Email Notice to Consumers Who Made Payments Through the Google Play Store

The following is a legitimate email sent out to eligible class action lawsuit members regarding the $630 million Google Play settlement. 

Google Play $630 Million Class Action Settlement

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
State of Utah, et al. v. Google LLC, et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-05227-JD

NOTICE OF STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL SETTLEMENT

Notice ID: 332212040

ATTENTION: CONSUMERS WHO MADE PAYMENTS THROUGH THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE

THIS IS A COURT-APPROVED NOTICE AND NOT A SOLICITATION FROM A LAWYER

Please read this Notice carefully. You are receiving this Notice because you may have paid for an app through the Google Play Store or paid for in-app content (including purchases in gaming apps, subscriptions, and ad-free versions of apps) through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023 (a "Qualifying Purchase"). For example, if you paid to download a game or made a purchase in an app downloaded from the Google Play Store, you may have important rights concerning the State Attorneys General lawsuit described below.

A proposed settlement has been reached in a consumer protection and antitrust lawsuit brought by the Attorneys General of all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands ("State Attorneys General") against Google (the "Action").

The State Attorneys General claim that consumers paid too much to Google for apps and for purchases made in apps downloaded from the Google Play Store because Google monopolized app distribution on certain Android devices and in-app billing services. The State Attorneys General also claim that by monopolizing app distribution, Google reduced consumers' choices in apps. The State Attorneys General also claim that Google made misrepresentations to the public concerning the risks of getting apps from sources other than the Google Play Store and Google's billing policies for apps. Google denies any wrongdoing and denies the allegations in the Complaint.

The State Attorneys General brought this lawsuit in their parens patriae* capacity, on behalf of consumers who made Qualifying Purchases through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023, while living in any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

As part of the settlement, a $630 million Settlement Fund will be established. The Fund will be used to pay consumers who made at least one Qualifying Purchase, as well as the costs of administering the Fund and attorneys' fees. Your share of the Fund will be at least $2 and may be more based on how much you paid for apps through the Google Play Store or for in-app content through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023, compared to the amount paid by all other consumers who made Qualifying Purchases.

You are receiving this Notice because Google's internal records show that you may have made a Qualifying Purchase using a Google payments profile with a "Legal Address" located in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

If the "Legal Address" listed in your Google payments profile at the time you made a Qualifying Purchase is in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands, then you are a member of this Action and you are eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund.

If you are covered by this Action, you may not have to do anything to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will make the majority of payments automatically, and no claim form is necessary in most cases. Once the Settlement has been approved by the Court, you will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying you of your incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with your Google Play account. If that email address or phone number is also associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then the payment will be made directly to that account. If that email address or phone number does not match an email address or phone number associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then you have the option to create a new account or redirect the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

If you (a) do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo, (b) no longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with your Google Play account, or (c) were expecting to receive a payment but did not, there will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete.

If you would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, you may submit your name, email address, and mobile phone number at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

By receiving money, you will give up any rights to sue, or continue to sue, Google separately over the claims at issue in this Action.

Objections to the $630 Class Action Google Play Lawsuit

If you want to object to the Settlement, then you must file a written objection on or before February 19, 2026. To learn more about the process for making objections, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

If you do not want to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund and you want to bring your own case against Google, then you must submit a request to be excluded on or before February 19, 2026. To learn more about or to submit a request for exclusion, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

An administrator appointed by the Court is sending this Summary Notice. To view the full Notice approved by the Court, and for more information about the Action, including certain important Court filings, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com or contact the Notice Administrator at 1-866-905-8127 or by email to info@GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

BY ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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The preceding email refers to a website, but doesn't ask you to take any action to join the class action lawsuit, because they already know who has a Google Play account and who is eligible.

That is a big indicator that this is a real and legitimate email. 

Drake Hotline Bling U.S. Russia Relations Dissertation by zanderzeth

Drake "Hotline Bling"

Hotline Bling by Drake gets one YouTube viewer into Deep Thinking

Hotline Bling by Drake on YouTube has brought many reactions from fans, but none as "interesting" as a dissertation on relations between the U.S. and Russia by user zanderzeth. This user has quite a creative imagination and must give him props for really thinking this through. Most people would not think that Hotline Bling is a deep song, but zanderzeth has proved these people to be wrong.

Read it below:

Here is what Drake's song Hotline Bling really means... Tensions between the United States (and its allies) and Russia have been steadily rising over the past several years. Although once close allies with the west, Russia's recent actions of strained the relationship between it and much of the western world. In "Hotline Bling", Drake provides an elegant metaphorical recap of the circumstances that have led to the current relationship between the two powers, from the days of their initial alliance through the tensions of the Cold War into the present-day strained but civil relationship: You used to call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love Call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love And I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing In this opening, Drake harkens back to the Second World War, the beginning of the relationship between the USA and the USSR. The "late night when you need my love" refers to the darkness of the later years of WWII, when Nazi Germany's expansion and atrocities reached their most severe states. The 'love' needed here was the mutual support and cooperation between the USSR and USA in order to defend themselves and end the threat of Nazi expansion. The phrase " I know when that hotline bling that can only mean one thing" is first introduced here. This same phrase will be used throughout the song, changing in meaning and context at each new use to reflect the gradual changes in attitudes of the two superpowers towards one another. The precise meanings are deliberately unexplained by Drake; we are left to interpret meaning of the phrase as it changes from chorus to chorus. This mirrors the uncertainty that both the USA and USSR would experience when attempting to understand the intentions of the other country. In this first chorus, the phrase is used to refer to the anticipated call that each leader would receive to notify them of the surrender of Nazi forces. Ever since I left the city, You got a reputation for yourself now Everybody knows and I feel left out Girl you got me down, you got me stressed out 'Cause ever since I left the city, you started wearing less and goin' out more Glasses of champagne out on the dance floor Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before

Beginning of Drake Hotline Bling is the Cold War between United States and Russia

This verse discusses the beginnings of the tensions between the two countries that would come to be known as the Cold War. The "city" being left is a metaphor for the dissolution of the alliance between the USA and USSR after the end of WWII. The "reputation for yourself" that Drake speaks of is the combination of profound social and political differences found between the two countries, one a capitalist democracy and the other a single-party Marxist-Lenninist state. Drake bluntly discusses the "stress" that this separation causes, especially when the USSR begins "Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before "; a thinly-veiled reference to the signing of the Warsaw Pact between the USSR and other communist states of eastern Europe. You used to call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love Call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love And I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing In this first repetition of the chorus, tensions between the two powers had reached one of their highest points, with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Drake's use of the "hotline bling" phrase refers to the potential command of either of the two countries to launch nuclear missiles. Such a blinging of the hotline could only "mean one thing": the mutually-assured destruction of a full-scale nuclear war. Ever since I left the city, you, you, you You and me we just don't get along You make me feel like I did you wrong Going places where you don't belong Ever since I left the city, you, you got exactly what you asked for Running out of pages in your passport Hanging with some girls I've never seen before Here, Drake imples that the two nations are now very openly engaged in non-violent conflict, that they "just don't get along". In the later years of the Cold War, the USA and Soviet Union were involved in several proxy wars; wars in which the two sides were not in direct conflict, but rather supported opposing sides in wars between other nations. "Going places where you don't belong" is Drake's allusion to the delivery of soldiers, supplies and other support to the parties engaged in these conflicts, particularly the Vietnam War. This was followed by a period of many changing alliances for both counties, as new accords were reached and diplomats from both countries began to visit many nations in earnest, hoping to secure further alliances and limit any advantage that either side could gain. This period is represent in Drake's words as "Running out of pages in your passport . Hanging with some girls I've never seen before" You used to call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love Call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love And I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing This chorus marks a fundamental change in the Cold War, as tensions began to ease and both parties sought to increase global stability. Under the new leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union implemented many sweeping reforms and entered talks with the United States in order to decrease tensions. Here, the one thing that the "hotline bling" can mean is yet another call between one world leader to another, slowly improving international relations. Eventually, due to the weakening bonds between the countries comprising the Soviet Union, the hotline would bling a final time to inform President George H.W. Bush of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War. These days, all I do is Wonder if you bendin' over backwards for someone else Wonder if you're rollin' up a backwoods for someone else Doing things I taught you, gettin' nasty for someone else You don't need no one else You don't need nobody else, no Why you never alone Why you always touching road Used to always stay at home, be a good girl You was in a zone, yeah You should just be yourself Right now, you're someone else In the final verse, seemingly directed at Russia (formerly the largest and most influential country in the Soviet Union) Drake reflects upon the current rising tensions between the USA and Russia. Drake "Wonder[s] if you [Russia] bendin' over backwards for someone else", seemingly questioning whether or not Russia is currently forging any new alliances in secret. Drake assures Russia that "You don't need no one else. You don't need nobody else, no" indicating that he believes that Russia should seek to maintain its current diplomatic relations, rather than seek alliances with other countries or acquire new territory through the use of military force. Drake tells Russia that it "Used to always stay at home, be a good girl . You was in a zone, yeah. ". These beautiful lyrics represent the years between the end of the Cold War and Vladimir Putin's rise to power in which Russia enjoyed a relatively prosperous economy and stable diplomatic relations with the western world. Drake tells Russia "You should just be yourself", encouraging the Nation reestablish the national identity and policies of those years. You used to call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love Call me on my cell phone Late night when you need my love And I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing I know when that hotline bling That can only mean one thing In a final repetition of the chorus, Drake expresses concern that the hotline will bling once again in response to any sudden military action taken by Russia that could once again plunge two of the most powerful nations into conflict. Ever since I left the city Drake concludes with a simple, yet poignant, lamentation of the loss of the original spirit of cooperation between the two powers. Drakes words evoke a deep and tragic yearning for the kindred relationship that may never be again.

Gun Control Ineffective in the Movie Tombstone and Worse for the United States

Ronald Reagan Quote on Gun Control

In the 1993 movie, Tombstone, the Earp Brothers have to take matters into their own hands after the local law man Fred is killed by a bandit. 

Virgil Earp issues a mandate that no guns are allowed in Tombstone. But his radical #guncontrol does not help them stop the bad guys.

He says, "I'm not sayin' that you can't own a gun. I'm not sayin' that you can't carry a gun. I'm just sayin' you can't carry a gun in town."

As Ronald Reagan pointed out, if you take guns away from law-abiding citizens, then only the thugs and criminals that don't follow the law have guns. This kind of gun control is dangerous for the citizens of the United States.

In the movie, the gun-toting bandits come back to Tombstone with a posse and Wyatt Earp gets sworn in real quick-like to defend the town. This was inevitable, because the law breakers were the ones carrying guns.

Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 Brings Back Gun Control Debate

Politicians in the U.S. Senate have been at odds over the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014. According to the Miami Herald, Senators from both parties planned to add amendments to the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 to re-ignite the debate on gun control. 

The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 needed 60 votes in the Senate to get passed, and did not receive these necessary votes on Thursday, July 10, 2014 to get passed. No Republicans voted to proceed with the bill on Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D. - NV) blocked all amendments, saying he would only negotiate further with a "set list" of amendments to the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014.

Senator Roger Wicker (R. - MS) accused Harry Reid of breaking from the Senate traditional way of introducing amendments. Roger Wicker co-sponsored the bill, as well as 25 other Republicans, and 19 other Democrats. 

After the bill was initially approved, Republicans tried to add 55 amendments to the bill, and Democrats tried to add 26 amendments. Harry Reid would have none of it, and killed it on Thursday.

If you want to find out all of the things in the original Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014, those details can be read here.