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Banning adverts for ‘junk food’ is censorship
Action on Sugar’s plans are bad for the public sphere’s health.
On Sunday, UK campaign group Action on Sugar (AoS) published its Childhood Obesity Action Plan. As puffed up as, well, a sugar puff, AoS declared that the plan had been requested by the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt. The seven action points in the plan aim to tackle the ‘food environment’, which is, apparently, entirely responsible for obesity. Implementing the plan will require the government to provide ‘strong leadership to bring about a sea-change in the philosophy of the whole soft-drink and food industry’. There is plenty to criticise in the AoS plan, which is stuffed full of ideas for lifestyle interference on the word of self-appointed experts. But one idea stands out: ‘a total ban on advertising of ultra-processed foods that are high in saturated fats, sugar and salt, and sweetened soft drinks, to protect children’.
There is already a ban on the broadcast advertising of ‘junk food’ to children in the UK, which came into force in January 2008. However, AoS claims, ‘these restrictions have not protected children, because the current restriction only applies to programmes where children make up a 20 per cent higher proportion of the audience than they do of the general population. This means that the advertising of sweetened soft drinks and ultra-processed fast food occurs in the early evening programmes, which are some of the ones most watched by children, including soaps, game shows and reality TV shows. Indeed about 70 per cent of the television that children watch is outside the hours of “children’s TV” that these rules cover.’
AoS is not the only group to demand an extension of the current ban. For example, in March this year, the Children’s Food Campaign demanded a ban on such adverts before the ‘watershed’ (ie, 9pm), the time when younger children are assumed to have been packed off to bed.
Put simply, such bans, whether limited or comprehensive, are censorship.
There are essentially two problems with any form of censorship. The first is that people, companies or political groups are denied the opportunity to say what they want to say. Of course, this is most important in relation to political ideas. Those who run society should be held to account for their actions and policies, and we should be free to offer up for debate other alternative outlooks and policies. To deny freedom of expression, even to viewpoints that most of society would disagree with, is the first step towards dictatorship – even if it is a dictatorship of the right-on chattering classes rather than an individual autocrat.
But freedom of expression cannot just apply to political ideas. It must also apply to any idea, claim or promotion. If the authorities can pick and choose which ideas qualify for the protection of free-speech rights, then we don’t have free speech. From this point of view, even big corporations flogging food of limited nutritional value – as long as the products themselves are legal – should be free to promote their products as they see fit. Just because a small group of activists have got it into their heads that a product is harmful, that is no excuse for state censorship.
The other major problem with censorship is the idea that we cannot be trusted to decide for ourselves whether we can cope with an idea or not, so the authorities need to keep certain ideas away from us. It is demeaning to us as citizens to assume that the majority of the population are just sponges that absorb ideas unthinkingly. This outlook undermines the very bedrock of democracy: that free-thinking, reasonably robust individuals can work out what they think for themselves.
In the case of advertising, there is a paternalistic view that we should not want certain kinds of products. They are, we are assured, bad for us – so bad, in fact, that our eyes should be shielded from their very sight, lest we give in to temptation. The advertising of cigarettes – which remain an entirely legal product – was completely outlawed by the New Labour government under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002, although TV advertising was banned long before. Cigarettes are now hidden in cabinets behind shop counters, in case we are so dazzled by their presence that we cave into the desire for a puff. Australia has even legislated to remove branding from cigarettes altogether – so-called ‘plain packaging’ (a move that seems, ironically, to have increased rather than decreased smoking rates).
Nor is this petty censorship restricted to tobacco. All sorts of rules and regulations apply to the advertising of alcohol (see here), despite the fact that booze is very much at the heart of our social culture. Now it seems even the advertising of food must be restricted further.
‘What about the children?’, cry the health-lobby activists and the politicians itching to be seen to be ‘doing something’ to protect us from evil corporations. Children, of course, should be protected from things that might potentially harm them. Where the potential harms are clear, it is uncontroversial to deny children the right to buy certain products, like cigarettes and alcohol. But it is far from clear that snack foods and fizzy drinks pose anything like the risks associated with booze and tobacco. There is certainly no short-term harm from a packet of Monster Munch or a can of Coke.
In truth, the argument that we should ‘think of the children’ is really a means of controlling adults. Indeed, Action on Sugar appears to be calling for a blanket ban on the advertising of these products. We are all to be treated like children, with the state acting in loco parentis to determine what choices we can and cannot make for ourselves. This idea is every bit as authoritarian as banning unpalatable political views.
Extending the ban on ‘junk food’ advertising would not have the slightest impact on the nation’s health. But it would certainly worsen the already sickly state of free speech.
Rob Lyons is associate editor of spiked.
To enquire about republishing spiked’s content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.


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I never thought I’d see the day, but Halo has finally made its way to a Nintendo console. Kind of.
I’m talking about the Minecraft’s Halo Mashup DLC pack, which will be coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. Sure, it’s not one of the main entries in the series, but this marks the first time since Microsoft’s signature franchise has appeared on a system other than an Xbox console or PC.
The Halo Mash-up was previously released on the Xbox One, will be come to the Switch as part of the upcoming cross platform Better Together Update. It features over forty Halo-themed character skins, in addition to six new maps. Have a look at the Xbox One version in action below.
In addition to the Switch, Microsoft employee Aubrey Norris confirmed on Twitter that the Halo mash-up will be available in all versions of Minecraft which utilise the Bedrock Engine, which Shacknews points out includes the Android, iOS, Oculus Rift, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Gear VR, and the Windows 10. So this is bound to be a huge earner for Microsoft.
Since the release of Halo: Combat Evolved back in 2001, the sci-fi FPS franchise has gone on the sell over 65 million copies worldwide, while Minecraft originally hit stores in 2011 and has sold over 121 million units across all platforms. This makes them two of the most successful videogame franchises of all-time, something that’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

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A traditional dish known for its nutritional properties, Ragi Sangati can substitute fruit juice and lassi during summer
The famed Rayalaseema Ragi Sangati has made its way to Blazewada. A traditional dish known for its properties to beat the heat, it can stand as a substitute to lemon juice, sugarcane juice, coconut water and lassi during summer.
A mobile stall owner is already making brisk business at Gandhinagar, selling the hot and yummy delicacy. As the clock ticks 12 noon, B. Rama Laxmaiah arrives with his pushcart at Gandhinagar, and within minutes people throng the stall to savour the dish.
Though Rayalaseema Ragi Sangati is quite popular across the State, it was not sold in the city. Ragi Sangati is made from rice, ragi (millet) flour, salt and water. “Many people consume it during summer season, as it is known for its nutritional values. It is recommended by doctors, especially for diabetic and hypertension patients,” says Laxmaiah (52), who is a native of Kadapa but has made Vijayawada his home.
Priced at Rs. 30 a plate, Laxmaiah offers 200 grams of Ragi Sangati mudda (morsel) along with chicken curry and a little bit of curd.
For vegetarians, it is offered with Gongura pickle and curd. It is served hot with chicken curry or Gongura pickle to make it spicy and tastier, he explains.
He set up the stall last month and operates it from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and claims that over 30 plates are sold daily. “It is very tasty, and I relish it everyday. I cannot afford Rs. 70 for meals at mess everyday, and for Rs. 30, Ragi Sangati is well within my budget,” says Mohan Rao, an auto-rickshaw driver.
“The craze for Ragi Sangati is picking up in the city, and I am told there is one more stall in Bhavanipuram, which offers this delicacy,” adds Srinivasa Rao, a businessman at Gandhinagar.


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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said state governments did not heed Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar`s advice some months ago to store onions which would have helped in maintaining more stable prices of the kitchen staple.
"As Sharad Pawar pointed out that some months ago he as Agriculture Minister wrote to all state governments to arrange for storage of onions and yet no state government took advantage of that.
"If they had taken advantage of that in the lean season, prices would have been more stable."
Singh further said: "Onion prices are prices which rise and fall depending upon the seasonal change in production. No central government can say that it can control all prices."
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar in a written reply informed Rajya Sabha that monthly wholesale price index (WPI) of vegetables, including onions, rose from 191 in January this year to 337.3 in July, while onion WPI increased from 340 in January 2013 to 442.6 in July 2013.
"Reasons for fluctuations in prices include seasonality of production, perishable nature of these commodities and mismatch in localised production and demand," he added.
To ensure adequate availability of onion, government has imposed a minimum export price of USD 650 per tonne, Anwar said adding that agri-cooperative NAFED has been asked to import onions.
Besides, NAFED is also procuring onions from mandis to supply to consumers through its retail outlets and to state marketing and supply federations, Anwar said.
Wholesale prices of onions are hovering in the range of Rs 1,900-4,035 per quintal at Lasalgaon, India`s biggest wholesale mandi for the vegetable.


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BANGALORE (Reuters) - S1 Corp, a payment processing technology provider, said its board rejected ACI Worldwide Inc’s takeover proposal and that it is committed to buying Israel-based Fundtech Ltd.
Responding to the rejection, ACI said it is “prepared to do what is necessary to make this (deal) happen.”
“ACI remains ready and willing to complete this transaction.”
S1 chairman John Spiegel said the board was of the view that ACI’s proposal was not in the best interests of S1 and its stockholders.
“I think it’s S1’s way of putting back the ball in ACI’s court and it looks like ACI will come back with a modified offer, which might be slightly higher than their original offer,” analyst John Kraft of D A Davidson told Reuters.
On a post-earnings conference call, S1 CEO Johann Dreyer did not answer questions on whether it was in talks with ACI.
ACI, which makes software for financial companies, had offered to buy smaller rival S1 Corp for $540 million in July, which had raised questions whether S1 would go ahead with their proposed merger with Fundtech.
In June, S1 Corp had announced that it agreed to buy Fundtech Ltd in a stock deal valued at about $700 million, just weeks after the Tel Aviv-based Fundtech confirmed it was in talks with potential buyers.
A merger with S1 would help ACI boost its sales to mid-sized financial companies and help it move into emerging markets.
The S1-Fundtech deal will see the combined company have a wider international reach.
“While the Fundtech deal offers benefits in the longer term, the ACI deal would lead to immediate payment, which is why it might find wider acceptance, because it cuts out the risk associated with the Fundtech merger,” analyst Kraft said.
Shares of S1 Corp, which touched a year high after ACI’s takeover offer in late July, were trading up about 1 percent at $9.28 on Tuesday morning on Nasdaq.
ACI shares fell 2 percent to $35.50 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq, while those of Fundtech were flat after trading up 4 percent before the bell.
Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Roshni Menon and Gopakumar Warrier


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Common sense and current cyber-security solutions go a long way toward mitigating personal and business technology risks.
Hoboken, New Jersey (PRWEB) October 31, 2017
In a Halloween-themed article on the eMazzanti Technologies website, a NYC area IT security consultant and MSP discusses the horrors we should fear from computers, smartphones, hackers and viruses and similar scary tech.
In the informative article, the company unearths some of the dangers of improper technology use such as risky selfies, headphones in lightning storms and walking while texting. The article then frightens readers by naming recent data security breaches and online threats.
“Many take chances with their health or customer information by improperly using technology,” stated Jennifer Mazzanti, CEO, eMazzanti Technologies. “Common sense and current cyber-security solutions go a long way toward mitigating personal and business technology risks.”
Below are a few excerpts from the article, “Scary Tech: The Stuff of Nightmares.”
“Forget the haunted house and bloody claw this Halloween. Your computer screen and smartphone offer plenty to keep you wide-eyed and shivering with fear in the middle of the night. From the truly bizarre to horrors that fail to frighten you nearly as much as they should, scary tech gives you ample reason to scream.”
“Selfied to death — Did you know that you are more likely to die by selfie than by shark attack? Be smart, people. If you must take a selfie, avoid precarious ledges, cuddly bear cubs and loaded firearms. Selfie deaths are on the rise.”
“Listen. Can you hear that? — Of course, you can’t. Because, you have noise-canceling headphones and music blaring away while you run. Not only do you risk damaging your hearing, but you might just miss the blast of a train whistle or the sound of a car horn just before you get hit. Listen to the birds instead.”
“They will steal your soul — Identity theft hit a record high in 2016. With the recent Equifax hack exposing personal data of over 145 million consumers, you can no longer afford to rest easy. Implement strong passwords. Monitor your financial accounts and your credit regularly. Avoid using public Wi-Fi for any transaction involving sensitive data.”
The Antidote for Scary Tech
From bizarre scary tech deaths to the freakishly common computer hack, technology poses risks to both an individual’s health and their personal data. Tech users can reduce those risks by educating themselves and taking precautions.
For organizations, the risks of scary tech threaten not only its reputation but also the personal and financial data of its customers. With increasingly complicated dangers, business leaders need modern, sophisticated cyber-security solutions. The experts at eMazzanti Technologies safeguard business assets with world class security solutions tailored to individual business needs.
Related resource information:
About eMazzanti Technologies
eMazzanti’s team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 24×7 outsourced network management, remote monitoring and support to increase productivity, data security and revenue growth for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers.
eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list eight years running, is a 2015, 2013 and 2012 Microsoft Partner of the Year, 2016 NJ Business of the Year, 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year and one of the TOP 200 U.S. Microsoft Partners! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, firstname.lastname@example.org or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies.


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Newell assures over Left 4 Dead support
The announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 during Microsoft's pre-E3 conference was taken a coup for the Xbox 360, but some members of the game's community disagree; worried as they are that this will mean the end of continuing support for the original game.
Speaking in the wake of a petition against Valve this week, boss man Gabe Newell has said that new content will continue to be released for the seminal survival-horror title.
"From a customer's perspective, we think that given the sort of insane popularity of Left 4 Dead, that people are going to be super excited about getting a sequel to that," Newell told G4.
"We're going to continue to do Left 4 Dead updates and release more content for Left 4 Dead, and then also have Left 4 Dead 2 coming out as well."
20,000 people have so far signed the petition against the sequel, so Valve are clearly keen to head-off this stir.
- Hearthstone win-traders will be permanently banned says Blizzard
- Evolve Big Alpha delayed on PS4 due to issues with system update 2.0
- Your PC will need this much power under the hood to play The Crew
- LittleBigPlanet 3 will be fully backwards-compatible
- PS4 sales soar past the 13.5 million mark
- Resogun is coming to the PS Vita
- Smaller, cooler Xbox One processor in the works
- Prey 2 finally gets officially canned
- SEGA confirms the rumoured PC version Valkyria Chronicles, gives a release date


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Mozilla has revealed that they don’t have any plans to launch Firefox OS smartphones in US, at least for now. The news comes in from CNET. Mozilla exec Mitchell Baker told CNET in an interview that they currently have no plans to launch it in the US. Instead they will be focusing more on the developing nations where Apple and Google are failing.
Anyway if you’re from US, don’t worry yet. It’s not like the devices won’t be available at all once they are launched in other nations. You will obviously have eBay sellers which will list the deals for these Firefox OS smartphones. This has happened before, so it will happen again.
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In March of this year (2019) representatives of the Council of Agriculture (COA) and the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, working within the framework of the Taiwan-Philippines Agricultural Cooperation Meeting, signed an implementing agreement and held groundbreaking ceremonies for a mushroom demonstration farm in Baguio, the Philippines. The agreement stipulates the transfer of Taiwanese mushroom-growing technology, equipment, and cultures to assist in development of the Philippines’ mushroom industry. A further purpose is to raise the income of local farmers and to open up the market for exports of Taiwanese mushroom cultivation materials to the Philippines, thus creating a win-win situation for the two countries.
The mushroom growing house and the installation of equipment were completed at the “Taiwan-Philippines Button Mushroom Demonstration Farm” in June of this year. In August the facility launched production of organic compost, and in September Taiwan mushroom cultures were exported to the Philippines and inoculated. And today (November 19), a mushroom harvest activity was held at the facility, demonstrating the fruits of agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
The harvest activity in Baguio was hosted by the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, and attended by a Taiwanese delegation led by COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng. While there, Deputy Minister Huang stated that in the future the two sides will use technological integration and full-farm duplication to spread the demo farm model all over the Philippines. In addition, a technical team will be hired from Taiwan to evaluate and build demonstration farms for other crops, including cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, in order to diversify local agriproducts. These efforts will open the door to exports of Taiwanese agricultural materials (pesticides, organic fertilizer, small farm machinery, etc.) and put into effect the New Southbound Policy in the agricultural sector.


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Updated: Jan 28
The IPHONE and its APPs are a cornerstone of the 4th Industrial Revolution enabling innovative start-ups, and Venture Capitalists.
The New Yorker January 27, 2020 reports in Annals of Enterprise “Big Spenders” Venture capital shaped the past decade. Will it destroy the next? By Nathan Heller
Like investing in a whaling expedition in the times of “Moby Dick, venture capital (VC), as we have come to know them, are mostly unsuccessful but if the “big one” hits the returns are very great. This according to Tom Nicholas author of “V.C.: An American History”.
VC draw investments from very-wealthy private investors, foundations, pension funds and university endowments. In common, unlike the small guy on the street, these investors can absorb a loss of that seed money. So, it is mostly Other People’s Money (OPM) with VC chipping in a little. The entrepreneur, or founder of a start-up group, "negotiates" to keep as much ownership and control as possible in exchange for funding. Far from a sure thing, getting funds does not guarentee that a helpful and sustainable company will emerge. Fully, only one in five VC-funded start-ups survive but from those efforts we celebrate the big successes. Since the 1970s, VC has indeed helped transform American business by supporting runaway successes the likes of Apple, Intel, Google, Amazon and Facebook, Genentech and Uber. In common, all these organizations needed significant money for research and development or for operations enabling benefits from economies of scale.
More recently, VC has been pursuing and supporting simpler, less complex businesses in the arenas of “direct-to-consumer, delivery services, financial services, car companies, shoe companies, office real estate, leisure real estate, coffee brewers, beer brewers, smoothies, razors, trousers, speakers, scooters, mattresses, toothbrushes, socks and underwear.” Having said simple, most of these start-ups speak with unusual gravitas about being industry "game-changers"-often just based on creating an online entity. The last decade also began for VC “A marriage between social enlightenment and manic growth"
On an individual basis, like a divorce, a falling-out with VC happens when a start-up fails developmental timelines or worse, for good reason, becomes media fodder. Notable examples Theranos, WeWork, Juicero and Zume. With $56B added to VC funds in 2018, this type of failure, is said to, help ensure better candidate-selection in what is defined as a “VC financing-boom". With these types of simpler business models-not requiring extensive R&D, the VC calculus is push hard for the quickest payout. Sadly, rather than creating value, being pushy may be counterproductive for nascent organizations working hard to innovate.
Besides a quick payout, VC work the storyline for the highest possible payday but in-the-end substance matters in the public marketplace. As examples, Facebook and Uber shares “wilted” after their IPO hurting investors. By contrast, when you have many M&A suitors prices are bid up and after sale revelations are almost always irrelevant. Instagram and YouTube are examples of start-ups that benefited from being acquired by the much-larger Facebook and Google organizations respectively. So, while start-ups are creating innovation, the rewards often accumulate to powerful companies at the top.
Surprisingly, favorable government incentives and taxing policies facilitated the development of VC over the decades. Today, VC argue against government intervention favoring instead what they call “market meritocracy” and professing the need for rewarding their risk-taking. They suggest that risk-taking is required for achieving innovative “moonshots” and that risky investments won't happen without the potential of substantial rewards. Others, using Microsoft and Craigslist as non-VC funded examples, suggest VC is not needed to create significant innovation.
So how good are VC in terms of generating returns to their investors. In reality, VC have not outperformed public markets. Most “had scarcely broken even” [in the last 20 years] according to a study of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation but their efforts have yielded valuable unicorns. Luckily, in recent times, VC pursuing these simpler business models have uniquely benefited from the truly seismic innovation of the IPHONE and App Store, noted Mike Isaac the author of “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber”. How did that happen? With APPs, distribution costs were largely eliminated and consumers suddenly began having access and functionality wherever they go. This allowed for enormous scaling of a platform like Uber and others.
Will VC destroy the next decade? The arguments are as follows. VC are becoming too large recording $200B in proceeds from last year’s "harvest". Being bigger equates to being more conservative. So, VC find themselves “moving outside their traditional province”. Doing so, in part, by allocating funds targeted at landing less risky companies that are closer to exit. This positions these large-VC closer to being a private equity than real venture capital. Another warning sign, is that start-up funding is declining. This trend of larger firms avoiding riskier start-ups may hurt the creation of the next meaningful company like Apple, Inc.. Lastly, using OPM, founder sweat and being buffered by mandatory management fees, VC firms may not be properly aligned for creating companies that are helpful and sustainable. VC are helpful, at least temporarily, by providing consumers with free stuff like getting a below standard fare cab ride-Uber. But for every winner there is a loser. Firms like Uber hurt workers and small companies by lowering total compensation and by creating unfair competition for small local business. All on the backs of OPM.


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Second part of the CLOSING CEREMONY
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES
We promised you to be back with the second part of the Fruits & Vegetables closing ceremony.
A second half enriched by the testimonies of people who play a relevant role in enhancing the value chain of fruits and vegetables.
Anxious to discover the panelists’ testimonies? Here we go!
Ms Patricia Araia
The first panelist was the Chair of the IYFV Ms Patricia Araia, who shared some of the outcomes of the IYFV. She explained that despite the pandemic they received a huge number of reports. Most of them related to awareness activities at regional and local levels. The mentioned reports promote not only strategies for food and nutrition education, but also assessment of COVID impact on the value chain. Another great announcement was that these more than 80 reports will be saved in the FAO asset bank and made accessible for everyone.
Ms Dilara Koçak
She was succeeded by Ms Dilara Koçak, an activist and nutritionist from Turkey. Ms Koçak has reached 20 million social media users to spread the message of eating a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables. But how does she achieve it? Through different social platforms, she shares affordable recipes made of fruits and vegetables.
Ms Sylvia M. Kuria
Then was the turn of the third panelist. A young farmer leader engaged in the organic movement, Ms Sylvia M. Kuria, who gets involved in the farming world inspired by her children. She wanted to grow her own food to know what her children eat. Then she realized that, in spite of the intense drought endured by Kenya, indigenous vegetables are able to grow well. Why? Because these plants evolved diverse drought-resistant traits which enable them to cope with the harsh environment. In fact, being autochthonous to their climate makes them resilient to climate change and diseases, thus very suitable for sustainable farming methods.
However, very often the whole value chain is only focused on the level of production according to Ms Kuria. Very few actors are focused on supporting youth and women to move from production to retail. Therefore, “despite many of us being able to grow a lot of food, we are not able to get it to the market”. To tackle this, Ms Kuria created a small shop in Nairobi where they sell their organic food and facilitate market access. Her message: “You need to think about the logistics, how food is going to reach the market. But we must also give inputs to the young people to grow organic food. Organic food should be affordable, and everybody should be able to access it”.
Ms Thamina Isayeva
The next panelist was also a female entrepreneur, Ms Thamina Isayeva. She owns a small business in Azerbaijan that began as a hobby to preserve fruits by drying them. Ms Isayeva’s testimony dismantles the theory that cutting-edge technology is always the best solution. We tend to believe that, to address the perishability of fruits and vegetables, we need innovation and technology. However, sometimes traditional methods can also solve it. That’s what her experience shows us. Tradition can also make a big contribution in terms of reducing food loss and waste. Nowadays her project is focused on creating local inclusive and efficient models of agriculture. An idea that is reducing rural women unemployment and upgrading their economic empowerment.
Mr Dr Benny M. Corcolon
The fifth panelist helped us to understand better the importance of adopting a more holistic food system’s approach. Mr Dr Benny M. Corcolon, Vice President, Research and Development at Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc., from the Philippines. He believes that “this is particularly important in the fruit and vegetable sector, because it can increase biodiversity, generate environmental sustainability, and improve the livelihood of farmers and employees operating along the whole value chain”. Therefore, to promote a more sustainable production we must focus on environmental protection and social equality. Meanwhile, the private sector must also invest in innovation to address better the climate change and COVID-19 impacts.
Mr Dr Ted M. DeJong
Finally, the last speaker for the session was Mr Dr Ted M. DeJong, Distinguished Professor & Pomologist Emeritus in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California-Davis, USA. Dr DeJong shed some light on how science, technology and research can be used to increase the efficiency and productivity of the fruits and vegetables value chain. In this mission the world of science has four issues to be tackled according to him:
- Climate change: “The first major challenge to address is climate change which is forcing growers to reevaluate what they grow, how, where… The keyword is change, which requires knowledge and that’s the business of science”.
- Availability and quality of water. As stated by Dr DeJong: “To use water efficiently requires technology”.
- Labor: “Production of fruits and vegetables is very labor intensive. Technology and the era of information, computer technology, can help to reach efficiency in this field”.
- Energy: “Most major agricultural operations are dependent on fossil fuels. Sustainable energies need to be implemented”.
Dr DeJong emphasized that “Today we have an unprecedented opportunity in the production of fruits and vegetables: an increasing number of healthy conscious consumers. This is creating large opportunities and this demand for fruits and vegetables requires more science and technology. Moreover, if there is an increasing interest in consuming fruits and vegetables, this benefits almost everyone. Continuous research on the benefits of F&V, as well as in their preservation, is needed, as is to educate consumers, increase efficiency and reduce waste in the entire supply chain”.
“There are still a lot of opportunities: post-harvest, handling, processing are still major issues, especially in the developing world. So, the International Society for Agricultural Science must invest resources to communicate and distribute the new information, new science, and new technology to people around the world. This provides the opportunity for scientists to communicate what they do and to learn from other people.”
“And a most relevant consideration, the central importance of water and the effects of climate change on the farmers, already having an excessive impact”.
So, as stated by the UN Director: “Let us leverage the momentum and the awareness generated by the IYFV to intensify the effort for a world where a healthy diet is available for everyone everywhere”.


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New Rochelle man charged after posting marijuana ad
Updated 8:39 pm, Friday, May 30, 2014
STAMFORD -- A New Rochelle, N.Y., man is facing drug charges in Stamford after he allgedly posted an ad on the Craigslist online classified site for marijuana delivery.
Allen Smith, 40, of 7 Davenport Ave., was lured to Stamford by undercover police officers who spotted the online ad and set up a meeting at a store parking lot on High Ridge Road Thursday evening.
Smith was charged with sale of certain illegal drugs, operating a drug factory and possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. He was arraigned on the charges in state Superior Court in Stamford on Friday.
The ad allegedly posted by Smith said, "Anyone looking for good 420, delivery available," and also said the person had "Exotic Strains" and delivery could be made. The numerical reference 420, sometimes 4:20 or April 20, are well-known code words for marijuana.
Police asked the person who posted the ad if they could bring a quarter ounce to Stamford. The person balked, however, saying that bringing a quarter ounce to Stamford was not worth it and he would rather them buy a half-ounce. The officers agreed, and set up a meeting just after 7 p.m., said Capt. Richard Conklin, who oversees Stamford's Narcotics and Organized Crime squad.
At the meeting, police took Smith into custody and found texts they had been exchanging on his phone, as well as just over an ounce of marijuana, $109 in cash, baggies and a scale to weigh and package the pot.


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Starbucks is exploring the question of access to the market of Ukraine – Klitschko
The American chain Starbucks is exploring the question of entering the Ukrainian market.
This was announced by mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said at a speech in the Ukrainian House in Davos, reports “Interfax-Ukraine”.
According to him, he “will do everything possible for the release of the us coffee shop chain in Ukraine.”
Ukrainka has developed the design of the Christmas Starbucks cups with elements petrikivsky
Establishments Starbucks located in 55 countries.
Every year at Davos is one of the world’s most prestigious events — the world economic forum. The Swiss ski resort attracts hundreds of world young businessmen and public figures to world leaders.
Together with the world economic forum in Davos, there are two Ukrainian events, which, however, directly related to the forum have and continue beyond. Traditionally, the “Ukrainian Breakfast”, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. And a new event — the “Ukrainian house”, where the Ukrainian business will present its potential for foreign investors.
Recall, 24 January in Davos at the world economic forum was not without traditional provocations from the Russian media, who are always informed about where to meet Ukrainian delegation. Journalist with microphone unmarked exclaimed to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the question is: “Why have you adopted the law about the war?”. Poroshenko reacted to her embroidered shirt and advised to “remove shirt”. He also noted that the answer to the question, if he sounded Ukrainian. What provokatorshu noted that the President of Ukraine understands Russian language.”
Videoporoshenko met with the head of the International monetary Fund Christine Lagarde in Davos
Working resort. At the world economic forum in Davos, it’s time for important negotiations. The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met with head of the International monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. Negotiations promised to be difficult, given the recent criticism of the IMF in the direction of Kiev.
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In a recent survey conducted by the European division of Bitcoin exchange, bitFlyer, at least 66% of participants believe that Bitcoin and the altcoins will still be around by the end of the current decade while 25% are uncertain about the future of cryptocurrencies.
More confidence in cryptocurrencies
The survey, which covered a total of 10,000 Europeans from different countries in Europe, is bitFlyer’s second annual Crypto-Confidence Index poll.
According to the findings, a 3% response increment was recorded compared to the last survey conducted last year. This increment, according to the exchange, is an indication that people are having more confidence in cryptocurrencies, a development which is commendable despite the COVID-19.
The effects of the novel Coronavirus pandemic on the global economy have been huge, with speculations that it might result in a recession bigger than the Great Depression of 1929 to 1933.
The crypto industry wasn’t left out of the backlash of the COVID-19 outbreak. In March, Bitcoin lost almost 40% of its value in a single day, falling to as low as $3700. However, the cryptocurrency has recovered from the loss and now posting gains at the time of writing.
Looking closely at the impact of the pandemic, the worst-hit European country was Italy with 204K confirmed cases and 27,682 deaths. Surprisingly the country has the highest number of crypto believers with 72% of the participants saying they believe that crypto will still be around in ten years’ time. In Spain, 68% of the participants also held the same opinion.
Respondents from the Netherlands and Poland were quite bullish on digital assets, as 70% of the surveyed people said that cryptocurrencies will still be available even after the current decade.
As per the findings, participants in the UK were the least confident in digital currencies, with only 56% believing that blockchain-based currencies will survive after the next ten years.


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It's Independence Day somewhere.
A fireworks store in Rochester, Ind., lit up the night sky as it burned to the ground Wednesday night.
Firefighters had to "dodge" explosives as they put out the colorful blaze at Windy City Fireworks, WSBT reports.Tweet:
— WSBT News (@WSBT) July 18, 2013
There were no initial reports of injuries.
The fire -- and firework show stemming from it -- was any child's dream. The selection that ignited all at once was extensive:
"Bottle Rockets, Firecrackers, Artillery Shells, Fountains, 500 Grams, Aerial Cakes, Packaged Assortments, Roman Candles, Ground Spinners, Parachutes, 16,000 Firecracker Roll, Sparklers, Snakes, Smoke Balls, and Much More!" according to its Facebook page.
Smoke could be seen from miles away and "every road" to the store was closed by police and fire units, ABC57 reports.
The fireworks store, which occupied two connected buildings, also sold antiques, according to FOX28.


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Man, myth, fashion legend Kyle Kuzma
Kyle Kuzma, the man, the myth, the fashion legend. Kuzma has a large presence on social media, much of it due to his weird style and poses. The third year forward is looking to make a jump this season, and made another big presence by sporting a futuristic all-black Fear of God-style jacket and pants, along with Balenciaga sneakers. The 2018 rising star is just getting back from injury playing in the World Cup this summer, and will look to help the Lakers with their successes this season and after.


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Over 100 years old, Royal Enfield is one of the oldest conventional motorcycles manufactures on the planet, however, the latest reports confirm the arrival of an all-new electric motorcycle from the same brand!
Mainly focusing on 350cc to 650cc models, Royal Enfield’s current motorcycle lineup is pretty narrow. Unlike other manufacturers with a wide range of sports and naked models, Royal Enfield sticks to the moderately powered retro-styled bike that sticks to the brand’s roots. The result? A range of mostly mid-range motorcycles with retro styling which attracts the mass market.
According to electrek, the brand is currently developing their first electric motorcycle and it’s already in the prototyping phase!
Well, electrek got the news directly from the top, so this isn’t just another speculation, folks! When electrek questioned about the brand’s plan on going electric, this was Royal Enfield’s CEO Vinod Dasari response:
“It is not about whether electric will come or not, but it’s a question of when. We did make some prototypes, we have looked at several segments, and we will be adding to the team in the near future.”
Wondering why a sudden move into the electric market? Well, let us explain.
Back in 2010, the Royal Enfield was producing 50,000 motorcycles. 5 years later, in 2015, the company was producing 50,000 units per month. A year ago, in 2019, Royal Enfield approached 1 million sales. It’s obvious, the brand demonstrated an incredible growth over the past decade.
Given, most of the motorcycles in the electric market currently focuses on high-end models and there is a growing demand for electric motorcycles in general, Royal Enfield’s plan on moving into the electric market with a retro-style electric motorcycle actually sounds interesting and feasible at the same time. Aside from this; electrek and a few other sources also speculate Royal Enfield’s upcoming electric lineup would be a mid-range model with smaller electric batteries and motors and also an affordable price tag to grab the interest of the current target market or as a way to step into the electric market at least.


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Best-selling fruit will take four days to reach supermarket against 24 days from central America – but won't be Fairtrade
Supermarket chain Asda is to be the first to sell bananas from the Canary Islands, in an attempt to reduce the fruit's considerable carbon footprint. Transportation time will be more than 80 per cent...
There are powerful reasons why the UK should host the COP26 Climate Summit in 2020, and they are worthy of consideration
Thisj van de Graaf and Michael Bradshaw argue a critical component of the 'just transition' is being ignored
Professor Nick Cowern warns the even the IPCC 1.5C report may be over-optimistic - and businesses and governments need to respond to the 'climate emergency'
Climate strikes and coal-free days - All the latest from Katowice as the crucial Summit draws towards its close


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Mizuho downgraded shares of SITE Centers (NASDAQ:SITC) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, BenzingaRatingsTable reports. The firm currently has $14.00 price target on the stock.
Separately, Compass Point assumed coverage on SITE Centers in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. They set a neutral rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $14.00.
NASDAQ:SITC opened at $14.70 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.50. SITE Centers has a 52 week low of $10.71 and a 52 week high of $15.23.
The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of SITE Centers by 37.3% during the second quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of SITE Centers during the second quarter worth $7,244,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of SITE Centers during the second quarter worth $74,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SITE Centers during the second quarter worth $76,000. Finally, NumerixS Investment Technologies Inc purchased a new stake in shares of SITE Centers during the first quarter worth $108,000.
SITE Centers Company Profile
SITE is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers that provide a highly-compelling shopping experience and merchandise mix for retail partners and consumers. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.
See Also: Momentum Investing
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At the beginning of this year 2022, the new smartphones belonging to the Xiaomi 12 family landed by the Chinese company, specifically, in the month of March. A set of premium range devices that have become the top of the technology giant.
The launch of this new generation of mobiles usually occurs on an annual basis, but the truth is that Xiaomi could break the norm and launch the new series earlier than expected. Despite the arrival of the current line of smartphones from the Asian brand, many are already thinking about the future deployment of the new range . The Xiaomi 13 line plans to continue offering undoubted quality in all aspects and if you are one of the most impatient, you may be able to purchase this one earlier.
An early landing
It has been a Chinese leaker who has brought to light this information about the Xiaomi 13 family. According to the words of this user, this new series is being tested with Android 13 as expected and also the development is taking place a month before than the previous year. So if everything goes its way, it could hit the market in November.
It should be noted that the global version of the current Xiaomi 12 was not a reality until March of the current year 2022, but in China its launch was earlier . Mainly, because the entity deployed its smartphones during December of last 2021.
Therefore, this could cause the landing of the Xiaomi 13 line to be brought forward to the month of November , while, on the other hand, if the corporation continues to work in this way, it is a possibility that in Spain we also have them with us a little. earlier than usual. Approximately for the month of February of next year 2023.
Xiaomi 13 and a Pro version
The company from the East has in mind to launch the first two phones of the new series that would initially be composed of a Xiaomi 13 and its Pro model. This is obvious given the methodology of the firm with its previous devices and it is something that also They have revealed recent reports, where they show that both terminals are already part of the database , although with code names such as “Nuwa” for the base model and “Fuxi” for the Pro version.
Also, these two smartphones are expected to bring Qualcomm’s new generation processor called Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 . A CPU whose announcement is not yet official and in fact its presentation would also be ready for the month of November. This means that it would not be unreasonable to think that the Xiaomi 13 are the first to boast of the performance of this chip, just as the previous Xiaomi 12 hid a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 inside.
After the collaboration with Leica there is a lot of expectation for the photographic results, so it is likely that the two models will equip a triple camera module developed by the company.
It is necessary to point out that this information is not official and that these leaks may not comply with what is established soon. However, it would not be surprising if Xiaomi anticipated the arrival of these devices to show off Qualcomm’s most powerful processor.


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CNET.com's Kara Tsuboi met with August director Austin Chick and one of the movie's stars, Adam Scott. The new film, in theaters now, retells the story of the dot-com implosion in the summer of 2001.
By ZDNet Staff
| July 21, 2008 -- 08:14 GMT (01:14 PDT)
| Topic: Tech Industry
The internet devalues everything it touches: The case against the online giants
First Intel, now AMD also faces multiple class-action suits over Spectre attacks
Dario Spina: Brands should become more like people (Video)
Australian government still pushing decryption magic bullet


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The hallmark of a solid All-American brand lies in its unfaltering ability to stand up to injustice and fight for the rights of the American people. Unfortunately, most brands aim for the cookie-cutter approach by catering to the vast majority of people for fear of losing a potential market. As a result, censorship and political correctness have become the norm for these so-called brands, constantly bending backward to appease the masses. Lions Not Sheep is no such brand, firmly planting its feet on the ground to fight for freedom above all else.
In line with the brand’s mission, Lions Not Sheep has recently announced a bold political statement in the form of a limited NFT collection called the FJB NFT. Clearly, the brand has chosen a side in the political discourse, and Lions Not Sheep is siding with the American people.
Founders Sean Whalen and Greg W Anderson are adamant about pushing their message to the masses, totally unapologetic of whoever may be offended. The FJB NFT aims to elevate their already existing Lions Not Sheep NFT by pushing the boundaries of what the brand can do, inspiring a community of like-minded individuals to take a stand amidst government pushback.
The recent reveal of the FJB NFT focuses on limited collectibles that embody the controversial statement. As the project comes into full swing, Sean and Greg have cited their full support for the movement, even selling FJB swag merchandise before the subsequent launch of their new NFT collection. With collector’s items focused on the FJB discourse, Lions Not Sheep has truly become bigger than any other NFT project ever released in the market, being the first-ever collection to join the political discussion.
The initial Lions Not Sheep collection features digital art pieces and avatars of lions dressed in All-American apparel. Rugged attire, guns, flags, and all sorts of Americana are plastered all across each avatar, championing the rights of the American people to take a stand and lead the charge towards true liberty. Each mint features a character of its own, with each permutation expressing the brand’s bold message to the audience.
Before it transitioned to Web3 and blockchain, Lions Not Sheep started out as a grassroots tee shirt brand in 2014. The company’s humble beginnings began as Sean Whalen paraded a shirt that dared to challenge people to wake up and stop blindly following what the news and media channels were saying. Since that fateful day, the brand has scaled tremendously well due to the strong support of its community and Whalen’s firebrand leadership.
Currently, Lions Not Sheep has become a leading brand in the NFT market. This time, they are pioneering yet another massive movement in Web3, transitioning the FJB brand to the metaverse through a limited release of NFT collectibles. The project is also co-founded by Greg W Anderson, known to many as “the Architect.”
Anderson is an expert in business systems and platforms, helping over ninety businesses restructure for faster and more streamlined growth. He joins Whalen on their mission to stand up to the government by eliciting true American patriotism rather than blind obedience.
Whalen and Anderson also hope to bring their brand to the global stage, transitioning their currently existing Lions Not Sheep avatars to Web3 technology to connect with like-minded individuals worldwide. The road may be plagued with many challenges, but a true Alpha community never backs down without a fight. Ultimately, Lions Not Sheep is unlike any other brand, challenging the status quo to regain the freedom Americans seem to have lost.


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The first major change to Sunrise Calendar since its acquisition from Microsoft is an interesting one to say the least. In order to make scheduling easier, the app now comes
Earlier today, Microsoft unveiled Hyperlapse, an app for Windows Phone, Windows PCs, and Android devices, according to PhoneScoop. Android’s version is currently a beta for now. Catch a video of Hyperlapse here.
Android developers will be given the ability to use Java and C++ code on Windows 10, so they won’t have to rewrite their entire apps code from the ground up
In what can only be described as an interesting turn of events for the Android ecosystem, Cyanogen today is reporting that they will be partnering with Microsoft to bring and
Samsung says it plans to install a number of Microsoft apps on its upcoming smartphones and tablets. Starting with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung’s lineup will come
It’s official, Microsoft is indeed testing a ROM that can be flashed on Android phones to have Windows 10 instead. Microsoft is working with Xiaomi currently to allow Mi 4
We have been hearing for some time now that Cyanogen was working on an Android replacement without accessing Google Services. Now, the Cyanogen team has published a video on YouTube showing off their unique boot animation that
As well as bundling their virtual assistant Cortana into Windows 10, the latest report is that it will also be offered as a standalone app for iOS and Android. Eric
Prior to the mobile-first mindset that a lot of us have today, Microsoft Outlook was the preferred way for many us to manage our email. And calendar. And contacts. Well, you
Microsoft Garage, the developmental lab behind a number of Android apps, released another title this week. Called Picturesque, it’s a way for Microsoft to deliver Bing homepage images to your lock screen. Available
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is to invest about $70 million dollars into Cyanogen Inc. Many of you I am sure are familiar with the popular ROM
Cult of Android has reported that Nokia may be planning Android handsets for the future.The company supposedly will release the Foxconn-manufactured Nokia C1 smartphone, an Android 5.0 Lollipop device with
Under new leadership, Microsoft has switched their approach from keeping their software locked into their own platform, to offering its products on Android and iOS. The first big release from
Today, Microsoft released the preview of Office for Android with Tablet. Without an Office 365 subscription, you can now edit your documents for free.
Microsoft seemingly cannot decide whether it is for Google or against Google. Nevertheless, for those wanting some Microsoft love on their Android devices can get it through Microsoft Garage. Microsoft


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Sony invests $340M in stacked image sensor mfg
Sony Corp. has revealed it plans to invest about $340 million to boost its production of stacked CMOS image sensors in support of the demand brought about by the requirements for devices that include smartphones and tablets. In January 2014 Sony announced its plans to establish and invest in Yamagata Technology Centre (Yamagata TEC) as a facility mainly conducting the mastering process for stacked CMOS image sensors.
The latest investment is expected to enable Sony to complete subsequent stages of production, including the layering process, at Nagasaki TEC on semiconductor chips that have undergone the mastering process at Yamagata TEC, providing Sony with a fully integrated production system for stacked CMOS image sensors.
The stacked image sensor process makes the back-illuminated pixels on a separate wafer to the circuits used for signal processing. Mastering of this stacked structure refers to the manufacture of the photodiodes and wiring the stacked CMOS image sensors together.
This investment forms part of Sony's mid- to long-term plan to increase its total production capacity for image sensors to about 75,000 wafers per month, and is expected to increase the current capacity of roughly 60,000 wafers per month to nearly 68,000 wafers per month in August 2015.
Sony was the leading supplier of CMOS image sensors in 2012, according to Yole Developpement. Sony had 21 per cent of the market ahead of Omnivision on 19 per cent and Samsung on 18 per cent.
- Peter Clarke
EE Times Europe
|Related Articles||Editor's Choice|


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Plough on the Hill chef gets national role
A chef at a north Northumberland restaurant has been appointed as Scotland's first National Chef
Gary Maclean, executive chef at The Plough on the Hill in Allerdean, will help take forward plans to make Scotland a Good Food Nation, not only in terms of produce but also what people buy, serve and eat.
Gary, the winner of BBC Masterchef: The Professionals 2016 and also a senior chef lecturer at the City of Glasgow College, will deliver a key Programme for Government commitment to promote locally sourced, locally produced food and drink.
He said: “As a passionate advocate for cooking fresh, nutritious and locally sourced food, I am absolutely delighted to be appointed Scotland’s first National Chef.
“I’m sure my passion for education will also help to promote the benefits that Scottish produce can have on a healthy diet and will help to change our relationship with locally sourced and produced food.”
Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy Fergus Ewing said: “The appointment of Gary Maclean as our National Chef will play a central role in celebrating the rich larder of produce that we have available and advocate the use of locally sourced, healthy, sustainable and affordable food.
“Scotland’s food and drink sector is a global success story and one of the main contributors to our economy. We want to build upon this success by becoming a world leading Good Food Nation where nutritious, fresh and environmentally sustainable food is a key part of what makes people proud of their country and Gary will play a leading role in delivering this ambition.”
Minister for Public Health Aileen Campbell added: “The National Chef will play an important role in delivering our healthy nation ambitions.”
She added: “As well as demonstrating how the selection, cooking and enjoyment of nutritious food contributes to a balanced and sustainable diet, Gary will also promote the benefits of healthy food for our physical, mental and social wellbeing.”


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London Stock Exchange Group’s report, Companies to Inspire Africa is a pioneer report that identifies Africa’s most inspirational and dynamic private, high-growth companies to a global market.
“We publish this report as it is our belief that these firms, and high-growth firms like them, are crucial to the future of the African economy, capable of driving transformative economic growth in their home countries, Africa and beyond,” says David Schwimmer, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group.
There are 360 companies from 32 different countries across the continent represented in this report, boasting an incredibly impressive average compound annual growth rate of 46%, up from 16% last year. On average, each firm employs over 350 people, with an average compound annual employee growth rate of 25%.
It is also very encouraging that 23% of the senior executives of the companies featured are female, a near doubling from 12% in last year’s report.
The growth rates and sector diversity of the firms featured highlight their potential to transform the African and wider economy and become the big global job creators of tomorrow.
Read/Download the FULL REPORT.


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Bernie Sanders has received donations from more Amazon workers than Barack Obama over the past 14 years
More Amazon workers have donated to Bernie Sanders than Barack Obama over the past 14 years, according to political data firm GovPredict.
It’s time we start giving to the LITTLE GUY and not the corrupt politicians are SUPPOSED TO BE SERVANTS TO WE THE PEOPLE! LET’S RESTORE THE POWER BACK WHERE IT BELONGS!
Make a donation to fund our online truth operation today! We need help staying online. We are NOT Bernie Sanders. We get by on a very small budget!
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A McDonald’s worker has ditched burger flipping at £7-an-hour for the luxury lifestyle of a £1,000-a-day model.
Tanya, 23, was taking orders for fries, burgers and milkshakes a year ago with the fast-food giant.
But her life was suddenly transformed when she was spotted on Instagram.
A modelling agency had come across her no-filter holiday snaps from Dubai and immediately got to work scouting her.
J'adore Models, a Manchester-based agency, got in touch with her via direct message and eventually ended up signing her.
Now, she is also with MGM Models in Germany and W Model Management in London, and earns thousands of pounds a week.
She travels the world on assignments, posing for brands such as Superdrug, Public Desire and Beauty Bay.
Tanya, who is single and lives with her parents in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, said: "It completely took me by surprise.
"I want to let everyone know that anyone can do this. Dreams can happen."
Hoping to now inspire other young hopefuls looking to break into modelling, she said: “I didn’t think any of this would ever happen, but it did.
“Don't think that you're not going to get what you really want in life.
"It can come to you when you least expect it. I went from serving burgers to posing for pictures.”
She added: “My lifestyle is completely different from when I was in McDonald's, I never thought this would happen.
“I saw myself moving to a different branch. Last year I was a crew member, taking orders and making burgers."
Tanya had been working at the McDonald's branch in the Galleries shopping centre, Washington, Tyne and Wear in February, 2019 when the big call came.
Her modelling career has taken her on assignments to Iceland, Germany and back to Dubai, where it all began.
Reflecting on being scouted, she said: ”I never expected it and I am really happy.
"But at the same time I am going to work hard and get where I can."


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Ghana’s popular gold hub, Menzgold Ghana is set to launch an online gold store bars and collectibles buying and selling market platform, known as “MENZGOLD GLOBAL MARKET” on Monday, November 5, 2018.
The platform will see traders on the “Global Vault Market”– an offline gold market – that has been bedeviled by certain antecedents in the last two months, being migrated onto the global online market at a fee.
This is geared towards keeping their gold buying and selling business actively in session on the online, to forestall any payment impediments in the subsequent months.
Menzgold is assuring clients with outstanding extra values to migrate onto the online platform and pay later when fully settled.
It must also be noted that, clients who migrate onto the online platform earlier are sure to get their extra values earlier.
Traders, who earlier had requested a termination of their investment with Menzgold, can now change that to a “MIGRATION ORDER; while those with no outstanding extra value payments will have to pay the 5% online fee before the transaction would be successfully completed.
Outstanding or pending extra value payments due before the external interference in their business on the 12th September 2018, that are entitled to traders who wish to be migrated from the offline gold market to the online gold market, would also commence on the 9th November, 2018 through bank transfers to beneficiaries.
All customers are thereby advised to migrate online for smooth, enhanced transactions and continuous prompt payments.
The Russia-Africa summit, which took place in St. Petersburg in July 2023, was notable for the absence of two of...


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Trulieve Cannabis (CSE:TRUL,OTC Pink:TCNNF) announced the purchase of a 84.97 acres land space in Jefferson County, Florida set to be used for the construction of a new 750,000 square foot indoor growing facility.
As quoted in the press release:
The facility will be constructed in phases and will be largely automated. Its proximity to Trulieve’s production facility in Midway, Florida will allow for convenient transport for processing of the product. It is expected to bring up to 300 jobs to the area.
“Trulieve’s need for additional cultivation is being met with this new facility. The new site will supply us with additional product allowing us to meet the growing demands of Florida’s patients at a relatively low cost.” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve. “We are excited to implement these new techniques and experience the enhancements and efficiencies these new methods will bring to our cultivation capabilities.”


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A-B Bumps Bud Zero Marketing Campaign Launch Date Back to May 4
The VP of Budweiser USA wrote distributor partners yesterday to announce a delay for the full marketing launch of its big non-alcoholic brand, Budweiser Zero.
Sales to retailers will still start next week, as planned, on March 30th, but the marketing around the new launch will be pushed back until May.
“As a result of the current climate, product delays and retailers postponing resets we have decided to move the launch of the Budweiser Zero marketing campaign to May 4,” said Bud VP Monica Rustgi in a memo to wholesalers.
“The launch will be supported by a 360 marketing plan including national TV, social media and digital content, featuring key sports partners from the NBA, MLB, NFL and NWSL, including Dwyane Wade & Julie Ertz.”
The company believes that 50-calorie, 0-grams-sugar Budweiser Zero “has a huge opportunity in the non-alc beer space as the biggest brand name to enter the non-alc category in the US. Our objective for Zero is to drive overall awareness as Budweiser enters this new occasion.” She noted that non-alc is growing double digits in IRI.
The beer’s nutritional stats “are featured prominently on the pack with a white background that alludes to lighter refreshment, while still maintaining our iconic Budweiser look,” Monica said.
They will focus execution on 12-pack 12 oz. cans in large format and 16 oz. single cans to drive trial in c-stores and venues. 12 oz bottles are slated for September.
A-B TEMPORARILY EXTENDING DATE CODES
We’ve heard a few distributors sound off on how date codes are beginning to rear their heads in these challenging times, and it appears some suppliers have listened.
Anheuser-Busch has notified BBD of two temporary changes its making to its date codes, effective later today.
First, “All core & value package beer produced after March 24 at 1:00 PM EST with a current shelf life of less than 180 days will be extended to 180 days.”
And secondly, “All draught beer will be extended to 90 days effective immediately (includes all draught inventory currently in warehouse or retail as long as quality control standards are being followed).”
Again, the changes are temporary, and do not affect any craft brands.
A memo to distributors added to draft beer protocols, saying that “the requirements for cold storage have not changed. It is critical that we maintain cold storage during this period of time.”
“We will be monitoring Draught Quality closely and will revert back to our current 50-day shelf life if we see any adverse effect on the Sensory of our beers,” memo added.
More as it rolls in.
MEXICALI REJECTS CONSTELLATION BREWERY IN REFERENDUM
Yesterday, news broke that Mexicali residents voted not to have a Constellation brewery in their backyard, with 76% of voters saying “nay” to the $1 billion-plus plant already in construction and slated for completion by 2023.
We’ve long reported water rights concerns circulating around this plant. Farmers in the area have argued that a brewery’s water-intensive nature would further burden a region already strained from water shortages. But Constellation has said it has always complied with local law in building the facility, which would use only 0.3% of the Mexicali Valley’s water reserves.
The vote means that “the government won’t grant a water-supply permit to Constellation Brands,” per the Wall Street Journal. The Mexican federal government “will soon begin talks with Constellation to look for compensation for incurred losses.”
In any case, Constellation brass has downplayed such a potential result over the last couple of years, citing other capacity. In that context, as we wrote in January of last year, chief Bill Newlands shared that Nava capacity expansion efforts were nearly done, and that Obregon would be complete by the end of fiscal ’21, ahead of schedule.
Further, Bill assured they could provide more than 400 million cases of beer from Obregon and Nava alone.
But a Wall Street Journal article from Friday says the company already invested $900 million on the brewery, which was apparently on track for completion quite early — by next year.
We hear a statement from the brewer is forthcoming.
RECENT BORDER CLOSURES “DO NOT IMPACT COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC,” SAYS CONSTELLATION CHIEF
You likely heard over the weekend that the Trump administration made the call to close our borders to the North and South to prevent the spread of COVID-19. So how does that affect operations for a brewer like say Constellation?
BORDER CLOSURES DO NOT IMPACT COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC. Constellation chief Bill Newlands put out a note this morning to answer that very question.
“Importantly,” Bill said, “recent decisions to close the northern and southern borders of the U.S. do not impact commercial traffic, which is essential to enabling supply chain operations and the building of critical inventories needed to meet the needs of our communities.” He added that keeping commercial traffic flowing “will prove helpful as we and other companies in the consumer product goods space work to provide a bit of comfort in this otherwise difficult time.”
CONSTELLATION BEER UP 30% IN LATEST SCAN DATA. Bill also took this time to comment on some of the market trends they’ve seen in the wake of COVID-19. To no surprise, Constellation says they’ve “taken steps to bolster support of local off-premise retailers and distributors to meet increased consumer demand.” Indeed, Bill said they’ve “seen IRI volume in off-premise accounts for our beer business increase more than 30 percent in the most recent 4-week period versus their 52-week trends.”
He then closed out the note stating that their “teams remain committed to supporting the needs of local consumers, retailers, distributors, and the economies they help bolster in this critical time.” Adding, that they “will announce additional measures to further support our industry and communities in the coming days.”
TRULY HAS BEST WEEK EVER, A TOP 16 BEER BRAND; LEMONADE NOW SIXTH LARGEST HARD SPARKLING WATER SKU
Grocery stock-ups in the COVID-19 era have helped pushed beer up double digits (see next story) overall in the off premise. But with so much of their sales in the off-premise, few brands are doing better than seltzer.
Indeed, Boston Beer wrote BBD that Truly saw its biggest week of depletions ever in March, “with raw depletions up more than 270% from this time last year, with Truly now checking in at #16 of total beer,” Boston shared with BBD. (It’s normally no. 18.) This, via IRI Total US MULO + Conv thru 3/15/20.
TRULY LEMONADE NOW THE NO. 6 HARD SPARKLING WATER SKU. Truly Lemonade has been a key driver of the trend; it’s now the #6 hard sparkling water SKU and has 4.4 share of all hard seltzer, Boston said. “Lemonade has continued to increase in depletions and points of distribution on a weekly basis.”
The company says that Truly has gained 1.8 share points since the introduction of Bud Light Hard Seltzer in January. “Brands like White Claw, Natural Light and Bon & Viv have all lost share points – 12.7, 1.0 and 1.6, respectively – which further demonstrates Truly’s ability to capture a different drinker than our competitors,” per Boston.
TOTAL BEER VOLUME UP DOUBLE DIGITS IN LATEST SCAN DATA, BUT WINE AND SPIRITS GROWING TWICE AS FAST
We got a sneak peek at the latest IRI scan data available thanks to Bump Williams. And as suspected, the numbers are striking.
The data, which provides a look at the week ending March 15, shows total beer volume grew 17.7% over the frame.
As Bump put it, in delivering this data to BBD, “looks like the panic shopping is showing up.” (Indeed, if you remember our timeline from last week, you’ll recall that March 11 was the day, in our opinion, that everything turned upside down and the American people started to panic).
Yep, the 17.7% jump is a 10-plus point swing over the week prior (week ending March 8), which saw beer volume up 6.3%.
BUT WINE AND SPIRITS VOLUME GROWING WAY FASTER. Of course, the American people aren’t just loading up on beer. The volume trends for wine (up 36.7%) and spirits (up 34.3%) are growing twice as fast for the week ending March 15. That’s particularly impressive for wine, which had seen its volume trends down low-single-digits for much of the year.
BUD LIGHT’S “DIVE BAR TOUR” GOES VIRTUAL
Last Friday, Bud Light announced it is moving its Bud Light Dive Bar Tour online.
The concert series, now dubbed the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour: Home Edition, will feature streamed shows from artists via social media channels as a way to provide “at-home entertainment” and promote social distancing practices, “bringing the dive bar straight to fans over the next few days.”
“In these uncertain times, we want to make sure we can still deliver a fun experience for music fans while keeping everyone safe,” said Shana Barry, Director of Experiential Marketing for Bud Light. “The Dive Bar Tour was created to bring people together over Bud Lights, and our new Home Edition will do that virtually while supporting causes that are so important to us and our talent partners.”
Friday’s show featured country music star Jake Owen. And Sunday’s show, the second so far, featured pop rock band OneRepublic. Both shows supported the American Red Cross, per release.
Updates for upcoming shows will be posted to Bud Light’s social media channels.
OHIO DIVISION OF LIQUOR CONTROL ISSUES MEMO ON RETURNS
A memo from Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control covered some FAQs from permit holders in the wake of Gov. Mike DeWine’s orders for bars and restaurants to stop on-premise consumption. It appears it was issued yesterday.
As we noted in our own coverage yesterday, there is indeed a mechanism for returning high proof liquor in Ohio: The agency approved a return process and refunds for unopened bottles of liquor, including temporary permit-holders for events that were scheduled between March 12 and April 6. If events are still banned after April 6, returns will continue to be approved.
As for beer and wine returns to distributors: The Division followed the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association’s recommendation and “approved the pickup and future replacement of beer, wine and/or mixed beverages from a retailer, at the distributor’s discretion.” The product must be returned in the same quantity as ordered, “intact in its original packaging and purchased within the last 30 days for a major event” like St. Patrick’s Day or March Madness.
As we understand it, however much a distributor buys back from a retailer, the retailer must repurchase the same amount upon returning to normal operations. They also note that these temporary policy changes will only apply to events cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Harry, Jenn and Jordan
“We play the hands of cards life gives us. And the worst hands can make us the best players.” – Doc Searls
———- Sell Day Calendar ———-
Today’s Sell Day: 17
Sell days this month: 22
Sell days this month last year: 21
This month ends on a: Tues.
This month last year ended on a: Fri.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +1


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In recent times, Chinese manufacturer, Huawei, has been doing quite well in the market and its brand name is becoming more relevant to the world. Recently, Interbrand, the world’s largest brand consulting company, released the TOP 100 best brands in the world for 2018.
Among them, Apple, Google, and Amazon are among the top three. Chinese brand Huawei ranked 68th, which is a two-place increase from its last year ranking. The brand value increased by 14%. This is the fifth consecutive year that Huawei has ranked among the top 100 best brands in the world and continues to maintain its ranking. Huawei entered Interbrand’s best brand rankings for the first time in 2014 and was the first mainland Chinese brand to enter the list, ranking 94th. In 2015, Huawei ranked 88th. In 2016, Huawei ranked 72nd, becoming one of the fastest rising brands in the technology sector.
Gizchina News of the week
In 2017, Interbrand ranked Huawei in the 70th position and its brand value increased 14% year-on-year to US$6.676 billion. Founded in 1974, Interbrand is the world’s largest integrated brand consulting firm, with more than two-thirds of the world’s top companies, which publish “Best Brand Rankings” every year. The rankings are measured in terms of brand performance, influence and the ability of the brand to protect the company’s continued revenue. It has a global influence and can be used as a basis for measuring the value of a company’s brand.


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BERLIN, Jan. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Market Logic Application, the world wide leader in sector insights platforms, right now declared a finance spherical for accelerated progress, and a new executive leadership team with the appointment of Stefan Ropers as Main Govt Officer and Dirk Wolf as Main Economical Officer. Co-founder Kay Iversen will changeover from the position of CEO to be part of Market Logic’s Board of Directors. Olaf Lenzmann will keep on to serve as the company’s Chief Technological know-how Officer.
Market place Logic Chairman Alex Kafka reported both the funding spherical with existing traders – Summit Associates, GENUI and Sycamore – and the new govt appointments, affirm considerable possibilities for Market Logic to accelerate growth, while heralding a new phase for the corporation to grow its aim from market-top innovation to operational scalability.
“We thank Kay for his vision and management to make Market place Logic as the undisputed chief in current market insights platforms, serving hundreds of billion-dollar brand names around the earth. With the thriving start of our company’s upcoming-era system, Sector Logic is now positioned to speed up its expansion. We are delighted that Stefan Ropers, an remarkable application govt with deep working experience in company platforms, is now becoming a member of Marketplace Logic to prolong our leadership posture and progress our journey.”
Ropers joins Industry Logic with 25 yrs of business engineering encounter from roles in startups and large corporates this sort of as Microsoft, Adobe and most recently, world wide travel leader Amadeus. Ropers delivers deep abilities in databases, analytics, cloud and marketing and advertising platforms, with a sweet spot in translating product or service price into shopper achievement and progress.
“This is a decisive phase for Market Logic, and I’m excited to establish on the firm’s successes and momentum as we progress,” said Stefan Ropers. “A lot of corporations are struggling to make insights-driven selections at speed, across all stages of their companies. In a environment of fast changing context, this capability hole is impeding customer-centricity, agility and finally, competitiveness. Sector Logic’s market-main market insights platform can help clientele make a broad insights capability to enable much better enterprise decisions, by augmenting company-vast data and device integrations with AI,” he discussed. “The surge in demand for insights to guidebook businesses as a result of the pandemic has evidently demonstrated that sector insights platforms produce an vital piece of infrastructure our purchasers need to generate progress.”
Dirk Wolf joins Market Logic as Main Monetary Officer, changing Rene Bienz, who assumed the job of interim CFO through 2020. “Dirk will convey enormous benefit to the group, contributing his considerable abilities in scaling SaaS operations and his entrepreneurial travel,” said Alex Kafka.
Wolf joins Marketplace Logic pursuing 8 many years at Searchmetrics, the renowned search and written content optimization SaaS system. Prior to Searchmetrics, he led economic organizations in telecoms and media at Telcast Media Group and Energis. Wolf was also a co-founder of carrier24.
About Market Logic Computer software
Marketplace Logic will help the world’s best manufacturers to run insights-driven companies to be competitive. We provide the initial close-to-close current market insights system that glues all information and tool investments with each other, so organizations can make profitable conclusions in tactic, innovation, marketing and profits. Our program is utilised to drive shopper centricity in CPG, health care, retail, automotive, finance and telecoms, wherever our clients collaborate with 600+ analysis agencies online and integrate content material from thousands of business sources and news companies. For a lot more information see www.marketlogicsoftware.com
Supply Marketplace Logic Application


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You've been asking..."when will the mid-year introductions be announced?" Trust us, we're just as excited as you to show them off! We're targeting the end of June to officially announce the mid-year introductions. Why the delay? Simply put, we want to be sure our valued retailers across the country are ready. Many of them are temporarily closed or operating at a limited capacity. In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates from your friends at Department 56.
In the meantime, enjoy this sneak peek at what's coming!


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First Solar and China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development today announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding to go forward with phase one of a 2-gigawatt solar farm in Ordos, Mongolia. Phase one consists of only 30 megawatts. First Solar will contribute cadmium telluride solar panels as well as expertise in erecting large solar farms.
Construction was supposed to begin last year, but was delayed by several factors. Bureaucratic issues played a part in the delay, but you also likely have to think about economic policy. The Chinese national government and various provincial governments base their goals for domestic solar consumption on exports. If exports are low, local renewable portfolio standards are raised to soak up factory production. 2010 was an exceptional year for solar -- shipments grew 92 percent to 15 gigawatts according to GTM Research -- and Chinese companies were some of the principal beneficiaries. First Solar, a U.S. company, may have just got caught in the middle.
What is a U.S. solar maker doing in China, a country with plenty of solar manufacturers? Providing expertise. Building large-scale solar parks with solar thermal technology or PV panels is a complex process that is more evolved in the West. Think of it: there are no major solar thermal companies that have come out of China. Chinese institutions are not fond of intellectual property, but they do want to leverage expertise. Duke Energy has teamed up with solar panel maker ENN to build solar parks in China and the U.S. Many expect demand response experts to move to China -- Johnson Controls just got certified to work on building efficiency.
How long before the Western experts get edged out by homegrown experts? It's hard to say, but a lot of the marriages may not last a lifetime. Years ago, a Chinese PC distributor asked then-giant PC maker AST about partnering in the manufacturing process. Soon afterward, AST died. The distributor went on to become Lenovo.
Plutonic Power also announced it would buy 50 megawatts of First Solar panels for a plant in Ontario, another booming solar market. Samsung will try to make its dent in solar in that province.
--IKEA stopped selling incandescent bulbs in the U.S. Last year, the company said it would terminate sales in January and here we are. The retailer already sells LED bulbs and is expected to increase its efforts on LEDs. We heard that from Bridgelux the same day Bridgelux told us they want to move into residential lighting. (My dream job: making up names for IKEA products -- Snoovik, Taarli, etc.)
--Ice Energy, which makes thermal mass air conditioners, has announced a strategic relationship with Trane. Trane will make some of its equipment compatible with Ice Energy’s products. It’s an important step for channel acceptance. Like lighting and commercial contracting, HVAC is dominated by an old and somewhat insular distribution and sales channel. Without friends on the inside, it is tough to gain traction.
--IneosBio, which wants to produce ethanol AND electricity from vegetative waste, got a $75 million loan from the USDA to build a facility near Vero Beach (home of Major Healy) that can produce eight million gallons and six megawatts a year. Ineos only needs four megawatts to operate so it will export 2 megawatts to the grid.
The company combines biological and thermochemical processes, similar to Zeachem, Coskata and others. See a profile from last month here.
--Xtreme Power, which makes energy storage arrays for wind and solar farms, has won a fourth contract in Hawaii. This time, the company will build a 10-megawatt storage array for a 21-megawatt wind farm on Oahu.
The company’s secret sauce is the PowerCell, a fiberglass battery designed back in the 1990s in an effort by Corning, British Aerospace and Ford Aerospace. The battery was spun out into a company planning to develop it for California's erstwhile zero-emission vehicle market -- a plan that collapsed, along with General Motors plans for its EV1 electric car, when the state backed off its ZEV timeline. Xtreme was founded in 2004 with a focus on utility-scale storage.