play out well for Canopy.

"But, we believe Canopy is creating another option to enhance its positioning for the US," Carter wrote. "Canopy's continued investment towards the larger global opportunity is a differentiating factor versus peers pursuing actions to ensure viability."

 

source : cnn

Trump OKs wider Syria oil mission, raising legal questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has approved an expanded military mission to secure an expanse of oil fields across eastern Syria, raising a number of difficult legal questions about whether U.S. troops can launch strikes against Syrian, Russian or other forces if they threaten the oil, U.S. officials said.

The decision, coming after a meeting Friday between Trump and his defense leaders, locks hundreds of U.S. troops into a more complicated presence in Syria, despite the president’s vow to get America out of the war. Under the new plan, troops would protect a large swath of land controlled by Syrian Kurdish fighters that stretches nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) from Deir el-Zour to al-Hassakeh, but its exact size is still being determined.

 

Officials said many details still have to be worked out. But, Trump’s decision hands commanders a victory in their push to remain in the country to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group, counter Iran and partner with the Kurds, who battled IS alongside the U.S. for several years. But it also forces lawyers in the Pentagon to craft orders for the troops that could see them firing on Syrian government or Russian fighters trying to take back oil facilities that sit within the sovereign nation of Syria.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations.

Trump’s order also slams the door on any suggestion that the bulk of the more than 1,200 U.S. troops that have been in Syria will be coming home any time soon, as he has repeatedly promised.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, called the mission misguided.

“Risking the lives of our troops to guard oil rigs in eastern Syria is not only reckless, it’s not legally authorized,” Kaine told The Associated Press. “President Trump betrayed our Kurdish allies that have fought alongside American soldiers in the fight to secure a future without ISIS - and instead moved our troops to protect oil rigs.”

The Pentagon will not say how many forces will remain in Syria for the new mission. Other officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations, suggest the total number could be at least 800 troops, including the roughly 200 who are at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria.

According to officials, lawyers are trying to hammer out details of the military order, which would make clear how far troops will be able to go to keep the oil in the Kurds’ control.

The legal authority for U.S. troops going into Syria to fight Islamic State militants was based on the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force that said U.S. troops can use all necessary force against those involved in the Sept. 11 attacks on America and to prevent any future acts of international terrorism. So, legal experts say the U.S. may have grounds to use the AUMF to prevent the oil from falling into IS hands.

 

But protecting the oil from Syria government forces or other entities may be harder to defend.

“The U.S. is not at war with either Syria or Turkey, making the use of the AUMF a stretch,” said Stephen Vladeck, a national security law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

He added that while the U.S. Constitution bestows significant war powers on the president, those are generally meant to be about self-defense and for the collective defense of the country. Arguing that securing the oil is necessary for national security “just strikes me as a bridge too far,” he said.

Members of Congress, including Kaine, have also raised objections to the Trump administration using the AUMF as a basis for war against a sovereign government. That type of action, he and others have argued, required approval by Congress.

U.S. officials said the order approved by Trump does not include any mandate for the U.S. to take Syria’s oil. Trump has said multiple times that the U.S. is “keeping the oil.” But the White House and the Pentagon have so far been unable to explain what he means by that. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday he “interprets” Trump’s remarks to mean the military should deny IS access to the oil fields.

There were already a couple hundred U.S. troops around Deir el-Zour, and additional forces with armored vehicles, including Bradley infantry carriers, have begun moving in. Officials have said the total force there could grow to about 500.

Trump, Esper and other defense leaders have said it’s important to protect the oil so that Islamic State militants can’t regain control of the area and use the revenues to finance their operations.

Currently, the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces have controlled the oil, supported by a small contingent of U.S. troops. A quiet arrangement has existed between the Kurds and the Syrian government, whereby Damascus buys the surplus through middlemen in a smuggling operation that has continued despite political differences. The Kurdish-led administration sells crude oil to private refiners, who use primitive homemade refineries to process fuel and diesel and sell it back to the administration.

It’s unclear how long that agreement may continue. And if some dispute arises, U.S. troops must have clear guidance on how to respond.

U.S. forces can use military force to protect themselves. But the oil fields are expansive, and troops can’t be everywhere. If, for example, Syrian government troops try to retake a portion of an oil facility and U.S. troops are not nearby, it’s unclear now how much force they could use if they aren’t acting in self-defense.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

 

source : apnews

Microsoft has been trying to beat the iPad for a decade, and the Surface Pro X is close

Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is the company’s latest attempt to sell a computer that runs on an Arm-designed chip like the iPad and most cellphones, instead of the Intel-designed processor akin to the ones that have run most Windows personal computers since the very earliest days of personal computing.

The idea is that this computer, which runs on a custom Microsoft SQ1 chip, built in partnership with Qualcomm, can deliver a really thin design with no fans, long battery life and cellular connectivity, while also running most of the traditional Windows apps people need. I’ve been testing it for the past several days.

If this all sounds a bit familiar, that’s because Microsoft has tried this same strategy before, first with the Surface RT computer in 2012 and again through a partnership with Nokia in 2013. Last year, I reviewed one of the first modern Windows on Arm computers built by HP and found that it still lagged behind Intel machines.

Microsoft has made some improvements in the Surface Pro X, but it’s not quite fulfilling all of Microsoft’s promises.

Since it doesn’t run on a traditional Intel or Intel-compatible ARM processor, some of the apps you might rely on for work may not work. Because of that, and the $999 starting cost without the $139.99 keyboard, I don’t expect this to fly off store shelves.

Still, it’s the best attempt yet at a new kind of Windows computer. And it’s got a nicer design than the Surface Pro 7, which still uses an Intel chip.

I love the design of the Surface Pro X and wish Microsoft used the same big display with narrow edges on the new Intel-powered Surface Pro 7.

The screen is big, bright and sharp. The speakers are great. The form factor is similar to the Surface Pro 7, too, with an optional keyboard (it costs $269.99 with the optional Surface Pro Pen or $139.99 without it) that attaches to the bottom and allows the tablet to double as a full laptop.

This year, Microsoft hid the new Surface Pen inside the top

of the keyboard in a tiny pocket where it charges. It’s a bit of genius, since this little area also makes it hard to lose the pen in a bag.

The device is thinner than the Surface Pro 7 but has a similar kickstand that pops out from the back to help keep it sturdy.

 

A small panel in the back opens up allowing you to swap in more storage or pop in a SIM card. I added a T-Mobile SIM and had cellular connectivity in just seconds, something that you can’t do with almost any other computer on the market. This lets you connect to the internet when you don’t have Wi-Fi.

Microsoft’s Windows Hello, a facial recognition system that lets you unlock the computer, continues to impress me. The camera identifies my face and unlocks the computer right when I sit down, almost instantly, similar to how I unlock my iPhone and iPad. It means you don’t need to spend time typing in a long password.

I also love that it charges fully in just an hour — my MacBook Air takes about 3 hours to charge. And, if you want, you can use a USB-C charger instead of the included power brick, which is convenient for people like me who want to carry a single charger for multiple devices.

OK, so the elephant in the room: Windows 10 on Arm. I’ve been a big critic of this approach in the past, since I really don’t like having to think about whether an app is going to work on my computer or not. But, Microsoft has done a good job adding support for older apps. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s getting there.

 

I was able to download and run most of what I use regularly. Spotify and Netflix are in the Windows Store (though those usually work just fine in a browser anyway). The Google Chrome browser downloaded and worked flawlessly. Microsoft Office is, of course, available. I even tried running a game from 1997 called Ultima Online that wasn’t designed to work on an Arm-based computer. Microsoft, in this case, runs those older apps (technically called 32-bit x86 apps) in an emulator. It’s seamless, and you don’t even realize they weren’t supposed to run on this machine.

Some apps you might need for work or school still don’t work yet, however. Let’s talk a bit about that.

 

Windows 10 on Arm generally looks and feels like Windows 10 on any other computer. But it isn’t the same as the regular version of Windows 10 that most apps were designed to run on.

That means you might run into trouble, as I did, if you need a specific app for corporate VPN access. The app I needed didn’t run on the Surface Pro X. You should make sure your school or office will let you connect first.

Then there are other apps that just don’t work.

Adobe’s Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop, doesn’t run on the Surface Pro X. It might eventually, since Adobe just launched Photoshop on the iPad, but it’s not here yet. If you rely on specific 3D rendering, financial or video editing apps, you should make sure they’re supported before you buy the Surface Pro X.

 

There isn’t some single universal web site you can just go check to see if they’ll work, either. You just need to try installing them one by one to see if they fail. Or, you can try to teach yourself a bit about 32-bit x86 and 64-bit x64 compatibility and check to see if the apps you use will run on this machine by visiting each app’s website. In some cases you won’t find the information.

The problem here is most people buying a new computer assume it’s going to run every Windows app just fine. People considering the Surface Pro X need to know that’s simply not the case.

I also have a few quibbles with the design.

 

One of the big promises of using an Arm machine is all-day battery life. But the Surface Pro X didn’t seem to last any longer than my MacBook Air. After using it at my desk for a couple of hours with the screen at half-brightness, it dropped down to 86 percent battery life. That’s not really all-day battery. But it was able to idle without draining much, which is good if you’re worried about the battery draining while it’s in your bag.

The keyboard is just OK. It’s mushy when you press down on it and flexes a lot, which is expected on portable like this. I still prefer the sturdier feel of the one on Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3. I like that the keyboard is backlit, though, and I like the large and clicky (albeit loud) glass trackpad, too.

Finally, the Surface Pro X’s kickstand is still terrible if you want to use the computer in your lap. I felt like I was constantly trying to balance it.

 

The Surface Pro X is a gorgeous computer that’s truly great to use. I love that it charges fast, connects to cellular networks anywhere I go, has a beautiful screen and generally works for pretty much everything I need, except my work VPN software.

But it’s hard to recommend because it’s so expensive and, if you buy one, you run the risk of not being able to run apps you might need for work or school. My review unit, for example, costs $1,499 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of hard drive space. Add in the keyboard and pencil and it costs $1,769.98 before tax. Even if you buy the entry-level $999 machine and just the keyboard, you’re spending $1,138.99.

Those are prices I can only stomach if I know they’ll work with everything.

The good news is that Microsoft is making far more progress than I thought on the Windows on Arm front. It seems developers are working to add support for this platform more than ever before. In 2012 the Surface RT was a mess because it couldn’t run apps most people needed. Seven years later, I’m finally understanding what Microsoft is trying to achieve.

As it continues to build on this idea, I expect more computers that cost less will start to hit the market. And then maybe we’ll start to see machines that fulfill the promise of all-day battery life, cellular connectivity and really thin designs at affordable price points. We’re just not there yet.

 

source : cnbc

Author of Russiagate Origins Book Claims the Scandal Was an FBI Plot to Help Clinton Win in 2016

Investigative journalist Lee Smith, the author of the newly-released book ‘The Plot Against the President’, believes that the FBI’s operation ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ was actually designed to “assist” Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Smith discussed the role of Stefan Halper in the Russiagate saga.

Halper, a White House aide-turned-Cambridge professor with close ties to the CIA and MI6, has been identified by several media outlets as an informant used by the FBI to find out if there were any links between the Trump campaign and Russia. Both Trump and Moscow have denied those claims, and a subsequent investigation by Special Counsel Mueller has failed to corroborate them as well.

At the behest of the bureau, Halper reportedly talked to several people involved in the Trump campaign to see if they knew anything about it.

Halper had received more than $1 million worth of contracts from the Defence Department’s Office of Net Assessment between 2012 and 2018 for “research” on social studies and foreign relations. There has been no word regarding payments from the FBI, which is financed separately from the Defence Department.

This summer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley pressed the Department for all records pertaining to Halper’s contracts due to concerns over potentially “suspicious” contracting practices, but the officials missed the deadline for providing the information.

“What we see is these are not actual studies,” Lee Smith said of those contracts. “We hear that he was reportedly the FBI’s confidential source, sent against the Trump campaign.”

“What he really is – his history is – a political operative,” Smith continued. "This was a political operation designed to assist the Clinton campaign. We talk a lot about the FBI and [Department of Justice] and we’re right to focus on the very bad, likely criminal things they did. But it’s important to remember that the primary beneficiary was the Clinton campaign.”

It is understood that Halper, now 75, was picked as an informant because of his connections with former Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort. In the 1980s, he reportedly oversaw a spying operation that involved CIA agents gathering classified foreign policy documents from the Carter administration for then-Republican candidate Reagan.

Lee Smith’s book, which came out on 29 October, apparently met some resistance from Hillary Clinton’s entourage. Days before its release, Fox News reported that Sidney Blumenthal, a former aide to Bill Clinton and Hillary’s long-time confidant, had sent threatening letters to the publisher of the book to stop it from being released.

“The Clinton machine wanted to intimidate Lee,” a source familiar with the matter was quoted as saying. The publisher, however, reportedly found the threats “meritless” and went ahead with the release.

 

source : sputniknews